just4moms.netExciting News Every Mom Should Know…

If the box office is any indication (and it is), a lot of you enjoyed The Avengers this weekend.  and even though the record-breaking superhero film is already 2.5 hours long, fans are already clamoring for more.  While it’s a bit early for sequel news, director Joss Whedon is promising a three-hour director’s cut of the Avengers with 30 minutes of new footage… for the film’s Blu-Ray release.

The Avengers surprised everyone last weekend—while everyone expected big, respectable numbers, the film’s $200 ravaging of the box office was certainly a shocker.  But the film’s getting (mostly) excellent press, Whedon’s an always-reliable writer-director, and hey, let’s face it: this is a movie that features Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk fighting each other and a bevy of aliens throughout New York City.  What more do you want?

Well, apparently, if you more footage, character beats, and Captain America, you’re in luck—The Avengers Blu-Ray will feature Whedon’s director’s cut, which adds 30 minutes to the 2 hour and 22 minute theatrical cut.  Most of the new footage apparently concerns Captain America, whose pathos at being shuffled into the 21st Century was mostly put aside in order for him to look ridiculous in that suit and for some shield throwing.

It will be nice to see some extra character beats in the film to even out the sense of spectacle, even if they do concern Cap, who happens to be one of the blander characters of the Avengers film franchise.  But at this point, one gets the sense fans will take whatever they can get.  Look for an Avengers Blu-Ray around the holiday season.

Will you be picking up the Avengers Blu-Ray?

Source:  Cinema Blend

‘The Amazing Race’

Although it was tough to see last week’s eliminated team go (no spoilers for those still playing “catch up,” but come on people!), we’re now down to the final four teams in what looks to be a tight race to the finish line for this long-running, multi Emmy-winning reality competition. I’m rooting for border-patrol agents Art and J.J. Go boys! Two-hour season finale, 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS (seattletimes.com/tvlistings).

Doug Knoop, Seattle Times staff

dknoop@seattletimes.com or on Twitter @dougknoop

Also on Sunday

“MLB Baseball,” 1 p.m. (ROOT): Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners (Live).

“The Simpsons,” 8 p.m. (Fox): Marge and Homer go on a date, but Marge is embarrassed when Homer talks during the movie; when Homer gets hurt and can’t work for six weeks, he tries to learn how to be a better husband from a man (Bryan Cranston) he believes is a movie star.

“Masterpiece Mystery!,” 9 p.m. (KCTS): “Sherlock, Series II: a Scandal in Belgravia”: Sherlock and Watson become involved in a blackmail case involving a dominatrix.

“The Celebrity Apprentice,” 9 p.m. (NBC): The five remaining celebrities must create a print ad campaign for a hair dryer; following an elimination, the final four contestants go on a job interview; past contestants John Rich and Marlee Matlin help choose two finalists.

“The Comedy Awards,” 9 p.m. (Comedy Central): The second annual event dedicated to honoring and celebrating the world of comedy will pay homage to the year’s best comedy films, actors, television series, stand-up and digital content.

“GCB,” 10:01 p.m. (ABC): Carlene and the rest of the ladies run into danger when they go to Juarez for a groundbreaking ceremony; Amanda’s suspicions about Luke lead to a discovery about Ripp.

The new York Times

Day 7 of Knit and Crochet Blog Week is all about crafting balance. The original question had to do with knitting and crochet, but I don't really crochet much.
pdxknitterati.com/…/crafting-balance-knitting-and-music-3kcb…

Khloe Kardashian recently debuted a svelte bikini body on the cover of Life & Style magazine, reportedly after dropping 20 pounds in 20 days. “My husband is working out four to six hours a day right now, so I work out with him,” the 27-year-old told …
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a fellow in West Virginia asks, “my wife and I need to agree concerning our children. she sees things one way, and I see things a completely — and I mean COMPLETELY — different way. how can we get on the same page?”

This is certainly the most serious and common of child-rearing problems. I suspect — but know of no research that backs the suspicion — that it is better for a child to be raised by a single parent than it is for a child to be raised by two people who are not of one parenting mind.

