john-costelloeJohn Costelloe - The Brooklyn actor who played Johnny Cakes — the gay-fireman lover of a mob capo on “The Sopranos” — killed himself in a holiday tragedy that has stunned family and friends.

John Costelloe, 47, shot himself in the head in his basement bedroom on December 16, reports New York Post.

John Costelloe, a former FDNY firefighter, played a cook on “The Sopranos” who had a brief homosexual affair with Vito Spatafore.

The front door to John Costelloe’s Sunset Park home was still sealed with police stickers yesterday, more than a week after the rugged 47-year-old actor committed suicide.

Costelloe, a former FDNY firefighter, shot himself in the head in his basement bedroom on Dec. 16, cops and pals said.

John Costelloe had a crucial four-episode arc on “The Sopranos” in 2006, playing short-order cook Jim “Johnny Cakes” Witowski.

In the hit HBO series, actor Joseph Gannascoli – a longtime friend of Costelloe’s – played mobster and closeted homosexual Vito Spatafore, who fled New Jersey after he was outed.

“I was shocked when I heard, and it still hasn’t really sunk in,” Gannascoli told the Post. “I never detected anything troubling about him. I enjoyed all the time I ever spent with him.”

Our condolences to John Costelloe’s family and friends.

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Snowzilla in Your BackYard

December 25th, 2008

If you and your child need to make your own Snowzilla in backyard, here’s how steps

Start with a basis of snow. This is where you are going to need shovels. The current Snowzilla is over 20 feet in diameter so you need to start packing it in tight. You may want to consider extra neighbors help on this as well. The first tier of the snowman needs to be over 6 feet high.

The middle part of the snowman is about a third small than your snowman base. It must be started after the base of the snowman is complete and steady. Start by filling cube shaped buckets and unloading them on to the base. As it begins to take shape, the second ball (the stomach) will be formed.

Finally, the head or last snowball needs to be placed on top. Depending on your final size Snowzilla, it needs to be about a third less than the middle snowball. Starting the final snowball on the ground, then once the ball becomes bigger is the easiest option. Once it does become big enough, but not too big, it needs to be rolled up to the top of the snowman. Use 2×4′s to move the snow up by rotating the ball.

The Final step is putting on the arms, hat and face. As every Snowzilla is different, you have to use what items you have available. Brooms make excellent hands! Just make sure your Snowzilla is smiling to share it with the world.

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The Pacifier

December 25th, 2008

U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Shane Wolfe (Vin Diesel) is assigned to rescue Howard Plummer, a man working on a top-secret government project, from a group of Serbian rebels. Wolfe and his team manage to get Plummer off an enemy boat; moments later, Wolfe and Plummer are shot while boarding the escape helicopter. Plummer is killed in the attack. Wolfe spends two months in the hospital. Wolfe’s commanding officer, Captain Bill Fawcett (Chris Potter), is assigned to escort Plummer’s widow Julie (Faith Ford) to Zurich, where a safety-deposit box belonging to the Plummers has been discovered. Wolfe is assigned to stay at the Plummer residence to search for the secret project called GHOST, hidden somewhere in the house, and to look after the family’s five children: Zoe (Brittany Snow), Seth (Max Thieriot), Lulu (Morgan York), Peter (Logan and Keegan Hoover), and Baby Tyler (Bo and Luke Vink).

The kids prove to be difficult to handle, even with the help of nanny Helga (Carol Kane): Zoe and Seth rebel against Wolfe’s authority; Lulu is obsessed with the new houseguest; the pet duck, Gary, resents Wolfe; and Helga finally quits when one of Zoe and Seth’s pranks goes wrong.

Fawcett and Julia are forced to remain in Zurich longer when they learn that they must provide a password in order to access the box. Wolfe is left to drive the kids to school. There, he meets their strict, nearly-obnoxious vice principal Murney (Brad Garrett), and the beautiful principal Claire Fletcher (Lauren Graham), a sometime military trainee of whom Wolfe becomes enamored. After school, Wolfe saves Seth from a group of bullies, but later is led into the sewers when Zoe intentionally drops the tracking device he put on her into the toilet.

When they finally reach home, they encounter an unexpected house party hosted by Zoe and her boyfriend, Scott. Wolfe forces all the guests to clean up the house before going home. Zoe yells at him. They are then attacked by a pair of masked ninjas, whom Wolfe eventually defeats. He explains the entire situation to the kids, who agree to co-operate with him.

