Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Archive for December 18, 2007
Ssssssssssssssss
That’s the air continuing to escape the bubble.
November home sales in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and San Diego counties have averaged 22,749 units for the last 20 years. Last month, 13,173 houses and condominiums were sold in the region.
The Southern California median home price of $435,000 is on par with what prices were in early 2005, or off 14% from a peak of $505,000 earlier this year.
Ha Ha Ha
This story gets NewMexiKen into the Christmas mood about as well as anything can — my preferred Christmas mood being grumpy, but with an underlying sense of Christmas wonderment. Anyway, it’s worth telling again. It was first posted here last year.
Veronica, official daughter-in-law of NewMexiKen, writes about one of the Christmas season’s most cherished traditions — taking the little one to see Santa.
We were at the mall early to do some Christmas shopping yesterday when we saw a mom and her two young kids standing outside the door to Santa’s workshop. We asked her what the deal was, and she pointed to the sign about the extra holiday hours. We were in luck. It was 9:45, and Santa was going to be there at 10am. So, we got in line.
Sofie was excited and remarkably well-behaved. At 10, the line had grown behind us, but there was still no sign of Santa. At about 10:15, the kids started whining. At about 10:30, the parents started to wonder if maybe Santa had had a few too many the night before. At about 10:45, someone in line reported seeing “an old guy with a beard” in the parking lot heading toward the Santa house, but he wasn’t in costume yet. Finally, at 11, the doors to Santa’s workshop opened. A pissed-off elf informed us that “corporate” didn’t tell them about the early holiday hours. By this point, the mom in front of us had left, dragging her disappointed and crying kids through the mall - they’d apparently “lost” Santa privileges because they were misbehaving.
Sofie was first in line. She goes in and won’t even look at Santa. Not for a second. Santa was more than happy, however, to have mom sit next to him. Um, gross. So the picture…(which cost us about $700 give or take a few bucks) pretty much sums up our perfect Santa experience:
(1) A long wait in line
(2) Screaming kids
(3) Problems at “corporate”
(4) Our own kid didn’t want to sit on Santa’s lap (or look at him or talk to him)
(5) A lecherous Santa
(6) Ridiculously overpriced photos of the experience
Oh, the title to this post “Ha Ha Ha” — that’s because “Ho Ho Ho” is now seen as derogatory to women.
Best Christmas line of the day, so far
When I was a child, I tell my offspring, my brother and I often would receive just one present at Christmastime, typically an individual crayon. It wouldn’t even be a full crayon, but merely a stub. Still, we’d be grateful and would pretend that “brown” was our favorite of the 64 Crayola colors. We would talk about how great this crayon would be if only we could afford paper.
Joel Achenbach
[First posted here two years ago.]
It was on December 18th
… just 142 years ago that the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was officially adopted.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Just 142 years ago.
December 18
These poor folks have a birthday within a week of Christmas.
Keith Richards is 64.
Steven Spielberg is 61.
Ray Liotta, that good fella, is 52.
Brad Pitt is getting old. He’s 44.
Christina Aguilera is 27.
Well, wood ‘ya look at that
Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law Charles Mason rode out on what is now Sun Point in search of lost cattle on this date in 1888 and found Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde. That afternoon, Richard found Spruce Tree House, and the next day, the two men discovered Square Tower House. Al Wetherill, Richard’s brother, saw Cliff Palace sometime the year before, but he did not enter the dwelling, so the credit for “discovering” the dwelling has been given to Richard Wetherill and Charles Mason.
In 1901, Richard Wetherill homesteaded land that included Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo Del Arroyo, and Chetro Ketl in what is now Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Wetherill remained in Chaco Canyon, homesteading and operating a trading post at Pueblo Bonito until his murder in 1910. Chiishch’ilin Biy, charged with the murder, served several years in prison, but was released in 1914 due to poor health. Wetherill is buried in the small cemetery west of Pueblo Bonito.
NewMexiKen took the photo in 2006. Click it for a larger version.
Capitol Reef
… was designated a National Park on this date in 1971. It had been a national monument since 1937.
The Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile long wrinkle in the earth’s crust known as a monocline, extends from nearby Thousand Lakes Mountain to the Colorado River (now Lake Powell). Capitol Reef National Park was established to protect this grand and colorful geologic feature, as well as the unique natural and cultural history found in the area.
See the Capitol Dome in the reef?
[NewMexiKen photo, 2002]
Free Fernando Vina!
“Can someone tell me why Vina said ‘obviously, it was wrong’?”
Malcolm Gladwell brings some new perspective to the steroid “scandal.” Go read what he has to say.
Indeed, why was it wrong?
Bracing for a Christmas Without Lights (or a Fridge)
The ice storm has been gone for a week, but tens of thousands of homes and businesses remain cold and dark in Oklahoma, Kansas and adjoining states. Some utility officials say they doubt all the lights will be back on by Christmas.
So what’s taking so long?
The Lede explains. NewMexiKen has friends in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who have been without electricity since December 9th.
Sequoyah High’s Success Energizes Tribe
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — If not for basketball, Angel Goodrich and her school, Sequoyah High, would be as easy to overlook as the dusty farming towns that freckle northeast Oklahoma. Goodrich, a shy sliver of a guard, is the face of the Lady Indians, who are the three-time defending state champions in their classification and a rising force on the national scene.
They opened the season ranked in the top 10 in Sports Illustrated’s national poll. And this week they will participate in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. Sequoyah is the first all-Indian school to receive one of the coveted invitations.
Read more about Sequoyah High’s Success, its players and coach.
Nobles, 46, is cross between Bobby Knight and the father of Hannah Montana. He puts his players through the wringer with his exacting standards, especially when it comes to boxing out for rebounds and trapping on defense. But then, after every game, Nobles collects the uniforms and takes them home to wash because the one washing machine on campus is always being used.
Though there is this error.
During the playoffs, Bush’s husband, David, does the radio play-by-play of the games in Cherokee, the language created by Sequoyah, the Indian for whom the school is named. It can be a challenge, he said, because many basketball terms are not easy to translate. For instance, he describes a foul as a crime.
Sequoyah, of course, didn’t create the Cherokee language. He developed an alphabet for it (and thus writing).
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Filed under American Indians and People & Human Interest and Sports on December 18, 2007
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Filed under American Indians and People & Human Interest and Sports on December 18, 2007
Today’s Front Pages
Move your cursor around the map (or within a gallery) and see front pages from around the world. Pages load quickly. Very nice.
Thanks to Ken for the link.
Best line of the day, so far
“Eli Manning Not Sure How to Tell the Giants He Was Adopted”
Sportspickle quoted at Sideline Chatter. There’s more Sportspickle headlines.
