You discover how cruel and ignorant some people really are when they are free to be candid.

Seems when I am especially optimistic about the future of humanity, I get a splash of cold water from some few or many demonstrating how hateful we truly are to those we've never met, and often on subjects we have more passion than knowledge.

 

Read these comments and you'll see what I mean >

There is enormous disgust with religious matters, some well deserved, but most of it isn't from personal experience; a lot of it is simply frustration expressed as conviction.

You can say some really mean things and still get away with it if you choose the right targets - religion (except Islam) China, smokers, any sitting president.

You discover how cruel and ignorant some people really are when they are free to be candid. The Internet anonymizes and amplifies our hate.

[2013-02-25]

 

c0

I'd be ashamed to spend this much observing a day that encourages thankfulness.

Click to enlarge: Williams-Sonoma turkey email from 2013-10-31

One would have to be mighty thankful to spend $75-$170 on a turkey (plus $10 shipping). I’d be ashamed to celebrate my bounty by spending that much on a day I should be mindful of how little others have.

How can anyone build a business model around pecuniary gluttony? (An affliction in which a person can’t enjoy their food without spending too much for it. I just made that up, but I think it’s real.)

I realize too there are scales of bounty and I probably fall right in the middle. I have no concept of what it’s like to be hungry on Thanksgiving Day. As someone who has plenty, I work at understanding want.

[2013-10-31]

c0

RIP Bill Vande Kopple

Yesterday I found out that a former professor of mine died recently. Professor Vande Kopple introduced me to linguistics, which interests me still, but which I could not turn into a career.

Had I stayed in the classroom and with language, I think things would have been much different, though I would have been, alas, an unremarkable linguist.

Prof Vande Koppel had an imposing frame but gentle presence. I looked forward to every moment I had in his classroom.

Calvin College page remembering Prof Vande Kopple >

[2013-10-23]

c0

My hamfest restoration comes in handy during a freeway accident.

I’ve been turning on my CB when I’m on the Interstate just for fun and today it worked just as I had anticipated: Traffic slowing, lots of brake lights, there’s an accident up ahead on US-131 North between 28th and Burton. Sure enough, the chatter on the CB picks up as more brake lights go on, and within a few seconds I hear that the left two lanes are blocked, so I get over into the right lane with a bunch of truckers doing the same thing.

There was no profanity, no music or burping, just truckers talking about lanes and exits and how serious the accident was as they got close enough to see it.

Short video of CB chatter on Oct 11 2013 regarding an accident on US-131 between Burton and 28th:

 

[2013-10-11]

c0

Some recent pictures

Jing and Mimi go out in a fancy sweater (sweater is a hand-me-down from Dee Dee).

Dad and Mimi in the mirror. The mirror is from a garage sale, hangs in a hallway off the kitchen. I took a few of these, but she wasn’t cooperating; this was the best.

Dee Dee and Bubble Gum. Brother Tom says that is a good name for a horse. She sleeps with Bubble Gum every night, as well as Sophia the 1st.

My son Charlie clowning around in Dee Dee’s rain jacket.

Dee Dee and her 2013 Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. Purchased it here, probably the best carving pumpkin I ever bought - not stringy and damp, but a little dry and corky (probably not good for eating).

Dee Dee and our dollar store scary thing

 

c0

Reasons for some, excuses for others.

Conventional wisdom usually finds a home in clichés, as, for example; “All roads lead to Rome,” or “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” which tell us our destinations share some quality we’re all seeking, but we approach it in different ways.

I’ve read numerous stories regarding Christians who’ve been drawn to the church by Mary, and so she retains a special place in their hearts.

I’ve also seen just as many who’ve been drawn to independent Protestantism because it avoids centralized hierarchy and political leadership.

I’ve seen Christians drawn to church because it's loud and boisterous.

I've seen them leave for the same reason.

I’ve seen them come and go because they sprinkle or dunk or don’t, use wine or grape juice or don’t, pray too long or too short, sing too much or not enough, are too gray, too young, too lenient, too demanding.

Reasons for some, excuses for others.

 

c0

If you find Jesus, stay there. You may find some interesting things along the way that others missed because they took a different road.

And that doesn’t mean all roads lead to God; but saying some roads don’t is not the same as saying only one road does.

[2013-08-07]

 

c0