Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Blogger had been down for maintenance since early Thursday afternoon, which is why I have not posted anything since then. Now, just be patient and give me some time to catch up, OK?

The city of Altoona has, agreed to sell its naming rights to a documentary filmmaker for $25,000. So, for 60 days, beginning on April 27, Altoona will be called -- “Pom Wonderful Presents the Greatest Movie Ever Sold.” The filmmaker is Morgan Spurlock, best known for the movie “Super Size Me,” in which he ate nothing but McDonald’s food for a month. “Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” is about product placement in movies. Pom Wonderful is a juice maker that paid to be in the title of the film, which opens April 22. Altoona Mayor Bill Schirf says, “Clearly, the people of Altoona have a sense of humor … and an asking price.” For more information go to MorganSpurlock.com

OMG and LOL are now in the Oxford English Dictionary Online, along with other popular terms IMHO, TMI and BFF. Other new additions to the dictionary include FYI and muffin top, which describes the protuberance of fat above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers. And for the first time in its 127-year history the dictionary has added a symbol with the introduction of a picture of a heart -- made famous by the "I 'heart' NY" tourism campaign -- used as a verb meaning "love." For more on this story, go to OED.com .

In its 21st annual words of the year vote, the American Dialect Society voted “app” (noun, an abbreviated form of application, a software program for a computer or phone operating system) as the word of the year for 2010. (Read the entire press release.) Presiding at the Jan. 7 voting session were ADS Executive Secretary Allan Metcalf of MacMurray College, and Ben Zimmer, chair of the New Words Committee of the American Dialect Society and executive producer of VisualThesaurus.com. Zimmer is also the “On Language” columnist for the New York Times Magazine. “App has been around for ages, but with millions of dollars of marketing muscle behind the slogan ‘There’s an app for that,’ plus the arrival of ‘app stores’ for a wide spectrum of operating systems for phones and computers, app really exploded in the last 12 months,” Zimmer said. “One of the most convincing arguments from the voting floor was from a woman who said that even her grandmother had heard of it.” Word of the Year is inter...

Beloit, Wis. – Born when Ross Perot was warning about a giant sucking sound and Bill Clinton was apologizing for pain in his marriage, members of this fall’s entering college class of 2014 have emerged as a post-email generation for whom the digital world is routine and technology is just too slow. Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall. The creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and former Public Affairs Director Ron Nief, it was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references, and quickly became a catalog of the rapidly changing worldview of each new generation. You can see this year's list here .

Thanks to Bob for letting me know "Chevy Van" was a hit in the '70s. And thanks for listening! (Sorry I didn't get to the phone fast enough to talk to you.) I've already listened to the song twice. I wonder if I still have the 45 somewhere.

I NEED A VACATION!

This bunny enjoys a breakfast buffet in the yard between our stuidos and Chapel Ridge.

Governor Ed Rendell says his proposed 16 percent increase in the state's personal income tax is fair for everyone. The unemployed, the poor, and senior citizens won't have to pay it. It'll just be average Pennsylvanians who will be helping out their less fortunate neighbors (and helping to pay for the increase in spending he's proposed over last year's budget) during the Commonwealth's financial crisis. The GOP says this increase – which would only be for three years like the Johnstown Flood Tax – means the average Pennsylvanian will pay $500 more a year in taxes. An ad of theirs talks about what $500 means to the average family in Pennsylvania. One example: They say that's the $500 you were going to use to take your family on vacation. [Light bulb over my head] Now I get it, Governor Ed! C'mon you frugal, penny-pinching Republicans. Can't you see the bigger picture here? Sure that family can't go on vacation, but they have to stop whining and l...

This is the bird you've been hearing about on the air. Yeah, the one who's, uh, making a mess of our vehicles. I hope he realizes soon that the bird he's playing hide-n-seek with in the mirrors and windows is himself.

I'm going home sick in about 12 minutes (after the noon news), so don't expect any more updates here today. But please listen to WESB and The HERO for Stefan and the news.

This is one of my favorite Stupid Pet Tricks of all time. I think it's because Bailey reminds me of my dog, Beebe. Beebe

Paula Johnson Alter!

Karen Teriberry

Jim Pasinski

Dorie Meabon!

CODY, Wyoming - A Cody man has been cited for public intoxication while riding his horse on a busy street during a weekend snowstorm. For the full story, go to the Billings Gazette .

You know the drill: 1)Turn your clock back 1 hour 2)Change the batteries in your smoke detectors 3)Change the batteries in your carbon monoxide detector 4)Enjoy that extra hour of sleep

No, this is not the reminder about turning your clocks back. That'll come later. This reminder is about a holiday. Thanksgiving. For those of you who don't remember, Thanksgiving is the American holiday that come in between Halloween and Christmas. Some of you may be saying? "Huh? What's this reminder all about?" Well, as I was driving home at about 10:30 last night, the people who had their Halloween decorations up on Labor Day, were in the process of putting up their Christmas decorations. As I was driving to work this morning, I saw two more houses with Christmas lights on. I have no problem with putting up Christmas decorations in October or November. After all, you just don't know what the weather's going to be like later. But just because they're up, doesn't mean you have to light them. So, one more reminder: Thanksgiving. It's a great holiday. Let's not forget about it.