The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare

This book had pretty much no suspense, and was one big sad story. So it is near the bottom of my list of The Cat Who books.

Sexual and Violent Fiction at the Library

I have recently been browsing the library book shelves for good fiction. I found our beloved "The Cat Who..." series by browsing, and thought I could find some more good books. I was shocked to find that most of the fiction is extremely sexual and violent. It is almost impossible to find a work of modern fiction that is readable. So I decided that I will have to hear about good clean fiction by word of mouth. If you read any good books with no explicit sex scenes and no grotesque depictions of violence, please send them on to me. This is no criticism of public libraries, by the way.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to comment on "Christian fiction". I don't believe in being an isolationist. My solution to the above problem is not to find all of my books in Christian catalogs or stores. I think Christian fiction can be very good (I read 3 Ted Dekker books already this year). However, I do not want to limit my range of reading.

Restaurant Review: A Taste of China

Occasion: To eat

Location: 79th & Quivira - where restaurants never make it

Price: less than $6 each

Taste: great

Gluten-free items: enough. you have to guess, but when you're experienced like me, you can do it.

Service speed: Really fast, but it wasn't exactly rush hour

It was another hole in the wall Chinese place, just like the rest of them. There were 3 pieces of art - 2 paintings of apples, and one photograph of running horses. But the taste was maybe above average. I also wondered how many restaurants have the same name.

Hallympics

Last Friday, my work (StrategicOne) participated in Hallympics. We went around and did competitions such as the Stare-Down, Paper Rock Scissors, the key toss, and paper football field goals. But the funniest things were the Fact or Fiction quiz and the Bizarro.

On the Fact or Fiction quiz, I tied for 1st for the number of people who guessed mine wrong. Only 5 people guessed this correctly.

My two options were:

• I went on a date during college
• I spent a summer in Jamaica on ministry staff

On the Bizarro quiz, next to an outlandish statement, people could write anyone's name.

I won the most votes (7) for "Most likely to be a future American Idol winner"
And I tied with 4 votes for "Most likely to be a superhero (right now) using their job at S1 as a front"

I also received 2 votes for "I would be most afraid of this person if they turned into a werewolf"
I received 1 vote for "This person would be the winner of a StrategicOne cage fighting tournament"

Book Review: A Painted House, by John Grisham

Since this is the first John Grisham book I've read, it is ironic that I chose the only one that is not about lawyers. This is about a 7-year old boy growing up on a cotton farm in rural Arkansas. His family employs hill people and Mexicans on the same day. The rest of the book is about funny or freakish events that happen. Also, it is a good life piece about a farming lifestyle.

Also very cool is how the boy likes baseball. And his uncle is in the army in Korea. I thought my dad would like to read it since he grew up on a farm, likes baseball, and went to Korea. But I don't think my dad is into fiction that much!

I'm still debating whether or not to give this to Courtney as my birthday book. As part of our agreement, I can give her a book to read for my birthday. In fact, I went and picked this one up because I am frantically looking for a book to hand off to her! In summary, I enjoyed the book, and made me thankful that I didn't have to pick cotton all day as a 7-year old.

Movie Review: Cimarron

Academy Best Picture 1931

The sound was horrible. We couldn't understand what anyone said in the first 5 minutes. It had some good racial themes for 1931. A hero was an African American boy. An American Indian was married into the family. A woman became a member of Congress.

It was also a good history lesson about the wildness of the Oklahoma frontier.

I can't wait to see a Best Picture in color though!

Best of February

Best Movie That I Saw: Freedom Writers
Best Book I Read: Red, by Ted Dekker
Best New-To-Me Restaurant: Fronteras, at 79th and Quivira

Throwing Chickens

I never knew about a chicken-throwing tradition at KSU until I read this article.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6516612

I think the animal rights activists are weird to be concerned about chickens and their intelligence. But I agree that throwing any object on the basketball court is questionable.

Keeping out the Pens

I just want to say that I think KCTV5 and I are responsible for keeping the Pittsburg Penguins from relocating to Kansas City. When team officials heard my opinion on January 4th that "hockey isn't that interesting to watch on TV", they began to have second thoughts about moving to KC. I have no regrets about my opinions and its consequences.

