Wednesday, February 29, 2012

DAVY JONES 1945-2012

Davy Jones, circa 1966
I know of no one who likes posting sad news, but there are times when a reporter must.
One of my childhood favorites, actor/singer David "Davy" Jones, best known as a member of The Monkees, has passed away of a heart attack at the age of 66 earlier today, February 29, 2012.
There are plenty of places where one can find information about the one time jockey who went on to make a career within the entertainment field,  but I would like to take a moment to talk from a more personal perspective.
Jones (center), with Tork (left) and Dolenz (right), circa 2011



I do not remember The Monkees first run. My earliest memories of the program and the group are from when CBS ran episodes on Saturday mornings after The Archies in 1968.
Between vinyl records, cassette tapes, and CDs; I have all of their albums and despite the complaints and comments about The Monkees' music being "pre-fab(ricated)" that have been made over the years, there is no denying the quality of the songs  performed by Jones (I Wanna Be Free, Daydream Believer) and his fellow band/cast mates Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz, and Michael Nesmith.
And the show itself is still quite funny and entertaining, with many segments withstanding the test of time in syndication.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Mister Jones in person, although I was in attendance at three Monkees concerts over the years. The trio of Jones, Tork, and Dolenz recently toured to celebrate the group's 45th anniversary in 2011.

There are many moments and milestones within a person's lifetime, and while it's sad when such touchstones like a favorite performer pass away, one can take comfort from their memories and the legacy left behind for the present and future generations to come.

(Images courtesy of Google)

HAPPY LEAP YEAR 2012: THE EXTRA DAY

Many wish for extra time in their busy schedules to try and get everything done. But how many actually get it?
Well, once every four years, everyone does.
Today is February 29, 2012; also known as Leap Year.
A true day, or one complete rotation of the Earth upon its axis, is actually about 24 hours and 30 seconds long.
Over time, those seconds accumulate to the point where there are enough to add an extra 24 hour day for the calendar to come out right.
Parents of babies born on February 29 are asked to choose either February 28 or March 1 to record their child's arrival on, since the 29th itself is not a yearly event.
But those lucky enough to be born on February 29th include the late Pope Paul III and Dinah Shore; Mark Foster of the group  Foster the People and the legendary comic book character Superman.
"When am I now?"


Fans of the television program Quantum Leap have chosen February 29 to celebrate the series as they try to figure out where and when time traveler Sam Beckett (image at right) might be at the moment, let alone when someone will hopefully revive the series and actually answer that question once and for all.


Historic events that actually occurred on this date are mixed, but include the debut of The Family Circus comic strip in 1960, the passing of singer/actor Davy Jones (The Monkees, Oliver!) earlier today, hockey great Gordie Howe scoring his 800th career goal in a 1980 game, and The Free Choice E-zine marking it's 800th article with this post!

(Images courtesy of Google)

Sunday, February 26, 2012

SUNDAY FUNNIES: AN INQUIRING MIND WANDERS...

Why isn't chocolate one of the MAJOR food groups?
Hello Everybody. Ms. Waxy Dragon here!
Now I've been a good little dragon, and I deny anyone to prove otherwise, for I cover my tracks great!
But seriously, I've been studying hard in dragon school. I can count well and my know alphabet, otherwise, how would you be reading these words? This is a dragon naturally speaking and not some software program of an ironically similar name.
Anyway, I may only be a baby dragon, but that doesn't mean I don't have questions. But where are the answers?

Who knows why drugstores put the medicines all the way in the back of the store, but keep the junk food up front?

Why do some people order a double cheeseburger, extra large fries, and a DIET soda?

Why do banks leave their vaults open during business hours, but keep the ink pens chained to the tables?
Then again, I'm not sure how they run things in a chocolate bank. I'm not allowed within miles of one!

Why do you people leave your cars outside and keep junk in your garages?

Why does the sun lighten people's hair but darkens their skin?
Not that dragons have that problem. We love hot weather!