In the past, when people have asked me this question, I have said, “I don’t know. I mean, there is no pat answer. the solution depends on the two people in question, how willing they are to make compromise, and so on.”

In other words, I was thinking like a negotiator, a mediator. I was thinking that solving this problem would require that each individual give up some “territory” and accept less than what they want. but I’ve lately been giving this a lot of thought along with talking and listening to lots of people, and I think I now have the pat answer people are looking for. It’s actually quite simple.

The breakthrough occurred when I realized that this problem is new. Just 50 years ago, it was rare to find parents who were not on the same page. Today, the opposite is true. Why? the answer is not that those females submitted to male authority in the home. That’s neo-feminist poppycock. nor is it that those parents had to deal with fewer issues than do today’s parents, and more complicated parenting translates to a higher likelihood of disagreement, blah blah. Nope, that’s not it either.

The biggest difference between then and now is that kids in the 1950s and before were raised not by mothers and fathers but by husbands and wives. this problem of the male and female not being on the same page is prevented when those two people act primarily from the roles of husband and wife. Conversely, it is all but inevitable if they act primarily from the roles of father and mother.

Why? because men and women see things — everything! — differently. a man and a woman who witness the same event from the same vantage point will describe it differently. Likewise, a man and a woman who raise the same children in the same home are seeing things from two different gender-determined perspectives; therefore, they struggle to get on the same page.

The only way for a man and a woman to share a common perspective on their children is to act primarily as husband and wife.

That simply means they are in a far stronger, more active relationship with one another than they are with their kids.

Being on the same page concerning their kids flows naturally from the fact that their first obligation, their first commitment, is to one another. One flesh, one mind.

Mind you, that’s how to get on the same page. Don’t ask me how to get a man and woman in the same paragraph, much less the same sentence. I’ve been married long enough to know that same page is about as good as it gets.

John Rosemond, a family psychologist, answers parents’ questions on his website at rosemond.com.

CONCORD, NH—The Senate is considering barring new Hampshire officials from planning, creating or participating in a state health care exchange. Supporters argue even a state health care exchange would be federally controlled, and the bill would help …
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(Centre left to right) Brenda Charlton, Craft Co-ordinator at Heighley Gate Nursery & Garden Centre and Diane Macdonald, Operations Manager, with members of the Craft and Coffee Club. KEEN crafters have celebrated the third anniversary of their group.
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Morpeth Herald

Weather for Longford, Ireland

Temperature: 3 C to 12 C

Wind direction: North west

Wednesday 09 May 2012

Temperature: 4 C to 12 C

Wind direction: North east

Temperature: 6 C to 11 C

Wind direction: North

Temperature: 4 C to 12 C

Wind direction: North

Temperature: 4 C to 12 C

Wind direction: North west

George “Goober” Lindsey.

By Travis Loller, The Associated Press

Editor’s note: An early version of this story incorrectly listed Lindsey’s age as 76.

Updated 11:15 a.m. PT: NASHVILLE, Tenn. — George Lindsey, who spent nearly 30 years as the grinning Goober on “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Hee Haw,” has died. he was 83.

A press release from Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home in Nashville said Lindsay died early Sunday morning after a brief illness. Funeral arrangements were still being made.

Lindsey was the beanie-wearing Goober on “The Andy Griffith Show” from 1964 to 1968 and its successor, “Mayberry RFD,” from 1968 to 1971. he played the same jovial character – a service station attendant – on “Hee Haw” from 1971 until it went out of production in 1993.

“America has grown up with me,” Lindsey said in an Associated Press interview in 1985. “Goober is every man; everyone finds something to like about ol’ Goober.”

He joined “The Andy Griffith Show” in 1964 when Jim Nabors, portraying Gomer Pyle, left the program. Goober Pyle, who had been mentioned on the show as Gomer’s cousin, thus replaced him.

“At that time, we were the best acting ensemble on TV. The scripts were terrific. Andy is the best script constructionist I’ve ever been involved with. and you have to lift your acting level up to his; he’s awfully good.”

