i like mark twain.tell people you're an early riser, you can sleep till noon. >> right. >> that has worked very well for me, by the way. >> the reports of my death are largely exaggerated by w.c. fields. >> keep going. >> w.c. fields came up with a lot of great ones including ones that sounded perfectly all right until you looked at them and they got past the censor. , og ogleby, sounds like a bubble in a bathtub. when you think about where the bubbles come through in the bathtub, it slipped through. and there comes a time in the affairs of men my dear blubber when we must take the bull by the tail and face the situation. >> i like the one they said, somebody said of huey long. huey, he is the south end of a northbound horse. i'm holding up here a book by our friend who is on this program, paul dickson, which is 2,700 and some words of being drunk. of all of the programs we have done here this is probably the most popular, all about euphemisms for drinking and being drunk. paul couldn't be here today or

>> i think he is much better than mark twain's cat.ark twain said that he did not believe in learning from experience. he said the cat who jumps on a hot stove will never do it again of course it will never jump on a cold stove either. i think that in obama's case he actually is learning from his experience, and i think he can. i think that -- in fact, i said in one interview that i felt his single best therapist at this point would be john boehner because he would finally recognize that this man is only up to get him and the idea of a grand bargain is an idea that was initiated maybe even by boehner but is about eight seduction and abandonment. there is a pattern in a bomb was life of seduction and abandonment that i did not really get into the discussion, but it's in the book. his mother would be very close and then go away. if he can see that people are really just fundamentally out to get him without being -- it's okay to be a little paranoid, especially if you're the president. [laughter] in fact, if you weren't, you know -- so i

mark twain, who said you can't take an old habit and throw it out the window, you got to coax it downstairstep at a time. we have to do the same thing with a persistent ridge of high pressure that's been over the west coast, so persistent that unbelievably to this point in the season, and the season began back in july, san francisco has only 3.3 inches of rain, and that's all we've gotten in the past six months. so we're at about 30% of average rainfall for the bay area. we'll finally bump the numbers up a little bit. when you've got a big dome of high pressure sitting out in the eastern pacific, you can either push it to the east or undercut it. what's going to happen is we will finally undercut the high pressure as the top of the high moves up into the bering straits, allowing the westerlies to kick in friday and saturday, amounting to rain. low pressure is up west of san diego, heading north. as a result, we get clouds tonight, clouds tomorrow. but it's this direction we'll be looking at. low pressure diving out of british columbia. we'll finally bring temperatures up, winds up, and temp

this sounds very 19th century like mark twain, and marshall was smashing behinds and tipping over out houses and he was very poor in his studies and he said it was history. he loved to read history and he said i didn't come up to scratch at all and because of his red hair and his constant running around, he received the nickname of flipper. it was pretty hard to imagine, but there you are. and he came because he developed an interest in civil war lore and soldiering in general and some of the legends of nearby virginia? his older brother had gone to m vmi and george conceded to the idea that he, too, would like to go to vmi. one day he happened over here and george -- excuse me, stewart, pleading with his mother saying not to let george go to vme because he would embarrass him, stewart and disgrace the family name. george said what had been something he wanted to do, and he urged it, he called it and he was going succeed and he was going to go there and he would get stewart's eye and and the professionally off the ear figure of general george c. marshall. so this was the nature of the

. >> reporter: mark twain said i can live for two months on a good compliment. >> i don't know aboutnk is overexaggerated and a good compliment will last you today. >> reporter: is this your coworker over here? >> yes. >> can you? >> hi. >> can you pay her a compliment for me? >> yes. georgia, you are doing a very good job since you came on board. you are doing a wonderful job with the guys. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: and how does that make you feel? >> it makes me feel like i am doing what i'm supposed to be doing. >> reporter: what are you fishing for? >> catfish or carp. >> reporter: you're not fishing for compliments? >> no, we have known those people. >> reporter: how's my hair? can i bug you? >> reporter: it's nice when somebody chimes in. >> what is the best compliment she's given you? >> that i am a good father and provider. >> they're and-rated. >> reporter: looks like the compliments are working out for them n. washington, beth parker, fox 5 news. >>> and i have a compliment for you, laura evans. great job and the prompter's not working. >> it's not working. >> no

