The Web, Politics, 'Excuse Me?!' and Trivia

--Blogger was having some issues earlier today and it seems as if they might be fixed. But, then, who really knows. On a related matter: I have been having serious slowness problems with Sitemeter for the past several days. It is as if I was using dial-up AND every person in the world was trying for Sitemeter at the same time. Slow doesn't even come close to describing the problem. Actually, the entire Web has been just a scooch off for a few days. Hmm.

--Watched a few of the 'highlight' clips from the State of the Union address today and one thought kept running through my mind: the Brady Bunch episode when Marcia and Greg were both running for student body president. How sad is that when the behavior of our elected officials can be compared to The Brady Bunch!

--Does anyone else think this is just getting out of hand? (Or does anyone else even WATCH Grey's Anatomy?) This whole deal with Isaiah Washington and his use of the word 'faggot' is what I am talking about. NOW it is being reported that he has been sent to a residential treatment facility for rehab because of his use of the word. I don't like it when people use 'bad' words to describe or disparage another person, but hasn't this whole thing gone from a non-story to completely ludicrous? Is the show falling in the ratings and they need publicity to keep it on the air? As for me, I am very close to taking it off of my 'to be watched' list. This is getting ridiculous.

--And now, for those who actually have stayed and read through this entire post, some trivia from mental_floss. (Does anyone see how much I LOVE this site/magazine?)

* John Adams spoke with a lisp because he stubbornly refused to wear dentures.

* John Tyler holds the presidential paternity record. He had 14 children live to maturity, the last one born when Tyler was 70.

* James Buchanan had one eye set higher in his head than the other, so he walked around with his neck cocked to one side.

* Chester A. Arthur owned over 80 pairs of pants and insisted on changing several times a day.

* Benjamin Harrison had the first electric lights in the White House, but was scared to turn them on or off for fear of electrocution. Instead, he made the servants do it.

* Calvin Coolidge, while president, enjoyed riding on a mechanical horse and whooping like a cowboy. He also thought it was great fun to hit the buzzer for the servants and then hide.

* Richard M. Nixon loved football. As president, he'd occasionally call up NFL coaches to chat and offer strategic advice.

* Bill Clinton was eight years old when he was mauled by a sheep. That was the day, according to his biography, that he learned he could take a hard hit.