Man Hands of Another Kind

Just as Jerry was once worried about man hands, at first glance you might think that Ben Affleck should be worried and then some. In an article about Ben and Jen part 2 getting married looking for the rock might get you more than you bargained for.

Kool-Aid Man Gets Pants

This is the Kool-Aid Man that I recall from childhood and one random appearance on Family Guy. However tonight I saw a commercial in which Kool-Aid Man makes an appearance in baggy shorts. Is this comporable to adding a fig leaf to David? Is this censorship? Does Kool-Aid Man suddenly have something to hide? What's next the Michelin Man in a suit?

Off to Flagstaff

Andrea and I will be out of town for the next few days. We leave Friday for a long weekend with her Dad and family in Flagstaff, AZ. We will get back late on Wednesday. I will just be in town for, what might not even amount to 24 hours and will be off again for the Men's Cursillo Weekend, a spiritual retreat. So, it will not be until a week from Monday that I will really be "in" in town.

Another Schaus

For those of you who know Nate and Liz Schaus you might like to know that they sent out a general announcement today that they are expecting their third child. They already have both a boy and and a girl. If you want to wish them congratulations and don't have their e-mail address just e-mail me and I will get you the contact information that I have.

My head hurts

I was listening to a commercial on the radio as I returned to work this afternoon from my final at Talbot. The spot was for MSN music downloads or something like that. I really was not paying too close of attention. They were offering 5 free downloads if you pay $0.99 for one. The deal seemed interesting so I started to pay attention more. I was sure there would be a catch. Sure the verbal small print first confirmed my suspicion then hurt my head. The limit is that this offer is good only one per customer. That makes sense. The limitation that made me hurt however was the phrase "while supplies last." Tell me if I am missing anything, but how could you run out of a download. What are you going to try to download B.Y.O.B. by System of a Down and have a pop-up tell you that they are all out but that if you like you can have Jessica Simpson's remake of the "These Boots are Made for Walking"?

Football, Football, Football

I have been enjoying the wonders that is the NFL channel. I don't think I have gone a week this month without catching at least one NFL Europe game. Today, I turned on good old channel 212 to catch the Hamburg Sea Devils take on the Amsterdam Admirals. On a lark I took a look around the dial to see what else might be on, only to discover that Fox is showing the Rhein Fire/Cologne Centurions game. If this all means nothing to you, just know that it is May and I am watching Football! Football!!! http://www.nfleurope.com/

Who are the ad wizards...

Carl's Jr. has really lost their collective minds on this one. The new commercial for the Spice Six Dollar Burger fails to accomplish any of the goals they must have had for it. Am I supposed to be hungry or horny after seeing Paris Hilton suds herself up while nibbling on the Carl's mega-burger? Actually I am just reminded that I need to get my car washed. How was it that someone thought that having Paris Hitlon eat a burger was remotely believable? What, did she need to replenish her energy after her latest home video adventure? I mean you just know that she is spitting the burger back out between takes. And is having a figureless girls soaping herself up supposed to do anything for me? (That would be rhetorical, Rich, so just leave it alone.) Common Carl's just make good burgers for us fat guys and stop making my head hurt.

Recalling the old days at Bethany

This evening is had the honor of speaking at the confirmation banquet for Bethany Lutheran Church in Long Beach. Both the experience of preparing for the talk and being there for the event brought back a connection to the past that I don't often consider. I was able to reconnect with Ted and Randa Pearson, a couple who hosted a mid-week youth Bible Study in their home, were Dan, Phil Simon, Dave Warmbeir, myself and others hung out and learned about God. We really had something going in those days, between Valley Christian and our churches, the core of our group of friends was formed. It was interesting to reflect on those days and draw upon them as I tried to pass a word to the class about to be confirmed in the morning. My hope for them is that their time in High School both nutures their faith as Bethany did mine and that they connect with as great a group of friends as we have formed. O.K. now back to SportsCenter.

Maloof's Casino Opens for Business

My wife has been inspired. She just could not sit on the sidelines anymore. She has already been more regular a reader of all the sites in our group and now she will likely be a more regular poster. So take a roll and stop by Maloof's Casino.

Grandpa Henderson of the GBL

The Golden Baseball League hopes to cash in on their latest signing. Ricky Henderson of A's fame. If you are wondering "Isn't he kinda old?" well you're right. At 46 he should readily take to what I would expect to be a grandfatherly role with the young players just hoping to extend their careers after High School or College ends. The league is kind of interesting. They have teams in California, Arizona, and Japan. That's right, Japan. The Samuri Bears are the lone Japanese team making the GBL the first American league to include a Japanese team. I am not sure of the quality they will get from players who are willing to work for the money they are offering (Henderson will be making $3,000 a month) but at $6 a game it might be worth an afternoon in Long Beach to check out the Armada play.

No Bones Just Ducks

OK so it has been more than just a while since my last post. Thank you Joel and Danny for the prodding and thank you Andrea for making sure I actually check to know that I was prodded. Anyway, the last month has been so full of running from one event to the next that to take the time to write up something let alone to think of anything to write just has not happened. Between the schedule packing that I have been doing in ministry and adding to that the reading class I am working on (Educational Research)and just trying to be a decent husband I have not made the time to just pause and reflect. I think we all need to do that. I am thinking of block scheduling myself, which since I have only in the last two years learned how to use "to do lists", this new self regulatory idea should prove challenging. But really I need to not run out of control so much. I had a great chance today to stop after a meeting at a local church, to rather than just run back to the office, to stick my head in the pastor's office and chat with him. He is not my pastor, but just a local pastor whom I have done youth events with and just had the impulse to check in on him. It was a nice chat, something I need to do more of with more people. Rather than just stick with business as usual, which brings me to the ducks. Thought I forgot them didn't you? I almost got totally aggravated the other day, when while trying to find a parking space in my complex had to drive around three ducks that seemed to believe that my car driving at them posed not threat to them. I saw them in the road, I thought they saw me, I slowed down, and they just looked at me. So I, not wanting to get into a Costanza type issue with our feathered friends, drove around them, all the while expecting them to take off. They never did. I was able to park and walk back by them and still they had not moved. Other cars were now passing them. They were on a break and were not going back to work just yet. Now as I said I could have gotten mad, but instead chose to appreciate the humor of ducks not fearing my car (sort of like the deer that hit me a few years ago). They were taking a break and were not to be disturbed. A lesson worth learning. So sorry Danny, no bones, just ducks.

