Shushan's Shore

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T16:03:00.000-05:00

I am happy to announce that Rebecca has finished and uploaded her 2011 digital card to our Christmas site, www.santapenguin.com

She has done a very nice job with it! I really like how you have to look for the creatures a bit - and yet they are right there in front of you. If the snow-pack seems a little light, that's the way it really is around here (when we get any snow at all. Its supposed to be in the 50's this weekend), and she thought it would be nice to make a snowy, winter scene the way she really sees them here. She's made the lovely banded sky, the bare trees and all. Can you tell I am proud of her?

No, the image isn't on this post. The pics you see here are just cheery bounty from the internet's largess. For some reason, images on this blog have tended to expand or otherwise distort since I had the blog template changed. They look all right in the 'compose' function but do weirdness when I preview/publish. Even the smileys won't sit right unless I move them next to text. *shrugs* Anyway, I would rather you saw DD's work on our Christmas site where it is properly formatted.

As for us, we are having a simpler Christmas than ever. We are mostly better, but that bad bug stuck around long enough that we didn't visit as many friends or family as usual or even do much decorating, mailing, baking etc. Even finishing my usual Christmas story has been delayed. This was the year I finally tried elderberry extract along with vitamin C, echinacea, and the other usual immune supplements I grew up with. It was a worthwhile recommendation and really did seem to help. (We needed it all this time!) Even so, William still ended up at the doctor's office last week. He's on antibiotics and resting well. He says he's pretty sure he's up to eating Christmas dinner with us now.

What energy we had in November/December was prioritized towards for finishing our studies for the semester. I have finished the classes for that Arts & Sciences Associates Degree at our local CC.
All A's again too.

Becka and Tom also did well. Their research papers ate up a lot of December too, come to that,, but they got A's and B' s so I am happy for them. I didn't have as many big papers, though my math requirement made sure I studied just as hard.

Of necessity, this year's theme is peaceful simplicity and gratitude for God's provision. Which doesn't mean we can't enjoy the Grace in what we've been given. We are looking forward to enjoying the prezzies and snacks planned for tomorrow (We've already started on the snacks. :) Then we'll have a nice meal and a long nap. I'm looking forward to it already.

Wishing you a

Kitty's Occupy (absence of) Movement

2011-11-19T20:22:00.001-05:00

Louis' sit-down protest over the lack of attention that results when I stare at the math book too long.

heh

I'm BBBaaaccckkk

2011-11-15T20:52:00.004-05:00

Well, at least briefly. I am still very busy and will be until the end of the semester. Its not that I couldn't get online since July, but the family's happy comfy desktop died and that made blogging and email discussions a LOT more awkward. I made myself write on the family lappy for school when necessary, but tended to avoid the process otherwise. Its keys are stiff and the position is awkward :-P

What happened?

We cleaned the somewhat unstable family desktop system on a very hot day and the can of air malfunctioned, frosting the board. There was a very small, unpleasant snap/crackle....and voila!...time for a new computer. In hindsight, it was sssooo obvious we shouldn't have used cold compressed air on an already overheated system - even after letting it 'cool' in hundred degree weather for half an hour (the usual time). *sigh*

Yeah, I pretty much felt I should turn in my computer nerd badge after that one, but then we had to build from a New Egg kit (all the budget allowed) and its running great, so I guess we're not completely hopeless.

Yes, its been several months. It was awhile before we had a replacement budget at all, and by that time the semester was underway. Since I need to excel in one of my toughest subjects to finish, I've been a little distracted by that alone. Then too, the first MOBO was DOA and had to be RMA'd (adding several more weeks to the process.) After the system finally posted, the real work of saving the last work on the previous one and setting up the new OS, drivers, fave programs, etc began. (One of Mom's collection of Everett Kaser's licensed logic puzzle puzzles is still MIA, but hopefully it will surface soon.) The new compy is great! Its great when something turns out to be worth the wait, yes? One of these days I'd love to upgrade this old CRT monitor, but right now I am grateful it still works so well :)

So, I 've pretty much been doing schoolwork for several months. I didn't even read to relax for awhile. Just felt I had to concentrate, you know? Now that my BIG papers are off to be graded and DS is settled into his routine, I have relaxed a little. It probably helps that I could see this machine coming together as well. I even indulged in some light reading, starting with a published web-comic already very much loved by my daughter and husband. My husband is tickled that I used to look like Agatha (the heroine) and was that spicy too, he says. :) That's okay, I long saw him as being a lot like my favorite adventure game hero (DH looks more like him everyday.)

This fall my husband realized Mom had put online one of the few surviving** pictures of me from that time period that he feels proves the point and shared it. I did like to dress like her - skirts & vest, long hair, and big glasses. Actually, I still do *ahem* The old picture was from my High School Anatomy & Physiology class so there I am dissecting (something I generally avoided like the plague but my partner, who took the photo, was provably unable to cope.) Mad Science!

** (My step-father ruined or 'lost' a lot of stuff before she divorced him. Pictures were a favored target.)

Anyway, I'm glad I finally got around to reading the Girl Genius series. Its fun! Graphic novels sure are quick reads though. I got through the series in a few days, in addition to homework. I finally finished another fun loaner too. I expect I will dig out the paperback cozy I left off reading this summer - sometime this week. Its sitting right on top of the sewing I suddenly quit doing this summer. I can't honestly tell you why I froze up like that. I guess I was worrying about DH's health. He hasn't had to go back to the hospital since the issues we had to address this late spring/summer. I wasn't sure how well he was really doing afterward. The problem could easily recur. I'm still not sure, but as time progresses, I guess I am getting more hopeful again. I could have been reading some casual fare during the several days of power outage we had following Hurricane Irene. I didn't. I just read textbooks and my Bible and played card games - hanging out with the family. Which reminds me-

I said this on Facebook (briefly) and called some folks directly, but never got around to posting it here. Yes, we felt that earthquake that was on the news in August. It was surprising, but as far as we can tell, it did us no harm. At the time. I was on DH foam mattress, sorting things, and didn't even realize how big it was until I put my feet back on the floor. A few things shook on the walls, a perfume bottle fell, but landed softly....and then it was over. Since we have had 'little' quakes in the past years that barely got mentioned but were also strong enough to shake the house, we were surprised it got so high a number and so much coverage!

Hurricane Irene, about a week later, was a much bigger deal, but did us no direct damage either. The dangerous trees were removed awhile ago. So basically, it was very rainy, it was incredibly windy (about as noisy as Hurricane Isabel years ago), and then the power went out. Actually the power stayed out around the area for most of a week. Even the college was closed! This time we were able to use a generator regularly after the storm passed by, so our food stayed usable until we were able to eat it (aside from some ice cream.) We were able to keep some fun stuff charged, and live almost normally. It was a little too warm for oil lamps, but the battery ones did fine. Very likely the strain of the experience helped finish off our very elderly refrigerator, as we had to replace that too this fall, but the new (to us) fridge is a marvel of consistency by comparison. We're loving it!

We haven't participated in any other major news events. We spent Halloween doing schoolwork. We weren't that interested in this year's local candidates, aside from a pharmacist fella we always liked. He won, which was happy. We're not that big into sports. The closest Occupy group is way off in Norfolk, and pretty much off our radar, aside from News Updates. I am still curious as to what, specifically, they hope to accomplish? Anybody know what legislation they hope to pass or how they want Wall Street to police itself? I read some of their pages online but they seem kinda vague to me, and now there are rumors it's all astroturf anyway. hmmm

The weather seems pretty extreme this year. Those tornadoes last spring, quick turn to a hot summer, quick turn to cold temps this fall. A lot of days have been nice enough, but its been the kind of year where the good weather forecasters become extremely familiar faces. It was over 80 F today and in two days the high will be slightly over 50 F - cocoa weather again.

Anyway, that's the recent news here.

Good to 'see' you. ;)
Susan M

Pagan Christianity ~ book review

2011-07-05T18:06:00.001-04:00

Back in the 70's there were many Christians who felt that looking to the way the first churches did things (apostolic and just barely post-apostolic) was the cure for all of the current denominations worldly ways, would set the church back on fire etc.

It was a useful perspective, as otherwise average churchgoers tended to assume that traditional arrangements were set in concrete, anyone who wasn't blessed by them was a heretic etc. The mainline denominations HAD lost a lot of their fire, and while the architecture, hierarchical organizations weren't necessarily responsible for all of it, looking at them again critically as to whether they added or detracted from a true fellowship experience was a good, if not very popular idea.

I haven't heard anyone bring up these issues in person since the 70's - and its kind of a blast from the past to read the arguments again in this book (plus quite a few more!)

I personally agree that spectator church services do not create a sense of responsibility, personal involvement, or family connection among its members. I do not agree that designating bishops for the different churches was necessarily a negative development in the body of Christ. An ability to designate spokespersons and have community arbitrators necessitated the post. The fact that these positions became 'clergy' - considered much more priestly than the average members - is where it became a problem. The posts got reinvented over time.

I am very glad this book is becoming something of an underground classic (as many 'regular' churches are still opposed to its precepts.)

Frankly your 'average' Christian usually means someone who poses as respectable for a couple hours on Sunday, lets the sermon go in one ear and out the other and lives as they please all week.

[Sometimes they don't even behave in the short weekly visits! I know one church that personally persecutes, judges, and slanders their literal neighbors even while they are still attending as a group. The gospel clearly means nothing to them. Apparently they have had just enough exposure to the gospel in there to vaccinate them from ever catching the Holy Ghost!]

'Fellowship' in these setups is limited to the few friends they chose and is indistinguishable from carnal friendships - outside of any Bible studies they have together. Anyone not in these networks, or downed on by them is not treated as a brother or sister in Christ. Believers in other denominations are not acknowledged as family. To my mind this isn't fellowship at all - and so I do not forsake it by not attending these hypocrisy fests.

This is not to say that 'regular' churches can't be real fellowships or attendees are all fakers, but the setup makes it easy for fakers to slide and for the fires of those seeking to the serve the Lord to be somewhat quenched with no one they can definitely share the passion of their lives with. The Catholic Chrurch talks about the 'church within the church' - which has become a code phrase for the wheat among the tares in their fields. You can still get blessed even at a high mass, but you can't guarantee that you will easily find the other real believers in the cathedral just by showing up one day.

This is true in protestant churches as well. Knots of real believers may gather around the official services, and may be fed a bit by the teaching, but the real work and life of such churches tends to be 'on the side' - in the outreach ministries done by the layfolk, in the discussions of the enthused outside the 'led' Bible studies, in impromptu worship services that began as the prayer before the potluck or party. I think this book brings out very well why this is so.

I strongly recommend every believer read this book with an open mind. You don't have to agree with everything the authors believe to be blessed by a greater understanding of how Christian gatherings, relationships, and worship have changed over time.

Christians need to learn from the past too. We have nothing to lose from it but falsely based guilt trips! (Loved the section on tithing!)

Recent Mysteries

2011-06-02T00:16:00.001-04:00

My summer is a bit busy at present. DH had another visit to the hospital last week due to some complications. I think they are still from the last surgery, but nobody really knows. DS is finally getting over his complications from the oral surgery this spring. He's been through 3 rounds of antibiotic, and still had notable swelling, but the vitamin C (and time) we went to afterward seem to be working at last. Thanks to the early heat wave, I have had to replace our old gauze caftans recently for the ladies of the house. Gauze cotton is the absolute best for beating the heat, but, like many good things, it doesn't last.

I have fit in a few mysteries, and since I promised to list and review at least 12 for that reading resolution thingy (note the sidebar button), here are the reviews I have written since the last time. :)

Crewel World by Monica Ferris (reading now)

[from Amazon] When Betsy's sister is murdered in her own needlecraft store, Betsy takes over the shop and the investigation. But to find the murderer, she'll have to put together a list of motives and suspects to figure out this killer's pattern of crime -

Pick Your Poison by Leean Sweeney ~ 4/5 stars ~ finished May 24, 2011
(Yellow Rose Mystery 1)
Some things I really, really liked about this mystery and its main characters, and some I didn't - like the way the heroine betrays the trust of her brother-in-law, reflexively fibs, and the way she responds to her sleazy ex. Crazy number of coincidences too, but it all works out in the end.

A Wedding to Die For by Leean Sweeney ~ 4/5 stars ~ finished May 25, 2011
(Yellow Rose Mystery 2)
Our heroine from Pick Your Poison decides to start a specialized PI business, helping adopted kids find their original parents. Her client invites her to help with the wedding, and claims to be keeping her work a secret - but several of the family already know about it. Its hardly surprising that the adoptive family has some issues after learning of the effort, given the skeletons in their corporate closet, but which of them killed the father of the bride?

The heroine behaves far better in this edition, but the family members she investigates are a pretty big downer. Well written, but not entirely a favorite.

A Deadly Cliche by Ellery Adams ~ 5/5 stars ~ finished May 23, 2011
(Books by the Bay 2)
Pretty heavy emotional baggage for a cozy mystery, but very well written :)

Olivia is still in a state of personal transition since the last book. She is unsure of her current relationship with the gregarious bookseller, unsure of her feelings for the police chief, and how to handle her increasing closeness with her fellow writers/friends. Into all of this personal questing comes a tropical system, a suspicious letter saying her long lost father is still alive but declining quickly- please send money- and a serial killer/burglar that threatens one of her friends. In a way, Olivia welcomes the challenges these mysteries present (she's not especially worried about the storm.) They allow her room to breathe and stay involved while she tries to decide which way she will move on with her life.

Trouble in Spades by Heather Webber ~ 5/5 stars ~ finished May 5, 2011
(Nina Quinn 2)
Very hectic, but definitely amusing. The main villains of the piece were fairly obvious, but how the story would play out was anything but! Nina's entire clan prepares for her sister's wedding, while trying to solve the fishy disappearance of the groom. Meantime, Nina and her son assist the effort to find the granny panty bandit at loose in their neighborhood.

Busybody by M.C. Beaton ~ 5/5 stars ~ finished April 28, 2011
(Agatha Raisin 21)
Brilliant! Agatha attends a Ladies function for the parish that ends with the murder of an overly officious bureaucrat who has been ruining everyone's traditional plans for Christmas. Several other attempted and successful murders (including - possibly- an elderly beagle) may or may not be related, but with Agatha's talented crew of detectives and friends around, nothing can go unsolved for long.

Glazed Murder by Jessica Beck ~2/5 stars ~ finished April 18, 2011
(Donut Shop 1)
This mystery didn't mesh for me. I never really believed in the characters' interactions or the situation. The heroine didn't seem real. Her actions didn't seem to make sense if you took the situation at face value. It didn't seem badly written exactly, but I just couldn't get into it!

I seriously disliked some of this book's vibes, but as I am unsure as to whether they were intended, I won't go into those undertones here. Besides, any book that paints a 'vicious gossip' as a reliable source of information loses points with me right off.

The Plot That Thickened by P.G. Wodehouse ~ 3/5 stars ~ finished May 12, 2011
Not one of Wodehouse's best, but good fun just the same. If you ignore when the book is supposed to be taking place (supposed to be the late 60's, but reads like the 20/30's), and the cultural mistakes (the Americans aren't very American at all), it reads just fine. ;)

Night of the Living Deed by E.J. Copperman ~ 5/5 stars ~ finished April 4, 2011
(Haunted Guesthouse 1)
Surprisingly good paranormal mystery. Alison buys a house to fix up and use as a guesthouse but the previous owner (Maxie) and the PI she hired have other plans. They want her to solve their murder, which was passed off as suicide. The killer wants Alison to find the historic deed to the place, which was allegedly signed by George Washington. & Alison just wants her life to be sane again. lol Its a fun romp of a mystery. Well worth your time!

An Uninvited Ghost by E.J. Copperman ~ 5/5 stars ~ finished April 17, 2011
(Haunted Guesthouse 2)
Improbably busy, ghost-filled fun! Alison is now trying to get her inn off the ground with the help of two unexpected offers. One from a tour group catering to ghost-hunting seniors fills most of her hours and rooms with certified eccentrics. The second offer is from the producer handling four foul-mouthed 'youths' from a cable 'reality' show (plus crew, makeup, extra lights, and emotional baggage.) During a televised seance, a last minute guest is murdered and Alison has her hands full trying to juggle her regular duties and solve the crime. Thank goodness she has help from beyond...

A Crafty Killing by Lorraine Bartlett ~ 5/5 stars ~ March 25, 2011
A definite page-turner! I didn't guess the killer or the reason. Honestly, the bigger mystery was what was going to happen with the Artisans group, Katie Bonner etc. It will be interesting to see where events lead for these characters.

Carbs and Cadavers by J.B Stanley ~ 5/5 stars ~ finished March 24, 2011
1st book in the supper club series. Surprisingly deep! I picked out the villain early on but not entirely the motive. Well worth your time :) Its great to see these everyday people working toward their personal goals while inspiring those around them. :D

Treating Jack Right

2011-05-22T17:25:00.002-04:00

No, not talking about the latest Pirates of the Caribbean film. (We haven't even seen it yet, though we intend to!)

This is a devotional thought inspired by our little dog, Jack.

      Jack has turned into a decent pet, though we still have to watch him around strangers. I don't think I mentioned that Jack was the alpha puppy in a less socialized setting. He was actually brought to us a little early because he tried to challenge his father and they had to break up the scene when they realized that more than correction was going to follow. Every so often Jack still kids himself that he can be dominant pet (that position is firmly held by our biggest cat, Louis) or even higher... We read the pet books while training him, and watched a lot of Cesar Milan, and we are doing fine now, but only because we make sure that he has to ask to come sit with us, check his obedience levels often - even over his dinner bowl, get him lots of exercise, and make him earn goodies by doing what tricks he can.

We had a ham roast last month, and Tom wanted to give him the meaty bone, as it looked thick enough to be safe for his size to chew on (not easy for him to fracture.) It took us hours of working with him before we were confident about letting him have the last of the leftovers and the big ole bone. Even then we had to work him afterward when he started jump up on the couch uninvited....

      Another dog would simply have gotten the scraps, but you do that with Jack and he gets stupid within hours, sometimes within minutes. He takes it as tribute to his awesomeness if not made to beg and recognize his dependence OFTEN.

     People are like that too, with God. We complain about our trials, but they make us ask God for things we too easily take for granted, or somehow think we are entitled to have. Reversals drive us back to our knees to check what is really okay with the Almighty, and not just equate what we are physically able to manage with heavenly permission. We haven't always offended God when trials come. Many trials happen just because we live in a fallen world, but from God's point of view. it does us good to come before Him often, even if its only because we are continually asking Him for what we need and want. Many years of dependence on God builds a healthy habit of talking to God continually, seeking His company, wisdom, grace, and reassurance. We need God ALWAYS, everyday. Everything good about us comes from walking with and before Him, but we are not often able to internalize this wisdom until we have survived a lot of trials and pains, and seen God's calm descend on the storms of our lives. If we persevere, we learn gratitude and appreciation of the awesome power of God, and one day we will know what a generous gift has been given through our current circumstances.

In the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, God complains many times about how people seek Him earnestly in their need; but once they are full of food and well off, they forget to stay close to the One who gave them everything. In fact, He warns Israel prior to entering the Promised Land that they will be tempted to this behavior, but that disaster will follow if they allow themselves to forget His warning. The following history then shows Israel fighting to become established and talking to God often, but then falling away from God toward other idols and carnal appetites during the good times. Eventually invaders come or plagues strike and they beseech God's mercy and help again. He relents ~ and within some years, they start falling away again. wash. rinse. repeat.

Read any of the Old Testament prophets for very long and you will see this problem attitude of humanity discussed. See Jeremiah 3, Ezekial 16-24, Hosea, Isaiah, even Micah!

The New Testament doesn't discuss this inbuilt failing of human nature as explicitly, but it is mentioned as a carnal attitude to avoid...

¹ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 2 Timothy 3:1-5

"He said, 'In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
Jesus - Luke 18:1-8

Will He find faith on the Earth when God is always Faithful? What a question! Why would He not, unless we have already forgotten His benefits, chosen to believe we gained whatever we have by luck or skill, or taken a daily sufficiency (or even larger blessings) for proof we are a superior bunch who don't need to check back with the author and source of goodness to remain good? People aren't that daft are they? Are we all like Jack? One decent hambone and we think we rule our world again?

Personality Quizzes

2011-05-20T17:08:00.000-04:00

Advanced Global Personality Test Results

Extraversion	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Stability	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Orderliness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Accommodation	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Intellectual	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Interdependence	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Mystical	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Materialism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	60%
Narcissism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	80%
Adventurousness	\|\|	10%
Work ethic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Conflictseeking	\|\|	10%
Need to dominate	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Romantic	\|\|	10%
Avoidant	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	40%
Anti-authority	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%

Wealth	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Dependency	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Change averse	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Cautiousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	80%
Individuality	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	80%
Sexuality	\|\|	10%
Peter pancomplex	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	40%
Histrionic	\|\|	10%
Vanity	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Artistic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Hedonism	\|\|	10%
Physicalfitness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	60%
Religious	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Paranoia	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Hypersensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Indie	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test
personality test by similarminds.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Big Five Word Test Results

Extroversion (47%) medium which suggests you are moderately talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting.
Accommodation (55%) medium which suggests you are moderately kind natured, trusting, and helpful while still maintaining your own interests.
Orderliness (67%) moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly organized, neat, structured and restrained at the expense too often of flexibility, variety, spontaneity, and fun.
Emotional Stability (58%) moderately high which suggests you are relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.
Inquisitiveness (55%) medium which suggests you are moderately intellectual, curious, and imaginative.

Take Free Big Five Word Choice Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results

Warmth	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	82%
Intellect	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	86%
Emotional Stability	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Aggressiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	58%
Liveliness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	22%
Dutifulness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	62%
Social Assertiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Sensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Paranoia	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	62%
Abstractness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	82%
Introversion	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	42%
Anxiety	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	42%
Openmindedness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Independence	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	42%
Perfectionism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Tension	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	26%

Take Cattell 16 Factor Test (similar to 16pf)
personality tests by similarminds.com

GIVEAWAY: $250 Gift Card at Amazon US, Amazon UK or Nook!

2011-04-14T14:59:00.001-04:00

I would have to choose which thing to fix if I won it, but that would be a nice problem :D

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill

2011-04-02T18:57:00.007-04:00

As the weather warms, I am thinking of the neat festivals that bloom with the flowers...
This guy is one my Mom's favorites. He came to an Irish music festival in our area awhile ago. :D

This snippet of wonderfulness was recorded at the Richmond (VA) Festival in Oct, 2009 :D

A Practical Pricy Giveaway COntest

2011-03-27T21:05:00.003-04:00

Sounded good to me to I am passing it along...

