Comments for Phant'sy Ketchup

Comment on Jay Thomas’ “Lone Ranger” Story by rhoda friedman

rhoda friedman — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:04:09 +0000

I listened to the Long Ranger on the radio as a kid I am still a radio person. Great story. Didn’t the LonegRanger, Clayton Moore have trouble cause a station or other entity owned the name so he could not advertise himself as the Long Ranger? Wonderful touching story. I imagine Clayton has passed; where is he buried? does it say the bestest Long Ranger there was?

Comment on The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying Your Health by David

David — Sun, 04 May 2008 05:16:32 +0000

Yeah, let us never forget Dupont’s slogan from the ’30s to the ’80s: “Better Things for Better Living… Through Chemistry”. After the publication of “Silent Spring” (DDT) and revelations about the dangers of many man-made chemicals they stopped using the “through chemistry” part - but kept making and selling a myriad of dangerous chemicals. They also continued to export chemicals which were outlawed in North America. After all, our brown brothers were going to lead short and brutish lives anyway, right?

The problem with eating synthetics should really not be a surprise. In an evolutionary sense the synthetics have been with us for a few generations, as opposed to the millions of years of our co-evolution with the natural environment. Common sense would dictate that we eat natural (i.e., organic), and eat local, as much as possible. It’s not about some carbon-footprint greenie ideal (though that’s not a bad thing): it’s about your health, and the health of your children.

David

Comment on Jay Thomas’ “Lone Ranger” Story by David

David — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:08:54 +0000

What a great story! After the show was cancelled Clay Moore really seemed to take on the Lone Ranger persona in real life, and try to abide by those rules, which was pretty cool. Remains one of my boyhood heroes. And really nice that he and Jay Silverheels, aka Tonto, who was born and raised in Ontario, appeared to maintain respect and affection for each other off screen as well as on.

A different story than Superman, aka George Reeves, who seems to have committed suicide from depression. Really sad.

Comment on Jay Thomas’ “Lone Ranger” Story by sarah

sarah — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:01:56 +0000

You were right, that did cheer me up.

Comment on Political cartoon: G. W. Bush’s Iraq Legacy by Mike Peters by David

David — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:36:00 +0000

Comment on a related subject from a Vietnam vet:

Bush on Afghanistan:

“I must say, I’m a little envious,” Bush said. “If I were slightly
younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic
experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy
succeed.”

“It must be exciting for you … in some ways romantic, in some ways,
you know, confronting danger. You’re really making history, and thanks,”
Bush said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1333111120080313?feedTy
pe=RSS&feedName=politicsNews

Yes, this is from our President, who as a young man, passed up his
chance to be on the front lines and help a young Vietnamese democracy
succeed.

The man is certifiable. He needs to be shrink-wrapped and kept in a
cool, dark, padded room.

Comment on Should You Ditch Your Chemical Mattress? by David

David — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:27:14 +0000

Boggles the mind a bit that our bureaucrats “protect” us by requiring that we sleep in a miasma of flame retardants.
Q: Which is the more dangerous: the vanishingly small possibility that I’ll disappear in a burst of flame while I’m sleeping, or the certainty that my immune system will slowly be degraded by inhaling toxic fumes every time I lie on my bed?
A: Ignorant legislators.
Oh, and since we value our children so much, let’s make sure that their pajamas are impregnated by flame retardants, too… sheesh. The scientific and medical ignorance of our lawmakers is criminal.

There are options, and some are even affordable:

Some Rubber-free Organic futons:
http://www.abundantearth.com/store/futon1.html
http://www.rawganique.com/Futonsmattresses.htm
http://www.heartofvermont.com/
(if latex doesn’t bother you there are more choices; just ask Mr. Google)

And for those without budgetary limits: http://sovn.com/

Note: you may need a doctor’s prescription to get one of these mattresses, due to the legal requirement that we all be protected from incendiary sleeping surfaces.

Comment on Political cartoon: G. W. Bush’s Iraq Legacy by Mike Peters by Linda Parks

Linda Parks — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:37:25 +0000

I saw this cartoon in the Birmingham News over the weekend. I was overwhelmed!
What a masterpiece! How profound and true!!

