Torture and the American Way

Torture has been used in our legal system for two centuries. Sleep deprivation, isolation, light 24 hours a day, repetitive sounds... and it's been questionable at best. It elicits false confessions and causes a whole host of problems. It's antithetical to the American Way in that we have that pesky presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

The war isn't our legal system, though, but it's fought on two fronts: 1) the battlefield by our military and 2) investigations by the CIA. In the first, presumption of innocence isn't really a question. People shooting at you are the enemy and the enemy may have information that will save lives.

Remember that Colonel who threatened an Iraqi prisoner of war and then pretended to shoot him in the head but instead shooting past his ear (no contact, just a really loud BOOM). The guy wet his pants and gave up the bad guy's plans, averting a costly battle. That Colonel was reprimanded and retired, as I recall.

How silly. Give the guy a medal. The Iraqi was caught in the act of war; waterboard his head already!

The CIA, on the other hand, bags guys they strongly suspect are terrorists. Even if they are, they may not know anything and torture may give false information that can be just as dangerous as no information. Occasionally, though, they have guys they KNOW are guilty and have information we need.

And that's where I have a problem with torture. Allowing the CIA and the military to use torture "only when it's called for" allows them to use it even when it's not necessary. It could be used out of incompetence, revenge, etc. Torture for the sake of torture is wrong, but how do we trust fallible people to torture only when it can save lives? We can't.

Still, the thing I have not heard in the media is how often torture has been used and saves lives as a result. We see the abuses; something tells me we don't see the successes partially because the media doesn't want us to and mostly because the CIA really doesn't want us to.

So; I am not against torture on principle (the enemy is the enemy and if they have information, they're a fair target... of course, that presumes who the torturer says is the enemy really is the enemy); like the death penalty, which I'm against only because we don't carry it out well (though some folk just needs killin'), I'm against torture because we can't be trusted to do it "properly."

How frustrating is that?

To Boldly Go... Again

A definite 9 out of 10 for Star Trek. Maybe even 9.5. Good enough to see twice, which we did, and it left us looking forward to the next one.

The premise was simple: reset the timeline for more rollicking adventures with the first and best crew. This had it all, fun, action, sci-fi, warm fuzzies, and good old fashioned planet destroying good time. Pure popcorn movie (though to the nay-sayers who complain the original Star Trek was about something; that is that sci-fi is supposed to explore deep themes, I say thhhhhhpppppttttt!)

Without too many spoilers, here's my assessment:

Story - FUN

Concept - Fully realized, we're back at zero ready to warp ahead.

Kirk - Great. While Shatner always managed to beat up people ten time stronger and five times faster (since humanity is the slowest, weakest species in the universe... but we rule, baby!) the new Kirk was everyone's punching bag. And it worked for him. He's the new Kirk, raised without a father and hyper-rebellious. No mimicry of Shatner, he's really a whole new character who is a rebel not a maverick. Same no-no-win scenario, though.

Spock - The weakest of all of the new cast, it's not really his fault. Nimoy's shoes are just too big to fill. Nimoy looked alien. The new guy has a baby face. He looks a bit like a kid playing dress up. Good foil for the new Kirk, though.

McCoy - Great. He was the most like the original but didn't fall into mimicry despite the ease to do so with the McCoy-ish lines. Didn't have enough to do in this one other than follow Kirk around, except for the funniest sequence in the movie.

Sulu - Asian, like Takai, but that's about it. Pilot and fencer, but his own person. No deep voice, no swashbuckling. He took his sword fighting seriously. Didn't have much to do after his two big scenes, but that's okay.

Chechov - The best in show, by far. Love this kid; did everything right. Want to see more of him.

Uhura - Weird looking lady. In fact, everyone in the movie except McCoy looked like there might have been an alien or two in the woodpile somewhere in their ancestry. She's good; an interesting foil for Spock.

Scotty - Second best in show. Terrific, but looked lost in the engine room. No, that's not right, the engine room was lost. A conglomeration of tubes does not an engine room make. This was the film's biggest weakness...

The Enterprise - where are the bulkheads? All the wide open space seemed a waste. I loved the bridge and the glass display boards. Loved the new transporters. The outside was okay, but the inside was mostly atrocious.

Uniforms - I liked George Kirk's uniforms best of all Trek so far. I would have been happy if these were our crews uniforms and their uniforms were George's. Speaking of George, what happened to Jim's brother Sam?

Nimoy Spock - Dude is old, looks even more alienish, and is, of course, fantastic. He was the best thing about the old show and still has it without being overbearing.

The Lack of Shatner - I like Shatner and I'm glad he wasn't in this movie. There is no way for him to be in the movie without taking it over. Notice how easily he stole the movie from Picard in ST Generations, and Stewart is STRONG. The new Kirk would never been "his own" if Shatner was in it.

Sarek and Amanda (Spock's parents). Winona Rider looks ancient! She was good, though. I have no idea who Sarek was. Mark Leonard he was not. Seemed more vampire-like than Vulcan. I don't want warmth from a full-blooded Vulcan. I suppose there's new toys to play with if Sarek and Spock aren't feuding.

Bad Guy - Nero, great villian. Great look. Weird looking ship, but hey, they're Romulans. At this point in "history" humans had never seen Romulans but they glossed over that (the Romulan war could have been different, I suppose, in which humans never saw them, but why would it be?)


JJ Abrams. Knows Star Trek better than even Rodenberry. Make many more!

Dad broke his hip

And he's mad as a wet hen. At 80, my dad is in pretty good shape as long as you don't count his blood pressure, kidneys, and fake knee. He fell in his backyard yesterday and broke his hip clean through. He's in the hospital (of course) and surgery will be followed by a stay in a convalescence home. I spoke to him at the hospital and he sounded awful. I think they'll need to get his blood pressure down before they can operate.

Your prayers are appreciated.

It Comes in Threes

I confess to not know who Danny Gans was before he died (not a big Vegas fan) but I knew and very much enjoyed Dom Deloise.

Truth to tell, I though he had passed away a while ago, so it saddens me afresh. He seemed a very happy man who could communicate that happiness to his audience.

Who will be the third? Or did I miss the first?

Air Force One: A Financial Terrorist

Forget about the insensitivity and naivete of the new administration in buzzing the Statue of Liberty in Air Force One with an F-4 fighter dogging it's tail for a photo-op (after all, insensitivity and naivete are the hallmarks of President O-bow-to-Muslims). Rather, consider the phenomenal waste of taxpayer money instead.

I don't know the actual cost of flying Air Force One and an F-4 but it's in the hundreds of thousands at least. Contrast the fact that there are thousands upon thousands of photographs of AF1 and the Statue of Liberty and making a composite of them in Photoshop would take ten minutes for a semi-talented graphics designer (and the mega-buck photo-op disaster's photos would have to be retouched in Photoshop anyway) and you have a shameful boondoggle.

While I highly doubt BO had anything to do with it, the judgment of his staff is as woeful as his own.

10% down, 90% to go....

Sanctity of (a bug's) life

I'm not the most emotional of guys, but I don't like to kill things. I don't hunt or take potshots at squirrels. The one time I had to set mouse traps I felt guilty for weeks for murdering two rodents.

But I can kill bugs like popcorn. Spider? Smash it. Cockroach? Spray it. Mosquito? Mash it. All with glee.

Why is that? It's not because they're loathsome. I don't like rats or cats, but I wouldn't kill them if I didn't have to (no, I'm not killing cats).

Is it mammalism? Do I relate with mammals but not insects, so I can zap them? Is it cerebralism? An insects brain is the size of pollen, so they don't rate? Is it legism because two and four is fine but more is terminal?

I just don't know....

Pardon me while I geek out...

Batman Three

Which criminals should share the spotlight?

Here's who I don't want.

• Riddler (dumb character and even with reinvention would be a dumb character)
• Penguin (let's all say "yuck")
• Any overtly superpowered bad guys.
• Bane (yuck)
• Scarecrow (the first movie was great, scarecrow was sad)
• Harley Quinn (dumb)
• The Ventriloquist

Here's who I would be okay with.

• Poison Ivy (done well, unlike before)
• Black Mask (a little gross, but could the humor translate?)

Who I want.

• Catwoman (done right, who hasn't been done right yet)
• Batwoman (Kathy Kane without the perversion)
• Hugo Strange (Patrick Stewart!)
• Talia (maybe)
• Killer Crock (maybe)
• The Outsider (with a twist)
• MAN-BAT! (okay, he's superpowered, but come ON!)

The problem is Nolan's Batman works but I doubt even he could reinvent thin characters from the 60's and before to work in his Gotham. Joker and Two-Face were great, but they have some heavy psychological stuff to dig into. The rest don't except for those I've listed as "I wants."

Geek out concluded (unless you join me in comments).

Thinking about roads not taken

I've been contemplating this more for Lynette than myself, but isn't it amazing how your spouse changes everything about your life? That has to be the most life changing decision anyone can make. You merge your rhythms, goals, interests, activities, and dreams with your spouse. You don't just become "one flesh" you become DIFFERENT flesh.

