A Little Levity

Let's get away from politics.

The site has a few videos you should check out. "The Home School Family" music video is pretty good, and the guy's stand-up is funny and clean.

Ron Paul

If you read a lot of political writing (like I do), if the online story allows for reader comments, it usually doesn't take too long before the Ron Paul supporters start flooding the comments with their opinions about how Paul is the only electable Republican for President and how the MSM is suppressing him and his message. I always seek out the Liberty Caucus booth at the Texas Republican State Convention, and I am somewhat libertarian leaning, but I don't support Ron Paul's Presidential campaign.

Why?

Partly because despite his devotees' insistence to the contrary, he would be crushed in November 2008.

Mainly, however, because we don't need one Ron Paul in the White House. What we need is about 218 of them in the House of Representatives. Fifty-one in the Senate would be nice, too. We need serious, dedicated Constitutionalists in Congress. Right now, we have a handful. If we accept that a candidate could not get the endorsement of the Liberty Caucus without being mostly right on the Constitution, we have about 20 members of the House of Representatives who fit the bill.

The Ron Paulites remind me quite a bit of the Constitution Party folks. They want the White House, but they would be better off working toward electing candidates to lower offices. That would lay the groundwork for a President down the road.

Electability

My brother commented earlier:

on electability, see my blog posts where i analyze voter trends back into the 80s, and conclude that Huckabee would get 50.4% of the vote, in a pure head-to-head race against an undetermined Democrat.

http://huck-the-system.blogspot.com/2007/11/pew-political-typologies.html

http://huck-the-system.blogspot.com/2007/12/typologies-potus-vote-patterns.html

Let me be clear, I'm not conceding the prevailing opinion that Huckabee is less electable than, say Giuliani. In fact, Rasmussen's latest Head-to-heads show Huckabee doing better against Clinton than anyone other than McCain.

Of course, National polls are meaningless. Not just now, but always in Presidential Politics. Thanks to the Electoral College system, the Presidential election is really a series of 50 State races rather than a national race. It's nice to garner the Majority (or even a plurality as Bill Clinton demonstrated), but it's not necessary, as George W. Bush proved in 2000.

However, perhaps even more telling for Huckabee, his Favorable rating is higher than all the Republican candidates other than McCain, and his negatives are the lowest of the main Republican contenders. Duncan Hunter is lower in unfavorables, but I'm certain that's because nobody knows who he is. Given his low recognition, his Unfavorable rating is actually pretty high.

If Huckabee can win the Republican Nomination, his chance of winning in November 2008 is as good as any other Republican's, and better than some.

Vote For, Not Against

One of the main reasons I finally decided to support Mike Huckabee for President in 2008 is that I like the prospect of voting for somebody rather than against someone else. In 2004, I noted to anyone who would listen that John Kerry wouldn't beat Bush because it is too tough to rally people long-term in voting against somebody. The Democrats kept talking about how much they hated Bush, and they tried to turn out the vote with an anti-Bush message rather than a pro-Kerry one.

I feared that 2008 would be a mirror image. Only this time, it would be Republicans trying to GOTV with appeals to the scariness of Hillary Clinton (and make no mistake about it, she is plenty scary). This strategy is a loser. It's also why I never jumped on the electability bandwagon. In the Republican race so far, "electability" has most often been defined as "somebody who can beat Hillary." Yes, several people would be inspired to come out to vote against Hillary, but firming up that support is much easier if the Republican is someone the people want to vote for.

Mike Huckabee is the kind of candidate that many people will want to vote for, even if they don't agree with him on every issue. I've only voted "against" somebody once in my life. That was in 1996. I wasn't particularly thrilled with Bob Dole, but I knew he was preferable to Bill Clinton.

I'm excited to have a candidate I can vote for in 2008.

No Stranger to Dark Horses

My "late to the party" support of Mike Huckabee for President in 2008 isn't the first time I've latched onto a so-called Dark Horse Candidate. In 1996, I made my first ever political contribution to Alan Keyes. I even drove from Waco to Denton to hear him speak in person. Maybe it was that Quixotic support that cause me to hold back so long on Huckabee. I didn't want to pick a candidate with absolutely no shot at getting the nomination. Now, as I examine the polls, I think there's good reason to think that this race has become Huckabee's to lose.