March Mystery Reviews

2011-03-06T17:33:00.001-05:00

I expect will have to add to this post as the month progresses. I have 2-3 cozy mysteries going now (not sure if Wodehouse counts), and one I hope to read ASAP, as you can see on my Shelfari page

Carbs and Cadavers by J.B. Stanley
(still reading)

Excellent so far!

A William & Mary Professor moves back into the small Shenandoah town from whence and takes a job as the local librarian. He came in order to care for his widowed father, but the lack of his usual involvements leaves him too much time to indulge in his favorite snack(s). He joins the local dieting supper club to make some friends and lose some weight just as a big mystery overshadows the little town of Quincy Gap.

A Crafty Killing by Lorraine Bartlett

also great so far :))

Kate Bonner finds herself stuck with a majority ownership of Artisan's Alley, her husband's dream business, after both her husband and his partner pass away unexpectedly. (Kate's dream was to run a Victorian B & B.) Her husband's partner turns out to be only the first killing in Artisans Alley. Kate finds herself suddenly involved in trying to solve the crimes and save her husband's business.

The Plot That Thickened by P.G. Wodehouse
aka Pearls, Girls, and Monty Bodkin (still reading)

This one's more cozy than mystery, but is very good.
A library was giving it away and I was tickled to get a new--to-me Wodehouse :D

Poor Monty Bodkin found his inherited wealth insufficient to win the familial approval of Gertrude, his lady fair. To fix this Monty served a year to prove himself to the prospective father-in-law, only to be disqualified by how he had gotten the job. He decides to persevere and finds fresh employment as secretary to his old boss in England, since the American family happens to be visiting for an extended period. Monty's erstwhile secretary has also taken employment with the Llewellyn's, in order to pursue him. A trio of shady sorts have set their sights on Mrs Llewellyn's pearls, and Gertrude's father is now close enough to hope to botch Monty's hopes of marrying into his family...

A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams 5/5

A terrific debut mystery! Surprising twists and turns in this cozy about a wannabe author who finally joins her local writer's group and finds she has to face her own ghosts while helping find the killer of a new friend. Very good!

Revenge for Old Time's Sake by Kris Neri 4/5
(finished 2/2/11)

This is the third 'act' of Tracy Eaton's exciting life. This time her husband Drew has been framed for the murder of a colleague he had just socked in the nose, after, ironically, they had just won an unlikely case together.

Tracy calls on every friend and family member available to her, which includes her prickly mother-in-law, Charlotte. Charlotte and Tracy's Mom, Martha, do NOT get along, which makes every outing with one or both of them an even larger adventure. :)

There is a lot of 'action' in their efforts to free Drew and catch the real killer. It wasn't hard to picture this one on T.V. or even in a movie. I found some elements a bit over-the-top, but given as it is set in Hollywood's backyard, maybe that's just how it should be!

It takes Tracy quite a while to get the information she needs to make progress. I solved it way ahead of her this time, just by recognizing a cliched character. The nature of that cliche is why it lost a star and favorite status with me, but I will say I thought it was otherwise very well-written and well worth your time

Looking Forward to Spring

2011-02-26T18:30:00.013-05:00

Oh, I am so looking forward to spring. There are so many flowers that I look forward to seeing again.

Soon we will have the yearly profusions of pansies and daffodils stretched down the village main-street, the farmer's market, and the roadside nurseries. They are the favorite flowers here. I especially love the way the yellow daisies seem to bring the fresh spring sunshine back into the fields, as if announcing the sun's warmth has returned from some long southern migration. I look forward to the rich sweet-smelling mulch we will need to spread again, and glorious velvet pink and purple petunias that will again brighten our backdoor. I love the pansies too, even if they do remind me of that Alice in Wonderland 'flower song' every time I see them, a brain worm that can wriggle around all day.

Marigolds are cheerful too, and I especially enjoy the way they discourage mosquitoes from guarding the backdoor!

My mother bought me one of those hyacinths in a dutch planter thingy as a kid. I loved that plant. I loved its beautiful spire. I loved the strong scents that covered the decidedly un-awesome scent of the bayou outside my window (my step-father had a good job in Louisiana that winter). I looooved its bright cheerfulness when all else was gloomy brown moss. That was the year I learned how much difference an indoor plant can make!

I haven't planted a hyacinth in the outside flower garden yet, but I keep thinking about it.

Closest we came was the gladiolas we planted last year. Unfortunately they fell over instead of standing straight and tall and blooming hugely. A heavy rain largely unburied them when they were still bulbs. We didn't notice until too late. I have to admit, their silly little flower faces planted square in the mulch gave me quite a few giggles, but weren't quite what I was looking for in a flower.

I love tiger lilies and day lilies. The most loving, most Christ-minded church I have ever attended was several hours west of where we live now. Sadly, I have been told they are now gone. But, when I was young,& they had glowing mobs of them all around their front porch, and even straggling off in pious lines towards the woods. This one is love by association, but it counts. To this day, seeing a tiger lily anywhere lifts my spirits and sets my heart singing those old familiar hymns.

I love buttercups, honeysuckle, daisies, violets, and dandelions. I picked many wild bouquets for my own mother. I wore them in sweet-smelling tiaras, long necklaces, and fragrant belts. I rejoiced when in my turn my young children brought their mommy-love bouquets to me from our meadow. I am looking forward to the wildflowers blooming again and bringing with them the sweetness and beauty of those memories.

I also love roses.

I admit it. I especially love the ones my daughter has planted year after year in honor of

mother's day and my birthday. She has so faithfully tended them outside the house ever since. They have grown far more quickly than I expected! The scent on warm evenings lightly tinges the house with her kindness and dedication.

I remember too the time when my husband I were still courting. He wanted to get me a dozen roses but could only afford one. So - he brought that one....and when he could manage it again he brought another, and then another. Eventually he managed the whole dozen, and I loved every single one until the last petal fell... and I never forgot.

~ and now, thanks to you, I have written today's blog. Great post, Lorna!

Cozy Chicks: Yes, I'm Giving Away A Kindle!

2011-02-06T16:13:00.001-05:00

Cozy Chicks: Yes, I'm Giving Away A Kindle!: "A Deadly Cliché Kindle Contest! Ellery AdamsThe purpose: To generate early sales for A Deadly Cliché and to thank the readers who’ve made ..."

A very good cozy author has a new book coming out this month, and in its honor she is going to give away a Kindle. Obviously, I'd love to win it as I still don't have an e-reader of my own, but even more I'd like to let my readers know about her new book & contest ~ hence the blog :D

Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge 2011 - Update

2011-02-06T15:41:00.001-05:00

I mentioned I had joined the list of people who promised to read 12 mysteries this year. How am I doing? Just fine! I didn't really think I'd do 12 in a month in which I have other books I need to study. I didn't mean I'd do 12 in January, just that I have read that many in one month before. Here's my current list, plus the reviews for each I wrote on my Shelfari page.

I did receive a book from the group, The Survivor by Sean Slater, but as it isn't my type of mystery, Tom is reading it first. So far he says its decently written but the author's lack of familiarity with firearms really shows.

Here's the current list ~

Aunt Dimity and the Duke by Nancy Atherton Finished 1/3/2011
Its a fun book, but much less plausible than the first in the series. Aunt Dimity's appearances are more like cameos.

Dem Bones Revenge by Kris Neri Finished 1/19/2011

This was one exciting mystery! It had my attention from the first pages and didn't let up the pace until the very end. I was surprised not to get a particular announcement by the end of it though. Tracy certainly sounded like she was expecting changes. :)

Book 1 was largely about her husband Drew's family. This time the action centers on Tracy's mother who is inexplicably found standing over the murdered body of an old Hollywood hack who just happens to have been in a lawsuit with one of Drew's clients. It doesn't look good for her, especially since she is clearly hiding something, or perhaps quite a few things! Tracy's difficulty in relating to her mother is slowly explained as we see Martha pretty much turn Tracy's household on its ear while her daughter tries to find the real killer and keep her elusive diva mother safe at the same time.

It turns out Tracy can't remember clearly much of her earliest childhood, but its been haunting her dreams and even her daydreams. She finally finds out why by the end.

Now I am really looking forward to the third book :D

Crossing the Lion by Cynthia Baxter Finished 1/23/2011

I didn't enjoy this one near as much as the others in the series. I am not sure why. Seemed well enough written. The ending was a real let down, but I'd gone off it way before then.

How to Wash a Cat by Rebecca Hale Finished 1/30/2011

Confusing! At the end all I knew was that some of the people the narrator had seen were each other... I can't tell for sure which ones were doing the double appearance trick. It was disorienting never to learn the narrator's name or know more of her story. The writing had promise but every time I started to get really into it the book would confuse me again with its flashbacks and jumping around (the cat's bath is basically in the book 3x). & I don't think I ever saw a story in which EVERYONE was so obsessed with knowing what happened to some poor slob well over a hundred years ago.

Free HS & College Lessons

2011-01-12T16:32:00.003-05:00

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There are a gazillion practice sites for the little ones, but fewer web pages shared to help students in High School and beyond. (We have a page with many of these resources.)

I posted about Open Yale & Khan's Academy before ~

But here are more helpful links::

http://www.wisebread.com/download-a-yale-lecture-more-universities-offer-courses-to-the-public

http://www.wisebread.com/continue-your-education-online

http://www.jimmyr.com/blog/1_Top_10_Universities_With_Free_Courses_Online.php

http://www.extension.washington.edu/openuw/

http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Browse

http://academicearth.org/

YOUR STUDIES

Computer Science I (college level)

Teaching Company Clips: (Check the sidebar on this clip on fractals/chaos)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxHRFZQtdSk

Algebasics::

Has free Algebra tutorials

Stellarium ~
a freeware planetarium program

Free Graphing Calculators

http://webgraphing.com/
http://my.hrw.com/math06_07/nsmedia/tools/Graph_Calculator/graphCalc.html

Blick Art lessons

christian glitter graphics Glitter Graphics - Glitterlive.com

AnswersinGenesis vids

Yes, I know. Just enjoy ;)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T00:58:00.004-05:00

Hope yours is lovely! We spent a quiet New Year's Eve. We had some nice snacks we set aside, but didn't feel like anything noisy, so regular TV was out. Haven't liked the "New Year's Eve" specials in years so we just don't bother. We did go see "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (in 2D- matinee pricing) and it was as wonderful as we'd hoped! So that's a nice note for the transition to 2011. I was beginning to be concerned we wouldn't manage to catch it. There were a number of family films that sounded promising this year but we couldn't afford to see all of them.

They really caught the feel of that most famous image of the Dawn Treader. I loved those skies! Reminded me of realMyst for a minute, then I recalled that I had loved the sky effect in that game in part because it reminded me of the picture of the Dawn Treader, so its more like coming full circle to my original inspirations... I was disappointed more people weren't there with us, but its near the end of the rather short run. At least those with us laughed and sighed at the right moments. You can't count on that anymore.

Which brings me to what tipped me over into blogging tonight ~

**WARNING I am not advocating reading the comments beneath the story in that link. Many aren't family friendly. I am just saying I read them while thinking about the article...

I just read a long set of comments on a story about how attendance is down at the theaters during the holidays** (and generally). There seems to be some surprise that people aren't going to the movies more when they did in the Big Depression (Is this a sideways acknowledgement of where we really are?). They expect 2011 will be even worse. (hhmmm..not expecting a boom economy soon then?)

Its really not that hard to figure.

1) Discretionary spending is down. People bought the expected presents so they didn't see as many movies, especially at Christmas.

2) MANY people are disenchanted with Hollyweird's lack of family-friendliness, political leanings, and/or anti-mainstream messages... Even those who are okay with that part of it are getting burnt out by the repetitiveness and mediocrity that seems to plague most releases.

3) The only exceptions to the general public distrust are for Pixar's family films, (and those that manage to get near that standard. Dreamworks has had quite a few good ones lately.) ...and even those are hurt by the high prices of film going these days. Popcorn and drink prices have always been outrageous, compared with usual cost, but now the regular ticket prices plus concession fare could set you back as much as a cheap DVD player plus a recent DVD film...that's when you really notice.

4) ...and those high prices get even higher when you 'have' to see it in 3D. Not many good films need 3D, it makes many people queasy/headache-y, and there are warnings that its not good for the eyesight of young children ~ which discourages even more families from making the sacrifice.

My family is among the many that actively avoids full price generally and 3D showings specifically. This relates to the movies we especially wanted to see on the BIG screen, most films we're content to wait. We last endured 3D for Toy Story 3, which is a great film, but would have been better for us without that gimmick. We felt sick afterward. This doesn't make the 'great movie experience.' We have enough issues with the increasing use of 'air fresheners' in area cinemas. We'd love it if they would stop the obligatory 3D releases.

5) Yes, people want distraction from their current worries but there is more and cheaper competition.

When movies were king in the last 'recession,' there was no 'after-market' of DVD (formerly VHS) and color TVs at home. If you waited a few months to see the latest cool movie in the 30's, you likely wouldn't see it at all.

There were no game consoles, often with a cheap back library of greatest hits titles to play once you saved up for it. (I'm not talking the deep pockets- first adopters here, this is the masses who have to CHOOSE what to save to see.) Some people are even discovering what I've known for years, that replaying old favorite games can be fun and relaxing. For example, I have replayed "Mario Sunshine" every winter since we got it. Cheers me up a treat. Used to do the same thing each winter with my fav adventure game before 'Sunshine' came out for that 'virtual fun in the sun' experience. (The old Zelda games help too. ;)

There was no cable TV, just radio, and that had only a few channels. Even with the generally poor choices you can usually find something decent on much of the time, especially on the documentary and classic movie channels. If you can't afford cable anymore, I'm betting you've already cut movie theaters out of your budget.

There was no internet, with online places to hang with your crowd and entertain yourselves...no (or low) additional surcharge, not to mention the free public domain movies online, free uni courses, freeware games, demos, hosted documentaries and the many funny clips on youtube...and that's for the non-bibliophiles. Books are still very popular at my house. You can still buy amusing books for less than a dollar at area thrift stores ;-)

6) Movie theaters are becoming less and less comfortable in many locations. I am not picking on our area theaters, because the big megaplex tries very hard to make their place worth the money (and generally they succeed). Even the budget place has been doing much better lately, though they really need to clean the glass in front of the projection booth.

But poor or tight, a lot movie theaters are not cleaning as often as they should, many have tiny chairs, tinny worn-out speakers that produce unpleasant loud noises instead of THX-style productions and/or inconsiderate cinema experiences (much of this from other audience members, but it still impacts the results.) 3D glasses just add to the annoyances.

7) Did I mention people are feeling broke? Gas is going up again. News stories are gloomy. Gloomy movies are the last thing most people want to see, but that is still what Hollyweird wants to make and what it honors in its artists year after year. People I know want fantasies they can lose themselves in for an hour or three, with a happy ending, or at least a ~ mostly ~ happy ending.

So ~ if Christian-tinged stories do not offend you, if you can afford it this week, and if you can find it in 2D, I can heartily recommend Dawn Treader to you, since it is more than able to fulfill such requirements. ;-)

"Tangled" is pretty good too. :)

A Resolution I can Live With!

2010-12-28T11:00:00.001-05:00

I rarely do the New Year's Resolution thing. I take even promises to myself seriously, and I'd rather be practical about any improvements I hope to make, but thanks to Detweilermom, this year I have found a resolution I can safely huggle. All I have to do is read a dozen mysteries in a year. I've been known to do as much in a month!

Apparently there is the possibility of goodies for officially participating. Sounds good to me!

White Christmas!

2010-12-28T10:15:00.002-05:00

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We got that snow they called for! At least 8-11 inches worth covered the ground (and everything else outside.) Woohoo! Thank You God for the neat present! We weren't up to doing a lot of running around anyway, so we just have stayed home and enjoyed it. Its made the view outside our doors and windows so lovely. Somehow snow just makes cocoa and wassail (spiced fruit punch) taste even better! I hope to get some pics today before it seriously starts to melt away again. Now...after all that cold weather, they say we will have highs in the 40's, then 50's, then back up to 60's by New Year's Day. That'll work though, as we will need to get groceries and such by then. ;)

Merry Christmas Glitter Graphics - Glitterlive.com

Becka's 2010 Digital Christmas Card!

2010-12-24T16:14:00.002-05:00

Hope your Christmas is merry! Rebecca's card for 2010 is up. I didn't finish my story this time, but there are stories from previous years if you'd like to refresh your holiday memories of us.

It isn't snowing yet, but there's a very good chance we'll see some of the white stuff before Christmas Day is over. Prezzies wait 'neath the tree. There's eggnog in the fridge and the roast is being prepared for tomorrow. We're feeling better today, and still recovering slowly. Hope your holidays are blessed too.

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Gift Cards & Snow!

2010-12-18T21:13:00.011-05:00

Got directed toward this helpful site for comparing gift card policies and realized I really should share, seeing as many of you may be about to grab a few before the big meet-up 'neath Grandma's Christmas tree. We've never had trouble using the gift cards we've received over the years, but its good to know which ones are good at all chain stores and which ones are not!

In personal news, we're still getting over that bug, which makes even mailing difficult since that's a 'treasure' we'd rather not share. OTOH we gottsa snow!! A few days ago we got a real winter-ish snow and several inches of the wet white stuff. Since we haven't felt well enough to do much shopping this year, we didn't miss out on much. We just stayed home, drank cocoa, and watched it fall. It stuck around too, unlike the last time where it fell in the wee hours and was melted by mid-morning. I was worried that might be the only snow but ~ nope, we have been able to see a winter wonderland at all hours this week :D

Since there was some ice due to it melting and refreezing, we've pretty much stayed home since. Went to see one friend, and even that was pushing it given we're still in recovery mode. Its snowing again tonight, but its a lot gentler than the forecast suggested. We still have to get some stuff done, so not having another full winter storm is good news. Even better is the report that we could have a little snow on Christmas itself! That hardly ever happens here!

In other holiday-related news, Ye Olde Guilt-Provoking Snowglobe is still available it seems. Couldn't find embed code but the site's ratings are okay. Of course, there's always Strongbad's Snowglobe Enjoy! (If you are so inclined :)

4 Chanukah

2010-12-04T22:43:00.002-05:00

I don't normally think about Chanukah / Hanukkah that much. Its an inspiring story, but for me this is Advent, the Christmas season. Just the same I am publicly offering my best wishes for the celebrants of Hanukkah this holiday season because I have wanted to share Marty Goetz's awesome song for the occasion ever since I first heard it. "Chanukah" is a worthy reflection for any sincere believer in Almighty God.I hope it will bless you too.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T18:48:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. ~E.P. Powell

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Hope yours is blessed too!

Our holiday this year is the semi-quiet (everybody's coughing) stay-at-home kind, especially seeing we are all still dealing with a rotten bug (possibly pertussis as its going around in our area). Most of us were actually much worse last week, so we are getting better! We stuck with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for brunch. We recorded and later watched the usual Macy's Thanksgiving parade when we felt up to it, which is actually an improvement as we can skip the commercials we don't like. Dinner is lasagna. Maybe we'll do the apple pie afterward. Its not a bad way to spend the day, though not very exciting. We had hoped to go out and see a movie but we're not up to that yet either. So we'll just make our Thanksgiving a multi-day event and celebrate it as it works for us. The turkey and pumpkin pie can wait a couple of days.

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It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire. Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast. ~W.J. Cameron

O Lord that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
~William Shakespeare

For, after all, put it as we may to ourselves, we are all of us from birth to death guests at a table which we did not spread. The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet.... Shall we think of the day as a chance to come nearer to our Host, and to find out something of Him who has fed us so long? ~Rebecca Harding Davis

We really do feel grateful to God today (and most every day.) It may not seem like it to others who see us coughing right now or dealing with other trials but God has been blessing our lives right along. He bent last week's schedule around so that it worked even with all of us ill and unable to go anywhere. The biggest miracle looks across from me every evening. I lost track of the number of times God kept Tom alive and better than medical science expected after all the damage he's had inside. Every hour we have with him is a new gift. God paid for the care too, getting us the help to come through when it was most needed. In fact God has upheld, protected, and provided for us all these years despite some very major malice that has been directed our way. Some people just thank God when they get unexpected help and/or their natural provision takes a hit or fails, but we've been in that position more often than not. God's provision for us has not failed in all the years we've had to depend so hard on Him. Glory to His name! We've got this feeling there are other blessings too that are just about to come into view. Praise God He is Our Salvation!

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. ~Cicero

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. ~Johannes A. Gaertner

Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now. ~A.W. Tozer

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You Gotta Be...

2010-11-09T14:44:00.003-05:00

One of the last songs that was a favorite with me when I was in college in the 90's was Des'ree's "You Gotta Be." (When I quit receiving any support to finish, I also quit listening to the radio much.)

Just another one of those songs that meant (and still mean) a lot to me, so I thought I'd share. If that seems like an odd choice, its because you probably aren't translating the lyrics the way I am. I do believe that we gotta be...as tough, kind, fair, bold (courageous), wise, etc as we can...and we will still need Love (God) to save the day.

Yep. Its another lost personal treasure rediscovered. Somehow I thought it was Sade who sang it on the radio...which explains why I hadn't run across it before now. (Argh!)

I hadn't realized until now - but I think Michelle Obama looks (a little) like Des'ree. Maybe that's one of the reasons I liked her even before her obvious concern for her family and down-to-earth approach became well-known. I think everyone was rooting for her when she decided on growing her own organic gardens (and sharing them with local schoolchildren). I can't support many of her husband's policies, but she seems like good people to me.

Real Ghosts in God's World

2010-10-19T20:13:00.003-04:00

(based on a post to one of my groups earlier this year...seemed appropriate to the season ;)

     The reason people don't talk about seeing ghosts in Christian circles is because people are afraid of the sorts of responses that they will get. Some Christian circles seem to believe that anything on the topic is automatically occultic. Its ridiculous too, when you consider that even Christ showed himself as an angel/ghost before he showed himself as fully risen. Certainly the women saw some sort of spirit! In Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:16-21 his followers thought Jesus was a ghost when they first saw him walking towards the disciples' boat on the water. They clearly felt this was a reasonable description of what they saw until Jesus spoke to them. The apostles were okay with wondering if they had seen a ghost. I think we are still allowed to wonder too.

     The Bible mentions people as alive after death ~ in Mark 12: 24-27 Jesus specifically says that Abraham and other servants of God still are alive in some sense ~ but usually not still on Earth at the same time. The Bible mentions angels & demons - as beings who were never human, but could affect us here on Earth. Prophet Daniel saw visions of glowing servants of God too.

      But does the Bible specifically affirm anyone seeing a ghost? Well ~ in 1Samuel 28:5-9 the OT says that the Witch of Endor sought the spirit of the Prophet Samuel for King Saul (and was rather afraid of him when he suddenly arrived!) This wasn't a happy visit. Samuel informed Saul that he was about to lose his life and had already lost God's favor. Saul's kingdom would be given to David. I am pretty sure this isn't the message the woman would like to have obtained. Some Christians think this was a demon pretending to be Samuel, but if so, it was strangely faithful copy.

