Ok, now that I've seen this a couple different places, I'll post my own here. To get your own, go to Google and type in "yourname needs" and see what Google says you need!
Jesse needs your help unscrewing the inscrutable (I'd say that was pretty inscrutable itself!)
Jesse needs an award--I don't know what, but something for sure (I happen to think so too! Lots and lots of big ones!)
Jesse needs to eat more fruit, veggies, milk products & meat and of course grains.
Jesse needs to loosen up. (I'm not sure I could get any looser and not be comatose!)
Jesse needs new loving parents. (Thanks, but I'll keep the ones I have.)
Honorable mentions:
If Jesse needs a handgun, we must need bazookas and assault rifles and shit. (Sorry about the crudity, but that's what it said!)
A thousand a month would help a lot and Jesse needs your help! (I agree! I accept checks and money orders. No credit cards.)
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Thanksgiving weekend digestion
Well, I've gotten the turkey pretty well digested, so now it's on to blogging! Sorry about missing out for a while; like lots of other people, I was a bit on the busy side.
One little detail was that I wanted to take an apple crisp up to PA for Thanksgiving. And of course that took a while, literally down to the LAST minute. I had most everything chopped up by Wednesday night, and late that night I wanted to put on the crisp part. I then found out that I was out of brown sugar and cinnamon! So, I got up with the dawn on Thursday and ran into Food Lion to get the missing ingredients.
Everything wasn't quite that hectic, but it's an example. On the more pleasant side of things, C&I went to a Wednesday night Thanksgiving service where our pastor gave the main address. It was a really nice service and it included all the churches in Round Hill. It was nice to see everyone come together, and we got some fun ideas for worship and stuff by seeing some of the things the other churches did. It was really nice to see congregations work together like that. All their styles were different enough that I can't imagine anyone merging into one congregation or anything, but everyone was there together to take part in a service of Thanksgiving to God.
But then! I picked C up at her place at 8:00 and then Jer around 9:20, and we were off! About five hours with an extra stop or two and it was FUN! I made that drive for two years, for two or three weekends a month, down and back, usually leaving PA after 8:00PM and arriving down there around 1:00AM if I didn't crash somewhere along the way. I never thought it would be a "fun" drive! Jeremiah was in great form and when he wasn't entertaining himself, C would draw for him or read books. She even read to me for a while from Time Enough For Love. We certainly couldn't finish it, but I've borrowed it so I can finish it at home. I haven't enjoyed the drive that much since, . . . since, well, never! Then driving through Butler I got to do the tour guide routine, mentioning all the stuff that I used to see and groused about all the changes that are going on. :^)
Don had shot a turkey and it was really excellent, wonderfully moist. Of course with all the stuff I shoveled down, my taste buds probably didn't have much time to appreciate the flavor and juices. My apple crisp turned out quite well (or so they said). When I said last minute, I meant it. It finished cooking over there!
It was too cold to do football, so we stayed inside and talked. J and I played full contact nerf basketball, and he certainly didn't let my size advantage slow him down. He even took me down! Only half my weight! Jer played with trucks and with K, N and J. He gave K a laugh by pretending that a weight bench was a firetruck and that the fly arms were a seatbelt. He would get to the 'fire', put down the seatbelt, get off, reach underneath for a firehose and then put out the fire. She was in stitches watching him!
Lemme see. What did we do Thursday evening? I think that was a Boggle and Ultimate Scrabble night. Oh! I almost forgot. Dad and David are starting the pushups regimen for dad's birthday pushups. Since we were only up to 22, I did mine with Jeremiah on my back. (let's see you do THAT dearest brother!) But he beat me on curls, so it evens out a bit.
And then Friday had the big event: splitting wood! Because I don't get to do it very often, splitting wood is a treat for me. A huge tree (over 3' thick) had fallen in our yard (messed up a shed) and so dad had sawed it up, but left the big parts to split. We didn't get all of them, but all the ones that weren't knotty got split up and stacked on the back porch and back patio. My back muscles were a bit sore on Saturday's drive!
It all went really nicely, very relaxing, and Jeremiah of course had a ball! M seems to have an infinite capacity for playing with Jeremiah and he took full advantage of her! Horse rides, hide and seek, tickling, tag, you name it! They played it all. It was nice for me too since I was able to spend time with C and the rest of my family. We watched a movie, played a board game, read to each other more of T.E.F.L., and generally just relaxed and enjoyed everyone's company.