Restaurant Review: Oklahoma Joe's (Olathe)

Occasion: Going out to eat with a client from Washington DC

Location: 119th area in Olathe

Price: I didn't pay!

Taste: great

Gluten-free items: Not so good. I think I got sick.

Service speed: We stood in line for 20 minutes. Not so good.

Movie Review: All Quiet on the Western Front

Oscar Best Picture Winner 1929-1930

Some plot details may follow.

Told from the German point of view in World War I. This movie was banned in some countries, because they viewed it as anti-war. It describes the atrocities of war, and points out the stupidity of it. These German soldiers did not really even know why they were fighting.

This is a movie where everyone dies. When one soldier dies, another one is excited to take the boots of the one who died. They are very nice boots, and the soldier says something along the lines of "Wearing these boots I'll be happy, even on the front lines." Then a couple of scenes later, he is shown with a huge smile, marching in his boots. And then he is shot and killed. Then that is repeated with another soldier wearing the nice boots.

Then towards the end, the main character tells another soldier, "You're the last thing I've got". then within a couple of minutes, his friend is killed by shrapnel from a bomb. Then, finally the movie ends when the main character is killed.

Another memorable scene is after the Germans have been starving in these makeshift underground places while they are being bombed. A couple of them go insane. Then when the bombing stops, then go out into the trenches and gun down the Allied troops that are charging them. The Allied troops one by one are killed by the machine guns.

This is probably the best old movie we've seen so far.

Funny Video: Me Worship

Thanks to courtney for tipping me off to this:



"This amazing collection is great to share with friends, if you have any"

Restaurant Review: Fronteras

Occasion: Needed to get out of the house into the cold

Location: 79th & Quivira, next to all the other restaurants trying to be the first ones to make it at that location

Price: Inexpensive, especially with a Buy 1 Get 1 Free Coupon. Plus they gave us the more expensive one free.

Taste: above average

Gluten-free items: many, but they all kind of are the same thing. I guess that describes Mexican food.

Service speed: Good for how busy it was

Service quality: Very friendly and good service

Other Notes: It's a small place. There was a 20 minute wait, and we stood the whole time. Hopefully they can make some money and expand the place.

Book Review: White

The 3rd in the series about Thomas Hunter.

Web site: http://www.teddekker.com/

This book was good. And it tied in the theology that runs deep in the books. The series is a good epic story about this world and another world. It is a psychological thriller, but it also has a lot of deep meaning. Now that I'm unhooked from these books, I wonder what I will read next??

Book Review: The Cat Who Played Post Office

Qwilleran gets knocked out when he is attacked by a car. That is because he is asking too many questions about a girl that disappeared from the town.

I believe this was one of the best so far of the Cat Who series. It was creative in its storytelling, and really kept us guessing until the end.

Movie Review: Broadway Melody

Tagline: The pulsating drama of Broadway's bared heart speaks and sings with a voice to stir your soul!

Notes: Oscar Best Picture 1929

Review: This movie wasn't very good. I was left wondering if it only won a Best Picture because it used sound well, since it was the first Best Picture with sound and singing.

Two sisters love the same man, who is really unlikeable to me. He is courting one sister, and then loves the other one only because she is beautiful. The "beautiful one" tries to avoid him out of love for her sister, but she ends up with the guy. So that was not a happy ending. Plus, the VHS format cut off the top of their heads and things in the left side of the screen. I don't recommend this one.

Movie Review: Wings

When did I see this? Last Sunday

Year this movie was made: 1927?

Famous people: Clara Bow, known as the IT girl of the 20's. (Not IT as in Information Techonology)

Plot line: Two young men, one rich, one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I.

