Lea Salonga

Lea Salonga made her Broadway debut in Miss Saigon in 1991. I first saw her in 1997 in Les Miserables in Concert: the Dream Cast on PBS, in the role of Eponine.

Here, she sings Someone to Watch Over Me to perfection. I've never heard it sung better.



Don't get your hopes up at the end of the song when she introduces a song from Jekyll and Hyde. She only does the intro.

Frank Sinatra

And now ladies and gentlemen the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Frank Sinatra!



iJigg.com

Liar, liar....& Let it snow!

I have an e-mail account at Yahoo, but I don't go there very often. About the only mail I get is from Nancy or Robert trying to sell me Viagra or something to enlarge my penis. I got an offer the other day to enter a lottery to pick the date Bush is going to start the war with Iran. I'm not a gambling man. I get those popups of some girl asking if I want to "hook up tonight". All I want to do tonight is get a good night's sleep.

Anyway, I went to Yahoo this morning to see if Robert or Nancy sent anything. (You know, they would get a lot more business from people like me if they sent free samples. And how do I know if this enlargement stuff doesn't enlarge other parts of my body as well? Has it been tested?) Nothing from Nancy or Robert but I did have something from Jill, Candy and Penelope. Penelope, there's a name you don't hear often these days.

And then an e-mail from my wife caught my eye. We live in the same house, but she gets a kick out of sending me e-mails. Sometimes she sends me a note via the postal service to alert me to the fact that I have an e-mail. I really should check my e-mail more often.

My wife has a great sense of humor and this one is funny. I thought I'd pass it on. I don't know this guy Andy Borowitz, but he's funny, and he looks like a pleasant enough fellow.
The story is about President Bush and the problem he has with his pants catching on fire.

While I'm still laughing from that one, I notice one from my friend Bob who usually sends me a lot of chain letters, which I never pass on. I know. I know. I'm taking a big chance. This one, however, wasn't a chain letter. It was excerpts from the diary of a guy who sounds a lot like me.

Subject: Diary of a snow shovel
> > December 8 6:00 PM It started to snow. The first
> > snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails
> > and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft
> > flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma
> > Moses Print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again.
> > I love snow!
> >
> > December 9 We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal
> > white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a
> > fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the
> > whole world? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had!
> > Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again.
> > I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon
> > the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks
> > and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What
> > a perfect life!
> >
> > December 12 The sun has melted all our lovely snow.
> > Such a disappointment! My neighbor tells me not to worry;
> > we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on
> > Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much
> > snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow
> > again. I don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man,
> > I'm glad he's our neighbor.
> >
> > December 14 Snow, lovely snow! 8 inches last night.
> > The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything
> > sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed
> > up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the
> > life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried
> > everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite
> > this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this
> > way. I wish I wouldn't huff and puff so.
> >
> > December 15 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and
> > bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car
> > and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants
> > a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's
> > silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.
> >
> > December 16 Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass
> > on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell.
> > The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.
> >
> > December 17 Still way below freezing. Roads are too
> > icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had
> > to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but
> > stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've
> > bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God I hate
> > it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in
> > my own living room.
> >
> > December 20 Electricity's back on, but had another 14
> > inches of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling! Took
> > all day. The damn snowplow came by twice. Tried to find
> > a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy
> > playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only
> > hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower
> > and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I
> > think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city
> > will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.
> >
> > December 22 Bob was right about a white Christmas
> > because 13 more inches of the white shit fell today, and
> > it's so cold, it probably won't melt till August. Took me
> > 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and
> > then I had to piss. By the time I got undressed, pissed
> > and dressed again. I was too tired to shovel. Tried to
> > hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the
> > winter, but he says he's too busy. I think the asshole is
> > lying.
> >
> > December 23 Only 2 inches of snow today. And it
> > warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the
> > front of the house this morning. What is she, nuts?!!
> > Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She
> > says she did but I think she's lying.
> >
> > December 24 6 inches - Snow packed so hard by
> > snowplow, I broke the shovel. Thought I was having
> > a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a bitch who
> > drives that snow plow, I'll drag him through the snow
> > by his balls and beat him to death with my broken shovel.
> > I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to
> > finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at
> > 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've
> > just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas
> > carols with her and open our presents, but I was too
> > busy watching for the damn snowplow.
> >
> > December 25 Merry f---ing Christmas! 20 more
> > inches of the damn slop tonight - Snowed in. The idea
> > of shoveling makes my blood boil. God, I hate the
> > snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a
> > donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel.
> > The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's a
> > fricking idiot. If I have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life"
> > one more time, I'm going to stuff her into the microwave.
> >
> > December 26 Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever
> > move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on
> > my nerves.
> >
> > December 27 Temperature dropped to -30 and the
> > pipes froze; plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for
> > him, he only charged me $1,400 to replace all my pipes.
> >
> > December 28 Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed
> > in. The BITCH is driving me crazy!!!
> >
> > December 29 10 more inches. Bob says I have to
> > shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest
> > thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?
> >
> > December 30 Roof caved in. I beat up the snow
> > plow driver, and now he is suing me for a million dollars,
> > not only the beating I gave him, but also for trying to
> > shove the broken snow shovel up his ass. The wife went
> > home to her mother. Nine more inches predicted.
> >
> > December 31 I set fire to what's left of the house. No
> > more shoveling.
> >
> > January 8 Feel so good. I just love those little white
> > pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

