Do you keep your friends closer and your frenemies closer?

It's been a while, but "Stuff to Tell You" is back--with a round-up of a plethora of interesting links and tidbits.

--"Frenemy" and "sock puppet" are among the 100 new words in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

--Who knew? Cutting calories might lengthen your life...at least it does for monkeys

--I'm not crazy about this story about how "Lost" is going to end...simply because it includes the words "very sad." But it also says it will be good, at least according to Matthew Fox

--Speaking of "Lost"--wouldn't you just love to own a Benjamin Linus bobblehead?

--Andrae Crouch sets the record straight about what went on during his final meetings with Michael Jackson

--Today is theologian John Calvin's 500th birthday--and Ben Witherington says it deserves to be celebrated.

--Tomorrow is Free Slurpee Day at 7-11's across the country (the chain is celebrating its 82nd birthday

Now everyone go out and have an amazing Friday!

Labels: " Matthew Fox, "Lost, Andrae Crouch, calories, Merriam-Webster, Michael Jackson

As a radio interviewer, I get a lot of Christian fiction crossing my desk. Most of it I enjoy. But frankly, some books I abandon because, even though they're not terrible, they just don't "grab" me.

Breathe: A Novel of Colorado, by Lisa T. Bergren, certainly doesn't fall into the latter category. This book grabbed me from the very first page and kept me reading way past my bedtime--for me, a sure mark of a teriffic read.

I've read lots of fiction featuring people with tuberculosis--or "consumption," as it was called in the 18-hundreds--but never one in which the "consumptive" actually recovered and went on to live a healthy life. That's just one of the intriguing things about "Breathe."

Set in Colorado Springs in the late 18-hundreds, this is the first in a series about the St. Clair family--two sisters and a brother who journey by train from Philadelphia for one of the siblings to "chase the cure" and open a bookstore for their wealthy publisher father.

Apparently Colorado Springs was highly sought-after by people suffering from tuberculosis in that era because of its beneficial climate.

The beginning of the book plunges us immediately into the action: just as the St. Clair's train is about to pull into Colorado Springs, their sister Odessa is on the brink of death.

The scene establishes the three main characters: Odessa, gentle, ladylike and courageous; Moira, loving but flighty and ambitious; Nic, determined to protect his sisters, but frustrated by the role thrust upon him by his father and anxious to find his own place in life.

As we follow Odessa's recovery and budding romance at a sanatorium, Moira's involvement with the town's tyrannical sheriff, and Nic's secret life as an alcohol-swigging boxer, there's a strong subplot involving murder and mystery that would keep you turning the pages even if the interesting characters didn't.

Lisa T. Bergren is an excellent writer. A Colorado Springs resident herself, she infuses the story with the feel of authenticity and a strong sense of place.

Best of all, she's not afraid to acknowledge Christian faith throughout the story, and she portrays it in a way that is neither preachy nor cheesy.

I highly recommend "Breathe," and I can't wait for the next book in the trilogy.

By the way, I'll be interviewing Lisa T. Bergren for my radio show, and I'll be sure to blog about it.

Labels: books, Christian fiction, Colorado Springs, Lisa T. Bergren

Are photographs of an airliner breaking up in midair for real?

An e-mail that's currently circulating shows photographs of the interior of an airplane cabin as the plane breaks up. The latest version of the e-mail claims the pictures were taken just before the Airbus A330-200 operated by Air France went down over the Atlantic Ocean while en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1st 2009.

The e-mail includes these comments: "Feel so sad for all the passengers including the extraordinary photographer, who kept his cool even in his last moments of life and took this photo. Hats off to him!!!"



Other versions of the e-mail claim the pictures were taken aboard a plane that crashed over Brazil in September 2006.

Snopes.com and other sources tell us that neither version is true. Where did those pictures actually come from?

Well, they're actually screen shots for the pilot episode of the popular ABC TV show, "Lost"! (No wonder they looked familiar to me the instant I saw them--"Lost" is one of the CyberSnoop's very favorite TV shows!)

In fact, if you look closely, you can see actress Evangeline Lilly, who plays Kate Austen, in the left hand side one of the photographs.

A Brazilian man has admitted to propagating the hoax on his blog in October 2006.

Clearing up another internet rumor, this is Cindy Swanson, CyberSnoop...reminding you to check it out BEFORE you hit that SEND button!

Labels: Air France crash, hoaxes, Lost

Especially if you're a child of the 70s...

(As a college girl), I was captivated by Farrah Fawcett--the long-limbed, athletic, tanned figure, the dazzling mega-watt smile, but most of all THE HAIR...the gorgeous, thick, out-of-control mane of blonde highlights

With all the hoopla surrounding the death of Michael Jackson, the death of Farrah Fawcett on the very same day has been greatly overshadowed.

But although Jackson was a pop icon on a grander scale, Farrah Fawcett was no slouch when it came to being an icon for her generation. You KNOW that, if--like me--you grew up in the 1970s.

If you're a woman, chances are you tried to coax your hair into the famous Farrah Flip-Back. I know I did! In fact, if you looked at the pages of my 1978 college yearbook, you'll notice that probably a good 75 per cent of the girls were doing the same thing.