Our experience: Courtney and I were surprised that it is a silent film. Neither of us had seen one before. We were also surprised at how well it was done, with the limited techology they must have had. There are several fight scenes completely in the air (or apparently in the air). The plot was not predictable. We were surprised at the lax morals depicted. As you may know, American soldiers who went to Paris were not always on best behavior. So there was a lot drunkeness depicted. We also saw an actresses' bare back, which Courtney thought would have been scandalous. Overall it was good. I would probably not sit and watch it again, but was good one time.

excitement of recruiting

I was recently involved in bringing someone new into our company. It all went quickly.

• I received an email from her last Wednesday saying that she was looking for a job. Her skills and interests have everything to do with my company. I passed it on to people who are hiring
• Thursday the people hiring got back into town and called her.
• Thursday night, I spoke to her on the phone, and gave her more details about the company
• Friday afternoon she came into the first interview
• Tuesday afternoon she came for the second interview
• Tuesday afternoon I found out that she was offered the job
• This morning I found out that she accepted the job

This morning I was mentioned in her mass email:

God is amazing! I have received a wonderful Valentine's Day gift. This morning I accepted a job offer from StrategicOne as an Account Manager....I am very excited about this opportunity. I have to say a big thank you to Dan Gras who thought that my skills might be a good fit at his company (StrategicOne) and quickly passed on my information. Without him I would not have this opportunity.

It is exciting to be a part of this. It reminds me of "bringing someone into the kingdom". I'm still working on that analogy. The basic thought is that we just have a small but important role in it, and it brings joy.

Weekend Play-By-Play February 10

I haven't had much time to update this. We had another busy weekend, and also I became a member of FaceBook, which has taken some of my time. So here goes...

• Friday we went bowling with the middle school group from church
• Saturday we went shopping for various house supplies
• Saturday we hung out with a family of 11 who are old friends of my parents.

The infant is not pictured. And the gray-haired man is my dad.

• Sunday morning I went running, and also took pictures of the ice fountain near Dillons at 75th and Quivira:

This is usually just a non-spectacular fountain. We are surprised they left the water running this whole time, but it makes us laugh.

• Then we watched the first ever Oscar winning "Best Picture", Wings, from 1927. As usual, I will write a separate blog about that.
  

Pictures of a Chemical Plant Fire

Courtney took these pictures from her work yesterday

She went home early so that she didn't breathe in chemicals that were beginning to rain down. Does anyone else have stories about this explosion, or other fires?

Book Review: Red

Publisher's Note: The Stakes of the mind-bending story spun in Black are raised to a new level in Red. In one world, Thomas Hunter must lead a small, highly trained force of 30,000 against an unstoppable army of a million warriors. In the other he will face an evil beyond the scope of his imagination.

Review: It's hard to review this one, because saying anything about it would give away details in the first book, Black. But it was very good, containing Bible truths retold in a completely different world. It also developed that other world very well. It was full of action. It was very enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone.

Movie Review: Freedom Writers

Famous people: Hillary Swank (pictured)

When did I see this? Friday, February 1, 7 PM

Why did I see this? Courtney passionately wanted to see it, so I asked her out. We hadn't been in the theater since November, so that was special too.
Year this movie was made: 2007

Review: I went expecting to see a template of an urban school story where a teacher comes in and changes everyone. But it was very special and fresh. Based on a true story, this brillant woman turns down more lucrative careers to be a high school teacher in Long Beach. Most of her students are in gangs, and they hate each other based on race. She overcomes a lack of support and the students' child-like reading levels to help them to succeed. You should see it.

If you want to read more about the true story, you can click here.

Restaurant Review: Chen's Super Buffet

Occasion: For Mom's birthday

Location: Shawnee Mission Parkway and Quivira, catty corner from our favorite Chinese buffet, the Home Delight

Price: $9.25, but free when dad pays

Taste: below average

Food selection: Lots of seafood. Actually the place smelled like seafood. You are paying for the seafood in the buffet price. Courtney has some allergies to seafood, and if she didn't, she hates it anyway. There were many buffets, but there didn't seem to be very many main courses to me.

Service quality: We mentioned it was mom's birthday. I didn't think our waitress understood 'birthday', or anything we said. But when we were almost ready to leave, they brought out a platter of desert with a candle, and sang happy birthday. I was really surprised. So I have to say that service was great!

Best of January

Best Movie That I Saw: The Notebook
Best Book I Read: Black, by Ted Dekker
Best New-To-Me Restaurant: Manny's on SW Boulevard

Mom's Birthday and Pictures!

Mom's Birthday - isn't she pretty for her age, which I won't tell you?

Our Christmas picture, which will someday be really funny

New Years Eve

Reunion with Courtney's old Camp friends (they call themselves the Millenial Mixer, I'm guessing since it started around 2000)

Book Review: The Cat Who Played Brahms

This is the 5th of the series of about 20, I think. Courtney and I read these to each other out loud. I take the odd-numbered chapters, and she takes the rest.

In this one, the main character, Qwilleran, takes an extended vacation to a lake resort. And he and his cats and his love interest get involved in solving a murder mystery.

The ending was good. This book was not in my top 3 from the series. My top 3, I think, are the first 3.

Movie Review: The Sting

When I was a kid (and older), I played Scott Joplin on the piano. People asked me if I had seen the movie The Sting. Scott Joplin's pieces are the soundtrack of the movie.

It is set in the 1930's. The two famous actors were Robert Redford and Paul Newman. They play two con men who are trying to trying to take down a mob boss. There are lots of twists and turns. This is also in the running for the best movie I've seen this month.

This movie won the Oscar for best picture in 1974.

Movie Review: The Notebook

It's the end of January, and I only have another day to review these movies. Then I will do a Best Of January thing.


We watched this with our year-long youth intern Bryson and his girlfriend. That was after we tried to go bowling, and all the lanes were taken, and stopped by the movies, and all of them started at 9:40.

So we picked this one democratically. Courtney had seen it before. She had won it at a DVD gift exchange at Christmas time.

Surprisingly, this movie touched my heart. Sure, it had premarital sex which I disapproved of. But if you ignore that, it was a touching love story. Especially the factor that the story is being narrated by an old man that is reading to a lady who has a memory problem similar to Alzheimers. This is in the running for the best movie I saw in January!

I almost forgot to mention that this movie made me feel like I wasn't being romantic enough toward Courtney, and I want to be more romantic. With Valentine's Day coming, I really needed that!

network is down...what do you do?

The network went down at work today. We could not read work email, access network folders, or use the Internet. We not only ran out of productive things to do, but also struggled to find ways to waste time. I attempted to install my new car headlight, but there was a cold wind, and i ended up needing some tools. then eventually about 7 of us did team-building by playing something like Pictionary. We were laughing and were apparently high on permanent markers.

All the fun aside, imagine being the system administrator or the owner or COO. This was very serious for them, and should have been for us as well. We were more than willing to work, but did not have the capability. Eventually we had the option of going home, after hearing that it wouldn't be fixed soon.

Courtney's car wouldn't start this morning, so she got a ride home. We both were at home at 3 PM, which is very weird for a work day. With dad out of town, we are left to our own minds, and we'll try to get it to the auto shop soon.

Last weekend we saw 2 more movies. The Sting and The Notebook. We also primed our bathroom walls. So they are semi-white now instead of pink. They need one more coat, and then we will be painting light blue.

Movie Review: Rear Window

Famous people: Alfred Hitchcock - director, James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr

Why did I see this? This is Courtney's favorite Hitchcock movie

Review: The actors did a great job. Courtney stated that Grace Kelley is beautiful. See, I didn't say it. The movie takes place entirely from James Stewart character's apartment window. He is stuck with a cast on his leg, and spends his time looking at his neighbors. And a lot of neighbors are doing funny things.

Anyway, he suspects that someone has been murdered that he has been viewing, and the movie is about that.

It is totally suspenseful, and has a great ending.

The extra features gave us an appreciation for things that we would have otherwise taken for granted, such as the costume design, sound, and set construction. Also, this movie had to go through an intense restoration process, since the original was in a poor state.

professional picture

Here is a picture that was taken at my workplace. I cropped it and added the frame around it, as we do for all pictures on our web site. I won't be on the web site yet, but I put the frame around it anyway.

Weekend of January 20

My weekend started off well with a Happy Hour to say goodbye to 4-year employee Ashley. We met at the Fox & Hound. I enjoyed seeing a few other former employees that I really miss. Now there are 5 people at my company that have seniority over me, in a company of 20 people. At 3 years, I am a veteran.

On the way to Fox & Hound, I had seen my Uncle Tim walking at a busy intersection. I tried to u-turn and give him a ride home, but he mysteriously disappeared. So I decided that I would stop by their home afterwards. So I did. (I later found out that Tim walks through a building near the intersection to escape the nasty weather)

I decided to call Courtney (she had been at a youth worker meeting), and she came over. When I told her there were kittens, that sealed her decision. She got to play with the 3 kittens, and she also got to tell Tim and Rebekah about her ministry and life.

Then Saturday Courtney countinued her youth worker meeting, so I got a few things done around the house. Then Saturday evening, we went to a play named The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged at Shawnee Mission North. This was a play that Courntney saw and loved in college, so she wanted me to experience it. Her college friend Sharon went with us. It was snowing, so that was fun.

Sunday I played keyboards in church on the brand new keyboard. We had some guest worship leaders from Heartland Church, which inspired me to finally go to the 20-something meeting on Sunday nights. So we went to that at 7 PM. It was really long and LOUD. It was more like college than anything I've experienced (since college). These kinds of things lose their appeal when you get married, I think. It had a lot of energy. But I am glad that I went, because experiences are important, and they help you to understand yourself.

Then we went home and watched a movie (yes it was a late night). Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. Ala tradition, I will write a review of my movie watching experience. then sleep.... a good weekend.

Book Review: Black

Why? Courtney gave this book to me to read for her birthday. It's a fun exchange we will always have.

Author: Ted Dekker

Publisher's synopsis: By day's end, three million people will be carriers of the deadliest virus in history. There is no vaccine. There is no anti-virus. The world's only hope is Thomas Hunter, and he has already been killed. Twice. Enter an adrenaline-laced epic where dreams and reality collide - and the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance of one man's choices.

Web site: http://www.teddekker.com/

Did I like it? Yes. This was some of the best fiction I've read. Maybe the best. Of course, I haven't read much fiction. It was kind of like watching a 24 episode. Lots of action. It is also intellectually intriguing. And it is spiritually feeding, because there are many spiritual undertones. I say undertones, because it is never made obvious. It is all analogy. Read it. It should be in your local library. I am about to read RED.

Super Sunday and icy weather

I have scraped my car windshield about 10 times this weekend. My shoulder and hand are bruised, and I have broken my scraper. Needless to say, the icy weather did not keep us from going anywhere.

We attended 24/7 prayer at our church on Saturday from 6 to 7. Then we stopped by Courtney's aunts house.


Courtney went to church early for a meeting.
Then she taught Sunday School.
Then she ran slides for worship, and I played bass.
Then we attended the Friendship Luncheon, which had 2 things that were gluten-free, including plain salad.

Then we went home and I had lunch.

Then at 6 we left for Courtney's co-workers house, driving 40 on the highway, to watch 24. The beginning of this season was not disappointing! It was the best beginning of a 24 ever. I can't wait to see the rest.

*Everyone else who had been invited cancelled due to weather. I retain my comparison of this to Canadian weather. The roads were not great, but not bad enough to keep us from going!

Movie Review: Unbreakable

When did I see this: Friday, January 12

Why? It was raining ice outside and we needed something to do. This movie was part of Courtney's personal video collection that she brought into our marriage.

Who? I watched it with Courtney

Stars: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Review: The plot was intriguing. I felt I was pulling for both main characters. And at the end it was a "huh" moment, where I had to close myself in the office and think for 5 minutes. This movie used several creative camera angles. This is yet another movie you should see.

Movie Review: Chocolat

When did I see this: last weekend

Who did I see it with? Courtney

Occasion: I gave it to Courtney for her birthday

Year movie was made: 2000

Review: good. worth a watch. Probably not for kids. Sorry about the lazy review. It was good, go rent it.

Restaurant Review: Jade Bowl

Type of food: Chinese

Location: 75th and Antioch, across from Shawnee Mission Medical

Price: lunch for about $5

Serving size: big enough

Taste: great

Gluten-free items: Plenty, but you have to guess which ones are breaded and which aren't! I guessed right, fortunately!

Service speed: Slow, but it's tough for a mainly delivery place to cater to the inside customers as well

Service quality: Very friendly and good service

Occasion for going: Spend time with my sister Mo

Other notes: I'd go again

Next Sunday: 24 season 6

We are excited about the next season of 24, our favorite TV show.

Restaurant Review: California Pizza Kitchen

Location: Plaza

Occasion for going: Courtney's birthday

Web site: http://www.cpk.com/

Food: Not very many gluten-free items. Apparently there is a widespread problem of people thinking the Steakhouse Salad has steak meat, and that happened to me as well. Then I thought the Thai dish might have rice noodles instead of wheat noodles, and that didn't pan out. So I ended up with a great Cobb salad. If you do eat pizza, they have lots of good selections.

Price: reasonable

Service: uptight and miserly. Courtney got no free food for her birthday, they gave her the wrong type of pizza crust, and merely apologized, and did not take our coupon that had expired by 3 months. I did not set up the coupon to be received well, but still, you'd think any 3 of those things would benefit us somehow. Nope.

Other notes: I got interviewed by KCTV5 immediately after leaving this restaurant, as we walked toward Vinca.

Restaurant Review: Manny's

Location: 207 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO

Occasion for going: Jon and Amanda Philgreen are back in town and went to eat with YouthFront people

WebSite: http://www.mannyskc.com/

Service: very fast, except for the end, when it took 20 minutes to pick up our payment.

Food: Good. (No one cares what I had for lunch)

Other Notes: This is the largest Mexican restaurant I've ever been in . They seated our group of 14 (in 2 different booths) within 15 minutes of arrival on a Friday at 12:30.

Dan on the news

I was on the 10:00 news last night on KCTV5. We were on the plaza celebrating Courtney's birthday, when we came across the news people. And off camera they asked what we think about the Penguins coming to town. Courtney said, "What sport?" The newspeople laughed and decided not to interview her. Then they rolled the cameras and asked me "If the Penguins moved to Kansas City, how many games would you watch on TV?". And I said "None. I'd be happy if the Penguins moved here, but hockey isn't that interesting to watch on TV." Off-camera, we discussed more with the newspeople (Ty Wilson was the interviewer), and we said we'd go to one or two games.

So at night we watched the news. they showed some survey results with 38% percent of respondents would watch No games. Then they showed a clip of me saying "hockey isn't that interesting to watch on TV". And the name "Ben Alleres" flashed on the bottom of the screen. So Courtney and I are joking that if I ever get famous, I will go by "Ben Alleres". Overall, a great thing to happen on Courtney's birthday (which is coincidentally also my dad's birthday).

Happy Birthday Courtney!!

Isn't she beautiful?

Location: Musician's Friend Warehouse

Today I took a day off. I only had one extra day off that we call the Eves holiday. We get half day off on each Eve, but typically we combine them. This year I did not take any vacation days, but only had this Eves holiday. Anyway, that was today.

Location: Musician's Friend Warehouse
Who went with me: Lara A and Danielle B from church
Purpose for going: Find a keyboard for our Progressive/Modern "Fish Tank" Service

Review: The prospect of seeing miles and miles of discount music equipment excited me. However, when we walked in, it seemed smaller than I expected. It was very messy (as discount places tend to be). There were zero keyboards that were even close to being prospects. None of them were hooked up to amplifiers or speakers, which made them even harder to work with. However, we did get some good advice to go to another store to listen to the keyboards, but to buy the keyboard new from Musician's Friend.

We also went around and looked at guitars, most of which were in bad shape. One guitar apparently was in the shape of a trailer, including a wheel. Several were in American flag style.

