Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Fearing the Compass

There has been much said about "The Golden Compass". I understand the concern. Not being "Christian" afford me the opportunity to stand outside the frey and evaluate it without the dogma or emotional attachment to anything.

A friend recently sent a "bulletin" out on the Golden Compass which prompted more thought on said movie. A while ago a child from my Sunday school group warned me that Compass was anti-God and that I should stay far away from it. In turn, he informed me that his teacher told him that sitting through that 2 hour movie would impact you because such extended exposure to anything will unquestionably influence you.

I add the last sentence because I find it important that we take a step back when castigating. Yes the movie is based on a book that is written by an athiest and yes the children set out to kill God. I would expect any Christian to be bothered by this. However, it is comments like this one that bother me:

I for one am a Christian who values Biblical beliefs, but even if you don't I think you are going to seriously consider not allowing your children to watch this movie after you read a little more about it. For instance, in the movie the children set out to kill God, and when they do they go about life doing whatever they want. Do you want your children to learn that they can kill whoever is in authority over them so that they can be free to do whatever they want? That would create utter chaos. Plus children who are not taught to respect authority are usually the ones who grow up without any fear of police, judges, or the law.


Would this question of authority come into play if one were rallying against a government that was denying your right to pray? The very idea that "human law" is absolute is inconsistent with the nature of belief in something greater than the corporeal realm. Christians do rally against such actions, thererfore the idea that this movie will teach children to rebel against authority is a fear tactic. It is the same mentality that was expressed regarding Pokemon as promoting evolution while the premise behind it was the power of friendship.

Philip Pullman has stated his books are anti-Narnia. He further stated that he is not happy with the way religious institutions have decided to answer the questions of why and what with respect to existence. The question boils down to what Pullman's intent is and how are you, the viewer..reader, going to accept it. Being that this is fantasy, what is the context of the need to kill God? Is it the Gold of the bible? If not, then it really isn't an offense to a doctrine. To react simply to the "killing of God" is to forego understanding. If Pullman is being honest when he says "I am against organized religion" then what does his comments about killing God really mean?

Think of the uproar when The Last Temptation of Christ came out. Many protested, few saw it. When The Passion of the Christ came out, there were those who commented on it being too violent. Words like realism, fantasy and perspective are critical when looking at a work of art. On the surface something may appear to be X but too ensure a solid understanding you must look behind it.

I have not read these books nor have I seen the movie. I would like to and hopefully I will. Pullman is atheist..agnostic (and from what I've read he definitely has a hard time expressing himself on this as in one breath he'll say there is no god and in the next claim we can't know). I understand his disdain for organized religion. I believe that those who represent the faith, as a whole, are not doing it as the Book would want them to. Pullman has taken a drastic, in your face, approach to his belief. My concern is that an opportunity has been presented for dialogue and what some want to do is "burn witches".

I've always been of the opinion that the parent must make every effort to know when their child is ready to be exposed to ideas that demand them to rethink what they believe. Sheltering a child won't keep them from the world. As parents we are to assist our children by being there for when they have the hard questions. If you take this issue from a faith perspective it begs the question: is your faith so weak that it can't withstand the Golden Compass? This isn't a question of throwing the child into the movie without support. I can see the counter argument of not taking your child into a bar, strip club, etc. Again, it is a question of what the child is ready for. As adults we will meet people who do not agree with us. If we simply close ourselves from their ideas we will be unable to understand them and in turn will limit our ability to share anything that we believe will improve their existence.

Interesting take from the HollywoodJesus website.

Monday, November 26, 2007

How Muslims Drag Humanity Down

Maybe we should scour the internet for the "crazy muslim act" of the week award. Today I found this wonderful little bit of information:

Mo-Ham-Ed The Bear
Mo Mo-Ham-Ed The Bear

Yes, a British teacher in Sudan was actually arrested because she allowed her elementary children vote on the name for their class teddy bear and the name chosen was Mohammed (who shall now be Mo Ham Ed). The Muslim Sudanese men, to defend the prophet, apparently began to surround the police building. A muslim female teacher was quoted as saying she was happy that the British teacher got the children to vote.