If someone is really psychic, how come they've never won any contests and expect you to pay to hear bad news?
Think of it this way: if they knew something bad was about to happen, they should warn you for free since they don't need the money after winning the lottery.

I can understand why there isn't cat flavored dog food, but why is there no mouse flavored cat food?

And how come some lemonades use artificial lemons while some dish detergents use real lemons?

In any event, please be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies, because Autumn the Puppy and I have something REALLY special planned!
Until then, have a great week everybody!-wd.


WEEK IN REVIEW: FEBRUARY 19-25, 2012

The 84th Academy Awards will be presented tomorrow night.
Due to the strike shortened season, the NBA All Star Basketball game is also tomorrow night.
Wednesday is February 29, Leap Year Day.

Amongst events that have happened around the world this past week...
*Greece will be receiving a second economic bailout from the Eurozone committee.
*North Korea protested a "live fire" exercise by South Korea along its borders, but no physical action was taken against the country.
*Civil unrest continues in Syria, Bahrain, and Somalia.
*Egyptian administrators have yet to agree on arrangements for the first free elections in that country since Hosini Mubarak was removed from power in 2011.
*Thailand's economy has fallen by 7% because of floods in that country over the previous year.
*With the recent removal of India, the World Health Organization's list of countries affected by a polio epidemic now stands at just Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

THE PUZZLE CORNER: FEBRUARY 25, 2012

With the Oscars scheduled for tomorrow night to honor what is considered the best the film industry has to offer, let's look back at previous ceremonies with this Oscar quiz.


01. Although this distinguished performer was nominated EIGHT times, he never won a Best Actor award!
02. What year was the very first Academy Awards ceremony held?
03. What movie won Best Picture that year?
04. What three awards from that very first ceremony have NOT been presented since?
05. What was the very first musical to win the award for Best Picture?
06. Do you remember what movie won the award for Best Picture last year (2011)?
07. What year was the first televised Academy Awards ceremony?
08. What movie won Best Picture during that broadcast?

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's open the envelopes inside THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results of our FAMOUS FIRSTS PRESIDENTIAL QUIZ from last weekend's Puzzle Corner.

WHO WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
01. To have previously served as Vice President?
John Adams, during the George Washington administration.
02. To serve without a Vice President?
James Madison, from April 10, 1812 to March 4, 1813.
03. To hold the office as an Independent? (And yes, it has been done.)
George Washington, for he never declared any political alliance, except to the fledgling United States of America itself.
04. To hold the office as a Democrat?
Andrew Jackson.
05. To hold the office as a Republican?
Abraham Lincoln.
06. To be born in the United States? (After it became an independent country.)
Martin Van Buren. While everyone before him was considered a citizen, he was the first born on American land after the United States won its independence to be a country unto itself.
07. To not be born within the continental United States?
Our current President, Barack Obama, hails from Hawaii, although the Republican Party tries to convince people otherwise.
08. To physically live in the White House?
This unfortunately is a trick question. While technically this honor is considered John Adams', for he and his family took occupancy while the White House was still under construction, officially Thomas Jefferson was the first to occupy the structure during his entire administration.
09. To work in the Oval Office? (The West Wing, where it resides, was a later addition.)
William Howard Taft.
10. To remarry while in office?
John Tyler
11. To ever have his photograph taken?
This is another trick question. John Quincy Adams was the very first, but it was as a former President. James Buchanan is the first to be photographed IN office.
12. To ever use a telephone?
Rutherford B. Hayes. But Calvin Coolidge was the first to actually have a phone at his desk. Hayes made and received his calls from the White House switchboard.
13. To ever speak on radio?
Woodrow Wilson, predating Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous weekly "fireside chat" radio addresses.
14. To ever appear on television?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, during a demonstration of the device during the 1939 World's Fair.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

SUNDAY FUNNIES: PARAPROSDOKIANS AND YOU!

Autumn the Puppy
Hello Everybody! Autumn the Puppy here!
Tomorrow is Presidents' Day here in the United States, but unfortunately I only know one Presidential themed joke...

Why was President George Washington such a lousy golfer?
He could not tell a lie.

