Sunday, February 27, 2005
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Thursday, February 10, 2005
R.C. Sproul's recent post reminded me of how surprised I was myself when I found that in Germany, the unemployed on benefits are required to take whatever employment is available.
A second cousin of mine, a woman, middle aged, was unemployed when I was over there this past summer, and talking to her it emerged that she was told she had to work at an esc0rt service, since it was what was available.
Whatever is available, she has to do— whether backbreaking labor, ill suited to her age, or humiliating work, such as esc0rt services or worse. She was obviously unhappy with the situation, the product of a socialist government.
(I'm not in direct contact with my German relatives, so I don't know whether she found another position. I would imagine so, since I think my Oma would have mentioned it otherwise.)
I wonder now... will our own government take the example given by Germany? If you're paying unemployed people, it seems only fair that they be required to actually work, not just make a token “effort” to find work.
I think the root problem is not only that the government pays you to be unemployed, but that you took the money. He who pays the piper picks the tune, right? Government money comes with strings attached.
R.C. points out that the "real problem isn’t legalized prostitution, the selling of bodies, but the welfare state, and the selling of souls."
Hmm.
A second cousin of mine, a woman, middle aged, was unemployed when I was over there this past summer, and talking to her it emerged that she was told she had to work at an esc0rt service, since it was what was available.
Whatever is available, she has to do— whether backbreaking labor, ill suited to her age, or humiliating work, such as esc0rt services or worse. She was obviously unhappy with the situation, the product of a socialist government.
(I'm not in direct contact with my German relatives, so I don't know whether she found another position. I would imagine so, since I think my Oma would have mentioned it otherwise.)
I wonder now... will our own government take the example given by Germany? If you're paying unemployed people, it seems only fair that they be required to actually work, not just make a token “effort” to find work.
I think the root problem is not only that the government pays you to be unemployed, but that you took the money. He who pays the piper picks the tune, right? Government money comes with strings attached.
R.C. points out that the "real problem isn’t legalized prostitution, the selling of bodies, but the welfare state, and the selling of souls."
Hmm.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Jambalaya
Ingredients:
5 cups long grained white rice
10 ½ cups water
1 stick butter
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 shakes cayenne pepper
½-1 tsp salt
Onions (chopped & dried)
Green onions
about 1 tsp. parsley (chopped & dried)
Meat – precooked chicken, sausage, hot dogs, etc.
Optional – 1-2 tomatoes, or 1 cup spaghetti/tomato sauce. I don't like tomato sauce, so I put less in.
When I made this tonight, I put in three round sausage patties, cut up, and two and a half sliced Polish sausages. Precooked teriyaki chicken would work; hot dogs do too in a pinch, but they lack the flavoring, which goes into the rice while cooking.
1. Water in pan on high.
2. As it comes to a boil, add everything but rice.
3. When it boils, add rice, turn to low, and cook for 18-20 minutes without taking off the lid.
Serves 8, three adults and five hungry boys.
Ingredients:
5 cups long grained white rice
10 ½ cups water
1 stick butter
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 shakes cayenne pepper
½-1 tsp salt
Onions (chopped & dried)
Green onions
about 1 tsp. parsley (chopped & dried)
Meat – precooked chicken, sausage, hot dogs, etc.
Optional – 1-2 tomatoes, or 1 cup spaghetti/tomato sauce. I don't like tomato sauce, so I put less in.
When I made this tonight, I put in three round sausage patties, cut up, and two and a half sliced Polish sausages. Precooked teriyaki chicken would work; hot dogs do too in a pinch, but they lack the flavoring, which goes into the rice while cooking.
1. Water in pan on high.
2. As it comes to a boil, add everything but rice.
3. When it boils, add rice, turn to low, and cook for 18-20 minutes without taking off the lid.
Serves 8, three adults and five hungry boys.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
All nature, all creation is covenantal. This table is at the center of that covenant reality,
but it is not a different kind of thing. It is not that mystical spiritual things happen here that do not happen elsewhere. Everywhere we go, all day long, in everything we do, we are partaking covenantally. When we come to this table, this does not change.
This is simply another way of saying that there is nothing magical about this Table. But do not draw the wrong conclusions from this. The whole world is magical, the whole world is suffused with the glory of God, the whole creation invites us to fellowship with Him.
~ Pastor Wilson,
Friday, December 31, 2004
Speaking of funny books...
Patrick McManus fairly consistently puts me into laughing fits where speech is impossible, breathing difficult, and I'm laughing, almost soundlessly, my eyes full of tears, my arms holding my shaking sides. My favorite stories are those which include his boyhood friend “Crazy Eddie” Muldoon. Especially the one where he and Eddie build an airplane.
Part of that is because I myself, at the tender age of ten, attempted myself to build an airplane, constructed out of a rickety old wheelbarrow and PVC pipes. I would then push the wheelbarrow as fast as my legs would go across a the bumpy, wind whipped fields, sure that any moment my creation could take flight, at which point I planned to jump on. I neglected any type of steering mechanism, which in hindsight would have been essential. However, wiser heads prevented me from ransacking the linen closet for sheets. Needless to say, I was unable to lift off.
