Blacksheep Speaks

Living in My Husband's Digital World

Digital photography plays a huge role in my life, and in the lives of most of the rest of the family, in that we are all victims of my husband's incredible photographic talent. I bought him a Canon Powershot digital camera for Christmas a few years ago, and ever since, he has been taking contest-winning pictures. It's not ALL the camera, of course. He has an incredible talent for being in the right place at the right time. When he isn't just playing around, he is doing the piece by piece jewelry photography that kind of goes along with our online business. Things are about to get expensive, though. Christmas isn't so very far away, and lately my husband has been pointing out Nikon cameras every time we go into town.....

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Today's Historic Demises

Well, the death anniversary list is certainly bigger than the birthday one was, today. That's unusual. Today we start back in 1556 with the death of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of Society of Jesus. Moving on, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican hero priest, was executed by the Spanish in 1811. In 1875 Andrew Johnson, our 17th president, dies in Tennessee at the age of 66 . Then, in 1964, we lose Jim Reeves. In 1981 General Omar Torrijos, the leader of Panama, dies in a nasty plane crash . And that pretty much sums up the death and destruction for today.

Getting a Loan Can Be Nearly Impossible These Days

It sure seems like these days you can never get loans when you need them, especially if you have too many bills to pay, and that's even if the bills are what you need the loans to handle. You can have perfect credit, but if your medical bills are too much, forget it. Last time I tried to get a personl loan they told me I would have to pay off thousands of dollars in medical bills first, even though that was what I wanted the loan to cover. I couldn't even get a secured loan. If you ask me, loan companies and banks ought to take into consideration the circumstances unique to the individual, instead of using a point system used by the consumer credit agencies that does not, in most cases, reflect an acurate view of the situation.

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Today's Famous Birthdays

Okay, here we are on this last day of July. Today, we start out way back in 1803 with the birth of John Ericsson . who built the USS Monitor. You remember the Monitor and Merrimac story, right? No? Look it up:) From there, we skip all the way to 1951 when Evonne Goolagong Cawley was born. Unfortunately, that is pretty much all I see that is worth talking about. Bunch of soap opera stars I never heard of, a few politicians that don't even sound THAT familiar, that's all thats left.

Check Out Lisa's Reviews!

Hey guys, I found a really interesting website you ought to check out. The title of the blog is LISA'S REVIEWS and it is well worth checking out. She does interesting reviews on websites, TV shows, pretty much anything. I really loved the review on the WILL IT BLEND? website, probably because I like finding places that will send me to sites I want to see but didn't know existed., AND let me know beforehand whether or not I should hide what I'm doing so the kids won't get a shock. This site is really well put together, too. I love the new layout and background she's just put up. Thanks, Lisa!

Today's Historical Obits

Well, for once, we don't have much on the calendar for today. Charles McGraw passed away in 1980, Howard Deitz, MGM executive, died at 86 of Parkinson's disease in 1986, and in 1983 Lynn Fontanne, Broadway's premier actress, dies at 95 . That, believe it or not, is all we have to offer.

Digging Out From Under a Mountain of Debt

Okay, face it. Sometimes everything happens at once and you find yourself in horrible financial trouble. It can happen to anyone for any reason. One hospital trip, one family emergency, one really bad hail storm, and you're wiped out, credit cards maxed, working overtime just to pay the interest with no end in sight. Trying to find debt relief can seem impossible.

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Today's Notable Birthdays

We start off the day in 1818 with Emily Bronte, author of WUTHERING HEIGHTS. Henry Ford appeared in 1863, and Casey Stengel followed in 1890. Edd "Kookie" Byrnes was born in 1933, Paul Anka in 1941, David Sanborn in 1945, Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1947, and Delta Burke in 1956. That will pretty much do it for today. Tune in tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.

You're On The Cover!

Too many people live in places without garages these days. Don't you just hate it when you are at a place without shelter for your vehicle and it starts to rain? Or, worse, to hail? Might be a really good idea to keep a protective cover for your vehicle handy.