First, the attacks aren't sticking.  Reagan was called the Teflon President.  Huckabee may very well be 2008's Teflon Candidate.

Second, Fred Thompson has to drop out sooner or later.  I'd prefer it be before South Carolina, but even if he waits until after South Carolina, as long as he exits before February 5th, this can only help Huckabee.  There's no way to know for sure, but once Thompson drops out, the most logical place for his supporters to go is to Huckabee.  Except, if McCain is still in the race, Thompson might endorse McCain.

Third, except for Thompson, there's really no other viable choice for Christian Republicans.  I'm not knocking my friends who have chosen for various reasons to support Giuliani, but I just don't buy the "Rudy is the only one who can beat Hillary" argument.  Duncan Hunter may be a fine man and would likely be a good President, but barring some sort of miracle, he's dead.  Maybe he'll realize it after Iowa and New Hampshire.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my Uncle Don.  He turns 66 today.

In case you don't catch the significance of that, he was born on Pearl Harbor day.

Huck the System

That's the title of my brother's pro-Mike Huckabee blog. I don't agree with former Governor Huckabee on 100% of the issues, but he's the closest I'm gonna get this year in any reasonably viable candidate. I won't have to hold my nose to vote for him like I would if most of the other Republican candidates got the nomination.

Religious Tests

Much has been made lately about the US Constitution's prohibition against Religious Tests for public office.  It has been implied in several op-ed pieces that this legal restriction has (or should have) a far broader application than it does.  The Constitution rightly prohibits the government from requiring a candidate to espouse a belief in any given religious tenet, or even any religious tenet at all, in order to be eligible for office.  This does not, however, apply to individual voters.  If a voter has a personal requirement that a candidate be of a particular faith, there is no Consitutional violation.  If I want to insist that I will only vote for Evangelical Christians (I don't have such a requirement), I can do that, and by doing so, I am not violating the Constitution, nor am I violating any nebulous idea of separation of Church and State.

After Mitt Romney gave his "Mormon Speech" yesterday (which wasn't really a "Mormon Speech" at all), some pundits criticized him for giving credence to those who would let religion affect their voting decisions.  First, Romney was being far more realistic about the issue than his critics.  Second, his critics are wrong.  Third, many of his critics are hypocrits.

Romney is more realistic because a large percentage of Republican Primary voters do care about religion, and among those, a large percentage have serious concerns about voting for a Mormon.  His critics are wrong because of the reasons I mentioned in the first paragraph.  A personal Religious Test is neither unconstitutional, nor unreasonable.  The hypocrisy of the critics can be found in the fact that many of them believe that a candidate who accepts the Bible as authoritative and believes that his faith should guide his actions should be disqualified from being President.  In short, they apply a sort of anti-Religious Test.

I am not writing this to defend Romney.  I have decided to support Mike Huckabee.

I think something he said in the speech was very significant.

Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it. But I think they underestimate the American people. Americans do not respect believers of convenience.

Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world.

Romney jettisoned his supposed pro-life beliefs in order to become Governor of Massachusetts.  Now, he has jettisoned his supposed pro-choice beliefs in an effort to secure the Republican nomination.  Republicans should reject him because of this, not because he is a Mormon. 

 

A New Beginning

I've put on a few pounds recently. After losing 50 pounds three years ago, I've let 25-30 of them creep back onto my frame. It's time to do something about that. I got back up on the Gazelle Freestyle Elite tonight for thirty minutes.

I need to get rid of the excess baggage.

Here's the new "BEFORE" pic:

Reason #7143 why I love Apple

I got my iMac back after only 2 days. It's better than new.

I am oh, so very happy.

Links

Until I get my computer back, any link I post here will not be properly formatted.  It's rather frustrating.

Computer Woes

First, the bad news. My iMac G5 died a few days ago. I took it to the Genius Bar at the nearest Apple Store today. It didn't take long for the guy to come back with the even worse news. The logic board and the power supply had both gone bad.

More bad news. I didn't purchase the extended Apple Care Plan when I bought the computer in 2005, so the warranty expired over a year ago.

But then, there's good news.

It turns out that the logic board/power supply problem was a known issue with my model, so even though I'm not under Warranty, Apple is still going to replace the parts at no charge. Otherwise, it would have cost me about $800.

It's Birthday time

calvinatorette IV is three years old today. My, how time flies.

