Stray Thoughts & Ruminations

Friday Funny

2012-01-27T08:56:00.002-05:00

This is probably not real, but it's sort of funny anyway.

The Corner Store Gig

2011-12-28T20:11:00.001-05:00

A little over one week after our performance at Blues Alley, the Capital City Voices sang at a cool little place called The Corner Store. This is a little neighborhood home/arts venue that used to be, you guessed it, a corner store. Since I only had my iPhone with me, and I was busy singing (and eating and drinking), I only got a few shots of our performance.

The first photo shows our musical director, Peggy Stern, playing the piano and our executive director, Jeff Antoniuk, playing saxophone. There is a drummer behind Peggy who pitched in to give all of us some additional rhythmic accompaniment.

Here's another photo of Jeff really getting into his music.

And here's a photo of the Chamber Choir (I'm in the Jazz Chorus) singing.

The two choirs sang independently for a few pieces each, and we also combined for a few numbers. We also gave the audience some opportunities to join in a Christmas-themed sing-along. Our hosts provided great refreshments throughout the evening in a fabulous rustic kitchen and dining room. This was a great venue for meeting people and enjoying music together. I hope we get to sing there again.

UPDATE: I've got a photo of me singing (courtesy of the CCV Facebook group). I'm the 4th person from the piano - gray pants, red shirt, Santa hat.

Happy Boxing Day!

2011-12-26T12:07:00.000-05:00

I'm obviously a day late with a Christmas post, so I'll trust that everyone had a Merry Christmas and wish you all a Happy Boxing Day.

Since Friday, Saturday and Sunday were very busy days - shopping, cooking, cleaning, walking dogs, etc. - I'm pleased to be spending today just relaxing. The only cooking I have to do for the next couple of days is to re-heat leftovers: Sausage & Cheese Breakfast Casserole, Chili, Turkey dinner, and make fresh pots of tea.

Joshua worked a day shift at Target on Christmas Eve. When he got home, we had chili for dinner. He left later that night to play in an ensemble at an 11:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service (not a Salvation Army event). He got home about 1:00 a.m. So he said. The rest of us were snug in our beds and didn't hear him when he came in more quietly than St. Nick.

Christmas morning was quiet at our place. We ate some of the above-mentioned casserole, then I got ready for Jonathan, Maggie and Ally's visit in the afternoon. I got ready by preparing food. Everyone else got ready by resting up for the big event.

Darwin, the Beagle who thinks he's a lap dog, began the day by sleeping on Dave's lap.

When he got tired of Dave's lap, he switched to Joshua's.

Hypatia, the Beagle who thinks she's a cat, slept on the back of the easy chair.

She took a turn up there with Josh and Darwin down below,

and she also took a turn sleeping solo.

The afternoon was not quiet. The menu consisted of cookies, brownies and wiener bites. Simple prep and cleanup. The afternoon was enjoyable. And exciting. The dogs had a great time opening presents, trying to eat the people food (Hypatia jumped onto the table once to get at the wiener bites, but Josh and I shooed her away before she got into anything), and gobbling down doggie cookies. They also got the last three wiener bites - one for each dog. The people had a great time visiting, opening presents and gobbling down food (minus the doggie cookies). Everyone was pleased with their gifts. Even the dogs, each of whom got squeaky toys and stuffed toys (from which they promptly began removing squeakers and stuffing).

After Jonathan, Maggie and Ally left to have Christmas dinner with her family, I prepared our dinner: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, gravy.

In the evening, Darwin, Hypatia and Dave napped on the couch,

while I watched something or other on TV.

Now it's Boxing Day. I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday season: Boxing Day/After Christmas sales and, of course, New Year's.

"Twas a Week Before Christmas

2011-12-18T13:15:00.002-05:00

I think I'm ready to start wrapping Christmas gifts. And I'm preparing a mental menu for Christmas weekend. I'll buy my turkey on Wednesday and get other groceries between Wednesday and Friday. I'll prepare my Sunday morning brunch casserole on Saturday night, then pop it into the oven on Sunday morning. After brunch, I'll prepare some hors d'oeuvres for Jonathan, Maggie and Ally's afternoon visit. I'll also put the turkey into the oven so it can cook while we eat hors d'oeurves (man, am I glad I don't have to spell that every day!). They'll be eating their main meal with Maggie's family (they spent Thanksgiving with us, so it's only fair), so Dave, Joshua and I will have a small, quiet dinner on our own. Well, as quiet as will be possible with two Beagles wanting their share. Turkey is off-limits, per the vet's instructions, so I'll have to see what I can add to their kibble that night - maybe a bit of gravy.

Oops. I'm not quite ready to wrap gifts yet. I still have to get some things for Hypatia, Darwin and Ally! How could I forget them? I haven't taken Hypatia and Darwin to see Santa, and I don't think I'm going to do that. Lack of time is only one factor in that decision. But, I did take some photos of them to share with you.

First, Hypatia doing what she does best - chewing a toy. Well, actually, she's pretty good at eating too, so toy-chewing may be her second-best skill.

And I caught Darwin doing something he doesn't do very often. Sitting still.

Darwin is a pretty good eater, but not as accomplished as his sister in that department. But, he has her beat in the sleeping and face-licking categories. That boy can spot a lap before one sits down, then settle into that lap before the sitter settles into a seat! Poor Hypatia can't keep up at all and usually has to settle for nestling next to a knee.

I also took photos of some Christmas decorations.

The nativity scene doesn't actually live in front of the tree, but I thought the tree would make a nice backdrop for the photo.

Our tree isn't complete without some White House ornaments.

And, I like the way these clear balls reflect the lights around them. They look different depending on the angle from which one looks at them. Simple but neat idea.

This final photo has nothing to do with Christmas, per se. I just wanted to add a photo of my favorite tea cups. Again, they don't normally sit in front of the Christmas tree, but I thought that backdrop would be pretty and I only get to try it out for a few weeks a year.

So, with one week left before Christmas, things are in full swing. Closets are overflowing with gifts and boxes. Prep time is running out and pretty soon we'll just be doing whatever we have to do with whatever we have on hand at the time. And that's okay. The best part of Christmas will be spending time with loved ones. All the other stuff is just embellishment.

Only on Faux News

2011-12-15T10:20:00.001-05:00

I got this graphic via Huffington Post today. Can you spot the error? I'll understand if you miss it, because it's a mistake nearly any brain-dead person could have made.Click on the photo if you need to see a larger image.

Too bad Fox didn't wait a few months before showing this graphic; it would have made a great April Fool's prank.

LIVE...at...BLUES ALLEY

2011-12-06T14:56:00.018-05:00

In less than a week (December 12), I will be performing a mix of jazz standards and holiday music at Washington, DC's coolest jazz club.

Blues Alley is a classic little jazz club - it seats about 120 patrons, max - tucked away in a corner in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC. It's probably safe to say that all of the big name jazz artists of the past 50 years have performed at this club. And I'll soon be able to say that I performed there, too. That is too cool for words.

Can you tell that I'm psyched?

Okay. Back to reality. The fact is, I will be singing second soprano as one of about 40 singers. Not as good as a solo gig (as if!), but pretty cool, nonetheless. Back in September I joined a group called Capital City Voices, a local jazz organization (housing two choirs) that performs at community events. This weekend we'll be singing at a nursing home. In two weeks we'll be singing at a local arts venue, and in January we'll be singing at a church in Maryland. Here's our PR poster for the Blues Alley gig.

Here's our listing on the Blues Alley web page (click on the events menu):

Dave will be coming to the early (8:00 p.m.) show. I will be performing in both shows, which means I'll probably get home sometime between midnight and 1 a.m. Yes, I've already scheduled time off from my day job (the one I get paid to do as opposed to one I pay to do) the following day.

The way the shows will work is that each choir will do individual numbers, the two choral groups will combine for three numbers and the instrumental quartet that will accompany us will also play some pieces without the singers. All in all, I'm expecting it to be a fun evening. I hope to see you there!

Thanksgiving Tales

2011-11-27T16:14:00.003-05:00

We've enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend these past few days. Dave and I started the holiday a bit early, by attending the Jets vs. Capitals hockey game on Wednesday, November 23. Unfortunately, the Jets lost the game but it was great to see Winnipeg being represented in the NHL again. We splurged and got seats in the exclusive club section. We enjoyed an unlimited buffet of food that was not typical sporting event fare - in other words, not a fried item in sight - and were able to watch the game while we dined. Our waiter kept the beverages coming all evening. On our way to the game, we wandered by Capitol Hill and took some sunset photos of the area.

On Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 24 - to refresh Canadian memories), we piled into the car and drove to York, PA to spend the afternoon at my brother's house. As you can see, everyone in the backseat caught up on sleep. Joshua especially needed it, since he worked an all-night shift at Target in preparation for Black Friday sales. He came home in time to nap, shower and tumble into the car.

My mother came over from Leola, and Jonathan, Maggie and Ally joined us in York. The grand total hanging around and eating my sister-in-law's fantastic cooking was 9 people and 5 dogs. All things considered, there was much less bedlam than one might have expected.

Today is the final day of the holiday weekend. Tomorrow, we all return to our normal routines. As you can see, Hypatia and Darwin are taking full advantage of the glorious weather and enjoying themselves. In fact, they've occasionally enjoyed themselves a bit too much, as noted in this photo of them destroying my bedroom slippers. Dave figures it's my fault, since my fluffy slippers probably looked like stuffed toys to them. Note to my family - if you're wondering what to buy me for Christmas, bedroom slippers - soft but not fluffy - would be welcomed.

In addition to hanging out on the patio, the dogs love lying in the sun by the patio door.

In closing, I leave you with one final image of Fall 2011 in Fairfax:

Fall is Fading Fast

2011-11-17T14:31:00.000-05:00

Temperatures are dropping and fall colors are fading fast here in northern Virginia. Those facts prompted me to take my iPhone for a walk in the park after lunch today:

Sibling Portrait

2011-11-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

Hypatia and Darwin spontaneously posed for a portrait after yesterday's morning walk.

I've printed and framed this and have it on display in my office now. Yes, I'm a proud Mama.

Darwin's Rescue

2011-11-06T20:39:00.002-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, Dave, Hypatia and I went to PetSmart to buy Hypatia a car harness. Two hours later, we left the store with a car harness, some puppy treats, a doggie toothbrush, two new leashes, two new dog crates - and a second dog.

As Dave said later, that turned out to be an expensive harness.

How, you may ask, did we end up adopting a second dog?

Pour yourself a cup of coffee and I'll tell you.

As we pulled into PetSmart's parking lot, we saw a van from the Lost Cat & Dog Rescue Foundation, a sign advertising an adoption event, and a lot of dogs milling around outside the store. As we walked into the store, I pointed out one pretty dog (not a Beagle) to Dave, who responded by saying, "I want another Beagle." The three of us went into the store, found the harness and puppy treats, paid for our purchases and left the store. As we crossed the sidewalk toward the parking lot, we were greeted by a beautiful 2 year old Beagle named Opal. I greeted her and she responded to me happily. I hesitated to adopt her, though, because I'd read that, if one is introducing a second dog into the family, it's often best to adopt one of the opposite sex from the first. Apparently, two dogs of the same sex sometimes have difficulty adjusting to each other, whereas opposite sex dogs usually get along quite well together. So, I said "Goodbye" to Opal and kept walking. About three dogs over, I saw a tiny male Beagle. Since he was smaller than Hypatia, I estimated he was 4-5 months old. I walked over to him and said hello, and he promptly jumped onto my lap and smothered my face with kisses. And stole my heart.

I called out to Dave, "Look at this little guy. What do you think of him?" Dave and Hypatia came over and Dave said, "Yes, he's cute." We spoke with his handler and discovered that his age is actually 8 months or so. As we walked to the car, we talked about whether we should adopt him. By the time we finished loading the harness and puppy treats into the trunk, we had talked ourselves into it. So, we turned around and headed back to the dog formerly known as Tommy and adopted him. While I filled out the paperwork, Dave texted Joshua and told him to come to the pet store when he got off work so he could meet the new dog.

As Joshua, Dave and I shopped, Dave suggested that we rename the dog formerly known as Tommy. I said, "Do you want to call him Darwin? That's a great name for a male Beagle - I like the wordplay involved." Dave agreed, and Joshua noted that it follows the trend of naming our dogs after scientists. Darwin is a smart boy and he already knows his new name. It's much more dignified than Tommy (which is a cute name, but not dignified).

Darwin had a rough life before his adoption. He's very undersized and was probably the runt of his litter. He was found as a stray about two months ago in Spotsylvania Couny, Virginia (a rural county located about an hour south of Washington, DC). We don't know if he escaped an enclosure and got lost or was deliberately abandoned. One of the guys from the rescue foundation said it's not unusual for hunters to abandon hounds who won't hunt. Can you imagine such heartlessness? It makes my blood boil!

Anyway, Darwin and Hypatia are adjusting to each other pretty well and they love playing together. When Dave and I take them for walks, they make sure the whole pack is close together. If either dog is in the lead and decides the other pair is lagging too far behind, he or she will stop walking and wait for the other pair to catch up. We're quickly becoming a cohesive unit.

