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Holiday crowd Googling 'thanksgiving quotes' to use at family dinners

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Coming up with things to say during a toast at a family dinner is a perenially difficult chore -- especially if you want to avoid the well-worn cliches. So if in doubt about what you're going to say, why not go to the world's greatest suggestion generator? It seems many Americans are doing just that. Google's Hot Trends, the feature of the search engine that tracks the searches people are performing with unusual intensity, is showing widespread searching for phrases like "thanksgiving quotes," "thanksgiving wishes," "thankful quotes," "thanksgiving message" and "thanksgiving sayings."
It's not cheating, it's just ... research.
But does the mighty Internet yield much in the way of quality fodder for turkey day speeches? Well, it seems that Web denizens out there picked up on the demand for grateful quotations a while ago, because there is no shortage of Web pages laden with suggestions -- some silly, some apt, and some simply inappropriate.
For those looking to sprinkle in some historical-sounding information, one popular page lists the following on top:
"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. -- H.U. Westermayer."
Or for a more standup-comedy type approach:
"What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? -- Erma Bombeck."
Quote quality runs the gamut, so be careful: On a site for news on the island of Mauritius that comes up among the top searches for "thanksgiving wishes," some of the suggestions might not fly at the dinner table:
“The gratitude of most men is but a secret desire of receiving greater benefits.” –Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld
“What soon grows old? Gratitude.” – Aristotle
Then there are some, like the following, that sum it up quite nicely -- and could be adapted for use in your local dining room...
"To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. -- Johannes A. Gaertner

Butterball turkey: Are you a 'super turkey user'?

One of my favorite morning rituals is reading the Financial Times. Tightly written, worldly, it always makes me feel like I understand how the world actually works. (It takes only a few seconds to register, but it's mandatory.)

Invariably, I find at least one piece that brings a genuine smile to my face. Yesterday it was an interview with Keith Shoemaker, chief executive of Butterball, the turkey conglomerate.
Fact: The company does 36 percent of its annual business during this quarter.
Fact: This is an industry phrase -- "super turkey user."
Fact: About 20,000 people call the Butterball hotline on Thanksgiving for cooking tips.

Enjoy the interview. And happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Plane overshoots runway at Sea-Tac Airport; incoming flights delayed

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

SEA-TAC AIRPORT, Wash. – Incoming flights at Sea-Tac Airport were being delayed as much as four hours Monday due to icy runways. It comes after a cargo plane skidded off an icy Sea-Tac Airport runway Monday afternoon.

The China Airlines 747 from Taipei was bound for Sea-Tac via John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. It touched down at about 4:45 p.m.

According to the airport, the plane went about 100 feet past the designated landing marker. By the airport's definition, that means it was off the runway, although it was still technically on pavement.

The plane went to the cargo hangar on its own power. Nobody was hurt.

After the incident, Sea-Tac Airport temporarily initiated a ground stop, which meant no incoming planes were allowed to land. The ground stop was lifted a few minutes later, but a ground delay was initiated, delaying flights as much as four hours. As of 11 p.m. Monday night, the FAA website reported arrival delays were down to 29 minutes and decreasing.

The Miz Cashes In Money in the Bank and Becomes New WWE Champion

He's The Miz, and he's awesome. He's also the brand new WWE Champion.

On a night when John Cena said some form of goodbye to the WWE Universe, Cleveland's own Mike Mizanin, a reality star turned wrestling hopeful who has spent the last seven years molding himself into the closest thing we've got left to Chris Jericho, cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Randy Orton by countering the RKO into a Skullcrushing Finale to win championship gold.

It was a move many expected would happen at Survivor Series. John Cena had found himself under a "free or fired" stipulation that would either result in Wade Barrett as WWE Champion or Cena on the unemployment line. The show ended with Cena counting the three for Orton, exchanging a hug with his longtime rival, and saying goodbye to the crowd.

