Farewell and See You Soon, Jim!

Jim M.'s memorial service was beautiful is so many ways. He and Grace have a wonderful family and they shared from their hearts to make Jim's life shine.

The passing and sharing of friends reminds us of how blessed we are. I looked around at the people in Jim's life and saw so many of my closest friends--life friends. What a shared community we have.

Jim was not an old man. 10 years my senior, but certainly not old. It's a reminder that we don't have 8 or 9 decades guaranteed to us and that the special people of our life should know that they are.

And as our hearts reach out to Grace's, we can't help but think what life would be like in her circumstance. I doubt I'd do as well. Lynette is as breath to me, and like oxygen, I can take her for granted. Lord, may I show her regularly how desperate I would be without her and how blessed I am to have her. Knowing this, join in praying for Grace! I can't imagine a more difficult journey.

Humanity and Colony Creatures

We are each a colony creature. Cells form tissue, tissue forms organ or bone, organs and bones form a person. And really, what is a person? An organization of meat bristling with sensors by which we interpret the world. Or at least part of the world.
Our senses are limited. We see in a narrow bandwidth, hear in a narrow bandwidth, touch/feel at indiscreet levels. We only have four taste sensations which blend to a narrow spectrum, and smell at an even narrower level. Further, our senses combine in several ways that we aren't aware of. To wit, when temporarily deafened by using an impact hammer without ear protection, I deemed potato chips "stale" because apparently we use hearing as much as "feel" to determine if something is crunchy.
We are in deep error when we think we "know" the world we're in, and we make logical missteps when we think things don't exist because they don't fall in our narrow field of sensation (consider a shark, which has some sort of magnetic sense--we can't even perceive it enough to comprehend it!). Further, limited by our understanding, we can't invent things to detect objects beyond our comprehension and wouldn't recognize readings if we could.
That makes atheism pretty foolhardy. I've read some nasty commentary about how stupid the idea of "God" is when if He existed He'd do this and this and that... Fascinating how a superior being who refuses to work to our wishes is deemed not to exist. What hubris we lowly colony creatures display in demanding from God, rather than simply thanking Him for our incredibly complex cells and tissues. Despite the obvious design of cells (just not how we'd design them), because we as a species prefer metal, wood, and digital science, we think "wet" design isn't possible. The sciences God develops in dips below our menial senses. Is that a shortcoming of God's or of ourselves?

Give Thanks!

In between feast preparations I reflect on the overwhelming bounty God has graced us with. Used to be I'd feel a bit guilty about enjoying enough food to feed a small country in a single sitting. No longer.

There are people across the globe suffering horribly. I and mine are not among them. God calls each of us to care for those less fortunate, each in a different way. For some people that means volunteering to serve the homeless a warm meal on Thanksgiving. For others, it's serving the homed with a scrumptious meal while doing their part throughout the year for those who need help, some in big ways, some in small ways. And for still others, it's caring for people who don't need physical help but do need friends, hospitality, and God's love.

The Bible shows God to be a God of feasts. No, He's not a party animal, He is a master of symbolism. God's grace and unending bounty is obvious in most American's lives. He delights in us realize that. As I reflect on a grace-filled life, starting with a wonderful family of origin, great friends, wonderful churches, good jobs, terrific wife and children and dogs, I also have to look at the things I counted as suffering. Bone disease, bullies, a faulty moral compass that led me to embarrassing and often horrifying actions... and then I realize these things shaped me into the "container" who would and could receive God's individualized grace.

Extrapolating from that, is it such a stretch that the downtrodden are being similarly shaped? Those who believe God can look forward to tremendous grace, sometimes here, sometimes not until eternity. And even within tremendous suffering, grace abounds. I read of a father who, during the typhoon "over there" lost sight of his daughter. In the throng of fleeing people, he was shoved one way and another, right back to his crying daughter. He praised God, seeing not the typhoon but a caring Father.

Those in poverty should not be ashamed; those of us with an embarrassment of riches shouldn't be ashamed either. God give to us all. Whatever we have, whatever we don't, give thanks.

Star Trek The Second Review

Saw it again on DVD. I know I reviewed it before, but I can't resist.

