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I'm going to be moving!!!! My blog that is. My new site is http://rmcabana.blogspot.com/

Don't have much up there yet but feel free to stop by!

Scrapbooking friends

I've been so busy lately and pretty sad :( about the election. I've been on a  marathon getting a few projects done for Mom and Randi plus a load of scrapbooking projects. I've been spending so much time using photshop and hanging around scrapbook web sites, and I've met some new friends along the way. Here are postcards from some of the places they're from. ...

 

 

Boston

Once in a red moon.... The Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 80 something years. And there was a very cool lunar eclipse. At work we went outside to watch the moon turn red, and Holly provided cool glowing bracelets. And it was so nice to take a break and laugh with my co-workers.Then it was back inside to watch the game and try to meet deadline.

Well, I really don't care that much about baseball... but I'm more interested in the good karma for Boston.The election's just a few days away and Boston's own John Kerry could use the good omen.

All the news about the campaigns is making me crazy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Boston.

Vancouver

Aunt Eileen and Uncle Bruce were out seeing more of the world. They just visited Vancouver, where they left on a cruise from this dock to Alaska! Aunt Eileen reports that shopping wasn't too hard (never is for her!) and that the city has a very international feel. Sounds like they were having a great time.

Nemo

I thought this was too cute! Mom got in the mail with some promo for a plate. I just love Finding Nemo!

Princeton

On Sunday, we walked in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure in Princeton. It was a 5K walk... and it was an amazing experience. There were so many people there! I thought the walk would be hard, but it was a really easy going pace and everyone was friendly and having a good time. I was saddened to see so many people wearing signs that said "In Memory Of" for a loved one who they lost. But there were also many people wearing "Celebration" signs. And were were there celebrating Aunt Lorraine and Grandma, two of the strongest, most incredible women I know.

John Lennon

John Lennon would have been 64 on 10.9.04 if he had lived.

It always makes me sad to think about how he died, but then his music makes me so happy.

Here are some pictures of John and piece from my collection.

Tomorrow never knows!

Atlantic City

Mom went to Atlantic City last weekend, and Randi and Khoder are heading there tomorrow. It would be nice if someone hit the jackpot.

Iraq

This was too funny. I think it says it all.

Florida

I can't believe the hurricane season this year. Mostly, it's been keeping me at work late because of the updates at night. I hope it's over soon, because Florida has been through too much.

Hoboken

We took Rocky to the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival on Sunday. It was his first outing around a really big crowd, and he was really good. He made lots of friends who thought he was very cute.

 

Underwater

I finally figured out how to use my digital camera. Here's some evidence.

Apollo Theater

Last night, Randi and I went to V-Day: Chicks Rock at the Apollo. It was an amazing night featuring speeches and performances by incredible women. That list would include: Eve Ensler, Marissa Tormei, Vanessa Carlton, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Marie Wilson of the White House Project, reps. from Rock the Vote, Hazel Goodman, Isabella Rosaline, Charlotte Martin, Toni Childs, Kate Clinon and We Got Issues.

What's incredible is that in this country where women fought to win the right to vote and we pride ourselves on democracy, 22 million women didn't vote in 2000 and 16 million eligible women aren't even registered, according to V-Day.

There are plenty of reasons I can give why women should vote, but perhaps, the three who said it best were Yanar Mohammed, founder of the Organisation for Women's Freedom in Iraq, and Zoya, a member of The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, and Malalai Joya, who was a delegate to Afghanistan's constitutional council and received death threats for speaking out. (find out more about them at: www.rawa.org, www.equalityiniraq.com, www.geocities.com/malalaijoya/ )
They detailed how women in their countries, which we supposedly attacked to bring freedom to them, are still living in fear and under oppression, fighting for their rights and for their lives.  (See Laura Bush's lies on this very subject in her GOP convention speech at wWw.gopconvention.org)

So please make plans to be at the polls on Nov. 2. And bring along other women you know. And if you're not registered, there's still time. Visit rockthevote.com or vday.org to get help. 

Be heard.

National Museum of Women Artists

I've wanted to visit the National Museum of Women Artists since I heard about it, covering a lecture on Douglass for the Targum.  But when I was in DC, I only had time to visit the gift shop and pick up these souveniers.

Statue of Liberty

"And in conclusion may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. Thank you very much." Cher, "Clueless"

Well in 1995 this statement was true. But not anymore. Randi and Khoder went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island last week. It wasn't until they got to the Statue that they were informed they could not enter the statue with out an RSVP. Now, it didn't say this anywhere at the ferry terminal, Liberty State Park or Ellis Island. They could only go to the STORE and park outside the statue.

