Thursday, May 26, 2011

Free To Be...Not Anymore

Great Article by Marlo Thomas that I read on The Huffington Post website...

Just how many dead teenagers, driven to end their own lives, is it going to take for adults to stand up and say,What the hell is going on? There was a time when the words "Free to Be" embodied a hope that whatever a kid was, was good enough. But "freedom" doesn't describe the world of this generation. Or of their parents. One of those parents wrote to me on my Facebook page.
"Hi, Marlo," wrote Kevin Jacobsen of New York. "Our son Kameron was bullied relentlessly and committed suicide on January 18th. He was 14. In lieu of flowers, we asked for donations to go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, my mom's favorite for decades. I know you're busy, but just wondering if you could take a look at our son. We have nothing else to lose."
He then posted the link to a website he'd built to honor his son, called KindnessAboveMalice.org. I logged on, but could barely look at the child's face. He was beautiful.
Thirty-seven years -- and two generations of children -- after the creation of Free to Be... You and Me, I can't help but remember the beautiful words lyricist Bruce Hart wrote that anchored the opening anthem:
"Every boy in this land grows to be his own man,
In this land, every girl grows to be her own woman."
Kameron will never grow to be his own man.
For all the walls we thought we'd broken down with Free to Be -- and all the stereotypes we thought we'd shattered -- children today are not free to be anything they want to be, nor anything they are, and they are dying for it. And no beautiful lyric can fix that.
According to current statistics, one out of every four teenagers across America is bullied in their neighborhoods and schools; 160,000 students stay home from school every day because of their fear of being bullied; and each month, nearly 300,000 students are physically attacked inside their secondary schools.
Online, things are even worse: 43 percent of kids are cyber-bullied, while 53 percent admit to having said something mean and hurtful to another kid online.
Then came that tragic September -- 2010 -- when over a period of just three weeks, nine gay or questioning youths -- all male, average age 15 -- were "bullied to death," committing suicide, no longer able to endure the never-ending harassment from their peers.
Like many people, much of what I know about bullying is what I read in the headlines: 15-year-old Irish migrant Phoebe Prince of Massachusetts, hangs herself in the stairwell of her family apartment, after yet another day of relentless bullying. The harassment continued on her Facebook memorial page. Or just this month, 14-year-old Ambriel Bowen of York, Pennsylvania, commits suicide at home when the daily terrorizing by bullies -- which included two black eyes and a broken nose -- becomes too overwhelming to bear.
Reading the horrid accounts of bullied kids is devastating. But hearing the voice of a bereaved father brings tears to your eyes
I called Kevin Jacobsen after I read his Facebook post and my heart broke as he recounted his son's tragic story.
"Bullying is not the same old issue it used to be," Kevin said, softly. "With cell phones and social networking, it's turned into an around-the-clock problem that our kids cannot escape from. And the other thing that's different is that the bullies can be anonymous. And without that face-to-face encounter, it's impossible to stop them."
When I hung up with Kevin, I re-read his post, and seeing his mention of St. Jude made me think about how different the children are there. I've seen compassion, not cruelty, for each other. I've seen four- and five-year-old girls and boys offering hugs and giving comfort to two- and three-year-olds, telling them that they understand the pain they're going through, and that they will be alright.
So the idea that healthy children should die, not from an errant cancer cell, but because of the abject malice of another child, is something we need to take on. And stop.
Kevin Jennings, the assistant deputy secretary at the Department of Education, told me that most parents of bullied children have no idea about the anguish their sons and daughters are enduring, because the kids aren't talking. They're ashamed to admit it, because they think it's a sign of weakness, and they want to handle it themselves.
But if more parents would get into the game, Jennings said, we might be able to turn things around. He told me that the majority of parents haven't been trained to look for signs of bullying in their child's life. But they need to. And they can start by asking themselves a few questions:
  • Does your child not want to ride the school bus any more?
  • Does your child often wake in the morning complaining about stomach aches and asking to stay home from school?
  • Are your child's friends not coming around so much any more?
  • Has your child stopped receiving invitations to parties?
Most important, said Jennings, is if you suspect your child is being bullied, you must become proactive, and try to get that child to talk.
And I think we all have to start to talk.
If there's one thing I've learned over the years about tackling problems, it's that the first thing you need to do is spark the conversation. So let's start talking about bullying. With our neighbors. With our friends and family. With fellow parents at PTA meetings. And with each other -- right here. Let me hear what you think. It's time to take bullying down.
In the meantime, if you're worried that a child in your life might be a victim -- or is, in fact, the bully -- there are some helpful thoughts at such websites as stopbullying.gov. I'm sure there are countless other sites, and I'd like to know about those, as well. We don't have the time -- or any more kids' lives -- to waste.
It's been nearly four decades since the debut of the Free to Be message. But I 'm hopeful that, together, we can realize that place that Bruce Hart imagined where:
"Every boy in this land grows to be his own man,
In this land, every girl grows to be her own woman."
A land where the children are free... from bullying.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Hump Day Hunk: Ed Helms

