Star War's Kid Parent's sue
Read all about it.

12:33 PM Jul. 24, 2003 PT

The parents of the infamous "Star Wars Kid" are suing classmates who posted a humiliating video of their son on the Net, according to Canada's Globe and Mail.

Quebec teenager Ghyslian Raza was the target of worldwide mockery when a private video he made of himself practicing his lightsaber moves was uploaded to the Net by kids at his school.

Now his parents are claiming damages of $160,000 from the families of the four classmates who digitized and published the video. Ghyslain's parents claim their son was so humiliated, he is undergoing psychiatric care and may be marked for life by the experience.

Ghyslain's video was posted to the Kazaa file-sharing network in the spring.

The two-minute video shows an overweight teenager fighting a mock battle with a golf-ball retriever doubling as a lightsaber. The teenager twirls the "lightsaber" ever more energetically while generating his own sound effects. It is obviously not for public consumption.

Ghyslain was so teased about the video, he dropped out of school and finished the semester at a children's psychiatric ward, according to a lawsuit filed in the Raza's hometown of Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

According to the suit, "Ghyslain had to endure, and still endures today, harassment and derision from his high-school mates and the public at large." He "will be under psychiatric care for an indefinite amount of time."

Not sure what to think. It was really pretty funny. We all do stupid things. The key isn't to make everyone stop laughing at us, but to start laughing ourselves. I'm 37 and I'm just learning this.

About a month ago, I got mad because someone was laughing (at me or at the situation I'm not sure). I didn't blow up, but I didn't go on about my business for God either. I should have laughed. I should have laughed too. It wasn't a personal insult. It was funny. This young man will be in a mental ward if he doesn't realize it was funny. My hopes are for him.

Jesus was about letting go of hate

This is one of the most intense honest movies I've ever seen. It is pretty violent and violating, but it gets at a lot of the problem we have -- we hate. We hate that somebody has more than we do and often unfairly. I'm not just talking about money, but often stuff like insurance or relationships. We hate how we were treated in school, how we were treated at home, how we are treated at work. Disrespect from people, let alone from your spouse and your kids and your parents.

Whenever (every time? Is this true?) we struggle, we get angry. Whenever our progress is blocked even when it is our fault or our weakness or our inability, we get angry. It may not always feel like anger. Often it feels like tenseness, irritability. Sometimes it feels like weariness. But it is anger (isn't it?).

Jesus didn't get angry. He refused to fight back. (I know, except the once. There are always exceptions aren't there?) The Sermon on the Mount amazingly preached, "Don't fight back!" Let go of anger. It will not help us accomplish anything. Satan would love for us to be angry. Anger makes us feel important. We have a right not to be treated as we are being treated because we are important!

Jesus made himself a servant. He made himself nothing, showing us the secret of escaping anger. And finding what we wanted all along -- freedom.

American History X says that pretty honestly. And shows that a pretty heavy price is owed for our sins.

The Movie

My friend Tom Toner emailed me concerned that Scott Glenn isn't really right for the part of playing Tom in the movie of my life. He suggested Harrison Ford. I thought, "This isn't that high budget of a movie. No way we are going to get Harrison Ford for this movie to play a supporting role."

BUT... I emailed Harry (That is what Harrison Ford's personal friends call him) this morning and explained the importance of Tom's role. "No problem. I'm there," emailed back Harry. Scott Glenn however is furious, as he was hoping this role would relaunch his career.

We'll let the lawyers figure this one out!

My Wife Is a Very, Very Good Wife

Coming home from the Coles County Fair Queen Pageant, watching our own Jami Currie compete, my wife Danelle found huge green bug on our car. Our 8-year old has been very interested in bugs lately and got a bug kit for her birthday.

So my wife took an empty pop cup and captured this thing. Yikes!