Two laughs before 5:30 in the morning ain't bad.

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina.
He was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.

YouTube has some excellent videos of Dizzy Gillespie performing. This is one. Follow link for more. [Link]

The Birds are Turkey Vultures

Remember The Birds,directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 1963? Well, Chatham, a small town in southern Virginia, not far from the North Carolina border, has a bird problem too. The birds are buzzards (turkey vultures, Spanish (Mexico): el Zopilote, Cherokee: Suli) [Link]
About 300 of the critters have taken up residence in the little village, to the discomfort of the human inhabitants.

Shooting a turkey vulture is out of the question as they are protected by United States Code Title 16, Chapter 7, Subchapter I , International Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

Chatham Police Chief Floyd Poindexter: “The buzzards are nothing new here. They’ve just never been this close to residential areas. We don’t want them that close to residential areas.

"Why they like Chatham, I don't know."

Facts about turkey vultures you may not want to know (courtesy,TURKEY VULTURE FACTS, MAPS, and STATISTICS:

There is an important purpose to the vulture's bald head. When the vulture is eating carrion, it must often stick its head inside the carcass to reach the meat. A feathery head would capture unwanted pieces of the vulture's meal, along with all the bacteria it hosts. After mealtime, the turkey vulture perches in the heat of the sun. Here, whatever has managed to cling to the few bits of fuzz on their head will be baked off once and for all.

The turkey vulture is one of the only birds in North America with a sense of smell. This vulture relies both on its keen eyesight and powerful nose to search out food.

The Turkey Vulture, contrary to popular belief, does not feed strictly on carrion.
This bird enjoys plant matter as well, including shoreline vegetation, pumpkin, and bits of other crops. The Turkey Vulture soars above the ground for most of the day, searching for food with its excellent eyesight and highly developed sense of smell.

Non aggressive and non-confrontational, the Turkey vulture will not feed on live prey.

p.s. [Link]
to "Buzzards take over cell tower" at BoingBoing.


Watch for buzzards on bridge (click photo for larger view) courtesy Flickr

God Speaks to Pat Robertson Again

The Viginian-Pilot[Link]
"The Lord didn't say nuclear. "But I do believe it will be something like that." Pat Robertson



"God is Love--tough Love."

Yesterday, Rev. Pat Robertson revealed to a waiting world part of a discussion he recently had with God almighty. Robertson said the informal talk included topics of the weather, politics, Gerald Ford's, Saddam Hussein's and James Brown's death. "God was pretty proud of the way that worked out, with all three going on the same weekend" Robertson said.

The major topics of the talk, of course, were homosexuality and abortion. Poverty, disease and the Iraq war never came up, according to Robertson. "God told me that until the homo thing and baby killing are squared away, he couldn't even begin to talk poverty and that other stuff." Mr. Robertson said that God is "really getting PO'd with these secular humanist, liberal, leftie, commies " and that He is "going to put (his) foot down, pretty soon." According to Mr. Robertson, "God is planning something really big for the end of '07. Something along the lines of a terrorist attack. I mean a BIG terrorist attack. Lots and lots of death and destruction."

When asked for a more specific date and details of how God's wrath will be dispensed, Robertson said, "God wouldn't be more specific than to say the end of 2007. He's holding his cards pretty close to his chest. There is still some logistical stuff to work out. Besides, he wants it to be a surprise. All I can tell you is that many will perish, including innocent women and children."

Robertson said his talk with the Almighty ended with best wishes for the new year all around. "Except towards the end of the year", Robertson chuckled. "You know, God has a wonderful sense of humor, and he told me a blond angel joke I wish I could share with you, but He made me promise not to." Robertson grinned his boyish grin and blushed as he added, "I really wish I could because it was a gem, only a teensy bit naughty. All I can tell you is that it has to do with a blond angel, a harp, puffy clouds, a lamb and St. Peter."

