... gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands!
(I know my movie buff friends will know where that quote is from!)
Truer words were never spoken. When we moved into our current apartment almost a year ago, we were stoked to be able to walk to work everyday. With the little man in LA for the summer, we had time to do that, plus work out in the gym and swim in the pool of our apartment complex. Then Todd returned, reducing our free time quite a bit. When winter hit, so did all those nasty flu bugs that seemed to befall almost everyone I knew! That pretty much knocked me off course of any sort of regular exercise for the past 6 months. It showed. It wasn't long before I was huffing and puffing up the single flight of stairs at work. Sad, I know.
Now that summer is here yet again, along with more free time with the absence of the little man, I've once again resumed my efforts at going swimming on a regular basis. So far I've been averaging about 3 times per week, usually in the evenings, when it's less crowded.
And I've once again discovered that not only is it good for my body because of the obvious exercise, but it's good all around for my well being. I feel better. I sleep better at night. I may be physically tired after a good workout, but it's a good kind of tired, and I still feel pretty refreshed afterward. I feel like my body has been cleansed and purged of the day's dreck.
More than once has 8:00 rolled around, and I felt lazy and tempted to put off swimming for the night. I was too tired. It was too cold. I had too much to do... but everytime I dragged myself out and forced myself to go swimming, I was very glad that I did. I always came back feeling much better, much more relaxed, much more refreshed, and in much higher spirits than before.
There is definitely something to be said for exercise boosting your spirits. It's good not just for your physical well-being, but for your mental well-being, too. And that certainly is being driven home to me this summer. I hope I can stay disciplined enough to keep it up for the next couple months! :-)
How about you? What do you do to stay fit?
La Maison des Tortues: One third of the "heckled trio" writes...
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Madcap Month is finally over!
Warning: links galore, but I figure it condenses the post a bit, and hope you don't mind clicking a few times here and there rather than have me write a mile-long post ;-)
Okay, whew, it hasn't *quite* been a month since my last post ;-) At the beginning of the month (of May!), I'd predicted on my Tumblr site that May was going to be a helluva busy month. And it has been. It's just now barely let up.
Mother's Day services (which were held in a movie theater because the church building was in the Jesusita Fire evacuation zone) brought this delightful video clip: "Mom" to the William Tell Overture
After the fire madness died down, life returned to normal... that is to say, back to the hectic schedule. This post summarizes that week: Strawberry Festival, Persian/Polish wedding (complete with belly-dancing!), Todd's birthday and a read-in at Todd's school.
So what happened next? A 3-day weekend, thank God! It came in handy, because we needed that extra day to... well catch up on chores as well as rest. Saturday the 23rd brought I Madonnari, the annual chalk-painting festival, on the grounds of the Santa Barbara Mission. I'd never gone, but this year, both our company and Todd's karate school had purchased squares. Todd got to help color his karate school's square with a hand-tracing that looked more like a baseball mitt ;-) Next day we traveled to LA to celebrate Todd's birthday with the family at Allan's sister's house. Todd was more talkative with Allan's family, which was great to see.
The following week was Todd's karate tournament, where he took 3rd place in his age group (well, 3rd out of 4 kids :-P) followed by yet *another* birthday celebration-- this time, the kiddie one at the playground in our apartment complex. We invited his 4 classmates (plus their siblings) and 2 other kids. Unfortunately, only 1 classmate made it to the party. Luckily she brought her kid brother along, or else it would've been a REALLY small celebration. Still, it was loads of fun, and still pretty exhausting looking after 3 kids (what would it have been like if the expected 8-10 had showed up!) Todd had fun, and that was the main thing :-)
I also treated myself to a present: a digital USB microphone to pursue a latent hobby that's recently found an outlet: online karaoke! Here is the mic-- click on the photo for a link to its Amazon site. It arrived in the mail a week ago and I went to town with it. See, normally I'd just use my laptop's built-in mic, which is good quality, but which unfortunately captures the sound of the fan too well (those of you who were there at the New Year's Yahoo chat will remember the sound). Earlier this year I got a cheap analog mic, which makes me sound absolutely tinny. Then Allan got a headset with a built-in mic, and that improved the quality, but those headphones HURT my ears! Too tight! This post summarizes the differences.
The two karaoke sites I frequent are:
I haven't had a chance to use my new mic on Singsnap yet, but there are a few songs up on Myspace with it. I even purchased a membership (just for one month, for the time being, to test drive it) on Myspace Karaoke so I could try out the premium features, like pitch change, audio effects and unlimited recordings. So far it's been well worth the money, as over half of my favorite songs are too low/high for me to sing at their normal key. I also plan on buying a 1-month membership on Singsnap, as they have a pretty vast library of songs, and there seems to be little overlap between the Singsnap and Myspace libraries.
Anyway... yeah. Online karaoke has been keeping me busy this past week (y'know, the first week after the madcap month ended), and I'm having SUCH a blast with it! Come try it out for yourself if you're so inclined. And if you sing on Singsnap, we could even record duets! :-D
My apologies for the long delay in posting. I've even let my Tumblr blog lapse a bit, though not as bad as this one. You can always check there for the latest scoop and bit-sized updates. Be sure to bookmark it! ;-)
Okay, whew, it hasn't *quite* been a month since my last post ;-) At the beginning of the month (of May!), I'd predicted on my Tumblr site that May was going to be a helluva busy month. And it has been. It's just now barely let up.
Mother's Day services (which were held in a movie theater because the church building was in the Jesusita Fire evacuation zone) brought this delightful video clip: "Mom" to the William Tell Overture
After the fire madness died down, life returned to normal... that is to say, back to the hectic schedule. This post summarizes that week: Strawberry Festival, Persian/Polish wedding (complete with belly-dancing!), Todd's birthday and a read-in at Todd's school.
So what happened next? A 3-day weekend, thank God! It came in handy, because we needed that extra day to... well catch up on chores as well as rest. Saturday the 23rd brought I Madonnari, the annual chalk-painting festival, on the grounds of the Santa Barbara Mission. I'd never gone, but this year, both our company and Todd's karate school had purchased squares. Todd got to help color his karate school's square with a hand-tracing that looked more like a baseball mitt ;-) Next day we traveled to LA to celebrate Todd's birthday with the family at Allan's sister's house. Todd was more talkative with Allan's family, which was great to see.
The following week was Todd's karate tournament, where he took 3rd place in his age group (well, 3rd out of 4 kids :-P) followed by yet *another* birthday celebration-- this time, the kiddie one at the playground in our apartment complex. We invited his 4 classmates (plus their siblings) and 2 other kids. Unfortunately, only 1 classmate made it to the party. Luckily she brought her kid brother along, or else it would've been a REALLY small celebration. Still, it was loads of fun, and still pretty exhausting looking after 3 kids (what would it have been like if the expected 8-10 had showed up!) Todd had fun, and that was the main thing :-)
I also treated myself to a present: a digital USB microphone to pursue a latent hobby that's recently found an outlet: online karaoke! Here is the mic-- click on the photo for a link to its Amazon site. It arrived in the mail a week ago and I went to town with it. See, normally I'd just use my laptop's built-in mic, which is good quality, but which unfortunately captures the sound of the fan too well (those of you who were there at the New Year's Yahoo chat will remember the sound). Earlier this year I got a cheap analog mic, which makes me sound absolutely tinny. Then Allan got a headset with a built-in mic, and that improved the quality, but those headphones HURT my ears! Too tight! This post summarizes the differences.
The two karaoke sites I frequent are:
- Myspace (formerly kSolo): http://ksolo.myspace.com/hellykwee
- Singsnap: http://www.singsnap.com/snap/member/hellykwee
I haven't had a chance to use my new mic on Singsnap yet, but there are a few songs up on Myspace with it. I even purchased a membership (just for one month, for the time being, to test drive it) on Myspace Karaoke so I could try out the premium features, like pitch change, audio effects and unlimited recordings. So far it's been well worth the money, as over half of my favorite songs are too low/high for me to sing at their normal key. I also plan on buying a 1-month membership on Singsnap, as they have a pretty vast library of songs, and there seems to be little overlap between the Singsnap and Myspace libraries.
Anyway... yeah. Online karaoke has been keeping me busy this past week (y'know, the first week after the madcap month ended), and I'm having SUCH a blast with it! Come try it out for yourself if you're so inclined. And if you sing on Singsnap, we could even record duets! :-D
My apologies for the long delay in posting. I've even let my Tumblr blog lapse a bit, though not as bad as this one. You can always check there for the latest scoop and bit-sized updates. Be sure to bookmark it! ;-)
Monday, May 11, 2009
Hooray for fog and drizzle
What a crazy week it has been! As if the anticipated May madness wasn't enough, we had a harrowing week keeping a watchful eye on the Jesusita Fire (do a Google search, you'll find numerous articles) that burned the mountains of Santa Barbara, basically burning out the untouched brush between the east end of the Gap Fire (last July) and the west end of the Tea Fire (last November).
It started Tuesday afternoon. As I drove Todd to after-school care, I noticed a small plume of smoke emanating from the mountains. Didn't think much of it, but that changed quickly as the winds fanned the flames and spread it. That night, we were scheduled to hold a joint celebration at the home of one of our friends from church-- to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, my birthday and her birthday, as well as hold our usual Tuesday small group study after the festivities. By evening, their house, near downtown SB, was inside the evacuation warning zone. Despite the hot temps, we had to keep the windows closed and bake in the house because of the smoky air outside. I was glad to return home farther away from the fire and bask in the fresh air.
The next couple days proved worse as the fire spread and more and more people were evacuated from their homes. Wednesday evening brought the long-awaited party celebrating the February release of the product whose team I've been working on. It, too, was held downtown, and by the time I drove onto State Street, the main drag of downtown SB, I was a bit creeped out not only by the ghost town nature of the normally-bustling street, but by the red haze enveloping the streets. I made a mad dash from the parking lot to the restaurant, to minimize my exposure to the ash and smoke.
Thursday I tried to go swimming with Todd, but we quickly abandoned the pool in favor of the jacuzzi, because the pool had too much debris (ash, probably) on the bottom and too many dead bugs floating on the surface. That night was probably the most worrisome as the fire took a mean turn and, within the span of a few hours, spread quite a ways westward-- I could see the ridges of the hills glowing from afar, every time I looked out my window the flames seemed higher and stronger, and the smoke was finally wafting our way. A quick check of the map showed that the evac warning zone had spread to just one freeway exit away from our place! Needless to say, it took me a while to get to sleep that night.
Friday was an eerily quiet day. Now it was the office's turn to look like a ghost town-- maybe half the people there were out, either taking time off to tend to evacuations, or working from home in case their homes were upgraded from warning to mandatory evacuation orders. We went out to Elephant Bar for a belated birthday dinner, and were surprised at how crowded the restaurant was when we got there. Not too surprising, I supposed, since people still have to eat, right?
Things improved over the weekend as temps cooled, winds died down, and the marine layer came in from the shore. People started being allowed to return to their homes. Our church had been in the now-lifted evacuation zone, but with the fires still burning (albeit more contained nearby) the environment still wasn't very hospitable, with all the smoke and ash, so we held services at a movie theater near our home.
One of the most striking things through all this was the emergence of Twitter as a means for getting information out to the concerned masses as quickly as possible-- in many cases, providing updates even before the news media updated their websites. It quickly became an invaluable resource for residents to stay abreast of the current news, and was especially useful for those who didn't have access to televisions. This was the feed I was glued to for much of the week: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23jesusitafire When the fire raged on at its worst, the feed came alive with updates from all sources!
There's also an interesting article on the LA Times about CJamz, one of the more reliable and frequent updater:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-et-onthemedia11-2009may11,0,4582973.column
Take THAT, Twitter nay-sayers! ;-)
Today, the fog and drizzle continues. I think this Tweet summed it up nicely: This is the first time I've ever been thankful for heavy fog in May.
Amen to that!
It started Tuesday afternoon. As I drove Todd to after-school care, I noticed a small plume of smoke emanating from the mountains. Didn't think much of it, but that changed quickly as the winds fanned the flames and spread it. That night, we were scheduled to hold a joint celebration at the home of one of our friends from church-- to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, my birthday and her birthday, as well as hold our usual Tuesday small group study after the festivities. By evening, their house, near downtown SB, was inside the evacuation warning zone. Despite the hot temps, we had to keep the windows closed and bake in the house because of the smoky air outside. I was glad to return home farther away from the fire and bask in the fresh air.
The next couple days proved worse as the fire spread and more and more people were evacuated from their homes. Wednesday evening brought the long-awaited party celebrating the February release of the product whose team I've been working on. It, too, was held downtown, and by the time I drove onto State Street, the main drag of downtown SB, I was a bit creeped out not only by the ghost town nature of the normally-bustling street, but by the red haze enveloping the streets. I made a mad dash from the parking lot to the restaurant, to minimize my exposure to the ash and smoke.
Thursday I tried to go swimming with Todd, but we quickly abandoned the pool in favor of the jacuzzi, because the pool had too much debris (ash, probably) on the bottom and too many dead bugs floating on the surface. That night was probably the most worrisome as the fire took a mean turn and, within the span of a few hours, spread quite a ways westward-- I could see the ridges of the hills glowing from afar, every time I looked out my window the flames seemed higher and stronger, and the smoke was finally wafting our way. A quick check of the map showed that the evac warning zone had spread to just one freeway exit away from our place! Needless to say, it took me a while to get to sleep that night.
Friday was an eerily quiet day. Now it was the office's turn to look like a ghost town-- maybe half the people there were out, either taking time off to tend to evacuations, or working from home in case their homes were upgraded from warning to mandatory evacuation orders. We went out to Elephant Bar for a belated birthday dinner, and were surprised at how crowded the restaurant was when we got there. Not too surprising, I supposed, since people still have to eat, right?
Things improved over the weekend as temps cooled, winds died down, and the marine layer came in from the shore. People started being allowed to return to their homes. Our church had been in the now-lifted evacuation zone, but with the fires still burning (albeit more contained nearby) the environment still wasn't very hospitable, with all the smoke and ash, so we held services at a movie theater near our home.
One of the most striking things through all this was the emergence of Twitter as a means for getting information out to the concerned masses as quickly as possible-- in many cases, providing updates even before the news media updated their websites. It quickly became an invaluable resource for residents to stay abreast of the current news, and was especially useful for those who didn't have access to televisions. This was the feed I was glued to for much of the week: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23jesusitafire When the fire raged on at its worst, the feed came alive with updates from all sources!
There's also an interesting article on the LA Times about CJamz, one of the more reliable and frequent updater:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-et-onthemedia11-2009may11,0,4582973.column
Take THAT, Twitter nay-sayers! ;-)
Today, the fog and drizzle continues. I think this Tweet summed it up nicely: This is the first time I've ever been thankful for heavy fog in May.
Amen to that!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
March madness? Try May madness!
... aka, why I haven't had more time to blog other than random bits and pieces on my Tumblr blog, which is still pretty up-to-date: http://hellykwee.tumblr.com
I thought April was busy. And it was. But we're barely into May and I just know I'm going to be in non-stop mode till the end of it, especially THIS year!
We kicked things off with my birthday today (a day I share with FOUR other people that I know of. One of them on the same year, even!). Nothing eventful-- I actually spent 9 hours shopping with my son in a town 40 miles north of here (it has a Wal-Mart, FoodsCo and Dollar Tree, so the savings is well worth the trip up there)-- well, 7 hours shopping and 2 hours driving back and forth. Still, it was nice to let Allan have some peace and quiet in which to work, and fun to hang out with my little man all day.
Since we didn't get a chance to clean up today, tomorrow shall be cleaning day after church, and then I have to head to Todd's school to finish inventorying uniforms. Also planning a trip to the library to get some more books and videos for the little man.
The birthdays continue-- tomorrow belongs to a friend from church. Since Tuesday brings Cinco de Mayo, we're all getting together at her place for a tri-fold celebration.
Then comes Mother's Day next weekend. Weekend after that is the California Strawberry Festival. I've been meaning to go for the past 6 years, but each and every year, SOMETHING has come up that prevented me from going. This year, by golly, I'm bound and determined to go ;-) That weekend is also the wedding of some college friends of mine, so it will be good to catch up with the old geek crowd again.
Then comes Todd's birthday. Little man turns 5! FIVE!! Where does the time go!? He's not so little any more! The weekend following Todd's birthday (if it doesn't already fall on a weekend) is always Memorial Day weekend, so hopefully that 3-day weekend will provide a little breather (not likely, if we're holding the family celebration in LA that weekend).
The last Saturday of May will be Todd's karate tournament, followed by the kiddie celebration (all his school friends) at the playground in our apartment complex, for his birthday.
Whew! Busy busy busy month. It's kinda sad when I look forward to Mondays solely because the routine of work provides a respite from the hectic busyness of these crazy weekends!
I thought April was busy. And it was. But we're barely into May and I just know I'm going to be in non-stop mode till the end of it, especially THIS year!
We kicked things off with my birthday today (a day I share with FOUR other people that I know of. One of them on the same year, even!). Nothing eventful-- I actually spent 9 hours shopping with my son in a town 40 miles north of here (it has a Wal-Mart, FoodsCo and Dollar Tree, so the savings is well worth the trip up there)-- well, 7 hours shopping and 2 hours driving back and forth. Still, it was nice to let Allan have some peace and quiet in which to work, and fun to hang out with my little man all day.
Since we didn't get a chance to clean up today, tomorrow shall be cleaning day after church, and then I have to head to Todd's school to finish inventorying uniforms. Also planning a trip to the library to get some more books and videos for the little man.
The birthdays continue-- tomorrow belongs to a friend from church. Since Tuesday brings Cinco de Mayo, we're all getting together at her place for a tri-fold celebration.
Then comes Mother's Day next weekend. Weekend after that is the California Strawberry Festival. I've been meaning to go for the past 6 years, but each and every year, SOMETHING has come up that prevented me from going. This year, by golly, I'm bound and determined to go ;-) That weekend is also the wedding of some college friends of mine, so it will be good to catch up with the old geek crowd again.
Then comes Todd's birthday. Little man turns 5! FIVE!! Where does the time go!? He's not so little any more! The weekend following Todd's birthday (if it doesn't already fall on a weekend) is always Memorial Day weekend, so hopefully that 3-day weekend will provide a little breather (not likely, if we're holding the family celebration in LA that weekend).
The last Saturday of May will be Todd's karate tournament, followed by the kiddie celebration (all his school friends) at the playground in our apartment complex, for his birthday.
Whew! Busy busy busy month. It's kinda sad when I look forward to Mondays solely because the routine of work provides a respite from the hectic busyness of these crazy weekends!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
On the Bible and homosexuality
I think by now it's no secret that I've been traveling along my spiritual journey for some time now, and it's led to some unexpected roads. Someday I will write more in detail about it and about the events that shaped every turn in the road so far, but for now I wanted to touch on the main thing that has led me along my journey thus far, and that is the wealth of rational, logical arguments for the Christian faith. Anyone that knows me knows that I can't stand abstract thought, I prefer my thinking to be based on concrete logic and firm, tangible facts. It is why I have zero aesthetic sense, wouldn't know the first thing about decorating a home, and cannot appreciate art or music beyond it's immediate sensory appeal.
So it comes as no surprise that it was Christian apologists such as Lee Strobel (a former atheist) and C.S. Lewis (a former agnostic) that made the case for me. I think what made their books all the more compelling was the fact that they themselves came from the same background of unbelief and skepticism that I did, wrestled with the same doubts and questions I did (and still do) and that they also preferred to go about faith using a rational approach. It opened my eyes.
Now, there's no question that I'm still rather new at this journey. There are still things I don't quite comprehend, and while I accept the fact that I will never have ALL the answers, that's not stopping me from thinking about the issues foremost on my mind and continuing to seek out answers. An important part of this journey is studying the Bible. Now, I don't know if the Bible is supposed to be literally true, but even if none of the events actually happened (and we know there's archaeological evidence for some of it) the fact remains that there's a lot of wisdom and truth to be obtained from it. Jesus himself illlustrated his teachings with parables.
Having said that, one of the issues I wrestle with is that of reconciling what the Bible says about homosexuality. On the surface, the anti-gay rhetoric that many Christians spout while referencing Scripture seems to go against every sensibility I have. I have gay and lesbian friends. I voted No on Prop 8. That whole "hate the sin, love the sinner" spiel never sat well with me, and I never for a moment believed that a loving God would condemn people based on something that they cannot change, something that's as inherent to them as skin color.
So, what to make of it? How to refute those that would use the Bible, the same book to which I'm trying to adhere my life, to make such bigoted arguments? Sure, there was the whole argument that if you think homosexuality is a sin because of the Bible, then you should also refrain from wearing clothing made of mixed materials, or going near a woman when she's on the rag, etc etc... but even those arguments, like the ones they were meant to rebuff, only scratched the surface.
Then John Shore, a writer whose blog I follow (despite his having called me a freak and a loser-- all in jest, mind you! :-P) summed my feelings up perfectly with this (putting sin into the perspective of temptation):
But I AM tempted to drink too much alcohol. I AM tempted to gossip. I AM tempted to cheat on my taxes. I AM tempted to have emotional affairs on my wife. EVERY kind of sin, in one way or another, at one time or another, really and truly tempts me--and pretty regularly, too. But I am never, ever tempted to be gay--and I'm sure I cannot be. So ... it... very, very obviously not the same thing at all. There's something categorically different from all the kinds of sins you (and everybody else) ever mentions, and the "sin" of homosexuality. Putting them in the same category is ... not rationally defensible. I'm not advocating any position whatsoever---but I'm not giving up plain, simple reason. I KNOW that doesn't please God.
And then I came across this site, which I found from a link through Anita, one of the commenters on his blog:
http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/the-bible-and-homosexuality/
The site as a whole is mainly oriented towards women, but there's a lot of nuggets in there that apply to anyone-- gay, straight, man, woman, child. And that link above? Was exactly what I was looking for. A detailed refutation of the "clobber passages" you hear fundamentalists (and even more moderate Christians) quote. I felt... uplifted by what I read. Between John and Anita I felt like the things I'd been feeling and just known intuitively all along had finally been ascribed words. Detailed words. Which, as everyone knows, suits Helly (aka Miss Verbose) quite well ;-)
Food for thought. Lots to chew on. What do you think?
So it comes as no surprise that it was Christian apologists such as Lee Strobel (a former atheist) and C.S. Lewis (a former agnostic) that made the case for me. I think what made their books all the more compelling was the fact that they themselves came from the same background of unbelief and skepticism that I did, wrestled with the same doubts and questions I did (and still do) and that they also preferred to go about faith using a rational approach. It opened my eyes.
Now, there's no question that I'm still rather new at this journey. There are still things I don't quite comprehend, and while I accept the fact that I will never have ALL the answers, that's not stopping me from thinking about the issues foremost on my mind and continuing to seek out answers. An important part of this journey is studying the Bible. Now, I don't know if the Bible is supposed to be literally true, but even if none of the events actually happened (and we know there's archaeological evidence for some of it) the fact remains that there's a lot of wisdom and truth to be obtained from it. Jesus himself illlustrated his teachings with parables.
Having said that, one of the issues I wrestle with is that of reconciling what the Bible says about homosexuality. On the surface, the anti-gay rhetoric that many Christians spout while referencing Scripture seems to go against every sensibility I have. I have gay and lesbian friends. I voted No on Prop 8. That whole "hate the sin, love the sinner" spiel never sat well with me, and I never for a moment believed that a loving God would condemn people based on something that they cannot change, something that's as inherent to them as skin color.
So, what to make of it? How to refute those that would use the Bible, the same book to which I'm trying to adhere my life, to make such bigoted arguments? Sure, there was the whole argument that if you think homosexuality is a sin because of the Bible, then you should also refrain from wearing clothing made of mixed materials, or going near a woman when she's on the rag, etc etc... but even those arguments, like the ones they were meant to rebuff, only scratched the surface.
Then John Shore, a writer whose blog I follow (despite his having called me a freak and a loser-- all in jest, mind you! :-P) summed my feelings up perfectly with this (putting sin into the perspective of temptation):
But I AM tempted to drink too much alcohol. I AM tempted to gossip. I AM tempted to cheat on my taxes. I AM tempted to have emotional affairs on my wife. EVERY kind of sin, in one way or another, at one time or another, really and truly tempts me--and pretty regularly, too. But I am never, ever tempted to be gay--and I'm sure I cannot be. So ... it... very, very obviously not the same thing at all. There's something categorically different from all the kinds of sins you (and everybody else) ever mentions, and the "sin" of homosexuality. Putting them in the same category is ... not rationally defensible. I'm not advocating any position whatsoever---but I'm not giving up plain, simple reason. I KNOW that doesn't please God.
And then I came across this site, which I found from a link through Anita, one of the commenters on his blog:
http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/the-bible-and-homosexuality/
The site as a whole is mainly oriented towards women, but there's a lot of nuggets in there that apply to anyone-- gay, straight, man, woman, child. And that link above? Was exactly what I was looking for. A detailed refutation of the "clobber passages" you hear fundamentalists (and even more moderate Christians) quote. I felt... uplifted by what I read. Between John and Anita I felt like the things I'd been feeling and just known intuitively all along had finally been ascribed words. Detailed words. Which, as everyone knows, suits Helly (aka Miss Verbose) quite well ;-)
Food for thought. Lots to chew on. What do you think?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday Five -- favorite foods, in groups
It's Friday and I'm in a mood for food! So come play:
What is your favorite food from each food group?
1. Bread (Grain) Group:
2. Meat (Protein) Group:
3. Vegetable Group:
4. Fruit Group:
5. Sugars, Fats and Oils:
1. German Brötchen. They are bread rolls akin to French bread, but much tastier, in my opinion. Especially when nice and fresh. The outside can sometimes be a bit chewy, but the inside is soft and yummy and melts in your mouth. It's a breakfast staple in Germany, and can be eaten with honey or marmalade or cheese or slices of meat (salami is my favorite).
2. At the moment, corned beef. It has a tendency to be too salty, so Allan takes care of it by doing two things: First he rinses it thoroughly, and then he fills the slow cooker with water and lets the meat simmer there for 6-8 hours. Most of the salt winds up in the water. Get rid of this briny water and voila! A flavorful but not-too-salty hunk of meat! It's also very very tender and all but falls apart under your fork :-9
3. I generally like most veggies. If I had to pick one favorite, I'd pick Napa cabbage. I looooove the taste of cut-up pieces of Napa cabbage stir-fried with a dash of soy sauce and a sprinkling of black pepper :-9
4. I think most people who are reading this know this one. STRAWBERRIES!! Om nom nom nom nom...
5. Well, you can never go wrong with chocolate, so long as it's Swiss or Belgian, none of that crappy American stuff X-P Another favorite of mine is chalk-like candy that's basically nothing but sugar and a bit of coloring. Most notably: Smarties (American name), aka Rockets (in Canada) or Fizzers (in the UK). Finally, there's red licorice. Can't stand black licorice, but I love Red Vines, especially stale ones! Oh, and despite my aversion to spicy foods, I can never seem to get enough of Lay's Flamin' Hot potato chips!
Don't you love how my answer to the junk food question, #5, contained more items than any of the others? ;-) So hard to pick a favorite when it comes to junk food!
How about you?
What is your favorite food from each food group?
1. Bread (Grain) Group:
2. Meat (Protein) Group:
3. Vegetable Group:
4. Fruit Group:
5. Sugars, Fats and Oils:
1. German Brötchen. They are bread rolls akin to French bread, but much tastier, in my opinion. Especially when nice and fresh. The outside can sometimes be a bit chewy, but the inside is soft and yummy and melts in your mouth. It's a breakfast staple in Germany, and can be eaten with honey or marmalade or cheese or slices of meat (salami is my favorite).
2. At the moment, corned beef. It has a tendency to be too salty, so Allan takes care of it by doing two things: First he rinses it thoroughly, and then he fills the slow cooker with water and lets the meat simmer there for 6-8 hours. Most of the salt winds up in the water. Get rid of this briny water and voila! A flavorful but not-too-salty hunk of meat! It's also very very tender and all but falls apart under your fork :-9
3. I generally like most veggies. If I had to pick one favorite, I'd pick Napa cabbage. I looooove the taste of cut-up pieces of Napa cabbage stir-fried with a dash of soy sauce and a sprinkling of black pepper :-9
4. I think most people who are reading this know this one. STRAWBERRIES!! Om nom nom nom nom...
5. Well, you can never go wrong with chocolate, so long as it's Swiss or Belgian, none of that crappy American stuff X-P Another favorite of mine is chalk-like candy that's basically nothing but sugar and a bit of coloring. Most notably: Smarties (American name), aka Rockets (in Canada) or Fizzers (in the UK). Finally, there's red licorice. Can't stand black licorice, but I love Red Vines, especially stale ones! Oh, and despite my aversion to spicy foods, I can never seem to get enough of Lay's Flamin' Hot potato chips!
Don't you love how my answer to the junk food question, #5, contained more items than any of the others? ;-) So hard to pick a favorite when it comes to junk food!
How about you?
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Bits and pieces
I've found myself more and more apt to blog about the little bits and pieces that go on here, or go through my mind, or capture my fancy, on Tumblr: http://hellykwee.tumblr.com
Don't know why-- something about the concise format appeals to me and seems to make it a more appropriate forum for sharing smaller tidbits like thought-provoking quotes, funny pics, videos, links and other random miscellany.
Blogger is to a novel what Tumblr is to the short story, I suppose.
Anyway, rather than repeat myself, click there for updates on the past week: from mattress shopping to exhausting weekends full of birthday parties, Easter fun and seeing old friends, to building our dream home virtually, to rants (both in words and cartoon form) about inconsiderate people, rants about the water quality here in Santa Barbara, to a cute sea-turtle-rescue news piece, and a hilarious NSFW skydiving video :-D
So come "Tumbl" through cyberspace with me :-)
Don't know why-- something about the concise format appeals to me and seems to make it a more appropriate forum for sharing smaller tidbits like thought-provoking quotes, funny pics, videos, links and other random miscellany.
Blogger is to a novel what Tumblr is to the short story, I suppose.
Anyway, rather than repeat myself, click there for updates on the past week: from mattress shopping to exhausting weekends full of birthday parties, Easter fun and seeing old friends, to building our dream home virtually, to rants (both in words and cartoon form) about inconsiderate people, rants about the water quality here in Santa Barbara, to a cute sea-turtle-rescue news piece, and a hilarious NSFW skydiving video :-D
So come "Tumbl" through cyberspace with me :-)
Monday, April 6, 2009
Medieval madness
A couple weekends ago, we celebrated the birthday of one of our friends (who, by the way, happens to share the exact same birth date as Allan-- only 12 years apart) at his in-laws' house. It was a medieval-themed party, so people dressed as knights and wizards and jesters and serfs and princesses. There were medieval-themed activities aplenty.
I decided to dress as a bubonic-plague-carrying rat. I created mouse ears out of a headband, cereal box cardboard, acrylic paint, and pink felt:
And then dressed in all black clothes (i.e. the BLACK Death), painted my nails black, and donned a sign with the scientific name of the pathogen that actually caused the bubonic plague: Y. pestis:
Allan's costume was a little less elaborate, but funny just the same. Since his name IS Knight, all he had to do was wear a nametag-- and voila! A real live Knight! ;-) Creating his shield, however, took a little more work. I copied the family crest that adorns the keychain and fridge magnet I brought back from my trip to the UK a few years ago. Basically cut a crest out of white printer paper, added a red square out of giftwrap, and then hand-drew and cut out the spur out of an index card, which I painted yellow with Todd's watercolors. A foam sword from K-Mart completed the ensemble:
Here is the Knight himself, dressed in his suit jacket, to convey his "suit of armor". He's wearing the nametag from his 20th HS reunion last year, complete with a picture of his 18-year-old self ;-)
There was Welsh beer:
And good food (that's actually the cake):
There was also archery (first time I ever got to handle a bow and arrow!), jousting (where I made a valiant attempt to kick Allan's butt-- funny, none of the other wives were interested in sparring with their husbands), and a marshmallow catapult contest, where half the objective was NOT slipping on all the hay! The birthday boy got to try to slay the dragon pinata with a wooden sword, and I had fun going around spreading germs by blowing bubbles.
Rather than make this post eternally long, I'll stop posting pics here and go upload the ones featuring me and Allan, onto Facebook. Check there for more pics of the aforementioned activities.
EDIT: Uploaded, tagged, and captioned the pics on Facebook. Some of it's a bit silly :-) Check it out:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2349868&id=3605072
The full set of party pics, in far better quality photography, can be found here:
http://digimattphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7755773_tMDCk
I decided to dress as a bubonic-plague-carrying rat. I created mouse ears out of a headband, cereal box cardboard, acrylic paint, and pink felt:
And then dressed in all black clothes (i.e. the BLACK Death), painted my nails black, and donned a sign with the scientific name of the pathogen that actually caused the bubonic plague: Y. pestis:
Allan's costume was a little less elaborate, but funny just the same. Since his name IS Knight, all he had to do was wear a nametag-- and voila! A real live Knight! ;-) Creating his shield, however, took a little more work. I copied the family crest that adorns the keychain and fridge magnet I brought back from my trip to the UK a few years ago. Basically cut a crest out of white printer paper, added a red square out of giftwrap, and then hand-drew and cut out the spur out of an index card, which I painted yellow with Todd's watercolors. A foam sword from K-Mart completed the ensemble:
Here is the Knight himself, dressed in his suit jacket, to convey his "suit of armor". He's wearing the nametag from his 20th HS reunion last year, complete with a picture of his 18-year-old self ;-)
There was Welsh beer:
And good food (that's actually the cake):
There was also archery (first time I ever got to handle a bow and arrow!), jousting (where I made a valiant attempt to kick Allan's butt-- funny, none of the other wives were interested in sparring with their husbands), and a marshmallow catapult contest, where half the objective was NOT slipping on all the hay! The birthday boy got to try to slay the dragon pinata with a wooden sword, and I had fun going around spreading germs by blowing bubbles.
Rather than make this post eternally long, I'll stop posting pics here and go upload the ones featuring me and Allan, onto Facebook. Check there for more pics of the aforementioned activities.
EDIT: Uploaded, tagged, and captioned the pics on Facebook. Some of it's a bit silly :-) Check it out:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2349868&id=3605072
The full set of party pics, in far better quality photography, can be found here:
http://digimattphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7755773_tMDCk
Friday, April 3, 2009
Friday Five -- High School Nostalgia
Today's Friday Five takes you back down memory lane to high school. It was longer ago for some of you than for others, but I'm sure you can dig into the recesses of your brain and find some answers ;-)
1. Would you return to high school life for a week? Why or why not? (If you're currently in high school, would you redo your experiences so far?)
2. Who were/are you in high school?
3. What was/is your favorite high school hangout? What did/do you do there?
4. What were/are your favorite three songs in high school?
5. What was the craziest thing you did in high school?
1. I guess that depends on how I'm going back. Will it be my 30-something-year-old brain in my 15-year-old body? Or will it be a complete time travel, with future memories nonexistent? If it's the former, sure, why not. It'd be neat to see the high school days again through the eyes of my current self. I'm sure things would look totally different to me now. If it's the latter-- meh, I dunno. High school wasn't terrible, but it wasn't spectacular, either.
2. Pretty much the same as now-- the shy, quiet, nerdy loner who had few friends and kept to herself most of the time. Only now I have better teeth and hair :-D
3. I guess a lot of kids hung out at the Tommy's Burgers down the street, but I never did. See #2 ;-) However, I always ate lunch in the hallway of the first floor of the English building, with a handful of friends. We had all kinds of silly fun down there, from singing songs to throwing food at each other to playing card games.
4. Well at the time I mainly listened to oldies, but I do remember enjoying the songs that were popular during the late 80s/early 90s. Hell if I can name them right now, though ;-)
5. For a long time (during sophomore year) they shut down the Administration building for remodeling, which meant that all of us who had lockers in that building (including me) had to find a friend with whom to share a locker until the building re-opened. I wound up sharing a locker that happened to be directly below the locker of the guy I had a crush on back then. My best friend and I conspired together and she egged me on to write secret admirer notes and slip them in his locker. Then we made a point of being at my locker around the same time he was at his. I would pretend to be busy with my bookbag while my friend stood back and watched his reactions, then she'd report back to me afterward.