(The Bible is absolutely against people seeking to call up or channel spirits, seek omens or engage in other forms of witchcraft Deuteronomy 18:9-14 - but that doesn't mean God didn't send Samuel one more time to rebuke Saul, hopefully into repentance...)

     Jesus' parables include the afterlife situations of a beggar named Lazarus and a wealthy man who knew the beggar in life. The rich man begs that someone go back (as a ghost presumably) to warn his siblings against his fate::

[27] "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, [28] for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

[29] "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

[30] " 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

[31] "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' " Luke 16: 27-31

     I'd say this is the reason we Christians don't usually expect to see ghosts. We know God rules all parts of creation - including the portion we consider the 'afterlife' (according to Revelation 1:18, Jesus owns the keys from death & hell), and God is against our living in fear. Not many of us would feel anything else if we could be haunted at will by those who have passed over. Additionally, it seems Abraham, at least, didn't see much point in "Christmas Carol"-style visitations..at least in this case. Abraham doesn't say 'no one is ever allowed to come back' - he says that these rich people would not repent if Lazarus did return. There is a difference.

However you look at it, the Bible is pretty clear that there are spirits in our material world...starting with us.

   It is important to remember that we are multi-dimensional (spirit, body, soul) and so are angels. Unless what someone sees inspires fear or suggests things that are anti-God, I wouldn't worry excessively if a friend or family member said they saw something 'ghostly.' Some people have been given that gift.

One thing we do here, when spirits are sensed, is to pray that only that which God allows to remain. Prayed sincerely, this will release our guardian angels to deal with any enemy action.

I believe there are 4 ways to sense "spirits"

1) You may have encountered a physical recording of a past event.

    Certain combinations of say, mineral-rich sheet rock and celluloid-rich earth can "record" (like a VHS or cassette tape). These 'playback' under high energy conditions, like lightening storms. Several places have been proven to be repeating old events in this way.

According to one documentary my family saw, there's a medieval tavern in Britain that replays an evening from long ago (complete with singing, clinking mugs, and laughter) in every strong storm.The sounds are recordable. It never changes. The walls in the place have an unusual mineral composition that may well be responsible. Its weird, but not necessarily any more demonic than a hidden tape recording from your childhood.

    If a field 'recorded' a man walking over it, and it plays back inside the house now built on it, you will see him 'swim' through the floor. (My family actually saw this.)

How do you tell?

Its always the EXACTLY same event...voices ..shapes. They do not change. They do not react any more than a movie would.

2) Angels...usually only seen when you need comforting or a message from God.

Fallen angels- called demons- will pretend to be 'good angels,' 'aliens,' powerful versions of themselves, or 'ghosts' of people, and given that they have also been around a long time, they can lie very effectively!

Pray hard about any 'visitation' that seems very scary...or very wordy...

3) The classic ghost...someone who is (still) around without their body. They can't hurt you. They don't usually speak. Many times these are friends and family who may have asked to see you before leaving the Earth. Many believe that God sometimes grants given permission for a spouse or parent to watch over a loved one after they pass on. These may include pets.

I know that one great-aunt believed her husband was still around. I can't answer this for certain, as I never saw him, but whenever a storm or bad person came by, you'd hear a whistle and all the doors and windows would slam shut one by one. Sometimes they'd slam right in front of us, so we asked 'the ghost' to shut the ones we weren't near for greater efficiency (it also cut down on the heart palpitations!). Our request was granted at the next storm. Yes, they were Christians.

People claim there are "confused" ghosts, still hanging around... I can't speak to this, since two other categories could account for most of those 'sightings.'

I do classify 'live' hauntings here. My husband, especially, is extremely prone to this.

My husband's health has been precarious all his life. He also used to smoke, as his mother smoked carrying him and he grew up with it. Nevertheless, he had always been somewhat allergic to it, and, even worse, the swelling and damage in his gut cavity sometimes limited his diaphragm. He had coughing spells that were scary to behold.

Sometimes when he had a bad spell away from me, he would appear on the stairs or in the downstairs bathroom, coughing away... :(

He 'died' briefly in a medical procedure in the early 90's. I (and a room full of waiting patients & their families) watched him walk out the door as a spirit and disappear (meantime we could all hear them yelling CODE BLUE) in the other room. He appeared at home and was seen by our infant son (who chortled with glee to see him and asked to be picked up), my Mom, and our daughter. (He appeared at the doorway, but didn't walk back through the room when he woke up. Don't know why.)

Tom's brother hung around for weeks after he passed on. We all saw him. We know why he was there. He hadn't visited with us much in life and was trying to be friendly. My kids were playing Wii Fit one evening, and he appeared next to them trying to model the right stance and moves to win the boxing challenge. He vanished when they got it right.

4) 'After image'...Sometimes we get a 'ghost effect' from cued memories.

     If you look at a bright object and then look away, you can close your eyes and often see a purple reflection. The ghost effect seems to work on a similar principle. Either we got too strong an imprinting on an event or person to lose it right away or something happened so often that our brain adds back to the scene something very expected.

We may 'see' a chair where it always used to be, or 'hear' a person who always greeted us on the way to work. If the chair often held a loved one or the person who greeted us has passed over, we may think this is a ghost, instead of a 'mental echo.'

     Some believe that the imprinting is actually on the scene...that the wall records spiritual residue of big events that happened nearby, or the chair in the example above still has some energy from the person who always used it. I can't answer to this, and I think it would be hard to prove. It seems to me that even if this belief is true, it would be another 'recording' - physical in a way we can't yet measure. I doubt that such phenomena would violate any spiritual principles one way or the other.

I do know that on land where much sincere praise or praying has occurred the earth feels peaceful, joyful,many years later - as though the rocks, grass, dirt, plants etc are still reverberating the echoed praises to Almighty God. Maybe the angels are still singing along.

Its good to know that whatever we 'sense,' God is in control.

Remembering Keith Green 28 yrs later

2010-09-17T15:06:00.001-04:00

Keith Green 28.28.28 - historical video intro (previously unseen) from Resonate Arts & Media on Vimeo.

Melody & Keith came to Oakleigh Fellowship when I was a kid of 10 yrs? 12yrs?) but they made a permanent impression on me as serious followers( of Christ. I can't count the number of times God has spoken to me through Keith's music...encouraging, calling me back, when my attention had wandered too far away, whatever was needed. Still listen to Keith's songs very often. His life and worship music remains a huge blessing to my family!

Quizzity Deux

2010-08-16T17:18:00.001-04:00

;

Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?

Final Fantasy VII

What Avatar: The Last Airbender Character are you? Your Result: you are Iroh your a laid back, generous,gentle, wise and considerate person. You enjoy nice and relaxing meditation, and nothing can be better than a nice relaxing cup of tea.
You are Aang
you are toph
You are Katara
you are Suko
you are Sokka
you are Azula
You are the Cabbage merchant
What Avatar: The Last Airbender Character are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

You know the Bible 98%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

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TorahBlog: TorahBytes: Backwards Logic (Re'eh)

2010-08-01T19:32:00.201-04:00

TorahBlog: TorahBytes: Backwards Logic (Re'eh)

Today's TorahBytes (probably unintentionally) references one of the most common and irritating un-Christlike behavior in groups calling themselves Christians...

Many 'churches' judge people based on the appearance of success, worldly popularity, fame, political power, wealth and/or social gossip.... as long as someone vaguely makes some claim towards Christianity and is hawt, rich, famous, well-connected, and/or has many supporters in their social network, they will have a lot more clout with most of these worldly 'Christians' than a modern-day Elijah would.

They'd never admit it, but variations on the argument this Rabbi made work with most of them most of the time. All favor is considered Godly favor (despite all the verses in scripture to the contrary), and all reverses of the poor & unpopular become 'proof' that the person deserves sneering contempt rather than real help, prayer support, and caring compassion. A couple loses a child in an accident, and are treated as though they were guilty of deliberate murder. A missionary is martyred...he/she must have made a misstep and got out of Christ's protection. A child is abused...and slandered by the 'respectable' abuser (its common for an abuser to discredit their victim in a shared society) ...must be a rotten kid/dangerous adult. A Christian business has troubles; it must be because they had 'secret failings' that are now catching up with them.

Only obvious innocents (i.e. babies with cancer) don't have murmurings like this aimed at them (though its sometimes merely redirected to their parents.)

The shocker (for the cultural Christian) in the TorahBytes blog is hearing Christ Himself treated this way...

       This is because that Rabbi doesn't regard Christ as a proven Holy person, the only definite grown-up non-sinning mental and physical adult the world has ever seen. He sees Christ as a proven 'loser' who lacked favor with God and man and suffered accordingly. So what sounds outrageous to one raised with the understanding of Jesus as the Son of God, makes perfect sense to him. This is how a lot of people saw Jesus in his own time, and how a lot of people see his followers today.

       God has not seen fit to grant ALL His faithful followers great wealth on Earth while they grow rewards for faithfulness in Heaven, despite the huge promises of prosperity doctrine. Do you know the Apostles themselves remained worldly 'losers' while they preached on Earth? They were given great spiritual gifts of healing, prophecy, and other mighty powers, the early church had property they shared communally, but their personal purses tended to remain small. The Apostle Paul had to stop and earn further traveling money with his hands at times. The brilliant scholar who studied under Gamaliel made tents for pin money. That didn't pay much.

     But, while every believer (and certainly every trained pastor!) who grew up reading the scriptures know these things, prosperity doctrine has retained its power in most church social settings, reflecting the world's obsession with wealth and rank back into the body of Christ. The implicit insult to Christ, the prophets, and the Apostles is simply ignored, as though they were in another category entirely from how we should see one another. We are supposed to be encouraging each other to express the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our daily walk. If our lives instead express the fruits of a carnal mind daily, we are in trouble. Either way, our bank accounts aren't the largest part of that equation.

     But back among the carnal Christians, too many financial reverses will guarantee in most 'winner'/'loser'-minded sets that you are both easily judged and unpopular before very long. They may have liked you fine when your life was going well, but they don't want to drain their own resources helping you or look bad for refusing...so suddenly they don't know you so well. Maybe you did something that made you fall, eh? Any and all of life's little pleasures may be judged insufficiently Godly, be it mystery books, movies, video games, or a preoccupation with a sports team. Part of this is an animal desire to avoid the invisible predator that got the other monkey. Part of it is a cowardly desire to ease personal guilt by putting the blame on the victim.

      Backwards-logic, unchallenged, leads to Bertha BetterThanYou getting enshrined at the top of the social pecking order....and, boy, does she ever peck... the sores of others. ..because she believes they prove that she is morally as well as socially superior. She therefore feels very free to judge others proper place in the local social hierarchy, and deciding whether anyone is 'deserving' of compassion goes right along with that attitude.

     She and her cronies then decide who 'deserves' sympathy and who 'had it coming.' Health challenges are generally judged by how connected and/or popular parishioners were prior to onset of symptoms. With their reminders- popular, well-off, and/or powerful folks may get a TON of sympathy, visits from the pastor, support cards etc...which generally helps them stay their church's cause of the week, and stay well-connected. Meantime quieter folks have to be content with a mention in the prayer request list, especially poor people who are rarely well enough to attend or donate to church activities.

If anyone then asks them whether they support people in their need, they will point at the popular ones they 'encouraged' and get outraged if you mention the sheep that were shoved aside. (In fact, its a common social tactic for a newcomer to join a church's inner circle by diligently looking up those the inner circle champions...and diligently ignoring the needs of those they ignore. This is how you can tell those with a heart to serve from those who just have a heart to join the inner circle...)

There's a church not far from our house whose lack of Christian love and inclination towards snap judgments is regularly on display on their sign. Lately its been "a little stumble comes before a great fall" on one side...and an invitation to join their 'loving VBS' on the other.* Course they are the ones who frankly admitted when I first met them that their group was founded as a socially centralized way to manage their 'neighborhood enclave,' ** so maybe I shouldn't count them anyway.

*{Not long ago their sign said that those facing trials should accept the discipline and repent! Good advice generally..but...umm...you might want to get that beam in your eye looked at, folks...}

**(think civil rights issues)

This attitude also leads to other very inappropriate people being given very high levels of respect in their organizations. Hey. you know that rich guy with the florid, swollen nose and all the 'temporary' girlfriends? Not sure how he got so rich but isn't it great he donated a van for our club outings??? What a great guy... Seems like he likes coming to our church. Maybe if we chat him up, see if he'll make a confession of faith, he might become deacon or officer and manage our building fund? He has great parties too, though he'd have to tone 'em down when the pastor comes over. har har har (DH & I have literally overheard comments like these in this county...twice... both times the 'great guy' was known to have criminal connections, and eventually served time in ways that strongly suggested how they had gotten so wealthy. They managed to save most of their wealth though, and it didn't seemed to hurt their popularity with these 'Christians' at all.)

Now...God does indeed judge people after a season when they won't listen, and the causes mentioned earlier are among the reasons why, but only HE knows for certain when someone faces reversals for just cause or 'just because.' We aren't supposed to be judging this for ourselves, as we are NOT God...and are rarely going to get it right anyhow.

There are an incredible amount of 'Jobs' at any given time, suffering to be purified even more than they were, as preparation for later - or simply sharing Christ's suffering due to the decay & sin of our fallen world.

So how are we supposed to respond when we hear about others troubles in the real world? How do we distinguish the slandered sheep from say, that deacon who got arrested for party-time activities? How do we be wise sheep, in choosing who to visit in our limited time and who should get the emergency resources, and not be judgmental?

The immediate answer is prayer...pray until you know who you are to help with what you have. Pray HARD because you really care not to squander what God gave you...and not because you are curious who deserved a 'whuppin'

It starts with your heart. God calls everyone to repentance. You need to face the fact that you (and I) are not better than anyone else. Hobos have as much a right to grace as we do, even when they are high as a kite, ugly as a baboon's backside, and foul-mouthed besides. God loves witches...and the near homonyms.. God loves the meanie at the office. God loves even the most violent cannibal tribes there ever were. He loves them each one as much as he loves YOU

If you have accepted His gracious offer to be saved, He'd like you to show some gratitude by acting like the saved sinner you are. You deserve every bad thing that will ever happen to you and a lot of bad things that never will. That's true of everybody btw.

WE ALL DESERVE HELL

...but we are saved by Grace and Mercy.

Mercy -- which rejoices over judgment by the cleansing atonement of Jesus Christ...

and we are expected to be merciful in our dealings with others. We are flatly told not to judge other people, and that includes telling our friends and family whether we think other people deserve the trials they face.

"Judge not Lest Ye Be Judged" is God's flat warning that if you don't quit this, there will be trials in your future that will definitely be a judgment on you!

Its not that you shouldn't be careful in how you act around someone who could be dangerous to you, nor that you shouldn't use wisdom on who you hang with, in fact we are told to seek others who live Godly lives to be near whenever possible, but you need to be cautious of regarding those different than your group as less deserving of God's approbation and blessing than your group. It may well be true, but that's not for you to say (or think).

Your blessings in friends, resources, or other talents are given to you to use responsibly, with love, to God's glory.. They are not proof you aren't as likely to sin as the next guy.

Neither your talents, popularity or sterling qualities are a guarantee you won't be severely tested with trials at some season in your life. God makes no promises like that. Whether you have 5 friends or 500 here on Earth, or only the angels, heaven-dwelling saints, and Mother Mary to pray for you, God can hear and bless you. In fact, He has not promised to prioritize based on numbers. It rather worries me when people think that using a prayer list will always blunt a difficult event. God can say 'No' to 10,000 as easily as He can say "Yes" to one faithful servant. Almighty God doesn't do peer pressure....

Do not turn your back on your brothers and sisters in need. If you were fine with their walk before they had problems, then remain gentle in any 'corrections' you feel tempted to give afterward. You cannot support them unaided in the way you and they are accustomed to live...your Christian friends will know this too, and be doubly grateful when you help as you can. Your more carnal friends may lean too hard on you, yes....until you learn the word "no"....but pray hard about what you can do, and stick with doing that, being mindful always of your witness. Do right whether they acknowledge it or not. Who knows whether your faithfulness as a friend in Christ may not (in time) prove to be the seed that truly saves their souls?

Be aware that many who think they have defeated this carnal -materialistic attitude in their lives, have only defeated its most obvious manifestations, and missed the echo effect in their Christian support group. There is a tendency to believe, for one, that the friends and family of a pastor may be a little more 'saved' and should have higher standing than lay believers, when even pastors have to check their own walk daily, to keep from sliding. You can go to Bible studies often...and not apply the teaching, or maybe not even get good teaching TO apply.

     As a result, its not uncommon to meet someone who has a 'leg up' in the church scene who figures they don't have to listen to a word from those 'below' them (or outside their sect), and think they are using proper discernment...when they are actually behaving/thinking exactly as described above. They aren't always trying to be ugly, but where Love goes out, Pride comes in, and Pride is an unrelenting, insidious, poisonous enemy, always looking for a hole in your protections so it can bite you again.

Now, I am not saying this thinking I am better than all that I've described. I've been burned enough that there's been many a time I've had to fight with the same temptation to judge the trials of those who have distressed me as 'just what they deserve.' God doesn't like that out of me either. I know it, so I try not to be that way. I don't know what is in everybody's heart (though I often think I can figure it out.) I am not called upon to judge, but to share the good news of God's Mercy. I have to pray for grace all the time too. I also have to remember that the merciful receive mercy, and the judgmental receive judgment.

Praise God, Christ sees the heart. God alone is the righteous judge, and Christ will execute that judgment.

Praise God that He is willing to soften our stony hearts and fix our backward 'logic,' if we will only yield to his Wisdom and Grace.

Thunderstorm Meditation

2010-07-29T20:03:00.001-04:00

Was given this link just before a brief, strong thunderstorm blew through. I just played part 1. It starts slow, but I was glad I hung in there when it got to the fun facts about the thunderstorm we just had. I haven't seen the rest yet, but it seems like it will be a good evening's viewing! Praise God for all His Mighty Ways ...and for blessing us so that yet another powerful storm passed by harmlessly, after watering our plants. :-)

"Slow Down Therapy"

2010-07-25T22:00:00.001-04:00

from Cybersalt Ministry... Nice thoughts for unhurried days....its too hot to do much right now anyway...

1. Slow down; God is still in heaven. You are not responsible for doing it all yourself, right now.

2. Remember a happy, peaceful time in your past. Rest there. Each moment has richness that takes a lifetime to savor.

3. Set your own pace. When someone is pushing you, it's OK to tell them they're pushing.

4. Take nothing for granted: watch water flow, the corn grow, the leaves blow, your neighbor mow.

5. Taste your food. God gives it to delight as well as to nourish.

6. Notice the sun and the moon as they rise and set. They are remarkable for their steady pattern of movement, not their speed.

7. Quit planning how you're going to use what you know, learn, or possess. God's gifts just are; be grateful and their purpose will be clear.

8. When you talk with someone, don't think about what you'll say next. Thoughts will spring up naturally if you let them.

9. Talk and play with children. It will bring out the unhurried little person inside you.

10. Create a place in your home...at your work...in your heart...where you can go for quiet and recollection. You deserve it.

11. Allow yourself time to be lazy and unproductive. Rest isn't luxury; it's a necessity.

12. Listen to the wind blow. It carries a message of yesterday and tomorrow - and now. NOW counts.

13. Rest on your laurels. They bring comfort whatever their size, age, or condition.

14. Talk slower. Talk less. Don't talk. Communication isn't measured by words.

15. Give yourself permission to be late sometimes. Life is for living, not scheduling.

16. Listen to the song of a bird; the complete song. Music and nature are gifts, but only if you are willing to receive them.

17. Take time just to think. Action is good and necessary, but it's fruitful only if we muse, ponder, and mull.

18. Make time for play-the things you like to do. Whatever your age, your inner child needs re-creation.

19. Watch and listen to the night sky. It speaks.

20. Listen to the words you speak, especially in prayer.

21. Learn to stand back and let others take their turn as leaders. There will always be new opportunities for you to step out in front again.

22. Divide big jobs into little jobs. If God took six days to create the universe, can you hope to do any better?

23. When you find yourself rushing and anxious, stop. Ask yourself "WHY?" you are rushing and anxious. The reasons may improve your self-understanding.

24. Take time to read the Bible. Thoughtful reading is enriching reading.

25. Direct your life with purposeful choices, not with speed and efficiency. The best musician is one who plays with expression and meaning, not the one who finishes first.

I write like myself. Thanks Anyway

2010-07-24T22:22:00.001-04:00

One of my writer's group shared this, and, like many in the group I was bemused to find widely varied results from each the 'typical' samples I chose... Mary and Jesus blog from on here

I write like
William Shakespeare

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

My Shelfari profile netted this response:

I write like
H. P. Lovecraft

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

and my recent Apple vs Mac bloggering got me:

I write like
Cory Doctorow

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

My Susa/Susan/Shushan post got:

I write like
Edgar Allan Poe

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Good Ole "D'ni Dentistry" received the Stephen King award!
Oh c'mon! Dentists aren't that scary!

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

and a piece from one of my you-should-have-been-able-to-see-it-by-now stories got me:

I write like
J. K. Rowling

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I tried about a dozen more...and hardly ever got the same author twice. Arthur C. Clarke....Dan Brown (:P) ...Douglas Adams... L.Frank Baum...even David Foster Wallace??

Finally, by a narrow margin, I have a winner: Stephen King. Yay?

Music of the Sphere

2010-06-19T23:23:00.002-04:00

Drudge report shared this article about a neat discovery. Our sun makes music! :D

It makes a harp like set-up or wind instrument sounds. Imagine, if you can, a harp of fire 60,000 miles long!

Hero...unforgotten favorite

2010-06-09T16:15:00.003-04:00

This song gave me goose bumps from the very first time I heard it on the radio in the early 90's. Given that I married a hero-minded guy with an undeservedly bad rep, it meant a lot to me. I found it coming to mind again lately as I thought over our life together. Once again we have hope that matters will be set right...and I still believe in my hero.

Its hard to believe such a thoughtful song isn't more famous. One day I'll find the cd that has it. I wonder if it even had its own music video. No one seems to have one for it online. Curious

[Edit: the replacement I found seems to be the original promo music video. yay!]

It was one of those great stories that you can't put down at night
The hero knew what he had to do and he wasn't afraid to fight
The villain goes to jail while the hero goes free
I wish it were that simple for me

And the reason that she loved him
Was the reason I loved him too
And he never wondered what was right or wrong
He just knew, he just knew

Shadow and shade mix together at dawn
But by the time you catch them simplicity's gone
So we sort through the pieces my friends and I
Searching through the darkness to find the breaks in the sky...