And I know there have been dogs in the White House before, but enough about politics.
Instead, I would like to share with you some paraprosdokians.

No, I'm not contagious and you don't need to go running off to your doctor or alerting animal control. My nose is cold and I'm perfectly healthy.

Paraprosdokians are a figure of speech where the last part of a sentence or phrase is a surprise or totally unexpected. Paraprosdokians (how's that for a Scrabble word!) are usually humorous, like a lot of Groucho Marx quotes.

"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I don't know. Then we tried to remove the tusks, but they were embedded in so firmly we couldn't budge them. Of course in Alabama, the Tusk-a-loosa, but that's entirely ir-elephant to what I was talking about."
(Groucho as Captain Spaulding from Animal Crackers, 1930)

So, now that you have the set up, here's the bit as I present some more paraprosdokians (try saying that three times fast) for your reading enjoyment.

Do not argue with idiots. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
(These first two sound like metaphors to the Republican debates to me, but anyway...)

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

And unfortunately, that's all the time and space I have for this weekend. Which is odd considering both are supposed to be infinite entities.
But in any event, have a great week everyone and please be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!-AtP.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: FEBRUARY 12-18, 2012

Monday is Presidents' Day within the United States of America.
The Oreo Cookie is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
John Glenn celebrates the 50th anniversary of being the first Human being in outer space this week.
The Free Choice E-zine now has over 11,000 views on Blogger and, after tomorrow's installment of the Sunday Funnies, will be four posts away from the 800 milestone!

Amongst events that have happened around the world this past week...
*Civil unrest continues in Syria, Libya, and Bahraini.
*With the price of a postage stamp already at 45 cents, the United States Postal Service has asked Congressional permission to raise the cost of mailing a first class letter to 50 cents in order to help defray operating expenses, including a $3.3 BILLION (US Dollars) loss over the last quarter of 2011. The loss is reportedly due to the rising use of e-mail and online bill paying services, as well as alternate package carriers like United Parcel and Fed-Ex. Other cost cutting measures, including the elimination of any Saturday deliveries, is still pending.
*The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved two new reactors in Georgia, the first okay granted since 1978.
*After being passed by the New Jersey legislature, state governor Chris Christie vetoed the measure that would have acknowledged and allowed same gender marriage in that state, on the grounds that such a decision should be made by the people of New Jersey themselves. No word yet on when such a referendum would be held.
*The European Space Agency is developing a satellite that will hopefully clean up some of the "space junk" currently orbiting the Earth. While there is an estimated half a million items of trash circling the globe at the moment, the ESA project will not be ready for a trial run until at least late 2014 at the earliest.

IN SPORTS:
*Long time Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield has announced his retirement from being an active baseball player.
*While the Houston Astros celebrate their 50th anniversary this upcoming season, Major League Baseball officials will not let the team wear replica jerseys featuring images of the club's original name: the Colt .45s, citing the depiction of any weapon would present a bad image to children.
*Pitchers and catchers are to report to their baseball Spring training facilities by Monday. The rest of each team are due at their respective camps by the end of next week.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
*Malachy the Pekingese was crowned top dog at the 136th annual Westminster Kennel Club Show February 14th.
*The next installment of the popular Angry Birds video game series is alleged to take place in outer space!
*The 54th annual Grammys were presented Sunday, February 12th, with Adele (at 6), the Foo Fighters (5), and Kayne West (4) being the biggest winners. The recently deceased singers Etta James and Whitney Houston were honored and the 50th anniversary of The Beach Boys was celebrated.
*Whitney Houston was laid to rest today. Whether or not the funeral services should have been broadcasted over the Internet is a matter of debate. Autopsy results officially stating a cause of death are still pending.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your monitor screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: FEBRUARY 18, 2012


Here in the United States of America, we honor our country's leaders with Presidents' Day this coming Monday.
Let's see how well everyone knows them with the Presidential version of FAMOUS FIRSTS.
NOTE: While not all 44 Presidents are used in this quiz, no President appears more than one.

