The Truth About Yale

Joe College
by Tom Perrotta

Not really the truth, but a nice light story all the same. I am slowly working through his backlist and while this was enjoyable, nothing in particular stood out about it.

O My Lord in Heaven

Playing Saturday morning basketball with the young guys. I really didn't need to move pain free anymore - it is over-rated anyways.

Parker has a problem with the White Stuff

We made need an intervention.

Next Menrichment Maybe?

I am digging therough the old computer files, as Lisa is hogging the new computer yet again!

Can you spot a theme?

Orange Juice Ad

Having done this twice at the hospital, I may have to look into this next time
My Mom always said it was good luck if a bird pooped on you
This is exactly why the Hippo is my favorite animal. I saw this once at the Chester Zoo and it was awesome.
Parker shares all year round, not just holidays
This is just funny

How To Get Understanding

CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America.

By Mitchell Gold with Mindy Drucker

Homosexuality was never a subject I spent a lot of time thinking about until a great young man at my church came out. Of course a lot of opinions and beliefs were discussed which led me to do what I always do, research. I read two wonderful books by Carol Lynn Pearson which really helped me to ponder and conclude several things; mainly that you do not choose to be gay; it is who you are. Since then I have thought a lot about how the so-called religious behavior of people lead young gay persons to feel ostracized, or worse, suicidal. I find that I cannot bridge “Christ-like” behavior with the end result of suicide. I cannot be convinced that anybody, regardless of the orientation could come away from a conversation with the Saviour and feel the best course of action would be to end their life. So I am left with analyzing my actions towards those who are different than me. As the bible says, judge not lest you be judged; who am I to worry about what the Lord will or will not do to those who are different than me – I got enough on my plate just worrying about myself and my own not so visible differences – I am far from perfect.

Anybody who wants to learn more about the consequences of their personal interactions with people who are gay, this collection of stories will definitely open your eyes. A way to understand better is to substitute the name of whatever minority group you personally belong to for gay (like Mormon, or Black, or Fat). In the end I feel that God will judge each one of us on how we treat our fellow man, regardless of what they are or are not doing.

For more information and excerpts, Go Here

CONTEST - GIVEAWAY - FREEBIE!!!

***NOTE: So far we have Ann, Heather, & Lena - 3 Left!***

It was the annual meeting again tonight and I now have 6 extra copies of The Book Of SPAM. The first 5 people* (non employee or fellow stockholder) who say they want one in the comments will get it. As an added bonus is the World's Best Pizza Cutter. All will be sent to you in a plain brown envelope free of charge.

How Cool is That!**

* I say 5 people as the sixth will be going to my old friend Kristi out west - I owe her for the Mole book delay.

** Assuming I have six readers.

Cool Advertisements

Be Very Afraid

Little Brother
By Cory Doctorow

Imagine what could happen if the paranoid were allowed to have all the power they wanted to make everyone safe. This book follows the struggle of a few teenagers as they battle Department of Homeland Security following a terrorist attack in San Francisco. Unchecked authority is very dangerous and it is the responsibility of the masses to resist it when necessary. That is why the founding fathers spent so much time creating the Declaration if Independence and then the Constitution to ensure that power never went unchecked. This book will make you rethink a few things about privacy and I recommend all read it, especially teenagers (as it is a young adult book).

It Was Bound To Happen

I actually finished a book I didn't like.

Devil May Care
By Sebastian Faulks

With James Bond making a come back in the theaters, how could a new Bond book go wrong? Well, this book figured out how to. First and foremost the writing was stilted and did not lend itself to easy reading. Other than that it takes place in the early 70’s and the most high tech thing going was a payphone. Overall it was not worth my time and I ended up skimming/speed reading most of it.

Immature, But Fantastic

I think the beer guys should be doing all commercials

CAN'T HARDLY WAIT!!!!!!

U2 has a new album, No Line On The Horizon, coming out on March 3 in the United States. Last time I actually showed up at the store when it opened and helped the woman unpack the new shipment and stock the shelves so I could get my copy. I am a HUGE U2 fan. Anyways, they have release the first single on the internet for your listening pleasure.

Get On Your Boots

Some songs I like instantly and others take repeated listening to grow on me. This one is of the latter and I am liking it more and more. I can't wait to here it in context of the whole album.

And just because - U2 sings my other favorite group - ABBA

We Just Got a set of these in Town

We may have to organize something

Crosswalk Countdown - GuerilLA from Kelly Herrington on Vimeo.

Conversations with JT

Picking JT up at School

Me: JT, you can climb over the snow pile but I have to walk around.
JT: No, I can't go on it.
Me: Why?
JT: the crossing guards will turn you in to the teachers.
Me: Those facist bastards!

Talking with Lisa later

Me: Did you hear about those Nazi's at JT's school; they won't let him on the snow pile.
Lisa: Yeah a few days ago they asked him to get off of it, and he told them he had a 15 year old brother. And then his friend stated that said brother would beat the crossing guards up. So yeah, he is pretty much banned from the snow pile.

So now I am of three minds, sort of upset, sort of proud, and kinda hopeful JT will use the phrase facist bastards correctly one day with an unsuspecting adult.

I totally Misunderstood this film before

Just Say No

The Abstinence Teacher
by Tom Perrotta

If you like books that tie up all the sub-plots into one neat ending, then avoid this book at all costs. This is the story of very real characters, with all their flaws and quirks, as they try to navigate their way between fundamental Christianity and the right of individuals to not believe. It is set in a small town with the very harsh evangelical Tabernacle church and their desire to impose their views on the rest if the community whether they want or need it. The first battle involves limiting sex education and then to the force of prayer before sporting events. While I find this brand of Christianity distasteful, Perrotta presents the value of such beliefs. On the other side he demonstrates the flaws of the opposing view and in the end draws no conclusion. That is left entirely up to you the reader.

For the Kids

Eric - we need to see this when it comes out

Twilight Sucks - I want to see this

Creative Advertising

via Miss Cellania

Same O Same O

Salvation in Death
by JD Robb (Nora Roberts)

Number 27 in the futuristic cop series by Robb, featuring tough as nails Lt. Eve Dallas and her usual cohorts, including her husband Roark. Given that Robb is a pseudonym for Nora Roberts, Roark is of course super good looking, the most understanding husband ever, and the world's richest man. And he gives women, especially Eve, multiple orgasms just by looking at them. That aside they never fail to deliver a good police procedural mystery - in this case a Catholic priest has been murdered by someone poisening the sacrement wine.

You can read anyone of the 27 books, but if you want to understand the cast of characters and their tangle of relationships you have to start at the beginning - Naked in Death. All the books are titled SOMETHING in Death.

Well Worth the Time

Quicksilver
by Neal Stephenson

Expansive, detailed, interesting, informative, historical; these all can describe book one of the Baroque Cycle. This books takes place at the origins of modern science in Europe, around 1660 through 1720 (give or take). Where science was expanding and religion and the old system of kings was trying to be more controlling. If Stephenson does anyhting, it is excessive research. So this book is very dense with facts interwoven with a moving plot.

Well worth the time and commitment to read all three books. But if you have never read him before I would suggest starting one of his stand alones like Cryptonomicon or Snow Crash. Still massive books, but does not involve a trilogy od 2700+ pages.

Undecided

Flight: A Novel
by Sherman Alexie

I am not sure about this author or this book. Very short as it was young adult fiction, but there was a worthwhile over all message. That being violence and justification for violence is never as clear as it seems. I will need to read a few more by this author before I can decide.

Even though it was a young adult book, it had more profanity per page then any book I have read in a long time.

I should feel sorry, but I laughed

Yeah!

We actually have this posted at our house (the Japanese is for when Steven visits)

Cool Ad

I will sell you 4 for a dollar

You know who you are

I feel a certain percentage of my readers will like this one.

What is your integrity worth?

At work we have a online bulliten board in which you can sell stuff. I logged on today and saw something interesting for only $75 (this would be slightly under priced). Well I call the guy and buy it and arrange to pick it up tomorrow.

Wait thirty minutes when the guy emails me that he has since had another offer in which he was offered $100. "Sorry" for the inconvienence, but would I like to bid.

No thank you, and you just sold the only thing you had that was worth anything in this world for $25.

Fire Follow Up

Here are some great shots my cousin Eric took this morning:

Of course, if you spray that much water when it is minus 50°F out, you get a lot of ice as well.

A few of the adjacent business just spent a lot of money refurbishing their buildings last summer - all for not between the smoke and water damage. I guess the upstairs portion of the buildings was an unused Opera house (from the turn of the century), thus it was a large open space that allowed the fire to spread quickly)

Two Terrific Teen Titles**

I have the opportunity to listen to recorded books while I work sometimes, and I was able to get through two short books by the same author.

SPEAK
by Laurie Halse Anderson

I first heard about this book on the blog Feminist Mormon Housewives as people were raving about it. The plot sounded interesting - a freshman girl is raped, and shunned by her friends, and eventually shuts off from the world (not speaking among other traits), until she finally confronts her own life. Very powerful stuff that captured my interest much like The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold).

The second book wasTWISTED

This features a young teen who must figure out what it means to be a man when his life goes to crap and nobody is there to show him. Both of these books were fantastic, captured a lot of the pressure of high school, and teach very meaningful lessons that all teens should think about. I am going to have my oldest read them this summer and would recommend them to all teenagers.

I am also through 75% of Quicksilver, my big book I started two weeks ago; and part one of the trilogy.

**I am nerdy enough to think that the alliteration in the title was not only clever, but a little cool.

I So Know What You're Thinking

Actual conversation with the wife

Lisa (Who is thinking of following our Area Church leader's advice to be prepared by having a sum of cash in small bills in the home): After work tomorrow can you stop by the bank and pick up $200 in ones.

Me: A forty year old male, picking up $200, in one dollar bills, on a Friday, after work? I so know what that bank teller, and thus the rest of the bank, and probably town will be thinking.

That's right

The Strip Club!

How Cold Is It??

Here in Minnesota we have the occasional snow day, but today and tomorrow school has been canceled for COLD Days. That happens when the straight temperature is below 22°F and the windchill is below 45°F.

Reasons for Winter Accidents

So how cold is it?At least this cold snap is supposed to lift tomorrow afternoon; we are getting up to a balmy 5°F - that means it is time to break out the shorts and t-shirts.

Sometimes Exciting Things Happen

It has been so cold here we haven't been doing much, at least not much blog worthy. But then on the way home from work I see most of the downtown area is burning down - and I had my camera on me.

For better photo's and newstory go here.

The day isn't over

He is probably right

I have a lot of great advertisements saved up

And to continue the theme

This is my favorite
This is also true.

Special Bonus for the especially immature.

This makes me want to buy an iphone.

iPhone Application

And now I wish I still had our Tickle Me Elmo

Tigger & Elmo