And the Winner is........

In Thurday's post -[ Caption Needed. ]- I asked readers to help provide a humorous caption to a photo of Obama watching a movie in 3D.

The caption I choose can be found at my D'Offus of the Big-Doofus blog on a post entitled Watching Movies in 3D.

Update on "Climate Change" video.

This past September I posted an article on how Celebs Sing to Stop Global Warming.

As I mentioned then, 55 celebrities had gotten together to re-record Midnight Oil's hit "Beds are Burning" to raise awareness of climate change.

The new recording and accompanying video created such a yawn that I had completely forgotten about it until I accidentally came across the video last night. From an artistic POV, the re-do is unremarkable. The instrumentation, however, is surprisingly well done - considering that so many "musicians" had their grubby little hands in it.

The same cannot be said for the reworked lyrics. The lyrics, "The time has come to take a stand. It's for the Earth. It's for our land." could have come from the pen of a high school student. I could only laugh when, later in the song, "cure" is rhymed with "Timbuktu". I guess, finding a rhyme for "Bum@#$% Egypt" was beyond them.

These particular celebrities are so not famous, that it was deemed necessary to put up each "artists'" name so we'd be able to identify them.

The "ticking clock" animation might have been a revolutionary cinematic affect when Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton were around. I guess the high school student who decided to use it was a friend of the lyricist.

Of course, no need to take my word on this.....just watch the video for yourself.

Caption Needed.

A couple of days ago, I snatched this photo from the Washinton Times website. When I saw the photo, I felt it cried out for a humorous caption. Trouble is, I've looked at it for days and can't seem to come up with anything suitable.

I'm asking you folks who read this post to help. Please leave your caption suggestions in the comment section.

The person with the funniest caption will have a glowing sense of accomplishment.
That should be reward enough.

The Seeing Eye Horse.

When looking for stories that might be suitable for the blog, I'll often let the surfing go where it may. I've often come upon very unusual articles.

One article that certainly falls into that category is one I found on Macleans.ca entitled The case for the seeing-eye horse.When writer Mark Steyn wrote of Mona Ramouni, a blind Muslim from Dearborn, Mich., and her seeing eye horse, I wasn't quite sure that I hadn't ventured onto a parody website.

A quick Google search proved that the story was indeed true and there is a Guide Horse Foundation whose "...mission is to provide a safe, cost-effective and reliable mobility alternative for visually impaired people."

Why a guide horse over a guide dog........other than the Islamic view that dogs violate ritual purity?

The Guide Horse Foundation website gives a list of 10 characteristics of horses that make them suitable for use as guide animals by the blind:

1) Long Lifespan
2) Cost Effective
3) Better acceptance
4) Calm Nature
5) Great Memory
6) Excellent Vision
7) Focused Demeanor
8) Safety Conscious
9) High Stamina
10) Good Manners

OK, once I got over my initial surprise at the strangeness of it, I thought, sure why not? If using a guide horse is a better option for someone, then, so be it.

My only question.....what's with the shoes?

A Typical Tuesday.

My mornings can be hectic. I work 2nd shift; I don't go to work until three, but there's much to be done before then.

If I wake before my son, I'll surf the Internet looking for a suitable subject for the blog. If he's up early, then it's surf the Internet, cook breakfast, change the station on the TV, write a blog post, shower, shave, cook lunch, put J.P. in the tub.......did I miss something?

This morning, not long after eating a jelly biscuit, J.P. came across a box of Mac & Cheese in the cupboard. Of course, he had to eat some. Now, with a three year old (soon to be four) you can never be certain if he's really hungry or if the colorful packaging on the box just put the idea into his head. I step away from the PC, go into the kitchen to cook the Mac&Cheese, knowing full well that it may end up in the refrigerator to be eaten later. This morning, however, he did eat a good sized portion.

Today, I gave up trying to find a good news story to comment upon. You can look to the right to my "Places of Interest" and find links to writers who do a much better job in that area than I. I have to write this with part of my attention focused in the next room where J.P. is watching "Dinosaur Train". You'd be surprised at the trouble he can get into just sitting , watching television.

It's already past noon and I still have things to do. This post may not reach the heights of wondrous creative writing, but I'll have to settle for this.

Pasko Na!

We're a bit late putting up our Christmas decorations.

Late? Why it's not even Halloween yet and you shouldn't decorate the house and put up a tree until Thanksgiving.