I know I married well, but I'm not convinced Lynette did. She encourages me in all I aspire to. She has so much capacity, though, with art, music, compassion... how might someone else have influenced her? I'm glad no one else had the chance, mind you, but the malability of humanity is amazing.

I suppose divorce happens when one partner won't bend with the other. Don't know if that's the fault of the individual or the individuals make-up. Could it be that some couples who love each other simply can't merge together? I'm blessed to have the ideal wife, so I'll never know, thankfully.

Easter

Your opinions, please.

Easter is not a Biblical holiday (neither is Christmas, for that matter). While they commemorate Christian events, they are "tacked on" to tradition, not intrinsic to it.

Easter was actually a fairly big event when I was kid. We sometimes (maybe often) went to church and had a big family meal.

We don't so much, now. We go to church, of course, but we've never gotten into the secular stuff like egg hunts and roasting bunnies (or whatever you do with them). We do try to remember the Christian part, reflecting on Jesus' resurrection, but if memory serves (and it often doesn't), we don't do a special meal. Partly out of laziness, and partly because we have no extended family here.

Is Easter a big deal? Should Christians be compelled to observe it?

Does This Make Sense?

I like to wash my hands before I eat, especially at restaurants. So I give a good scrubbing with soap and water (I like the foam soap the best) and go to dry my hands. A "hand dryer" blowing out hot air with the hope of me being patient enough to wait for it to dry my hands hangs on the wall with some amorphous claim to be more environmentally friendly than paper towels.

Okay, paper towels are most often recycled paper, and even if not, trees are a renewable resource, right?

Air dryers, on the other hand are electric. Here in Florida, electricity is generated by burning coal, a non-renewable resource. Further, most people are like me and are impatient and annoyed by the lack of real drying power, so we end up wiping our hands on our jeans and walking off (defeating the purpose of clean hands). The dryer then continues to blow its preset cycle, raising the temperature and kicking the A/C into overdrive, burning more coal.

This is green how?

My Dogs Worship My Wife

The rest of us could go burn for all they care. As long as "Mom" is around, 100% of Grizzly's and Thunder's devotion is on her. As I type, Thunder is sprawled in her lap as she tries to read, and while Grizzly is beside me, he's staring at her waiting for his turn in her lap.

Hold on that for a moment and move over here where we can discuss "consciousness." What is it? What does it mean to be conscious or sentient? This is a big deal, because on Earth, though there are other intelligent animals, we are the sole possessors of consciousness. In the archives somewhere, you'll recall I mentioned the "consciousness explosion" that perplex scientists so. It seems 65,000 years ago (in their C speed erroneous thinking) our ancestors went from basic animal awareness to consciousness in an anthropological eye-blink. They have no idea how (from an evolutionary standpoint, it's a bad leap; consciousness breaks the chains of "survival of the fittest").

"Consciousness" is "self awareness" with "self direction" and "self gratification" and "self destruction" thrown into the mix. Animals survive. That's their one goal. They can play, but really, everything is geared toward survival. Their instincts drive them that way.

Instead of instinct, we have consciousness, and survival is the simply the springboard on which we achieve our true objective, self gratification. Or as David rightly said in his sermon, self worship. With an animal, it's all about survival; with people, it's all about "me" which often gets in the way of survival. We will kill ourselves in the pursuit of our pleasure.

Now we're back to the dogs and their worship of Lynette. When given a loving object, they worship OUTWARD. This is what Adam and Eve did. They had indwelling sin genetically written in their DNA but it was not expressed until a command not to eat from the tree of "consciousness" activated it. Paul tells us we need the law to show us the sin inside us. One law is apparently enough.

When they ate from it, all other people existed outside the garden also achieved consciousness (Adam is both a name and a word meaning "mankind." Whether or not he was the first man or just the first man created in the garden, he was the Platonic Archetype; what happens to him at a genetic template level happened to everyone - yes, yes, this is all speculation and not explicitly in the Bible... I take it from Paul saying "through Adam, sin (consciousness) entered the world." It could mean, and must also mean, that genetic sin is passed down from the father, not the mother, hence Jesus' sinless nature on Earth.)

From the Fall on, we each worship INWARD. Something about knowing right from wrong makes us dependant on ourselves rather than God.

This was part of God's plan from the beginning (as was our redemption through Jesus). We are to dominate the Earth, which we could not do as animals. Dominate doesn't just mean control, but also to optimize. Conservation, city building with Green principles, art (the real stuff -- maybe grist for another post), music, and all the things that go into "building" (math (ugg), engineering, science) are part of responsible dominion of the Earth. Stewardship is a huge part of dominion. Our takeover of the Indians was dominion at its worst, our rebuilding of cities wiped out by tornado is the good stuff.

There has never been a conscious human being without genetic (indwelling) sin, EXCEPT Jesus.

Jesus was not like Adam, and Adam was not like Jesus. When we enter His kingdom, we will not be like Adam OR Jesus. Unlike Adam, we will be conscious but without sin. Unlike Jesus, we will have an imperishable body. (I'm not really sure what Jesus has now, to be honest. Is He as He was at the transfiguration, or does He have another state of being different than optimized human?)

I can't imagine what that's like. Imperishable, sin-free, still conscious. As long as I'm covered by Jesus, though, I'll find out. :)

Silliness in the Pursuit of Political Correctness

It is so completely backwards to rename a people group because you don't want to refer to their color... even though you're still classifying them by their color.

Think about it; we all know African-American is a *wink-wink-nudge-nudge-he's-black," so what do you call a black person from somewhere else? Or the white guy from South Africa who immigrates here. Is he an African-American?

Native Americans--that throws me, because I was born here. I'm a Native American, by gum! No one calls me an Irish-American or a Scandinavian-American. And let's be honest here, Indians (an unfortunate name to be sure) didn't originate from America. They probably migrated across the Siberian land bridge. Why do we arbitrarily assign them to America? It wasn't even America when they controlled it! Native Pangeans? That would be all of us!

And really, isn't People Group-American racist? Doesn't that mean plain old American refers to a white person? You're still singling out black people as a "different kind of American."

Don't even get me started on Inuit Indians! They drop Eskimo (why? Didn't want to get confused with a pie? Is the Eskimo Pie now a racist dessert?) and they keep INDIAN? I mean, really, did Columbus get them confused with East Indians, too? Did that guy get around or did somebody miss the PC memo...

I think the only group who's got a decent claim are Asians. And maybe Latinos. What color are they, after all? If Asians are yellow, what does that make Latinos? Tea colored? And many black people are, in fact, high yellow which would make them sound loftier than Asians if we stuck to the color theme.

I've got an idea. What if we called all people who are American citizens "Americans" and forget about what color someone is? Either that or go all the way and individualize the color theme. I'd be Fish-Belly White With a Hint of Pink, Josiah would be Edging to Brownish But Maybe Just Almost-Olive, Former Senator Martinez would be Light Brown with Darkish Highlights, and the President would be Toast.

I could live with that.

Just talking through my hat

Since I can't follow the math and I'm really just intrigued by the concepts, this is more gentle musing than anything else.

You see, I'm fascinated by what people will believe so they DON'T have to believe in God. Let's move away from evolution and on to cosmology. How did God create the universe? Prevailing theory is a gravity-driven model (which, oddly, takes billions and billions of years). Super-simplified (because that's all I can handle) particles drift together in cosmic clumps with gravity as the principle actor. Clumps become planets and swirling galaxies (similar to water swirling down the drain... the cosmic drains are black holes, great gravity sinks so strong light doesn't escape).

There's only one problem. For galaxies to be moving the way they are, we're missing 90% of the mass required to fuel the gravity theory. So scientists, those wonderful empiricists, have made up dark matter and black holes. Great fields of stuff and pinpoints of hyper-dense mass that HAVE to be there... we just can't see it. Or detect it. Or figure out where it is....

But, see, if gravity didn't do it, how did it happen?

Perhaps... plasma? You see, when streams of plasma (ionized gas) which space if FULL of, cross just right, these straight plasma fibers... spiral. And within those spirals (which look suspiciously like spiral galaxies) they occasionally "pinch," accruing matter rapidly. We know this works with small plasma filaments; it's been proven in laboratories. Many scientists believe it doesn't ramp up to cosmic size, but if it did (and like I said, there is a lot of it in space), those pinches would become planets and suns. Rapidly.

Plasma. Non-scientists who see the ionized gas might call it "light" as in "let there be light."

Fascinating stuff. :)

I've Had it with Movies

...okay, I'll see Star Trek in two months, but really, Blockbuster is a wasteland of things worth seeing, and what's on in the theaters is just as bad. I saw Watchmen last night and regret it. I could go on about that, but why bother? So much stuff that just didn't need to be there. S'okay, that's not what this post is about.

It is a typical worldview these days that there must be no God because people are so evil. The "big joke" in Watchmen (not really a spoiler) is that people are barbarians underneath it all. Civilization is a thin veneer, and because people are such animals, God must be absent, uncaring, or bad Himself.

