Birthday 7,985

BOSTON  GRIEVES

*  All images courtesy of "Google Images".

by Felicity Blaze Noodleman

This week marks the first year for us here at the Noodleman Group!  It was at the beginning of May, last year when Gregory Seagull suggested that I write a Blog, so I did and we have publishing every Friday since then.  May 4^th, 2012 was our first week with Google Blogger.  We have made many changes – experimenting with our format and look trying to come up with an interesting format and articles to fill our Blog. 

When first confronted with the idea of being a writer I just could not see this happening at all.  “I’m a photographer and graphic artist”, I told Gregory!  “I’m the worst possible writer ever and it would never work”.  Now one year later I’ve managed to turn out an article every week for our Friday dead line and that has not been easy to do.  We’ve passed the mandate test and are moving on!

To Blog or not to Blog?  “People with good writing and research skills are rare. People who cross disciplines and read widely are rare. But don’t we need these people for academia to thrive? After all, many times, the greatest innovators are those who bring in fresh eyes and the perspectives of fresh disciplines: they are less likely to be myopic and be constrained by lines of thinking that are area-specific—and more likely to see patterns and connections that are invisible to the insiders. Maria Konnikova in Scientifc American, taken from her blog Literally Psyched.

We freely admit that The Noodleman Group is a conservative Blog; this shouldn’t be confused with left wing or Neo-Nazi’s as the left wing Democrats try to portray us.  We are just common everyday people who try to use good judgment and apply common sense to our decisions.  You may remember that title, “Common Sense”, written by the father of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine in 1776.  He also authored “The Age of Reason” in 1794.  Paine suffered and struggled for the freedoms which we all take for granted today.

"Common Sense"

Thomas Paine

The primary goal of our Blog page is to publish an interesting article each week supported with photographs and art supplied from web sites from across the Internet and “Google” images.  We discovered early on that illustrations could bring an article together when words could not exactly do the job we wanted.  This was our feeling after the first article we published about “Wheelchairs” just need something more than we were able to write.  Make sense?  Since then we’ve used photos, illustrations (cartoons), graphs and charts to dress up our writing.

From commenting on the news of the day to short stories to essays on some of the issues in today’s society, we’ve written about a range of topics.  We loosely covered the Presidential campaigns of President Obama and Mitt Romney exploring each of the candidates.  When two of Hollywood’s hottest starts called it quits, we weighed in on Scientology and the “Tom-Kat” divorce story with our own views and opinion.  

http//:jacksmumontherun.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/bloggers-block-or-not/
Coming up with a good outline is essential - sometimes ideas come out of
nowhere and have to be jotted down - then we can write!

Other topics which came up in the news and our Blog included the Pharmaceutical Industry, the Economic Recovery, the London Olympics, the attack on the Libyan US Embassy, the issue of Gun Control, Pope Benedict’s  resignation,  the economic “Sequester”, and just recently the bombing at the Boston Marathon and the funeral of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Just for fun during slow news weeks, we wrote some short essays on subjects from science fiction to historical subjects and “Childhood Memories”.  We journeyed to the Sun and wrote about Meteorology in an attempt to understand how the weather affects our lives.  We have written about some common sense subjects just to establish some guide lines to help us all in our day to day lives such as good communications practices in a two week expose called “Communication Breakdown”, New Year’s Resolutions in “2013 Resolutions”,  “Bad Gift Ideas”, “Home Safety”, and “You Might Be CrazzzY” just to name a few.  

Two of my favorite stories were "Noodleman Goes to The Sun", because the research was so interesting - we discovered how far NASA has gone in solar exploration, and "New Years Resolutions", this article surprised me because it received the most hits out of all the articles we'd written - I thought at the time it was a cheep, cheesy little spoof!

History was always a good source for a story in many areas.  From Hollywood to the early days of General Motors in my hometown of Flint, MI.  From the arts of music and painting, we looked back on the history of “Pop Music” and the paintings of the great American master Norman Rockwell.  If you are like me, then you might have trouble classifying our article on “Vintage Automobiles” as art or automotive history!  We even explored some of the history in Los Angeles through the cities architectural treasures in the historic core of the downtown area.  I feel strongly about cars and buildings as they both exhibit art at a high level in their presentation.  Talk about “Pop Art”! 

 I remember the old days; 1980 B.C. (Before Computer).  Writing on my 

portable Smith Corona typewriter with the "White Out" close at hand -

the hours of research at the Public Library!  Its all so much easier

today - everything  is easy to accomplish on the computer and the

Internet - and no erasures!