WHO WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT...
01. To have previously served as Vice President?
02. To serve without a Vice President?
03. To hold the office as an Independent? (And yes, it has been done.)
04. To hold the office as a Democrat?
05. To hold the office as a Republican?
06. To be born in the United States? (After it became an independent country.)
07. To not be born within the continental United States?
08. To physically live in the White House?
09. To work in the Oval Office? (The West Wing, where it resides, was a later addition.)
10. To remarry while in office?
11. To ever have his photograph taken?
12. To ever use a telephone?
13. To ever speak on radio?
14. To ever appear on television?


We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's look inside THE ANSWERS BOX, and discover who our couples are from our "IS YOU IS, OR IS YOU AIN'T MY BABY?" Quiz last weekend to celebrate Valentines' Day. 
With our ladies first...

Isn't it romantic?
01. Nicole Austin is with Tracy Marrow. You might know the couple better as Coco Marie and Ice-T. They celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in 2011.
02. Cleopatra was with Marc Anthony, according to history.
03. Pam Dawber has been married to Mark Harmon since 1987.
04. Dulcinea del Toboso was the one true love of Alonso Quijano, better known in literature as Don Quixote de La Mancha.
05. Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) fell in love with Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) in You've Got Mail.
06. Roxanne Kowalski (Daryl Hannah) fell in love with Charles Bales (Steve Martin) in the romantic comedy Roxanne, a modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac.
07. Paula McFadden (Marsha Mason) fell in love with Elliot Garfield (Richard Dreyfus) in The Goodbye Girl.
08. Klara Novak (Margret Sullivan) fell in love with Alfred Kralik (Jimmy Stewart) in The Shop Around The Corner, the original version of You've Got Mail.
09. Penelope Pussycat is the hapless foil of Pepe Le Pew, although the feline femme fatale was not given a name until 1996's Carrotblanca.
10. Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) fell in love with Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) during Sleepless in Seattle.
11. Roxanne (no known surname) was the literary love of Cyrano de Bergerac.
12. Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds) fell in love with Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) during the MGM classic Singin' In The Rain.
13. Susan Storm, known in the comic book world as the Invisible Woman, is married to Reed Richards of The Fantastic Four.
14. Joanne Woodward was married to Paul Newman from 1958 until his death in 2008.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY 2012


LOVE...
It's a many splendid thing.
It makes the world go round.
It's what the world needs now.
It's all you need.
There has been much written on the subject in all the media and sciences, but in the end it all comes down to that special bond between two people that defies all description and clarification.
The Free Choice E-zine sincerely hopes that you were able to spend this February 14th with your special someone.
But remember this: Love is NOT confined to just one day.
Show your Valentine you care about them the other 364 days each year too.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

SUNDAY FUNNIES: AH... L'AMOUR

It's all you need!
Wants to go out with Snoopy!











Wants to meet Pepe Le Pew!





Hello Everybody!
You have both Autumn the Puppy AND Ms. Waxy Dragon with you this weekend because Tuesday is Valentine's Day!
Now love itself is no laughing matter.
It's what makes the world go round, and apparently is in short supply in a lot of places. Besides, everyone can certainly use more love than what they might already have.
But this wouldn't be the Sunday Funnies without some jokes, so with that in mind...

A girl dog was being pursued by three would be suitors. To try and help her chose which one would win her paw, she asked each of them to use the words "liver" and "cheese" in a sentence.
The first dog said, "I love liver, but I hate cheese."
The second dog said, "I hate liver, but I love cheese."
The third dog said, "Liver alone, cheese's mine!"

What happened when the two vampires met?
It was love at first bite.

What happened to the two bed bugs who fell in love?
They were married in the spring.

So, speaking of which, ladies... who would be you're ideal date?
AUTUMN: Snoopy. He does such interesting things and goes on exciting adventures, although I'm not sure I want to get into a dogfight with the Red Baron unless I'm flying the Sopwith Camel, because Snoopy always seems to lose. Otherwise he's an ideal date for an adventurous dog like me.
WAXY: I'd have to say Pepe Le Pew. He's always so romantic on screen. I hope he's that way off screen too. Besides, he smells just like my second favorite (after chocolate, of course) food: fresh road kill! I could just eat him up. Not literally, of course. But I certainly would never tire of having him around.

