Monday, February 22, 2010

Evita


I was watching the movie last night "Evita" we saw this movie in 1996 when it came out in theaters. I thought it was a good movie and some of my friends did not like it. In 1997 Madonna won a Golden Globe award and so did the movie. Madonna played the part of Eva Peron, the wife of the President of Argentina Juan Peron from 1945 until her death in 1952.

Maria Eva Duarte was born out of wedlock in rural Argentina in 1919, she spent her childhood in Junin, Buenos Aires with five sisters and brothers. In 1935 at age 15, Eva moved to Buenos Aires to pursue her dream of movie stardom. She spent many difficulties of surviving without a formal education in a overcroeded city. In 1936, she toured with a theater company and pursued this career until she met Colonel Juan Peron on January 22, 1944, they married the following year.

When Peron became President, Eva did not want to be a model wife like other wives, she wanted to work with Peron., hence the people called her Evita and as time went on and her work with the Foundation progressed they proclaimed her a saint. Within a few years her foundation assets in cash and goods exceeded three billion pesos or over $200 million at the exchange rate of the late 1940s.

Her foundation she had started had many services, its aims were to provide monetary assistance and scholarships to gifted children from impoverished backgrounds, built homes and homes for the seniors, schools, hospitals and orphanages. This was to satisfy the basic needs of less privileged class. Evita was able to have a law passed for equality of political rights between men and women and in September, 1947 it was finally established, women now had the right to vote.

By 1951 her health was deteoriating rapidly and she under went surgery, she had cervical cancer. After Juan Peron's second inauguration, Evita was given the official title of "Spiritual Leader of the Nation". Despite all available treatment and by June, 1952, weighing only 79 pounds, Evita died at the age of 33 years of age. Her work had become a part of thousands of men, women and children who mourned her. Eva became an icon during her reign as wife of Peron. Argentina owe a debt to Evita for offering an example of passion and combativeness.

After Evita's death, the military demolished all the buildings and homes that Evita's foundation had built, her foundation did not last too many years after she died. It took more than twenty years after her death for Eva to find her final resting place.

The military removed her body from the labor unions headquarters in Buenos Aires and it disappeared. For years her family wrote letters requesting meetings with the military with no results. Just to show you how the military was, they feared an uprising so they moved her a few times and finally they moved her to Italy, and buried her under a asumed name. In 1971 the military returned her body to Juan Peron, he had been exiled to Madrid, Spain. Eva's family traveled to Spain and retreaved her body. Evita's body had been profaned, her neck partially severed, her face disfigured with hammer blows, her face and body slashed with a knife or sword, her knees broken, a finger severed, her nose crushed. This is so sad, no one deserves this kind of treatment, this is sacrelige in the worst way.

Eva has found her resting place, one that she deserves after all that. I think she was doing the right thing for her country, she made a lot of enemies along the way but she did right by the poor of her country. After 26 years Eva is buried in the Duarte family tomb in the Raloceta cemetery of Buenos Aires. To make sure she would not be stolen away again the tomb was built by a company that specializes in bank vaults and is built to resist burglary attempts, and her sister has the only key.. She is buried 20 feet underground, Eva was finally laid to rest in a glass covered coffin, the tomb will resist fire and bombings.

I really enjoyed this movie and still do when it is on the TV. Evita is listed as one of the great ladies of our times. Others may look at her and what she did with a different view.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

To My Good Friends


100th Post

I would like to dedicate my 100th post to my friends. I know it took almost two years to complete this many. I admire all of you that post every day, I don't know how you do it but I admire you for doing so. Hohray, I guess this make me a grown up blogger now. So I am posting a friendship poem just for all of you.

A friend is like a flower, a rose to be exact,
or maybe like a brand new gate, that never comes unlatched.
A friend is like an owl, both beautiful and wise.
Or perhaps a friend is like a ghost, whose spirit never dies.
A friend is like a heart that goes strong until the end.
Where would we be in this world if we didn't have a friend.

By Emma Guest

Monday, February 15, 2010

A Card From The Heart


To Mom
Mom, you will always be my Valentine.

My son Doug made me the most beautiful Valentines card and I received it today. If it were not for Doug, I could not blog with all my good friends. I have learned that there are people in the world that are not like my Aunt that raised me, there is love out there just waiting to be snatched up and held so perecious to the heart.

I thank my son for giving me the chance as he says "to come into the 21st century", and explore the internet, which has the world at your hands. Thank you my son, I love you and the card, which is so beautiful because you made it from your heart and not from a store.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Pet Peeves

I thought we could all become annoyed for the day, so sit back and read just a few., and feel free to add your own.

1. Drivers who don't use turn signals.
2. People that drink right out of milk/orange containers.
3. Going through a drive up, than having to go back when they mess up the order.
4. People that are mean to animals.
5. People that interrupt you while talking or telling a story.
6. Drivers that won't turn right on red.
7. When ice cream drips out of the bottom of your cone.
8. Drivers that ride to close to your bumper.
9. Drivers that take up two parking spaces.
10. People that invite you out and then cancel.
11. Women that wear too much perfume.
12. When you can't tell if someone is male or female.
13. When peeling a hard boiled egg and it seems impossible.
14. People that throw cigarette butts on the beach.
15. No toilet paper in a public bathroom.
16. People that leave their children in the cars while they run into the store.
17. People who always have to be right and have the last word.
18. Fax machines that call my home number.
19. People that blow their horn the moment the light turns green.
20. When you meet someone and can't remember their name by end of conversation.