Spock was terrible, but it's simply not Quinto's fault. Leonard Nimoy succeeded in creating the number one TV character of all time. It was the perfect marriage of role and actor. Consider Star Trek the Original Series without Spock. It simply wouldn't have worked. Spock gave the show the needed bling to work. Without him it would have been completely forgettable. With ANY other actor, it wouldn't have been worth watching.

The Voice, the Height, The mile-long maxilla and naso-labial folds, the Squinty Eyes, and the acting chops to make you believe a man could have green blood... Angular body, deep, full-bodied voice, and just a naturally alien face to begin with, and the ability to conceive and commit to creative and apt action choices.

Zachary Quinto has none of the above. His voice is high, he's tall but not gawky tall. Admittedly, he's got a bit of a long face and big nose, but nowhere near Nimoy's. His eyes are too open and bright, and he didn't make a single acting choice Nimoy hadn't done 100 times better. Even the ears were too round and perfect (Nimoy's were longer and narrower, which is true of his natural face as well). And he can't do the Vulcan salute.

To be fair, I don't think any actor could do the role justice. Any choice he made wouldn't ring true with the narrow understanding we have of "Vulcans."

Chris Pine didn't have to mirror Shatner, he had to make choices grounded in the vast panorama of human experience. In truth, the insouciance of his Kirk was far BEYOND Shatner's choices (if you can believe it). The old Kirk had one foot in Starfleet protocol and one foot out. Pine's Kirk had maybe a pinkie in Starfleet protocol and the rest dancing outside the circle. And it worked really well. If "our" Kirk hadn't had George Kirk riding herd on his outlandish traits, he'd be complete rebel with a genius strategic mind and an energetic, childish, unrestrained Id. Pine didn't swipe anything from Shatner (but it's still hard to accept that he'd not only be given a captaincy, but the flagship captaincy? No way. This Kirk can handle a battle but not a crew out of red alert).

The McCoy character, I think, mimicked Kelley's McCoy instead of trusting his own skill as an actor (which is prodigious) a little too much. His initial entrance promised great things. "Space is death and disease wrapped in ice and darkness..." He'll be better next time because several times he shined.

Scotty had no relation to Scotty, and that's fine (though when he said, "I'm givin' it all I got, Captain... he should have tagged it with "...as soon as I can find the thing..." Where were the engines?

Sulu and Uhura, no relation to their counterparts and that's fine. Uber-competent and that's enough.

Chekov was brilliant. Fantastic. Best performance by far and the kid's only 18.

Can't wait for the next one. :)

Fat-Acceptance Blogs

I run across these every now and then; women, normally, of hefty proportions convincing themselves to love themselves as they are. Almost always they are well written, witty commentaries demonstrating depth and intelligence (there are, presumably, dim-witted zaftigs, but they must not blog).

I find these blogs particularly convicting personally and societally. Why must anyone be forced by the standards of our culture to struggle to accept themselves? Worse, why have I demanded others meet my standards of "beauty" lest I look down on them?

Wit, intelligence, kindness, pleasantness, cheer, caring, and a host of other internal qualities should count for so much more than outward features.

Let's not be naive, of course. From a romantic perspective we probably each have our preferred "types," but in no way should every woman be expected to fulfill the romantic interests of men. And for those of use fortunate enough to have found our soul mate, why should physical presence of anyone else even be of concern?

Here's the deal. You are who you are and that's good enough. Plenty of room for personal growth for everyone, but if someone makes unfair demands on who you are, punt them and their opinion. You're good enough.

Our Next President

Heard a bunch of stuff about "Governor" Palin on the way home from work. Seems like she's still being put forward for Federal office. *sigh*

Here's what the Kennedy's always had that too many of our current stable of contenders lack: a life-long aim at becoming president.

I like Huckabee, but he's not a strong candidate, just as Sarah Palin isn't. Neither has conducted themselves in a manner lending itself to a clean run at the presidency. In their state positions, they profiteered, if not to legal abuse, at least to ethical abuse.

The Kennedy's certainly weren't clean, but today's candidates must be. H and P saw their Governships as their final stop and milked the positions rather than used them as stepping stones. MAYBE if Palin gets a seat in the house or Senate she can rebuild, but we'll have a losing ticket if she tries to rise to the top.

Say what you want about Obama, but his background may be offensive to conservatives, but it played well to the liberals and undecided.

