Monday, July 31, 2006

Happy Birthday!

Today is Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's 41st Birthday. (J.K. Rowling Trivia Quiz here. I got 100%!)

Happy Birthday, J.K. Rowling!!!
Thanks for the books!


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Today is also Harry Potter's birthday (if he were a real person, that is).


Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!!!


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Celebrate by watching an HP movie. If you haven't read the books, I highly recommend them. While the movies are delightful, the books give you so much more information and understanding.

For more information on Harry Potter, visit:
  • Mugglenet.com (You can find out what a Muggle is, if you don't already know)
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Thursday, July 27, 2006

Thursday Thirteen #6

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Thirteen Things: BOOKS I HAVE AT THE LAKE


Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE to read. I have books all over, in stacks and piles, and my bookshelves are two books deep. I will never have or read enough books. So, it is only right and necessary that I have books at the lake, as well (rest assured that I have at least one copy of each of these books at home!). I bought copies, some used, some new, especially for the lake. As much as it goes against the grain, I am trying not to worry if they get a bit of water or dirt or sunscreen on them (very tough not to think about it, but I am trying!).

So, I present my list of books I have at the lake (Oh, I also have lots of little romances, but I'm not counting or listing them!):

I love the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien books and movies. So brilliant. For some reason I haven't bought the 2nd of trilogy, but I plan to.

1. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

3. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: I absolutely love this book and read it every October, because the month seems to fit the mood of the book. Beautiful.

5. The Marrying Kind by Cynthia Rutledge: This is a little Christian romance that I absolutely love. Great story and characters!

6. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks: I absolutely love this book and cry every time I read it. The movie is different, but beautiful, as well.

7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: I first read this in high school and wrote my senior English thesis paper on Jane. Brilliant novel.

8. William Shakespeare-Complete Sonnets: A collection isn't complete without some Shakespeare! I do love the Bard! Especially his sonnets.

9.Emma by Jane Austen: Jane Austen is my favorite author of all time and I love all of her books.

10. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: This is my absolute favorite novel of all time. I adore it and have read two times already this year. Mr. Darcy: need I say more?

I love J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter series and have books 1-6 at the lake. As I only have space left for three, I'm going to double them up.

11. Year 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ;
Year 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

12. Year 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban;
Year 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

13. Year 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; I think OotP is my favorite of the first six (book seven is coming out sometime in the next few years). It is the longest so far, and the heaviest. I once dropped the paperback copy on my nose. Luckily, I didn't break it.
Year 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

What books would you read at the lake or on vacation?

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


Monday, July 17, 2006

The Pirates Keep Plundering

Goodness! Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest continues to do superbly at the box office. This past weekend, the film made $62.6 million, for a total of $258,205,000 domestically, in 10 days! This makes POTC: DMC the biggest grossing movie of the year . . . in 10 days!!!

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POTC: DMC also opened in 17 more foreign countries, and took first place at the box office in each and every one.

Now showing in 24 overseas markets, the film took in $58 million to bring its overseas gross to $125 million. It set new box office records for opening weekend results in Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Singapore and Malaysia.
Hooray! I have seen the movie twice, but I do plan to see it again, quite soon. I am glad to see people are still going in droves. It is perfect entertainment for a hot summer day and you are guaranteed to laugh. If you haven't seen the first one, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl , I recommend doing so. It will let you in on the numerous inside jokes in DMC and explain the characters and "history" to you. Plus, it is a simply fabulous movie.

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More news and links:

AP: 'Pirates' loots box office, grosses $258M

BoxOfficeMojo: 'Pirates' Pilfer More Records

Lots of great pictures here.

My previous posts:
-Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
-A Chest Full of Gold
-More Pirate Plunder

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Thursday, July 13, 2006

Thursday Thirteen


Thirteen Things: Summer Recipes


I love cooking, but the summer heat (and no A/C) makes it kind of hard sometimes. So, here is a list of 13 great recipes (or groups of recipes) for the hot summer months. I have made some and others just sound delicious. (Lots of chicken (my favorite) and Rachael Ray recipes (my favorite Food Network person.)

Do you have any favorites?

1. Grilled Chicken with Fireworks Sauce from Rachael Ray's magazine: I made this for Indpendence Day this year. Yummo!

2. Taco Twist Soup: This is one of my recipes and every time I make it for people they love it. :) It is super easy, can be doubled or tripled (or whatever) without much more work, and you can use the types and amounts of ingredients you want.

