UPDATED:
Forbes.com has re-posted the article, but this time with a rebuttal, in Point/Counterpoint fashion. Cowards.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
My Favorite Albums - Number 10
I know what you've been thinking. What ARE Karl's favorite albums of all time? Why is he keeping us in suspense? Can I stand not knowing any longer? Well, rest your heads, my peeps. I have given it 15 solid minutes of thought, and have come up with my favorite albums (or CDs, if you must) of all time.
You know I mentioned that I collected Star Wars action figures, but that isn't the only thing that I have a tendency to accumulate. I have around 600 CDs, along with about 200 or so tapes. My iTunes includes almost 5000 songs, or about 13 days worth of music. So I'm a big music fan. I used to say that I enjoyed all kinds of music except country, but that definition doesn't really fit any more. My favorite types of music are probably classic rock and roll, followed by blues. I like some classic country, some grunge/alternative rock, some folk, some classical and even some rap. Basically, what I don't like is formulaic music. I am much more interested in artists with a unique sound or songwriting ability than I am with what's popular, although to be fair, most of my favorite artists are generally popular. I'm not going to rant about popular music today - if you want to hear a rant, see LJ's blog. But I will say that [insert current pop idol]=[insert current country star]=[insert most rap artists]=[insert any boy "band"]=vomit-inducing bilge. Basically, to be on my list, you need to write your own music, play at least one instrument, have talent, and be an innovator. And even if I don't personally enjoy your music, I will respect you if you fit that criteria.
Now before I get started, I need to lay out the ground rules. Greatest Hits collections, since they are not technically albums, do not count. Certainly, there are a few of them that I would have included otherwise, but I am going with the body of work as the artists (probably) intended. NON SEQUITER ALERT!! Have you ever noticed that I use parentheses a lot? What's up with that?
So basically, this is the list of ten albums I would take with me if I was stranded on a desert island.
Back Home Again - John Denver (1974)
Okay, I know after going through everything I said above, you're going to look at this and think, "What?!" I hear you. I should have mentioned one other thing when spelling out my musical tastes - there are some people who are grandfathered in. When I was a little boy, John Denver was my favorite musician. Of course, that was because my parents had several of his LPs. The first album that I ever owned was John Denver's Greatest Hits, and since it has sold over 10 million copies since it was first released, I'm not the only one out there. So if you are John Denver, Neil Diamond, or Hall and Oates, you are allowed to linger with those who more accurately fit my musical preferences, even though if I was just hearing you for the first time today I probably wouldn't be interested. I actually saw John Denver in concert twice, once in around 1977 (I was almost four), and once in 1997, just a few months before he died. You know, you can't afford to take a four-year-old to a concert any more. LJ and I are going to see Eric Clapton in October with a couple of folks from work, and the four tickets totalled nearly $400! But I digress...
Back Home Again was the album that made John Denver a superstar. Sure, he had already hit it big with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Rocky Mountain High." And the aforementioned Greatest Hits album had been released the previous year. But this album was the Academy of Country Music's 1974 Album of the Year, and arguably features more of his best and most well-known songs than any other. There isn't a bad one in the bunch. The beauty and purity of "Annie's Song" has made it a popular wedding song for decades. The autobiographical nature of songs like "Matthew," "On the Road," "This Old Guitar," and "Back Home Again," make one feel as if they are looking in to Denver's life - how he feels and what is important to him. The album is light-hearted and yet poignant and personal. And of course, there's the kneeslappers like "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "Grandma's Feather Bed," both written by members of Denver's band, to make you stomp your feet.
Critics of Denver dismiss him as naive and lightweight; a product of the sixties that never moved beyond the flower-child optimism. However, Denver went through family relocation, death (his favorite uncle and father), divorce, alcoholism, and drug addiction during his life and career, which easily could have turned him into a jaded cynic. He certainly knew that life wasn't always rosy and that peace and love didn't cure all ills. But he chose to write and sing music that was positive, optimistic and sometimes downright funny, because that's what he wanted his music to be. Although it's on the list for nostalgic reasons, Back Home Again is a master work by an artist the likes of which we will probably never see again.
