Musings in Search of a Muse

After NBC cancelled Last Comic Standing with just one episode -- the grand finale -- remaining, I swore I wouldn't watch the network again. Then an interesting show came along -- Medium, starring Patricia Arquette. Turns out it's more than interesting, it's darn good. Well written, fine acting, and a over-used hook that works anyway. Miss Arquette plays a psychic that assists a district attorney in solving cases.

My luck, they'll cancel this, too. It happened to Dark Shadows in the early '90s and to Farscape more recently. Makes me wonder why I watch TV.

Apparently I'm not the only one stymied by the lyrics of the White Stripes song "Ball and Biscuit." After all, what is a ball and biscuit? Granted, it's a great Blues song (iTunes listed it as Alternative) with some really smokin' riffs. Others must think so, too, as when searching for the meaning of the cryptic title many sites with guitar tabs for the song showed up.

I also came up with a couple sites (here and here) who agree with my assessment that the phrase doesn't really mean anything though it obviously alludes to sex. At least it's not a phrase that is in common use. The song does refer to a seventh son, though, and that's a common phrase. Well, common enough that I've heard of it. Supposedly the seventh son of a seventh son has special, mystical abilities.

It's quite possible that I'm your third man
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
It was the other two which/was made me your third
But it was my mother who made me the seventh son
And right now you could care less about me
But soon enough you will care by the time I'm done

Now to find out what the song means by third man in that and other stanzas. The IMDB lists it as a highly-rated Joseph Cotten movie, but I don't think that's what The White Stripes intended. Pretty good chance they didn't read the short story by Graham Greene, either.

According to a report from MSNBC, George Washington's false teeth are not wooden.

What? Someone over the age of 10 didn't know that?

MSNBC reports that a "T-shirt company defends right to 'offend' (as its) Web site comes under fire for its 'arrest black babies' tees." And I will defend that company's right to free speech. But while doing so I must condemn the double-standard. Free speech is a moral as well as a right and so has the price of responsible use. Perpertrating a racist stereotype is a violation of this responsibility. As a society that values both free speech and responsibility we need to develop suitable consequences for not using both in concert.

Cheney Criticized for Attire at Auschwitz Ceremony: "Vice President Dick Cheney raised eyebrows on Friday for wearing an olive-drab parka, hiking boots and knit ski cap to represent the United States at a solemn ceremony remembering the liberation of Auschwitz."

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm no fashion-plate, but I know better than to dress like a camper when I attend a funeral. The Auschwitz ceremony was the equivalent of a funeral. Some 11 million dead and our vice president shows all the dignity and decorum of a man on a fishing trip.

The article mentions that Mr. Cheney dressed better for his own inauguration. Yup, that's one of the first things I recalled. Makes me feel bad that I was thinking about who the U.S. would send to the event and thought that the Veep would be a good choice. Nope, we should have sent Colin Powell. That would have been one last chance for the administration to show something that the White House has lacked since G.H.W. Bush -- class.

Recently I celebrated a study that showed unmade beds could be healthy for you. I may have to stop celebrating. My doctor told me I may have picked up scabes and advised me to wash my bed linen. The good news is that it could be something more serious so I may not need to keep up the washing bit.

After watching The Name of the Rose I followed my usual habit of checking the IMDB for trivia about the movie. Apparently "Sean Connery's career was at such a low point when he read for the role that Columbia pictures refused to finance the film when director 'Jean Jacques Annaud' cast him as William of Baskerville." That's amazing because Connery turned in a rather good performance.

One of the bonus features in another movie I watched this week, The Stepford Wives (2004), discussed a common experience in American culture -- even those who never saw the original movie or read the book seem to know what a "Stepford wife" is. Well, most people. One of my friends didn't recognize the concept. I'm not sure if its in Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know by E.D. Hirsch Jr. but if I ever manage to aquire a copy, I'll check.

Choose the correct answer:

A. White for purity, red for valor, and blue for justice.
B. White stars symbolize the heavens and U. S. goals, and the stripes symbolize the rays of the sun.
C. White stars represent heaven, red symbolizes England, the white stripes show U.S. separation from England and represent liberty.
D. None of the above.

There has never been an official, documented explanation of the color scheme of the U. S. flag. Answer (a) is the Continental Congress's description of the U.S. Seal; Answer (b) has been published by the House of Representatives; and Answer (c) has been attributed (without proof) to George Washington.

Mary Pickersgill made the Star-Spangled Banner in the summer of 1813. Mary was a professional flag maker in Baltimore, Md. Mary's mother, Rebecca Young, was also an important flag maker who made flags for the Army during the American Revolution. Rebecca also likely helped her daughter make the Star-Spangled Banner.