3. Iced Tea: Who doesn't love a tall cool glass of iced tea on a hot summer day? This link has a long list of great sounding recipes.

4. Bacon-Bit Burgers with Smoked Gouda and Steak House-Smothered Onions from Rachael Ray's magazine: I haven't made these but they sound absolutely delicious.

5. Grilled Tomato-Basil Pizza from Rachael Ray's magazine: We grilled pizza once last summer and it was good! Tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and grilled pizza dough sounds fabulous.

6. Spicy Ginger Marinade: I came up with this recipe when I didn't have the ingredients for the one I wanted to do. This marinade is great on chicken or beef, vegetables, stir-fry, and as a dipping sauce. Delicious!

7. Buffalo Popcorn Chicken Bites Recipe from Rachael Ray's magazine: These are really yummy and quite easy to make (don't be scared of the oil!). You can make a ton of different dipping sauces to go with these. The chicken bites are great in a salad too.

8. 40 Summer Grilling Recipes from Reader's Digest: A big list of tantalizing sounding recipes. Something for everyone.

9. Chinese Salad from Paula Deen: I love Paula's show on the Food Network. I haven't made this exact recipe, but my mother always makes one quite similar. It is great with leftover chicken tossed in, as well as mandarin oranges.

10. Chicken Cacciatore Subs from Rachael Ray: These are so delicious and easy. You only have to use your broiler a bit, so the house doesn't get too hot. This recipe is easy to double too.

11. Beef Burger with Roasted Tomato Ketchup from the Food Network's Bobby Flay: I have never made these but Bobby is the King of the Grill, so they ought to be good. Roasted tomatoes!

12. In honor of Captain Jack Sparrow, two recipes: Old-Fashioned Rum Cake (from Rachael Ray) and Caribbean Chicken Shish Kebabs.

13. Desserts: I LOVE to bake, but don't do much during the summer because the house gets too hot. Still, I want to enjoy some yummy desserts after bbqs. This link has a nice list of "no-bake" desserts that are perfect for the summer. I can't wait to try some.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


Wednesday, July 12, 2006

More Pirate Plunder

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest continues to haul in the gold. :)

According to BoxOfficeMojo, POTC: DMC has made $169,506,744 domestically, through Tuesday. If you add in the $46,636,000 in foreign revenue, you arrive at the staggering sum of $216,142,744 worldwide. Fabulous!

It is:

-Fastest to $100 million
-#1 Opening Weekends - July
-#1 Opening Weekends
-#1 Opening Day Gross
-#1 Yearly Opening Weekends (All) 2006
-#1 Yearly Opening Weekends (Wide) 2006

Also,


In its maiden voyage to seven territories, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest hijacked the foreign box office over the weekend with a lusty $46.6 million, nearly quadrupling what its predecessor opened to in those same markets. Not even the final matches of the box-office-draining World Cup could stop it.

In the United Kingdom, Pirates nabbed the eighth-highest opening ever and the biggest of the year, raking in $25.3 million from 514 locations. Down Under, it tallied $8.4 million, also the eighth best if all time and eclipsing the first movie by 111 percent.
Let's hope it keeps going.

Superman Returns, the much lauded latest Superman movie, has only brought in $146,926,451 domestically to date, despite opening a week and a half earlier, and $35,800,000 internationally, for a total of $182,726,451.

USA Today asks Crazy for Johnny, or Captain Jack? I say both. I LOVE the character of Captain Jack Sparrow. POTC wouldn't be POTC without him. I wasn't a huge Johnny Depp fan before POTC came out, but now I am. He's absolutely brilliant---and unafraid to play quite unusual roles. Other than Captain Jack Sparrow in the POTC films, I don't think he has ever played two of his characters in the same way. He always amazes anew. And I am always amazed at his performances. But, then, I also just LOVE Captain Jack Sparrow.

More news:

-CBS has the transcript and video of Johnny's interview from The CBS Early Show on 7 July here. Very adorable interview, with lots about Johnny's kids.

-AP: Depp bonds with Jack Sparrow

-IGN.com has a list of the Top 10 Pirate Songs

-POTC-Yo Ho! Videos here. Film clips from behind the scenes and the premiere.

-Lots on Orlando Bloom here.

My thoughts on the movie are here.

And don't forget to have fun at the official POTC: DMC site here.

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Sunday, July 09, 2006

A Chest Full of Gold

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opening weekend is one for the record books!

I saw it for the second time today and loved it all the more.