In a statement released through the funeral home, Griffith said, “George Lindsey was my friend. I had great respect for his talent and his human spirit. In recent years, we spoke often by telephone. Our last conversation was a few days ago … I am happy to say that as we found ourselves in our eighties, we were not afraid to say, `I love you.’ that was the last thing George and I had to say to each other. `I love you.’”

Although he was best known as Goober, Lindsey had other roles during a long TV career. Earlier, he often was a “heavy” and once shot Matt Dillon on “Gunsmoke.”

His other TV credits included roles on “M*A*S*H,” `’The Wonderful World of Disney,” `’CHIPs,” `’The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour,” `’The Real McCoys,” `’Rifleman,” `’The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,” `’Twilight Zone” and “Love American Style.”

Reflecting on his career, he said in 1985: “There’s a residual effect of knowing I’ve made America laugh. I’m not the only one, but I’ve contributed something.”

He had movie roles, too, appearing in “Cannonball Run II” and “Take This Job and Shove it.” His voice was used in animated Walt Disney features including “The Aristocats,” `’The Rescuers” and “Robin Hood.”

Lindsey was born in Jasper, Ala., the son of a butcher. he received a bachelor of science degree from Florence State Teachers College (now the University of North Alabama) in 1952 after majoring in physical education and biology and playing quarterback on the football team.

After spending three years in the Air Force, he worked one year as a high school baseball and basketball coach and history teacher near Huntsville, Ala.

In 1956, he attended the American Theatre Wing in New York City and began his professional career on Broadway, appearing in the musicals “All American” and “Wonderful Town.”

He moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s and then to Nashville in the early 1990s.

“There’s no place in the United States I can go that they don’t know me. They may not know me, but they know the character,” he told The Tennessean in 1980.

At that time, he said the Griffith show “was the first soft rural comedy with a moral.”

“We physically and mentally became those people when we got to the set.”

He did some standup comedy – ending the show by tap and break dancing.

“A football coach, holding a football, asks his quarterback, `Son, can you pass this?’ The player says, `Coach, I don’t even think I can swallow it.’”

Lindsey devoted much of his spare time to raising funds for the Alabama Special Olympics. for 17 years, he sponsored a celebrity golf tournament in Montgomery, Ala., that raised money for the mentally disabled.

The University of North Alabama awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1992, and he was affectionately called “Doctor Goober” by acquaintances after that.

Share your memories of the actor on our Facebook page.

The Atheist Experience blog has an interesting post about how Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship faked the data to make it appear as though taking part in their Christian rehabilitation program had a much higher rate of success in avoiding recidivism than it actually did.

What Colson claimed was that they studied the recidivism rates of prisoners who completed his ministry program and compared them with those who did not. Recidivism means that within a certain amount of time after they were released from prison, they were reincarcerated for committing new crimes. Colson always argued the study demonstrated that those who completed the program experienced a significantly decreased recidivism rate.

What he didn’t tell you is that the standards for “completing” the program dramatically skew the numbers in his favor. a person is only defined as a graduate if they stick with the program for a period of time, then are released from jail, and get a job after their release. in other words, a person who sat in on the ministry classes for the required amount of time, left the program, and then couldn’t find a job, wouldn’t be considered to have completed a program. therefore, if they were arrested later, that would be counted as a win for Colson, because they didn’t do what they what they were supposed to, therefore this proves that failing to “complete” the program was correlated with their arrest.

But this is a total cheat. if you simply removed the ministry from the equation, and only compared prisoners who got a job to those who didn’t get a job, obviously the employed prisoners would be far less likely to go back to jail. They don’t need to steal stuff to get money! so here we have Chuck Colson deliberately excluding the group most likely to go back to jail, and then giving his ministry credit for something that happens after they leave. The study doesn’t even attempt to demonstrate that people who take the program are more likely to get jobs.

In fact, what the study showed when you looked at the raw numbers was that among prisoners who simply entered the program — including both graduates and “dropouts”, the recidivism rates were slightly higher than the control group that wasn’t involved at all. or to put it simply, if the program had not existed at all, it’s possible that fewer of them would have returned to jail.

I’m certainly not surprised by that. Prison Fellowship brought in a lot of money, including a lot of government grants, based on its claim to be effective in turning prison inmates into good, law-abiding citizens.