At 30 x 42 feet, the Star-Spangled Banner was the larger of two flags that the U.S. Army commissioned Mary Pickersgill to make for Fort McHenry. The smaller flag was a storm flag measuring 17 x 25 feet. The storm flag's whereabouts are unknown.

Click here for codes regarding the flag.

The BBC News reports that "the Shroud of Turin is much older than suggested by radiocarbon dating carried out in the 1980s, according to a new study in a peer-reviewed journal."

This news makes the general plot of James BeauSeigneur's Christ Clone Trilogy much more plausible.

A new motto to live by.

The King of Late Night

Johnny Carson (1925-2005) will remain a television legend long after other stars fall from the entertainment sky. He may not have originated The Tonight Show, but he took this unique form of entertainment and polished it to a high gloss. Despite not having been a visible presence in Hollywood and our TVs of late, his passing creates a palpable absence. You will be sorely missed, Johnny.

"Authorities said Saturday that more discussions are needed before a Spanish research team can examine a tomb purportedly holding Christopher Columbus' remains, setting back efforts to determine if claims that he is buried in Spain are true. The government initially had agreed to reopen the tomb on Feb. 15, but authorities later backtracked after the event was heavily publicized," according to a story published today.

I'm not sure why the publicity would be a problem, but there is no doubt that a negative finding could be a tremendous blow to the tourist industry of the Dominican Republic. Seville, Spain almost certainly would have the same qualms about having the remains they claim to be from Columbus tested. What either party needs to remember, however, is that in the long run the results don't matter to history. What's done is done.

• manufacturers compare their products to the "leading competitor" but don't tell us why we shouldn't buy the product that outsells theirs?
• Bill Paxton's character in Predator 2 (1990) has the same annoying personality as his character in Aliens (1986)?
• women with accents from the British Isles are so hot?
• I got tired of carrying a PDA? Once I was on the leading edge of PDA users and now I just don't want to lug it around even though it would be very handy most days.

Thanks to a report from Roger Ebert I now know that Arthur C. Clarke, "the best-known Western resident of Sri Lanka is alive and well, but devastated, after the tsunami tragedy. (But apparently,) the waves caused heavy damage to his diving station in Hikkaduwa and his holiday bungalows in Kahawa and Thiranagama." These facilities operate as part of his research foundation. A few more details can be found in the article plus information about Sir Arthur's recommended charity, Sarvodaya.

On my old laptop I occasionally used Picasa for organizing my photos. When I got my new laptop I found that there's an upgrade edition -- and it's fantastic! Okay, I'm not a big fan of the organizing part. Maybe because I'm still kind of old school, I think that part could be better (like the ability to save changes to the original without making a copy), but it's got some great better-than-minimal manipulation tools including color removal based on chroma filtration (so it's like using filters with B&W film), graduated tints, shadow/highlight control, and more. First button to try is I'm Feeling Lucky (remember, its a Google product) for the best "instant fix" I've seen in any product.

By the way, it's tightly integrated with another great product, Hello. That's the software I use to post the pix in this blog. That's how I found the Picasa software. It was recommended after I downloaded Hello for pic posting. Blogger seems to recommend some really good software. That is how I started using Firefox, too.

Chimaera

A ton of pictures showed up in my inbox at work and this was one of them. I'm still tracking down the source for good documentation. Apparently many hundreds of deep sea creatures were washed ashore during the recent tsunami in Asia. What surprised me is the good condition -- other than being dead -- that the samples I saw were in. I thought most would have exploded from the decrease in pressure. Guess I have to brush up on my bio-physics.

The trailer for the upcoming Fantasic Four movie looks great! It's on my "must see" list for sure. Not sure when it will be out, though. Text in the trailer itself says July 4 but the official Web site says July 1. Either way, Dr. Doom fans will notice right away that his origin has been changed.

Last Tuesday's post about minced oaths elicited some commentary. Okay, no one read it, but I talked to some of my fellow teachers and they had some ideas:

The English Teacher whose religious orientation is not known to me: No, words take on new meanings over time as people forget the original meanings. These word substitutions thus become simple exclamations. Cripes! probably is not taking the Lord's name in vain. She didn't know about many of the minced oaths I mentioned, particularly Jimminy Cricket.

The Physics Teacher who, like me, is a Christian and a Freemason: No qualms about using minced oaths. He even suggested a few.

The Chemistry Teacher who is one of my Bible study buddies: The 3rd Commandment is about more serious issues. For example, the Crusades were a violation as men were doing evil and claiming the Lord was to benefit or that they were directed by the Lord. He then semi-digressed on the subject to tell me about a great story on NPR regarding words that aren't well translatable.

The latter person once told me that crap isn't really a bad word. Funny, but I'll say frigging before I'll say that, and it's an oath that is considered very rude by any dictionary. I guess they weight and value that everyone puts on words is what makes language evolve.

