Friday, March 26, 2004

My Nana, a plagiarist for love

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/8280727.htm?1c

Posted on Fri, Mar. 26, 2004   The Philadelphia Inquirer

Pen inspires love; e-mail shares lore

By Kathryn Quigley
The paper is fragile, the handwriting spidery, and the language rather formal. The letter, from my grandfather to his future wife, is dated April 26, 1913.

History in my hands, more than 90 years later.

I found the letter in my father's house with a pile of old family photos. The paper is weathered and creased, with some kind of stain on the front. I read the letter many times and imagined my grandparents when they were dating.

My grandfather, Thomas F. Quigley, lived in West Philadelphia in April 1913. He was a 29-year-old learning the ice cream business, which he would soon turn into a popular ice cream and candy store called Quigley's at 51st Street and Chester Avenue.

My grandmother, Sarah Auchinleck, was a teenager living in South Philadelphia with relatives after her parents had died. She liked my grandfather, but it seems they had some sort of a falling out.

"I noticed that you signed your note 'Always your true and sincere friend.' Do you really mean that?" my grandfather wrote. "As I have felt that for some reason or other I had lost your friendship, the loss of which to me meant that after losing that, nothing else seemed to make much difference."
(Click on the link above to read the rest....)

Sunday, March 14, 2004

Index to the patron Saints

  In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here is a link to a handy guide to all the Patron Saints in the Catholic religion. I pray to St. Jude and St. Anthony all the time. Erin go bragh everyone!

http://www.catholic.org/saints/patron.php

Here are some of my favorite Patron Saints:

Abdominal pains- St. Elmo (really)

Nightmares - St. Raphael the Archangel

Unhappy marriages - St. Gengolf

Mentally ill - St. Dymphna

Pets - St. Antony the Abbott

Princesses - St. Adelaide

Teachers - St. John Baptist de la Salle

Snake bite victims - St. Hilary

TV writers - St. Clare of Assisi

 

Saturday, March 6, 2004

Natural's tour is sponsored by a German fried fish restaurant!

http://www.nordsee.com/natural/1.htm

Many of my fans know that my friend, J.Michael is a member of the pop group Natural. They are on tour in Germany right now. Guess what? Their tour is being sponsored by a fried fish chain of restaurants, kind of the German version of Arthur Treacher's. Click ont he link to see many, many pictures of Natural eating fried fish. Mmmm. Mmmm! Nothin' says pop star like a clam sandwich!

Thursday, March 4, 2004

Beyonce's guitarist foils robbery in West Palm Beach

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cpcarjack04mar04,0,7077092.story  

 I used to go to this Walgreen's! It wasn't the "nice" Walgreen's; more like the "scary one." Now I know why!

Beyoncé guitarist helps nab suspect

By Nancy L. Othón
Staff Writer

A man who police say carjacked a 91-year-old man at knifepoint Tuesday outside a West Palm Beach pharmacy was arrested after several witnesses, including members of singer Beyoncé's band, helped chase the suspect down.

Reynold Caleen of Palm Beach had just left Walgreens, 1255 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., about 3:40 p.m. and got into his car when a man opened the door and pointed a knife at him, according to police reports.

Malcolm Clemons, 31, of West Palm Beach reached for Caleen's wallet and dragged him from his car, according to reports. Caleen fought back, trying to prevent Clemons from getting his wallet, but Clemons grabbed the wallet and got into Caleen's car, police said.

That's when several members of Beyoncé's band, in town to rehearse for an upcoming tour, drove into the parking lot and noticed Caleen on the ground, said West Palm Beach Police Lt. Mark Anderson.

Lead guitarist Shaun Carrington, 25, told police he thought Caleen was having some sort of medical episode until he noticed Clemons inside the car, Anderson said.



 

Wednesday, March 3, 2004

Justin Timberlake as a reporter

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/03/02/showbuzz/index.html#1

Justin Timberlake is going to play a reporter in a new movie. Apparently, all one has to do to play a reporter is to take a lot of notes. Huh.

Justin Timberlake, cub reporter

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- So what's Justin Timberlake uncovering now?

Timberlake, who ripped away part of Janet Jackson's costume at the Super Bowl halftime show, tagged along with Associated Press reporter Bob Porterfield last week to get a taste for journalism.

The Grammy-winning singer will play a reporter who uncovers an elite team of corrupt police in the upcoming film "Edison," starring Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman and LL Cool J. Shooting is expected to begin in Canada in the coming weeks.

Timberlake created a stir at the downtown county courthouse as he filled out an application for legal documents and pored over them with Porterfield in a public viewing area for about 45 minutes.

They pulled an old lawsuit filed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington against an electronics firm that allegedly used their likeness in ads without permission.

"He was interested in learning how you retrieve these public records. Basically, I showed him how you find them, how you request them," Porterfield said Monday.

Porterfield, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who teaches graduate-school journalism, was impressed. "I thought he was sharp. He seemed attentive and interested in learning this stuff. He has a real interest in developing his part. He took quite a few notes."

Monday, March 1, 2004

2004 Academy Awards. Part 3

Okay, my fans have spoken. Frankly, I was quite bored by the middle part of the Oscars and when it got zippy towards the end, I was already in bed, watching with one eye open. Yet, I still have things to say.

VERY happy that Charlize Theron won for "Monster," especially since it took place in Daytona Beach, my former home. She was amazing. And she thanked South Africa! An entire country! That is not New Zealand.

VERY disappointed that Sean Penn beat Bill Murray for Best Actor. However, Sean's role in "Mystic River" was all about emoting. "My daughter is dead!" etc.Whereas Bill Murray's role was more subtle and deadpan.

Of course LOTR was going to win Best Picture. It had elves and dwarves in it, which both need a "v" when their singular is made plural.