Ridiculous. The Bible is abundantly clear that men are evil to the core. That's the reason we need God. We were created to be in relationship with Him; it's the only way to stem our wicked hearts. Sure, we can reduce it by making all resources available to all people. Fulfill everyone's wants and you'll never see the horror we'll perpetrate to get what we want. That's the veneer that we of plenty live under.

So, if we need God for salvation, utopia on Earth will actually condemn us for eternity. Anything that drives us into the arms of God is used by Him as good. That puts a spin on movies, not to mention this wicked administration....

Respect to Paul Harvey, RIP

Paul Harvey, a unique and cherished voice on the radio, originator of "The Rest of the Story..." passed away this weekend. Nicknamed the "hardest working man in radio," Harvey reported the bad AND the good, and often the funny and just plain weird, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

I believe he may have been a major spur in goading my curiosity into a major trait. One of the first books I ever read was one of his "Rest of the Story" compilations. The stories don't always pass Snopes muster, but it was a strong encouragement to dig beneath headlines and find the people underneath.

His broadcasts have been guest hosted a lot lately, notably by his son and former Gov. Huckabee. When he did speak, the energy was there but the voice was failing.

May he enjoy broadcasting in paradise.

Since I've Been Studying Creation... (Heretic Warning)

More along the lines of the post a few back...

The Old Testament doesn't talk much about Native Americans. Or the Chinese, or a bunch of other people groups. Mainly because it is about God's Chosen People and only includes those with direct impact on same.

Which is to say Scripture is silent on say, Neanderthals, Cro-Magnon, and such. Therefore it doesn't rule them out. For fellow creationists to discount Neander as a deformed human is silly. One doesn't have to accept speciation to accept the existence of critters fossils clearly say existed. Even evolutionists know Neanderthals aren't related to homo sapians. That cro-magnon was minorly different than us, far less so than, say, the Nephilum, takes no skin of creation's nose.

Even if one wants to believe a literal seven days of creation, there's no indication who long Adam and Eve were in the garden before eating the fruit. Long enough for cities to spring up outside the garden. Cain was afraid to be exiled because the people of the other cities would kill him. That means a couple things. 1) Cities existed and it couldn't have been the descendants of Adam and Eve populating them (not enough time). 2) Death existed there or Cain wouldn't have been worried they would kill him. Abel was likely not the first human to be murdered, he was the first of God's Chosen to be murdered.

Does this have any effect on God's creation (He made them, too)? Does it lessen the significance of Adam and Eve? No to both.

It's important to recognize that scripture's silence doesn't mean there's nothing there. The Bible rules out certain things (such as random mutation being the cause of speciation) but unless it speaks directly to something, it doesn't rule out its existence, just it's relevance.

Research Project for Eager Beavers

Why is the speed of light considered a constant (never changing)?

Church Got My Heart Beating This Morning

Great sermon, too. But what really got things going was a friend leaning over my chair saying, "did you hear about M&M? Their Hummer's totaled!"

THUMPA_THUMPA_THUMPA! Hummer's don't GET totaled, they do the totalling!

"Yeah," they continued, "Rear-ended at a stoplight by a guy going 100MPH. They're in the hospital."

And that's when David started church. NOOOOOOOOOO!

Y'all know they're okay, though they'll be immensely sore tomorrow.

Then God tapped my on the shoulder and raised an eyebrow. Yeah, I get it. I've always been amused by the Hummer. What vehicle more says "Mike" than that military boat? Now I am SO grateful for it. Any other car and we'd be visiting M&M at the morgue. God so knows best.

I like to think I've never taken them for granted; it's always a pleasure to hear their voices, never more so than when M-ette's phone voice was chipper and a joke was the first thing out of her mouth (not a good one, but the effort is appreciated).

I am awed by God. Not even Hummers are designed to go from zero to 50 in .5 seconds. Praise Him also for airbags, given a certain someone's habit of not buckling up. I admit to shudders and cold chills when I think of what could have happened...

Shot Through With Sin

On the New Earth in our resurrected bodies, we will be without sin and at the peak of our DNA potential. I have no idea what that will look like. A sinful grub, I can't imagine perfection as a state of mind, spirit, or body.

Evolutionists believe our DNA is repleat with "junk code." I don't believe so. First, I don't think new information evolves in DNA but that it is complete in itself. That junk code is unactivated, unexpressed, and unrealized. When it's switched on, maybe all of it, we'll be who we are meant to be.

The week before I proposed, I gave Lynette a stuffed Panda. What she didn't know was that her engagement ring was inside (and let me tell you, if I'd known the stress I'd undergo in that week hoping she didn't find it, I probably wouldn't have done it). For Lynette it was just a Panda with some sort of weird hard lump inside. I knew it was far more.

I think we're like that. Who will you be on the New Earth?

The History of the World

A question from my cousin-in-law prompts this explanation of my personal understanding of the world timeline.

In the pre-beginning, God created the planet and populated it in a phased approach with dinosaurs. They romped happily for a long time, eating each other, and making eggs. I do not believe they evolved in a speciation kind of way, but I'm sure environmental adaptation occurred.

Then the asteroid struck what would one day become the Yucatan. Dirt, ash, and stuff choked the atmosphere, killing off the remaining dinosaurs. Leaving the Earth void and without form.

Long time passes and the KT barrier is formed. The planet was dark and the atmosphere began to thin, and then there was LIGHT. This corresponded roughly with the Cambrian period where all existing body forms were created by the Lord.

He then set apart in this growing wilderness the Garden of Eden, and he created Adam as a special creation within the garden as well as people outside the garden. Eve was created as were more people outside the garden. How long both sets of people partied before Eve ate from the tree, I don't know, but when she did, the consciousness explosion took place and A, E, and other people outside became aware of right and wrong, attaining accountability in a stroke. Cities sprang up and A&E had C&A and many others once they were cast out of the garden. Their children became the elect. Things went on from there.

Biblically, "void" means something once was and now was not (dinos). From the pre-beginning, God's plan included a strife torn Middle East. Over what? Territory and OIL. Where do we get oil? Fossil remains of dinosaurs. They were part of His plan from the beginning.

Science points out the Cambrian explosion where suddenly all the body forms existed within ten thousand years (give or take). Evolution can not explain this, Creation can.

Science also speaks of a consciousness explosion where hominids became sentient, aware of themselves and of right and wrong. (Evolution doesn't explain this... sentience is actually a negative survival trait... The Fall does explain it).

Cain speaks of being afraid of the peoples of the other cities killing him not long after expulsion from the Garden. Cities (perhaps Clans) co-existed with the Garden of Eden.

I do not believe in speciation; evolution speaks of random mutations and since we don't see random mutations ever being positive (they are instead cancer), I believe God specifically created each animal. Are there changes within species? Yes. It is a turnkey system that does not require randomness. With the need for extended periods of time that evolution requires, I except the idea of an old Earth but not billions of years old. I have no problem with the Fall being 10,000 years ago, but I do believe the world pre-existed for thousands and maybe hundreds of thousands or more (it is unknowable) before the Garden.

I further believe that this does not contradict anything from the Bible. A right understanding of the Bible and a right understanding of Science will always coincide. I don't think we have a right understanding of either yet (closer with the Bible than Science), but that they can work together for discovery.

Believe it... or not....

Swans of War

New template from a site the kids told me about.

Why Mars? Planet of War? Dunno, it looks cool. :)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I heard on the radio today that Obama is the "Jackie Robinson of Politics."

I think Jackie would be horrified (okay, probably not, but I am).

Robinson became the first black baseball major league because he was a fantastic ball player.

Obama became the first black president because he's black. (Although I had a marvelously confusing moment with an Hispanic acquaintance when he said "Obama is not a frickin' American!" It took me awhile to figure out he was saying, with his PR accent, "Obama is not African American." But I digress).

I have no doubt that Martin Luther King would be thrilled we have a black president, but this election was as racist as they come. Obama won because:

A) He's black (or, as Jimmy says, part black).

B) He ran against McCain, whom Gary Coleman could beat for the same reason Obama did (see reason A).

To his credit, we are one step closer to a true non-racist election (and it might be in four years when Obama will have to run on his record...)

(Have I already posted this comment or am I having Deja Vu?)

Wo to you creative people looking for employment

Paul Newman's movie "The Color of Money" about pool sharking has the most salient comment for creative people looking for jobs. The exchange goes something like this:

"He's a flake!"
"Yeah, the question is, can he flake on and flake off at will?"

Creative people are flakes (almost by definition). I know this from past experience and acutely from the last week where I'm hoping to hire business writers. We placed an ad on Monster and we've gotten over a hundred responses. That is, hundreds of resumes from writers... the most torturous kind.

You see, earlier in the week I had the privilege to review Matt's resume for costume design. It has a woman in armor in the left eighth of the page. For his target audience, that's right on. It's eye catching, shows his talent and assures he will not be forgotten.

The writing resumes, however, were clear for a target audience of business writing. I can forgive the various clip art on the cover letters... there's a difference between flat ignorance; no, I'm talking about things that should be common sense. For example:

* Endless purple prose - four pages of resume digging into their heart of hearts as to why they want to be, or are, writers. "I think it was a fairy or a muse camping in my heart and typing fingers..." ugg.