The Rest of the Republican Field and all the Democrats Tremble in Fear

Chuck Norris Endorses Mike Huckabee for President

Pics from Brighton Beach

I have posted a couple of pictures of the set from my latest show Brighton Beach Memoirs over at my theatre blog.

Computer Issues

We had lost internet access at home a few days ago. We were sure it was a problem with our ISP, but it turns out our Ethernet port was dead. Unlike some computers, the iMac does not have a swapable ethernet card. To replace it would require replacing the entire logic board. Instead, I decided to get an Apple Airport Express base. Once I opened it up and plugged it in, we had internet access in about 30 seconds. Also, if we ever invest in newer computers for the calvinatorettes or Macbooks for me or Mrs. Calvinator, we can access the internet on all of them through the wireless hub.

For those who haven't seen

Here's a picture of my newish tattoo.

I got it in celebration of my 39th Birthday.



Creideamh = Faith
Grá = Love
Dóchas = Hope

UPDATE: In response to my brother's suggestion, I will reveal that the tattoo is on my upper left arm and shoulder area.

Weight Update

I have somehow managed to drop 8.5 pounds in the past 6 weeks or so.  I haven't been doing anything out of the ordinary.  In fact, I think I've probably eaten worse than usual.

Whatever the cause, I'll take it. 

Living in a Van Down By the River

Just because you can never watch this too many times:

Come to the Beach

I Directed Brighton Beach Memoirs for Kaufman County Civic Theatre. We opened Friday, have a matinee tomorrow at 2pm, and run for two more weekends. You can leave a comment here and let me know you're coming (I'm also running the light board—It is community theatre after all), or you can call the theatre at 972-563-8991 and leave a voicemail for reservations.

Tickets are $12 ($10 for Senior Citizens).

If you come, I'll go have a drink with you after the show. Terrell has a really great place to get a Margarita! If you're under 21, you can always come along and get a Dr Pepper. ;)

The show is rated PG-13 for language and some adult discussions.

Please come. I think you'll like it.

My Car is Mine

We made the final payment on my '02 Olds Intrigue late last month. The Title arrived in the mail today. After five years, and over 100,000 miles, I own the sucker free and clear. It hasn't been the most trouble-free car in the world, but overall, it hasn't been too bad. It will be nice not to have that $300+ car payment every month.

Something to Ponder

Does buying a Sport Bike turn people stupid, or do only stupid people buy Sport Bikes?

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

I awoke at 3:20 a.m. this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went ahead and got out of bed at 4:00, got ready, and came on in to work.  I got to the office at 6:15.  Still dark.

I figure that I'll be "crashing" by 10:00 this morning, but for right now, I seem to be doing okay.

It is, however, already time for a 20 oz. Diet Dr Pepper. 

Here I Am Again, Fellas

Up way too late when I have to be in Court in the morning (I can't think of those words without thinking of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Speaking of Neil Simon, I'm directing Brighton Beach Memoirs at KCCT. Rehearsals don't start until August 27th. Thankfully, I have been able to cast the entire show. Now, I want to make sure we promote the heck out of it because its a great show that I think people will enjoy, and it would be a shame if we only average audiences of 20.

If I were a Simpson

I finally got around to getting my very own Simpsons character based on a picture of me. You can do yours here.

So, without further ado . . .

TADA!
























Okay, so that was a little more ado.

Toddler Logic

Tonight after dinner, I had a Philly Swirl, Reduced Fat Sugar-Free Fudge & Chocolate bar. My daughters asked if they could have one, but we don't let them have things with artificial sweeteners, so I said, "They're only for grown-ups. Calvinatorette IV, our almost 3 year old, said "Can I be a grown-up?"

Worst Blogger Ever

That'd be me. I think of things I want to say, and then when I get to the computer, I forget them.

My Wife

My wife is the greatest!  Obviously there are details that prompted this, but those really aren't all that important.  The bottom line is that my wife treats me far better than I deserve.

mea culpa

Since I was chastised by my mom for not trumpeting my wife's efforts, I'll do it now.

My wife was asked to create a "Cookie Bowl" for my nephew's groom's cake.

She toiled several frustrating hours, but the final result was remarkable.

Let Them Eat Cake

A good friend of mine has a business of creating cakes for all types of occasions. Check out some of his work Renaissance Productions.