This is the only time I've laughed at anything related to South Park.

• Once when John Kerry was looking around his expression said "I remember working to get a better seat than this."
• The Bush Twins are bordering on hot. At least above luke warm.
  
• Maybe I missed it, but I don't recalling hearing who the designated survivor was today.
• My goodness, it was good to see Chief Justice Rehnquist at the ceremony! And he looked pretty good, too. Even Peter Jennings thought so.
  
• There was a nice bit of spontaneous applause from the non-dais attendees when the president said "fellow citizens" as part of his greetings. The voice of the people in action.
• Nice speech, Mr. President. "The survival of Liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of Liberty in other lands." The capital L's are mine, but I wasn't the only one to notice this particular line. It was featured on most of the news broadcasts I caught.
  
• On the whole it was 2064 words by my count.
  
• Some of "The Singing Senators" had a few songs featured. Too bad.
• The direction signs for visitors to the National Mall looked disturbingly like the Department of Homeland Security's color-coded alert guide.

Minced oaths - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Minced oaths are corrupted forms of (usually religion-related) swear words that originally arose in English culture sometime before the Victorian Age, as part of the cultural impact of Puritanism after the Protestant Reformation. The censorship caused people to develop a wide variety of minced oaths to avoid swearing on holy names. They were used for swearing and other types of interjections. With time they came to have a mildly comedic effect."

So when one says "By George!" meaning "By God!" or Cripes! meaning Christ!, is this taking the Lord's name in vain? I was thinking about that because I finally got around to sending the definition of frigging (root word frig) to a friend of mine. When researching a suitable definition of frigging I came across that great excerpt above. We had been talking about language, one of my favorite subjects, and I was reminded of one of my favorite classroom incidents:

Class broke up early and the kids were chatting while I graded some papers. I heard one of my favorite students use the F word so I hollered over "William Josephs!" (not his real name). He said "Sorry, Mr. Hunt" to which I replied "Pick another word, please."

He went back to his conversation and substituted friggin' for the offensive word. "William Josephs!" I hollered again. "That's a bad word, Mr. Hunt?" he replied. I told him "If you aren't sure, don't use it," then told him to grab a dictionary and come to my desk.

After looking up the word he said "Hey, that's as bad as the other one!" To which I assured him that since it was likely only he and I were the only people in the school who knew that it was okay to use it, but to remember its power and not over use it.

The only word that really makes me uncomfortable to use in any situation is the N word. Some words make me uncomfortable to use or hear in different situations, but I firmly believe that with over 300,000 words in the English language alone we have choices that can fit any situation and don't need to rely on the same seven all the time (that number is arbitrary and is a tribute to the great word master, George Carlin). Words have tremendous power when used with correct connotation.

Words also evolve, sometimes by not-so-intelligent design - but that's another issue (see bowdlerization for one example). Once bloody was a really nasty word but is now rather mild. Few dictionaries even acknowledge the word's history. Maybe the F word will be as mild one day. Apparently frigging is on its way there. Hopefully minced oaths have evolved enough that they aren't 3rd Commandment violations.

Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit

The Wallace & Gromit Movie: Curse of the Wererabbit is due in 2005, according to the IMDB. Wonder if I should get in line now or not?

abc7.com reports: "A Catholic archbishop kidnapped in Iraq was released Tuesday without payment of ransom, the Vatican said. The prelate said his kidnappers didn't realize who he was when they abducted him a day earlier in the northern city of Mosul." Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa had been abducted yesterday, apparently by idiots.

Yay! For two things, really. One, the safety of the archbishop. That was paramount. Two, proof that the "insurgents" are simply perpetrating random acts of violence without any true goal, as I wrote in a recent post. That is just a bonus.

"Spanish experts say this box in Seville contains the 500-year-old bones of explorer Christopher Columbus" (Photo: Emilio Morenatti / AP - Quote: MSNBC / AP)

MSNBC reports "Spanish researchers said Monday they've won permission to open a tomb in the Dominican Republic purported to hold remains of Christopher Columbus, edging closer to solving a century-old mystery over whether those bones or a rival set in Spain are the real thing."

At last, one of the great mysteries is going to be solved. Since testing was first proposed a few years ago I've followed this story. Too bad the conflicting "residence" claims of others are in danger. I suppose it is possible - though unlikely - that he could be buried in two places.

When switching to my new computer I thought I'd give Microsoft Internet Explorer another chance. Previously I had switched to Mozilla Firefox because IE was giving me problems with my blogging. Then I grew to like Firefox's tabbed browsing (a feature you can buy for IE), nifty themes, better cookie control, and the sense of security that comes with a non-Microsoft product (Yes, I wanted an Apple Powerbook, but it was a dollar issue). Even though my blog actually looks better in IE, as do some other Web pages, I switched back to Firefox after just a week. Even Blogger recommends Firefox. Give it a whirl!

