Welcome back - for better or worse!

I never thought when my computer died that it would be years till I got back to the blog. There have been so many changes since then. I was just reading my last entry and it mentioned Sen. Ted Kennedy having a seizure. As we all know, he is no longer with us. On a personal note, the same applies to my Mom. As we were going up to bed at 4:00 A.M. she suffered a stroke. She managed to hang on or I hung on to her, I'm not sure which, for about three weeks till she left us. I'm not handling it very well to be honest.

What does this have to do with Anderson Cooper? Well, maybe not much except I probably rely on the show and him even more than I used to. It is one of a very few things keeping me partially sane and helping me to hang on to that thin thread that Anderson talked about that keeps us from going over the edge. I know everyone loved the screen caps but I it may take me awhile to get back to that. I just now dug up my password and figured out how to get back on the blog. So be patient with me and I promise if a rant or meltdown is coming on, I will warn you ahead of time. You can then leave the blog safe and unscathed and not have to listen to me lose it. I can always burden my best friend with my meltdowns like I usually do.

Till I make it back again; take care and keeping watching AC 360. With the help of Anderson and 360, maybe we can come up with a few good days here and there.

Picture of the Week 6/29/2008

Hey folks, hope your weekend got off to a good start. As for me, mine has turned out to be quite a sad one. I just learned today that my priest passed away. He served at our parish all through my childhood and gave me my first communion. He was the kindest, sweetest, gentlest man you'd ever want to meet. When you think of what a priest should be, that was what he was like. He was the kind of priest who made it seem like anything could be forgiven. If you told him you had killed your mother, he probably would have said, "don't do it again!"

He had retired quite a while ago, but I would run into him from time to time. The first time was at the local Ladbrokes. I went there once a year to bet on the Kentucky Derby. When he saw me he got this shocked and appalled look on his face and said, "what are you doing here?" Without missing I beat I shot right back, "what are you doing here?" Realizing that I had a point he let out a little chuckle. He also worked at the local food pantry (aka soup kitchen). Every once in a while I would see him at the grocery store when he would stop to pick up food to take to the food pantry for the poor. Usually it was in the parking lot where I would run into him and he would always stop and greet me with an enthusiastic, "Chrissy, how are you?". He was one of only a few people who called me Chrissy. (They are all gone now too). Then he would give me a big hug.

I guess there won't be anymore hugs for me.

God Bless him! He will always go on in my heart. Hopefully, the tears will not.

From a holy man to an angel, enjoy the picture.

screen cap courtesy of Sahira, merci beaucoup!

Spurs Update: Game 2

Whoohooo!! My Spurs won game 2 of the series 102-96!! Tony Parker scored 32 points to help the Spurs with their comeback. The Spurs bench also stepped up in the 2nd half!!! Whoohooo! I'm sooo excited! Now we go to Phoenix for games 3 and 4. LET'S GO SPURS!!!!

Here's a graphic for game 2, comments are loved :)

Spurs Watch: Round 1 Game 1

(Photo Credit: AP PHOTOS/ERIC GAY)


Well folks, the 2008 NBA Playoffs kicked off today, and the San Antonio Spurs came out with a game 1 victory against the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns lead the game for the 1st 3 quarters, leading by as many as 16 points even though Shaq got into early foul trouble. With 1 quarter left in regulation the Suns only lead by 6. The Spurs took their first lead of the game late in the 4th, but with a little over a minute left were down by 3. With 15 seconds left on the clock Micheal Finley came up with a huge clutch 3 pointer to tie the game at 93, sending the game to OT.

Tim Duncan (2 time MVP) played with so much emotion and heart during the 1st ot. The Spurs found themselves down 104-101, where Duncan was left all alone at the 3-point line, and drained his first 3 of the season sending the game to it's 2nd overtime!

With 15 seconds left in double ot, nash fired a 3 to tie the game at 115. Manu Ginobili scored with game winning layup with 1.8 seconds left on the clock.

Tony Parker had 26 points for the Spurs, Ginobili had 24, and Duncan lead the way with 40 points.

Click here to watch highlights from the game

To thank you all for sitting through my little Spurs update/rant here are some yummy Ander goodies :)

WHOOHOO the time is here!

Well, well, well, look at what we've got here! The 2008 NBA Playoffs kick off this Saturday!! It's been one heck of a journey in the Western conference this season which is so exciting!! I mean sure it's always been the tougher conference but sheesh!!! My apologies in advance but since I'm super excited, you will more than likely get a great dose of off topic nba posts for a while. However, I will try to make it worth your while with some yummy Ander-goodies mixed in :)

Western Conference First Round Matchups
Lakers v Nuggets
This series should be a pretty good one, but I do think the LAL will advance.
Jazz v Rockets
I'm only rooting for the Rockets, partly because I don't like the Jazz and I like Luis Scola and Tmac
Spurs v Suns
I shouldn't even have to explain why the Spurs are my pick :)
Hornets V Mavs
Although I dont really like the Mavs, I think they will advance due to their post-season experience; however it should be a good match up depite the way the Hornets played last night against the Mavs.

Eastern Conference First Round Matchups
Celtics v Hawks
Who knows maybe we can have another 1st round upset like the Warriors did last year in the West...but yeah I dont really anticipate that happening.
Cavs v Wizards
Don't really know how these 2 match up but I'm going for Lebron.
Magic v Raptors
I like D. Howard, so I'm rooting for the Magic
Pistons v 76ers
I dont like the Pistons, but let's be realisitc here, I just dont see the 76ers knocking them out of the first round.

So there you have it anderfolks, my nba playoff first round choices :)

I'm BACK!

Ok, so many of you may have not known, but I was out of state for the weekend with my university band. I was excited to see how the blog was buzzing this weekend way to go crew!!! So here I am with 41 pictures that I've added to my photography portfolio so far from my weekend in Colorado :) Just a friendly reminder, if you like them let me know; and if you would like to post these anywhere else please send me a message via the contact form before you do so as these are my personal photographic works. Thank you and enjoy :) Just click on the images to view their full size.

" Crucial Tuesday"

For sure AC and the rest of CNN will be franticly busy tonight. I am looking forward to the results coming in, as I sued to live in Ohio. I am NOT a supporter of Obama or Clinton, but it will be funb to see them beat each other up tonight. THere WILL Be a winner and a loser, and whomever loses shall be making snide remarks.


AC is such a good journalist that no one knows what side of the political scene is cheers for! Haha a couple of evenings ago on the 360 live blog some posters were asking Coop whom he supported in this election and that sly Coop totally skirted the question. But that is why, as a journalist, I admire and respect him so much.

As for Erica, she is growing on me. Perhaps Soledad shook her into shape when she ( Soledad) subbed for AC on Friday evening.

Changes....

Put your hard hats on everyone, the blog is going to get a new look! I've already made minute changes here and there! Hope everyone likes the new banner at the top of the blog!!!

Hope everyone is having a TERRIFIC day!! Mine has been great so far! I can't believe this is the last week of classes before finals!!! I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to actually start getting all my grad school stuff together and hopefully finalized soon!

Changing the face of TV News

I came across this and just had to share. Now I know this blog is supposed to focus on Coop's work, but let us be real here. The guy is so good-looking! And if you think about it, he really is changing the way TV jourrnalism is and will be in the future.

I believe I read somewhere that AC has cornered the market among 18-35 year old viewers when it comes to TV news. To get most people in that age bracket to watch the news on a regular basis is somewhat of a miracle. I should know, as I am in the journalism business!

I have followed him since his days at Channel One( the only part of that morning commercial-fest aimed at schoolkids that I watched.) I admit that I did not really follow " The Mole" as I am NOT a fan of reality TV. But since the whole series is now on DVD I may see if I can save up my Christmas money and purchase a copy. Yes, I will watch anything with the talented Mr Cooper in it, even a cheesy reality show!

I am also hoping to buy the paperback book...with the bonus DVD. Does anyone know if he still writes for Details magazine? Usually I do not read books by famous people, but AC's book is different. I borrowed it from the library and read it twice.

*Please take the time to read*

Hey Anderfans, I just wanted to post this to say that I'm sorry there hasn't been much content on the blog as of late. Chris has had technological problems, I have just been so busy with trying to keep up with life, school, and work.

So if anyone out there has ever wanted to start their own Anderson blog, but never have due to the number of blogs already out there, or for some other reason, please let me know if you would like to contibute to Andernation! I would love to bring on some more people to the team.

I don't know if I'll have much time once the fall semester begins, and I don't want to close Andernation, because I do know of some people that have been very loyal to the blog even during the slow times, and for that I thank each and everyone of you. I'm beginning my senior year know, and I know it's going to be a difficult process, and I still have tons to think about for my future.

So please, send me a message via the "Contact Me" application located on the right hand side of the screen if you would like to contribute. Picture of the Weeks, Polls, 360 reviews, and even your own off topic posts are always welcome!!!

Thanks for stopping by and reading this!

I will NOT back down on this issue...

I still firmly believe that Peta is a joke, and full of hypocracy! This should make a good "keeping them honest" type segment in which everyone who gives money to them should see! There are many organizations out there that are legit, and are do not participate in ecoterrorism!

You can click on the image below to visit Peta Kills Animals.Com!

We shall Never forget

It always seems to amaze me how human beings can come together during a time of tragedy. As we are all aware, headlines from Virginia are all over, and we all know the stories behind it.

I was able to watch the last part of the convocation and it was just amazing. It brought back many memories, particularly one from my freshman year when we had 2 students killed in a car accident as fall break was beginning. One of the students was a very good friend of mine from church. I remember sitting in the auditorium and to be able to witness the compassion and unity amongst all the students was very heartwarming. Tragedy on any scale is just that a tragedy and my heart and prayers go out to all those affected by the tragedy in Virginia. I just hope that we can all learn from these past experiences, Virginia Tech, Columbine, and others and learn to love one another the way we are all called to love.

"An American Elegy" was composed by Frank Tichelli in honor of those that survived as well as lost their lives during the Columbine school shooting, but the emotional sounds of this song can be appreciated in any tragedy, and I hope you will take the time to listen to this amazing composition and reflect on what has happened, and what is happening in our world and take the time to be thankful for everything you have, and all the hard times you've been through but have come out on top victoriously!

I pray that God will open the eyes of our society and shed light into the darkness and use each and every one of us as a vessel for His love to reach out to those in need, to those that are hurting, to those that just need someone to show compassion and love into their lives.

Easter Traditions

So I've finally finished my holiday preparations, well, as far as food goes that is. I made the Easter cheese, quart of milk, dozen eggs, teaspoon of salt. Very simple, except you sit at the stove and stir forever! Okay, I exaggerate, it's not really forever, just twenty minutes. It just seems like forever. Add to that 3 nut rolls, 3 apricot rolls, eighteen pretty colored, hard boiled eggs, a ham and kiebassi, and voilà, an Easter feast!

To keep with tradition, we pack this all into a wicker basket and take it to church to be blessed. I never figured out why we don't take our Easter baskets of candy with us as well, but we don't.

I hope everyone has a very Happy and Blessed Easter in the Anderworld. And to keep the Anderworld happy, some more Anderbeauty.

Screen cap courtesy of Sahira; merci beaucoup!