The Power of Emotion

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Change that ignores the heart will seldom transform the life.

- Paul David Tripp

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Let Them Eat Cake

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The most sacred business
of judges is not to ratify the will
of the majority,
but to protect the minority
from its tyranny.

- Anna Quindlen, The Same People
Newsweek, June 9, 2008

(Read the rest of the article here.)

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Thoughts from Abe, 145 Years Ago

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Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

- Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

Two years ago, I clearly remember Kelly Stern's first pride photo. At the time, I was just starting to learn what blogs were all about. I was amazed at the connection of so many around blogland to join in Kelly's challenge. Last year I posted the second photo in the series on my site, too. This year I'm glad to join in again. I painfully recognize the need -- while we all may be created equal, many are discriminated daily in a number of ways. Fortunately, I believe that change for the good is happening.

To participate in Kelly's current challenge, go here.

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One Step Away From Clueless

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Life is a roller coaster,
and sometimes they throw in
a loop-de-loop.

-Tonya Harding

Duh.

(And with comments like this, she gets a book published?)

- Paul

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For Better or Worse.

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I think a lot of times
divorce can be like circumcision
with a weed whacker.

- Robin Williams to Ellen DeGeneres
5/3/2008

Gosh, that's gotta hurt.

- Paul

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Don't We All?

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I just wish that I could fast-forward through my life and see that everything ends up OK.

- Susan Mayer
Desperate Housewives, May 4, 2008

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Love in a Paper Cup

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There will never be a day
when I don't need cupcakes.

Betty Suarez
Ugly Betty, April 24, 2008

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The Perfect Date

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Miss Rhode Island,
describe your perfect date.

- MC

That's a tough one. I'd hafta say April 25th ... because it's not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light jacket.

- Cheryl, Miss Rhode Island

from Miss Congeniality, 2000

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Is Justice Ever Served?

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Every story has three sides.
Yours, mine and the facts.

- Foster Russell

* * *

6 Years, 4 months and 25 days ago my best friend at work was murdered by his wife.

She was eventually tried and found guilty. Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal, thus upholding her conviction and sentence.

She is the State’s only female inmate on death row. But, I assume, she won’t be there much longer.

I'm not sure how I feel about this news. He and I had worked together for thirteen years. I still think of him almost daily. And of his wife. And of their two kids, now 17 and 13 years old.

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Not Tagged, But Playing Along.

(Just following Cooper's lead.)

Total Score

14 -- No
38 -- Yes

1). Taken a picture completely naked? No. I'm not really sure if this is questioning whether or not I've taken a photograph while naked, or rather had one taken of me when naked. I know of several photos of me in which I'm only wearing shoes (see #29).

2). Made out with a friend from MySpace/Facebook? No. Am I the only one without a page on MySpace or Facebook?

3). Danced in front of your mirror naked? Yes.

4). Told a lie? Yes.

5). Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back? Yes.

6). Been arrested? No. Having to go to traffic court was bad enough (see #15).

7). Made out with someone of the same sex? Yes.

8). Seen someone die? Yes. In a car accident. It was not a pleasant experience; I still have flash-backs occasionally.

9). Slept in until 5 P.M.? Yes.

10). Had sex at work? Yes. By myself, in the restroom.

11). Fallen asleep at work/school? At work, yes. At school, yes.

12). Held a snake? Yes. And I hated it. Even snakes in cages scare me.

13). Ran a red light? Yes. Not on purpose, but I admit that I'm sometimes careless.

14). Been suspended from school? No. I never even got sent to the Principal's office.

15). Wrecked your car in an accident? Yes. Two days after I got my license.

16). Pole danced? No.

17). Smoked? Yes.

18). Been fired from a job? Laid-off ... pretty much the same thing.

19). Sang karaoke? Yes. Only once. Tried to sing Mack the Knife. I was laughed at.

20). Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? Yes. Often. "I will not eat another piece of cake until I loose ten pounds."

21). Laughed until a drink came out of your nose? Yes.

22). Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Yes.

23). Kissed in the rain? Yes.

24). Sang in the shower? Yes. Alone, and with friends. I don't believe that I've ever been laughed at while singing in the shower.

25). Given your private parts a nickname? No. But you're welcome to call it anything you'd like. I'm pretty clinical about such things; I usually call it "my penis."

26). Ever gone out without underwear? Yes. Somewhat regularly. But rarely without pants.

27). Sat on a rooftop? Yes.

28). Broken a bone? No.

29). Mooned/flashed someone? Yes. Streaking was very popular when I was in college.

30). Shaved your head? No.

31). Slept naked? Yes. And I love it.

32). Played a prank on someone? Yes.

33). Had a gym membership? Yes.

34). Felt like killing someone? Not that I can actually remember.

35). Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? Yes. I've been a jerk more than once.

36). Cried over someone you were in love with? Yes.

37). Had sex more than 10 times in one day? Yes.

38). Had Mexican Jumping Beans for pets? Yes.

39). Been in a band? Yes.

40). Subscribed to Maxim? Yes. But didn't renew the subscription.

41). Taken more than 10 shots of alcohol? Yes. I lived in a fraternity house for three years.

42). Shot a gun? Yes. I grew up in rural Texas, where everyone has a gun rack in their pickup truck.

43). Had sex today? No.

44). Played strip poker? Yes.

45). Tripped on mushrooms? No. I've never even seen any big enough to trip over.

46). Donated blood? No. I'm afraid of needles.

47). Video-taped yourself having sex? No.

48). Eaten alligator meat? Yes.

49). Eaten frog legs? Yes.

50). Jumped out of an airplane? No.

51). Been to more than 10 countries? Yes.

52). Ever wanted to have sex with a platonic friend? Yes. Right now, as a matter of fact.

I believe that #1, #16, and #47 must be related somehow. I really need to do something about #43.

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A slap in the face.

It was a comment I can’t even trace. The links go nowhere.


It was something said by someone I don’t know. A faceless name in blogland. SiteMeter left no clues.


Saturday evening, Mark, a frequent visitor recently, left a comment in response to my post titled "Sport-Sex and Disco Dancing."

In this post I was – once again – fantasizing about the past.

Mark simply asked, “What is expanding your horizons currently?”


I don’t know if Mark was being glib, or astute. But Mark’s curt question was something that I needed to hear. It was absolutely the right question to ask. The answer is somewhere between nothing and not much.

I believe that as soon as we stop having a desire to learn new things, and to have new experiences, we stop living and start dying.

This is the week.

* * *

“He had fun everyday
of his life.”

- Suzanne Pleshette,
commenting about
her husband Tom Poston.

(Mark, if you read this, please email me.)

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Going to the Dogs

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TGIF

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Pocket Pool?

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"Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost."

— Martina Navratilova

Baghdatis over Johansson
7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Australian Open - 1st Round
15 January, 2008

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Sport-Sex and Disco Dancing

People, events and things
that have affected my life.
#1.

How did I ever end up in the choir? Simple answer really: the choir director – who was friends with my university band director – heard that I had just moved to the city, called me, and asked me to join.

Funny thing is, I really can’t sing very well. Yes, I love to sing in the shower where there are great acoustics. But, I’ve only got a clear range of less than an octave. And I have to carefully listen to the singer next to me to stay on-pitch.

I was a member of this choir for almost three years. Every Sunday morning we sang religious music as part of a live radio program, however it wasn’t the Mormon Tabernacle Choir by any means. While we were accompanied by one of the “great organs” of the city, the choir was relatively small. There were only about forty singers. Eight soloists were paid professionals. Most of the other choir members were students at one of the city’s well-known music conservatories.

Two things about this choir:


First, it was sexually active.

And it wasn’t just the soprano soloist that was married to one of the basses. The organist was sleeping with one of the tenors. Another tenor was doing two of the contraltos, on alternate nights. One of the baritones was doing one of the basses. There was this one soprano that was doing every guy in the choir that was willing to drop his zipper. And I was doing the mezzo-soprano soloist.

