Snagged from Raissa:

Your Travel Personality Is: The Sophisticate

You're well educated and cultured, and the places you travel to reflect that. You appreciate the best art, food, architecture, and local flavor. A true traveler, you are destined to be multi-lingual and very worldly.

Provided by: Forbes Traveler.com

By Donald Burnam

10 Legendary Trips

You can still take these historic journeys, from the Silk Road to the Orient Express

With high-speed trains, fast cars and jumbo jets that can whisk us across time zones in a matter of hours, getting from point A to point B has never been easier (though we all know it’s not hassle-free). But with so much time saved comes the loss of something else—the idea that sometimes the journey is the destination itself. And there’s no better way to partake in what’s called “slow travel” than by doing it on a historic route.

With several notable treks, two-lane historic highways, and slow train lines from which to choose, where does one begin?

In Images: 10 Legendary Trips You Can Still Take

With the experts, of course. We’ve put together a team of noted travel writers and experts, asking for their top historic routes. Some routes are known the world over while others are, quite literally, off-the-beaten-path. Regardless, all the journeys are still functional today—and offer insight into a place that you just can’t get from 30,000 feet above.

The granddaddy of all historic routes is, of course, the Silk Road, the famed network of old trading routes that connected China to the Mediterranean. Most 21st-century travelers don’t take the entire route, but do it in portions. That’s what longtime travel editor and writer Don George did. He trekked it through Pakistan and said it was one of the grandest trips of his life. “What could be more stirring than walking in the footsteps of Marco Polo and viewing ways of life that have changed little since his time?” says George, who runs the literary travel websites Don's Place and Recce.

Another highly recommended route comes from writer Tony Perrottet: the Athens-to-Olympia pagan pilgrimage path. “I’d advise driving it,” says Perrottet, who made the journey for his book about the origins of the Olympic Games, The Naked Olympics. Ancient Greeks would make the pilgrimage to Mt. Olympus just before the Olympics. “You end up in the mountains of Arcadia,” says Perrottet, “which are filled with shepherds and medieval monasteries—it’s a very magical place.”

For thousands of years, travelers have also been lured to the magic of the Nile River. The slow moving waterway makes the perfect venue for viewing ancient Egyptian wonders. According to Perrottet, the Romans were fascinated with cruising down the Nile, as were the 19th-century Victorian-era British who’d stop to gawk at the pyramids and mummies. Today, travelers can still cruise down the Nile, just like their British and Roman predecessors did.

Another member of our panel also zeroed in on a historic river route. Mary Morris, author of several novels and non-fiction travelogues (and most recently, The River Queen, about her trip down America’s most famous river), picked the upper Mississippi, which was trafficked by early explorers like Lewis and Clark, as well as Mark Twain. Morris especially recommends the section between Lacrosse, Wis., and Dubuque, Iowa. “The river is so wide at that point and on each side are savannahs and huge flocks of birds,” says the author. “It almost feels like you’re in Africa.”

Rail journeys were a hit with our team of travel experts, so it’s no surprise that a few picked the Trans-Siberian Railway, which runs from Moscow to Vladivostok via south Siberia. Built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the railway spans eight time zones. “The best way to do it,” says Morris, “is to get off and on — I particularly liked the town of Irkutsk.”

A railway that achieves more elevation than mileage is the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the pick of Oxford Atlas of the World editor Ben Keene. Completed in 1881, the railway is only 51 miles long. Keene notes that the railway boasts 550 bridges and 919 curves, but not a single tunnel. It’s hard not to feel like you’re on a rail journey to the top of the Earth.

When Don George moved from Paris to Athens, he couldn’t pass up taking the famed Orient Express, the legendary railway line that links the City of Light to Istanbul. Passing by cities like Milan, Venice and Belgrade, George says, “All of Europe went by outside — and inside too. It’s a crash course in European history and culture.”

Our experts also picked several historic routes that are walkable. One of writer Tony Perrottet’s favorite routes is the Appian Way, the “Queen of Highways” that led Romans out of the Eternal City southward toward Naples and beyond. Author of the travel history book Pagan Holiday (about Roman travelers), Perrottet says travelers can traverse about 10 miles of cobbled, pedestrian-only road that’s flanked by millennia-old mausoleums and umbrella pine trees. “It’s only a few miles from the city,” says Perrottet, “but it’s so idyllic, it feels like you’ve just stepped back a few centuries or more.” Perrottet adds that renting a bike is also a great way to experience it.

