WalMart Follow-up...

Last month I posted my little soapbox rant about a door-to-door petition going around my neck of the woods regarding the potential arrival of a WalMart in town.

Well, last Friday's local newspaper had an article stating that the petitioners have garnered enough signatures to put the proposition on the November ballot. So I revisited my post, did a little editing and revising, and sent at as a "Letter to the Editor". After not seeing my letter posted by Wednesday morning, I thought that it wasn't going to get published.

Then I opened up TODAY'S paper. Not only did they publish my letter (practically verbatim), but they placed it above the fold as a commentary in the Op-Ed section with a full headline and byline! (Holy S***!)

Then, while I was in the bathroom shaving, I get a phone call this morning from a woman who read my letter in the paper and wanted to personally thank me for expressing the views which she also shared.

Yeah... I felt good this morning. But I ain't gonna let it go to my head.

Nephew Update...

Last month I posted about two of my nephews. The older nephew went through the heart procedure last week. The doctors are confident that the situation is now rectified, and he should not experience any symptoms in the future. He was back home after a couple days, and he's already back to work.

I want to thank all of you who offered up prayers! Again, it was much appreciated.

Edwardian Fall From Grace...

I'm not going to comment on the whole John Edwards political meltdown. It'd just be too easy. I'm not gonna kick him when he's down. My concern is for his children and, most especially, his wife who has been battling cancer over recent years. They deserve much better than this from their dad/husband.

In general, I always saw Edwards as nothing but a a two-bit, lightweight politician/ambulance-chasing lawyer/hack. I'll never forget eight years ago during the VP debate between Edwards and Cheney, sitting down at a table with the moderator, going through all of the key issues. Cheney came across as the wise elder with total command of the issues, while Edwards came off as an inexperienced little kid.

The moment - the key moment -- of that entire debate came when John Edwards actually wiped his nose with the sleeve of his suit jacket, right there live on TV for all of America to see. I still remember that moment as I said out loud at the time, "Wow. I don't believe he just did that." It was at that point that I said to myself that that was the turning point of the election.

I wasn't a supporter of Bush in the 2000 primary, and his choice of VP was very important to me before I decided to cast my vote for him in the 2000 main election. When he chose Cheney it sealed the deal for me, and I "pulled the lever" for Bush/Cheney instead of voting third party or doing a write-in.

Kasparov Speaks Out On Russian Invasion of Georgia...

Opposition Party leader Garry Kasparov speaks out against the Medvedev/Putin regime's military attack and invasion of northern Georgia. This act of war (that's what it is) will not end soon, nor well.

It's time to take a shower...

... a Meteor Shower!

It's that time again for the annual displays of God's own fireworks show, the Perseid Meteor Shower. The peak time to look for them is very early Tuesday morning (after the moon sets at about 2:00 AM). So stay up late on Monday night and, if the sky is clear, go outside and look up in the Northeastern portion of the sky. Expect to see as many as 50-80 per hour (depending on the amount of "light noise" in your area).

First The Good News...

Oil prices are now at $114/barrel (down $33 from it's July 11 high of $147). Is this the bubble bursting (just like the current housing bubble and the previous tech bubble)?

Now The Bad News...

Russia has attacked Georgia ("their" Georgia, not our Georgia). With the tensions there, and also with China, add North Korea, and the Iran/Israel situation that's soon to escalate... this is not boding well.

Fox News' Neil Cavuto interviewed on ABC...

(Hat-tip to Newsbusters)

Fox Business anchor and managing editor Neil Cavuto was on ABC's "Good Morning America" with Diane Sawyer. It's a fascinating little interview that's worth a read.

Near the end of the interview Neil mentions his recent battle with MS (Multiple Sclerosis). One of my sisters has been living with MS for nearly 30 years, thankfully doing relatively better than many others who are not as fortunate.

The ultimate hotfoot...

Puzzling "hot spot" in Fillmore section of Ventura County, CA, that has ground temperatures reaching 800 degrees.

I'm Back!....

Tons of internet problems this weekend; from Blogger's 2-day server issues, to Sitemeter's issues, to my own ISP's mail server and internet server issues. Trying to browser (let alone, post on) the internet this weekend was like swimming in a pool of honey (very slow and sticky, but certainly not as sweet).

UPDATE: Creative Minority Report has a funny post on the recent blogosphere woes.


I just wanted to link to a few really good posts (hat-tip's to Paragraph Farmer and RedState).

This is a lengthy, two-page article about film director/producer David Zucker (of "Naked Gun" and "Airplane!" fame), his new comedy "An American Carol", and the current political climate in Hollywood that he and many other actors and filmmakers have to contend with on a regular basis.

Actor Jon Voight has an Op-Ed in The Washington Times (also a good read).

And Charles Krauthammer has a little message for Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the issue of oil.

The Obamessiah... The One... The Choosen One...

McCain's latest web ad ("The One"):


Gerard Baker of The London Times makes the mock pronouncement from on high (heh!):


To quote The Gore-acle, "Devastating!"

Glenn Beck's still lookin'... and so am I...

Glenn Beck seems to be spot-on with his commentary about this year's presidential election.

Meanwhile, John Hawkins over at RWN has a new TownHall commentary listing the Top 10 Reasons why not to vote for The Obamessiah.

In other words...

Look... Up In The Sky... It's Another Trial Balloon...

Is it just me, or are there more trial balloons being floated up by both presidential campaigns right now for their respective VP picks than there are actual balloons at your average 3-ring circus?

Got Meme'd Again...

Eric over at The Daily Eudemon tagged me with a meme yesterday (I could've sworn I did this meme six months ago).

The rules:

1. Link the person(s) who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged

Since I've done this before, I'm going to do 1-thru-3, and the rest to anyone who reads this post and wants to run with it.

Okay... six "unspectacular quirks" of mine (and I'll try not to duplicate what I wrote last time):

1) I'm very particular about the music I listen to and the movies and TV shows that I watch (even though my tastes are wide ranging).

2) My favorite colors are deep azure blue or cobalt blue, sunset orange, and suntan bronze.

3) Add a stunningly cute, brown-eyed, dark-haired, 30-something, single female of Mediterranean or Latin American ancestry to that suntan bronze skin, wearing a deep azure blue bikini on the beach at sunset with the sky aflame and I am sooooooo there. Just point me the way. (Yeah, I know... I'm very particular about women, too. HAH!)

4) I have a tendency to talk to myself while I'm shopping at the store: "Now, where is that item I'm looking for? Ooo, it's on sale. What?! Out of stock? Oh, man. Hmmm... what else is there?" I'm sure people look at me strangely (also probably scaring away the women in #3).

5) I've always wanted to, at least once, fly in one of those glider airplanes.

6) My "first love" (career-wise) was in the field of Holography. It was 1979 and Pope John Paul II came to Philadelphia during his first U.S. visit. I was an usher at the outdoor mass/visit on Ben Franklin Parkway by all the museums downtown. The following day I was off from school, and the Franklin Institute had a brand new exhibit on Holography. I was hooked! I mean, seriously hooked!

I eventually wanted to do research and development in Holographic television (all these years later, and the technology is still in it's infancy). Unfortunately, calculus was the death of that dream. Although, I did get the opportunity to work at a hologram manufacturing company in Philly for two years doing product assembly. The last year there was my worst-paying job, but it was fun and interesting.

