'Colbert Report' Host Turns 48!

Posted on May 14, 2012 by

Nation, today comedian Stephen Colbert is 48!

Colbert is perhaps best known for his patriotic, right-wing news anchor character (yes, it’s an act) on Comedy Central’s satirical news show The Colbert Report. The host has generated a loyal following since transitioning from a correspondent on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show to host his own show in 2005 (the idea for The Colbert Report was first introduced on Stewart’s show in 2003).

Colbert’s antics jumped from the small screen to the nation’s capital when he and Stewart teamed up to launch the Rally To Restore Sanity/March To Keep Fear Alive in October 2010. Attracting hundreds of thousands of supporters to the National Mall, the rally “[poked] fun at the nation’s ill-tempered politics, its fear-mongers and doomsayers,” the Associated Press reported.In the days before his self-serious, bombastic persona dominated Comedy Central, the comedian was part of The Second City improv group in Chicago and a writer for Saturday Night Live.

But the comedian’s life wasn’t all laughs. At 10 years old, Colbert lost his father and two siblings in a plane crash (he is the youngest of 11). Colbert credits his mother for how he coped with that time, telling The New York Times in 2011: “There’s a common explanation that profound sadness leads to someone’s becoming a comedian, but I’m not sure that’s a proven equation in my case. I’m not bitter about what happened to me as a child, and my mother was instrumental in keeping me from being so.”

This outlook on life seems to have served him well. He had a brief run for president in his native state of South Carolina earlier this year. And in April, Colbert was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People.

Colbert has also found success as an author; his book I Am America (And So Can You!) spent 29 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List. More recently, Colbert released his first children’s book: I Am A Pole (And So Can You!), about a pole looking for his place in life. Colbert discussed the book in a series of hilarious videos with Julie Andrews and beloved children’s author Maurice Sendak, who died last week.

Colbert will be releasing his next book America Again: Re-Becoming The Greatness We Never Weren’t in October.

Happy birthday, Stephen Colbert. We salute you! Check out our slideshow for some of Stephen Colbert’s funniest clips.

Contribute to this Story:

“;
var coords = [-5, -72];
// display fb-bubble
FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, ‘top’, {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: ‘clear-overlay’});
});

Original post: 'Colbert Report' Host Turns 48!

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RICK SMITH: Gifts from the heart on Mother's Day

Posted on May 14, 2012 by

SAN ANGELO, Texas —
What’s your favorite story about your mom?

And what’s a proper gift for a special mom on this special day?

I asked some good friends for their favorite mom stories.

From Bookie: As an only child on a farm up on the divide in Coke County, my mother was my best playmate. There was no money for toys in those late Depression years, but our imaginations were wealthy. It was about as dry then as it is now — perfect for drawing off rooms for a playhouse in the dirt with a sharp-pointed stick. In the cool of the morning, my mother and I walked in the field and picked up pretty pieces of broken glass for our dishes. Our best find was in the barn — some old bed springs. We dragged that out to our playhouse bedroom. And we could build on a room or two by using the stick. My mother kept house, canned, had a garden, raised chickens, sold eggs, churned butter and dozens of other tasks, but I’ll bet the two of us playing house was more important to her than all those chores.

From Mike: My son decided to draw stick figures of our family. I put his picture in a frame we weren’t using. It was what my wife wanted the most for Mother’s Day. Close to the heart means more than a random gift? I think so.

From Taryn: The running joke in my family is I’m my Dad’s daughter and my sister is my Mom’s daughter. So one year for my birthday, my Mom bought me a T-shirt that says “Not Mom’s Favorite.”

Then, this last Christmas, she bought me a patch for my motorcycle vest that says “Not Momma’s Favorite.” All kidding aside, my Mom doesn’t have a favorite child; the grandkids are her favorite

now.

Mom was one of nine kids, and they grew up very poor. She remembers Christmases that had no presents under the tree. When I was growing up, Mom always went overboard at Christmas, and now she does it for the grandkids.