You know I mentioned that I collected Star Wars action figures, but that isn't the only thing that I have a tendency to accumulate. I have around 600 CDs, along with about 200 or so tapes. My iTunes includes almost 5000 songs, or about 13 days worth of music. So I'm a big music fan. I used to say that I enjoyed all kinds of music except country, but that definition doesn't really fit any more. My favorite types of music are probably classic rock and roll, followed by blues. I like some classic country, some grunge/alternative rock, some folk, some classical and even some rap. Basically, what I don't like is formulaic music. I am much more interested in artists with a unique sound or songwriting ability than I am with what's popular, although to be fair, most of my favorite artists are generally popular. I'm not going to rant about popular music today - if you want to hear a rant, see LJ's blog. But I will say that [insert current pop idol]=[insert current country star]=[insert most rap artists]=[insert any boy "band"]=vomit-inducing bilge. Basically, to be on my list, you need to write your own music, play at least one instrument, have talent, and be an innovator. And even if I don't personally enjoy your music, I will respect you if you fit that criteria.
Now before I get started, I need to lay out the ground rules. Greatest Hits collections, since they are not technically albums, do not count. Certainly, there are a few of them that I would have included otherwise, but I am going with the body of work as the artists (probably) intended. NON SEQUITER ALERT!! Have you ever noticed that I use parentheses a lot? What's up with that?
So basically, this is the list of ten albums I would take with me if I was stranded on a desert island.
Back Home Again - John Denver (1974)
Okay, I know after going through everything I said above, you're going to look at this and think, "What?!" I hear you. I should have mentioned one other thing when spelling out my musical tastes - there are some people who are grandfathered in. When I was a little boy, John Denver was my favorite musician. Of course, that was because my parents had several of his LPs. The first album that I ever owned was John Denver's Greatest Hits, and since it has sold over 10 million copies since it was first released, I'm not the only one out there. So if you are John Denver, Neil Diamond, or Hall and Oates, you are allowed to linger with those who more accurately fit my musical preferences, even though if I was just hearing you for the first time today I probably wouldn't be interested. I actually saw John Denver in concert twice, once in around 1977 (I was almost four), and once in 1997, just a few months before he died. You know, you can't afford to take a four-year-old to a concert any more. LJ and I are going to see Eric Clapton in October with a couple of folks from work, and the four tickets totalled nearly $400! But I digress...
Back Home Again was the album that made John Denver a superstar. Sure, he had already hit it big with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Rocky Mountain High." And the aforementioned Greatest Hits album had been released the previous year. But this album was the Academy of Country Music's 1974 Album of the Year, and arguably features more of his best and most well-known songs than any other. There isn't a bad one in the bunch. The beauty and purity of "Annie's Song" has made it a popular wedding song for decades. The autobiographical nature of songs like "Matthew," "On the Road," "This Old Guitar," and "Back Home Again," make one feel as if they are looking in to Denver's life - how he feels and what is important to him. The album is light-hearted and yet poignant and personal. And of course, there's the kneeslappers like "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "Grandma's Feather Bed," both written by members of Denver's band, to make you stomp your feet.
Critics of Denver dismiss him as naive and lightweight; a product of the sixties that never moved beyond the flower-child optimism. However, Denver went through family relocation, death (his favorite uncle and father), divorce, alcoholism, and drug addiction during his life and career, which easily could have turned him into a jaded cynic. He certainly knew that life wasn't always rosy and that peace and love didn't cure all ills. But he chose to write and sing music that was positive, optimistic and sometimes downright funny, because that's what he wanted his music to be. Although it's on the list for nostalgic reasons, Back Home Again is a master work by an artist the likes of which we will probably never see again.
Pluto "not a planet"
Well this is especially disappointing. Pluto has been demoted by the International Astronomical Union, and is no longer a planet. Granted, the behavior and size of Pluto worked against it, as well as the fact that scientists discovered another Kuiper Belt object (2003 UB313) that was larger. Still, I always kind of liked Pluto for being remote, mysterious and quite different from the other planets. This definitely takes some of the shine off.