Who will that be for the right party? Dunno, but if we don't get our act together, we have no one to blame but ourselves if we lose the next election.

Why I'm Deleting Facebook

I blame it on the TV Writer's Strike a decade ago, when arrogant writers thought what all writers think, "let's see them fill the air without us." And so Reality Television was born. Like original sin, the people of the world believed a lie, "we're interesting when we're petty."

And we wondered how could it get worse than Reality TV? The answer is Facebook (which we topped -- or bottomed? -- with Twitter).

A digital monument to banality masquerading as "relationships." Except 99% of it isn't relating at all. Broadcast proclamations of less-than-small-talk isn't the fellowship the Bible promotes.

Oh sure, many people use it well. The Lashways, alerting us to their mission in Madagascar, Scott George's needs for his ministry, commercial purposes (and to be honest, if one of my business ventures takes off, I'll re-up the account to promote it... when I have purpose).

I profess it is nice to know what's going on with distant friends, and reconnect with people I haven't seen in decades, but is knowledge without relationship anything other than gossip, even if it's spread by that individual?

Finally, there are better things to do with my time than read stuff I wouldn't care to hear or take quizzes about things I don't need to know.

Nor is this a condemnation of Facebook users. If you get something out of it, bully for you and fare-thee-well.

For all those dear friends whom I am in fellowship with, please check in via e-mail, or, you know, in person. I do still love you all. But for me and mine, we shall Facebook no more.

(For my e-mail, please see my website www.swanwrite.com).

Just a Little Post (OK, Bad Pun; Read On)

Maybe I've blogged this before, because I tend to think cyclically and ratchet through my story ideas ever few months and things just stick out, you know?

Dwarfs prefer to be called "Little People" instead of "Midgets." It's a whole thing, I guess. My bad, I had formed the uninformed belief that "midgets" were proportionally correct and dwarfs weren't until the PC Police clubbed me in the shins (oooo!).

In fact, the term "midget" is a term of exploitation because Hollywood had a habit of rounding up any dwarf regardless of talent to staff movies like Wizard of Oz, Disney elf, gnome, or fairy movies, Buzby Berkly flicks, and anyone else who wanted a, let's say "height challenged," piece of human furniture.

So somehow, and I'm not sure where such things are decided for a people en mass, the clever term "Little People" was chosen to be less demeaning.

Say what?

"Little People?" That isn't demeaning? "You're like a person, only smaller." Come on PC Police, that's a little short on sensitivity isn't it? (oooo, again!).

Let's face, these guys get the short end of the stick all around. The correct term, "Dwarf", conjures pictures of white haired guys with long beards. Can't use that. "Little People" should be an embarrassment. What's an individual, then, a Little? Pretty sure that's a copyright infringement...

"Midget." What's wrong with that, exactly? Perhaps it comes from the term "smidgen" meaning a pinch. Is that so bad? Does it conjure a negative image?

For my story, a minor character (oooo! unintentionally) is a... dominunator (how's that!?) isn't much of a joiner (like me) and while she refuses labels and "group think" as a matter of course, has particular loathing for the term "Little People" but if a label is demanded, goes with "midget."

Can I, a 6'2" "Big People" make such a claim for one of my characters when I don't represent their group at all? (Ultimately, it doesn't matter, I'm going to anyway).

Which term is your label of preference?

Cynicism and Faith

Great home group tonight. Dr. Brady is teaching on "the Gospel." Speaking about faith tonight, it hit me between the eyes that cynicism is the opposite of faith on so many levels.

Cynicism is, of course, pride. "The universe isn't going to put one over on me! Those who expect the worst are never disappointed!"

How opposite of faith which says, "I believe that God is Good. His will is right and just. He wants what is best for me."

While faith masquerades as naivete, it isn't. It is, as Scott said, objective truth.

Is my reputation so important to me that I don't want to be caught flat-footed by the universe just in case God isn't what He says He is? Hedging my bet isn't an act of faith, it's an act of pride.

Food for thought.

Dorito Wars

Lo, when I was young, there was ONE kind of Dorito chip; the bland, boring, flavorless tortilla chip, no flavoring.

THEN, manna descended in the form of Taco Flavor Doritos (not the pail imitation Taco BELL flavor Dorito that came later). TACO Flavor was pure heaven. No chip to this day has matched it. Then the over-flavored Nacho Cheese came on the scene and consumers of no taste switched over enmass, dooming Taco to the oblivion of once-was.