Raw continued that theme, with Cena giving a long speech to the WWE Universe, thanking them for their equal parts support and vitriol. The main event of the night was set to be a championship rematch of the Survivor Series contest, but Barrett's Nexus team attacked Orton before the match, injuring his knee. Orton battled through the pain, but Barrett was able to hit his finisher, Wasteland, and had the match in the palm of his hand.

Cena returned through the crowd and pulled the referee out of the ring before the hand came down for three. Cena pounced Barrett, hitting him with an Attitude Adjustment before The Nexus hit the ring to run him off. Orton was able to recover enough to hit an RKO on Barrett and retain the championship against all odds.

Well, against all but one odd.

With John Cena and The Nexus out of the building and Randy Orton on one leg, The Miz and his apprentice Alex Riley came to the ring and cashed in Money in the Bank, the guaranteed

championship contract Miz won at July's Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

Orton tried to fight off Miz's assault, but had his RKO countered into Miz's full-nelson front legsweep, and that was all she wrote. The show went off the air with the Miz holding the WWE Championship, proving the boasts of his scathing Survivor Series promo to be true.

This is the first WWE Championship reign for The Miz, who parlayed a reality television career on MTV into a spot on the final installment of WWE's "Tough Enough." He became the host of Smackdown and a wrestler by proxy, although few could see his talent. He was a regular talking point for then-color commentator John Bradshaw Layfield, who regularly downtalked Miz as one of the worst wrestlers he'd ever seen.

Miz began to develop the cocky character he portrayed in jest on episodes of "The Real World" and gained some popularity and respect as the tag team partner of John Morrison. The two went on to hold both the WWE and World Tag Team Championships and won Slammy Awards for best WWE.com exclusive (for the hilarious talk show segment "The Dirt Sheet") as well as tag team of the year.

After a split with Morrison, Miz continued to see his star rise, winning the United States Championship on two occasions and winning tag gold once again with The Big Show. He became a mentor on two seasons of WWE NXT, coaching Alex Riley into a regular role on Raw and putting independent superstar Bryan Danielson on the WWE map as Daniel Bryan.

If you jumped in a time machine and told the 2005 version of yourself that The Miz would be WWE Champion in 2010 and that it would be awesome, they'd laugh at you. But here we are, and it is exactly what he said it would be: awesome.

And at the very least, Cleveland finally has some championship gold.

'Dancing with the Stars' 2010: Jennifer Grey gets perfect score from judges in finale

Call it an elegant prance from reel life to real life: The judges really DO love Jennifer Grey now that she can dance!
On Monday night's "Dancing with the Stars" finale, Grey and partner Derek Hough wowed the judges - and the audience - with their determined, passionate turns in a sultry paso doble and, appropriately, a freestyle dance to The Contours' "Do You Love Me" from "Dirty Dancing."
"I'm a badass, what can I say?" Grey mugged for the cameras before taking to the stage in a conservative pink sweater, which Hough later ripped open to reveal a glittery hot pink two-piece ensemble.
The pair hopped onto the judges' table and shimmied and shook up an equally excited crowd that included Grey's good friend Jamie Lee Curtis. She and Hough finished off the energy-infused dance by collapsing on the ground and beaming ear-to-ear.
When asked about her song choice for the crucial number, Grey quipped that "Time of Your Life," was something she still associated with her late on-screen partner and costar Patrick Swayze, while the upbeat "Do You Love Me" seemed perfect for her freestyle dance on the show.The pair scored two perfect scores for their performances (ABC).
Grey and Hough scored two perfect scores for the night, with a 30 out of 30 in both dances. Of her redemption dance, the paso doble, Len Goodman delivered a poignant one-person standing ovation, Bruno Tonioli exclaimed "I wish I had an 11!", and Carrie Ann Inaba hugged Grey tightly as she proclaimed, "This is the meaning of redemption!"
The night's two other competitors, Kyle Massey and Bristol Palin, got their fair share of feedback as well.
Ever-charismatic Massey and Lacey Schwimmer danced the fox trot and got a 27 out of 30, with the judges commending the competition's last man standing on his improved technique. The pair did their freestyle piece as a throwback, to 69 Boyz's "Tootsie Roll," earning them a 29 out of 30 for a grand total of 56 out of 60.