Cloud Tree

2010-06-07T17:59:00.001-04:00

Daily Weird has a neat one today :D

Our Great God

2010-06-02T20:35:00.002-04:00

Right before one of the scariest of DH medical adventures, a Christian friend felt led to share some music to encourage our hearts. The timing was very blessed indeed. I was going to need to hear them in the days to come, while I waited prayerfully for my beloved to wake up. I could feel God's promise as I listened to these hymns, and as I read God's Word, that He would take care of us, and that our family back at the house would be safe too while we had to be away. God continues to guard, guide, and provide for us - despite all the alarming situations we've had to face and all the garbage that has been thrown our way. Suddenly this song is speaking very powerfully to my heart again, so it seemed like a good time to share this with you. heh, its even the same audio. The pictures & verses added are not a bad touch, though a tad distracting.... imho

I'm gonna miss these guys....

2010-05-23T20:17:00.014-04:00

I learned today that the PC versus MAC ad campaign is over...and Consumerist suggests that its partly because the PC 'family/office' guy was just too charming to make their 'with-it' Cool Dude come off as favorably as they would have liked. Too "Smug" was how they described 'Mac.' Maybe their personal experiences with some Apple fans or Steve Job's rep have colored their thinking. I didn't see MAC actor as all that smug. He seemed to have some friendly feeling toward the other fella, even a little embarrassed when he knew the answers he had to give would make the other fella feel bad. That's what made the series of ads soooo cute.

This is not to say the series of ads didn't have some flaws. What I saw was a failure to communicate several major truths...the Apple isn't just about 20's-40's yuppies / techies creatively playing with their machine.

1) Apple machines have been GREAT for kids and educating generally. Didn't they have the first grade school programs?

2) Apple had the first big business software on a small computer - VisiCalc- and can still hold its own

3) Many techies have said they loved their fruity machines because of their reliability and robust performance in rendering data and images.

4) Apple's focus on making their products work intuitively 'right out of the box' makes them a fantastic computer for older people too.

5) The non-techie conservative middle-aged office guys I've known would have appreciated an Apple just fine, given the chance to run one, as long as they were also given the impression that their custom would be appreciated...

Also - many of the 'points' they make have obvious answers:

1) PCs are all over the map with performance and reliability, because every machine is a different configuration. What Mac was calling a "PC" apparently meant "Windows" OEM package experience w/ HP/Dell/Gateway etc ...because...

2) You can add all varieties of boot-up abilities out of the box with a custom-built pc. You can also have webcams, zip drives, &; other handy stuff setup for you. You don't have to have a bunch of stupid trials on it either. All options are open to those who build their own...

3) Many of the other brags (resistance to viruses and spyware) could also apply to computers running Linux, something Apple never addressed.

4) PCs can be built up or down, meaning that some are bound to be better than 'pre-set' Apples at certain tasks, including video editing....and didn't I hear that

5) ...the other big difference, the Mac OS, is now often being put on regular computers? Apple hasn't okayed this as yet, but many people are hoping they will finally relent and make the OS generally available to other types of computers. I do too.

IMHO 'Cancel or Allow' was definitely about Vista versus Leopard...not every style of computer in the world except for hardware Macs. Everyone knew it. It was one of their most amusing ads, but its mislabeled.

I personally believe that Apple's Leopard could still be a real rival for 'World's Favorite OS' - but if they do it will probably be as a result of allowing big name providers to ship with it, and this is likely to hurt some of that iron-clad reliability rep they enjoy. Then again, they are already getting a taste of shoe-from -the-other-foot...and I am sure it tastes as much like dirt as when Microsoft first got one upside the head. I am referring to the fact that Apple is now big enough to be getting some of the security attack flak from the real bad guys out in the world, especially stuff aimed at iPods, iPads, & iPhones...but also Apple computers. You still don't have as much risk as you do with the world's most common OS, but there is reason now to get security upgrades. Not everything Microsoft OS machines fight with is all their fault. There are always more security hazards when you are the biggest potentially profitable target. It would have looked better if the Mac ads had granted this point more graciously, because everybody already knows this. Besides, it could be Apple's turn one day.

I kinda hope they bring these guys back after a bit. maybe once Apple has rethought a few things.

You know...a lot of people think of themselves as both Apple & PC. Everyone loves the iPods and iPhones. Many households/offices have both Macs & Windows machines. Many more people would like to be Apple people but lack the moola or can't find a Mac port of their favorite programs. [The increasing ability of the Macs to run Windows programs has improved this situation, but more is needed.]

I started my computing life with AppleIIe and AppleIIc. Like many of my generation, I still have HUGE warm fuzzies for the Apple brand, but I could never afford a good one...which is why I am still a PC, however reluctantly. In all honesty, however, a number of my PCs have been very good to me, very reliable, especially the HP packages. They've earned some appreciation in our household too [though not enough to make us buy a Vista machine :P]

Remember Hewlett-Packard, Apple? The guys the great Woz started out working with? The company that gave Steve Jobs some of his first breaks as a kid?

When you come down to it both guys in the ads could have worked for HP, Microsoft, Apple, Dell, or about anybody... The actors didn't really define the average users of either machine. I suspect both the capable IT guy and the charming business manager would be very popular in their own departments. They seem like real nice guys. ;-)

Russian Border Guards Protect....Mt. Ranier?

2010-05-20T14:54:00.001-04:00

DH's contribution. He found this extremely amusing. Thinking about it, a gaffe like this was inevitable some day, given the way people randomly use stock photos for layouts.

In other news, DD has shared (on her blog) some pics of her lovely roses and a few thoughts about them.

Portal (Puzzler game) free until May 24th!

2010-05-20T00:54:00.006-04:00

I received this message from a friend recently, read it yesterday, and after getting set up I spent quite awhile playing it last night. Haven't seen anything family unfriendly as yet (and I am on level 15 of 19). You have to download the Steam browser to get it, but this is also free AND they have some other free games once you do. Steam has an excellent rep on the net, so that part doesn't concern me. btw Portal isn't really a shooter. You only 'shoot' where your portal goes on the wall or floor, and knock over a robot or two. This video explains, though its a lot more hectic-looking than anything I have seen in Portal yet ;-)

EDIT:: Got to level 16 (finally) and it suddenly got rougher. You have to avoid these robots..and when you don't you see your character's blood splattered on the walls :( So...to level 15 its pretty much kid safe.

The other free games are listed here: There's a racing game and a real-time strategy thingy, and a version of the casual classic, Peggle. Please note that while the usual versions of Peggle are safe for all ages, the free 'Extreme Peggle' Steam offers has 'scary monster' graphics added. IMHO the worst is the opening scene with something apparently trying to eat the unicorn's head. Gave me an extra grin given my recent blog post....

Anyway-

You will notice a mention of Nvidia & ATI card games on the post...both get the same freebies aside from Portal...which used to give half of the game only to Nvidia people.

http://www.steampowered.com/nvidia/

OR

http://www.steampowered.com/ati_offer1a/

If you have an NVidia graphics card, you might want to pick up your Nvidia special first if you care about the Half Life 2 episodes. The current free Portal promotion seems to be making things a little more complicated for some folks.

First impressions are that most of Steam's free games are PG-ish, and/or guy-centric...but I felt Portal was worth the trouble. It really is a fun thinking game. :-D

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T16:44:00.002-04:00

(Cool quotes Gwabbled.)

All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother. -Abraham Lincoln

My mother is probably the wisest person I’ve ever known. She’s not schooled, she’s not well read. But she has a philosophy of life that makes well-read people seem like morons. -Gene Simmons

The older I get the more of my mother I see in myself. -Nancy Friday

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. -Honore de Balzac

A mother’s love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking. – Helen Rice

The love she has deep in her heart, Always gives me a good jump start, She is the one who’s love is true. Thank u Mom for being u – Anonymous

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees in the purple clover, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one mother the wide world over. – George Cooper

Mommy, I Love You For all that you do. I’ll kiss you and hug you Cause you love me, too. –Anonymous

A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done. – Author Unknown

Mom’s smiles can brighten any moment, Mom’s hugs put joy in all our days, Mom’s love will stay with us ever and touch our lives in precious ways… – Anonymous

A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. – Tenneva Jordan

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. – Attributed to Claudia Ghandi

My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune. – Graycie Harmon

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love. – Mildred B. Vermont

My Mother, my friend so dear, Throughout my life you’re always near, A tender smile to guide my way, You’re the sunshine to light my day. – Anonymous

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. – Sophia Loren

An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest. – Spanish Proverb

And this week's word is...

2010-05-08T15:26:00.012-04:00

convention....

Unwittingly, I have chosen one book after another that focuses on gatherings. The current mystery, Murder Makes a Pilgrimage, is set at a religious 'Holy Year' gathering...which turns out to be a lot like a con. Steve Jobs' bio before that discussed conventions too. The author used the special announcements for the Apple faithful at their yearly gatherings to highlight the changes at Apple & Pixar as the years went by. The mystery before that one, Stitch in Crime, was set at an 'arts & crafts retreat' (sure played out like a regular convention). Now the mystery before that one (Bimbos of the Death Sun) I knew was set at a sci-fi con....and it inspired me to finally dig Uhura's bio out of the TBR pile, but the others were a surprise. I am not sure whether or not I should count Auntie Mayhem, because the psychologists convention in London isn't where the major events take place. Its the English family reunion the cousins attend afterward that turns out to be dangerous. heh.

Since the complaining & social politics are faithfully recorded AND because somebody croakers in each of the mysteries, it doesn't make me feel bad not to be there. Just the long arm of coincidence, I suppose. This is the time of year I would have been creating crafts, firming and finalizing details with the planning committee to prepare goodies for my fellow fans, though sadly this included a mouthy clique of ingrates who (even if catered to) wouldn't appreciate anything unless they took it over. Some of my best creations didn't even get shown in the last years. I didn't feel very appreciated by then, especially since I did a lot of the work in the Fall and someone always used it and took credit for it in the Spring. The final straw was when we took up the hat to buy special souvenir golf discs one year and I not only didn't get paid back, but I didn't even get credit for my generosity on the list of donors. I was finally given one disc by another planning committee member...as a Christmas present. Not missing THAT scene....but the fun ones I used to attend as a fan... yeah, maybe a little ;-)

Actually, even if it hadn't gone stupid, I wouldn't have been able to keep up working for free on 'fun' committees. Tom's health problems got serious in Fall 2004...and have only lightened up in recent months. I thought we were done completely the other day, but that one last spot opened up again so...saline bandages for another week I guess.... I am going to get him back on his Unjury protein powder, I think.

Last summer's hernia surgery turned out to be a lot bigger a deal than we expected...and after healing up from 7 major surgeries (and a dozens of other minor procedures), his endocrine system had already crashed (the previous year) which majorly slowed up his healing capacity. More months on the Wound-Vac followed his release last summer. There's just so much a body can take, and he was a miracle on legs even when it began. His insides have made medical history. His survival says awesome things about the power of God (and many good things about Dr. Shah) Yes, I have had 6 years of changing bandages, overseeing medicines, transporting Tom to and waiting with him through doctor's visits, check-up tests, and otherwise acting as primary care nurse. I just didn't have the mental concentration or physical energy to focus seriously on projects outside my family's needs...nor were the funds really there with DH in the hospital over and over. We did qualify for assistance but I have had to scale back a lot of things. At least he got a hospital bed out of the deal. Everyone still wants to play with it. ;)

& I did pick up my crochet, starting with a blanket made for Tom's hospital beds (I added a band around the outside afterward). (Yes, I know it looks like knitting. What can I say? I was a bit tense...)

I am still not nearly as good as my mother, but i have made major progress. These are the first 'craft-intensive' blankets I have made for the family since the 90's. (I had also made a few simple ones for friends and family from pre-printed fabrics.) Since finishing Tom's single crocheted blanket , I have made double-crocheted ponchos for the family & double-crocheted blankets. Crochet is great stuff. Its relaxing to do and relaxing to use.. Just ask our cat Louis...

We couldn't have made the 'fun' trips to these big cons either, though there are tons of get togethers in our area. Hardly a month goes by that there isn't a festival, Colonial re-enactment, Civil War demo, or a gaythering o' lords & ladies fayre ;-) Even Tom has been able to wander by several & play of an afternoon, so we haven't missed out completely..

Hard to say when we will be up for anything more again. Right now we are back to re-planning with the disability people. Its been good news lately. Looks like he qualifies now for retraining..and while he is doing that I can pick up my projects and see how that goes.

Got Any Recipes for....?

2010-05-08T00:04:00.003-04:00

Should I worry that I find this very funny?

Letter E

2010-05-01T17:11:00.001-04:00

An email treasure shared by Darlene...

THE LETTER "E"

It has been said that the letter "E" is the most unfortunate character!

It is always out of case, forever in debt, never out of danger, and in trouble all the time. But it can be considered in another way

"E" is never in war, but always in peace. Moreover, it's the very center of honesty, and ease begins and ends with it. Best of all, God's love, mercy, and grace all contain it. It is in the name
that is above every other name, Jesus and is found in the gospel of our eternal redemption, Eternal life, begins and ends with it; and who could write about heaven without it. It has a place in hear, believe, repent, confess and be baptized, arise, newness of life, prayer, learn, practice, death, resurrection and reward!

Nancy Drew Tale of the Twister Play Now! | HerInteractive

2010-04-28T00:22:00.001-04:00

Play Now! | HerInteractive

My family loves adventure games, and has been following the Nancy Drew titles for years now. I thought this trailer looked fun.

Blow Your Own Horn

2010-04-27T23:38:00.003-04:00

EMBED-Guy Makes Do It Yourself Trumpet - Watch more free videos

I don't know much about the site this video came from BUT this clip is neat! A local HS Mom passed this on in one of my groups. I wish trumpet guy covered how to manage making the mouthpiece...but this site helps with that part ...maybe.

Civil liberties group gives warnings for 2010 - The Inquirer

2010-04-24T16:17:00.001-04:00

Civil liberties group gives warnings for 2010 - The Inquirer

IMHO It is always important to see what trends are likely to affect our everyday lives.

Rollerball

2010-04-17T17:59:00.006-04:00

You can just see the tiger saying, "So roll already, you boring pet... or do you need us to bat you around?" :D

Reminds me of our old Gehnny pig. Put her in the rolling ball and she just looked at you funny. Try to roll her and she'd do this 'weebles wobble' routine and rock it to a stop.

This was Gehnny. A pet store gave her to us because they'd gotten her back and she wouldn't tame completely. They were literally debating about feeding her to an over-sized boa constrictor when I happened to wander into the pet store. The clerk arguing for her life persuaded us to take her home. She was quite a character. She did eventually tame down, but in the early days she demanded much attention...like a tiny roly-poly potentate. By the end of her life she had actually become a very sweet guinea pig who adored being snuggled.

Make My Life a Prayer to You

2010-04-05T20:10:00.001-04:00

This hymn has long inspired my life. Its usually hard to share classic Christian music. I am so glad I can share it now with you. You can even get the DVD from the Greens. Just click the title of this blog. Awesome!

Blessings!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T23:43:00.006-04:00

Hope yours was very blessed. We had a quiet celebration this year. We thanked Christ repeatedly for what He has done for us all, had our eggs scrambled, rather than hard-boiled, and opted for pastries rather than candy. Tonight's dinner was garlic lamb roast with a curried cous cous and steamed veggies. Very tasty! Otherwise we spent the weekend gardening. The flower garden has been refreshed. The roses are doing well. We have only just started the practical stuff. This will be the first year we've tried growing strawberries since I was a kid. We are all hoping that God blesses that venture particularly. There's nothing quite like eating fresh strawberries :D

Here is the Easter song we play every year. I pray it will also bless your heart.

St Patrick's Breastplate

2010-03-19T19:55:00.008-04:00

Wikipedia offers the opinion that St Patrick's Breastplate was inspired by Druidic incantations. That is probably true as a Catholic page mentions that the guy who owned him as a slave was also a druidic priest. I didn't know that before, nor was I aware that he was born in Scotland. I had read before that he was English. Turns out his parents were Roman Britons but they were established in Scotland.

The other day I looked for a longer version of St Patrick's famous prayer because the snippet I added on St Patrick's Day lacked my favourite lines...the ones that stressed that we should see each other through Christ..as he stands betwixt each of us (and has paid for all our sins to each other.) Whenever I think of St Patrick's Day since encountering those thoughts, I consider afresh this idea that we should see each other through Christ-tinted glasses. Even if this wasn't the original intent of the Breastplate, its a worthy thought. Maybe this confusion was inspired by listening to John Michael Talbot's "Betwixt Me" on his Celtic God of Life cd? I haven't listened to it in awhile....

*starts rummaging through her cd rack*

Yep! That was it.

Ah well..the original Breastplate Prayer is pretty good as it stands.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgement of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In prediction of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me.
God's host to save me

From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation

Happy St Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T20:35:00.004-04:00

May you have:
A world of wishes at your command
God and his angels close at hand
Friends and family their love impart,
And Irish blessings in your heart.

May God grant you many years to live,
For sure he must be knowing
The earth has angels all too few
And Heaven is overflowing.

These things I warmly wish to you-
Someone to love
Some work to do
A bit o' sun
A bit o' cheer
And a guardian angel always near.

May you be in
Heaven a half hour before the
Devil knows you're dead!

May those who love us, love us
And those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts
And if he can't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping!

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.

May the best day of your past
Be the worst day of your future.

God is good, but never dance in a small boat.

As you slide down the banister of life,
May the splinters never point in the wrong direction!

May you always have
Walls for the winds,
A roof for the rain,
Tea beside the fire,
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all your heart might desire!

Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
And live every day as if it were your last.

May Christ e'er be our companion
May true friends stand by our side
May her history remind us all
Of Ireland's faith and pride.
May God bless us with happiness
May love and faith abide.

Grant me a sense of humor, Lord,
the saving grace to see a joke,
To win some happiness from life,
And pass it on to other folks.

May the good saints protect you
And bless you today
And may troubles ignore you
Each step of the way

Christ be with me, Christ be within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

FROM THE BREASTPLATE OF SAINT PATRICK

Deep peace of the running waves to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the smiling stars to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you
AN OLD GAELIC PRAYER

christian glitter graphics Glitter Graphics - Glitterlive.com/Save and Bookmark

Go mbeannai Dia duit
(May God Bless You)

Avatar & Wonderland

2010-03-13T21:59:00.010-05:00

We finally got around to seeing Avatar last week (Hurray for matinees :) For once I agree with the hype. You've probably seen pictures of the incredible backdrops & Na'vi tribe, but let me tell you...stills can NOT do them justice! It is an AMAZING movie. I don't think I have ever cared so deeply for CG creations. The plotline has been done before, but I liked some of the touches even there. Jake never lied about who or what he was, which was a nice change. Okay, he did leave out an important point, but he made up for that too. :-) What Ferngully did poorly, this movie does extremely well...and only the head of the military wasn't a full-fledged character. One of the best scenes had Na'vi Lady Neytiri holding Jake's unconscious body. Both as a CG composite AND as a dramatic moment it totally worked. I related to her distress for Jake, and that is quite an accomplishment!

Disney's 2010 live action effort, Alice in Wonderland was less successful, despite a very strong cast and the ppuurrfect Cheshire Cat. The makeup they gave Depp's Mad Hatter was a definite distraction from his otherwise strong performance. The frequently grim, Burton-esque landscapes didn't help much either, though the plotline made sense of them. I give the whole experience a B+. The CG work was very good, the 3-D aspect did add to the experience, and I enjoyed the idea of this being set after the books. I felt the narrative was pretty (un:)reasonable, though not very deep...up to the end. I find I agree with those I overheard in the departing crowd. Alice herself was great but that ending needed work! Another small nit bugged me (heh)...the character of the Knave of Hearts seemed hugely inspired by Brad Dourif's roles as Wormtongue & Saavedro. I wondered why they didn't just hire him? DD opines that he might be too old now to reasonably represent the Red Queen's interest in a 'young subordinate.' (She's not designed to look very old herself, so DD might be right.)

Yo Canada!

2010-02-24T17:50:00.007-05:00

I have thought of posting something on Canada..well..pretty much since I started this blog. But now seems the most favorable time, given that the beautiful, if glitchy Vancouver Winter Olympics are winding up and many families are awaiting the return of their Dear Ones (and maybe a few gallons of maple syrup). Attending in person wasn't ever in the budget, but I watched a lot of it, though I didn't see that tragic luge business or the melting stands that the news said disappointed - like 28,000 ticket holders? Imagine having your bleachers melt out from under you! Yikes! Mind you, the figure skating was terrific and the hockey games stayed tight right to the bitter end. Never thought I'd find that sport so interesting. My favorite bit of all was the opening ceremony, especially the bit with the CG whales. Really this post is inspired by that ceremony, specifically by that young man's poem about what being Canadian meant to him..because I thought quite a bit afterward about what Canadians have come to mean to me.

Actually, to be completely honest, I didn't think much about Canada in my growing years. The country came to mind on geography tests as a positive thing because it was easy to spell and took up a gratifying large space on the map.

I vaguely took in all the Hollyweird positive mentions as well as the goofy jokes about their dialect and fondness for beer (mostly done by Canadian humorists). I remembered their existence whenever I went to "New France" at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, but wasn't daft enough to think this a real representation. Otherwise the Great North didn't mean much to me, good, bad, or indifferent. Why should it? Most Canadians don't come this far south. I noted that the geese native to North America are called Canadian geese....and I also realized that many of those geese only vacation there in summer. I didn't let it bother me. ;)

I haven't mentioned maple leaves/syrup as a Canadian connection for the simple reason that the main source of that tastiest of saps was/is Vermont...at least in the states of my youth. Maple trees are commonplace everywhere on the east coast. In some places they outnumber the oaks. Why would I 'especially' associate them with Canada?

My attitude was probably best summarized in Local Hero (one of my fav films of the 80's). I don't remember the exact quote, but in context it referenced the Northern Scots and the fact that the corporation in question didn't feel they had any cultural/educational advantage. 'They are people just like us.'

Yea, exactly. And even more so than Scotland, given that Canada is also a nation of immigrants & surviving native peoples. We know they had their own gold rush. We know too that they were founded by 2 of the 3 countries that colonized the United States, and that they eventually achieved a measure of independence from Europe...That is how they mentioned it in school...though some of the English I met online said they were simply given self-rule much later. Wikipedia agrees with the English. But we were told they had declared for independence 'just like us,' though they kept a closer tie to England and fought under her banner, which is why you don't hear much about them in the World Wars...etc.. etc..

So, yeah. Americans in general were always hearing generally good things about Canada & how much they were like Americans.

Canada...

Even now- after all the internet imagery, and Micheal Moore healthcare cracks- what does the name evoke?

