Movie Review: Best in Show

This is a mockumentary similar to Waiting for Guffman. I'd say it was better than Waiting for Guffman. The many homosexual references I'd say made me uncomfortable. But overall it's very funny and the dogs are fun to watch.




Here's a clip:





and another:

Movie Review: The Best Years of Our Lives

This movie is about 3 men who meet on the way back to their home town after WWII. One guy is older and settles back into a nice job at the bank, but he drinks too much. One guy is plagued by nightmares, and can't advance in his job and his marriage is horrible. Another guy has hooks instead of hands now, and can't stand to have everyone treat him differently, and for some reason doesn't let his "swell girl" into his life. Then this movie chronicles their lives for a while after they get back, and their lives all intertwine. It was good. Better than most. Oh yeah, forgot to mention it was the winner in 1946-ish, beating out It's a Wonderful Life, which I haven't seen.

sick wife

Please take a moment and pray for me, if you would. I have had a fever since Tuesday afternoon which has reached as high as 103.4. I feel pretty bad and would much rather be at work than being here feeling like this.

I went to the doctor today who said if I am over this by Saturday, then it was a virus and would have most likely run its course by then. If I’m still battling this on Saturday, I need to fill an RX for antibiotics and it is bacterial. Either way, I thank you so much for your prayers for my health and for my patience.

Thanks,

~Courtney

Wichita/Oklahoma City Trip

Courtney had a "chill week", which means that everyone who works at camp gets a deserved free week of vacation. Naturally, this is the best time for us to take trips. We thought Wichita/Oklahoma City would be good for this year.

We went down to Wichita, and had a Thai dinner with Matt and Michele and Sophie. Then we went out to play disc golf at Oak Park. It got really dark, to the point where I couldn't see my bright yellow disc. So we played 10 holes (or pins).

In the morning we visited the charming corner book store, where Courtney took these charming pictures. Sophie rode the dog like she rides Scout. This reminds me of when she tried to sit on 2-inch toy potty. We were proud that she knows that toilets are to be sat on, but it was very funny. This also reminds me of when Matt gave her an altoid to eat. That was scary and funny at the same time. Michele claims that Sophie was "foaming at the mouth", and that is not far from the truth.


Then we all took off for Oklahoma City, and got acquainted with a special toll road. You pay $1 just to drive on the highway, and then $0.30 to exit. Exact change is required. Matt threw $1.35 into the first one and the alarm still went off, and they were scared they would get a ticket in the mail. Anyway, Marissa and Zoe let us in, and we dropped off our stuff, and then we headed out to downtown. We visited the Oklahoma City Memorial (known more clearly as the OK City Bombing Museum). The museum was good. Here are pictures of the outside:



Then we met Andrew and Sylvia at Bass Pro, and they took us to Zio's Italian Cuisine in Bricktown. Matt and Michele and Sophie then took off for Wichita, and Andrew led us back to their house.

In the morning, it was cool, so we played disc golf at Will Rogers Park. We completed all 18, because it was a short course.

Later we went to LifeChurch.TV, a mega church/satellite church in Oklahoma City. The Taussigs took us to the main campus, where the pastor preaches. The rest of the campuses watch a live video. We sat in the 2nd row. The worship and message were powerful. The message included video of a man about to die of ALS. He shared his regrets and wishes. It was very emotional. The message series is named 30 days to live. You can see it at http://www.30daystolive.tv/

The the Taussig's showed us pictures from their 1-month trip to Sierra Leone. And we got some play time with Zoe. She just never got tired of her tennis ball, and she would drop it in front of me repeatedly, pretty much setting it in my lap. Then she would stare at the ball until I threw it.


In the morning we went back to Kansas City, making a stop at the new Super Mega Dillons in Wichita. Another great trip in the books.

Restaurant Review: Zio's Italian Kitchen (Oklahoma City)

We met Andrew and Sylvia and Matt and Michele and Sophie by the miracle of cell phones. We parked at Bass Pro in downtown Oklahoma City and went to Zio's.

Courtney was unimpressed with the ravioli, but I thought my Chicken Marsala was good. I had fun putting chocolate milk into Sophie's spill-proof cup, and helping her drink it. We also enjoyed preventing her from using crayons on the menus.

Afterwards, we walked along the canal and listened to blues music and played in the fountain, before it eventually rained. I'm impressed with Oklahoma City's efforts to revitalize the downtown. (click for larger photos)

Restaurant Review: Thai Tradition (Wichita)

I was out to see if this Wichita Phad Thai was as good as KC's Thai Place. It ended up being equal in taste. However, the Wichita versoin comes in a larger quantity and can be shared by 2 people. I think it also may be less expensive.

It was fun to have a family style meal with Matt and Michele and Sophie.

Book Review: Sphere, by Michael Crichton (audio)

We picked up this audio tape for our trip to Wichita/Oklahoma City.

It was promising, but it turned out to be too sci-fi for our taste. At least Jurassic Park could be real by a stretch of the imagination. This one could not. Aliens. Giant intelligent squids. Weirdness. Plus the reader of the tape was not that great.

This book is from 1987. It was turned into a movie with a bunch of big actors.

Book Review: The Way of the Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge

I began reading this book on our 1 year anniversary trip 4 months ago. On our honeymoon I had begun reading the book Waking The Dead.

I felt that it had some good insights. It leads you through the supposed 6 stages of manhood - Beloved Son, Cowboy, Warrior, Lover, King, Sage. I feel that Beloved Son is a particularly true one. The author claims that each of us has been wounded by our father, and we long to be the beloved son. However, even though the author claims that good fathers are very rare, I am happy to claim that I have felt like I was the beloved son this whole time. Therefore, I found the book to be too pessimistic in this regard. But I imagine it's quite true for some.

I could relate to the Cowboy stage - a time of exploring. Warrior is a time for fighting for something. Lover is a time to find beauty in things - nature and women.

King is a time to rule and have dominion over things. The author claims that this is thrust onto men who are not ready for it. I agree. He thinks such dominion should not be sought, but should only be taken for the greater good. I apply this to my life, in the fact that if I were ever asked to be a manager, I would only do it for the greater good, and not just to be King over something.

The Sage is the time our fathers are in. People go to them for advice. Their time for ruling is pretty much done, and they bless younger men with their experience and wisdom.

The point of the book is that God can help us through these stages, and that we can raise our sons through them.

I felt that the author was over dramatic in some cases. And I sometimes felt that he imposed his values on others, particularly the value of mountain climbing and hunting. I feel that those things are not for everyone. It's also not for everyone to put their sons through initiation ceremonies, and to be dramatic about that as well.

Overall, I say well done, this was a heartfelt and good book about living life as a man. It encouraged me to listen to God more. Also a good tip was that Satan tends to attack us when it's most important, such as during an anniversary. I wish I would have read that part before we got sick on our 1 year anniversary trip! But that was a random piece of advice, I'm not sure which chapter it was in.

Book Review: How To Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (audio)

From Wikipedia:


Written by Dale Carnegie and first published in 1936, it has sold more than 15 million copies

Contents:

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People:
"Don't criticize, condemn or complain."
"Give people a feeling of importance; praise the good parts of them."
"Get the other person to do what you want them to by arousing their desires."

From wikipedia:

Six Ways to Make People Like You:
"Become genuinely interested in other people."
"Smile."
"Remember that a man's name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language."
"Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves."
"Talk in the terms of the other man's interest."
"Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely."

Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking:
"Avoid arguments."
"Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never tell someone they are wrong."
"If you're wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically."
"Begin in a friendly way."
"Start with questions the other person will answer yes to."
"Let the other person do the talking."
"Let the other person feel the idea is his/hers."
"Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view."
"Sympathize with the other person."
"Appeal to noble motives."
"Dramatize your ideas."
"Throw down a challenge."

Nine Ways to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment:
"Begin with praise and honest appreciation."
"Call attention to other people's mistakes indirectly."
"Talk about your own mistakes first."
"Ask questions instead of giving direct orders."
"Let the other person save face."
"Praise every improvement."
"Give them a fine reputation to live up to."
"Encourage them by making their faults seem easy to correct."
"Make the other person happy about doing what you suggest."

This book had some really good thoughts. It was sometimes irrelevant to listen to the 1936 language. A few of the things have stuck with me.

Movie Review: The Lost Weekend

This movie made us feel like we lost our weekend!

No, I liked it better than that. It is a movie about a raging alcoholic. He is just obsessed with it. He steals, threatens, begs, lies in order to get it. He ends up passing out and going to a hospital, then he escapes, and then he starts hallucinating. Finally he snaps out of it, when his girl still loves him. That was unrealistic. Any girlfriend would have dumped him long before.

Best Picture 1915

The music was too strange and repetitive. The actor did a good acting job. This was the first Academy Award movie of this type - fiction about a serious thing.

Movie Review: Going My Way

This was the Best Picture winner in 1944.

We were excitied to hear the song "Swing on a Star". Courtney's dad sang it to her often when she was young, while pushing her on a swing.

Link to a song here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXMQ0XEIG0Y

Bing had one of the most beautiful voices we've heard.

But I was surprised with actually getting spiritual nourishment from a 1944 popular movie. The plot is about a young priest that shows up as a junior priest at a NYC parish. The elder priest is a crusty older man, who is stuck in his ways. The church is in decline and is behind 5 months on the mortgage.

Anyway, this new priest, played by Bing Crosby, is a great example of "ministering right where you are". He doesn't judge but meets peoples' interests, no matter how much of "sinners" they are. His love ends up attracting people to church, and a sacrificial act of his ends up paying off that big mortgage.

Debt-free except the house!

Since attending the Dave Ramsey Live Event in May, where we were encouraged to attack debt with "gazelle intensity", we have paid off $12,000. This figure was $14,000 when we got married.

So our first year of marriage we managed to pay about $160 per month. (The interest kills you...I remember paying more than this!) The past 4 months, it was $3000/mo. (Not all earning power...used savings)

Next step is a full emergency fund.

