The Blarg

John Ziegler was arguing last night that if a Democrat were in the White House public opinion of the economy and war would be quite different. We would be hearing about how the economy is booming (in spite of 9/11 and Katrina, and like we always did under Clinton), the war in Afghanistan was a huge success removing the Taliban, and how the Iraq war is going well (fast victory, Saddam is gone, country is rebuilding). Except all we hear about is what a failure everything is, it’s ridiculous. Even Joe Lieberman is saying Iraq is going well (alternate link if you dismiss FOX News just because it’s FOX News). Thank goodness for alternative media and the truth. By alternative media I include the internet (Drudge, blogs, etc), and radio talk shows (Elder, Savage, Medved, etc).

There has been a good discussion over at Instant Church about what people would like to see happen in a new church format, primarily targeted at 20-30 somethings. I’m curious to hear from people that don’t go to church, or have stopped going to church. Feel free to think outside the box and go beyond typical "church" thing (ie Sunday morning, hymns, TBN). Again, this is for people that don’t go, or stopped going, and I don’t care if you don’t care about church, I want to know what you think. See, now you have to tell me. Copy and paste the questions and answer them in your post.

If you’ve never gone…

What is your opinion of church and most people in it?
What should the church be doing based on your expectations of Christians?

If you used to go…

Why did you stop, and what has kept you from going back?
What would make you think about going again?

It’s Christmas time again! How do I know? Well I just lit the pilot light in the furnace, that’s why.

While I officially declared the season of Fall back in October, it is now officially Christmas time. Crazy people have started to pick up their Christmas tree in November. We saw one gentleman putting up Christmas lights several days before Thanksgiving. And oh the madness at the malls, how annoying it is. I remember a couple years ago I actually enjoyed going to the mall during Christmas with everyone running around and that felt very Christmasy, but I’m not sure this year. I think I’ve got too much going on to enjoy that, but we’ll see as we get closer to the Holiday.

Finally to all the people that don’t like Christmas and have tried to erase it from our American culture, you are idiots. I am not Jewish and am not offended by Hanukkah, so I see no reason why Muslims, Jehovah Witnesses, etc. should be so bothered by Christmas that it can’t even be mentioned. Unfortunately for these crazy people we still live in a democracy where the majority rules, and the majority of people celebrate Christmas. Why is it that 1% of the population can tell the other 99% what to do under the guise that the 99% are not being tolerant to the views of the 1%? Because it’s rubbish. Merry Christmas!

I got a techie fix the last couple days.

Last night I convinced Stacie to let me buy a surround sound system. It’s a budget Sony, but it works really well. It only came with 22 gauge wire, so I want to upgrade it to 16 gauge, and get a couple speaker stands. The difference isn’t mind blowing, but it feels much more like a movie theatre. After watching a whole movie with it on, changing to just the TV speakers feels really flat and one-dimensional. The other cool thing is that most HD television shows are broadcast in 5.1 surround. When I told Stacie it feels like being at the movies she said "But I’m in my pajamas."

Other than that I tried a couple games on the PC. I downloaded the Call of Duty 2 demo. My graphics card is old and stinks, but it was still cool. It’s only single player though, so not sure how multi-player would be (and that’s the most important part). Then I tried MVP Baseball on the PC, and specifically a mod called Total Classics 3. Some modders went in and changed all the teams to classic ones, like the 1990 Oakland A’s and 1988 Dodgers. I tried that for a few minutes and it was fun, but I’ll stick with the gamecube version.

Now it’s back to doing homework and getting lesson plans ready.

I would like to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully you’ll be spending it with the people you love. Stacie and I will be spending it with her parents and then with mine. All the good food is a nice excuse to get together, but being with the people you care about is the most important thing. As I get older I realize more and more what a beautiful family I’ve been blessed with. From parents, to brother and sister, to grandparents, to aunts and uncles, to cousins, and to in-laws, I have so many great people to spend my Thanksgiving with. I hope everyone can find a little happniess this Thanksgiving.

The Xbox 360 was released today. Sadly I don’t care (sorry Mike). I’m afraid I’m getting old, and things like a new console launch aren’t as exciting as they used to be. Other possible explanations are that it costs $400, and the one ad I saw for the new Perfect Dark game wasn’t that impressive. The only game I play anymore is MVP Baseball from last year. Xbox 360 is in HD though, which is way cool. I’ll wait for Mike’s first post about it and see what he thinks.

Oh, and this is the fourth post in a row with a picture! Boy am I spoiling you guys. This picture was again taken from Foxnews. I couldn’t help but notice how very excited the man in this picture is. It looks like the Xbox 360 is actually his biological son whom he has just been reunited with after 18 years lost in the Alps. Definitly a kodak moment.

So I found this picture on Foxnews, and realized it was the perfect subject of my second "That Doesn’t Make Sense" column.

So I don’t know what’s going on here, but I think it’s pretty clear: George Bush is hanging out with some guy who thinks he’s Genghis Khan. First of all, the guy playing Genghis Khan is clearly Russian, not Philipino. Second, the guy on the right is waving the Romanian flag, and he’s wearing different colors than Genghis Khan. If they’re supposed to be mortal enemies, they don’t look like they’re in perpetual violence fighting for the survival of their tribe. Third, the girl to the left is wearing a metal bra.

Now for George Bush, he’s clearly trying to barter with Genghis. He is saying "If you let me join your dojo, do I get a cool horse like that? In turn I will trade you this schmuck behind me that can’t stop smiling about the metal bra joke." The guy playing Genghis Khan can’t stop laughing and he keeps muttering something about meeting James Bond. I think they are going to jump President Bush into their gang now.

A Feast for Crows is finally here! I’ve only been waiting since the earlier part of this year, but older fans of the series have been waiting 5 years for this installment. I haven’t started it yet though, because I’ve decided to finish the other three books I’m working on. I’m finishing The Enemy Within, I’m over halfway through Rising Stars, and I’m halfway through Decipher. I decided that fours books at once is ridiculous, and I want to make sure I finish everything I’ve started.

I miss the days of subbing when I could read big novels in two days. Now I actually have to teach. Bah.

11/19/05 – Finished Rising Stars, and it was awesome. Great story, huge scope, beautiful drawings. One book down, two to go.

11/20/05 – Finished The Enemy Within. The book revolves around borders, language, and culture, and how we as a nation have lost sight of those values. English is no longer the most important language, because we’ve been led to believe that all languages are equally important. Our Judeo-Christian culture is no longer our guide, but whatever the crazy liberals want it to be. Good book. Two books down, one to go, and then the Feast!