I could go on and on, but this will do. I am sure you my friends will add a few of you own. Hope you are all having a nice day, and I would like to wish all my friends a Happy Valentines Day/

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Goodbye Dusty


Our Beloved Boy Dusty
Our beloved Dusty (in his prime). He was such a ham.

Our beloved Dusty has winged his way to Rainbow Bridge this morning. His cancer had become so bad it invaded his left kidney, causing it to swell twice its size and his spleen was severely enlarged.

Dusty was born on Halloween 2004, at the Marshal Ferret Farm in New York. He was so small when Sarah purchased him she almost took him and Storm back, but Petco told her she had a ferret before and took very good care of him. A lady that had ferret shows at Petco told her to purchase some baby food, it was turkey with gravy and give it to them plus their regular food, this worked wonders.

Turkey Boy
His favorite food was Gerber's turkey! And he always cleaned his plate.

Dusty was a very nice and lovable guy, he lost his brother a few years ago to the same thing. Sarah purchase Logan about a year and three months ago to be buddies with Dusty and he tolerated him but never really played with him.

Curious Dusty
Dusty had a thing for people's shoes.

Dusty in the Bag
And he loved to play in plastic bags, too.

Dusty in the Morning
Dusty wasn't too active until he had his coffee.

Dusty Approved
Everything that came into our house had to be Dusty approved.

Sarah, about a week ago purchased Gibson to play with Logan and this has worked out fine. Dusty on the other hand did not like Gibson and would chew on his neck. I think Dusty only did this because he did not feel well. We called Dusty "The Grumpier Old Man".

The vet kept Dusty and put him in the freezer at her clinic, we will go and pick him up in the Spring to bury him beside his pal Storm and Skippy. Speaking of those two, I can only imagine what a reunion there must of been today when they saw Dusty coming, they probly are still chasing one another.

Little Squirt
Little Squirt playing with his stash of bottles.

Goodbye old friend it has been a wonderful five years, we love you and will never forget you, we have such fond memories captured on video and photos. Later I am going to do a post on Logan and Gibson we will include pictures of all three of the ferrets. Dusty might have been a ferret but he was a member of our family, he received the best of care and lots of hugs and kisses.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Grandparents Day

Many people do not know that "Grandparents Day" exists, some ignore it and think we have too many things to celebrate already. Sadly, some people have never developed a good relationship with their grandparents. so this is not an important day to them. I was not fortunate enough to know any of my grandparents, and I have missed this over the years. My children were very small when all four of ttheir grandparents passed away, within a year of each other and I missed that for them.

Grandparents Day is celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day, so the date it falls on changes year to year, depending what day Labor Day is. This day was created in 1978 by federal proclamation, passed by Congress and signed by President Jimmy Carter. The first Grandparents Day was celebrated on Sunday, September 9, 1979.

Senior citizens have lifetime experiences in many facuets of life, so Grandparents have a lot of input just waiting to have their grandchildren push the button. They have a lot more time on their hands and there is no better way than to teach your grandchildren the values and knowledge they have accumulated over the years. Remember the kids are raised with different values, different discipline and with much greater authority and remember lots of parents work outside the home. Our nation seems to have lost a lot of family traditions.

Grandparents can teach grandchildren about their roots, now days a lot of children want to know where they came from and names of their realatives. Tell them you love them, read to them and interact with them, they love this. Start just after they are born, new babies pick up on this, they are very smart little sweeties. Oh I forgot, spoil them, just a little.
=Grandparents and grandchildren,
Together they create a chain of love,
Linking the past, with the future,
The chain may lengthen, but it will never part.
===Author Unknown===
Grandparents day is September 12th, 2010.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Academy Awards

We all enjoy watching the Academy Awards, they are one of the most popular of Hollywoods awards given out. Most of us older folks has been watching for quite a few years. The first of the awards started May 16, 1929, this one was held at a private brunch in the Holloywood Roosevelt Hotel, about 270 people attended and since the first awards, they have been publicly broadcasted, at first on the radio and televised on NBC in 1953 until 1960 when ABC Network took over. In 1976 ABC is under contract to do the duty until 2014.

The results for a few years was given to newspapers for publication at 11 p.m. the night before the awards. This was used until the Los Angeles announced the winners before the ceremony began, since then the Academy has used a sealed envelope. The awards are televised in the USA, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, Canada and the United Kingdom.

They were held in March or April for over sixty years but changed to February in 2004, one reason was the men's basketball Championships would cut into the awards. The Academy Awards are not without criticism. The Oscars are voted on by members of the entertainment industry, thus , important films that have had the most people working on them generally become nominated. Director William Fried kin an Oscar winner said the Academy Awards are "the greatest promotion scheme that any industry ever devised for itself".

I like to watch them for a number of reasons, I like to watch all the women s fashions ,I have to admit some are a bit risky. Some of them are very pretty and probably cost a bundle, the men's suits are just your average Tux. Some of the hair styles are far out but I like most of them. I guess all in all I like the whole fiasco, hope you enjoy watching them.