God has been talking to Mr. Robertson for many years now, and although not all of what God has told him has come to pass Robertson continues to feel confident and hopeful. "Hey, this could be the really big one" he said. "On the other hand, even God can be wrong now and then. After all, He's only human."

Post script:

There is an excellent letter to the editor of the Virginian-Pilot "Robertson's predictions stir up fear and trembling" which speaks to my main concern with Robertson and his prediction of doom. Since God did not tell him where or when these events will occur or what steps we can take to prevent them, why would Robertson tell us. To strike fear in the hearts of those who believe anything he says? Maybe.

Happy New Year

Daughter trucks in white Christmas, Concord Monitor , Concord, N. H. [Link]

The Sign Bandit, Exeter News-Letter, Exeter N. H. [Link]

"John Decker, aka "The Sign Bandit," becomes a household name in the Seacoast following his efforts to remove and have banned illegal roadside signs."

Have A Hoppin' New YearMesquite News, Mesquite, NV [Link]

"You'd have to have your head completely buried in the desert sand not to have heard of Hoppin' John."

Police Take Over for Fed-up Cabbie Cleburne Times-Review, Cleburne, TX [Link]

"Officers took Helm into custody on a charge of public intoxication after they noticed a strong odor of alcohol on him."

Pedestrians attacked by drive-by yolk-yobs, [Link]The Reading Chronicle, Reading, Berkshire, UK

"POLICE are warning shopkeepers to look out for anyone shelling out on large quantities of eggs after a spree of bizarre drive-by attacks on innocent pedestrians."

Get paid to send child to school on a bike, [Link]
The Bolton News, UK

"The Government has said the proposals will improve school transport, cut congestion and encourage children to lead more active lives."

Gay Weddings Prove Popular, [Link] Isle of Wight County Press UK

"Of the 48 services, all but six were partnerships between Island couples.
Twenty were female weddings and 28 male."

Resolutions bedamned! Full speed ahead.

Если хочешь изменить мир, сначала изменись сам. (If you want to change the world, change yourself first.) as my Russian grandmother used to say. I'm kidding! I'm taking the word of the Moscow Times [Link] and Michele A. Berdy, in a piece on resolutions for the new year, The Year of the Flying Pig . It is something to consider though as we are about to dive headlong into a brand, spanking new year.


Calvin and Hobbs, today. [Link]

The Washington Post : Summer Camp: It's Getting too Late Early. This is National Sign Up for Summer Camp month. [Link]

"In many places today, kids don't come home and jump into their play clothes and run out and play...so camp has become the neighborhood playground."


I do not believe in astrology. Not me. However. I do like to read them sometimes when they're entertaining, such as this, from The Village Voice, is. I'm not a Scorpio, but this seems like pretty good advice from Abe Lincoln. Free Will Astrology [Link] Rob Brezsney.


SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): In 2007, you'll need to find power to do the half-right thing when it's impossible to do the totally right thing. To help you do that, remember this advice from Abraham Lincoln: "The true rule, in determining to embrace or reject anything, is not whether it have any evil in it; but whether it have more of evil than of good. There are few things wholly evil, or wholly good. Almost every thing is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded."

The Wilhelm Scream (AHHHHHHHHHHH!)

If you watch movies or television--you've heard the Wilhelm Scream . It's been used hundreds of times by sound designers since the early 50s. This YouTube amalgamation illustrates it's use in everything from Indiana Jones to Walt Disney's Aladdin. George Lucas used it many times.



Want to know more about Wilhelm? Then listen to this (Link) audio feature from WNYC, NY and On the Media. (10 minutes)

According to legend, the scream was first used in a western and the character from whom the scream originated was named Wilhelm. You'd scream too with an arrow in your leg.

diamonds and passport lost and found and luggage just plain lost

It's nice to see a story like this, and I sincerely hope that somebody over at Best Western corporate will take notice and reward this good deed.

My wife left a text book in a hotel room once. We phoned the hotel when we realized the book was missing but they weren't able to find it. It was a text book, expensive but of little value to most people. The hotel, btw was a very well known resort hotel that you probably have heard of.

Keep paying it forward!
Who knows, you or I could be a recipient.

Wytheville Enterprise

Wythe County, Va.
Lost and found: diamonds and passport returned

MARY BETH JACKSON/Staff
The Wytheville Enterprise
Thursday, December 21, 2006

When Donna Russell entered room 115 to start cleaning Dec. 11 at Best Western, she found a small brown suitcase and reported it to her supervisor, thinking the guests had not yet checked out.