Now to be fair, every faith has their extremists. Christians want amendments to stop gays from being married. But the very fact that these Muslim men, and women, will resort to acts of violence because of this interpreted "blasphemy" is an animal act. You cannot call these people civilized. Their sole purpose to is eliminate those who disagree with them. They make laws in which blasphemy is a criminal offense.

The religious right has tried to do this with America, though not to such an extreme. Don't think for one second that if the wrong people were in power that repressive, antiquated religious beliefs would be passed off as a means for which to protect society. We see this in reverse as something as simple as prayer is disallowed, not because it is being promoted but just because it is happening. This type of mentality will drag our race down.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

Albert Schweitzer

Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.

Garrison Keillor

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life; and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine.

Thomas Jefferson

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.

Charles Dickens

Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.

Alphonse Karr

Let us rise up and be thankful,
for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little,
and if we didn't learn a little,
at least we didn't get sick,
and if we got sick, at least we didn't die;
so, let us all be thankful.

The Buddha

Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Sunday Bloody Sunday and Irony of Leading

One of the coolest things I've been able to do is to work with young children's group at my church, Baymeadows Crossroads. Many of you remain in awe as to exactly 1) why I do this and 2) why they let me do this. I can assure you the irony of this has not escaped me and I remind them monthly exactly what they have gotten themselves into. Regardless of the fact that I am a self professed agnostic\deist my love for the kids seems to trump any philosophical differences. In turn I have no issues with teaching the kids the weekly lessons. The trick is finding the commonality between the differences.

Since I have been leading the big lesson there has been one constant: someone dies. John the Baptist, Paul, Goliath, etc...The kids have picked up on this and the great joke is who will die during my on stage theatrics. My main enjoyment is watching the kids bond with me (considering I am replacing an AWESOME leader in Josh). A secondary joy is exposing them to a fact that is life...we all die. Never an easy thing to do but within the context of a faith their parents want them to grow up in I hope that it becomes something tangible. My son was exposed to death around age 9 (if memory serves me) and he became much more aware of what he had to lose. He became more clingy (if you will) to my wife and I. It took hiim a while to get over the loss of the person that prompted this but I was so happy that he dealt with it then as opposed to later on in life.

Surely speaking of death and experiencing it are two different things, but to simply avoid the discussion for the sake of "sheltering Siddhartha" is more damaging. Part of being a kid is learing to deal with all that the world has to throw at you and we, as adults, serve as the guide, the anchor and the umbrella. Lessons are much easier to learn when you have love to support you.

This coming Sunday we'll be discussing John the Baptist, AGAIN, but within the context of Thanksgiving. I hate to fall back on the beheading. Maybe my cycle will be broken.

So what of this irony of leading? There is a great guy, Greg, who teaches the 1st and 2nd graders (I have 3rd-5th). His take on the Faith is quite intriguing. Absent of rigid dogma, Greg is one who seems to grasp the spirit of the message as opposed to getting bogged down in the language of the Bible. The food is more palatable at Greg's table and hence church is less of an anchor. In turn, the freedom of discourse and ideas is more welcomed at this church than any other I attended. Some need to be bound by the word in the Word: it helps define things. I never could tolerate that type of Faith regardless of what your Religion is. The problem of language was always a whip on my mind. That problem is for another blog, but let me simply note that words are symbols of ideas which are inherently private. There are many aspects of "traditional" christianity that I do not and will not accept and I will not and do not teach on them. However, beyond the politics that the modern church perpetuates is a message that I sincerely believe in. The metaphysics of the faith are left to others.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Faith is a 5 letter word

I'm not sure humans, as whole, take the time to understand why things are. Profanity is one of those things. Is it the case that all things we, in America, consider to be profane words are such in all areas of the globe? Of course not. In turn, context is a critical component. Ass is in the bible. Bitch is used in the "dog world".