On the other side of the globe, Don George recommends a lesser known hike: the Shikoku, a sacred pilgrimage route of 88 temples in Japan. The path takes wanderers along rocky seacoasts, lush green rice paddies, and bright fishing villages. “Walking the temple route is a pathway to the scenic and spiritual heart of Japan,” George says.

Another obscure, but equally intriguing expert pick is the 95-mile West Highland Way in Scotland, a series of old military routes that take trekkers through varied terrain. Ben Keene picked this route for its diversity, which starts near Glasgow, winds through coniferous forests, and ends on top of one of Scotland’s highest hilltops, Ben Nevis.

Chargers excited about trip to London

Friday, Feb 01, 2008
By Casey Pearce , Chargers.com


====================================================================

I know, I, for sure, am looking forward to this!  OMG!  And this is a game many San Diegans are waiting for, against the Saints since there are still many Drew Brees fans here.  OMG, this is so exciting!  I wish I could go!  Damn, how expensive are the game tickets gonna be?  Ridiculously so, I speculate.

SCATTERGORIES. . .Its harder than it looks! Copy and paste into a new bulletin. Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following... they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. (obviously)

What is your name.................................Janice
4 Letter Word.........................................Join
Vehicle..................................................Jeep
City.......................................................Juneau
Boy Name..............................................Jacob
Girl Name...............................................Jessica
Alcoholic Drink........................................Jager bombs
Occupation..............................................Judge
Something you wear.................................Jeans
Celebrity.................................................Jake Gyllenhaal
Food.......................................................Jelly
Something found in a bathroom.................Jewelry
Reason for Being Late..............................Just woke up late
Cartoon Character....................................Jane Jetson
Something You Shout..............................Jerk!!!
Animal....................................................Jellyfish
Body part................................................Joints
Word to describe you...............................Joyful

Yes, Guy Berryman is very handsome. Very.

01. If I were a planet, I would be: Venus

02. If I were a month, I would be: October

03. If I were a day of the week, I would be: Wednesday

04. If I were a time of day, I would be: 8 PM

05. If I were a sea animal, I would be: a dolphin

06. If I were a direction, I would be: North

07. If I were a piece of furniture, I would be: a hammock

08. If I were a sin, I would be: Sloth

09. If I were a historical figure, I would be: Pocahontas

10. If I were a liquid, I would be: Water

11. If I were a stone, I would be: Emerald

12. If I were a tree, I would be: Palm

13. If I were a bird, I would be: Parrot

14. If I were a tool, I would be: Hammer

15. If I were a flower/plant, I would be: White orchid

16. If I were a kind of weather, I would be: Rainy

18. If I were an animal, I would be: a wombat

19. If I were a color or shade, I would be: Green

20. If I were an emotion, I would be: Confused

21. If I were a vegetable, I would be: Fennel

22. If I were a sound, i would be: Laughter

23. If I were an element, I would be: Oxygen

24. If I were a car, I would be: Pathfinder

25. If I were a song, I would be: Yellow

26. If I were a movie, I would be directed by: Tim Burton

27. If I were a book, I would be written by: Sophie Kinsella

28. If I were a food, I would be: Chocolate

29. If I were a place, I would be: a house

30. If I were a material, I would be: Cotton

31. If I were a taste, I would be: Bitter

32. If I were a scent, I would be: Citrusy

33. If I were a word, I would be: Fantastic

34. If I were a body part, I would be: Eyebrows

35. If I were a facial expression, I would be: Grin

36. If I were a subject in school, I would be: English

37. If I were a cartoon character, I would be: Remy from Ratatouille

38. If I were a shape, I would be: a star

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It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
By: Eddie Pola and George Wyle


It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

With the kids jingle belling

And everyone telling you "Be of good cheer"

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

It's the hap -happiest season of all

With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings

When friends come to call

It's the hap - happiest season of all


There'll be parties for hosting

Marshmallows for toasting

And caroling out in the snow

There'll be scary ghost stories

And tales of the glories of

Christmases long, long ago


It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

There'll be much mistletoeing

And hearts will be glowing

When loved ones are near

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year


There'll be parties for hosting

Marshmallows for toasting

And caroling out in the snow

There'll be scary ghost stories

And tales of the glories of

Christmases long, long ago


It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

There'll be much mistletoeing

And hearts will be glowing

When loved ones are near

It's The Most Wonderful Time

It's The Most Wonderful Time

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Tue Nov 27, 2:48 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "America's Next Top Model" viewers will see a new face on the judging panel for the reality competition's next installment.

