I'm done with all my FHE activities. Time for Heroes. Man, I love that show.

As I was looking at graphics for my earlier Hypocrite post, I was surprised how popular the eclipse motif is lately. Check it out!

















And while we are on the subject, check out this cool pic of a solar eclipse:

Thought of the day:
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought. -Basho, 17th century Japanese poet

Old Money.

We all know that there are two kinds of millionaires, those of 'old money' and those who are 'new money'. And then there is me. I have old money. I was getting fuel at the gas station and as part of my change, I get this thing:










For some reason, this 1935 dollar bill had worked its way back into circulation and was waiting for me at the local Circle K. Then it got me wondering about all the stuff it would have seen. Was it used to by gasoline for some body's old Oldsmobile back in the 30's? Was it stashed away during a shortage of WWII? Did somebody find it in the attic in the 80's? Maybe it was a bookmark? It could have been any number of a thousand places.

I wonder if people are like this goofy, ragged bill? They may not look like much or look like they are worth much, but once you know their stories and histories, they become priceless.

Or maybe they are sometimes named Bill.





*Is it legal to scan old bills? If so, I'll take it down.

Okay, stop me if you've heard this one...

So this outspoken Atheist is hiking through the forest, admiring all the beauty that Mother Nature had evolved all around him. As he was hiking, he happened between a mother grizzly bear and her cubs. The protective mother instantly stood and roared at the hiker. Not wanting to shuffle off this mortal coil to wherever atheists go, the man took off running down the trail with the bear in hot pursuit. Realizing that he wasn't likely to evolve into something that ran faster, the atheist decided to hedge his bets and began to pray. Soon the bear had him knocked to the ground and had reared up on his hind legs, ready to deliver the lethal strike.
Suddenly, everything was frozen in place and the man found himself in God's presence. The atheist quickly asked God for deliverance from his problem.
"Well, this is certainly a convenient time for you to be a believer", was God's reply.
"I guess you are right," the atheist thought, "And I'm not really sure I believe in you any way."
God responded, "Since we are talking, are you sure that there isn't anything I can do for you? The bear is still there..."
The man thought about it for a minute and realized what he believed to be a rather clever solution.
"Perhaps then you could make the bear a Christian? I've known a lot of Christians and they have always talked about mercy and all that other religious junk."
God scratched his chin through his beard.
"All of my creations believe in me, but sure, I'll make the bear a devout Christian."
The brightness of God's presence began to fade and the man found himself again at the feet of the bear. The bear looked down at the man and helped him to his feet. The man breathed a sigh of relief. The bear looked lovingly at the man and pulled him in for a warm embrace. Holding the man, the bear spoke in a tender voice.
"Dear Lord, please bless this meal which my family is about to eat..."

Bus Stop Runner

Well, since life has been kicking me in the hinder lately (everything from arguing with friends to girl trouble to having my clutch burn out on my car over the weekend to missing my bus twice this morning) I thought I'd seek a little comfort in musical mash-ups. So I found this sweet one called "Bus Stop Runner" by the talented Mark Vidler, aka Go Home Productions. djbrewski mixed the vid. GHP blended the tracks. Check it out.

EDIT: It seems they add new videos frequently, so you might have to scroll around to find what you are looking for. While you are doing that, check out Paperback Believer, Sweet Times of Mine, Feel All Apologies, Boulevard of Broken Songs and Crazy Logic. Man, I could watch those all day.

Goodness Will Follow

Is this the price of failing?
Trading the sailing heart
for the taste of saline.

You say I can do better
One with virtue from the start
That someday I'll get her.

But I don't want to be good,
I just want you.
Goodness will follow.




.

Sometimes I feel like a huge hypocrite. And that mostly comes out of me getting all preachy. Because invariably, I end up being guilty of the sins I'm preaching against. This is why I prefer to shut up about such moral items, but sometimes I can't help myself.

I used to carry a small sign in my scripture case that read "hypocrite". Back in the day when I taught a lot of lessons in the Sunday School, I'd be talking up the importance of keeping the Sabbath holy or always giving thanks for your meals, I'd pull out the sign and wear it around my neck before continuing. Granted, it was mostly a joke, but it also felt good to realize I was a mortal and as human as everyone else. After a while, others would borrow the sign if they were making comments on things they were struggling to improve themselves.

This brings us to this year. One of my favorite moral vices to rail against has been TV addiction. And I suddenly get hooked on the show 'Heroes'. I've also taken a stand against video games as addictive and time consuming, and here I am totally addicted to 'Guitar Hero'.

So I'm wondering what the lesson that needs to be learned here. The easy lesson is to keep my mouth shut; but I don't believe that is the right answer. Moderation, I think, is the right one. My big reason for video game avoidance is I've known folks who spend all their time in the basement playing Halo 2 or World of Warcraft. It becomes a false god to them. I've even seen a few couples break up over it because the guy got stupid and didn't realize what he had until she left. Since I can't figure out the whole girlfriend thing yet, this might not be a problem. Still it is about priorities.

TV is a little different. While there is certainly the addiction possibilities, I think the biggest reason I avoid it is the exposure to all the murder, violence and sex. There are some things I just don't want to put in my head. They stay there for a long time when I ought to be thinking of better things. Besides, like most of us, I've already got more than I need on my memory. If I want to dig up some trash, I know I already have plenty archived. Who needs to feeding the garbage bin when you don't have to even be around it in the first place? So maybe I'll stick with the current season of Heroes and see how it goes.

Achy Breaky Muscles

So I'm recovering from a nite of country swing dancing. And I think I did pretty good for a dumpy white guy. Now that I think about it, that describes all the guys there.

Scary thing is, I realized how much I feel like George McFly* when I'm mixing it up. Mostly that was because of just awkward dancing style. But then I realized it was I am just content to dance in the corner instead of subjecting the ladies to my horrible swing moves.



You're George McFly!

Take the Which Person from Back to the Future Are You? Quiz
Also try my other quizzes.

But like George, I'm getting better. I actually was able to practice some moves with a beautiful young lady. Which was appropriate I suppose, because she had asked me to go in the first place.


*Wow, that review of me is a bit harsh. Loser? Not always. And maybe I'll get to do the rest of those things too.