vmmmomof3girls wrote:

Hang in there, everyone!

hey Vmmm!!!  *waving* .....we'll stay strong....just a little rain shower....but we'll look for the rainbows

well guys gotta run for a bit....will be checking in and out today and i will be back tonight to PARTY IN THE RAIN!!!  and I'll bring the M&M's and Denim

annieahoy wrote:

ollieceb wrote:

annieahoy wrote:

I'm taping GMA, so maybe I'll run downstairs to see if they have revealed anything here  -- CST.

We talked a lot last night about this Muhammed Ali charity event, and this is a question I always have about such things -- why not just donate the money and be done with it? I think it's ridiculous that people have to "see and be seen" at some fancy dinner, show, event of any kind, etc. in order to get money out of them for a worthy cause. If Mark Cuban is going to lend his plane for a charity event, why doesn't he just give the charity the money that it will cost to fly these people all over the place? I've thought this for years --  not just because of this M. Ali event. 
If Maks were dancing again for DWTS  season 19, he wouldn't be able to go all over the place, now would he? He would have to have just mailed in a check.  
I've decided to just watch season 19 and "pretend" I don't care who wins. I always want to do that but somehow get sucked into really rooting for one particular couple. I want to focus on this new season and try not to care what M&M are doing. I need to remember the attitude of the 109-year-old man, Charlie White,  whom I talked about yesterday -- Charlie learned to separate those things he could control from the things he could not; he didn't fret about matters beyond his power.
Lots to do today, so will check in later. 
 

Annie, My thoughts exactly on the donations to charity.  My husband always bids on silent auctions at events we go to.  We "win" things we don't want or need and usually at a little bit lower price than the "value".  That means that we can't claim it on our income taxes.  I've tried and tried to convince him that we should just write a check then we could claim it and be done with it.  I have sat through so many boring dinners and events when I would just rather write the check and be done with it.  These events sound wonderful, but in reality they are not.  My idea of a wonderful vacation to Italy is  a vacation on our own, not being bussed around from event to event with people who become boring really fast because you really have nothing in common with them.  The cost of the private plane alone could add up tons of money for the charity.  The end is people wanting to smooze and be seen.  The designers and preformers who are having dinners/events/etc really want nothing to do with most of the people coming other than what they can do for them.  They are all getting a big write off and name recognition.  Ok, I know I sound hateful, but honestly those are the facts about these things.  I need t o  get off the computer and get on with my day and try NOT  to think of what's going on.  

It's going to be really easy not to watch DWTS this season.  

Thanks, Ollie. Good to see that someone agrees with the points I made. AND, what I forgot to say is that having a Fight Night or whatever they called it, totally turns me off. I hate the sport of boxing and would never go to a fight if if were free and right across the street from me. (Or even if Maks invited me!!) It is a vicious and harmful "sport". Hope I didn't offend anyone with these comments. I don't think that people who go to these events are bad or vicious -- maybe just unaware. 
 

Forgot to say -- We have all seen what boxing did to Muhammed Ali.
 

annieahoy wrote:

annieahoy wrote:

ollieceb wrote:

Annie, My thoughts exactly on the donations to charity.  My husband always bids on silent auctions at events we go to.  We "win" things we don't want or need and usually at a little bit lower price than the "value".  That means that we can't claim it on our income taxes.  I've tried and tried to convince him that we should just write a check then we could claim it and be done with it.  I have sat through so many boring dinners and events when I would just rather write the check and be done with it.  These events sound wonderful, but in reality they are not.  My idea of a wonderful vacation to Italy is  a vacation on our own, not being bussed around from event to event with people who become boring really fast because you really have nothing in common with them.  The cost of the private plane alone could add up tons of money for the charity.  The end is people wanting to smooze and be seen.  The designers and preformers who are having dinners/events/etc really want nothing to do with most of the people coming other than what they can do for them.  They are all getting a big write off and name recognition.  Ok, I know I sound hateful, but honestly those are the facts about these things.  I need t o  get off the computer and get on with my day and try NOT  to think of what's going on.  

It's going to be really easy not to watch DWTS this season.  

Thanks, Ollie. Good to see that someone agrees with the points I made. AND, what I forgot to say is that having a Fight Night or whatever they called it, totally turns me off. I hate the sport of boxing and would never go to a fight if if were free and right across the street from me. (Or even if Maks invited me!!) It is a vicious and harmful "sport". Hope I didn't offend anyone with these comments. I don't think that people who go to these events are bad or vicious -- maybe just unaware. 
 

Forgot to say -- We have all seen what boxing did to Muhammed Ali.
 

Totally agree, to brake each others noses and kill off brain cells aren't the best ways for young men to prove themselves amongst their peers.
 

tangodancer208 wrote:

Annie, I do think it's sometimes a waste to not just write a check, but this kind of event, esp. with Ali involved is on a whole other order of magnitude, and worldwide this time.   Maks doesn't have the kind of money the the high rollers like Mark Cuban have.   He can't just write a check in a comparable amount but he can give his time and image.   He might also be using it as an opportunity to visit Cantamessa.  Also, in addition to his plane, Cuban is probably also writing a large check (we're talking hundreds of thousands of $$, if not more; my bet would be the you would look cheap as a donor of $100,000 in that crowd).   The celebrities are there because we would be amazed at the lure of celebrities for hugely rich people.   There are people who would pay millions to be able to actually meet Ali.   I'm sure there are rich women who would pay that kind of money, maybe not to meet Maks by himself, but to hobnob with a party of celebrities.  

There's an interesting look at this kind of high level fundraising in Michael J. Fox's autobiography "Lucky Man."  He describes what it was like to set up his Parkinson's foundation as well as meeting Ali.

Thanks for the insight, Tango. Biographies are my favorite genre, so I will get that book and read it. I've always loved Michael J. Fox.