Here's Hypatia. She's just over 6 months old, weighs 25 pounds and is probably fully grown now. Isn't she beautiful?

Here's Darwin. He's 8 or 9 months old and only 15.6 pounds. He's undersized and probably won't grow much, but we'll help him fill out to a healthier weight. He's small but spunky and he holds his own when he and Hypatia play tug-of-war.

Here are Hypatia, Dave and Darwin taking a nap this afternoon. It's a good thing we don't have Labs or Golden Retrievers - they'd never all fit on the couch!

And there you have it - the saga of Darwin's Rescue. Stay tuned for the future adventures of two suburban hounds.

2011-10-27T09:25:00.000-04:00

Anyone who watches NFL football has certainly noticed that the coaches and players have been wearing an awful lot of pink attire this month: shoes, wristbands, towels, caps... The pink gear is one way the NFL has been promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Fans interested in participating can purchase pink NFL gear here.

I came across a related story this morning and decided to share it with you, as you're not likely to come across it yourself unless you're

a) dieting, and
b) using Sparkpeople to track your diet, fitness and general health.

As it happens, I've been doing both of those things for the past year. But, that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to encourage you to read an inspiring story of someone who has survived - twice! - breast cancer and is living life to its fullest. After you've read it, go do something you love and get some pure joy out of life today.

Jamaica 2011 Slideshow

2011-10-23T21:09:00.000-04:00

I've finally compiled a quick and dirty slideshow of our recent trip to Jamaica. Enjoy!

I don't know when we'll get there again, but I'm already looking forward to it.

Jamaica Revisited

2011-10-02T19:37:00.003-04:00

Wow! I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted my first post-Jamaica post. I finished the last post by promising to fill you in on the joys of being selected for Special Security Screening. Before I do that, I want to share a few more photos.

The trip began, naturally enough, with a flight from Washington, DC to Montego Bay, Jamaica. As you can see, we had beautiful weather for flying. These are two views of the Caribbean Sea from approximately 7 miles above the earth.

Our resort didn't lack any amenities. This swimming pool features a billiard table and a swim-up bar.

A neighboring resort features massage tables on the beach.

Here's a closer look at a swim-up bar at a resort.

This is a view of Booby Cay from Seven Mile Beach.

This is Dave walking along Seven Mile Beach. One of these days, I'm going to persuade him to walk the whole length of the beach with me - all the way to Negril.

Not surprisingly, water sports are popular diversions at the resorts.

This is a view of a beautiful sunset over Long Bay.

If you want to see more photos, you'll have to come back for my slide show. Which I promise will be complete before the end of the year. :)

Now, about Special Security Selection. If you're lucky, you'll never have to participate in this dreary bit of Security Theatre.

On the morning we left Jamaica, a security officer informed me that I had been randomly selected for Special Screening. This consisted of three phases. The first phase was the usual security procedure of walking through the metal detector, being wanded and mildly patted down, and having my suitcase x-rayed. Once that process was complete, I had to sit in another area and wait for the second phase. When my name was called, my suitcase and I were led to a room where my hands were dabbed with a chemical that was analyzed for the presence of explosives, and my suitcase was searched. The third phase occurred two hours later, as I was about to board the plane. Before I was allowed to board, my hands, suitcase and clothing were dabbed with chemicals and analyzed for explosives, and my sandals were removed from my feet and inspected for explosives. Presumably because I may have met a bomb-toting accomplice in the airport, or perhaps retrieved a bomb planted for me in the Margaritaville ladies' room. By this time, I was thoroughly annoyed with my role in Security Theater and had great difficulty conducting myself civilly. I managed not to get myself thrown out of the airport and into a Jamaican jail - but just barely. There were about 280 people on my flight, and 12 of us were specially screened. One of the lucky ones was a lady that was at least 80 years old. Good Lord! She was carrying a purse that may have been large enough to hold lipstick and a paper bag that may have contained a couple of t-shirts. I know these searches are supposed to be random, but it seems like common sense should kick in at some point. This was utterly ridiculous. The net effect of that day's Special Security Screening farces was that 268 passengers didn't feel any safer after the process than they had before, and 12 passengers were thoroughly peeved. On the bright side, I suppose the TSA successfully justified its existence for another day.

A Glimpse of Jamaica!

2011-09-14T10:18:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I've been away from the blog for so long! I'll try to make up for that by posting a few photos from our recent trip to Jamaica. These were taken with a waterproof Kodak disposable camera while we sailed and parasailed.

I know Dave has already posted some of his photos on Facebook. I'll post more here as I finish processing them. I'll also share my tale of being selected for "special screening" at the Montego Bay airport (that's my tantalizing hook to get you to come back for more. Is it working?). As you can see, Jamaica is a beautiful country, which is one reason we've gone there twice within the past six months! It will be awhile before our next trip, but we will be back. In the meantime, we'll enjoy our memories - and our photos.

Moving Musings

2011-07-24T22:48:00.002-04:00

Dave and I have nearly completed our move into a new, slightly smaller home. Naturally, we moved on the hottest weekend in recorded history. As we hauled boxes in 100 degree weather, I had some epiphanies about home and family life.

1. One idea that has a lot of appeal right now is that people should live in one house forever. Get married (or not), get a home, and stay there. Forever. Or until death, whichever comes first.

2. People who aren't going to live in one house their entire adult lives should move every 2-4 years. That way, they'll probably avoid accumulating too much stuff.

3. Ten years (which is how long we lived in our previous home) is entirely too long to live in one house unless one is going to live there until the day one dies.

4. Most of the stuff people own is just stuff. When we acquire it, we think it means something. And it does at that moment. But later on, when the time comes to decide what stays and what goes, a lot of the stuff that seemed so important a long time ago is much less attractive than it used to be. That being the case, one has to wonder why we bother getting it at all.

5. Given #4, I'd rather spend my money doing things I enjoy with people I love than buying stuff. And I'd definitely rather spend my time with them than with a house full of stuff.

I can't add anything else to this list right now. It's time to stop musing and start spending some time with someone I love (Hypatia) doing something we enjoy (walking).

My MacBook Pro

2011-07-08T21:34:00.005-04:00

On Monday evening I was working on my 4.5 year old Toshiba PC laptop when Hypatia ran by my feet, got tangled in the power cord and started yelping away. I untangled her and didn't think much more about the incident.

On Tuesday evening, I was working on my 4.5 year old Toshiba PC when I noticed the battery icon was lit up. I checked the power connections at several points, jiggled some wires and told Dave I had a power problem. Dave promptly checked several power connections, jiggled some wires and told me I'd better shut down the computer until I had a chance to back up any urgent files onto our 1TB external drive. I finally got a chance to do that tonight. The old Toshiba went into critical hibernation to conserve its last remaining bit of battery power just as I was finishing up my file transfers.

On Wednesday evening, I picked up a new computer on the way home from work. The vast majority of my personal and professional computing experience has been on PCs, but I used Macs for some courses at the University of Manitoba and the University of Iowa. Joshua switched to a Mac last Christmas, and Dave and I had talked about making the switch the next time we replaced our laptops. Now, I've gone and done it. I have an Apple iPod, an Apple iPhone, and now an Apple MacBook Pro. Joshua has an iPod, an iPhone and a MacBook. Dave has an iPod and an iPad. When the time comes for him to surrender his employer-provided Blackberry for a personal cell phone, he'll probably buy an iPhone. And when the time comes to replace his PC laptop (which isn't too old - he burned through 4 during the time I was using the Toshiba), he'll probably buy a Mac.

It's going to take me awhile to get used to the Apple OS, and I sort of miss my Toshiba - it's like an old, familiar friend - but I don't have any choice about it now. I just hope I'm not too old to learn some new tricks.

Annapolis Vacation #2

2011-07-03T13:26:00.004-04:00

Our vacation in Annapolis is winding down; today is our last full day of rest and relaxation. Our trip hasn't just been about lazing by the pool and meeting other campers of the human and canine kinds. Dave, Hypatia and I also took a couple of trips into Annapolis and did some sightseeing.

The highlight of our first trip was a boat cruise. Here are Dave and Hypatia waiting to board the vessel.

The United States Naval Academy is located right on the harbor, so we got some good looks at it from the water.

We also saw a variety of pleasure-crafts and very official-looking naval vessels.

A couple of days after the cruise, we took a trolley tour of the city. Since I was busy keeping tabs on Hypatia, who didn't cooperate quite as well on the trolley as she did on the boat, I wasn't able to get any photos of the city's beautiful brick buildings. If Dave hasn't posted his photos on facebook yet, he probably will do so soon.

In addition to being the home of the US Naval Academy, Annapolis is the state capitol of Maryland, and the county seat of Anne Arundel County. I did get one shot of the city from a scenic overlook across the bay. The trolley driver gave us a chance to disembark (and Hypatia got to relieve herself) and take some photos. In the foreground of this photo, taken with my iPhone, you can see the state of Maryland's World War II Memorial. It looks a bit like a scaled down version of the national WW2 Memorial in Washington DC. I don't know which structure was built first. In the background of the photo you can see the Naval Academy.

Annapolis is a charming little city. Its ambiance is quite different from that of Charlestown, South Carolina, but its history and charm are just as intriguing as Charleston's. Since it's a much smaller city, it's charm is less diluted by big city trappings than Charleston's.

Today's final photo shows how Hypatia spent her time when she wasn't sightseeing or socializing.

That wraps up my accounts of our Annapolis vacation. Annapolis definitely is a city worth putting on your travel agenda if you haven't been there.

Annapolis Vacation #1

2011-06-27T20:33:00.003-04:00

Dave, Hypatia and I are on vacation near Annapolis, Maryland. We arrived here yesterday, after spending some time with Joshua and the Crossmen on Friday evening and Saturday. Hypatia had a great time with the Crossmen, as a good number of the corps members ate their meals with her. The cook, who was missing his Corgi, spent a good bit of time playing with Hypatia and sharing puppy training tips with me. Needless to say, Joshua was also tickled pink at meeting our new family member. He's wanted a dog, particularly a Beagle, for a long time. Now he's got his wish. He'll also get some of the chores that come with the granted wish!

Yesterday was a bit stressful for Hypatia, as she had to spend a fair bit of time in her crate while we traveled, bought groceries, checked into the campground, etc. Today was a much more relaxing day for all of us. These are some photos I took earlier today.

My guess is there will be more to come.

Gal Pals

2011-06-12T07:39:00.004-04:00

Hypatia's first day at home was a busy one. In addition to getting accustomed to our house, Hypatia entertained some guests in the evening: Ally, Jonathan and Maggie. Ally and Hypatia took a few minutes to warm up to each other, but bonded quickly once the pizza and chicken wings (boneless) arrived. Hypatia had one small piece of chicken mixed in with her kibble and ate her entire meal without any difficulty. I'm pretty sure she'll be a lifetime member of the clean plate club.

The canine dining experience was cute. The two dogs began by eating and drinking from their respective bowls. By the end of the meal, they were eating and drinking from each other's bowls. Being refueled and energized, the dogs played together enthusiastically for much of the evening. The photo below shows them when their energy was starting to flag. By this time, they had happily shared toys as well as food. Notice that Hypatia is lying contentedly by the remains of a stuff toy that Ally broke in earlier in the evening.

A little while later, after the dogs had fallen asleep in their respective positions, Hypatia crawled over closer to her 2.5 year old niece and resumed her nap.

By the end of the evening, the gals had shared a meal, some toys, a nap, a couple of potty breaks and potty reward treats - and forged what promises to be a lifelong doggie friendship.

Hypatia's Homecoming

2011-06-11T17:14:00.001-04:00

If you've read Dave's facebook page or blog, you'll know that we welcomed a beautiful Beagle puppy into our home today. Hypatia is 7 weeks old, adorable, feisty and sweet.

On the ride home, she wasn't at all happy with her crate. So, we decided I should put her on my lap. After a few minutes of anxiety and clinginess, she settled down and enjoyed the ride home.

When she got home, she didn't waste any time getting to know the place and making herself comfortable.

As I write, she and Dave are enjoying some quiet time together.

If you want to know how we selected her name, check out Dave's post.

In Poor Taste

2011-05-18T08:57:00.000-04:00

I came across a disturbing item on the Internet this morning. I've clipped the first half of it for you to read here. Follow the link if you want to read the entire post and comment thread.

This is sad. Actually, it's worse than sad. It's downright pathetic. And disgusting. No one in the world needs to eat one hamburger that packs the caloric value of four days worth of meals. Notice I said caloric, not nutritional, value - all calories are not created equal. And no business needs to celebrate heart attacks as if they're something funny. And no one needs to encourage obese people to overeat unhealthy food by offering them free calorie- and fat-laden meals. I wonder if The Heart Attack Grill provides ambulance services for patrons who live up to the restaurant's name? Do you think The Heart Attack Grill pays for ongoing medical and rehab bills for said patrons?

If I ever have an opportunity to "dine" at The Heart Attack Grill, I will take a pass. I'd rather have a root canal than add one cent of my money to this restaurant's bank account. I don't normally wish for businesses to fail but, in the case of The Heart Attack Grill, I'm willing make an exception. I think I'd like to see it torn down and replaced with a public park or community center.

For Post #500: Something Special

2011-04-24T17:17:00.013-04:00

April 22 was the 41st Earth Day. I remember the very first one. I was in 6th grade and our teachers made quite a big deal about conservation, clean air and water, and environmentalism in general. The American public was just beginning to catch on to the idea that we should take care of the place. NASA celebrated #41 by publishing some special photos of what we earthlings like to call Home, Sweet Home.

Click on the photos in order to read the captions more easily.

(NOTE: Photos were acquired via Talking Points Memo.)

In Glock We Trust

2011-04-23T12:18:00.001-04:00

I found an interesting item in the Washington Post the other day. It seems some Christians in northern Virginia don't really expect God to keep them safe, even when they're in church. So, they're helping him out.

By bringing weapons to church.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

Parishioners carried Bibles in embroidered cases, babies with ribbons in their hair, and flutes, violins and sheet music into Immanuel Bible Church for Palm Sunday services.

And a few carried guns, tucked into waistbands, hidden under suit jackets.

- snip -

Philip Van Cleave, of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said people have been carrying concealed weapons to church for years because of the threat of terrorism and church shootings across the country.

“Al-Qaeda has been our reason, as well as many of the recent church shootings around the country,” he said. “Think of it this way: If saving your own life isn’t a ‘good and sufficient reason’ to carry a gun, then what else could possibly qualify?”

- snip -

“Guns in a church? Why?” said Samy Youssef, a member from Alexandria. “God is our protector. He is our savior.”

- snip -

“The real sad thing for all of us in this is it’s an indication of where our culture is — that public meeting areas, churches, schools, town halls, malls are threats for terrorism,” Holley said. Two years ago, he said, a preacher in Illinois was gunned down in the pulpit.

The Rev. Tom Joyce, a fellow Immanuel pastor, said there was a case in Colorado in which a gunman began spraying bullets in a church but was shot and killed by someone in attendance.

“We rely 100 percent, before any weapon, in the power of the Holy Spirit to protect us,” he said. “It’s also good to have some people here on campus” who are trained and armed.

I hate to break it to the Rev. Joyce, but that last statement is utter nonsense. If the Holy Spirit's protective powers need to be supplemented by firearms, then trust in him is not 100%, as claimed.

Amatriciana Sauce W/ Chopped Veggies

2011-04-17T14:31:00.004-04:00

A long time ago, I began what was supposed to be a recipe series. The reason I haven't shared anything since my first entry is that I don't usually measure ingredients when I cook - I just add stuff, taste it, add some more and so on. The reason I have this recipe to share is that I wanted to get a nutritional breakdown, calorie count, etc. In order to do that, I had to pay more attention to what I was adding and how much of it was going into the pot. Today's recipe is Amatriciana Sauce W/ Chopped Veggies.

This is a variation on Italian amatriciana sauce - I substituted bacon for the pancetta and added some fresh veggies. Authentic amatriciana is pretty hot and is simpler than this as it leaves out the veggies and some of the non-pepper seasonings. Be forewarned - the recipe below is a bit hot. The seasonings can be varied according to taste, and 1/3 cup of wine can be substituted for some of the water (if you use cooking wine, omit the salt). Also, fresh Roma tomatoes could be chopped and substituted for the canned tomato sauce to cut down the sodium.

We'll start with the ingredients:

Hunt's Tomato Sauce - 1 15-oz. can
Hunt's Tomato Paste - 1 8-oz. can
Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped
Celery - 1/2 cup, chopped
Garlic - 4 cloves, chopped
Carrots - 1/2 cup, chopped
Water - 1 cup, or 2/3 cup water + 1/3 cup wine
Sugar - 2 tsp.
Bacon - 4 slices, chopped
Pepper - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - 1 tsp.
Red Pepper - 2 tsp. (may substitute Tony Chachere's seasoning)
Oregano - 1 tsp.
Rosemary - 1 tbsp.
Thyme - 1 tsp.

Next, the procedure:

Add tomato sauce, paste, liquid and seasonings to crock pot and begin cooking on high.

Once the base sauce has started cooking, chop vegetables and bacon, and brown in saucepan until tender. Start with the bacon, then add veggies when fat has started melting. You may add one tablespoon of olive oil, if needed, to keep veggies from burning. When veggies and bacon are nicely browned add them to the sauce in the crock pot. Sauce may be cooked in crock pot 2-4 hours without burning.

Prepare pasta - rigatoni and rotini go nicely with this sauce. One minute before pasta has finished cooking, remove 1-2 tablespoons of pasta water and reserve. Drain pasta, then add pasta and reserved cooking water to sauce. Cook pasta for one more minute in the sauce, then serve.

Finally, nutritional data for those who are interested in such things:

Note: the nutritional calculation does not include the pasta.

Servings Per Recipe: 4 (calculated at 1 cup per serving - this is quite a lot, so you may want to decrease the amount according to your taste)

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 166.9
Total Fat: 4.2 g
Cholesterol: 5.4 mg
Sodium: 1,869.2 mg
Total Carbs: 30.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 6.9 g
Protein: 7.3 g

If you like Italian food, you may enjoy playing with this recipe and adapting it to your tastes and needs.

Happy cooking!

It's Official!

2011-04-08T18:38:00.000-04:00

Jonathan and Maggie want to announce that they have set a date for their wedding: October 8, 2011.

Ally is thrilled (and relieved) that her parents are finally tying the knot!

Paradise Lost

2011-04-03T11:43:00.000-04:00

Dave and I returned from Jamaica late last night. He took many more photos than I did, so I'll just post a few here. Check his facebook page for more details.

As you can see from this photo, he began the trip by conserving energy.

The airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica is located right next to the sea. This was a bit of scenery we saw from our bus window on the way from the airport to our resort.

This is where we stopped for a pit stop on the bus ride from Montego Bay to Negril. Yes, that's our bus.

This was the street just outside our pit stop.

In addition spending many hours drifting in the sea on foam mats, we did some snorkeling.

We also went to Rick's Cafe to watch some cliff diving. We were supposed to see the sunset too, but some idiots on our bus had booked dinner reservations back at the resort for the same time as sunset at Rick's. Dave heroically restrained me from throttling them.

If we go to Rick's again some day, I'm staying for the sunset, even if I have to hurt someone to do it.

Lookin' for Sunshine and Waves

2011-03-23T16:06:00.000-04:00

I know my absence won't be anything new around here, but I figured I should explain (submit an excuse regarding) why I won't be around for about two weeks. This is where I'll be - somewhere warm and wet. I'll be back in April.

Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Huckabee

2011-03-07T17:45:00.002-05:00

Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee got quite a lot of attention last week for his negative comments about Natalie Portman's pregnancy. He seems to have the idea that Ms. Portman is glamorizing out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Maybe I missed something, but I haven't seen or heard anything to support such a claim. While Ms. Portman has been honest about her pregnancy, and she does not appear to be ashamed of it, neither of those circumstances warrant the inference that she is glamorizing her condition.

Now, here's where the hypocrisy comes into the picture. Way back in the fall of 2008, the Republican vice-presidential candidate's unmarried teen-aged daughter was pregnant throughout the campaign. I could be wrong - and if I am, please provide a link for me - but I don't recall Mr. Huckabee saying anything negative about Ms. Bristol Palin's pregnancy.

Similar to Ms. Portman, Ms. Palin was honest about her pregnancy, and did not appear to be ashamed of it. Moreover, like Ms. Palin before her, Ms. Portman is engaged to marry the father of her child. Ms. Palin's engagement was later broken; we'll have to wait and see what happens in Ms. Portman's case. Since one can readily see striking similarities in the two cases, one can't help wondering why one case merits criticism and the other didn't.

I don't think it's coincidental that Mr. Huckabee remained silent at a time when the Republican party stood to gain a lot. Now, when the Republican party doesn't have anything to gain or lose in the immediate future, Mr. Huckabee has spoken critically about out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Previously, presumably to support his party's chances at success, Mr. Huckabee held his tongue about the Palin family's personal circumstances. Even when Sarah Palin and the Republican party hauled Bristol Palin from one end of the country to the other to garner sympathy and support for their ambitions, Mr. Huckabee remained silent. It seems to me that Bristol Palin's constant presence on her mother's campaign trail over a period of several months glamorized her pregnancy far more than Natalie Portman's brief appearance at what was, first and foremost for her, a professional event related to her career.

In contrast to the situation that existed less than three years ago, Mike Huckabee's current position in relation to the Republican party has changed significantly. He had nothing to gain by criticizing Bristol Palin in 2008. Now, he has an opportunity to compete against Sarah Palin for the next Republican presidential nomination. Sarah Palin is a darling among evangelical Christian Republicans, and Mr. Huckabee needs to gain support from that same conservative base if he hopes to win that nomination. That includes, among other things, standing firmly against single-parenthood and sex outside of heterosexual marital relations.

I suppose Mr. Huckabee's comments about single parenthood, out-of-wedlock pregnancy and so on were sincere. It's hard to tell, though, because the sincerity of his sentiments is grossly overshadowed by the transparency of his ambition.

Who's Defending Your Marriage?

2011-02-26T00:31:00.004-05:00

The Onion, the USA's second-best news organization (first place goes to Comedy Central, of course), led today's news with this headline:

Check out the hair-raising details of this tragic turn of events (if you dare):

WASHINGTON—Reports continue to pour in from around the nation today of helpless Americans being forcibly taken from their marital unions after President Obama dropped the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this week, leaving the institution completely vulnerable to roving bands of homosexuals. "It was just awful—they smashed through our living room window, one of them said 'I've had my eye on you, Roger,' and then they dragged my husband off kicking and screaming," said Cleveland-area homemaker Rita Ellington, one of the latest victims whose defenseless marriage was overrun by the hordes of battle-ready gays that had been clambering at the gates of matrimony since the DOMA went into effect in 1996. "Oh dear God, why did they remove the protection provided by this vital piece of legislation? My children! What will I tell my children?" A video communique was sent to the media late yesterday from what appears to be the as-yet unidentified leader of the gay marauders, who, adorned in terrifying warpaint, announced "Richard Dickson of Ames, Iowa. We're coming for you next. Put on something nice."

Man, oh man, oh man! President Obama's gone and done it now. It's bad enough the goofy fellow wants to give every single American access to health care. It's even worse that his meddling wife is encouraging American children to be fit and lean. Now he's letting gays tear up heterosexual marriages. He's not lifting a finger to help those poor beleaguered straight couples who absolutely cannot maintain their marriages without the full force of the American military and all three branches of the federal government standing steadfastly behind them, armed to the teeth, and fully locked and loaded.

It's a grim time for heterosexuals in America, especially married ones. Things are so grim that any heterosexuals still reading this post should stop immediately and go take care of business. Do it now. You absolutely cannot wait because, for all we know, the next bedroom the gays invade may be yours. If that happens, another bastion of heterosexuality will be destroyed forever and the collapse of civilization as we know it will be imminent.

And it will all be the fault of those darned gays.

Reporter Flunks Vocabulary Test

2011-02-12T17:57:00.002-05:00

If you google for "iphone confession app" videos, you'll get over 170 hits. One of the reporters cited in the video below made what should have been an embarrassing flub (pay attention at 0:39):

While it's true that Martin Luther had serious complaints about "indulgences," I'm pretty sure he never objected to "condolences."

Getting Stupider By the Minute...

2011-02-04T18:24:00.001-05:00

About two months ago, I wrote a post highlighting the fact that American high school students lag way behind their peers in reading, science and math. I'm sad to report that some American adults don't seem to be any more knowledgeable than their children. This is particularly alarming when those adults become members of Congress. A freshman member of Congress attended her first town hall meeting today and didn't waste much time before making a fool of herself (H/T to Talking Points Memo):

"A fun nugget buried in this story about Rep. Ann Buerkle's (R-NY) first town hall meeting as an elected member of Congress. Constituents repeatedly asked a puzzled Buerkle about her health benefits. She couldn't figure out why. But her staff sure could.

Buerkle, who voted to repeal the health care reform act, was twice asked about the health insurance she receives as a government employee. At first she said she couldn't understand why people were so interested in her health insurance, and that taxpayers didn't pay anything for it. She later corrected herself after being handed a note from a staffer. Like most employees, she pays for a portion of her insurance and her employer, the government, pays the rest, she said.

As Republicans point out, these are employer provided benefits, which they're all for. So it's not as simple as straight hypocrisy. But there's a fundamental tension between the GOP's naysaying on health care reform and their willingness to accept federally subsidized private insurance -- just as in the health care law. These flubs grow out of that tension."

Rep. Buerkle obviously hasn't got a clue how the American government works. That being the case, how in the world did she get the idea that she is qualified to sit in Congress? Even worse, how did the voters in her district get the idea that she is qualified to sit in Congress? There are days when I despair for the future of the USA.

This is one of them.