And on that note, have a great week everyone and please be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!-AtP, wd, & lthjr

Saturday, February 11, 2012

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: FEBRUARY 5-11, 2012

*Tuesday is Saint Valentine's Day.
*Queen Elizabeth II and the United Kingdom have officially started celebrating her Diamond Jubilee, 60 years upon the throne.
*Universal Studios is celebrating its 100 anniversary this year.
*The Free Choice E-zine will be making its 800th post on this website later this month.

Amongst the events that have happened around the world this past week...
*Civil unrest continues in Syria, Tuareg, Bahraini, and Libya.
*Mohammed Waheed Hassan is the new President of the Maldives.
*California's Proposition 8, banning gay (same gender) marriage has been overturned by the United States Court of Appeals.
*The ongoing investigation into the phone/data hijacking scandal by tabloids in Britain has led to the arrest of five staff members of The Sun.

IN THE 2012 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION CONTEST:
*Mitt Romney won the Nevada Caucuses. Meanwhile, Rick Santorum won the Colorado and Minnesota caucuses as well as the Missouri Primary, making it a much closer contest now between himself, Romney, and Newt Gingrich.

IN SPORTS:
*Since testing positive for a performance enhancing substance, Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador has been stripped of both his 2010 Tour de France win and 2011 Giro d'Italia "victories" and banned from competitive cycling until August 2012.
*The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 to win the 2012 Super Bowl.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Tuesday, February 14 is Valentine's Day. In honor of that event, we present this special quiz.

IS YOU IS OR IS YOU AIN'T MY BABY?
Fourteen ladies and their mates of history, fiction, and real life are listed alphabetically below between the two columns. Your job is to match our respective love struck couples together once more.
Ready?

THE LADIES
01. Nicole Austin
02. Cleopatra
03. Pam Dawber
04. Dulcinea del Toboso
05. Kathleen Kelly
06. Roxanne Kowalski
07. Paula McFadden
08. Klara Novak
09. Penelope Pussycat
10. Annie Reed
11. Roxanne (no known surname)
12. Kathy Seldon
13. Susan Storm
14. Joanne Woodward

THEIR BEAUS
01. Marc Anthony
02. Sam Baldwin
03. Charles Bales
04. Cyrano de Bergerac
05. Joe Fox
06. Elliot Garfield
07. Mark Harmon
08. Alfred Kralik
09. Don Lockwood
10. Tracy Marrow
11. Paul Newman
12. Pepe Le Pew
13. Alonso Quijano
14. Reed Richards

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's peek inside THE ANSWERS BOX, and discover the results from February 4's Puzzle Corner.

WHAT'S THAT SONG?
Son of a Son of a Sailor.

TRIVIA TIME
Parrot Heads are fans of Jimmy Buffett, who recorded Son of a Son.
Last week's Puzzle Corner was created in response to a desire to see Buffett host a Super Bowl halftime show. But then again, considering any act there only gets roughly 10 minutes to perform, that's not really doing any of them justice, is it?

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

PRO SE PRESENTS #6 NOW AVAILABLE

cover by Sean Ali
For all you (New) Pulp fans out there, Pro Se Presents sixth issue is now available, featuring FIVE stories.
Our cover feature is The Hand of Yogul by James Palmer, followed by Ashley Magnin making her New Pulp debut with the first case for Kitty McGee: Fire In the Ring.  Then we have returning fan favorites Aloha McCoy in Mercy Rule by Ken Janssens and The Silver Scorpion in A Night At The Plaza by P. J. Lozito. Then to round out the issue, it's the debut of Don Thomas' The Rapier, illustrated by Cristian Navarro.

And why am I bragging about all of this? Because this is my first issue as the main story editor!
This issue and other fine Pro Se Press New Pulp Productions available at Amazon.com via title search.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

SUNDAY FUNNIES: SUE WHO?