BBC NEWS: "Failing to make your bed in the morning may actually help keep you healthy, scientists believe. Research suggests that while an unmade bed may look scruffy it is also unappealing to house dust mites thought to cause asthma and other allergies. A Kingston University study discovered the bugs cannot survive in the warm, dry conditions found in an unmade bed."

Yes! I can justify some scruffiness in my life! I haven't made a bed in years. In fact, I don't use sheets. I have a comforter over the mattress and a wonderful Northern Nights blanket (some sort of down feathers) that I use all year 'round. No fuss and just a little bit of muss. Now I need to find a justification for never mopping floors or running the vacuum.

BBC NEWS: "A Roman Catholic archbishop in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul has been kidnapped by insurgents."

The term "insurgents" makes the terrorists sound like they actually have ambitions to rule Iraq as their goal. Has anyone heard what their goal is? It's to drive out American and coalition troops. After that, what? Nothing. They don't plan to participate. They simply want to cause havoc.

Some claim they are doing this in the name of Allah. I've read most of the old and new Testaments, the Koran, and works from other religions, and I'm pretty certain that God wouldn't like to have people killed in His name. That may have been His style (think Ephramites and Gileadites, Judges 12) at one time, but no more. Not since His Son came to Earth and died for our sins.

These people have clearly made the choice to defy the will of God and I wish them luck -- a poor substitute for the Lord's blessing.

For the heck of it I played a quick game of Solitaire on the new computer before going to bed and while watching the "winner display" I wondered if someone had rewritten the code so it wouldn't blaze by on this new faster machine. I've played it on other really fast machines and found the cards whiz by too quickly. While they were at it, I wonder if they "fixed" the cheating that software clearly does. Think so?

Of course, it won't replace my beloved Spider Solitaire. And I'm glad to see FreeCell back in the mix. Now to find a good Mah Jong game that isn't too kitschy. I'd put on the Microsoft version I have, but it would be really, really small on this screen. The only game I installed so far is Lego Loco and that's not really a game, just a wonderful diversion. I don't think I'll install the Microsoft Arcade games I've had since Windows 3.1 and hardly played. And no doubt I'll avoid installing the Atari games that I bought when I acquired my Gateway 5300. Nor the Bicycle card games I got free with a box of cereal. As much as I like to play Cribbage, that software is just junk.

Looks like I'm ready to retire my Gateway 5300 laptop. She's getting ready to turn 4-years old and the ol' girl isn't what she used to be. When I selling said brand of computers and working as a trainer for that company I was fond of saying "You know, if you never upgrade the software, your machine will never run any slower or seem to be old." I guess I did too many upgrades. Maxing the RAM when it was new also didn't give me a chance to speed her up later in life. And the screen was getting dim and a bit blurry, me and Victorinox repaired the keyboard frequently of late, and the hard drive was getting full. And I was just itching to get a new machine anyway. I'm a geek at heart, though these days I seldom practice the art.

So bought a Hewlett-Packard HPzv5410us. Sah-weet. She has a 15.4" (diagonal) screen, a screaming (or at least moaning very loudly) 64-bit processor, awesome Harmon/Kardon speakers, a good size hard drive, and 512 Mb of RAM that can be quadrupled as needed. All for under a grand. I paid just over two grand for the Gateway when she was new.

Now that my 833 songs have been moved into their new home and I've moved all the documents (see my priorities?) as well as finished installing and tweaking software I guess I'll pack away the old girl for a week or so to make sure everything is fine with the new one then wipe what I need to from the hard drive and try to find a new home for her. Of course, she's listening to all this as I've set her up to share her drive with my new machine via my home wireless network.

And that's been pretty cool. Not that I haven't worked with networks before. More than once in my various jobs over the years have I transferred files from one machine to another in the same building or even the same room just because I could (or really needed to in many instances). But there's something about doing it at home that is a bit of a thrill. Maybe I won't get rid of the 5300, but find some use for her in the home. Maybe a music server for my stereo. I tried to find a copy of Windows Media Center to use her as an ersatz TiVo, but it's probably as well that I didn't as her hard drive is merely 20 Gb (Ha! My first machine had 20 Mb!).

Wonder if I should retire the Gateway cows in my living room?

Students Told Stripping Is Career Choice: "School officials in Palo Alto are reconsidering their use of a popular speaker for an annual career day after he advised middle school students that they could earn a good living as strip dancers. William Fried told eighth-graders at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School that stripping and exotic dancing could be lucrative career moves for girls, offering as much as $250,000 or more per year, depending on their bust size."