A few days later, Murney brings the facts that Seth has cut and bleached his hair for no apparent reason, has a Nazi symbol in his locker, and has skipped every wrestling practice for the past month, to Wolfe’s attention. At home, Seth furiously yells that he only joined the wrestling team in obedience to his father’s wish. He sneaks out of the house, tricking the alarm system with a freezer magnet. Wolfe, leaving Zoe in charge, follows him to the town theater, where he learns that Seth has secretly joined the production of The Sound of Music. The director quits when he believes the show will be a failure, whereupon Wolfe volunteers to take his place, and juggles this task with taking care of the house, giving Zoe driving lessons, and teaching Lulu and the Firefly Scouts martial arts.

Later, Seth quits the wrestling team. When Murney threatens the boy, Wolfe challenges him to a wrestling match in front of the entire school. Despite Murney’s show of bluster, Wolfe easily wins.

The training Wolfe gives the Firefly Scouts becomes useful when they once again have a conflict with the Easter Bunny Scouts. The girls beat and tie up the boys, refusing to let them go until the thugs agree to stop bothering them.

Zoe and Wolfe share stories of their fathers, both of whom have died in similar circumstances. They are interrupted by a phone call from Julie, who has guessed the password (“My Angel”), retrieved the item in a box (a special key), and is on her way home. The kids immediately begin to plan a ‘Welcome Home’ party. Less than an hour later, Wolfe discovers a secret vault underneath the garage, which requires a key to open. Fawcett and Julie arrive. When mother and children are reunited, Fawcett and Wolfe go to the garage, where Wolfe says he is rethinking his career. The two ninjas seen earlier arrive armed, and pull off their masks, revealing themselves as the Plummers’ North Korea neighbours, the Chungs. Fawcett suddenly knocks out Wolfe, proving that he is in fact a double agent. They tie up and gag Zoe, Seth, and Lulu, place Peter and Tyler in the play pen, and take Julie to the vault. They manage to open the door, but the dangerous security system prevents them from going any farther.

The children escape Mr. Chung, and awaken Wolfe, who goes to the vault to help Julie, sending the kids to summon the police. Mr. Chung follows them in his car; with Zoe at the wheel, the kids force him to crash. Wolfe figures out how to get past the security system, using a dance (“The Peter Panda Dance”) used to make Peter go to sleep each night to avoid its traps. He, Julie, Fawcett, and Mrs. Chung engage in combat, and end the fight when Julie knocks out Mrs. Chung. Wolfe’s voice activates the final vault, knocking out Fawcett with the door. By then, the children have lured a large crowd of police to the house. Mr. Chung, however, holds all of them at gunpoint. Wolfe notices Principal Claire Fetcher right behind him, having followed the chase when she saw it pass by the school. Wolfe, aided by Garry the duck, distracts Mr. Chung, whereupon Claire knocks him unconscious.

With their missions accomplished, Wolfe and the Plummers say their goodbyes, and Wolfe and Claire share a kiss. The family attends Seth’s performance, where we learn that Wolfe has quit the Navy and joined the school staff as the new wrestling coach. Mr. Murney is shown briefly on stage, where he is singing Climb Ev’ry Mountain off-key while dressed in a nun’s dress, as the film concludes.

The Pacifier is a 2005 action comedy film, directed by Adam Shankman, and written by Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant. It stars Vin Diesel, Faith Ford, Lauren Graham, Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot, Carol Kane, and Brad Garrett. The film was released in March 2005 by Walt Disney Pictures, and earned US$30 million in its opening weekend. It is also the first and only live action movie Vin Diesel starred in that did not earn a PG-13 rating or above. This movie was shot partly in Forest Hill Public School.

A poem can stir all of the senses, and the subject matter of a poem can range from being funny to being sad. We hope that you liked this poem and the sentiments in the words of Twas the Night before Christmas Poem by Clement Moore you will find even more poem lyrics by this famous author by simply clicking on the Poetry Index link below! Choose Poetry online for the greatest poems by the most famous poets.

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

“Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

Twas the Night before Christmas Poem
By Clement Moore

“A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also known as “The Night Before Christmas” and “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” from its first line) is a poem first published anonymously in 1823. It is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, and that he brings toys to children. Prior to the poem, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors varied considerably. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus beyond the United States to the rest of the Anglosphere and the world.

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Tumbleweed Tiny House Company is a Sebastopol, California architecture and construction business owned by Jay Shafer, who designs and builds very small houses between 50 and 750 square feet (5 and 70 m2) in area.

Shafer builds his smaller designs himself and ships them by truck to consumers. Many of these smaller designs are mobile homes with built-in wheels. For his larger designs, Shafer sells floor plans for on-site construction. Shafer named his company after the first tiny house he built for himself in 1997.

“Well there are a lot of reasons I’ve decided to live in a tiny house,” he explained. “Probably first and foremost is because it frees up my time otherwise. So all of the time I would spend earning money to pay off a mortgage or rent can be spent doing things I love to do. I don’t have much housework either.”