mark twain's favorite pastime was playing billiards. he had a table and his home and spent hours of relaxation. to me, billiards is a former relaxation and skill. it is one of the things i can do well into my nineties. i look forward to it. i would intend, if it is built, to walk there. it is close to my home in balboa terrace. from my standpoint, this is not a danger to the community. i do not think there is any problem with people walking dogs or children. the activity would be inside the parlor. i would strongly recommend a yes vote for this addition to the community. president fong: any other speakers in favor of the project sponsor? >> good evening. i am in support of this billiards hall. san francisco has only two billiards halls. he mentioned his family and one located at geary. it is very well-run. there is no crime. it is just a perception. i think there and billiards bring an average of -- and addition to business in san francisco that builders haul is one of the key small businesses that we need in san francisco. as he mentio

-- we met in washington, d.c., when a steve martin -- in 2005 or to adults and six, he won the mark twain award -- it thousand five or 2006. there was a big show. i was one of the presenters. alan was a waiter. no. [laughter] no, alan was a writer. >> i helped larry david wright his speech. >> when we were far away from larry david, he says he wrote his speech. anyway, we like each other. we became friends and saw each other off and on over the next few years at conferences and stuff like that. alan kept saying -- >> we should do something together. >> i did not know what he meant. [laughter] he was very vague. he is kind of in the film-tv world, and people always say they want to do something. i said, ok, let's do something together. but i do not think we would. then he had this idea. >> his daughter played soccer. she was 11 years old. i had three children, all of whom spate -- played sports, little league, whatever. but he was 1,600 miles away from me. i was in new jersey. he was in florida. i can give you his home number later if you wish. [laughter] i said, listen, why don't we make

welcome to business mark twain famously said buy land they're not making it any more well wise advice in uncertain economic times although what the great often thought about commercial property his degree does not relate price waterhouse coopers on the other hand thinks moscow is a good bet the order to says the capital has joined a club of the dozen european cities with the most interesting commercial real estate opportunities to discuss the issue i'm joined by real estate leader peter we see russia holger welcome welcome to the program thank you so much for being with us so why is moscow up and running. good afternoon beauty good to be here and i think in the research very interesting to see that moscow is just one place lower than they were just before but are there different reasons london and syria are safe bets and in these difficult times people like to go there moscow on the other side. is still rather cheap by international common. standards but there's a lot of potential and i think the risk is already. it's lower than it was in the u.s. before and this was one of the main r

>> is they are the mark twain or mark saul for those comic historians.re, and we're dealing with a campaign financing process that makes watergate look like a warm-up. hopefully they can get both parties to step up and deal with real reforms. president obama could do so did i endorsing chuck schumer's constitutional amendment. >> i do think it's a matter of education. look, the issue is around the super pacs, but when we talk about super pacs, i am always amazed in that conversation is not about the kind of money and influence that unions have, because in fact if you're going to have the super pac conversation, you also have to have the conversation being unions and how much money they can put forth in this process. it is a poisonous process. even though the supreme court has said that it is so-called speech, it still is poisoning the process. he can raise the level of awareness. >> i don't think colbert will have a big effect on the campaign. the people he's talking to really are people who are already checked out, annoyed, frustrated, a huge audience,

take away mark twain, take away winslow homer, take away the poets of our time and times before, walt whitman, and it's like you took away the mississippi river or the rocky mountains. we wouldn't feel the same way about who we are, and the greatest statesmen of all have in their own way been masters of the literary form. lincoln's second inaugural address, for example, is a work of art, and here we are in this magnificent capitol of ours surrounded by science, art, music, history, all part of the story, so it couldn't be a more appropriate place for us to give our respect to o and our belief in that we have to do more to understand the history of our culture, and we have to keep on teaching the culture that we profess. [applause] we cannot, we cannot, we must stop cutting back on art programs, music programs, theater -- [applause] and we must concentrate on what our children and grandchildren are reading. when i set out to figure out who i'm writing, i try to figure out what they wrote, and because of our wonderful libraries like the library of congress, university libraries, letters

