Link As Dave Barry would say, I SWEAR I am not making this up. I can only hope this is a scam (and, honestly, have reason to believe it is, from the look of the sculpture, as I am WAAAAAYYYY more familiar with baby poop than I would have ever aspired to be). The latest news on Tom "Off the Deep End" Cruise, and Katie "Brainwashed" Holmes is an attempt to sell what is purportedly a bronze casting of their progeny's first bowel movement. As I said before, I have reason to doubt the authen...

I hate "mommy blogs". In a recent article on a most UN-mommy blog, the writer was posing the question about mommy blogs. They could not remember where the comment came up, but the estrogen poured over those responses like water down the Colorado in flood season. Therefore, I MUST defend my honor in the light of these (horrible, I tells ya!) accusations. And so, this article is dedicated to those mommy bloggers (disclaimer: I am NOT referring to TW, dharma, angela, loca, or any of the JU re...

I hate "mommy blogs". In a recent article on a most UN-mommy blog, the writer was posing the question about mommy blogs. They could not remember where the comment came up, but the estrogen poured over those responses like water down the Colorado in flood season. Therefore, I MUST defend my honor in the light of these (horrible, I tells ya!) accusations. And so, this article is dedicated to those mommy bloggers (disclaimer: I am NOT referring to TW, dharma, angela, loca, or any of the JU re...

Well, class is only two days in, but there's a lot I can tell about my classmates. It's interesting looking at it from this vantage point, being a little further down the road in life experience than most of my classmates (there's one lady in my class about my age; the rest are under 20). What strikes me is that each of us brings different strengths and weaknesses to the table. I'm the venerable veteran, who has worked with computers whose function is as foreign to some of these students as t...

(With apologies to Janis): "Oh George, woncha buy me a Mercedes Benz The rich all drive Porsches, I must make amends I bummed all I can off my family and friends So, George woncha buy me a Mercedes Benz"   "Oh, George woncha buy me an HDTV This ol' Sanyo set just ain't doin' it for me, If the picture were clearer I think I'd be free So, George, woncha buy me an HDTV?"   "Oh, George, woncha buy me my next whiskey round My life is so rotten, my sorrows...

(With apologies to Janis): "Oh George, woncha buy me a Mercedes Benz The rich all drive Porsches, I must make amends I bummed all I can off my family and friends So, George woncha buy me a Mercedes Benz"   "Oh, George woncha buy me an HDTV This ol' Sanyo set just ain't doin' it for me, If the picture were clearer I think I'd be free So, George, woncha buy me an HDTV?"   "Oh, George, woncha buy me my next whiskey round My life is so rotten, my sorrows...

I had to swipe the line from a favorite Johnny Cash song to address this subject. As most of you know, I'm not a biggie on religious blogs, but as you also know, I'm a big mouth, so I have to speak my mind from time to time. I see the debate crop up on various articles about religion as to how we are to act as Christians. What puzzles me is why there's any debate at all, frankly. God gave us a standard, and we are called to obedience. While that obedience does not save us, the effort to becom...

(Channeling Col. Gollum): An illegal alien is approaching our border. And the Bush regime is of course refusing to secure our borders, as it has for so long. When this sinister Ernesto hits, it will be BUSH'S FAULT for refusing to stop this illegal alien at the border. Every death, every ruined home, will be BUSH'S Fault, and he better be prepared to pony up the dough from all the money he's stolen in Iraqi oil with the secret pumps that brother Neil is operating just outside of Bagdad. Ho...

Allow me to be the first to comment on the new forum layout. I was kind of taken by surprise because I couldn't access the forum for a few minutes, then suddenly an entirely different layout was before me. It was a shock to the system, as any sudden change can be. While it will probably take me a little while to adjust, I like it, frankly. The layout is more consistent with many message boards, and will allow me to search some of the forums more quickly. Plus, by putting the name of the mo...

As we look across this country, it is ignorant to say that nothing needs to be done to solve the societal ills of this country. While we have it unquestionably better than most of the world, there still are things we can and should do to make our nation and our communities better and stronger. But in the search for solutions, I have found most on both sides of the political spectrum to be equally inept in their proposals. The right would often ignore the immediacy of some of the problems. The...

Now, I'm a long, long way from being Woody Guthrie. In fact, I'm a long, long way from being able to tie Woody Guthrie's shoelaces. But I am proud to say I've "turned the corner" in my guitar playing. I have "Roll on, Columbia", and "So Long It's Been Good ta Know Ya" (both by Woody Guthrie) down cold (same chord progression, slightly different tempo), and can work my way through 4 or 5 hymns (I've started playing a fifth, "Angel Band", a favorite of mine, on the autoharp so I can learn it becau...

As I prepare to go back to the "grind" of being a full time student (while still pulling in enough Benjamins to feed the family), I had a bit of realization this past week. Once I am finished with this program, I should be within 2-3 semesters of a Bachelor's degree. While I'm not a fan of seeking a piece of paper just for the sake of having it, it would indeed seem a shame to stop that close to a degree without going ahead and finishing it off. It would be like finishing 18 miles of a mara...

I mentioned elsewhere that we do not usually have a TV. Someone challenged me when I mentioned a daughter's reference to a recent movie. While I realize no elaboration is probably necessary, I did think it would make a moderately interesting article topic. First of all, I'm not one of those "TV is bad" folks. While I do not approve of much of the popular culture, it is a perfectly acceptable medium for those who do approve of that culture, and who want to indulge in it. And TV has as much cap...

(Note: I wrote this article seven months ago. Rather than revisiting it, I am reprinting it): Cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good, Now, cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good, When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.                                        ...

So, yesterday, I was speaking with an older friend, and she asks me if I want an autoharp. Being an afficianado of all things folk music, I'm not about to turn it down. I haven't seen it yet, but knowing this woman, it's probably in well kept condition. I don't know how to play one, but my philosophy is that life's all about learning. That's one reason I don't have a TV usually: there's too much to do, too much to explore, to make a TV a practical addition to the household. I did have a co...