Alice in InfoLand - DiversionsBloghttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/2010-04-13T15:24:29ZSquarespace100 things memehttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/100-things-meme.htmlAlice2008-12-25T22:36:15Z2008-12-25T22:36:15ZBeen there, done that? I wonder who came up with this list, and how culturally biased it is.

In any case, I’ve bolded those items I have already done, and italicized those I’m still hoping to get to, someday, somehow:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

]]>Let a smile be your umbrellahttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/let-a-smile-be-your-umbrella.htmlAlice2008-09-20T17:07:01Z2008-09-20T17:07:01ZIn these unsettling times, I depend on daily doses of the following comic-strips:

Brevity: http://www.comics.com/comics/brevity/index.html
Day by Day: http://www.daybydaycartoon.com
Frazz: http://www.comics.com/comics/frazz/
Get Fuzzy: http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/index.html
Indexed: http://indexed.blogspot.com/
9 Chickweed Lane: http://www.comics.com/comics/chickweed/index.html
Non Sequitur: http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/
Savage Chickens: http://www.savagechickens.com/
Shelf Check: http://shelfcheck.blogspot.com/
Unshelved: http://www.unshelved.com/

and thanks to the magic of RSS feeds, I get to read these online, wherever I am!

]]>Been there, done thathttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/been-there-done-that.htmlAlice2008-08-22T17:41:42Z2008-08-22T17:41:42ZAbject apologies! I just returned from my daily swim on the beautiful Fijian beach and realised I have not updated this since the long board was invented… You would not believe how much more of a drama I could make that. I prostrate myself in sorrow and beg thy forgiveness..

I am hopped up on caffeine with discovering time doesn’t stand still, choosing my retirement village, just generally being a terrible burden to anyone unfortunate to cross my path. My day drifts aimlessly from when the light through yonder window breaks until I see the last of my darling’s 10000 text messages. Remember that life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get — and I’ve been visiting the chocolate factory right here in town too often.

I won’t promise anything to you but I will make more of an effort to blog more often. No, really! I will write more to certain yous; but it might not be you in particular who I write to.

Created by the *Lazy Bloggers Post Generator* — after noting examples from Doug et al.
Now it’s YOUR turn!

]]>Harry Potter rides againhttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/harry-potter-rides-again.htmlAlice2008-08-01T06:35:28Z2008-08-01T06:35:28Zjust-released trailer, it looks like the darkest episode yet, with flashbacks to young Tom Riddle's early days. I'll be curious to see whether this movie pulls in the same crowds as the previous ones... has Harry's appeal diminished since the last book was published?
]]>My favorite podcastshttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/my-favorite-podcasts.htmlAlice2008-08-01T00:16:27Z2008-08-01T00:16:27ZI am addicted to *TEDtalks*. TED (for Technology, Entertainment, Design) began in 1984 as a way to bring people from those three industries together to exchange ideas. Since then the annual TED conference has expanded to include coverage of ‘science, business, the arts, and global issues facing our world,’ as 1000 attendees gather in Long Beach CA for four days to see/hear “the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers…give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.” There’s no way I could ever afford to attend the actual conference (tickets sell out a year in advance), but now many of the presentations are available online in both audio and video formats. If you’re new to TEDtalks, start by downloading the *top 10 TED talks highlights video*, to get a sense of the variety of subjects available. You can search for talks by theme, topic, or speaker, or just subscribe to the audio or video podcasts via iTunes.
I listen to the audio versions while driving, and lately I’ve been downloading the videos to show/share with the residents of my mother’s nursing home. 20 minutes is just enough for these 90-year-olds’ attention spans, and it’s certainly a change from daytime television!

]]>Life, rewiredhttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/life-rewired.htmlAlice2008-07-29T05:47:01Z2008-07-29T05:47:01Z
  • Tickets ordered via Telecharge for the wonderful revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center.
  • From NJ, we took the NJ Turnpike to the Holland Tunnel (inbound traffic checked via webcam on my Palm Centro), to pick up our son in the East Village.
  • He'd already made reservations for dinner at Il Violino after checking their menu online.
  • His wife took the subway crosstown to meet us at the restaurant, after emailing her menu selection to his phone in case she was late.
  • On the drive home, my husband and I compared this production to our memories of the original show and movie. We couldn't remember who played Bloody Mary, so I checked the Internet Broadway DataBase -- it was Juanita Hall, the first African-American to win a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress.
And thanks to Youtube, I was able to share some of the highlights of the show with my elderly mom the next day. NONE of those cyber-connections were possible just five years ago!!

Meredith Farkas posted recently about the impact the Web has had on her life.
Well, I'm old enough to be Meredith's mother, and Oh, the Changes I Have Seen... and enjoyed!!

]]>Leap Year Calculationshttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/leap-year-calculations.htmlAlice2008-02-01T20:01:29Z2008-02-01T20:01:29Zat last, a mathematical formula to help you figure out when the NEXT Leap Year will be:

435leapyear.jpg 

(from the Mental Floss blog: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/11693 )

]]>Did YOU back up your work today?http://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/did-you-back-up-your-work-today.htmlAlice2007-08-06T00:43:16Z2007-08-06T00:43:16Z*Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash* — a news report from The Onion.
(found via The Committed Sardine)

]]>Tasteful contradictionhttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/tasteful-contradiction.htmlAlice2007-03-08T12:39:39Z2007-03-08T12:39:39ZSpotted on the marquee of a local Dairy Delite: “Try our new Crunchi-Creme Soft-Serv”

]]>Kvellinghttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/kvelling.htmlAlice2007-02-20T20:47:47Z2007-02-20T20:47:47Z(kvel) verb intr. To feel proud; to beam; to gloat. [From Yiddish kveln, from German quellen (to gush, to well up)]
I am delighted to announce that:

  • on February 14 my daughter Abigail and her husband John became the proud (if scared) owners of their first house.
  • on February 17 my son Daniel proposed to his lovely Carmelita, and she accepted both him and the ring that MY grandmother brought to America almost 100 years ago.

Who knows what else the future might bring? …only the Shadow knows.

]]>