Wednesday Nights

What's cool about this blog group is that I can say the most insane thing and it be considered as something intellectual.

Let's talk about Wednesday nights, shall we?

Firstly, let's eleminate all talk of any Wednesday night class from college level on down. I look at college, youth, and child class on Wednesday nights as fine, and worthy.

Adult classes, at least in my opinion at my church, are lacking.

The more I think about the choices I have (A class about Old Testament stories, a ladies class which I dont qualify for, but I hear it is really dull, and ussually an auditorium class that is as exciting as my business calculus class in colelge) the more I am happy I teach 2 and 3 year olds on most Wednesday nights. I am sorry, but talking about Hebrews in a lecture-style way, or David and Goliath does not make me want to go out and start knocking on doors for Jesus.

I thought Wednesday night services were to lift us up, recharge our batteries, get us back on fire for Christ. Instead, we are lead to the auditorium after dull classes like cattle, sing a song WAY flat and slow so we sound like we are SAD, even when singing a happy song, and hear a lesson that sounds like the past 232 Wednesday night devos, always ending with "if you need anything, please come as we stand and sing."

This is out "battery charger" after working 8 to 9 hours in this evil and tempting world.

Here is my idea;
Instead of starting at 7pm (an hour before many children's bedtime) have it at 6pm.
Have your classes for 30 minutes. All ages in their own classrooms. The last 30 minutes of church is int he fellowship hall, or what-have-you, eating a pretty cheap meal, easy to make for large groups (spagettii, some rice dish, etc...). Before eating there is a gathering for QUICK announcements, a thankful prayer, go get your food, and someone speaks for MAYBE 10 minutes tops as we eat. "The Invitation" (which we find no wher ein teh Bible, yet would split churches if we didnt have it) can be optional.

Heck, make classes optional. Make it one big fat happy family meal!

Fellowship. That is the ONLY part of Wednesday night service that recharges my batteries. We are not commanded to worship God in any specific way or time on Wednesdays. So in a way, it IS a selfish day to have any sort of church related event on. WE NEED IT! If fellowshiping with fellow brothers and sisters who need fellowship too is how we can recharge better, so be it.

Of trees

This might be an odd observation but it’s one I’m been holding on to for some time. It has to do with chunks of wood. Recently I noticed a steel safety barrier and in between the anchor posts and the railing I noticed these big blocks of wood.

On the inner stated I noticed rigs hauling steel bridge tresses with large wooden beams placed between the trailer and the raw material.

Standing as a tree there is little thought given to the potential of the mass other than by carpenters and the like. They are wonderful things to climb and memorable to swing from and as a child they are everything from monsters to castles. As adults these towers are ornaments and landscaping devices. As industrious folks can envision these natural phenomenon are virtually anything that can be imagine.

For all of the great innovations people have made over the years I think it’s funny that the one item that is both amazingly strong and durable and still able to flex, collapse and cushion is wood.

This simple and often underestimated thing which can have life spans from a few short years to well over 400 is truly one of the most versatile devices created by a loving God.
Again I’m not sure why I thought of this a week or so ago but it has sort of helped me keep some things in perspective.

Why Montgomery Needs Mullins

Back in the day, me and the Mullins talked about creating a local advertising company. The idea was that local markets continuously have the worst possible commercials. We figured with a little cash we could do so much better.

Well, after watching this Montgomery commercial, I think a blind, retarded squirrel could do better.

Blogger 2.0

Blogger has finally seen fit to allow me to switch this blog to their upgraded version. If it continues to work right, all writers will be asked to switch when you sign in. Don't worry, it is painless, although it may take a minute if you are on a slow connection.

In terms of reading, and writing on the blog, this won't mean all that much to you. There are a few enhancements in what you can do with the look of the blog, and feeds and such like, but since we mostly stick to the basics, most of this stuff will pass right by. Though feel free to play around a little.

One big change is the ability to add tags. For the uninitiated tags are like little categories you can add to each post. The idea being that whenever someone visits the blog they will have all our little posts in nice neat categories. Say you want to read every post by Jamison, blamo, right in a neat little link you can have them all neatly piled up. Or say you are interested in our thoughts on religion, or the Beatles, or various cheeses. Well, with tags you can see everything written on a particular subject.

All of these tags can be added to the side bar for easy access. At least I think they can, but have yet to figure out how.

I will, over the course of the next few days/weeks/months, be going back and adding tags to all of our posts. I do want to create a tag for each person that posts. However, before I do that I want some permission. I know some of you are weary of getting your full name into the world wide web, and so I would like everyone to include the name you would prefer for tags. I can very easily use the names you use in blogger, as they are already attached to the posts created and the comments written, but if you want another name, let me know.

For the future, the ways to create a tag are simple. Simply type in the categories, seperated by a comma, in the little space that is just below the area you normally write a post in. Blogger labels it as "labels" and it is pretty straight forward from there.

It is usually best not to get too terribly specific as then there won't be very many posts in a category. I'll probably add some generally generic ones like: "religion", "work", "life stories", "movies" and such like. I'll let everyone know exactly what I create once I get there. But you are welcome to come up with some of your own too.

A Most Unusual Washing

Over the last few week’s we have had a handful of storms delivering 1-2 inches of snow each time. The temperature has not risen above freezing in that time, and thus we now have a very dirty, collections of nasty slushy, snow conglomeration. Needless to say my automobile looks most miserably disgusting.

This past Saturday, even though it was still well below freezing, I decided to get a car wash. It was a very pretty day, and the weather wasn’t calling for more snow for at least half a week. Wanting to get the nastiness, especially all the corrosive salt off my car I decided it was worth bearing the cold for.

Apparently, this was a common thought, as there was quite the line at the car wash. Three lines extended into three separate automatic washers. I choose the one on the far right. As we nudged closer, we noticed that the walls of each washing stall were covered in ice. We also laughed as we saw large ice sickles hanging off the washing lines.

Finally there was only one car before us and nudged our way up to the pay-machine. Inserting our cashola we watched the car in front of us get a wash.

Interestingly, the pre-wash soak part seemed to not be working. Little soap bubbled sort of dropped from the machine, but the car was certainly not getting a good sudzing. That doesn’t look good, we thought, but what could we do? We were trapped in a stampede of cars.

A knock came upon my window and a fellow stood there telling me the machine was definitely broken.

“Pull through,” he said, and advised me to get into another line. Pull through I did and drove around to wait in line a second time. For my trouble he gave me double the cash I had originally paid.

Waited again, we did and finally got the car washed. While being soaked and washed we laughed as the mirrors and back windshield quickly froze over, before being washed again, thus wiping away the ice. The end came, and I slowly drove through the dryer. Not slow enough, it seems, for when we parked at Kroger, the entire car was caked in a thin layer of ice.

It eventually did melt, and get blown off, but that was definitely the most unusual washing my car has ever seen.

There is a market for pee

Okay, I posted our ACPO message on youtube saturday... and in 24 hours almost 100 people have viewed it.
And this blog post is the FIRST "announcement" i have made for it.
Makes me wonder what people are searching for on YouTube....

Party ANIMALS!

Warning!
Be aware that what you are about to see is a film of 2 college aged GUYS celebrating NEW YEARS!
Having said that, you may watch...

You've seen it before, but I've edited it so it looks cool and stuff... My fave part is the music at the end...

yeah, it's sad but...

...at least the gene pool is a bit thinner.

Inner City

What I am about to say here may sound pretty pathetic, mean, hateful, and will sound very much like a man who has no faith in the power of God. I reckon it is fair to say that. However, I have to get this out of my head and onto paper...well, er, the screen...

Every Tuesday night, I go to our church and participate in the Montgomery Inner City Outreach. Basically, several churches around the city take a bus load of kids varying in age on different nights (We take 7, 8, and 9 year olds on Tuesdays for example). The night last 40 to 60 minutes. But class only runs for 40 minutes.

Essentially we have 2 to 4 classrooms with 7 to 10 kids in each class... 10 at most, sometimes 6 after you send the bad ones out. We read a story about Jesus, we answer questions, color, do a word search related to the story, etc... We all think of inner city kids as being mean, hateful, and rowdy. Well, in a way this is true. But honestly, they are just kids and there are a handful who are just as sweet as your own child. Then there is the one who has behavioral problems out the yen-yang because she got hit in the neck by a stray bullet and her brother molests her every night.

Here is where my faith in god may sound lacking. Our work seems useless and futile.

First of all, our curriculum is written on a 3rd or 4th grade level. Have you ever heard an inner city public school 8 year old try to read the word "Apostle"? Or even try the name "Daughter"? How about the one kid in every class that looks up at you when he comes to the word "then" because he cant pronounce it? So mistake number one is that these lessons need to be readable on a 1st grade level at BEST because that's how these kids read. Granted, there are the 1 or 2 kids in the class who love to read and read like an ace and my heart goes out to them because they have everything it takes to be successful yet they were dealt different cards in life as you and I and will have to work EXTRA hard to be successful.

Secondly, as these kids read aloud, the remaining 7 or 8 are in la la land either looking around, kicking one another under the table, flipping the other off, or trying to get out of their seat. And you cant really get mad at them. Heck, they are probably fussed at all day or worse, beaten. Best you can do is get the bad ones out of class and the rest are fine.

Okay, best case scenario: They come in, sit like little angels, read like a poet, comprehend every bit of it, and go home only after giving you a big fat hug... They get home, find mom (and maybe a dad) in the house selling dope or weed, repeating the F-bomb over and over, treating the child like an inconvenience, neglecting the child, and subjecting the child to rap music that does anything but lift a child's spirit. 24 hours later, the fact that Jesus died on a cross means nothing to this child. You can't force a mom or dad to be a good mom or dad...

Half these kids don't go to church and the ones that do go with their grandmother to some church OTHER than the one sponsoring this outreach program.

Now, here is where I come in.... I no longer feel like I am doing this work for God or the Church, but rather for the people that do it with me. Let me explain...

Before I did inner city, I was doing VBS. I noted that alot of guys and gals I knew and loved from church stopped coming to help with VBS. Being a sweet and innocent boy, I figured "I have no right to be upset that they aren't coming if I don't help THEM with inner city!" So it started. I started doing the inner city thing. Already for the wrong reasons.

Well, turned out, me being there didn't encourage anyone anymore to come help with VBS the next summer. Yet, I knew the need for inner city workers was great so I kept going. Not for the kids, not for God, not even for me, but so my friends wouldn't be deserted when a big bus load showed up and there are only enough teachers for half those kids. Guilt I guess.

Do I like doing it? No! On Tuesdays I simply stay at work till 6:30pm rather than drive to Wetumpka only to have to turn back around! I miss dinner and wife time in the process. I'd love to never go again? Why? Because I not only don't think I am doing anything worth-while, but I KNOW I am not doing it for God but rather my friends. TOTALLY wrong!

There, that's off my chest. I know God can do ANYTHING, but sometimes, it seems like Tuesday nights are His biggest challenges...

I hate computers.

I used to love them but not I have stopped the fetish and consider them a waste of time. Of course I really like playing Lego Star Wars II with Isaac and I couldn't do my job without using one. I enjoy getting emails from my pals, I hope you guys are all doing good, it's been a while. Still I don't like the dang things and someday when the great economic fall comes they won't even be good for keeping a fire going.

Here's hoping I remember how to get back on to this thing in the morning.

BTW I think I'll have a piece I did at the Grove Park Inn on line some time tomorrow. If I can remember how to post it on the WBIR site I'll let you guys know.

Since I am on a Stubbs-Coke kick....

Long time coming

Coke's (should be anyway) new ad campaign, and spokesman.

(I added another one in my bordum today.)

O Thou Lying Girgashite!

While doing a little surfing, I stumbled upon a Biblical Curse Generator. It says that it takes it is loaded with "blistering put-downs as delivered by Elijah, Jeremiah and other monumentally angry saints," but I'm pretty sure most of them are made up.

Whether it is actual scripture or not, it is pretty stinking funny.

Here's a few of my favorites:

"Harken, O ye discourager of the brethren, for you will go on a diet of crunchy,
unsweetened locusts!"

"May you be as welcome as a fart in the queen's bedchamber, thou irritating inhabitant of Gath!"

"Behold, thou shalt be pursued into the mountains by sex-mad baboons, O thou babbling Assyrian!"

"Thou shalt become as popular as a boil on the king's backside, O thou whose name is but dung!"

$10 and my faith in humanity

So my general faith in the world at large isn’t what it should be and I’ll easily admit that. This morning while I was showing Isaac how to pump gas, the kid likes to be helpful what can I say, some guy asks me for a couple of bucks so he can get these two girls to work and then back home.

I look around at the other cars and see that they have this less than approving look on their face.

I think,” this is a test” amid everything else in the world I’m being tested by this schlep that needs gas. I get $10 and hand it to him he give me a couple of “God bless you” lies and the usual stuff and then starts to get in his car. I yell at the guy and tell him “Now, get the gas now!” “Oh, yeah”. The woman in the drivers seat, the whole time is mouthing “sorry, sorry” and while the guy goes in, I imagine he’s prepaying for the gas, the bitch in the back seat gets out and gives me this sob story. I tell her that I’ll get paid again in a couple of days and as long as he’s not buying smokes and junk food I don’t mind helping someone out.

When Isaac and I finish we walk in and considering this is one of my two places I get fuel I ask Carl how much gas the guy on one got. “The first time he spent two bucks, just then he spent $1.50”.

What a shit heap. By the end of the day I hope I won’t be pissed about this but there is a good chance I’ll not be able to reconnect to the forgiveness post of yesterday. This is insignificant and won’t matter in the great scheme of things but it’s a shitty way to start the day.

The art of forgiveness.

The Bible is a wonderful book; it’s a collection of writings that truly span the existence of man on this earth.

For as much guidance it gives me it is a conundrum for application. What I’ve found is that the Bible tends to share the spotlight in the phrase “easier said than done”. Then again…

Some recent events which bare no further explanation (so don’t ask) have tested this hypothesis. What I’ve found is that the less significant the situation the harder it has been for me to follow the seventy times seven example of forgiveness.

I’ve always questioned the application over the ability of being able to forgive someone no matter the situation because there should be no way I can hold some something over anyone else’s head when my example for forgiveness life has forgiven me for everything I’ve done.

It’s most practical application to me comes in the parable of the king who forgave his slaves debts. One slave then forgave those who owed him and the other slave refused to forgive his friends debt, reaping punishment upon himself.

This should be my example for living. I’ve encountered dozens of situations in my life since I sort of reexamined things about two years ago and have had no desire or means to apply this teaching because I’ve always been right in my assessment of the situation, no matter what.

What would stick out to me was the idea that I was wronged and there should be some sort of residual retribution made to me before I forgive anyone. My point must be made and accepted, then and only then will I bestow upon you the gift of my forgiveness. This is not how it should work.

What I’ve figured out is that when the pressure is on and you’re really digging deep for some sort of divine guidance application is a matter of asking. Humility and pride must be adjusted into submission and your heart must be placed in a sort of cruise control beyond active thought. After that everything else is easy.

I think the key to things like this is to actually and completely believe that’s what God wants to help you do. When you sincerely ask you shall completely receive.

frilled functioning fossil shark

I thought is would be nice to throw out this little reminder about how much of the world we know about. Recently some Japanese fishermen saw a strange fish and called most marine biologists to check it out. It ends up to be a very rare frilled shark that’s thought to be extinct or very near to it living at crushing depths.

I know that I can sound a bit like a whack job when I begin talking about animals and the Bible but when there are fossils found with this creature and then you find this creature something automatically doesn’t add up with the evolutionary explanation of things.

I thank God for my faith and his ability to show up people who think they are far smarter than I because of some old bones.

First Day

Well, I'll start by saying that my new work environment will not allow me to blog from work. It's all for the best, of course, but I'll miss having the amount of interaction I used to have.

On the other hand, I LOVE where I work thus far. I went in this morning and did some paperwork in the very building I used to work in. Then it was off to Gunter Air Force Base to see my boss and meet everyone.

When we finally got to the building, it looked like any other government building I've ever seen. But, inside it was a different story.

My boss, Bernie, took me to the "watch floor" first. It looked like something right out of NASA or some sci-fi flick that portrays a military watch floor. Everyone sat on tiers at lined-up workstations and looked on as information scrolled across huge, flatscreen TVs mounted to the walls. There were several different clocks to tell them what time it was in Japan, Germany, etc. It reminded me very much of where I worked up in Georgia, just way cooler.

After I met some folks and filled out paperwork, Bernie took me to my workspace. I was equally amazed, but in a different sort of way. The room struck me as serene. The carpet was a dark, calming green color, flecked with complimentary tones, the cubicle walls were sage with hints of black and there was a huge accent wall at the end that was the same, calming green color. Not only was the space colored perfectly, the lights, instead of beaming down garrishly on my head, were pointed toward the ceiling, causing a beautiful, dappled feel. On top of all that, I have a huge workspace with a large, L-shaped desk, 3, yes 3 separate computers, and an ergonomic chair my boss said cost over $350 (of course, everyone there has one!).

Everyone has been very nice and helpful and interested in my ideas for how to change their training environment. I'm looking forward to really digging in and getting started! I think I'm going to really enjoy this job.

Ice Storm In Oklahoma

Taken by my father in Choteau, Oklahoma, a few miles from where he lives. They have been covered in a sheet of ice for the last several days. He says the neighbor's kids have been ice skating on their yards. Luckily, they have kept their power on, while many in the area have been without.

just the facts ma'am, never mind...

Knoxville is typically not a city where grisly murders take place. Recently the city was rocked by the double murder of a young white couple. Last week one of the suspects was apprehended in KY, later in the week the other was captured by KPD SWAT in a house locally. WBIR was first on the scene to tape the last guy being apprehended. It’s very exciting in the news room when something like this happens, we’ve got people in the mix and reporters trying break the story and everyone gets in a tizzy trying to make sure they get their stories out first.

Anyway one of the reporters had gotten the scoop on how the couple was found. What wasn’t common knowledge until recently was that the guy was badly burned, possibly alive and then shot several times. There is also the idea that since the girl lived for several days after she a) witnessed his murder and b) he witnessed her repeated rape. When the girl was found, she was found bent over, face down in a large trash can. KPD took her to the coroner’s office as she was found. There were signs, from the scene alone that she was subjected to horrible acts of violence prior to her demise. The coroners report confirmed the crime scene.

The subject of this is two fold. First, when something happens all the details are cycled through the newsroom. Part of me loves knowing more that others and then I feel wretched for confirming the despicable facts of some people’s existence. Secondly, I’m glad this place doesn’t release every last detail to the masses.
I don’t know what these guys were on to commit such horrible acts but there are those times when I think it’s just pure evil.

Shut Up Sea Cow

Most of you will remember this bit from Dr. Katz. I've never actually seen the guy in person, so it's funny to see him out of squigglevision. Still. Hilarious.

Dream: Baseball With The Mob

I was playing baseall with against the mob. Actually, I was the son of a mob guy, and was part of the business, I just wasn’t made yet. And that’s the way it was, the sons and underlings of the made guys against the real deal.

It was a tough game too. We were neck and neck the whole time.

For some reason, the made guys had a little kid as their catcher. He was like 13 years old, and not very good. So, I was enlisted to stand behind him and make sure the game ran smoothly – catch anything he missed, keep the ball rolling quickly so the game would keep going, but since I was on the opposite team, it was understood I would not be making any fast throw to get somebody out.

Bottom of the ninth, we were up by one. The made guys are up, this time I’m really catcher. There’s the pitch and somebody tries to steal third. I grab the ball and throw it fast to third and….whoof…it just keeps going. There isn’t a third baseman. I look around and see all of my players not doing anything.

It is then I realize we are making the made guys win. They are in the mob you know, and if they lose, they might get made. Mob guys mad is bad. Very bad.

Game over and we’re all headed out t a meeting. My real dad walks by, and he is one of the top mob gus. He’s helping all these really old mob guys into their cars and asking the “boss” if he wants to go with him.

At this point I think I begin to wake up, so the dream sort of swirls and moves quickly. I remember there was a moment where I was explaining to dad that I didn’t want to be in the mob. And another one talking with my fellow sons of the mob about not being willing to kill.

Don't Know Much About History

As part of my New Years Resolutions, I have decided to start studying history. I'd like to say I've always loved history but that's far from the truth. I mean I paid attention to history in high school and found some of it to be interesting, but never enough to make me read about it on my own.

In college, well I know Jamison will remember how boring the Hick's classes were. The only thing I remember from those classes are that history can actually be interpreted many different ways, and that Jamison remembers all the lyrics to Neil Young's "Unknown Legend."

Perhaps it is the advent of the History channel, or maybe it is my need to watch Band Of Brothers over and over again, but I've recently become much more fascinated by not only our own history, but the worlds. Actually in a sense, it all boils down to wanting to have a wider education. Jamison's recent Boston Tea Party post illustrates my point beautifully. I had no idea it was the anniversary of the Party and I honestly barely remembered what the hub-ub was. I'd like to fix that.

Initially I thought I'd take one subject at a time and read about it for a month before moving on. I had hoped to start early with the Greeks before moving onto the Romans and then, perhaps to the Chinese, but a quick visit to the old bookstore today made me give up such hope. Oh, they had lots of books about the Greeks, but with just a thumb-through I couldn't tell whether they were worth the sticker price.

I'm a beginner, you see, and I don't want a massive, boring tome that will kill this knowledge gaining before it even starts. I did pick up the general history book, which my title comes from, and it is proving to be a fun read, but it's very basic covering subjects in but a few paragraphs and I'd like to dig a little deeper.

Ah, and now we reach the point. I would like some suggestions from ye, my well read friends on some good history books to read. Jamison, I'm looking directly at you.

It's alive. It's alive... It's Alive!!!

Well it seems all I needed was a little time away and to reread Brews amazingly simple instructions, again… Luckily I was able to let Isaac walk me through the steps and here I am.

It’s been a while and I hope everyone is doing great. The blog has been a bit slow so perhaps we should do some catching up.

I guess I’ll start. WBIR is a lot of fun and I’m really enjoying the new gig. I was talking to an old pal at Scripps and telling him that I’ve gotten to experience the weather (one of my simple joys) shoot, edit, create content, and provide for the show. I’m trying to line up shoots at the Grove Park Inn, a monster truck show, an awesome local restaurant, a family therapist and what ever else I think could be interesting.

The wife is wonderful and the kids are too. Caleb has given us a little scare recently and begun stuttering. This happens all the time but when two and two were connected that this began after a small dresser fell and hit him on the head while staying the night at his aunts I went into quiet panic mode. He’s fine and the stuttering will pass on its own in time.

We have cable back in our home and I can tell you I really don’t care. I spent over an hour last night flipping channels simple because I haven’t in such a long time. I was bored stiff in the process. In the past I’d watch a DVD or something or do something called reading. I should have opened a book, eventually I went up stairs and did some editing and felt productive again.
There’s the Readers Digest version of my world over the past little while. What are you guy sup to? Sip, how’s the new gig? Brew, anything? Jamison, have you found any more nasty arithmetic? I know that I just came off the MIA list but are Chuck and Stubbs still out there?

Bathroom Math

I was taking a leak at work in the boys bathroom, and instead of seeing the typical bathroom graffiti, I found a puzzling mathmatical conundrum. Maybe KellieJ can shed light on it, being that she was a math major.

As best I can tell, it is "D = (The Square Root of) (x2 - X1) to the power of 2, + y2 - y1) to the power of 2."

Perhaps it was a formula for a test...?

Happy New Year

Amy and I are headed to her folks for New Years. We'll actually be having a bit of a Christmas celebration with her family as well. Ten adults, six children, one small house. Should be fun!

Hope everyone has a very happy new year!

Semi-Secret Agent Trainer Man

So, the interview was today. They hired me on the spot and said I'll get to negotiate my salary later. I have a few more papers to fill out, but Bernie the task lead and Bobby the DB guru said they are looking forward to working with me.

The job itself hearkens back to what I used to do in the Air Force and for Lockheed Martin. Of course, I had a Top Secret/SCI/SSBI clearance back then, but I'll have at least a Secret this time because of the nature of the work.

First off, I'll be the lead trainer in charge of all the training development, standards, evaluations, education, etc. I have never been as excited about a job.

I just typed what I'll be doing, then I deleted it. I'm a little reluctant to post it, but let's say we'll be handling some matters of national security.

Thanks for all the prayers and support my friends. We are ever thankful for you all and our Father even more.

Say a prayer of thanks to God!

The Brewster's Enter the 21st Century.

Amy has recently taken a teaching position at DePauw University in beautiful Greencastle Indiana. Unfortunately her pay grade is not nearly enough for us to afford a move to beautiful Greencastle Indiana which means my wonderful wife will have to commute. It is about an hours drive and as such we have decided to join the 21st century and get a mobile phone.

That's right, the Brewsters are getting a cell phone.

I despise the idea, but I despise the though of my wife being stranded on Indiana highway even more.

The thing is, we know absolutely nothing about mobile phones. We're pretty much tried to ignore there obnoxious existence until now. So, I'm calling on you, my cellular friends to give me some run downs. The main things I'm curious about are:

Brands: Any opinions on which services are better? Cingular? Sprint? T-Mobile?
Types: Flip phones? The chocolate thingy?
Plans: What plans have you found the best?

We shouldn't need too many minutes as we don't really use the phone all that much. My understanding is pretty much all plans now have the free long distance nation wide, but that's more of a guess than actual knowledge. But if this is not true, then we'd definitely want a plan that included free nation wide calling. Actually we'd want cheap international calls too.

We don't really need all the fancy doohickeys, but I'm totally for camera phones and .mp3 players. But I'm guessing that all has to do with the actual phone and not so much the plans.

Texting I can live without, but I'd definitely like some kind of internet options.

I'm probably sounding like such a doofus with this information as it is probably all self-explanatory, but again I've completely ignored all cell info to this point. All info is absolutely asked for.

Boston Tea Party... Celebrate it this Saturday...

History has always been a bit of a passion for me, particularly the history of the United States... Sure we pretty much screwed the natives later on, and had a horrible civil war (essentially because of what we now call "the Feds"), but thinking of the gutsy nature of the colonists who thumbed their noses at the King of England is really very inspiring... And at the same time very sad that we Americans today take a tax increase with a shrug and a rolling of the eyes... Colonists literally died to keep the money they worked for.

On December the 16th of 1773, what we now call "The Boston Tea Party" occurred. Many people think of this event and can only come up with " A bunch of trick or treaters dressed as Indians tossed a bunch of tea into the harbor." I am blogging this to tell you why, and to help you appreciate it and our history.

You've heard the phrase "Taxation without representation." What's that mean? Okay, when these dudes left England to colonize "America", they were really still part of England. England had parliament (Kindda like our Congress). Everyone had a "representative", except the colonists. No one in parliament represented the colonists, so they kind of felt like they weren't subject to being taxed. I mean, how could people vote to tax them when no one represented them to argue for or against it? The biggest issue these colonist dudes had was the Stamp Act. Anything printed on paper was taxed. Here is the rub; the colonies were taxed 5 times the amount the folks in England were taxed for paper goods... Essentially, this pissed them off.

England loved tea. It was imported from China to the rich folks there. You and I pay 5 to 10% sales tax on things we buy. Tea was taxed 119%. England eventually lowered the tax and everyone was able to afford tea... So they "allowed" China to import to the colonies... And in turn, get some tax money from the colonies.

So the night came that 3 ships packed with tea arrived in Boston. This rag-tag group of dudes called "The Sons of Liberty" met in a pub, drank a few pints, damned the King to hell a few times, then decided to dress as native Americans (to avoid punishment from someone identifying them) and snuck onto these ships. They were not going to let England get any tax money from the sell of this tea by golly! By 9 p.m., they had opened 342 crates of tea in all three ships and had thrown them into the harbor. They took off their shoes, swept the decks, and made each ship's first mate agree to say "The Sons of Liberty had destroyed only the tea", they were met with almost no resistance except for the first mate of one ship who fought valiantly taking out the eyes of several of the residents. The next day, they sent someone around to fix the one padlock they had broken.

England reacted by closing the port of Boston. Some copy-cat groups burned other ships carrying taxable goods in other harbors... As far as tea drinking itself was concerned, many colonists, in Boston and elsewhere in the country, pledged to keep from the drink as a protest. May be why we drink iced tea more often in America...

So this Saturday, make some tea and think about what a luxury it once was in England and the colonies... or, grab a tea bag and throw it into the trash can as a "nod" to some of the framers of this country. And next time the price of stamps go up, or your senator votes to raise your taxes, notice the difference in your reaction and how the "Sons of Liberty" would have reacted. This ain't America the Free anymore.

Jamie Toons

I would appreciate if all would visit this site and find mispellings and such. And even offer advice as to the look and feel of the site. Am willing to change most of it if need be.

http://www.jamietoons.com/

Blockbuster VS Netflix

I have been a member of the online DVD rental community off and on now for several years. For the longest time I went with Netflix because, well at first they were the only ones around, but even later because they had the greatest selection and seemed to treat their customer’s with a well pleasing service.

A few months back I switched to Blockbuster, and I don’t see myself turning back.

Here’s the rundown.

Blockbuster has essentially stolen Netflix’s game plan from them so both services are nearly identical. You choose a plan which consists of how many movies you want out at a time. For example I am on the 2 at a time plan which means at any given time I have two movies “out” (this doesn’t necessarily mean I have them in hand for this count also involves mail time. For this it costs me about $17 a month.

Both services have similar queues wherein who select the movies you want to watch and then as returned movies are turned in, the next movies in your queue are mailed out. Due to popularity of certain titles, an item in your queue may not be available when it hits the front of the line. Both services make not of this on their queues and will then send out the next available flick. I have noticed that Blockbuster has a tendency to send the movies in my top ten a little out of order even though none of them are listed as unavailable. Though I’m not sure why this is, it really isn’t too bothersome to me since I’m not that particular.

From my location and my calculations both services are comparable in terms of how quickly they process returns and send movies out. On average I receive a new movie five days from the time I have returned it.

In terms of selection Netflix gets the prize. They, by far, beat Blockbuster with number of movies in their archives. They also do not place any restrictions on ratings (Blockbuster doesn’t allow NC-17 or X rated films.) Neither company supplies pornography or “Adult” films.

So, why did I choose Blockbuster? Because they give you free in-store rentals. Before a few weeks ago they gave me 1 coupon per week to rent a movie from their physical stores. With my normal online rentals averaging out to two movies a week added with the 1 coupon per week I was receiving approximately 12 movies per month. At less than $20 per month this was already a big bargain.

Blockbuster has recently changed their terms and now instead of mailing the movies back to them you can simply return the DVDs to any Blockbuster store. Once turned in they automatically send out the next movie in my queue thus upping the amount of movies sent to me per month. Also each time you turn in a movie, you may rent one from the store. Thus, even with my old average of two movies per week I’m now doubling the amount of movies I rent from the store, and with the improved mailing times this may even triple. That’s 16-20 movies a month!

Well worth it in my book. I will probably even drop my selection to one movie at a time for $10 which will still see me receiving 12-16 movies per month.

It is a no brainer for me. Now I know most of you are probably now thinking to yourselves that there is no way you could watch that many movies in a month. The reality of the situation is that you don’t have to. With the online rentals there are no due dates or late fees. You can keep the movies as long as you want. With my DVD burner I tend to maximize my movie gathering and money saving potential by turning them in the day after, but you can certainly be more leisurely about it. Even if you take the $10 one at a time option and only watch 4 movies, you’ve still saved yourself money over watching those same movies with regular rental prices.

The HOLY COW Jumped Over the Moon

I'm sorry, Brew, but I had to blog this:

I was outside hanging Christmas lights after Wed night class tonight after the boys had gone to bed, when my wife sticks her head out the back door and says, "Josh, NASA just emailed and they want you to work for them..."

I asked her to repeat what she'd just said. She said it again and I asked if it was a joke or SP@M or something...

"Nope, this guy emailed you for real."

I finished up the lights and walked in, still not sure about how real this email was. When I got to the computer, there it was:

Joshua,

I came across your resume in our database and wanted to reach out to you to see if you are open to relocation to Huntsville, AL. We have a position working with NASA as an instructional design consultant that I thought you might be an excellent fit for based on your background. If you are interested please let me know and I will give you a call to discuss in more detail.

Ummmm, what the heck!?!?

This is NOT a joke. This guy is serious. He works for a company called Booz Allen Hamilton who contracts to NASA among other government entities. I told him to call me to discuss it tomorrow afternoon. Only thing is, we'd have to move to Huntsville. I called my Mom and she said that if it were her, she'd HAVE to check it out. Rachel and her folks agree.

And, after all, just because I check it out doesn't mean I have to take it. Right?

Filmmaking eBay Style

Just thought I'd throw this out there; it looked like something some of you would be interested in. "The eBay Model Goes to the Movies"

Apparently, Google has created a new site on which anyone can sell video or film, auction-style, with ratings.

The Librarian And The Sweet Dairy Products

I admit it. I have a great fondness to adventure stories – specifically Indiana Jones-esque adventure stories that involve looking for ancient, secret treasure. This should explain why my wife and I sat this Sunday evening watching The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines.

While my wife watched, she also searched the kitchen for something sweet – anything would do cookies, ice cream, pie. She chastised me for having not picked up any such thing on my visit to the grocery store earlier in the day (silly me, I bought non essentials like milk and chicken.) She then started to crave a Steak and Shake milkshake which is when I started to pay attention.

There is a Steak and Shake a few measly blocks from our abode, and I have to admit they make a mean shake. Suddenly I was craving a little ice cream, vanilla and maybe a hint of caramel.

The problem was we were both bedded in for the evening and tucked into our flannel pajamas. Though in this college town we wouldn’t be looked at twice for stepping out in pajama pants, that’s just not something we do in this family.

So we made a deal. Next commercial we’d change, then the following one we’d make a mad dash for the shakes.

Now the thing is I wear my pajama pants a little free in the undercarriage, if you catch my meaning, and I wasn’t prepared to equip myself with a clean pair for but minutes in the car. Thus I stuffed my khakis over my flannel pants and geared up to go. I got the keys and the coats and we prepared ourselves for the next commercial break.

Like a light we took off and I drove like a madman on crack. Somewhere on Second Street it struck me how absurd it was to be driving in the middle of the night, in the freezing cold, sans underpants with flannel pajamas sticking out of my khakis all in order to obtain a frosty treat.

Never stand in the way of a fat man and his sweetened dairy products.

We arrived safely back at home with our delectable caramel and fudge milkshakes and we only missed a few minutes of the movie.

A Sunday Dream

My alarm was set for 7 in the AM. After several snoozes I shut it off completely, knowing that this would mean we would miss Bible study and possible worship services. I woke up on my own about 8 in the AM but again rolled over decided I would not look at the clock again for I would find it necessary to get up and I just didn’t want to do that.

However, after some more sleep I did look at the clock and found it to be 8:50. Knowing I had to get up, I patted Amy and told her the time and she got out of bed in a jolt.

Entering into our bathroom we noticed that the light had burned out. Reaching into the dark tub, Amy lets out a little shriek and picks up a strange object. Handing it to me I realize it is a part of a brick.

Amy seems to not be bothered by this and again reaches into the tub to find a soaking wet towel which she promptly throws on the floor. I tell her I’ll toss the brick and get her a flashlight. Underneath I’m petrified. There wasn’t half a brick in the tub last night. Somebody had to have snuck into the house and put it there as some kind of signal.

I dump the brick and begin checking out the house. Even though conceivably the rest of our lights work, and that it is towards 9 in the morning our house is very dark. I walk through the blackness expecting to be attacked at any moment. Sensing that the culprit must be hiding in our second bedroom, which we have made into a study I bust in quickly with a karate kick. I then attack the closet but find nothing.

Amy, who is now in the shower, yells at me to join her. Before I do I go back to the bedroom, where our computer is located (in reality it is in the study) I quickly check my e-mail expecting something important, but finding nothing.

I then go to the bathroom to bathe. I have great trouble taking off my t-shirt and get it stuck above my head. Comically I struggle with it greatly before finally removing it. Amazingly I am much skinnier and more fit in reality and I begin to check myself out in the mirror. Just as I’m doing a heavy flex move I wake up with a jolt.

It is 8:15 in the AM and highly confused I wake Amy up to bathe and get ready.

My Myspace Addiction

This was going to be a lot more fun before Jamison became an addict as well, but so it goes.

About a year or two ago I signed up for a myspace account on a whim. I think, at the time, I was looking for other blog type places to do my writing and I knew a few folks with myspace accounts. Mainly I just wanted to see what all the noise was about.

It didn’t seem like much. Almost unanimously all of the sites looked terrible. Backgrounds were often loud, obnoxious and obscured the actual text. They were often way too busy with screaming, flashing lights, multiple videos and slideshows rolling at once and really annoying music would start playing even though I didn’t ask it to.

When I began trying to set up my own little space I could see the problem. The Myspace template sucks eggs. They give you little boxes to fill in such creative things as favorite movies, music, and books, but no tools in which to add anything interesting. They do allow you to add your own html and embed things like slideshows and youtube, the their organization is such that anything you add will look like crap. And it often does.

The only way to create something interesting is to know a lot of coding and have mad design skillz. Obviously, most people don’t have these things and so we get millions off awful sites. Including my own.

Well for the last few months I have quickly become very addicted to myspace. What it lacks in design, it makes up for in usability. I now check my myspace page two or three times a day. It has become nearly as addicting as e-mail.

Why you ask? Because everybody is freaking on it. They allow you to choose what schools you have gone to and then search for other folks from that school. Once I let everyone know I graduated Faulkner it became this big FU reunion. Kellie J is there, Scott Mobley, Helen Wishum, Devon Griffith, Jason Gray and even the freaking Gordon brothers.

It’s like I’m back in college without the crappy dorm rooms, curfews and studying to deal with.

So sign up people, and join the crap.

The Gay Agenda?

Since being laid off, I’ve found new enjoyment in daytime television. I’ve become addicted to Spin City and I’m even watching Dharma and Freaking Greg (even though I find the whole concept repulsive.) I’ve also become a fan of the Ellen DeGeneres talk show.

I don’t generally like talk shows, but she’s very down home, funny, dances like a white boy who grew up in the Church of Christ, doesn’t treat celebrities like royalty and treats her audience like celebrities. I don’t know there is something very sort of real about her that I like. Now I’m sure once I find a job I’ll forget all about her, but for now I’m enjoying it.

Most of you should know that Ellen became famous for her situation comedy a few years back where her character came out and became the first TV character to do so. You could say that she was a trailblazer for all the homosexual characters on television.

The thing is, she doesn’t do lesbian on her talk show. She doesn’t stand on a soap box promoting gay issues, or even mention her own sexuality on the show at all. It’s her telling stories, playing games with the stars and giving away free junk to her audience. No homosexual agenda at all.

The other day, my wife is talking to her aunt and mentions some joke Ellen made on her show and she got a look. The look. The look that says I can’t believe you watch such immoral garbage and you had better not talk about that moral decay in my presence.

I suspect there are a lot of people with exactly that kind of look for Ellen all over America.

I don’t understand this look. Again Ellen doesn’t discuss homosexuality on air. She doesn’t raise any issues at all really. The show is entertainment. She tells jokes and plays games. She’s not trying to tell people how to live. Yet she’ll get lambasted simply because she is a homosexual. The same people (and yes I know I’m over generalizing here) have no qualms about Oprah or Dr. Phil. Yet I will protest that they are pure evil. Oprah pretends to be the queen of spirituality and advice and has not right to. She’s not a Christian, she’s not an exceptionally moral person, yet she spends her day telling people how to live.

A few years back I caught an episode of Oprah and she had a man on who was a homosexual, but had given up on the practice of it because he had found God. Oprah chastised this man and said that God loved him for who he was and that He wanted him to be happy and not deny his homosexual urges.

So here’s Oprah openly supporting the gay agenda, but where are her looks?

---

In discussing this with my wife I started to ponder the state of sexual discourse in our churches. In my thirty odd years I’ve heard numerous sermons on the evils of homosexuality, lessons on the gay agenda, read pamphlets and sat through many a long discussion on this particular sing.

But what I’ve never seen is a homosexual in church. No, I take that back. For awhile I was taking a bisexual to church with me. But other than that I don’t see where the real problem is.

Don’t get me wrong, the practice of homosexuality is a sin. The bible doesn’t cut corners in telling us the immorality of gay sex. But I don’t really see where it is a problem in the church. Are there some rove congregations out there that have been taken over by a gay coup? Are members falling away for the gay lifestyle?

What I do see is a church that is falling pray to a heterosexual lifestyle. I have personally known at least six members of the church who have left their spouses for another person. Two of them have been deacons.

I don’t have all the statistics, but I think it is fair to say that the church is awash in pornography. Our culture is drowning in porno, and I can’t see that the church members have escaped this phenomenon.

Yet I hear very little about these problems. Where are the pamphlets on the heterosexual agenda, or the dangers of porn addiction? Why are preachers not preaching against these sings in a bigger, more real way?

This seems like such a double standard to me, and one that is doing great damage to the church. What say you?

TWS

At the beginning of the semester, those three letters were the most dreaded in the alphabet. They stand for Teacher Work Sample. All across America, aspiring teachers plan a unit for a class they are in a practicum or internship with. They do a pre-test on the children, plan the unit, and the post-test. Then they compare the two different tests to see what the kids learned. Then they write about 30 pages about what they did and why.

The length didn't intimidate me. It was the requirements. There were about 7 parts to the paper and in each part, I had to include certain things. Mess something up, and my score is lowered. Plus, in education, if you mess one thing up, it affected the rest. So if I had messed up one section, the rest of the paper would have been in jeopardy. And there's the whole proving I can actually teach something to children. Oh yeah, and if I fail the TWS I repeat the semester.

I turned this bad boy in about a month and a half ago. We submit assignments online. I knew that it would be a while before I got my score, so I didn't check it often. Sort of a watched pot never boils sort of thing.

I checked on Thanksgiving, knowing the woman who graded it would get a lot done over the break. The score was in. I clicked the link that showed the assessment, and read every rubric to each section. "Indicator met, indicator met, indicator met" was all I saw. I looked through about 4 times, expecting to see some sort of "needs improvement" or something. Surely I left something out.

Nope, I had gotten a 100. And the comments from the instructor were positive as well.

Charlie and I were both very excited when I found this out. Not only do I pass the semester, not only do I use this in my portfolio that potential employers look at, but I actually know what I'm doing. As excited as I was then, I went to class on Tuesday sort of convinced it wasn't a big deal. Maybe it was easier to get a good grade than I thought. During class, my teacher (who graded it) asked me to stay after for a minute.

After everyone left, she said "You got a 100 on your TWS."

"Yeah, I saw. I was really excited," I replied nonchalantly, and a little embarrassed.

"Diana, you are the only one who got a 100. Your work blew me away. I thought you would like to hear that."

As you can imagine, that made my day. Heck, that made my whole semester. There are some things that I know I do well, and then there are things I need to be told I do well. I feel a lot more confident going into next semester (and getting ready for next semester's TWS). I can't wait to start my student teaching!

Oh, and one of my best friends failed hers. They're reexamining her work and may have her redo parts. Of course, there's the chance she may have to repeat the whole semester.

The picture is a sample of student work I had to include in the TWS.

Hand Turkey

It has become tradition in our house to do hand turkeys on Thanksgiving. An odd thing I suppose since we don't have children of our own, but we're kind of childish at heart anyway. This one is mine. What it lacks in technical brilliance, it makes up for in colorfulness.

Now tell me this isn't art!

Some Things In There Aren't in There

My new sister-in-law is a Bible major at Lipscomb. Yes, I also wonder why, but I admire her for loving the Word and desiring to learn more about it.

She was at the house Sunday afternoon, talking about a paper she had to write concerning the canonization of Jude and the questions surrounding a passage found in Jude from the Book of Enoch (a book probably written by a Pharisee during the first century AD).

The verse is Jude 1:9 and goes like this:

But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

This verse is found nowhere else in scripture and refers to an occurrence outside the realm of what we know. How do we account for this? Are there other passages where ideas, religious or otherwise, are inserted in the Word?

The short answer is, "Yes."

Here are a few more passages I found here:

The works of theGreco-Roman philosophers Epimenedes and Aratus, quoted by Paul inActs 17:28.

Romans 1:20-29 // Wisdom 13:5,8;
14:24,27Romans 9:20-23 // Wisdom 12:12,202
Corinthians 5:1,4 // Wisdom 9:15
James 1:19 // Sirach 5:11
James 1:13 // Sirach 15:11-12

Here are some more I found here:

Books referenced by the Bible, but not included in the Bible, are...
Book of the Covenant (Ex. 24:7) Book of the Wars of the Lord (Num 21:14) Book of Jasher (Josh 10:13, 2 Sam 1:18) The Book of the Statutes (1 Sam. 10:25); Book of Samuel the Seer (1 Samuel 10:25, 1 Chr 29:29) Book of Nathan the Prophet (2 Chr 9:29) Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41) The Book of Gad the Seer (1 Chr. 29:29); Book of Shemaiah the Prophet (2 Chr 12:15) The Book of Ahijah the Shilonite (2 Chr. 9:29) Visions of Iddo the Seer (2 Chr. 9:29); Acts of Abijah/Story of Prophet Iddo (2 Chr 13:22) The Story of the Prophet Iddo (2 Chr. 13:22); Book of Jehu (2 Chr 20:34) Acts of Uzziah, by Isaiah, the son of Amoz (2 Chr. 26:22); Sayings of the Seers (?) (2 Chr 33:19) Book of Enoch (Jude 1:14)

Also, a missing epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 5:9); a missing epistle to the Colossians, written from Laodicea (Col. 4:16)

Very interesting. It builds my faith to see this since the inspired writers verify their contemporaries through mentioning them outright. What do you guys think about this?

Robert Altman 1925 - 2006

This very weekend I sat and watched A Prairie Home Companion. It was a lovely thing – funny and sad and whimsical. Very much the sort of thing you’d expect from a collaboration of Garrison Keillor and Robert Altman. It’s got the sort of down-home, Mid-West low key charm you expect from Keillor and the rolling, dialogue over dialogue doesn’t really have a plot appeal of Altman.

Watching the documentaries about the movie I learned that the studio hired a secondary director just in case Altman died while making it. Now I’ve learned he really has died, and I’m suddenly inexplicably sad.

I can’t begin to say I’ve seen all of the director’s 87 films, nor can I pretend to have liked all the ones I watched (I’ve never found MASH to be all that funny, Nashville is snoresville to me, and I can’t seem to ever make it through McCabe and Mrs. Miller) but there are so many film that I love and cherish that the world’s loss, is my loss too.

Who can forget that night in Mullins dorm watching the endless, rambling and oh so entertaining Player, or Short Cuts? He managed to update The Long Goodbye to the 70’s making it relevant all over again, and almost out Bogied Bogie with Elliot Gould of all people.

He made a musical out of Popeye, and damn what the critics say, he made it great.

More recently he turned created a wonderful Upstairs/Downstairs murder mystery and forgot to tell us whodunit.

His style was more laid back than grilled cheese. He seemed to just let the camera roll and the actors do what they please. Sometimes this didn’t work and we go something more of a mess than a film. But when it worked it was pure gold.

Rest in Peace Robert Altman, you deserve it.

Blast From the Past

You guessed it, that's Julie Mullins dressed up as a clown.

My father, you see, gave me a scanner/printer thing while I was in Oklahoma. The thing was it was actually a scanner/printer/fax thing and the fax part stopped working. The father needs the fax on a very regular basis. You could, in fact, say that the fax was the main reason for buying the scanner/printer/fax thing. Though this could be contested as he does do a lot of printing.


This is before someones wedding. I'm thinking Jamisons, in Jamisons apartment, but I wouldn't swear to it.

But faxes, yeah, he does a lot of that.

Him being none to patient, and not all that computer savvy, gave the fax a few shots, but gave up quick and bought a new one. Now having two printer/fax things and only needing one really, he gave the extra to me.


And that's Jamison's wedding I think. Yeah, it's in the old Dalraida building, I remember the fountain in the pulpit.

Me, not needing a fax thing, but salivating for a scan/print thing gladly accepted.

Hooking this device up today I decided I wanted to do some practicing with the scan thing.


And this is at the Renaissance Festival (breast fest) in Atlanta.

Flipping through the old real picture albums (I haven't used those tings in years) I cam across a few classics to share.

Hope you enjoy!

And Don't we all look young?

Yet Another Update

Sorry to keep telling y'all about this job, but I got some very promising news today.

Yesterday afternoon, I telephoned a good friend of my Dad who used to be to Mayor of Luverne (my hometown). He was appointed to the Alabama Department of Economic Community Affairs (ADECA) by the Governor and later promoted to the head of the Alabama Banking Assoc. In other words, the guy has some pull.

When I phoned him, he wasn't there, so I left a message. He called me this morning and said he needed me to email him all the info I could about the job so he could write me a letter of recommendation.

I emailed him immediately and he emailed me right back. Come to find out that he knows the Colonel in charge of hiring for the job PERSONALLY! He used to work with her when he was with ADECA!

So, he's giving her a call and plans to put in a very good word for me!

Y'all all please keep praying. It's working!

Bonjour la Classe

I never remember how much I keep people updated on my life and my lovely wife’s life, so here’s the rundown. Several weeks ago Depauw University, located in fabulous Greencastle, Indiana, contacted Indiana University about candidates for a French teacher position that they have open. My wonderful and fabulous in her own accord wife was the person they selected.

A few things happened during the application process that seemed like good omens. First before she had applied at all (which took the gathering of multiple things including her past teacher evaluations) the head of the language department at Depauw contacted Amy wondering where her application was. Being that most jobs don’t call you up asking why you haven’t applied we figured this was good news. Secondly when the position suddenly lost one class due to only a few people signing up (and thus lowering the potential pay) the head guy again contacted Amy and basically said that he would love to work with her but understood that these circumstances may keep her from being able to.

On Wednesday, Amy traveled to Greencastle for a full day of interviews, meetings with faculty and administration and teaching one of the French classes. This was the absolute first time Amy has applied and interviewed for anything within her field. Nervous is the word.

A quick word about the job. University hiring policies work pretty much the same everywhere. For those who have just graduated with their perspective degrees they are usually offered positions teaching lower level courses with a 1-2 year contract. Often they will travel about with similar contracts from university to university to build up experience. Eventually a university may offer them another 1-2 year contract when the first one expires and this may continue on for several years and if everything goes right then this person may be offered tenure, which is basically stay here forever.

The Depauw gig is a short time thing. Right now all we know is that it extends to the Spring semester. We are hoping it will travel into the next school year, but we don’t know about that.

I did, however, get word from Amy just now (she’s in Nashville for a conference) that she has been offered the job! Yeah!

We now have to decide if it is worth it to make the move up there, or just have Amy commute. Greencastle is about an hours drive from Bloomington. The problem is that the pay isn’t all that much, and we’re not quite sure if it will last past May of 2007. That’s a lot of expense for not that much. I think if we can get a guarantee that she’ll have the job in the next term, we’ll make the move.

We’ll see, and man am I ever glad she got the job.

Behold, the power of cheese

In case you haven't seen the national weather news lately, you may be interested to know that a tornado swept through Montgomery Alabama this week.

It was on Wednesday and there was a tornado drill (well, not a drill, the real thing) that late morning. I work on the top floor but usually refuse to go downstairs and sit in a hall with 60 or 70 teenagers...

I stayed in my office watching the wonder of nature outside my window. Just then, a very large wooden sign falls over and it pushed against my truck... i smirk and think "Eh, It is a truck". Then, the waterfall that forms right outside my window during a heavy rain begins to fall horizontally... i mean at an almost 180 degree angle....

The power then goes out and my UPS starts to kick in with beeps and screeches, keeping my servers up. Say no more; I unplug my laptop and walk downstairs...

After the storm, we learn that th FunZone (A LARGE building, made of concrete and metal, that housed a skating rink, bumpercars, video games and other 'fun' stuff) was hit by a tornado... When i saw the damage, it literally looked about as much of a building as the world trade trowers did after 9/11... like a bomb went off in it....

FYI, the FunZone has something during the days called "The learning zone" which is essentially a daycare... it had about 60 kids in there at the time. The employyes did a masterful job of getting the kids out before the tornado hit. One kid had to get stitches in his jaw and head, and was out of the hospital in less than 24 hours. Most of the kids got a kick out of the whole ordeal because they got to seek shelter in a dry cleaning store (pretty much a field trip). Then moms and dads showed up crying and in a panic, which (of course) made the kids panic and start crying... lighten up mom!

Likewise, saddleback ridge and taylor crossing apartments (my old stomping grounds) got hit big time. The tragedy in all this was that most renters dont have renters insurance... and all their processions are now gone.

Vaughn Parck c of C and Frazier UMC opened up as shelters this week...

See pics! All pics courtesy of Ryan F.

The not-so FUnZone... between the KFC and the car audio place. If you havent been in Fungomery in a while, this is right next to the BIG post office by AUM (Where all the good looking women send their mail). That post office has been closed ever since. All front windows blown out and cars upside down.

Saddleback Ridge apartments and some randomly mangled metal....

And Taylor Crossing apartments. Me and Ryan used to live here. Notice the top floor unit... there is a reason they tell you go go to the bottom level during a tornado... Only glass left on that SUV is the windshield.

Shake Your Money Maker

Just a little job update:

I may have mentioned this already, but last Thursday evening in my class at Faulkner, I mentioned my need for employment to one of my students. She happens to be in the Air National Guard at Dannelly ANG Base here in Montgomery, so I asked her about possible positions thhere. She said they are starting a new program called the National Youth ChalleNGe. It's a program for kids who have dropped out of school and want to get their GED in an environment of discipline, care, and organization.

She got in touch with the lady who takes the resumes while I ran across the hall to the computer lab to print my resume. I brought it back to her and she said she'd take the resume straight to the top; a Colonel in charge of hiring for the program.

I got an email from my student today. She told me that she had taken my resume to the Colonel and to an Information Systems group out on Base.

I asked her to take an updated Resume and Cover Letter to the Colonel, which she graciously did. She emailed me back a little while later and said she gave them to the Colonel and she was very interested!

Y'all please continue to pray for the right thing, but I'd really love to do this job!

Relativity...

The more I think, the more I find that there are very few "absolutes" in this world. I am finding that so many things in life are so relative to an individual, family, city, state, society, or country.

I was reading a book that I bought last night on dreams. This section is about shamans of all native cultures, particularly Native American cultures. A 'shaman' today would be classified as a schizophrenic lunatic who hallucinates. He would be put on a countless array of medication, be shunned by society, end up in a mental ward, and probably kill himself.

Yet, a shaman 100 or more years ago in his tribe is praised, held in high stature, looked to for guidance. Ironically, most shaman were forced into their positions against their will... how many Americans would fight, kicking and screaming to be looked up to... more relativity.

Likewise, these cultures many times used mushrooms and cannabis regularly to induce lucid dreams, and were used as commonly as we may use a toothpick... We would get hassled by the cops for merely dressing like a hippie at a concert here. Our society feels free to pick and choose what is bad and what is good.

Brew and his wife go to France and the CHURCH OF CHRIST folks there drink wine and beer regularly, as regular as we would drink Coke or Pepsi... Relativity even comes into play at certain OCCATIONS or times of year! I could share a cigar with pals at church if I had a baby... but smoke one on any other occasion (or no special occasion at all) and I get labeled as an addict.

Back to dreams, western society (mostly in the medical field) look at dreams as nothing more than a garbage dumb of the brain getting rid of images and thoughts collected during the day that are useless, but other cultures of every country look to them for insight, and learning.

So what is absolute? Are there any absolute truths? God and the Bible aside of course. (Though one could easily make the argument that many cultures and other religions have a god and have a 'bible' of sorts that they call truth and call our bunk.) Are we humans just a creature that can go around pointing at things not our own and call it 'good' or bad'? 'wrong' or 'right'? 'Insane' or 'sane'?

Am I colorblind? Or is everyone else colorblind...? Do those who see hallucinations 'seeing things' or are we all crazy because we CAN’T see them?

I dont want this to turn into a "If it is bad for you then it is a sin" debate because the retort will always come back as "dont eat junk food then"... in fact, if possible, keeping this away from 'sin' and 'religion' would really help this discussion (if one turns out) be alot more enjoyable... we all are saved Christians here, all of which are pretty staeadfast in our own seperate beleifs of what is right and wrong, so none of us are going to change despite all the commenting that may go on. Besides, this post isnt about religion, or God... see the title...

Yawn

Per a request on the previous post, I am writing something new. What I have to contribute is a bit mundane. I'm tired. I have made a command decision to wake up before my kids do so I don't feel like smothering them to get them back to sleep every morning. I've been fighting them for an hour at a time just to grab 10 extra minutes of sleep. So 6AM, here I come. Coffee is my friend. And I will make the effort to get to bed by 10PM- not likely, but it's worth a shot.

Noah (3 months old) still wakes up about 3 times a night to eat or just to fart. This kid has more gas than the Hindenburg. He especially likes to take early morning strains, grunting and fussing and flailing. I have been bringing him into my bed and trying to comfort him while sleeping and it's not working. Holding a pacifier in his mouth and pushing on his feet so he has leverage for long periods of time puts quite a strain on the back and neck. So I wake up grumpy, sore, and feeling like I've lost a battle. He eventually falls asleep again, but somehow Luke (2 1/2) knows I'm about to get some rest and he wakes up hungry. I feel like an ogre. This has to stop.