Couldn't one consider faith a profane word? The whole idea behind a profane word is that one finds it offensive. Belief not based on proof, faith, can be offensive based on the actions of those employing it. This isn't an attack on any one Religious faith: it also goes to those who follow what I call Eco-Religion. (Now I know that some will argue Global Warming is a proven thing. I do not wish to run that race. All I can say is that it is totally accepted and the cause\effect of humans on the environment is still open to much speculation. Eco-Terrorism is a component of the Eco-Religion that operates under a "faith" in the belief system.)

Back track...when the zealots of ANY system employ tactics that are oppressive, the idea of their "faith" becomes an offensive position. Denying gay's the right to be married because your "faith" in the Christian God and the Bible say they are sinners? Such an example shows how an unproven position affects others.

I surely didn't mean to attack this in detail or with any passion demanding quotes and other such research. Lets just say I'm running with this off the top of my head. Who knows, I may have to edit this later.

Friday, November 2, 2007

The Hero With A Thousand Faces

I'm not sure what this title means but I'm looking at my bookshelf and that one just stood out. Let me see if I can tie this in....

Youth football season is closing as the JWJ Trojans play their final game this Monday night at Stanton. After a crushing 26-0 loss to their arch rival Darnell Cookman, the Trojans managed to defeat Kirby Smith 16-14. Kirby hadn't lost a game in 3 years and I believe JWJ has never beaten them. As it stands Kirby, DC and JWJ are all with 1 loss (Kirby beat DC, DC beat JWJ, JWJ beat Kirby) so if they all finish with wins it is a 3 way tie. This will be the best ever finish for JWJ. Evan, as you know, struggled with where to play and his decision has given him great strength and pride in himself.

In addition to this success, my friend Philip's son Jacob's PCPW team made it to the playoffs only to lose to AFA last night 21-12. They played AFA, the 1 seed, very tough.

Sara continues to work hard at cheerleading. She is discovering how to work through the little aches and pains of life which I feel will go a long way in strengthening her character. Last Tuesday I watched her workout on two scraped knees, which with all the jumping, kneeling, etc put her in positions to quit or cry. She stuck through it! I think we will be doing soccer in the spring. We've started kicking the ball around and I'm beginning to see a bit of a competitive streak in her. Either that or she just likes to run and hit on her dad and brother.

Kerry and I are dealing with a down housing market. It is always good for the spirit to get your focus narrowed and this has done just that. There is stress that is relative to where we are in life but it allows us to look for sun drenched beaches and not washed out ones.

We are really enjoying watching our friend Julie Hadden on The Biggest Loser. She and Michael are such wonderful people and I'm hoping that this brings them to new forks in the road with gold at the end of each.

The Schoonmakers did not move and for that we set off some fireworks. Chuck is quite possibly one of the most down to earth guys I know. We're both very busy but our friendship remains strong.

There are other things of note that are probably more private, but lets just say there are some close to me that need your prayers (if that is what you do).

I think I see the title manifest itself. I hope you find the hero in these comments as well. There are many.

Virtual hug to all my family and friends.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

I'm a convert!!!

I went out and bought an IMAC. After months of debating it and testing the product I decided to make the jump. And I couldn't be happier. Surely the Microsoft folks could manage to package a product in a format as appealing as the IMAC. I haven't tested the virtual component of running Windows nor have I delved into the world of 3rd party applications. The MAC based applications thus far have been simple enough but the learning curve is to come. It is easy enough to hit the Apple store for the free classes. I'm looking forward to the video and photo components. I downloaded last years Pablo Creek vs Mandarin (game 2) and the St. Johns game (post season) with ease. Maybe it is just being on something that isn't 8 years old. Heres to new adventures in computing!!!

Thursday, August 30, 2007

America Joins Global Hypocrisy


Normally I would put this under the Political Blog but being that Bloom County was comic that got me through my teenage years, but this hypocrisy seemed to cross all genres. Per comment from the Post, there was concern over the sexual innuendo and that Muslims might not take it in context. (Apparently Christians have a better sense of humor as the Opus strip poking at Falwell was run.)