If you were a guy, you no doubt vividly remember the iconic Farrah Fawcett poster (some of which I've cropped here in the interest of family friendliness.)

I made sure I was watching "Charlie's Angels" each week (those were the days when if you didn't catch it the first time, there was no TiVo to allow you to view it at your convenience) and I was shocked when she walked away from the series after only one highly-successful year. Let's face it, Cheryl Ladd was a doll, but she was no Farrah.

Am I saying I admired Farrah Fawcett for her morals or wished to emulate her life? No.

In fact, I don't understand why she and Ryan O'Neal couldn't have legitimized their union, especially when their son came along. I certainly don't applaud her appearing in Playboy--although, doing so at the age of 50, you've gotta give her her props. I mean, come on...50!

I also really question her use of plastic surgery. I blogged about that four years ago:

"...I'll try not to be unkind here, but I no longer envy Farrah her looks. The poor thing is a prime example of plastic surgery run amok. Her once-lovely face is almost unrecognizable--and I have to say, why? Surely the normal aging process would have been kinder to Farrah than the cosmetic surgery. (Yes, she still does have a terrific figure, I'll give her that.)"

However, Farrah Fawcett did show real courage in her fight against cancer, even allowing herself to be video-taped in graphic depictions of the ravages of the disease.

And, as I also blogged about in the afore-mentioned post, she appeared to have a beautiful relationship with her parents. I wrote this after watching an episode of her reality show, Chasing Farrah:

The show last night focused on her parents, Jim and Pauline. They allowed the cameras into their Houston home, and they were the most charming thing about the show last night.

First of all, Jim reminded me of so many Texas men that I've known all my life (including even a little bit of my dad), that it made me a little sad and nostalgic right off the bat. Farrah's relationship with him is very sweet. Although she's in her late 50's, she is still Daddy's little girl, which was just the case with me and my own father, who passed away in 2004.

Farrah's mother, Pauline, was lovely. It was obvious that little or no plastic surgery had been done on her--although she was quite old, there was none of that pinched and cookie-cutter look to her face. Yet she was a very attractive lady. I could also relate to Farrah's relationship with her mom. I adore my own mother, and it was obvious Farrah was crazy about hers.

At one point, Farrah got emotional when she was talking to the camera about her love for her parents and her concern about the fact that they were growing old, and she might have to face life without them someday.

At the end of the show, a taped phone message could be heard. It was Farrah's dad, obviously calling from his wife's hospital room, telling Farrah she needed to get there as soon as she could.

The show closed with an "in loving memory" note, and the birth and death dates of Pauline Alice Fawcett.

Yeah...I cried.

I hope Farrah made peace with her Maker before she passed into the next world. But this is certain: those of us who grew up with Farrah Fawcett won't be forgetting her.

Labels: Farrah Fawcett

That's my adorable little grandson, Payton, on the Gulf shores of Port Aransas, Texas, where I spent part of my vacation. And all I can say is: I want to go back!

As the community's website touts, this is "Texas--Island Style!" Port Aransas is a little community on the northern tip of Mustang Island, off Corpus Christi.

Making the whole experience even more wonderful was the fact that so many of my family members were along for the fun--all my children, my daughter-in-law, my grandson, my mom, my sister and her family, and at one point, my brother's wife and daughters.



We would start out the day on the beach, playing in the waves and enjoying the wet sand under our toes. Sooner or later, we'd head up the private boardwalk to shower the sand and salt off our swimsuits, and end up in the pool.

In the evenings, we'd sample the local cuisine and maybe do a little browsing in the many quaint shops.

Most nights, my sister and I would chat while sitting in the Adirondack chairs pictured here, enjoying the Texas stars and the ocean breezes.

Altogether, Port Aransas was a delightful experience that I can't wait to repeat.


My sister Lisa and me at Port Aransas

Actually, I'm not going to be fishing at all--but I do plan to spend a lot of time in and around water! I'm going to Texas for a couple of weeks, and I probably will spend very litte time online, so this blog will be on hiatus for a while.

I do plan to blog again July 6th at the latest, so please do join me when I get back.

Oh, and if you're a praying person, prayers for traveling mercies would be MUCH appreciated.

Blessings,

Cindy

I just interviewed John Smithbaker, the head of a wonderful ministry called Fathers in the Field.

Their mission? From the website:

Fathers in the Field was established with the deep conviction to answer God’s call to defend the cause of the fatherless through the provision of godly mentoring fathers. The ill effects of growing up without a father upon the boy, the family and our society are profound...

For a boy who has been abandoned by his earthly father, hearing the healing and encouraging words that he has a Father in Heaven who created him, loves him and will never forsake him is a powerful and grace-filled perspective.

The program pairs fatherless boys with Christian men who show them the love of their Heaveny Father. Implemented through local churches, the program screens the men carefully and provides them with the tools and resources to mentor the boys through introducing them to the great outdoors.

You can read here to find out how John Smithbaker--a fatherless boy himself--got the vision for the ministry.

Listen to my interview with John Smithbaker here.