He doesn't ship cakes, but if you have an event in the D/FW area, he is well worth the money. The cakes not only look good, but they taste delicious as well.

Thoughts on the Federal Vision flap

I'm still working through some of my ideas relating to the Federal Vision, but the first thing that keeps poppoing into my mind is that the primary difference between Presbyterians and Baptists is not who we baptize, but why we baptize who we baptize.

Bowling for Dollars

Not for me.

For Big Brothers/Big Sisters. If you would like to donate, you can click the link below and sponsor my pathetic attempts to knock down pins with a 16 pound ball (or maybe a 14 pound ball).

Sponsorship Page

UPDATE: I edited the sponsorship link, and hopefully it will work this time.

July 4th

If you are in the vicinity of Terrell tomorrow, please come to the park for the July 4th celebration.  I will be doing some narration along with the North East Texas Symphony Orchestra, and I will be leading the crowd in a sing-along during one of the numbers.  The orchestra is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m.  Let's hope the rain clears out and allows us to perform.

Fireworks are at about 9:15 p.m., weather permitting. 

Back on the Weight Loss Wagon

I decided that I have to make another stab at shedding my excess baggage.  Long time readers will know that I lost 50 pounds a couple of years ago.  Sadly, I've managed to put 28 of those back.  So, I started last Monday, June 25th with a plan to slim down.  I have started bringing a gallon of water with me to work each day, and I drink all of it before I go home.  I have also committed to cutting way down on the snacking during the day.  One of my weaknesses has been the candy jar on the desk of a co-worker.  I found myself grabbing a handful of M&Ms entirely too often.  Like I did in 2004-05, I am still going to eat what I want.  Just less of it.

I am not going to post weekly reports (unless I change my mind), but I will try to keep y'all updated as things progress.  Since last Monday, I have lost 3 pounds.  It probably would have been more, but I ate a lot when my wife and I went out for our 9th Anniversary last week.

Church Things

After worship service yesterday,  I asked the Pastor his opinion of the recent PCA General Assembly vote on the Federal Vision Report.  I was very happy to hear his response.  He said that at best, the vote was premature.  He said that he has read the Federal Vision gang, and knows a few of them personally.  He said that the study committee (and other FV critics) are seeing things in the FV writings that he doesn't see.  He went even further to say that he suspects the FV critics are seeing things that aren't there.

It makes the 25-30 minute drive worth it.

Testing Blogging via e-mail

I just noticed the option to upload blog posts via e-mail, so I'm testing it out.

Rough times ahead

My wife is sick. That sentence, my friends, should strike fear into the hearts of husbands everywhere.

It's not that Jody is unduly grouchy when she's sick. Quite the contrary. She does her best to keep going like she's fine. I'm certainly hoping that this is nothing more than a couple of days' worth of sore throat and headaches.

American Idol

I've followed American Idol more this season than I have in a long time. Tonight's show featured the final three, Blake, Jordin, & Melinda. There's very little doubt that Melinda is the best singer out of the group, but I just find her to be boring, boring, boring. I'm cheering for Jordin to win it all, and I'm hoping that she and Blake make it to the Final.

I Can Relate to This

The Outdoorswoman

My soon to be six year old daughter, Hannah, picked up a tick from somewhere. I grew up in the country and had to remove innumerable ticks from our dogs and cats while I was growing up, so it seemed like no big deal to me. My wife, however, was pretty much freaking out when she called me at work today. I assured her that the presence of a tick on our daughter's head was in no way an indication of her abilities as a mother.

When I got home, Hannah appeared to be fine, but in a short time, she was lying on the love seat looking flushed. She complained of a headache. I took her temperature, which read 101.5°.

Right now, Jody is on the way to the Emergency Room with Hannah, and I am taking care of daughters 1, 3, & 4.

I'm sure Hannah is going to be just fine, but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Remember Jody, too.

Babel On

We watched Babel last week. I find it very difficult to believe that Jennifer Hudson gave a better performance in Dreamgirls than Rinko Kikuchi gave in Babel.

The movie overall was pretty good. Not as good as The Departed, The Prestige, or The Illusionist, but a good film. I thought the character of Chieko deserved a movie of her own.

Birthday

Yesterday was my oldest daughter's 8th Birthday. She's growing up.