Anyway, we foudn some keyboards we liked eventually, but not at Musician's Friend Warehouse. I'd actually recommend not going there. I don't see what the big deal is.

Movie Review: Gone with the Wind

When did I see this: Last week (for the first time)

Who did I see it with: Courtney my wife! (She also saw it for the first time)

Review:

This movie was heart-wrenching! Scarlett was really annoying about how she treated men, yet I admired her survival skills and personality. Rhett Butler was my favorite character, but I was irritated with him at the end. Ashley Wilkes could have straightened up the situation easily, so he is irritating as well.

Love story aside, it was a good historical piece. Both Courtney and I are interested in learning more about Civil War times. The costumes were fantastic, especially the huge dresses (forget what they are called). And the interior decorating is also amazing, as you might see in the draperies in the picture above.

Overall, I was wondering why it is considered one of the best movies ever. I would watch it again.

Book Review: Cross and Crescent

Author: Colin Chapman

Publisher: IVP Press

Where/When did I get it? Urbana '03 on sale

Review:

This book does not have a practical action chapter until page 300. By the time I got there, I was ready to be done with the book.

I did, however, learn a lot about the Muslim faith.

The author is "into" non-confrontational relationships with Muslims, and trying to find common ground between the two religions. The annoying thing is that he spent 300 pages trying to establish that point. Hello, I'm not stupid!

I do appreciate the change in philosophy. And I do appreciate all that I've learned about Islam. I just can't help but think there is a better book out there. Half of this book is quotes from another author named Kenneth Cragg. I think sometimes it's annoying when an author doesn't write his own material.

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest

We watched this movie with Courtney's parents on Christmas Day. It was so long (2 h, 30 min), that we started saying out loud, "Is this ever going to end?". When it did end, it was a non-ending, in other words, a to-be-continued type of ending.

The special effects and fight sequences were worth seeing. But there was not a great story line. Sometimes the dialogue was so quiet that it was not understandable. See this if you like special effects, and not because you're a fan of the first movie.

Please welcome Elizabeth Ann Kurtz!!!

She was born Tuesday, December 19, at 12:01 AM!! We went to visit that night.

additional Christmas thoughts

The wish list (links on the right) worked very well for me this year. I received 5 things on the list.

Also, the wheat allergy is difficult during the holidays. My relatives and co-workers do a great job year-round of providing wheat-free alternatives, but the sad fact is that the wheat-full items far outnumber the wheat-less ones. So when everyone ooohs and aaahs about the chocolate covered oreos, I'm left to feel very happy for everyone that is enjoying them. But also a true depression sometimes creeps up, especially after countless episodes like that over years. But I'll survive. I'm still pretty spoiled in terms of food.

Christmas holidays

Christmas holidays are now over, since I am going to work tomorrow. Our families were very generous, and it was fun to see everyone.

The difficult thing was that Christmas Eve was on a Sunday. We served at church with a vocal solo and sign language to "Did You Know", by Todd Agnew, and we had to be there are 8:15 AM for a sound check.

Then since we have babies in our family, we had to be at my parents at 9 AM on Christmas day. We also went to a party late Saturday night. Pretty much the whole weekend, we were on the move. So I'm not sure it was a restful weekend, or that I really spent much time in personal reflection about Christ, but still full of good times.

Tithing

What do you think about tithing?

Courtney and I believe that giving 10% to your church is not a given. This question of mine comes after a Rick Warren video we watched in our small group, where Rick Warren believed that the tithe was not debateable. Or so it seemed.

Our church recently decided not to give to the poor or to missions this year out of the budget, except for individuals who are full-time Christians workers. To justify this behavior, the church council claims that it went the extra mile in giving in previous years, which I believe we did.

Still, Courtney and I believe in giving especially to the poor and to world missions, and those ministries are part of our giving. And even if our church did give more to the poor and to missions, it wouldn't give to the ministries that are dear to our hearts. In other words, 10% of our income does not go to our church.