In fact, one was a stripper while she was in still in high school. As an emancipated 19-year old the school could do nothing more than ask her not to go telling everyone about it. The other one was just a tramp -- for a while. I hear from several folks that she actually turned herself around and became a responsible adult.

Do I think strippers are bad people? Tramps, whores, and that ilk? No. I'm sure many are in it just for the money. But I do see the environment as being less than healthy for one's social and spiritual well-being. Some are actually smart business people who don't mind the various risks. Or so I hear. I've never had the guts to enter a strip club, but I know quite a few men and women that have.

Mom Charged With Killing Girl With Bleach: "A woman angry with her 12-year-old daughter for having sex forced the girl to drink bleach and sat on her until the child died, a police detective said. The girl's 9-year-old brother was forced to watch the attack, Detective Warren Cotton testified Thursday in a preliminary hearing for Tunisia Archie, 31."

This made me so incredibly sad. There's a part of me that really and truly hopes that the mom was a drug user. Should I say "mom" in this case? It's clear she wasn't a real "mom." Maybe I should be kind and say "birth mother." Actually, "egg layer" came to mind first. Then I thought something so bad I immediately blotted it out of my mind.

Lord, I'm sure you, in your mercy, have already accepted this child into Heaven. Please be with the remaining child. Comfort him for his loss and the mental scars he will likely bear the rest of his life. I also ask that you extend your love to Ms. Archie that she might ask your forgiveness.

• On the old Battlestar Galactica series, why did the Cylons keep a breathable, pressurized atmosphere in their Base Stars and fighter ships (the latter having padded seats)?
• And why did the Cylons not automate systems so humaniform robots weren't needed for day-to-day operations?
• Or why, despite all this carping about a TV show, the Cylons were so cool -- especially the fighters? The new series would have done well to retain those.
• Why employee Johnson in the Raisin Bran Crunch commercials hasn't noticed that he's had no paycheck in months?
• In the "Real Me" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (5th season), why do the brakes on Giles's new car squeal as if it's an old car?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a new Tim Burton film, looks pretty good. Few people I know like the first film treatment of the Roald Dahl book, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but I did. Based on the trailer, I'm sure the remake will be worth seeing in the theater. I like the big screen if the art direction is good and the photography, too, as it appears to be in this film. I didn't recognize Johnny Depp in the lead role. He's very adept at morphing himself for a part. Very Boris Karloff-like.

A remake I don't plan on seeing in the theater is The Longest Yard. Maybe because the original was so good that I don't think another would be as good. Maybe because I don't care for Adam Sandler. Based on the trailer, though, he seems to do a decent job. I'm just glad he's not locking himself into the same silly character he often played on Saturday Night Live. It will make a good DVD rental, though. Burt Reynolds, star of the original must have signed off, though, as he's appearing in it. He's also in another 2005 remake that I don't plan on seeing in the theater, The Dukes of Hazzard.

It seems to be a year of remakes. Nicole Kidman is starring as Samantha Stevens in Bewitched. Will Ferrell, another actor from Saturday Night Live who tends to play doofy characters, will be Darrin, her husband. That's probably good casting. I'm glad that Jim Carrey declined the role. There hasn't been a part he's played that I think his mere presence has been a distraction, no matter how good he is in it. Watch the Bewitched trailer, though. You'll see that Miss Kidman hasn't got the nose twitch down.

One remake that isn't really a remake, but a film version of a book, a radio play, and a TV mini-series is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Every version has been great and it's about time a movie was made. The IMDB reports that the film has been in and out of pre-production for some 20 years. I just hope that Mos Def can pull off the role of Ford Prefect. It's a difficult role and any actor would need to be able to pull off droll humor totally dead pan. I suspect many, many more people will regularly carry towels with them after seeing this film.

The Apple QuickTime movie trailer site lists even more remakes and is updated frequently. It's a great resource for film buffs.

Uncle Leo & Aunt Iola

At last a great mystery has been solved. The hitherto unknown first name of Mrs. Columbo, the wife of TV's famed Detective of the same surname, is now known. Dolly.

Mrs. Columbo

A few years after my mother's last cat, Boots, passed away she decided to get another cat. Two, actually, so she could name them after her two favorite TV characters, Perry Mason and Columbo. It took a few more years, but last Christmas she couldn't drag her feet any more so I picked out a cat at the local shelter (or Public Cat House, depending on your sense of humor) and she said "Great, we'll name him Columbo!" despite knowing the cat was a girl.

We were reminded of this during the adoption process when the shelter lady (or Madame, to extend the joke) said "That's a boy's name!" Mother quipped back, "Then it's Mrs. Columbo!" It was I who decided that since the cat already had a name we should keep it, too, so she became Mrs. Dolly Columbo. Now the world knows what the original TV series refused to reveal. Just don't tell my mom that the "sequel" program titled Mrs. Columbo gave the character the first name Kate.