We are going to Elton John!

(click the map for a larger picture)

We are going to the grand opening of the Sprint Center in downtown KC. Elton John will be performing his number one hits.



It will be Saturday October 13th!

Elton John is currently my favorite musician!! We wouldn't have gone to Bon Jovi, Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, or the Police (the other speculated opening acts).

****Update - News sources are reporting that tickets "virtually" sold out in 90 minutes. (Virtually means that there are only 50 seats left, and none of them next to each other). It makes me excited to be part of it, and also grateful that I bought mine early. They went on sale at 10 AM.

Book Review, Pursuit of Holiness, by A.W. Tozer

I received this book as a graduation gift in 1999, and I have read it off and on for the last several months. I had high expectations, but I had trouble understanding the King James writing style.

The only chapters I really got anything out of were Meekness and Rest and The Sacrament of Living (links are to an online free version of the book). "The Sacrament of Living" chapter was about how everything we do can be holy, and there is no secular/sacred distinction.

I also appreciate this author's understanding of the culture and about spirituality. A lot of things that were true back then are still true now.

Restaurant Review: Houston's

I almost forgot about my restaurant reviews. We so seldom go to new restaurants that I had forgotten. We went to Houston's on the Plaza a couple of weekends ago. Our bro-in-law hooked us up with a fine dinner after his CFP exam.


Gluten-free items: Many. I had a hawaiian flavored steak, with a loaded potato.

Environment: Cozy atmosphere

Price: The same as most fine steak houses.

Service: pretty much amazing. Quick and polite.


I had wanted to go there for a while, so I really enjoyed the experience.

Best of July

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: Ocean's Thirteen
Best Life Happening: Freedom Run
Best Book I Read: Leadership, by Rudy Giuliani
Best Restaurant I Went to for the First Time: Houston's

July saw the lowest number of posts in 2007! :(

Book Review: The Cat Who Lived High

No, this book was not about drugs. The main character, Qwilleran, takes a trip down to the big city, in order to purchase a high rise apartment building named the Casablanca. (No relation to the movie we just saw).

There are many people in the town that want the Casablanca torn down in order to build a new development. So there you have a motive for murder.

The cat, of course, helps to solve the mystery.

Movie Review: Casablanca

Like every movie I've seen that is considered one of the best, this one was disappointing as soon as it was over. However, the longer I've had to chew on it, the more I appreciate it.

It is better to have no expectations and be surprised by a movie (You Can't Take it With You, and It Happened One Night), than to have sky high expectations only to not really be inspired (Citizen Kane, Wizard of Oz, Casablanca).

Having said that, this is probably the most entertaining, and the best Black and White movie I've seen. For example, it beats Gone with the Wind simply because it's not so long. And it beats You Can't Take it With You and It Happened One night, simply because it's hard to be a comedy and be the best movie. But I'd rather watch a modern movie like Ocean's 13 most days.

Last weekend of July

We had a busy last weekend of July. First , on Friday we were at camp, of course. I watched 300 kids and leaders do the YMCA, the pop machine, the train, etc, at the "surprise" dance party. The Macarena and the cha-cha slide were mysteriously left out this time. Then I attended the parents meeting on Saturday morning.

Saturday night, we attended Theater in the Park with Devin and Lynn. Footloose. We got to see their new baby first. I am uncomfortable holding babies, and this was no exception. TTIP in the park was surprisingly bearable. Went I went as a kid and teenager, I remember being incredibly bored and uncomfortable every time. Maybe I've just gotten older.

Sunday I played bass at church. We heard from a survivor of the Greensburg tornado, and a missionary from Spain. We only played 3 songs.

Then we went to the wedding of Lt. Col. Mike Harris and Rebecca, Matt Bostick's sister, in Lawrence. The exciting thing about it is that I ate part of the special bride/groom cake. Why? She has a gluten allergy and wanted to let me have some. It was an incredible cake. I enjoyed eating shrimp too. Courtney and I were definitely the youngest couple to show up from our church, by about 40 years. We hung out with the teens that were part of the wedding party. The wedding was Christ focused. It may have been the first wedding I've been to where the minister is a woman. She did a good job.

Then tonight we will watch Casablanca. The girl at the library, who turns out went to my high school, chided me for having never seen it, and said I would love it. I know it is considered to be one of the best. Stay tuned for my thoughts on the movie.

Fireworks by Courtney

Here are some pictures taken by Courtney on July4 when she was at Covenant Cedars Camp in Nebraska.

Freedom Run

I only beat dad by 51 seconds! I will spend the entire next year trying to extend that lead. It was the most humid Freedom Run I remember.

Book Review: Leadership, by Rudolph Giuliani

Rudy is a great author and had many stories and lessons in this book. I listened to it on tape.

He had nearly finished this book when the WTC Disaster happened. In the book, he included many personal accounts and lessons from his life in regards to that tragedy.

It is not really possible for me to outline all of his points about leadership, but his stories were inspiring.

Here are a few of the things he accomplished in New York City:

• Reduced welfare state
• Reduced crime
• Reorganized a failing Child Protection Agency into an independent group.
• Built parks, and other things to improve the lives of citizens
• Had all of his officials chosen before he even became mayor.
• As a U.S. Attorney, took down several criminals, including some in the mafia
• Managed to get elected without compromising his loyalty to the Yankees (also managed to get elected as a Republican in a heavily-leaning Democrat area)
  
• Reestablished a city government center on Sept 11. Managed the crisis.

And there were many other things.

You may be reading between the lines - yes, listening to this made me more likely to vote for Rudy as President of the U.S. in 2008. I'd not only be willing to vote for him, but am excited to do so!

This book is not only for people interested in leadership or politics, but it is for anyone wanting to be inspired. Courtney listened to about half of it when we were driving around, and she is excited to listen to the whole thing in the Fall. I'd be willing to listen to it again.

Here were a few of his leadership mottoes:

• Sweat the small stuff
• Don't assume a damn thing
• Underpromise, Overdeliver
• Stand up to bullies
  

Movie Review: Mrs. Miniver

This was a good movie about a middle class family in England when the Germans began to bomb them, which situates this plot in 1940. This movie starts out with the family doing frivolous things like buying a new hat and car. A city worker names his rose the "Mrs. Miniver", and enters it into a competition.

Then the war starts, and their son joins. Their son gets engaged to the granddaughter of the grouchy lady who always wins the rose competition. Then the father goes out to do some kind of army task. And the wife has to fight off an escaped soldier in her house. Then they spend the night in their bomb shelter while the bombs come down and take down part of their house.

Then their son gets married. Then the grouchy lady lets the city worker win the rose competition. Then the son goes to fly his plane in war. Then a few important people die, and they have the funeral in the bombed-out church. The movie ended with a message that said "Your country needs your money. Buy U.S. Bonds"

It was better than most old movies. I actually said "This one was pretty good".

It was followed by an "MGM Short" special feature - "Mr. Blabbermouth". It was a comedy/documentary about war doubters, who believed everything they heard about how the Allies couldn't win, and talked about it all the time. The documentary presented facts that showed that the U.S. was much more powerful than Japan, etc. It was interesting and educational.

This was Oscar Best Picture winner 1942, the winner the year my dad was born.

Movie Review: Ocean's 13

This movie was very funny and had a great plot. The acting was tremendous. Courtney and I watched this in the theater the night she got back from Nebraska. She really enjoyed the time, and I got to hear her laugh loudly! We are gladly out of touch with the theater and the $9/each cost, and we admit that was shocking!

This was a perfect sequel in the Ocean's triology. Where the first one was to steal, the second one, to protect themselves, the third one is sticking up for a brother.

Fireworks Dud at Royals stadium

Dad and I took in a Royals game to have some father-son time and to see some fireworks. The Mariners quickly went up 4-0 in the first inning, and then not much happened after that! The Royals lost 4-0.

Then we made our way down to some better seats to take in the fireworks display. After 2 or 3 false starts, they announced that the rain earlier in the day damaged some equipment, and that there would be no fireworks. Our tickets could be used as a rain check. I thought that was a good public relations move. Instead of everyone going out angry, many of us were happy.

Here is an article about it: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/179206.html

For the family that said they spent $300, and thought a rain check was a gimmick to make them spend more money, I do believe that it's their problem!

Movie Review: Fantastic 4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer

I went to see this movie with Bryson late on Monday night. (You know that erratic behavior when I am a bachelor?)

The movie had a lot of really bad wise cracks (supposed to imitate a comic book?) and lots of sexual innuendos, which I think is odd for a movie that would attract kids.

The action sequences were really good. (Reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 where that was the only good thing I could say about it.) The villian "Silver Surfer" was really well done.

So basically, they save the planet. With a lot of cheesy situational comedy before that.

The Single Life

I have been "batching it" for about 11 hours now, and I've been reflecting about how different it is. I do things really strangely as a single person. I eat weird things at weird times. (I just ate half a package of pepperoni at 11 PM!). I sleep at weird times (still up at almost midnight writing this). I work at weird times.

One example of a weird thing I did when I was single in Manhattan is that I went out walking around 3 AM in the drizzling rain. Some police officers stopped me and shone a bright light on my and asked me questions, including if I enjoyed watching beautiful women walk by in the area. They took a few pictures of me for their file. I took this to be very strange. Eventually, I found out I was a suspect in the City Park Pusher/Attacker case. It is still vague to me exactly what this criminal did, but he was wanted really badly. It so happens that one visit from a detective, and he was convinced that I couldn't possibly commit any crime. So the moral of the story, is that marriage keeps me out of those situations!

The cool thing is that continued watching the Ken Burns Jazz series. I also just purchased a Stride Piano book. Harlem Stride is the jazz piano style immediately following the ragtime craze. See, I've been learning things!

Best of June

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: The Wizard of Oz
Best Life Happening: Shed Removal
Best Book I Read: The Heavenly Man

June saw the lowest number of posts in 2007! :(

Book Review: The Cat Who Talked To Ghosts

This was on of the better of the Cat Who Series by Lillian Jackson Braun. I appreciate how the main character refuses to believe in ghosts and UFOs even though the people in his town do believe in them! This book sees the death of one of the favorite characters Iris Cobb, who is a great cook and friend. Qwill moves in to take care of the museum that Mrs. Cobb was managing. His next door neighbors annoy him, and another one down the street he has a crush on, so to speak.

Anyway, the conclusion of this includes underground tunnels and searching for buried treasure, and a really good mystery. blah blah blah. if anyone is still reading this, thanks!

Nightly Camp

I believe I will be at camp every night this week. The 5 night perfect score. Of course a requirement is that Courtney spend every night at camp. Also, I must not have any evening activities (worship band practice, for example). I even spent an entire day there yesterday. And I will blog about that later.

Then next week I will not see Courtney from Sunday morning to Friday night, because she is going to Covenant Cedars in Nebraska with our church's middle school youth. So I am filling up with her presence before I miss her next week!

Book Review: The Heavenly Man

This is a touching book about a Chinese Christian, Brother Yun, who was/is greatly persecuted for his faith.

Caution, major plot spoilers ahead!

As a teen he prayed for over a year for a Bible, and finally received one, and he memorized a lot of it. He was sent to preach in various areas near his hometown. He was arrested and miraculously escaped from prison.

He continued to preach a lot, and eventually was arrested again. He went through horrible torture, and then he voluntarily went through a miraculous 74 day fast w/o food or water.

Then I think he got out again, the details are fuzzy, but then he had his legs shattered. Then he walked out of the prison eventually in a miraculous escape. He was able to flee to Germany, and then waited for his family for a while. He actually spent more jail time in Burma trying to retrieve his family.

He now is involved in a movement sending Chinese church members to evangelise the Buddists and Hindus and Muslims between China and Jerusalem.

This was a touching book about someone who was incredibly passionate about Christ, and who did not ever deny him. He does not wish for persecution to leave China, because he fears then that the church would become asleep like it is in North America. I recommend this one. It challenged my faith and my ability to listen to the Lord.

Father's Day pics

Movie Review: How Green Was My Valley

This film won Best Picture in 1941. It was the least entertaining in the previous 4 years. Plus, it was in Black and White. And it was really long.

Interestingly, this movie beat out Citizen Kane, which the American Film Institute ranks as the best movie of all time.

It was an interesting memoir of a boy growing up in a Welsh coal mining community. He had 5 brothers and a sister. Part of the story involves his sister's love of a preacher, and that is a relationship that doesn't work out. Also, a couple of people die.

It is a movie about people starting a coal mining union, and there is some unemployment. The boy tries to get educated and gets made fun of and beat up, and he has to learn how to fight. Overall, I guess I fail to see the supposed greatness of the movie. I vote no to recommending this movie.

I should also mention, however that there were many Christian and Scripture references. There are several church members who the preacher accuses of attending only out of fear of wrath, and they do not show the love of Christ. The preacher helps the boy to walk again, and encourages him to have faith. He tells the boy that his sickness was a blessing, because he could spend the time forming his inner identity and his faith. Plus, the reason the preacher declined to court the daughter was because he felt he was called to the ministry and did not make much money, and he could not bear to see her in poverty.

Movie Review: The Wizard of Oz

Yes, I've finally seen the Wizard of Oz! After 17 years of living in Kansas! I still haven't seen a tornado though.

The movie was better than the Theater in the Park version, which is four and a half hours trying to get comfortable on a blanket. This movie was only about 100 minutes, which was really short especially for an old movie. It was also the first old movie we've seen in color! It was actually not a Best Picture winner. GWTW beat it out.

So, what did I think about the movie for which the Kansas City Wiz soccer team was named? I must say that Judy Garland and the Scarecrow turned in superstar performances. I didn't really like the Tin Man character. And the Lion's vibrato on his "courage" solo was horrific. The songs were all good though.

We were impressed by the Special Effects. There was a tornado and a house that flew around inside of it and flying monkeys. Mo said that the Wizard of Oz series gave great hope and inspiration to those who lived through the Great Depression. I also see it as a funny and imaginitive kids story. I'd also like to point out that it was the first time my sister Monique had seen it, and I found out that my dad has still not seen it.

Here is one of the best clips from the movie:

English errors

I cam across a site full of common English errors

http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors

I think it's worth a read!

Example:

HIV VIRUS

“HIV” stands for “human immunodeficiency virus,” so adding the word “virus” to the acronym creates a redundancy. “HIV” is the name of the organism that is the cause of AIDS, not a name for the disease itself. A person may be HIV-positive (a test shows the person to be infected with the virus) without having yet developed AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV is the cause, AIDS the result.

PRODIGY/PROGENY/PROTÉGÉ

Your progeny are your kids, though it would be pretty pretentious to refer to them as such. If your child is a brilliantly outstanding person he or she may be a child prodigy. In fact, anything amazingly admirable can be a prodigy. But a person that you take under your wing in order to help promote his or her career is your protégé.

Movie Review: Rebecca

We skipped 1939 and Gone With the Wind and watched Rebecca (1940), which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by David Selznick.

I think it is an awesome movie, because it depicts such a wide range of human emotions. The biggest ones are shame, anger, love, fear, loyalty, bewilderment. It is just a really good psychological suspense movie.

Oscar Best Picture 1940

The movie is based on a book named Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The book was a best seller at the time.

Shed Removal!!!

Here is a slideshow of Jeff and Heidi and family taking down our shed! He has a lawn care business and needs it to store his things. We really enjoy our view of the backyard! We have a nice big spot with no grass, and a slab of asphalt, but it is an improvement! I can't express how big of a deal this was.

Result of the Dave Ramsey Live Event:

It's not 72.3% of the month's income...it's 72.3% of spending. We spent more than our income.

Best of May

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: You Can't Take it With You
Best New-To-Me Restaurant: Aloha Chopstix
Best Life Happening: Dave Ramsey Live Event
Best Book I Read: Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America

May saw a tie for the the number of posts in one month!

Rainbow continued

For a better explanation of the rainbow I talked about in the previous post about camp, follow the "Mitchum" link on the right.

Movie Review: Fletch

This movie is from 1985. We rented it on Memorial Day. It was on my list of movies to watch.

It was funny. Hey, I kind of have to leave, and go to camp, so sorry for the bad review! This was good to watch for pop culture's sake. But it we weren't really rolling with laugther. There are two scenes which were particularly funny. Where he is a patient and then dresses up as a doctor and when he dresses up as a airplane technician.

Camp adventures

Camp is definitely a different lifestyle. I've driven about 4 hours the past two days, rather than my usual under 1 hour. I had breakfast with teenagers this morning. And I ate sausages and fruit instead of cereal. All of my stuff fits into a travel bag. Every day I ponder the question "Should I go down or stay here?"

We dedicated the prayer chapel at YouthFront Camp South. It was kind of a long "service" which explained the background of the chapel, but at the end it was raining and the sun shone out at the same time. Then the sun shone specifically on the prayer chapel. Then a rainbow appeared over the chapel. It was really amazing.

June Newsletter

Courtney's June newsletter is available if you follow the link on the right...

Flagpole dedication

This Sunday after church, we all gathered in the parking lot to dedicate our new flag poles. One of our members wore a flag shirt, similar to the one on the left, and he sang "I'm Proud to be an American" to a music track. As he sang, some veterans raised the American, Kansan, and the Christian flag. Then some youth read the names of all of our veterans. My dad was listed. Then some trumpet players played taps. Then there was a potluck, which I opted out of.

Courtney got back from camp, and asked me who the flagpoles were dedicated to. I said I wasn't sure, but I guessed America. We also discussed how much we don't care for/about the Christian flag.

Grissom "our" cat

Here is our neighbors cat, who we would be willing adopt. He comes over to us for attention, and he gets it! We call him "Wussum", because he startles very easily.


Photo by BJ Anderson

Forming my one-man band

It's 9:30 AM Saturday, and I've already spent significant time playing all of my 3 instruments

1. On bass, I played through Rob Thomas' "These small hours" - click here for the vid.
2. On keyboard I spent time learning Oscar Peterson's "The strut". That was way fun. The OP book was from Courtney on my birthday
3. On guitar I learned Shane & Shane's "Name's Sake". The Evening With Shane & Shane DVD has an instructional area where Shane B teaches the songs. This song required a short cut capo, which Courtney got me for my birthday. The DVD was from a previous birthday from Courtney!

So definite thanks to Courtney for enabling me to make the tour-de-instruments with birthday presents. Not to mention the keyboard was given to Courtney a long time ago for lessons, so I got that too.

Camp

Camp is back!! I was separated from Courtney Tuesday night, because I had some things to take care of in town. Tonight, I am going down there to spend the night. Please pray for a great summer for all!

Why is there baldness...or anything bad?

Last week as we were sitting around the dinner table discussing my upcoming baldness, I pondered "Why did God create baldness?" But then, I realized if that is a question, why did God create Turner's Syndrome, or cancer, or lupus, or thyroid disease? That is a short list of things that have bothered my loved ones. And then I wondered if God created these or if they are just "a result of the Fall of Man".

Then I realized how much I don't trust the "theological catch-all" of the Fall of Man. It seems that anything that can be disruptive in health, or natural disasters, or evil acts are due to the Fall of Man. If it is such a catch-all, is it mentioned anywhere in the Old Testament other than Genesis and Job? Does Jesus ever mention it?

But if the Fall of Man is not the answer to sickness (or baldness), then it poses the question, of why did God create them, or allow Satan to create them? Is Fall of Man the cop-out for answering this tough question, or is it the valid "catch-all" for sicknesses and natural disasters?

Restaurant Review: Aloha Chopstix

This was another hole-in-the-wall Chinese place. It is on Rainbow Road near Courtney's work and near KU Med.

Gluten-free items: For a tiny buffet it had many non-breaded items. Yeah!

Environment: It is always awkward in these places when the waitress is YELLING things to the kitchen in Chinese.

Price: CHEAP! I don't see how they make it.

One last thing....I wonder how the word Aloha got chosen.

Movie Review: You Can't Take It With You

Famous names: Frank Capra, director. James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore

Best Picture 1938

This movie was about the richest man in town trying to buy a large area for development. Except one good man and his eccentric family are holding out, and not taking any sum of money. Then the rich man's son wants to marry a "lower class" girl ( memories of "It Happened One Night"), and the girl happens to be from the strange family. This is a recipe for really funny situations, and the lesson is that being rich and greedy is really an unfulfilled life.

Courtney said it may rank as one of her favorite movies of all time. It had a lot of laugh-out-loud and smile-really-big moments. And it will definitely be towards the top of my Oscar Best Picture rankings (which are not public until we've seen them all!)

sit out the vote?

Dr. Dopson recently said if Rudy Guiliani was the Republican nominee for President in 2008, he would sit out and vote neither Republican nor Democrat.

Read this blog for the excellent discussion surrounding this idea.

I have thought about this, and it is a difficult decision. However, I will go against the idea. I think when it comes down to the general election, I need to vote, and to vote to win.

Book Review: Men In Black - How the Supreme Court is Destroying America

This is the best book I've ever read about the Constitution and the Supreme Court. (and the only one). But really, it teaches you a lot of things that you didn't have time to learn in history class. You have to be a logical thinker to read the book, because it is really just a series of arguments about how the Supreme Court has misused their powers on various issues. Whether you are left or right wing, it is worth a read.


Here are my book notes with basic ideas. Read them if you wish. But read the book to get the complete picture.

1. Several Supreme Court justices in the past had serious mental illnesses and refused to step down before they died.
2. Many founding fathers expressed dismay about how the Supreme Court justices were able to declare laws unconstitutional. It appears to be a mistake how they made the Supreme Court justices unaccountable in every way.
3. Instead of protecting the First Amendment, justices have taken freedoms away. An example is prayer in school. the right to "not feel uncomfortable or offended" was given priority over the right of people to have clergy give a prayer at a school event. Even thought the right to not feel uncomfortable is not in the constitution.
4. The right to privacy is also not in the Constitution. Instead of using the Constitution to decide cases, justices gave their opinion and said that women can have abortions. There is almost no legal language in the decision.
5. The right to "do what you want in the privacy of your home" is not in the Constitution, but the logic was used by the Supreme Court to make anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional. Drug deals can also be done in privacy by 2 consenting adults, but it does not make anti-drug laws unconstitutional. Also the logic of "we can't legislate morality" was used, but what laws are not based on morality? And why should 7 justices decide what is moral, instead of every citizen using the democratic process?
6. The Supreme Court upheld affirmative action in universities. This essentially is reverse race discrimination, which is prohibited in the Constitution. But justices used the argument that "attaining a diverse student body is at the heart of the Law School's proper institutional mission".
   
7. In the Constitution it is clear in Article I, Section 8 that Congress shall have the power "to establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization". However, the Supreme Court has forced states to use taxpayer money to teach illegal immigrant children. It also denied government agencies the right to fire employees on the basis of not being citizens (they need to be legal immigrants though).
8. The President has the right, as Commander in Chief, to do what is necessary to win wars. Our current President has been mild in the treating of detainees, compared to Lincoln and FDR. However, the Supreme Court has forced our system to hear appeals from war time enemy combatants.
9. The Commerce Clause in the Constitution allows the federal government to regulate inter-state commerce, but not intra-state commerce. The Court upheld a federal law that imposed agricultural limits on a farmer who only traded within his own state. The list of federal commerce rules is 75,606 pages long, imposing billions of dollars of costs for compliance.
10. The First Amendment simply says "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech". However, the McCain-Feingold Act prohibits groups from running advertisements about a candidate's position thirty days before a primary election and sixty days before a general election.
    
11. In the 2000 Presidential Election, the Florida Supreme Court ignored election laws and created their own rules about counting ballots and about ballot deadlines. The Supreme Court overruled them, but in the future this may lead to constant lawsuits regarding elections, which were never meant to be guarded by the judiciary.
12. Democrats used an unprecedented and unconstitutional filibuster to stop qualified judicial nominees from being confirmed
    
13. The author gave some ideas about how to reign in the judiciary, which include periodical Congressional reviews of justices, a 2/3 majority "veto" of judicial decisions, and increased impeachment hearings on judges who manipulate the Constitution

Book Review: The Cat Who Went Underground

This book was really slow, but the ending was good. It took us a month and a half to read it. Not our favorite.