* Scary e-mails. bathedinblood -at-killer.com or sweatychick-at-myplace.com

* Links to their personal (not business) websites detailing their obsessions in aberrant interests.

* Links to their personal blogs where they talk about how they want to kill their former employer for not recognizing their genius.

I admit, we writers are hopelessly self-possessed; but doesn't logic dictate that if you apply at a professional business you should conduct yourself professionally and just think a little bit about what you include?

Emotions: A Weird Kind of Spectacles

I don't even know why we have the word "objective." I don't think objectivity exists as anything other than an imaginary concept.

Can anyone name one thing we don't do from emotional prompters? In stories about aliens, they invariably call humans "flesh-apes" or something similar. That is the least of what we are. It amazes me we can even fit all these emotions into our bag of skin.

What prompts this is last Wednesday looking at my savings and checking balances and sinking into despair, "OH NO! We're DOOMED!"

Then yesterday I looked at the exact same balances, not a penny different and I feel all rosy, "God is so GOOD!"

Do you ever do thought experiments like "come up with a sixth sense (seventh if count kinesthesis as a sense). What would it be like?" I always draw a blank. Electrical sense that sharks have... no that exists. What's a completely new one?

I've decided it's emotions. You don't see, smell, taste, hear, or feel (in the traditional sense) them, but they color every one of those senses. I doubt there is a sense they ever fail to color.

Think about it; the only people who don't have emotions are sociopaths and they kill people. Maybe subjectivity isn't such a bad thing...

Accessory to Commit...

I struggle with the idea of of making abortion illegal. Not because it isn't a horrible thing but because it would be in inadequate law, unenforceable, and ineffective.

That is not to say that select abortion laws shouldn't exist. Late term and partial birth abortion should be illegal. If there is a danger to the mother's health, C-section the baby if it's viable, and tragically abort if it's not. There is no excuse for partial birth abortion and I don't see how anyone could think otherwise. That is flat out criminal.

Further, because so many people are divided on the issue, no tax dollars should support abortion.

Obama has reversed the ban on tax funded abortions. Two days into his presidency and as far as I'm concerned, his administration is a failure on moral, ethical, representative, and intellectual grounds. He has made all tax paying Americans complicit to murder and genocide.

Shame on anyone who voted for this person.

Irony in Racial Memorials

Today is Martin Luther King Jr.'s Day (or, as our India employees said it, "King Martin Luther Day). It is also Robert E. Lee's birthday (observed and in fact). So, we honor a civil rights activist and good man, and celebrate the birthday of a man who would see him still in chains.

Lee is observed as a hero on Stone Mountain, a college is named for him (Washington and Lee University), and he received a full pardon and eventually a return of citizenship after he died (should have been granted before, but an administrative error prevented it). He has a memorial in Washington D.C., or maybe it's Virginia...

Lee is a struggle for me. He was, quote, a "good man." Lincoln asked him to lead the Union Army and he refused. When Virginia seceded, in loyalty to Virginia he led the Confederate Army. A Christian man, he owned slaves. Some say he was against slavery, but that wasn't true. After his relative died, he was executor instructed to free the 150 slaves within 5 years, as soon as it was "safe" to free them. Financial issues raised their heads, and he worked and hired out those slaves -- who knew they were supposed to be freed -- to shore up his finances. He hunted down escapees and dealt with them in "military fashion." True, after 5 years he release those left alive, but the law commanded it.

Most of all, though, he led armies that killed Americans. Thousands upon thousands of Americans, both as enemy and as soldier, died bloody deaths and more were maimed. He called the orders and as much as pulled the trigger.

Robert E. Lee was a terrorist. His vision of the US was different the rising tide. In his mind he was not a traitor, but anyone who kills Americans, no matter what their personal belief, is a terrorist. He was responsible for more deaths than 9-11, the Gulf and Desert Storm wars and he did it on our soil.

There may have been political expediency that prevented him from being executed, but in no way should his memory be honored today.

How's that for a strong opinion?

Marley and Me... NOT

Boring, poorly written, poorly directed... good actors with nothing to do. Snoozefest 2009. Plus, no one told me it was a horror movie. Kathleen Turner, former beauty, now runner up to the Roseanne award, oh the pain!

Cruisin' Down the Highway

Or the seaway...

It was a wonderful trip made better by wonderful companions. I've had several people ask me what the highlight of the trip was, and truthfully, it was all a highlight. From amazing food (far too much of it, I gained 8 pounds in 4 days -- already lost three of it, but still) to fun excursions. We spent a day in the waterpark of Atlantis, another snorkeling and Hobey-catting on Castaway Cay (my thanks to Dan Gracey's patience with land-lubber me).

Some things I found bizarre:
1. A cruise ship celebrating pirates. Seems counter-intuitive.
2. A showing of Wall-E, in which humanity has devolved into fattened cruise freaks. Seems too close to home.
3. Phenomenal chefs who are polite and approachable. Seems like an oxymoron.

Okay, I guess the highlight for me was the 3-D viewing of Bolt, which is a fantastic movie--best I've seen in years--set off beautifully by playing with the minds of children sitting in the row in front of us. One child thought I was crazy, her cousin (the quiet one) understood me completely. While we waited for the movie to start, I'd lob a comment over the head of the first child eliciting a predictable outraged response while the cousin grinned knowingly, getting the fact that I was pushing her cousin's buttons. That put me in just the right bizarre mood to make me laugh hysterically throughout the movie. Rhino is now my favorite Disney character. :)

Is this OUTRAGEOUS?

The government is insisting TV goes digital to free up bandwidth. No problems, here, and not just because I don't watch television. It's a wise move and we have to move forward, after all.

What's outrageous is that the government is GIVING OUT $80 VOUCHERS to anyone who doesn't want to buy a digital TV so they can purchase a converter.

When did TV become a right instead of a privilege? Why should our tax dollars go to buy an upgrade for consumers? It's not like we didn't know the day was coming. If you can't afford a converter, maybe, just maybe, you should spend some time at a second job instead of watching Survivor 35.

And much to the government's surprise, everyone's applying for these free vouchers, so they're running out of them. So Obama is trying to hold off the conversion.

Clearly, the voucher program is Bush's, not Obama's, so no blame to the O-Man; government excess is bad whether elephant or donkey.

Can these vouchers be used to buy express card tuners for laptops? Hmmmm....

Is this Puppy Torture?

Who would guess a reading light with a laser pointer would be the high point of Christmas presents? Thunder, the dimwitted dog, is convinced the laser point is something to be chased. Beam it on the rug and he pounces and scrambles after it all over the place. Cast it on the wall and he climbs it searching for a photon snack.

He has yet to lose interest before the person with the laser does and when the light goes off, he's sniffing around to find it for a long time after.

Grizzly sees it but has no interest. Thunder, meanwhile, believes he has a new friend.

Is this puppy torture, and if so, do you want to come watch?

Tiny Tim Said it All

God Bless us, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

I suppose it's better odds than the lottery...

Spoke with a client the other day who explained a company he's working with is developing a "paint on display system."

Rather than pigment in the paint, there are bazillions of quantum dots. The paint is whitish-grey in the can, and goes on the same... until you beam or plug an I/O lead into it and command a color or a high-resolution pattern. Paint a wall and make it anything you want - wood, sponge paint, metal, or a TV or computer screen of any size any resolution you desire. Your TV show could be displayed in better definition than you have now, and it could follow you through your house so you don't miss anything. Plug a computer into wirelessly or otherwise, and size your data and have as many windows open as you want. Best of all, the Q-dots are cheaper than pigment.

My dad wants to hear about such things for investment purposes. Such a cool product will make people billionaires. The only drawback is that there are dozens of companies racing to the finish line. The first one there wins the bananas; everyone else is hosed. Invest in the wrong one and you're in trouble. Maybe it's a good thing I have nothing to invest...

The Brakes of God

One of the cool things about my job is I get to talk to people developing the next wave of world changing tech. That is not what this post is about. Rather, it is a look at a subject I have opined before. Throughout history, God has remade the world. The great flood, the burning of the library of Alexandria, the rise and fall of various world powers (Rome, Ancient China, etc.).

I have it on reliable report that we have suffered two waves that have slammed the brakes on the next quantum leaps in progress. I can think of several "promises" of tech described by the bigbox manufactures; in other words, huge capital-intensive plans to leap forward. These modern leaps begin when giant corporations start collaborating. We were on the verge of sweeping change that slammed to a halt when 9/11 struck. Joint partnerships simply fell apart. The world stage was suddenly too unstable to take the jump, so they pulled back. Those partnerships began to form again (with some amazing stuff!) and they have fallen apart again because of the economic downturn (Kennedy's fear of fear itself... the "downturn" is being fed by the perception of economic trouble, not the fact of it, itself. Again, the press is revealing itself to be a power of suppression instead of enlightenment it should be). The executives I speak with agree that the recovery will take ten years and if nothing major happens, 2015 to 2020 will remake the world even further.

