My parents’ 25th anniversary party was a blast. I hope to get some pictures of it online soon. But for now, here’s a radar animation of the other big “blast” today… the huge thunderstorms that moved through Connecticut. (We had some serious turbulence, almost resembling tornado-like rotation, in the skies directly over our house, and vivid lightning during the party!)

One day after this website received a record 80 hits on my parents’ 25th anniversary, it garnered another 40 hits yesterday, its sixth-most-successful day ever.

The top 10 days, in terms of “unique hits,” are:

1. May 28, 2002, 80 (parents’ 25th anniversary)
2. Nov. 30, 2001, 74 (website’s launch date)
3. March 11, 2001, 49 (first day to make picks for NCAA pools)
4. May 5, 2002, 46 (first day of cross-country train trip)
5. March 3, 2002, 42 (first day to pre-register for NCAA pools)
6. May 29, 2002, 40 (day after parents’ 25th anniversary)
7 (tied). May 8, 2002, 38 (fourth day of cross-country train trip)
7 (tied). December 2, 2001, 38 (day after Christmas kick-off ceremony)
9. May 6, 2002, 37 (second day of cross-country train trip)
10. March 13, 2002, 36 (third day to make picks for NCAA pools)

Joey Serfass, a member of the Newington High School Class of 1999, led Eastern Connecticut State University to the Division III national championship Tuesday, pitching a complete-game, five-hit shutout as ECSU beat Marietta of Ohio, 8-0, to claim the university’s fourth baseball title.

Eastern, which had been ranked #2, finished the season 39-11-1. Marietta, which had been ranked #1, finished 41-9-1. Serfass was 10-1 on the season. For more, visit the NCAA site, featuring an article, the box score, and play-by-play; or the ECSU site, featuring a run-down of the whole tournament.

In other news, the USC baseball team will host a first-round regional in the Division I baseball championship this weekend. Also, here is the Daily Trojan article on USC’s national tennis championship last week.

80 individual visitors stopped by “My world” yesterday, breaking this website’s record for “unique hits” in one day. The previous record was 74, set on November 30, 2001, the day of the website’s official launch.

The previous daily highs for 2002 were 49 hits on March 11 (the day after Selection Sunday, when people were busily signing up for The Living Room Times’s NCAA pools) and 46 hits on May 5 (the first day of my cross-country train trip, when I was posting updates via cell phone).

Yesterday’s hits were apparently due to a mass e-mail that I sent out Monday night, advertising the special section of my homepage that I had set up for my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary. My parents also told various friends of theirs to look at the site.

Here are my daily “unique hits” statistics for the month of May:

Today is my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary! They were married on May 28, 1977, emerging from the ceremony as… well… Mr. Joe Loy and Ms. Leanna Loomer. (My mom didn’t change her name.) I came along roughly 4 1/2 years later, and now we all get to celebrate together. We’re having a big anniversary bash at a restaurant in Hartford on Friday. Anyway, if you want to send them an anniversary greeting, click here.

I love you, Mom and Dad!

Newington’s Memorial Day parade is always a big deal in town, and this year was certainly no exception. In the spirit of post-Sept. 11 patriotism, veterans like the Iwo Jima survivors above got even louder cheers than usual.

The parade also featured a military flyover…

…Mayor Tom McBride and other dignitaries…

…and, of course, the walking, talking Dunkin’ Donuts coffee cup:

It also featured oodles and oodles of cute kids, as always:

Click here for more photos of the parade, and larger versions of the images above.

India and Pakistan are on the verge of nuclear war, and we’re worrying about scuba-diving terrorists. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that some “informant” at Camp X-Ray is laughing his ass off about now.

Those were Leslie’s words as she walked away after burying her beloved sister, Elizabeth, this afternoon. Neither could a standing-room only crowd of mourners at Temple Sinai believe it… but the tragedy was all too real. Elizabeth Carlson is gone, but her spirit will live on, as the rabbi and others who spoke — Leslie, their father Bruce, and two friends — were quick to point out. The huge crowd at the funeral made it obvious what a huge mark Elizabeth left on the world in her 24 years.