Supermodel Paulina Porizkova has joined the CW series as a judge for Cycle 10, replacing Twiggy, who is departing the series because of scheduling conflicts.

On the judging panel, Porizkova joins Tyra Banks, the show's creator/executive producer/star, runway expert J. Alexander and fashion photographer Nigel Barker, along with special guest judges. Cycle 10 is targeted to premiere in late February or early March.

Porizkova, who began modeling at age 15 and has graced the covers of hundreds of magazines over the span of two decades, recently competed on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" and wrote the novel "A Model Summer" for Hyperion books. She also has appeared in several films, including "Her Alibi."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

==================================================================

I like Paulina Porizkova...she was one of the prettiest models of the 80s. Anyway, Twiggy was a little boring during panel and doesn't really make the show interesting. Of course, that's not to say she's not a legend, but I just miss Janice Dickinson...Crazy Loud Beeyotch that she was. My namesake....Hahahahahaha!

Have a good one spending time with your family and getting fat! Hahahahaha!

33 days 'til Christmas...as they keep reminding me on all the TV shows on TFC. Hahahahaha!

Food induced coma, here I come...

Posted Wed, Oct 31, 2007, 2:46 pm PDT

Columnist Jeffrey Steingarten attached his obsessive, fertile food brain to the hamburger in this month's Vogue magazine, and the results were mouthwateringly insane. Since Vogue doesn't put Steingarten's pieces online, I am going to share his findings.

Nearly Universal Truths
Some of these AHT readers know well (but I digress):

1.  Chill Out: "Before grinding chunks of beef, before forming a hamburger, and before cooking a hamburger, make sure that the beef is ice cold. Otherwise, the fat may melt and separate from the lean."

2.  Grind or Else: Steingarten concludes you must either grind your own meat or have a trusted butcher grind it for you, for reasons of taste and safety (or, perish the thought, be sentenced to a life of consuming well-done burgers). "Never buy supermarket ground beef unless the butcher there grinds it specially for you." He explains in painstaking detail all of the ways supermarket ground beef can be contaminated. His solution, if you have any questions about the chopped meat you've just bought: "Drop the meat into a pot of boiling water for a minute, fish it out, and pat it dry. Yes, it'll turn gray, but only on the outside, and this will get ground into the rest of the meat and vanish."

3.  Fluff that Stuff: "When forming a hamburger, don't compress the meat. The fluffier, the better. A raw burger should be airy and full of tiny holes that can hold the juices released during cooking, when the fat melts and water is squeezed out from between the proteins."

Steingarten quotes Harold McGee on this issue: "The gently gathered ground beef in a good hamburger has a delicate quality quite unlike even a tender steak." Steingarten decides that one of the many reasons much of his hamburger experiments had gone awry is that "I don't think I had ever gently gathered!"

4.  Just Add Water: Adding the liquid is literally the secret sauce that will make any burger sing. Here is Steingarten's eureka hamburger moment. Forty-eight hours before the Vogue article was due, he discovers that adding a tablespoon and a half of liquid to the ground meat immeasurably improved the burger. He tried cream and water, and they both produced a superior, succulent, juicy, crumbly (which, Steingarten discovered, is a good thing) burger.

5.  Season Well: "Don't salt hamburger meat either before or after it is ground. Just before you cook the burger, liberally sprinkle salt on both sides of each patty, and press it lightly. After they're cooked, sprinkle with freshly ground pepper."

6.  Flip Side: Searching for the proper and most delicious burger-cooking technique, Steingarten ends up asking for advice from Kyle Connaughton, the head chef of development at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in England. Connaughton follows Harold McGee's finding that if you flip a burger or a steak every fifteen to 30 seconds, the outside surface will get nicely browned while the inside stays relatively cool.

