No reviews, no interviews. And since I started the whole Monday thing, I might as well see this through.
Tonight's theme -- prayer meeting highlights.
One of our youth has created a virtual pastor, our pastor, on some little hand-held gaming device. Even has the goatee. Pretty sweet.
A NEST of spiders has taken over a fake ficus tree and spun a bridge to a music stand. Fortunately, the decorating deaconess found this nest (after brushing her hair against it) (ha,ha...in sisterly love, of course) and two big, strong elders came to the rescue. One big, strong elder was no less than my handsome, spider-eradicating husband. He was even dressed for the part. He didn't have time to "change hats" before coming to church so he was decked in his sleeveless t-shirt. Upon his entrance into prayer meeting our 21-year-old wiseacre daughter said. "Dad, put those guns away."
(I have no idea where this child got her lip. )
If you couldn't tell, we're a fairly casual group on Wednesday evenings.
While the spider hunt was going on, I had a conversation involving Belgium Waffles.
Yes, we did get praying done, thank you very much.
Thursday is lurking and you know what comes after it. Hang in there...
Possible lame post warning. Keep reading at your own risk. Of course, it's likely you consider all my posts lame but keep coming back in hopes that you'll find something of value.
If you don't follow Dancing With the Stars, think Hollywood Squares and musical chairs melded with serious physical challenges and you may have a good idea what the show is about. Basically, celebrities of all types are paired with professional dancers and taught to dance. Those with the highest scores, half professional judges, half popularity with anyone who takes the time to dial or click, move on to the next week and start all over again with a new challenge.
Dancing With the Stars (DWS) is a guilty pleasure. I've watched a total of three reality television shows and this is one. I decided to give it a try since I actually had three free hours one week. Yeah right! (Watching on the Internet makes it less painful since commercials are very limited.) Now I'm hooked.
I've watched and loved Trading Spaces and What Not to Wear before DWS and thought I liked them for the practical advice and all the pretty colors. But then I realized that there is serious spiritual allegory and application in both of those shows. (Yeah, I'll share my thoughts some day.)
As I've watched the unfurling drama in DWS, I've discovered some fascinating truths there, too. Each week a Olympic gold medalist and NFL player of the year are pitted against...actors and all of a sudden viewers are able to see changes within the competitors. Big changes. People who started out thinking DWS might be great exercise, some nice visibility and/or fun realize they want to see the thing through.
Instead of snarkiness and backbiting, there seems to be a developing family that cheers for and actually wants to see others succeed. Each week brings another mix-up and another contender rises to the surface.
Everyone realizes that each week is new and challenging for all and all are at the mercy of judges, benevolent or not so benevolent.
What an interesting picture of Christianity as it should be. All of us with our own unique talents and experiences working toward the same goals, cheering on those who rock at the Samba while we may excel at the Viennese Waltz, knowing that our performance is only part of the process and that the process itself is the major point.
The process that shapes and changes me so that I can begin to see myself as I need to so that I can do what I was created to do.
Apologies extended to any brave souls who read beyond this sentence.
Mixed-Up-Ode to Monday
Monday, you are infamous. Second only to Friday in your 15 minutes of fame spotlight. How many melancholy songs mention you by name?
So really, should you be dismayed that
PEOPLE LOATHE YOU.
Let me tell you why you inspire my passion.
Every Monday morning robs me of sleep. It's true...even on busy Sunday I sleep an hour later. I can't help it if I get a little cranky while suffering sleep deprivation.
I like my job, really I do. But I like it so much more on Friday, and so, so much less on Monday.
And you make me feel guilty, too, Monday. How can I rejoice and be glad in this day that God has made when it's full of sleep deprivation, work and crankiness?
Good news. Tomorrow is Tuesday which is much closer to Friday.
I expected to sit through a documentary that would be a little scientific for my taste, and dry to the point that I'd zone out and visit my happy places during the inevitable lectures.
I didn't expect to experience the degrees of emotion I did or find the movie to be so well done that I only have two minor complaints.
The buzz over Expelled had me curious and wondering what kind of chopped up snippets of conversation I might run into or how many unauthorized songs and words would be within.
I'm going to start with my complaints and build on them. Some of the interviews included background instrumentals that wrestled with the dialogue, and a segment of live footage resulted in annoying choppiness bordering on motion queasiness. That's it.
Now, for the complaints of others.-- Expelled is filmed with an agenda. That's the point, ala Michael Moore and Al Gore who went before Ben Stein. And every talk or interview program, talk radio, newspaper or magazine editorial and feature, politician...well, I think you get my point. If you are enraged by the idea of someone investigating further into The Theory of Evolution vs. The Theory of Intelligent Design, this documentary will further infuriate you. If you fall into this description, I recommend you pass.
For the curious or those who wonder "why all the fuss" by all means, see it. Stein's investigation uncovers a school of thought that in the extreme and natural course becomes terrifying when compared to where we've been and what we've seen historically.
I can't imagine that the folks that Stein interviewed were ignorant regarding his stand on the issue of Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. If they were, then they didn't do their homework and maybe, in that case, should have been less forthcoming and a little more cautious with their words. And unless I missed something, exactly two lines were used from John Lennon's Imagine and the words were clearly attributed to Lennon.
There were several sections of longer interviews and then shorter one question, one answer moments with experts on each side of this huge debate able to share their thoughts and opinions. Interspersed are historical film snippets, both thought provoking and quirky, graphics and an animated cell sequence that was stunning. Stein provided a handful of laugh-out-loud moments with his quirky behavior and snippets of commentary which added a softening to the heaviness of the film's subject matter.
I thought long and hard after watching Bowling for Columbine. I appreciate Moore's passion for what he feels is wrong with America, and I was able to overlook the moments his liberalism stepped on my toes. I hope the scientific and academic communities and politically liberal will be able to do the same with Expelled.
Why on earth would anyone want to suppress science, truth or a mind that can reason, calculate and choose?
Jenny B. Jones popped in with some excellent answers to the Dregs. By the way, Jenny has been nominated for a Christy Award for her novel In Between. Pretty stinking huge. Congratulations, Jenny and thanks for dropping by.
Check out Jenny's blog and click on her book cover to learn more about Jenny. Read chapter one, here.
I'm really tempted to post one of the hilarious Jenny from the past pictures that she posted on her blog. But I'll be nice and post the provided regulation author pic.
If you could ask any person, living or dead, a random question -- what question would you ask of whom?
I would ask Jackie O. what she really knows about JFK’s death. You KNOW she had to know at least something.
Some out there in writing land have strange rituals. Share yours.
Go to computer. Open Word doc. Check email. Check phone for any texts. Think about my book for a few seconds. Check email again. Stare at blank Word doc. Phone has yet to beep, check battery. Check ETonline for latest news. Check CNN in case I have to act smart later in the day. Check email again. Check some blogs. Put my fingers on the keyboard. Repeat process—especially the emailing part.
If you could change something in any novel, what would you change about it and why?
I’d totally rewrite the movies (and books where applicable) to Fox and the Hound, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Old Yeller. Those movies scarred me FOR LIFE.
What crayon in the box describes you on a good day? Bad day? Which one do you aspire to be?
I would love to be the sharpest one…just once.
Pick one…..Pink iguana, purple cow, periwinkle giraffe. Which one and why? Can be negative or positive.
I would love to be a periwinkle giraffe and see what it’s like to be tall. But then again, giraffes eat a lot of leaves, and I do that already, so I would probably rather be the animal that doesn’t eat a lot of salads.
Favorite turn of phrase or word picture, in literature or movie.
Pretty much anything that Rick Bragg has ever written. Makes you die a little inside and think “I’m not worthy!” If you were assured of writing a best-seller, what genre would it be? Give us a sliver of information, a characteristic or glimpse of a scene.
I don’t know, but one day I’d love to write a YA princessy story along the lines of Enchanted or Ever After. I’ve never outgrown that phase.
What period of history intrigues you the most?
I love history, so any of it. Love reading about royalty and such. The WWII era is really fascinating to me.
What would you write if there were no rules or barriers? (epic novels about characters in the Bible, poetry, greeting cards, plays, movies, instruction manuals, etc.)
I would write emails. And somehow get paid for it. When that gig opens up, I am first in line. Actually I have a friend who is a published composer. We have talked for a few years about putting our heads together and writing a campy musical. I would love to actually sit down and do that. Who has time? (Not me, I’m too busy emailing…)
What makes you feel alive?
The sun. I’m the palest thing ever and live in sunscreen, but I still love to be outside and see/feel the sun. I teach all day in a room with no windows, and it’s KILLING me. I KNOW it’s mood altering. My intake of chocolate has increased dramatically. Also music. LOVE it. Any of it.
How does something worm its way into your heart? Through tears, truth, humor or other?
Definitely humor. My students know that if they can get me to laugh, they can have pretty much anything. (It rarely happens..) I love to laugh and make others laugh. Things that also get into my heart usually involve some story of triumph—especially when it involves children.
Book, music, person, food you would take with you on a very long trip.
CD—the Broadway soundtrack to Wicked. Or just my ipod so I could listen to a bunch of things. Food? Mike and Ikes and chocolate covered raisins.
Where would you most like to travel ----- moon, north pole, deep seas, deserted island, the holy land or back to a place from your childhood, somewhere else? – and why.
I would love to go to the Holy Land. My church just took a group and their stories and pics were amazing. They say it’s an experience of a lifetime. Next summer I hope to travel to my dream destinations Ireland and Scotland. I think it’s gonna be beautiful! (like my credit card bill!)
Favorite season and why?
I love them all. By the time I get sick of one, it’s time for a new one! But as for winter—I am obsessed with snow days. School closing-snow is like nirvana. I spend a million hours a week tracking the weather during this time. It’s really time well spent, I’m sure. ; )
Favorite book setting and why?
In terms of writing—the south. Because I know it and love it. We are people who know how to cook, know what a front porch is for, and that sometimes the dog just needs to sleep in the house. Just kidding. I love to focus on small town life and the culture of the south. As a reader, I love to read about England (historical) and NYC (contemporary).
Which compliment related to your writing has meant the most and why?
When people tell me that the characters were real to them. Yesterday I got a message from a reader who said while reading the end of The Big Picture she had to collect herself from a crying jag before she went into church. It’s an honor that a reader has invested herself so fully into your fictional world and given up their time and attention and just jumped in.
What criticism has cut the deepest and why?
So far, so good…but I know my day is coming.
What would you do today if you knew you had only a week to live?
Eat. A lot. And hang out with my family. Maybe skydive. Try to think of who I need to apologize to. Write some letters. Check ETonline. Kidding.
What is your favorite word?
Redeemed. Not just for the meaning—I love the sound of that word.
What word annoys you more than any other?
LOL. I KNOW I’m in the minority, but I really can’t stand LOL. Wowsers is up there to. I read that word in books, but…don’t really know anyone who says it. (Have I managed to offend everyone now?)
Superhero you most admire and why?
My mom. She was a single parent and did an amazing job with two kids who weren’t the easiest. She was one of those parents who gave up everything for her kids.
Super power you'd love to borrow for awhile?
Super Memory Skills. Oh, to be able to remember birthdays, deadlines, where I put my shoes.
Favorite chore
None. Absolutely none. I hate anything that has to do with cleaning. When I was 16 I worked in a grocery store and got some strange thrill out of mopping the store by myself at night. I think the Clorox fumes did something to my brain.
Grammatical pet peeve…sound off.
I’m the opposite—overly correct drives me nuts. If someone asks me how I’m doing, and I say, “good,” I mean it! I’m not well. If I was well, I’d give you my temp and vital stats. I don’t care how grammatically correct it is! I’m GOOD! ; )
Societal pet peeve…sound off.
People who are too lazy to put their carts up and leave them in store parking lots. Next to my car. Where the new scratch is.
CREATIVE CORNER: Pick any of the following and have fun with it.
Swirling leaves riding the icy wind, danced up Liesel's skirt. The leaves weren't the only things stirred up by the breeze which now carried the cloying scent of death.
I followed the trail into my house, trying not to wretch. My heart thudding with regret and fear, I opened the refrigerator door. And saw last month’s leftovers. Again.
I'm not so interested in boxers or briefs. I'm just looking for a good man to fill them. Heck, I find a good man and he can wear banana peels as far as I'm concerned.
Did you make that last one up? If so, take that off! That belongs in one of your books! That’s awesome!
In my hometown we claim a special squirrel fame. Does that sound weird? Let me explain...we are one of the only natural, original homes of black squirrels. No, not grey, not rust, but black.
Because we have a unique squirrel situation, we have unique squirrel protection laws.
We are not allowed to harass black squirrels.
I don't know what squirrel harassment looks like. However, the G.I. Joes' in the picture would be in big trouble if this squirrel's fur was a few shades darker.
I have no idea where this picture originated, but honestly, I just couldn't let it pass without comment.
The moral of this story: Hmmm. Don't harass ANY squirrels. Beware of the squirrel's revenge. Don't buy G.I. Joe action figures and leave them unattended. Keep your eyes peeled for roadkill for photo opportunities.
