Before We Take a Week Off: Ten More Embarrasing Ways to Die

Greetings to our blog readers in Latvia, Spain and Cyprus, and we send out a special greetings to Glenn Beck, Edward Snowden and Paris Hilton: Three of our favorite celebrity narcissists.

Let's go to the big list on ten ways no one wants to die:

1. Getting hit by a Valley Metro bus in Roanoke, Va. (top image)

2. Seizure from playing War of the Warcraft for 48 straight hours.

3. Getting struck by lightning while playing mini-golf in Ocean City, Maryland.

4. Choking to death on a bowl of Rice Krispies (center image)

5. Getting hit by a foul ball at a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game.

6. Getting struck down in the parking lot by an oncoming vehicle after shopping at Target.

7. Smoke inhalation from house fire caused by smoking Marlboros in bed.

9.  Drowning while fishing in the Dan River in Eden, North Carolina.

10. Getting hit by a falling coconut from a tree while vacationing in Belize (bottom image).

http://www.valleymetro.com

http://www.us.battle.net/wow/

http://www.ococean.com

http://www.ncnorthstar.com/

http://www.travelbelize.org/

Presidential Quotes (7 of 8): Richard M. Nixon

Greetings to our blog readers in Canada, Belize and Uganda- where we learned that Yuweri Museveni is now president, hopefully he is a nicer guy than Idi Amin!

And, with that reference to a prominent '70s world leader, we turn our attention to President Richard Nixon, who left the White House due to the notorious Watergate scandal, but even though we are not Republicans, we kind of like this guy.

And, at this time, to arbitrarily increase hit numbers, we will mention Bradley Cooper, Elisabeth Hasselback and Kim Kardashian.

Here is our quote from Nixon who makes a 'cameo' of sorts in "The Big Lebowski," a film that was made several years after this death:

"Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then destroy yourself."

http://www.nixonlibrary.gov

Greetings from Mister Snake

If one travels to a Central American country like Belize, Honduras or Guatemala, one may encounter this breed of reptile: The Mayan Coral Snake.

Though it is supposedly shy in nature, one Belize travel site said this breed of snake bit a local resident in the village of Xabie in 2007. The man did not seek immediate medical attention, and he died the next day.

It should be pointed out, I suppose, that this breed of snake is highly venomous.

Good morning to our friends in Dubai, where it should be approaching 9:00 a.m., which is apparently the top blogging hour, but come that time tomorrow I will probably be picking up laundry from the Spring Center Laundromat in the D.C. suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland*; they even offer wi fi!

And, for those who want to see a live snake show, the Everglades Alligator Farm in Homestead, Fla., has them at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., tell them we sent you, not that it will matter at the gate! The park also offers alligator shows at 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

This is the third of a proposed five consecutive entries in our make-shift 'Reptiles Week' blog series; other entries can be found at our sister blog: http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com


*- We don't really live in Silver Spring, Md.

http://www.springcenterlaundromat.com/

http://www.travelbelize.org/

http://www.everglades.com/

Quote of the Day/Week-Maya Angelou

First of all, thanks to our blog-readers in Bulgaria and Honduras. I've been to one of those countries-Bulgaria, though it was when I was a child 35 years ago. And, I've been close to Honduras with visits to Belize and Guatemala.

Today, we are quoting the great poet Maya Angelou who turned 84 yesterday. This is also National Poetry Month in America.

Angelou spent several years in Ghana during the 1960s. The poet, who is also known for being a Civil Rights activist, has in recent years been a professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, and she recited her poem "On the Rushes of Morning" during Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993.

Here is her quote:

"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean."

Top Ten Lists, Obscure World Capitals, Latin America Edition

You know you are getting old when you make a comment like 'don't drink the Kool Aid' and a 19-year-old kid who is going to Duke University in Durham, NC, and should thus be smarter than you,doesn't get the joke.

But back in 1978, one psychotic minister named Jim Jones did indeed orchestrate a mass suicide of around 900 people, most of whom had followed Jones from San Fransico to the small country of Guyana in the northeast corner of South America.

Guyana is one of ten countries that we are listing here as we give the names of various capital cities in Latin America.


1. Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean)

2. Paramaribo, Suriname (South America)

3. Quito, Ecuador (South America)

4. Bridgetown, Barbados (Caribbean)

5. Georgetown, Guyana (South America)

6. Asuncion, Paraguay (SA)

7. St. George's, Grenada (Car.)

8. Belmopan, Belize (Central America)

9. Managua, Nicagua (CA)

10. San Jose, Costa Rica (CA)