7.  No Pressure: "While cooking your hamburger never press down on the patty with your spatula or with anything else." An esteemed New York City chef, Lee Hanson, of Balthazar, Pastis, and Schiller's Liquor Bar, further advises Steingarten that broiling from above is much less likely to dry out the burger.

8.  Buns and Brains: In searching for the perfect bun, Steingarten notes that "An article in Cook's Illustrated said the best hamburger buns are Pepperidge Farm's Farmhouse Sandwich Rolls (not the company's classic hamburger buns). He tries them and finds them to his liking, though he says "they do need to be compressed a bit before using." He does not tell us if he has found a hamburger bun compressor, though I am sure if I had 15 minutes to go through his kitchen, I would find a reasonable facsimile.

Steingarten on Hamburger Greatness
What do we demand of the perfect hamburger? That the meat patty be profoundly beefy in flavor, mouthwateringly browned on the outside, and succulent (a combination of juicy and tender) on the inside. The bread or bun should not interfere with any of these virtues. It should be soft, mild, and unassertive; its job is to absorb every last drop of savory juice trickling from the meat while keeping the burger more or less in one piece and your hands dry. Mouthwatering, beefy, juicy, and tender--not too much to ask from life, but entirely elusive, at least to me. It's not as though I haven't tried. God knows, I've tried.

The Daily Grind
Steingarten discovers that most of New York City's great hamburgers are made with a blend of chuck (specifically the chuck flap) and brisket. Some chefs ask that short rib or hanger steak be thrown in. [Editor's note: I had a very tasty burger last night at a new New York restaurant, Shorty's 32 made with hanger steak, short rib, and brisket. It had tremendous beefy flavor. With a better sear it would have been a top 3 New York burger.]

Steingarten tries to develop his own signature blend. A Waring blender is destroyed in the process. He fails, so in his words, he decides to "forge somebody else's signature."

Jeffrey's forged signature blend is two parts chuck, two parts boneless short rib, and one part brisket. He notes that "fat is extremely important to excellence in the hamburger arts because most of the beefy flavor in beef is in the fat." (Who knew the lowly hamburger had arts associated with it?)

*When I spoke to Steingarten this week about the burger article, I asked him for the recipe, which he says in the magazine is going to be available online. (It's not been posted online yet.) He says he will have it for us this weekend, but I am not holding my breath.

Now, I don't believe in ghosts or anything like that, but something really freaky happened at work last night. I was walking from the parking lot to the front door two minutes after midnight (the whole building is pretty much all glass) when I saw Mary and who I thought was Rhad walking from the cave to the dungeon (yes, we have geek names for the different parts of the building). Anyway, so I go into the dungeon and clock in blah blah blah when I see Mary talking freaking out to Rhad in his cube. So I was like, what's happening. She then told me that she was walking down the hall when she saw a man standing in the far corner looking sideways at her. So she said she was going to wave at him and say hi when he just vanished into thin air. Not walk away, but vanish. So she ran into the cave and told Kay about it, but Kay thought there was just some random man in the building and said to call security. So then I was like, "Why are you freaking out? Wasn't Rhad with you? I saw you walking together; he was right behind you." And her eyes got all big and she was all, "Girl, Rhad's been in the dungeon the whole time!" And I was like, "Are you kidding me? I saw someone wearing a brown shirt and jeans behind you." And she was like, "Stop! I'm getting chills!" So apparently, the ghost or whatever it was was wearing exactly what I had described. I then got chills because I didn't even know about this whole ghost business when I saw what I saw. So Aaron, who's into all this ghost business went to check out the area where it supposedly was, but there was nothing. And the fact that the hallway lights kept flickering on and off didn't do anything to put Mary at ease. So everytime she had to go the bathroom, she had me go with her. LOL. We told Rhad in detail about it during the first break and it was so weird how our stories connected even though I had no idea what was happening in the first place. Freaky trick of the eye, that one! I mean, this isn't the first "ghost story" at work. Supposedly, the men's restroom in the far side of the building is also "haunted" what with flickering lights and swinging stall doors whilst Alex is in there alone.

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, "If I could only see the world, I will marry you." One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her, 'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left her in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Para sa mga nalulungkot...basahin ang joke-jokes na sumusunod...pang-alis ng lumbay at pagod, sigurado yon...guaranteed by me.


