Friday, October 31, 2008

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Although once again Linus Van Pelt will be sitting in a pumpkin patch awaiting the Great Pumpkin, upon this night, most boys and girls everywhere will be going out Trick or Treating.
Even older children and adults will be dressing up in costumes to attend parties and other Halloween themed events.
The Free Choice e-zine urges everyone to have a SAFE as well as fun Halloween!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS AT 70

Upon this night in 1938, audiences gathered around their radios to hear the latest installment of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) series Mercury Theatre of the Air. The cast, led by Orson Welles, performed what they believed to be their humble adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds, not knowing that there would be listeners unaware that this was a fictionalized drama of Martians launching an invasion of Earth.
While it is far easier to look back in hindsight upon this, the seventieth anniversary of that broadcast, that event has been refered to by some as "The Night That Paniced America". Between the poor domestic economy of the times and the impending world war beginning in Europe, it is kind of unstandable that some might not have realized it was just another program within a medium that overcame the obstacle of only being able to use sound to provide us such great shows like The Shadow, Fibber McGee and Molly, and so many more.
For more information, there are plenty of resources available including a wonderful volume from Sourcebooks, Inc. (www.sourcebooks.com) which includes the script to the 1938 radio broadcast, the original H.G. Wells novel, and a CD of the Mercury Theatre performance and other bonus tracks.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

BUYER/VOTER BEWARE?

A lot of people are rejoicing over the fact that gas prices have steadily fallen over the last month.
The national average in the United States for a gallon of gasoline as I post this article is currently about $2.45 a gallon.
Some claim this is because the economy is finally starting to get better. Other critics say that this is just a tactic by the "powers that be" to lull us into a false sense of security in hopes that voters will choose Republican candidates next week, a scheme that susposedly helped to get President Bush reelected in 2004.
Is this true or false? If I knew the answer I would certainly tell you Dear Reader.

Meanwhile, I have received more spam within the last few days than I have over the last month combined, all from concerned "friends" that I have never heard of or even remember having to begin with, all warning me against voting for Barack Obama, let alone any Democrats in general next Tuesday.
Now whether or not this is because I happened to mention my own personal political beliefs during the course of the Free Choice's October 9th article "So Where Do We Editorially Stand" or if my e-address is unfortunately on some mass mailing list, I cannot say.
I can say that I have never seen so much rhetoric, false information, and general pleading since the 2004 Presidential election.
A quick visit to http://www.snopes.com/, http://www.reuters.com/, http://www.cnn.com/, or any of the other national news websites (United Press International, Associated Press, USA Today, etc.) available will set the record straight on any issue you need to find information on.

While the editorial/creative staff has their own personal opinions, the Free Choice e-zine as an Internet entity shall remain neutral in chosing a political side, but once again urges everyone to
REMEMBER: The Presidential election IS next Tuesday, November 4th.
Now more than ever, your vote is important!
Know the issues. Know the candidates and their platforms. Know the facts!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: OCTOBER 26th, 2008

Would you believe The Smurfs are now 50 years old?

Cartoonist Pierre Culliford, who signed his work Peyo, was working in his native Belgium on the feature "Johan et Pirlouit" ("Johan and Peewit") for the Le Journal de Spirou when he first introduced them to a group called "Les Schtroumpfs" on October 23, 1958.
Those loveable blue characters no taller than the average apple gained their own feature in 1959, although it wasn't until Hanna-Barbera Productions began animating a Smurfs series for NBC's 1981 Saturday Morning season that the characters became popular in America, let alone gained a wider International audience.

When asked to contribute jokes to this week's Sunday Funnies, the only one Ms. Waxy Dragon could come up with was:
Q. Why did the Smurf cross the road?
A. To Smurf to the other side.

Considering the background of the characters, I thought that was quite appropriate and thus we conclude this week's installment of the Sunday Funnies.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: OCTOBER 25, 2008

And just when you thought you had reached the weekend, so your mind could kick back and relax without having to do too much thinking for 48 hours, you entered The Puzzle Corner!

COMMON BONDS
What do the members of each subset have in common?
1. {Oven, treat, uncle}
2. {A. A. Fair (and) Perry Mason}

DO YOU KNOW?
A crook could find a fence and a good alibi this, by rearranging the letters in the right words.

The answers will appear next week, just like the solutions to last week's puzzles appear now...

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
1. A stain is SPOT
2. Lids are TOPS
3. Chooses is OPTS
4. A possible answer for e-mail is POST
5. Amongst kitchenware are POTS, and
6. Halt! is to STOP, with all the answers formed by rearranging T, P, S, and O.

TRIVIA TIME
The ice cream moguls are Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

THE POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE: AN UPDATE

Democrat Barack Obama met Republican John McCain in the final Presidential debate October 22nd. While pundits say that this was McCain's strongest appearance within the debates, most analysts agree that although once again hardly any new ground was covered, Obama won the debate.