Even with the second design, which was a glider made of PVC pipe, worn on the back, I still couldn't convince said wiser heads to allow the use of sheets-- probably because they would have caught the wind and propelled my scrawny ten year old frame straight into the barbed wire fence between our land and the neighbors.
Unlike young Pat and Eddie, however, I lived nowhere near a lake or pond, and wasn't able to experiment with submarines.
Two other favorite funny books are by Jerome K. Jerome – Three Men on the Bummel, and Three Men in a Boat.
The stories that he works into his books are just as funny as the main story he is telling- for example, in the former, the story of man losing a wife accidentally while bicycling through a country the language of which neither one spoke well.
Our family has also greatly enjoyed all of the Hank the Cowdog books we've read, written by John R. Erickson. The books on tape, read by the author, are also excellent, especially since reading them aloud taxes the reader immensely, since its always hard to understand people who are laughing and reading at the same time.
Sometimes when I watch the boys for the evening, I'll put them to bed with a Hank the Cowdog tape. They love it so much they'll go to bed earlier without a peep of protest, and after impulsively letting them make their own personal pizzas (“Look! I made mine a volcano!” “I need more pepperoni for my turtle.”) that's a very tempting thing! ;-)
Patrick McManus fairly consistently puts me into laughing fits where speech is impossible, breathing difficult, and I'm laughing, almost soundlessly, my eyes full of tears, my arms holding my shaking sides. My favorite stories are those which include his boyhood friend “Crazy Eddie” Muldoon. Especially the one where he and Eddie build an airplane.
Part of that is because I myself, at the tender age of ten, attempted myself to build an airplane, constructed out of a rickety old wheelbarrow and PVC pipes. I would then push the wheelbarrow as fast as my legs would go across a the bumpy, wind whipped fields, sure that any moment my creation could take flight, at which point I planned to jump on. I neglected any type of steering mechanism, which in hindsight would have been essential. However, wiser heads prevented me from ransacking the linen closet for sheets. Needless to say, I was unable to lift off.
Even with the second design, which was a glider made of PVC pipe, worn on the back, I still couldn't convince said wiser heads to allow the use of sheets-- probably because they would have caught the wind and propelled my scrawny ten year old frame straight into the barbed wire fence between our land and the neighbors.
Unlike young Pat and Eddie, however, I lived nowhere near a lake or pond, and wasn't able to experiment with submarines.
Two other favorite funny books are by Jerome K. Jerome – Three Men on the Bummel, and Three Men in a Boat.
The stories that he works into his books are just as funny as the main story he is telling- for example, in the former, the story of man losing a wife accidentally while bicycling through a country the language of which neither one spoke well.
Our family has also greatly enjoyed all of the Hank the Cowdog books we've read, written by John R. Erickson. The books on tape, read by the author, are also excellent, especially since reading them aloud taxes the reader immensely, since its always hard to understand people who are laughing and reading at the same time.
Sometimes when I watch the boys for the evening, I'll put them to bed with a Hank the Cowdog tape. They love it so much they'll go to bed earlier without a peep of protest, and after impulsively letting them make their own personal pizzas (“Look! I made mine a volcano!” “I need more pepperoni for my turtle.”) that's a very tempting thing! ;-)
Monday, December 20, 2004
Reading:
English Country House Murders: Classic Crime Fiction of Britain's Upper Crust,
edited by Thomas Godfrey
A wonderful little collection of mysteries (22 of them), most of which I hadn't read.
My favorites in this collection were
“Jeeves and the Stolen Venus” (an unusual comic interlude),
“The Man on the Roof”, by Christianna Brand,
“The Fordwych Castle Mystery”, by Emmuska, Baroness Orczy,
“The Doom of the Darnaways”, by G.K. Chesterton, which I had read before, and
“An Unlocked Window”, by Ethel Lina White.
I picked it up on my way through a little town, at the library, where they were selling discarding books. I thought their prices in general steep, but I'm glad I paid the $2 for it. I love mysteries, so I'm always looking for other good mystery authors.
I think some of these authors will be good to research. Another recent read was an Ellis Peter's mystery, set in medieval times. I'd tell you the title, but it's behind wrapping paper, so I can't! ;-)
English Country House Murders: Classic Crime Fiction of Britain's Upper Crust,
edited by Thomas Godfrey
A wonderful little collection of mysteries (22 of them), most of which I hadn't read.
My favorites in this collection were
“Jeeves and the Stolen Venus” (an unusual comic interlude),
“The Man on the Roof”, by Christianna Brand,
“The Fordwych Castle Mystery”, by Emmuska, Baroness Orczy,
“The Doom of the Darnaways”, by G.K. Chesterton, which I had read before, and
“An Unlocked Window”, by Ethel Lina White.