Ama: Kumusta ang pag-aaral mo?
Anak: Nag-lesson at test po kami tungkol sa mga manok.
Ama: Ano, madali ba?
Anak: Chicken na chicken!
Ama: Anong grade mo?
Anak: Itlog po.

*3 tanga nagsisiksikan sa maliit na ** kama **:*
TANGA1: Pare, di tayo kasya. Bawas tayo ng isa, sa lapag na lang matulog. (Bumaba si Tanga 1.)
TANGA2: Ayan, pare maluwag na, akyat kana dito!

Dear Dodong,
Sa susunod anak, *Nido* non-fat na lang ang ipadala mo sa tatang mo.
Nasisira kasi ang tiyan niya sa pinadala mong *Nivea Moisturing Milk*...
Nagmamahal,
Nanay

ANAK: ' Tay , penge ng pera. May project kami. Bibili ako ng "cocomban".
TATAY: Ano ka ba naman! Hangga ngayong "cocomban" pa rin tawag mo!
ANAK: Ano po ba ang tama?
TATAY: Bomb paper!

PEDRO: Galing ako sa doktor, nakabili na ako ng hearing aid. Grabe ang linaw ngayon nang pandinig ko!
JUAN: Wow, galing! Magkanong bili mo sa hearing aid?
PEDRO: Kahapon lang!

At a funeral...
ERAP: Tara na, Jinggoy. Alis na tayo!
JINGGOY: Kararating pa lang natin a!
ERAP: Naku mahirap nang maiwan. Basahin mo o: "REMAINS WILL BE CREMATED ."

JUAN: Pare, ang bilis kong nabuo 'tong puzzle!
PEDRO: Talaga?! Gaano kabilis?
JUAN: 5 months!
PEDRO: Tagal naman!
JUAN: Tagal ba 'yun? Nakalagay nga dito: "for 3 years & up"!

REPORTER: Sir, kung wala po kayong evidence, witness or suspect ano na po ang next step ninyo??
Police: DNA na...
REPORTER: sir, ano po yung DNA ???
Police: "Di Namin Alam "


Man1: Away kami ni misis, nag-Historical siya
Man2: Pare baka ang ibig mo sabihin ay nag-Hysterical
Man1: Hinde, historical kasi inungkat lahat ng kasalanan ko!"


Employee: boss pwede ba ako nalang ang papalit dun pwesto sa manager natin na kamamatay lang?
Boss: ok lang sa akin na ikaw ang pumalit sa kanya, ewan ko lang kung papayag ang punerarya.


bobo1: Pare, alam mo ba tawag sa paniki na mababa ang lipad?
bobo2: hindi eh! ano ba pare?
bobo1: Lowbat pare! Lowbat!


Boy: Nay! Muntik na ako maging top one sa klase!
Nanay: Bat mo naman nasabi?
Boy: Ini-announce kasi kanina yung top one sa klase. Ang tinuro ni ma'am yung katabi ko. Muntik na ako!


Bush visited the Philippines and Erap acted as his translator:
Bush: "Lets help one another..."
Erap: "Tayo'y magtulungan. ...."
Bush: "...let's strive together..."
Erap: "...tayo'y magsikap..."
Bush: "...because in union there is strength."
Erap: "...dahil sa sibuyas may titigas!"


Bongbong -- Pare sinong idol mo?
Chavit--Si Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Bongbong-- Sige nga, spell Schwarzenegger.
Chavit --Hindi, joke lang pare, si Jet Li talaga idol ko.


Holduper: Pili ka, wallet mo o pasabugin utak mo?
Biktima: Ikaw na bahala..bastaa pareho po yan walang laman!


Pare1: Pare, bat naman hanggang ngayon wala ka pang syota? wala ka pa bang napupusuan?
Pare2: Meron.. Manhid ka lang! (hihihihi! )


Sa isang mumurahing airline:
Stewardess: Sir, would you like some dinner?
Passenger: Ano ba ang mga choices?
Stewardess: 'Yes' or 'No' lang po


TEACHER: Anong similarity nina Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Ninoy Aquino at Apolinario Mabini?
STUDENT: Ma'am, pagkaka-alam ko po, silang lahat ay pinanganak ng holiday!


TITSER: Juan, use recharge & caffeine in a sentence.
JUAN: Si "Recharge" Gutierrez ay si "Caffeine" Barbell. ?