Anyone who agrees with that last statement is, obviously, not married to a Filipina. As it was once explained to me, in Philippines, you start celebrating Christmas when the "ber" is here. What's the "ber", you ask? You know, September, October, November, December.......

On one of the most popular TV programs in Philippines, Wowowee, they are already singing "Pasko Na !" (it's Christmas!).

This past Saturday, my wife put on a CD of Christmas music for us to enjoy.
It's only started.

So far, I've been able to maintain the family tradition of not putting up the tree until the Friday after Thanksgiving.I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold out.

This particular video is from 2008, but it, never-the-less, represents what's being shown now.

Is There Pie in the Sky?

Fridays.

As others are losing their jobs during this,the Obama recession, I have been fortunate enough to be still employed. We had been working 40 hour work weeks until two or three months ago when we went on 32 hours. That means Fridays off.

You'd think that, with the extra day off from work, I'd be posting more on this blog on at least that one day. That hasn't proven to be the case, however.

I've made it a point, during this time off, to attend Mass with my 3 year old son - followed afterward by a trip to the library.

For reasons I have yet to figure out, J.P. is much more behaved on those weekday afternoons when he and I attend Mass as compared to Sundays when his mother is with us. I wish there was some way for my wife to see how he is when it's just the two of us at church.

At the library, J.P. heads straight to the children section in search of more Thomas the tank engine books. He'll pick four books and we'll head home for lunch. If he asks, I'll stop by McDonald's to buy a Happy Meal for him (I don't eat meat on Fridays, but being only three, it's OK for him to have a burger).

I don't know how much longer we'll be working this 4-day a week schedule. Even if we never return to a 5-day a week schedule-which is unlikely- J.P. will start pre-school next year so our Friday routine will eventually come to an end.

I'll miss it.

Upcoming Event.

I just received this email from my brother Chris and I felt I had to share it.

Chris said he has four extra tickets for the Robbie Knievel event at the Texas State Fair Grounds this weekend in Dallas. Robbie is the son of the famed Evil Knievel.
At this event, Robbie is going to try to jump over 10,000 Obama supporters with a Cat D-9.



I can't wait.....I'm sure the event will be sold out.

Negative Thirteen.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for today shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. 40% Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13.

Let's say that again ...... Presidential Approval Index of negative 13.

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve.

How's that hope and change workin' out for you?

Halloween Costume.

The latest in Halloween costumes that can no longer be bought is the Illegal Alien costume.
An online store description of the costume gives this information:
Available in One Size Fits Most Adults.
Includes: Mask, Jumpsuit, Card.
Material 65% Polyester, 35% Cotton.
Care Instructions Handwash - Cold Water with mild detergent. Dry Flat. Do not bleach. Do not Iron.
Approximate measurements: Chest 48-49", Waist 48-50".

Cost: $39.99

According to an article on nbclosangeles.com, [Immigrants Not Amused by ''Illegal Alien'' Halloween Costume] the costume (shown here) was available online at target.com,walgreens.com, toysrus.com, amazon.com, meijer.com and buycostumes.com.

After a bit of a row from "immigrants" the costume was removed from all the websites except walgreens and buycostumes. However going to those 2 sites, you'll find the costume is "out of stock".

Too bad.
I guess anyone wanting one now will have to make their own. Getting an "alien" mask should be easy enough......get your own orange jumpsuit and "green card"; and voilà!

Huh?

Nazeih Hammouri, a 53 year old Vershire,Vermont man, faces a first-degree assault charge after stabbing his 19 year old son in the stomach with a cork screw after an argument over a clogged toilet.

Police said Hammouri was drinking.

You reckon?

North Carolina Church BBQ.

Is there any food that says "Down Home America" more than good, old fashioned BBQ? Golly, if there is, I sure can't think what it'd be.

Yes, everyone loves BBQ, though there's some friendly disagreement as to what makes the best BBQ. While many prefer beef or chicken, quite a few folks say, "If it ain't pork - it ain't BBQ".

Some argue that it's all in the sauce, while an equal number believe it's the smoke that makes the difference.

BBQ aficionados can't even agree on which particular wood makes for the best smoke; some pick hickory, while others believe mesquite can't be beat. However, it seems that in small town, Canton, North Carolina, the 14 members of Amazing Grace Baptist church prefer the smell of burning paper for their upcoming Halloween BBQ.