My grandmother grew up on a farm in Kansas. When she was little, they moved from one farm to another. At the second farm they lived in a Soddy (sod shelter) until they could build a house. I loved sitting and listening to her tell stories of the Dust Bowl, dealing with bedbugs, and other aspects of growing up on a farm.

My mom’s favorite Mother’s Day gifts were projects we made at school. She has saved every one. I now understand, because my favorite gifts are made by little hands!

From Ojai Guy: Back in high school, I had a 14-by-26-inch unframed mirror. I don’t even remember how or why I had it. Anyway, I didn’t have much money and took it over to some neighbors who had a shop where they made plant stands out of old oak flooring planks. I asked them if they could make a frame for the mirror in exchange for some yard work. They accepted and made a beautiful double layered frame and mounted the mirror on it. It also had a leg attached on the back as a support to prop it up if placed on the floor. It was far, far greater than what I was expecting.

On the morning of Mother’s Day I picked up the mirror from them and was walking back home with it when our next-door neighbor saw me and asked what I had. I said it was a gift for my mom. She said it was so beautiful and for me to wait there for a minute. She ran into her house, then came back with some blue ribbon and a big blue bow. She wrapped the ribbon around it and placed the bow near one of the corners. She stepped back, smiled and said that it was now ready to give to my mom.

When I got home, I poked my head in the front door and called my mom. She was in the kitchen, and I came into the living room. I told her to close her eyes, then I set the mirror on the floor, with the leg propping it up. I told her that she could open her eyes and I told her happy Mother’s Day. Her jaw dropped when she saw it, then some tears welled up. Later, my older sister and brother jokingly kidded me that I set the gift bar way, way too high.

She always hung that mirror near the front door wherever she lived. Years afterward, she told me she wanted it to be the first thing she or anybody saw when coming into her home, and the last thing to see when leaving.

When she passed, and my siblings and I met up at my mother’s home. I went over and stood in front of the mirror. My sister came over and put her arms around me and told me how much our mom loved that mirror. My brother came over and, in front of that mirror, we held each other and cried.

I have that mirror now. It is only a couple of feet from me as I write this. I had no idea when I had it made over 40 years ago that it would end up being the most meaningful possession I have.

Rick Smith is a local news and community affairs columnist. Contact Rick at rsmith@gosanangelo.com or 325-659-8248.

More: RICK SMITH: Gifts from the heart on Mother's Day

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Phillips: Secret angels watch over those who need them

Posted on May 14, 2012 by

A woman on my street recently lost her husband. Her three kids lost their dad. I’ve never met any of them, but I find myself thinking about what I could possibly do to let them know I care about the pain they are going through. What small gesture could I do that would really mean all that much? I just got a letter from the editor of a Wimbledon, N.D., newsletter. She shared a story that got me thinking: Sometimes it’s not the size of the gesture, but the timing.“On Dec. 1, Charlotte came home to a surprise. The day had been difficult, as she had run into friends she had not seen since her husband Bob’s funeral in early October. Memories she had pushed into her subconscious resurfaced. ‘I cried all the way home from Jamestown,’ she recalled. ‘And there, when I got home, was this big gift-wrapped basket on my back step.’“Nestled inside the basket were 25 numbered, gift-wrapped packages. The first one instructed her to open a gift each day, and promised that the identity of her Secret Angel would be revealed with the 25th gift on Christmas Day.“‘Anticipating each day’s gift was a bright spot,’ said Charlotte. The gifts were a bright spot for Charlotte’s friends at morning coffee, too. Monday through Saturday, Charlotte opened that day’s gift with at least one other coffee lady present. Speculation about who her benefactor could be flourished. Two likely candidates denied authorship, but added, ‘I wish I’d had the idea.’“Finally, Christmas Day arrived. It was the first Christmas without Bob after more than 30 years of marriage. When the telephone rang, it was Charlotte’s Secret Angel, a woman named Pam, calling to wish her a Merry Christmas.“Pam says this is actually the fourth time she and her husband and their children have been Secret Angels. ‘The first time, it was a joint project with my sister in Wisconsin, for someone in her community.’ Pam adds, ‘It’s for someone who needs a little pick-me-up. Maybe they’ve been taking chemotherapy or lost a loved one. I remember losing my dad, and the ‘first’ holidays are really tough. … It was just as much fun for us as it was for Charlotte. We were glad we were able to brighten her spirits.’Thank you, Mary Beth Olombel, for sharing that beautiful story from Wimbledon. And on behalf of your neighbors on Fairway Road, the ones you know and the ones you don’t know, Nancy, please know you are in our prayers.Please, continue to share your random acts of kindness stories at nphillips15@hotmail.com. Or send a letter to Kindness is Contagious c/o Nicole Phillips, The Forum, 101 5th St. N., Box 2020, Fargo, ND, 58107.Nicole Phillips is a former television anchor for Fox News in Fargo, and currently the Executive Director of Diva Connection Foundation. She is the mother of three kids and the wife of Bison Men’s Head Basketball Coach Saul Phillips. Her columns run every Saturday.