God is doing this deliberately. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

(Maybe I'll talk about the irony of Muslim extremists trying to halt progress in the next post).

WhooHooo!

Letters from the Waiting Room is now available in paperback on Amazon... (Click: http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Waiting-Room-Lewis-Seifert/dp/0979325153/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228438033&sr=8-1 )

Hard covers are coming next week! Whoohoo!

Place your large quantities of orders TODAY! :)

Clueless or Shrewd?

I was aghast when Obama picked Hillary for Sec of State. Could he really be that... unintelligent? She has eyes on the nomination in four years, I'm sure. As SoS, anything that goes right is to her credit, anything that goes wrong is his fault. Obama is assuring himself of four years of strife... unless...

...he fires her for incompetence a year or two in. That kind of black mark on her record could shatter her hopes for the presidency. Is he that shrewd?

Presuming her India ties don't disqualify her (or her gender, considering the Arabs didn't much care for Rice, why should they like a blondish woman any more?), we'll find out in the next year or so...

Day of Awe

T-Day (or in this case the night before) is easy to transform into "Awe Day" (for adults more so than kids, probably).

I put the kids to bed last night and was walking through the house, saw moonlight bouncing off the pool, and the wood floor gleaming through the house I had renovated with the help of some good friends and my first thought is "how did I end up here?" "Is this really my life?"

In less than a second my brain, practically on it's own, flashed through time picking out my various dreams and goals for life while growing up. None of them foresaw what I now have. I suppose for some that would be a sad thing, but in that heartbeat I saw all those things I'd wanted were shallow, vague, and of very little value. Oh, sure, I hang on to a few of them still that I think are important, but mostly I'm bewildered by what I thought would bring meaning to my life. None of the things I prize now were predicted.

I never dreamed of living in Florida, or having friends so ingrained in my heart. I never pictured marrying someone like Lynette, or fathering three amazing children. The jobs I've held and things I've done that give me such satisfaction aren't those I picked out in college. No one would have ever guessed I'd be involved in a church of any kind, let alone a doctrinally correct, disciplined house of faith.

Honestly, I dreamed of bigger things, more money, wider renown... largely because I didn't know the quiet, often busy, and fully rich life I've been given could so fill me.

I desire accomplishment and impact on society, but when I make my daughter laugh or see my son banging away at his novel (almost 40,000 words and growing), I realize my desire has come true in far more meaningful ways than I could ever conceive on my own.

Thank you, God, for saying, "not that... THIS." You know better and You prove it every day.

Hey, It's Not All Bad...

Pres-Elect Obama did a smackdown on the homeboys, telling them to pull up their pants and cover their drawers. Grandma doesn't want to see that and neither does he.

No idea how the homeboys are taking it, but I'm sure its a lot better than if McCain said it....

Like Father Like Dog

Brian came over for a visit Friday when the kids and Lynette were out. The dogs barked, Grizzly finally went to another room, but Thunder, a coward to the bone, couldn't leave, couldn't get comfortable, and then climbed into my lap and started chewing his claws.

I've never known a dog to chew his nails...

Such a Time as This

When we were in Montana a couple months ago, we met an incredible family with two kids who have become good e-mail pals with Ben and Charli.

We just spoke with them yesterday. The son, Collin, has been diagnosed with cancer. Was it a fluke that we met these people, or was God mobilizing a praying force across the nation for just this time? I choose the latter. Please pray for Collin and his family. He's going to Portland Oregon for treatment. He has a wonderful attitude but the family is realing, of course.

Pray
Pray
Pray

Thank you.

Oh, the Political Dillema

Just by the way they run their campaigns proves neither McCain nor Obama should be president. Every adult, non-felonious American (and even the felons if ACORN has its way) has a bright, shiny vote like a new penny to cast in the American gumball machine, but between the penny and the available gumballs, it's tempting to hold onto the penny.

McCain, who has had his eyes set on the presidency longer than Obama has been an adult should be acing this campaign. Instead, he runs it like he just got the idea yesterday. He makes poor decisions, squanders his resources, and the political manipulation of picking Sarah Palin was not followed by the strong information campaign necessary to make her a viable choice.

He should be letting the media (even if it's only FOX) run with the Ayers and ACORN connection, and never should have allowed the media to carry the info campaign for Palin.

She's been painted as a laughing stock because her credentials for defense and international policy are focused on her proximity to Russia, but who's pointing out that she's got a higher security clearance than either Obama or Biden? Or that she's briefed on all terrorist and military ops because she's commander in chief of the 39th missile battery, the only full-time reserve company in America because it's the first line of missile defense for America? She's the only one running with any executive experience and has full knowledge of homeland security (she has the same access as Ted Kennedy, who has the highest beneath Bush and Cheney).

Obama, meanwhile, who has less experience than ANY of the 4 candidates, is running a campaign solely on the ignorance of the American people.

He talks about McCain as being the standard-bearer for the Bush economy when all the problems of our economy have been the Democrats policies, starting with Clinton's push for sub-prime loans and the Democrat's refusal to confront Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae when the Republicans sounded the warning bell. As for the greedy executives of FMs who pushed it until they broke it, Obama is using the chief greed-head as his economic advisor.

We haven't seen Bush's economic plan yet because 9/11 prevented it in his first term and the Democrat majority in the legislative branch (including Obama) blocked it at every turn in the last four years. McCain won't carry on the legacy, Obama will, but he finds lies work just fine with the ignorant voters.

So, who do we vote for?

The guy who should have a slam dunk but is blowing it, strongly suggesting he'd be just as ineffectual as the president (funny thing is, all the things I don't like about McCain's plans would be blocked by the Congress anyway, so it's not like he'd be dangerous in office)?

The guy who is dishonest, has no experience, thinks little of the average American (when will Democrats realize that we don't have a Monarchy in the US and that the serfs don't need a king to make it through)?

At one time I thought Obama would be the ineffectual one in office. I no longer do. He's dangerous on so many levels its frightening. We think Bush destabilized Europe? Wait until this guy's arrogance and naivete gets into the mix. No to Obama.

I promised myself I wouldn't devolve into the lesser of two really-bad-choices this year. I said I'd vote only for a good candidate even if I had to write him in. This is me devolving. McCain is a bad choice but he's safer than Obama. I'll drop my penny on McCain and feel cheated at the polls.

When will we select a good choice for a leader? Or is it even possible? God can raise even the worse man to the occasion, so I'll rest in that. My penny is looking very tarnished....

A Missed Opportunity... Or Was It?

Driving home from work a one-legged man was limping in the meridian. No sign, but his hat was in his hand. He was wearing shorts so his prosthetic limb was in evidence. I didn't feel like getting my wallet out of my back pocket (an ordeal when you've got your seatbelt on).

By the time I changed my mind, the light turned green and it was too late. I mentally kicked myself, which made me feel more guilty because he only had one leg and couldn't... nevermind, that's a dumb rabbit trail...

So, he's got a drinker's nose and bloodshot eyes. That and his indigent ways suggest he could possibly be an alcoholic. Do you give alms to someone likely to drink it away? Or do you give money to organizations that will look after people in need?

Your thoughts?

The Problem of Pain

Bad things happen. People we love suffer, we experience difficulty and trial, wars rage on...

Why? If God loves us, why does awful stuff happen? In the light of our little time frame it seems horrible. But that doesn't make it so, Skipper. Follow me for a moment...

God gives each of us what we want - Either eternal life with Him or eternal life without Him. (You'll often hear - "I don't want anything to do with a God who would send people to Hell" but really, that's what they're asking for, isn't it? Nothing to do with God, and so he grants it).

The stakes are pretty high. Heaven or Hell? The entry ticket to Heaven is simply acknowledging our need for Him and accepting His provision in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is being ultimately fair to let us know of our need. He's told us in the Bible, but being a merciful God of great blessing, there is a problem.

In our plenty, with all our resources, it's difficult to really KNOW we need God. We need Him physically, emotionally, and spiritually, yet in our society all of that seems taken care of.

The solution is reduction. God reveals our need for Him throughout our life by stripping away our earthly provision and leaving us only our exposed need for Him. In that moment, we can turn to Him in humility or rage against him in pride. Pain and suffering point us to Heaven.

A further thought and a corollary of sorts: Those people who point at others in tragedy and disaster do so from a lack of perspective. God's provision is individual as well as corporate. The Indonesian with so much life and possession swept away by typhoons and waves receives personal provision in little ways that we can't see from our viewpoint. The Indonesian can if he looks with humility. A thousand kindnesses individualized for each of us. We'll point at the tragedy-stricken and say "Hey!" but do we ask them where they see God?

The Prodigal Country?

The prodigal son is a parable about a boy who wanted his inheritance NOW rather than waiting until Dad passed away. He lived high on the hog and then low on the hogs, wallowing with the porcine creatures doing worse than Dad's hired hands. Realizing the error of his ways, the boy returns to his father who receives him joyfully.

