OMG!™

It is Thanksgiving weekend and I managed to make it a 5-day weekend!
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Insomnia continues and last night I took an exploratory drive to Sheepshead Bay. I find it calming to look at the water, even if from the car. It was cold and windy in Sheepshead Bay, last night
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It's a nippy 48F in Brooklyn. Today will be windy with a mix of clouds and sun; and a high around 50F, with winds WNW 25-35 mph. Wind gusts to over 50 mph possible. Tonight will be clear to partly cloudy, low of 38F, and winds W 15-25 mph.
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It's been a busy Thanksgiving, and I haven't left the City of New York.
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We had quaducant, as well as turkey and ham, along with all the trimmings, including my newest fave Thanksgiving indulgence, green bean casserole.
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Please send birthday greetings to:
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1894-Brooks Atkinson
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1929-Berry Gordy, Jr.
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1943-Randy Newman
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1949-Alexander Godunov
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1949-Paul Shaffer
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1950-Ed Harris
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1959-Judd Nelson
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1965-Jon Stewart
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1967-Anna Nicole Smith
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Anna Nicole Smith was a walking train-wreck. There are train-wrecks I like to watch - that are entertaining; then there are train-wrecks that make me sad and uncomfortable. Anna Nicole Smith was in the latter category. Do you have a favorite train-wreck?
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My favorite train-wreck is Amy Winehouse.
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So, back to this insomnia thing. What do you do to sleep when sleep evades you?
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Anna Gastaldi is my most recently added friend at Facebook. Who is yours?
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in⋅som⋅ni⋅a  /in-som-nee-uh/

–noun

:inability to obtain sufficient sleep, esp. chronically

:difficulty falling or staying asleep

:sleeplessness

:a persistent and prolonged inability to sleep

:prolonged, usually abnormal inability to obtain adequate sleep called also agrypnia

:chronic inability to fall asleep or remain asleep for an adequate length of time
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Dick Mac says: "I'll bet insomnia is stress-related."
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Name that tune: "A pretty face may last a year or two, but pretty soon they'll see what you can do."

OMG!™

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It is the final weekend of the Premiere League season.
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Since the advent of my new struggle with insomnia, I sleep only about four hours a night, and it's not enough. Last night I slept six hours and I do not feel rested. How many hours did you sleep last night?
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Another very Spring day in New York: Morning cloudiness, decreasing through the day with a high in the lo 70sF, and gentle winds, 10mph E. Thirty percent chance of thunderstorms this evening and steady showers overnight, with a low of 63F. Winds remaining mild at 10mph and shifting SSE.
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It can rain all day today if I can have clear skies for tomorrow afternoon's RBNY match at Giants Stadium. I love my Red Bulls, even if I hate their moniker and believe their ownership is interested only in using the team to promote their hard drink. Have you ever drunk a Red Bull? I think it's hateful stuff.
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My fave player is John Wolyniec, The Workingman's Red Bull, and I look forward to wearing my Wolyniec jersey to the match and thanking him for his consistent hard work for the team. Do you have a favorite athlete currently playing in his or her sport?
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Please send birthday greetings to:
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1883 - Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
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1910 - Scatman Crothers
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1910 - Artie Shaw
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1928 - Rosemary Clooney
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1933 - Joan Collins
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1952 - Marvin Hagler
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1958 - Drew Carey
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1974 - Jewel
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Alexis Colby, as played by Joan Collins, is one of my all-time favorite television characters. Do you have a favorite television character?
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So, back to this sleep thing. I look forward to an increase in the amount of sleep I get.
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Lou Marron is my most recently added friend at Facebook. Who is yours?
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work⋅ing⋅man  /werk eng man/

–noun, plural -men

:a man of the working class
:a man, whether skilled or unskilled, who earns his living at some manual or industrial work
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Dick Mac says: "With his hard work, solid play, and enthusiasm for all the is right about soccer, John Wolyniec is the workingman's Red Bull."
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Name that tune: "As soon as you're born they make you feel small."