But they had.

Russell opened the suitcase to see if there was any contact information. She found a lovely diamond necklace in a box with a bow. "Woman probably have a fit if she don't get it," she said.

Then she saw a passport.

"I said, 'oh no, these people can't get into Canada!" said Russell, who has worked nearly three months with the hotel.

Meanwhile, Hattie Bolsby and her husband, Clare, were making the 11-hour drive from Wytheville to their Ontario home, miserable and distraught with severe colds. They'd cut short a visit to see Clare's sister in Florida to avoid spreading their illness to family.

Feeling so wretched, they never realized a piece of their luggage was missing ? one with their checkbook, bank records, Canadian and U.S. money for tolls, and other valuables. Upon arriving in Ontario, they dragged into their home and checked their messages.

"It was a shock when the machine said, 'we have found your suitcase here,'" Bolsby said.

Bolsby added, "We hadn't even missed it. We wouldn't have until the next morning because we were ill and weren't going to unpack the car."

She was delighted when the suitcases arrived Tuesday, missing nothing.

"We could have had identity theft," she said. "That was the most important suitcase we had."

If she had known it was missing, she said, she wouldn't have expected to get everything back.

"I've worked in the service industry and I know how things can drop," she said. "It is so easy for people to pick up things when they are in the service industry."

For Bolsby, it might have been a blessing that returned to her. She says she once returned a lost money clip and diamond rings to their rightful owners.

She says she's sent thank you notes to Russell and her supervisors at Best Western and plans to stop in on her next visit to give her thanks in person. "People around here are saying there are angels down there, and some are saying 'Santa visited you,'" she said.

Russell says it's all in a day's work.

"I tried to do the right thing," she said. "I'm thankful they got it, too."


And before we leave the lost and found, here's one to think about as you travel the airways and fairways. It comes to us courtesy of Billingsgazette.com.

Airline luggage found near Houston store


HOUSTON (AP) -- Authorities were trying Tuesday to figure out how dozens of pieces of luggage belonging to air travelers ended up in a trash bin behind a Houston pet store. The store's owners discovered .... link

Jibjab Year in Review

We mustn't forget to laugh now and then.


Nuckin' Futs! The JibJab Year in Review |

New Harry Potter book

Rowling reveals final Harry Potter title



By Richard Holt
Telegraph.co.uk

"The wait is over for eager J K Rowling fans as the title of her latest book is revealed as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

It will be the final installment in the hugely popular series of books about the young wizard which have won admirers of all ages."

Read article

Why, you may ask, is house cleaning so much fun?

No. I didn't say "not so much fun". I mean it. Fun. I can explain it only as a peaceful time, a time when I have the rare opportunity to get in touch with my inner self. It also has to do with Saturday mornings.

I think I got the cleaning gene from my mother who was always cleaning or cooking or passed out on the floor. Not that kind of passed out. Passed out as in tired from cleaning and needing a break. And she wasn't really passed out. She took naps that way. Whilst dusting the old rocker she might put her head down for a few minutes and catch a few winks. I once came in from playing baseball with my friends to find mom lying on the kitchen floor asleep. I thought she was dead. Scared the hell out me. I was nine.

Cleaning to me means family doing things together. Saturday mornings were always so much fun because my brother, sister, mom and I were together, each with his or her designated chores. All of us working like little beavers. In the summer my mother liked to wash down the front porch and sidewalk, while we dusted and mopped and made beds and such. That was her passion. That and waxing the floor and making gravy.

By noon the job would be done and I'd collect my pay. I got 30 cents and two bus tokens which I used for at least one double feature at a downtown movie theatre, a box of popcorn, soda and milk duds. In my early years I leaned towards westerns with Roy or Gene, Lash LaRue, Whip Wilson, Johnny Mack Brown or Randolph Scott. (I was on stage with Lash LaRue once, but that's a whole other story.)

I suppose what started all this about cleaning was the time of year. The week before Christmas was a big cleaning week at our house. The mill was closed and mom spent a lot of time at home, doing what she loved. Cleaning and baking cakes. The fragrance of Johnson's Wax and melting chocolate lingers in my olfactory memory still. I can close my eyes and see mom stirring batter or grating coconut.

I think the idea of intensive house cleaning at the end of the year has something to do with starting the new year off with a clean slate. Black eyed peas and collard greens for luck, and a clean house, help to make the season bright.

Now, if you'll excuse me I've got some sweeping to do.