The Evil Empire Falls

The Duke Blue Devils lost their First Round game in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament 79-77 to theVirginia Commonwealth Rams. Despite the fact that it busted my tourney bracket, I can never feel bad when Duke loses.

Hogwarts & Narnia will wait

I picked up Eragon from the library. So far, so good. It's not the greatest book I've ever read, but it's probably the best book I've ever read that was written by a fifteen year old.

Daylight Saving Time

I use my iPod™ as my alarm clock.

Guess which was the only clock I forgot to "spring forward" Saturday night?

I Think It's About Time

I think I may re-read all six of the current Harry Potter books again. It may be too soon since Deathly Hallows doesn't come out until July 21st. Of course, I can always read them again in July.

I also need to re-read The Chronicles of Narnia. It has been a long time since I read them.

The Fires of Mortor?

Saw this over at The Thinklings. Had me laughing aloud.

Run Away

I went this morning and got my tickets to see Monty Python's SPAMalot at Dallas Summer Musicals.



Local radio station 98.7 KLUV was onsite at the DSm Box Office with show-related games to play. I pinned the limb on the Black Knight and won an Official SPAMalot cap.

My wife and I will be going to see the show. It will be the first time she has gone with me to see a professional production.

The Infamous Gatorade Debate

There has been an ongoing debate about the color of Lemon-Lime Gatorade over at The Thinklings. According to WikiPedia, the color is "Lime," so I'm putting the color "Lime" against various background colors.

This is a test of the color Lime against a green background.

This is a test of the color Lime against a yellow background.

This is a test of the color Lime against a "web lime" background.

This is a test of the color Lime against a lime green background.

Comics on the Web

I like comic strips. Back when I read the paper almost everyday, the Comics was always the first section I'd go to, and I read most of them. Now, I read most of the comics I want to read online. An internet friend posted a link to a great site for comics. The Comic Slurper allows you to select multiple comics that will all appear on one page.

One comic that doesn't appear on the list, but hopefully will soon because I submitted it for consideration, is Casey and Scotty, which is back from hiatus. Make sure you check that one out.

Life Preserver

"Drowning Man" from Charlie Peacock's album The Secret of Time played on my iPod today. If you are a Christian and can hear this song and not feel convicted for not sharing the Gospel as often as you should, I would suggest that you might need to do a little soul-searching.

Everytime I hear this lyric, I know that I make lame excuses for not sharing the Truth with everyone I meet.

You don't ask a drowning man
If he wants to be saved
When you know he's sinking down
Down beneath the crashing waves

Betrayal wears two faces
Both easy to explain
One is what you say and do
To bring another human pain
When you refuse to act
Though you know the good to do
When you refuse to speak what's right
You've worn the face of number two

©1990 EMI Blackwood Music Inc./Andi Beat Goes On Music/Sparrow Song (a div. of The Sparrow Corp.)

One of those Days

I had to go to the Post Office to get something in the mail this morning. First, I thought it opened at 8:00, but it didn't open until 8:30. Thankfully, I had only gotten there at about 8:25. Then, after waiting for them to open up the window area, I asked if they had any Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes. I needed to mail some folio-sized books. They had the more squared boxes, but not the ones I needed, so I was going to have to go to another P.O. The most logical choice was the Dallas Main Post Office on Interstate 30 just west of downtown Dallas.

I-30 was shut down right before the downtown canyon, thus causing delay and diverting me out of the way.

At work, we are unable to locate a file on a case that is set for Announcement today. The defense Attorney is coming up to see me, but he probably won't be willing to work out a deal because I can't show him our evidence.

I'm your Handyman

I just spent the evening putting up curtains and a valance. We had bought other curtains from the JCPenney catalog, but they weren't what we thought they would be. Jody loaded up the girls Wednesday and met me at the JCPenney store at Town East Mall, and we shopped for new curtains. We finally found some that both of us liked, so we bought the curtain panels, but not the valance panels. We wanted to make sure we liked them before spending the rest of the money.

We hung the curtains on the rod I had hung for the previous set, and Jody said she wanted the valances. I went back to JCPenney Thursday to pick them up. Today, I dropped by Lowe's and got a rod for the curtains because we needed to use the one I hung before for the valance After wrangling with the level, the ladder, and the drill, I finally got it all up. We're gonna paint the wall to match the yellow in the curtains. Most folks probably would have painted before hanging curtains, but that would have been too easy.