OMG!™

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It is oddly foggy this morning.
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I got out of bed at 5:59 and wish I had slept longer. I couldn't see the clock in the hotel room from my bed, and assumed it was much later. Now I am up, teeth brushed, sitting in the near-darkness, resenting that my wife and daughter sleep deep into Saturday mornings without any trouble.
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It is Spring-like in Dedham, Massachusetts, today. Morning fog with more clouds than sun. High about 71F. Winds E at 10. Tonight there will be thundershowers. Low 58F. Winds S at 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
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I certainly hope the rains comes late, because my niece is getting married in the afternoon.
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My mechanic screwed-up the AC in my car. I would like it to be cool on Sunday when I drive back to New York.
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Please send birthday greetings to:
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William Seward
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Henry Fonda
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Liberace
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Bob Edwards
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Pierce Brosnan
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Debra Winger
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Olga Korbut
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Janet Jackson
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Gabriela Sabatini
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Tori Spelling
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It was so exciting to watch Olga Korbut in the Olympics. Perhaps it is because I am older, and just a little more impatient, but I find gymnastics mush less interesting now than thirty and forty years ago. Do you think the failure of the Soviet Union, the taking-down of the Iron Curtain and the end of the Cold War has made things just a little less mysterious? When the American media treated the Communist world like people less-than-human, and provided news coverage that rivaled their coverage of Mars, it was easy to think of them as different and, well, "foreign." So, when athletes like Olga Korbut appeared on television, they were that much more fascinating, that much more exotic. With the homogenization of world culture, everything is so similar: processed food, clothing, automobiles, gymnasts.
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What do you think of the globalization of world culture? Is it making things more interesting, or making things more the same?
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So, back to this sleep thing. As I age, I find that sleep is harder to get. How do you sleep?
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Libby Harris is my most recently added friend at Facebook. Who is yours?
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empathy \em-puh-thee\

noun

:the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.

:the imaginative ascribing to an object, as a natural object or work of art, feelings or attitudes present in oneself: By means of empathy, a great painting becomes a mirror of the self.
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Dick Mac asks: "Is the wrong-wing correct by denouncing Barack Obama's plan to include empathy as a characteristic of the next Supreme Court Justice?"
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Name that tune: "So what you wanna know calamity's child? Where do you wanna go? What can I do for you?"

OMG!™

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Spring has sprung.
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I think I should sleep later than 6:45 A.M. on Saturdays, but neither my mind nor my body agree.
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There is Spring-like weather in Brooklyn: showers and thundershowers continuing through the morning, after some dramatic downpours overnight. The storms may be severe. High 77F and Wind SSW at 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Now THAT'S weather!
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Last night I got to sleep before 1:00 A.M., but was so exhausted, that I think I needed eight or nine hours of sleep. Does that ever happen to you?
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Last night, I was sitting in the club at Giants Stadium after the Red Bulls v San Jose match, waiting for a snack and some drinks to be delivered. My 5-year-old daughter was running about chatting-up the front office staff, waiting for the players to arrive. I am no longer allowed to be with her while she socializes in the club. Suddenly, one of the players, a very tall, very handsome man with whom we have become friendly, walked into the room with her swept-up in his arms, both of them grinning from ear-to-ear. A wonderful sight.
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Please send birthday greetings to:
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Mike Wallace
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Albert Finney
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Glenda Jackson
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James L. Brooks
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Candice Bergen
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Billy Joel
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Tony Gwynn
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Steve Yzerman
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Glenda Jackson and Albert Finney share a birthday! Who knew?
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So, this sleep thing is odd! As I am further into my sixth decade than I want to think, I find that sleep is harder to get.
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My wife doesn't seem to have this problem (but then, she has not started her sixth decade, has she?!?!?).
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Do you have a wife?
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Mike Garson is my most recently added friend at Facebook. Who is yours?
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fandom \fan-duhm\

–noun

: fans collectively
: followers of of a motion-picture star or a professional game or sport
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Dick Mac asks: "Is fandom a refuge of the dull, or is it a valid cultural institution to be embraced by all?"
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Name that tune: "She had to heave me right across her shoulder, 'cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind."

OMG!™

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I am tired, but I am not tedious.
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I usually don't need much sleep. Last night I got 5 hours, and that wasn't enough. How much sleep do you get each night?
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What a forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. Very warm. High around 85F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Some clouds tonight. Low 63F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. An excellent day to be in Brooklyn!
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Why not come and hang with us!
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Charlotte had her ballet recital last week. I wept. Do you ever weep, and refuse to admit it?
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Please send birthday greetings to:
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Edward R. Murrow
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Ella Fitzgerald
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Meadowlark Lemon
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Al Pacino
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Tess Perry
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Hank Azaria
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Renée Zellweger
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At least one of these people is on my Facebook friends list.
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How many of those birthday people do you think visited The Louvre? How many of those birthday people do you think want to visit The Louvre? Have you visited The Louvre?
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I proposed marriage to my then-girlfriend in front of Venus de Milo, at The Louvre. Today she is my wife.
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Do you have a wife?
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Pat Brett is my most recently added friend at Facebook. Who is yours?
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art \ahrt\ [or; New England English \aht\]