The average American family home has about 230 square meters. His is 30 years old. It is tiny, cozy, energy efficient and, according to Shafer, all he needs.

“I just don’t like the idea of spewing tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. I know that the average American house puts out eighteen tons of greenhouse gases per year, and you know, that’s not even including all of the consumption that is involved with the, you know, materials, and also just heating fuel,” Shafer said.

Margie O’Driscoll with the American Institute of Architects says Americans have a tendency to acquire stuff, a trend she thinks may be changing.

“You can hire professionals to come in and organize your garage and your closet, and really that speaks to having a lot of stuff. And if you have to organize it, and you don’t even know what it is, you sort of start to wonder: ‘well do I really need to have as much as I have’. And I think that the time of American excess has really begun to shift and people are starting to identify what is really important to them,” O’Driscoll said.

Bill Kastrinos gave up traditional home building last year to start a company called Tortoiseshell Homes.

“I’ve had several people, young people that just want to downsize. I’m getting rid of stuff. I’m having garage sales. I have three sets of China. What do I need three sets of China for?” Kastrinos noted. “So there is just a thought process that is going on where people are saying ‘well okay, if global warming is really a big problem, how much help am I by changing light bulbs to fluorescence.’ It is going to take a major rethinking of everything we do.”

Tortoiseshell homes are less elaborate than Shafer’s and cheaper.
But both constructions are well insulated, both can be mounted on trailers, and both sleep two comfortably, in an upstairs loft.

“The bathroom becomes the shower. I have another door over here to protect the window from water, and that works out pretty well,” Shafer explained. “The little composting toilet is down here, and I can pull a plastic curtain in front of that so it doesn’t get wet.”

Tiny houses
are not for everyone, but Shafer is more than happy to call his tiny house, home.

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Thanks to NORAD and Google you can watch Santa make his deliveries around the world. The best place to watch Santa is with Google Earth. If you haven’t already, download Google Earth, then simply download the official santa tracker

With Christmas coming tomorrow (or now, if you’re reading this in East Asia), a variety of tools are available to track Santa Claus’ progress around the world. Why not use the mirror world to track his movement in 3D? Microsoft Virtual Earth is tracking Santa as is Google Earth, with help from NORAD. If you’re out and about finishing last-minute shopping, you can still keep track of Santa with Earthscape’s app for the iPhone. Particularly with NORAD’s involvement, it’s easy to draw parallels to projects from the intelligence community used to visualize data in 3D environments.

Google will be displaying high-resolution “Santa Cam” video of the gift-laden airborne sleigh. For locations without video, photos from Panoramio will be displayed in Google Maps.

And for the first time, people can track Santa’s journey on mobile phones with Google Maps for Mobile and follow him on Twitter by adding “@noradsanta.”

  • Official Santa Tracker – Google officially teamed up with Norad (the US North American Air Defense Command), which has been tracking Santa on their radar system for many years, to officially provide tracking for Santa in Google Earth. You should visit the NORADSanta.org web site to see the countdown to Christmas Eve and some games and other information related to the tracking system (and choose other languages).
  • Santa’s Route – You can check out Santa’s route right now in Google Earth based on information from Travel by GPS. Click on the “Points” folder and select “Tools->Play Tour” from the GE menu to see a really cool flying tour of the route. Pretend you are Santa! You can E-mail Travel by GPS a placemark from Google Earth for the location of your house, and they will add your house to the route. Click here for more information.
  • Santa from SpaceIn 2005, one of the Google Earth Community members called ‘ear1grey’ posted an amazing discovery. He found a huge picture (36 miles tall) of Santa. He made a nifty Google Earth file for kids so they could go find the Santa by following the red nose of Rudolf the reindeer. Download this file and then turn on the “Little world” in your “Temporary Places“. Look in the nose of Rudolf for Santa.

Happy Holidays Everyone :) !

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Mark Everett (September 28, 1969 – December 23, 2008), born as Manuel Benitez, was a former American child actor in Hollywood films. He was a fugitive wanted by the FBI for the bludgeoning murder of his girlfriend in 2004. In 2008, he was shot and killed by police officers responding to a hostage situation in El Monte, California.

His girlfriend eventually found out about this and decided to end the relationship. On the night of June 20, 2004, Father’s Day, while she was asleep, Everett tried to leave with their son. She woke up and tried to stop him. Everett then allegedly picked up his dumbbell and beat her numerous times, killing her in front of their child.

Everett was an international fugitive. He was believed to be traveling with his son Benjamin and his mother Elizabeth Velasco until his death.

On December 23, 2008, Everett, who was featured on America’s Most Wanted, was killed in a hostage standoff at a Chinese restaurant in El Monte, California. He held his seven-year-old son hostage for two hours before being killed by police. His son was shot in the thigh, but is expected to survive

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