And not just any paper, but, more specifically, the smell of smoke coming from burning books is what they like. And not just any book, mind you. They'll be burning books by Christian writers they deem heretical - as well as any Bible other than the King James Version (KJV).

Of course, that means the Catholic Bible will be burned - along with Protestant versions such as the New International Version (NIV), the Revised Standard Version (RSV) and the New King James Version (NKJV).

Along with copies of these Bibles, books by Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Jimmy Swagart, Mother Teresa and the Pope (to name just a few) will be tossed into the fire as well.

The video report below does not mention the burning of witches; perhaps the smell would be too off-putting for good BBQ.

The video and this news source mention a church website - http://www.amazinggracebaptistchurchkjv.com/. As of the time of this writing, the website has been suspended.

A Review.

A few years back, when I first took to blogging, I was persuaded that one way to attract significant Internet traffic to my blog was to register with a number of blog directories.
Over time, I've come to realize that the value of these directories is over-rated. I may have received a bit of traffic from one or two, but not enough to really matter in the scheme of things. I rarely go to the directories to search for new blogs, and I imagine that very few others do.

I was surprised when I recently received an email from BlogCatalog informing me that a review of this blog had been posted on their website.
The reviewer, Adam H Klein, does not, I'm sorry to say, think too highly of what I have to say. Here is his review:

Right-wing Republican stuff.
Opinion. Dearth of fact. Bad logic and unjustified conclusions. Not much to read here that I can't read about elsewhere.
Gets an "E" for effort though. The stuff about donating blood was very pithy. Unfortunately, older posts fail.

Mr. Klein is, of course, entitled to his opinion. I won't attempt to defend my blog. It is what it is...one either likes it or not.

Human nature being what it is, I could not resist following the link to Mr. Klein's profile and taking a look at his work. Two blogs are listed on Blog Catalog; the equanimist and dog meat home companion.

I'm not going to review either of Mr. Klein's blogs. A bad review from me would appear to be nothing but sour grapes. I would like to encourage anyone reading this post to drop over to the equanimist and dog meat home companion and judge for themselves.

Eugene Robinson Misses the Mark.

Washington Post op-ed columnist, Eugene Robinson begins his latest column with this:

"Somebody explain this to me: The president of the United States wins the Nobel Peace Prize and Rush Limbaugh joins with the Taliban in bitterly denouncing the award? Glenn Beck has a conniption fit and demands that the president not accept what may be the world's most prestigious honor?"

Of course, it's highly unlikely that Mr. Robinson will read this blog, but I will attempt to explain. Very simply, President Obama has done nothing to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. Let me repeat that.... President Obama has done nothing to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.

How difficult is that to understand, Mr. Robinson?

Robinson goes on to say that it is only some conservatives who have "taken leave of their political senses". He gives John McCain as an example of a conservative "familiar with the concept of manners". News Flash.........McCain is no conservative - not in this or any other universe Robinson may visit from time to time.

Robinson goes on to say that "If Obama ended world hunger...." we conservatives would "....accuse him of promoting obesity". Let me go on record as saying that if Obama ends world hunger, I would be the first to congratulate him. We all know, of course, that no human being.....not even Barack Hussein Obama.... can end hunger in this world. Sorry, but having good intentions doesn't count.

Robinson writes:
"If he solved global warming, they'd complain it was getting chilly." I guess Obama has already accomplished that. The BBC asks - What happened to global warming?

There's more from Robinson. "If he got Mahmoud Abbas and Binyamin Netanyahu to join him around the campfire in a chorus of 'Kumbaya,' the rejectionists would claim that his singing was out of tune".
Obama has gone out of his way to alienate Netanyahu and Israel. It may not be impossible for Obama to get them " around the campfire", so to speak, but we can be certain there will be no singing of Kumbaya ... off key or otherwise.

Sorry, Mr. Robinson; Obama's winning the Nobel Peace Prize is nothing less than an embarrassing joke.

Update....with Photo.

Yesterday, I went to the Blood Assurance location to donate blood platelets. Naturally, I wanted to have a photo to put up on the blog.

The thing is,I was too shy to ask the woman working there to take the photo......so, using my cell phone, I took the best photo I could.

