can't tell me THAT doesn't bruise the ol' ego...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Paging Mr. Chambers...
"If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious."
My Utmost For His Highest (updated)
March 29.
My Utmost For His Highest (updated)
March 29.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Oh, Really?...
BITHLO, Fla. (AP) - Authorities said a man threw a Molotov cocktail at his neighbor's trailer, but the wind shifted and set fire to two cars, a pickup and a travel trailer in the man's own yard. The Florida Highway Patrol reported that a 51-year-old man got into a fight with his neighbor on Tuesday night and threw the makeshift gasoline bomb.
Authorities believe alcohol was involved.
The man faces multiple charges, including arson. He was being held at the Orange County Jail.
---
Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com
sometimes the stories just write themselves...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A Shoe-In...
Near the end of the Missouri/Marquette game today, a Marquette player was out of bounds making a routine in-bounds pass. He accidentally stepped partially in-bounds before making said pass, thus committing a violation that gave Missouri the ball, and the ballgame. The CBS sports color commentator said it best:
"If he'd been wearing size 11 shoes instead of size 13s, that wouldn't have been a problem."
Mizzou heads to Glendale, AZ for a "Sweet 16" matchup with Memphis next weekend. They'll likely get run over but let's hear it for them, anyway. They've set a new school record for wins in a season, won the conference tournament and advanced deep into the NCAA Tournament. They've come a very long way from the days of Quin Snyder and the infamous Ricky Clemons Affair.
P.S. - did you know there's such a place as Richard Stockton College? Seriously. It's in New Jersey. Their basketball team lost the NCAA D-III men's basketball championship to our own Washington University Bears yesterday. Tip o' the hat to Wash U. coach Mark Edwards for building a real D-III powerhouse.
P.P.S. - Can you guess who Richard Stockton was? Without consulting Wikipedia or your encyclopedia set?
"If he'd been wearing size 11 shoes instead of size 13s, that wouldn't have been a problem."
Mizzou heads to Glendale, AZ for a "Sweet 16" matchup with Memphis next weekend. They'll likely get run over but let's hear it for them, anyway. They've set a new school record for wins in a season, won the conference tournament and advanced deep into the NCAA Tournament. They've come a very long way from the days of Quin Snyder and the infamous Ricky Clemons Affair.
P.S. - did you know there's such a place as Richard Stockton College? Seriously. It's in New Jersey. Their basketball team lost the NCAA D-III men's basketball championship to our own Washington University Bears yesterday. Tip o' the hat to Wash U. coach Mark Edwards for building a real D-III powerhouse.
P.P.S. - Can you guess who Richard Stockton was? Without consulting Wikipedia or your encyclopedia set?
Friday, March 20, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Lyrical...
I discovered a new old tune while checking out some of Brazilian superstar Milton Nascimento's early albums on Allmusic.com earlier this week. "O Trem Azul" is the third song on his 1972 masterpiece collaboration with Lô Borges, "Clube da Esquina." I immediately iTunes'd it and slapped it on my iPod along wtih a couple of his other hits. I have been listening to it over and over all week. The tune and lyrics are so hauntingly beautiful and deep and I just love them. Here they are, translated from the Portuguese:
"O Trem Azul" (Blue Train)
Lô Borges/Ronaldo Bastos
Things that come sometimes
And we forget to say
Phrases in the wind
Now and then come to remind
Of things that have remained
For a long time to be said
In the wind a song (whispered by the wind)
A love song wants to fly, fly
You take the blue train
The sun on your head
The sun takes the blue train
With you in my head
The sun on your head
.................
You can really visualize those lyrics. Someone who is sad (blue) over the ending of a relationship. Thinking about things they didn't say, forgot to say. The wind reminds him of these things when it should be sending love songsto their lover. Perhaps they're riding a train, with the bright sun shining ironically on them, and it reminds them of happier, sunnier times.
I found a clip of Antonio Carlos Jobim performing the song on his album "Antonio Brasileiro" Hear it here : "O Trem Azul"
"O Trem Azul" (Blue Train)
Lô Borges/Ronaldo Bastos
Things that come sometimes
And we forget to say
Phrases in the wind
Now and then come to remind
Of things that have remained
For a long time to be said
In the wind a song (whispered by the wind)
A love song wants to fly, fly
You take the blue train
The sun on your head
The sun takes the blue train
With you in my head
The sun on your head
.................
You can really visualize those lyrics. Someone who is sad (blue) over the ending of a relationship. Thinking about things they didn't say, forgot to say. The wind reminds him of these things when it should be sending love songsto their lover. Perhaps they're riding a train, with the bright sun shining ironically on them, and it reminds them of happier, sunnier times.
I found a clip of Antonio Carlos Jobim performing the song on his album "Antonio Brasileiro" Hear it here : "O Trem Azul"
Seriously!!...
who would open a sno-cone stand in the middle of March? Some poor souls chose this weekend to hold the grand-opening of their sno-cone trailer in the parking lot of the strip mall down the street. I've passed by there several times this weekend and let's just say folks aren't exactly lined up around the block.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Lifestyles of the Rich and Athletic...
From Jeff Gordon's Tipsheet blog on STLtoday.com:
So what does NBA player Lorenzen Wright pack for a West Coast trip?
So what does NBA player Lorenzen Wright pack for a West Coast trip?
The Cleveland Plain Dealer took inventory:
Five dress suits and one casual suit; seven belts; six dress shirts and six pairs of cuff links; five ties; five pairs of jeans; three long-sleeve T-shirts; four casual T-shirts; one vest; two sweat suits; nine pairs of shoes; 14 pairs of sunglasses in a case; underwear, undershirts, socks; one dop kit with toiletries, computer; cell phones; DVD player and movies; jewelry; iPod; headphones; Bible.
“This is a lot of stuff, isn’t it? I never looked at it like this before,” Wright told the newspaper. “But you know what’s funny? I’ll wear it all, except for maybe one suit. Somehow by the time I get home, I never have anything left.”
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Tuesday Night, 9:29 p.m.
- I'm relaxing in a comfortable chair, a dog in low-energy mode parked on the floor next to it, watching the Blues wax the Stars in hockey...
- had another furlough day off today. This was the third of five I'm unfortunately having to take. It was a windy, warm day. Chili-dog and I got in a long walk on Grant's Trail in the late afternoon.
- I finally got around to ordering blinds for my kitchen windows this morning. It's only been, what, almost four years since the kitchen remodel? This will be the final part of the project. I ordered 2 more sets of 3 Day Blinds "Transitions" faux-wood blinds identical to those in my bedroom. I'll post a picture of them when I get them up next week. This will be my third purchase from 3 Day Blinds; almost every window in my house will have one of their products covering it.
- we're firmly in weather transition season here in the Midwest. Spring is valiantly trying to wrestle power away from Winter but Winter refuses to yield. We had a warm, windy weekend followed by a cold Monday, followed by a warm, windy Tuesday. A strong cold front is passing over tonight so tomorrow and Thursday are forecasted to be just plain cold again. Daylight Savings Time kicked in on Sunday and I'm grateful for the extended daylight; I have resumed walking Chili-dog in the evenings after work.
- Today, the ratty plastic roller shade covering my big basement window gave up the ghost. I have a couple of old sliding closet doors covering the glass until I can get to Homer Depot to buy another ratty plastic roller shade.
- On the tragic shooting death of Pastor Fred Winters over in Maryville - my heart hurts for his family and his church members. But it's important to remember that the rain falls on the saint as well as the sinner. No one is immune to random, unspeakable violence. Yeah, I am one of the many who would like to know why God chose to have his life end that way, but that's not for us to know. The Bible is clear that his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. "Farther along, we'll know all about it..." What is clear is that Pastor Fred died being obedient to God in fulfilling his calling to preach the gospel. He was absolutely ready to go.
- Facebook is re-connecting me with more and more old high school classmates and even further back, old classmates from my childhood in Malden. A couple of them live here in the area and I didn't even know it.
- How did I miss Chicago's wonderful love song "Beginnings" all these years? love it!
- received the latest issue of Jazz Times magazine in the mail today. They've come a long way baby - included in this issue was an interview with a trans-gendered bassist...umm, yeah. And this was not just any bassist, this person has played extended gigs with Mel Torme and Doc Severinsen.
- A shout-out to Missouri Conservationist magazine. It's available free of charge to all Missouri residents and is the best literary bargain anywhere, period. The wildlife photography in it is always of stunning, brilliant quality. I also enjoy reading about the great outdoors of our fair state!
- had another furlough day off today. This was the third of five I'm unfortunately having to take. It was a windy, warm day. Chili-dog and I got in a long walk on Grant's Trail in the late afternoon.
- I finally got around to ordering blinds for my kitchen windows this morning. It's only been, what, almost four years since the kitchen remodel? This will be the final part of the project. I ordered 2 more sets of 3 Day Blinds "Transitions" faux-wood blinds identical to those in my bedroom. I'll post a picture of them when I get them up next week. This will be my third purchase from 3 Day Blinds; almost every window in my house will have one of their products covering it.
- we're firmly in weather transition season here in the Midwest. Spring is valiantly trying to wrestle power away from Winter but Winter refuses to yield. We had a warm, windy weekend followed by a cold Monday, followed by a warm, windy Tuesday. A strong cold front is passing over tonight so tomorrow and Thursday are forecasted to be just plain cold again. Daylight Savings Time kicked in on Sunday and I'm grateful for the extended daylight; I have resumed walking Chili-dog in the evenings after work.
- Today, the ratty plastic roller shade covering my big basement window gave up the ghost. I have a couple of old sliding closet doors covering the glass until I can get to Homer Depot to buy another ratty plastic roller shade.
- On the tragic shooting death of Pastor Fred Winters over in Maryville - my heart hurts for his family and his church members. But it's important to remember that the rain falls on the saint as well as the sinner. No one is immune to random, unspeakable violence. Yeah, I am one of the many who would like to know why God chose to have his life end that way, but that's not for us to know. The Bible is clear that his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. "Farther along, we'll know all about it..." What is clear is that Pastor Fred died being obedient to God in fulfilling his calling to preach the gospel. He was absolutely ready to go.
- Facebook is re-connecting me with more and more old high school classmates and even further back, old classmates from my childhood in Malden. A couple of them live here in the area and I didn't even know it.
- How did I miss Chicago's wonderful love song "Beginnings" all these years? love it!
- received the latest issue of Jazz Times magazine in the mail today. They've come a long way baby - included in this issue was an interview with a trans-gendered bassist...umm, yeah. And this was not just any bassist, this person has played extended gigs with Mel Torme and Doc Severinsen.
- A shout-out to Missouri Conservationist magazine. It's available free of charge to all Missouri residents and is the best literary bargain anywhere, period. The wildlife photography in it is always of stunning, brilliant quality. I also enjoy reading about the great outdoors of our fair state!
Saturday, March 07, 2009
It's Probably Not A Good Thing...
when, whilst cleaning out your kitchen pantry, you hold up a tupperware-like container of something and ask the dog, "what do you suppose this was?"
A can of peaches semi-exploded in the pantry during the night and leaked all over everything. At first I noticed a pool of yellow liquid on the floor and thought that Chili-dog had sprung an accidental leak. Then I investigated further and decided a jar of olive oil was the actual culprit. Only after finding more liquid on an upper shelf did I find the peaches. Guess I should have eaten them sooner. To my shame, I've had to throw out many items that were never opened and/or were way past their expiration date, including 3 cans of green beans and a small can of corn.
The pantry is clean and airing out now so all's well that ends well.
A can of peaches semi-exploded in the pantry during the night and leaked all over everything. At first I noticed a pool of yellow liquid on the floor and thought that Chili-dog had sprung an accidental leak. Then I investigated further and decided a jar of olive oil was the actual culprit. Only after finding more liquid on an upper shelf did I find the peaches. Guess I should have eaten them sooner. To my shame, I've had to throw out many items that were never opened and/or were way past their expiration date, including 3 cans of green beans and a small can of corn.
The pantry is clean and airing out now so all's well that ends well.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Theatrical...
I took in a stage play last night, something I'd not done in a very long time. My friend KW played a supporting role in a community theatre production of "Charley's Aunt." St. Charles Community College's Center Stage Theatre produced the show and did a great job. The production was just fine and my friend's performance was enjoyable. If any of my St. Louis readers have a free night this weekend, it's worth checking out!
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
"Walk With Me"...
I attended a singles ministry convention in Nashville, TN back in 2003. One of the seminars I attended there was given by a man named Earl Creps. At the time he was a professor at the Assemblies of God Seminary in Springfield, MO. His seminar was all about reaching "post-moderns" which was the demographic my church service was trying to reach at the time. His talk really grabbed me by the ears and opened my eyes to the validity of non-traditional methods of evangelism and from time to time I check in to see if any more of his talks are posted on his web site. Recently I clicked on one that really got me to thinking.
Check it out: "Walk With Me"
Check it out: "Walk With Me"
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