EARTHQUAKE!

WEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...


Just a couple minutes ago we just had an earthquake here in SoCal! According to this website it was a 5.8 just 2 miles from Chino Hills east of L.A. (between L.A. and Riverside).

More news to come...

I'm fine, but it certainly was a rock-n-roller here at work (70 miles away, by the L.A. County/Ventura County border).

EVERYBODY SALSA!!!

This weekend was the 15th Annual Oxnard Salsa Festival (olé!), and I just had to go on both days. No admission fee. Just walk on in at Park Plaza in downtown Oxnard. But if you want to taste the salsas it's just $5 to get a basket of tortilla chips and 10 tickets. Since I went both days I had the chance to try 20 different salsas - though I went back for seconds on a few of them.

Now, I'm a wuss when it comes to the hot stuff, but I can take a little heat... so I into the packed ten and went from station to station in my search for the best salsa. I was hoping to find a good chipotlé, but there was only one (and it was so-so). Overall, I have to say that there were three salsas that stood out.

First was a complex and savory green salsa from Barroco's Restaurant. Next was an awesome, sweet mango salsa with a hint of heat from Tomas Cafe (they're suppose to have a MySpace page, but I can't find it). Finally, there was an incredible salsa from La Dolce Vita Restaurant which won Best Mild Salsa at the festival (they also have a MySpace page here). I was lucky enough to be able to take home a small container of the mango salsa (which went great with my grilled chicken breast that I had for dinner. Yum!).

Outside the tent were vendors of all types. The carnitas tacos from Cabo's Seafood Grill were to die for. Finally, Pancha's Gourmet Foods (from Fontana, CA) had a unique and flavorful Chipotlé Raspberry BBQ Sauce that I just had to buy.

Plenty of other vendors and festivities, including plenty of lovely latinas in summer dresses displaying their fine curves (a testament to the beauty of God's creation -- *sigh*). And, of course, there was a lot of live salsa music, and a salsa dancing competition.

A bit later I'll try to post a brief video clip of some of the salsa dancing at the festival. Don't know how successful I'll be with that, though.

Here's Lookin' At You, Kid...

Last Friday, Julie over at Happy Catholic posted about a fellow blogger's dislike of the movie "Rocky" (I'm from Philly, so "them's fightin' words" - heh). The comment section lead to the question, "What is the "best" film ever made?" That is a tough question, and is fraught with subjectivity. I have quite a few favorite films, but in the end - for me - it has to be "Casablanca".

So, on Saturday I went to the 3rd Annual Ventura Book Festival with a friend to check out some of the latest books that were to be had. I was determined to walk out of there without buying anything (yeah, right). As I turned down the final aisle of tables, what do I see before me but this book:

Tom Barnes was a high school teacher for many years, and would get his students to participate in a trivia game about the film "Casablanca". His intent was to turn it into a game, but when the licensing turned out to be too expensive he decided to turn the idea into a book. He and his wife had just gotten the first batch of books from the publisher two days earlier, and I was his first sale (yeah, I bought the book... had no choice... it's "Casablanca").

Tom was gracious enough to sign the book for me (heck, he and his wife were beaming).

And his wife took our picture for posterity.

Tom's the clean-shaven one who could pass for actor Paul Sorvino's twin; I'm the one with the face fuzz. So, now you all know what I look like. The book's available from Papyrus Publishing out of San Clemente, CA, and will soon also be available from Tom's website. I urge all you "film-o-philes" to go get a copy.

Here's a little parting "Casablanca" trivia for yah:

Bogart's signature line, "Here's looking at you, kid!" was originally in the script as "Here's good luck to you, kid," until he changed it. His new line never appears in the script.

Here's good luck to you, Tom! Or should I say, "Here's looking at you, Tom." And good luck with the book sales!

Bush's Mississippi...

There's a great little scene in the movie "Annapolis" (an otherwise poor film, except for the fact that it stars the stunningly cute Jordana Brewster). Two roommates (Jake and Twins) are going through basic training, and both are going through a rough stretch when Jake asks his roomy:

Jake: Look, I don’t get it. Why are you still here?

Twins: You want to know why I stay in this room?

Jake: Yeah.

Twins: Cause Jake, you’re my Mississippi.

Jake: I’m your what?

Twins: People who live in Arkansas, you know what their favorite state is?

Jake: No.

Twins: Mississippi. Cause Mississippi’s the only thing that keeps Arkansas from being the worst state in the whole country.

The President's recent approval rating is 31% in the most recent Gallup poll.

The Democrat-controlled Congress' approval rating is 14% in the most recent Gallup poll (the lowest in the history of Gallup polls). And fellow Democrats hold their own party's congressional approval rating at 11%.

Reid & Pelosi? You're George Bush's Mississippi.

When a Photo-Op is Denied, The Obamessiah Hides...

(Major Hat-Tip to RWN)

Via MSNBC:

A U.S. military official tells NBC News they were making preparations for Sen. Barack Obama to visit wounded troops at the Landstuhl Medical Center at Ramstein, Germany on Friday, but "for some reason the visit was called off."

One military official who was working on the Obama visit said because political candidates are prohibited from using military installations as campaign backdrops, Obama's representatives were told, "he could only bring two or three of his Senate staff member[s], no campaign officials or workers." In addition, "Obama could not bring any media. Only military photographers would be permitted to record Obama's visit."

The official said "We didn't know why" the request to visit the wounded troops was withdrawn. "He (Obama) was more than welcome. We were all ready for him."

Why, ain't that nice.

T. Boone Pickin' Your Pockets...

John over at RWN has a an eye-opening post about oil man T. Boone Pickens' PR campaign to get us to switch to wind power. This is definitely worth the read.

Urgent Prayer Request...

I just got word from my family back east that over the last few days two of my nephews are dealing with serious medical issues.

One nephew (V, 28) was caught up in the middle of a fight on Saturday night, trying to help a friend who was being assaulted and battered. V had a bottle broken over his head, had his eye damaged and eye socket fractured, and his shoulder dislocated. He may have to have eye surgery, but there's the potential of his losing sight in that eye if they do the surgery.

Then, yesterday another nephew, (J, 33 - my other sister's oldest son), was rushed into the hospital with an erratic racing heart beat (we're talking 180 bpm if he suddenly moves). J's currently in observation at the hospital and on meds to keep the heart in check until they can figure out what's going on.

So, any and all prayers would be much appreciated.

Thanx!

To VP or not to VP, that is the question...

(Hat-tip to HotAir)

American Spectator is reporting an inside scoop that Mitt Romney will most likely not be McCain's VP choice. The reasons (all of which I agree):

"Mitt tanks the ticket," says a McCain insider. "We lose fiscal conservatives. We lose social conservatives. We lose Catholics. We lose evangelicals. All the groups were spending time and money on bringing into the camp would be lost. He just doesn't help us enough to do something like this, as much as Mitt might think we should. He doesn't even win us Massachusetts."

He loses fiscal conservatives because he's a politician from Massachusetts (remember Michael Dukakis, Paul Tsongas, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, RINO Weld?). He loses Massachusetts because he's a flip-flopper and it's a national election. He loses evangelicals because he's a Mormon, and he's only recently (and suspiciously) become Pro-Life. He loses Catholics because of all of the above, plus the fact that he comes off as being way too slick (in a Bill Clinton sort of way, without the sleaze factor).