While I have had so many great Thanksgivings and stuff that I can't really pick out a best year, this one easily deserves a place up in the top rankings. Since it's the season to celebrate things we are thankful about, I'll do the sappy but true standard of being thankful for my family. It's so good to be able to spend time with people who know you inside and out, and with whom you fit in perfectly. I'm not sure that if I didn't have it that I would miss it, but once a person has something like that, it's one of the greatest things in the world!
One little detail was that I wanted to take an apple crisp up to PA for Thanksgiving. And of course that took a while, literally down to the LAST minute. I had most everything chopped up by Wednesday night, and late that night I wanted to put on the crisp part. I then found out that I was out of brown sugar and cinnamon! So, I got up with the dawn on Thursday and ran into Food Lion to get the missing ingredients.
Everything wasn't quite that hectic, but it's an example. On the more pleasant side of things, C&I went to a Wednesday night Thanksgiving service where our pastor gave the main address. It was a really nice service and it included all the churches in Round Hill. It was nice to see everyone come together, and we got some fun ideas for worship and stuff by seeing some of the things the other churches did. It was really nice to see congregations work together like that. All their styles were different enough that I can't imagine anyone merging into one congregation or anything, but everyone was there together to take part in a service of Thanksgiving to God.
But then! I picked C up at her place at 8:00 and then Jer around 9:20, and we were off! About five hours with an extra stop or two and it was FUN! I made that drive for two years, for two or three weekends a month, down and back, usually leaving PA after 8:00PM and arriving down there around 1:00AM if I didn't crash somewhere along the way. I never thought it would be a "fun" drive! Jeremiah was in great form and when he wasn't entertaining himself, C would draw for him or read books. She even read to me for a while from Time Enough For Love. We certainly couldn't finish it, but I've borrowed it so I can finish it at home. I haven't enjoyed the drive that much since, . . . since, well, never! Then driving through Butler I got to do the tour guide routine, mentioning all the stuff that I used to see and groused about all the changes that are going on. :^)
Don had shot a turkey and it was really excellent, wonderfully moist. Of course with all the stuff I shoveled down, my taste buds probably didn't have much time to appreciate the flavor and juices. My apple crisp turned out quite well (or so they said). When I said last minute, I meant it. It finished cooking over there!
It was too cold to do football, so we stayed inside and talked. J and I played full contact nerf basketball, and he certainly didn't let my size advantage slow him down. He even took me down! Only half my weight! Jer played with trucks and with K, N and J. He gave K a laugh by pretending that a weight bench was a firetruck and that the fly arms were a seatbelt. He would get to the 'fire', put down the seatbelt, get off, reach underneath for a firehose and then put out the fire. She was in stitches watching him!
Lemme see. What did we do Thursday evening? I think that was a Boggle and Ultimate Scrabble night. Oh! I almost forgot. Dad and David are starting the pushups regimen for dad's birthday pushups. Since we were only up to 22, I did mine with Jeremiah on my back. (let's see you do THAT dearest brother!) But he beat me on curls, so it evens out a bit.
And then Friday had the big event: splitting wood! Because I don't get to do it very often, splitting wood is a treat for me. A huge tree (over 3' thick) had fallen in our yard (messed up a shed) and so dad had sawed it up, but left the big parts to split. We didn't get all of them, but all the ones that weren't knotty got split up and stacked on the back porch and back patio. My back muscles were a bit sore on Saturday's drive!
It all went really nicely, very relaxing, and Jeremiah of course had a ball! M seems to have an infinite capacity for playing with Jeremiah and he took full advantage of her! Horse rides, hide and seek, tickling, tag, you name it! They played it all. It was nice for me too since I was able to spend time with C and the rest of my family. We watched a movie, played a board game, read to each other more of T.E.F.L., and generally just relaxed and enjoyed everyone's company.
While I have had so many great Thanksgivings and stuff that I can't really pick out a best year, this one easily deserves a place up in the top rankings. Since it's the season to celebrate things we are thankful about, I'll do the sappy but true standard of being thankful for my family. It's so good to be able to spend time with people who know you inside and out, and with whom you fit in perfectly. I'm not sure that if I didn't have it that I would miss it, but once a person has something like that, it's one of the greatest things in the world!
Monday, November 21, 2005
Quick Conclusion
Well, the weekend went really, really well. Jer was in BIG TROUBLE most of the weekend (i.e. getting tickled for whatever excuse I could come up with) and since it was relatively warm, or at least was very sunny, we played outside a lot.
This time when he got his Spiderman underwear on backwards, I did get a picture, and will definitely use it for future blackmail and embarrassment! I finally got a bunch of his clothes all put away into his new dresser. We had gotten a bunch of clothes from a friend, most of which fit Jeremiah really well, but they've just been sitting around, so I finally got them sorted out into fit and not-fit categories and packed away.
Church was really great; I really do think we have one of the best pastors around as far as preaching goes! He seems to always hit everything right on time to touch the body. This last two weeks I had totally dropped off any Bible study or reading because of all the special stuff I had going on. So what does he encourage us to do? You guessed it! Bible reading and prayer. It's a real testimony to his willingness to follow the Holy Spirit's guidance, because there's no way that a person could possibly know everything that needs to be taught to a congregation, but he seems to nail it every time!
This coming week is going to be so much fun! C, Jeremiah and I are all heading up to PA for Thanksgiving! Christmas and Thanksgiving are shared between me and Rebecca, and she was nice enough to go ahead and let me have Thanksgiving, which works out best since she doesn't do much for Thanksgiving while I do, and I don't do much for Christmas while she definitely does.
We'll all be heading up Thursday morning to my extended family Thanksgiving meal, and then we'll be able to spend Friday and Saturday with my family before we need to head back down here. This is going to be so GREAT!!
This time when he got his Spiderman underwear on backwards, I did get a picture, and will definitely use it for future blackmail and embarrassment! I finally got a bunch of his clothes all put away into his new dresser. We had gotten a bunch of clothes from a friend, most of which fit Jeremiah really well, but they've just been sitting around, so I finally got them sorted out into fit and not-fit categories and packed away.
Church was really great; I really do think we have one of the best pastors around as far as preaching goes! He seems to always hit everything right on time to touch the body. This last two weeks I had totally dropped off any Bible study or reading because of all the special stuff I had going on. So what does he encourage us to do? You guessed it! Bible reading and prayer. It's a real testimony to his willingness to follow the Holy Spirit's guidance, because there's no way that a person could possibly know everything that needs to be taught to a congregation, but he seems to nail it every time!
This coming week is going to be so much fun! C, Jeremiah and I are all heading up to PA for Thanksgiving! Christmas and Thanksgiving are shared between me and Rebecca, and she was nice enough to go ahead and let me have Thanksgiving, which works out best since she doesn't do much for Thanksgiving while I do, and I don't do much for Christmas while she definitely does.
We'll all be heading up Thursday morning to my extended family Thanksgiving meal, and then we'll be able to spend Friday and Saturday with my family before we need to head back down here. This is going to be so GREAT!!
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Nap time at the McConnells
Jeremiah's asleep now, so I'm getting a bit of work done before he wakes. But then I got started on work and decided I needed a distraction for a bit. :^P
First, I'd better cover MacBeth from Friday night. C and I went to PHC's performance of MacBeth, and it was really fun! When I described the play to someone else as "fun" the response was "I don't really picture MacBeth as a 'fun' play." And it probably isn't, except when it's done by a college group that throws themselves into it with such abandon! They literally spilled blood getting this thing ready! (an accident with the sword fight practices left one of the students with a stabbed leg!) I'm not sure if it was an adaptation of the original or not, but the whole thing was done beautifully.
My favorite actresses were the Wyrd Sisters, all of which were marvelously done. Their make up was awesome and they managed to all act together just like I imagined them while reading the play - almost as a single person with three bodies. Very sinister and perfectly tempting in using their promises of power.
We both had a great time there, and thankfully the cold that C is fighting off seemed to be in retreat.
And of course Saturday brought Jeremiah! I picked him up in the Chick-fil-A and since Jeremiah and Reb were waking up late, I had a bit of a wait. While I was there I picked up their new calendar! Cows In Shining Armor Some friends have the 2005 calendar which is James Bond/Mission Impossible/Spy inspired and is a real teat to see! After long and hard thought, I think my favorite is Angus Khan!
Jeremiah came around 10, looking very cute in his pajamas and crawled around their indoor playground for a while before we took off.
But Jeremiah's waking up now, so I'll wrap this up later.
First, I'd better cover MacBeth from Friday night. C and I went to PHC's performance of MacBeth, and it was really fun! When I described the play to someone else as "fun" the response was "I don't really picture MacBeth as a 'fun' play." And it probably isn't, except when it's done by a college group that throws themselves into it with such abandon! They literally spilled blood getting this thing ready! (an accident with the sword fight practices left one of the students with a stabbed leg!) I'm not sure if it was an adaptation of the original or not, but the whole thing was done beautifully.
My favorite actresses were the Wyrd Sisters, all of which were marvelously done. Their make up was awesome and they managed to all act together just like I imagined them while reading the play - almost as a single person with three bodies. Very sinister and perfectly tempting in using their promises of power.
We both had a great time there, and thankfully the cold that C is fighting off seemed to be in retreat.
