I Have My Own Name, Thanks
Looking up some info for work, and I found out something interesting:
1. First Ladies of the U.S., both current and former, are all honorary chairs of The Kennedy Center.
2. Of those first ladies, the three most recent (Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, and Hillary Clinton) go by their own first names; the rest (Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, Rosalynn Carter, and Betty Ford) all go by their husband’s names (Mrs. George Bush, Mrs. Ronald Reagan, etc.). See for yourself. Interesting, no? The times are a changin’, it seems. Good!
Oh, and another random fact: most of the rest of the board for the Kennedy Center was either appointed by the President or designated by an act of Congress. Who knew?
Walking In A Winter Wonderland
As pretty much everyone knows by now, the East coast got hit with a pretty big blizzard last night. Knowing it was coming, I rushed around yesterday and did ALL the shopping I needed to do before Wednesday – gifts, groceries, etc. I wanted to make it so that I could have the option of not leaving my apartment again before going to Jersey for Christmas!
Good theory.
Well, technically, I didn’t HAVE to leave my apartment today. And honestly, I’m glad that I took care of everything – this is the kind of weather which makes running errands a pain. But this morning…well, for some reason, I was up at 6:20. It’s as if I was a 10-year-old, trying to see if I’d get a snow day from school. I laid around for about an hour, and then thought, “screw it” – I was up for the day anyway. I looked outside, and saw this:
Looks funny because it was taken behind the screen on my window
It was still and quiet outside, and I was wide awake – no WAY was I going to sit and not go see the park while it was still freshly covered with snow. So I got bundled up and out I went. Now, my apartment is across the street from a pond in the park, so I basically stuck around there – and the pics are all from my iPhone, hence the quality. But still – it was SO nice to go out and walk around! I discovered a couple of things:
1. The only people who go out at 8:00 on a [Sunday] morning after a blizzard are people with dogs and people with cameras.
2. I don’t know if it is because of the holiday season, or the snow, or the shared camaraderie of being some of the few out in the park together at such a unique time, but everyone was SO friendly. Like, saying-hi-as-passing-each-other-on-the-sidewalk friendly. It was odd. But nice 🙂
Anyway, here are some of the pictures…
It's hard to see, but these are ducks that live in the pond, using the one small bit not frozen
This pic isn't pretty - I've just never seen Central Park West so empty during the daytime
So, first snow storm of the season! And I’m not certain, but I think it may be the biggest snow I’ve ever experienced. And now, a day inside – enjoying Beatles Rock Band, wrapping presents, and watching Christmas movies. I love this time of year!
Christmas Light Hero
Okay, in honor of the fact that I finally ordered Beatles Rock Band, and because I’ve really been dropping the ball on Christmas posts (or any posts, for that matter) this month, I thought I’d give you this: Christmas Light Hero
You can read more about it here, but basically a guy who used to do special effects for Disney Imagineering put it together. It must’ve taken him forever to set up, but it looks cool!
This song has been stuck in my head all week
Now maybe it will be stuck in yours, too.
Merry Christmas!
Keanu Reeves is Immortal
So there’s a new theory going around the interwebs: that Keanu Reeves, beloved film actor, is actually immortal. Or maybe a vampire. Or maybe both. The proof? Well, here’s part one: Keanu from 1994 looks essentially the same as Keanu from 2008:
But wait! There’s more! Keanu also bears an uncanny resemblance to this man, French actor Paul Mounet, who died in 1922:
I know! Shocking!
And people are going all out with this theory. First, this [short] video:
And then there’s the post by this guy, about how not just Keanu Reeves, but two other actors from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, are also immortal! Of course, George Carlin actually did age, and also died recently (OR DID HE?!) – but who’s counting? Honestly, at first I thought this guy’s blog was a joke, but he seems to be taking it verrrrry seriously. Bogus, indeed.
Aide-mémoire 