There have been dozens of flavors since then, none matching the vibrant power of Taco... even those that contained the Taco label, but they were pretenders.

UNTIL, the black-bag, limited edition, Late-Night promotion that returned Taco to it's long ago splendor... or was it? It might be. It very well could be. But my taste-buds are 30 years older and *gasp* jaded!

A web search uncovered the fact that I was not the only one who was unsure. Debates rage over the new chip's authenticity. Curses are hurled. Passions run high.

For me? I believe it is the fabled chip. Alas, it gives me the same gas as the former Dorito manna. That's good enough for me.

Cruisin' in the Rain, Just Cruisin' in the Rain

Okay, yes, it rained a lot on our 7-day Disney cruise but it was still great and probably evoked stronger memories which was the point of the vacation.

Disney has this business down pat. We've all had vacations where the weather ruined things, but short of sinking, I don't think it's possible for a Disney cruise to be anything less the wonderful. We'd done a couple 4-day cruises which were over too fast. While I didn't see many smiles on departing passengers, a week is a long time. I figured I'd be ready to go home, but I wasn't. Way too much fun.

There is something to be said for enforced inactivity. I think it's hard for adults to relax unless they HAVE to. At-sea days were great. Hanging out in a deck chair or attending an event (we learned to cook a great Phylo Salmon and how to fold napkins :)) was heaven. Our Key West shore leave was mellow. The Grand Cayman adventure to swim with stingrays was wonderful once we got out there but pretty miserable on the back and forth trips (I kept imagining laying on the catamaran's deck in the sun instead of huddling in the aft seats trying to stay warm). Still, the water was warmish and the stingrays friendly. :)

The Cozumel excursion to Xcreta was what I most looked forward to. The underground river was a blast even if the water was cold. Otherwise, it was like trying to do all four Disney parks in three hours. Beautiful but frustrating because of the lack of time.

Disney's Castaway Cay was, IMO, the least of the shore leaves, but it ended up being the absolute best. M&M brought snorkeling equipment and for the first time I really, really enjoyed it. We were out for hours. Ben is a natural in the water. I think that was my favorite day. :)

Of course the food is amazing, topped only by the servers. They went out of their way to get Charli lactose-free meals and desserts. To see her smile with delight was worth the price tag alone. They say you gain a pound a day and I proved them right. For the first three days I had great self-control. I didn't eat way too much and enjoyed everything. After that, my inner pig ran free and if it was in biting distance, I bit.

The kids stayed in a cabin on the other side of the ship (short walk but still distant). They were great and had a wonderful time. Ben tended to wander around the top deck and listen to his MP3. The girls did this and that. Disney's only real weakness is not a whole lot for kids to do outside the group programs. They didn't care though.

Going with the Youngs is the only way to travel. They make sure you get the most out of any trip. They live in a fun world and we're privileged to get to visit every now and then.

Guess we'll have to do another cruise to catch the sun. :)

Utterly Amazing -- Or -- Nobel's Credibility Flushes Down the Toilet... Again

Several years ago, Al Gore won a Nobel Prize for a trumped up enviro-farce, beating out a Holocaust survivor who saved innocent men, women, and children at the cost of torture that robbed her of the ability to walk. The Nobel Committee's judgment plunged to a new low.

They've plunged further than ever by awarding Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. Unbelievable. The Kool-aide mustaches sported by the committee are topped with brown noses. If duping Americans is what it takes to win the prize, the guy who convinced overweight people to buy Spandex should have one on his mantle. What has Pres-O done? If being the first black president is the sole reason, the prize should be divide among those foolish enough to vote for him, not the man himself.

Perhaps they've been sniffing the dynamite the original Nobel made.

Just once I'd like to see a winner look at the field of nominations and say, "you know what? The committee messed up. This really belongs to..." Now THAT would be a PR stunt better than the award.

Racism and Gasoline

We watch House on DVD. My favorite character was Kutner. Great character, great actor, REALLY not happy with his exit from the show. Naturally, I checked the web this morning to see what that was all about. The actor, Kal Penn, was offered a job in the White House and had to be written out of the show. This post isn't about that.