Comment on Keychain GPS fob & cell phone frequency jammer by jasen

jasen — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:06:28 +0000

Cell jammers are already illegal, and have been for quite some time.
$10,000 fine from the FCC I believe (but they aren’t known for really going after anyone for it)
They’re still not hard to come by, but you have to order them clandestinely from foreign vendors.

Comment on Experts Now Recommend Hands-Only CPR by sarah

sarah — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:50:22 +0000

Thanks for posting this. It’s pretty interesting how rescue standards change over the years. I’ll file this away and hope I never have to use it!

Comment on Twin beds may benefit marriages by David

David — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:02:56 +0000

Some marriages. The ones where they want to stay married but romance or sensuality have already gone AWOL, perhaps, or where one partner or the other has such problems sleeping that the only way they can stay together is to sleep separately. For others marriages, that contact in the middle of the night may be exactly what is needed for comfort at a deep level, to banish bad dreams, maintain the bond - and keep a happy marriage. As John Lennon wrote, “whatever gets you through the night”.

Comment on Could Hillary Bequeath Us Our Long-Awaited Third Party? by SM Kovalinsky

SM Kovalinsky — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:38:13 +0000

I have felt for quite some time that such a scenario is in the offing. The time is indeed ripe for it; I would almost say there is an air of inevitability about it.

Comment on Foolproof online eyeglass shopping on the cheap by Ingrid

Ingrid — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:11:16 +0000

I found a great website that explains all the info needed about measurements, prescriptions, measuring PD and general stuff about maintaining glasses at stingyspecs.com.au in their ezines. All their frames are $39 each, I just got myself a pair of reading glasses cheap $69 complete (frame and lenses) as and I was able to follow all their instruction on measuring my own PD as well!

Comment on Rap ode to Weng Weng by Scott

Scott — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:24:28 +0000

Looks like Tatoo and Florida had a love-child…..

(J.J.’s Mom was named Florida, right?)

Comment on Prison Nation - New York Times by nathan harris

nathan harris — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:55:24 +0000

Drug offenders would usually be better of in a drug rehab then in prison

Comment on Just for fun: English Idioms by sarah

sarah — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:23:09 +0000

Speaking of boots on…

Comment on Just for fun: English Idioms by sarah

sarah — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:26:36 +0000

Well, slap me thrice and hand me to me mother. I like the strong dose of UK phrases found in that collection.

Related: William F. Buckley Jr.’s son said his father died “with his boots on,” i.e. still at work.

Comment on Toxic furniture getting some standards by johnweems

johnweems — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:02:00 +0000

We recently purchased new bedroom suit only to discover strong formaldahyde odor after taking delivery. Is there any way to eliminate this odor or how to best deal with this problem. Is it dangerous to our health?

Comment on The United Plant Savers by sarah

sarah — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:34:09 +0000

I knew there was a reason why I didn’t throw that empty box into the recycle bin. I knew it I knew it I knew it!

Comment on Charming and Aloof, Huckabee Changed State by gasdocpol

gasdocpol — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 14:55:04 +0000

Huckabee thinks the earth is 6000 years old, evolution is an uproven theory, Mormons believe Satan is Jesus’ brother.

He knows little about the NIE.

He is however an improvement over the neer=do-well lifelong blundering failure that the GOP gave us in 2000.

Comment on The erotic appeal of the Lands’ End catalog. by sarah

sarah — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 23:44:52 +0000

You’re welcome.

Comment on Termites aren’t ants after all – they’re roaches by sidespeak » Blog Archiv » Termites aren’t ants after all — they’re roaches

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 03:38:07 +0000

[...] story here Der Beitrag wurde am Wednesday, den 14. November 2007 um 23:21 Uhr veröffentlicht und wurde [...]

Comment on We’re not gonna take it anymore! by David Fenton

David Fenton — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:33:11 +0000

It is great to read about a politician like this. Good to know that there’s still a few out there fighting the good fight - not for money, not for Halliburton, or oil industries, or Blackwater, or for defense industries - but for the principles our country was founded on. Wish there were more like Mayor Anderson.