According to BoxOfficeMojo:

Yo ho, yo ho. A pirate's life for… everyone.

Or so it seems after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest plundered the record books with an estimated $132 million opening weekend, swatting Spider-Man's long standing $114.8 million milestone atop the all time chart.

Buena Vista's swarthy sequel marauded over 8,500 screens at 4,133 sites—the third widest debut ever—compared to Spider-Man's 7,500 screens at 3,615 sites, though Pirates' estimated 20 million admissions out-paced Spidey by only a hair.
"Yo ho, yo ho" is right!

And more gold:

Pirates pilfered a trove of records, but the key ones, in addition to opening weekend, were biggest single and opening day and fastest to $100 million. On Friday, Dead Man's Chest raked in $55.5 million (including $9 million's worth of 2,100 midnight showings), eclipsing Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith's $50 million and grossing more in one day than its predecessor, The Curse of the Black Pearl, did in its entire opening weekend. Dead Man's Chest also became the first picture to cross the century mark in two days flat.
How exciting! I do hope it continues to do very well.

In order to reach record heights Dead Man's Chest appealed across all demographic groups, including an equal gender split. "There wasn't a category that stood out," Viane noted. "It was just a total blend." The studio's exit polling indicated that the audience's assessment was on par with the original with 92 percent rating Dead Man's Chest "excellent" or "very good," and pollster CinemaScore backed that up with an "A-" rating.
I quite agree: it was excellent. Once again, I laughed throughout. Go see it! Repeatedly! :)

More:

Official site is here.

The weekend estimates are here.

Premiere photos are here.

A comparison of POTC: DMC vs. other big movies is here.

Reuters: Depp dazzles again in 2nd "Pirates" escapade

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Saturday, July 08, 2006

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Finally, I have time to write my thoughts on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which opened Thursday night at midnight.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (hereafter referred to as POTC) is one of absolute favorite movies. It is brilliant.

So, I have been anticipating the sequel for about three years.

I'm glad to say that POTC: DMC did NOT disappoint! One thing I will say is that it is kind of odd to see such familiar characters in new situations, saying new lines, etc. It takes some getting used to, after three years of watching them say and do the same things over and over.

Sometimes sequels are not very good. But, that usually happens because different people made it. Perhaps different writers wrote the script or there was a different director with odd notions or different actors playing the much beloved parts. Fortunately, that didn't happen here. Same writers, same director, same actors. Fabulous.

First, my sister, best friend Aj, and I went to the midnight opening. The foyer was completely packed. They were showing the movie on 5 screens. People were fabulously dressed up as pirates or wearing POTC shirts. It seemed an age before we finally got into our theater, which quickly filled to capacity.

The crowd was extremely excited. Before the movie could begin, one of the ads appearing on screen seemed to be frozen, which meant the movie didn't start on time. I thought people were going to riot (well, not really, but you know . . .). A group started a chant of "Pirates! Pirates! Pirates!"

Finally, finally, they started the previews and then . . . Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest!!!

It was so very exciting! I don't really know where to begin. We all clapped and cheered at various fabulous portions of the movie: when Captain Jack came onscreen, when allusions to the first movie were heard or seen, when anything exciting or hilarious happened.

Here's the story, from Yahoo Movies:
Captain Jack Sparrow discovers he owes a blood debt to the legendary Davey Jones, Captain of the ghostly Flying Dutchman. With time running out, Jack must find a way out of his debt or else be doomed to eternal damnation and servitude in the afterlife. Making matters worse, Sparrow's problems manage to interefere with the wedding plans of a certain Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, who are forced to join Jack on yet another one of his misadventures.
I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so I promise not to reveal any specifics. :)

Johnny Depp was, of course, fabulous as Captain Jack Sparrow. It is the first time Johnny has ever reprised a role. He loves the character of Captain Jack Sparrow and even gets his teeth capped in gold for the role (it was even his idea). How does one describe Captain Jack Sparrow (and, yes, one must say Captain Jack Sparrow)? He's hilarious and possibly the worst pirate ever, but he always manages to get out of a situation---things just work for him, even when they work oddly. Captain Jack has the greatest lines. I can't even remember them all, though lines from POTC have found their way into every day use around my house. And, Captain Jack is strangely attractive. I'll just say it. Mostly, as the tagline says, CAPTAIN JACK IS BACK!!!