Even the liberty to visit the Statue of Liberty has been taken away from us.

I think this was true, too, once upon a time...

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

 

Garden State

I just saw the movie Garden State, which I loved, and felt the need to pay tribute to my state again.

I thought Natalie Portman was so good, and it made me think that the Star Wars prequels are a waste of her talent. And after watching Zach Braff, I'm looking forward to the start of Scrubs again.

I wonder if that was a real quarry in Newark?

Greece

I had a really weird schedule over the last two weeks -- a few day shifts and random days off. So I got to watch a lot of the Olympics. My favorite sports are the swimming and gymnastics, but I found myself also watching beach volleyball, polo, track, judo -- sports I usually wouldn't be interested in. It was cool to be off and see so much of the games, which I haven't been able to do since '96,when I wasn't working.

These postcards are from Greece, but not Athens, but in the spirit of the Olympics, they'll have to do.

 

 

Washington, DC

I've been back from the UNITY convention for a few weeks, and haven't gotten around to writing about it.

The week started out with an 8-hour trip through lots of traffic. The next day we were up early to set up the booth, but the booth wasn't ready for us. My sleeping schedule, needless to say, was all screwed up and I don't think I've recovered entirely yet. My feet hurt so much from all the walking around and standing in the booth and dancing and walking.

On Tuesday, Rue and I couldn't find the bus that was supposed to take us to a rally at Gannett headquarters. Luckily we ran into some of our co-workers who were driving over. After that rall, Unity opened with an opening town hall meeting, that featured an interesting debate between Doug E Fresh and Little Foot over Outkast.

The week was filled with some really great workshops, receptions and parties. I ran into lots of friends from Targum and school, a few friends from former workplaces and the folks from DJNF. My picture (a larger than life version of me) was hanging up in our booth, and I was actually recognized by a few people.

I didn't get up early enough to see John Kerry in person, but I got to hear him in the spillover room. Then the next day, I made it through the metal detectors and got to see George W. himself. I went into it open minded, but couldn't agree with much that he had to say, but I still didn't think it right that people in the audience laughed at him.

On Saturday, I took a walk around D.C., toward the National Mall where I saw the White House (all boarded up), the new WWII memorial and the Korean War memorial. I also talked to a very nice older couple from Maryland, who were asking me questions about the band that was playing at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial (it was Tito Puente Jr., who had played at a party I was at the night before).

The last party was incredible. Three rooms - karaoke, a hip hop party, and a salsa and funk band.

It was 10 years ago when I went to the first UNITY as a student, and it was so cool to go back and experience it as a professional.

 

 

betty's wedding

Well here I am all dressed up at the reception for Betty and Fernando's wedding. (not such a great polaroid shot) ... I think everything went perfectly. Food, DJ, guests, wine, flowers, chocolate cake ... all good.

Betty's family has dubbed Khoder the "crazy tall guy" and everytime I've called them this week, they keep asking about him. He was his typical whacky self on the dance floor and got everyone else to discover their own whacky selves.

And the "black" cake was the best!

 

Seaside

I took an oath of secrecy about this weekend. We had Betty's bachelorette party in Seaside.

We got her dressed up with a veil, sash and big ring that was also a shot glass... and all I'm going to say is that we were back at the hotel by midnight.

The next morning we went back to the Boardwalk and the girls were surprised by my skills in skeeball. My high score was 540,000. And we got a lot of dumb prizes with our ticket points.

I saw this same postcard in a store this weekend. Randi sent this one to me in 97 when I was in Texas.

Anchorman

I've never been to San Diego -- I have a few friends who've been stationed there and I know someone who was born there.

But it's the setting of Anchorman, which I just saw, and was absolutely hilarious. Will Ferrell is so funny, and so is Steve Carell, who plays Brick the weatherman, who I swear is a grown up version of Ralph Wiggum. "I love lamp." Hee. I also laughed so hard at all the cameos and the big newsmen rumble scene. We never have fights like that in our newsroom, but I think we've gotten close.

Also, my sister got very mad at the scene where Jack Black throws Baxter off the bridge. She also got mad at Khoder for laughing. Very funny.

 

 

 

 

 

Bronx Zoo

We took my niece Taylor on her first trip to the Bronx Zoo this week. I think at first she didn't understand what we were pointing at, but then she got pretty excited to see some of the animals. She liked the flamingos and gorillas.