Gunga Din

For years I have been using "Gunga Din" as some odd kind of insult. In context it would be sort of a "knuckle head" or "Ding Bat" type name. But for the life of me I could never figure out were I was getting this. I figured that it was just another of the random things that I picked up by watching movies in college with Rich. I mean really the man remembers more about my life than I do. That is not saying much, I am not likely to recall the details to this post in the morning. Anyway, I now know what it is from, I just don't know how it got in my head. I read in Entertainment Weekly some months ago about the release of the movie...you guessed it "Gunga Din." It was some Cary Grant movie from 1939. Now why would I have seen that? Rich I suppose that is a question for you. Then again you might have told me about that already.

Fark Filed It Under Asinine

I am sure that you all have been on Fark and seen this but in case you missed it. Once again our ability to think in this nation is in serious trouble. A Skate Park has been closed because it is not handicapped accessible. On the surface that is a bit off. The Fark posters having fun with the idea of wheelchair skateboarding. The balance of the article however does point out that at issue is that the park is not accessible for other activities, not that they have quadriplegic skaters doing their best "Tony Hawk." But here is where I stop and wonder, and maybe you can help me to see this more clearly. "Until it is open to everyone, it is open to no one" is the position of a board member overseeing the matter locally. What if that rule was applied to the NBA for example. Would we need to have adjustable hoops in order for us slow, short white guys to compete. I am all for making public areas accessible, even in this case. It is just the attitude of the quote that has caught my eye and seems to leave me somewhat uncomfortable. Again maybe I am missing something, and really I hope that I am. I just would not want this to be played out universally as my NBA example suggests.

That's it, soccer fans are just nuts

I can't even explain this just follow the link.
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/3534952
Fireworks?
Photo: http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/pgStory?contentId=3534510&pageNumber=8

Mmmmm my favorite... diversity

Ever since I had a series of retitled Diversity Education courses in college, I have questioned if the people throwing around that word really have any clue what they are talking about. Are we talking about looking like a McDonald's commercial where you collect one of each to complete your set of friends, co-workers, leaders, etc. Or are we talking about making sure we all play fair. If we are talking about the latter, fantastic! That was the rigteous purpose of MLK Jr. and the original civil rights movement. If on the other hand we are talking about the former, well my head is already starting to hurt. Take this for example. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7160264/site/newsweek/ Here you will find an article on the male bias found in blogging. The complaint is that if the top 100 blogs are dominated by white males, then there must be racism holding back the other sites. The problem is that for many sites you are not really able to know what race you are dealing with. In fact I could put up a site and pretend to be of another race just for the fun of it. This is a counter article. http://nationalreview.com/comment/mac_donald200503300758.asp that challenges the wisdom of regulating our way to a diverse blogosphere. To my thinking this is the best arena for diversity, not simply racial, but intellectual diversity. Blogging is about ideas. They may be fun, thoughtful, or silly, but reallyblogs are just about ideas. Who is in the Top 100 is based on who reads. Good ideas will get good attention. I really don't care who you are, just present something I can ponder that challenges me and I will read you for it. Alright that's enough. I'm done.

Papal Vegas

For any of you who just must bet on everything. I mean you bet the coin toss at the Super Bowl and whether Nagel makes it past the first quater. Then this is for you. http://www.betfair.com/?rfr=169 Find "Special Bets" on the left hand column, then "General" and then you will find the odds on who will be the next Pope. And it looks like Francis Arinze, the Nigerian has a shot at the papacy. What it was 496 AD when they had their last black Pope, about time.

Child Care Gets Medieval

Do you just have too many kids on your hands? Well, here is your solution. This is not a fake. http://www.nurserymaid.com/sscribs.htm

When I get it scanned I will show you the older model from 1971 (three cribs high by five cribs long and sold to churches and day care centers).

Schaivo: A reordering of our nations founding principles

You have likely read and hear countless opinions on the fate of Terry Schaivo. I don't have a medical background. I don't have a legal background either. I do have a religous and ethical background, and I have studies some philosophy so I will take my approach at this matter from that direction. What we are seeing is evidence of a shift that took place decades ago, but might not have been detected until now. I know I only caught on to this last week. The Declaration of Independance spoke of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." I have come to believe that the order of these words are at the core of what this latest round in the culture wars is all about. I believe that it was with great intent the life was listed first. If you assume that this is the case, then the primary mission of our government with regard to supporting and promoting these self evident truths is to the defense of life. This is the position taken by President Bush, the Congress of the United States, and the dozen of people who have been arrested trying to give Terry water. If on the other hand you hold the liberty ought to have that primary position, as our courts and the ACLU believes, then the freedom to die prevails over life itself. This is where you find a right to die with dignity. This is where you find room to argue for standards of living as criteria for life itself to continue. This is foreign to many Christians in America, and should be. As Christians we believe that life is not ours to freely do with what we want. Liberty does not have authority over life. Cutlurally however, life is taking a backseat to liberty and likely to the pursuit of happiness as well.