Italy in finals!!!

Due to heritage, I'm going to take a little pride in that Italy has ousted Germany and made finals in the World Cup. But checking out the game and stills, these guys are insane and as mentioned in several commentaries, both teams deserved to be in the final - the guts and glory were everywhere!

OUCH!
The goal that ended the match!





Also, in world of Wimbledon:

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Former champion Maria Sharapova and five-time major winner Justine Henin-Hardenne reached the Wimbledon semifinals Tuesday with straight-set victories. Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo and Kim Clijsters also got there.

Bittersweet indeed...

Anti-gay marriage leader dies
Matthew Benson The Arizona Republic Jul. 4, 2006 12:00 AM

The head of the ballot effort to prohibit gay marriage and define traditional unions in Arizona was killed in a car wreck early Monday. Lynn Stanley, chairwoman of the Protect Marriage Arizona Coalition, died in a crash on Interstate 40 while returning to Phoenix from Las Vegas. A state Department of Public Safety official said Stanley, 58, was killed in a single-car rollover about 6:30 a.m. outside Seligman. Stanley was driving east when her car went into the median and she tried to correct but the car flipped several times, the official said.

Stanley's death cast a pall over what was to be a joyous time for the Protect Marriage coalition. The group collected roughly 300,000 signatures to place its measure on the November ballot. Amending the state Constitution, as the Protect Marriage coalition intends, requires at least 183,917 valid signatures(which is now referred to as a bittersweet "victory" in the movement).

In an opinion piece written for The Arizona Republic in 2005, Stanley said the intent of the ballot initiative is to preserve "the special status of marriage by enshrining the definition of marriage in the state Constitution and preventing any part of Arizona's government from undermining that definition by creating or recognizing marriage counterfeits."

Stanley was a wife of 38 years and longtime Arizona resident, daughter Tracie said. Lynn also was an artist and published author, and taught Bible study classes at Scottsdale Bible Church.
"She was just a good friend to everybody," Tracie said. "She loved my dad more than anything, and her kids."

I posted this because as I read this I was somewhat troubled with my own feelings over the matter. I'm not a sympathetic sort to begin with; if I don't know or didn't know someone, I'm not likely if at all to get emotional over something like this. What disturbed me was a bit of judgment I guess?, that I felt reading this. Like she wasn't a good person anyway to head such a hateful drive over something that in reality shouldn't concern her as it doesn't affect her life. I didn't like that about myself. I feel bad for her family and husband, which fortunately for her, she was able to have and enjoy and love freely and openly. The same life she wanted to void for others...and the last statement of her being a friend to everybody and the bible thumping well, it just seems an obvious contradiction to what she should have represented. I was angry with her.

I don't take issue with someone so much for not agreeing to gay marriage; but to expel the energy to combat something that has no real part in affecting your life; and to claim to be a devout christian to boot - something's wrong.

Anyway, I welcome all feedback. I have no intention of debating this matter and so will not likely respond for argument sake. Just needed to share as my reaction to this sort of left me puzzled and just dark in general, I suppose. Needed to shed it - so, done.

Thanks.

Wiki wiki wiki wiki...

Instructions from Minta are:
1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. In the Search box, type your birth month and day (but not year).
3. List three events that happened on your birthday.
4. List two important birthdays and one interesting death.
5. One holiday or observance (if any).

September 10 (whew, just dodged a bullet)
EVENTS
1) 1963- 20 African-American students enter public schools in the U.S. state of Alabama.

2) 1972 - The US loses its first international basketball game in a disputed match versus the
Soviet Union at Munich, Germany (3 sec. changed everything-great story and controversy).

3) 1993 - The X-Files premieres on FOX

BIRTHS
1) 1934 - Roger Maris, baseball player (d. 19851) - GO YANKEES!
2) 1958 - Dan Castellaneta, American voice actor (watched on the original Tracey Ullman show)
3) 1969 - Jonathon Schaech, American actor (LOVE HIM!)

DEATH
1897- In the Lattimer Massacre , a sheriff's posse kills more than nineteen unarmed immigrant miners in Pennsylvania.
The Lattimer Massacre was an incident in which a sheriff's posse killed nineteen unarmed immigrant miners and wounded scores more. On 10 September 1897 at the Lattimer mine near Hazelton, PA, men under the authority of the Luzerne Cty sheriff fired on a peaceful labor demonstration made up of mostly POlish, Slovak, and Lithuanian anthracite miners. This incident stands not only as the largest massacre of Central Europeans in the US, but also as a turning point in the American labor movement.

HOLIDAY/OBSERVANCE
World Suicide Prevention Day
AIDS Day (Africa)

I don't sweat you...

Pressure indeed?! Minta "asked" me to oblige her in a meme so here we go...

1. FIRST NAME? Kat
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? This evening, laughed so hard I cried and couldn't breathe.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not particularly
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Pepperoni or Rare Roast Beef (Boar's Head)
6. KIDS? Yes
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Tough call, not that I dislike myself but I'm not easy to befriend, I don't think.
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? This is it.
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Don't think so.
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes, wanted to get them out as a kid for the ice cream but couldn't pull it off. Still ate ice cream anyway.
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No, not a particular thrill seeker.
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Great Grains with Pecans (NOT RAISINS)
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? More often than not.
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I do, I really do.
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?Ben and Jerry's New York Super Chunk Fudge.
16. SHOE SIZE?10
17. RED OR PINK? Red
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? quite a list, I'll go with my hair.
19. WHAT DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Time off.
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No.
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Why just pants and shoes?? Fetish question? Blue jeans and New Balance white, blue and grey sneakers.
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?Etheridge.
24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Cornflower - sounds like a variation of yellow when really it's a blue variety - yea, I would want to be unpredictable and "crazy" like that.
25. FAVORITE SMELL? Rain, puppy breath, fresh cut grass, and cedar wood.
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My girlfriend.
27. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Tie between their hair and mouth...thick dark hair or their teeth, lips, and smile.
28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? She's a doll.
29. FAVORITE DRINK? Softdrink is either Crystal Light Ice Tea or Diet Dr. Pepper, Alcohol would be vodka martini, filthy dirty with OLIVES!!! Beverage AND a meal! LOL.
30. FAVORITE SPORT? Tennis to watch, all kinds to play.
31. HAIR COLOR? Brown.
32. EYE COLOR? Brown
33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Hell no, ain't stickin' nothing in my eye voluntarily. Besides, I think specks are sexy.
34. FAVORITE FOOD? Haven't discovered a favorite yet.
35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy Ending (Hate Scary Movies)
36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Superman Returns, took this kids Fri. eve - great flick.
37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Purple and white button down
38. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter!
39. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.
40. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ice cream see #15.
41. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?? Have no idea.
42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?? Have no idea.
43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Night Watch, Contact(again), and Between Girlfriends.
44. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No pad
45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Soap reruns on cable.
46. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Thunderstorms, campfire, crunching gravel/dirt(& snow)under foot
47. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.
49. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Don't we all?!
50. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Yonkers, New York