I've said it before, McCain needs to stop looking at anyone who ran against him in the primary. He needs to focus on some a combination of factors for the VP slot, these factors (whether you like them or not) are crucial for McCain to be able to keep the base in his camp come November.

1) Someone who is clearly and consistently both a fiscal and social conservative (yes to Pro-Life, yes to cutting spending, no to gay marriage, no to raising taxes),

2) Someone who is younger than him by at least 10 years,

3) Someone with executive experience, or untainted business-world experience,

4) Someone with name-recognition - a known quantity,

5) A female or a minority (to offset either the Obama or Hillary factor).

My choices for McCain? Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin (fits four of the factors - including the big bonus of pulling in the Hillary PUMAs - she's both socially conservative and a fiscal reformer, she gets bonus points because she's also known as a maverick, but she loses points because she's not well-known and she's only been governor for 2 years, but was a mayor prior to that). Former Ohio Representative John Kasich (young, well known, likable, conservative - downside: no executive experience, though he's mulling over a run for Ohio governor in 2010). Former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett (well known, conservative, likable, respected, has some executive experience in and out of government - downside: his age is 65, and he could become a political lightning rod, though he'd be able to handle it without any problems). Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (young, likeable, socially conservative, black, Catholic - downside: executive or political experience might be lacking, would've been better if he able to serve as governor, or if he had won his last razor-close senate race). Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (would be perfect if not for two key factors - he's only been governor for 6 months, and he's only 39 years old. But if he lives up to his reputation, look out for him in 2016! And he's Catholic.) Former PA Senator Rick Santorum (this will never happen because of so many factors - he was tossed under the bus by Sen. Spector and ended up losing his reelection bid, he's a political lightning rod, especially on social issues, no executive experience but plenty of political experience, and he's been vocally anti-McCain).

Actually, any combination thereof would like an excellent 1-2 punch ticket (who the hell needs McCain or Obama???).

If McCain chooses Romney, Huckabee, or one of his RINO buddies, he'll lose not only his base... he'll lose me! I'll do a write-in vote for one of the afore mentioned 1-2 combo tickets ("throw-away" vote be damned).

R.I.P. Russert & Snow...

Over the past few weeks two top-notch national media men have passed. First was Tim Russert, suddenly, from a heart attack. The other day it was Tony Snow, who succumbed to his three-year battle with colon cancer.

Their personalities - to a certain extent - were a bit different, and their core politics were on opposite sides of the political spectrum (Russert had worked for D-Sen. Moynahan and D-Gov Cuomo; Snow worked for both Bush administrations and for years was the main sub for Rush's radio program). But there were a lot more similarities than differences - and it was all good.

Both men took their work seriously, working diligently. But they never took themselves seriously. They laughed. They enjoyed life. They never held a grudge or delved into petty vindictiveness. They both commanded respect from their colleagues, as well as from politicians across the entire spectrum. They were both strong, committed family men, devoted to their wives and children. They were both devote Catholics, deep in their faith. And both died in their 50s - way too soon... but God knows best.

The media and political industries will miss the likes of such men. If only they could learn from their examples, things would run a lot smoother without all the unnecessary ugliness that tends to infect those institutions. Snow & Russert (unfortunately) were a rare breed; your can't find too many like them in the news & political realms. My prayers go out to their respective families.

A few bloggers have posted links to Tony Snow's commencement address at Catholic University in May of 2007. For those who are unaware of it, here is the link to that address. It is well worth the read. Some sage advice. Some points even I need to still work on.

Rest in peace Tony & Tim!

What the F*** is the Big Deal About WalMart???

I just had a visitor come to my front door with a petition in hand asking for signatures to put a proposition on the November ballot regarding WalMart. Some back story. Not too far from me is an empty K-Mart building (with a huge parking lot that is nearly empty except for the Trader Joe's customers - nothing wrong with T-Jo's, I just shopped there earlier today while my clothes were going through the dry cycle at the local laundromat).

WalMart has been interested in moving into the location, possibly expand the building somewhat. Of course, the NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) have to have their shrill voices heard yet again. I swear, this town at times seems to have it's priorities all frelled up. They also at times show themselves to be a bunch of frelling hypocrites.

Some years ago, there was an empty Montgomery Ward building across the street from the mall. Home Depot was interested in taking over the building. The townspeople bitched and moaned, eventually chasing away Home Depot. What did Home Depot do? They moved into a new location a mile away in the town next door. They're doing quite well there. What happened to the Montgomery Ward building? It became a Lowe's (a Home Depot clone). NO ONE bitched and moaned about Lowe's moving in.

There is a Target (a WalMart and K-Mart clone) store just several blocks from said mall. Target has been very successful. The mall has gone through extensive remodeling and expansion. Robinsons-May closed down as one of the anchor stores at one end of the mall. Target took over and rebuilt the Robinsons-May and turned it into a two-story Super-Target (just like the Super-WalMarts). They're also keeping the original Target open (the one just a few blocks away). NO ONE bitched and moaned about the Super-Target opening up in town, and so close to an existing Target.

Downtown used to have several local, independent coffee shops: Daily Grind, Cafe Voltaire, Caffe Bella, Kelly's Coffee, Coastal Coffee. All of these coffee shops were wonderful and added character to the downtown area. They're all closed. NO ONE came out to support them. Now, there's just two coffee shops in that area: One is a little place near the far end of the main drag (and it's just a "storefront counter" to a retail establishment). The other is Starbucks. Funny, but NO ONE bitched and moaned about Starbucks opening up downtown. They also never bitched & moaned when (in a mid-town shopping center) they opened up a Starbucks... and then also opened up a Starbucks inside the supermarket... just 50 feet away from the other just-opened Starbucks.

NO ONE seems to care that Starbucks sells overpriced bitter swill, but they'll cry their crocodile tears about WalMart selling Chinese-made goods on the cheap (funny, I seem to see those same Chinese-made goods in K-Mart, Target, Sears, the Gap, the local supermarket, even the little Mom-&-Pop shops selling trinkets to willing residents and tourists). I should know. Just a couple weeks ago I walked into a WalMart (in the the town next door) for the first time to buy the new Jouney CD - only available at WalMart. While I was there I took a walk around the store. I saw the same exact window fan that I bought just two weeks earlier at Sears for $21.99 (Target had the exact same fan for $24.99) being sold at WalMart for $11.99. Yeah, I was pissed... pissed that I could've saved ten more bucks.

Look. I am not a fan of large corporations taking over locations here and there. But corporations (in general) are not all evil. You wouldn't be able to have your cars, airplanes, computers, iPods, cell phones, TVs, medicines, etc. without them. Of course, I'd prefer that there were more Mom-&-Pop type places to buy and sell goods and services. But let's be friggin' reasonable people. And be friggin' consistent. Some common sense and perspective please.

With this weak economy, this area needs jobs... ANY jobs. This area also needs housing... AFFORDABLE housing (something that the people of this town continuously bitch & moan about, yet every time there is a development up for proposal it is always shouted & shut down by these same NIMBY idiots). The area could also use a place were people can buy things inexpensively, especially with the current state of the economy and with gas prices at over $4.50 per gallon. NONE of these things will happen with empty buildings and vacant lots. (Spoken by someone who not too many years ago was unemployed for exactly 500 days, at a time immediately after 9/11. Someone who also rents a shitty apartment, and has all but given up hope of ever owning a home in Southern California - where in just the last decade housing prices more than tripled. Yeah, that person I'm talking about is me).

I expressed these views to the poor lady who just came to my door, and who had NO answers to my questions of hypocrisy. Needless to say, I didn't sign the petition. I doubt, though, that she got the point. Nor will any of her comrades with their knickers in a perpetual knot.


*steps off the soapbox*

What liberal bias in the the mainstream media???

(Hat-tip to Flopping Aces)

There's no liberal bias in the MSM, is there??? Riiiiiiight!

ABC News interviews 60 U.S. soldiers on who they plan to vote for in November. Fifty-four said they're voting for McCain. What did ABC News air on their broadcast? Five soldier - three voting for The Obamessiah and two voting for The Hildabeast.

And people wonder why I don't watch much TV news anymore.

Is Cool Still Cool?...

From FanNation:

"Cool, the onetime giant of sports culture that had long been in declining health, died in seclusion last month. In a measure of how forgotten Cool had become, the moment of its passing went largely unnoticed even though the event was witnessed by millions on television, shortly after the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers. In the ensuing celebration Celtics star Kevin Garnett was asked how he felt about winning the first title of his 13-year career. He threw his head back and bellowed, "Anything is possible!" as though he had just accomplished something previously thought to be beyond human capability, like walking on the sun or deciphering the plot of Lost. With Garnett's scream, Cool took its dying breath.

"Authorities say that Garnett will not be held responsible for the demise of Cool, ruling that he was no more culpable than thousands of other modern-day athletes who have an overwhelming need for self-congratulation and a tendency to overdramatize. Those athletes avoided Cool like a subpoena during its final years, instead embracing midair chest bumps, primal yells and the kind of elaborate, multistep hand jive that grade-school girls do on playgrounds..."

It concludes:

"Cool's condition was terminal... There will be no funeral service, which is how Cool would have wanted it. In lieu of flowers, mourners are asked simply to appreciate players who don't feel the need to punctuate every accomplishment with an over-the-top celebration, who understand the beauty in letting a performance speak for itself. That would be totally Cool."

To wit, I say... nah... "Cool" is still cool.

It’s roots go back to the 1920s Jazz-era. Cool’s got staying power because it’s cool to say it. Unlike “bad”, “rad”, “dope”, “gnarly”, “bitchin’”, “hip”, “ill”, "hot", “crunk”, “killer”, “fat”, “far out”, “dah bomb chizzle”, and the god-awful “groovy” which all are nothin’ but era-locked fads.

In the end... it’s all COOL.

(hehh)

A different kind of bilingualism (heh)...

Alive and Young posted an innocuous list of common words/phrases used by the fairer members of the human species.

I shall not comment (I ain't stupid, yah know).







*silently nodding my head*

Just keep digging deeper BO, just keep digging...

RedState posted a video of The Obamessiah regarding multilingualism and felt obliged to respond.

I would also add:

First off, the reason for when and why the rest of the world can speak English is because that's the international language for BUSINESS. When a French company is in discussions with a German or Japanese company, they tend to speak in English because (a) the success of the American political and business industry has led the way in the world, and (b) it's a common language that every nationality can understand without everyone having to learn six-to-ten different languages.

Second, how successful has bilingualism worked in Canada with the province of Quebec? Hmmmmm.... not so well, huh? Some animosity there between QBs and the rest of Canuckville? Repeated threats of secession? Surprise, surprise, surprise.

Thirdly, perhaps The Obamessiah should've read THIS article before opening his mouth and proving once again how vacuous he is.

Let's Shake a Spear, shall we?

Eric over at Daily Eudemon posted an innocent little quote about Shakespeare, to wit I entered into the fray in the comments section regarding the Bard and the Ol' English language. I'd be interested to know if anyone else understands my point or even agrees with me.

"Alas, poor Trubador."

And now for something completely different...

With video games like "Rockstar" and "Guitar Hero", it's about time they started selling video games based on the REAL music industry. Something like.......... ROADIE HERO.

Yellowcake? What yellowcake???

Newsbusters has compiled several news stories on the transfer of 550 metric TONS of uranium "yellowcake" from just south of Baghdad to Canada. But... but... but... I thought Saddam wasn't trying to get yellowcake, that he wasn't attempting to build up a nuclear capability? *sigh*

Hebrew tablet suggests tradition of resurrected messiah predates Jesus...

(Hat-tip to HotAir)

"A 3-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

"If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, because it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

"The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era - in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone."

Read the entire news story from the International Herald Tribune here.

UPDATE: Lest anyone be confused, I took the above story from the viewpoint similar to the following commentators - Mary Rose Rybak over at First Things who says:

"So, Knohl says this tablet is novel in that it mentions a suffering messiah. But didn’t Chapter 53 of Isaiah already mention that?"

and Domenico Bettinelli at BettNet who says:

"From what I can understand from the article, as an admitted layman and non-expert on this topic, this is supposed to show that three-day resurrection was not a concept unique to Christianity but has its roots in Judaism. That may shake some Christians, but Catholics have been saying for quite some time that the Jewish faith is the root of Christian belief...

"The tablet, as they describe it, does not change the meaning of the Last Supper one whit because we know that Christ came for the redemption of all. What does Israel—as firstborn of the covenant—and all humanity need redemption from if not from sin?"

4 Years & 460 Posts Later...

In what started out four years ago on this date as my lone voice in the webby wilderness, mainly (at that time) linking news & commentary posts and voicing my views & opinions on the then upcoming 2004 presidential election. There was a bit of a post-election drop-off after that.

Since early 2006, though, this place has become a hodge-podge of things, commenting on varied topics, and posting links to interesting bits of information. I try to post at least once a week on average (sometimes up to four times a week), and I hope to post a bit more often in the future.

As I've said before, it is what it is.

Thanks again to all who come by to visit!

Enjoy another of my recent "art" pics (below):

BARK'S BITE


More to come once Blogger stops being so quirky with it's downloading connections.

Local Musician - Michael Doman

While checking in on MySpace yesterday I noticed a bulletin from one of the local musicians in my "friends" list - Michael Doman (a singer/songwriter with a very distinctive voice and quality acoustic guitar) was to be performing in my area. I had to go and check it out.

The venue was Caffe Bella in downtown Ventura. The last time I walked in this place it was a little coffee shop off Main Street. It's now basically a wine bar that also serves Guinness, martinis, a small selection of appetizers, and (of course) live music.

Michael Doman was there with Michael Ann (a female singer/songwriter), and the two of them worked off each other to good affect - occasionally doing duets, at other times trading off on solo performances. Ms. Ann carried herself well with vocals somewhat of a cross between Sarah McLachlan and Reba McIntyre.

Mr. Doman was every bit as good live as he is on the recordings on his MySpace page, playing on a small-scale acoustic single-cut Fender guitar - which had amazing tonal quality for it's small size, made to appear even smaller in comparison to the tall Doman, who himself was made to appear even taller due to his proudly displayed afro.

I had the chance to speak with Michael for a bit while Ms. Ann was doing a solo performance. He was surprised that downtown Ventura had changed since the last time he'd been up this way, and asked if I was from here. When I told him I was originally from Philly he said, "I could tell from your accent."

*BUSTED*

Fourteen years living in SoCal, and people can still make out my Philly accent from a mile away. Not that I'm ashamed of it. It just cracks me up when it happens, a lot of times by people from the same region of PA. Sure enough, Michael was originally from Bucks County, PA - a northern Philly suburb.

He'd been involved in music for about a decade, but had been out of the scene for awhile. The music industry has been in an absolute shambles for quite some time. But this breakup of the industry, along with the explosion of technology, has opened up opportunities for performers to go DYI.

For the past year or so, Doman has gotten back into performing again and is taking things at a casual pace. No pipe dreams. No chasing the brass ring. No losing tons of cash trying to hustle your band from one big-name club to another. No convoluted contracts from a faceless major label.

Just enjoying the moments when they come, performing in varied intimate venues throughout the region and the country. Whatever happens happens. In the meantime, he just goes about doing what he loves to do - being independent, writing and performing his own music.

Go check out his page, and give a listen to the handful of tracks. "Shine" is a particularly strong selection.

Good Luck, MD!

Mini-Paris...

(Hat-tip to Ace of Spades)

Something lighthearted and very cool, a 29-year-old Frenchman built a miniature model of downtown Paris out of concrete blocks. The slide show (in the linked story, above) has some amazing pics.

P.S. I've updated my links lists on the left. Feel free to check 'em out. I'll eventually be adding more in the "Miscellaneous" section.

Now THAT was an a** whoopin'...

Even though I've been living in the L.A. area for the past 14 years, that doesn't necessarily mean that I've automatically become an L.A. sports team fan. I may be able to root for certain L.A. teams. But, to root for Lakers (or the Raiders - L.A. or Oakland versions) has always gone against my grain. It's like rooting for the Cowboys or Georgetown. I - just - can't - do - it.

So, it brought me a certain amount of glee to watch last night as the Lakers got SPANKED by the Celtics. I'm not a Celtics fan, either (in general)... but when you have to choose between the two... it's an obvious decision for me. I'm not a Red Sox fan, either. But I've cheered for them ever since Schilling and Francona (two former Phillies - pitcher and manager) joined Boston.

What I enjoyed most about the Celtics win is the way the players (and coaches) approached the game all season long. Old school. Defense. Fundamentals. Team play. It's why I'm a fan of coach Larry Brown. And all season long, all the way through to the post-championship interviews last night, all the "star" players talked about was their sacrificing their own talents and egos to work as a team to accomplish their goals.

Now, I don't know much about Kevin Garnett - as a player, nor as a person. I just don't follow pro hoops that much to really notice. At the post-game conference table last night, he was asked by a reporter what it felt like to finally be able to win it all after so many years of struggle and criticism. I loved how he responded, completely from the heart:

"You ever go to school and you have that bully mess with you every day? You know when you get out of your mom or dad's car that you're going to have to see him as soon as you walk through the door and he's going to be sitting there with his feet up waiting to pat your pockets.

"Then one day you say to yourself, 'It's going to stop tonight.' You walk through there and as soon as he pats your pocket you lay his ass out. You see the expression on his face and you're sort of kind of shook because you know what, you just knocked the bully out and you don't know how he's going to come back.

"So the next morning you come in and he's not there, and it's like a sigh of relief... [and if you've never been bullied before in your life, you won't understand what I'm talking about.]"

Don't misunderstand him. He's not talking about the Lakers.

Congratulations, K.G.!!!


I understand.

Just a little "thank you"...

This certainly isn't a heavy-traffic blog, but I continue with it as a way to make my little voice heard (a "voice in the wilderness," so to speak). It was four years ago this coming July 6 that I started this fledgling little blog. It is what it is. Yet, I still get amazed when I receive the occasional comment, or when I check my SiteMeter stats from time to time.

For example, I've had someone comment to a 1-year old post about an Al Stewart concert that I attended. Or to a year-old post about my remembrances of vacations gone by in Ocean City, Maryland. I've gotten a comment 2-years after I'd made some reference to a remote little band that used to play in the Philly area during the 80s, and the commenter was surprised that anyone would even know who the band was, let alone post about them.

Here are just some of the locations from around the globe where some of you have recently "clicked in" from:

Maunaloa, Hawaii
Manila, Philippines
Cebu, Philippines
Melbourne, Australia
Dzelentsy, Ukraine
Tel Aviv, Israel
Jakarta, Indonesia
Kochi, India
Louth, Ireland
London, England
Derbyshire, UK
Batman, Turkey
Bangkok, Thailand
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
Glen Falls, NY
Forth Worth, TX
Clearwater, FL
Phoenix, AZ
Walla Walla, WA
Sturgis, SD
Fresno, CA
Bronson, MI
Davis, WV
Atlanta, GA
St. Louis, MO
Thiensville, WI
Manchester Township, NJ
Warren, MI
Woodbridge, VA
Manchester, NH
East Providence, RI
Jamaica, NY
Springdale, PA
Miami, FL
Windsor, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Houston, TX
and Jasper, AL

Some of you may have accidently stumbled upon this place, then quickly left. Others have clicked through via Google or Yahoo search links on a specific topic. Still others have stuck around and browsed through my pages. Some have even returned from time to time.

The internet is an amazing place.

So, THANK YOU to all of you who happen to stop by my little corner of the world wide web.

And a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you Dads and Granddads out there!

Oregon Health Plan Covers Assisted Suicide, Not Drugs for Cancer Patient

Get the full article here.

Impeach Bush? The Anchoress has something to say about that...

Sometimes, The Anchoress just hits it right out of the ball park. Today, with this post, she does all that and more (with tons of links to back up her arguments).

Worth the read.

Like those high gas prices at the pump???

ANWR Exploration
House Republicans: 91% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed

Coal-to-Liquid
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 78% Opposed

Oil Shale Exploration
House Republicans: 90% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration
House Republicans: 81% Supported
House Democrats: 83% Opposed

Refinery Increased Capacity
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 96% Opposed

As Gateway Pundit says:

Democrats have blocked the development of new sources of petroleum.
Democrats have blocked drilling in ANWR.
Democrats have blocked drilling off the coast of Florida.
Democrats have blocked drilling off of the east coast.
Democrats have blocked drilling off of the west coast.
Democrats have blocked drilling off the Alaskan coast.
Democrats have blocked building oil refineries.
Democrats have blocked clean nuclear energy production.
Democrats have blocked clean coal production.

Click here and here and here for three informative posts from Flopping Aces, Red State, and Gateway Pundit.

Church History Comes Alive...

First up, the necropolis (click here for the full article):

Touring a necropolis beneath the Vatican is a lesson in life and a chance to go back in time to see the faith of the first Christians, says the archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica...

The crypt, which dates from the second century and is famous for its stucco decorations, is located in the middle of the route through the old necropolis that leads to the tomb of St. Peter...

... Cardinal Comastri stressed the importance of the Vatican necropolis: "We must make everyone understand that the basilica was not built here because of a whim, but because it has a history underneath that has been preserved, protected with extreme scruple, and it is the history of the Apostle Peter."

"Peter came to Rome," the cardinal continued. "Here he met with martyrdom during Nero's persecution. Then he was taken by Christians, because Roman law allowed the recovery of bodies of the condemned to give them burial.

"Peter was brought to the point where at present the papal altar is erected. He was buried there and we can say that for 2,000 years, that site is the justification of the presence of the Bishop of Rome next to the tomb of Peter, that is, of the Pope."

In fact, "we can almost touch with our hand the tomb where the first Christians of Rome placed the body of the Apostle Peter," he added. One can see, "extremely clearly, around the place of Peter's burial, a whole series of testimonies of devotion" to the apostle in that precise point, for example, the most famous inscription in Greek: "Petros eni" (Here is Peter).

For Cardinal Comastri, the visit to a necropolis "is a lesson of life, because death is part of life, it is inseparable. The ancient peoples respected the dead, and in this they were surely more civilized."

They "would never have violated a tomb, something that happens today and is a sign of a civilization's sickness," he reflected.

Second, is the recent discovery of the world's first Catholic Church (click here for the full article):

Archaeologists in Jordan have unearthed what they claim is the world's first church, dating back almost 2,000 years, The Jordan Times reported on Tuesday.

"We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD," the head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan, said.

Common Sense 101: The Hybrid Version...

So, you're thinking of getting one of those spiffy and fuel efficient Hybrid cars. Let's take a look at the numbers by comparing like-for-like models:

The Honda Civic Sedan Hybrid is reported to get approx. 45 MPG (so they say).

The Honda Civic Sedan DX is reported to get approx. 36 MPG (again, so they say).

That's a difference of 9 MPG. *woo-hoo*

The average driver drives 12,000 miles per year, which means that the standard Civic will use 333 gallons over the course of a year. The Hybrid model will use 267 gallons over that same period. That's a difference of 66 gallons a year. Gas is currently going at a national rate of $4.00 per gallon. That's a "saving" of $264 per year. Nice! Over a lifetime of 12 years, that's a saving of $3168. WOW!!!

But, the purchase price of the Civic DX is $15810, while the price of the Hybrid model is $25020. That's a difference of $9210. That means that you would have to drive that Hybrid for 35 years before you begin to recoup your initial investment. I doubt the car will last that long. Even if gas prices were at a steady $10 per gallon, it would still take you 14 years before you would recoup your investment.

"But, I'll be getting that cushy tax rebate," you say.

Uhhh, no you won't. That was only for the first 60,000 models purchased, and Honda and Toyota have already reached that sales mark, so... NO REBATE FOR YOU!

"But, I'll be saving the environment by using less gas," you say.

Ummmm, yeah... but that Hybrid has a lot more of those batteries with all those toxic chemicals that will need to be replaced on a regular basis just like your regular car battery. So, "six of one, half dozen of the other" as they say.

R.I.P. Tacoma...

'Tis truly a sad day. My friend and colleague, Todd, had to put down his ailing 16-year old cat, Tacoma, today. Todd, as you may recall, is the writer and director of the hilarious mockumentary, "An Inconvenient Penguin" which was previewed in Hollywood last month. Tacoma was a very talented feline and was the inspiration behind Todd's film career; he even appeared in the starring role in Todd's first official short film. After many months of poor health, it was now time to send Tacoma to that Great Scratching Post in the sky, where catnip is plenty and dogs are few.

So, in honor of the fine feline and his memory. I give you this link for you to view Tacoma in his debut and starring role in the short film, "The Silent Partner".

Hillary supporters are a bit miffed right now...

(Major hat-tips to PowerLine and Flopping Aces)

Hillary may have won Puerto Rico by 36% today. She may have won West Virginia and Kentucky by similar margins. She may have won key, crucial states such as CA, NY, NJ, PA, OH, IN, TX, TN, NH, MA, AZ, NM, AR, OK, FL and MI. She may have won the "popular" vote when all is said and done after Tuesday's final two primaries. But the "bosses behind closed doors" of the Democratic Party are doing their best to make sure The Obamessiah is the nominee.

Fine by me. Not so fine for Hillary supporters such as these three ladies:

Defining Marriage in California...

The Granola State just got fruitier, nuttier and flakier.

Last week I linked to a commentary by Dennis Prager on the recent California Supreme Court's 4-3 decision to allow same-sex "marriage" in the state (thus overturning the will of 61% of Californians who voted for Proposition 22 in 2000). His commentary summarizes, in part:

"[H]eterosexism," [will be considered] a bigoted preference for man-woman erotic love, and therefore to be extirpated from society.

Any advocacy of man-woman marriage alone will be regarded morally as hate speech, and shortly thereafter it will be deemed so in law.

Companies that advertise engagement rings will have to show a man putting a ring on a man's finger -- if they show only women fingers, they will be boycotted just as a company having racist ads would be now.

Films that only show man-woman married couples will be regarded as antisocial and as morally irresponsible as films that show people smoking have become.

Traditional Jews and Christians -- i.e. those who believe in a divine scripture -- will be marginalized. Already Catholic groups in Massachusetts have abandoned adoption work since they will only allow a child to be adopted by a married couple as the Bible defines it -- a man and a woman.

Anyone who advocates marriage between a man and a woman will be morally regarded the same as racist. And soon it will be a hate crime.

Indeed -- and this is the ultimate goal of many of the same-sex marriage activists -- the terms "male" and "female," "man" and "woman" will gradually lose their significance. They already are. On the intellectual and cultural left, "male" and "female" are deemed social constructs that have little meaning. That is why same-sex marriage advocates argue that children have no need for both a mother and a father -- the sexes are interchangeable. Whatever a father can do a second mother can do. Whatever a mother can do, a second father can do. Genitalia are the only real differences between the sexes, and even they can be switched at will.

Yesterday, Frank Pastore had a commentary of his own, which is also worth reading. Frank summaries, in part:

Same-sex marriage will inevitably lead to polygamy and perhaps “consensual” incest. The collective wisdom of Western civilization, and the Judeo-Christian value system beneath it, have always restricted marriage to two people, not closely related, one man and one woman, of legal age. For over 2,000 years, there have been laws against bigamy, polygamy, incest and minor marriage. No society in history has ever granted same-sex marriage while maintaining prolonged prohibition of polygamous and incestuous relationships...

If the 2,000 years of Western tradition was insufficient to maintain this court’s prohibition against same-sex marriage, how can this court appeal to that same tradition to prohibit incest and polygamy? If past generations have found incest, polygamy and same-sex marriage “inimical to mutually supportive and healthy family relationships” because of their “potentially detrimental effect on a sound family environment,” how can this court accept the traditional prohibitions against incest and polygamy, while rejecting the traditional prohibition against same sex marriage? If this court can overturn tradition and find a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, what will prevent future courts from similarly overturning tradition to find a constitutional right to incest and polygamy?

UPDATE: Per a recent California poll (after the court decision), 54%-35% (with 10% undecided) are for an Amendment to the State Constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. This follows the Prop 22 numbers of 2000 which were 61%-39%.

As Frank says in his last sentence:

We must turn around while our course is still reversible.

Currently reading "The Everlasting Man"...

I stumbled upon G.K. Chesterton first via his fiction. His novel "The Man Who Was Thursday" was on some list somewhere, and the subject matter intrigued me - so I bought the book and read it. Needless to say, I was baffled after turning the last page of the tome. Chesterton tends to do that to people. I then read his novel "Man Alive" and chuckled as the storyline progressed.

That was the extent of my Chesterton experience until my cable TV service started airing EWTN about five or six years ago (I now get EWTN via DishTV satellite). EWTN would begin airing this 1/2-hour series entitled "G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense", hosted by Dale Ahlquist. This broadened my world to the even broader world of G.K. Chesterton. I bought Dale's introductory book of the same name, which then lead me to reading "Orthodoxy", "St. Francis of Assisi", "The Flying Inn", Dale's second book "Common Sense 101", and then joining the American Chesterton Society (with it's offering of "Gilbert!" magazine).

When I started this blog some four years ago I chose the title "Arbiter of Common Sense" as a hat-tip to Chesterton. I even met Dale Ahlquist once about a year and a half ago when he came to my town to give a talk on all things Chesterton; had the chance to chat with him over breakfast at that morning's event, and bought his second book (which he graciously signed).

I've given a copy of "The Complete Father Brown Stories" as well as "Common Sense 101" to my Dad, and "The Everlasting Man" to one of my brother's, as gifts. Finally, I got around to buying that last book for myself - having just started reading it this past week (only a couple chapters in) - and have been struck by the powerful precision with which Chesterton presents his arguments.

Sitting on my bookshelves are several more G.K. tomes waiting patiently for my fingers to split open and turn their pages, including: "The Ball and The Cross", "St. Thomas Aquinas", "Heretics", and the "Collected Works" Volumes 4 and 5. Eventually I'll get his to his "Collected Works" Volumes 3, 20 and 21, "Tremendous Trifles", "A Miscellany of Men", and "The Well and The Shallows", but I think it might be awhile before I get to them.

If you haven't read any G.K. Chesterton, START! For fiction, start with "Man Alive" or the "Father Brown" stories. For non-fiction, delve into "The Everlasting Man". For a great overview, read Dale's two books. Watch the TV series on EWTN, or buy the DVDs. Join the American Chesterton Society and not only get "Gilbert!" magazine, but also member discounts on all the books!

You can thank me later.

~Trubador: The Arbiter of Common Sense

Back in the saddle again...

I have returned from a brief trip back east to attend my brother's wedding (third go-round for him... long story). Good times were had by all, though I am exhausted. One day to fly. One day to recover from jet-lag. One day for the wedding. One day to fly back. Back to work the following day. Ugh!

Anyways... while that event was going on, another momentous event occurred back here in the good ole California courts regarding the re-definition of marriage.

Rather than expressing my own thoughts on the subject, I refer you to Dennis Prager's excellent commentary.

Heterosexism. Wow! Now that's exacting precision.

EC:WC FCA - Three DVD Recommendations...

I’ve got three film recommendations for you that are out on DVD. All three are powerful films, with the first two having subtle/distant connections to 9/11.

“The Kite Runner” is based on the best selling book of the same title, set pre-9/11 (mostly in Afghanistan). It follows the long friendship and struggles of two childhood friends. It’s a foreign language film with English subtitles. It’s dark and powerful, yet finds its way towards hope and redemption.

Next is “Reign Over Me” starring Adam Sandler (yes, that Adam Sandler) and Don Cheadle. This is NOT your typical Sandler flick. It’s a drama with many moments of subtle and poignant humor. The premise is of two old classmates meeting for the first time in many years; Cheadle is a successful orthodontist, while Sandler has been “lost” after the national tragedy of 9/11 has crumbled his world.

The last film is “Bella” - a small, independent flick about a famous soccer player who retreats from his career and the world after being affected by a tragic incident. While working at his brother’s restaurant he observes one of the waitresses as she loses her job after arriving late one-too-many times. He suddenly feels the need to lend a helping hand, and the film explores their burgeoning relationship.

Enjoy all three! They're all better than most of the crap that's shoveled at you on both the big and small screen.

The Mary Jane March - 2008...

You just can't make this stuff up.

Dateline: Palm Springs, CA:

About 10 people gathered today in Palm Springs to take part in the Global Marijuana March, a police watch commander said.

"They walked a couple blocks and that was about it,'' said Palm Springs police Lt. Don Fallon. ``No problems. They were very cooperative.''

According to a website for the 2008 Global Marijuana March, people in 239 cities in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas signed up to take part in the event today.

Organizers billed the global effort as the 10th annual march to legalize medical marijuana. Marchers in Palm Springs gathered about 11 a.m. near Indian Canyon Drive and Baristo Road.

Ten people showed up... 10! Uhh, I gather all the others were so stoned they forgot about the march.

I guess the reason why it ended after only a couple blocks was because they all suddenly got the munchies and headed into the local Wienerschnitzel for corn dogs.

Classic! Just classic!

An Inconvenient Penguin...

Tonight I am going to the premiere of my friend & colleague's, Todd Lampe, new short film "An Inconvenient Penguin" in West Hollywood.


Todd creates these hilarious short flicks, and this is his biggest project yet. In this one he spoofs two sets of films at once - the plethora of penguin movies like "March of the Penguins" with Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth". I've seen a rough cut already and was laughing my a** off. Two showings tonight @ Lammle's on Sunset Blvd.

You can catch the trailer here. The official website is here. And you can check out Todd's previous short flicks at his Precipice Productions website. He's planning on submitting it to many of the film festivals throughout the country.

Good luck, Todd!!!

Lame attempts at being artistic #5...

Jen's post about art (which I referenced in the previous post) made me realize that it's been awhile since I've posted some art pix of my own. They're simple shots; nothing fancy. Hope you enjoy 'em.

CROSS BEAM


SAND FINGERS


LADYBUG SERIES 2 (purple)


LADYBUG SERIES 5 (yellow w/ bee)


LIQUID GROOVES 1


LIQUID GROOVES 2

The Definition of Art...

(Hat-tip to Paragraph Farmer):

Jennifer of Et Tu? (a former atheist who is now a Catholic, and has been chronicling her journey on her blog), has an interesting post about poetry and art:

"At some point after my conversion, I heard about the concept that true art is beautiful, in some form or another, and that in order to be beautiful it must convey truth. I didn't get it. How can art be true?..."

She goes on to discover:

"Art is the secret handshake of the children of God, the inside joke among those with souls. The spark that is ignited within us when we are touched by a work of art is a spark of recognition: the artist has brought us a souvenir from our homeland beyond the material world, the place that none of us should know about, but all of us do. To connect with a piece of art is to connect with the artist as a fellow traveler, to realize that you are both walking the same rocky road, and that he is homesick too. And it matters because true art, art that seeks a connection of souls, makes it harder to devalue and dehumanize one another. It reminds us what it means to be human."

Read the entire post here.

On a related note, it's time again for the Ventura ArtWalk - what was originally a tri-annual event on Saturdays in downtown Ventura has now become a bi-annual event that covers the entire weekend. This weekend is the Spring event, and the Autumn event will be in mid-October. For more information, click here.

Oil prices have NOTHING to do with supply & demand...

... nor do they have much to do with the "weak" U.S. dollar. Read between the lines from the comments of the OPEC chief:

OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah el al-Badri said Sunday oil prices would likely go higher and that the group was ready to raise production if the price pressure was due to a shortage of supply — something he doubted.

"Oil prices, there is a common understanding that has nothing to do with supply and demand," al-Badri said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Rome.

Oil prices reached a new high Friday at $117 a barrel.