The Taxman Cometh

My 2006 Tax Return is in the mail. Thanks to the four calvinatorettes and the Child Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax credit, we'll be getting a refund large enough to pay off my current car.

After I get that one paid off, I'm really wanting to replace it. Watch this space for further news on that front.

Marathon Reading Sessions

Word came out this week that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released at Midnight on July 21, 2007. Melissa, John & Sue from PotterCast issued this week's Blog Challenge in Episode #75, which was released Sunday. This week's challenge is for listeners to predict how long it will take them to read Deathly Hallows in its entirety.

I believe it is reasonable to assume that Deathly Hallows will be somewhere in the neighborhood of the length of books 4, 5, & 6. So, extrapolating from my experience with those books, I should be able to come up with a fairly accurate guess as to how long it will take me to read the ultimate entry in the Harry Potter series. When I bought Half-Blood Prince right at Midnight when it came out, I took it straight home and read for about an hour before going to sleep. When I woke up Saturday morning, I embarked on an all-day reading session, taking breaks only to eat, help take care of my four daughters, and take care of other necessary functions. I read past midnight, finally finishing at around 1:30 a.m. Clock time from purchase to completion was 25 1/2 hours, but actual reading time was less than twelve.

This time around, my daughters are all older, so I shouldn't have to take as many breaks to help with them. Meals don't have to take a long time, and reading can actually be accomplished during some of the other "necessary business," so there's no reason to believe that I couldn't finish the final book in about nine or ten hours if I could go uninterrupted. HOWEVER, there's a chance I might be in production for a musical with Garland Summer Musicals at the release date. In fact, I may be performing in Opening Night of Thoroughly Modern Millie on the evening of July 20th. If that's the case, I'll be more tired on the 21st, and I'll have to be back at the theatre by 7:00 p.m. for the 8 o'clock curtain. That would mean if I wasn't finished by about 6 p.m., I would have to put the book down for the night's performance. I've never been the type who can read something unrelated to the current show in the middle of a performance.

Also complicating matters is that if I am in that show, I won't be able to pick up my copy as early as I might have otherwise.

So, what does this all mean? I'm not sure, but if forced to guess, I'd say that I will probably get Deathly Hallows finished before I have to leave the house for the theatre. Hey, the forced deadline might even make me read faster.

My prediction is that I will have the book finished no later than 6:00 p.m. on July 21, 2007. Total reading time will be no more than ten hours. It would be fun to be at the performance that night and torture any fellow HP fans by telling them I have already finished and teasing them that I might spoil the ending for them. I'd never actually do that, but it would be funny to see how many people go screaming out of the green room with their fingers in their ears.

Hillary and Oil

I actually had somebody tell me this week that Hillary Clinton is not a Liberal, but a Moderate. I scoffed, but this person really believed it.

Just in case there's anybody else out there who has bought into Hillary's recent "move to the center," check out this blog entry over at TheVanguard.org.

Make sure you watch the clip of Hillary's speech. The clip is only about 30 seconds, but it speaks volumes.

Looking for a Quick Way to Lose Weight?

No, I'm not talking about any miracle pills or radical diets. From yesterday morning to this morning, I lost 2.5 pounds. How did I accomplish this amazing feat, you ask. As I mentioned here, and my wife blogged about here and here, all four Calvinatorettes have been sick in the past week.

I could feel my body trying to fight it off for a few days, but Thursday shortly after lunch, I realized that succumbing was inevitable. I came home from work and laid in bed for a while, but eventually I did get sick. I had one other bout about three hours later. After that, I didn't have to make any more urgent trips to the bathroom, but I couldn't sleep well. I had a fever and body aches. I was a little delirious.

I stayed home from work today and got some extra rest and sleep. It appears that this was nothing more than a 24 hour virus because I'm feeling tremendously better tonight.

The Sun'll Come Out Today

Once again, I find myself unable to get to sleep. I have Court in the morning, but I just haven't gotten the least bit sleepy. I've been surfing the web. I Googled my best friend, Rod Martin and spent a lot of time sifting through 21 pages of results. If you Google my name, you get almost 80 pages, but very few of the links are about me. Most of them are about the former President of the Fort Worth Cats minor league baseball team or some guy who is in a Beatles tribute band.

