Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ah, corruption!

This is an interesting report on the revolving door between Congressional staffers and pharmaceutical lobbyists. Also interesting, the woman interviewed from the ProPublica group is my first cousin.


Watch CBS News Videos Online


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Come on testosterone, work!


I'm trying so hard to grow a beard. Pray for me.

At last


The new door set up is completely installed. Check.

Megan asked if I felt manly. The answer is no...chauvinist.

I do know, where you go is where I want to be.



Megan,

Thanks for arguing religion, society, sex, and etiquette with me. I love you.

Pandora just popped up the DMB song that's referenced in this post's title and it occurred to me that I'm all over the map sometimes. How frustrating it must be sometimes to try to follow me, to try to talk with me, and to smile in the face of my twists and turns. I'm NEVER sure of anything else, but I've always been sure that where you are is where I want to be.

And since I love PDA, I thought I'd tell you on my blog.

Be well.

Are you looking for answers
to questions under the stars?
If along the way you are growing weary
you can rest with me until a brighter day,
and you’re OK.


I am no superman,
and I have no answers for you.
I am no hero, oh that’s for sure.
But I do know one thing:
Where you are, is where I belong.
I do know, where you go
Is where I want to be.

Monday, October 26, 2009

On redemption

Why would God offer us redemption? Humans clearly cannot handle, are not responsible enough to manage, a blameless life. Too easily this freedom leads to a life of judgment.

Unless it is true that there are only a chosen few.

Salvation theology seems to be about as unloving an idea as I can think of.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Friday, October 16, 2009

I've finally figured it out.

It seems like I'm always telling other people how REALLY BIG their kids are!

Newsflash, hey genius...

We have small kids.

:)

:)

Be well.

Friday, October 9, 2009

On hell and justice

In hell, I sit in a mostly dark room while Maggie wails a crappy Miley Cyrus song at the top of her lungs while said song blares out of the stereo. All the while, Lennon struggles to play a baseball bat guitar while Rigby tries desperately to eat it; screaming ensues. After that, Maggie turns off the stereo to give a (pretty good) rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. Then she tells me how the Boy Scout down the street shed tears of joy when she performed it for him.

I'm in hell, right now.

So President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today. He hasn't done anything measureable to earn it, but as the day has gone on two things have occured to me. First, I voted for him based on hope and potential when he didn't even have a full term in Congress by which he could be judged. I was good with that then, and I'm good with it now. So why should I begrudge an international body (or at least a Norwegian body) the opportunity to reward him for the same hope and potential. It's certainly not a bigger deal than electing him president.

Which led me to another conclusion. Why don't we value vision and potential more? I was recently passed over for a job (as most of you read earlier) that I had no experience in, despite having been told that my vision was "eloquent and inspirational." Much of the hoopla surrounding Obama's receipt of the prize is rooted in the question, "What has he ACTUALLY done?"

It occurs to me that you cannot measure hope or inspiration. You can't document how a simple change in mood can enable change and progress; or it can derail it. Empowerment and belief in doing are paramount! I don't know what America looks like to the rest of the world, but if they say that Obama has given them new hope in us then I'm not going to say differently.

So I hope that I can always be the type of person who rewards passion, who gives vision an opportunity to become reality. It's much more fulfilling to be moved to achieve than to be sized up for a box someone else has labeled "Success." Cheers Barack! And may this be a heavy burden on your leadership, to answer the call for continued hope, and continued peacemaking.

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world.
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.
--John Lennon

Monday, October 5, 2009

He lost his mind today...

That title is from a Guns 'n' Roses song. I think it's "Dust and Bones" but I'm not sure. Everyone gasp in unison. I can't remember the band, title and release date, but hey, it's been a long couple of weeks.

Here's all I want to say. Maggie's cousin straightened her hair this weekend. It looked super cute, but, suddenly my rough and tumble nine year old wants her hair done in the morning.

This is not okay.

Thanks for empathizing.

Be well.