You would think that, given the fact that what is or isn't a planet is a totally arbitrary decision, scientists would have come up with a system that included Pluto, if for no other reason than to honor Clyde Tombaugh's improbable discovery of it in 1932. Isn't is more interesting to add planets to the solar system, as this proposal would have, rather than take them away?
You would think that, given the fact that what is or isn't a planet is a totally arbitrary decision, scientists would have come up with a system that included Pluto, if for no other reason than to honor Clyde Tombaugh's improbable discovery of it in 1932. Isn't is more interesting to add planets to the solar system, as this proposal would have, rather than take them away?
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Pluto's Moons
Well, if you are like me, and interested in astronomy, you might be interested to know that Pluto's two most recently discovered moons have been named. Along with Charon, which is quite large in comparison to Pluto, astronomers have named the two much smaller moons Nix and Hydra. It's amazing to me that so many objects are being discovered in our own solar system all the time. I remember when the Voyager probes flew by Jupiter and Saturn in the late 1970's and rewrote all the astronomy books. Before Voyager, Jupiter supposedly had 16 moons. Now, we know of eight regular moons, and at least six groups of irregular moons. We also learned through Voyager that Saturn wasn't the only planet with rings - Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune had them as well. What an amazing place God created for us. We still know so little about it.
Forbes.com and women with careers
I was going to publish a link to a Forbes.com article posted today about why men shouldn't marry women with careers. However, since (I assume) the article was mentioned on the Rush Limbaugh radio program and Fark.com (there's a combination for you), Forbes.com appears to have removed it from their site. Here is Rush Limbaugh's characterization of the article from his website :
"These are the reasons you should not marry a career woman: One, you're less likely to get married to her. She's not interested in it. Number two, if you do marry, you are more likely to get divorced if you marry a career woman. Number three, she is more likely to cheat on you if you marry a career woman. Number four, you are much less likely to have kids. That would be in my plus column. Number five, if you do have kids, your wife is more likely to be unhappy. Number six, your house will be dirtier. This is in Forbes magazine! This is the subject of a study done in 2005 by two University of Michigan scientists, concluding that if your wife has a job earning more than $15 an hour which is roughly 30 grand a year, she'll do two hours less housework a week. Number seven. If you marry a career woman, you'll be unhappy if she makes more than you do. And number eight, she'll be unhappy if she makes more than you do. And number nine, you're more likely to get sick if you marry a career woman."
Well, I don't know if the study's findings are true or not, but anecdotally, I would have to agree. Proving causality here is a different matter. I think it is likely that women who pursue careers are less interested in settling down with a man or less likely to be committed to one man from the get-go, rather than becoming that way because they pursue careers. They are generally less likely to feel that they need a husband or a child to have a full life. I am thankful nonetheless that LJ stays at home to teach and be there for the kids. I think we, as a family, will all be better off for it.
UPDATED:
Forbes.com has re-posted the article, but this time with a rebuttal, in Point/Counterpoint fashion. Cowards.
"These are the reasons you should not marry a career woman: One, you're less likely to get married to her. She's not interested in it. Number two, if you do marry, you are more likely to get divorced if you marry a career woman. Number three, she is more likely to cheat on you if you marry a career woman. Number four, you are much less likely to have kids. That would be in my plus column. Number five, if you do have kids, your wife is more likely to be unhappy. Number six, your house will be dirtier. This is in Forbes magazine! This is the subject of a study done in 2005 by two University of Michigan scientists, concluding that if your wife has a job earning more than $15 an hour which is roughly 30 grand a year, she'll do two hours less housework a week. Number seven. If you marry a career woman, you'll be unhappy if she makes more than you do. And number eight, she'll be unhappy if she makes more than you do. And number nine, you're more likely to get sick if you marry a career woman."
Well, I don't know if the study's findings are true or not, but anecdotally, I would have to agree. Proving causality here is a different matter. I think it is likely that women who pursue careers are less interested in settling down with a man or less likely to be committed to one man from the get-go, rather than becoming that way because they pursue careers. They are generally less likely to feel that they need a husband or a child to have a full life. I am thankful nonetheless that LJ stays at home to teach and be there for the kids. I think we, as a family, will all be better off for it.
UPDATED:
Forbes.com has re-posted the article, but this time with a rebuttal, in Point/Counterpoint fashion. Cowards.
Yellow Jacket super colonies
I cannot let a weird story that features a picture of a giant yellow jacket nest in a 1955 Chevrolet in my hometown go by.
Yellow Jacket Article
Yellow Jacket Article
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Messing with Life
Sunday morning, the pastor of the church we were attending made an interesting statement that has stuck with me. He has been speaking about the Creation and was focusing on Genesis 1:26, where God decides to create man in His image. The pastor then went on to say that the manipulation of life by man is wrong, since God alone is the Creator. I don't disagree with this.
He went on to show in Genesis 3 that God ordains capital punishment for those who murder, because killing a man is a sin against God, in whose image man was created. I hadn't thought about it exactly that way, but again, I don't disagree. He then stated that abortion was a sin because, again, men (or women) are taking life that God has ordained, and ending it. Finally, the kicker. He said that in vitro fertilization was wrong, because man is altering the natural birth process outside of the means God provided for reproduction, and because unwanted fetuses are disposed of, or perhaps used for the purposes of stem-cell research. I hadn't really thought about that. The next logical step I (not the pastor) made in my mind was then to birth control/sterilization. If it is a sin to manipulate the process by which God intended life to be created, would it not then be a sin to pick and choose when or if we will have children?
Now, this hit close to home. LJ and I made the decision after our fourth child, Abigail (Abbey or Abs, as I like to call her), that we were finished having children. The world would say that this was a smart decision (after of course, we are condemned and ridiculed for having four children in the first place). But what does God think about it? LJ and I will both tell you we have had a lot of second thoughts about that decision since the surgery, and while I think we made a decision that is backed by sound financial and mental health arguments, I'm not sure that I can say that it wasn't prideful, arrogant and sinful of us as well.
What do you think?
He went on to show in Genesis 3 that God ordains capital punishment for those who murder, because killing a man is a sin against God, in whose image man was created. I hadn't thought about it exactly that way, but again, I don't disagree. He then stated that abortion was a sin because, again, men (or women) are taking life that God has ordained, and ending it. Finally, the kicker. He said that in vitro fertilization was wrong, because man is altering the natural birth process outside of the means God provided for reproduction, and because unwanted fetuses are disposed of, or perhaps used for the purposes of stem-cell research. I hadn't really thought about that. The next logical step I (not the pastor) made in my mind was then to birth control/sterilization. If it is a sin to manipulate the process by which God intended life to be created, would it not then be a sin to pick and choose when or if we will have children?
Now, this hit close to home. LJ and I made the decision after our fourth child, Abigail (Abbey or Abs, as I like to call her), that we were finished having children. The world would say that this was a smart decision (after of course, we are condemned and ridiculed for having four children in the first place). But what does God think about it? LJ and I will both tell you we have had a lot of second thoughts about that decision since the surgery, and while I think we made a decision that is backed by sound financial and mental health arguments, I'm not sure that I can say that it wasn't prideful, arrogant and sinful of us as well.
What do you think?
Sidebar additions
I have added a few of my favorite books and artists on the sidebar of the blog. I thought about doing a favorite CD/albums list, but it will take more thought to narrow it down. I did split the books into fiction and non-fiction, and I definitely had a hard time digging out my favs. These are the books that I go back to over and over. These books make me laugh, cry (okay, only one of them did that), and think. Sometimes I think about writing my own book, but until then, these are the books I would like to have written.
Ten Most Popular Books of All Time
As an avid reader with a keen interest in statistics, a top ten list of the bestselling books of all time is of great interest to me. This particular list is based on the sales of the individual books, and there are some surprises:
10. In His Steps: "What Would Jesus Do?"
10. In His Steps: "What Would Jesus Do?"
Author: Rev. Charles Monroe Sheldon
Copies sold: 28,500,000
9. Valley of the Dolls
Author: Jacqueline Susann
Copies sold: 30,000,000
8. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
Author: Dr. Benjamin Spock
Copies sold: 39,200,000
7. World Almanac
Author: Who knows?
Copies sold: 40,000,000
6. A Message to Garcia
Author: Elbert Hubbard
Copies sold: 40-50,000,000
5. The McGuffey Readers
Author: William Holmes McGuffey
Copies sold: 60,000,000
4. The Guinness Book of Records
Author: Who knows?
Copies sold: 81,000,000
3. American Spelling Book
Author: Noah Webster
Copies sold: 100,000,000
2. Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung
Author: Mao Tse-tung
Copies sold: 800,000,000
1. The Bible
Author: God
Copies sold: 6,000,000,000
What, no Dr. Phil? I think they made the six billion number up, based on the article, although there's no question the Bible was number 1. I was intrigued by the fact that there was no "great work of literature" on the list (the Bible notwithstanding). Valley of the Dolls?!?
SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE: http://soyouwanna.grab.com/site/toptens/books/books.html
Monday, August 21, 2006
Ring of Fire
A burning ring of fire pretty well describes my back pain over the last couple of days. After attending church, and enjoying dinner with one of the families from the church, I lay down late yesterday afternoon in some pain, and by the time I got up I could barely walk again. I got up this morning and tried to get ready for work, but I just couldn't make it, so I've been on strict bed rest most of the day. Hopefully, I will be ready to tackle the stairs at work tomorrow.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Most irritating hobby
I collect Star Wars action figures. And ships. And playsets. LJ is not very fond of this hobby. As a matter of fact she thinks it's a waste of time and money. She's probably right (okay, okay, you ARE right, Leslie!) . But I've been collecting the figures since I was a wee lad, and I have a closet full of them. Well, a closet and a half. Actually, there's also a large toy box full of them at the end of the hall. And that doesn't count the action figures that I have bought for each of the kids. Leslie has bought the kids a few too, as bribes, so I'm not solely to blame. Maybe 98%.
In case you are reading this blog and don't know me already (unlikely as that may be), I have four kids. Two girls and two boys, between the ages of seven and almost three. Since the Star Wars action figures come with lots of small parts that are inappropriate for young children (guns, lightsabers, capes, jetpacks and whatnot), I keep a large plastic bag full of accessories for each child in a can in my bedroom closet. These bags of accessories have been the source of many conflicts in our house, and this week was the worst.
For some reason, my boys, Benjamin and Noah, are drawn to this can of guns and lightsabers like flies to a barbecue. Several times in the past, the boys have sneaked into the room and spirited a few of the choice items out to play with, and of course, they were punished accordingly. Well, it happened again Thursday. The Benj was getting ready for bed and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and lo-and-behold, he pulled out a double bladed Darth Maul lightsaber - accidentally.
"Where did that come from?" I asked naively. Without explanation, The Benj pulls handfuls of accessories from both jeans pockets. I'm talking helmets, guns, hats, capes, jackets, staffs, lightsabers, you name it. I have no idea what he was planning to do with them, as he had WAY too many of them to even realistically use. Well, of course, it was all NoahKrakatoa's fault, since he made The Benj get them out, and forced them into his pockets, no doubt. They both tried to implicate Queen Hannah as well, although she got off with just a warning since she had not taken anything from the can. So LJ blurts out, "That's it! Bring all your Star Wars stuff here. We're taking it away!" Let me tell you, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. I gathered up all the action figures, ships, lightsabers and playsets and put them away. I think The Benj refused to even say goodnight to Mommy that night.
Okay, so two days later, the home is still relatively calm. Even without Star Wars figures, the boys have both survived. Now, deep inside, I know that LJ is just waiting for me to slip up so she can take all my figures away and eBay them.
In case you are reading this blog and don't know me already (unlikely as that may be), I have four kids. Two girls and two boys, between the ages of seven and almost three. Since the Star Wars action figures come with lots of small parts that are inappropriate for young children (guns, lightsabers, capes, jetpacks and whatnot), I keep a large plastic bag full of accessories for each child in a can in my bedroom closet. These bags of accessories have been the source of many conflicts in our house, and this week was the worst.
For some reason, my boys, Benjamin and Noah, are drawn to this can of guns and lightsabers like flies to a barbecue. Several times in the past, the boys have sneaked into the room and spirited a few of the choice items out to play with, and of course, they were punished accordingly. Well, it happened again Thursday. The Benj was getting ready for bed and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and lo-and-behold, he pulled out a double bladed Darth Maul lightsaber - accidentally.
"Where did that come from?" I asked naively. Without explanation, The Benj pulls handfuls of accessories from both jeans pockets. I'm talking helmets, guns, hats, capes, jackets, staffs, lightsabers, you name it. I have no idea what he was planning to do with them, as he had WAY too many of them to even realistically use. Well, of course, it was all NoahKrakatoa's fault, since he made The Benj get them out, and forced them into his pockets, no doubt. They both tried to implicate Queen Hannah as well, although she got off with just a warning since she had not taken anything from the can. So LJ blurts out, "That's it! Bring all your Star Wars stuff here. We're taking it away!" Let me tell you, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. I gathered up all the action figures, ships, lightsabers and playsets and put them away. I think The Benj refused to even say goodnight to Mommy that night.
Okay, so two days later, the home is still relatively calm. Even without Star Wars figures, the boys have both survived. Now, deep inside, I know that LJ is just waiting for me to slip up so she can take all my figures away and eBay them.
You are under surveillance
I have added Site Meter to my blog, so nothing you do will be hidden from me. Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha *hack* ha *cough* *cough*...
The pool and the weird house next door
We have an inflatable pool in the backyard. You know, the kind that you fill up and then by the next day it's half empty and you have to fill it up again? Well, maybe that's just ours. Anyway, three of the four kids are out in the pool and I can hear them screaming from every corner of the house. I guess it's a good thing our neighbors on one side are out of town, and the other house is "empty."
I say "empty" because I'm not really sure if it is. You see the house next door is owned by people who rent it out, and since we moved here in 1999, we have had numerous neighbors - some good, some bad, but all temporary. Given the fact that my wife LJ and I are not really outgoing, this means that we haven't really gotten to know any of them, and never even met a few. Anyway, over the last three or four months, someone has come to mow the grass, and every once in a while there is a car parked in the driveway for a day or two. The garage, when I've seen it open, is full of boxes and junk, and usually has a car there. But there is nothing in the yard to indicate someone lives there. I never see anyone going to the mailbox or milling about in the yard except when the rare vehicle is there (usually cleaning up the yard). The other night though, it appeared that there was a light on inside, although the curtains were drawn and I couldn't tell for sure.
You know how in the interviews with the neighbors of serial killers who finally get caught, there's always someone who says, "He was always so quiet"? Well, I'm thinking we might have one next door now. Or maybe a shut-in. Or possibly no one, although I don't understand the boxes in the garage otherwise.
I guess I should be grateful. The last neighbors were a couple or three college age girls (I guess), who had some kind of hippie commune going on over there. There were usually at least three or four cars parked in the back yard, sometimes as many as eight or ten, along with a purple Firebird that was always parked on the street (I don't know what their problem was with the driveway and garage). I could never figure out how many people were actually living there, but periodically there would be a couple of preteen boys that hung around on the weekends and jumped on their trampoline. There were college girls and boys, and from time to time there were older folks as well. We also would see a 20ish chick with a baby. I know that house is smaller than ours, so I don't have any idea how they all fit in there together, but I sure didn't mind seeing them leave.
Ok, now one of the boys is urinating in a bucket beside the pool. Guess it's time to wrap up.
UPDATED:
OpinionJournal.com's James Taranto echoes me in his August 22 "Best of the Web Today" blog:
I say "empty" because I'm not really sure if it is. You see the house next door is owned by people who rent it out, and since we moved here in 1999, we have had numerous neighbors - some good, some bad, but all temporary. Given the fact that my wife LJ and I are not really outgoing, this means that we haven't really gotten to know any of them, and never even met a few. Anyway, over the last three or four months, someone has come to mow the grass, and every once in a while there is a car parked in the driveway for a day or two. The garage, when I've seen it open, is full of boxes and junk, and usually has a car there. But there is nothing in the yard to indicate someone lives there. I never see anyone going to the mailbox or milling about in the yard except when the rare vehicle is there (usually cleaning up the yard). The other night though, it appeared that there was a light on inside, although the curtains were drawn and I couldn't tell for sure.
You know how in the interviews with the neighbors of serial killers who finally get caught, there's always someone who says, "He was always so quiet"? Well, I'm thinking we might have one next door now. Or maybe a shut-in. Or possibly no one, although I don't understand the boxes in the garage otherwise.
I guess I should be grateful. The last neighbors were a couple or three college age girls (I guess), who had some kind of hippie commune going on over there. There were usually at least three or four cars parked in the back yard, sometimes as many as eight or ten, along with a purple Firebird that was always parked on the street (I don't know what their problem was with the driveway and garage). I could never figure out how many people were actually living there, but periodically there would be a couple of preteen boys that hung around on the weekends and jumped on their trampoline. There were college girls and boys, and from time to time there were older folks as well. We also would see a 20ish chick with a baby. I know that house is smaller than ours, so I don't have any idea how they all fit in there together, but I sure didn't mind seeing them leave.
Ok, now one of the boys is urinating in a bucket beside the pool. Guess it's time to wrap up.
UPDATED:
OpinionJournal.com's James Taranto echoes me in his August 22 "Best of the Web Today" blog:
Never Trust a 'Nice, Quiet Kid'
Cops in Blacksburg, Va., have captured 24-year-old William Morva, an escaped convict who allegedly shot a hospital guard and a sheriff's deputy to death, the Associated Press reports in a dispatch that ends with this observation:
Akio Robrecht, 27, of Blacksburg, said Morva was a couple [of] years behind him in school. Morva "seemed like a nice, quiet kid," he said. "It's kind of hard to believe."
Have you noticed how whenever there's a news story about some crazed (alleged) killer, his neighbors always describe him as "nice" and "quiet"? It really makes us glad the people who live near us are loud jerks.
So I guess there's something to be said for obnoxious neighbors.
Oh my aching back!
Sometime after lunch yesterday, my back started hurting. By the end of the day I was really in pain, and when I woke up this morning I could barely move. I don't know what's worse - being in so much pain that everything is uncomfortable, or not knowing how it started in the first place.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Do you drop church members from the rolls?
Personally, I can see the guy's point, but it seems to me that setting up arbitrary rules for membership expiration raises more problems than it solves. What about invalids? What about debilitating illnesses? What about people who attend on Easter and Christmas and one or two other Sundays? If you're asking the membership to create the inevitable "Membership Committee" and determine who does and doesn't deserve membership aren't you creating a situation where members are pronouncing judgement on someone's faith? Maybe there's a way to deal with this by notifying the members after a certain period of time that they will be moved to an inactive list. Maybe there's some removal if there's no response to this, but it seems that we have to be careful to make sure that efforts to bring members back in to the fold are made in love.
I'm much more concerned with the member who attends every Sunday and flouts his disobedience the other six days of the week.
SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE: http://blog.togetherforthegospel.org/2006/08/southern_baptis.html
I'm much more concerned with the member who attends every Sunday and flouts his disobedience the other six days of the week.
SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE: http://blog.togetherforthegospel.org/2006/08/southern_baptis.html
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Stuff that you don't care about...
Well, Leslie's incessant blogging has convinced me to at least add some crap up here, although I can't comprehend why anyone would be interested. Heck, I'm not even interested.
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