The media does a fine job of telling you what is news. Obviously some are more concerned with potential violent actions in the face of comedy. Share the cartoon...offend someone.

Link: http://www.salon.com/comics/opus/2007/08/26/opus/

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Confirmed

I picked up Evan today with pads in hand. He was beaming with pride. Amidst all the joy is the realization that my son accomplished a goal on his own, a sign that he has taken a step towards independence. You know they eventually have to leave, but looking at the pictures of him as an 8 year old in his Pablo Creek Saints uniform I can't help but have these mixed feelings.

Let the waiting begin....

So the accolades were a bit premature. As of yesterday's practice the coach noted it as Final Cut Day. As of this morning, today is Final Cut Day. Some kids got their pads...most didn't. So Evan found his number on the list and it is back to the grind. A bit of a roller coaster for him but he is holding up well, keeping a good attitude. Nerve racking for the parents as they hope to see their son attain a goal that is very important to him. Regardless of whether he makes it, the experience is priceless.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

He Did It!!!!


His hard work has paid off! We found out today that Evan will play for the James Weldon Johnson Trojans football team. It was a nervous week as Evan moved from being one of the heaviest on his Pop Warner teams to more middle of the road with the 80+ kids trying out for JWJ's team. He tried out for linebacker and was initially concerned as they had the LBs working with the cornerbacks, safeties and wide receivers and apparently there are some tall and very fast kids going out for those positions. Still, the work ethic taught to him paid off and he accomplished a goal that was very important.

I'd like to thank Velocity Sports Performance on Gate Parkway for all their hard work in training Evan. I can't say enough about the staff presently there and those who have gone on to hopefully better things. Since day 1 they have worked with us through Pop Warner, injuries and late sign ups. As I've told them on more than one occasion, they've treated us like family. I hate to single out one trainer above the others or above any of those who work in an administrative function, but Brad Stewart has been one of Evan's favorites and really pushed him to go above and beyond. Thank you Brad.

I'd also like to thank my close friend Philip Hughes. I coached with Philip the past 3 seasons and he has been an encouragement to Evan in every aspect of his life. He put an onus of leadership on Evan and I firmly believe that the physical and mental expectations instilled a strong work ethic both on and off the field. Thank you Philip.

For me I get my nights and Saturday's back. Though I miss coaching the kids and being with the adults I have come to know over the years, I will enjoy watching Evan play as we watch from the bleachers.

Monday, August 27, 2007

It's Hidden Hidden

To quote the late Gene Eugene

See, the way I feel
Is hidden, hidden
The way I feel
It's time
If you'd reveal
What's hidden, hidden
Is it time?


Much time has past since my last blog (I was happy to find some do read this). The biggest event was the passing of our beloved pet Eddie (Puug with 2 Us PU-UG). There is still sorrow in the house as this was the first real family pet. Eddie passed on 7\8\07. I decided to let the kids decide when they were ready to introduce a new dog and though Sara was ready (to be young) Evan found he wasn't after getting a retriever\shepher mix. Her name is Roxy (originally named Sweetheart---gag) and just turned 1. We're busy making new memories and she has found a loving and welcomed home.

For myself I am in the throes of passing a kidney stone. Mark it down as number 5. So far it is week 4 and counting.

The kids have started school. Sara has Evan's old 4th grade teacher (she teaches 2nd now) and Evan has made the 1st cut of the JWJ football team...one more to go.

Our trip to Boston was wonderful. I think we could live there if we had to. I'll get more into that trip at later date. Some good pictures and stories.

Feel free to check my political blog from time to time. I haven't added anything new but am being inspired to do so. I've also attempted to get a book club going amongst some of my friends. We're reading C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce. I'm hoping they enjoy it. I'll probably start blogging on books read as well. I mean, this is all about sharing right?

Take care everyone.

Friday, June 8, 2007

Adam Again


I'm listening to Adam Again Dig and realized, once again, that I really miss Gene Eugene. Who is Gene Eugene you say? Well, this link will give you a nice review of the man's life.