i think mark twain once said that.es, but madonna, her new album, nicki minaj on it, m.i.a., a bunch of dance producers. we're excited for her. >> have you heard the new seal album? >> i have not. >> i wonder what that's like. >> especially in light of recent news. >> yeah. we love you. >> love you, too. >> in spite of everything we've heard, we find you to be a delightful young man. >> i love you guys. thank you. >> all right. up next, you asked, we answered. sara is drumming up some questions from our fans. [ male announcer ] when do you take 5-hour energy? when i'm on the night shift. when they have more energy than i do. when i don't feel like working out. when there isn't enough of me to go around. ♪ when i have school. and work. every morning. it's faster and easier than coffee. every afternoon when that 2:30 feeling hits. -every day. -every day. every day is a 5-hour energy day. [ male announcer ] 5-hour energy. every day. [ male announcer ] know the feeling? try acuvue® oasys brand contact lenses with hydraclea

people say to me i voted at mark twain school. you do not caucus at the same place. the other thing that is crucial is to let people know where they caucus in 2010 or 2008 may not be the same place that they are this year. so we are trying our best to get the word out to everybody through e-mail. i hope that times might do a story on all the sites. we sent out press releases. we have a blog. we are tweeting about it. we are doing our best to get the word out, but i know some of the people will still go to the sites that they voted or maybe with a win last year. >> what about putting signs on the doors of the voting precincts building saying that -- >> we have a. god it. i am going to review that a little bit later. we will go through all that later. signage. when we talk about 2008 and 2010, that was another thing we got comments from people saying they did not know where to go. it was confusing. we had these -- we have these handy outdoor signs that each of our site leaders -- one person is in charge of each of those buildings. tonight, we are going to have a 50-min

. >>> encouraging news for rail passengers who use mark twain in and out of baltimore. might get a chance to ride -- nights and weekends. >> reporter: good morning. it is a two track approach. one costs little, the other costs a lot. when the sun goes down, so does the number of marked trains. the weekend it stops altogether. so, how about this for an idea. >> first and foremost it is getting more trains on the track more hours of the day. more days of the week. >> that is not just wishful thinking. >> i think that would be a wonderful situation. because i'm a commuter and work late at times. i miss the train. >> that would be great. that would extend the time you can stay over in washington, d.c. and do shopping. >> the schedule enhancements could be accomplished without laying more rail and buying cars. >> reporter: that means running existing trains longer and that could mean improves. for one, a badly needed maintenance yard. passing track to connect more commuters to the system. new stations, especially at bwi and hopkins. >> we think is a great idea. it has been p

employee was rummaging through old vault boxes when he discovered checks signed by, george washington, mark twainns and thomas edison. the top find may be a personal check that abraham lincoln wrote one day before he was assassinated. he made it out to himself for $800. >> amazing find. >> heather: lincoln may be a high profile customer, to say the least. for big named banks this year it is all about you. experts predict a host of new rewards for 2012, designed to make customers feel like their bank is their friend. if you opt-out you will find out how much that friendship costs you. senior business correspondent and host of bulls and bears brenda buttner joins us with more. the big banks just want to be our friend, right? >> yeah. >> no string attached. >> it reminds me of my high school friend. best friends if i never looked at anybody else. and then boom, super jealous. >> heather: best friends until you get a prom date. >> yes, banks have to make up 10 billion dollars in lost revenue because of a host of new regulations. what they are going to do now it is called relationship banking. that ha

the famous line in mark twain's memories is also true for europe. the music is better than it sounds. [laughter] i say this as a great fan of both. there are many questions and concerns about europe these days. i follow the internal discussions about europe and it is an important time in the united states of america. the question is about the current crisis and what this means the european americans and others around the globe. questions also about germany's approach to the crisis. the role it sees for itself in europe. i have come here to answer four fundamental questions as openly and directly as possible. what is the nature of the crisis we are facing? what are we trying to achieve? what is germany's role in all of this? and, what is in it for the united states? first, the nature of the crisis. the term bureau crisis is convenient but misleading. in its first 10 years, the common currency has been remarkably successful by any standard. its exchange rate, inflation rate, are at the stable end of the door to mark. the euro has assumed the role -- o

in one of my favorite quotes, mark twain history says it doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. [laughter] madison and monroe found themselves trying to make this work against the most unfavorable context that i think maybe any body of decision makers has ever faced. but they rose to the occasion. every generation in american history has faced challenges. the first generation did, and every subsequent generation did whether that be pestilence or war or economic calamity or all three, the trifecta. but each generation rose to the occasion and passed on to the next generation in our great american tradition, a country that was better, stronger, freer and more prosperous than the one before. we're in trouble right now as a country, but "founding rivals "is an optimistic note from history, how a previous generation rose to face many of the same challenges we face today and how we as a nation can go forward. we have to get out of this mess. we have to work together to do it. the final line of the book which i know is not something you get to hear very often at these book readings, is