A buddy of mine and I have been playing e-mail tag and it's been interesting enough to post here.

It started with me sending to him a link to a news story about a local school teaching "Intelligent Design" in an effort to balance the teaching of Evolution.

His reply: Probably even proselytizing according to the American Civil Liberals Union.

Mine: Evolution can be explained and accepted under the idea of "Intelligent Design" -- so what's the problem? Why can't God be responsible for Evolution? We may never know -- before leaving Earth.

His reply: The philosophy of naturalism explains a great deal.

Mine: And naturalism opens some worm cans, too. 'Naturalism is a metaphysical theory which holds that all phenomena can be explained mechanistically in terms of natural (as opposed to supernatural) causes and laws. Naturalism posits that the universe is a vast "machine" or "organism," devoid of general purpose and indifferent to human needs and desires' (The Skeptic's Dictionary). If the last clause was removed I'd be interested. Then God could be put back into the equation. Why couldn't God create one "vast 'machine' or 'organism'" for His needs? Check out what the same source says about Intelligent Design. I'm beginning to like the concept, if only to get both sides engaging in a healthy debate.

His reply: That is Deism

My Reply: No, because simply removing that clause doesn't imply the lack of a revealed religion (the basic tenet of Deism). It simply means that God does care. He can reveal His presence by sending His Son to an Earth changed by evolutionary forces that He designed. Makes sense to me. The Garden of Eden was perfect and didn't need to evolve. So what better way to destroy it than with a batch of Evolution-induced entropy? But does it all really matter as long as we accept God's love and the penance paid by Jesus? Nope. It just gives us something to do while we are here.

I'll post more of the conversation if it continues and I think you might find it interesting. As a side note, I used to consider myself a Deist until I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. That, of course, made me a Christian but it didn't strip me of reason. But I am now mature enough to step beyond the observable, concrete fabric of our universe to have faith.

• Why is the word palindrome appear as emordnilap when written in reverse?
• Any performance of Chris Tucker's but the one in The Fifth Element.
• Myself, when I stay up late reading old blog posts or news stories that don't really matter.

Here's another look at a song that's rapidly become one of my favorite tunes. An earlier post in this blog mentioned the song but I'm so taken with it I thought I'd revisit it.

• Is the song Rock? "Yes," says Apple iTunes.
• Is the song Country? "Yes," hints the artist's Web site and a few others, too.
  
• Is it a song at all? "No," says MTV's studious denial of any recognition.

Here's what I have to say about "Come to Jesus" from One Moment More by Mindy Smith:


Here's why I say that: The melody is awesome, the arrangement is great, technical excellence is the standard by all the musicians involved, Miss Smith's vocals have a pleasantly gritty texture with true power and grace, and the lyrics are simple in structure but deep in meaning as they praise the Lord. Let's take a look at the lyrics (none found on the artist's site - these are from OnlyLyrics.com) with my comments added.

Oh, my baby, when you're older
Maybe then you'll understand
You have angels that stands around you shoulders
'Cause at times in life you need a loving hand
(Not sure who she is singing to, but my first impression is that of a parent and child. "Stands"? I thought I heard "dance." Maybe because it makes more sense.)

Oh, my baby, when you're prayin'
Leave your burden by my door
You have Jesus standing by your bedside
To keep you calm, keep you safe,
Away from harm
(The "by my door" line blurs the identity of the singer. Maybe it's not a parent. And if the "baby" is praying, that would make the singer God. Not sure if that's kosher to imply that. Better religion scholars than me can debate that. It's true what is being said about Jesus, though. Each "Oh, my baby" verse focuses on an action by the listener that shows an interaction with God. Nice touch.)

Worry not my daughters,
Worry not my sons
Child, when life don't seem worth livin'
Come to Jesus and let Him hold you in His arms
(Any reader of the blog knows my contradictory love of lyrics and disregard for poetry, but the chorus is a great example of both. We've got the parent thing going again, but it still sounds like God is singing. Well, God the Father ...)

Oh, my baby, when you're cryin'
Never hide your face from me
I've conquered Hell and driven out the demons
I have come with a life to set you free
(Yes, God is there to lift our burdens when we are in despair. This is a very nice turn of phrase. This verse really makes me think the "I" is referring to God. So really, is it okay to put words in His mouth like that if my assumption is accurate? By the way, I capitalized the H. It wasn't in the source material.)