Reading about Kalpen Mobi on Wikipedia, I learned he changed his name to Kal Penn as a lark because friends said he'd get more callbacks if he Anglicized his name. Sure enough, they went up 50%. He apparently had a role as a terrorist in 24 he almost didn't accept because of the evil of racial stereotyping... but he got blow things up and hold a family hostage and who can pass up that? Then a big deal was made out of Harold and Kumar as the first non-white/non-black led movie in history.

While I knew the Kutner character was Indian, it was purely on a characteristic basis, like Taub has a big nose, or 13 has weird-but-cool eyes. I liked who he was. He seemed like a person it would be cool to be friends with.

And that's all race should be. A characteristic. Okay, if 99% of terrorist are Middle Eastern, "characteristic" profiling makes sense. It's not racism unless you assume all ME's are terrorist.

Today, most of what is considered racism, isn't. It's behaviorism and culturalism and mostly because we're uncomfortable with what people DO not what the ARE. I'm not going to hire someone who slouches, grumps, speaks poorly, and looks angry. That's true of white, black, brown, whatever.

Bill Cosby said racism won't be over until we stop talking about it. I believe racism is fomented in part because people trying to "stop" racism. I believe it's one of the few society ills that can die a slow, quiet death. Stop pouring gas on the flames.

And I guess Taub is now my favorite character.

And They Thought Republicans Were Bad

Remember how the left accused the right of labeling any dissenters as "traitors" when they were just calling out policies they disagreed with?

Now the right is being called racist whenever they disagree with Obama. Sure, dimwits like Janine Garggle-Rofo have been saying it since before he got elected (on a wave of "reverse" racism -- would he be president right now if he wasn't black? Face it, he wouldn't have even been nominated)... now presidential dimwit Jimmy Carter hops on the bandwagon claiming Joe Wilson's outburst was motivated by racism.

I'm curious; while Joe was technically incorrect that Obama was lying about illegal aliens receiving single-payer benefits when it passes, will anyone look back and say, "whoa, Joe was right!" when they do end up with benefits, because really, does anyone doubt they will? As soon as the government gets their sticky hands on some of the health care, they'll grab for more like mold taking over a bathtub.

Wilson was out of line. And premature. But is it really any different from democrats booing GWB? What a mighty shield Obama has to hide behind. Disagree with my dumb comments, denounce my naive dealings with heads of other states, see my socialistic policies for what they are? Racist!

Hey, is Obama calling West a jackass racism? Food for thought....

Dogs

Dogs. They have a brain the size of a walnut but know everything there is to happy life.

1. Sleep
2. Eat
3. Play
4. Poop
5. Love someone unconditionally whether they deserve it or not.

Not bad for a slobber-machine.

Mighty Mouse or Spidey Mouse

Disney is buying Marvel Comics. Knowing the principles in both companies, I don't expect this to be a match made in heaven. While I doubt much is going to happen to the comics (you don't kill a cash cow), and I'm fairly certain all the movies and amusement park stuff is locked up with long-term contracts, there are only two things hanging 'neath the sword:

1) My old employer, Diamond Comics, may be taking it in the shorts. Marvel is almost 50% of the distributor's comic book base and Disney has their own distributor. Will they take it was from Diamond? Eventually, I'm sure they will. Might be a pain for retailers, but they'll adapt (it may affect their discount, though, so that could hurt them).

2) Animated shows and animated movies. This could be a great thing. Marvel's animation projects are horrible. Bad art, not enough frames... Disney, on the other hand, is the gold standard. Or at least they were. With their 2-D geniuses dismissed, what could be amazing probably won't be. *Sigh* If they hired them all back, though, imagine how good things could be. Imagine the Fantastic Four as good as the Incredibles; Ultimate Spider-Man, Submariner (underwater could work in art; less so in live action).

It probably won't happen though. Fan boys can only hope.

How Much Do You Have To Have Right?

When we went to the Philips, Craig, and Dean concert, there was a young man standing in the rain screaming at the top of his lungs that PCD were preaching a different gospel. He did so with fervor and desperation.

My kind of guy. If it weren't raining, I would have engaged him to find out what he was blathering about.

Instead, I looked it up.

They believe that we are sinners saved by grace imputed upon us by Christ's sacrifice on the cross if we repent and believe.