Comment on Toxic furniture getting some standards by David Fenton

David Fenton — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:45:55 +0000

You sound like a responsible maker of furniture, proud of what you do, but I am totally amazed that you’ve never heard of a reaction like the woman in the article. You’ve not heard of anything like it in 35 years? I hear of stuff like this every month - and that’s without trying. In the last year alone I’ve heard the stories of at least half a dozen people, ranging in age from 8 to 85, who’ve reacted like this to VOCs in general, and formaldehyde in particular. “Very small traces” is NOT okay. A few get very sick, and the rest of us suffer in silence and ignorance. Only “zero” is okay when it comes to formaldehyde (and many other VOCs).
And as for lacquer? Fugeddaboutid. Long-term exposure is known to be related to organ damage and certain forms of cancer. It would be interesting to compare the health records of your workers and their families with those of the general population.
Google “environmental hypersensitivity” to begin to raise your awareness of the overall problem. We are not talking about just a few people who react. We’re talking about millions. Statistics Canada, for one, has reported that about ten percent of the population has been diagnosed with this level of sensitivity - which means, in reality, that there’s a lot more who share the problem but haven’t been diagnosed. The NY Times has reported on the subject, too. I think of these folks as the proverbial canaries in a coal mine: their suffering should alert the rest of us to the dangers inherent in the use of noxious chemicals. While most of us may not suffer as obviously as the woman in the article, our health is compromised in smaller ways - more colds, more headaches, less energy, poor digestion - all things we attribute to the stresses of “normal life”… but it’s not normal. It’s chemical.
If you’re the responsible furniture manufacturer you seem to be, I’d say it’s time to educate yourself regarding truly healthy alternatives because, frankly, though you might be well-intentioned, you are currently clueless. Learn, and lead the way. Get rid of lacquer and formaldehyde, and any form of particle board (none is healthy!). Educate yourself and you could develop a new business opportunity: healthy furniture. Don’t be like the American auto industry, falling behind because they failed to look ahead, and don’t be like the current administration, failing American businesses by encouraging them to look backward, instead of to the future. America could be the world leader in healthy/green technologies.
We are all suffering from chemicals in our environment, our children most of all. I could send you hundreds of references (ask, and I will). Why not do us all a favor by learning more about the effects of chemical on our bodies, and building truly healthy furniture?

David

Comment on Toxic furniture getting some standards by Varda Burstyn

Varda Burstyn — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:44:32 +0000

This is a very important and helpful article. VOCs in household furnishings — from furniture to built in cabinets to MDF moulding — is very hazardous, and many people are becoming chronically ill from indoor air pollution caused by these substances. Some people manifest this as a direct reaction to the chemicals — they have MCS (Mulitple Chemical Sensitivity) — but others have different symptoms, such as migraine headaches, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and are more likely to develop circulatory, nervous and digestive disorders. The medical system is very, very far behind in understanding this reality in the US and Canada, though farther ahead in a number European countries and Japan, where, not coincidentally, standards limiting persistent organic pollutants that produce the VOCS are much tougher.

So it’s really great to see people starting to make changes, starting to write about the issues, and beginning to help us find alternative products to purchase.

In addition to voting with our wallets, we should also be acting as citizens to demand chemical labelling on all products — from furniture to cleaning supplies, many of which are also extremely toxic — and making this a voting issue. And we should absolutely demand the implementation of the precautionary principle with respect to chemicals, and demand the banning of suspicious ones.

There’s a lot of literature out there on the effects of persistent organic pollutants/VOCs. I have written a few pieces myself, a couple in collaboration with two researchers, and excerpts and references can be found on my website.

Great to see this article!

Comment on Toxic furniture getting some standards by Lucy Dasiva

Lucy Dasiva — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 13:10:54 +0000

We have worked with low pressure laminate and lacquer for all our lives. We have a furniture company and I have never in the last 35 years heard or seen any reaction like this. With everything going on out there about toxic/lead paints from China, maybe you should ask the vendor where the bookcase came from!!!! Is in made here or an import. Yes our particle core laminate in North America have very small traces of formaldehyde; but, not enough to cause such a reaction!!!!

