Friday Five -- all about March 6

It's been ages since I've done a Friday Five. I perused the list of possible offerings and came across this list, posted a few weeks ago. I know it's a little belated, but I thought the question format and the trivia aspects were intriguing. So I couldn't resist. Like they say: better late than never!

1. On March 6, 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev presented the first Periodic Table of the Elements to the Russian Chemical Society.
   What memories do you have of your high-school chemistry course?
2. On March 6, 1899, the Bayer company registered aspirin as a trademark.
   When did you last take medication for pain?
3. On March 6, 1853, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata premiered in Venice.
   How do you feel about opera?
4. On March 6, 1947, American film director Rob Reiner (Meathead!) was born.
   Which of these Reiner-directed films have you seen, and what do you think of them?
   • The Bucket List (2007)
   • Rumor Has It… (2005)
   • Alex & Emma (2003)
   • The Story of Us (1999)
   • Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
   • The American President (1995)
   • North (1994)
   • A Few Good Men (1992)
   • Misery (1990)
   • When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
   • The Princess Bride (1987)
   • Stand by Me (1986)
   • The Sure Thing (1985)
   • This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
5. On March 6, 1972, American basketball-player Shaquille O’Neal was born.
   How do you feel about basketball?

1. I'd have to say that the most memorable part of my high school chemistry class was our teacher, Mr. Fife. He looked exactly like Santa Claus-- from the bald pate to the white beard to the spectacles to the belly that shook like a bowlful of jelly! It was trippy to see him walk around in Santa garb near the holiday season. He was short and stocky, but his presence was large-- he had a sense of humor but he was also no-nonsense. I have vague recollections of my classmates being cutups as well, but nothing stands out as truly memorable.

I do have to add that college chemistry had some interesting classmates as well. My favorite memory was the day I tricked my lab partner into putting her nose directly over a flask of pure ammonia and inhaling. The LOOK on her face! I wonder if she's ever forgiven me for that ;-)

2. Ah, blessed OTC drugs :-) Last time I took anything was probably a week or two ago-- the last time I was sick and laid up with a fever and chills. Then it was Tylenol and ibuprofen to the rescue! I never take aspirin anymore, though. When I'm sick and in constant need of medication just to get by the day, I try to consume Tylenol sparingly, because I don't want to overtax my liver.

3. The extent of my opera viewing consists of little snippets here and there from TV or movie characters going to the opera, like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman". So, I have no opinion, other than to say that I would like to go someday, if only to see what it's like!

4. I've seen: American President, A Few Good Men, and When Harry Met Sally. Don't ask me to pick a favorite. I love all 3 of them, they definitely rank high on my list of all-time favorite movies! And I would highly recommend them if you haven't seen them!

5. I feel the same way about basketball as I do about any sport-- boring! I've never understood why people can spend hours glued to the tube, watching an entire sports game unfold. I can understand catching occasional glimpses and keeping up with the scores, but to watch the entire game!? Or should that be: gameS!? I would much rather participate in a sport than watch it. And I'm neither athletic nor sports-inclined. That being said, of all the sports to possibly participate in: baseball, volleyball, football, basketball... probably basketball is the best of the bunch. And I don't even like it that much, which goes to show you how I feel about other sports! I like basketball "best" because I can fake out playing-- just run up and down the court with the crowd and nobody will ever know that I never really laid a hand on the ball ;-) As you can tell, I'm speaking from junior high and high school gym memories :-)

How about you?

Love your neighbor, Simpsons-style

Some years ago I gave my friend Wayne a book for his birthday. It was called "The Gospel According to the Simpsons". Between the time that I purchased it from our university bookstore and the time I presented it to him, I read it (sorry, Wayne). And was pleasantly surprised. Who would've thought that nuggets of spiritual wisdom could be found in such a profane cartoon? But when you dig a little deeper, you find that deep down, the Simpson characters aren't as evil as they are sometimes made out to be. Moreover, many of the episodes subtly embody the essence of Biblical teachings in modern, everyday settings-- probably getting the point across far better than an outdated translation of the Bible could.

Take Homer, for instance. The quintessential bumbling fool. As many times as he goofs up, when it comes to serious matters, he does not stray. Though he has been tempted many times, he never cheats on his wife. When he's gone too far, he tries to make amends. And hell-raising Bart? How about that sincere prayer he recited the day before a dreaded exam that could decide whether he would be held back or not? It may have been a little rough around the edges, and contained none of the pious words you sometimes hear in chants and liturgies, but it came straight from the heart, which is by far the most important element in prayer. And to top it off? When the next day his prayers were answered and a freak snowstorm canceled school, he actually followed through his end of the bargain, fighting the temptation to play outdoors while he studied.

A few weeks ago an episode came out called "No Loan Again, Naturally" A brief synopsis: the Simpsons are unable to meet their mortgage payments when their interest rate skyrockets (sound familiar?) and their house is foreclosed and auctioned off. Feeling sorry for the Simpsons, their "Jesus freak" neighbor Flanders buys the house and leases it back to them for whatever they can afford till they get back on their feet. Rather than being grateful, however, the Simpsons take advantage of Flanders' generosity, forcing him to evict them. As he reviews the application of potential leasers, a Christian couple whose idea of fun makes Flanders look like a party animal, he finds himself reminiscing about his irreverent and irrelegious former neighbors-- with fondness. And he realizes that they are the ones he wants to live next to. After all, he says, you are only a saint when you're among sinners.

Now, some people might interpret that as Flanders elevating himself above non-Christians, but I actually think it's the opposite. His statement summarizes the whole of Jesus' teachings: "Love your neighbor". In Jesus' time, he was criticized by the religious leaders of his day-- they scoffed at him when he ate and drank and interacted with the most sordid of characters-- tax collectors (today's IRS agents :-D), prostitutes, rough-talking blue-collar workers, and *gasp* Gentiles! In modern times, self-righteous, so-called Christians do the same-- they plant a very obvious divide between "us" and "them", and heaven forbid anyone should cross that divide!

They are missing the point. How are they suppose to embody the love that Jesus did, unless they reach out to others who are not within their "circle"? It's easy to love people like you-- even the Mafia don takes care of his own. But loving those who are different? That takes some real selflessness. And humility. I read the perfect analogy in a book somewhere (the title and author escape me at the moment, my apologies): "Church is not a museum for saints. It's a hospital for sinners". Jesus himself came to earth to minister to the needy, not to waste time with pious and hypocritical religious leaders.

Sadly, some of today's Christians are little different from the religious leaders of Jesus' day. It is unfortunate that the term "Christian" has such negative connotations today because of such church-going, Bible-thumping, proselytizing religious folk. Isn't it sad that in a culture where "tolerance" is valued, and it is unacceptable to bash anyone for their religious beliefs (or lack thereof), Christianity is the exception? Then it's open season. But... given the current "face" that the general public sees when they think of Christians, I can hardly blame them. I know I sure wouldn't want some self-righteous person treating me with disdain instead of respect. With hostility instead of love. With condemnation instead of acceptance. With judgment when it is not their place to judge.

Now, there are a lot of genuine, faithful believers out there. And they have done a lot of good in this world, no question. On the other hand, there's also been a lot of bloodshed, and the battles continue today (albeit a little less bloody in modern times). Seems like the good ones get drowned out by a few bad apples. And I think that's a shame. Just think-- if more of the Bible-thumpers would adhere to the simple command of "Love your neighbor", maybe the world would be a little more peaceful. Flanders came to understand that. And if Flanders can, so can anyone else ;-) Right?

Voltron, Defender of the Universe

Does anyone remember that show (the one with the 5 lions)? It first aired nearly 25 years ago, in the fall of 1984. I was 7 years old, and remember being glued to the TV set, watching it. It was my favorite show. I loved the lions. The characters were cool. I even had a crush on one of them. I wrote my own stories about them, and, since we couldn't afford the actual lion action figures that were popular in the toy stores then, I made my own out of paper.

Soon I grew up, and all but forgot about Voltron. I perked up a little when I heard rumors of a Voltron movie in the works sometime in the near future, but then forgot about that, too.

And then... Hulu, which continuously adds new movies and TV shows to its archives, made Voltron available. It was regular-Hulu-watcher Allan who first noticed it, and casually mentioned it to me, knowing that I was a fan as a child.

Interested, I clicked on it, and haven't looked back since. What a trip down memory lane! I never saw the first few episodes of the show-- the important ones that establish the background story, and now I finally understand it. The scenes where the individual lions combine to form Voltron were always the same, and brought back a flood of memories when I saw it again for the first time in 25 years.

To be honest, it was kind of amusing to watch it now, through grown-up eyes. The acting isn't great, the animations typical Japanese anime (which I loathe), and the writing cheesy. But the fond memories of how much I loved the show as a child, and the excitement of getting to relive it all over again, more than compensated for any "reality, bubble-bursting" factors. I still think it's a cool show.

Anyone else remember the show? Anyone else watch it? What are your favorite childhood shows?

Here's the Hulu link, btw:

http://www.hulu.com/voltron-defender-of-the-universe

Quiz mosaic

Lots to blog about, like ruminations on one of the more recent Simpsons episodes, and my excitement at finding out that Hulu is now hosting one of my all-time childhood favorite cartoons-- Voltron. But for now, I couldn't resist doing a fun little quiz-- it's just your run-of-the-mill questions, and most of you who are reading this know all my answers anyway, but I thought it would be fun to post because of the coolness of the answers: a photo mosaic!

I've decided to leave off my written answers to the questions and let you deduce them from the mosaic-- although even that will be pretty straightforward, as most of the pictures speak for themselves quite obviously :-)

1. What is your name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your hometown?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. What is your favorite movie?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What is one word to describe yourself?
10. How are you feeling right now?
11. What do you love most in the world?
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?



How about you?

EDIT: I forgot to post the instructions with the link to the mosaic generator. Sorry about that!

DIRECTIONS:
- Go to Google Image search.
- Type in your answer to each question.
- Choose a picture from the first three pages.
- Use this website (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) to make your collage.
- Save the image for use in this entry.
- Post it! :-)

Stricter traffic laws...

... just means more opportunities for law-breakers and idiot drivers to abound.

While returning to work after dropping Todd off at after-school care, I found myself blocked by an inattentive lady slowly pulling up to a red light (I was trying to exit out of a parking lot onto the street, common courtesy dictates that if you're stopping at a red light, you leave room for people exiting from the side, right?) As I watched her glide in front of me, I noticed that her attention was occupied by what appeared to be a pen. Okay, I've been guilty of jotting down shopping lists while stopped at red lights, so I was slightly irritated but not too mad. The light turns quickly anyway, so I wouldn't have long to wait.

But when the light did turn green and she started driving off, I noticed that it wasn't a pen at all-- it was a knitting needle. Sure enough, she yanked her handiwork up in the air so she could put her hand on the steering wheel. Seriously!? Knitting while driving!? I was stunned, to say the least.

As I made my left turn out of the parking lot, I noticed a motorcycle cop exiting the parking lot across the street from me. As we crossed paths, I saw that he'd turned his lights on, hot on someone's tail. With delicious glee I hoped that he, too, had seen the knitting lady and was chasing her down to at least give her a tongue-wagging! Now that would be justice :-)

As if that wasn't bad enough, though, knitting lady driver just got one-upped. Check out this lovely little news tidbit about a woman breastfeeding her kid... while driving... and talking on her cell phone (which is illegal now)... in the rain!!

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/02/27/ddn022709breastfeedweb.html

Like I said-- stricter laws may enhance safety, but they also seem to bring out idiot drivers in droves (ha!). You just can't win!