–noun

:the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
:the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria.
:a field, genre, or category of art.
:the fine arts collectively.
:any field using the skills or techniques of art.
:illustrative or decorative material.
:the principles or methods governing any craft or branch of learning.
:the craft or trade using these principles or methods.
skill in conducting any human activity.
a branch of learning or university study, esp. one of the fine arts or the humanities, as music, philosophy, or literature.
:skilled workmanship, execution, or agency, as distinguished from nature.
trickery; cunning.
:studied action; artificiality in behavior.
:an artifice or artful device.
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Dick Mac says: "Many of us have favorite places where we like to view art; mine is MoMA, for modern art."
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Name that tune: "As her young man dies, on a cold and gray Chicago morning, another little baby child is born . . . "

OMG!™

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I am tired, but I am not tedious.
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I usually don't need much sleep. Last night I got 5 hours, and that wasn't enough. How much sleep do you get each night?
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What a forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. Very warm. High around 85F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Some clouds tonight. Low 63F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. An excellent day to be in Brooklyn!
.
Why not come and hang with us!
.
Charlotte had her ballet recital last week. I wept. Do you ever weep, and refuse to admit it?
.
Please send birthday greetings to:
.
Edward R. Murrow
.
Ella Fitzgerald
.
Meadowlark Lemon
.
Al Pacino
.
Tess Perry
.
Hank Azaria
.
Renée Zellweger
.
At least one of these people is on my Facebook friends list.
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How many of those birthday people do you think visited The Louvre? How many of those birthday people do you think want to visit The Louvre? Have you visited The Louvre?
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I proposed marriage to my then-girlfriend in front of Venus de Milo, at The Louvre. Today she is my wife.
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Do you have a wife?
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Pat Brett is my most recently added friend at Facebook. Who is yours?
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art \ahrt\ [or; New England English \aht\]

–noun

:the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
:the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria.
:a field, genre, or category of art.
:the fine arts collectively.
:any field using the skills or techniques of art.
:illustrative or decorative material.
:the principles or methods governing any craft or branch of learning.
:the craft or trade using these principles or methods.
skill in conducting any human activity.
a branch of learning or university study, esp. one of the fine arts or the humanities, as music, philosophy, or literature.
:skilled workmanship, execution, or agency, as distinguished from nature.
trickery; cunning.
:studied action; artificiality in behavior.
:an artifice or artful device.
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Dick Mac says: "Many of us have favorite places where we like to view art; mine is MoMA, for modern art."
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Name that tune: "As her young man dies, on a cold and gray Chicago morning, another little baby child is born . . . "

OMG!™

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What a week! Such a week that I am thrilled for the weekend. Do you have weekend plans?
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I lost 17 pounds during my Lenten Fast. In the past, that was a problem; but since my metabolism has slowed so much over the past few years, losing 17 pounds was actually a good thing. Now the trick is to eat sensibly all year around. Do you eat sensibly?
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Looks like a lovely day ahead! 56F with a lamblike breeze, expected to go to 73F with nominal humidity. Tonight there will be some clouds, a low of 48F, and a lovely breeze.
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Spring has sprung. Yesterday, I sent Charlotte pix from my phone of daffodils, tulips, hyacinth, and forsythia, in bloom around Park Avenue in the East 50s. What's your fave Spring flower?
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Please send birthday greetings to:
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Clarence Darrow
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Hayley Mills
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James Woods
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Eric Roberts
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Conan O'Brien
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Wayne Wiederhold
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I liked James Woods before his public reaction to 9/11 was so dramatic. He has always been a passionate man, which I liked about him. His reaction to 9/11, really disturbed me. I wanted to be sensitive to the fact that he lost a close friend, but it was hard to listen to his political pronouncements. Woods once made an excellent TV movie ("Indictment: The McMartin Trial") about a fake child sexual abuse case in California. I want to like Woods again; perhaps its time for me to forgive and forget, and just move on from my resentment towards him.
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Are you able to easily forgive and forget and move on?
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John Kreis is my most recently added friend at Facebook. Who is yours?
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re⋅sent⋅ment \rehˈzentmənt\

–noun

:the feeling of displeasure or indignation at some real or imagined action, person, statement, etc., that regarded as an insult.
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Dick Mac says: "Some resentments are only cured by much prayer, meditation, and self-examination. Others just slip away."
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Name that tune: "When they said you was high classed, well, that was just a lie."