Part of it must still be those vast virgin lands ending in ice, beautiful streams in highland meadows, grazing elk, wolverines dashing across trackless forests, totem poles, old French-Canadian cities, colonial trading posts, kayaks in ice-choked bays, and Canadian Mounties in formal attire. Its a beautiful place, say the pics, and it rarely draws much international criticism. Watch out for the rampaging polar bears/golden grizzlies and you'll do fine. :)

We weren't taught how densely populated central Canada has become. (Its like New Jersey!) We knew little of Toronto & Vancouver's ambitions, and only a little about Montreal (most of that was at least 1-2 centuries out of date.) I was, were, and am a history nut so I had also read about Indian tribes being deliberately infected with smallpox, battles between the French-Canadian and Anglo-American forces before the Revolution, and the explorers/traders who mapped the icy reaches of the frozen north. Sounded a lot like the more familiar heroes and villains of the United States of America's founding.

Does America really know much about modern Canada?

I'd say "Not until very recently," when the pervasiveness of Canadian broadband allowed the general populace the means to introduce themselves and to become a significant presence on many English/French-speaking forums.

& Those who shared the borders with Canada know what they think of their immediate neighbors. Some places its a totally friendly exchange, other places it definitely isn't. I have heard both sides claim the other side is leaching resources they don't deserve, and taking jobs that should stay local.

Americans further away just thought of them as equal to ourselves, just with much colder winters, a population 1/10th of ours, and quieter stance re: world politics. We assumed they were happy keeping to themselves, having their own economy, trades, connections, multimedia, joys, and sorrows. They didn't involve us much but why should they? Canada is big enough to take care of itself. Live and let live and all that. They'd let us know if they needed anything. Right?

Most Americans have historically regarded Canada with a particularly friendly eye. According to survey, we mostly still do feel that way. I know I always did.

We tended to assumed that Canada is as friendly to us as we have been to them. Unfortunately, this has often been a mistake. Even the Canadians are starting to face this disparity. Indeed, many Americans, myself included have been increasingly aware of a groundswell of competitiveness and hostility.

Challenge a company closing an American shop/factory in favor of leaving the Canadian one and you will hear noises about how we are all part of North America etc. Have a more successful convention or business in America and you will hear how the Canadians are being left out, instead of how they can have one of their own or use ours...unless the American brings their goodies to Canada they will not be pacified...and that's not looking for parity, but dominance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On one memorable occasion, as a teenager, I met a family of touring Canadians. They had stopped at our gas station/restaurant in the semi-rural area where I worked and asked for help. It seemed the banks in-county didn't know how to exchange foreign currency, the ATMs didn't run their system..and they were running out of gas. Could we possibly accept Canadian funds?

Well...no..but we could and did pass the hat so they could get to the next (far bigger) town which surely would have the services they needed. The lady thanked us and insisted on 'paying us back' in Canadian coins. (We were never able to get them cashed. I eventually passed mine on to my kids.) She then made this comment. "You know (giggle), you really should be able to use our money. I mean, at least the banks here should know about it."

"Well, the banks should." I was curious "But seriously, do Canadian banks & businesses use US dollars?"

"Well, no...at least not away from the border. A few may do at the border..."

"Well, there you go then," offered a colleague, "you're like, what, hundreds of miles away.."

"You don't have to be like that," she responded huffily, "I mean. I was being nice."

And she stomped off and drove away...on our dime(s)

Do you see the problem?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I might have felt less kindly -even growing up- if I had known that Chevy Chase, who made so much fun of Pres. Ford, was Canadian. If I had known that Doonesbury, which tried so hard to influence &/or lampoon all conservative politicians...was Canadian. That Canadian actors & Comedians were getting opportunities to dominate American culture AS Americans.

People have made fun of our 'Captain Kirk' attitude...and he's CANADIAN. That awful song from the 70's "Hot Child in the City" - listed in some places as proof as how debauched America had become- was the reflection of a naughty Canadian. (Course Captain & Tennille, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot etc were also Canadian hits. But they were cool..also nobody ever pretended they were American.) Many more 80's bands were Canadian than people at the time were told. Alex Trebek, Keanu Reeves, Bill Murray, Jim Carrey...are also Canadian. I honestly believe these performers would have been hits had their nationality NEVER been hidden (or at least minimized until lately), but by the time I'd learned how many 'American' stars weren't 'from here' in recent decades - and did some figuring, I honestly began to wonder if American kids have been getting a fair shot in my lifetime! I remembered someone mentioning the 'kaka connection' as a kid, and it stuck with me because of the humorous possibilities. ;) Only when I was well grown and on the net did I realize what I'd heard. Turns out its spelled "Ca-Ca" and references a special relationship between Canada & California...and that's all I will say about it.

And while America was being infiltrated by Canadians at so many levels of our entertainment industry, and their cities were offering lovely incentives for our factories to go north (all's fair in love and trade, I guess), their kids were being taught not to respect us. I caught a CBC documentary online that I feel expresses the problem very well. The title was something about Canada's 100 best inventions. I chose it because it sounded interesting. By & large, it was. But there were several debatable entries, like claiming Alexander Graham Bell because he had a vacation home up there? I might agree with Canada's argument (I think I do), but why did it have to be put in such a hostile fashion?

And then there was the tale of Marine-screw propeller. They told this story of how this captain in Canada had invented it, and took it immediately to America to have it patented, only those awful Americans wouldn't do it..and then a few years later an American guy happened to claim he'd made one so the Canadian got ripped off from all those royalties and mentions he should have gotten... um..no...no..and NO

There is just so much wrong with that account.

First off, said captain should have been filing with HIS OWN COUNTRY then he would have a date, evidence, with which to pursue any perceived patent violations in other countries. The show thought they covered that by pointing out that international patents were not yet agreed upon. Just the same, according to law at the time, he should still have filed in Canada THEN pursued recognition elsewhere. It really sounded kinda bad that this guy's first thought was he was gonna take a chunk off American shipping, rather than selling his product in Canada, giving Canada something special to market fairly etc...

& It so happened I had recently seen one of Prof James Burke's documentaries on inventions that just happened to reference the same propeller..as invented first in England. Actually Professor Burke allowed that it was simultaneously being worked on in several countries and the first to make workable models were in UK, US, & Canada (Gold, Silver & Bronze?)...but that 1) the filing dates definitely put the English first by a narrow margin & 2) England had the biggest shipyards so most went with the English model. I believe him. I also don't think the English guy ripped off the Canadian OR the US inventors.

How is this possible? Well...Prof Burke mentioned different models that performed the same function. Each one could be declared the first of its kind, and be right. The winner was the one put into production, which was mostly the English variety.

You see this a lot in the various countries claims to be first with this or that invention. I didn't blame Canada for doing the same thing, I just didn't appreciate the anti-American slant.

A number (by no means all!) of Canadians I have met online have been rather hostile to Americans AS Americans. They have reported they feel they are better because they are "more peaceful" (never mind how provocatively this was put!), have a more liberal government (not a bragging point IMHO), and more unspoiled countryside than we do because they are more environmentally minded (I don't believe that is true.). They have complained about our supposedly looking down on them as a '51st state' (we weren't looking...period.), and have complained that our media doesn't mention them often enough (Given that its OUR media and not the CBC, why should it?). I used to think that their entertainment shows wouldn't mention us (or Mexico) all the time either. Now I just hope they aren't always mentioning us negatively, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear this was the case. They certainly seem overly free in criticizing our culture & government, given they don't live or vote here, don't think we have the right to criticize their government or healthcare, and don't wish to be the 51st state...

Canadians have told us that even their preoccupation with judging us is our fault, because our nation's sheer size has been intimidating and given them a bit of an identity complex.

Most of the mouthing off seems to be from Ottawa/Ontario. Quebec has its own attitudes, and given their Gallic ancestry, this neither surprises nor bothers us. Rural Canadians from British Columbia/Alberta/Newfoundland etc may or may not like us better, but they sure have better manners. They actually DO come off as fair-minded.

I am not the only who has noted how unfriendly many urban Canadians have been online. Sadly, the result has been an ever increase in snotty comments between Americans & Canadians on many of the international articles I read in recent weeks. Familiarity is not breeding friendship of late, despite the promise of the Olympic Games. I can only hope this improves.

I have wanted to say something for a long time, but I didn't really want to down on Canada or make any decent Canadians feel bad. I know of at least 5 really GOOD Christian ministries based there, the most famous of which is Ravi Zacharias'. He's really from India, but at least being in Canada didn't ruin him, right? I have met several Canadians online that I think very much of, and it saddens me to think they may be upset after reading this, but this is weighing heavily on me right now.

I am NOT proud of the name-calling that has gone on, especially that done by Americans, but it sure would be nice if Canadians would face how provocative the jobs and relocated factories issue is alone, without adding in all the 'superior' attitudes and judgmental crud Americans have been seeing out of many Canadians in the last 10 years.

So Canada, Congratulations on winning your fair share of the medals & on a spectacular show. Congratulations to the United States athletes too. It would be nice to think they were welcome there. Maybe they were. Certainly, they won't ever be allowed to say to the contrary, but I could easily see where it mightn't have been all that fun a trip.

I hope they did spend a few days to see some of Canada's wonders. All those documentaries were made there for a reason, after all. In all honesty, there are bits of Canada that could be great fun to see, like the other side of Niagara Falls & Prince Edward Island (where the Anne of Avonlea series was made). I have long wondered if British Columbia is very different from Washington state?

Muppet Rhapsody

2010-01-21T21:50:00.006-05:00

I was told about this recently (yeah, I'm still that behind on my email. Sowwee. If I'd seen it in time I'd have shared the Bells thing. lol)

I'm told this is already very popular. Anyway, I thought it was a hoot too & just in case the five other people left in the world who haven't seen it read my blog, I thought I'd share it here.

This is Bohemian Rhapsody as done by the Muppets (yes, its family friendly. The darkest lyrics have been changed.)

A Belated Happy New Year!

2010-01-08T18:53:00.005-05:00

We've had rotten colds around here lately & the week just kinda vanished. Yes, I am feeling better, thanks. I plan to take it easy this weekend too. I don't want it back. Got some books to read anyway. heh

Our New Year's Eve was quiet, as usual. We drank a little sparkling wine (or apple juice), thanked God for getting us through another tough year, prayed for His help with next year, and relaxed with some family-friendly video games.

Hope yours was good too.

This will change later, but right now you can see a cute New Year's Card from Jackie if you click this picture.

Snow? What Snow?

2009-12-25T22:07:00.005-05:00

Its raining. Its pouring.
The roses are growing.
It warmed right back up
and delighted the ducks
who paddled about this morning!

heh

I bother to mention the actual weather, because the national media keeps erroneously listing us as also getting the white stuff. We got like 2/3 of one inch..for about 12hrs...a few days ago. Its been chilly some days, mild other days. Today its mild and wet. Tomorrow it should clear up and give us warmer weather - and without the precipitation for once. :)

I guess most of the US is out of that drought now? I sure hope so. I know people were worried. Anyway, I hope your day has been at least as peaceful as ours. From what the news says, some folks are still stuck in airports and stuff.

We stayed home. DS was still a bit under the weather, but not so bad off he couldn't play with his goodies. We decided to have the snacky stuff today and hold off on the big meal until DS feels up to eating with us, which made Christmas Day more of a holiday than usual for ME. lol We had bought more snacks than we'd realized anyway. ;-)

The unwrapping is long over and its all quiet at the moment and will probably stay that way....until the kitties steal another bit of shiny wrapping paper from the bag. DH has been reading (He has a new Pratchett among other things). Mom's exploring her treats while wearing her new Indian scarf. DD has been reading the manga books she wanted. I just finished my moderating thingy on my wonderful new writer's keyboard. I don't know when I will get around to using the cool medieval-style quill pen & parchment set my family gave me, but I am already relishing the thought. All in all, its been a nice Christmas thus far. Hope yours is too.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T19:46:00.004-05:00

I make a conscious effort every year to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and let them know I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (whether it was this season or September or whenever!)

I was sent these images from a friend who asked that a wish of good cheer be passed along to email friends. Okay, will do (have done, actually)...but I just had to share here too because these images are so neat!

This is also the formal announcement that DD is now uploading her new beautiful new digital Christmas card to our usual Christmas site - www.santapenguin.com . You can click this pp..or the pictures to go see it :D

Grandma's Killer Fruitcake

2009-12-23T21:11:00.008-05:00

I've often played this particular Christmas kooky song for friends & family..so I am tickled to finally have a shareable version from youtube. I have to say though, the video isn't much. You may want to just listen and look away from the screen for a few minutes.

Yes, this is the same guy who had that hit "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." I like Killer Fruitcake better.

My Mom suggests that my great fondness for this silly song stems from a running Christmas gag in a branch of our extended kin. They kept re-gifting the same fruitcake in a tin for YEARS. One of the things everyone looked forward to at the Christmas gathering was finding out who would be left holding ... BUH BUH BAAAHH.... The Fruitcake O' Doom (Doom doom doom). One Christmas it managed to be given 3x before the weekend was over!

They finally had to get a new fruitcake after one of the uncles ate it on a bet (Yes, he was drunk at the time.) Amazingly, he didn't seem to suffer any ill effects. Guesstimates on the fruitcake's age at the point... ~12 yrs.

And, yes, I still like fruitcake. ;-)

Downe in Yon Forest

2009-12-23T20:53:00.005-05:00

A Christmas special with medieval carols called Downe in Yon Forest was on in the wee hours & caught me into staying awake yet longer to drink in their antique seasonal delights. I thought I'd share it, since Youtube has another performance of it from the same artist :)

5 neighbors..a response

2009-12-21T18:26:00.008-05:00

This post is a response to a not-very-good-article on types of bad neighbors, and the other comments I read below it.

After reading the article & all the comments to date, here is my own two pence.

This article is worse than useless. let's go through the 5 listed, shall we?

1)

The Home Devaluers

Who they are: They're friendly enough. They just never seem to mow their lawn more than once or twice a year, and they have a 1978 Buick rusting in their front yard. Granted, if they're bad enough, you may have noticed this before moving in, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day: They may have looked presentable when you gave them the once-over.

How to handle them: Communicate, communicate, communicate, suggests Jodi R. R. Smith, author and etiquette consultant in Marblehead, Mass.

She knew a group of neighbors who were upset that a house on their block wasn't taking care of the lawn. The neighbors assigned a delegate to knock on the door to discuss the yard, and when the owner came out of the house and the problem was explained, she broke into tears. It had turned out that she was in the midst of a divorce and an aggressive chemo treatment. The neighbors then organized a rotating schedule of lawn care for the ill neighbor.

"Things are not always what they seem," says Smith.

Okay...actually this was the only bit of the article worth quoting. The sad truth is that many of those who complain about unkempt places lack compassion for their neighbors. Then again, sometimes the story is more complicated. The property may be tied up in litigation or ignored by the company that foreclosed.

The real people behind this label, when it is a regular person - The Devaluers.... range from people persecuted by Mr & Madame Urban Neatfreak - who sometimes try to rule the countryside with the HOA standards familiar to them from richer suburbs...to people with serious problems (health, finances etc) maintaining what they have, to folks used to stretching to get by with old cars/parts/appliance repairs in a neighborhood that doesn't do that sort of thing (Maybe it used to?), to serious jerks actively trying to ruining their neighborhood with junk...as a choice...like the neighbor who piles up manure in a junky tractor shed that she knows very well faces your front yard...but keeps the yard she has facing the street well landscaped...

or maybe they are too afraid of their neighbors to go outside

2) The Dangerous Neighbor...may be that way in self-defense...there are too many out there who ramp up all over anyone who doesn't look like they can fight back. Not everyone can fight back with lawyers...and a quick glance at the comments will tell you how often the local governments & landlords fail to support threatened residents, especially unpopular, unconnected ones. This is the 'dangerous neighbor' who may actually be decent. You may not have identified the real hazard.

& sometimes it is the Neighbor who is the psycho...sadly if they are wealthy, well-connected, or very persuasive types who know how to play 'the appearances' game...they may threaten you day & night and still give YOU the reputation they richly deserve when you react!

(In fact, I have seen this double victimization in action in social circles. Skilled liars love it. They will say so and so hates them and is calling them names THEN openly provoke the person and go See! See!" if the individual responds at all...or even lie and say they did if they won't...It's sick..but it happens.)

If you are really sure that’s Hannibal Lecter next door…don’t bug the man, especially at dinner time. The best defense is not to be offensive unless you are part of the LEGAL swat team that’s about to shoot him. Increase your own defenses every way possible - if you cannot move, and keep close track of each other in the household…which is the same advice those beset by misled vigilantes have to take.

Some people got that their ‘scary’ reputation from bad-tempered hags that want to see them dead…and are hoping you will be trigger-happy enough to do it for them if they tell you enough tall tales.

3) Some Rich Neighbors are quite decent folks...and I have NEVER heard of such a neighbor called bad... except-rarely- by a foolish, envious soul deliberately causing trouble with slanderous gossip. Usually the person knew them before they were a success.

But that's not nearly as common as a jealous neighbor mistreating someone they think is just a little bit better off. The truly rich are exactly the ones who can hire a detective to prove someone is slandering them...and then pay the lawyers to make them sorry for it.

One of the worst things that commonly does happen in rich neighborhoods is a difference of cultures running headlong into differing expectations. One fellow in a millionaires' planned community ran into trouble for growing the loveliest flower & vegetable gardens you ever saw, because that’s what well off-people did in the area of Eastern Europe where he had come from as a child. His front lawn remained a lawn, his maintenance was perfect, but his neighbors were outraged that his idea of the allowed 'garden plot in the backyard' was enough to supply his McMansion household for a year with rosewater, herbs & veggies. Seriously! He was generous with his goodies too, but most of his neighbors hated him for being productively frugal. (Personally, I thought it looked great!)

Some rich neighbors ARE bad..and - again - there are some lovely examples earlier in the comments. They bully with their toys, their connections, their legal loopholes, and the simple fact that other poorer folks in the neighborhood want to be on their good side and so find it easier to find excuses for the rich guys...and excuses to disbelieve a poorer, less attractive victim. The only thing you can do is document the overt abuses as best you can and use what clout YOU have as a citizen etc.

One abuse we have heard again and again are when relatively rich people buy into a poor or middlin' rural areas and start demanding zoning changes that they then use to shut down small farmers, watermen etc. Sometimes they expand their lands over those they ran off/ran out of business, sometimes they are just demanding the neighborhood conform to their will. Some will even buy areas next to a public access ways - next to waterways or to a park and then start encroaching...moving their fences over the years until they have stolen public property by common law. Those are the really bad rich neighbors.

Odd that the article only knew about 'envy' as a problem?

4) Wacky Neighbors?

Wow..what a vague description...and one just fraught with abuse potential.

Some people dress in clothes from other eras or countries, and are excellent neighbors. Some may do ghost hunting. Some may attend costumed conventions with antique weaponry (and practice at home) . Maybe they look for aliens on the weekend or indulge in paintball battles in the backyard (occasionally spilling into yours) ...but they can still be good neighbors....some might ask for a cup of milk every second Thursday for some oddball reason of their own, and yet still be reasonable neighbors otherwise.

Everyone has the capacity to be a wild eccentric in some hobby or other (or else anally weird about their lack of hobbies). What's more, every noticeable cultural difference can be described as 'wacky' by the neighbors...as transferees between North\ South \ East \West can easily testify.

Its only when a neighbor decides that your property is nicer to picnic on than their own, or your ley property lines are stronger so they will have the candle ceremony there, or they can trespass anytime they like as long as they are riding their horse or chasing hunting dogs, or that their music is something everyone should be forced to enjoy, or that you can't put up a crèche when they've got a giant Buddha in their yard...that there is a problem.

Even then. the problem isn't really the beliefs, the pets, their taste in music, or the hobbies.

Eccentricity in and of itself is no big deal. It only makes life more colorful. Its when someone decides they don't have to respect you or your property rights that this comes up at all.

Actually describing people as 'wacky' is often a prelude toward the sort of respect issues that really ARE the problem.

5) 'The Difficult Neighbor'

*snort* Every neighbor causing you problems is regarded by you as 'difficult.'

The truly difficult neighbors are those who instigate troubles with other neighbors, who actively gather in groups/gangs (or dribs and drabs) and point you out as someone to mistreat. Maybe they don't even know you. They just think they do...or think that they at least know 'your kind.' They don't like your politics, faith, region of origin, orientation, ethnicity, or simply heard some nasty rumors that made you a good target as far as they were concerned.

People who will use animals to harass you are definitely difficult neighbors. Dogs are the most abused this way. They get sicc-ed on people who aren‘t attacking them to suit their spiteful owner. These dogs often turn mean, bite someone and then get put down. Happens all the time. But other animals & their products are also used, like setting a camel/llama known for distance spitting as close to a neighbor's sidewalks or driveway as possible, or piling up manure as close to the neighbor's property line as they think they can get away with, or actively shooing chickens or goats into your garden (when they aren't yours), or calling the HOA, county, or city with petty or false reports about your property or household.

DH points out that not all such bad behaviour is based in spite. Quite a few misbehaviors (like taking other people's parking spaces for relatives, storing boats & RV's over the property line, cutting down bushes or trees on adjoining properties, gardening on or letting their animals graze on 'unused' lawns belonging to a neighbors) were based in a desire to claim more property rights with simple pushiness than the legal ownership would have conveyed. People like that know they are stealing something from you, and have braced themselves to be unpleasant and to expect you to be unpleasant...but that doesn't mean being extra nice is going to fix a problem neighbor like that. Most likely they will just think you are being weak. You can try plain, respectful communication, but most likely you will be required to exhaust your legal remedies if you wish to see an end to the bad behaviour...or else put up with it until someone moves.

Someone like this is not interested in being a good neighbor.... Make sure that if you make the sort of neighborly gesture the article suggests...like, say, cookies or cake, that you bought it from the bakery and you have photographic evidence that it was still sealed when you handed it over.

***************************************************

6) Gossipy, judgmental locals making up nasty whoppers are among the worst neighbors of all, since they set you up to be abused by everyone else. Oddly, this author missed that entire category.

Basically, loving one's neighbors needs to be done carefully...possibly at a distance...and is no commoner now then when Christ chastised the world around him for not trying over 2000 yrs ago. Sad isn't it?

This article is better IMHO

& This article just deals specifically with the snoops/nosy gossips out there.

Star of Bethlehem

2009-12-20T01:35:00.006-05:00

DH & I caught a recent presentation of a very interesting educated guess as to what the Star of Bethlehem sign may have been. There's an indepth article here.

[Edit: the documentary is no longer available, but this teaser may give you an idea]

Nope, its not complete. Want some more? The site & DVD are here!

The Star of Bethlehem dvd is also available at Amazon.com

Never Smile at a Crocodile....

2009-12-01T20:38:00.006-05:00

Never smile at a crocodile
No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile
Don't be taken in by his friendly grin
He's imagining how well you'd fit beneath his skin (Rolf ha ha has)
Never smile at a crocodile
Never dip your hat and stop to talk awhile
Never run, walk away, say good-night, not good-day
Clear the aisle but never smile at Mister Crocodile
You may very well be well bred
Lots of etiquette in your head
But there's always some special case, time or place
To forget etiquette

(Spoken by Rolf)

Lets look up crocodile in the book
(clears throat) here it says ..
One positively must not wear a pleased expression on ones countenance when confronted by that large, lizard like, amphibious reptile which has long jaws, armored skin and webbed feet and which is known as ... the c r o c o d i l e.
It has been discovered that one simply cannot cherish an amicable and trustworthy relationship with the aforementioned species ... ohh! this is interesting!
In addition it is mandatory that one does not become irresistibly drawn into the erroneous belief that the lateral, open extension of his jaws means that you are utterly welcome. It is much more reasonable to assume that he is contemplating how you would look in a lizard suit ... hiiiis ... eh ha ha ha mmm

(Song resumes with three tic tocs)
Never smile at a crocodile
No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile
Don't be taken in by his friendly grin
He's imagining how well you'd fit beneath his skin
Where have I told you that before?
Never smile at a crocodile
Never tip your hat and stop to talk awhile
Dont be rude, never mock, throw a kiss, not a rock
But clear the aisle and never smile at Mister Crocodile
Look run a mile bet never smile at Mr. Croc-o-dile
Hey watch out! here comes one now!!!!

They call songs like this 'brain worms' because they can stick around your mental closet for years and dominate your thoughts for HOURS when they resurface. This is the one that's been bugging me for the last week or two...

Though the specific version I 'hear' is from the Muppet Show, which you can see on this page...[presuming you can put up with the loud commercial they put in front of it].

& Yes, I have the Muppet Show seasons on dvd. DH knows they make good prezzies for me :D
Too bad Season 4 isn't expected until next year.

There's no Muppet or crocodilian reason for me to think about it. I am not into crocodiles (or alligators). I honestly have no idea /why/ it keeps occurring to me when I should be dreaming about eggnog, but since NaNoWriMo is finally over and I am taking a night's break before preparing my Christmas story, I thought it might be fun to share my current brain worm with you. ;)

No that's okay, you don't have to thank me now. I am sure you will do that later when it plays in your dreams at 3 a.m.

=D

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T21:03:00.002-05:00

Ours was a quiet one with a lamb roast, couscous with pine nuts, and candied yams. Followed by lots of pumpkin pie :)

No, we didn't do the sales thing on Friday/Monday. Its never at a good time of the month for us, coming after two family bdays. Besides the best deals tend to be big ticket items we wouldn't be looking at anyway.

We spent the day putting our Christmas tree up and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. We watch it every year, if nothing forbids. It adds so much to the day, like everybody in New York City is celebrating with you. I think its amazing those parades are never taped & repeated on television later or online anywhere, you know? They repeat everything these days...except for the Thanksgiving morning parades.

People work all year to make it happen and even with all the recording media handy and all the sponsors for this national shindig, when its over - its over. Unless you make a copy for yourself, your memories are the only thing you can share.

I suspect it must be too long to host. Mind you, if the ads & lengthy interviews with the 'stars of NBC's hit show XXX' were dispensed with...they could probably get 3 hrs down to 1. :)

It just occurred to me that I have never seen a full-length "Hits of the Macy's Day Parade" dvd or video or anything like that...ever. (I just checked Google, and I don't see a record of one either.) On the one hand, it guess gives my kids some slight experience with what tv was like growing up...no VCRs, DVDs or ipod files - on the other hand, its seems kind of weird that that these clips are the best I can do to share an annual institution with you.

A lot of these were in this year's parade too, so that helps a bit. :)

Zelda gets to play!

2009-11-06T17:54:00.005-05:00

Okay..so I already mentioned on Facebook that Muzzled - the 3rd episode of the Wallace & Gromit adventure series is free this weekend on the TellTale site (its free through Nov 9th)

AND that all their seasons are $20 through Nov 9th - almost half off!

Still...not everybody who reads this blog, reads my Facebook page, so while I apologize for the repetitions, I felt it worth mentioning once again. ;)

After looking into the Telltale goodies...I checked another email and found more video gaming wonderfulness - if you're a Zelda fan, anyway. The upcoming Zelda: Spirit Tracks looks very promising, as far as gameplay goes. Its about time Zelda got a turn alongside Link.

I am very happy Nintendo has continued the Wind Waker world. IMNSHO The Wind Waker is as iconic as Ocarina of Time or Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past. Its my personal favorite. Since I've been a fan of the Zelda series since the first game, I feel that's saying something. I just wish they would make a Wii version with the original cel-shaded look of the first game. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass suffered a bit for being shrunk to DS size. The trailer suggests Spirit Tracks is going to be just the same. If the game is good enough, this is forgivable. Honestly, it was that irritating timed main labyrinth...which you had to start from the very beginning EVERY TIME that ruined Phantom Hourglass for me (and MANY others, according to the reviews)...and even that lead balloon didn't get too heavy until I was more than halfway (maybe 2/3) through it. I was happily immersed for some time in the ship challenges & little islands quests. Phantom Hourglass was quite fun aside from that one central dungeon. Hopefully they won't repeat that error...and since its the same team & pattern, I feel quite hopeful that Spirit Tracks will be a keeper.

Video Games | Zelda: Spirit Tracks | Exclusive Zelda's Secret Trailer HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Where'd I go?

2009-11-05T08:35:00.004-05:00

I just realized how badly I've neglected this blog since being talked into joining Facebook. Don't get me wrong, I also neglect my Facebook page quite a lot. lol It has, however, been a getting a lot more of my blog time than I figured it would.

I've been offline mostly. DH is still healing slowly but surely. I finished those crochet ponchos for the other family members just in time for the cooling weather (My Mom finished mine. :) I also sewed some pillow cases (some I embroidered) and I made a few clothes. We're back into homeschooling, of course...and tis the season for some family birthdays. No matter how much is made or found for those, it all takes time. Maybe I will get some pictures up soon of some of my recent crafts. I've been meaning do that too. heh

We actually have some fall weather this year! I am LOVING it. Usually its late November before we have many 'cocoa' days, but we have had a number of mildly chilly days since early October. The leaves are just gorgeous. I've been too busy to get many pictures, sadly, but perhaps DH or DD have gotten some extra I can share. We'll see.

and then there's how I spend my 'free' time... I think I admitted to playing Legends of Zork awhile back. Its still free and still family friendly. I still like it, and check in occasionally, though its seeming a tad repetitive now. Wish they would add other gameplay bits sometime this year...

Years ago, a number of online friends recommended a free online game to me called "Kingdom of Loathing," and lately another group of friendly acquaintances talked me into giving it a whirl. Its turned out to be a very amusing rpg, but not precisely family-friendly fare given its emphasis on alcohol use, its moderated -but largely unfiltered- chat room (optional), and a number of PG - PG 13 refs.

They do keep the naughtiness down a bit. I'd say KoL is on par with, say, a COPS 2.0 episode. Its a little more restrained than current prime time dramas, but not nearly as family friendly as Funniest Home Videos. Maybe that will help you decide if its in your comfort zone. Its pushing mine at times, and after too many hours watching TV with my recovering spouse (especially in hospital rooms where we didn't have that much program control) I am a lot less sensitive than I was during the years we chose not to have cable.

I had planned to finish the story, at least, but - honestly- I am already having trouble fitting it in anywhere. There have been enough references to classic games in the RPG & adventure genres that I was looking forward to spotting the next allusions. I have enjoyed much of the humor too. In fact this game has a lot of the fun of the old text adventures, given that most of its 'graphics' are actually silly descriptions. Who knew you could have so much fun with stick figures?

and..oh yes, we've still got a number of irons in the fire in other directions too, as some of you may remember. I don't care to announce those until I am finally ready to show you something substantial. November is now writer's month, and that's where I am concentrating my other efforts....when I can find the time. In the interim, I recommend some lovely cocoa.

Just another bloggers comment on Barack's Peace Prize

2009-10-09T18:39:00.005-04:00

Well..it was a bit surprise to everyone, including Barack himself, when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to our 44th Prez after only 9 months in office. Even those who are glad for him are wishing they could point to something and say..ah..yes! That's why...rather than suspecting that this gift is likely meant to pressure him someway... possibly in a way that wouldn't be good for our country. That said, I can't blame the man for being pleased. It will look good on his resume, presuming...well, I will get to that in a minute. Its one of those achievements that people dream of getting. Now all he has to do to win the game is cure cancer, solve world hunger, and send a ship to settle Alpha Centari...no wait, that's Civilization.

After reading a bit online, I have to agree with the political analyst in this video & in this article, the 'Peace' prizes have been awarded (and almost awarded) to enough inappropriate people that it has undermined its worth when given to people who really deserved it like nominee Gandhi, George Marshall (Marshall plan), Jean Henry Dunant (Red Cross founder), Martin Luther King Jr., & Mother Teresa.

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/

Al Gore is known for his championing of global warming solutions, but what war was he supposed to have prevented? How was he supposed to have increased peace in the world?

How about Yassir Arafat? Why would one of the world's best known troublemakers be on this list?

Teddy Roosevelt was quite a character - not at all bad by any means - but Mr "Walk softly and carry a big stick" wasn't especially known for his peaceableness! He did a good thing in being willing to be an arbiter between Russia & Japan..but a lifetime achievement award for Peace? C'mon!

Even Woodrow Wilson is a doubtful case (despite the lofty goals of his 'League of Nations') given that the peace settlements he agreed to for WWI helped set the stage for WWII... and he broke his electoral promise getting us into WWI in the first place! (Not commenting on whether we should have been there, just the fact that it /was/ breaking his promise.)

One article declares that nominees have included Stalin & Adolph Hitler...
I looked it up and it turns out to be true..also Benito Mussolini & Fidel Castro... Yikes!
http://nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/nomination.php?action=show&showid=2609
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/shortfacts.html

Even the Nobel Prize Committee knows many of their decisions have seemed politically convenient and/or controversial. They certainly have often had an leftward ideological slant.

So, President Obama, congratulations. I am just sorry the prize isn't worth more.. and that they couldn't wait for you to fulfill your promise so you could feel that you /did/ deserve it. Here's hoping their next choices don't embarrass the heck out of you....

The whole thing reminds me waaayyy too vividly of a small-potatoes version that played out in a tiny chat room long ago...where a very few fans who had done much to organize, maintain & provide for their online community got their only honor...being given a special 'color' on their names in the company's chat... and then the value of even that was undermined by some at the company to satisfy the pride of a young, demanding flirt. Did ssooo much damage to community morale, you can't even imagine. That's long ago...muck under the bridge and all that...

It just concerns me to think the the world has long allowed these Nobel guys to give the world's most coveted prizes for good human behavior & high lifetime achievements. IMHO the Peace Prize Committee has not taken this charge seriously enough. The world has trusted them to encourage the human race, and if the everyday man comes to devalue this process, what or who could take its place?

A feed from Spaceghost

2009-09-18T19:44:00.001-04:00

One of the sillier shows we enjoyed back in the 90's was Spaceghost-Coast-to-Coast...a parody of the late-night shows everywhere. This mini-interview stars Lassie....yes, the dog. Their clips vary in suitability for young children, but this one is fine. :)

Jesus & popularity

2009-09-12T20:07:00.001-04:00

A devotional thought taken from Mother Angelica's latest newsletter.... (from My Mom)

Mother Angelica noted that many teachers have told us how to identify with Christ in our troubles, but very few have addressed Christ's example when people played up to him, exalted him, tried to insist in gobs and groups that he do more of what they wanted...and that is worth learning from too.

I had never thought about it before. I will keep it in mind in my next rereads of the Gospels. I know there some examples from the rest of the New Testament too... In Acts, Paul was once publicly acclaimed by a Soothsayer. In another town Paul & Barnabas were briefly mistaken for Greek deities! [Acts 14:11-22]

Tom (DH) notes that group popularity didn't seem to last long outside the early Church, even though the good qualities so briefly recognized by those mobs never diminished.... Some general goodwill probably remained, but not enough to turn the crowd back. Indeed, Paul was often well regarded by his Roman 'hosts,' who seemed to regard him as a very kind, rather eccentric Jewish** scholar with an unfortunate fixation on telling everyone about how this Jesus fellow was the long promised Incarnation, the Son of God himself.....at a time when only Emperors - like Nero - were allowed to claim such things.

**Christianity was not yet seen as a different faith, and for very good reasons, but that's another discussion.

Pics from earlier this year

2009-09-12T19:53:00.001-04:00

This is a much longer slideshow than usual. These pics are from late Spring of this year. You can see the archery lessons we finally got around to doing, pics from the flowerbed & one from the garden, roses from the bushes planted this year (yes the plants are kinda small), and more recent pics of our puppy, Jack. Pretty much all these pictures were taken by Becka, and all legal rights to them remain hers.

The next collection will at last move into summer. I was still busy with Tom, and Tom himself has stayed pretty much on bed rest from Spring til - well, he's still pretty much supposed to rest most of the time, but Becka continues to get a neat shot in now and then.

100 yr old photos

2009-09-08T21:01:00.003-04:00

(from Shez)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/214585

The pics in this link are all color photographs that were taken 100
years ago in Czarist Russia. I was blown away at the color and
definition. they look like they were taken yesterday. The
photographer used a technique using red, blue and yellow glass plates.
he took 3 separate photos of his subjects, one with each glass plate.

How they were made....
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/making.html

Okay..so a little bit photo-shopped..but the data was really there! Very, very cool to see these scenes so clearly from a 100 years ago!

Only in God -Psalm 62

2009-08-31T20:38:00.002-04:00

Meant to post this as my devotional thought yesterday [again- I know posted this a year ago]...but then I didn't go online at all. SO- praying this is as big a blessing to you on this Monday as it is to me whenever I meditate upon Psalm 62. Psalm 23 & Psalm 91 are more famous, and also a huge blessing, but this one means the most to me. I read Psalms about everyday, plus whatever regular bit I am rereading...often I just open my Bible anywhere and refresh my mind with whatever I find...but I need those 'God Songs' in my heart everyday or I tend to get stressed. Looking at God for everything and thanking Him daily for things He has done and is doing already eases a LOT of worry about the future, let me tell you!

PSALM 62
(adaptation by John Michael Talbot)

Only in God is my soul at rest;
In Him comes my salvation.
He only is my Rock,
My strength and my salvation.

Chorus
My stronghold, my Savior;
I shall not be afraid at all!
My stronghold, my Savior;
I shall not be moved!

Only in God is found safety,
When enemies pursue me.
Only in God is found glory,
When I'm found weak and found lowly.

© 1980 Birdwing Music/BMG Songs, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.

Still Movin' Slow

2009-08-23T21:17:00.002-04:00

You'd think this long after the surgery things would be all better, right? Well..no...but they aren't worse either. Its just that Tom is healing slow, at least in part because he had all these gaps under the repairs. They have had to add a wound vac to close them after the drainage started to 'unzip' an area on the incision. The pressure treatment is working a treat. The recommended protein drinks have also proved a considerable help. Its just going to take time. Its amazing how the hours fly by without my having done 1/3 of what I expected. I haven't read much and I am not playing games aside from the DS short games I have on my DS (great for office visits) & the lengthy Lufia II rpg that Tom finds restful.

I have made /some/ progress on my latest crochet project...a simple brown & white blanket. I finished Becka's poncho. I haven't made Mom's yet, but that's okay. She hasn't finished mine either. LOL Becka is slowly working toward posting her CG projects & studying for tests. DS is doing well with his leather crafts (he's tooling a belt) & studying math, history, English etc... Almost caught up with laundry this last week. Hoping to get ahead [finally!] this week. Have to wait & see. I finally made that Facebook page. Looks like there's a bit of a learning curve involved, but I think I am getting the hang of it. The Shelfari widget for it doesn't seem to work...

Monkey Island has returned!

2009-08-09T18:08:00.004-04:00

Started playing the first Wii episode and - so far- it is great! Looked it up on the Tell-Tale games site and got even better news. Hope you enjoy this widget heralding the remake of Monkey Island 1. There is even sword-fighting insult mini-game. Oh I hope they make a DS version of this !:)))

Quizzler

2009-07-28T02:50:00.006-04:00

Haven't done this in awhile so...why not?

You Are 56% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.

Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.

But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.

You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

_________________________________________________________

You Are Cowboy Boots

This doesn't mean you're country, just funky.
You've got a ton of attitude and confidence.

You're unique, expressive, and even a little bit wacky. You wear whatever you feel like and you have your own sense of style.

You are straight shooting and honest. You tell people how it is.

Low maintenance and free wheeling, you're always up for an adventure.

You should live: Where you can at least get to wide open spaces

You should work: In a job that allows you to take change

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

--------------------------------------------------

You Are The Brain

You're the type of person who's always on, always churning.

You are alert and quick to react. You like to stay busy.

You are responsible but also demanding. You take up a lot of energy.

You are someone of deep mystery. There's a lot below the surface that's hard to figure out.

What Internal Organ Are You?

************************************************

You See the World Through Blue Colored Glasses

You live your life with tranquility. You have faith that things will work themselves out with time.

You judge all your interactions through the lens of hope. You try to get all the facts before forming your opinion.

You face challenges with wisdom. You know that all bad things pass, and you have the confidence to see problems through.

You see love as the utmost expression of trust. Your relationships tend to be peaceful and stable.

At your worst, you can be cool, melancholy, and detached. You sometimes have to step back from emotionally charged situations.

You are at your happiest when you are able to reflect and relax.

What Color Glasses Do You See the World Through?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your Friendship Style is Philosophical

You take every friendship you have seriously, and you spend a lot of time analyzing your friends.

You've thought a lot about what it means to be a good friend, and you hold yourself to your standard.

In return, you expect your friends to be loyal, honest, and real. You're somewhat picky about who you're friends with.

Fighting with your friends bothers you more than most people. You can't stop replaying arguments over and over in your head.

You and an Empathetic Friend: Try to understand one another. You approach life very differently, but you're willing to listen to one another.

You and a Gregarious Friend: Are a better match than expected. You understand and appreciate your Gregarious Friend's energy.

You and an Independent Friend: Get along pretty well, but you can't help but think your Independent Friend needs to learn better manners!

You and another Philosophical Friend: Are friends for life. You can get lost in your intense, interesting conversations... and maybe even change the world together!

What's Your Friendship Style?

===================================================

You Are A Blue Girl

Relationships and feelings are the most important things to you.

You are empathetic and accepting - and good at avoiding conflict.

If someone close to you is in pain, it makes you hurt as well.

You try to heal the ones you love with your kind and open heart.

What Color Girl Are You?

Deep into your future, I forsee: An embarrassing spelling error

Oooh, thrilling.

The Anti Climactic Fortune Teller

replaying RPGs

2009-07-22T17:30:00.005-04:00

I still do replay my old favorites, especially old RPGs...the old consoles retire upstairs and those that have the best game music to sleep by get played the most. DH especially likes that aspect after surgeries.

On my handheld I am finishing replaying Chronotrigger. Finally found the new DS content. Wuzzah! Also currently finishing an umpteenth replay of Lufia 1 - I'd love to play Lufia 2 again but its been a real buzzard about deleting saved games about halfway in. Not something I'd complain to Nintendo about- I have had these SNES cartridges for what, 15 years? Anyway - Becka & I are working on ways to realistically get a ROM playing on the elderly thrice-fried tv upstairs so he can listen to this unreliable old fav.

In the last months I have replayed Replayed Paper Mario 1 & 2, Mario Sunshine, & all the older Zeldas to completion except Seasons/Oracles (he didn't like the music after a bit)...and the end of Majora's Mask because I was too tense with it. [I have the GBA & orig Gameboy connectors for the SNES & Gamecube so those can be played on the tv.]

Fav RPGs:: Chronotrigger, Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga 1 & 2, Final Fantasy III, IV, & VI (SNES FF3) , Paper Mario 1 & 2, Super Mario Legend of the Seven Stars (you can now get it again on Wii virtual console W00t!!), Lufia 1 & 2 (the translations are so bad they're funny), Link...almost counts, Illusion of Gaia, & Breath of Fire (I think. There's one cartridge that hasn't worked in years. I seem to remember liking it.)

Just a little note to keep the blog from looking abandoned until I have more time :)

Finally Back!

2009-07-16T14:11:00.012-04:00

Yikes! Its been a month since I posted anything. Didn't expect to tied up that long. Well, I hope you guys had a great 4th of July. We spent ours leaving the hospital. Thats one way to get independence, one supposes. ;)

The week after posting we were in the run-up to that surgery I told some of you about. All the other surgeries left him with surgical hernias. A smaller repair was made a year ago, but they couldn't do it all then. Now was the time, especially since the repair hasn't been holding.

Tom's surgery went well enough but he didn't wake up right away. Since big hernia repairs are on the sore side anyway, the medical folks said it was best not to push him awake, and let him take his time on it. That turned out to be several days, and by then he was reacting to the meds a bit. Still, he has been healing well, on the whole, if a bit more slowly than the ideal.

The new CC hospital wing is awesome & so is its staff. They are SOOO NICE! They also know exactly what they are doing. I knew absolutely that DH was getting the best possible care there at all times. We were so very blessed that he was there most of the time. The nurses & residents in the surgical wing itself are dedicated, caring, and generally impressive professionals. The CC people are GREAT. ICU there is topnotch too :)

BUT.... the old main 9th floor post-op surgical ward still has issues...and that's putting it nicely. (Not the immediate post-op care...the old step down ward that seems to get everything when the other wards are closed....yeah..that one. They do have some great nurses & a number of decent ones, but then there are those who continue to add to our backlog of medical anecdotes - the sort which seem to happen every holiday we've spent there but are most suitable for sharing at Halloween :P

Anyway, we are home and I am back on bandage watch. I don't spend much time online in times like this. When I did get a little time it was to look up fresh curriculum and locate school supplies etc. I want to thank the 6 people who have directly invited me to Facebook, the 3 who think I'd just love Twitter, and the 10 who think I really should switch to Librarything sometime this century...but I really don't have time to look into those options right now. Vicki, you've seriously tempted me with the link to that new laptop giveaway for new Twitter people, but I can make no promises. Its embarrassing how long it has taken me to get to our 'news' update on good ole Blogger!

Talking about news, as usual, I saw a lot of news while DH was in the hospital. Everybody there was shocked at Jackson's & Billy May's deaths in particular. Being medical people they had plenty of theories. Made for interesting listening. heh. Farrah Faucet's passing was less surprising, though just as sad. Not sure what the point is in staring at Madoff at this point. I don't think any more satisfaction can be gained from the situation. He certainly deserved a penalty...but why didn't the guys who did the S & L scandals go to jail all those years ago?

I also saw Sarah Palin's resignation live - in real time - and felt for her. Sure wish someone had helped her more with that speech though...it felt really...long. The last thing she needed to do IMHO was give the buzzards who've been mistreating her more ammo. I tell you, the sheer injustice she has received from the press has done more damage to the 'liberal' cause than anything else this year...and given the freaky bills, the unstable economy, and the general fears of the population about how current policies could go, that's saying a BUNCH. I cannot value the opinions of people who show no respect for others, plain & simple.

When it comes to Sarah Palin, I absolutely agree with this journalist. Why should anyone listen to bad-tempered propagandistas?

Thankfully, Obama has stayed out of that mess. Wise move, sadly. I would like to have seen him say something but I know that its very possible that if he defended her they'd just turn on him and he's already got a huge pile on his worktable already. North Korea & the Taliban remain a real danger. One of them could easily account for the prophecies about the 'severe eastern wind' sent to correct backsliding drunkards of Ephraim. I thought the military answer to North Korea's big push over that freighter was very clever. The threat was over confronting the ship...so they didn't...the military blocked the harbor instead.

Seems like his & Bush's Bank Bailout plan worked. News reported that many banks have already paid back the money or are working to do so. Nice! Now...if they'd just pass that loosening of the market on to the general public! (That really should have been a condition of the bailout...) Thought Obama's speech to Africa was very good, but several others (i.e. Egypt & Russia) were a bit more concerning. Keeping Barack & Michelle in prayer all the time. I am specifically praying that if we get universal health coverage that it doesn't further erode our freedom to care for ourselves or undermine Medicare.

All of society bows and worships at the feet of 'professionals'/'experts' these days. I always am concerned when their opinions are too heavily weighted on us little people...especially those of us with time and freedom to think for ourselves. If you don't think I have cause for concern, remember how many meds were PUSHED as THE answer in the last decades turned out to be disastrous for many. Consider also how foods like eggs got banned from many diets, then they change their minds about their value and realize eggs contain GOOD cholesterol. At one point young mothers were told that formulas were much better than their own milk could be. Now we know this was a bad idea. Mother's milk contain antibodies and subtle supports for the baby far beyond any formula made, but it was decades before the medical establishment was ready to acknowledge and then admit this truth. Surgeons know more than I ever will about how to splice and rebuild physically damaged bodies, and I have nothing but respect for them and their assistants, but the limits to what they have time to study are extremely evident in discussions we've had.

More than anything else, I desire the freedom to use my commonsense, research, and intuition. Experts aren't omniscient. Indeed, in many academic fields they are being taught in a cookie-cutter fashion that allows very little dissent from whatever 'leading figures' have established as the latest dogma. Now, it is very important that medical people have much training, and what they are taught is extremely impressive when it comes to surgical & emergency issues, but given the HUGE gaps in their training & education relating the deficiency effects, environmental toxins (like the potential effect of jet fuel residue on the thyroid) & natural answers, it would be best if they weren't given complete control over our regular- non-emergency - lives.

Folks I listened to all seemed to have a favorite medical system in mind: Israel & UK were mentioned the most often. Canada's system seems to be the most controversial for medical professionals. Didn't hear why. Others felt we'd be better off if the Govt stayed out of it. I really can't agree with that last. Medical science isn't like making bookends. People who need critical care usually can't wait to save up for it, nor choose to forgo it in favor of other desires or needs. You can literally be charged for failing to get medical help for a family member who needs it. This means that, in practice, professional medical care is already in our laws as an 'responsibility' - a legal requirement -which would be unconstitutional if programs & laws didn't also guarantee access to professional medical care in each region.

Its already a monopoly for most too. You can choose your insurance now, they say...well, no, most can't. Most people can only afford what their employers have, use Govt programs (if they qualify), or they do without insurance and go to free clinics & emergency rooms when disaster strikes. How is this a choice?

On top of that, average folks are only able to access 1-2 hospitals medical systems of any size in their region. Big cities have more, but limit entrance to all but 1 or 2 based on wealth & quality coverage.

I DO think that if doctors & hospitals are nationalized, that patients & taxpayers should have more direct input. This needs to include 'support' personnel. If an administrative assistant causes death by incompetence or malice, deliberately delays care, repeatedly loses crucial paperwork etc - then he or she should face very serious penalties. Patient's Rights need to be more seriously enforced too. In most places its just a flyer on the wall, listening to howls of frustration from those within. Frankly, its currently ~~about impossible~~ very hard to reform bad offices or wards in most major hospitals. Nobody is saying it, but I bet this simple fact is in the back of many minds who say they fear that adding extra Government connections to hospital staff will make the medical system even worse. Michelle Obama knows about this - here's hoping she's been allowed to contribute to the plans they are making. & May God grant us real progress of some kind!

As for personal progress, I got some crocheting done. I had already finished ponchos for Tom & Wm, so I was working on Becka's until it got too big to cart along each day. Finished it at home this week & am now adding little ribbon roses to it. The colors & roses celebrate her rose bushes :) Mom is still working on a poncho for me as a kind of bday present. Its safe to say that I have mastered poncho making & the double stitch, but the yarn I chose was too advanced for my skill level. Its one of those fuzzy yarns in deep blue tones. (Lion- Color Waves- Night Sky) It was just ssooo pretty I couldn't resist when I saw it on sale at Ollies. Should be lovely to wear when the weather is cool enough.

Read a few books during this period too, but no writing. Soon I hope to get back to the book I started in early June. So far, my family loves it, which is great to hear since I am really writing it for them. If I share it, it will have to be a freebie, as its another fan-fic. I needed to write something like that again though, as every time I have gotten serious I get well-intentioned comments from friends & relatives that discussed far too glowingly how I could make it 'pay.' My creative side hates pressure; I freeze right up. I have 3 mysteries now fully plotted, largely written...but now thawing until I can stand to work with them again... *sigh* At least people liked what I showed them.

One of the most valuable gifts friends gave me online was to simply enjoy my writing, small criticisms included, even big ones when necessary...and NOT bring up real world pressures in the middle of the discussion. I have missed my old sounding board, but haven't sought others. That WAS a big help, but it was also risky in ways I didn't recognize until later. I have always had an audience here, I just have had to make a new policy not to discuss the possibly commercial projects until they are much further along. :D

Getting Real Retro....

2009-06-14T14:38:00.008-04:00

Now here's a song both my hubby and I totally related to back in the same era as "Gotta Wear Shades" (see last post)

This is "Every Little Kiss" by Bruce Hornsby..who actually is from our area. Yep, the area does look like this, just a little off the tourist tracks. His relatives live up the road. They're good folks.

Bruce Hornsby - Every Little Kiss
Uploaded by jpdc11. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

The weird thing about the big 80's was that it was all over the media how great the economy was doing but these economic wonders were pretty much absent in most small towns we knew. Big box stores were still coming in and by then they were starting to put a real hurt on the Mom & Pop biz. Industry, what was left of it, concentrated in the cities. Virginia's economy, on the whole, wasn't hurting too badly in the late 80's but people still felt very competitive for what was 'left' in their home towns. Some were real ugly about it, and looked for ways to disqualify rivals in the same community. Old 'battle lines' tend to show up when benefits or good jobs are believed to be in limited supply. The most recent scars always strain first in the human body, singular or collective.

This area was & still is "Watertown" - with plenty of port cities, seafood, construction, and tourism - but a lot of the regular jobs but didn't pay that well outside the one big shipyard or higher levels with the Navy. Obviously, being a Navy family means a lot of deployments, but even merchant marine sailors, truck drivers, & union guys often get trained here and then have to look for a break in one of those well-paid, well-protected circles....or work elsewhere ...if they can. Construction will do that to you too, since that industry is dependent on all the others. Working out of town to get ahead has long been the norm for a lot of guys all over the country. We haven't been exempt.

Another song from Hornsby that more closely represents that era, as we knew it.
"Just The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range

Bruce Hornsby - The Way It Is
Uploaded by jpdc11. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Hornsby is advocating change in the song. His point is that people tend to excuse bad, selfish ways and prejudicial habits as established policy, or as so ingrained in that huge social construct we call civilization that its useless to fight. "But don't you believe them!"

Hornsby had another huge hit back then called "Mandolin Rain." Its a sad ballad but its just ssooo beautiful. I was very surprised that so few outside our country said they had heard Hornsby's songs. They've been off the top charts long enough a lot of US teens haven't heard them either. This is a serious shame, because he's a lot more than a local hero. Bruce Hornsby was & is a real artist worth remembering.

The economy was better for most people in the 80's. Reagonomics did seem to work when companies didn't ship too many local jobs overseas. BUT life was only spectacularly good for relatively few. I mostly remember people going from worrying about nuclear holocaust (apocalypse films, Mad Max et al- were also an 80's thing) to worrying about getting and holding a reasonable job. Manic Monday, Money For Nothing, Fast Car, Another Day in Paradise, She Works Hard For the Money -and a number of similar 80's songs made the same point.

After all that serious reflection I need a lighter, escapist note ~ so here's the only vaguely related 80's hit "Down Under" from the band Men At Work

& "Tarzan Boy" A truly silly, cheery one-hit-wonder from the same time..in its original cheesy music video. I'd not actually seen the video before looking it up today. Man, if this guy were any more obvious he'd be doing the time warp again... :D

Gotta Wear Shades...

2009-06-13T19:28:00.003-04:00

Channel surfing the other night I happened to catch that late 80's hit "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades" on Pop-Up video. I remembered the song, though I hadn't thought about it in literally years.

I had thought of it as an 'upbeat' song that nevertheless tended to depress people - especially since it was still hugely in play when the economy went south a year or two after it went gold. No - this was the OTHER Wall Street failure, kids..the S & L embezzlement scheme in the late 80's that nearly bankrupted the world....billions were suddenly lost overnight. Countries were still tottering years later from its domino effects.... Still the song reminded me of old hopes, and a time when the economy was doing better - for other people, grant you, but still...

VH1 Pop-Up Video was able to remind me of a lot of things I'd forgotten about that era...like how the movie 'Shades' went with- Real Genius had been the kiss of death for Val Kilmer's career. (All the younger ones are now saying "Val who?") Seriously, kids, he'd been very famous until that bomb of a movie. To this day, I don't know WHY it bombed. It was actually a decent enough flick, and Val was good in it.

So..it was interesting to read the pop-up notations that also mentioned that:

1. The ground the music video was shot on turned out to be Sacred, and adjacent to Burial Grounds for a tribe of Native Americans (the pop-up version points out the specific rocks of the Indian Burial Ground behind the band). There's usually a curse associated with fooling with those.

2. The Shuttle Challenger referenced in the video, blew up not that long afterward...

3. A decades-old beauty contest referenced in the video was permanently canceled right afterward...

4. and the song itself did not lead to anything lasting for the band themselves. As talented as they were said to be, this remained their One Hit Wonder.

5. Even the donkey used in the video died right afterward - admittedly, he was an elderly donkey. He'd been most famous for his appearances as the booby prize in Let's Make a Deal, the old game show.

..and I think I mentioned already that the economy went into a recession not long after, which, yes, slashed the budgets for the sort of high-paying entry level research jobs the song celebrated.

My Mom thinks even the trailer in the video was a recalled model....

You might just get the idea the song & projects associated with it WEREN'T "heavenly blessed & worldly wise," but the imagery in it has remained popular, especially with techies. A classy-looking MMO used similar imagery in its beginning to the music video and had slew of problems getting off the ground, far more than expected technical bugs, publisher support, funding issues, you name it. I couldn't help but wonder if the shades-wearing techies making that game had ever seen the Pop-Up Video version of the song? I'm guessing not...

Its interesting to me that everyone still remembers 'Shades' as a winners' song, and a reasonable way to encourage new and upcoming graduates with the tasty potential fruits of their labors. Others tend to remember it as a song to sing when they win big or whatever.

So - what do you think? Was it just really unlucky timing? If the music IS cursed...is it just because the band accidentally crossed an ancient shaman?

How many people thought this song was pretty innocent? Did you?

Do you think that because many people have gotten good opportunities for earthly success, everyone less blessed has only themselves to blame (unless they are rapidly dying of cancer or something)?

We talked it over and filtered it through the lens of our memories. What came back was how much the song had depressed most people we knew in the late 80's & early 90's. It highlighted the disparity in opportunities for those not in the favored programs/ colleges/ departments. I can recall the bitterness of grads with Master's & PHDs in less valued fields on hearing that song. Not everyone is an engineer or a computer person, you know? One Political Science grad we knew ended up shift manager at a local convenience store for awhile. It paid better than his other options! A Liberal Arts Master ended up flipping burgers to keep going, but eventually was able to switch to tutoring students & a banking job. (He is a wonderful actor, but that is such a competitive field.) A doctorate in Marine Biology ended up as a secretary in the early 90's. She'd have loved to have gotten that shift manager's job. She later died young of an unexpected brain disease. Out of maybe a couple of hundred people we've known with really GOOD educational credentials, exactly one had the sort of opportunities mentioned in the song. We haven't seen him in a few years.

..and yes, he liked sunglasses. He probably liked the song too, though we never asked him. Now I don't begrudge the guy his blessing, but it sure highlighted to me what is wrong with saying that everyone could be a worldly success, if they just tried hard enough. Not all talents are valued by companies (or society) equally.

(and here you thought I was going to discuss the hard-working millions of working class who couldn't go to college for whatever reason, or go for very long, and still heard "Future's So Bright" pushed on the radio day after day - right? right... I did think of mentioning the millions who are lucky to see even a whole meal from one day to the next, and all those 'basic' undervalued talents for say, growing the food we all depend on, but..nah...)

I always had ambivalent feelings about the song myself. Its perky sounding, but my life has been not been that easy. Seemed like hearing it kinda rubbed on old sore spots as I continued to struggle with finances and faith. As I grew in faith & saw God answer my prayers over the years it bothered me less and less to hear it. I believe it is good to rejoice with other people's blessings. I count on God for mine and hope others will praise God with me for what He gives me. I don't identify with a view of success as a high-paying job that 'buys a lot of beer' - so it got easier and easier to put the song out of memory when it wasn't on the radio. & Since I quit listening to the radio long ago, that limited possible exposure to this song to 80's retrospectives (lumped in with songs I liked better). Like I said, I hadn't thought about it in years. Now I am REAL glad I didn't identify with it more. I really do think it marked a turning point for American history somehow.

We talked about it here for awhile and came to the conclusion that its the theme itself, with its focus on worldly success & partying that wasn't likely to have pleased God. "Shades" tempted the abundantly blessed to pride and selfish attitudes, and those less blessed were tempted to envy or despair on hearing it. It probably wasn't so much the cause of the things that broke right afterward but a reflection of attitudes that already annoyed the Lord who loves those who humble themselves and brings down the haughty.

So - by now you are wanting to see the Macbeth of music videos for yourself, yes?

As it happens, even if it wasn't giving me the heebie jeebies, I couldn't play the song for you. The VH1 page was having technical issues when I tried to access it, and Youtube has been asked not to allow embedding elsewhere. I leave you the Youtube link to "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades" on this paragraph only.

On an equally weird note, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was meant to be sarcastic, according to Bobby McFerrin - instead it genuinely cheered up a lot of people who heard it, helping them cope with the rough times it referenced. After seeing the other video, you might want to treat yourself. Just clickee this paragraph :)

With Virtual Eyes, I See You

2009-05-11T15:37:00.009-04:00

This is a Catholic article about treating online time & online relationships well ~ and its well worth the time to read & reflect on it. I have to say it agrees with my own findings over the years. I went fully online for the first time in the summer of 2000 (our BBS time doesn't really count, as it was too cranky to do more than turn in papers and play a few games). I arrived online after several years of relative solitude, freshly released from health worries for my family for a season, and with a full understanding that those I spoke to online were real human beings with real lives, problems, and feelings. This was strengthened by the intense closeness of the community I first joined, but the affectionate relationships I developed were the silver lining to what was becoming a pretty serious storm cloud. My husband eventually equated the situation to having a vacation in a demiletarized zone! I had gone to hang out and have fun with like-minded people, but it was a community under attack by ambitious, manipulative people, and several saw me as competition. (What can I say? My personality is rather good-sized too. :) Others came in believing they were under some religious obligation to attack anything that smelt of clean fun... yes, really.

A number of those I encountered had already had their sensibilities blunted by the limitations of online discourse. Now some of the most manipulative were already that way in real life ~ in other words, the medium had not made an appreciable difference in their message, but for many of the youngsters - oh, it made ALL the difference. They saw life through the eyes of public school and cartoon/avatar images in their imaginations. They couldn't "see" me. A friend actually made an online personality to try and open the eyes of the 'virtually blind.' I am not sure it worked for more than a few, but I always respected that valiant effort.

Being mean to people you can't see is all too easy for the childish and cowardly. Now understand that anyone can feel petty or childish on their worst days and add that to the incredible amount of misunderstandings available in rapidly TYPED messages (where one poor turn of phrase can start a feud) and its easy to see why so many online relationships sour if they have no offline, in person, physical reinforcement.

Don't think Christian-based communities are immune to this. All the Redeemed are on a different part of our journey with Jesus. Its also helpful to remember that there are a wide variety of churches out there, and many are very worldly in outlook. Its quite a downer to meet someone who believes they are irrevocably saved by their denomination's specific doctrine (which makes them 'more' saved than you ) and therefore 'fireproof' against God's requirements ...and subsequent corrections for disobedience. This is the type that usually doesn't think reading scripture & praying daily is all that important, and that, in any case, all that bad stuff that can happen is only judgment when it happens to someone else!

I will probably always remember the twit who claimed that the "loving your neighbor" didn't apply online because of the physical distances. I am REAL sure our 'neighbor,' in the Godly sense, is anyone we encounter in ANY MANNER (after all, none of the people who ignored the injured man in the Good Samaritan parable were said to be natural, next-door neighbors - and the Samaritan was a foreigner!) ...but be aware, there are self-professed 'Christians' who hold this other view. I can guarantee you that anyone who doesn't feel any obligation toward ethics or manners in online encounters is a problem for the entire community they join, not just you.

There are other pitfalls too. I understood that some of the folks that became strongly attached to the community were needing replacements for Real Life lacks. I love most people, and most people love to be loved, but the particularly needy can be hard to satisfy. It takes time to know that is what you are up against. Its hard to stop spending much time with these folks if you care, because they can get hurt so very easily, and because it feels so virtuous to be reaching out to those who seem to need your time and affection so very much, but it IS a trap...one that can swallow your life whole until you climb back out of it. I have already been down that road in real life, and spent much of my time with those I recognized as being in that category evangelizing (sometimes more than I was comfortable with) because I knew they need Jesus a lot more than they need me. They can hang on to Him for dear life here and hereafter and He'll never mind a bit, the Holy Spirit never has to shift His attention away (God is the ultimate multitasker), and will never disappoint their hunger for HUGE amounts of unconditional love. (His JUSTICE requires good behaviour out of us, but His LOVE never has been bounded and never will. He hates sin but not us. That's why there is so much mercy available to free us from our sins!) God is the only one who can do all they desire. God is the only one who can heal these deep aching needs and be with them everywhere, everywhen.

Others I met needed only a friend, but still needed Jesus to fix their self-loathing, cowardice, depression, and other ills. I tried not to push my faith at them, but sooner or later I was bound to briefly mention (as an option) the Answer I believe in with all my heart, soul, and life, ~ and that's bad enough for some. Mentioning the Blessed Hope made me a better target ~ but then, doesn't it always? If you love those you encounter enough to truly try to help them, I guarantee you will be a target too.

I ended up spending so much time trying to counsel those I found and cared about that I began to lose ground in my home. I had to back off in order to keep my family first, and I did, but I don't think it was ever really accepted that I was truly too busy to continue putting in hour after hour, visiting and comforting, day after day.

Backing off made it easier for the hostile-minded to turn more kiddos from me and what comfort I still had time to offer, since I wasn't doing so much for them anymore. I kept getting words from everyone who knew me that my time of intense involvement wouldn't last, and was essentially allowed by God as a learning experience - even when I was enjoying my time there the most. That helped, but I can't honestly say I have wanted to repeat those times so I have wondered what the lesson was preparation for, if you know what I mean.

...and all this was WITHOUT Orcut...Facebook...Myspace...Yahoo 360....Twitter... or even Blogger, whose restraint in formatting I appreciate ever more as time goes on. I don't mind sharing little essays when I have something to say, but I really don't want a page that recreates that sense of demand on my time I felt back in my early internet days.

I mention all this for those who read this and may be debating proper limits in an involving community setting. These community pages (Facebook, Orcut, and the like) are meant to organize and make easier to manage what I had going ~ sharing photos, chats, private messages etc ~ all on one page. That also means its MUCH easier for a Newbie to get sucked in to that whole online-centric lifestyle just by adding a few interest groups. Its easy to get overwhelmed by responses when you are recognized by a highly interactive group as a productive/valued member.

So what is the bottomline? I recommend caution now in making online friendships (and it saddens me to say that.) Those that you are sure you'd like to know better - well, pray a lot first, and give it a little time. Let the initial charm wear off a little bit. Keep in mind that online friendships need to be reinforced in real world terms to have any hope of being lasting. Use what options are available to you - visits, cards, phone calls, teamspeak, personal meetings... This helps determine who was being real with you online, though you will still have to be wary of the seasoned manipulators. I also recommend deliberately limiting how many hours you consider 'available' - using a timer or planned 'openings' in your personal schedule - and with your family understanding that they come first in any conflict of interest. I am in a lot of places these days, but am much harder to 'catch' ~ and that seems to be the right answer for me and mine right now.

Cute as a Speckled Pup....

2009-05-01T13:32:00.001-04:00

He's getting more speckled-y all the time too ;)

Meet our new pup, cute as a button but full of mischief - yips, nips, chews, and cat chases. Jack is allegedly half chihuahua, half terrier (His dad is definitely half terrier-half Chihuahua, but we think his mom is really a Chiweeenie.) He's a fun pup, but definitely more of a challenge than you'd think when he enthusiastically licks your face and snuggles up to you. We will have to watch him around strangers, as he definitely will bite, especially when very excited. Mind you, right now that is not a big deal, with his little puppy teeth - and we're working with him, so hopefully we'll have him well socialized before too long!

We weren't honestly planning on getting a dog. Came about like this - a longtime fiend of DH kept bringing up his wish to give us a puppy when his Chiweenie grew up, as he was sad we didn't have one anymore. DH hubby said sure, that'd be great, knowing said friend was really wanting to offer an olive branch - and was letting him know he understood that. Its a Christian thing. We really should allow people to apologize and make amends when they sincerely want to do that. We were sure that is how Tom's friend meant it. We were also aware that it was going to be a long time before such a promise could be kept - who knew if she would even have puppies? She was a nice dog, and our friend was expressing a nice sentiment. That was the end of it for a long time - and then we get the news in late winter that she was expecting so we would soon have a puppy! (This was a surprise in two ways. Known him for over 20 years and I believe this is the longest this friend has ever remembered a promise. He keeps them when he remembers them, its just that his memory hasn't usually been this good.) Whee! Four pups were born, but the littlest one didn't make it. All three survivors were cute little males. A few weeks later we were asked to come and pick one. We chose the friendliest, which happened to be the biggest, while stressing that he didn't really have to do this...it was okay if he had other friends who wanted one.... etc. We spent some time praying about it, but decided to leave it in God's hands rather than reject the well-meant gift. I think my last prayer was, if you really want us to have this puppy, then let our friend give the pup to us directly. He showed up a week or three later (we usually go see HIM!) and handed the little guy over.

So now we have a companion while we work in the gardens, a little one making mornings come way too early. lol On the whole we like Jack very much. Even the cats like him, when he isn't too much in their faces. Usually he enjoys chasing them a small way, and then backs up when they turn around. Occasionally L & K chase Jack! LOL

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T20:10:00.003-04:00

Our Easter was quite nice :) Nice weather to cook a lamb roast by... We didn't get much chocolate or do baskets, but the kids did a few eggs as you can see. We spent a lot of the time thanking Christ for His sacrifice and for the many blessings He brings into our lives. Thank you, Jesus!

Spring Sights

2009-04-11T16:22:00.002-04:00

~Above All ~ we should remember this Good Friday

2009-04-10T00:01:00.001-04:00

another gem passed along by Aardvark (Thanks! :)

March ~ local road trip

2009-04-09T13:01:00.002-04:00

This was in March, when the clover was indeed just beginning to peek its cheerful way through area lawns...

I feel it shows the parkway & bridge area nicely in early spring. Becka took these pics while I drove. If all continues to go well, soon I'll be taking some pics heh heh heh

Keeping Your Monitor Clean

2009-04-07T21:47:00.002-04:00

from Aardvark::

Everyone knows about the need for running an anti-spyware, anti-virus, and even an external cleaning periodically (you know the spray air cans, etc.) You can carefully clean the outside surface of your monitor of dust, fingerprints, and such.

Well how are you supposed to clean the inside of your computer screen?

Here's how. It's free and you can do it as often as you notice any smears or smudges that don't seem to be on the outside:

Creative Freedom

2009-03-27T14:35:00.005-04:00

"Everyone is a genius... But if you judge a fish on it's ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life believing that it is stupid" -Albert Einstein

I started off thinking that if you watch the video you will have plenty of food for thought without hearing much from me. ..but then I started writing..and found I had plenty to say.

Its an odd thing, but I just haven't felt like /talking/ lately, at least not outside the house where we ponder many serious things on a regular basis. There's plenty going on, politically & personally. The news is full of fascinatingly horrible announcements, and there is more that most major news services WON"T announce that concern MANY people like the possible effects of bills like H.R. 875/ S.425, NAIS, Codex Alimentarius which some claim will ban our freedom to use herbs & vitamins, & CPSIA which has indeed impacted the poor and a number of businesses. Worse it has caused many thrifts, charities, and even libraries to get rid of many decent children's items & even older books to reduce their liability - (& people have tried in their dozens to alert the news services so its definitely a choice.) -and then they wonder why people aren't as supportive of the commercial news outlets as they used to be :P Instead we get news stories that report (truthfully enough) that many people are not all that happy with what is being tried in Washington to fix our economy. Seriously - MANY small businesses are in danger of being negatively impacted by all the above legislation, and with the comparatively low ceiling Obama is suggesting for raising taxes into the bargain (I have been told by several who would know that all income from a small business, no matter how many people & supplies have to be paid out of it can qualify as personal taxable income in a number of circumstances) and its no dang wonder people aren't 'hopeful' about what it being tried! People feel like big banks & biz are getting bailouts and the little guys are in danger of being squeezed even worse all over the place!

OH, and have you heard that small business is supposed to be the big hope for turning our economy around? You can check the links out above, if you feel like learning more about these issues. Don't expect to hear much about it on t.v.

Maybe the news services are too scared to really cover these issues - I didn't think that was possible, given how large most of those are, but look at THIS story.

In the end, we find the only confidence we have is in God - so we pray and move on. You can only do so much with being 'aware.' We need heaven's favor, for certain! I have wondered if being concerned about 'the big picture' was affecting my desire to chatter. Maybe, but I don't know that this is the reason. I feel at peace within myself - and usually I like to share that feeling.

On the home front - we've got new pictures I keep meaning to share, we're gearing up for spring outside, I've learned a new craft, we've got a new pet..yadda yadda yadda... I just haven't felt like blogging about it - or even telling my groups. Maybe its the weather, which has been rainy enough, certainly, but as the temps have been moderate most of the time, it shouldn't be affecting me that much. Actually I don't feel down. I just don't feel chatty. Been lurking everywhere, but mostly enjoying myself in a low key way. Planned to put up a St Patrick's Day remembrance but didn't even do that. *shrugs* At least I sent cards...

Maybe this video about creative freedom & teaching - which is way too good NOT to share - has finally gotten me moving. Time will tell.

Happy Valentine's Day2 U

2009-02-14T20:00:00.004-05:00

Its not a major holiday, but its nice to remember those we remember fondly on this spring-weather day. Had a lovely meal out with hubby. Mom received a pretty pendant and a bouquet for the table from us all. We're sharing a strawberry cake and rejoicing in our love for one another. Not everyone has a family that truly cares for each other the way we do. Its worth remembrance! Praying your Valentine's Day is equally blessed.

You might like to check out the Valentine ecard Becka made. Its on her blog :)

belated holday pics

2009-02-07T14:30:00.004-05:00

Meant to share this MUCH earlier... still...better late than never. Kids had a pretty good Christmas. Relatives all sent money to them. Becka used most of hers to get little presents for the rest of us. William used most of his to buy an ipod. Our toys to him tended to be more traditional - ran across a shop with old tin toys. He loved them, though the Wii Nerf Blast game from my biological father was the biggest hit of the day. He's won it already! As for the rest of us, we mostly got each other ...books You'd never have guessed, right? LOL Well, Becka got some 'pretties' too. Didn't take many pictures, but here's a few for you.

William did a GREAT job on the gingerbread house this year!

Psych test

2009-01-06T01:32:00.001-05:00

I got the "Counselor" rating

Counselors have an exceptionally strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others, and find great personal fulfillment interacting with people, nurturing their personal development, guiding them to realize their human potential. Although they are happy working at jobs (such as writing) that require solitude and close attention, Counselors do quite well with individuals or groups of people, provided that the personal interactions are not superficial, and that they find some quiet, private time every now and then to recharge their batteries. Counselors are both kind and positive in their handling of others; they are great listeners and seem naturally interested in helping people with their personal problems. Not usually visible leaders, Counselors prefer to work intensely with those close to them, especially on a one-to-one basis, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes.

aandd.. a really long page of insights that seemed pretty much correct

Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging

Beneath the quiet exterior, INFJs hold deep convictions about the weightier matters of life. Those who are activists -- INFJs gravitate toward such a role -- are there for the cause, not for personal glory or political power.

INFJs are champions of the oppressed and downtrodden. They often are found in the wake of an emergency, rescuing those who are in acute distress. INFJs may fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless. The concept of 'poetic justice' is appealing to the INFJ.

"There's something rotten in Denmark." Accurately suspicious about others' motives, INFJs are not easily led. These are the people that you can rarely fool any of the time. Though affable and sympathetic to most, INFJs are selective about their friends. Such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words.

INFJs have a knack for fluency in language and facility in communication. In addition, nonverbal sensitivity enables the INFJ to know and be known by others intimately.

Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJs frequently find their niche.

Famous INFJs:

Nathan, prophet of Israel
Aristophanes
Chaucer
Goethe
Robert Burns, Scottish poet
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Fanny Crosby, (blind) hymnist
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Fred McMurray (My Three Sons)
Shirley Temple Black, child actor, ambassador
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, martyr
James Reston, newspaper reporter
Shirley McClain (Sweet Charity, ...)
Piers Anthony, author ("Xanth" series)
Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie)
Tom Selleck
John Katz, critic, author
Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary)
U. S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL)
Billy Crystal
Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury)
Nelson Mandela
Mel Gibson
Carrie Fisher
Nicole Kidman
Jerry Seinfeld
Jamie Foxx
Sela Ward
Mark Harmon
Gary Dourdan
Marg Helgaberger
Evangeline Lilly
Tori May

Cool!

Feel free to try it yourself :))

Crazy Law!

2009-01-04T19:13:00.001-05:00

Just got this alert from one of my homeschool groups::

"For those of you who haven’t heard the news yet, on February 10, 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act comes into effect. One of the major changes that this program will bring into play is a mandate that everything sold for children 12 and younger will have to be tested for lead and phthalates, and anything that isn’t tested (or that fails) will be considered hazardous and cannot be sold. Read more about the CPSIA at the L.A. Times and some interesting blog commentary from the fashion industry.

For new products, this isn’t an issue at all and is in fact a good thing. Many products are already being screened with such tests, and those that are not will be required to begin such testing shortly or will be pulled from the market. In terms of safety for my children, I’m quite happy with the effects of this law on new products.

Where things get interesting is with used products. Consider your local resale and thrift shop. Currently, all of their secondhand children’s clothes will have to be tested for lead and phthalates. Given that many such stores aren’t high-income operations - many are nonprofits - these shops simply cannot afford to do the testing on the children’s clothes on their shelves.

So what happens? Most thrift shops are currently not accepting any children’s clothing at all. Sometime in the next month or so, all thrift shops will have to clear all of their children’s clothing from the shelves … and send them to the landfill.
"

from Bookroom blog on the same issue

"If changes are not made to CPSIA immediately, then we will see millions of items of children’s clothing, toys, and books destroyed because they can no longer be sold in the United States. Our already burdened budgets will be pushed to the extreme as soon as we are faced with a steep rise in the cost of children’s products, due both to the extreme costs of testing and the disappearance of thousands of products from the market. CPSIA doesn’t affect only toys. It also includes clothing and shoes, the very necessities of life.

Retailers will not be able to do their own testing. We are not permitted to buy equipment or test kits to evaluate our own products. Instead, we at Jacobsen Books would need to purchase testing for every copy of every children’s book in our inventory. Since lead testing costs $100-$400 per product, it’s obvious that we’ll no longer be able to carry $2 to $5 children’s books. Unless action is taken soon, our favorite corner in our little store will no longer invite children to come, look, read, and enjoy.

Back in 2007, we all read with horror about the lead contamination of products purchased from China by the biggest toy retailers in the country. Normally, we like to see the punishment fit the crime, but in this case it looks like the biggest offenders will be rewarded by the progressive elimination of their smaller competitors."

Looks like it would effectively criminalize any seamstress making clothing or accessories for any compensation whatever - without paying outrageous fees per item - blocking yet another small business route for many.

I agree with Bookblog, this makes everyday people suffer for what big businesses have done, and makes even more people dependent on mass merchandisers as both small-time providers and everyday families would be greatly- negatively- impacted!

There are already too many laws that put small business opportunities out of reach - outrageous 'licensing' fees for start-up cart vendors, zoning policies that eliminate small cottage industries etc... Its long been said by the conspiracy-minded folks of our acquaintance that the government has been in bed with big businesses, working on ever more ways to make us all economic 'serfs' of the big biz interests. Used to think that was ridiculous, but decisions like this policy make that view ever more plausible. Have you heard about the efforts to criminalize herbs & home births & other traditional rights of the people to do and make for themselves? Weren't sure if those calls to save our freedom to do for ourselves were real? Well they are, sad to say. Amazing how little notice many major news services ever take note of such maneuvers...unless its as part of a PR campaign outlining the minor safety issues that were used as an excuse take major rights away. Tends to be up to area papers & local news companies to warn the public. I can only hope enough people will hear to make a difference before the damage is done.

The irony is that clothes made by small vendors are usually made from natural fibers from natural resources they have on hand (ie their own sheep) or from stock bolts & other parts (buttons, zippers) sold by large manufacturers that supposedly already passed by government safety checks. If these items already passed the test once, why is this an issue ? If they aren't passing the new standards, why not put the burden of testing on the large-scale manufacturers who failed testing before? Why attack used clothing and shoes stores for children? Other kids have already survived using these, you know?

Yes, there's some risk in using an older object that may have slipped past our government's watchdogs, but outlawing poverty coping mechanisms won't make the world safe. It just makes poor people even poorer! Why should the general public, thrift stores, and small seamstresses suffer to correct safeguard oversights? Why should the public be limited to buying their clothing from businesses big enough to buy these testing kits? Why not limit this to substances at least that might reasonably be a hazard... like lead-looking buttons, instead of including handmade wood buttons & cotton shirts? Why can't we just make 'good faith' declarations that we won't sell stuff we think is dangerous - and leave liability as an issue to those who do?

Why are we, the public, losing the right to sell our own used property? Its kids stuff today. What will it be tomorrow?

Oh, right, because the companies have answers for all our gov't checkpoints & tests. Besides, its easier to pick on poor people. I knew that. :P

This doesn't affect us immediately, and we can sew here anyway, but it is still extremely upsetting, as it has the capacity to do so much harm to so many good people.

This could really hurt a lot of families with little kids. So many families DEPEND on 2nd-hand clothing stores for everything. The give-away charities may or may not be immediately affected, but its unlikely they can take in all the over-flow, and that means that can be little done toward stocking for future crises - like the truckloads of stuff that have been sent in to help in every natural disaster. You could see kids seriously doing without basics in the fairly near future, wearing t-shirts in winter & shoes that don't fit, if this misguided policy is put into effect.

If you are one of those families, see what you can get your hands on NOW and squirrel away those larger sizes & cute pre-schooler ABC books. God have mercy on us all.

What a way to start the New Year...

What a way to start Obama's presidency. I doubt he is in any way responsible for it, but if he can't get this amended to more human terms A.S.A.P, it will be associated with him and negatively impact his public support in many households, especially those who made clothes for their neighbors as home business & all the working class families who can't dress baby nicely at Goodwill anymore.

This is bad.

This is really bad.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T21:36:00.003-05:00

Hope yours was as quiet and pleasant as ours. We played games during the day, and did our small family gathering thing with some nice cheeses & crackers & a small taste of an inexpensive champagne at midnight. Didn't especially try to watch for the tv showing of the NY crystal ball droppping down, but we saw it anyway. We caught the pronouncements of the reporters of how the economy couldn't get worse, so it must soon get better' and how 'it was like a church service with John Lennon's "Imagine" as a hymn' and wondered uneasily what God thought of it. Lennon's song asks us to 'imagine no possessions' 'no heaven, hell, or religion' and 'no country.' Wow- think they'd like to get what they just prayed for? I wouldn't...

Prayed together and let it go. We trust in Him, that's what we have to focus on. Other people will do what they choose.

At least the weather was fairly nice.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T09:57:00.002-05:00

Hope your holiday remembrances for this year were worth cherishing. Our Christmas was pretty good all things considered. The kids & Mom loved their presents. Tom & I enjoyed the few goodies we couldn't resist getting for each other. Even the venison roast & ham dinners (for Christmas Eve dinner & Christmas respectively) came out very well. Becka's garlands hit a new height in artistic beauty & DS made an adorable Gingerbread house scene. Even the kitties enjoyed their catnip mice and feathered toys. The feathers are still floating around, actually. Well, at least they were loved to death ;)

Weather was warm-ish - mid-50's- and overcast. No snow at all, though there was plenty on the news for other places.

Read on one Christmas site that if Christ was truly born in September, as many now believe, then Christmas is actually near the anniversary of the Annunciation - His immaculate conception. That would work too, IMHO

Our Christmas Card 2U

2008-12-18T16:10:00.002-05:00

Our new card is up. This is just the tiny version. You can see the big, wallpaper-y one at the site. We've added all kinds of hidden object & flash fun too.

Wishing You and All Your Dearest a Happy Holiday!

For Such Things

2008-12-18T14:34:00.007-05:00

I don't want to get into a downer, so I will try to deal with this as quickly as possible and get back to happier things ('choosing joy' :). I do feel like I should say this. While a lot of us are enjoying the holiday, and trying to make others happy, the spirit of anti-Christmas seems to grow every year. I've met entirely too many people who avoid any sort of recognition of festiveness in this season - and others who want to make your day a bad one if they can, even when you've gone out of your way to be good to them.

Its a part of the general 'end times' garbage, yes. The love of many has been growing cold. But its appalling to me how acceptable being overtly ugly has become. Too many 'dark' sitcoms and comedies are having their effect, sad to say. Realized that selfish sitcomness was what one frizzy-haired female was playing toward at the village movie place the other day. I was taking my son to see their last showing of Bolt, basically because their prices are cheaper. When I got there, the female made a big 'show' (with no other audience - no line) how she had printed out the website page (she said) that showed they had stopped it one showing earlier. Now I knew that the website had showed the kiddo movie listed to play not two hours before. I also know what their page should look like if it were printed out, and that wasn't it. The fact she was so happy to wave it around actually proved she expected to be challenged - which would be a tad suspicious if the website had ALWAYS said the showings she claimed... But beside pointing this out, there was nothing to do but take DS to the GOOD theater, where the prices are the national average, but they have a good selection of films, they treat you with respect, its clean, the chairs are comfortable, there are no funny lines in the screen, and the sound system is perfect - you know, everything her shop is not. We arrived 15 minutes before their next showing, with lots of time to get parked, get snacks, and get settled. Primo. Job well done.

[Bolt is another good kid's film, for the record. It was a tad cliched, but well done. Loved the nutty hamster. Recommended!]

As I went up the road to the other, BETTER, movie house - I worked to let go of the minor irritation induced by said goofy female by talking quietly to God about it. I soon realized that my annoyance was in my belief she was deliberately lying to me - but I seemed to hear God was unhappy with her wanting to make us feel bad...a sin that is becoming all too common. She manage to aggravate me mildly for about 15 minutes, but she wanted very much to ruin my day. I don't know for a fact that this is correct, but I believe this is what I heard. I have been seeing more and more people being ugly to each other as a form of humor out on the streets, as I have been shopping. I rarely get any of it aimed at me personally, but its not that fun to be around.

One day we were at Trader Joe and everyone was ssooo nice - and happy --- and peaceful with one anther. We were tripping to get out of each other's way - it wasn't just the employees that were being so nice. We chatted to each other about holiday plans as we looked at the various goodies, and tried TJ's cheeses and whatnot. Then I realized how rare such scenes have become. Why? Because most people aren't trying to be nice to those they meet. They don't feel like they have to - and they don't particularly want to be good to those they meet. They refuse to recognize the season with anyone they don't have to - won't even send politically-correct, secularized expressions of Merry Christmas/ Happy Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa/ Blessed Winter Solstice or whatever.

I keep opening my Bible to places where God talks about the ugly way people were behaving in ancient Zion as He began to judge them. I would like to say we don't deserve to get what they got, but it seems to me that many I meet and hear from here are getting closer and closer to that negative checklist. (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah...go have a look)

I just can't see God blessing America much until we are more inclined to bless one another with such goodwill as we have. If people can't summon up enough goodwill to wish those they meet a happy holiday, can't even desire it for strangers, its not likely they will have a blessed Christmas themselves. For, pagan origins or no, God likes to see us love one another- and the Christmas season has been the best opportunity for many centuries here in the West to bless all those around you. Its sad to see this die, and scary to think what will follow.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-16T22:23:00.005-05:00

Always loved that Snowglobe :))

Just had to upload this old fav when I saw I could share it with you. You can shake it with your mouse - but be prepared to feel a little guilty ;)

We've been very busy with continuing trips to the orthodontist (mild complications), and catching up on Christmas obligations after finally getting past that bad cold/flu whatsit, but we are making progress! The last of the larger mail went out today. Our youngun's Christmas is pretty much bought. The house is decorated. We've eaten through 3 crates of Celementines & 1 tin of Swedish Gingersnaps. We're doing an Advent calendar in the shape of a house this time, and we're nearly ready to make the gingerbread house. Hoping it comes out well this year. Some years it does, some years it doodnt. lol

& Best of all, we are finally getting this year's goodies updated on www.santapenguin.com - now located on a much better server. Its not all up quite yet. Looks like we need to tweak this year's e-card a bit more first. But there are changes! Becka made some lovely wallpapers this time, and I have added some Christmas Hidden Object challenges using our pictures. Feel free to dig into our digital Christmas present to you all whenever you have a minute - or three.

Blessings,
Susan & family

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T20:02:00.004-05:00

Well- Happy Thanksgiving weekend anyhow. :)

Hope yours was nice. Ours was quiet and full of tasty treats which we were able to eat - a little. Colds weren't completely gone, nor are they now, but at least I didn't have to set the box of tissues and a candy bowl of Ricolas next tot he cranberry sauce, as I joked. Mind you, they weren't far away...

We didnt take many pics, but maybe you'll like these. Also bday ones & latest cute kitty

I don't do the Black Friday thing. I'm out in the country, and the local ads did not inspire extreme efforts, especially given I'm still recovering from aforementioned bug and end of the month sales on after 2 birthdays & a holiday are always poorly timed for our finances anyway... We spent a little time talking about it and I am not all that happy with the whole concept. I admit this upfront as I am not so sure my negative opinion hasn't been affected by the fact that these events have never even been remotely convenient for us. So you can take these ruminations with that grain of salt.

It seems to me that planning these big sales events on the next morning past Thanksgiving would tend to cut into the holiday in several ways. There would be those who are visiting from out of town who would lose those hours to visit while this shopping goes on, unless they belong to that select minority who enjoys chit-chatting in crowds and queues. There would be those who would at least be tempted to end their visits early on Thanksgiving (or shoo away relations) so they can rest up for these early hour sales, and may be surly if family stays 'too long.' They might excuse it by saying they want to get these Dear Ones even better presents at that half-off discount, but wasn't the present thing all about enjoying and appreciating each others company? If you are the type to dread shopping but can only afford what X wanted when its dirt cheap between 5-9am (supplies are limited) - you might spend the whole day dreading that next morning. Will I manage to get one? Will it get ugly at the store? How early do I have to be there to ensure they don't run out (its so WRONG of merchants to brag about a huge sale of an item to THOUSANDS and then only send like 3, 5, 10 to the store! The limited early hours thing is bad enough!)

Why on Earth do these merchants insist on pushing into our holiday? Why couldn't they wait until Monday at least? Okay, thanks for your patience on my latest growl.

Tune in next time while I wonder why no one is considering a possible connection between the Somali pirates who attacked the Indian Navy last week & the 'unknown terrorists' who are using the same sort of weapons & arrived in the same sort of speedboat in Mumbai this week....