It was the first time I’d ever heard of the term “sport fucking.” I grew up believing that “good kids” waited. And until this time, I was a “good kid.” Interestingly, I’d never been very interested in most sports before.

Secondly, this group could really dance.

Many Wednesday nights after practice we’d go dancing. There was this one club in the city where the disco music of the mid-70’s ruled – Evelyn King, Tavares, Bee Gees, Grace Jones, Gloria Gaynor, the Village People, Sylvester, the Jackson 5, and of course Donna Summer. I clearly remember how my whole body could feel the crushing sound system. And there was magic in the lighted dance floor; it seemed to provide a sense of rhythm I’d never known before. We’d stay as late as the DJ would spin the records.


My days living in the city were an important part of my life, and being a member of this choir was a significant part of it. Not only did I enjoy the music, but also, the camaraderie gave me friends and a sense of belonging that I would never have had otherwise. To say the least, it expanded my horizons.

I often wonder how I ever made it to work – on-time and alert – on Thursdays. It was a job that required starched white shirts and grey pin-stripped suits (where even Brooks Brothers was considered just a little too flashy).

I was obviously younger then.

I am no longer part of any choir. I still regularly go to church. Josh Groban I’m not.

I rarely danced before becoming a part of this group, and I never dance now. I doubt that I'll ever be confused with Tony Manero.

* * *

(This may become a regular series of this blog. We’ll just have to see how I’m inspired. However, it’s unlikely that it will be publicly archived.)

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Promises, Promises

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You can't build a reputation
on what you are going to do.

- Henry Ford

TGIF

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Reality TV

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From (a rerun this week of) Two and a Half Men

Sharon:

[Alan,] You're a very nice guy.

Alan:

Oh, God. That's worse. You know what they say about nice guys.

Sharon:

Yes, they finish last.

Alan:

No, they finish in the shower.

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Who Knew?

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Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know.

- Cullen Hightower

I assume that it's art.

- Paul

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Brown Nosing The Boss

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And Everyone Would Have A Friend

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For the past few weeks, the number of guests we've served at the soup kitchen has been significantly smaller. Down 50-60% from just a month ago, and 70-80% lower than our highs during the summer.

We're perplexed -- wondering where all the regular guests have gone. (Our number of guests is always higher during the summer, when we tend to have more families.)

It's not like the economy is booming and they've all gotten jobs. For the most part, we serve the unemployable.

It's not like it's too cold for them to get out. A lot of them are out all night already. For the last two weeks, we've had several show up an hour before we open for breakfast, hoping that we can put them to work (and let them in out of the snow).

It's unlikely that they've moved south for warmer weather. Last year we had steady numbers all winter. Besides it's a long way to hitch-hike to Florida, particularly when no one's likely to pick them up in the first place.

It's not like the food's bad. We have a new cook, and the word on the street is that he's great.

Tonight I'm going to a meeting where we'll try and figure it out.

* * *

From one of my favorite Christmas songs:

And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up Christmas list.

- Linda Thompson

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With A Little Help From My Friends

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You Gotta Love 'Em

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There were two blondes who went deep into the frozen woods searching for a Christmas tree. After hours of subzero temperatures and a few close calls with hungry wolves, one blonde turned to the other and said, “I’m chopping down the next tree I see. I don’t care whether it’s decorated or not!”

TGIF

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You Gotta Believe

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You know you're getting old
when Santa starts looking younger.

- Robert Paul

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Happy Hannukah

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Obviously the merchandising manager at this grocery store missed the class on political correctness.

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It Is What It Is

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In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it "Christmas" and went to church; the Jews called it "Hanukkah" and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy Hanukkah!" or (to the atheists) "Look out for the wall!"

~Dave Barry

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Post-Thanksgiving Stress Disorder

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How is PTSD Treated?

There is no definitive treatment, and no cure, but there are some treatments that are promising.


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