That's the same gospel I believe.

What my fervent friend was frothing about was their understanding of the Trinity. We believe God is three persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit; PCD believe God is three manifestations, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

That is a different doctrine (barely), not a different gospel. If we have to have doctrine down perfectly, we're all doomed. I don't think anyone can truly grasp the Trinity (partially because while it is strongly implied in the Bible, it is not directly addressed, and ultimately because it is beyond our physics).

If you get the boiled down gospel above, but are off on doctrine (an understanding of the details of how it all works), I'm thinking you'll be okay, though possibly not as effective. I don't need to know how a cellphone works to use it.

A different gospel would be salvation through works (Jehovah's Witnesses, I think Mormons), salvation through a being other than Jesus Christ (Norse Mythology, Moonies, Muslims), stuff like that. (Catholics believe in the "candy bar" approach, as I've termed it. They wrap grace and works all up in one bar whereas we separate them; I'm guessing they're okay.)

And, y'know, I bet there are individuals in JW and Mormonism who are going to be okay because they just don't get what's being taught and believe the gospel anyway.

As someone pointed out to me, when we get to Eternity, we'll be less surprised by who's there than by who's not.

Anti-Intellectualism

I've been seeing it a lot, lately. From a gossip site slamming Sovereign Grace Ministries to the current Health Care Debate.

Because conservatives are against government controlled health care, liberals claim it's useless talking to us since we're "against any kind of reform since all we want to do is trample the poor and fatten the rich folks." Somehow, saying we're against one kind of reform and suddenly we are against any kind of reform. Ridiculous. That's like saying just because I don't like mushrooms, I don't like any fungi. Oh, wait a minute, I don't... okay, because I don't like onions, I don't like any vegetables. Utterly silly.

Meanwhile, the intellectual dishonesty of former SGM'ers who feel "wounded" by their time in SGM take it upon themselves to make every little move CJ makes to be evil (bwa-ha-ha-ha!). There are entirely consumed by gossip... while castigating CJ as an anti-intellectual because he admits he didn't go to college. As if college is required to develop intelligence. Every stand is pushed to the extremes. And they do this as a "warning" to others. So sad.

Is simple logic that difficult to grasp?

We Shall Never Forget; But We Have

Our Jewish brethren have a saying, "we shall never forget."

There's also an age old question: "If you could go back in time to when Hitler was a boy; would you kill him to prevent the Holocaust?"

Or what if Chamberlain recognized Hitler for what he was and made a preemptive attack and ended the threat of the Reich before it could gather momentum? I'll tell you what. Chamberlain would be vilified. Britons would complain about the folly of sending young men to die in ending a threat before it became heinous. Just as the person who said yes to the second question would be branded a vile murderer of children.

I don't like the Iraq war. I hate that so many of our brave men and women have died. But Hussein killed 35,000 of his own people and mass graves cried out for justice. Right now in dozens of places on the globe thousands upon thousands are killed by warlords and corrupt government. And like Chamberlain, we think it's not our job to end such things.

I'm sorry, my Jewish kindred, we have forgotten.

GI Joe - What Do You Know?

Caught GI Joe as part of a guy's night out with a bunch of friends. For the fellowship alone, I enjoyed it. Not because of the movie, mind you, just for the friends.

GI Joe, originally a six inch toy American Soldier with a beard. Then it became a team to facilitate more toys. Now it's a movie to sell bazillions of more toys.

Problem with movies made from toys is that it is a two hour commercial and business plan for future toys. Which means story and characterization are an afterthought.

GI Joe is no longer American but NATO run -- Meaning the title is nonsensical, but now the toys can be a global phenom. The necessity to have as many weapons, characters, bases, vehicles, costumes as possible makes it chaotic. What few clever ideas they had were drowned in silly toy references.

The actors seemed to know they were second fiddle to the toys so they phoned in their performances. Quaid who is dissappointing regularly is worse here. Branden Frazier makes a bizzarre cameo to say "again?" over and over before disappearing. Everyone else was just... sad.

Stephen Summers, the director, is making a name for himself doing toy movies badly (as opposed to Michael Bay, who makes flashy toy movies adequately).

If you're a fan of GI Joe toys, go and have fun. If you're not, either grab a dozen friends and go or stay home.