Tags:
nicole phillips, shesays, columns

Read more here: Phillips: Secret angels watch over those who need them

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Action Line: Recipients of unordered items can keep as free gift

Posted on May 14, 2012 by

An invoice was enclosed, stating that we were required to pay or return the item at our expense. If we did not want to continue receiving ornaments monthly, we were required to opt out.
A call to the U.S. Postal Service confirmed that we were not required to pay for or return the item. A family member was harassed in the same manner regarding “gold coins.” When he returned them, they denied that they had ever received them. Please let people know they are not obligated to pay for these items. – J.W.C., Tulsa.
Under the Federal Trade Commission’s “Unordered Merchandise Rule” tulsaworld.com/FTCUnorderedMerchandise recipients of unordered merchandise may keep them as gifts and do not have to return them or pay for return postage.
The Danbury Mint is an MBI Inc. “dba” and has been in business since Jan. 1, 1969. It has been a “BBB Accredited Business” since 1982, according to its report with the Connecticut Better Business Bureau. Despite its questionable marketing practices, it has an A+ bureau business rating. The report says that it has the highest rating because, “for business of this size,” only 104 complaints on it have arrived at the BBB in the past 3 years. See MBI Inc.’s BBB report at tulsaworld.com/DanburyMint
MBI Inc. also does business using “alternate business names:” Danbury Mint, Ornament Collectors Club, Postal Commemorative Society, The Easton Press, First Edition Library, PCS Stamps & Coins, The Heritage Press, Heritage Club and Willabee & Ward.
Under the FTC’s unordered merchandise rule, you don’t have to pay for things that arrive unordered in the mail. Federal laws prohibit mailing “unordered merchandise” to consumers and then demanding payment. You are not obligated to return or pay for merchandise not ordered. If you receive merchandise you didn’t order, “you have a legal right to keep it as a free gift,” says the FTC website.
You have no legal obligation to notify the seller, although it is a good idea to write a letter to the company stating you did not order the item but, “under the FTC’s Unordered Merchandise Rule, you have a legal right to keep it for free,” which you are doing. This might discourage the seller from sending you bills or dunning notices or help clear up an honest error. Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested and keep a copy of the letter for your records in case the matter doesn’t go away.
When you participate in sweepstakes or order goods advertised as “free,” “trial” or “unusually low priced,” be cautious. Read all the fine print to determine if you are joining a “club,” with regular purchasing or notification obligations. Keep a copy of the advertisement or catalog that led you to place the order. This makes it easier to contact the company when problems arise.

Original Print Headline: Recipients don’t have to pay for unordered itemsSubmit Action Line questions by calling 918-699-8888, emailing phil.mulkins@TulsaWorld.com or by mailing them to Tulsa World Action Line, PO Box 1770, Tulsa OK 74102-1770.

Continued here: Action Line: Recipients of unordered items can keep as free gift

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment