big and small

 

its about time

President Bush finally admited much of the intelligence to go to war was wrong. It's about time.

music

Timmer has posted his list of the 10 best albums of 2005.
He's a showoff. Like anyone else has even bought 10 albums in 2005.

The list of Albums I bought in 2005 (all via iTunes):
1) Amos Lee, Amos Lee
2) James Blunt, Back to Bedlam
3) Snow Patrol, The Final Straw
4) Jonny Lang, Long Time Coming
5) Damien Rice, O
6) Ray LaMontagne, Trouble
7) Coldplay, X & Y
8) Howie Day, Stop All the World Now

feeling new

Is there anything better than hearing your new favorite song for the first time?

Check out:
1) Goodbye Lover, by James Blunt
2) Fix You, by Coldplay

tookie

Why does the death penalty make me sick to me stomach?

I read this first person account of the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams and it made me sick to my stomach. I hate the death penalty.

First, I really like Fox News. They make me laugh. Fair and Balanced? Good one. Here's a few gems in the link mentioned above:

"This man was convicted of brutally murdering four innocent people and later bragging about how he watched their last breaths. Tonight I saw his."
--I'm glad the columnist (Adam Housley) is so exciting about watching murder. I'll pass, but he makes it sound like he wants someone to pass the beer nuts.

"Williams turns his head to his right. He stares at the media. It is a long look and one that attempts to pierce our being in the room. There is no mistaking, even as this man awaits death, he is attempting to be in control, he wants to intimidate."
--Tookie Williams was a criminal. I don't understand people who protest outside of prisons (write your congressperson if you hate the death penalty). But dammit if I wasn't appalled when I read this. Could it be that maybe Williams was just scared shitless?

merry saturnalia

Christmas doesn't make any sense. It's a made up holiday. If there's one thing for certain, it ain't really Christian, for two main reasons: 1) Secular culture has hijacked the holiday 2) In the tradition of most religions, Early Christians created a holiday to coincide with the winter solstice. Keep Saturn in Christmas! That's right - the Christmas Tree is a great way to pay homage to the Roman God Saturn. Oops.

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. I just wish I didn't have to sit through a church service.
Will somebody please get me an ipod for Christmas?

war prayer

There's debate about how military chaplains should be allowed to pray.

How about this (From Mark Twain's the "War Prayer"):
"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen."

god hates shrimp

In case you haven't already seen it: God Hates Shrimp.

say hello, wave goodbye

A fitting piece of verse, which suits my mood, as autumn moves ever closer to waving goodbye:

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

--William Shakespeare
From Sonnet 73: That Time Of Year Thou Mayst In Me Behold

elephants and donkeys

Matty G has a good discussion going about the future of American politics. I especially enjoyed Joe's (of hearts and bones) comments about a possible Hillary Clinton presidential run: "As far as the candidates go, it is a decent list. Hillary might be a total bitch, but she is a good politician. The Clintons understand the idea of representing the people, and seek to govern in a non-polarizing way."

Personally, I'd be surprised if Hillary got the Democratic nomination. In my mind, too many people flat out hate her, and the last thing the Democrats want to do is mobilize the Republican base for the Republicans.

I watch "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" every Sunday morning. George Will, a conservative commentator from the Washington Post, is a regular guest. He had an interesting observation about the Republican party this week. He observed that the party is composed of two groups: the libertarians, and those motivated by religious issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

One wonders how long these two groups will be able to remain under the tutelage of the same party. The religious side of the party desires government interaction to accomplish their religious agenda. This, of course, is diametrically opposed to the fundamental belief of the libertarian sect within the Republican party.

kansas

As I was preparing a diatribe intent on lambasting the Kansas school board for mandating their students be taught creationism, I happened across a piece of literature which made my point for me. From God and Human Suffering by Douglas John Hall:

The sense of the present wrongness of the world inevitably leads the mind to ask after the right way would be. What should be?

One of the many things that is objectionable about making creation doctrine into a supposedly scientific theory about the world's beginnings--as has been happening again in our time under the impact of a shallow and reactionary "evangelicalism"--is that it detracts from this basic function of the Christian confession concerning creation. Creation is not a theory of how the world came to be--not a cosmogony...it's faith's confession concerns what came to be, and why.

When God saw what had been made, God found it to be very good (Gen 1:31). But things do not always seem "good." The world around us is generally not good. We humans missed it up, just as we continue to mess it up. God continues to create, even as we continue to destroy.

I understand some Christians disagree with me. For them, the biblical creation story is a cosmogony. What I don't understand is why Christians who think this way insist their religious view be taught in a science classroom. If you desire religion to be taught in public schools, then push for more religious studies courses. I actually think this would be a good thing.

Finally, the biggest problem I have with creationist interpretations of the biblical creation myths is that it encourages the "God of the gaps" phenomenon. "God of the gaps" is the reasoning model which concludes anything science can't explain must be God. For example, before scientific reasoning formalized the idea of gravity, "God of the gaps" reasoning would have concluded that apples fall from trees because God makes them fall.

Science continually seeks to understand more and more; the breadth of scientific knowledge expands constantly. If our view of God is limited to that which science can not explain (yet), God will progressively shrink as science progressively grows its sphere of explanation.

brother p-rob, part 2

Pat Robertson never fails to amuse. The "Take him out!" mantra was good fun, and now brother p-rob has provided the Daily Show with more material. Apparently, God is ready to punish all towns which don't teach "intelligent design."



Look for an upcoming poll: What's your favorite p-rob doctrine?

a perfect cup

I'm a whiskey snob, but I'm also a coffee snob. Several mornings a week I drop into my local Dunn Bros for a cup of their fresh dark roast. Other mornings, I make my own brew. Just as I am continuously questing for the perfect whiskey, I'm also forever seeking the perfect cup. Pouring a good tumbler of whiskey is simple: open bottle, dispense elixir. Pouring a good cup of coffee has proven a bit more problematic, as there's a bit more involved.

To date, my favorite coffee maker is the Cuisinart Grind & Brew. A key element to a good cup of coffee is freshly ground beans. This usually entails a messy process involving two small appliances, the coffee grinder and the coffee maker. In another feat of American laziness, the Grind & Brew eliminates the frustration of trying to transfer your beans to your coffee maker without dumping half the coffee grinds on the floor.

The Cuisinart Grind & Brew is the pinnacle of home brewed convenience, but a French Press is the queen of home brewed excellence. I've recently begun using a French Press, and it produces the best tasting coffee this side of the coffee shop.

Here's how it works:
1) Put water into tea kettle, proceed to bring water to a boil.

2) Grind beans. A french press demands a coarse grind to prevent unwanted coffee residue to pass through the press.

3) Put hot water into a tea pot, allowing the tea pot to warm up. Unlike the traditional coffee maker, you're not going to want to keep the coffee in the French Press when it's done brewing. I figure you have two options: turn on the warming pad thingy on your traditional coffee pot; or use the cute little tea pot you received as a wedding present. I usually prefer option 2 because it gives me an excuse to utilize an accessory I'd otherwise never pick up.


4) Put coarsely ground beans into press, fill press with water, give it a quick stir, and attach lid to the press.

5) Wait 4-5 minutes.

6) While waiting, drink big glass of water to offset the upcoming diuretical effects of an intense caffeine buzz.

7) Depress plunger slowly.

8) Pour coffee into coffee pot and/or your favorite mug.

ana, day 731

Note: this was initially titled "ana, day 730" but a smart ass co-worker pointed out 2004 was a leap year, which makes ana 731 days old, not 730. Please forgive my indiscretion.

Happy Birthday Ana.

alito

Congratulations are in order. President Bush successfully avoided nominating a woman or a minority to the supreme court. All hail the white man, maker of America, defender of the republic. We the people? Just a pipedream. We the white men.

President Bush is a genius. His nomination of Harriet Miers was but a clever ruse - stick it in your ear Sandra and Laura. Obviously, Mr. Bush nominated Ms. Miers because she was incredibly unqualified, ensuring her nomination would flop, and Mr. Bush would be able to accomplish his ultimate goal - appoint another white man. Our country is a melting pot (or maybe a gumball machine), but thank God our President is smart enough to know white men make better judges, lawyers, and lawmakers.

As for my opinion of Judge Alito, I'm reserving comment. I simply haven't read enough about his past opinions to make a qualified judgment. I would, however, like to take this opportunity to remind liberals and conservatives alike that supreme court judges do more than make decisions related to a woman's right to an abortion.