Yes, I know, this photo isn't going to help me get a Pulitzer in photo-journalism (although, I probably deserve one at least as much as Obama deserves a Nobel Peace Prize). If I can nudge someone reading this to donate whole blood and/or platelets, then I'm happy.

Oh, It's All So Clear, Now.

In a post from Thursday's Acts of the Apostasy, ["I Believe In God, Separator Of Heaven And Earth..." ] LarryD writes of a professor at Radboud College in the Netherlands, one Ellen van Wolde.

Professor van Wolde has analyzed the Book of Genesis and has determined that everyone has gotten it wrong. She claims that the Hebrew word "bara" - which has traditionally been translated as "created" - actually means "separated". According to her, God did not create the heavens and earth.....He simply separated what was already in existence.

The news report of van Wolde's claim can be found on the Telegraph.co.uk website.

Of course, I wasn't content with just the English source. I wanted to follow the story to original Dutch version. I found an article called God de Scheider on nieuwslog.nl.

Translating from one language to another can be a tricky thing. It's more art than science. Words in one language may not always have an exact equivalent in another language. Sometimes you just have to pick a word that seems nearest to what the original is trying to say.

To show how difficult translating languages can be, I like to use Babelfish to translate. It's always good for a laugh. Below, I will paste the original van Wolde article written in Dutch (in red) followed by the Babelfish translation into English (in blue).

God schiep niet, hij scheidde! God is niet de Schepper! Volgens theoloog en bijbelwetenschapper Ellen van Wolde van de Radboud Universiteit is Genesis in de Bijbel verkeerd vertaald. Het woord 'bara' betekent 'scheiden', niet 'scheppen'. De reacties bij Dagblad Trouw stromen niet, maar stormen binnen. Deze taalkwestie doet denken aan het woord 'druiven' in de Koran. Dat was altijd verkeerd vertaald als 'maagden'. Terroristen kwamen dus ook al van een koude kermis thuis. Staat het traditionele beeld van God nu op zijn kop?

'Het is in onze hersens gegrift. De eerste zin van de bijbel is ‘In het begin schiep God hemel en aarde’. Maar Ellen van Wolde, hoogleraar Exegese van het Oude Testament en bronteksten van het jodendom aan de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, toont aan dat er eigenlijk iets anders staat. In haar inaugurele rede, die zij op vrijdag 9 oktober uitspreekt, concludeert zij na nauwgezette bestudering van de Hebreeuwse grondtekst en de context daarvan, dat er geen sprake is van een creatio ex nihilo, een schepping uit het niets, maar van een scheiding van de hemel en de aarde in een uitgestrekte watermassa.'


God did not create, he separated! God is not the inventor! According to theologian and bible scientist Ellen van Wolde of the Radboud university genesis has been found oneself translated in the bible. The word ' bara' means ' scheiden' , not ' scheppen'. The responses at daily do not marry flows, but storm in. This language question does think speaking ' druiven' in the Koran. That had been always found oneself translated as ' maagden'. Terrorists came home therefore also already of a cold village fair. Does the traditional picture of god stand now on its head?

' It is in our brain gegrift. The first sense of the bible is `in the beginning created god sky and aarde'. but Ellen van Wolde, professor interpretation of the Old Testament and source texts of Jewry to the Radboud, shows there actual something else to university Nijmegen to that stands. In its inaugural reason, which she pronounces October on Friday 9, she concludes after precise study of the Jew original text and the context of it that there is no talk of creatio ex nihilo, a creation from nothing, but of a separation of the sky and the ground in extended watermassa.'

It's all very clear now. Isn't it?

Donating Blood Platelets.

This morning, I received a phone call from the Blood Assurance office in Chattanooga TN. The woman told me that there is a cancer patient in Chattanooga who is in need of platelets and their records show that I would be the ideal donor for this patient. Would I be interested in donating? Yes, of course I would.

Donating platelets is a bit more complicated than simply donating whole blood. I'd have to drop my son at the baby sitter and I'd have to have enough time to donate. I'm off from work tomorrow, so Friday would be perfect for me. She asked me when I had last taken aspirin......aspirin has an effect on blood platelets and a donor must abstain from taking aspirin for a certain amount of time. I had taken aspirin just last night for my arthritis. This would prohibit me from giving platelets Friday.