Gene Eugene

I would implore you to listen to some Adam Again or Lost Dogs.

Catch Me Up Scotty

Good Grief Charlie Brown!!! Summer is here and time is scarce.

First and foremost…a big thanks to Brian Thompson for all prep help for tiling my laundry room. A big thanks to Larry Figart for the quick lesson. We are 3\5ths done!!!

Kerry’s class reunion is this weekend…Kevin and Helen Jones are coming down from Bristol. Happy times in the Fullford house.

Spent this past weekend at dad’s eating chicken and watching the Tigers beat the Indians. Nothing good comes from Ohio.

Saw Tool with Billy Bond and some of his friends. Tight band…great show.

Evan is off to Gator football camp with Jacob Hughes this Sunday.

Great weekend with the Hughes’ and the Abner’s in New Smyrna.

Work is very busy as I learn the business of IT Architecture.

Next Friday I get to play golf with Philip Hughes and Joe Graham at this great animal reserve\golf course in Yulee: White Oak Plantation.

http://www.cntraveller.com/Guides/USA/White_Oak/

I’m learning that pictures say more than words so I’m working to get more of those added to the blog.

TYLER, EVAN AND MEGAN…CONGRATS ON MOVING TO THE 7TH GRADE!

M. PATCH…GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR THE SCOUTS ARE WATCHING!!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Humane Society Benefit

Great Saturday as we managed to raise roughly $1,300 for the Jacksonville Humane Society. Many thanks to all who helped both young and old (old is such a relative term). The activities were going up until 8:30 pm. One great take-away was that our neighborhood gathered together for a great goal...I'd like to think we all managed to meet someone new.


Pictures are viewable via the pictures link along the side but here is a peek...


Saturday, May 12, 2007

Monday, May 7, 2007

God Has Bad Breath


My wife grew up Methodist and regardless of how the World discloses itself, she still likes church. I don't so much abhor it, I more abhor the simple-mindedness of the Congregation as a whole. We attend Crossroads UMC. It was a difficult find being that I, as an agnostic, am adamant that we embrace a certain open-ness or progressive approach to scripture. No hell fire and brimstone, No preaching that other denominations are worse, No "gay bashing". I have found a home at Crossroads. I still can't accept the "traditional dogma" but the people are good and the foundation on which the Church exists is not common. The fellowship is top notch and even though I have expressed my disagreements with certain tenets, they allow me to work with the youth and participate in events as a major player. I am honest with them and they are honest with me.


However, this Sunday's sermon was a difficult pill. The young woman who "preached" is a great speaker with great presentation. But the message was simply too shallow. "I am always with you", was the crux. Basically saying that no matter how bad things are or how far you (as person) may be from me (God) I am always with you. My wife immediately knew that I was not buying this milk. She too was bothered (through the years I have managed to instill in her the sentiment that there is more gray.) You know who that message works for? Those who haven't gone through adversity. The young girl who is repeatedly raped by her father: God is with her? The mother who is relegated to selling her body to feed her kids: God is with her? The man who has to stage his death so his family can collect the insurance money to keep their home: God is with him?
Maybe God is with them, but what is he or she doing? Do we embrace the idea that this personal Christian God simply sits by and watches? I fully understand the Problem of Evil and the complexity of God and (B)eing in the world. But there are times when we simply must revisit the idea of a Personal God.


Suffering happens to everyone, regardless of faith, all over the world every second. Sometimes an event hits closer to home that shakes us a bit harder. When I first heard of what Hussein and his ilk were doing in Iraq (wood chippers, public raping, etc) I had to pause and re-evaluate.


Recent events are no where near as horrific but no less tragic. A town is almost literally blown off the map. If I harken back to this Sunday's message all I'm left with is "God is still there". Fine. But that doesn't make the Christian idea of God any better than simply being positive. Bad things happen and we can either succumb or overcome. Is it imperative that I need to know that some Idea loves me and is watching over me? It offers no protection during times of crisis and at the very least might intervene on a selective basis.