Sunday Afternoon Photos

2011-01-23T16:02:00.003-05:00

My sister, Dotti, has taken to digital photography in a big way in the past couple of years. It seems to me that this interest really took wings when she became a grandmother. She regularly emails me with links to her online photo galleries, has completed a couple of online photography courses, and has recently begun posting photos on the blog she co-hosts with her daughter and granddaughter. Inspired (or made to feel guilty, take your pick) by her enthusiasm, and stuck indoors on a fairly cold winter day, I spent a bit of time this afternoon taking macro photos of some items that reside on my piano.

Today's photo show opens with a glass rose, which is 1/6th of a set (complete with vase) that Dave and I bought in Corning, NY last fall.

The show continues with a different, spiced up, photo of the same rose. I achieved this impressionistic effect by making two copies of a photo, superimposing them on each other, slightly shifting the positions of the two top layers, and adding a pencil drawing effect to them.

The show concludes with a photo of seashells that I collected at the Outer Banks in the fall of 2009.

Most of these shells are not perfect specimens like those that can be purchased in boardwalk gift shops around the world. Many of them are chipped, fragmented and otherwise imperfect. But, they're mine. I found them. I cleaned them up. And I put them in a crystal dish to show them off. Because, sometimes, I like to remind myself that extraordinary beauty is often found in the mundane.

Toy Update!

2011-01-18T19:30:00.003-05:00

As you know, Dave and I are rather fond of electronic toys, and we've both updated ours in the past few months. Our latest round of toy gathering began last fall, when Dave purchased an iPad and I upgraded my Kindle.

The photo above shows Dave's iPad. I think he uses this more than he uses his laptop computer these days. He's especially pleased since he upgraded it to include 3G networking capacity, which allows him to access the Internet from nearly anywhere.

Dave bought his iPad about the same time I upgraded from the Kindle 2 to the Kindle 3G. I had to upgrade after my first Kindle succumbed to permanent power failure. Over a period of several months, the battery kept losing its charge until it reached a point where I had to keep it plugged in to use it. That impeded its portability a bit, to say the least. Eventually, it got to the point where it just wouldn't turn on at all, even when connected to life support. I was peeved that it died after only 1.5 years of use. After toying with whether to try another Kindle or get an iPad, I chose the Kindle 3G. My primary reason for this choice was that I really like the Kindle's screen. It's not backlit, so it's much easier on the eyes than the iPad. As you can see in the photo below, the 3G is about 40% smaller than the 2. It's very lightweight and it's about the size of a paperback book.

Everything went well with my Kindle 3G for the first couple of weeks, but then it started rebooting itself randomly. This continued for a few weeks, and the frequency with which it happened became more than a little bit annoying. When I eventually contacted Amazon, the service representative upgraded the software. This seemed to solve the problem for awhile, but then the rebooting quirk started all over again. I was on the verge of sending it back for replacement (it was still under warranty) when I read on a user forum that this has been a common problem. Several comment writers suggested that the problem was with Amazon's leather cover, rather than the machine. They reported that, after they took the ereader out of its cover, it worked just fine.

You'll note in the photo below that Amazon's leather cover has two metal hooks that insert into notches in the metal body of the ereader. It seems that these hooks cause a short-circuit in the machine, which causes it to reboot incessantly.

As soon as I read that, I removed my Kindle 3G from its cover and decided to test the theory for a few days before returning it for a replacement. That was several months ago and the machine has not rebooted once since then. Once I was pretty sure the problem was solved, I ordered a new cover from M-Edge. So, what you see below is documentation of the fact that I have 2 Kindles (1 working, 1 not) and 3 covers (2 working and 1 not).

The final toy that I'll mention here is my new iPhone. Yes, I know, I said for many years that all I wanted in a phone was an instrument for sending and receiving phone calls. That was true then. But, as I watched Dave using his Blackberry to send and receive emails, photos, etc., and particularly as I watched him using his iPad, I slowly decided that maybe it was time to upgrade my phone. I initially considered adding email and Internet access to my old cell phone. When I investigated this option, I quickly learned that the monthly fees for those limited functions would cost me just as much as the monthly fees for an iPhone. Upon learning that, I decided to buy the iPhone, which offers many functions in addition to Internet browsing and email. So, the newest toy in our stable is the iPhone4.

I just got it yesterday, so I can't tell you how well it works yet. If you want to know, you'll have to either get one of your own, or wait a few more months for my review.

Deep Space

2011-01-10T14:40:00.001-05:00

This may be the most beautiful deep space image I've ever seen.

You can read about this supernova here. I really need several more lifetimes so I can learn more about stuff like this.

Telling It Like It Is

2010-12-27T18:36:00.001-05:00

I stumbled across a great pair of old (well, 36 years) letters today. The first one is an asinine complaint by a football fan who feared being injured by paper airplanes:

That letter is hilarious on its own. When paired with the Cleveland Browns response, the combination is utterly delightful:

Come on, admit it: aren't there days you wish you could respond that bluntly to a critic without losing your job?

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-20T18:48:00.001-05:00

Here's a little something to help you enjoy the holidays.

We're Number ... Umm - Nowhere Close to 1

2010-12-08T08:55:00.004-05:00

Promoters of the doctrine of American exceptionalism suffered a sharp blow to the head yesterday. An international test of 15-year-olds from 65 countries revealed that Americans are solidly in the middle of the pack in science, reading and mathematical achievement. Canadians can take heart, as their students placed in the top 10 in all 3 categories.

Given the amount of time and energy Americans waste arguing over teaching evolution, revisionist history and other similar nonsense in our public schools, I suppose one could find it heartening that our youth still managed to claw their way to the middle. Perhaps it's time to stop squandering our money on foreign military adventures and start investing it in our human capital.

A Day in the Life of a Fool

2010-09-18T12:05:00.000-04:00

I've been told that the following story is an urban legend, but it's still funny, and it makes a good point: if you do something stupid, you can expect to get unwelcome results:

Practice What You Preach?

2010-09-06T16:20:00.001-04:00

Below is a book advertisement I saw in a recent edition of the American War Cry. I was amused that the author's name and credentials dominate an ad for a book extolling the virtue of anonymity.

Toronto - The Video!

2010-08-29T16:13:00.000-04:00

Toronto Harbor Photos

2010-08-28T19:32:00.000-04:00

Dave and I wandered around downtown Toronto and took the Toronto Harbor Tour last weekend. These are a few of the photos I took.

Not So Proud Moment

2010-08-28T11:25:00.000-04:00

This past week, I’ve gotten acquainted with two Australians, a husband and wife, who are visiting the USA for a few weeks. I was stunned when I learned that one of the things she most wants to do in this country is shop at Wal-Mart.

Let’s just say it wasn’t a “proud to be an American” moment.

Statitical Musings

2010-08-02T11:48:00.002-04:00

According to the Barna Group, "family" is the top priority of 45% of Americans. That's not surprising. A far more interesting finding is that, even though 90% of Americans identify with a religion, only 12% of American adults say that "faith is the highest priority" in their lives.

Here's another way to look at the Barna figures. The 12% of Americans who make religion the top priority in their lives are nearly matched by the 10% of Americans who don't identify with any religion. That's something to think about.

Bon Echo Images

2010-07-24T14:55:00.003-04:00

Dave and I are just finishing up a week of vacation, most of which we spent at Bon Echo Provincial Park in Ontario. We had a relaxing week, which included a day trip to the Haliburton area to visit some family members who were vacationing there. These are some of the sights we saw at Bon Echo.

The rugged, imposing face of Mazinaw Rock.

Another shot that includes some canoers and kayakers, just to get some perspective on how large Mazinaw Rock is.

This shot provides some perspective on how high the rock is. The photo cuts off less than halfway up the cliff.

This is an Algonquin pictograph that was painted onto the rock several hundred years ago.

Here's a broader view of Mazinaw Rock - it's a very impressive cliff.

This is a look at a small portion of Mazinaw Lake and the park from the top of the cliff. I ferried over to the cliff (a very brief ride), then hiked about two miles (round trip) up and down the cliff to see this view.

These were the trees located just behind our camp site.

And this is Dave, enjoying the sights on a perfect summer day.

Gone to Canada

2010-07-16T09:18:00.002-04:00

Amazing Star Wars Medley

2010-07-13T18:41:00.001-04:00

I hate to post three videos in a row, but this one is too good not to share.This medley features themes from a number of classic John Williams movie scores. If the Star Wars fans among you haven't seen this yet, get some popcorn and soda, then sit back and enjoy this.

Eye on Rome

2010-07-08T21:41:00.001-04:00

What Dave and I learned during our brief trip to Rome is that we need to go back. Now that we've gotten the lie of the land, so to speak, we'd like to return and see things we missed the first time around, and see more details of some things to which we were briefly introduced. Here's an introduction to what we saw and did in Rome.

Eye on Venice

2010-07-05T22:57:00.000-04:00

I finally went through the 1,992 photos that Dave and I kept (I have no idea how many we took and deleted), and have organized some of those into some semblance of order. This post will begin as our trip did, in Venice.

I hope this video gives you a taste of what we experienced. As Dave said to another tourist couple one night, even if you've enjoyed Las Vegas' Venetian Hotel, you still don't have any idea what Venice is like. The only way to find out is to go there and experience the real thing for yourself.

Gone Camping!

2010-07-02T11:32:00.000-04:00

Coming Soon to a Church Near You...

2010-06-20T21:25:00.004-04:00

This may give being "slain in the spirit" a whole new meaning.

Masters of Disaster & Irony

2010-06-12T14:55:00.006-04:00

British Petroleum, the company that is responsible for what may be the most catastrophic man-made ecological disaster in human history, has spent nearly two months trying to persuade the world that it bears little or no responsibility for the devastation that is currently going on in the Gulf of Mexico. That's why people find notices like these, posted at BP gas stations around the USA, ironic.

I didn't know anyone was still buying gas from BP. I guess someone has to do it, though, if we want BP to pay for cleaning up its mess. For some truly awful looks at the disaster than continues to unfold in the gulf, check out this photo essay. Some samples of what they have:

Americans missed an opportunity to start weaning ourselves from oil during the energy crises of the 1970s. Nearly 40 years ago. It sickens me to think about how far we could have come in the nearly half century that has passed if we would have made some efforts to change our ways then. I wish I could say that this disaster will be a wake-up call. But, I doubt that it will be. We'll muddle through this, then continue doing the same irresponsible, wasteful stuff we always do. What a confounding species we humans are; we can investigate the outer reaches of the universe, the depths of the sea and the structure of DNA, yet we don't have enough sense to avoid fouling our own nest.

H/T to Think Progress and Boston.com

Book Note: Founding Faith

2010-06-06T16:25:00.004-04:00

Knowing my interests in history and church-state issues, a friend of mine recommend a book to me recently. I will share some thoughts about the book, Founding Faith: How Our Founding Fathers Forged a Radical New Approach to Religious Liberty, in this post.

The author, Steven Waldman, a co-founder of Belief.Net, took a fairly evenhanded approach in his examination of

the role of religion in the lives of several American Founding Fathers (Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison),
the role of religion in the American Revolution and the formation of the USA, and
the role of politics in shaping the USA's fundamental legal documents, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Waldman's evidence led him to conclude:

The five men underwent religious transformations throughout their lives. They didn't receive their youthful catechisms and tuck them away to be drawn upon as needed for future reference; they questioned religious precepts all of their lives and, in some cases, ended at positions strikingly different from those they'd held as young men.
All five of them felt that some religion was necessary to protect the common folks from moral corruption and equip them to be good citizens; enlightened people could handle the truth about religious fables and live responsibly, but the common folks couldn't be trusted to do the same. Yes, the founding fathers were elitists (but you already knew that).
All of them accepted the premise that the universe was created; this is not surprising when one remembers that their lifespans pre-dated the discoveries of Darwin and later scientists.
None of them held beliefs that conservative Christians today would consider suitably Christian; today's Christian Right would excoriate the lot of them as heretics.
None of them ever intended that the USA would be a theocratic Christian Nation. They were thoroughly committed to religious pluralism, equality and complete freedom of conscience.

Waldman, reminding us that these five men did not found the country alone, provides some fascinating insights into the negotiating processes that went into shaping the nation's founding documents, particularly the First Amendment. The Constitution and Bill of Rights were hammered out - word by word - by representatives from thirteen disparate states, and then sent to those states for ratification by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people. Not only was it the will of most Founding Fathers that the USA be a religiously neutral, pluralistic nation, it was the will of many ordinary Americans.

Waldman also notes the importance of remembering that the founding generation could not imagine the ways in which their visions would be realized. For example, since most states did not develop public school systems until the middle and late 19th century, the founders would never have imagined wrangling over school prayer. I suggest that, rather than trying to imagine what Washington or Jefferson would think about such issues, contemporary Americans could better spend our time pondering how the Constitutional principle of pluralism, to take one example, can best be expressed in our contemporary context. The fact is, the USA is no longer the founders' country, it's ours. We need to respect the founders and be grateful for what they gave us, but it's now up to us to use the tools in our hands. Fortunately, for us, the founders gave us good ones, so let's use them wisely.

Near the end of the book, Waldman discusses what he sees as fallacies that contemporary Americans commit when discussing church-state issues. These are:

Conservative Fallacy 1: Most Founding Fathers were serious Christians
Conservative Fallacy 2: Separation of church and state is a 20th century invention of the courts
Conservative Fallacy 3: Advocates of separation are anti-religious

Liberal Fallacy 1: Most founding fathers were Deists or secular
Liberal Fallacy 2: The Constitution demanded strict separation of church and state throughout the land
Liberal Fallacy 3: Separation of church and state was designed mostly to protect religious minorities

Common Fallacy 4: The founders figured this all out.

In closing, I'll say that I enjoyed Waldman's book. I appreciated the care he took in delineating the theological evolutions of the five founders he examined. I also enjoyed his discussion of the political contexts of the revolution and formation of a new nation based on what were, at the time, radical beliefs and principles. His bias toward religious belief is evident at times, such as when he frames the thinking of the founders as "spiritual journeys," but this doesn't prevent him from reaching the right conclusion regarding the Christian Nation verbiage that today's religious right keeps hurling at our heads: it's bunk (my paraphrase). I can't help wondering, though, if his religious bias led him to downplay the influences of Deism and Enlightenment philosophy on the founders. His discussions of the religious and political contexts of the founders were thorough, but he did not discuss Enlightenment philosophy at all. While I'll concede that secularists may be prone to over-emphasizing the philosophical trends of that era and downplaying the theology, that shortcoming is not best countered by emphasizing the theological contexts at the expense of the philosophy. The theological and philosophical contexts both need to be examined critically and thoroughly if we are to have any hope of understanding the ideas and ideals that motivated America's founders. Notwithstanding this weakness, if you're interested in reading about the religious and political contexts of the American Revolution and early republic, you'll probably enjoy this book.

Al Fresco Dining

2010-05-29T20:16:00.006-04:00

One of the things Dave and I enjoyed in Italy, especially in Venice, was al fresco dining. Many Venetian restaurants set up outdoor dining areas that feature tables with cloth covers, floral centerpieces, glassware, and so on. The outdoor dining areas are decorated as exquisitely as indoor dining rooms. Here's a photo of some people dining beside a small canal in Venice.

Next is a photo of Dave enjoying an iced, cold Coca Cola Light (i.e., Diet Coke) in a Venetian square.

Notice the lovely table setting. To be honest, it looks more inviting than my dining room table (from which I am typing this post) looks at the moment. I mentioned the iced, cold soda because that lunch was the only occasion on which we were served ice with our soda. Italians serve refrigerated beverages, but don't typically put ice in their drinks. From the time we boarded the Alitalia flight in Boston until we left Rome on a Delta airplane, this lunch was the only occasion on which we so much as glimpsed an ice cube. Of course, the ice was not the highlight of our meal. Like all of our meals in Italy, our lunch on this occasion was very tasty.

I snapped the next photo as we rode a water taxi through the Grand Canal. What a great place for a picnic!

Finally, here's Dave holding the picnic lunch we ate in Murano. I thought the box was much prettier than the ones I normally see in the USA, so I took a photo so that Domino's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut and the rest could see what the competition is doing and, hopefully, learn from them. As we ate this lunch (the only time all week that we shared a pizza), we sat on the steps of a bridge (like other fine diners) and watched the boats travel up and down the canal.

I guess I should explain why this was the only pizza we shared in Italy. Italian pizza is typically much lighter than American pizza - the crust is thinner and it is not smothered with heavy toppings as American pizzas tend to be. Therefore, one Italian typically consumes one pizza. Dave and I ate the Italian way for several lunches after this day, which freed me to experiment with different topping combinations. The one I enjoyed the most was the Pizza Campagnola - which had an amazing array of vegetables and delicious peppers (I suspect some of the peppers I had there are not readily available here, which is a shame).

So, there you have it: a glimpse of al fresco dining Italian style and a brief introduction to authentic Italian pizza.

Lewis Black Pwns Glenn Beck

2010-05-16T18:31:00.000-04:00

Unless you live in a cave with no electricity - or are fortunate enough not to have access to Fox News channel - you've probably heard of Glenn Beck, an ultra-right-wing TV commentator. Beck is known for, in addition to breaking down in tears nearly every day of the week, comparing everyone with whom he disagrees with the Nazis. Lewis Black, a comedian with a very sharp edge to his wit, pwned Beck on a recent episode of The Daily Show. Enjoy.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Back in Black - Glenn Beck's Nazi Tourette's

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

Encounters of the Religious Kind in Italy

2010-05-10T19:23:00.010-04:00

None of you will be surprised by my observation that there are churches everywhere in Venice and Rome. It may be going too far to say that there are churches on every corner, but it is fair to say that one need not walk more than a few blocks to get from one church to another. Some churches are small and easily overlooked. Others are fair-to-middling sized, and others can only be missed if one is blind. Rome is also littered with the remains of its pre-Christian, pagan past. There's simply no escaping religion and its symbols in Italy.

In addition to these inevitable physical encounters with religions, Dave and I had some interesting personal interactions and observations during our (far too) brief Italian sojourn. Three of these had to do with the way our tour guides discussed the sites we saw.

Two of the guides, the one who showed us around Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace in Venice, and the one who showed us the Roman Forum, spoke of religious legends in rather neutral tones. They repeatedly referred to the "traditions" associated with the sites we toured. The lady in Venice, especially, often looked a bit sheepish as she told a tale, then finished by grinning and saying, "that's the tradition."

St. Mark's Basilica - detail

Temple of Vestal Virgins - Forum

In contrast, the lady who guided us through the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, the tombs of the popes and St. Peter's Basilica, spoke like a true believer. She didn't come right out and say, "I believe this." But, she gave her spiels with a slant that implied that she held the things she was saying as precious truths. The most striking example was when she discussed scientific tests that had been performed on what many believe are the remains of St. Peter. She concluded her presentation by saying, "Are these really the bones of St. Peter?" Then, she answered her question by smiling broadly and enthusiastically nodding her head, yes.

St. Peter's Basilica - view from Vatican City

The final encounter I want to discuss is not about Italian attitudes toward religion, but about the religion that dominates the Italian landscape: Roman Catholicism. One of the tours that Dave and I took in Rome was a Rome By Night bus tour. The tour began at about 8:00 p.m. and concluded with dinner in a little off-the-beaten-path restaurant. Dinner began at about 10:15 p.m. and concluded around 12:00 a.m., give or take a few minutes. (Italians take their time eating; meals are social events, not mere means of physical sustenance for them. That's an attitude I like and am determined to adopt more regularly). On this occasion, Dave and I shared a table with a fellow we'd never met before and probably never will see again. Since a stop by St. Peter's Basilica - to see the exterior in its evening illumination - was one of the last stops before dinner, I shouldn't have been surprised (although I was, a little bit) when Carlo began talking about religion.

St. Peter's Basilica at Night

Carlo, having been born and raised in Puerto Rico, had grown up in the Catholic Church. When he was about 16, Carlo got a job and began spending less time at his local church. The local priest was concerned and visited Carlo's home to encourage him to make sure that he didn't get too busy to save room in his life for God. Since priests had always visited his home, Carlo didn't think too much about the priest's interest in him at that point. What spooked him was the night that he left work and found the priest waiting for him outside. Apparently, the priest had called someone (not Carlo himself) to find out where Carlo worked and what time he'd be finished. Carlo thought this was more than a bit creepy, so, from that time forward, he minimized his contacts with the priest. And, he found out later that his antenna had been in good working order. It came out, not too long after these events, that the priest had molested some boys in the parish. That was when Carlo realized just how close he had come to being another victim. Needless to say, Carlo has little use for Mother Church these days.

Not surprisingly, the artifacts of religious traditions and history are obvious in Italy. What's less obvious is whether many Italians, while proudly acknowledging their history, continue to take those traditions seriously. That's an interesting question for further investigation.

Pedestrian Roman Adventure

2010-05-04T18:53:00.004-04:00

In this post I'm going to share, briefly, my impressions of navigating around Rome.

One of the first things I noticed, and you may notice it in the photos below, is that there are very few large vehicles in Rome. The many small cars we saw (in the photos below, you'll spot a few of the many Smart cars we saw) were accompanied by numerous motorcycles/scooters. Another thing I noticed was that dividing lines on the road, when they exist at all, are treated as suggestions rather than requirements. I think it was Rick Steves who cited the interesting statistic that Rome has about 2 million cars and 300,000 public parking spaces. In short, I discovered that Rome is a city where

PARKING IS A CHALLENGE,

DRIVING IS AN ADVENTURE,

AND CROSSING THE STREET IS AN EXTREME SPORT!

Dave and I did most of our navigating on foot. At busy intersections, the keys to survival were

getting embedded in groups with locals who knew how to cross the street, and
crossing quickly; dawdling was dangerous, or even deadly.

When we didn't walk, we rode buses and quickly developed immense respect for drivers who deftly maneuvered large, unwieldy vehicles through crowded Roman streets. I tip my hat to them.

Finally - If (or should I say when?) you visit Rome, my advice is that you either walk or take the bus. Whatever you do, don't drive there unless you have a greater taste for adventure than I do.

Venice - Take One

2010-05-02T16:26:00.014-04:00

I'm finally getting my photos from Italy into some sort of order. Here are a few that may give you a taste of what we saw.

First, is a glimpse of the Doge's Palace. In addition to being the home of the Venetian Republic's chief magistrate (the doge), this palace served as the center of government and housed stunning meeting chambers. Many of the walls are decorated with murals, and the walls and ceilings throughout the palace sport elaborate gold-plated trim.

We also took a trip to a glass factory on Murano, a nearby island. We were hosted by our own personal tour guide (read: sales person), who explained the art of glass blowing to us as we watched a glass-blower in action. Naturally, we bought some glassware.

We saw plenty of gondolas, and even rode in one. They ride very low to the water and are adequate for getting around the city's small canals, but I wouldn't want to ride one on the Grand Canal for any length of time.

This is the famous Rialto Bridge, an imposing bridge (one of four) that spans the Grand Canal.

There are many other small bridges that span numerous small canals throughout the city.

This is the San Moise Church, which was located just outside our hotel. Believe it or not, this is a small church that pales in comparison to St. Mark's, which is located just down the street from it.

This is a detail from St. Mark's Basilica, a beautiful, imposing church located at on Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square).

Here we have a shop window displaying some of the many Venetian Carnival masks that are sold throughout the city.

Finally, for today, we have a fake bridal couple. Dave and I are pretty sure they were fakes, because there weren't any attendants anywhere in sight, nor anyone else that appeared to be attached to the bridal couple. It was a nice, romantic touch for the tourists, just the same.

Ciao!

2010-04-08T10:26:00.000-04:00

Io vado in Italia per godersi la dolce vita. Torno tra due settimane o così.*

* I'm going to Italy to enjoy the sweet life. I'll be back in two weeks or so.

Easter Surprise

2010-04-03T17:56:00.003-04:00

You may be aware that it's Cherry Blossom time in Washington, DC. We've had beautiful spring weather for the past week or so, and the cherry blossoms are out in full force. As are the tourists. Dave and I got up early this morning to drive downtown and take pictures of the cherry blossoms. We got there at 6:40 a.m. and found that all the parking places were full and there were tourists everywhere. So, we turned around and came home. I crawled back into bed. I don't know what Dave did. We decided that we'd go to bed early tonight and get downtown around 5:30 a.m. tomorrow. And, hopefully, get ahead of at least some of the crowd.

Joshua started his spring break yesterday and, the last time we'd heard from him, he was planning to go to Florida with some friends.

So we thought.

Guess who walked through the front door about 30 minutes ago? Joshua, accompanied by Jonathan, Maggie and Ally. They all conspired to surprise us and they pulled it off perfectly.

Last night, as Jonathan puttered around his room, he asked me what Joshua's spring break plans were. I repeated the Florida story and he kept a completely straight face! Kids!

As you can guess, I'm well pleased with my surprise and am getting ready to enjoy dinner with my children.

Ciao.

Right Wing Hypocrisy Alert

2010-03-27T18:11:00.015-04:00

Even though this is old news in this era of non-stop 24/7/365 news, I figured I'd fill you in on a recent burst of right-wing hypocrisy. The concerned paternalists at One News Now were offended earlier this week when Vice President Biden told President Obama that passage of the health care reform bill was "a big fucking deal." They were even more offended when President Obama later joked about his veep's slip of the tongue. In fact, the puritans at One News Now were so offended and concerned that they posted a poll to find out if their readers share their offense and concern (and to alert them that, if they don't share said concern and offense, they should):

Talk about a skewed poll. There's no option for people to indicate that they could care less that the Vice President let a four-letter word slide over his tongue and past his lips before he could think about what he was saying. Given the monumental issues government leaders are dealing with these days, I'm not going to waste my time monitoring their casual speech. And, frankly, I don't want them to waste their time doing so either. My time, and theirs, is better spent monitoring and analyzing their speech that actually affects people.

By now, you may be asking why I've labeled One News Now's story and poll as hypocritical. The answer is simple: during George W. Bush's eight-year term of ineptitude, no one at One News Now or the American Family News Network ever chastised either the president or his vice president for their frequent, and well-publicized, profane speech. When the Oval Office was occupied by leaders whom the American Family News Network supported, cussing didn't matter one whit. Even worse, neither One News Now nor the American Family News Network protested when Bush and Cheney went beyond merely uttering four-letter words and committed the far more profane acts of lying to justify an invasive war, justifying torture, politicizing the Justice Department and eroding the civil rights of American citizens. Now that the Oval Office is occupied by a president whom many in the right-wing criticize harshly and relentlessly, purity of speech is suddenly a pressing matter. In fact, in the warped world of One News Now, the American Family News Network and many other right-wingers, the passage of the health care reform bill - a bill that begins the process of extending health care to more people and curbing the most egregious excesses of the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries - was an unspeakably profane act. I long ago stopped giving credence to most of the words spoken or printed by most right-wing Americans. Too many of them live in a world where up is down, in is out, violence is peace and wrong is right. Paying attention to them is too much like falling down Alice's rabbit hole for my comfort.

Aggressive Marketing

2010-03-07T21:58:00.001-05:00

Note to Self: Have a few bucks handy when the Girl Scouts come around this spring.

Sea World Slave Revolts

2010-02-25T10:32:00.001-05:00

Tilikum, a whale who has been held captive at a Sea World park in Orlando, Florida, killed an animal trainer yesterday. Let me make it clear right now that I don't want to minimize the tragedy of the trainer's death in any way. According the Washington Post, she loved her job, she loved the animals she trained, and she loved and was loved by many friends and family members. Her death is mourned by many. Nevertheless, the manner of her death raises a moral issue for me; I can't find any justification for the human practice of capturing and enslaving other living beings for our entertainment.

Dawn Branchaeu is the third human being that Tilikum has killed in the past 19 years. Methinks that Tilikum may not be overly enamored with the species that has enslaved him and trained him to do cute tricks for our amusement. Now, the Sea World management doesn't have a clue what to do with Tilikum. He doesn't have the requisite skills to survive in the wild, so releasing him to the sea would be the equivalent of a death sentence. I don't know whether ~~capital punishment~~ euthanasia is under consideration; if it is, the Sea World PR people are holding their tongues about it. One option the Sea World management is considering is transferring Tilikum to another ~~diocese~~ amusement park.

I don't know how to resolve Sea World's Tilikum dilemma. All I know is that this story has made me think, again, about the morality of keeping animals in zoos, aquariums and amusement parks so that human beings may be entertained for a few hours a day. In the past two years I've visited the San Diego Zoo and the Georgia Aquarium. On both occasions I was mildly uneasy about the fact that I was enjoying nature in starkly unnatural, artificial settings. That unease has prevented me from visiting the National Zoo just down the road from me in Washington, DC. Tilikum's story has compelled me to take a position on this issue. As of this moment, I am putting a personal moratorium on visits to zoos, aquariums and the like. I don't know if I'll change my mind about this in the future. All I know is that, for the time being, I can't justify holding other living beings captive for my amusement. I mourn both Dawn Brancheau's lost life and Tilikum's lost freedom. Both losses were senseless and unnecessary. That's the real tragedy of this story.

UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times reports that "A SeaWorld official said Wednesday the animal would not be put down."

Juvenile Nation

2010-02-22T08:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, during the TV broadcast of an Olympic hockey game (the Swiss men's team beat the Norwegian men's team 5-4 in overtime), a sportscaster told a bizarre story. Actually, the story wasn't bizarre at all - it was entirely believable in the brutal world of hockey; what was bizarre was the way he told the story, which hovered somewhere between infantile and juvenile. This is what happened.

The TV camera zoomed to a closeup of a Norwegian player wiping blood from his forehead; his head had met the edge of another player's hockey stick and suffered the predictable - in fact, familiar - consequence of such an encounter. As viewers and sportcasters watched the player's blood transfer from his head to his handheld towel, a sportscaster reported another injury this same player had suffered in a previous season:

He took a stick to a very rough spot for a male, if you know what I mean. He missed a lot of games because of that injury, and doctors thought, for a while, that they might have to cut away some parts of that rough spot, if you know what I mean.

I shook my head in wonder at the juvenile idiocy of this commentary. The player's "rough spot" has a name - either his penis or his testicles. I apologize for my lack of specificity, dear readers, but that's the best I can do at parsing exactly what the commentator was talking about. I can't help wondering whether talking about this injury, even in such a vague, circuitous fashion, made him blush profusely. What kind of juvenile, puritanical nation are we when adults can't discuss body parts without resorting to nonsensical euphemisms? Why is it so difficult for so many of us to identify penises, vaginas, breasts, or testicles, as easily as we identify arms, legs, toes and the like? I understand, and expect, that broadcasters will not generally use common terminology (which is sometimes considered to be - and sometimes is, in fact - crude) when discussing medical issues and anatomy. But, can't they please call body parts by their proper, grown up names? Doing anything less than that makes them sound like juveniles. Moreover, listening to such linguistic nonsense makes the rest of us appear to be similarly juvenile. Worst of all, accepting this nonsense in public discourse makes it easy for all of us to think, as well as speak, like juveniles. We really need to grow up and start talking - and thinking - like adults.

El Pianografo

2010-02-17T18:57:00.002-05:00

I came across this cool animated video at a friend's blog. Enjoy.

El Pianografo from Reel 13 on Vimeo.

The Bible in 50 Words

2010-02-10T17:48:00.000-05:00

A little feature called "50 Word Bible" was tucked away on the last page of a church newsletter. The photo is mine, but the text comes from God's new editor. Where was this gal 2,000 years ago? (She has to be a gal; the guys who wrote all the earlier drafts didn't write this concisely.)

How long do you think it will be before someone comes up with a Twitter version of holy writ?

It's Still Winter (and then some!)

2010-02-06T12:41:00.002-05:00

This weekend's snowstorm is the fourth - count 'em, four - major snowfall we've had in northern Virginia this winter. It's also the third - count 'em, three - snowfall we've had this week. This past Tuesday's snowfall of 3 inches or so (which, in any normal winter in these parts would have been major news) pales in comparison to the two weekend storms that surrounded it. It has now been snowing for over 24 hours and it is supposed to keep snowing for several hours more.

I'll start by offering you a comparison of last week's view from my window with this week's view, which is still in progress as I type. Click on the photo to see a larger copy.

You can see that there's a considerable difference between what happened then and what is happening now.

As a bonus, I'm also going to show you a view from our front stoop.

You can see that the maintenance guy has cleared some pathways. As I type, the poor fellow is out there again, shoveling the snow from our stoop and plowing the path again. Just before I took this picture, I measured the snow on the pathway (which had been cleared two hours before I got out there) and found that it was about 4 inches deep. So, as you look at the photo, keep in mind that the low bit is four inches deep and see for yourself how much deeper the untouched snow is. You can also see that, if the guy hadn't cleared away some of the snow from the fire hydrant (lower right hand edge), it would be buried. The accumulation thus far is at least two feet deep. It's 95% (or more) fresh snow, because most of the stuff that fell on us last weekend and earlier this week had melted by midweek.

That's all for now. I think it's about time to enjoy some hot cocoa!

Phil Was Right

2010-02-03T20:35:00.001-05:00

Well, well! It looks as if there may be something to this groundhog prognostication thing after all. Punxsy Phil saw his shadow yesterday morning, and by dinnertime we were the recipients of yet more white wintery precipitation. I took a brief break from work this morning and took these shots around our building and parking lot.

Looking at this scene, you'd never know that a bunch of guys dressed in jeans and t-shirts were playing basketball here a week ago.

This is a view from the parking lot toward the woods that separate our property from the adjacent county park:

Finally, these bird feeders hang just outside the recreation room and solarium:

I hope it won't be long before I'll get some photos of the feeders being used by feathered friends. So far, it looks like Phil is going to have more of his wintery way first.

Winter!

2010-02-02T14:34:00.000-05:00

Punxsatawney Phil spoke today. It was not good news for sun worshipers.

Amazing Bird Songs

2010-01-31T13:29:00.000-05:00

I'd never heard of the Lyrebird before today. I stumbled across this video on someone's blog and had to share it with you. Stick around for the surprise ending. I guarantee that you will be amazed by the final feature solo.

View From My Window

2010-01-30T15:33:00.002-05:00

What northern Virginia's third snowstorm of the winter looked like on January 30, 2010, 3:17 p.m., EST.

Coming Out of Hiding

2010-01-16T23:26:00.004-05:00

I haven't actually been hiding for the past two weeks; I just haven't had much to say, as things are rolling along pretty smoothly here. Dave, Jonathan, Maggie and I went to see the Washington Wizards game tonight. The Wizards beat the Sacramento Kings, 96-86 in a game that the Wizards should have put away much earlier than they did (in the last minute of play). Both teams have losing records, so the quality of play was far from riveting, to put it kindly. Still, the company was good, so the evening was pleasant for all of us.

In other news, Dave and I are making plans for a trip to Italy in April. We've booked airline and train tickets, and hotel rooms. Now we have to figure out exactly what sights we want to see while we're there.

We'll spend the first couple of days in Venice.

From there, we'll travel by train to Rome, where we'll spend the remainder of our week.

If anything interesting happens before then, I'll keep you posted. Actually, I'll probably keep you posted even if nothing happens before then, so don't wait until April to check in again.

Better Late Than Never

2010-01-02T17:33:00.005-05:00

Okay, I'm two days late with this post, # 450. But, better late than never, so they say. Of course, the only people who actually say that are the people who are late. Anyway, today's post is a mystery photo. Guess what these objects are:

The only hint I'll provide is that I saw them here, Nottoway Plantation, which is located on a bank of the Mississippi River in Louisiana:

In case you're wondering, the answer to the mystery question will be revealed whenever I remember to get around to it.

Family Connections

2009-12-30T18:41:00.004-05:00

Something interesting happened to me this afternoon. Since things at work were a bit slow, I spent a few minutes cruising the Internet for photos of Venice and Rome; this was homework for the trip Dave and I will be taking in April. Then, I decided to look for some photos of Sicily. From there, I did a search for information about my grandfather Camuti and came across some information about a California cousin - Tim Camuti - whom I've never met. I introduced myself to him in an email and, lo and behold, he responded positively!

Tim has a website on which he is compiling genealogical information about the Camuti family. I've registered for the site (My Heritage) and have asked Tim to add me as a family member with access to his site. Once that happens, I'll be able to see what information he has, then share anything I know with him. I don't know anything about the west coast branch of the family and he apparently has little information about the east coast branch. Between the two of us, we may be able to put together some interesting information and get a fuller picture of the Camuti clan.

Dotti - I'll email you with Tim's contact information, as I'm sure you'll be interested in connecting with him.

Sharon - I may be contacting you soon for information about the Olley family. I know you've been compiling that information for years. Dave and I started putting together Sears and Camuti information years ago, but haven't done anything with it for awhile. This new contact may give us an opportunity to fill out the Sears-Camuti-Olley family trees some more.

So - what began as a mundane day became interesting in a hurry. What a cool way to end an old year.

Lost in Space

2009-12-28T09:14:00.001-05:00

I'm a sucker for deep space photos. The editors at the Telegraph surely had me in mind when they posted their gallery of the best Hubble Telescope photos of 2009. Help yourself to a few appetizers here before following the link to feast on the entire gallery.

A Bit Of Christmas Dinner

2009-12-25T19:07:00.012-05:00

You may be wondering why in the world I'm writing two posts in one day. The fact is, the pressure is on. Dave issued a challenge several months ago that resulted in me setting a goal to reach a total of 450 blog posts by the end of the year. This post will be # 447, which means that I'll only have to write 3 more posts within the next 5 days to reach my goal. To that end, I've decided to share a potato recipe that's probably familiar to my Canadian readers, but may not be known to the Americans (except for Mom; she's made these potatoes at least once in my presence). It's a great recipe from Jean Pare's wonderful cookbook series, Company's Coming. What I love about Pare's recipes is that they are easy to execute, but taste like really fancy dishes. The centerpiece of today's dinner was turkey, of course. The main side dish (aside from stuffing, to which I added about one cup of cranberries for a delicious twist - try it sometime), in lieu of ordinary mashed potatoes, was Potatoes Extraordinaire.

Here is the recipe:
**********

Ingredients
5 lbs potatoes
8 oz cream cheese
1 c sour cream
1/4 c butter or margarine
1 Tbsp onion salt
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Butter and paprika for garnish

Instructions

Peel and cook potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain. Mash well. Add cream cheese in pieces. Add next 5 ingredients. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Scrape into 2 quart casserole. Place dabs of butter here and there over top of potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and heat in 350º F oven until heated through. Makes about 12 servings.

**********

Unless you're feeding an army, you'll likely have some potatoes left over. That's not a problem, because these potatoes reheat beautifully in the microwave. But, if you really don't like leftovers, you can halve this recipe without any dire consequences. If you've never tried this recipe before, try it soon. You won't be disappointed.

Holiday Cheer!