mark twain, elementary. who is that one, tom? knights of columbus? he's not here. ivy center.is a whole building. pat is helping you. you're going to be busy. you have a big one. hoover? hoover? fair enough. central high school. hank, where are you? cody. would you pass that back? he's not here are you, tom? nice to meet you. we're passing out the maps. radison is melissa. julie, your map is on the wall. you can take it down when you leave. radison is julie. wood jr. high. riverdale. who is riverdale? is that you, brent? armstrong? who is armstrong elementary? could you pass that back? you didn't get a bettendorf one? i thought i gave it to you. you were supposed to have one. ivy center. steve robinson, ivy center. blackhawk hotel. hank -- you're central, right? you know, we don't have to do that. they set it up for us. we don't have to. thank you, tom. bettendorf high school. terry byer. can you pass that back? blackhawks. i think that is maybe tom. you didn't get your -- right. ok. can you stay and i'll -- we'll check that out so i can get these guys going? ok. everybody. we

mark twain elementary? who is that? knights of columbus? he's not here. hi decenter?hat's the whole building. you have a big one. hoover? hopewell? central high school? nice to meet you. we are passing out the maps. radisson is melissa. your map is on the wall. you can take it down when you leave. riverdale? who is riverdale? that's where they vote? armstrong? who is armstrong elementary? could you pass that back? i thought i gave that to you. i the center? we don't have to do that? bill mathews? where are you? can you pass that back? blackrock? can you stay and i will check that out so i can get these guys going? everybody. let's try to get this going as fast as we can say you can get out of here. thank you for your dual responsibility. please try to get more people to help you because you have another responsibility as being the site manager, and tom is going to be working on getting sell phone numbers for each of the facilities. we will either send an e-mail once you get all of that, so please make sure we have your e- mail address. if there is a problem with your

when he won the mark twain award.ot the whole package, head wise. >> you know something? we have just started this book tour, in all these interviews, he describes me like hoss cartwright. a guy who has a big head and -- >> alan is a collaborative medium guy. he said we should do something. and i said yeah, because i thought we would never do anything. but then -- >> then i was persistent because i'm used to people not wanting to be with me, so i just kept going, going, going. >> because of your big head? >> i don't know if you know this, but law school helped you. >> we have got a guy who's written a book or two and you're collaborated, but these guys wrote their book a little differently than game change. david would write a chapter and then alan would write a chapter and they had no idea what each other was writing. they got to the end of the book and dave says he still doesn't know. >> it's like a bad game of telephone. >> talk to me about that. what happened? >> alan had this idea, we both have experience with so

i would like to -- there was a very famous " by mark twain who said that evangelical christians are thoseersons who need nothing as much as the reforming of other people's inhabits. i am surprised that mr. reed and mr. gingrich who had such a rich and checkered career of disingenuousness, of cheating, of all of these things. and somehow they get this vote of the evangelicals. i cannot imagine it. host: thank you very much for the call. last night, the former speaker of the house winning the south carolina primary. taking aim once again at the news media. here is a portion of what he had to say. [clip] in the two debates that we had here in myrtle beach and in charleston were people reacted so strongly to the news media, i think there was something very fundamental that i wish the powers that be in the news media would take seriously. the american people feel that they have believed to have been trying for the past century to force us to quit being american and become some kind of other system. [applause] host: the comments of newt gingrich last night taking aim at the media. joining us li

mark twain has been here instead of writing about the adventures of the kids on the missouri river.you could ever turn-of-the-century. [laughter] nothing prepares to beat compares to this. [laughter] i was just passing those cans out there. we could make some really good out of those. really interesting. at any rate i would like to thank you all for being here, i wife, my sister, my cousins, there are just so many of you. when i left, and gannett was serendipity, and we went into savannah. not far actually from where we were last night over on west devotee which are replaced by frazier holmes which is i don't know what is happening with that. i always hoped when i left here as you go through life is a long and slow process even the process of learning standard english. someone asked me recently when i had gotten comfortable with english what i think of standard english i would make it to the 1980's. it took that long. it's a long, slow process. but doing the right things including the right way i would bring honor to those who have been such an important part of my life. i always ho