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Orlando Bloom is great as Will Turner (again). In POTC, Will was the more serious character. He didn't have many funny lines, but you loved him for his devotion to Elizabeth, his morality, and his determination. He is still all that, but in POTC: DMC, Will is allowed to be funnier, to be more of a man, less of a young man (which was perfect for POTC). Of course, Orlando Bloom is very good looking too, so I quite enjoyed that! :)

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Keira Knightley was back as Elizabeth Swann. In the beginning, Elizabeth is wearing her beautiful gold wedding gown, but for most of the movie, she is attired in pirate garb, incognito as a boy. I missed the beautiful gowns that were in POTC, but this costume allowed Elizabeth to get in on the action more often. Keira was great. DMC Elizabeth was not so ladylike as POTC Elizabeth. Keira did an excellent job and had great chemistry with both Captain Jack and Will.

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The supporting cast was great, as well. A number of the actors returned from POTC, including Governor Swann, Pintel, Ragetti, Norrington, Gibbs, and Cotton (and his parrot). The new characters were great too. Tom Hollander played Lord Cutler Beckett, from the East India Company. What a pain he is. The new villains are Davy Jones and his crew of sea creature-ish men. Creepy!

The special effects were also very well done. I adore the swordfighting sequences, which were very inventive and hilarious at the same time. Captain Jack (and the others) found themselves in some hair-raising, yet absolutely funny situations. There were also some deeper, darker scenes. And, the movie ends with a cliffhanger.

The score borrowed a lot from the fantastic score of POTC, which made us happy. But, composer (of DMC) Hans Zimmer also included new music, which fit perfectly wonderfully. We loved it. (You can hear snippets here)

Overall, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a great summer movie. It wasn't meant to be high art, only entertainment. It certainly entertained everyone in my theater. People laughed really hard throughout the whole movie, or clapped. There was a great feeling of excitement and enjoyment in the theater. I highly recommend seeing it. In fact, my sister and I are seeing it again tomorrow (Sunday), with family. I plan to see it several times.

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If you do see it (Do! Do!), stay until the end of the credits to see the fate of one of the characters. It isn't a long scene, but I think it is worth the wait.

Not everyone thinks POTC: DMC is very good (you can read snippets of good and bad reviews here), but We the People have certainly gone to see it. According to BoxOfficeMojo, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest made $55,500,000 on opening day, which places it at #1 on the Top Single Day Grosses list. Fabulous! It beat opening days for the Harry Potter films, the Star Wars films, the Spiderman films, the X-Men films, and, obviously, everything else!

From the AP:
Move over Darth Vader. Captain Jack Sparrow is king for a day. Preliminary estimates released by Disney show that "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" earned $55.5 million on Friday, which would set the record for the largest one-day take at the box office.

The previous record was set last year by "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith," which grossed about $50 million.

The movie was shown on 4,133 screens, beginning at midnight Friday. Only 2004's "Shrek 2" and "Spider-Man 2" debuted on more screens.

Disney also received reports of continuous sellouts and requests to add more screens at multiplexes.

"We're obviously thrilled beyond belief. Anytime you break an industry record ... the word ecstatic comes to mind," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution at Disney.

The swashbuckling sequel is on pace to eclipse the three-day, box-office record held by "Spider-Man" in 2002 with $114.8 million.
Even Drudge has this headline up: BIGGEST OPEN IN HOLLYWOOD HISTORY! Hooray!

I don't care what the critics say. They didn't like POTC either. POTC: DMC is great for a hot summer afternoon. Viewing it doesn't require a Ph.d in Hollywood thinking. It's just pure fun.

If you haven't seen Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, I suggest you do so. It is such a great, funny film. Plus, seeing it will help you hear the inside jokes in POTC: DMC. I loved that.

POTC: DMC will be followed by the third movie of the trilogy, which is possibly titled Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It will be out at the end of May 2007.

MSNBC's review is here.

Cute article on Orlando Bloom is here.

A Pirates (warning: not just about POTC!) quiz here. My score was:

You answered 79% of the questions correctly.
Mostly correct. Yo ho ho! And, if you’re of legal drinking age, a bottle of rum.
Great interview with writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio here.

BoxOfficeMojo review is here.

Go see it! And then, visit and tell me what you think! I hope you love it as much as I do. :)

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Friday, July 07, 2006

I'll Write About It Tomorrow

Ah! I have been too busy to post today, especially about POTC. I want to write a good review, so I will wait until tomorrow.

Let me just say that it was brilliant and hilarious! Go see it this weekend!