The perfect tree

our perfect tree

Since he was four, my son has been the official Christmas tree chooser in our family.
I don't know how he does it, but he just walks onto the lot and immediately goes to the tree which always proves to be the perfect tree.

Oh, it's full of imperfections and flaws. It's perfect in its imperfections. (Aren't we all) The fact is, once the tree has all the ornaments and lights, it doesn't matter. It's our perfect tree and we love it. And my son, now eleven, has the fun of being the official perfect tree picker of the family. He's also now the official Decorator of the Tree, and my wife and I just sit back and watch. My wife has a little more trouble than I do with kibitzing, because her father had very specific rules as to how one must decorate a Christmas tree. I don't think much fun was had decorating trees when she was a kid.

Our tree may not get its picture in House Beautiful but my son get a great deal of pleasure from picking and decorating it. And we all join him in having fun. I figure it's good practice for life, and decision making as practiced by grownups.

April Winchell is full of the Joy of Christmas

I can't help but love this woman and the irreverent, but relevant way she looks at the world. It's worth clicking right here and flying on over to her website to listen to the grand array of Christmas mp3s she has available for your listening pleasure. All downloadable and FREE. Other goodies too, but you'll have to see for yourself.

Where else on the planet will you have this once in a lifetime opportunity of hearing Christmas Cookies and Holiday Hearts by the inimitable Caroleer Singers?

And that's not all folks! If you click right now you'll get Bubble Tub by Carrie Lanza (Mario's ?) and many, many more.

Don't wait. Click now.

Mr. Jeffries

On my way to work every morning I would pass the house where Mr. Jeffries lived. He was always outside sweeping his sidewalk or sitting on his porch reading the paper. And smoking his pipe. I could always smell the fragrance of burning pipe tobacco a few houses from his. Jack, his beagle was usually close by.

I didn't really know Mr. Jeffries. I knew he drove a city bus before he retired and that his wife had died a few years ago, and that he lived alone, except for Jack, of course. And maybe a cat. My wife said she saw an overweight tabby sleeping on the porch last week. I never saw a cat. Just Jack.

It was always comforting to see Mr. Jeffries every morning. He looked so positive about life. He exuded confidence, well-being and contentment. He'd always smile when I passed and I always said, "Morning, Mr. Jeffries. How are you this morning." He never had to think about it. "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want", he replied. I thought that was a very nice way to put it.

Garrison Keillor's Christmas letter

Garrison Keillor's Christmas letter, Salon.com, December 13.

"Dear friends. We are getting older but are in fairly good shape and moving forward insofar as we can tell. We still drink strong coffee and read the paper and drive the same old cars. We plan to go to Norway next summer. We think that this war is an unmitigated disaster that will wind up costing a trillion dollars and we worry for our country. Our child enjoys her new school and is making friends. She was a horsie in the church Christmas pageant and hunkered down beside the manger and seemed to be singing when she was supposed to. We go on working and hope to be adequate to the challenges of the coming year but are by no means confident. It's winter. God is around here somewhere but does not appear to be guiding our government at the moment. Nonetheless we persist. We see kindness all around us and bravery and we are cheered by the good humor of young people. The crabapple tree over the driveway is bare, but we have a memory of pink blossoms and expect them to return. God bless you all."

Movie Romance with new song subtitles

I re-worked the subtitles for A Love That Will Never Grow Old, sung by Emmy Lou Harris in this short piece. Here it is--the new, improved version.

Greta Garbo and John Barrymore

The best way to destroy an enemy...

The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.-- Abraham Lincoln

"Shut up about Ann Coulter, already!"

I know. You're right. I should move on and forget about Ann Coulter. I know that you takes pleasure in getting folks riled up. My wife said I'd make a good fish. I can't resist this one though. And it was a long time ago. And does it really matter? Of course not. Just a interesting glimpse into the character of Ms. Coulter.

Ms. Coulter was being interviewed in Canada, by Bob McKeown on the CBC's, "Sticks and Stones". . She had what I suppose would be called the audacity to argue with Mr. McKeown about whether or not Canada sent troops to Viet Nam or not. She asserted they did, and this ignorant Canadian journalist disagreed. He allowed as how Canada sent troops to WWII and Korea though.



Ms. Coulter, on C-Span re the CBC interview:

AC: Yes, 10,000 Canadian troops, at least, there is a War Memorial to them¦at least for most of that. The Canadian Government didn't send troops at the beginning, didn't send troops at the end, but most of that was not under the Canadian flag, they came and fought with the Americans. So I was wrong. It turns out there were 10,000 Americans who happened to be born in Canada.