Yahooligans! Animals: Fork-tailed Bush Katydid: "Fork-tailed Bush Katydid
Scudderia furcata

The leaf-like wings of these katydids give them excellent camouflage among the leaves where they live. This disguise means that they probably taste great, so they have to hide from predators like birds and lizards. Male katydids call to attract females; they do most of their singing at night. The eardrums of katydids are located on the elbows of their front legs."

the friday five:

1. If your life were a movie, what would the title be? "You Gotta Be Kidding! No way I'm paying $6.50 for this"

2. What songs would be on the soundtrack? A lot of U2. Of course, you would have to have Def Leppard's Octin Glibbin Octin Globin for when I totaled my car since that is the song that was playing very loudly when it happened. Some early facination with Prince would probably be replaced with Jaci Velasquez to keep the rating PG-13.

3. Would it be a live-action film or animated? Why? Live action sounds a little too interesting for my life-story, but I would hate for it to be animated. They would make me look funny, but then people would say, "Wow that really looks like you!"

4. Casting: who would play you, members of your family, friends, etc? Mel Gibson would play me for obvious reasons (Tom Selleck would do in a pinch).

Helen Hunt would play my wife (dead ringer looks wise), Mary Kate Olsen (that other twin just doesn't look the part) would play my daughter Alyssa, Tobey Maguire would play my son Cayden, Matt Damon would play my son Ethan (he's about the right size).

Alf (Bono from U2 would might need to do the stunt work for when Lance and I had a band) would play my friend Lance. Scott Glenn (played Bart Mancuso in Red October) would play my friend Tom Toner. Croc Dundee would play my blog subscriber Darren (Mel's playing me, sorry). Kirk Cameron would play my friend Wade. Bill Gates would play my brother Brad. My brother Rich would play himself (he can do about anything so why not act). Or Selleck can play Rich if we get Mel. Natalie Maines (lead singer of the Dixie Chicks) would play Shawna. Brett Hull (Detroit Redwings) would play Josh. David Hasselhoff would play my friend Jim Donnell. And Carlos Santana would play my friend Jim Eastin.

Bobby Knight would play my high school basketball coach Steve Bennett (coach would like that I think.) Leonard Nimoy would play my high school biology teacher Maurice McCoy. Daisy Fuentes would play a recurring role as a complilation of the girls I dated before I met my wife. (Hey it is my movie and it will be pretty boring anyway so why not throw in something for the teens.)

Oh, there's more! John-Rhys Davies (who played Gimli in Lord of the Rings) plays my friend Dan Knight. Anthony Michael Hall plays my seminary friend John Culbertson. Nicholas Cage plays my friend Ben Tobias (Cage is good at playing people full of conflict and angst!) Gary Busey would play my friend Eddie Hammond. Matthew Broderick would play my friend Fran Leeman. Al Pacino would play my friend Mark Smith.

I'm sure I've forgotten some people... sorry. Please leave other casting ideas in the comments!!

5. Describe the movie preview/trailer: It opens with a dark screen, which starts to slowly brighten until you can just make out an image of my dog's tail, but then quickly darkens again. The music is slow and doesn't grab you much.

Lazy People Work Hard

This is why I read Coop. He quotes Eugene Peterson from the Contemplative Pastor.

I am busy because I am vain. I want to appear important. Significant. What better way than to be busy? The incredible hours, the crowded schedule, and the heavy demands on my time are proof to myself--and to all who will notice--that I am important. If I go to a doctor's office and find there's no one waiting, and I see through a half-open door the doctor reading a book, I wonder if he is any good. A good doctor will have people lined up waiting to see him; a good doctor will not have time to read a book. Although I grumble about waiting my turn in a busy doctor's office, I am also impressed with his importance.

Such experiences affect me. I live in a society in which crowded schedules and harassed conditions are evidence of importance, so I develop a crowded schedule and harassed conditions. When others notice, they acknowledge my significance and my vanity is fed.
I am busy because I am lazy. I indolently let others decide what I will do instead of resolutely deciding myself. I let people who do not understand the work of a pastor write the agenda for my day's work because I am too slipshod to write it myself. The pastor is a shadowy figure in these people's minds, a marginal person remotely connected with matters of God and good will. Anything remotely religious or somehow well-intentioned can be properly assigned to the pastor.