Worry not my daughters,
Worry not my sons
Child, when life don't seem worth livin'
Come to Jesus and let Him hold you in His arms
(Life may not seem living, but I know -- and I mean know -- that suicide is not the answer. If there is ever a time to turn to the Lord and hand your burdens to Him, it's when you are at your lowest. There was an episode of the CBS TV show Joan of Arcadia when the main character was hugged by God. Watch the show and you'll know how that worked. But imagine actually being held by the Lord. There couldn't be anything better.)

Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Oh, my baby, when you're dying
Believe the healing of His hand
Here in Heaven we will wait for your arrival
Here in Heaven you will finally understand
Here in Heaven we will wait for your arrival
Here in Heaven you will finally understand
(Okay, I'll bite. Who does "we" refer to? Angels? This verse and the others make me think that perhaps the singer is a parent, after all. Maybe one of two that have passed away.)

Worry not my daughters,
Worry not my sons
Child, when life don't seem worth livin'
Come to Jesus and let Him hold you in His arms
(The chorus is absolutely awesome. The melody had to be written around the natural rhythm of these words.)

Well, that's an awful lot of analysis for a song. Of course, I've been listening to it an awful lot. Like most music I've ever collected it may go by the wayside for a while and then come back to my regular rotation off and on. But I've got a few dozen more times to listen to it before that process starts. Regardless, it will always remain an impressive song.

Have you read Isaiah 53? Written nearly 300 years before the birth of the man it describes and still relevant another 2000 years after that. Raise your hand if you are impressed. Now raise the other one with it in praise. Amen, indeed!

Off and on I mull the idea of creating T-shirts with some cool sayings, art, or logos to express my faith. Here are a couple ideas-in-progress I came across in my folders:

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (see the verse in context at BibleGateway.com). Which, of course, explains why John 3:16 occurred. Simple, isn't it?

Romans 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I (see the verse in context at BibleGateway.com). So far this is my favorite verse in the whole Bible. It so describes me.

Okay, the latter image is clearly copyright infringement and that's an 8th Commandment violation ("Book 'em, Daniel!"). But it is funny. And it would look good as an understated graphic on a sleeve to compliment a larger graphic on a shirt back. I'd like to work up something with this:

Visit Digital Globe and view some really impressive tsunami desctruction photos. You may have seen these in the press or on ABCNews broadcasts. They illustrate the stunning devastation, particularly the Banda Aceh images in the Tsunami Media Gallery. PDF files with the images are also available.

And as always, please remember the laws and morality of copyrights, please.

A friend asked me about my recent post about Laus Deo. Well, he didn't actually read the post -- I forwarded the mail that I based the post on to him. When I first read the mail I had intended to research the facts presented but my friend's comment "Is that all true?" prompted me to dig into it earlier than I had intended.

Of course, I knew that "Laus Deo" was on the capstone and that there were engravings inside the stairwell, but I didn't recall the details. A quick Google search turned up a bunch of Web pages like this one that seemed to regurgitate -- many word-for-word -- the same information that was in the e-mail I had recieved. Most Web sites were no help so I went to the source.

No, not the monument itself. During visits over the years I learned that the public wasn't allowed to hike up the stairs so I didn't bother with a field trip. Instead, I visited the National Park Service site for the monument. Here's what I found:

This page lists exactly what is on each face of the capstone, including Laus Deo on the east face. There has to be some symbolism to it's placement there -- toward Israel and Mecca and the rising sun. Or maybe a reminder to Congress (also in the east) that God is watching them. Discovering the intent will likely take a bit more research and isn't important at this time, although I would like to know. The same page lists "Holy Bible; presented by the Bible Society, instituted 1816" as being one of the items laid in the cornerstone, as indicated in the post. Incidentally, the list of items accompanying the Bible contains a copy of the "American Anti-mason, No. 1, Vol. 1, Hartford, Conn., 1839, Maine, Free Press." George Washington is one of the most famous Freemasons ever so the inclusion of anti-Masonic literature is a bit surprising and more than a bit rude.

Then this page lists all the memorial stones added during construction. Some of the Bible verse inscriptions mentioned in the post are verified to be from some of the memorial stones, but I didn't check them all. One day I'll get around to it, but so far I'm satisfied. No, you can't believe everything you read on the 'Net, but so far the post seems pretty accurate.

Maybe not the idea that Pierre Charles l'Enfant's design of the district is based on a cross. I'm pretty familiar with the city and it's streets -- I love to walk everywhere when I'm there -- but I don't think that a cross design is really evident. You can see several in a map, but you can also pick out a lot of shapes in the layout. If the Potomac River hadn't been in the way and Virginia hadn't reclaimed it's corner of the city then it might be easier to see a whole cross. The Washington Monument would be at it's vertex, the White House (or Executive Mansion, as it was called at the time) on one arm and the Congress at the base.

Overall, I'm still quite pleased with that friendly spam that came my way. It almost makes up for all the really bad stuff my well-intentioned friends, colleagues, and acquaintances send along.