A host of supply and demand concerns in the U.S. and abroad, along with the dollar's weakness, have served to support prices, even as record retail gasoline prices in the U.S. appear to be dampening demand. Crude prices have risen as much as 4 percent last week.

The OPEC chief said the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries "will not hesitate" to increase production if the group thought the higher prices were due to shortages. But he said more oil will not solve the high prices.

OPEC's production levels were just one of many factors, he said.

"But how much higher it will go, of course it depends on a number of things: the political situation, whether there is a natural catastrophe, whether there are speculations in the market, whether there are strikes in certain producing countries. So there are many other factors other than OPEC production," al-Badri said.

As I have always suspected, the increase in prices have less to do with supply/demand or the status of the dollar, but more to do with the OPEC nations (most of which are in the Middle East) who are doing this to spite the Western World by using it as another "front" on the war with radical Islam.

How to deal with this problem? Easy!

Drill in ANWAR (upper Alaska, only two square miles of land out of 500,000 in that state), drill in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, extract oil from shale - extracting in place, not via excavation - in the four-state region of Colorado/Utah/Wyoming/Montana. These three things alone would supply us with 1/3 of the total amount of oil we annually export from overseas.

In addition, build new refineries (something which hasn't been done in over 25 years).

Build new nuclear fission power plants (one thing that France has done right. Notice that no accidents have occurred anywhere in the world since Chernobyl and 3 Mile Island? The industry has learned from these incidents and have become much safer).

Dump the stupid, corn-based ethanol fiasco (which is inefficient in that it takes too much energy to extract and convert ethanol from that source, plus it raises the cost of all other corn-base products as well as corn itself - for food and also for animal feed, which raises beef and chicken prices). Instead, import the more efficient sugar cane-base ethanol from Brazil and other South American allies.

Invest more in fuel-cell technology, nuclear fusion technology, and other alternative energy technologies (provided that they are promising, efficient, and cost-effective).

And, finally, break up OPEC and make individual producers do their bidding in a true, free open market system. This will foster competition while also letting the world know which oil-producing countries are doing suspect dealings (i.e., making known which questionable regimes they support by analyzing the pricing deals they make to sell their oil).

Links for Coverage of the Papal Visit to the U.S.A.

For those of you who are looking for extensive and quality coverage of the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the U.S., I point you towards the following on-line resources:

* EWTN's dedicated site for full texts of all of the speeches, addresses and homilies, plus audio, video, photos, and commentary.

* Christopher (of Against The Grain) who opened a new website called "Benedict in America" specifically for the Papal visit.

* Rocco at Whispers In The Loggia for wonderful commentary.

* Fr. Zuhlsdorf for comprehensive liturgical and papal analysis.

* Paul at Alive and Young for some personal experience, reflection and humor.

You can't go wrong with these resources. Of course, you can also read Pope Benedict's works such as his book "Jesus of Nazareth" and "The Essential Pope Benedict XVI" (a compendium of his writings over the years), as well as all of his individual books and writings via Ignatius Press.

Cult of Personality & Oprah...

/queue the Terrence Trent Darby music/

Oprah Winfrey may have gone too far in exploiting and distributing the teachings of a questionable New Age writer.

On Monday night, Winfrey conducted her weekly Web "event" seminar with New Age writer Eckhart Tolle. His message: "Life is the dancer and you are the dance."

Got that?

The seminar was No. 7 in a series of 10. On the first 90-minute Webcast with Tolle, Oprah extolled the author’s virtues, calling his best-selling "New Earth" book "one of the most important books of our time," the seminars one of "the most exciting things I’ve ever done."

Read the full story here.

So is this what happens when you're regularly exposed to the rants and ravings of "Rev." Jeremiah Wright? You either run away from him (resulting in your rejecting the Truth of revelation in Jesus Christ - something Wright was supposed to be preaching, but wasn't - and thus making yourself vulnerable to false messiahs and false religions) as did Oprah, or you have him be your spiritual mentor for 20 years (and thus manufacture/transform yourself into your own false messiah) as did The Obamessiah?

There's really only one thing to do for these lost souls... PRAY FOR THEM! They obviously need it.

Speaking of dopes...

Jimmy Carter, the undisputed WORST president of the 20th century, has chosen to visit with the Hamas leaders.

Via Fox News, what say one of these so-called leaders of Hamas?

A sermon last Friday by a prominent Muslim cleric and Hamas member of the Palestinian parliament openly declared that "the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital," would soon be conquered by Islam.

The fiery sermon, delivered by Yunis al-Astal and aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV, predicted that Rome would become "an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread though Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, even Eastern Europe."

"Allah has chosen you for Himself and for His religion," al-Astal preached, "so that you will serve as the engine pulling this nation to the phase of succession, security and consolidation of power, and even to conquests through da'wa and military conquests of the capitals of the entire world.

"Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesized by our prophet Muhammad," he added.

Al-Astal last June preached how it was the duty of Palestinian women to martyr themselves by becoming homicide bombers.

"The most exalted form of jihad is fighting for the sake of Allah, which means sacrificing one's soul by fighting the enemies head-on, even if it leads to martyrdom," he said in a June 23, 2007 interview.

"When jihad becomes an individual duty, it applies to women too, because women do not differ from men when it comes to individual duties," he said, calling Jews "the brothers of apes and pigs" who should "taste the bitterness of death."

Friday's rant repeated that theme: "Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and has planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam.

"I believe that our children, or our grandchildren, will inherit our jihad and our sacrifices, and, Allah willing, the commanders of the conquest will come from among them.

"Today, we instill these good tidings in their souls – and by means of the mosques and the Koran books, and the history of our Prophets, his companions, and the great leaders, we prepare them for the mission of saving humanity from the hellfire at whose brink they stand."

Nice to see that Mr. Carter has maintained that impeccable and pristine integrity of his.

The gift that keeps on giving...

New things emerge from the Tony Rezko trial in Chicago (via RedState), with more intriguing links to The Obamessiah:

The Chicago Sun Times Rezko blog is reporting that Barack Obama attended a reception organized by his mentor, Tony Rezko, for Iraqi zillionaire Nadhmi Auchi:

When Tony Rezko held a reception at his home for Iraqi-born billionaire Nadhmi Auchi on April 3, 2004, White House hopeful Barack Obama and his wife were also there, Stuart Levine testified just now at Rezko's trial.

Who is this Mr. Auchi?

He was charged in the 1950s with being an accomplice of Saddam Hussein, when the future tyrant was acquiring his taste for blood. He was investigated in the 1980s for his part in alleged bribes to the fabulously corrupt leaders of post-war Italy. In the 1990s, the Belgium Ambassador to Luxembourg claimed that Auchi's bank held money Saddam and Colonel Gadaffi had stolen from their luckless peoples. In 2002, officers from the Serious Fraud Squad raided the offices of one of Auchi's drug companies as part of an investigation of what is alleged to be the biggest swindle ever of the NHS. With allegations, albeit unproven, like these hanging over him, wouldn't you think that British MPs would have the sense to stay away?

Yah know... earlier this year artist Shepard Fairey designed a limited edition poster for The Obamessiah. It harkened back to the old-style communist posters from the first half of the 20th century. The design was meant as a compliment, and the left wingnuts loved 'em:



I like this one better:


Or, how about this one?: