I Need Your Help - This Time, It's Winner Take All!

I'm getting a few hours late start on this campaigning since I have been away from my computer all day so far. But the great news is that I made it to the final round of the I'm a Blogger, Get Me Out of Here contest!!!

And I owe that to each and every one of you who have generously taken the time to vote so far. Thank you!!!!!

If I win this, NBC will fly me to Costa Rica to blog behind the scenes of the reality series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Our of Here for 5 days. I need your help this last time.

They have given each of us our own email address that people can use to vote for us. They allow one vote per email address, but there's nothing saying that we all can't vote from home, from work and using that rarely used Hotmail account... ;-)
PLEASE click on this link and send an email saying that you vote for me. (voteLynn@imabloggergetmeoutofhere.com)

And remember, please vote early, vote often and spread the word!!

Thank you all so much!!!

Lynn

All We Need is Clarity

I was sent a link to this hilarious image recently and just had to share it.

I can't verify if it's a real sign, or if it's been Photoshopped, but haven't we all felt like this at times?

Have a wonderful day!

Slumdog Millionaire: A Fabulous Movie

Slumdog Millionaire is the most inspirational movie I've seen in a very long time. Yes, it's a movie that takes a hard look (and I do mean that at times it is hard to look) at the lives of children growing up in the slums of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. It's also a story of two brothers who became very different people, even though they shared the same hardships and misfortune. It's a story of survival, and a story of triumph over great pain and obstacles. It's a story of the human spirit and it's a story of love.

I went to see the movie with very little knowledge of what to expect, only that it has been getting the most amazing reviews and practically stole the show at the Golden Globes. When I left the theater, I knew that just giving this movie awards and good reviews is not nearly enough. It's an amazing accomplishment. Need I even say that I loved it? It was incredible.

I won't ruin the story for you if you haven't seen it yet. But I will tell you that I left the movie transformed. I no longer felt that anything in my own life that I had been feeling disgruntled about even mattered that much. I know that no matter what things I've had to overcome in my own life simply pale by comparison to the lives of these people. And since it appears to be a fair and honest look at life in the Mumbai slums, I daresay that there are hundreds of thousands, if not more, who have lived or are living that difficult life.

I loved how the story, no matter how sad, had a very happy ending and that good did triumph over the bad. I also know that now that I've seen this, I have very little to complain about. I am grateful for the comfort of my life and the lack of those hardships. I am also grateful for having seen this incredible movie.

If you haven't yet seen it, please do. It just might change you a bit too.

How George Bush Fans Must Have Spent Today

[Photo: www.image.net]

I know that I'm more than ecstatic about today's inauguration of President Barack Obama. I was soooo looking forward to the day he would take office, and I was also very eager to have President Bush booted from office. But I know that the 20+ percent of the population who still approves of the job Bush did while in office probably had a rough day. Here's my tongue-in-cheek idea of what they had to go through today:

• - Crying about how Guantanimo Bay is closing. What will we do with all the thugs we don't like and won't charge from now on?


• - Whining about how they, as CEOs of failed corporations can't make tens of $millions for running a company into the ground. What's the use of working any more?


• - Moaning because they'll lose profits now that they'll have to consider the environmental effects of the products they produce.


• - Making one last attempt to make nasty remarks about President Obama's middle name and why the creepy announcer introduced him as "Barack H. Obama" without considering that he also introduced Bush as "George W. Bush." Can't blame them for trying.


• - Continuing to think that the Iraqis had weapons of mass destruction, even though there has never been any evidence of it.


• - Feeling afraid that change will happen...and to them, change is scary.

All I can say to these pathetic folks is I feel sad for you.

Today is a glorious day in America's history and I'm so proud to have been able to witness it. And I'm more proud of America today than I have ever been.

Happy Inauguration Day!

US Air Pilot Hero to be Honored by Millionaire

Yesterday, I first became aware of the US Air plane that "crashed" into the Hudson River from a friend on Twitter. It seems that during his commute, he was on one of the ferries in the Hudson River and it had just turned to go help the survivors from the plane. Needless to say, I became riveted to Twitter for a while as the first-hand news came in. (Incidentally, CNN and others didn't begin to report the plane in the river for another 20 or so minutes...Twitter is fabulous!)

Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III [Photo: newscom.com]

As it became clear the 155 people on board the plane had all survived and had been rescued by a number of nearby ferries, the coast guard and others, it was also clear that the pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, was a true hero. He acted in seconds in a way that not only kept the plane's structure intact during the emergency water landing, but made it possible for all on board to make it out alive. And with the water in the Hudson as cold as it was yesterday, just getting out of the plane wasn't enough to be able to survive, it was also necessary for the passengers and crew to get away from the water and out of the cold as quickly as possible.

What strikes me as amazing in the wake of all this is the fact that Sullenberger seems to be keeping a low profile, as if to convey the message that he simply acted in the line of duty. He hasn't yet, to my knowledge started to "cash in" on his moment of fame. That shows even more of his character as a real hero.

But Sullenberger's heroism and amazingly fast actions have not gone unnoticed at all. I just got word that a New York millionaire, Michael Savage, has offered to take the pilot with him as his guest to Tuesday's Presidential Inauguration. Here's the press blurb that was sent to me by Savage's press people:

New York Millionaire Michael Savage of Tax Club is offering to take the hero pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 to the Presidential Inauguration as his guest. As a frequent flyer of US Airways, Mr. Savage would like to express his gratitude for the pilot's heroism in saving the 155 passengers and crewmembers. The upcoming inauguration is a part of history, and there are hundreds of parties and events in which the pilot would be treated as a rock star for his dedication to the health, safety, and welfare of others.

I hope he accepts the offer and goes to see history made. And I hope he is also honored in some meaningful way during the festivities. Right now, the US can use a hero to be proud of. We need all the positive news we can get. And this man truly deserves all the thanks and praise we can give.

Those are just my two cents. I hope you don't mind my soapbox.

A Wonderful Invention!

Ok, this is a departure from the previous post, but I am sitting here sipping my wonderful cup of fresh coffee and just realized that whomever came up with the concept of the pod coffee maker is a genius!

As a person who works from home a lot of the time and who likes to sip coffee most of the day, I got tired of the whole-pot method of making coffee. I would brew a fresh pot and the first cup was fabulous. Often, the second cup was pretty good, but the later in the day I would get a cup, the taste was worse.

It happened for one of two reasons. Either the coffee would just sit there and get thick as mud while it stayed hot, or the heat would be turned off and it would get cold. Even microwaving the cold coffee didn't bring back the great taste.

But with my trusty pod coffee maker, every cup is as fresh and hot as the last one was. It's genius, I tell you! Why don't people that invent such wonderful things ever become famous or win Nobel prizes? ;-)

America Witnessed History Yesterday

Yes, she's the oldest person in the world of African descent. Gertrude Baines is 114 years old and the daughter of slaves. The completely touching part is that she lived to vote for America's first African-American president yesterday. Here's a clip of her voting for Barack Obama.

I was so moved by the whole day's events that I took a photo of the line at my polling place of the people waiting to vote. It was mid-morning and it still took a very long time to vote...longer than it's ever taken before. But it was great anyway. The feeling among the voters was electric. The enthusiasm was palpable.

And in the evening, I went to watch the returns and the speeches with my good friend Kathi. We shared a bottle of champagne and between enthusiastic phone calls, we talked of hope and were very happy at the results.

America witnessed history yesterday. And I hope we'll never be the same again. I hope this is the beginning of the healing for a country that has gone so horribly astray. And for its terrible past. Now, truly every parent can look at their child and say that it's true that any person born in America can become President of the United States.

It's beautiful!!