Quote from Amazon:
"In the 9th book in The Cat Who...series, James Qwilleran aka "Qwill", is feeling despondent over the recent absence of Polly Duncan, and decides he needs a change. He moves his two beautiful Siamese cats (KoKo and Yum Yum) into his lakefront cottage in Mooseville for the summer, and quickly learns that country living is not for him. He has to call for plumbing repairs almost daily, and with the small size of the cottage, he quickly decides to build an addition to create more room for himself and the cats. Finding a reputable builder during the summer season is a daunting task, however, as all of the builders are booked for months in advance. Qwill finds himself a builder with a stellar reputation and feels smug for his ingenuity. This all comes to a screeching halt when the man goes missing, and Qwill must find himself an "underground" builder to finish the job. When the carpenter is discovered dead on Qwills property, he becomes a suspect."

brownback 2008

I added a link to my current favorite Presidential candidate - Sam Brownback. If I hear one more time "he went to Bible study at Grandma and Grandpa's", I'm going to explode. Also, if I hear "he's not popular enough to win", I will not like it. Because I don't want to endorse the most popular candidate, but who I'd like most in the White House.

From wikipedia: Herod's tomb found

Every archaeological find from Jesus' day is exciting to me.

Reported tomb discovery

Aerial photo of Herodium from the south west

This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

The location of Herod's tomb is documented by Roman historian Flavius Josephus, he writes: "[A]nd the body was carried two hundred furlongs, to Herodium, where he had given order to be buried." ^[14]

Flavius Josephus provides more clues about Herod's tomb which he calls Herod's monuments: "So they threw down all the hedges and walls which the inhabitants had made about their gardens and groves of trees, and cut down all the fruit trees that lay between them and the wall of the city, and filled up all the hollow places and the chasms, and demolished the rocky precipices with iron instruments; and thereby made all the place level from Scopus to Herod's monuments, which adjoined to the pool called the Serpent's Pool." ^[15]

Ehud Netzer, an archaeologist from Hebrew University, read the writings of Josephus and focused his search on the vicinity of the pool and its surroundings at the Winter Palace of Herod in the Judean desert - a part of the West Bank occupied by Israel. An article of the New York Times states: "Lower Herodium consists of the remains of a large palace, a race track, service quarters, and a monumental building whose function is still a mystery. Perhaps, says Ehud Netzer, who excavated the site, it is Herod's mausoleum. Next to it is a pool, almost twice as large as modern Olympic-size pools."^[16]

It took 35 years for Netzer to identify the exact location but on May 7, 2007, an Israeli team of archaeologists of the Hebrew University led by Netzer, announced they had discovered the tomb. ^{[17][18][19][20][21]} The site is located at the exact location given by Flavius Josephus, atop of tunnels and water pools, at a flattened desert site, halfway up the hill to Herodium, 12 kilometers south of Jerusalem.^[22]

US Postage Rate Increase to 41 cents

From http://www.usps.com/ratecase/ratecase_faqs.htm

Why are rates going up again?
The costs of doing business — for things like fuel, transportation, utilities, and health care benefits — have continued to increase. Without an increase to keep up with rising costs, we face significant losses. Many people do not know that postal operations are not subsidized by tax dollars. We rely on the sale of postal products and services to cover our operating costs.

The USPS raised prices January 8, 2006 - why another increase so soon?
The January 8, 2006 across-the-board price increase was to meet an escrow payment mandated by Public Law (PL) 108-18. This is the first time since January 2001 that we have restructured our prices. A lot has happened since then. As part of our Strategic Transformation Plan, we’ve made extensive changes to our operations and increased our efficiency. And the market has changed too – we’re using this opportunity to reflect changes in operations, and respond to market changes. We’ve done that by re-aligning our classifications (product descriptions), and their prices. We must ensure our prices for our products cover their costs.

Dave Ramsey Live Event

Aside from the panic of parking and traffic near Municipal, we enjoyed the Dave Ramsey Live Event. My favorite part was screaming "Show me the money!" ala the movie "Jerry Maguire" with the 10,000 person crowd, while Dave Ramsey jumped around and yelled"you work too hard your whole life to just be broke". It also helped Courtney and I to be on the same page. I plan to make a huge payment on the college debt, and make a few other adjustments, so that that debt goes away by Fall, instead of 3 years from now.

My favorite Dave Ramsey quote was "Men on average speak 30,000 to 50,000 words per day, and women speak 80,000 to 100,000 words per day, with gusts up to 125,000".

Saturday was also big trash day, so on Friday night we cleaned out the sheds in the backyard. There had been things in there for decades, since we estimate the husband died in the 70s. No one had ever completely cleaned out his stuff.

We also ordered that counter top from Lowe's. And Sunday I played bass, and the leader said that I have really improved and have been playing very well the last month.

Movie Review: The Life of Emile Zola

This was another Oscar Best Picture winner, courtesy of the Johnson County Library. It was a biographical sketch of Emile Zola, spending the bulk of the time on how he tried to take down French Army generals for falsely sentencing a Jewish captain, and then covering their mistake up when they found out they were wrong.

Overall this was a "yawner". I may like to read an Emile Zola book someday (oh, I failed to mention he was a famous French author).

Best of April

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: It Happened One Night
Best New-To-Me Restaurant: Zaxby's
Best Life Happening: South Carolina trip

Bathroom renovations

Dad and I put up the cabinet doors, which took at least 45 minutes. Then we put up a mirror. Our bathroom looks so much better! No pictures yet. I'll wait until we get the tile, new counter top and toilet.