I also found some info about a church I may visit soon. It's closer to us now than our previous church was before we moved, so it's worth the consideration if the church is good. I like the folks at the church we currently attend, but I feel like a fish out of water because we're not really Lutherans.

What a weekend

On Friday night, Jody and I sat down to watch The Lake House. Not too long after it started, our older daughter, Erin, started vomiting. We were able to watch the entire movie, but it wound up taking us over three hours to finish it. The movie isn't too bad, either.

Erin was sick and laid on the couch most of the day Saturday. On Sunday, daughter number two, Hannah, was complaining of a sore throat. Jody decided to take her into the Doctor, whose office happens to be open on Sundays. Looks like the poor girl may have strep throat.

Hopefully, Jody and I will avoid coming down with anything that will knock us out of commission.

Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?

I took the on-line qualifying test for Jeopardy! Wednesday night. I have chronicled past attempts to get on that show here and here.

They won't tell how high a score is required to pass the test anymore, but when I tested back in 2002, we were explicitly told the passing score is 35 out of 50. On Wednesday's test, I scored 38. All this really means is that IF they come to Dallas or Houston this year, and IF my name is selected from a random drawing of all the folks who passed the test and selected one of those cities, I can appear in person, take another test, and IF I pass that one, and IF I do a good job in the mock game, and IF they like me enough, I MIGHT get called to be on the show.

So, do me a favor, and don't ask me when I'm gonna be on "Jeopardy!"

What Exactly is TheVanguard.org?

I've had a link to TheVanguard Blog on my sidebar since the early days of this blog. TheVanguard.org is the brainchild of Rod Martin, who happens to have been Best Man at my wedding and who remains my best friend despite the miles that separate us.

A couple of days ago, Human Events published a feature article entitled The Next MoveOn.org?" written by Stephanie Dube, a freelance writer from Dallas and creator of The Write Idea. Dube profiles Rod, giving a brief biographical background and professional pedigree. She goes on to explain the purpose of TheVanguard.org and mentions some of the others involved. Most of whom you've heard of, even if you have never heard of Rod Martin before:

Launched as an organization last March, TheVanguard.org already has a top-drawer cast, including Silicon Valley heavy-hitters like Eric Jackson (a former PayPal colleague of Martin’s, where he was head of marketing) and Gil Amelio (former CEO of two Fortune 500 companies, including Apple Computer), among others.

But it is far from an all-California show. Americans for Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist is on its board too, as are Club for Growth founder (and current Wall Street Journal editorial board member) Stephen Moore, famed actress Jane Russell, direct-mail pioneer Walt Longyear, “compassionate conservatism” guru Marvin Olasky, even Reagan Doctrine-architect Jack Wheeler. Martin refuses to confirm or deny rumors that Jerome Corsi—co-author of 2004’s “Unfit for Command,” which irreparably damaged John Kerry’s presidential hopes—has signed on for a similar effort against Hillary.

The diversity of issues represented by this group is not accidental. “The scope and immediacy of the internet makes bringing people together a lot easier,” Martin explains. “The conservative movement is far too fractured. Libertarians attack Christians, pro-gunners snipe at pro-lifers, border security folks question outreach to conservative Hispanics. It’s not what you’d call conducive to victory.

“The left has always been better at coalition building, and MoveOn is the latest means by which they’re better. But the internet is a great leveler: we can do this too. And we must.”

Early indications are that they will. After less than a year of “beta tests” which included efforts to extend the Bush tax cuts and derail a United Nations gun ban conference (it ended in deadlock), the group’s web traffic exceeds that of many of the most noteworthy political groups in America. While still far short of the exalted ranks of MoveOn, DailyKos or WorldNetDaily, web rankings generated by Alexa.com show TheVanguard.org beating such established organizations as the National Rifle Association, National Right to Life, the Club for Growth, the Minuteman Project and People for the American Way. Martin notes with a combination of surprise and glee that this is before the full site “goes live,” and before the group executes its marketing plan.

Conservatives owe it to themselves to check out TheVanguard.org. My prediction is that before too long, Rod Martin will be one of the most well-known people in America.

The Rainmaker at KCCT

Here's one picture of the set from KCCT's The Rainmaker. I have posted more and bigger ones over at MY THEATRE BLOG.

