Rant: People who blame the religious RIGHT wing as controlling everyones choice. LETS KEEP POLITICS OFF THIS BOARD. ( Yes, I am sure I have heard that once or twice before)

Rave: For once Ryan, I agree on the fan issue with you. Hats off the Sheffield for handling it well.

Rave: DH and I leave for our quick Napa getaway on Tuesday Many thanks to all you wonderful Fodorites who provided advice!
Rave: I did my civic duty yesterday and served jury duty. Sat in the big room all day, they never even called my name! So the rave is that it is over for 6 more years!!
Rant: Hotel fire in Paris, made me stop in my tracks this morning. How sad and makes you think twice about checking out those fire instructions in hotels.

Happy weekend to all!

Rave: purchased our first brand spankin' new car this week. It's a beauty to look at and drive
Rant: Feeling like your being swindled by the car dealer.

Rave: The gorgeous weather we are predicted to have this weekend in upstate NY
Rant: All the dirt and dust that accompanies this time of year is already making my brand new BLACK car dirty. Why did I want black again?

Rave: the medication my beloved cat is on seems to be working
rant: I can't believe my cat has a cardiologist!

I hope all you lovelies on this board have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday Statia and Eeva!! ...and many moooore... .

and may Jor and mikemo beat back their bad numbers. Lipitor/Zocor had some amazing results with my DH mikemo.

rave: house taking shape. Only 3 big boxes left to be unpacked. Maybe get the pictures hung this weekend. Yippee--the end is in sight.

rant: getting lost every time I have to go somewhere!

rant: the terrible terrible fire in Paris.

rave: taxes done. The computer crash with all last years Turbo Tax information on it which we needed for this year didn't create the problems I imagined for us.

rant/rave: the refund is already spent on stuff for the new house!

Happy Weekend all!

Rave: Those who can keep a political discussion civil and on track without resorting to obscenity or name calling.

Rave: That this thread every Friday provides a means for regular Fodorites to get to know each other. Its part of what makes us keep coming back and providing travel info the rest of the week.

Rave: Glad the Sox won but fans need to grow up. Its embarrassing.

Rave: Vacation next week - not going anywhere but will be a tourist at home.

Prayers for all in need but especially for my beautiful m-i-l.

Rant: After days planning trip to Hocking Hills dh says not now and my efforts go down the drain

Rave: Money back on taxes towards granite countertops!

Rant: Matt Maupin still missing. Honor student and football star had to put his life on the line to afford college. Tragic.

Rave: DD got spot (lottery) in the same preschool as DS so they'll be off to school together in the mornings next year

Rant: Mother-in-law again makes up excuse and cancel offer to babysit. Told dh I don't even want her to offer anymore since she usually ends up cancelling and it is REALLY frustrating (don't say you are going to do something for someone if you aren't realy going to do it!!)

Rave: Sunny day and after almost a week of Jergens Healthy Glow lotion I look slightly bronze with no ill effects of uv rays!!

Awww, thanks so much for all the birthday wishes! You are all just too sweet.

Rant: I'm supposed to be a plane to Saba for my birthday about now.

Rant: Had to cancel the trip because of an unexpected trip to Houston on Tuesday.

Rant/Rave: Just returned from Houston six weeks ago and didn't plan to be going back so soon, but it'll be nice to spend some quality time with my family.

Rave: Having a lovely, private dinner made by a wonderful chef tonight. Just me and my DH under the stars.

Rave: Scooter rides along the beach with the wind in my hair while hanging onto the one I love. There's just nothing like it.

Rave/Rant: I've been forced to enter the 21st century when my best friend gave me a cell phone for my birthday this morning.

Rave: The nice and caring people on this board.

Have a wonderful weekend Fodorites!

I've had several nice little moments (carded trying to buy a beer, found a great new nail tech, robin's nest outside my window) this week that would normally have made my raves list but all thoughts of my little life went out the window this morning when I picked up the paper.