It also rained on us and we got pretty soaked. But it was pretty hot so we didn't care.

There was a cool pond of turtles that I loved. And I also loved the tigers. They were amazing and pretty close to the glass. They also have very good soft-serve ice cream at the zoo. We stopped for a snack in an area where we could see the baboons and ibexes running around.

I bought these postcards a few years ago when Randi, Khoder and I went to the zoo with Mikey.

 

Madonna

I just got back from Madonna's concert with Randi and Maria. We had so much fun.

It wouldn't be Madonna if the show didn't have some crazy stuff in it: bagpipes, skateboards, swings, kilts, Madonna playing a guitar, break dancers, an Imagine cover, scenes of war, a photo of Bush and Saddam (not in any particular order.) I loved the old stuff and didn't like some of the newer songs.

Here's what she sang:

The Beast Within intro
Vogue
Nobody Knows Me
Frozen
American Life
Express Yourself
Burning Up
Material Girl
Hollywood
Hanky Panky
Deeper And Deeper
Die Another Day
The Lament
Bedtime Story
Nothing Fails
Like A Prayer
Don't Tell Me
Mother And Father
Imagine
Into The Groove
Papa Don't Preach
Crazy For You
Music
Holiday

Ringo

Today's Ringo Starr's 64th birthday.

I've seen Ringo twice. First at the State Theater and then in 2001 at Rockefeller Center for the Today Show. Had to get up very early and still didn't get very close. But it was fun.

 

 

Shoes

I got this postcard of Elton John and his shoes when I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with my sister.

I put this one up because I went shoe shopping this week, and was surprised to find the perfect shoes for Betty's wedding. Comfy and cheap. Only went to three stores. A miracle!

 

 

Deployed overseas

Here's "The frontal view of the Grand Mosque by evening, Bahrain"

My friend Al sent this one when he was stationed on the USS Supply. After 8 years in the Navy, he's been honorably discharged and is happy to be a civillian again.

Keeping with a theme here

Here's Rocky!

 

Rocky's first birthday was June 15. He was adopted last year from the North Shore Animal League and has become a very big part of our family.

My grandmother rocks

It was on our trip to New England when we started taking photos of Grandma with rocks. And you can tell why from some of these postcards. It was the summer of '91 when I was 15. Grandma, Aunt Lorainne and I drove up to Maine and then traveled to New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Our crazy adventure included a sort of all-you-can eat pancake house, flying in a hot air balloon, and lots of rocky places such as Lost River, Acadia National Park and Mt. Washington.

(Happy birthday Grandma!)

 

Rock stars

I've been up updating my music files because they make my ipod very confusing. I had everything very organized, or so I thought. But when I put songs on the ipod, the song name under Bruce Springsteen all looked like this "Bruce Springstee.."

So this has been a long and boring project, but it will pay off when I can easily find Thunder Road!

Here are some of my other favorite rock stars.

Ellis Island

Since I couldn't go to my high school reunion this weekend, I thought I'd mark the occasion with some postcards from a class trip.

Ms. Stangl took our U.S. history class to Ellis Island in my sophomore year. She had never taken a group on a trip before but I think we nagged her into it.

I remember Betty was a little freaked out on the ferry (which is funny because she later went to work for the ferry company.) And then some friends and I went around posing in front of the old pictures of new arrivals doing things like scrubbing floors.

 

 

 

Ice Cream

I wish I had some Ben and Jerry's right now.

Grandma sent this one from a trip to Vermont with mom and Aunt Lorraine in August 2000. They got to see how ice cream was made, but I think that day the factory was making a flavor that one of them didn't like.

 

Paul McCartney

Here's Paul McCartney in '65.

Tomorrow is Sir Paul's 62nd birthday.

 

 

Rimini

Randi went to Rimini when she was doing a study abroad program in the summer of 2001.

She visited the beach at Rimini on weekends and hung out at a club that played, of all things, early Beatles and Beach Boys music.

 

Norwich

Here's where I lived and worked for about a year and a half after college. Some people still think I live there, even though I've been back for more than 4 years.

I was the assistant news editor at the Norwich Bulletin. It was a pretty intense job. I had to run the news desk a few nights a week. Lots of page 1 and wire duty. Some of my co-workers were pretty cool. But I got pretty bored up there working nights and being so far from the fam. I put a lot of miles on my Mazda driving back to NJ.