BUNSO: Tay , may multo daw sa kusina natin?
TATAY: Anak, sino naman nagsabi sayo nyan?
BUNSO: Si ate po!
TATAY: Ay nako, wag ka nga magpapaniwala dun! Wala namang multo eh! Ang mabuti pa samahan mo na lang ako sa kusina, at iinom lang ako ng tubig...


MRS: Bakit ngayon ka lang?
MR: Pasensha na, nagyaya mga officemates ko, nagkainuman lang. Hehe! Hik,
MRS: Lasing ka no?
MR: Ako, lashing? Hindi! Hik
MRS: Anong hindi?! La ka namang trabaho, pano ka nagka-officemates?


Jun-Jun: Inay! Ako lang ang nakasagot sa tanong ng titser namin kanina!
Inay: Very good! Ano ba ang tanong ng titser ninyo?
Jun-Jun: "Sino ang walang assignment?"


Thelma: Sabi mo, dok, safe ang calendar method. Eh, bakit ako nabuntis?
Dok: Paano nyo ba ginamit ang kalendaryo?
Thelma: Ginawa naming banig.


Boss asks sexy secretary to a dinner after overtime: Are you free tonight?
The sexy secretary replies: Sir, ha... huwag naman, FREE... Bibigyan na lang kita ng discount!



Gumimik sa mall ang tatlong binatilyo...
Jepoy: SYET! Ang cute nung girl!
Kevin: Sexy pa! Grabe!
Nathan: Sino? Yung naka-mini skirt, na red? Yun, yun ba? Ha? Kilala ko siya! Teka tatawagin ko ha, kuyaaahhh Ambet!


Eliseo: Sobra na talaga ang katangahan ng kumare mo. Ang akala niya, ang LAWSUIT ay uniporme ng pulis!
Joshua: Sus! Tanga nga! Eh di ba, uniporme ng abugado yun?!


Sa isang ospital...
Lola (may cancer) : Doc, anong gagawin nyo sa akin?
Doc : Iche-chemo, lola.
Lola : Bastos ka! Walang modo!

This story happened a few months ago along the Tagaytay Road. There was a guy who got left behind by a pack of mountain bikers. The group was large and he didn't bring a cellphone. He crashed his bike somewhere between Picnic Grove and DBP. To make things worse, a storm came in. So he walked.

This guy was on the side of the road hitch hiking on a very dark night in the middle of a storm. The night passed slowly and no cars went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few meters ahead of him.

Suddenly, just before the junction going to Manila, he saw a car slowly looming, ghostlike, out of the gloom. It slowly crept toward him and stopped. It was raining hard, wind blowing all around you, what would you do? Like you would, he got into the car and closed the door, then realized that there was nobody inside the car.... even in the drivers seat.

The car slowly started moving again. The guy was terrified, too scared to think of jumping out and running. The guy saw that the car was slowly approaching a sharp curve. The guy started to pray, begging for his life; he was sure the ghost car would go off the road and he would plunge to his death, when just before the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the steering wheel, guiding the car safely around the bend.

Terrified, the guy watched the hand reappear every time they reached a curve. Finally, the guy gathered his wits and leaped from the car and ran to the nearest place where there were houses.

Wet and in shock, he went into a store and voice quavering, ordered two bottles of beer, and told the people about his horrible, supernatural experience. A silence enveloped everybody when they realized the guy was apparently sane and not drunk.

About half an hour later two guys walked into the same store.

One said to the other..........

"Yan! Yan yung tarantadong sumakay habang nagtutulak tayo..."

By Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports

YAHOO! SEARCH WORDS OF THE WEEK

"Djokovic Nadal impressions."

*********************************************************************

Hahahahahahahahahaha!

Djokovic does mighty fine impression of a champion, too
By BEN WALKER, AP National Writer
September 7, 2007

AP - Sep 7, 12:23 am EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Might as well have been Open mike night for Novak Djokovic.

Popular on YouTube for his imitations of other pros, and egged on by the crowd, Djokovic showed he had a talent for more than tennis after he won Thursday.

Dancing a little jig, he did a dead-on rendition of Maria Sharapova. Tugging at his shorts, he nailed Rafael Nadal.

"Obviously, the people are looking for that. They're looking for a good tennis player and a player with a lot of emotions and a lot of temperament and personality," he said.

Yep, he might have a future in that racket.