Indianapolis is mourning the death of Qudrat Wardak, a 16 month old toddler who came to Riley Children's Hospital from a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan in March for lifesaving open heart surgery.

For two months he charmed the socks off of this city. We held our breath after the surgery, hoping his little body would respond. He gained six pounds while recuperating and visited a variety of philanthropic groups in the area with his father. We held our breaths again when it was discovered he may have been exposed to chicken pox, an illness unknown in his part of the world. Finally, we followed him on his 36 hour journey to be reunited with his mother. His homecoming was met with joyful celebration throughout the refugee camp. Unfortunately, Quadrat died in the middle of the night yesterday for unknown reasons.

If you would like to to see his beautiful smiling face, check out www.indystar.com. He will be sorely missed in Indiana and in Afghanistan.

hi fodorites!

rave: found an apt in ny. and will sign the lease for may 1. double rave: the place couldn't be cuter. =D>

rave: can't wait for the weekend to start with my man tonight. it'll be really nice. quot;>

rave: great dinner with dear friends last night. really felt the love. :->

rave: paris this past weekend went well, still exhausted.

rant: checks to IRS have already been cashed.
nice to know it's been done though.

rant: seems my mom has alot on her plate right now, health, drama, etc...i hope for her peace of mind.

rant: last weeks freaky friday was deleted?

Wednesday~ Where can I find info on that proposed legislation to censor cable, etc. I swear I can't take it anymore!!! Of all the things our gov't should be worrying about right now..............AAAARGH!! I think my head is going to explode!!!

Rave: Marigross! We should chat - I'm in the same line of work, but for a different company (speaking of getting to know each other thru FFR'n'R!). I cheered when I saw that news on CNBC in the gym this morning.

Rave: Happy Birthday Statia and Eeva!

Rave: My husband.

Rant/Rave: My best wishes for all those experiencing health issues, both physical and mental, and cheers for all the lovely support shown them from posters on this thread. Good health to jor, Ryan, mikemo, and all the others.

Rant: Have been a slacker fodorite for weeks now, and am two weeks behind in composing a trip report for my Oahu visit.

Rave: Perhaps that's a positive? Kind of like knowing you can quit caffeine at any time? Nah...

Rave: White Sox off to a great start, are 6-3 after last night. I think Ozzie has the right idea going with the small ball" agenda.

Rant: Statins when you have horrendous side effects of joint and muscle pain that cripple you up big time- and that includes Lipitor and Zocor especially. Sometimes I think it's just not nice to fool mother nature. But at least they reverse when you stop, almost.

Rave: Spring everywhere, the color WOW! Green, purple azaleas, yellow/red tulips, and the hyacinths on campus are pink/ purple in masses. Thank you, God.

Rave: I'm off to Michigan tonight/ totally not planned until this morning, but how can you skip a 70 degree plus weekend on the lake when it is handed to you. Sorry I have to cancel a few things, but oh well, life is short.

Rant: All the earaches, colds, flus and much worse that seem to be well established everywhere in my neighborhood. And prayers for all with diabetes. My closest childhood friend has a daughter who has primary (started at age 2) and I've worked for Juvenile Diabetes for all of my life- it's my special charity. We have a recycle and donation center in Tinley Park, IL. Type II is no picnic either. One of my own children is probably well on the path, sugars are high at 26. You can do the lifestyle changes- and it will have more rewards than just the good health. Wish we would get that artificial pancreas thing down soon, hear about it all the time- but only know of one who has a protype.

Rave: Humor. Yesterday I saw a hilarious charting (done just exactly like March Madness- Final Four style) with all the slots filled with the "favorite" Cardinals names-leading to the Holy Father title. The Europe conference looks a lot stronger- with Ratzinger and Sodano the favorites. Asia/Africa looks weaker, with some slots entirely empty. S. and Central Americas are in the other conference and they have a wide over/under margin with 5 contenders trying to fill 4 slots. But that conference is so weak that the media/announcers aren't featuring it anyway. And there is no North American continental designation on the charting at all.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and what ever your politics- you just gotta love a country where you could make a living as a cat cardiologist.