2009-12-25T08:56:00.000-05:00

holiday

Pathetic Protest

2009-12-24T18:11:00.003-05:00

A Kansas woman who disapproves of health care reform protested the Senate's passage of such a bill in a way that made sense to her, if no one else: she took down her Christmas decorations. All of them. The tree. The wreath. The lights. She did so because the Senate "absolutely ruined Christmas" by voting in favor of ensuring that more Americans get access to decent medical care.

Oh, well. At least she didn't organize another Tea Party.

Bowl Challenge Choices

2009-12-20T17:38:00.005-05:00

Dave posted a challenge recently to pick winners from at least 20 bowls. I've already missed a couple of bowls, so I'd better get this done now. Following Dave's format, my picks are indicated in red. Departing from Dave's format, I'm picking the teams that I want to win, not just the teams that may be more likely to win.

BCS Five

BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2...... Alabama vs. Texas
Rose Bowl (1st).... Oregon vs. Ohio State
Allstate Sugar (1st)...... Florida vs. Cincinnati
Tostitos Fiesta (4th)..... TCU vs. Boise State
FedEx Orange (5th) .....Georgia Tech vs. Iowa

My Other 15 Selections

Meineke Car Care (26th)..... Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina
Emerald (26th)...... USC vs Boston College
AdvoCare Independence (28th)..... Texas A&M vs. Georgia
Champs Sports (29th)..... Miami (FL) vs. Wisconsin
Pacific Life Holiday (30th) ......Nebraska vs. Arizona
Insight (31st)..... Iowa State vs. Minnesota
Chick-fil-A (31st)..... Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech
Outback (1st) ..... Northwestern vs. Auburn
Konica Gator (1st) ..... Florida State vs West Virginia
Capital One (1st) .... Penn State vs. LSU
Valero Alamo (2nd) ...... Texas Tech vs. Michigan State
PapaJohns.com (2nd) ..... Connecticut vs. South Carolina
AutoZone Liberty (2nd) ..... Arkansas vs East Carolina State
Brut Sun (31st) ..... Oklahoma vs. Stanford
Texas .... Navy vs. Missouri

The Known Universe

2009-12-19T11:09:00.002-05:00

Here's a really cool video I found this morning. Enjoy.

The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010.

Sounds of the Season

2009-12-18T15:27:00.002-05:00

Ally Update

2009-12-05T21:31:00.004-05:00

It's been awhile since I've posted any photos of Ally, so I'm going to post one I took just a few minutes ago. Ally is visiting us this weekend while Jonathan and Maggie are out of town. She's been great, but I think she misses them (I just can't imagine why, though). Dave did some begging and bribing to get her to pose in front of the Christmas tree, but we finally got her just about where we wanted her to be. Here she is, looking, as Jonathan says, very "regal."

NB: Ally turned 1 year old on November 15. They grow up so quickly.

Late Thanksgiving Post

2009-12-04T21:19:00.005-05:00

I know Thanksgiving was last week, but I finally uploaded my photos today and I couldn't possibly write about a holiday without posting photos. I'll spare the family members who gathered in central Pennsylvania much embarrassment by not posting individual photos of them. I apologize for not getting any photos of Taylor (Dennis, Erma and Tracy's 12-year-old yellow lab - and probably the most photogenic family member at the gathering): she was too busy waiting under the table for scraps to pose for me. I don't understand her priorities at all! After we consumed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner (I'm afraid Taylor didn't find many scraps - we were very careful about getting our fully loaded forks to our mouths intact), courtesy of Erma's fine cooking, we traveled to Moravian Manor to have pumpkin pie and beverages with Paul. After dessert, we got some photos.

First, we have Mom and Paul. After marveling at how perky they look (as you'll see in the next photo, they look much better than the rest of the gang), take a moment to notice the beautiful roses that Paul gave to Mom.

Then we have the full group photo, minus Dave, who kindly took this photo of the rest of us. It seems that all the turkey we consumed slowed down the circulation to our brains and rendered every last one of us incapable of remembering to bring a tripod (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

Do you see that smirk on Dennis' face? That's the only time in three photos that he didn't frown! He's incorrigible! The rest of us may have forgotten our tripods, but at least we remembered to bring our smiles (of course, smiles are much easier to carry than tripods; they're also easier to carry than frowns, Dennis!).

I'll close by thanking Mom for hosting us, Paul for putting up with us, Erma for feeding us, Dennis, Tracy and Taylor for bringing the cook all the way from Maine, and Dave for driving the rest of us back and forth from Virginia. A wonderful time was had by all.

A Field Trip Is In Order

2009-11-28T15:28:00.001-05:00

Dave doesn't know it yet, but I've found a place for us to go on a field trip: the Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences, which is located in downtown Washington DC. Check out the museum's web site, which features some really cool exhibits. For example, here's a photo array from the global warming exhibit:

How's that for visual evidence that global warming is not a hoax? You could easily spend an hour or more browsing through the online global warming exhibit alone. But, there's much more fun to be had at the center's site. The DNA exhibit explains how DNA technology can be used to fight disease, improve crops and improve the criminal justice system:

Unlike many of the museums in the DC area, admission to the Koshland Museum is not free. Still, it's very inexpensive:

GENERAL ADMISSION
Adults: $5
Seniors (65+): $3
Active Duty Military (w/ ID): $3
Students (w/ ID): $3
Children** (ages 5 – 18): $3

Here's the deal. Dave and I will make a visit for reconnaissance purposes. After we've done that, we'll decide whether to put it on the list of places to take visitors. However, even if it doesn't make our cut (as if!), visitors can put it on their lists and go with or without us. So start planning your next trip to DC and pencil in a day at the Koshland.

You Do Not Want This Guy to Pray for You

2009-11-23T16:36:00.007-05:00

A few days ago, I wrote a post about what I consider an extremely tacky right-wing slogan. In that piece, I mentioned that highly visible, media-mad right-wing Christian leaders often don't seem to take visible leadership in correcting their flocks. This is ironic, because it seems that they're often first in line to keep the rest of America firmly grounded on what they view as the straight and narrow path.

Well, I don't think Pastor Wiley Drake is one of the USA's leading Christian leaders, but he manages to draw a fair bit of media attention for his, I'll say this politely (since this is a family blog), forthright views. And, unlike many others, he has spoken on both the topic of President Obama's death and the murder of Dr. Paul Tiller. His position: he prays regularly for President Obama's death, and he rejoiced in Dr. Paul Tiller's murder, which he believes was a positive answer to his imprecatory prayers.

Right about now, you're probably hoping your name won't appear on his prayer list. As for me, don't waste time looking for me in any venue where this jerk will be.

Walmart People

2009-11-22T13:41:00.001-05:00

I came across a new (to me) web site last night that had tears streaming down my face and my sides splitting in laughter. It's called People of Walmart and it features photos of people shopping at Walmart. If nothing else, repeated visits to that site may inspire me to diet and exercise more regularly. Here's a small sample of what you'll find over there.

First, we have the lady who put on her boots and forgot to finish dressing before going outside:

Next is a fellow who desperately needs a new outfit from top to bottom:

Next we have a lady wearing an outfit that Walmart executives hope she bought at Target:

As for this guy, I can't begin to guess what his getup was about. Does anyone have any idea what he's wearing on his head?

This lady epitomizes sophistication:

Last but not least, is someone wearing - I kid you not - a garbage bag as a skirt.

I'm debating whether, on my next trip to Walmart, I should take a camera or a blindfold. What do you think?

This Crazy Stuff Has to Stop

2009-11-20T21:42:00.006-05:00

I suppose you've all heard or read about the new anti-Obama slogan that's making the rounds in conservative circles.This little gem is available on t-shirts and bumper stickers - Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8.

For those of you who may not recall that verse offhand, it says:

May his days be few;
may another take his place of leadership.

Standing alone, the verse may not seem too sinister. Maybe it means "may his days in office be few...." Anyone who is inclined to accept that interpretation, however, is gonna have a whole lotta 'splainin' to do when that verse is put in its context:

8 May his days be few;
       may another take his place of leadership.

9 May his children be fatherless
       and his wife a widow.

10 May his children be wandering beggars;
       may they be driven from their ruined homes.

11 May a creditor seize all he has;
       may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

12 May no one extend kindness to him
       or take pity on his fatherless children.

13 May his descendants be cut off,
       their names blotted out from the next generation.

Now, I know that anti-W rhetoric got heated. And, it was often less than kind. But, the right-wing hatred of Obama has gone beyond differences of opinions and grown disgustingly toxic. Then again, there are some who contend that this is simply a joke, a funny meme. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who thinks this slogan is funny is seriously humor-impaired.

A slogan like this would be bad enough if it were merely vicious. What bothers me nearly as much as the malice is the seemingly seamless blending of religion and politics. What kinds of people are drawn toward this slogan?

Jews? After all, the passage comes from the Old Testament. But, somehow, I don't think many Jews are plastering their Chevys with these bumper stickers.

Muslims? I doubt it.

Buddhists? Yeah, right.

No, the people that seem most likely to be attracted to this slogan are the ones who currently infest the Republican party: rabid, uber-rightwing conservative Christians. Some of them are the kind of people who organize Tea Bagging events to protest taxes and health care reform. And some of them are the kind who insist that the United States is, or ought to be, a "Christian Nation" - with the understanding, of course, that their particular, peculiar flavor of Christianity is the one that should prevail. If this kind of vile, violent, virulent hatred and intolerance for people with whom one disagrees is part of what living in a "Christian Nation" entails, I want no part of it. Furthermore, I will not stand by quietly while they try to wreck my country. I'm all for freedom of religion. And freedom of conscience. And freedom of speech. I am all against theocracy. And oligarchy. And fascism. And I will oppose all of those forces with every breath in my body.

As much as the malice of this simple-minded slogan bothers me, and as much as the narrow-mindedness of the sloganeers bothers me, the thing that bothers me the most about this situation, by far, is the silence of a) Republicans and b) Christians. The Republican party is going to hell in a roller coaster; the Republicans aren't playing a role in the governance of our country, they're playing count-the-votes in next year's mid-term election. Listen up, Republicans: get your act together and do the right thing. Either get some control over the radicals in your ranks or cut them loose. They are a drag on your party and they do not advance the cause of conservative politics. You may think you're using them, but, be aware, they're also using you. There's no guarantee that the civil wing of the party will win the battle for party control. From where I sit, it looks an awful lot like the radicals have taken over and are well into the process of marginalizing the thoughtful among you. Grow some spines and take back your party, lest you lose not only your party, but your country too.

As for Christian leaders, I'm sick and tired of the deafening silence that accompanies Christian extremism. I commented on this before, shortly after the murder of Dr. Paul Tiller. Ever since 9/11 (perhaps even before then), Christians have urged moderate and liberal Muslims to police the rogues within their camp. Has Tony Perkins spoken out against this ostensibly Christian rhetorical nonsense, this oh-so-clever "joke?" Or Don Wildmon? Or Rick Warren? Or Gary Bauer? To my knowledge, not one of them (nor anyone like them) has uttered a word. If I'm wrong, please provide links in the comments. Listen up, Christian activists: now's the time to put your money where your mouths are. Tell the violent, theocratic thugs and teabaggers in your ranks to get over themselves and put an end to the reckless rhetoric before someone - like, maybe, President Obama - gets hurt. Or worse.

If Christians want people to take seriously the notion that they possess the secrets to God's Kingdom, that they bear Good News for all people, they'd better start policing themselves and cleaning up their own wretchedly soiled house. Until they do so, they have no business telling Muslims, or anyone else, what to do. From where I sit, most Republican officeholders and many Christian political activists look like nothing more than power-hungry opportunists and control freaks. I want nothing to do with people like them and I certainly don't want them ~~running~~
ruining my country. This crazy extremist stuff has to stop before we all get so deeply into it that we'll need bucket loaders to dig us out. The crazy stuff has to stop, and it has to stop now.

UPDATE I: Here's a video of Rachel Maddow and Frankie Schaeffer discussing the issue:

UPDATE II: It appears that a number of Internet vendors have removed this merchandise from their product lines. Given that death threats against President Obama are 400% higher than they were for President Bush, this is, IMO, a good thing.

Couldn't Have Said It Better

2009-11-16T15:41:00.002-05:00

Creations & Conflicts

2009-11-12T21:32:00.003-05:00

When I was a teen, I spent a number of Saturday evenings watching campy Frankenstein movies on TV. Strangely enough, I’d never actually read Mary Shelley’s classic book. I can now report that I’ve corrected that oversight and, in addition to having seen many (but certainly not all) of the Frankenstein movies, I've read the book that spawned the films. As I read Frankenstein, I was struck by some parallels and contrasts I saw between that story and the Genesis account of creation. As I sat down to write this post, I was also struck by a connection I perceived between Frankenstein, Genesis and the Conflict Model of family relationships (also often specified as a model of parent-child relationships), as elucidated by Steven Pinker.