Here is an interesting take on this:
A tithing book

Higher MPact Adopt-a-Family

My company has adopted an inner city family to give them Christmas presents. The family is probably Muslim, and the list includes things like PS2 video games, and a game boy system. My initial reaction was wondering if a Muslim family even celebrates Christmas, and whether a poor family should have video games.

But my second thought is that we can be a light for Christ through our generosity, and pave the way for these children to have good attitudes about Christianity. We can also enhance the ministry of Higher MPact in a personal way. So I am going out and buying a Tony Hawk PS2 game for Salam, who is 13 years old.

Book Review #4 - The Greatest Thing in the World

At dinner I speed-read "The Greatest Thing in the World" by Henry Drummond (1851 - 1897). According to http://henrydrummond.wwwhubs.com/, this book was "widely read and quoted during his lifetime, it went on to sell over 12 million copies and it continues today to influence people to follow God's two great commandments: to love God and to love each other."

"The Greatest Thing in the World" - a meditation he wrote in 1874 that illuminates the importance of 1 Corinthians 13 - is the one that assured he would be remembered by later generations.

For me, I felt that I had recently gone through 2 series on 1 Corinthians 13. First, by Rick Warren in our small group, and second by our preachers at church, to supplement the small group. So that is why I speed-read the book, which I do to all books that do not interest me. I slow down when I get interested.

Plus, the writing is 132 years old, and I prefer the modern style of communicating the message.

Surprisingly, the entire book can be found here in full text.

Book Review #3 - Getting Along With People @ Work

I read this in 2 lunch hours at skimming speed, because it was really unapplicable.

I get along fine with all of my co-workers, and I genuinely like most of them. The reason I read it, is because before I ever started working, I was insecure about possible working relationships. It so happened that it never was a problem. But this is part of my goal of reading all of the books that I've acquired and have not read yet.

The person reading this that gets a lot out of it is probably really naive about how to relate to others. The entire book pretty much states the obvious.

One chapter that was good, however, was "Confronting Constructively". It helps to identify both wrong and good motives for confronting. But this is also not applicable to me at work, since most people are doing great jobs.

Book Report #2 - The Insider

I just finished a book named The Insider. Dad lent it to me. It is relevant to me, because I interact with nonChristians throughout my day as an "insider", that is, I didn't come to preach to people from the "outside". I am on the inside, as a normal part of my relational networks.




It was a refreshing book. It wasn't another one that told me how to do the Bridge diagram, or how to say just the right words to make someone a Christian. It speaks more realistically to my situation, where through prayer and the way you relate to others, you eventually get into natural conversations about Christ, without having an agenda for that conversation. Also, the purpose is not to get people into church. Also, the book says churches should Insiders more validity as a ministry, and not pressure people to give all their time to the church. There is also a segment on how to lead a small group.




The book validates the idea that as a Christian you don't want force Christ upon someone, and then make the relationship awkward from that point on. Christians should also not separate themselves from nonChristians to the point where they live socially isolated lives. I have had many experiences like that in high school and college, and I learned from them. This book was helpful, because it told me that my experience is not too uncommon, and it shows a better way.

Beyond the Sea

Courtney and I watched a movie named Beyond the Sea on Sunday night.


Here is a clip:





I've really been thinking about this movie. It is part musical, part comedy, and part drama. It is well done. For entertainment value, I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Random December post

I have the song "Let it Be" in my head. Anyone else a fan of that song? If you compare it with the chord progression of "The First Noel", they are eerily similar. I am playing the keyboard at church on "The First Noel", but on the other songs I'm playing bass.

I went to Courtney's work party Wednesday, and I took the entire day off. It was really relaxing. The party was at Dave & Busters, a place by Kansas Speedway where adults play arcade games. If you haven't been there, you should check it out. Then we went Christmas shopping sans long lines.



We are reading the "Cat Who..." series by Lillian Jackson Braun. The occasion was that I was roaming around the library for no reason, and the books caught my eye. Now we are on Book #2. - The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern.

Thanksgiving video

I've been wanting Michele to make a video like this. Here is a video to give you a better picture of the Taussig Thanksgiving celebration:

Thanksgiving Video