Easy to apply this to an individual, but does it also describe America? Amassing our wealth NOW and not waiting until the riches of heaven, are we dining with pigs? Our national morals have dragged into the mud, we appear to be on the edge of a bleak tomorrow... are we the prodigal nation? Can we, as a country, bring ourselves to see the truth and turn back to God? We know from His Word that He would accept us. What effect would this have? Would God's celebration be one of a return to physical prosperity or would it be of spiritual riches, which could be enjoyed in poverty or wealth (maybe not as easily in wealth...)

Your thoughts?

I'm Not a Republican, but...

A coworker had a political cartoon on her cube wall that pointed out that Fiscal Conservatives Reagan, Bush, and Bush all presided over budget overruns while Clinton was underbudget (it of course left out Carter who was also over budget).

The secret to Clinton's budget win was the fact that he gutted the military and intelligence agencies, and then when multiple terrorist attacks (the Cole, that New York flight that was shot down by SAMs and was then covered up) came, he did nothing except hand wave and run cover ups.

Bush 2's overruns began when he had to rebuild the military, and the anemic CIA couldn't keep up with their job, making 9/11 possible, which really broke the bank.

In each case, world events dictated presidential action that exceeded budget plans. Except Clinton, who ignored them.

Fireproof - The Sum is Greater than the Parts

(With thanks to Mrs. S.)

SPOILER WARNING - Don't read further if you don't want to know much about the movie before seeing it.

Sherwood Productions is doing a very good job of re-defining Christian movies to full blown evangelical, didactic films. Strong messages, clear and compelling presentation of the Gospel, with flashes of brilliance.

I very much enjoyed the movie, with the understanding that the elements would be weaker than an A or even a B movie. I'll forgive a lot just because the effort is undertaken by talented beginners with magnificent hearts.

That being said...

I don't like Kurt Cameron as an actor. I never believe him because he doesn't have continuity of emotion, jumping like a jackrabbit from one emotional state to another without sufficient motivation. I expected his performance to be as bad as it was in the Left Behind *ahem* films. And at first I thought I was right, but as the film progressed it was clear the problems of the first act were the director's more than Cameron's. He gave probably the best performance of his life, which isn't saying much. The old Cameron peeked out several times, but overall he did okay.

The Kendrick brothers are improving, but they have a long way to go. The direction was often brilliant in moments, but between on-the-nose direction and a straight-line script, the comprehensive showing was great for a C (for Christian) movie, but not for an A movie (which they are not, so it's perhaps an unfair comment). A multi-layered plot would have been helpful, I think the script has structural flaws (underdeveloped B plot, absent C plot, and a pathological need to tie every bow with a double-knot).

Erin Bethea did a great job, overcoming the direction, as did the Lieutenant for the most part. The script has some wonderful moments, great messages, and deep insights. These guys are talented at the scene level, not so hot on the sequence or beat level. Steadily improving, though.

The ending was a low-stake affair with no ticking clock. The rom-com station moment was really nice, but it hadn't been foreshadowed so it came off a little cheesy. The final reveal was over the top and over expressed.

Nonetheless, there is a lot more to love than dislike. Great concept, great story, great moments, great message. Definitely worth seeing. We had people sobbing at the showing we saw, not just tears but wracking sobs, which speaks to the need this movie fulfills. Further, where most movies have to earn your loyalty, this one gets it going in... you're so on their side you'll forgive anything; a magnificent achievement. :)

Panicked Republican Spam

I've been bounced several spam-mails about the rumor that after the VP debate, Biden will drop out of the race and be replaced by Hillary. The spam calls this "shameless manipulation!"

I think it's just more of the same from both sides of the ticket. Palin, no matter what you think of her, was a blatant move to secure the Mid-West states. No one seems to care if people are qualified; the only way McCain won the nomination was because people voted by who could win, not who would should win.

Nor was it coincidence that McCain didn't announce Palin until after Nobama announced Biden. Character or not, Palin isn't qualified to be VP (just as Obama isn't qualified to be president); she was chosen as a tasty conservative woman to court the vote that McCain couldn't, not because she can run the country (having said that, I think Palin's got the right people-first take on things; she just needs more seasoning before going national). Her selection was made to catch Osama flat-footed, and BOY did it work. Even Biden said that in light of this, Hillary should have been the VP nominee.

What I don't understand about this rumor is why wait until after the debate -- Biden has to worry about being too tough and hitting just the right note, while Hillary could just bash away at Palin like a hockey player on steroids.

This whole election has been shameless manipulation.

An Amendment to Get Behind

I admit to struggling with any Marriage Amendment. Amendments are to protect rights not abridge them. Which is why I am fully behind the Colorado Equal Rights Personhood Amendment that protects the rights of the unborn.

Now, I just wrote a long post on my problems with illegalizing abortion, which makes my support of the CERPA seem hypocritical, but it's not. A law is directed at the mother; the amendment is directed at, and protects the rights of, the baby. A law allows us to pass it and dust our hands free. An amendment forces us to continue to protect the baby after it's born; it becomes incumbent on the people to fortify the post-birth infrastructure (my biggest complaint with the Pro-Life movement).

My difficulty has always been with the legal response to abortion never the right. The right to life is expressly proscribed by the Constitution and it's been ignored by the masses. I don't want to force women not to abort, I want to call them to uphold the liberty of our birthright (and perhaps that should be fertilization-right).

A hundred and fifty years ago, black people were not considered "human" and that horror was corrected. It is the EXACT SAME horror that allows people to believe a child is not human. Constitutional amendments are a source of culture change, which we desperately need. We need the day when a law isn't even necessary.

Pathetic

I am an inveterate fingernail chewer. However, you have to hold your jaw in a certain way that I can't until the incisions in my wisdom... gums, I guess... heal. I now have finger nails and they're driving me crazy. I miss the physical habit, and I don't like having nails that project off my fingertips. It's like a constant awareness at the edge of consciousness.

I'm not seeing the appeal of drugs

I had three teeth cut out Friday. It was the first time I'd ever been knocked out for surgery (took awhile since my veins kept collapsing). Once they got the feed working, I got groggy fast and thought I wasn't going under, but apparently I had because the surgery was finished. I spent the rest of the day in bed under the influence of Vicoden and SuperIbuprofen. And all of Saturday. I didn't have much pain just lots of nausea (threw up three times Friday night). In fact, whenever I took Vicoden it felt like I had the flu. Why people like this stuff, I have no idea. It makes my brain feel like it comes unmoored and is just floating around in my head, which, come to think of it is what all drugs seem to do to me.

We watch House on DVD, in which the main character is addicted to Vicoden - presumably to get rid of the pain in his leg. My college roommate was a pothead. I just don't get the appeal. A guy at work offered to buy any Vicoden I had left for 2o bucks....

I think most of the anesthesia has flushed through my system. I'm still using the Ibuprofen, and this is the best writing I can do at the moment. Down with drugs. Just say no. Or even "what for?"

Tell us your SQUIRREL Stories!

I have two; one from a loooong time ago and one from last Saturday.

It's the afternoon and Grizzly, our white haired chi, goes insane. He's barking so fast and so furiously that we're afraid his heart would explode... it seems a squirrel is trapped within our pool enclosure. It took awhile to find him but all we had to do was look up. In his panic, Mr. Furry Tail had shot up the screen and climbed up under the the porch roof. Once he stopped, he was in trouble. His little claws hooked through the mesh, he is too afraid to move. Suspended perilously 16 feet in the air, he doesn't move for ten minutes.

Finally, determining it would be harder to get his skeleton down, I resolve to help him. I put the leaf basket on the pool hook and reach up to scoop the hapless creature. No soap, he skitters away. Without the speed to clear the beams, Mr. Furry Tail plummets to the earth...

...fortunately straight into the pool. A perfect two point landing from the 16 foot high dive. Before I can even lower the pole, the demoralized rodent scrambles out of the deep end, his tail no longer fluffy, and scampers out the torn panel and up the tree. It was a near thing; he entered the pool six inches from the edge.

Second story. I'm a teenager on my parents back porch and Bear, our dimwitted hound, is chasing a squirrel in a ragged path across the yard. At top speed the squirrel is running around the yard table trying to keep away from the dog, however, the squirrel was faster than Bear and all of a sudden, the squirrel is chasing the hound who scampers across the yard with the squirrel in hot pursuit. Wonder what he would have done if he'd caught him...

I think the dog was embarrassed, as well he should be.

Abortion

I'm curious... if abortion was made illegal, what would that mean?

What do you do with mothers who abort?
Doctors?
Assisting Nurses?

Are we under the impression that making it illegal would be the end of the fight or the beginning of a harder one?

Can one be pro-life and not be shouting to make it illegal? I have no problem with overturning the bad law of Roe Vs. Wade (which wouldn't instantly criminalize it; it would be up to each state to pass legislation prohibiting it).

The pro-life argument will never be won in court; it's people like Allura who are truly fighting the abortionists, one soul at a time. Legislation might make it even harder to save the lives of babies.

Or am I missing it? Your thoughts?

I'm still wondering...

How did we end up with McCain?

Persistence is everything, I guess. That guy's been running for President since I was a kid, every time, he throws his hat in the ring and people wisely throw it back out. Only this time he won.

The conspiracy theorist in me is shouting we now have proof the whole thing is rigged. We had better candidates... well, we had one.

Let's talk about Huckabee for a moment. He was caught in a catch 22; harping on the Fair Tax (a wonderful thing) was the only way to get noticed, and it's probably what lost him the nomination (which truthfully, he never had a shot at anyway).

Unless it's rigged, McCain has no way to win. I have yet to hear anyone who likes him other than on talk radio. I've seen thousands of Obama stickers and signs and none for McCain. He's going to play horribly in the debates (now, personally, I think Obama is an awful speaker and he's funny looking, but I seem to be in the minority here). Obama will show up and look young and energetic; McCain will show up looking stuffy and old. Obama will play with McCain like a cat plays with a mouse.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: Huckabee was un-nominateable, but he could have won the election. He could have matched Obama in the celebrity factor because Huck's funny and likable. He has fresh ideas, and while being conservative, he's not Bush-like. The debates would have been something to watch. They'll still be something to watch, but in the train-wreck kind of way.

The Republican party has been running on fumes since Reagan left the White House. It's now coasting uphill. As far as I can tell, the Democrats have never had fuel, but they're good at pushing the car and it's all downhill this election.

Bozeman or Bust

It's beautiful out there. Why Bozeman is so different in spirit and feel is difficult to put into words. God wrote grandly in the Montana landscape. The church (amazing pastor, and we sang a worship song Vicki wrote - okay it was like 12 years ago and that was the most contemporary song they sang, but, get this, their worship pastor wasn't there because he was attending the Sovereign Grace Worship Conference). The ministry Eagle Mount was a block away, as was the University. Surrounded by mountains, Bozeman is nestled in a wide valley where the mountains scrape the rain bearing moisture from the clouds, so rain is uncommon. Wonderful people (all 35,000 of them). :)

A collection of firsts

Well, the flight went well and the kids were wonderful. Our final decent was marked by a rapid dive the sent our stomach into our chests, lasting much longer than normal. Oh, and while in Atlanta we saw unending reports of the female Muslim suicide bombers, then boarding the plane my seatmate was covered by a blanket for 5.5 hours, and when she finally emerged, she was a middle-eastern woman - probably not Muslim, though (no burka or bomb bag).

Traffic was amazingly light for Seattle.

Good to see Dad and his dog. I was in the garage with him, moments after getting there, and Charli comes out and said she had pushed Ben, and his head hit the table and he was bleeding. I'm thinking a little scrape so I was in no hurry to go in. When I do, Ben is leaning over the kitchen sink, his hand is scarlet with blood and he's breathing heavily. I look at the back of his skull and it looks like a baby's open mouth. It wasn't gushing blood, but it stained a wet paper towel quickly.

So, 15 minutes after reaching our destination we were in the emergency room. To Ben's credit, he was hurting, breathing hard, and praying without ceasing on the ride there. At reception he puts his head on the counter and the receptionist starts hauling out forms. "He probably needs a bucket or something, pretty quick, I'm guessing," I say. "Just a few forms..."

Then Ben threw up. A lot.

We got some quick attention after that. Twenty minutes later he was getting 6 staples to seal the wound. He was great through the whole thing. This is not the kid who feints at the sight of cartoon blood. That and I'm sure he knew he could milk this against Charli for months to come.

Going good so far, but already the lack of time to see the people I want/need to see is rearing it's head. We'll see how it goes...

Contemplation via Hair Cutting

My barber didn't speak much English, which was a blessing because I didn't have to hold up a conversation I didn't want to have.

So I just sat there. And in the sitting, realized several things.

1. I realized I could never be a barber because I don't like to touch people. Not pathologically so, you understand. I don't consider it a hardship or disgusting or anything, I just prefer not to touch others, with the natural exception of my wife and children. I don't mind being touched, in fact, I enjoy a good haircut, but my outward personal space is tighter than my inward personal space.

2. I realized I am not unique. I don't generally look at myself in a mirror, but there's not much else to do during a haircut. I see my brother peeking back at me, bits of my mother, a lot of my dad, some of both granddads. Even my mannerisms echo family members. I don't think I have a single original piece on me. I suppose that's true of the people I look like, too. Probably if we could do a reverse time/person lapse photography thing, we'd discover that every single human being alive today would see themselves in Adam and Eve. How's that for weird?

Dark Knight well named

Very dark; very, very dark.

Really good, excellent script, direction, acting (didn't like the new Rachel and she really wasn't pretty like others were saying, but what can you do). Minimal gore, no bad language, but the philosophy and bad guys make it very adult anyway. If you don't like dark, you won't like this. If you can see past dark to incredible storytelling it's really good.

Amazing work.

Interesting conspiracy theory

I have a co-worker who pointed out something I hadn't considered before. Why is TV going digital mandatory? Why can't company's broadcast in analog if they wanted to? Why should the government make this demand?

Her take is that by going digital, the government can track what we're doing/watching/etc.

Sounds paranoid. I like it....

Spielberg gets it; Fans don't

A little theater history here: 3 is the magic number (in point of fact, it's a universal truth). 3 act structure reins and so does stories told in trilogy. Spielberg understands that very well. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull IS NOT PART OF THE TRILOGY. That's done and over with two hits and a miss (1: hit; 2: miss; 3: homerun).

SPOILER WARNING: PLOT POINTS ARE GIVEN AWAY BELOW...

IJ&tCS isn't the beginning of a new trilogy, nor is it a stand alone. It is a bridge. Because it is a bridge, it tips the fedora to the first three and sets up the future. You've been given a peak at the new direction of the IJ franchise and it is a clever one.

Indiana Jones is about history; about ancient legends.
Mutt Jones will be about the bizarre; about urban legends. Hence the aliens (and not just space aliens, but interdimensional ones).

Indy is a relic that belongs to the 40s and 50s. He, nor any archaeologist, is going to work in the 60's.

Indy is loosely based on Alan Quartermain, of King Solomon's Mine fame. He is meant to be a hold over of the previous generation. The purple haze of the hippie generation is too far beyond that era, so this movie sets up the next movies as a precursor of the X-Files type stuff.

I really enjoyed the movie. Yes, some big plot holes, yes, a bit over the top (as is common for Indy movies). Rather than annoyed by the thought of Indy as an OSS agent, they gave him a Casablanca riff (Rick is cut from the same cloth, but he does his bit for flag and country) and it worked for me (interesting possibilities for books, I'd think). A nice melding of ancient legend and urban legend. I would have liked Mutt to "get" stuff that Indy didn't, but we can't have everything.

Even Mutt's name is a wink to expect a melding of ideas. Not sure why the whip wasn't used much, maybe Ford can't handle it anymore.

B+

Slow down, you're movin' too fast... you got to make the moment last, now..

The title is a reference to an old song for you pipsqueaks with no music training...

When we accept something basic as true, anything that challenges that truth is rejected.

That is the state of science on both the secular and intelligent design groups. Rather than shifting their mountains of claims to examine the truth of their foundational precepts, they'll ridicule or dismiss anything that challenges precepts. That's the essence of Ben Stein's new movie No Intelligence Allowed (or something like that). The secular science of our time is so strong that anything attacking foundational concepts is immediately rejected.

Enter Barry Setterfield. His ideas are so damaging to both sides of the evolutionary debate, it's laughable. Some creationists seize on his work just because it supports their beliefs (but without really examining it). Other creationists realize that it also attacks their precept that radiometric dating is wrong... and if that's true, they have a lot to apologize for. Evolutionists laugh at it, because if his theory is true then evolution is impossible.

Barry's theory is that the speed of light is slowing down exponentially. I'm not a math guy, so I have no true way to understand his position, but I'm intrigued by it. It ties up a lot of little knots that no one else has explained.

Do I think he's right? Dunno, but he could be. If he were right, it turns a whole lot on it's ear.

Check his theories for yourself: http://www.setterfield.org/

Have fun.

The Booger Bites the Big One

George Carlin has passed away. Ye, though his mouth was so trashy his ear should be a flush handle, I will miss the kindly philosopher. George's commentary on the absurdity of life was often spot on and always hilarious. And with his journey into night, a thousand media workers whose job it was to hit the BLEEP button are sure to be laid off. Not to mention a lot of pushers will be poorer...

The Incredible Hulk

Aptly named. Also known as Hulk: The Apology, they got everything right in this that they got wrong in the first one (which is everything). Very innovate, they told the origin in flash cuts in the first few minutes of the film. Edward Norton was great as Banner, and Liv Tyler, whom I don't care for, was pretty good (but nothing will make that girl pretty). It says something that the Banner parts were just as good or better than the Hulk parts.

I've heard people complain that Spider-Man was way too obviously CGI; those people will hate this movie, too. You simply can't get away from that yet, and Hulk is cartoony, but intriguingly so, nonetheless.