The speakers painted a picture of a truly remarkable person, kind-hearted, loyal and selfless, with a passion for life, beauty, and especially, dancing. One of the most touching comments came from Bruce, who said he will always remember tap-dancing with Elizabeth to “Sunrise, Sunset,” but he will never get the chance to do it again, as he had planned, at Elizabeth’s wedding.

The Hartford Courant printed a more detailed story today about Elizabeth Carlson’s death, along with a touching obituary.

Elizabeth, the daughter of Bruce and Audrey Carlson and “sister and best friend” of Leslie, was working most recently as substitute teacher in the Newington school system, and was set to begin studying Nursing Anesthesiology next week. She graduated in 2000 from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, earning a Bachleor’s degree in marketing with a minor in dance. Funeral services are today at Temple Sinai in Newington.

Photo courtesy of Sequin 1996 (NHS yearbook)

Elizabeth Carlson, 24, a member of the Newington High School Class of 1996, died last night, shot to death in her family’s Franklin Circle home in southeastern Newington. Police alleged that Jonathan Carney, 29, of Rocky Hill, murdered Carlson. The two were dating until about a month ago, according to various local news sources.

Elizabeth was a senior in high school when I was a freshman, and so far as I can recall, I didn’t know her personally. However, her younger sister, Leslie, was just two years ahead of me, and I knew her well because she was a star player on Newington’s girls basketball team, which advanced to the state semifinals during Leslie’s senior year. I was a student manager on that team, and Leslie and I were good friends during the season. Leslie eventually went to George Washington University on a basketball scholarship, and I saw her play in one college game during her freshman year in college (my junior year in high school), but we’ve since lost touch. However, needless to say, I was shocked and saddened to read about her sister’s death. Apparently, Leslie was home at the time of the murder, and she was the one who called police.

From what I can gather from the 1996 Newington High yearbook, Elizabeth was a member of the National Honor Society and the French Club. Her senior quote was: “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” I’m not sure where she went after graduating, but I’ll post any information I get to this website.

Here is the article on her murder from the New Britain Herald.

Yesterday, when the FBI announced that New York City was under a new terror threat, I received two “breaking news” e-mails from different news organizations, telling me what had happened.

Today, when D.C. police found Chandra Levy’s body, I received three.

Here’s the Summer Trojan article from before the championship match. (It’s a weekly paper over the summer, so the championship article will come out next week.)

Fight on for the USC men’s tennis team, the new national champions!!!

The Trojans, a huge underdog, won the championship as a #11-seed by defeating the #6, #3, #2, and #1 seeds, in that order. What a run!!! They capped it off with a triumphant 4-1 victory over defending champion Georgia in the NCAA title match Tuesday.

“This is unbelievable. I keep pinching myself,” said USC head coach Dick Leach, who is retiring after this season. “This is my Cinderella team.”

Click here for an article on the win over Georgia.

The Trojans upset #6-seed Baylor, #3-seed Illinois (my mom’s alma mater), and #2-seed Tennessee en route to the title match. USC freshman Prakash Armitraj, who won the clinchings point against Illinois, Tennessee and Georgia, was named NCAA Tournament MVP.

This is USC’s 16th NCAA title in tennis — its first since 1994 — and the university’s 94th national championship in all sports combined!!!

CNN keeps showing us live pictures of Lady Liberty, as if they expect her to blow up at any moment. Meanwhile, India and Pakistan are “very close” to war. Aren’t they always?

If you’ve been watching CNN or visiting its website lately, you could be excused for believing that every American will inevitably suffer one of two fates this summer: we’ll either be blown up by terrorists, or eaten by sharks.

However, CNN is giving us some calming news on at least one front: Al Qaeda did not attend the “terror summit” in Beirut, contrary to what ABC News said earlier. So maybe Osama isn’t really conspiring with Hamas and Hezbollah to wreak havoc at the Hello Deli. Then again, maybe he is. As Tom Ridge says, we must be “vigilant.” (What does that mean, anyway?)

Meanwhile, the Ashcroft Justice Department is actually suing someone over the 2000 election in Florida. And, in cola-related news, Coca-Cola is apparently racist, and some Iranian company is now selling “Islamic” Coke. (Does that mean Vanilla Coke is officially a drink for infidels?)