When friends or family would visit, I'd take them to the waterfall, called Indian Leap. Here's the story:

In 1643 Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegans, led his warriors in the famous battle against their rival tribe the Narragansetts. Legend has it that a band of Narragansetts, unfamiliar with the territory, unknowingly reached the high treacherous escarpment of the Falls. The Narragansetts, rather than surrender, attempted to leap the chasm. Unsuccessful, they plunged to their deaths into the abyss below.

Then we'd go to the buffett at Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, and probably to Mystic, which does have good pizza.

 

www.norwichbulletin.com

http://www.norwichct.org/visitors/index.html

Broadway under the clouds

It was too cloudy to see the stars, but nice enough weather at this year's Broadway Under The Star. Last's years had more celebs, but was longer. This show had a few great performances and we were on our way home around 10.

I loved Brian Stokes Mitchell and Sutton Foster (who sang I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy). There was a cool medley of baseball songs. But then there was a closing montage with George M. Cohan songs set to images from military movies. Propaganda!

Low points: The obnoxious host Bronson Pichot. Shut up Balki. Also an annoying girl in front of us with a staring problem. Then she started picking at her feet and pulled out a pair of scissors to cut skin. Too gross.

 

Dress

Not a postcard, but this is what I'm wearing in Betty's wedding. Finally got it figured out today!

 

(This image makes me wish I was taller.)

Nebraska

So I have left New Jersey. ... I spent two weeks in Nebraska at a copy editing training progam in May 1997. I stayed at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

I can remember this conversation on the phone with David:

David: You're in Nebraska.

Me: I'm in Nebraska.

The program was a lot of work, but we had a lot of fun. After long days devoted to AP style and headline drills, we'd head back to the dorms and watch The Simpsons. Spent hours quoting Ralph Wiggum. We went to the movies almost everynight and then found a few cool bars.

I also lost my luggage key somewhere on the trip there and had to break into my suitcase because I couldn't wait for mom to fedex the spare key.

It felt very strange to be out there. People loved their college sports, hockey and corn. The strong sense of school spirit was a strange thing too for this Rutgers student.

On a tour of the campus, we got to visit the stadium and walk out on the field. (I haven't even been to Rutgers' stadium.) A guy from Oklahoma spit on the field!

 

Invasion of Turtles

Caption: Young turtles at feeding time. A special mix of food allows such small turtles to reach weight in excess of 300 lbs.

Mom and grandma went to a turtle farm in in Grand Cayman during their cruise trip in July 2001. (That's the trip where mom got up and danced on a chair!)

I'm very jealous about this one. They got to see all kinds of turtles. Mom got to hold one. (Grandma notes that she just took the picture.)

Just like postcards, I have been collecting turtles forever. They have taken over my house. Glass turtles. Plastic turtles. Stuffed animal turtles. Ceramic. Metallic. Robotic. Miniature. Rubber. Wind up. Potholders. Tablemats. Socks. Frames. Pins. Earrings. Pictures. Boxes. Pencil sharpener. Flashlight. Snow globes. Postcards. They are everywhere.

 

 

Goodbye Gippper

Well ... What can I say about Ronald Reagan. I remember the jelly beans. Genesis' Land of Confusion video. My third-grade teacher saying she wouldn't vote for him because if he won again she'd be eating dog food. There was Nancy Reagan on Diff'rent Strokes.

I think a president deserves the respect and treatment Reagan has gotten this week. But I don't think we should gloss over the problems of the 80s and glorify his term in office either.

I can't remember where I got this postcard. I have a few presidential ones.

(Random fact: Marilyn Monroe and I have the same birthday.)

Just a post note.... I thought the final ceremony tonight was very sad. When Nancy started crying on the casket, I think all of us in the newsroom got a bit teary.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/11/politics/11REAG.html?hp

 

Ray Charles

In their early days in Hamburg and The Cavern, The Beatles would play "What I'd  Say" making up their own verses to keep it going all night.

Ray Charles had a great influence on my favorite band.

And I love his version of "America the Beautiful."



http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/11/arts/music/11CHAR.html

Greetings from London

So I've had a postcard collection for as long as I can remember, and I've been telling a few people about it lately. I thought I'd share some of it.

This one is from my aunt and grandmother's trip to London in November 2001. They were among the brave Americans who felt it was OK to travel after 9/11, and their flight was delayed because the FBI was checking everyone out. But they had a good time seeing the sights and some shows, and of course, shopping. The postcard also tells about an incident with a telephone box like this.

There's also a cool stamp of a fish.