"Don't blame me if you don't like the weather!"
This past Thursday, Autumn the Puppy and Waxy Dragon got together to celebrate Groundhog's Day.  Fans can go back and reread the laughs here:
http://www.thefreechoice.info/2012/02/happy-groundhogs-day-2012.html

Now The Free Choice E-zine would like to follow up on this with our annual reposting of our esteemed Editor-In-Chief's essay on the subject, originally written in 2005.
So with tongue firmly in cheek...


“Is this the law firm of Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe?” asked the lady as she walked in my front door.
“Yes it is,” I replied. “I’m Howie Cheatum. And you are--?”
“Susan Woo,” she replied, “but you can call me Sue.”
“Okay Sue. And what can I do for you today?”
“I want to engage your services to represent myself as I initiate a law suit.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place. Who do you want to sue?”
Punxsutawney Phil.”
“You want to sue who?” I asked in disbelief.
“Not myself silly. Punxsutawney Phil.”
“The groundhog?” I asked, trying to confirm what I heard the first time.
“Yes, that filthy animal,” replied Sue.
“Why?”
“Because this year he/it claimed we would have six weeks of relatively mild weather and an early spring. None of that came true. I couldn’t break out my spring wardrobe when I wanted to. I hurt my back shoveling the driveway myself because I dismissed the snow plow service early thinking I wouldn’t need them any more this season. Should I go on?”
“No, I get the idea. And on what grounds would you like to initiate this lawsuit?”
“Don’t you think at a courthouse would be best?” she asked.
“What I meant was, for what reasons did you want to sue?”
“I figured breach of promise at the very least, and whatever else is applicable,” she replied. “The late winter has just totally ruined spring, and who knows just how that is going to affect summer. The trees are barely beginning to bud as it is. Besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if fall arrives on time anyway and cuts whatever is left of spring and summer short this year.”
“I see,” I said, pausing momentarily to wonder why I always got stuck with the live ones. “Let me look up some reference material on the subject,” I said, before turning to use my computer terminal. After a couple of minutes on Wikipedia, I said, “You do realize that this is all just traditional superstition dating back to at least the 1800s in America and at least the fifth century in Europe.”
“So, that means that Punxsutawney Phil should have been a lot more accurate in his prediction than he actually was, right?”
“Well, that’s one way of looking at it,” I agreed while reading the data some more. “While he only has a 39% accuracy rating, it says here that Punxsutawney Phil isn’t the only one who is used to predict the weather.”
“Oh?”
“There’s Jimmy the Groundhog in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; Holtsville Hall and Dunkirk Dave, wherever they reside, all said that there would be six more weeks of winter. Phil and a bunch of others on this list all predicted an early spring,” I said, showing her what it said on my computer monitor.
“Good. Let’s start a class action suit and go after all of them!”
“It just doesn’t quite work that way. The animals themselves never specifically said what the weather would be. Humans just interpreted the situational conditions as best they could.”
“Well let’s sue them,” said Sue.
“That doesn’t work either. None of them were trained professionals paid to do that job. It would be like me trying to predict the weather just by looking out the window.”
“Then are you suggesting that I should sue the weathermen?”
“Actually, you don’t have a case against anybody involved with Groundhog’s Day predictions. That’s all they were, just predictions. None were legally binding.”
“Then can I sue you?”
“For what?” I asked in disbelief.
“For not taking my case.”
While it would not actually get far in the court system, in this day and age, I’d be surprised if she didn’t find somebody willing to take the case.

We hope you enjoyed this flashback laugh and the ladies will be back next weekend to celebrate Valentine's Day. Until then, have a great week everybody!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

WEEK IN REVIEW: JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 4, 2012

Amongst the event that have happened around the world this past week include:
*Sadly, civil unrest continues in Syria, Yemen, and Sudan.
*The New York Times reports a woman in Afghanistan was killed by both her husband and mother-in-law for failing to produce a son after giving birth to the couple's third straight daughter!
*The International Atomic Energy Agency has approved Japan's safety checks of its nuclear reactors.
*Barack Obama held the first ever virtual interview conducted by a United States President this week.
*Facebook is preparing to make its Initial Public Stock Offering.
*Despite Republican claims otherwise, 240,000 NEW jobs were verified as being created within the United States for January 2012.
*Mitt Romney won the Florida primary to determine the Republican candidate to compete against President Barack Obama for the Oval Office this November, but Newt Gingrich has vowed to stay in the race.
*Queen Elizabeth II annulled the knighthood of Fred Goodwin, due to his part in the near collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

IN SPORTS
*The New England Patriots face off against the New York Giants in Super Bowl 46 tomorrow night.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
*Amongst the winners at the 18th annual Screen Actors' Guild Awards January 29 include The Help for Best Movie Cast, including Viola Davis for Best Movie Actress; Boardwalk Empire for Best TV Drama Cast, including Steve Buscemi for Best Actor in a TV Drama, and Modern Family for Best TV Comedy Cast. Perennial favorite Betty White won Best Actress in a TV Comedy for her role in Hot In Cleveland.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: FEBRUARY 4, 2012

While many this weekend have the impending match up tomorrow between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants on their minds, there is still time to ponder a few conundrums.


WHAT'S THAT SONG?
This tune advises its listeners "Where it all ends I can't fathom my friends".


TRIVIA TIME
"Parrot Heads" are fans of what?


As usual, we'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's peek inside THE ANSWERS BOX for the results of January 28th's Puzzle Corner.


BEFORE AND AFTER
The clue was:
"The astronomers at the Royal Observatory in London, England were surprised to discover it was too late to go out and celebrate discovering a new constellation."
The answer is: Greenwich Mean Time flies when you're having fun.


COMMON BONDS
01. {Roy, Jeff, Bob, George, Tom} are the first names of Orbison, Lynne, Dylan, Harrison, and Petty; who united as the original Travelling Wilburys.
02. {Rogers, Jones, Blake, Dinkley} are the surnames of Fred, 'Shaggy', Daphne, and Velma of Scooby Doo fame.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

HAPPY GROUNDHOG'S DAY 2012

Autumn the Puppy
Ms. Waxy Dragon



A
SUNDAY FUNNIES EXTRA!






Hello Everybody! You lucky Free Choice E-zine readers have both Autumn the Puppy AND Ms. Waxy Dragon with you here today for our Groundhog Day 2012 coverage. Take it away ladies.

AUTUMN: As keeping with tradition, anxious spectators gathered around the abode of  Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania this morning for the 126th annual Groundhog's Day weather prediction.
WAXY: And Mr. Groundhog did see his shadow, so it's allegedly six more weeks of winter.
AUTUMN: Geez, one look at any calendar could have told them the same thing. Spring starts March 20.
WAXY: I know, and Dragons are a lot more accurate in such things as weather forecasts, since we can fly about and look at conditions all over the world.
AUTUMN: Well, I may not have the frequent flyer miles you do, but one good sniff of the air tells me the same thing.
WAXY: And not all the other weather forecasting animals agree with Phil.  Charles G. Hogg, also known as Staten Island Chuck, didn't see his shadow at his zoo residence, so that's allegedly six weeks of nice weather and an early Spring.
AUTUMN: Well, Phil's family has been at it the longest, but I must admit to liking Chuck's forecast better. I guess it's a question of where you are, because General Beauregard Lee in Georgia and Buckeye Chuck in Ohio failed to see their shadows too.
WAXY: And there are other animals across the country and the world that make such forecasts, but not all of them agree with each other either. Of course a lot of people say the only time a weather forecast is 100% accurate is after the fact, but at least this gives us a nice excuse for a holiday and the day off.
AUTUMN: Err, Waxy... Nobody actually has the day off. This is just an event on the calendar, like Wednesdays. Groundhog's Day is not an actual holiday.
WAXY: It isn't? Do we even get paid for doing this gig today?
AUTUMN: I'll have to get back to you on that one.

And there you have it folks.
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