Posted on 06/11/2006 7:39:20 AM PDT by Mo1
Oh, for sure, praying about Monday. Hope you aren't called.
I can't touch that!
Rave reviews for Rice’s gala peformance
Friday,28 July 2006KUALA LUMPUR: US top diplomat Condoleezza Rice won rave reviews yesterday for her musical performance at Asian security talks, despite skipping the traditional rowdy skits in favour of a sombre piano recital.
With North Korea firing off missiles, carnage in Lebanon, rockets raining on Israel and killings convulsing Iraq, Rice was in no mood for the kind of frivolity staged in previous years.
In keeping with her “serious” mood the Secretary of State performed two pieces from the brooding repertoire of Johannes Brahms – a solo Intermezzo number two, and Brahms Sonata for violin and piano, opus 108, with a Malaysian guest soloist.
She arrived at the Istana hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur for the annual gala dinner wearing a glamorous red dress and red jacket made of traditional Malaysian batik material.
The dress was designed by Faisol Abdullah, a friend of the Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and was custom-made for Rice.
Regional ministers swooned over the performance as they left the dinner. “Oh, beautiful, beautiful. She’s a great pianist. She’s a concert pianist,” said Philippines Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, who insisted that despite the geopolitical realities a good time was had by all.
“I don’t think it was a sombre mood. We were in a happy mood, we had a lot of fun,” he said.
Other acts ranged from the bizarre to the hilarious. The Australians usually bring the house down but were curiously absent this year, leaving it to the Russians to deliver a self-deprecating skit that drew gales of laughter.
The Japanese meanwhile put on a sci-fi act that styled Foreign Minister Taro Aso as a Bogart-style time-traveller who saves the world from disaster and heralds a new era of regional cooperation.
Ong Keng Yong, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) which is hosting this week’s Asean Regional Forum, applauded Rice’s efforts which came after a marathon week of diplomacy.
“The mood was very good,” he said. “It was a good, symbolic performance by her. I thought that she has made an extraordinary effort to be here,” he said, referring to her dash from Rome where she attended Middle East crisis talks.
Rice’s decision to take the stage alone was a relief to some of her entourage. Karen Hughes, former spin doctor for President George W Bush, now czar of US public diplomacy, admitted she had been let off the hook.
“I can’t even hum,” she confessed on the eve of the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) gala.
Last year, Rice rumpled Asean feathers by skipping the foreign ministers’ meeting and sending her then deputy Robert Zoellick.
Previous US secretaries of state, however, have caused a splash at Asean.
Two years ago Colin Powell, initially wary of lampooning himself at his first ARF in 2001, had them rolling in the aisles with a version of the Village People hit “YMCA.”
Bill Clinton’s secretary of state Madeleine Albright relished the occasion – once donning a bowler hat and tuxedo for her star turn.
“When you’re not so sweet, I call the Seventh Fleet, That’s the American Way,” she crooned, jabbing at her Chinese counterpart one year, to the tune of Bob Hope’s “Thanks for the Memories.” – AFP
Just looked up the software. It's from Britain and here is the website.
http://www.fo2pix.com/products/homeuserproducts_more.php?id=292_0_18_0_C
In case this screws up, I got the PhotoArtMasterGold. 1.5
It has good directions for larnin.. then you can take off by yourself and sort of guess at things. ;)
Thanks so very much. Was it difficult to learn ? I'm not sure when I'll get around to it, prolly sometime this winter. I've been wanting to take up painting again, thought I might take a course this time.
Mel Gibson arrested for DUI
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor and director Mel Gibson was arrested Friday in Malibu, California, and charged with driving under the influence, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office.
Gibson, 50, was pulled over early Friday while driving on the Pacific Coast Highway, said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore. Officers on patrol reported Gibson was driving at an "excessively fast speed," he said.
He was charged with a misdemeanor and posted $5,000 bond, Whitmore said.
Gibson was not immediately available for comment.
Gibson, who acted in the "Lethal Weapon" movie series, won an Oscar for directing 1995's Oscar-winning best picture "Braveheart."
He reportedly financed the controversial movie "The Passion of the Christ" (2004), which he also directed, with $25 million of his own money. The film made $370 million at the domestic box office and currently ranks No. 10 on the all-time box office list. "Passion of the Christ" was nominated for three Oscars, but won none.
Gibson's latest movie, "Apocalypto," set in the Mayan civilization of several centuries ago, is due in December.
CNN's Albert Lewitinn contributed to this report.
Sharky, that reply was quite lame even for you. I suspect that too many decades during which you were snowed in with only your well-worn copies of "SnowMan Monthly" and "Tundra Follies" for entertainment have finally taken their toll.
I fixed THAT!
The furnace???
Yeah. Got below 66°
That wasn't the furnace. That was Darks putzing around in your basement.
He's a putz too?
......Westy.....
Hi, Westy, good to hear from you!
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