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Pay For Sex, Be A Chicken (video)

Try to hire a hooker, wind up as a chicken. The judge says he doesn't want a chicken ranch in his city.....hey, what does he have against Dolly Parton?

Noteworthy Obits for Today

Though you will not find it on any other list, the single most noted death for this date in history is that of Raymond M. Taylor who passed away on this date in 1996. Good night, Dad. I love you.

Runners Up:

1030 King Olav Haraldsson of Norway, dies in battle of Stiklestad

1164 King Olaf of Norway, dies

1890 Vincent Van Gogh dies in Auvers, France

1900 Umberto I Italian king assassinated by anarchist Gaetano Bresci

1960 Richard Simon cofounder of Simon & Shuster, dies

1974 Cass Elliot singer of Mamas & Papas chokes to death at 30 in London

1982 Harold Sakata actor (Kenji-Sarge), dies at 62

1983 David Niven actor (Rugues), dies in Switzerland at 73

1983 Luis Bu¤uel movie director, dies at 83 of cirrhosis of liver

1983 Raymond Massey actor, dies of pneumonia in Beverly Hills, Calif at 86

1984 Fred Waring orch leader (Fred Waring Show), dies at 84

1984 Woodrow Parfey actor (Time Express), dies at 61 of a heart attack

1985 James F Nolan actor (Dante), dies of cancer at 69

1988 Ellin Berlin (MacKay) Mrs Irving Berlin, dies at 86

Today's Notable Births

There are an incredible lot of these today, so I am just going to give you the list and let YOU decide who is worthy of note.

1805 Alexis de Tocqueville France, statesman/writer (Democracy in America) 18

61 Alica Hathaway Lee Roosevelt 1st wife of Theodore Roosevelt

1869 Booth Tarkington US, novelist (17, Magnificent Ambersons)

1871 [Gregory Efimovich] Rasputin the mad Russian monk

1878 Don Marquis Ill, journalist/poet (archy & mehitabel)

1883 Benito Mussolini [Il Duce], Fascist Italian dictator (1922-43)

1887 Sigmund Romberg Nagykanizsa Hungary, operetta composer (Blossom Time)

1892 William Powell actor (Thin Man, My Man Godfrey)

1898 Isidor Isaac Rabi Poland, physicist (explored atom-Nobel-1944)

19-- David Sederholm Phila Pa, actor (Bill Hayes-Ryan's Hope)

19-- Evan Rogers Northampton Mass, rocker (Rythm Syndicate)

19-- Jack Blessing Balt Md, actor (Chip Frye-Small & Frye)

19-- Jeanetta Arnette Wash DC, actress (Bernadette-Head of the Class)

19-- John Sykes rocker (Sleep Relaxation)

19-- Paul Sylvan NYC, actor (Woody-Busting Loose)

1900 Don Redman Piedmont WV, orch leader (Sugar Hill Times)

1900 Eyvind Johnson Sweden, novelist (Return to Ithaca-Nobel 1974)

1905 Clara Bow silent screen actress (It, Saturday Night Kid)

1905 Dag Hammarskj”ld 2nd UN Secretary-General (1953-61) (Nobel 1961)

1905 Thelma Todd actress (Dangerous Female, Devil's Brother)

1907 Melvin Belli Sonora Calif, lawyer, SF's "King of Torts"

1913 Stephen McNally NYC, actor (Split Second, 30 Seconds over Tokyo)

1914 "Professor Irwin Corey comedian (Car Wash)