I am admitting my secret crush today. He's not your typical hunk that everyone fantasizes about but to me, funny is HOT. And there is just something about this guy that makes me swoon. His new movie hits theaters tomorrow and he shares the screen with Bradley Cooper but I only I have eyes for....
ED HELMS





OK, OK...you caught me in lie. I don't only have eyes for Ed. Trust me, I would TOTALLY do Bradley Cooper in 1/2 second flat but this post is about Ed so I digress. Where was I? Oh yea, check out this funny clip of "The Hangover 2".

Happy HUMP Day
Luv you bitches
Bob Out

Monday, May 23, 2011

Happy Birthday, Scooby!

My awesome and cute dog, Scooby, turns fourteen today!
Happy Birthday, Scooby!
I LOVE you!

In this pic he is barely a week old...
 This is the cutest pic EVER!...
 I send Christmas cards to all of my friends and always include a pic of Scooby. This was his first Christmas card pic back in 1997...
 He's been featured on the Dog Of The Day website twice. This is his first one from October 11, 1999.
 This is his second from December 24, 2005
This is one of my favorite pics ever. He won a photo contest last year and was selected to be in the 2011 calender for our local humane Society. His win included having his pic taken by a wonderful local photographer, Fox Gradin of Celestial Studios. This is the pic she took...
He was featured in April! Cute, huh?





I just took this pic recently. Look at him snoozing under the covers with his little tongue sticking out...so cute!
Bob Out

Sunday, May 22, 2011

3-Way(The Golden Rule)

Did you guys watch SNL last night? OMG, it was soooo damn funny! Justin Timberlake just knocks my socks off every time he is on the show. This is one of the skits from last night with GaGa that you have to see...

Bob Out

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Hump Day Hunk: Nick Symmonds

Have you seen the latest Nike commerical? Check it out...

That's good, right? That hunk is middle distance track star,
Nick Symmonds
Nice ass, Nick!






Sorry, I couldn't find a lot of hot pics of him but that commerical should be enough :)
Happy HUMP Day
Bob Out

Friday, May 6, 2011

Al Qaeda Confirms Osama's Death

Al Qaeda has confirmed Osama Bin Laden's death in the following statement...

"Congratulations to the Islamic Nation on the martyrdom of their devoted son Osama, Even when the Americans managed to kill Osama, they managed to do ONLY that by disgrace and betrayal. Men and heroes only should be confronted in the battlefields but at the end, that's God's fate. Still we ask, will the Americans be able through their media outlets, their agents, their instruments, soldiers, intelligence services and their might be able to kill what Sheikh Osama lived for and was killed for? How far! How impossible! Sheikh Osama didn't build an organization that will vanish with his death or fades away with his departure.


In this context, we in al Qaeda Jihad organization promise God Almighty and we ask Him for help, support and steadfastness to continue on the path of jihad that our leaders, led by Sheikh Osama chose, and that we will not be reluctant, and will not deviate from that honorable path until God be the final judge between us and our enemy.


