Today's song is (They Long to Be) Close to You, by The Carpenters, released in 1970.

Karen Anne Carpenter was born on March 2, 1950 and passed away on February 4, 1983. She was an extremely talented person whose music could stir the heart, mind, and soul of so many people. I was one of those so stirred.

It is now 25 years since her passing. The disease that took her young life is better understood nowadays and help for those afflicted is more widely available than in Karen's lifetime.

My good friend and mentor, Gene Weed, knew Karen and her family on a personal and business basis. He played on some of their most popular songs. Gene and I have spoken about that period of his life when it mixed with theirs.

Karen's music will always be a favorite of mine. Her beautiful voice was stilled far too soon in life. There was so much more she had to offer.

I republished four QuickTime videos that you can view on the web or download and watch. In addition, if downloaded and installed in the Movie section of iTunes, they properly display on Apple's iTouch and iPhone devices when selected and synced for that playback.

If you're watching on the Internet, depending on your Internet connection speed, the load time before the movie starts will vary.

• Feeling In The Moonlight is about 3 minutes and 20 seconds long and 14.5 MB in size.
• Heart's On Fire which is about 4 seconds long and 1/2 MB in size.
• Intertwined Rings Video is about 10 seconds long and 1 MB in size.
• Many Moons Ago Music Video is about 5 minutes long and 9.33 MB in size.

If you don't have Quicktime installed, you can install the free QuickTime Player for your computer system to watch them.

As I mentioned in a previous home page, the next President will have their hands full with foreign affairs, probably at least two wars, maybe more wars than those. The enemies of the United States are not concerned with Presidential Candidates' rhetoric, whether they are pro or con war. The enemies want our nation's destruction, clear and simple.

When the next President has their first full intelligence briefing regarding threats to the United States, it likely will be a real eye-opener for them. That next President better choose their policies and reactions wisely because American lives are at risk and that President will be held accountable for their decisions.

Some Internet Service Providers (ISP) continue to try to erode consumer choices by limiting bandwidth. They would be better off to increase bandwidth to all consumers to about 100 Mbit/s, thus eliminating the need to try to limit traffic flow.

Found on the web links for February 28, 2008.

Don