Rave: My first MS150 bike ride this weekend.

Rant: My first MS150 bike ride this weekend...what did I get myself into???

Best wishes jorr. My mother made some lifestyle changes and all symptoms of diabetes have vanished.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Happy Birthday Statia! Eeva too!

Rave: Forced to take today off from work to be home for Carpet installation in basement. We could be playing pool by tomorrow!

Rave: Finally beautiful sunny & warm weather in NJ! My daffodils & other flowers are blooming. (PamSF I was so jealous all those weeks when you were raving about your daffs and we were still buried in snow!)

Rave: Getting some very nice leftover office furniture from a project for my home office. Better at my house than in a dumpster!

Rave: Taxes are mailed off, and a big list of what to spend the refund on is growing by the day!

Rave: Looking forward to Fodorite GTG here in NJ in a few weeks!

No rants today! Have a great weekend! Trish

Perhaps I can shed some light on Wednesday's post because I believe the facts are slightly different than what might be perceived from that post.

In both 2004 and 2005, the House overwhelmingly passed legislation called the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act. The purpose of the bill was to increase fines for indecent material. The key piece of missing information is that BOTH the 2004 and 2005 versions passed with over 90% of the House approving the bill.

The "government" proposing extending indecency laws to "pay cable tv and satellite" is in fact an issue that surfaced last year in a Commerce Committee proposal that was defeated in committee.

That extension of indecency laws is being proposed again by Ted Stevens of Alaska in the same committee. However, that proposal faces significant hurdles in committee and with those who believe extending who gets covered will dilute and weaken support for raising the fines.

Please don't read my post as a political comment, but merely trying to clear up what the real issues are with an issue that's been raised..

Rave: Monday night at our annual Naples Players membership meeting (over 400 active working members), my parner Lee was the star of the night, winning the annual "Unsung Member Award" for the person who has given the most time and effort over a long period of time to the organization -- not in Acting but in those jobs that are often unrecognized. With a 10 minute tribute recounting his accomplishments from being dresser, building sets, driving the truck to move scenery, sweeping and mopping the stage, moving props, and tons of other jobs over the past 28 years, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. As many of you know, Lee has recently been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's, but he continues to go to "work" almost daily in the scene shop as a volunteer. His name goes on the permanent lobby plaque, and this year he also gets a "tile" on the exterior of the building for contributing over 500 volunteer hours in the fiscal year. A wonderful night for him. (Incidentally, I was the first person to win this award when it was started 9 years ago, and I am so proud to have his name there also at last.)

Rave: Directing a Gurney play called The Fourth Wall with a total cast of four of our most talented actors. Having a wonderful time!

Rant: got an email that Dame Edna is closing early in New York and I need to send in my tickets to get a refund. Damn. Was so looking forward to it.

Rave: the Fodors editors clearing out a whole bunch of nasty threads and apparently banning a number of obnoxious trolls.

Rant--Dealing with very scary medical testing for DS. Trying to keep myself composed and not let on to DS how scared I am is very hard.

Rave--Went on a field trip with his class yesterday to the forest It was fun and kept me distracted.

Rave: sunshine today.

Rant: Daffodils knocked flat by a few inches of snow yesterday.

Rave: Overnight getaway at a historic hotel with dh. Daughter staying with her grandparents overnight.

Rave: Trying the ravioli recipe in this months Bon Appetit tonight along with one of the dessert recipes.

Rant: Secretary has been to work two days out of the last two weeks. Grrr.

rant: husband having a polyp removed.
I pulled a leg muscle while bagging yard waste.
Rave: That's the worst of it.

Wishing all others with someone dear that is not well, A be well soon wish.

And birthday wishes to dear Statia and Eeva

Oh, mms, that is my worst nightmare. I'll be thinking about you today. I'm saying a prayer for strength and peace for you and your family.