And of course Saturday brought Jeremiah! I picked him up in the Chick-fil-A and since Jeremiah and Reb were waking up late, I had a bit of a wait. While I was there I picked up their new calendar! Cows In Shining Armor Some friends have the 2005 calendar which is James Bond/Mission Impossible/Spy inspired and is a real teat to see! After long and hard thought, I think my favorite is Angus Khan!
Jeremiah came around 10, looking very cute in his pajamas and crawled around their indoor playground for a while before we took off.
But Jeremiah's waking up now, so I'll wrap this up later.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
My blog is SO popular!
C noticed that my blog below about Haiku got four comments! My haiku, as clumsy as it may be has attracted admiration!
NOT!
It's the attack of the spam commenters! I think they must be going for the sheer repetition idea. If they say it often enough, I'll maybe take out a loan to pave all the roads in Pennsylvania.
What a riot! Who comes up with these ads?!? They've got to be computer generated, but oh my goodness is that computer program ever DUMB!
NOT!
It's the attack of the spam commenters! I think they must be going for the sheer repetition idea. If they say it often enough, I'll maybe take out a loan to pave all the roads in Pennsylvania.
What a riot! Who comes up with these ads?!? They've got to be computer generated, but oh my goodness is that computer program ever DUMB!
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
Chili and yet more chili
Two pots of chili later, my mom and Margaret took off. (not because of the chili) They came down for the weekend since Margaret was able to finally get some time off from work. Family is always a lot of fun to have around, and they were even more welcome when they come bearing bananas, strawberries and oranges for fresh frozen smoothies every morning!! Mmmmmmmmmm!!!! I am SO looking forward to Thanksgiving to get some more smoothies! (Yeah, yeah. And seeing family is good too. ;^)
Of course Margaret played with Jeremiah all weekend, going swimming and playing on the playground and tickling and all sorts of good Aunt/Nephew stuff! Dogs came down again with them, and three of them got sold. Pastor Ray was able to bring in an interpreter to church for Margaret. Charlessa's family was even down here and we all got some time to chat and play Uno! I escaped without any black eyes and everyone had fun! (bummer about the black eye status though) And what else would I bring to that but chili!! (That was probably the 8th or 9th pot of chili I've made in the last two months. Perhaps not so much for a family, but for a single guy like me, it feels like I've been cooking non-stop!) At least the chili was a pretty good batch.
That's a quick summary of the weekend. Warning follows.
CUTE CHILD STUFF COMING:
Jeremiah stole the show a couple time this weekend. I'm going to put one of these things down for the express purpose of thoroughly embarrassing him if this is ever uncovered in years to come! It was when he went to the bathroom but came back out with his Spiderman underwear on backwards! Poor guy! At least I didn't take any pictures to REALLY embarrass him!
Along the more adorable side of things, he seemed to be on his absolutely best behavior and was saying "thank you" for everything. It is SO COOL to have a wee little guy like that tell you "Tankyu!"
And then while swimming, he loved jumping off the edge for me and Margaret to catch him. But he would crouch way down and grimace something fierce before launching himself off. He is so cute!
And when I was giving him a horsey ride, he would steer me to crash into Margaret by yanking my head around by my hair. And of course it wasn't a weak little tug one direction or another - he would draw my head in one way and then wrench it full force around the other. (I had so much fun!!)
And finally, when saying goodbye Sunday evening, we got him to make three or four rounds of "Can Grandma have a kiss," followed by "Can Margaret have a kiss," followed by "Can Daddy have a kiss," interspersed with hugs.
I know it's all part and parcel of the cute things all kids do, but every once and a while a person's just got to tell everyone!!
He is such a doll boy!
Of course Margaret played with Jeremiah all weekend, going swimming and playing on the playground and tickling and all sorts of good Aunt/Nephew stuff! Dogs came down again with them, and three of them got sold. Pastor Ray was able to bring in an interpreter to church for Margaret. Charlessa's family was even down here and we all got some time to chat and play Uno! I escaped without any black eyes and everyone had fun! (bummer about the black eye status though) And what else would I bring to that but chili!! (That was probably the 8th or 9th pot of chili I've made in the last two months. Perhaps not so much for a family, but for a single guy like me, it feels like I've been cooking non-stop!) At least the chili was a pretty good batch.
That's a quick summary of the weekend. Warning follows.
CUTE CHILD STUFF COMING:
Jeremiah stole the show a couple time this weekend. I'm going to put one of these things down for the express purpose of thoroughly embarrassing him if this is ever uncovered in years to come! It was when he went to the bathroom but came back out with his Spiderman underwear on backwards! Poor guy! At least I didn't take any pictures to REALLY embarrass him!