1921 Richard Egan SF Calif, actor (Empire, Redigo, Pollyanna)

1924 Lloyd Bochner Toronto, (Cecil-Dynasty, Lonely Lady, Naked Gun 2«)

1924 Robert Horton LA Calif, actor (Kings Row, Wagon Train, Arena)

1925 Mikis Theodorakis Chios Greece, composer (Raven)

1926 Russel Firestone polo great (Circle F-1959 champs)

1930 Paul Taylor dancer & choreographer (Paul Taylor Dance Company)

1932 Nancy Kassebaum (Sen-R-Ks)

1933 Robert Fuller Troy NY, actor (Laramie, Wagon Train)

1935 Peter Schreier Meissen Germany, tenor (Dressden State Opera 1961)

1936 Elizabeth Dole US Secretary of Transportation (1983-87)

1938 Peter Jennings Toronto Canada, news anchor (ABC Evening News)

1941 David Warner Manchester NH, actor (Holocaust)

1943 Roz Kelly Mt Vernon NY, actress (Owl & Pussycat, Happy Days)

1946 Neal Doughty keyboardist (REO)

1950 Radu Voina Romania, team handball (Oly-silver/2 bronze-1972, 76, 80)

1951 Leslie Easterbrook LA Calif, actress (Ryan's Hope, Police Acadamy 5)

1953 Geddy Lee lead singer (Rush-Tom Sawyer)

1959 Gary Springer NYC, actor (Bernice Bobs Her Hair)

1959 Nelli Kim USSR, gymnist (Olympic-2 golds-1976)

1963 Alexandra Paul NYC, actress (Christine, American Flyers, Dragnet)

1964 Lisa Peluso actress (Search for Tomorrow, Ava Alden Rescott-Loving)

1972 Wil Wheaton actor (Star Trek Next Generation-Wesley, Stand By Me)

1973 Stephen Dorff Atlanta, actor (I Know My Name is Steven)

1973 Wanya Morris [Squirt], Phila Pa, rapper (Boyz II Men)

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Today's Historic Obits

W start off the day on a cheery note wit the 1540 execution of Thomas Cromwell. Then we move on to 1655 and the death of Cyrano de Bergerac, and, just between you and me, I always thought that was a fictional character. In 1759m we lose the great Johann Sebastian Bach, and that is pretty much it for today....but that's more thn enough, isn't it?

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Today's Notable Birthdays

Beatrix Potter, who was born in 1866, gives us a pretty good start this morning. Rudy Vallee joined the world population in 1901, and Earl S Tupper, the inventor of Tupperware, came along in 1907. Vivian VanceNext is Vivian Vance, also born in 1907, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis(whew) came along in 1929. 1945 brought us Jim Davis, 1947 brought Sally Struthers, and that pretty much is a wrap for today.

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My Daughter the Penguin

I walked into the room the other day and found my seventeen year old daughter waddling around the room in front of her sisters, elbows bent, hands up near her shoulders, and her hands, JUST her hands, were flapping ninety miles an hour. She was making a funny gurgling noise. Oh no, I thought. This is it. We put too much presure on her and she's gone insane. How can I afford a therapist to fix this? No, wait. We're good parents. It must be drugs. But the high cost of drug rehabilitation will break us!

Then my daughter noticed me and sheepishly explained tht she was being...a penguin. Um, okay. Maybe we DO need that therapist:. She didn't look ANYTHING like a penguin.

Just Thoofing Around!

Everybody wants more traffic to their website or blog, right? If the people don't see what you have written, there is really no point, now, is there? How would you like a way to advertise your blog stories and increase traffic for free? I found a way, and, incidentally, I managed to get paid to do it. It was REALLY easy, too.

I support my webspace habit and blogging addiction by taking paid posts occasionally. One of the places I work for (see the badge at the bottom of the article to learn more) was running an ad for Thoof.com, a site that offers personalized news. They wanted me to join their service, add their badge to one of my web posts, and then report back here to them and to my readers just exactly how easy it all was. I was pretty skeptical, actually. I have heard about a lot of "traffic increase" scemes, and most do NOT work. But this one appears to be actually working, and it really WAS easy.

All you have to do is go to their website by clicking the link above, enter an email address and get the email confirmation, choose a password and username. Then just add your aricles and copy and paste their badge on your article. Couldn't be easier!