And now that I've written that, I realize that it's pretty tame compared to most "crazy" activities people could speak of, but hey-- just goes to show you what kind of sheltered life I lead, if that's the craziest story I have to share. It was certainly me at my boldest-- and I would never have dared to do that had my friend not encouraged me :-) And there's actually more to that story, but it's probably better saved for a private forum... like email.
So... how about you?
1. Would you return to high school life for a week? Why or why not? (If you're currently in high school, would you redo your experiences so far?)
2. Who were/are you in high school?
3. What was/is your favorite high school hangout? What did/do you do there?
4. What were/are your favorite three songs in high school?
5. What was the craziest thing you did in high school?
1. I guess that depends on how I'm going back. Will it be my 30-something-year-old brain in my 15-year-old body? Or will it be a complete time travel, with future memories nonexistent? If it's the former, sure, why not. It'd be neat to see the high school days again through the eyes of my current self. I'm sure things would look totally different to me now. If it's the latter-- meh, I dunno. High school wasn't terrible, but it wasn't spectacular, either.
2. Pretty much the same as now-- the shy, quiet, nerdy loner who had few friends and kept to herself most of the time. Only now I have better teeth and hair :-D
3. I guess a lot of kids hung out at the Tommy's Burgers down the street, but I never did. See #2 ;-) However, I always ate lunch in the hallway of the first floor of the English building, with a handful of friends. We had all kinds of silly fun down there, from singing songs to throwing food at each other to playing card games.
4. Well at the time I mainly listened to oldies, but I do remember enjoying the songs that were popular during the late 80s/early 90s. Hell if I can name them right now, though ;-)
5. For a long time (during sophomore year) they shut down the Administration building for remodeling, which meant that all of us who had lockers in that building (including me) had to find a friend with whom to share a locker until the building re-opened. I wound up sharing a locker that happened to be directly below the locker of the guy I had a crush on back then. My best friend and I conspired together and she egged me on to write secret admirer notes and slip them in his locker. Then we made a point of being at my locker around the same time he was at his. I would pretend to be busy with my bookbag while my friend stood back and watched his reactions, then she'd report back to me afterward.
And now that I've written that, I realize that it's pretty tame compared to most "crazy" activities people could speak of, but hey-- just goes to show you what kind of sheltered life I lead, if that's the craziest story I have to share. It was certainly me at my boldest-- and I would never have dared to do that had my friend not encouraged me :-) And there's actually more to that story, but it's probably better saved for a private forum... like email.
So... how about you?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Tumbling through cyberspace
I recently discovered Tumblr, which is basically just another blogging forum. The best description I can come up with is it's Blogging Lite. Or maybe Twitter on steroids ;-) Basically, a happy medium between the 140-character-max text-only Twitter soundbites and the lengthy, detailed ruminations of blogland.
I've also discovered that I'm more apt to update when I have a vehicle through which to deliver smaller, bite-sized chunks that somehow seem too insignificant for a regular blog. Sometimes an interesting link or quote will catch my eye, or I'll have a few words to say, but it's hardly worth signing into Blogger to write about. Twitter is too restrictive for that kind of sharing. And Facebook's current layout has a tendency to drown everything out anyway.
So, I was pleased to find the perfect vehicle for my thoughts-- Tumblr! A place to share those bite-sized chunks according to category: text, link, quote, chat, image, video or audio.
If this blog seems too quiet at times, it's probably because I've been busy updating there:
http://hellykwee.tumblr.com
I've only been signed up on that site for a week and already I have more posts there than I have here for the past few months!
Of course, I'll still post here for my longer diatribes and fun stuff like the Friday Five :-) Different types of sharing are best suited to different types of venues, I've learned.
So... if ever you're really bored, come over and watch me "Tumbl" through cyberspace :-D
I've also discovered that I'm more apt to update when I have a vehicle through which to deliver smaller, bite-sized chunks that somehow seem too insignificant for a regular blog. Sometimes an interesting link or quote will catch my eye, or I'll have a few words to say, but it's hardly worth signing into Blogger to write about. Twitter is too restrictive for that kind of sharing. And Facebook's current layout has a tendency to drown everything out anyway.
So, I was pleased to find the perfect vehicle for my thoughts-- Tumblr! A place to share those bite-sized chunks according to category: text, link, quote, chat, image, video or audio.
If this blog seems too quiet at times, it's probably because I've been busy updating there:
http://hellykwee.tumblr.com
I've only been signed up on that site for a week and already I have more posts there than I have here for the past few months!
Of course, I'll still post here for my longer diatribes and fun stuff like the Friday Five :-) Different types of sharing are best suited to different types of venues, I've learned.
So... if ever you're really bored, come over and watch me "Tumbl" through cyberspace :-D
Friday, March 27, 2009
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. 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?
- 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? - On March 6, 1899, the Bayer company registered aspirin as a trademark.
When did you last take medication for pain? - On March 6, 1853, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata premiered in Venice.
How do you feel about opera? - 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)
- 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?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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?
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?
Monday, March 23, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
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! :-)
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! :-)
Monday, March 2, 2009
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!
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!
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