two, mark twain right at the beginning of huckleberry finn has a little note saying anyone who finds a motive in this book should be prosecuted. anyone finding a moral should be banished, and anyone sitting on a plot should be shot. that is a little bit how i feel about people who speak a little to come -- confidently about what bill buckley would think, feel, or do about anything because u.s.s. at the original and for now mind, but we can obviously sector a few things out. what i would like to talk about briefly is what i think his attitude toward the tea party would be. this is the most interesting and important phenomenon on the right. end you among the elite media and others the anti populists are trashing conservatism, and i don't think that is the way bill would you then. one of which is he was the original elitist. this year cosmopolitanism. of a joke, he realized he was growing up in an american family at age 12. i hope you were not going to use that line tonight democrats. on the other hand, there is no one who was more fiercely anti elitist than bill buckley. a lot of us te

when we talk to people, they say to me, well, i voted at mark twain school or i voted at paul norton.ou do not caucus at the same place. the other thing that is crucial is to let people know that where they caucus in 2010 or 2008 may not be the same place that they are this year. so we are trying our best to get the word out to everybody through e-mail. we're going to have two ads in the quad city times. i hope the times will do a story on a all of this. we sent out press releases to all of the sites, sent out the radio stations. we're writing a blog. we're doing some twitter -- we're tweeting about it. we're doing our best to try to get the word out. but i know people will still go to the sites where they voted or maybe they went last year. >> what about putting a sign on the doors of the voting precinct buildings saying if you voted in 5-1. >> we have it. got it. it niece the packet. we're going to review that a little later. we have that in the packet. we'll go through that later. signage, when we talked about 2008 and 2010, we got comments from people saying they didn't nope what

[laughter] i just wish that samuel langhorne clemens had been here, mark twain had been here insteaditing about the adventures of kids on the missouri river. he could have written about the adventures in these woods. [laughter] huck finn is nothing compared to this. [laughter] i was just passing those canes out there and, boy, i said, you know, we could make some really good plumpers out of those. [laughter] that's really interesting. nerves. but at any rate, i'd like to thank you all for being here, my wife, my mother, my sister, my cousins. there's just so many of you. i, when i left pinpoint, again, it was serendipity because andy's house burnt down. and we went into savannah. not far, actually, from where we were last night. over on west duffy. which was replaced by frazier homes, of course. which is i don't know what's happening with that. but, um, i'd always hoped when i left here as you go through life, it's a long, long, slow process even the process of learning standard english. someone asked me recently when i had gotten comfortable with english, when i could think in stand

mark twain is supposed to have said twice around the world before you listed your shoes.he wasn't talking about the web. talking about the telegraph. here's what's changed. there's politicized now i'm the "washington post" has a dedicated column that glenn reynolds who i look at it every day to check facts after every debate. i have even noticed to be the republican candidates are quoting the fact checkers now against each other. and so, give the media a little too fair. i think sometimes we react understandably. someone says something that goes all over the world. and don't see actually how good and how immediate a lot of the country is. i think that's quite healthy. that's a real problem for you and for me. but that is -- the web is extremely good at current doing things as quickly and as well as that disseminates them, so thank you. please. i'm sorry, she had a mic i look over here. >> i have the mic. [laughter] i am from fremont, california. i have a first-generation immigrant to this country 15 years ago. >> from? >> ecuador, india. my name is an e-mail address and s

and, two, mark twain right at the beginning of huckleberry finn has a little note saying anyone who findstive in this book should be prosecuted, anyone finding a moral should be banished, and anyone seeking out a plot should be shot. and that's a little bit how i feel about people who speak a little too confidently about what bill buckley would think, feel or do about anything. because he was such an original and fertile mind. but i do think we can, obviously, get a few things out, and what i'd like to talk about briefly is just what i think bill's attitude towards the tea party would be because this is, obviously, the most interesting and important phenomenon and controversial phenomenon among some people on the right at the moment. and there's this view, um, among the elite media and others that the tea parties are these clamorous, anti-establishment pop list who are trashing conservativism. and i don't think that's the way bill would view them. he was a fascinating figure for many reasons, one of which is that he is really in a lot of ways the original elitist, right? um, you know, whe