Because these assignments to pastoral service are made sincerely, I go along with them. It takes effort to refuse, and besides, there's always the danger that the refusal will be interpreted as a rebuff, a betrayal of religion, and a calloused disregard for people in need.

It was a favorite theme of C.S. Lewis that only lazy people work hard. By lazily abdicating the essential work of deciding and directing, establishing values and setting goals, other people do it for us; then we find ourselves frantically, at the last minutes, trying to satisfy a half dozen different demands on our time, none of which is essential to our vocation, to stave off disaster of disappointing someone.

But if I vainly crowd my day with conspicuous activity or let others fill me day with imperious demands, I don't have the time to do my proper work, the work to which I have been called. How can I lead people into the quiet place beside the still waters if I am in perpetual motion? How can I persuade a person to love by faith and not by works if I have to juggle my schedule constantly to make everything fit into place?

Must Read for Leaders

I read this in my mailed copy of Fastcompany, but the article is online too.

It is called Adding Value -- but at What Cost? The subtitle is "In his debut column, the world's top executive coach explains why half of what a leader says may not be worth saying."

This is a new column by Marshall Goldsmith, who is "corporate America's preeminent executive coach." He should be an interesting read each month. This article is so important for strong-minded leaders.

It isn't a long article. Read the whole article. But here is a snippet.

In Jon's case, he was displaying a variation on the need to win: adding too much value. It's particularly common among smart people. They may retain remnants of a top-down management style even if they don't want to. These leaders are smart enough to realize that most of their subordinates know more in specific areas than they ever will, but old habits die hard. It's difficult for them to listen to others disclose information without communicating either that they already knew about it or that they know a better way.

The problem is, while they may have improved the idea by 5%, they've reduced the employee's commitment to executing it by 30%, because they've taken away that person's ownership of the idea. Therein lies the fallacy of added value: Whatever is gained in the form of a better idea may be lost six times over in the employee's diminished enthusiasm for the concept. One of my top clients said, "Unfortunately, at the CEO level, my suggestions get taken as orders, even if I don't want them to."

Possibly Another Worthy Read

This lady has moved from the US to Melbourne Australia to do ministry. It is pretty interesting. sunburned dot org

I guess I'm not a blog junkie as i thought I was. I don't want to read blog after blog on a long list. Even the list I have, I don't read them all. I check Cooper and Living Room about every day.

Blackhawk Down

I watched Blackhawk Down last night. It is really a "must-see" movie. It is must-see because this is the future of war. This is probably a decent insight into what American troops are facing in Iraq. Maybe not the specifics, but the threats, the difficulty of invading a city, the mass availability of communication (high tech- when the troops go into Mogadishu, the bad guys are alerted immediately by a young kid with a cell phone. low tech- they also light several tires on fire. The dense black smoke alerts all the militia.)

Blackhawk Down is about why people take sides. They take sides because of the man beside them. The war leaves the sphere of right and wrong (not completely though) and becomes about protecting the guy next to you.

I'm not sure exactly what we can learn idealistically from Blackhawk Down (a true story). But warfare in the next fifty years has to be looked at completely different.

Henri Nouwen

This guy was amazing. If you don't know his story, you should. This site has a short devotional by him every day (at least I think, I just found it.) Might be worth checking regularly.

Henri Nouwen Literary Centre -- July 23

Seabiscuit

I was told that this upcoming movie had all (most) of the horse supplied by my uncle, Dale Baird. I did a google search on "Dale Baird" & Seabiscuit. I found a couple of articles that my relatives might be interested in.

I didn't find anything that said whether Uncle Dale had anything to do with Seabiscuit or not, but I did find a couple of articles about him and a couple of other relatives.

PittsburghLIVE.com - Hard work worth the thrill of the ride - Mentions also Mike Baird.

Top 50 Trainers by wins

Mike Baird

Hall of Fame for Baird?

What the world needs now

As I think lately what is missing in people's lives, what might create a bridge for people to get to Jesus... I think people don't know how to have any fun. I'm not sure I do. I mean yeah I have some fun. I do some fun things. I have some friends and we get together and have some fun, but it still feels pretty reserved.

I've been to two or three wedding receptions where there were enough non-Christians and good enough music that everybody really let go and had a good time. I don't think I've ever been to a "Christian" wedding where the reception was much fun. In fact, those receptions are usually about opening the gifts (yawn). The opening for non-Christians is usually alcohol. It lowers their inhibitions enough to let loose.

Can Jesus be a bridge to lower inhibitions into some pure joy, some pure raw fun?

So let's have some fun. I'm giving it some thought.

This guys name keeps coming up

Kind of hard to forget the name: ::: alancreech :::

Dinner and a Movie

With mom out of town, there is nothing better than dinner and a movie with my three kids. Cheese Pizza and Shrek. Has to be one of my favorite movies.

Charity Navigator

In an article in FastCompany, I read about Top Ten lists.

I noticed that the chairman of World Vision, which seems to be a good organization, is compensated $262,000/yr for his work. UNICEF CEO compensation $354,000/yr. AWANA $135,000/yr.

Why do I care what these guys make?

Fellowship Christian Athletes, which is rated very poor - $120,000/yr
John Hagee - $540,000/yr.

Workcamp

My wife, Danelle, is currently at a Group Workcamp in Brownsville, TN. She had a vision to take some teenagers to do something totally outside of themselves. I am so proud of her for taking the risk and I am so thankful that she found herself fully blessed with everything (equipment and money) that she needed.

Trapped Hiker who cut off his arm on Letterman last night

This was incredible. Aron Ralston told his story of how he was trapped in a remote gorge by an 800 pound boulder and finally to escape cut off his arm. Yikes.

From StarTribune.com: The climber who amputated his arm after being pinned by a boulder had videotaped a final message for his family in case he didn't get out alive.

``I spoke to my parents to tell them how much I loved them and I spoke to my sister and told her how proud I was of what she's doing in her life,'' Aron Ralston said Monday on CBS's ``The Late Show with David Letterman.''

Ralston, 27, of Aspen, was hiking alone, negotiating a canyon in southeastern Utah on April 26, when his right arm became pinned beneath an 800-pound boulder. He freed himself on the fifth day by snapping his bones and using a knife to cut through his arm.

Ralston was by turns joking and serious as he recounted the ordeal.

``Can I show you my trick?'' he asked Letterman, then held a coffee cup in his prosthetic arm and rotated his wrist 360 degrees.

He also mimicked his thought process when he realized he might have to amputate his arm: ``I said to myself, 'I don't want to have to cut my arm off.' 'You're gonna have to cut your arm off, dude!' 'I don't want to have to cut my arm off.'''

``And then I laughed out loud because I was yelling at myself,'' he said.

Recounting his worst moments, Ralston said, ``I went through times when it was really dark for me emotionally, that I feared that I might not make it out.''

He said that's when he propped his video camera on the boulder that was pinning his arm and recorded his message.

``My mom won't watch it, but my dad has seen it,'' he said. Ralston said he'll never make the tape public, ``but it's me there, at that moment.''

He was a very, very experienced outdoorsman, kind of an extreme climber, skiier, biker, etc. He has climbed over 200 mountains, including Mt McKinley in Alaska. It was a bit of a freak accident. He knew from the beginning that he would probably have to cut off his arm, but he couldn't figure out to cut through the bones. He knew he couldn't do it with his pocket knife. Then on the fourth day he realized he could break the bones, then cut through the rest. It was actually an encouraging thought to him, that he knew how to do it.

His attitude, at least on Letterman, was unbelievable. He wasn't sorrowful or depressed. He was glad he was still alive. On his webpage, he has this quote which I can't decide if I like or not:

"Life is empty and meaningless. It is in emptiness that we create possibilities for extraordinary results. "

Cooper had this quote from a book by Dan Kimball called Emerging Church:

Talk about changing the way we do things here in the suburbs of America and you may find resistance, usually from older pastors and leaders who have grown attached to the a certain way of doing things. If we were talking about the need for unique approaches to worship in the context of cross-cultural missions, there would be no argument. Remember how Hudson Taylor’s method and approach to ministry in China weren’t understood by his British superiors? In fact, they were rather upset with him for changing the way there were used to doing things. But because he understood the new culture and worldview, he made the changes that worked for those people. I encourage you to take a look around your worship center next Sunday. If you don’t see row upon row of the fresh young faces of people who weren’t raised in your church, you probably need to consider making changes to your approach.

I'm in a rural town with about 20,000 people. It is blue collar, mostly factory and service work. Education levels are lower. There are several established church doing some contemporary worship, but not much beyond that. It is about 30% catholic.

We started our church
So we will make some admittedly minor changes this fall. I have a few friends who have planted similar churches and they have grown to a decent size, even though none of them are satisfied with their size (they want to impact the kingdom even more). These churches are very similar to ours, though in every case, they are in different demographics -- one suburban, one larger blue collar/higher crime, one small rural town.

I've rambled a bit but I just want to impact the kingdom. The number one way for that to happen is simple -- God moves. And I can accept that but I will continue to push for the optimum environment for God to do so in our community.

New Header

Has anyone noticed my way cool lego representation of me? Don't you think you would recognize me at Wal-Mart just from that? It probably won't last long so get a good look.

Retreat Center

I found this to be very interesting: Alone in God - The Abbey of Gethsemani

I looked over the entire website. Going for a retreat would be a life changing experience.

Church Planting Site

We are going to start a website called Midwestplanting.com. I ran across this site while surfing. MIDWEST ORGANIC GREENHOUSE

NASCAR - Michael Waltrip

Michael Waltrip



Sponsor: NAPA Auto Parts
Owner: Teresa Earnhardt
Car: Chevrolet
Number: 15
Birthdate: Apr 30, 1963

For Waltrip, 2001 started off exactly as he and team owner Dale Earnhardt had dreamed. After moving into a high-profile ride with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Waltrip, ended his 0-for-462 skein in the Winston Cup Series with a win in the Daytona 500.

Earnhardt's death in a crash on the final lap of that race not only tarnished Waltrip's achievement, but changed the face of the sport forever.

Spoon theology

My four year old son asked me for some cereal this morning. He wanted cereal, no milk, in a bowl in the family room. No problem. Oh yeah, and he wanted a spoon, in fact, "I'll get it," he says. So he walks out of the kitchen with his spoon. A few minutes later I walk in and give him his dry cereal in a bowl and a sippy cup with chocolate milk. He looks up at me confused, and with a bit (just a bit) of snottiness says, "What's the spoon for?"

U2 Theology

I am working on a sermon series on prayer -- more specifically, discerning God's voice and spiritual warfare. Listening to a Best of U2 CD, some lyrics jumped out at me -- "If you want to kiss the sky, you better learn how to kneel -- on your knees boy!"

This is from the song Mysterious Ways which was orignially on Achtung Baby. I'll print the lyrics at the end of this. Some commentary I read surfing the web said this song is about the Holy Spirit (She moves in mysterious ways) and that "Johnny" is John the Baptist adapted from an Oscar Wilde writing called Salome. Beats me. But it does certainly have a Holy Spirit feel.

I love that line "If you want to kiss the sky, you better learn how to kneel." As I've looked at the Matrix and took a far reach considering that the massive violence can give us some sense of Spiritual Warfare, it struck me that initial "fighting posture" for spiritual warfare is a humble one -- "on your knees boy!"

Some sites I found were Kiss the Sky and U2 Sermons.

Johnny take a walk with your sister the moon
Let her pale light in to fill up your room
You've been living underground
Eating from a can
You've been running away
From what you don't understand...
Love

She's slippy
You're sliding down
She'll be there when you hit the ground

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
She moves in mysterious ways

Johnny take a dive with your sister in the rain
Let her talk about the things you can't explain
To touch is to heal
To hurt is to steal
If you want to kiss the sky
Better learn how to kneel

(on your knees boy)

She's the wave
She turns the tide
She sees the man inside the child

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
Lift my days, light up my nights

One day you will look... back
And you'll see... where
You were held... how
By this love... while
You could stand... there
You could move on this moment
Follow this feeling

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

We move through miracle days
Spirit moves in mysterious ways
She moves with it
She moves with it
Lift my days, light up my nights

Church Planting -- Slower than Expected II

We really want to bridge the culture. I personally wasn't rescued out of the culture. I am an outsider to the local culture. I've never been drunk. I've never listened to a band in a bar. I've never shot skeet or hunted deer. And I'm slowly learning about NASCAR.

Couldn't sleep last night so I read 100 pages of Building a Contagious Church by Mark Mittelberg from Willow Creek. He reminded me of a model that he had developed (or extended) about reaching unchurched people.

Most are familiar with the drawing that shows a big chasm - you on one side, God on the other. You can't bridge the gap with anything. Then you draw the cross with the horizontal bar extending across the gap. Jesus bridges the gap for you.

Mittelberg extends this saying that the person on the left side of the gap, separated from God, has moved away from the edge. From his point of view, he doesn't see that gap. And even worse, there is a cultural gap that must be crossed to get the guy to the God-separating chasm.

This culture-chasm is the one we must bridge. That takes time. That takes trust. That takes a deep understanding of the culture and the power of God. That takes a new kind of church structure that thinks out of the box. That takes leaders who feel called to the mission and are willing to take huge risks.

Does that typically take 10 years? I would say at least 5. We are at year 3 and a half.

Also -- thanks to Darren at Living Room for linking to me. It makes me feel global. He has my second favorite blog next to Cooper's.

There are parasites on one of my computer

You seem to be able to check your computer here: and.doxdesk.com: parasite

I'm not sure about any of this, but plan on taking some time and pulling these bloodsuckers off my computers!

Church Planting - Slower than expected

From England, jonny baker shared some learning

"...another was that after all his years of experience he thought that in minstry generally but particularly in church planting, it's only going to really happen if you're involved and doing it for a bout 10 years! i agree... and think that in our instant culture we need to hear this "

Messing with Models

From Todd Hunter: I should read this every morning.

An Allelon coaching appointment I had this morning drives me to try to say something I’ve alluded to before, but I’m sure I’ve every clearly articulated it in this space.

Merely messing with models of church is not going to get us where we want to go.

Without a serious intent (For instance, check out William Law: A Serious Call to Devout and Holy Life.) to pursue spiritual transformation, our self-centered characters will overwhelm any system of church AND keep us from submitting our personal, God-given kingdoms to the Kingdom of God. I am not saying this to bash the church. On the contrary, I am wondering if the church or “how one does church” really matters or is at all to blame—within reason, of course. And of course there are some better ways than others. We are all trying to find a better one.

But, the people I most admire and respect in life are not focused on “church” as a place, event or thing. They just quietly participate in non-descript churches and submit themselves to be used by God, to be ambassadors of his Kingdom in those communities of faith…as everywhere else in there their life: no dualisms. That attitude—whole life self-surrender—is rooted in a different kind of life: life from above, eternal life. It is what we must pursue for our selves and those we serve. It will make most models work.

But again this does not mean we abandon our pursuit of better models. It means that models are second; spiritual transformation is first, in community, for the sake of the world.

For Christlikeness—life in the Kingdom will overcome:

The works of the flesh: selfishness, etc.
Paranoid fear of others, especially “leaders”
The need to get your own way
Meanness and manipulation
Doing “whatever it takes” to feel safe and secure
The routine ignoring of the Spirit
The routine ignoring of the agenda of the Kingdom
Etc.

Does this help, or do I just sound frustrated???

Your friend,

Todd

NASCAR so far

Jeff Gordon, #24, DuPont
Elliott Sadler, #38, M&M
Bobby Labonte, #18, Interstate Batteries
Sterling Marlin, #40, Coors Light
Dale Earnhardt Jr, #8, Budwiser

Jeff Gordon

NASCAR.com : drivers & teams : drivers

Sponsor: DuPont
Car: Chevrolet
Birthdate: Aug 04, 1971
Number: 24

Born in Vallejo, Calif., but raised in Pittsboro, Ind., Gordon began his racing career at age 5. By age 20, with numerous victories and achievements, he was named, for the second straight year, to the 1991 All-American Team by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association, joining such notables as Earnhardt, Harry Gant, Michael Andretti and Gordon's racing hero, Rick Mears.

Have you registered?

National Do Not Call Registry

Supposedly, starting in August?, telemarketers cannot call you if you are listed in this registry.

Something Personal

I haven't written much personal here. I use this Blog more for a place to hold information than to post thoughts or views. The problem I have is communication and the image that it creates.

Sometimes when I communicate with people, especially electronically, they come to wrong conclusions about my intentions or sometimes get very mad. Although when I send out my email newsletter, I've gotten almost nothing but good comments. But those are typically well thought out and not just thoughts thrown out at a whim. People don't like to discuss issues. People like to defend issues. I rarely desire to argue issues anymore, but am very curious how people would reasonably do so.

I've noticed that the blogs I like best are usually very liberal politically and oddly they typically hold Michael Moore as an icon and often as a source of information. My conservative friends make me feel very liberal, but my liberal friends make me feel very conservative. Anybody else feel like this? I'm beginning to think I need a new category, a new list of issues that our category defends. ;)

Politics barely interest me any more. How decisions are made interests me. How ideas are communicated interest me. How ideas are formed interest me. But politics is never (rarely) a discussion. It is always a spin. It is always a how can I get people to believe what I believe. And it is so often very hateful, or at least, disrespectful. Religion is often the same way.

I get bored easily.

I am much happier, even smiling more, since I had a week of vacation. Yeah!! When's my next one?

Dictionary.com/Word of the Day: febrile: "Word of the Day for Monday July 14, 2003
febrile \FEB-ruhl; FEE-bruhl; -bryl\, adjective:
Of or pertaining to fever; indicating fever or derived from it; feverish. "

This word doesn't sound familiar to me at all!

The Friday Five

friday

1. Do you remember your first best friend? Who was it? Yes. Brian Mackie

2. Are you still in touch with this person? No.

3. Do you have a current close friend? Several.

4. How did you become friends with this person? Usually through ministry connections one way or the other.

5. Is there a friend from your past that you wish you were still in contact with? Why? No. Things change. I have many close friends. It would just be pride on my part to want more.

Coke vs. Water

From John Campea

This little fact list has been floating around the internet for a while now, but I thought I'd post it anyway. I really hate it cause I LOVE my coke! I love it. I yearn for it. MMmmmmmm... Cooookkkkeeee (said in my best Homer Simpson voice).
WATER

1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the
word population.)

2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often
mistaken for hunger.

3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.

4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100%
of the dieters studied in a Washington study.

5. Lack of water is the number 1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could
significantly ease back any joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble
with basic maths, and difficulty focusing on the computer
screen or on a printed page.

8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of Colon cancer by
45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less
likely to develop bladder cancer.

ARE YOU DRINKING THE AMOUNT OF WATER YOU SHOULD EVERY DAY?

COKE
1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of
Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone stead in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in
two days.

3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet
bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric
acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a
rumpled-up piece of aluminium foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola
over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the
rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into a load of greasy
clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will
helploosen grease stains.

8. Coca-Cola will clean road haze from your wind shield.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

1. The active ingredient in Coke is Phosphoric Acid. Its ph is 2.8. It will
dissolve a nail in about 4 days. Phosphoric Acid also leaches calcium from
bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in Osteoporosis.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use
the Hazardous material place cards reserved for HIGHLY CORROSIVE materials.

3. The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their
trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, "WOULD YOU LIKE A GLASS OF WATER OR
COKE?"

Elliott Sadler #38

Elliott Sadler - nascar.com

Sponsor: M&M's
Car: Ford
Birthdate: Apr 30, 1975
Number: 38

Sadler drives the M&M car. My good friend, Jim Eastin, works for Mars, the producer of M&M's and dog food. This might help me remember Sadler, though the name just doesn't want to stick in my mind.

Dan Knight's Favorite

Dan Knight, who will soon be the pastor of the Westminster Church of God in Westminster, MD (congrats Dan!), suggested his favorite NASCAR Drivers, Bobby Labonte and Elliot Sadler. Today we'll look at Bobby.

Bobby Labonte

Sponsor: Interstate Batteries
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Car: Chevrolet
Birthdate: May 08, 1964
Number: 18

Joe Gibbs was the NFL football coach of I believe, the Washington Redskins. He is a Christian (I think) and outspoken about his faith.

Bobby Labonte began racing Quarter-Midgets in Texas in 1969, then graduated to karts in 1978.

This means he was 5 years old when he started racing!! His brother Terry also races and they are both Winston Cup champions.

Word of the Day for Wednesday July 9, 2003
alacrity \uh-LACK-ruh-tee\, noun:
A cheerful or eager readiness or willingness, often manifested by brisk, lively action or promptness in response.

Today, I am lacking alacrity.

Word of the Day for Tuesday July 8, 2003
travail \truh-VAYL; TRAV-ayl\, noun:
1. Painful or arduous work; severe toil or exertion.
2. Agony; anguish.
3. The labor of childbirth

intransitive verb:
1. To work very hard; to toil.
2. To suffer the pangs of childbirth; to be in labor.

Sterling Marlin

My friend Curt Stewart had a #40 hat on at church Sunday. So in my quest for knowledge, I asked, tell me about #40. He started to tell me all the guys... NO!! I can't take all the guys at once. Tell me about #40. Here is some research.

Sterling Marlin made his Winston Cup debut in 1976, replacing his father Coo Coo after a crash broke the elder Marlin's shoulder. Since then, he has garnered 10 victories, including two Daytona 500 victories in 1994-95 and Winston Open wins in 1988-89 and 1993.

Sponsor: Coors Light
Car: Dodge
Number: 40

NASCAR terms

CAMBER
Camber addresses the angle at which a tire makes contact with the track surface. "Positive camber" indicates the angle of the tire is tilted away from the vehicle's centerline while "negative camber" indicates the tire is tilted toward the centerline. A typical oval track setup would have positive camber in the left front and negative camber in the right front to help the vehicle make left-hand turns.

Now I can talk the talk.

NASCAR fans

If you are a NASCAR fan, help me out with comments.

Dale Earnhardt Jr

Nascar.com



Sponsor: Budweiser
Car: Chevrolet
Birthdate: Oct 10, 1974
Number: 8

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a roller-coaster year -- he slumped after suffering a concussion at Fontana in April, but he rallied and scored twin wins at Talladega. He finished 11th in points with two wins and two poles.

I remember when his dad died. It really shook a lot of people. I had friends at the race. I had neighbors who seemed to know Earnhardt Sr from his early years.

NASCAR

The Apostle Paul was "all things to all people." If you want to have a conversation with someone today, you probably can't go wrong to know something about NASCAR. I know nothing about NASCAR, and I'm having trouble even being interested. So my plan is to start looking at drivers, and maybe their cars, and post a little NASCAR Driver Review here so that I can learn about this incredibly popular sport.

The Friday Five

Friday Five

1. What were your favorite childhood stories? Charlotte's Web, Tom Teriffic.

2. What books from your childhood would you like to share with [your] children? I have read both of them to my children.

3. Have you re-read any of those childhood stories and been surprised by anything? No.

4. How old were you when you first learned to read? Four.

5. Do you remember the first 'grown-up' book you read? How old were you? My brother's college physics book. I was about 10. It was a good read. :)