We also stress that the blood of the mujahid sheikh Osama bin Laden, may God have mercy on him is VERY dear to us and more precious to us and to every Muslim from being shed in vain and this blood will be a curse that will chase the Americans and their agents, a curse that will pursue them inside and outside their country, and soon — with God's help — we pray that their happiness turns into sorrow and may their bloods mix with their tears and let Sheikh Osama's resonate again that "America will neither enjoy nor live in security until our people in Palestine live it and enjoy it. ...


We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan where our dear Sheikh Osama was killed on their soil to rise up and revolt so they can cleanse this disgrace that was brought upon them by a handful of traitors and thieves who have sold everything to the enemies of the Muslim nation, and disregarded the feelings of this great Muajhid (Pakistani) people and let them rise up and start a massive public uprising to cleanse their country (Pakistan) from the filth of the Americans who have wreaked havoc in the land". ...

These people are so messed up. Did you catch where they say we killed him by disgrace because "heroes should only be confronted in the battlefield"? I guess killing over 3,000 innocent people by crashing a plane into a building was graceful? Gees...scary! I know it's not over by killing Osama but I'm still glad we got him. Hopefully, they got some info from the scene that will lead to more captures of these lunatics.

New Orleans Bacon Pralines

I saw this recipe on The Food Network Show, "Five Ingredient Fix" and knew I had to try it. As my friend, Bunny has said..."Everything is better with Bacon".  The bacon really gives it that great combo of sweet and salty. They are soooo good. You guys should try them. YUMMY! I included the full recipe below. However, I just cooked my bacon in the microwave. I hate cooking it in the oven. Too much clean up!
Enjoy...

Ingredients...


1 pound thick-cut bacon
3 tablespoons plus 2 cups light brown sugar
3 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/4 cups pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon table salt

Special equipment: candy thermometer


Directions...
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 1 rimmed sheet pan with heavy foil and another with parchment paper.

Place a baking rack over the foil-lined sheet pan and arrange the bacon slices across the rack next to each other, but not overlapping. Bake until crispy, 15 to 18 minutes. When cool enough to handle, finely chop and set aside.

Reduce the oven temp to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan over moderate heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons brown sugar, about 1 minute. Add the pecans and combine until the pecans are coated. Pour out onto another unlined sheet pan and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool.



Place the remaining 2 cups brown sugar into a 3-quart heavy saucepan, being careful to not get sugar on the sides of the pan. Add the cream, the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and salt and cook over very low heat (do not let simmer), stirring frequently with a rubber spatula, until the sugar is dissolved, 10 to 15 minutes. Wash down any sugar crystals on the side of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Clamp on a candy thermometer to the saucepan and boil the syrup over moderately-high heat until it registers 236 degrees F.

Remove the pan from the heat, leaving the thermometer in place, and let cool until the syrup registers 220 degrees F, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the bacon and pecans. Working quickly, drop 1 tablespoon of pralines onto the prepared parchment-lined sheet pan. If the mixture starts to harden, place back on the stove over moderately-low heat and let it melt. Let the pralines sit until they harden, about 45 minutes.
Hope you guys had a great Cinco De Mayo. Did you do anything fun?

I had a Mexican Bulldog which is a margarita with an upside down Corona in it. Damn, it was good and made me feel REALLY good. Hehe.
 Bob Out

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Hump Day Hunk: Noah Mills

This hunk first caught my eye when he showed his ass(Literally) in Sex and The City 2. Remember this scene where Samantha sleeps with him at the wedding...
Ever since then I've been hooked on...
NOAH MILLS









That's good, right?!
Happy HUMP Day
Bob Out

Monday, May 2, 2011

Osama Bin Laden Is DEAD!

The coroner from the Munchin City, in the County of the land of Oz, has proclaimed Osama Bin Laden Morally, Ethically, Spiritually, Physically, Positively, Absolutely, Undeniably and Reliably Dead. And that's not only merely dead, he's really most sincerely dead.


A most sincere "THANK YOU" to all of our troops



We didn't forget and finally the monster behind the attacks on 9/11 is dead. I hope at least for a minute that our country will be united behind this great news. Navy Seals RULE!
Bob Out