mark twain elementary, who is that one, tom? knights of columbus. he is not here. >> thank you. >> heidi center. well, that is the whole building. but he is helping you. that is a big building. you will be busy. >> central high school, hank, where are you? >> burqa with the school -- brentwood school. >> cody. could you pass that back, please? are you talking? hey, nice to meet you. we are passing out the maps. no. sky-high, that is sebastian. your map is all a wall. you can take it down when you leave. radisson is julie. >> i am sure she is junior high. >> who is riverdale? is that you, frank? >> is that the voting? that is where they vote? >> armstrong. who is armstrong elementary? could you pass that back? you.ught i'd give it to you are supposed to have one. heidi center. steve robinson, heidi center? >> black hawk hotel. >> hank, you're at central, right? we do not have to do that. thank you, tom. who is the fountain? and bill matthews, where are you? tayside? could you pass that back? >> those of you to ask you something. >> if you remember, r

i think mark twain once said that.t. >> i wonder what that's like. >> especially in light of recent news. >> yeah. we love you. >> love you, too. >> in spite of everything we've heard, we find you to be a delightful young man. >> i love you guys. thank you. >> all right. up next, you asked, we answered. sarah is drumming up some questions from our fans. [ female announcer ] when it comes to eczema, ordinary lotions aren't made to treat the itch and irritation. so it can feel like you're using nothing at all. but new neosporin® eczema essentials™ with its unique relipd™ formula is different. it stops itch, soothes irritation, and helps restore the skin barrier. it's clinically shown to restore visibly healthier skin in three days. for everyday eczema care, new clinically shown neosporin® eczema essentials™. discover the difference. go online to save three dollars. discover the difference. ♪ abracadabra. new hershey's milk chocolate with almonds in pieces. your favorites, in pieces. and pampers cruisers with 3-way fit he

what strikes me with the web more than ever before, mark twain says faster twice around the world before you laced up your shoes. he wasn't talking about the web, talking about the telegraph. but here's what's changed, and i think we should look into this a little. counter also moves faster. there's a political fact on "the washington post" that has a dedicated column by glen reynolds that i look every day. checks facts after every debate. i noticed republican candidates in the debate quoting the fact checkers against each other. so i think you should give the media a little due there. sometimes we react understandably. someone comes out and says something and it goes all over the world. and don't see actually how good and how immediate now a lot of the counter is. i think that's quite healthy. usually asem industry, counter comes the next day and that's a real problem. that's a real to be for you and for me. but that is -- the web is extremely good at correcting things quickly as well as it is december emanating them. so thank you. please, i will go back around. i'm sorry, go there. she

what strikes me about the web -- mark twain and is supposed to s said twice before you lay it -- lace here is what has changed. the counter to the light always moves fast. the washington post has a dedicated column. i looked at it every day. i looked at it every day.

the famous line in mark twain's memories about wagner is true about europe -- the music is better than it sounds. i say this as a great fan of both of richard l. wagner and of the european integration. there are many questions and concerns about europe these days. i have followed the internal discussions about europe and the important and crucial times in the united states of america, questions about the current crisis, and what it means for europeans, americans, and others around the globe. questions also about germany's approach to the crisis about place it sees for itself in europe. i've come here to answer four fundamental questions as openly as possible. what is the nature of the crisis we are facing? what are we trying to achieve? what is germany's role in all of this? nd of course, what is in it for the united states? first, the nature of the crisis. the term your crisis is for my point of view convenient, but misleading. in its first 10 years, the common currency has been remarkably successful by any standard. its exchange rate, inflation rates are as stable as that of the torc

two, mark twain, right at the beginning the "huck berry fin" says anyone who finds a motive in the bookshould prosecuted and anyone seeking out a plot should be shot. that's a little bit how i feel about people who speak too confidently about what bill buckley would think, people, or do about anything because he was such an original and fertile mind, but we can substitute things out. i'd like to talk about, briefly, is just what i think bill's attitude towards the tea party would be because this is obviously the most interesting and important phenomenon among some people on the right at the moment, and there's this view among the elite media and others that the tea party heard clammorous antipopulous trashing conservatism. i don't think bill would see that. one is that he's really in a lot of ways the original elitist; right? you know, whether it's vocabulary or the accent or the sheer cosmopolitan. i heard chris buckley joke, i believe, that it was not until about age 12 he realized he was growing up in an american family. [laughter] i hope you are not going to use that line tonight. i