I picked it up on my way through a little town, at the library, where they were selling discarding books. I thought their prices in general steep, but I'm glad I paid the $2 for it. I love mysteries, so I'm always looking for other good mystery authors.
I think some of these authors will be good to research. Another recent read was an Ellis Peter's mystery, set in medieval times. I'd tell you the title, but it's behind wrapping paper, so I can't! ;-)
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Friday, November 19, 2004
Atmosphere
There is something about a little coffee shop that draws you in. It might be the dark wood tables and chairs. It might be the amazing, tantalizing smells. It might be the soft, glowing lights. It might be the bottles of coffee flavoring. It might be the coffee. It might be the smoothies. It might be a refuge from the shopping district, awash in tinsel, looking cheap in the bright sunlight. It might be the sandwiches, or the cookies. Or it might be the chance to have a good conversation. Or it might be the newspapers and magazines. Or it might be the teas...especially the chai. It might be the glass canisters of candy. It might be the icicle Christmas lights festooning the wood waist high. It might be (but probably isn't) the two taxidermically preserved deer heads, despite the fact both of them are very nice, at least five pointers. It might be the music. It might be the framed pictures and awards on the walls. Or it might just be the free wi-fi.
Personally, I think its a combination. But this is still way better than Starbucks.
Hooray for small local coffee shops (with wi-fi!)
Personally, I think its a combination. But this is still way better than Starbucks.
Hooray for small local coffee shops (with wi-fi!)
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Oh, please...
'SYRACUSE, New York (AP) -- Syracuse University students taking "Hip-Hop Eshu: Queen B@#$H101 -- The Life and Times of Lil' Kim" will have a guest speaker Wednesday -- the multiplatinum recording artist herself.'
"The Syracuse course requires students to read Kim's song lyrics as literary texts and analyze her iconography in videos and performances, according to the course description."
In connection to this, I was visiting a friend recently when she invited me to tag along to her afternoon art class. She assured me that her professor wouldn't mind, so I took her up on it, having been forewarned as to the focus of the class by viewing my friend's completed assignments-- straight A's. At least she has a sense of humor about them.
We arrived at the college campus, and reached the classroom. We were the first ones there, and sat down on tall stools around tables covered with a protective fabric-ish cloth. A few more students arrived, some friendly and talkative, others morose, or just shy. But this, it turned out, was a class where all were required to give input-- a great way to force them into thinking about the pieces in an elements of design fashion.
Class started, with only five students there at the beginning. More trickled in, leading up to a total of eight. Then, we started going around the room and each student would tell us all about their piece, and everyone would talk about it, and give input and praise and criticism.
We started with an elephant, made, like all of the pieces, out of wire, then a few other pieces, then my friend's piece, then IT.
IT was supposed to be an aspen tree, but it looked like flying fish suspended by wires, or flying tennis rackets. I didn't figure out it was an aspen tree until he explained his "piece."
I like aspen trees a lot, and I object to him saying that mass of wires looked like one. The teacher offered some technical criticism, but didn't seem to have a problem with the chaos of the piece.
So what do classes studying the the lyrics and music videos of Lil' Kim and classes that produce "art" like this have in common? They both fail to recognize standards, because, as secular centers of learning, they deny God's standards...and embrace the appreciative study of hip hop music videos and "artistic" chaos.
"The Syracuse course requires students to read Kim's song lyrics as literary texts and analyze her iconography in videos and performances, according to the course description."
In connection to this, I was visiting a friend recently when she invited me to tag along to her afternoon art class. She assured me that her professor wouldn't mind, so I took her up on it, having been forewarned as to the focus of the class by viewing my friend's completed assignments-- straight A's. At least she has a sense of humor about them.
We arrived at the college campus, and reached the classroom. We were the first ones there, and sat down on tall stools around tables covered with a protective fabric-ish cloth. A few more students arrived, some friendly and talkative, others morose, or just shy. But this, it turned out, was a class where all were required to give input-- a great way to force them into thinking about the pieces in an elements of design fashion.
Class started, with only five students there at the beginning. More trickled in, leading up to a total of eight. Then, we started going around the room and each student would tell us all about their piece, and everyone would talk about it, and give input and praise and criticism.
We started with an elephant, made, like all of the pieces, out of wire, then a few other pieces, then my friend's piece, then IT.
IT was supposed to be an aspen tree, but it looked like flying fish suspended by wires, or flying tennis rackets. I didn't figure out it was an aspen tree until he explained his "piece."
I like aspen trees a lot, and I object to him saying that mass of wires looked like one. The teacher offered some technical criticism, but didn't seem to have a problem with the chaos of the piece.
So what do classes studying the the lyrics and music videos of Lil' Kim and classes that produce "art" like this have in common? They both fail to recognize standards, because, as secular centers of learning, they deny God's standards...and embrace the appreciative study of hip hop music videos and "artistic" chaos.
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