Potted People

I was just thinking about a news report I heard recently about the long lines of people, mainly children, who were willing to stand in line to be the first to get their hands on the new Harry Potter book. For hours. In the middle of the night. Exactly what kind of idiotic, negligent PARENTS do these childrn have?

Oh, I see. Their parents are the ones who, weeks before, did the same damned thing to be the first to shell out over six hundred bucks for a new iphone.

You know, when I was a kid, people did that same thing for concert tickets. I've heard the excuse that it's the same thing. Um, no. Concert tickets are available in extremely limited quantity.CONSUMER GOODS like the Harry Potter book and the iphone will be available on every corner in three weeks. Cheaper, more than likely. In three months they will be begging you to buy them off the clearance rack. Not the same thing at all.

Celebrity Hair For Sale! Sort of, anyway.

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Historical Morbidity for Today (Notable Obits)

Today we start off in 1863 when Sam Houston, the president of Texas, dies at age 70. William Jennings Bryan followed in 1925, and Marx Dormoy, the French socialist, was killed by a time bomb in 1941. I thought those things only worked in the movies. In 1953, Eva "Evita" Peron, Argentina's 1st lady, dies in Buenos Aires at 33 . In 1965, at age 59, we lose Constance Bennett. Finally, in 1990, Brian Mydland, the keyboardist for the Grateful Dead, dies at age 38.

Assisted Hearing Telephones at The Phone Resource

Have you ever considered how difficult things must be for the hearing impaired? I can't even imagine not being able to hear the children playing, the crickets chirping, or the dog barking. But it's the other things that can really get to you, such as missing important messsages because you didn't hear the phone or the door.

The Phone Resource is a company that would like to help change all that. They specialize in phone products for the hearing impaired, such as the EnGenius Durafon phones, Jabra Bluetooth, and ATT. Their assisted hearing telephones and special needs telephones can help the hearing impaired keep up in a world geared for those who can hear perfectly. If you have special needs, or know someone who does, get started by clicking the link in this post. You'll be glad you did.

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Today's Notable Birthdays

Today we get to start things off right by heading back to Ireland in the year 1856 to honor the birth of George Bernard Shaw . From there, we skip to 1875 and Dr Carl Gustav Jung, who I personally think was a nutcase himself (hey, I am entitled to my opinion). 1892 brought us Pearl S Buck , 1894 brought us Aldous Huxley, and then we start a new century in 1902 with Gracie Allen. Blake Edwards made an appearance in 1922, an d also in 1922, Jason Robards Jr . Then we have Stanley Kubrick in 1928, Mary Jo Kopechne in 1940, Mick Jagger in 1943, Dorothy Hamill in 1956 and somewhere in there is the birth of one of the Oak Ridge Boys, but I don't have an exact year on him, so he isn't being listed.

All in all, a pretty impressive list for one day, wouldn't you say?

AllInSafety.com ...the name says it all

AllInSafety.com exists to help keep you safe. From their eye protection products to their yellow rain suit, everything they sell is designed with safety in mind. You've got to love a company like that.

This company is a major importer and distributor that offers same day shipping and they sell nationwide. They have a full line of Safety, Construction and Industrial supplies, which all but guarantees that they have what you need. Offering the highest quality at the lowest prices they still manage that one on one service that keeps people coming back. Just click the link to start seeing why AllInSafety.com is the place you should be shopping!

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Today's Historical Obits

Today we start off in 1616 with Andreas Libavius, a German Alchemist that I personally have never heard of. We also end there, because absolutely no one else that was famous that I can find died on this date, peacefully, tragically, or any other way.

How to Market to Millions

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Ever wonder why the stations keep running those late night infomercials? They keep doing it for one simple reason. Infomercials work. Infomercials have become one of the most profitable ways to sell your product to the mass market in our modern world. Commercials are here to stay, and Hawthorne Direct offers the full range for you to choose from. Long form infomercials, short infomercials, television commercial production, they do it all. Just click the link to start getting your product to the people!

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