If the latter is the case, then I guess for Greensburg, KS...God had bad breath.

Fund Raiser

I'm not really sure how this got started. I think it might have been my daughter Sara and her friend Aubrey. Regardless, here is our little attempt to give something back. Come if you can.



Friday, May 4, 2007

Vacancy


The ramblings of a lunatic mind......


I remember when Gene Eugene died and how vacant the music world seemed to be. It truly is special when you find an artist that can objectify the world apart from your own language. Gene was a Christian Music artist who did not preach to you in his songs. He expressed the frustration of the world and of the people (B)eing in the world. Being that I am not a Christian by any traditional standards, it was refreshing to listen to someone express such sentiments while holding to a faith that offered comfort.

Faith in anything can offer comfort but it is a matter of finding something that can comfort you to the extent that your submission to any failures of theory don't bother you. Let’s not kid ourselves, unless you can prove first cause "Everything is a leap of faith". Finding something to believe in provides the frame by which we can make sense of life.

I guess that is what always bothered me about those who choose to define their world by a single emotional state. During the late 80's and early 90's (when I was clubbing) all the Goth's and Industrial's always made me laugh in that they did exactly what they rebelled against. Wore the same clothes, painted their faces smoked the same cloves, etc. There was no real rebellion against another group, merely adopting the same process and decorating it differently.

The vacancy is to belong. The rare instance that one finds one's self as anti-social is almost disingenuous. Even the anti-social finds a way to belong; through art for example.

YZ has filed a vacancy for me. In frankness it has pulled my last tooth that was biting the apple of the Bush Agenda. Specifically the idea that we need to be told to fear "something". We always need to fear "something", the question is how do we respond to that fear. More so, fwhat you fear should not be mandated. If we find that what we thought was right is reversed by a re-evaluation of ourselves, and in turn we are defined as hypocrites...then we all have something in common.


Your Party will not save you.




Some quotes to share>

“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.”

"The limits of my language means the limits of my world.”

Thursday, May 3, 2007

A True Friend






I'd like to thank my wonderful friend Terri M Wright (M for Messaging) for pointing out that I completely ignored the English language in some of my posts. Is she the only one reading this garbage of mine???




The other person (guy) is Dean Dixon. I'm his agent and he can be booked for bachelorette parties.


You might want to know what kind of manager Terri was or how she might've informed me of my grammar faux pas.....








Monday, April 30, 2007

Expanding the Blog

Well, rumor has it (OK, I read it on one message board) that Rosie may be offered a prime time show now that she has not been renewed on the Estrogen Hour (The View). Now I think Rosie is just as out there as some, but I do have to admire he passion is speaking her mind. As offensive as she can be, she gets a show. Imus loses his...hmmmm.

ANYWAY, some friend of mine at my place of employment hooked me up with a great website called http://www.loosechange911.com/. Though I've been hesitant to invest time in such theories, I offer up that there are some challenging points that are worthy of attention. It goes back to one conspiracy...did the US allow Pearl Harbor to get bombed?

I have many friends with different political affiliations or at least ideology. I got to thinking, if I really want to utilize this blog for communication, how can I really improve on my efforts? I know some could care less about politics, religion, etc but those are passions of mine as they drive society. Shouldn't the blog be more of a welcome to all? I'm thinking it would be best to allow for links to other areas to allow for specific discussion. I'm thinking that will be my goal. I'm not sure how I'll do it, but I will.

Maybe I also need to learn some HTML so I can make this site a little more personal? Baby steps pal.

Monday, April 23, 2007

ANNIVERSARY!!

So my wife and I just celebrated our 13 year anniversary. For those of you who don't know, 13 years is supposed to be lace. I did not get anything lace for my wife. I did, however, surprise her with an arrangement of day lilies and roses in a crystal vase. In turn she surprised me with a night in St. Augustine.

Monday, April 9, 2007

What is racism?