During our first year, we have written as advocates on behalf of some worthy causes.  Most notably was our article on the “Homeless and Elderly”.  Speaking up for those who really have no voice and are suffering and in many cases are helpless in so many ways.  Many of us might think being an “Advocate” is connected with some sort of charitable work or cause such as the “Green Movement” or rescuing shelter animals, but what about advocating for ourselves so that we might be able to continue representing the more noble causes which we hold in high esteem? 

Noodleman has been an advocate for lees wasteful spending by our Federal Government in Washington and holding the line on taxation and spending.  You know; more responsible government.   Cutting the “PORK” in the budget.  This is such a big subject with so many ramifications – it’s really hard to be rational on the subject when it has been so out of control for so long.  

Writing and publishing made easier!

“Blogging” on the Internet has become one of the biggest phenomenon on the Internet and the computer age.  Finally, THE PEOPLE HAVE A VOICE!  We are able to individually express our views on a wide variety of subjects.  We can research the history and facts of any subject we choose in our quest for knowledge and current information and hopefully do so responsibly.  No longer to we have to just take word of the Press on the news stories of the day. 

True story:  I met a woman who read about the gas in sodas and soft drinks such as Coca Cola and Pepsi.  She concluded that soft drink manufactures are putting Gasoline in their products.  She told me, “it is true – Google it”!  I asked her, “are you referring to carbonation in sodas”? “Such beverages only give you gas after they have been consumed”!  Moral of the story; everything should be approached with some degree of common sense.

During our second year we hope to be writing more in depth stories and following the news looking for more answers to the events of the day.  More short stories and exploring history!  More science and more fiction.  I would like to thank all of our readers for returning each week, tell your friends and co workers about us by sending our electronic business card below!  See ya next week.

http://fbnoodleman.blogspot.com/

 It's easy!  Just copy and paste me into your email!

 

Boston Grieves for Marathon Bombing Victims, Police Chief Says

Suspects Planned More Attacks

“The Washington Post”

By Associated Press,

April 20, 2013

BOSTON — As churches paused to mourn the dead and console the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing Sunday, the city’s police commissioner said the two suspects had such a large cache of weapons that they were probably planning other attacks. The surviving suspect remained hospitalized and unable to speak with a gunshot wound to the throat.

After the two brothers engaged in a gun battle with police early Friday, authorities found many unexploded homemade bombs at the scene, along with more than 250 rounds of ammunition.

Police Commissioner Ed Davis said the stockpile was “as dangerous as it gets in urban policing.”

“We have reason to believe, based upon the evidence that was found at that scene — the explosions, the explosive ordnance that was unexploded and the firepower that they had — that they were going to attack other individuals. That’s my belief at this point.” Davis told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

On “Fox News Sunday,” he said authorities cannot be positive there are not more explosives somewhere that have not been found. But the people of Boston are safe, he insisted.

The suspects in the twin bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 180 are two ethnic Chechen brothers from southern Russia — 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan. Their motive remained unclear.

The older brother was killed during a getaway attempt. The younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was still in serious condition Sunday after his capture Friday from a tarp-covered boat in a suburban Boston backyard. Authorities would not comment on whether he had been questioned.

Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tsarnaev’s throat wound raised questions about when he will be able to talk again, if ever.

The wound “doesn’t mean he can’t communicate, but right now I think he’s in a condition where we can’t get any information from him at all,” Coats told ABC’s “This Week.”

It was not clear whether Tsarnaev was shot by police or inflicted the wound himself.

In the final standoff with police, shots were fired from the boat, but investigators have not determined where the gunfire was aimed, Davis said.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the parents of Tamerlan Tsarnaev insisted Sunday that he came to Dagestan and Chechnya last year to visit relatives and had nothing to do with the militants operating in the volatile part of Russia. His father said he slept much of the time.

The younger Tsarnaev could be charged any day. The most serious charge available to federal prosecutors would be the use of a weapon of mass destruction to kill people, which carries a possible death sentence. Massachusetts does not have the death penalty.

Across the rattled streets of Boston, churches opened their doors to remember the dead and ease the grief of the living.

“The Washington Post”

* “The Noodleman Group” is pleased to announce that we are now carrying a link to the “USA Today” news site.We installed the “widget/gadget” August 20, and it will be carried as a regular feature on our site.Now you can read“Noodleman” and then check in to “USA Today” for all the up to date News, Weather, Sports and more!Just scroll all the way down to the bottom of our site and hit the “USA Today” hyperlinks.Enjoy!

The Noodleman Group is on Google "Blogger"!