The woman at Blood Assurance didn't think the office in Rome did apheresis on Saturdays; but she'd call the office here to see what could be done.
I'd donated platelets here on Saturday before so I didn't think there would be a problem. I'm only five minutes away from the Blood Assurance location, so J.P. and I hopped in the van and drove down there. I believed it would be easier to work out the details in person.

Sure enough, as soon as I walked in, the woman who is in charge of the apheresis machine said, "Hello Robert. I just received a phone call about you."
I said, "Yes, I know. That's why I'm here."

Saturday isn't a problem for either of us....I set up an appointment for 9 AM.

As I was leaving, she said, "It's nice to be needed, isn't it?"

Yes, it is.

Second Thoughts on Neal Boortz.

I should have known better.

Yesterday, I wrote a post telling how I had voted for Neal Boortz to be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, despite my objections to his stand on abortion. No sooner had I written that post, then Boortz went off on a screed that betrayed him to be more of a buffoon that I had previously thought.

Boortz' refuses to call those of us who are against abortion "pro-life". In his warped mind, we are simply "anti-choice" and that's it. To him, we care nothing about protecting life, we just want the government to take away a "woman's right to choose"; we want the government to hold a gun to a woman's head and force her to have a baby she doesn't want.

He says he will not discuss abortion because no one's mind will be changed by discussion (that doesn't prevent him from telling us his opinion....he just won't allow his callers to discuss the issue).

Boortz would have us believe that it is the extreme "anti-choice" element of the Republican Party that will forever prevent the Republicans from becoming a national party of consequence. He would have us believe that Obama's victory over McCain was brought about by those of us who oppose abortion.

Let's look at this realistically.

Let's suppose voter "A", for the most part, prefers the Republicans over the Democrats, but voter "A" supports "abortion rights". Boortz would have us believe that this voter will abandon the Republicans for the Democrats. It's true that voter "A" might very well leave the Republican Party, but his first choice would be the Libertarians.....not the Democrats.

In many ways, the Libertarians are closest to the Reaganesque values of smaller government, lower taxes and individual freedom. If it was the issue of abortion that was driving voters from the Republican Party, the Libertarian Party would be replacing it on the national stage.

On the contrary, many of us who want smaller government and lower taxes are reluctant to cast votes for Libertarian because of their rabid pro-abortion stance.

Unfortunately, when it comes down to selecting the President of the United States, charisma and "like-ability" has more sway with the voters than how the candidate stands on the issues. Obama had more charisma than McCain. The George Bush of 2000 and 2004 was more likable and down to earth than Al Gore or John Kerry.

Sadly, it's the perception that "this guy is like us" that makes the difference in the final count.

Ah ........... government by the people.

RHOF emails.

As I mentioned in an earlier post - Neal Boortz.....an Ignorant, Cowardly Bully.- while I may not disagree with Neal Boortz on every issue, I can never agree with his position on abortion.

It spite of Boortz' abominable views on abortion, I felt that his induction into the Radio Hall of Fame was completely appropriate. He's been on the air since Marconi and has contributed quite a lot to talk radio. I obliged when he went on the air and asked his listeners to go to the Radio Hall of Fame website and vote for him.

When he won, I received an email from the radiohof letting me know that I could let Boortz know I support him by having my name printed on a tribute page of the program for the Radio Hall of Fame presentation. It would only cost me $25 for the privilege.

Are they kidding? I've received my share of outrageous emails, but this one has to top the list.
Kelvin Williams, Nigerian scammer, has a better chance of getting money from me than the radio Hall of Fame.

Oh yeah, it's not just Boortz. When I voted for him, I also voted for Dr. Demento in another category and received the same offer from the RHOF to have my name listed in his tribute. They won't be getting money from me on this either.

Speaking of Tin-foil Hats.......

On September 29, 2009, Democrat Alan Grayson made a speech regarding health care proposals in the U.S. House of Representatives. During the speech Grayson said, "The Republican health care plan is this: Don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly."

When his remarks drew demands for an apology from Republicans, Grayson responded the next day, "I would like to apologize, I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.”

What can we expect from someone who named his five children Skye, Star, Sage, Storm, and Stone?

Where are the Tin-foil Hats?

Behold a photo from dallasnews.com of Cary Daniel and her mother, Chris Daniel.

If you're curious as to why Cary and Chris are wearing respirators and goggles, click on this link - Dallas woman fuming over smoking neighbor at complex.

I feel safe in saying Cary and Chris voted for Barack Obama.