well, another sports season has ended and another begins.
in honor of this momentous transition, i wanted to share some of my favorite performances of the national anthem.
if you’re in google reader, come on over and watch these. it’ll make for a fun 6 minutes.
wave, Ole Glory. WAVE!
thanksgiving is gone.
which means that it’s time for my favorite christmas-time tradition.
enjoy.
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(as always, you’re more than welcome)
not exactly a positive post tuesday, but makes me smile all the same.
animals are fun.
(ht: my sister)
today is the day.
today is the day that it is finally cold enough to break out my very favorite sweater, which gets copious amounts of wear between the months of october & march.
sadly, the happy return of mr. stripey is tainted by the fact that this morning, in my zeal, i did not grab an additional coat for warmth, so i’ve been shivering and chattering while getting re-acquainted with my faithful standby.
what’s your favorite piece of winter clothing?
i know you have one.
i’m not exactly a lumberjack.
i don’t do much mountain climbing or motor-rehauling.
i don’t own a lathe or a power sander.
if you happen to find me doing yard work some weekend, all you’ll see is a lawn mower. no chainsaw…no chain-driven tool of any sort actually.
so you’ll understand why i, a guitar-playing, mac-owning, hair-wax using californian, have never had steak-and-eggs for breakfast.
in all honesty, i never felt man enough to order a steak before the evening hours. that seems like something men with beards do. beards and axes.
the mrs. and i are on vacation for a few days and, when on vacation, we enjoy our eating.
don’t get me wrong, it’s not like we’re foodies. we just like to eat food and look forward to a little eating out when we’re on holiday.
breakfast is no exception.
this morning we went to a place we’ve been a number of times, where i again encountered that menu item that has alluded me, lo these 26 years: steak+eggs.
it was time to take the plunge. we had a long day of walking around ahead of us, so i wasn’t too worried that i was going to slip into a coma after eating eggs, red meat, potatoes and bread.
i was a little apprehensive, but luckily my lovely wife always encourages me just right in my periodic willingness to try something new.
now, i almost never finish my whole plate (unless we’re eating spaghetti), so here’s how it went:
here i was about 1/3 of the way done and i had already mystically discovered WHY people order steak+eggs…
because it is a magical breakfast that blows your mind. that’s why.
little more than half done. this is the point where i start thinking:
“i wonder what would happen if i immediately ordered a second dish of this…would i die later today?”
i resisted the urge to double-up my steak+eggs intake.
so, yes, i left a couple potatoes and that vile weed that they served with my breakfast, but all in all, this was a eating performance i could be proud of.
as someone who doesn’t eat out a ton AND who doesn’t eat a ton of steak, i am happy to say that next time i have a chance i will be ordering steak+eggs.
today i am a man. this breakfast was, obviously, the last thing keeping me out of the club.
what’s your favorite breakfast?
these computers deserve a day off.
…unfortunately, today is not that day.
hang in there little buddies!
kelly and i don’t like the news. we avoid it as much as possible.
…except of course when i relapse and open Google News…
the result of our failure to ‘keep up’ with the happenings and scandals of the world is that we’re usually late in finding out things that the news media thinks is important to report.
so, when i found out today about this whole foods scandal, it was news to me.
get it?!?
if you haven’t heard about it, i encourage you to read the article linked above.
that said, here’s the short of it:
the CEO of whole foods wrote an op-ed piece criticizing the plan to fund america’s new health care plan by increasing the national deficit. he had a few ideas of what he would do to reform health care, which, in his theory, would not enlarge our ever-widening national debt.
because of this piece, many folks are boycotting the supermarket chain. they are outraged at this CEO’s statements, labeling him a typical intolerant right-wing capitalist.
here’s some of the things they’ve said:
I’m boycotting [Whole Foods] because all Americans need health care,” said [Michael] Lent, 33, who used to visit his local Whole Foods “several times a week.”
“While Mackey is worried about health care and stimulus spending, he doesn’t seem too worried about expensive wars and tax breaks for the wealthy and big businesses such as his own that contribute to the deficit,” said Lent.
now…this is incredible to me.
there’s a new prohibition out there.
we saw it very plainly and recently during the Miss-California-Gay-Marriage-Remark Scandal, and it’s being demonstrated again with this situation:
you’re not allowed to have an opinion anymore!
what is interesting is that the CEO of Whole Foods isn’t against health care for americans. check out that article and see how the company takes care of its employees (also worth note, yes he is very wealthy, but the CEO in question has taken a salary of $1 for the last 3 years)!
so this guy, who has some ideas of how to better the health care situation in america without agreeing with the proposed legislation, is labeled as a monstrous, soulless capitalist…simply because he has an opinion.(?)
it is mind-boggling to me…and here’s why:
the folks that are upset at the Whole-Foods-CEO’s and Miss Californias of the world are often carrying the banner of ‘tolerance and acceptance’. they are angry at a woman who doesn’t publicly support gay marriage because they perceive her as ‘intolerant’.
the same thing is happening in this new ’scandal’. though it’s not as blatant, the underlying principle is that rich people are intolerant of poor people, thus their opinions must be silenced and ignored.
ok, side wherever you want…i think this Whole Foods guy has a few good ideas.
but, let’s remember what tolerance is…
One has to disagree before one tolerates.
– D.A. Carson
to me this is a brilliant reminder from Dr. Carson.
those who were so upset at miss california’s statements and mr. CEO’s op-ed piece, those who are calling for their tar-and-feathering should remember that tolerance isn’t about agreement. you have to disagree to tolerate.
failure to tolerate ideas that are contrary to your own is the very criticism that is leveled against people like Miss and Mr. (and people like me and many of my friends!).
tolerance isn’t silencing opinions…in fact, that’s the opposite of tolerance. and that’s something that many protesters and interviewees seem to neglect at times like this.
anyway, i found out about this story (late as usual) and felt the need to vent a bit.
maranatha.
VBS
+
Regular Church Services
+
A Trip To Templeton
+
A Trip To Thousand Oaks
+
Evening Worship Practice
=
a very small amount of substantive blogging this week. sorry.
but, without fail, i will provide yet another inane, nonsensical youtube video.
what’s worse: the rejection or the book ad at the end???
enjoy.