Poor Imus. Let me be clear from the beginning: these comments were not racist. Once again Jackson and Sharpton are defining what racism is and doing it incorrectly. Once again we have comments made that are racist only because someone who is white said them. Once again we see the logical fallacy of focusing on the person rather than the comment. How so? Simply put we must look at the context of the comments. I've heard the Imus show and I know what he was trying to express. I can also understand how some may be offended by this. However, Imus the person is not racist by his life and actions there-in. But Jackson and Sharpton, in an effort to further there social agenda through their political affiliation will crucify any white person they can. In doing so they re-define what racism is and focus on high profile issues as opposed to true racially divisive issues. Here in Jacksonville OLT Khalif Barnes called a white cop a KKK devil while being pulled over for DUI. Do we believe Barnes feels this way of all white people? In turn, do we believe Imus feels this way about all black people? No. Sadly our nation is thrust into a news story that is fed by the ignorant of our nation. Jackson and Sharpton need friction for their cause and Imus gave them the spotlight. Sad.



Words out on their own can be twisted using the experience of the reader to define them. Arguing that race necessarily determines intent is, in itself, racist. I hope Imus fights any firing. Kudos to him for the apology tour but I'd sure love to see some black leader speak to Imus's character rather then have these 2 agenda clowns cherry pick.

The Village Idiot


Oh the beauty of feeling young on the inside. In my attempt to dunk over my nephew Mitchell (via an inbound pass from my brother-in-law Greg) I rolled my ankle this Easter and spent my evening in the ER of Baptist South. Thankfully it wasn't a break (though it sure as hell felt like it). It looks to be a nice Grade II sprain. My wife figured out that of the 13 years we have been married I've had to visit the ER 12 times for injuries or illness. Memo to self...

BTW, here is the giant 16 year old I tried to dunk over. This was taken during football season last year (he plays OT for University Christian as well as center for their basketball team tough he sat out last season due to a back injury.) I was 6 lbs lighter (no I'm not fatter now) and he was 10 lbs lighter and a couple of inches shorter. That is why I'm the Village Idiot.


Monday, March 26, 2007

A sign of things to come

On the horizon, aka. things that are important to me:

Beaches Fine Arts Sprint Tri-Series


Jax Tri Sprint Tri-Series

GET IN THE WATER!

Tentative release date for NIN Year Zero: Aril 17th.


Still lazy after all these years!

Well, so much for my desire to utilize this blog for any real means of communication. The good intention of being timely to this site falls to the wayside and here I sit working to culminate over a month of activity. Bullet items are always good!!
Evan had an awesome 12th b-day at Pump It Up.
Finished the Jacksonville River Run in my fastest time ever (though I've only run it 3 times). Kudos to Christian for beating us all and thank you to Philip for getting me through the last mile. Kerry, Evan, Sara and my mom all ran the 5k. Great to see them out there.
Began feeding by skull with all the new Nine Inch Nails information regarding the machine that is Year Zero. I will post more on this in another blog but I am looking forward to Trent succeeding in his attempt at a concept album.
UCLA and UF meet once again, although on a secondary stage, in the NCAA Tourney. Needless to say another win\win for me though I'm pulling for UCLA to take it. A good portion of me wants a UF\OSU match up so the Gators can own them again.
Spring Break is over and a wonderful time was had by all. We met our friends The Williams’ and The Hughes's for some frolic in Orlando. We stayed at the Peabody and skirted Animal Kingdom and Sea World.
Even though I promised to elaborate...please don't hold your breath.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

See the animal in the cage that you built...are you sure what side you're on?

Inspired by Scott Copeland's blog site I have moved off of my MSN site for personal blogging and am now here. Seems like a nice interface and if the response time is faster than MSN's I may actually keep this updated.

Don't all beginnings demand some form of introspection? A new year, a new relationship, a new job...etc. It gives you an opportunity to assess where you are in life. So to a new blog. What to write? My wife would be concerned with content..."don't offend anyone". She keeps me balanced.

That being said, are you sure what side you're on?