Along the more adorable side of things, he seemed to be on his absolutely best behavior and was saying "thank you" for everything. It is SO COOL to have a wee little guy like that tell you "Tankyu!"
And then while swimming, he loved jumping off the edge for me and Margaret to catch him. But he would crouch way down and grimace something fierce before launching himself off. He is so cute!
And when I was giving him a horsey ride, he would steer me to crash into Margaret by yanking my head around by my hair. And of course it wasn't a weak little tug one direction or another - he would draw my head in one way and then wrench it full force around the other. (I had so much fun!!)
And finally, when saying goodbye Sunday evening, we got him to make three or four rounds of "Can Grandma have a kiss," followed by "Can Margaret have a kiss," followed by "Can Daddy have a kiss," interspersed with hugs.
I know it's all part and parcel of the cute things all kids do, but every once and a while a person's just got to tell everyone!!
He is such a doll boy!
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Further Cult Studies
I would like to ask for any suggestions people have about fundamentalist cults, or other types of Christian groups that lean strongly toward cultish behavior. I've got a link to "Tales From the Temple" here and I'm going to be using it. I think I'm also going to be including information on Bill Gothard's Basic Life Principals.
There are of course groups like the Branch Davidians, Jim Jones, and Benny Hinn's followers, but I would prefer groups that are more definitely Christian. While there possibly were/are Christians in these groups, none of these three groups are Christian. So I'd like any ideas of Christian groups that have cultish leanings.
Here is my list of things that differentiate cults from religions. A group may not fit all of these but still be a cult, but any group that fits a bunch of them, Christian or not, is at the very least leaning toward cult status.
List developed by VC with minor revisions by me
There are of course groups like the Branch Davidians, Jim Jones, and Benny Hinn's followers, but I would prefer groups that are more definitely Christian. While there possibly were/are Christians in these groups, none of these three groups are Christian. So I'd like any ideas of Christian groups that have cultish leanings.
Here is my list of things that differentiate cults from religions. A group may not fit all of these but still be a cult, but any group that fits a bunch of them, Christian or not, is at the very least leaning toward cult status.
- Led by charismatic leader, typically claiming to be a prophet, oracle, or divine being/intermediary.
- Group and/or leader exert control over initiates' lifestyle (marriage, finances, job, politics, etc.)
- Group controls information received by initiates (doctrines only revealed a bit at a time, only adepts fully informed)
- Group redefines important terms, words, names, etc. Often reinterpreting established religious doctrines/Scriptures
- Free thought and questions actively discouraged
- Established pyramid-shaped structure of authority/financial empire.
- Initiates work or kept busy (build financial empire, convert further people, reinforce dedication, or keep initiates too busy to question)
- Group claims to be sole possessors of Truth/salvation and initiates coerced into practicing separatism (association only with other group members)
- Socially, mentally, and or physically manipulative techniques used in recruitment or indoctrination of initiates
- Teachings/beliefs of group derived from an established religion, but deviates significantly from accepted traditional teachings.
- Major in the minors - a heavy emphasis on minor, obscure, or extremely technical points of information of theology.
List developed by VC with minor revisions by me
A New Blog
Well, hopefully I haven't been driving anyone off with stuff about C. I've been making a pretty conscious effort to keep it from totally taking over my blog. And while I might be perfectly thrilled to type page after page, I sort of doubt that my reading audience would appreciate the change.
So, when C decided to start a blog and invited me to contribute, it solved the problem very nicely. I can now type till my heart's content with all sorts of stuff about my C and won't have to worry about drowning out the rest of my blog readers.
So without further ado: No Longer "Just Friends"
So, when C decided to start a blog and invited me to contribute, it solved the problem very nicely. I can now type till my heart's content with all sorts of stuff about my C and won't have to worry about drowning out the rest of my blog readers.
So without further ado: No Longer "Just Friends"
Friday, November 11, 2005
Science fiction has arrived!
What do I mean? Well, check out the headline Cruise Ship Uses Sonic Weapon!!! How cool is that!?!?!
Some would be pirates off the coast of Somalia tried to either rob the ship or blow it up with a grenade launcher. However, that's when Buck Rodgers came to the rescue! (shame on you if you don't know who he is) The ship was sporting a sonic weapons that created a directed sound beam with the same effect as a fire alarm being held right against your ears. The pirates were incapacitated and the cruise ship kicked it into high gear and took off. SWEET! I WANT ONE!!
Next on the list of cool things (not nearly as cool, which is why this is listed second) is the little tidbit of news that I taught a class on cults to our church's youth group. We're doing comparative religions, and we'll be covering a number of different cults including Mormons, Jehovahs Witness, Scientology, some fundamentalist Christian groups, and some other (in)famous groups like Branch Davidians, Jim Jones' group, and Heavens Gate. Then we get to cover the occult - black magic, masonry, druidism, witchcraft, and a couple others. Then new age stuff like Eckankar, crystal channeling, and stuff. And of course we can't forget the biggies like Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Judaism. I think we'll even get some of the little ones like Shinto, and some of the really dumb ones like Nation of Islam. (Muslim based weirdos who think Jesus is returning in a giant UFO to rapture all the good non-white people. I'm serious!!)
Of course, my favorite of all them is Scientology. Scientology is bizarre beyond belief once you get past the intro of stress relief and stuff. I don't have room here to do it justice, but check out these pages on Wikipedia to get some of the stuff that ISN'T in the introduction materials! Especially the space opera stuff! And no, the space opera is a core part of scientology; it's not a fringe idea.
Main Scientology Page
Scientology's Space Opera
Some would be pirates off the coast of Somalia tried to either rob the ship or blow it up with a grenade launcher. However, that's when Buck Rodgers came to the rescue! (shame on you if you don't know who he is) The ship was sporting a sonic weapons that created a directed sound beam with the same effect as a fire alarm being held right against your ears. The pirates were incapacitated and the cruise ship kicked it into high gear and took off. SWEET! I WANT ONE!!
Next on the list of cool things (not nearly as cool, which is why this is listed second) is the little tidbit of news that I taught a class on cults to our church's youth group. We're doing comparative religions, and we'll be covering a number of different cults including Mormons, Jehovahs Witness, Scientology, some fundamentalist Christian groups, and some other (in)famous groups like Branch Davidians, Jim Jones' group, and Heavens Gate. Then we get to cover the occult - black magic, masonry, druidism, witchcraft, and a couple others. Then new age stuff like Eckankar, crystal channeling, and stuff. And of course we can't forget the biggies like Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Judaism. I think we'll even get some of the little ones like Shinto, and some of the really dumb ones like Nation of Islam. (Muslim based weirdos who think Jesus is returning in a giant UFO to rapture all the good non-white people. I'm serious!!)
Of course, my favorite of all them is Scientology. Scientology is bizarre beyond belief once you get past the intro of stress relief and stuff. I don't have room here to do it justice, but check out these pages on Wikipedia to get some of the stuff that ISN'T in the introduction materials! Especially the space opera stuff! And no, the space opera is a core part of scientology; it's not a fringe idea.
Main Scientology Page
Scientology's Space Opera
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Two random items
First, here's A BIG AD that I found to be totally hilarious. It's a beer ad, but it's still kid-friendly.
Second item — here in VA, today's the day for electing a bunch of people to governmental offices. The big race is the gubernatorial race between Kilgore and Kaine. I can't say either of them particularly excite me, though Kilgore (R) is the lesser of two weevils. So here's my little pitch to support him. (thanks JG!) According to Bob Hope
Second item — here in VA, today's the day for electing a bunch of people to governmental offices. The big race is the gubernatorial race between Kilgore and Kaine. I can't say either of them particularly excite me, though Kilgore (R) is the lesser of two weevils. So here's my little pitch to support him. (thanks JG!) According to Bob Hope
Sunday, November 06, 2005
. . . And back again
We are the Pirates who don't do anything!
We just stay at home and lie around!
And if you ask us to do anything,
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything!
While I certainly did learn to dance to that song, I most certainly didn't follow the lyrics! Took off Friday afternoon, drove 250 miles down to Radford, clogged my feet off for a day, and drove back up here Saturday night, arriving back home around 12:15. Fortuanately, I had some company on the drive - several teenages from clogging came along and provided welcome company along the way. By now I'm well used to long, lonely drives, so I don't mind them too much, but having company while driving makes it ever so much more enjoyable!
The first dance of the day was a jazzy song that I am doing my best to block out of my memory. My hips just aren't supposed to move like she wanted us to move them! Apparently there is a video of us doing that song, but I'm hoping it gets quickly lost or copied over.
Of course we learned Mary's Pirates Who Don't Do Anything song (check this out!), which is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. We had a nice, but still pretty basic song to God's Been So Good to Me. And then my favorite song (aside from Pirates) was a piece put together to Sweet Home Alabama. Unfortunately, that was the last song of the day, and my feet were sore, legs were tired, and there were a couple steps that I just couldn't get my body to do. But I've got the cue sheet and I'll work on it!
Dinner was great, but I got asked a couple times if I was feeling all right - the reason? I hadn't finished off my plate! For some, totally unsubstantiated reason, I've gotten the reputation for eating a lot. Huh, go figure! But when I didn't polish off my plate and start asking others "Are you going to finish that," it raised some concerns. It's just that for an hour or so after a hard workout, I'm not hungry. On the way home though, my appetite returned and I ate the stuff I hadn't finished, the meal that ML hadn't finished, and the meal that C hadn't finished.
We really do have one of the best groups around. While we were there, I heard of a couple groups that are splitting up and starting seperate clubs and I got to have other group instructors teach and got to see other performance groups show their routines off. We've really got a great bunch! GO BRTC!!
Oh, before I sign off, I was joking around with some of the teens, and I got challenged with some lip gloss, I went ahead an put it on to their shock and hilarity. Later, a young girl in our group said I should wipe it off, so I lean over and puckering up say "Ok, I'll wipe it off on you!" "Ewww," she squealed diving away. "We wouldn't work," she scolded. "You're like 40 years older than me!"
40 YEARS OLDER!?!?!
We just stay at home and lie around!
And if you ask us to do anything,
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything!
While I certainly did learn to dance to that song, I most certainly didn't follow the lyrics! Took off Friday afternoon, drove 250 miles down to Radford, clogged my feet off for a day, and drove back up here Saturday night, arriving back home around 12:15. Fortuanately, I had some company on the drive - several teenages from clogging came along and provided welcome company along the way. By now I'm well used to long, lonely drives, so I don't mind them too much, but having company while driving makes it ever so much more enjoyable!
The first dance of the day was a jazzy song that I am doing my best to block out of my memory. My hips just aren't supposed to move like she wanted us to move them! Apparently there is a video of us doing that song, but I'm hoping it gets quickly lost or copied over.
Of course we learned Mary's Pirates Who Don't Do Anything song (check this out!), which is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. We had a nice, but still pretty basic song to God's Been So Good to Me. And then my favorite song (aside from Pirates) was a piece put together to Sweet Home Alabama. Unfortunately, that was the last song of the day, and my feet were sore, legs were tired, and there were a couple steps that I just couldn't get my body to do. But I've got the cue sheet and I'll work on it!
Dinner was great, but I got asked a couple times if I was feeling all right - the reason? I hadn't finished off my plate! For some, totally unsubstantiated reason, I've gotten the reputation for eating a lot. Huh, go figure! But when I didn't polish off my plate and start asking others "Are you going to finish that," it raised some concerns. It's just that for an hour or so after a hard workout, I'm not hungry. On the way home though, my appetite returned and I ate the stuff I hadn't finished, the meal that ML hadn't finished, and the meal that C hadn't finished.
We really do have one of the best groups around. While we were there, I heard of a couple groups that are splitting up and starting seperate clubs and I got to have other group instructors teach and got to see other performance groups show their routines off. We've really got a great bunch! GO BRTC!!
Oh, before I sign off, I was joking around with some of the teens, and I got challenged with some lip gloss, I went ahead an put it on to their shock and hilarity. Later, a young girl in our group said I should wipe it off, so I lean over and puckering up say "Ok, I'll wipe it off on you!" "Ewww," she squealed diving away. "We wouldn't work," she scolded. "You're like 40 years older than me!"
40 YEARS OLDER!?!?!
Friday, November 04, 2005
We're off to see the wizard....
Or at least we're off to do clogging! We'll be heading down for a clogging workshop on Saturday, but it's far enough away that we're heading down early and grabbing a room. I'll be coming back Saturday night, but most of the group is going to be staying until Sunday so that they can watch the exhibitions and maybe do some activities before they come back up. I want to head to church on Sunday, and hopefully grab a bit of relaxation before work starts up again.
I've got some stuff coming up for work that will be more than a bit nuts. I could use some prayer for wisdom and focus over the next couple months.
I've got some stuff coming up for work that will be more than a bit nuts. I could use some prayer for wisdom and focus over the next couple months.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Best Halloween ever
I'm including the whole weekend in there, though even by itself, this was still my top Halloween. It's been a busy weekend, and I must say that I think that I've used up my social reserves. It's been a blast, but still, I'm all socialed out.
I picked up Jeremiah Friday afternoon and we played harder for the little bit of time that he was here than most other full weekends! He was only here overnight and I dropped him off early Saturday afternoon, but we still managed to squeeze in a lot of fun! And my apartment attested to the fact!
But then the big events started. Saturday afternoon our church had a bonfire party with hayrides and chili and a pretty large bonfire. C and I headed over with some of my famous chili and bags of candy. The fire had just been started 30 minutes before, so it was still burning fiercely. We started trying to cook the hotdogs and kielbasa, but the fire was so hot that it was frying my eyebrows off. I didn't even need to stick the dogs over the fire for them to start sizzling; they started sizzling a foot back from the outer edge of the fire!