I’ll begin by considering Frankenstein and Genesis. Obviously, Victor Frankenstein, the fictitious creator, is analogous to God, and the monster, the created being is analogous to humankind. Another analog exists between the relative appeal of Frankenstein/God and the created beings. Frankenstein is brilliant and well-loved, and God, of course, is perfect and lacks nothing. In contrast, Adam, Eve and the monster are all flawed beings who unwittingly offend their creators. As the Genesis story goes, Adam and Eve offend their creator when they disobey him; up to that point, the threesome got along just swell. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve learned, after the fact, that the only way to retain their creator’s favor was to obey him without fail. Victor Frankenstein’s monster offends his maker the moment his eyes blink open. The poor sod never had a chance to win his creator’s favor – Frankenstein was repelled by his creation at the instant he gave it life, a revulsion that he nursed and carried with him for the rest of his life. Yet another analog exists between the responses of the creators to their creations: God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, cursing them to fend for themselves in a world that suddenly has been rendered harsh, and Frankenstein abandons the being he created to fend for himself in a strange world populated by people who treat him harshly.

There are, of course, some points at which the similarities break down. For example, Frankenstein never felt any affection for his creation; from the moment the monster opened his eyes and drew breath, Frankenstein sought to destroy him. At several points in the story, the monster begs Frankenstein to make some provisions for him. Finally, he begs for a mate, so that he will not have to spend his entire life alone. Having learned from his brutal experiences that no human being will ever accept him, the monster seeks a companion like himself with whom he can spend his life (similarly, after Adam fails to find a suitable companion in the animal kingdom, God creates Eve to be his companion). Frankenstein breaks down and promises to provide a female companion for the creature. Shortly afterwards, partway through the completion of the task he finds deeply repulsive, he reneges on his promise and destroys the female creature. Consequently, the monster is doomed to live in isolation until the day he dies. In the Frankenstein story, creator and creature will never be reconciled. In contrast, the Genesis story holds that God and humankind can be reconciled, but only at tremendous costs. The humans have to offer repeated animal sacrifices to atone for their wrongdoing and/or appease God’s wrath. (Jumping ahead several centuries - God eventually takes the pressure off the humans and offers the ultimate perfect sacrifice to himself.)

If you google “Frankenstein as cautionary tale,” you’ll find some interesting applications of Shelley’s tale. Some say that humans are cautioned not to “play God” by delving too deeply into scientific inquiries. Others say that it cautions people against judging others on the basis of appearances. Still others say that it’s a cautionary tale against bad parenting. On this view, Victor Frankenstein is, to say the least, a dead-beat dad. This last caution brings me to my final point of discussion, the Conflict Model of family relationships. Steven Pinker has popularized this view in some of his books. One writer summarizes this view thus:

Pinker points out that since a parent shares 50% of his or her genes with each offspring, in evolutionary terms the investment in each should be equal (all other things being equal). But if I am one of those offspring, I share only 50% of my genes with each sibling, but 100% of my genes with myself, so it is in my best interest to suppress parental investment in my siblings and to promote parental investment in myself. Pinker hypothesizes that this may lead to a child’s behavior that, indirectly, helps prevent or delay the parents having another child.

According to Pinker, this behavior is unconscious; it’s just something that’s built into animals’ genetic makeup. Thus, parents and children, and siblings, are always in conflict over the distribution of finite family resources. That being the case, they don’t always share the same goals. In fact, their goals often conflict.

It’s intriguing to look at the Frankenstein and Genesis stories in light of this theory. Victor Frankenstein’s goal was to avoid, then later destroy, his creature. He pursued his goals of glory and scientific accomplishment without giving any thought to the responsibilities that his success in creating a new life, indeed, a new form of life - a species - would entail. When confronted with his responsibility, he fled from it. The creature’s interest, initially, was to get Frankenstein to care for him, or to at least make some minimal provision for his comfort. When Frankenstein failed to do even that much, the creature then shifted his goal toward revenge. It goes without saying that when both parties in a conflict are hell-bent on destroying each other, there is little to no possibility that the parties will live happily ever after. (Spoiler alert: Frankenstein does not have a happy ending). Similarly, the Genesis story tells us that God created human beings for his glory, but humans are inclined to pursue interests of their own devising. Assuming that the creator/creature relationship is analogous to the parent/child relationship (the process by which parents create children is one of nature's wonders), Pinker's Conflict Model fits both the Frankenstein and the Genesis stories. Frankenstein and his monster pursue obvious cross-purposes throughout Shelley's book. Similarly, God and humans aim at contradictory ends in Genesis: God wants humans to be obedient; humans want to be independent. I'll push the theory's application a step farther and note that Cain's murder of Abel (recorded in Genesis) is sibling rivalry writ large, a tendency that is often seen in nature when stronger offspring kill their weaker siblings. All of this is in keeping with a scientific model positing that living beings, even humans in close relationships genetically and affectionately, act in their own self-interests far more often than not.

Genesis, one of the best-known pieces of religious literature in the world, has been around for millennia. Frankenstein, one of the best-known pieces of English literature in the world, has been around for a couple of centuries (it was published in 1818). The Conflict Model of family relationships is the literary and theoretical newcomer; its existence can be measured in decades. I find it fascinating that a contemporary scientific theory can be used to examine the interpersonal complexities portrayed in two pieces of literature rooted in vastly different cultures. I also find it interesting that longstanding literary insights into human nature comport well with contemporary scientific theories. Such reciprocity speaks well for the utility of both science and literature as methods of exploring our humanity and our world.

Quick Photo Post

2009-11-02T20:52:00.002-05:00

Dave and I got back from our trip to Louisiana late last night. I've barely had time to look at the photos I took. In fact, I haven't looked at most of them yet, but I'll share three tonight.

First, this is one I took of Joshua on Saturday morning, at the pre-game rehearsal. This was held at the Indoor Practice Facility (aka Indoor Football Field).

Next, these are two photos I took of Mike, the school mascot, on Sunday morning.

We had a great time and I know I'll have more photos to share soon. Stay tuned.

Heroic Dog

2009-10-12T18:18:00.000-04:00

Take a look at this video of a dog fighting heavy traffic to rescue another dog that had been hit by a car.

Let's see Lassie or Rin Tin Tin do that!

Reproductive Privacy Not OK in OK

2009-10-10T12:24:00.003-04:00

Think Progress published a chilling post recently:

Huffington Post reports that "Proponents of the legislation claim that women should not be concerned over their privacy since no names or "personal information" will be reported." As Amanda Terkel noted in the TP piece above, that claim is a crock. The screen of confidentiality provided by that questionnaire is less than paper-thin. The information collected via that questionnaire, combined with local knowledge held by nosy bystanders, could easily enable people to inquire into the reproductive histories of women they know.

The Center for Reproductive Rights (isn't it weird that such an organization even exists?) has been following this situation for awhile. According to the Center, this is just the latest of Oklahoma's attempts to restrict access to abortion services. This law is crafted to intimidate both the women who seek abortion services and the doctors who provide such services.

The challenged law...addresses at least four distinct subjects: it redefines a number of abortion-related terms used in the Oklahoma code; imposes a ban on sex selective abortions; establishes new requirements for doctors who perform abortions or treat patients who have had abortions to report extensive, detailed patient information to the State Health Department; and creates new responsibilities for the Health Department, the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, and the State Board of Osteopathic Examiners relating to gathering and analyzing abortion data and enforcing state laws concerning abortion.

The new law makes abortion risky for women who don't want to be exposed and doctors who have to figure out how to work within awkward boundaries, and cumbersome for state boards charged with enforcing the laws. Addressing just one point, the prohibition against abortion as a method of sex selection, CRR attorney Jennifer Mondino notes that,

The sex-selective bans in effect limit access to abortion because it may chill doctors from providing the service. It's difficult for a doctor to determine the reason why a woman is having an abortion. So it's yet another hurdle for doctors who are simply trying to provide a legal safe service. The legislature has chosen to pass this law rather than doing something that may actually combat a problem that may or may not exist in Oklahoma.

What anti-abortion activists don't seem to understand is that oppressive laws won't prevent women from having abortions; they'll simply drive the activity underground, as it was before 1973 (in the USA). Intimidating laws don't save babies, they harm women. But, hey, maybe they're just the sort of women who deserve to be harmed.

Or, maybe they're not.

A Democrat Representative Talks Tough on Health Care

2009-10-01T18:31:00.000-04:00

It's about time! Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida had some hard-hitting things to say to his fellow Congresspeople. First, up - Grayson's explanation of the Republican party's health care plan:

Republicans were offended by Rep. Grayson and demanded an apology. This is what he had to say:

Let's give a hand to Rep. Alan Grayson.

Blooper

2009-09-20T18:38:00.000-04:00

It's a pity that church signs don't come with spellcheckers:

Sea Gull Spat

2009-09-13T20:46:00.001-04:00

Betcha didn't know that sea gulls have little spats, just like people do. Here's the proof:

Maybe I should start a career in tabloid journalism!

OBX5

2009-09-11T13:25:00.001-04:00

The Unveiling

2009-09-10T11:18:00.009-04:00

As a followup to yesterdays' post, I'm going to show you the cartoons that outraged Muslims around the world and, in one case, inspired a conspiracy to commit murder.

I caution you to think carefully before you read any further. What you're about to see may cause dizziness, blindness, kidney and liver disorders, digestive difficulties, skin rashes, eternal damnation or - even worse - make you wet your pants.

Are you still here? Okay - don't say I didn't warn you. What appears below is the complete set of cartoons as originally published in Denmark:

If you're still reading (and your pants are dry), and you're up to taking yet another risk, this is what I consider the funniest cartoon in the set:

NB: I am not liable for damages to your eyesight, internal and external organs, soul or clothing incurred by the reading of this post.

Yale University Press Caves In

2009-09-09T14:25:00.000-04:00

Yale University Press has removed from an upcoming book, The Cartoons That Shook the World, twelve cartoons that Muslim extremists deemed offensive.* Some of you may recall that, just over a year ago, Random House elected not to publish a book entitled, Jewel of the Medina, because they feared Muslim backlash. That book was published by Beaufort Books, a small publisher that proved to have a much stronger spine than the big boy on the bookseller's block. Is it too much to hope that a small publishing house will publish a supplement to Cartoons that actually includes, you know, the cartoons?

These decisions disappoint and infuriate me. They disappoint me because publishers, particularly a university press, should have the intestinal fortitude (aka, guts) to stand up for free speech and a free press. If nothing else, it's in their own self-interests to do so - no need to worry about censors if one is willing to censor oneself. They infuriate me because decisions like these tell extremists that, if they throw temper tantrums and get violently nasty, then the rest of humankind will accede to their demands, no matter how unreasonable or oppressive those demands may be.

We in the west like to talk big about what we've fought for and how much we've accomplished. If we stop fighting for things that are worth fighting for - like freedom of expression - then we will lose those things to extremists who are willing to fight and die for nonsense. And, once we lose those freedoms, the chances are that it won't be long before we're not accomplishing anything worthwhile anymore. The USA is supposedly fighting terrorism and extremism in the Middle East, at least in part, to protect our freedoms (unless I missed the latest pronouncement about what we're trying to accomplish over there this week). I've got news for the people who continue to waste precious financial, material and human resources in those wars, and to those who continue to justify that waste: if we willingly surrender our freedoms right here at home, just because some people may be offended by what we say or do, then we've already lost those wars. There's no need to fight "them" over there, because "they" won't have to bother coming here - they've already beaten us. Or, to be more precise, we've beaten ourselves.

**********

* If nothing else, this seems to be a marketing fiasco: who in her right mind is going to read a book about controversial cartoons and their effects, yet settle for not seeing firsthand what all the brouhaha was about?

OBX4

2009-09-09T10:19:00.001-04:00

The storm front is moving out and the weather is getting better here in OBX. I got down to the beach with my camera yesterday afternoon and came away with lots of wave action and animal antics.

I took this one in the morning, while conditions on the beach were still pretty rough.

I took these in the afternoon.

I've also got some critters for the animal lovers among you.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the black lab that was running headlong into the waves, bobbing up and down and thoroughly enjoying himself. I spoke briefly with some of the humans in his pack and we all agreed that the dog was having a grand time.

Speaking of grand times, the sun is coming out, so I'm going to get ready for some quality beach time.

OBX3

2009-09-08T13:41:00.000-04:00

I don't know if you've been tracking the weather in these parts. The weather has been frightful since we arrived at the campground on Sunday night. We had heavy winds and rainfalls for nearly two days. The rain finally stopped around 8:00 or so this morning. The winds have settled down somewhat, but it's still pretty windy out there. Dave and I got down to the beach for a few minutes before brunch. I'll post two of the photos I took here.

The first one was experimental. Since the wind was blowing, I set my camera at a slow shutter speed to catch the movement of the grass and played with multiple exposures. Then, I played with the lighting and coloring. This is what I came up with - I was trying for an ethereal, impressionist effect.

I also took some high speed shots of a series of waves as they broke on the beach - more experimentation. The idea here was to capture waves in motion. You'll probably have to click on the photo to get a better look at what I was trying to do.

That's all I'm going to post for the moment. I'm going to wander back down to the beach before it rains again.

OBX2

2009-09-07T11:52:00.003-04:00

Dave and I saw several of these birds yesterday. I think this is a brown pelican. Does anyone out there know for sure?

UPDATE: A bird-watching friend and a US forest ranger both confirmed, via emails, that this is a brown pelican.