For now, he's got at least one more match to play at the U.S. Open.

Djokovic reached his third straight Grand Slam semifinal, beating No. 17 Carlos Moya 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-1.

"My goal is to be No. 1 player of the world," the third-ranked Serb said. "I've been working for that all my life. And still I'm just 20, so I have a lot of time left."

Encouraged by USA Network's reporter, Djokovic put on the most entertaining show yet at center court.

Pretending to preen his hair, he did a perfect impression of Sharapova's serve. Dashing wildly toward the back wall, he conjured up Nadal.

Moya saw part of the act.

"It's funny. He does it very well. That's a gift," he said. "If he doesn't succeed in tennis, he has a career in that."

Said Djokovic: "I'm really happy that the people accept it in a positive way. I'm not trying to make fun of Maria or Rafa or anybody else."

There's only one person he can't imitate.

"The untouchable one -- Roger," he said. "He's too perfect for my style."

At this rate, he might soon get to see Mr. Federer.

On Saturday, Djokovic will play No. 15 David Ferrer, who made it to his first major semifinal by beating No. 20 Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

The top-ranked Federer is in his record 14th Grand Slam semifinal in a row and plays No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko on Saturday. Federer is 9-0 against Davydenko, and does almost as well against the other two men left -- 7-0 against Ferrer, 4-1 against Djokovic.

On the women's side, Venus Williams will play Justine Henin in Friday's marquee matchup.

After beating Serena Williams in her previous match, Henin will try to become only the second woman to beat both sisters at the same Grand Slam tournament. Martina Hingis did it at the 2001 Australian Open.

"It will be a good challenge for me to play both sisters in the same tournament," Henin said.

In the other women's semi, 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will play No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze.

Djokovic has a lot of skills, including a talent for bouncing the ball before he serves.

He did it 28 times before he served at a key spot in the tiebreaker. Djokovic put that serve into the net, but eventually won the set.

Moya said he wasn't bothered by Djokovic's routine. What troubled Moya was that Djokovic kept putting those balls in play.

"It's annoying because you know a huge serve is coming," he said. "If he does that and misses, that's OK."

Djokovic dropped the bounces into single digits by the third set, when he overwhelmed the Spaniard.

"This is just a matter of concentration. I'm trying to really focus and not irritate anybody. Sorry if I'm a bit annoying," Djokovic said. "The thing is, I want to stay longer on this court, so that's why I'm bouncing more and more."

Last month, Djokovic beat Federer for the first time. That happened in the final of a hard-court tournament in Montreal when Djokovic became the first man since 1994 to defeat men ranked Nos. 1-3 at the same event.

A night after Federer and Andy Roddick thrilled the crowd, it was far from a high-voltage afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

There was a constant murmur inside -- many fans were chattering during play, and no one bothered to hush them. A few cell phones went off, usually a clear no-no met with stern looks.

Midway through the Ferrer-Chela match, the concession stands that sell $6 Coney Island hot dogs were empty. So were the counters where they line up Grey Goose vodka bottles for $8 mixed drinks.

Hardly anyone stepped into the Ralph Lauren walk-in boutique store on the suite level, either.

The 20th-ranked Chela had won the previous meetings against Ferrer, both in 2004. Like Ferrer, the Argentine was trying to make it to his first Slam semi.

Coming off a pair of five-set matches, Chela tried to rally in the second set. The eighth game went to seven deuces before Chela won, then Ferrer came back and quickly closed it out.

Chela broke Ferrer for a 2-0 lead in the final set but couldn't hold on.

"That was my only real chance," Chela said.

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ETA:

***Snagged from Cam

Pick ONE band/artist, and use only TITLES of their songs to answer.

The Band
- Coldplay (My FAVE band ever! I've always said Coldplay is able to put into words what I can't.)

Are you a boy or a girl?
- The Scientist

How old are you?
- We Never Change

Describe yourself:
- Warning Sign

How's life?
- Don't Panic

Where do you live?:
- In My Place

What's your favourite song?
- Yellow

Describe your love life
- Shiver

What are you?
- A Rush of Blood to the Head

- Trouble

What kind of music do you like?
- A Whisper

How are you feeling?
- Fix You

A few words of wisdom:
- God Put a Smile Upon Your Face

- A Message

- Everything's Not Lost