Everything was really great - we all talked and chatted and fellowshipped in the best way! It is such a blessing to be able to spend time with a church family that is so welcoming, friendly, and encouraging! Hanging out with a small group of Christian friends is great too, but there are other dimensions that come into play when you're with a big group of like-minded Christians! After food and hayrides, C and I sat around the bonfire with the rest of the church and laughed and joked and talked. It was a wonderful time!
Then came Sunday and the time change! As late as I had been up the night before, it was a good thing that we had the extra hour, and I still managed to be ten minutes late to church! After church C, LC and I all took the youth group out to the Corn Maize north of Leesburg. I had never been there and it was pretty cool. Being the last day, there were lots of beaten down paths where people had cut across the walls of corn, but we virtuously eschewed such shortcuts. But thanks to our partial right-hand rule and our probity, we came out 15 minutes later than the rest of the teens.
Not only that, but the teens had all collected corn in their pockets and pelted me with it!! I can't believe it! How could they do something like that to me?! (OK, OK, I admit it, I started it! Hee hee hee!) Then it was off to VC's for a movie and snacks.
Then finally on Tuesday was the All Saints Day Party over at the Jones' house! C and I had St. Anthony, and we had to bring a food associated with that saint! I can give you the big long history and stories and miracles of the St. Anthonys, (yes, more than one) but it gets pretty long. Suffice it to say, we brought some resurrection rolls and decorated the plate with lilies.
It was so much fun! A bunch of people from HSLDA were there and everyone brought a food associated with their saint. We had a saint quiz. (My clue to guess the saint was a dragon - EASY! St. George!!) We all ate and talked and laughed our heads off for a couple hours before we finally headed back home.
Whew! And that brings me to today. C and I wanted to get together for lunch, but we both were preferring something with low crowd counts, so it was hamburger helper and pizza! Time for us poor introverts to recharge our social batteries!
I picked up Jeremiah Friday afternoon and we played harder for the little bit of time that he was here than most other full weekends! He was only here overnight and I dropped him off early Saturday afternoon, but we still managed to squeeze in a lot of fun! And my apartment attested to the fact!
But then the big events started. Saturday afternoon our church had a bonfire party with hayrides and chili and a pretty large bonfire. C and I headed over with some of my famous chili and bags of candy. The fire had just been started 30 minutes before, so it was still burning fiercely. We started trying to cook the hotdogs and kielbasa, but the fire was so hot that it was frying my eyebrows off. I didn't even need to stick the dogs over the fire for them to start sizzling; they started sizzling a foot back from the outer edge of the fire!
Everything was really great - we all talked and chatted and fellowshipped in the best way! It is such a blessing to be able to spend time with a church family that is so welcoming, friendly, and encouraging! Hanging out with a small group of Christian friends is great too, but there are other dimensions that come into play when you're with a big group of like-minded Christians! After food and hayrides, C and I sat around the bonfire with the rest of the church and laughed and joked and talked. It was a wonderful time!
Then came Sunday and the time change! As late as I had been up the night before, it was a good thing that we had the extra hour, and I still managed to be ten minutes late to church! After church C, LC and I all took the youth group out to the Corn Maize north of Leesburg. I had never been there and it was pretty cool. Being the last day, there were lots of beaten down paths where people had cut across the walls of corn, but we virtuously eschewed such shortcuts. But thanks to our partial right-hand rule and our probity, we came out 15 minutes later than the rest of the teens.
Not only that, but the teens had all collected corn in their pockets and pelted me with it!! I can't believe it! How could they do something like that to me?! (OK, OK, I admit it, I started it! Hee hee hee!) Then it was off to VC's for a movie and snacks.
Then finally on Tuesday was the All Saints Day Party over at the Jones' house! C and I had St. Anthony, and we had to bring a food associated with that saint! I can give you the big long history and stories and miracles of the St. Anthonys, (yes, more than one) but it gets pretty long. Suffice it to say, we brought some resurrection rolls and decorated the plate with lilies.
It was so much fun! A bunch of people from HSLDA were there and everyone brought a food associated with their saint. We had a saint quiz. (My clue to guess the saint was a dragon - EASY! St. George!!) We all ate and talked and laughed our heads off for a couple hours before we finally headed back home.
Whew! And that brings me to today. C and I wanted to get together for lunch, but we both were preferring something with low crowd counts, so it was hamburger helper and pizza! Time for us poor introverts to recharge our social batteries!
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