Comment on David Pogue (NY Times) covers the new Palm Centro by Angelica

Angelica — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 05:15:45 +0000

Palm Centro is smaller than the Treo 700 even though the dimensions are nearly the same. Its smooth and rounded and easy to hold. Came across something interesting on Palm Centro at
http://www.g2bux.com/myaction.do?product=403

Comment on FreeRice by bobodod

bobodod — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 18:23:54 +0000

“I’m done showing off…”

Does that mean children are going to go hungry? You’re finished with the game and, oh well, people won’t get to eat. Think of the children, Stan!

Comment on FreeRice by Stan Alluisi

Stan Alluisi — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 03:34:27 +0000

Cool site, Sean!

I’m up to 720 grains of rice and a vocabulary score of 43. I was beginning to worry until I realized that it only goes up to 50 and they said few get to 48.

I’m done showing off…

Stan.

Comment on Keychain GPS fob & cell phone frequency jammer by David Fenton

David Fenton — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 03:08:42 +0000

Yes to both as stocking-stuffers - but especially the jammer. I expect these to be hot black market items as soon as they’re outlawed. I mean, how long have radar detectors been illegal in most places? How hard is it to get one?

Is there even one among us who has not experienced anger at the intrusion on our personal space by someone talking loudly on a cell phone at an inappropriate time and/or in an inappropriate space? If we all had the power to jam, the world would be a quieter place. Amen.

Comment on Video - Leave It To Dennis Kucinich | The 35 Percenters by Debra Poss

Debra Poss — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 05:54:16 +0000

The web will help. But, we need to get people from the web to hit the streets and the phone lines. If you like Dennis Kucinich, visit http://www.dennis4president.com
to both contribute and to volunteer. First , find your state’s web page by clicking “State by State”. Then click “Get Involved”, which will take you to the community action center. When on the action center, click “Groups”, and then click your state to join your state’s group, and to get involved in your state.

On the Action Center, you may connect with other Kucinich supporters in your state and from around the country, blog, search events, post events, browse a city or state for Kucinich supporters, etc.

In peace,

Debra

Debra Poss / Georgia State Chair
Kucinich for President 2008

Comment on Video - Leave It To Dennis Kucinich | The 35 Percenters by Misanthropic Scott

Misanthropic Scott — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 21:16:12 +0000

Great video!! I did already know most of this and have been attempting to convince everyone I can to vote Kucinich. I even sent him some money, a first for me. It’s really a shame that all the major media is, by definition, large corporations. Since he opposes a lot about corporate America, they simply refuse to cover anything about him. ABC even failed to report a winner on one Democratic party debate when the audience overwhelmingly said the winner was Kucinich. I wonder if enough people talk about him on the web if we might be able to overcome the media issue.

Comment on Katana vs. 9mm by David Fenton

David Fenton — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:02:12 +0000

Now, if you could just make a gun that would shoot Katana swords you’d really have something…

Comment on John Bogle on Bill Moyers Journal by sarah

sarah — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 02:39:49 +0000

This is the kind of honest take on current events that personalizes the grand scheme: What does an international investment firm, involving complex and abstract activities like arbitrage and federal interest rate movements, have to do with me? Bogle puts it simply: accountability. Do the right thing, even when no one’s watching.

Can I just say? “Waxing wank” is my new favorite phrase.

Comment on Google starts “My Library” at Book Search by Stan Alluisi

Stan Alluisi — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:48:13 +0000

Sean:

This is what I like so much about your blog.

All your readers are so insightful yet concise!

Stan.

Comment on Google starts “My Library” at Book Search by Gracelynn

Gracelynn — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:14:03 +0000

Third!

Comment on Google starts “My Library” at Book Search by Stan Alluisi

Stan Alluisi — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:34:26 +0000

Second!

Comment on Google starts “My Library” at Book Search by sarah

sarah — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 03:34:43 +0000

FIRST

Comment on Hello world! by Stan Alluisi

Stan Alluisi — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:06:30 +0000

Yipee!

I get to be the first to post!

I hope it will be good for you, Sean. I’ll try to be gentile.

As for your mass mailing apology… No need to apologize to me! I enjoyed receiving them. I now look forward to visiting your blog frequently. And perhaps this will also shame your dad into getting the Blogateria up and running! I know he has plenty of free time now!

Best of luck with your blog,

Stan.