Meanwhile, after being satirized for weeks by Tina Fey, Republican Vice-Presidential running mate Sarah Palin went on NBC's Saturday Night Live October 25th, hoping it would do for her what appearing on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In did for Richard Nixon.

In what has to be the most important announcement yet, former Bush administration Secretary of State Colin Powell official endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for President, citing among other reasons his ability to inspire and be a "transformational figure." Powell was also bothered by all the attempts to link Obama to terrorists and the Muslim religion when the facts do not support those allegations.

As mentioned previously within this e-zine, if you are in doubt of any information, especially with the November election looming on the horizon, there are plently of websites such as http://www.snopes.com/ where you can check out the facts for yourself.

REMEMBER: The Presidential election IS Tuesday, November4th!
The Free Choice e-zine urges everyone to go vote that day! ?

Sunday, October 19, 2008

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: OCTOBER 19th, 2008

Last weekend I reported upon the coincidence of two comic strips running installments based upon the same gag on the same day.
Well guess what folks...
On Friday, October 17th, both B.C., now done by the late Johnny Hart's daughter Perri Hart and his grandson Mason Mastroianni; along with Hillary Price's Rhymes with Orange both ran strips featuring the Bat-signal of DC Comics' Batman.
In my humble opinion, while Price's gag was funnier, B.C.'s was definitely the more poignant of the two.

And now, here is Ms. Waxy Dragon with some appropriately themed jokes...

How many Batmen does it take to change a light bulb?
None. They like the dark knight.

How many psychoanalysts does it take to change a light bulb?
One, but the light bulb must want to change.

How many Congressmen does it take to change a light bulb?
Nobody knows. The issue is still under debate.

See you next weekend with more Sunday Funnies!

THE PUZZLE CORNER: OCTOBER 18th, 2008

Okay, a new weekend and new puzzles!

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
The answers to the following clues all use the same 4 letters. What are they?
1. A stain
2. Lids
3. Chooses
4. E-mail?
5. Kitchenware
6. Halt!

TRIVIA TIME
Everyone knows Ben and Jerry of ice cream fame. But what are their last names?

The answers will appear next week.
And now, the answers to last week's enigmas.
WORD SEARCHING
Hidden within Floridahohiowarkansas were: Florida, Idaho, Ohio, Iowa, Arkansas, (and) Kansas.

DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER?
A cheese made backwards is EDAM! (made=edam)

Sunday, October 12, 2008

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: OCTOBER 12th, 2008

And now, the return of the feature you have been waiting for with baited breath...
...and if you do have baited breath, might we humbly suggest finding another way to go fishing?

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE...
Did anyone notice that on Monday October 6th, both Off the Mark by Mark Parisi and Mike Peters' Mother Goose and Grimm comic strips basically featured the same gag, presenting the canine version of the website Facebook, or should I say TAILbook?
While an interesting idea, I'm sure it will be a lot more technologically possible once scientists figure out how to perfect smell-o-vision.
Of course, consider the quality of some of the network shows for the new fall television season, maybe they already have.

Anyway, and now here is Ms. Waxy Dragon with some canine themed jokes.

Did you hear about the dog who went to the flea circus?
It stole the show!

What do you call a beagle in an igloo?
A chilly dog.

If a dog parks his car in a barking lot, does that mean they also use barking meters?
Of course, if a dog did own a car, how would it ever drive properly when dogs are always sticking their heads out the open windows?

And finally...
If someone told you they were as "sick as a dog", should you take them to a doctor or a vet?

See you next week folks!

THE PUZZLE CORNER: OCTOBER 11th, 2008

With everything else that has been happening of late weighing on our minds, let's try to take a short break and ponder something a little easier.

WORD SEARCHING
How many of the United States can you find in the following line:

Floridahohiowarkansas

DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER?
What kind of cheese is made backwards?

The answers will appear next weekend. Meanwhile, from last week:

TRIVIA TIME
The member of the United States bordered by the most water is Hawaii!

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
CHAIN=China, LAITY=Italy, ERECT=Crete and they are all countries.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

AND NOW, A NEWS UPDATE

So Dear Reader, with so much going on within the last couple of days, let’s try to get up to date.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama met Republican John McCain for round two of the Presidential debates Tuesday night. Most analysts concur that Obama won that debate despite the Town Hall format allegedly being one of McCain’s strong public campaigning assets.

And on the economic front…

Because of Wall Street’s “free fall” over the last few days, a couple of foreign stock markets are actually suspending operations until Monday, October 13th. This action has led some to call for a summit of the global powers. When and where this historic meeting might occur were unknown as I post this.
Meanwhile even OPEC is planning to discuss the current global economic situation amongst their members since crude oil prices have dropped 40% since their historic benchmark barrel price in July 2008. This leaves many consumers yet in further doubt as to what gasoline and home heating oil prices will be in the coming months.