This is one of the few recent "friendly spams" that came my way:

A little history lesson you may enjoy

One detail that is not mentioned, in DC, there can never be a building of greater height than the Washington Monument.

With all the uproar about removing the Ten Commandments, etc... This is worth a moment or two of your time. I was not aware of this historical information.

On the aluminum cap, atop the Washington Monument in Washington DC, are displayed two words: Laus Deo. No one can see these words. In fact, most visitors to the monument are totally unaware they are even there and for that matter, probably couldn't care less.

Once you know Laus Deo's history, you will want to share this with everyone you know. But these words have been there for many years; they are 555 feet, 5.125 inches high, perched atop the monument, facing skyward to the Father of our nation, overlooking the 69 square miles which comprise the District of Columbia, capital of the United States of America.

Laus Deo! Two seemingly insignificant, un-noticed words. Out of sight and, one might think, out of mind, but very meaningfully placed at the highest point over what is the most powerful city in the most successful nation in the world.

So, what do those two words, in Latin, composed of just four syllables and only seven letters, possibly mean? Very simply, they say "Praise be to God!"

Though construction of this giant obelisk began in 1848, when James Polk was President of the United States, it was not until 1888 that the monument was inaugurated and opened to the public. It took twenty-five years to finally cap the memorial with a tribute to the Father of our nation, Laus Deo ... Praise be to God!"

From atop this magnificent granite and marble structure, visitors may take in the beautiful panoramic view of the city with its division into four major segments. From that vantage point, one can also easily see the original plan of the designer, Pierre Charles l'Enfant ... a perfect cross imposed upon the landscape, with the White House to the North. The Jefferson Memorial is to the south, the Capitol to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the West.

A cross you ask? Why a cross? What about separation of church and state? Yes, a cross; separation of church and state was not, is not, in the Constitution. So, read on. How interesting and, no doubt, intended to carry a profound meaning for those who bother to notice.

Praise be to God! Within the monument itself are 898 steps and 50 landings. As one climbs the steps and pauses at the landings the memorial stones share a message. On the 12th Landing is a prayer offered by the City of Baltimore; on the 20th is a memorial presented by some Chinese Christians; on the 24th a presentation made by Sunday School children from New York and Philadelphia quoting Proverbs 10:7, Luke 18:16 and Proverbs 22:6. Praise be to God!

When the cornerstone of the Washington Monument was laid on July 4th, 1848 deposited within it were many items including the Holy Bible presented by the Bible Society. Praise be to God! Such was the discipline, the moral direction, and the spiritual mood given by the founder and first President of our unique democracy ...."One Nation, Under God."

I am awed by Washington's prayer for America. Have you never read it? Well, now is your unique opportunity, so read on!

"Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United states at large." And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Laus Deo!

When one stops to observe the inscriptions found in public places all over our nation's capitol, he or she will easily find the signature of God, as it is unmistakably inscribed everywhere you look.

Sure, just when I get my 'Net connection back, events conspired to keep me from using it. First, I'm still very depressed about the loss of life in Asia and all around the Indian Ocean from the tsunami. My prayers go to the survivors and the responders. My Bible study group talked about this and I'm still at a loss. Yes, the disaster of 9/11/2001 was man-made, the result of sinners working within God's plan to give mankind free will. God could have prevented it, but made it clear to us long ago that the plan was not to live in Eden -- we lost that -- but we could have Heaven.

"So what about the tsunami disaster," I wondered. One friend (and the leader of the study in fact, if not in title) held forth that since the Fall, Man was not only given free will, but a flawed Earth. Well, that makes sense -- to a point. I still don't have to like it, though. It is something of a comfort that the innocent and those who chose Christ upon hearing His Word are in Heaven while the others "enjoy" the consequences of their choice between faith and none. I'll need some more time and prayer to fully come to grips with it, if I can.

Another thing that has kept me from Blogging was illness. Good thing I was off work Saturday because I was poopin', pukin', and sleepin' the day away. My tummy was able to keep things down Sunday without being happy about it, but I stayed home the rest of the work week because my solid wastes still aren't solid. I still don't enjoy food and I have some regurgitation issues. So I've used the last of my sick leave to sleep and read.

Reading is the third thing that has kept me busy. With a gift certificate I bought a great book about Legos; In His Image by James BeauSeigneur, a book much like the Left Behind series, but much better written; and Time's Eye by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter, a more traditional Science Fiction approach to the end of the world as we know it. Also for Christmas I received the Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury by Bill Watterson.

And speaking of Legos ... I watched a few movies while assembling a few sets that came my way. But now back to reading. In His Image is pretty good. Not exactly as thrilling as Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, but something I don't easily enjoy putting down.