Thursday, July 06, 2006

POTC: Dead Man's Chest

My sister and I are going to see the 11:59pm showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It is going to be great and I will post about it tomorrow. If you are going to see it, let me know (and let me know what you think).

It is going to be brilliant!




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Thursday Thirteen



Thirteen Things I Love About Pirates of the Caribbean


Tonight, at midnight, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the second of the Pirates trilogy, comes out. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is one of my absolute favorite movies. I cannot believe it has been three years since it came out.

My sister Trisha, best friend Aj, and I have tickets to the midnight show tonight, so I thought I would honor the premiere with a Thursday Thirteen.

Here are 13 of my sister and my favorite things about Pirates of the Caribbean:

1. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow: Johnny Depp created the most amazing character. The entrance, the personality, the teeth, the persona. What a performance! Plus, Johnny Depp!

2. Orlando Bloom as Will Turner

3. The great lines, which are perfect to use in real life (more here):
Jack Sparrow: Do us a favor... I know it's difficult for you... but please, stay here, and try not to do anything... stupid.

4. Jack . . . the Monkey: "Monkey!"

5. The swordfighting

6. Jack Sparrow: [Wakes up and sees Elizabeth burning the rum] No! Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You burned all the food, the shade... the rum!
Elizabeth: Yes, the rum is gone.
Jack Sparrow: Why is the rum gone?
Elizabeth: One: because it is a *vile* dring that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two: that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire royal navy is out looking for me, do you think there is even the slightest chance they wont see it?
Jack Sparrow: But why is the rum gone?

7. Murtogg and Mullroy, Pintel and Ragetti

8. Will Turner: You cheated.
Jack Sparrow: Pirate.

9. The Pirates . . . they're cursed.

10. Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann:
Jacoby (a Pirate): I'm gonna teach you the meaning of pain.
Elizabeth: You like pain? [hits pirate in the head with a pole]
Elizabeth: Try wearing a corset.

11. Jack Sparrow: Parleley, parlelellyleloooo, par le nee, partner, par... snip, parsley...
Ragetti: Parley?
Jack Sparrow: That's the one. Parley. Parley.
Pintel: Parley? Damn to the depths whatever man what thought of "Parley".
Jack Sparrow: That would be the French.

12. Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio---the writers, Jerry Bruckheimer---the producer, Gore Verbinski---the director

13. Jack Sparrow: Welcome to the Caribbean, love.

We're going back! Two more movies! :)

What's not to love?

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


Sunday, July 02, 2006

Happy Independence Day!


I will be out at the lake until Wednesday, so I wanted to wish you a Happy Independence Day!

My post from last year is
here. You will find the text of the Declaration of Independence there. Read it, take it to heart, and live it.

On this Independence Day, we must remember those who have responded to the call of Freedom and took up arms to create, preserve, and defend our beloved Nation against the wicked who seek to destroy us.

This is the greatest country in the history of the earth and we are so very blessed to be Americans. Never forget that.

Have a great 4th of July!

Happy Birthday to our beloved country!



Happy Independence Day!


Saturday, July 01, 2006

I am Royalty

Well, apparently we are all royalty. Hooray! When do I get my crown and castle? Oh, yes, and the handsome prince!?!

AP: Genealogists discover royal roots for all---

Even without a documented connection to a notable forebear, experts say the odds are virtually 100 percent that every person on Earth is descended from one royal personage or another.

"Millions of people have provable descents from medieval monarchs," said Mark Humphrys, a genealogy enthusiast and professor of computer science at Dublin City University in Ireland. "The number of people with unprovable descents must be massive."

By the same token, for every king in a person's family tree there are thousands and thousands of nobodies whose births, deaths and lives went completely unrecorded by history. We'll never know about them, because until recently vital records were a rarity for all but the noble classes.

It works the other way, too. Anybody who had children more than a few hundred years ago is likely to have millions of descendants today, and quite a few famous ones.

Take King Edward III, who ruled England during the 14th century and had nine children who survived to adulthood. Among his documented descendants are presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Zachary Taylor, both Roosevelts), authors (Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning), generals (Robert E. Lee), scientists (Charles Darwin) and actors (Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Brooke Shields). Some experts estimate that 80 percent of England's present population descends from Edward III.
What a list! George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert E. Lee!

I wonder who I am related to? My ancestry is Irish (I think some went from England to Ireland), French, and German. I love the Irish. I wish I was English, Welsh, and Scottish. I am PROUD to be an AMERICAN. I wouldn't want to have been born anywhere else.

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