A Great Movie

I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but I never saw The Godfather until last week. This film instantly made it to my Top 10 favorite movies of all-time. It's not perfect, but it's close. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Robert Duvall give amazing performances. Others were great as well.

If you're like me, and you've just never gotten around to seeing this one, do yourself a favor and catch it as soon as possible.

9.5/10

Get Your Labels Here

I have decided that I have too many Labels for my posts, and I haven't even gone back and labeled all the archives. Thus, I am going to edit them and only keep broad categories.

Snakes on a Plane

I got the movie on DVD from Blockbuster last night and watched it before going to bed. The language is pretty harsh, and the movie definitely earned its "R" rating. It has its moments, but overall this movie just couldn't match up to the pre-release internet hype.

Eden & The Ten Commandments

Yesterday evening during Sunday School (our Church meets in the evenings) it dawned on me that I could find a violation of eight of the Ten Commandments in the story of the Fall in the Garden of Eden. The only two I can't connect are the Second Commandment, prohibiting the making and worshipping of graven images, and the Fouth Commandment, requiring the observance of the Sabbath. I suspect that I'm missing something and that all Ten are broken.

The Greatest Actress of Our Generation

If you have any doubt about the fact that Meryl Streep is the best actress working in film today, check out her performances in the the following movies from last year:

A Prairie Home Companion

&

The Devil Wears Prada

Funny Video for Music Fans

Was pointed to this one by Philip over at The Thinklings.



It's worth a look.

He has another clip without the guitar here:

6 Minutes at Zanies

The Way the Basketball Bounces

So, Bob Knight has become the all-time leader for coaching wins in Men's College Basketball. I was listening to ESPN Radio today, and the host was asking if Knight has to be considered the greatest Men's College Basketball coach ever. That host, whose name escapes me, concluded that Knight has to be respected for the accomplishment, but that in the host's opinion, Dean Smith is still the best. I am a huge fan of the UNC Tar Heels, but even I can't elevate Smith to Number 1. Here's my Top 5:

5. Adolph Rupp
4. Bob Knight
3. Mike Krzyzewski
2. Dean Smith
1. John Wooden

As much as I depise the Duke Blue Devils, I have to give Coach K the respect he deserves as a great coach. I also believe that before he retires, he will hold the record that Knight just broke.

Safe Passage

I've been out of town for Christmas, and we just got back home last night at about 1:15 am. The trip back from Wyoming was uneventful, but not without stress. If you've been paying attention to the Weather Channel, you should know that there were no good routes from Wyoming to Texas the past few days. We left Casper, WY around 11:00 am MST on Saturday morning. My hope was to make it to Salina, KS that night, but alas, it was not to be. We drove into some wintry weather in Nebraska. But for the snow & ice, we wouldn't have even gone through Nebraska. but Interstate 70 was closed from Denver to over the Kansas state line.

We wound up having to abandon the goal of Salina fairly quickly. My objective kept moving . . . York, NE . . . Kearney, NE . . . and finally, get off the highway intact and get a motel room. We exited at Cozad, NE, and after seeing the "No Vancancy" sign on the door of the Motel 6, I drove down to the Circle S Motel. I could see the chart with the rooms on it as I stood in line and could see that we should be okay. As it turns out, two more folks behind me in line were able to get rooms.

On Sunday, we decided to wait for the sun to come out to give an opportunity for the ice and snow to melt some and give the state a chance to clear the Interstate. We drove off from Cozad at 11:20 am. From Cozad to York, the road was rough, but nothing too terrible, but apparently the night before it had been really bad. In the first 14 miles from the Cozad exit, 14 vehicles had gone off the road the night before. In all before we turned south at York, we saw about 30 cars, SUV's, & 18-wheelers in the ditch or median.

After turning onto US 81, things seemed like they might be fairly good. That is they seemed that way until we hit the Kansas state line. It appeared that very little if anything at all was done by the Kansas Highway Department to clear the highway. I drove on ice & snow almost the entire way to Salina. My neck, shoulders, arms, and hands were all sore from the tension of that trek.

From Salina to home, the roads were finally clear and dry. The total road time over the two days amounted to 22 hours. For such a long and difficult trip, my girls did really well, even when their daddy was growling at them.