"It’s going to get a lot of Christians with their knickers in a knot unnecessarily.”

I'm no DNA expert, but don't you need the mother and father's DNA to determine genetic
identity? Wonder where Jim Cameron got God's DNA? In case you're even later to this story than I am, it seems the Titanic/Terminator dude has found Jesus' "residue". Do read the whole thing.

I agree with this guy:

“This is exploiting the whole trend that caught on with ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ ” said Lawrence E. Stager, the Dorot professor of archaeology of Israel at Harvard, in a telephone interview. “One of the problems is there are so many biblically illiterate people around the world that they don’t know what is real (emphasis mine) judicious assessment and what is what some of us in the field call ‘fantastic archaeology.’ ”

Any of you who know me, know it is almost painful for me to read fiction. But I tried, I really did, to read Da Vinci code. It was so poorly written, I just couldn't take it. I was actually stunned that so many people had read it. The movie was kind of fun, but could have been much better. The real point to be made, here, is that it is a work of fiction. (Christians should pay attention to that categorization as well as non-believers.) It makes no more sense to believe in the premises of Da Vinci Code, than it does to believe that there's a real Willy Wonka with lickable wallpaper.

I plan to use the premises put forth in the documentary in my son's logic lesson this week. (We have been on vacation, and he needs some easy exercises to get back into his logic groove.)

"Uh, Mom? I don't understand my math."

Megan and her dad walked to the store. They left the house at 9:30
AM. The walk took them 45 minutes. What time did they arrive at
the
park?

Nice editing work, publishers ;-)

Vacation-a-thon

We are on the last few days of a truly great family vacation. You know, I really like the people in my family:-) That may seem obvious, but I do love people I don't really like. I'm not very good at it, but I do try to obey God in this regard. In so doing, I find it wonderful to appreciate loving people that I like, as well. God is so funny that way. He always makes it more than worth it to obey him. I like that, too.

We spent a week here, which was awesome. It was, however, colder than last year, so we did have a few unpleasant chills. But it served its purpose--boy-a-thon is over his desire to live in Utah. He decided his ol' mom is right: snow is a nice thing to to visit.

We flew to L.A. where upon landing in the enchanted airport, we knew we were definitely not in Kansas anymore. As we looked around in wide-eyed amazement, we saw right away that this was an entirely different land. Just like those other travelers trapped in Oz, we linked arms to stay safe and we chanted while we walked down the path to the rental car busstop:

"Escalades...
...boobs...
...and Botox, oh my!"

The next five days we spent here. Last night, we met up with old friends, and had incredible Mexican food. This afternoon, girl-a-thon and I are headed here.


Lots of interesting observations that I'll be posting about when we get home!

True Love, Indeed

here are two great stories about families who loved their members regardless of what they could do for them. Yes, folks, actual love.

Personhood, Part One

This is the first in a series of posts I hope to get off my chest. I also hope to rattle your cage a bit, and get you thinking about something I fear we GenXers will surely see worsen.

For a while now, I have been plagued by what a friend of mine calls our culture of death. He asserts that some time ago, as a culture, we turned a corner and are now more comfortable with ending lives than saving them. (It's nearly impossible to argue with him, given the every day use of tidy phrases like "mercy killing" and "pregnancy termination".)

For whatever reason, this particular topic disturbs me at the core of my being. Now I know it seems obvious that it would, but this, above all other horrors in the world, truly grieves my soul. I literally become dumbstruck in conversations about the value of a human life. It is because, this, more than any other truth should be held as self evident. How is it even possible that a human being would argue against its own worth or right to live? I suppose it makes sense when we consider that those who don't value human life aren't including themselves in the discussion; but the mental acrobatics required for that to make any sort of sense is just too much for me.

An Actual Inconvenient Truth
Regardless of the more polite terminology, the bottom line is that inconvenient people are legally killed. Whether it is bad timing to have a baby, or a confused, incontinent grandpa, these people take too much effort to maintain. Our society that loves convenience has somehow stealthily slid into sanctioning the killing of others who may be a burden to someone else. Charming, isn't it?

I think I'm Gonna Hurl

For the love of Pete, someone tell me this is not actually happening: Al Gore is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?

"A prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize is making a difference, and Al Gore has made a difference," Conservative Member of Parliament Boerge Brende, a former minister of environment and then of trade, told The Associated Press.

Silly me. I thought the Nobel Peace Prize was supposed to have something to do with furthering peace.
You know, they don't have to award a prize at all. There are many years where no peace prize was even awarded. On the other hand, if one can be nominated for the Nobel Peace prize for telling people they need to clean up after themselves, or the world will be a mess, every mom I know is hereby nominated!

What Do You Think?

I would really love to know if you think this is right or wrong:
There is a group of people in congress who have a club that is defined by race. One cannot be a part of this club if one is not the same race as the current members all are. In fact someone of another race just tried to join, and the group voted against him because he wasn't the same race they were. It's a good idea to read the whole thing.

racism--n 1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. 2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination. 3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.


—Related forms
racist, noun, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Oy Vey!

The last time I checked, Jesus was never divorced, nor did he father a child out of wedlock.

Ok. I think I have had enough of this ridiculousness. Here's the straight deal:
Tom Cruise is nuts. Scientology is a cult. And (get ready...I'm going to say it) it is WRONG.

Palm Springs

Assisted living for an entire city.

I'll be using that line for the rest of my natural life!
(Anyone from So. Cal. like, totally gets it.)

Better Brush Up On Your Chinese

This can't be good.

Dang That Katie Couric!!

We finished school at a somewhat reasonable hour today. I had big plans for looking through the catalogs that arrived in the mail, and reading in one of the three books I have staring me down. Then it came. An Email from a friend with Katie Couric's stupid comments.

It seems Katie got a newsflash (pun intended):
There are a bunch of men in the news business!

This has made Katie sad. She notes that 51% of America is female while just 16% of congress is. While those statistics may send her mind wandering (was she even paying attention during the White House briefing?) I'd be more interested to know what percent of the newscasters there actually deliver unbiased news. To put it simply, I don't discriminate based on gender. I don't care if I get the news from a woman or a man. I just want the news, straight and clear.

And, Katie, since I know you read my blog, it may interest you to know that some of those 51% of women--the ones with kids--well, a good number of them are at home. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 6.8 million American women are full time moms at home. And, of those, only 1.5% are there because they cannot find work. And, go figure, the higher education the mother has, the more likely she is to stay at home. What?! This is a choice? Surely women are still being oppressed from being what Ms. Couric and the gals think they should be, right? I mean no woman would choose to be home without being held back by those good ol' boys, right? Frankly, I think the fact that I could do Couric's job, but I choose to do mine, is a greater measure of my status as a woman in this country.

Hate to burst your bubble, but I am aware that I have options, Ms. Couric, and the choice you made is unappealing to me, thankyouverymuch.

24

I can't believe I have to wait a whole week for my next fix! In the meantime, it looks like we may actually make progress with Iran.

Quote of the Day

Spoken from Boy-a-Thon while he was in the garden, admiring a bee:

"I wish people could dress up like bees without looking like idiots."

You should know that he admired the bee for about 3 minutes, nonstop. He has always adored animals, plants, and in fact all creation. He will not allow any of us to kill cockroaches. He will scoop them up and take them outside.

A 'tweener

'tweener (twee-nuhr) n. 1. Something or someone in the area separating categories or space. Orange is a 'tweener of red and yellow. Warm is a 'tweener of hot and cold.
(My father-in-law first introduced me to this word years ago. At first it seemed funny. Then I began to see it as clever. Now it has become an essential part of my vocabulary. Take it and use it. I'll bet it becomes essential for you, too.)

For about the last year and a half, I have been feeling, well, not quite comfortable. I've been kind of itchy, and irritable. (No, I did not forget a 'b' back there.) It's the way I imagine babies feel when they fuss a bit just before they fall asleep. They are not really awake and they are not yet asleep. Things just aren't right until they finally drift off to a peaceful rest.

I thought this started with the Terry Schiavo fiasco, but it actually began long before that. The deep funk I felt over the Schiavo case was the first time this sense (it had been very subtle before) was an actual feeling. It was measureable. I could tell for certain something just wasn't right. It actually made me sick to hear people use the term "non-human person" and espouse their "criteria for personhood". I felt like Alice through the looking glass.

I haven't had another acute experience such as that, but that sense of light nausea has never completely gone away. You see, while I am living in this world, I am growing in the knowledge of another world. And that other world is the place where I am supposed to be. I and you and every image-bearing being of God's creation were meant for heaven. Believers are indeed 'tweeners.

When I remember that, the nausea subsides a bit. When I am refreshed by the truth and promises of God's word, I can relax and cast all my anxieties on Him. We are indeed strangers and pilgrims on the earth. I declare plainly that I seek a homeland--a better, heavenly country. Thank God He has prepared a city for us!

Human Error

I haven't blogged since before Christmastime because I thought something was wrong with Blogger. In fact the problem with Blogger is me. Imagine that? I am actually my own problem. Go figure.

Previous to thinking Blogger had "broken", I was feeling quite sorry for myself, having not gotten any comments on my blogposts. Guess what? The fault was mine again. Apparently, I have become so handicapped by my dependence on my own wonderful IT guy that I am, well, an idiot.

Fear not! This year I endeavor to be more responsible for my own technical issues. Shh--don't tell the computer whisperer; he'll break out in a sweat ;-)

A Birl..a Goy...a Shim

Apparently, it isn't that easy to tell these days.

An Indian runner who won a silver medal in the women's 800-meter run at the Asian Games earlier this month has failed a gender test and is likely to be stripped of her medal.

Read the whole thing here.

Quote of the Day

In honor of a friend's long awaited remodeling project being completed, I submit the following:

An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.
Mae West

I can totally relate. When Dadathon was finishing our master bath repair (which turned into a remodel, 'cuz wow, that's a heckuva leak!) I had had enough. By the end, my favorite color had become FINISHED. As in: whatever is in stock and ready to be installed within 24 hours.

Sheesh...

When trying to update a previous post, I got this message about why the update failed:

001 java.net.ConnectException: Connection refusedblog/47/40/9/momathon/2006/09/would-someone-please-take-mic-away.html

What do you suppose that means? I can't imagine that anyone is actually reading my blog, (since I generally have no comments whatsoever) and having that much of an issue with anything I say. So, I think my vote is for some sort of spamming game someone is trying to pull. What's your vote?

Worth the Wait

 


UPDATE: a better description of our night can be found here.

It took nearly a year, and many ups and downs before we were finally able to go to this concert as planned, but U2 was well worth it. If you ever get an opportunity to see them live, you should do it. It was all the better that we were able to celebrate the wedding anniversary of our dear friends, and share in their fun that night, too.

It was really something to see rock stars aching by the suffering in the world. (Generally, I don't think of rock stars when I think of those with great compassion toward others.) It couldn't be easy to address such a serious subject in a rock concert without facing an avalanche of criticism, so kudos to them to have even made the attempt.

Rock on brothers. 

For a Chuckle

Robert Gates' 3 step plan for Iraq from Scrappleface:

“Finally,” he added, “Shiite Muslim cleric Moktada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army numbers in the tens of thousands, will be captured, beheaded and buried with 72 virgin hogs at a pig farm in Israel. The video will be posted at YouTube.com.”

That's the best of it, in my opion, but you can read the whole thing here.