Sebastien Centomo

Rick Kozak

ok so maybe i'm a little obsessed ~but in a good way!

Shine Down ~ I own you~

"I Own You"

Come on in, take a seat.
Tell me how you feel this weak.
Are you cursed? Are you blessed?
Are you still inside the mess?
All those feelings wrapped around you,
Hold you down so you can't break through.
Its a trap, so don't ask. Its a shadow on
Your back. It don't burn, it don't bleed,
Still it cuts you at the knee.
All this pressure that surrounds you,
Holds you down but you know you
Gotta break through.

[Chorus:]

Hey, c'est la vie.
Remember me?
I made you, dressed
And trained you.
Hey, it's bitter sweet.
You can't kill me with kindness,
I don't buy it.
Strip down, show me flesh and bone.
(Strip Down.)
'Cause now I own you.

Take a breath, hold it in.
Now look up, let's begin.
Lesson learned, take a turn.
Now you come around again,
All those feelings wrapped around you,
Hold you down so you can't break through.
Time is up, take your shot.
'Cause your story's all you got.
Don't back down, don't say no.
Just stay still and let go.
All this pressure that surrounds you,
Holds you down but you know
You've gotta break through.

[Chorus]

(You can't kill me with kindness, no I don't buy it.)
Strip down, show your flesh and bone.
'Cause now I own you.

[Chorus]

Now I own you. [x3]
You know I own you.

We Need More Pirates!

You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and global temperature.

(No I don't mean the modern Somali type of pirates! )

Our Military troops need help!

The (very) active military:
Of the Army’s 44 combat brigades, all but the one that is permanently based in South Korea have been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Of the 43 brigades:
12 brigades have served one tour
20 brigades have served two tours
9 brigades have served three tours
2 brigades have served four tours

Source: The Center for American Progress

Tapping Reserves:

More than 434,000 National Guard and Reserve members have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and more than 20 percent of them have been deployed more than once. This large-scale reliance on the Guard and Reserve — with about 60,000 on the ground at any given time — represents a shift away from the services’ traditional dual role — aiding in domestic crises, such as natural disasters or civil unrest, and standing by as a strategic reserve force, to be deployed in later stages of a conflict if needed.

Source: Department of Defense and National Guard and Reserve

Indeed, the whole approach to providing manpower for this conflict differs from that of the Vietnam War, from 1964-1975. Then, a much larger active military — 8.7 million troops — was bolstered by a draft that added 1.7 million more soldiers to the ranks, according to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. More than 640,000 of the draftees served in Vietnam, constituting about one-quarter of the total U.S. force there, the VFW said.
But the draft ended in 1973, and the active military now numbers about 1.4 million, according to the Department of Defense.

In order to sustain troop levels in what has become a much more prolonged conflict than originally anticipated, the military has relied on repeated deployments, and a far heavier use of “weekend warriors.” More than 434,000 National Guard and Reserve members have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, about one-quarter of them more than once, according to the Pentagon. In comparison, about 340,000 Guard and Reserve troops were deployed during the Vietnam conflict.

Extended tours of duty in the combat zone — some as long as 18 months — also are a departure from the past. In Vietnam, the standard tour of duty was 12 months. If a soldier was to be redeployed to the combat zone, Army policy mandated a 24-month period of recuperation or retraining between tours, said Larry Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank.

While military families’ views of the war vary, many feel that too few are being asked to sacrifice too much — a prominent theme among those who shared their thoughts with msnbc.com.
“If this "War on Terror" is the "War of this Generation" and Washington is not going to change that mission, then … Washington needs to mobilize this nation through national service (conscription),” wrote a Gut Check America reader in Baton Rouge, La., who asked that his name be withheld because of concern that his remarks might cause trouble for his son, now in his second deployment to Iraq. “To have 1 percent of this nation's citizens bear 100 percent of that burden is morally reprehensible. ‘Support the Troops’ needs to be more than words to the other 99 percent of this nation's citizens.”

“Our experience is that it’s two different worlds — the one for everybody else, and the one for military families and service people,” agreed Laura Stranlund of Amherst, Mass., whose son, Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Miller, is on his third deployment since 2001. “Unless you’ve got skin in the game or know someone who does, it just doesn’t seem to matter. America is at the mall.”

Mr. President-Elect Barack Obama

YES!!!!!!!

I got a thank you letter from our soon to be president, Mr Barack Obama. I cried when I was listening to his speech, I cried again today when I read it. I'm just so relieved and I feel the beginnings of hope. It's overwhelming. Of course, nobody knows what the future holds, Mann tracht und Gott lacht ~ Man Plans, God Laughs..... but this is just an astounding, beautiful, amazing time in history no matter what!

Barack Obama to me 12:05 AM (15 hours ago)
Courtney --
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.
We just made history.
And I don't want you to forget how we did it.
You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.
I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.
We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.
But I want to be very clear about one thing...
All of this happened because of you.
Thank you,
Barack

Cameron's 4th Grade Figurative Language Project

If the world could vote

There is a nifty map that shows the results from votes recieved world wide. Really cool check it out!

http://iftheworldcouldvote.com/
"November 4th 2008 the American people will choose a new president. The president of the United States of America is the most powerful person in the world.

We would like to know who would be the next president of the United States of America - if the world could vote!

In the presidential election in 2004 122,267,553 people voted. 6,500,000,000 people did not.
Our mission is to get more people to vote than voted in the last election. Mission impossible, we know, but still, wouldn't it be great to see what the whole world thinks? "

Barack Obama
87.2% (705,642 votes)
John McCain
12.8% (103,458 votes)

as of this time:

Total number of votes:
809,132
Countries voted from:
212
Votes received the last...
Hour:
7,740
24 hours:
91,506
7 days:
308,786

Nuit

Blues Festival!

Main Stage - Friday - 10/10/2008

12:00/1:00 - Earnest "Guitar" Roy

1:15/2:20 - Hamilton Loomis

2:35/3:45 - Sam Carr & The Delta Jukes w/ Dave Riley

4:00/5:10 - Carl Weathersby

5:30/6:40 - Pinetop Perkins & Bob Margolin

7:00/8:15 - Mem Shannon & The Membership

8:45/10:00 - Michael Burks

10:30/11:45 - Severn Records 10th Anniversary Soul & Blues Revue: Featuring/ Lou Pride, Darrell Nulisch, and Tad Robinson

Dad, the boys and I went to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage festival in Helena AR today. It was AWESOME I took lots of pictures and we got to see Pinetop Perkins perform too. He is 95 and still kickin' ass!

I was VERY impressed by Michael Burks he has the stage presence/guitar playing of a young BB King and a voice like Otis Redding. Amazing performance.

Self

stripes with plaid

"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy. "

Visages

Visage - The front surface of the head, A disposition of the facial features that conveys meaning, feeling, or mood, An outward appearance, the appearance conveyed by a person's face, The face or facial expression of a person; countenance.

My First Husband/BFF

Gary Allen Smith of Bainbridge Island, passed away on August 15, 2008 in Seattle, Washington.

He was born March 20,1964 in Anchorage, Alaska and spent most of his youth in Wadsworth, Ohio, graduating from high school in 1982. He relocated to thePacific Northwest in 1989 where he began his career with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSE) as a conductor, and was promoted two years later to Engineer. Gary is remembered for living life fully, with great gusto andunmatched humor. He loved riding his motorcycle with his "bro's" and his wife Morissa; traveling throughout the US and Europe to visit each and every one of his cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews whenever he was nearby; being in the great outdoors camping and sitting in his "little woods";attending an eclectic mix of rock-n-roll concerts; jamming with friends in his basement band room; and his world famous bar-b-que pulled pork and pickled eggs. Gary is beloved by his large andloving family and will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife Morissa Knudsen-Smith, daughter Rachel Nichole Smith, and stepson Christopher Smith; his parents, Robert and Helen Smith; brothers Mark (Martha) Smith and David (Becky) Smith of Wadsworth Ohio; sister Susan (David) Martin of Nashville, Tennessee; and sister Kathy (Peter) Montion of Whitehouse, Ohio; 14 nieces and nephews; and numerous cousins, aunts, and uncles.

My Grandma

Edna Frances Garlitz Hiett October 17, 2007

Edna Frances Hiett, 84, of Great Falls, a retired special education teacher and Navy veteran, died of cancer Monday at a local nursing home. Her funeral is 2 p.m. Thursday at Croxford Funeral Home and Crematory, with burial in Highland Cemetery. She is survived by daughters Marie McIntyre of Walls, Miss., Alanna Hiett of Missoula and Alice Hile of Lakeside; sons William G. Hiett Jr. of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Earl L. Hiett II of Oregon, ......etc.

My Mom

WALLS, Miss. - Former Missoula resident Marie (Hiett) McIntyre, 61, a homemaker, died of cancer Tuesday at her home in Walls, Miss.Her memorial service is 3 p.m. Monday at Twin Oaks Funeral Home in Southaven, Miss.

Mrs. McIntyre was born Feb. 14, 1947, in Missoula, Mont., to the late William and Edna Hiett.She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Dr. Craig R. McIntyre of Walls; one son, Christopher H. McIntyre and his wife Yukie of Tracy, Calif.; two daughters, Courtney E. McIntyre of Walls, and Kimberly H. McIntyre-Rathur and her husband Tariq of Atlanta; two brothers, William G. Hiett Jr. of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Earl L. Hiett of Sheridan, Ore.; two sisters, Alanna L. Hiett of Great Falls, Mont., and Alice L. Hile of Lakeside, Mont.; and six grandchildren, Liam, Cameron, Carter, Reese, Sophia and Scarlette.

Memorials can be made to http://www.smiletrain.org/. Condolences may be posted online at www.gftribune.com/obituaries.

Going down

I see the world its going round

Seems to me its upside down

Lookin for something to say

I feel a little different anyway yeah

Does it make much sense to you?

Doing all those things you do

Making sure that Im all right

Yeah Im fine!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, goin down!

I see the world its goin round

Seems to me its upside down

Looking for something to say

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, goin down!

Ive been feeling Im going down.

Takeout boxes

Takeout cartons are an American invention. Those white takeout cartons that are a symbol of Chinese-ness across advertising and the United States? They are so American they are not even really used in Canada (which is more of an aluminum and Styrofoam market, as one carton executive put it). The white boxes were originally invented in the first half of the twentieth century to hold shucked oysters, and are thus are often called "pails" in industry lingo. Carton executives say that sometime around World War II, they Were adopted by Chinese restaurants for takeout, in part because they could hold hot liquids.

One piece of trivia: On the East Coast and the West Coast, the boxes are oriented in different directions. On the East Coast the wire runs down the short length, while on the West Coast, they run down the long length. The two styles mix only in the greater Houston area.