Search Results for: blog sitting with the dead

The Deadline Dilemma

Ah, deadlines. If you are a freelancer of any kind, they are part of your reality, like it or not. Sometimes it seems as though they are there to taunt and tease us, as if to say “So you think you can actually get that project done by this day and time?” For some reason, it can feel like whenever there is a deadline coming, things get all wacky. Things keep getting in the way of your work or, if you are able so get to your desk your inspiration is nowhere to be found. Before you know it, you … Continue reading →

Deadly Summer Travel

Hot enough for you? Record-breaking temperatures have been recorded from coast-to-coast this summer and the end result has been horrifying for some families. In the last three months alone five children in Florida have died in cars that have been left sitting in the blazing hot sun. I won’t speculate on what kind of parent leaves his child alone in a vehicle with the air-conditioner turned off when the temperature is above 90 degrees, but I don’t think it takes a genius to figure out that deadly temperatures can be reached quickly in vehicles that are left out in the … Continue reading →

Richard Widmark Dead at 93

It was announced today that actor Richard Widmark died in his home Monday after a long illness. In the statement issued by his wife Susan Blanchard, she said, “it was a big shock, but he was 93.” Widmark started his show biz career in radio drama and theater before moving to the big screen. And when he moved, boy, did he move. His film debut was as the cold hearted killer Tommy Udo, who pushed an old lady in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs to her death in 1947’s Kiss of Death.. For that role, Widmark received an … Continue reading →

More Tips For Overcoming Writer’s Block

If you are a freelance writer, it is inevitable that some days you will come up empty handed when you sit down to write. Sometimes it happens when you are up against a deadline, other times it happens when you are just sitting down to do your regularly scheduled work. It does not matter much when or why it happens because no matter when or why it happens you need a way to get the words flowing again. Here are a couple of ideas for things to do when you simply have no words at the ready. You can try … Continue reading →

How Not to Go Broke Celebrating Halloween

(All treat no trick) You don’t need to be a parent to know that celebrating Halloween is not cheap. These days dressing up as a naughty nun and gorging on 100 Grand bars can really set you back, and not just spiritually. The cost of costumes, candy, decorations and fillings for cavities caused by giving into your Laffy Taffy addiction is scary expensive. And, if you have multiple kids to costume and provide school treats for, the total cost of the holiday can be even more frightening. In 2011, Halloween surpassed Valentine’s Day as the second most expensive holiday celebrated … Continue reading →

Genealogy Contests

Genealogy is fun, and so are contests. Today, I have rounded up a few genealogy contests for you in case you are interested in entering them. The first contest has been going on for a while and it is only open for a short time more. I found it on Dear Myrtle’s genealogy blog and it runs through 30 Sept 2012. The contest is called “Share a Memory”, and it sounds like a lot of fun. Basically, you choose the memory you want to share and the media that you want to use to share it, and share away. Some … Continue reading →

Clint Eastwood’s Big Speech

I didn’t watch the Republican National Convention. It’s okay I guess because I won’t watch the Democratic National Convention either. I just don’t care that much for politics. But, my cousin texted me this morning to see what I thought of Clint Eastwood’s speech last night. I told him I hadn’t heard it and he said I needed to check it out on CNN. So, I did. I wasn’t sure what I thought. Well, yes I was. It seemed like a Bob Newhart skit. Little did I know how accurate that was. Later I learned that Bob Newhart tweeted “I … Continue reading →

Staying Cool with Kids

It’s so hot… my neighbor’s chickens are laying omelets. It’s so hot… squirrels are picking up nuts with potholders. It’s so hot… you can wash and dry your clothes at the same time. It’s so hot… you can catch fried fish in the lake. The last one’s no joke. The heat wave that has blanketed much of the nation, including here in Wisconsin, has caused a rash of deaths among local fish. Thousands of Northern Pike and Perch are dying in area waters because of the recent string of record breaking hot temperatures. DNR officials say the fish can’t survive … Continue reading →

Old Tombstones Tell Stories

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There are many things that you can learn from the dead. This is why genealogists spend time in cemeteries, searching for the gravestones of their ancestors. Every so often, you can find some fascinating stories in the news about cemeteries, or parts of them, that genealogists have found. Sometimes, those stories can be quite bizarre! There are tombstones surfacing on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California. Imagine, walking down the beach and finding a large, intact, tombstone sitting on the sand! It seems that, every so often, the shifting sands on the beach uncover some tombstones. Everyone talks about them … Continue reading →

Cute Little Mouse or Disease Laden Rodent?

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I shouldn’t read the news, sometimes I read things that scare me half to death, this was one of those things. I was sitting outside on my patio, reading the news on my smart phone when a little mouse came out of my shed and ran into a crack between the patio and fence. Awww, cute little mouse, run and hide. That was precisely when the news story about two people dying in Utah from the hantavirus. What? Isn’t’ that caused my rodents? Suddenly that little mouse didn’t look so cute. I wouldn’t say that I have a mouse problem, … Continue reading →