A nervous Palin and partner Mark Ballas danced the gorilla dance again, sans costumes, and got a cool 27 out of 30 and plenty of encouragement from Mama Palin in the audience, who high-fived the person next to her and blew kisses at the dramatic dance finish.
For her freestyle piece, Palin jumped on the no-pants trend in a lacy black top and knee-high boots, dancing her way out of a jail cell in a number from Chicago that earned her 25 out of 30 for a total of 52 out of 60 for the night. The judges called it a "good attempt" but ultimately hit the teen mom with a modest score, though Len assured her it was "no disaster."
The results will be announced on Tuesday evening's show, and until then, the final three await their fate.
"I've rediscovered this whole passion for dancing, this joy," Grey told host Brooke Burke of her thrilling night. "It's such an amazing thing and it would be amazing to win [the competition]."

Tenacity was his forte at Maryknoll, Chaminade

Monday, November 22, 2010

Francis Fletcher, a tenacious, dominating figure on local high school and college basketball courts in the 1980s, was found dead near his home here yesterday morning, friends said.

The former Maryknoll School and Chaminade University standout was 46.

The medical examiner's office said the cause of death has yet to be determined.

"He was as tough and hard-nosed guy as I've ever had," said Merv Lopes, who coached Chaminade for 12 seasons. At Chaminade, where he played from 1984 to '87, Fletcher was deployed as a center and power forward. "It didn't matter," Lopes said, "he was, maybe, 6-foot, 6 inches, but he played with so much heart it didn't matter how big the other guys were. He didn't back down from anybody."

Lopes said Fletcher helped keep the Silverswords program winning after the celebrated Will Pounds-Chico Furtado and Richard Haenisch-Tim Dunham eras, helping Chaminade to a streak of 10 consecutive winning seasons.

Fletcher's two older brothers, Ken and Damon, were stars at Maryknoll and when they told Spartans' coach Tony Sellitto they had a brother coming along who would be even better, the coach said he took it with a grain of salt.

"Everybody tells you that," Sellitto recalled. "But they were right."

A one-time Maryknoll ball boy, the youngest Fletcher started four seasons for the Spartans and was a three-time all-state selection, helping Maryknoll to the state championship final in 1981 and '82.

He received a scholarship to Creighton University before transferring to Chaminade.

Fletcher played three seasons for the Silverswords, earning NAIA District 29 MVP in 1986. He ranked among Chaminade's all-time leaders in scoring and rebounding. He averaged 6.5 rebounds per game. He led the 1985-86 team with an average of 12.5 points a game.

Fletcher played professionally in Europe and Australia.

Then he joined Sellitto at Hawaii Pacific University, spending 12 seasons as an assistant coach, including working with the 1993 NAIA national championship squad.

Fletcher was credited with recruiting and developing the Sea Warriors' big men, including Juergen Malbeck, the 1997 NAIA player of the year, and Hannes Haid, a two-time All-American.

"I have two sons and he (Francis) was like my third son," Sellitto said. In later years, he assisted Sellitto with youth group clinics.

Fletcher was in the construction business and was active in real estate.

Abilene Unleashes On EP Coronado In Round 2

LUBBOCK, Texas -- In dominating fashion, the running game of Abilene High, coupled with several defensive turnovers, helped Abilene High cruise to a round 2 victory in the 5-A Division two playoffs Saturday. The Eagles won 45-28.
Without the aid of star Running Back Herschel Sims, Tony Curtis and Paxton Grayer shouldered the load and helped the Warbirds cruise to a victory.
Grayer scored several touchdowns, including an interception in the first quarter. He tallied 166 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Anthony Carriolla logged an interception and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and an interception. Xavier Scarlett intercepted a Coronado pass and returned it 49 yards for a score.
Abilene and Cooper will both play next Saturday in Cowboys Stadium at Arlington. The Cougars will kick off at 1pm, Abilene at 4pm.