I don't feel too sorry for myself, though, because some friends of ours just adopted and brought home 10-day-old twins! Now that's tired!

One of Those Days

I went to the urologist yesterday with high hopes that I'd be in and out with an appointment to have my vasectomy. Of course, I had no such luck. My appointment was at 10:30 AM. So, I courteously arrive at 10:15 then had to wait till 11:30 to be called back. The doctor made it in at about 11:45 and rushed around frantically while he made funny jokes about testicles. He had me stand before him, drop my pants, and show him my stuff. He was impressed that both of my vas deferens (the tubes he'll be snipping for me) run along the front. He said it was unusual, but that it would make surgery easier.

After he examined "my balls" as he called them, he, just out of nowhere, said, "Bend over." I asked him why. "You're getting the check." That's right folks. Dr. Hot Dog Fingers checked my prostate! OW! I feel so violated. At least it was over quickly.

However, my day didn't end there. I came back to work after being gone for 2 hours and went to discuss my surgery schedule with my boss. She asked me to close the door to her office. I almost asked why, but thought better of it and just closed the door.

In a few words, she told me that our current contract was almost out of money, our other contract wasn't looking good, and we'd probably have layoffs. She wanted me to know so I could have my surgery before that happened, so my insurance would cover it. I told her I appreciated the info and that I'd try to do that. I also told her I'd be looking at other employment opportunities. She said she'd try to help me find something in company, but I think I'd rather find something else. I wouldn't turn down a job here, but I look at this as a way to move into something I enjoy more, I hope.

I returned to my cube, disheveled, but determined. I called the doctor. They had no open surgeries till December 15th. I'll probably be laid off before then. Rachel called and I filled her in on the job (I figured Dr. Hot Dog Fingers could wait). She immediately sprung into action looking for jobs for us both. Thank God for her.
My parents, who have some pretty good connections, are checking the job scene for me. Larissa's helping me look on base. I have a good network inside and outside of work. So, I should be able to find something soon. But, y'all please pray for us. I don't want to come upon Christmas without a job.

Ah, Life... as Brew once said...

In our lives we establish friendships with a host of different kinds of people. Some people have 1 or 2 friends. Some people have none (If you can believe it!). Some, like us, have a close-knit group that stays solid as the years and disagreements come and go. Some of us have 2 or 3 different groups of friends that sometimes never cross paths. Friendships are a treasure. I think some of us here sometimes take our friendships for granted since we have been together for so long, but understand that there are MANY people in this woulrd who would give their left eye to have ONE person in their lives like we have the 10 or 12 represented here.

Though, naturally, when one has friends for so long, you tend to take friends for granted. I suppose recent circumstances and events have shed light on the fact that perhaps I have become a victim of the friend-advantage-taking… with a one Ryan F.

Of all my friends, Ryan is the friend I have known the longest and been friends with the longest. I don’t really know what made us friends other than randomly being selected as roommates my freshman year. Mullins was to be in his place, but somehow it got switched at the last minute. Ryan is a bit of a sports nut, I am a casual sports fan and know very little of players and rules and history of the game. There are many other aspects of life that Ryan and I don’t share. Yet somehow, we have remained friends consistently through all these many years.

Having Ryan in town has been a blessing. I tell Ryan things that I usually don’t tell others. I can talk to Ryan about subjects that I may not be comfortable talking to others about. I can tell Ryan “Don’t tell anyone else” and I know anything I tell him is safe with him.

You’d think a guy that I hold this dear to me would be a guy I would hang out with on an almost daily basis. Let’s face it; none of us are 16 anymore and we aren’t in college. We have jobs, families, and some of us have kids… so the “hang out factor” with any friend in your 30s is low. Yet, we at least try to have lunch once a week. On those lunches we either let it all out that we have been dying to tell the other, or we eat in silence. Or we tell a funny story about something that happened that week. No matter the subject of the lunch, the fact that we try to get together once a week has been a testament to our friendship.

I’ll admit, I could be a better friend. We could get together more. We could talk more. We could have lunch more often. But, such is life.

Ryan is moving away, at the latest, January of 2007. He has been offered a job at a church in Jacksonville, Florida. It is for a position he has desired for many years at a church where the elders are loving and down-to-earth. He will get paid more and essentially work less. The best part of the job offer is that they came to him, rather than him going out to find a job.

Ryan has been in this town a long time. I envy him in the fact that he is going to be able to move up in the world AND be able to do it by moving out of this town which seems to pull people in and hold them here with a death grip. Tis a fine town, but for those of us looking for a way of escape, the task seems impossible.

Sure, I will have a place to stay if I go to Jacksonville. Sure, we can go to a Jacksonville Jaguar’s game. And sure, I probably will see him only a little bit less when he moves than I do already. But, going to Peytons Place restaurant to get a meat n 3 will not be the same without some funny anecdotal story being told by Ryan… I don’t know HOW odd and strange things always happen to him, but they do, and he knows how to retell a story.

clearing out

No one is posting so I think I’ll add a few of my thoughts as I’m in transition. Here is my biggest problem moving to Channel 10.

I’ve got 18.31GB, 14.2 days totaling 4344 songs on my iTunes at Scripps. I’ve recently purchased a 300GB external / portable drive with firewire connections. Thinking that I’ve got a newer computer at Scripps I assumed that I could simply pop in my drive and then drag and drop everything from my iTunes over. I can’t. My computer here doesn’t have a firewire port only USB, how antiquated.

Now, all the stuff that I want to take with me including tons of pictures and files has to be transferred via a 2BG jumpdrive on to a laptop. I sort equate this to moving the water from one bucket to another using a soup spoon.

After today I’ve got five days of nothing much to do so my main projects are to compile a list of emails I use regularly, save off my Web Favorites list, and dump several gigs worth of text and image files onto an open source. In the evening it’ll be easier to dump the media down to a permanent device.

Then again I think I’m going to be in the market to get another external drive because after our last computer crashed with tons of family pictures on it I don’t trust computers much.

Yeah, I know. If this is my biggest problem, big freaking deal.

What I've Learned

My class at good ole Faulkner has been nothing short of great. I love teaching and I'm happy to be paid for it but, the students are the greatest aspect of the class.

They aren't the best writers in the world. But, they have an ability to express themselves that intrigues and even impresses me. There's an importance to what they have to say. As a writer, I have never appreciated that as much as I do now. When you write, you're consumed with your own characters, craft, and creativity. No one else's art seems to matter as much as yours. After all, you're making up a whole world and following in the great steps of the literary fathers.

But, none of that matters as much as the heart and soul of the person who tells you about her losses or the end of his life as he knows it. So, in some ways, writing is a great equalizer. It reaches into the parts of us that we didn't look for before. Some will tell THE story and some won't. But, we'll all find something good and maybe even great.

I think what makes this writing different and wonderful to me is the fact that these people are not writers. They don't care to be writers. But, they yearn to be understood; to express in some way who they are. The result is a colorful mixture of words and phrases that delve into a world rarely witnessed by the uber-literate. The words say something true and unmuddled. They speak in kind, warm declarations. And somehow, in flattening themselves, these people make themselves rounder. I'm privileged and blessed to have seen the contents of humanity, clearly printed on the page. It's something I'll never forget.

Headline...

It’s with mixed emotions that today, Nov 1st I offer my two week notice with Scripps Productions.

My life has been blessed with a “colorful” collection of wild, wonderful and learning experiences within the Scripps family. I would like to extend a special thanks Johanna Hoover for her guidance and endless patience along the way, with like sentiment for the rest of the Productions management team. I would also like to thank the entire Scripps Productions team for all the laughs and lessons wrapping up almost six years in the trenches.

Notching several amazing freelance opportunities on my belt along with the wide variety of opportunities Scripps has provided for me eventually “word got out”. From this, I have been offered a “backpack journalist” position at WBIR.

My intention is to continue to work through the 15th of November at Scripps with my last two days of employment in PTO on the 16th and 17th.

So it goes fellas. My time at Scripps has been filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. When I get to the top rated channel in Knoxville on the 20th I will be a journalist on a magazine program called “Style”. I will be researching, writing, shooting, editing and producing my own packages for this show.

I think it’s important to note that the NBC affiliate called me. That is a good sign no matter how you stack the deck. The Executive Producer said that every time the subject of finding someone new to help the show my name continued to come up. He said it was time to either see if I could seriously come on board or stop talking about me.