Marvel has figured out the formula to making their comic books work, finally. Stick to the successful comic book incarnations (and in this case, the tv series). Rather than be embarrassed by the comic background (which they shouldn't be; many of today's writers are the best in any medium) they portray it well, patching together different incarnations seamlessly (no gray Hulk, unfortunately, but it wouldn't have worked here anyway). Plenty of nods for the comic book nerds (there are a lot in this movie, and I'm not sure it's a good thing that I caught all of them).

One scene kids don't need to see (interrupted because Bruce can't get too excited). The images are too intense for my protected kids; children who see this stuff won't be phased (I saw a 5 year old after the movie that loved it; my kids would be completely freaked at twice her age).

Lynette would hate it. I really liked it, but Iron Man is better. Oh, you don't have to stay through all the credits. No easter egg.

It's not for kids, Juno

Juno was a quirky movie that I probably would have enjoyed more if my conscience wasn't watching it with me (AKA, my wife).

It isn't for kids, even though it makes some really great points (a co-worker called it a family film, but between subject matter, language, attitudes, and images, I wouldn't recommend it to pre-adults, and not all post-adults, either).

Well acted, quirky direction, weird music, and charming-if-profane people.

Sorry, Josiah.

Pet Irresponsibility Class

To avoid a 100 dollar fine, I enrolled for a Pet Responsibility Class with Orange County. 3 Hours long.

What a complete and utter waste of time. I'd initially thought, hmmm, maybe there are things I should know about like rabies shots, vaccinations, care and maybe training.

No, it was a film decrying our horrible society and it's hatred for animals. It condemned dog breeders and people who won't spay their pets. It discussed the stray problem and gleefully showed us animals being put down.

Then there was the PowerPoint show about animal bites in gory detail. It detailed extreme irresponsibility but didn't say a word about responsibility.

Sad.

27 Dresses

I was told by everyone that this was a great movie. And I suppose it was; good direction, good acting...

Maybe it's the prophet in me (the downside, not the upside) but liars get what they deserve. I don't like stories where all the problems are brought on by lieing (unless they're whoppers - a pathological liar is funny in a movie; their compulsion causes the problems despite themselves). In this, she's just a liar and at any time the problem can be solved by telling the truth; she isn't compelled to lie. Further, it's another movie where all the women besides the heroine is skanky.

Not as good as I was lead to believe. Juno is up next whenever I have time to watch it.

Dogs, pools, and work

Life is amazingly busy. I'm sitting on my pool deck about to get to some piling up work even though it's a saturday. Fortunately the pool is clean, the weather warm-and-not-too-hot, and my new puppy is lounging in the heat with me.

Of course, he's on the other side of the puppy fence that keeps him from going for an unplanned swim. Thunder is a rat terrier, known for their intelligence. This one is know for the springs in his legs. He leaps vertically - straight up with all four legs. He's not so bright that he's figured out the great outdoors are supposed to be his bathroom; he prefers rugs and behind my easy chair.

Sadly, I'm not posting because I have anything to say; I've just felt guilty about not posting for so long.

Much like the quantum physics question "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" I have to ask, "if a blog post has nothing meaningful, is it better than no blog post at all?"

Schrodinger's Cat wants to know...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my oldest (and only) son, the sole possibility to carry on the 6 generation name of Swanson, turns 13 today. !!!!! A teenager! A young man! A scholar and a (mostly) gentleman! In Jewish culture back-in-the-day, he would be marrying soon!

More importantly, he's a young man his father and his Father can be (and ARE) proud of.

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Iron Man!

Flat out best Marvel Comics movie yet.

Despite the fact that I don't like Robert-not-an-honest-moment-Downy Jr. or Jeff-my-tongues-way-too-big-for-my-mouth-Bridges, they both rocked the house.

Spider-man's downfall was horrible casting of whiny-boy and not-beautiful-fashion-model.
X-Men's downfall was over-the-top characterization and dark-dark-dark tone.
Daredevil had major script problems.
Punisher was just flat bad in every way.
Ghost Rider was twisted.

Iron Man, perfect casting, spot-on characterization and well-balanced tone, with just a couple plot problems. Homerun. So good I want to see it again (especially because I missed the Easter Egg at the end of the credits).

Never a character I cared for - armor looks too uncomfortable - the movie made me wish I had a suit just like it.

The plot problems were more convenience cheats than anything else (the chest piece has a universal I/O port that fits into anything? Stane just so happens to have a tool that can remove it? He's an instant expert at the Titanium Man armor?) s'okay. Way good.

Caveat - An unfortunate scene in the beginning to establish Tony as a cad and some of the horrors of war make this not-a-kid's-movie (though you see far worse on TV these days).

Next: Iron Man 2 or Avengers?

Do cults serve God?

Or better put, is any religion better than no religion? From a purely sociological view, religious people are more moral and improve the community. They are happier (from a mortal perspective, not eternal) better citizens, better workers...

Your thoughts?

Of Deafness and Potato Chips

This is so weird.

I had to use a pile driver to chip out the tile in our bathroom. Very loud. As a result I felt (and still feel) like I have pounds of cotton stuffed in my ears. Everything sounds as if it's coming through walls.

So Ben and I return the pile driver to Home Depot and hit Subway for lunch. I open my bag of Lays Potato Chips and eat one. It tasted stale as if it wasn't crunchy. I had Ben try one to see if he thought it was stale. Nope, it wasn't. Because the crunchy sound was muffled in my suffering ears, it didn't feel crunchy. It felt WEIRD. Who knew?

I wonder what deaf people think of potato chips.

Deep thoughts at the Dentist

So I'm sitting cranked back in the dentist chair waiting, waiting, waiting.... I'm not wearing my glasses so I can't read any of the propoganda which means I had to just sit and think. I prayed for a bit, but admit I don't do that as well as I might, but it did lead to thoughts arisen from my last post (I know, the right word is "aroused" but nope, don't think so).

Faith. According to the Bible it is believing in what you hope for. But like the fellow who said to Jesus, "I believe, Lord, help me with my unbelief" I have to wonder if faith is sometimes acting on what you struggle to believe.

I don't struggle with disbelief in God. The resurrection must be believed if one is intellectually honest, and therefore I have no struggle with belief in the Son, His atoning work on the cross and arisen from the tomb.

I firmly believe that God is at critical work within our world and in each and every life.

Where I do struggle is believing in how I fit in to the whole thing. Why would God care about my prayers? How can my actions matter?

And yet I know they do. Odd that I know but struggle with belief. Faith is carrying through with what is true whether you believe or know or not. That is what I think the fellow means when he says "help me with my unbelief."

Nor do I think my "struggle" is a bad thing. Faith is fairly empty if one believes or knows fully. It's easy to inhale oxygen under normal circumstances, but there exists a highly-oxygenated water (made in a lab) that one can actually breath. It has yet to be experienced by a human, though. They hold a rat under until it "drowns" and takes a breath and finds it can breath. The next time, they still have to drown the rat - it "knows" it can't breath liquid (even though it can). People have TRIED to do it, but they always thrash their way out rather than draw liquid breath, and since it's not legal to hold someone under, it's never been tried. These people KNOW and BELIEVE they can breath it, but they do not have FAITH they can breath.

Interesting, huh?

Define...

Depression. What is it?

Is Biblical "flesh" spiritual?

When the Bible talks about "flesh" it means, oddly enough, just that. Our "meat." It's not some spiritual geegaw. The devil does not have claws sunk into it. Our flesh certainly moves us toward sin, but only ascetics thing flesh itself is evil. The five senses have no moral boundaries. If it tastes good, we want it. If it sounds good, we want it, if it looks good, we want it, if it feels good... well, you get the idea.

"Want" is okay. "Must have" not so much. "Five-sense-satisfaction instead of God" real bad.

God does not call us to eschew our senses, but to balance them. The ascetics on a mountain-top refusing all pleasant sensation are not hearing from God (a brief fast is good, an extended asceticism is a deprivation of what God happily gives us).

When we over-spiritualize the wisdom of the Bible we miss simple truths. I asked my class last Sunday what "flesh" is. They didn't know. They thought it was sin. Or a symbol of evil. Each of them thought when the Bible says "flesh" it has some other spiritual meaning.

We are flesh. Our glorified bodies will be of flesh. People have been, and eternally will be flesh. Our danger lay in choosing flesh over spirit.

Oh, Joseph, What Does My Dream Mean?

I dreamed myself a dream last night...

In the dream the Rapture (or something similar) occurred and Heaven's waiting room was a campground with a set of unstaffed administration buildings at the center (and rustic restrooms not far away). Mike Y. suggested going in and finding out what our real names were - the name God gave us when he created each of us. Seemed like a good idea so the Y's and Lynette and I went in where there were boxes and boxes of window envelopes. In each were a yellow card with our real names. M&M and Lynette found theirs easily, but instead of an envelope I had a bag a peanuts with a message tightly folded up in mine. Unfortunately, the note was wet and the ink had smeared to illegibility.

I woke up perplexed. What did the dream mean? Why was I left out? And then it dawned on me...

I was afraid of going to shell.

BWAHAHAAHAAAHAAAA! (real dream, no kidding)