AIG has just been granted another 38 BILLION dollars in bailout funds, despite the fact that $400,000 of the previous grant was spent on a CEO retreat!

Announcements of third quarter results for most major companies are pending, but a lot of nervous investors do not expect good news.

And in case anyone is interested, the names of John McCain lobbyists that Mark Slackmeyer is currently reading within this week’s Doonesbury is supposed to be as accurate as humanly possible.

But with everything going on in the world right now, does anyone actually know where Dick Cheney has been of late?

SO WHERE DO WE EDITORIALLY STAND?

Dear Readers:

Lately, I have a received a few e-mails at leehoustonjr@gmail.com asking me what, if any position the Free Choice e-zine is taking in this critical election year.
In all honesty, I feel that any news media should try to remain neutral and just report the news, not become a part of it.
In the past, I have seen newspapers run recommendations about who to vote for upon their editorial pages. That is their right. You may not agree with their opinions, but they are entitled to them.
However I vividly remember one political season where my local newspaper ran their list as an actual news story upon the front page that day. That can never be considered excercising journalistic integrity in my humble opinion.
The Free Choice e-zine, as stated in our WELCOME READERS side-bar, has and will remain a platform to express a wide variety of viewpoints within the editorial guidelines stated.
If you would like to contribute, either leave a comment at the end of the appropriate article or send me an e-mail at the address stated above.
But unless otherwise requested by our readership, the Free Choice e-zine will not officially endorse any political candidate within any race, but takes this opportunity to remind you once again that
Election Day IS Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 and we urge you to excercise your right to vote that day!
The remainder of the editorial and creative staff have their own opinions and are entitled to express them accordingly.
But for the record, since it is my byline and "signature" at the bottom of this editorial post, I personally will be voting that day, but most definitely not for the lame duck's party!

Sincerely,
Lee Houston, Junior
Editor-In-Chief: News, the Free Choice e-zine

ANOTHER BELATED SUNDAY FUNNIES

Due to post-Hurricane Ike communication problems, Ms. Waxy Dragon was unable to contribute to the Sunday Funnies this week.
The feature will resume this coming Sunday.
The Free Choice e-zine apologizes for any inconvience.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

THE PUZZLE CORNER: OCTOBER 4th, 2008

As we contemplate trying to enjoy a hopefully relaxing weekend, let us also contemplate these enigmas.

TRIVIA TIME
Which of the United States is bordered by the most water?

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
The letters in each of the following words can be rearranged to form another word, and all the new words have something in common.
Do you know what?
ERECT, LAITY, CHAIN

The answers will appear in next week's Puzzle Corner.
And now, here are the results of our September 27th conundrums...

TRIVIA TIME
Hexadectylism is a medical term meaning you possess either an extra finger or toe.

IN OTHER WORDS
The Paul Newman movies were:
A bee attack=The Sting (1973)
Departure=Exodus (1960)
Award=The Prize (1963)
Court Decision=The Verdict (1982) and
Sunset=Twilight (1998)

THE VEEPS

In what unfortunately was the lone Vice-Presidential debate of the 2008 political campaign season, Senator Joe Biden debated Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, Thursday over a wide range of issues.

Palin, the Republican Vice-Presidential running mate to Arizona Senator John McCain, has faced criticism from her actions as both the current governor of Alaska and the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska; including allegedly being unaware of the Wasilla Police Department charging rape victims’ insurance companies for the cost of rape kits and the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere”.

Biden, the Democratic Vice-Presidential running mate to Illinois Senator Barack Obama, has been a Senator representing Delaware since 1973, and campaigned unsuccessfully for the Presidency himself in 1988 and earlier this year.

While the majority of post debate analysts declared Biden “the winner”, pundits will admit that despite her inexperienced in regards to the national and international scenes, Palin did better during the debate than expected.

Meanwhile, the next Presidential debate between Obama and McCain is scheduled for Tuesday, October 7th, and the national election is Tuesday November 4th.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

GOT A RUMOR?

There has been a lot of stories connected with the 2008 Presidential campaign that have been reportetd and relayed across the nation and the Internet thus far, and I'm sure there will be a lot more the closer we get to the November election.
But how do you know what is and is not factual?
One place you can check out the details of anything is at http://www.snopes.com/
There you will find all kinds of factual, confirmed data from a number of reliable sources concerning current events and other matters.
Accurate knowledge of any subject is a good asset to have, ESPECIALLY with all the mud and innuendoes circulating around right now concerning the current campaign.

A public service message of The Free Choice e-zine.

Election Day IS Tuesday, November 4th!