MelissaInPhilly

I believe I mentioned before that my daughter attends the creative arts high school here in the city. It's a very good school and she likes it and gets good grades. There is a gospel choir at the school and also a bible study group (my daughter belongs to the latter). Well anyway, both organizations were told that they would not be permitted to have their pictures taken for the yearbook. Why? Separation of church and state! I don't understand this. These groups both meet after school, they don't force anyone to belong. What harm could it do? If someone was offended by the pictures, they could just turn the page. I know some of her friends in the bible study group and they are good kids. The teachers and administration at her school are very liberal and pride themselves on their openmindedness. There is a large percentage of openly gay students there. However, in this case, I don't think they're being very tolerant. My daughter is disappointed and I am just wondering -- is this legal?

Jessica Alba came to my daughter's school (she goes to the creative arts performing school here in the city). She said she is very pretty and was very nice to the students, but didn't seem to be the brightest crayon in the box. My daughter also said Jessica was very thin.

Both TO and Brian Westbrook ("the pride of Villanova") both showed alot of heart. It was very telling to see the look on TO's face . . . he wanted to win so much!

I wouldn't describe him as horrible either. More inconsistent. And he needs to learn to keep his cool under pressure like Brady. Did you know that Brady's grandmother recently died? And he still managed to win. As much as I dislike the Pats, he is incredible, and he's not even thirty.

Grrrr! Make nice. Remember how we felt during "our" lost Superbowls!

Funny? Are you a traitor or something? Actually I haven't watched the news today -- too depressing. Maybe all these bandwagon jumpers from Jersey will jump off the bandwagon now! I heard some people actually had "Superbowl Champs" t-shirts printed up. I wonder where they are going to unload them?

The air of despair hanging over our fair city is palatable. But hey -- I've been there four times before! Well, there's always next year, for both our teams!

Champagne to celebrate the Eagles victory, of course!

As you can guess, everyone is going CRAZY over the Eagles. Talk of the Superbowl dominates the news, and to tell the truth, it's kind of redundant -- how much can you say about it? I would like to see them win, of course, but I didn't grow up here and I wouldn't describe myself as a rabid fan. The victory parade I'm really waiting for is the one down Main Street, not Broad Street. Maybe I' still crazy after these years, but I STILL BELIEVE!

Well dawgs, remember when I said I was waiting for approval on a mortgage loan? Well, I not only received it, I moved into my new home today! It's just a modest little townhouse (aka rowhouse) but it's my modest little rowhouse! I would be delirious with joy except for the fact that my father had a mild heart attack on New Year's eve. Some way to ring in 2005, huh? He's in the hospital recuperating now (my parents live in Erie, PA) but he's 77 and anything could happen. My dad has been a diehard Bills fan for decades, before many of us were born. I have fond memories of going with him to Rich Stadium and before that, the old War Memorial Stadium (I barely remember it, though) to watch our Bills. So if you could, please say a little prayer for him. I would greatly appreciate it.

Is Pittsburgh that good? Well, they beat us -- I mean, them -- I mean, the Philadelphia Eagles, didn't they?

I am not a lawyer, but I worked for many years as a legal secretary (too many years, I might add). I can't offer insight into the pros and cons of law school, etc., but let me say that many of the attorneys I worked with were uh, um, very unpleasant people, especially at the large law firms. Many of them seemed miserable and unhappy. Perhaps this is because they were overworked. Anyway, the attorneys who work in the public sector seemed to be more content with their choices, even though they weren't making nearly as much as the big firm types.

Once again, my sentiments exactly. The innocent men, women, and children who died in these countries aren't responsible for the actions of their stupid government officials. It's a shame, because Israel is known for its excellent emergency-response teams. Unfortunately, they've had a great deal of practice.

Thank you, my brotha! Speaking of Nathan Bedford Forrest, here's an interesting article about this southern "hero": http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport...cle.jsp?aid=518

Well, I am African American and I do find the Confederate flag offensive. To me it doesn't symbolize heritage, just hatred, violence, and racism. I don't see too many in the city, but when you hit rural Pennsylvania, they're all over the place. Who was it said that between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia lies Alabama? However, I can't stop people from flying or wearing it. It's a free country, and that means that we have to tolerate things that we don't approve of, or find offensive or hurtful. I do not think, however, it should be part of a state flag, or flown over a state capitol, when it symbolizes something so painful to many, many people. Actually, I think the whole thing is sort of petty. Thousands of innocents have died in Asia, and people are worried about a dress?

Petrino in Albany? (miss his odes) The Dean? Nervous Guy? And last but not least: Ou est mon pote Olivier?

I mentioned before that I am trying to get a house. I am waiting to hear from GMAC for final approval. I guess they are really busy now since everyone wants to close by the end of the year. So if you could cross your fingers, light a candle, pray for me, or wish really really hard . . . I would appreciate it! P.S.: I do have something to celebrate -- my son's birthday is coming up and another year has passed without him going into Juvie!

http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/q...neoconQuiz.html Interesting quiz from the Christian Science Monitor. Sorry about the other post!

I've heard that abstinence only programs have mixed results, so I really don't know what's going on. But my 16 year old is not sexually active, and neither are her friends, so I like to think her father and I did something right. She doesn't even have a boyfriend, and she's a very pretty girl. In fact, she thinks "doing it" is "disgusting," especially when people over 30 are involved. She even went so far as to say "old people" shouldn't "do it." I wonder how she thinks she was conceived?

As you know, Notre Dame fired Coach Ty Willingham yesterday. He had two out of three winning seasons and a respectable 21-15 record, but I guess that wasn't good enough. I'm only a casual follower of college football, but I think they should have given him more time. I guess in a big-time program like that, though, they want a winner right away. The flip side of this is Joe Paterno. Penn State (my husband's alma mater) is awful! I understand that Beaver Stadium isn't even half full for some of the home games, and this is unheard of. Paterno may be a legend and all, but it seems like he's lost his touch. My question is: why don't they fire this guy?

I don't care about the gay part, but I am slightly irritated that Angelina Jolie pays his mother. I believe she's 28 and Farrell is 27. I know they were married young back then, but I don't think Alex's mother had him when she was a year old! With all the talented over 40 actresses out there, they couldn't find someone to play this part? My brother told me that there are some Persian cats in the film, so I might see it for that (on video)!

Thanks for the analysis. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

You know what I mean, smarty! Actually, however, I am planning to move -- just hope my mortgage gets approved!

New Power Rankings: http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3188292

This remark was stupid and offensive, but this guy has gotten tons of publicity from his stupid remark. Here is a link explaining why this term is so offensive: http://www.tolerance.org/images_action/12_answer.html Yes, I've been called this, and the "n" word too.