Do dogs live in the present or do presents live in the dog? This week’s video, sent to us by a viewer who simply identified herself as “Crooky,” not only answers that question, it also offers a smart, fun, stress-free approach to holiday gift giving.
How does your family exchange holiday gifts? If you do something special or unique, please share it with our viewers–either through our “comment” section below or on our blog Ampolotalk (which we revive this week after a period of dormancy).
As you can see, sending us a video does not require Academy Award winning cinematography skills–a good idea and clever way to present it are more than sufficient. And, if you have an idea, but don’t want to send us a video? An emailed description will do just fine.
With the 2008 presidential elections now less than a year away, a question: do you feel confident that your vote will be properly recorded, counted, and reported? Quite frankly, there is reason for worry here.
A few years ago Joan Brunwasser decided that as a citizen of our democracy, she could not sit by idly as our voting system seemed threatened by mechanical and human error, if not chicanery. She is now a tireless advocate for voting integrity. Ampolo wanted to share with you her ideas for making sure future elections are fair. She gets our vote as someone who makes a difference.
2) if you watch only one documentary, watch: “Hacking Democracy” shown on HBO in November, 2006 and released as a DVD in March 2007.
If this makes you hungry for more, see “Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections” by David Earnhardt, just released and available on DVD.
3) Books: start with “Hacked! High Tech Election Theft in America” edited by Abbe Waldman DeLozier and Vickie Karp: http://hackedelections.com/
Proceed to “Fooled Again: The Real Case for Electoral Reform” by Mark Crispin Miller
The best book on the topic is Black Box Voting: Ballot Tampering in the 21st Century by Bev Harris. Although it is out of print, a lucky few can pick up a used copy. Google it. You won’t be sorry.
4) To bring yourself up to speed on election issues via the Web, try The BradBlog.
To read about what ordinary citizens like you are doing and what you can too, go to Election Defense Alliance
5) Have group screenings, book discussions, parlor meetings. Talk, talk, talk about this with everyone you know. There is nothing more important that affects each of us (and the issues we hold dear) now and into the future than the health of our elections. You’ll be glad you did!
Please share your thoughts with us about this subject and feel free to recommend others whose ideas we can feature.
We think anyone who has ever had a child that played a team sport, a spouse that coached a team sport, or who coached a team himself or herself will be able to relate to this idea for a motion picture.
We’d write more here, but we still can’t get over the ending to Sunday’s Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers NFL game. Hmmm, what if Adam Vinatieri’s wife were to take over placekicking duties for the Super Bowl champs?
In about 8 A.D., the Roman Emperor Augustus banished the poet Ovid to the Greek town of Tomi for writing, “Ars Amatoria” (The Art of Love). This wasn’t the last time Ovid’s words offended the power that be. In 1497, his work as well as Dante’s fueled the great bonfire of Savonarola.. And in 1599, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London ordered the burning of, among other works, Christopher Marlowe’s translation of Ovid’s “Elegies.”
What does this have to do with this week’s Ampolo offering? In “Ars Amatoria” Ovid wrote: Fertilior seges est alienis semper in agris. Literal translation: The harvest is always more fruitful in another man’s fields. Today’s variation: The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
If you’re a person who finds this true and frustrating–at least when it comes to lawn care–do we have a solution for you.
