I am Back and I missed you..

I have a very specific reason for being absent, I am writing it up now for a Tuesday post.

How have y'all been?

I do need to catch up... so for now.. Happy St. Patty's day, Happy Easter, Memorial Day and Independence Day!

Is this a great summer or what!?!

On Independence Day, I got to see two parades; one at 10 Am and the other at 5:30 PM. What fun!

And then, last weekend, I went to a rodeo on Saturday and was in a parade (with my grocery store float) on Sunday afternoon. When I got home on Sunday, my son Jack carved some time out of his busy schedule to go horseback riding with me.

Could it have been any better?!

Well, yes.

Earlier in the week, I had ordered a couple of items online and was looking for them to arrive on Friday. I wasn’t very surprised to see the UPS man pull into my driveway on Monday.

Well, guess what.

Give up?

He brought me my very own copy of Montana Rose by Mary Connealy along with a note that it was sent to me by request of the author. What a wonderful surprise! Mary is a lifelong friend of mine and this is her 4th book to be published. You can learn more about her by going here or here.

The perfect Midwest summer weekend.

Yes, I took pictures. Maybe I’ll get them posted tomorrow.

I'm SO proud.

This photo that I took is gracing the COVER of the most recent issue of The Panorama, a nice little shopper that is published in Tekamah.



And this one:



was the cover photo for the March 12 issue.

I love getting published on paper.
And just in case you're wondering, the flag is the one that flies at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. The title of the picture is "The Star Spangled Banner."

The second photo is "Sunrise Over County Road 15."

And yes, I'm still using 35 mm film. I even bought another second hand Pentax with auto-focus, auto-wind and rewind, zoom and built in flash. I'm accumulating quite a nice collection of cameras.

Happy Wednesday!

Making Bricks Without Straw

Remember the story of the Israelites in bondage to the Egyptians? (See Exodus) The long awaited Deliverer (Moses) had at last come to Egypt to confront Old Pharaoh and tell him to “Let the People go.” So what did Pharaoh do? He declared the Israelites had to continue producing their daily quota of bricks, except that he refused to continue supplying them with the necessary straw.

So the elation they must have felt at the appearance of the promised Deliverer was immediately squelched by the punitive and unreasonable work assignment. Instead of leaving Egypt, they were subjected to a more cruel bondage. A testament to the belief that circumstances are never so bad that they can’t be made worse.

Making bricks without straw.

And think how they must have felt about Moses at that point. They probably wished he’d go away so their taskmasters would bring back the straw. Never mind that they would still be slaves. In Egypt, for crying out loud – the place is a desert!

So anyway, I have often had times in my own life experience when I feel like I’m being forced to make bricks without straw. I’m in such a circumstance right now. The details are unimportant; I think you can get the picture.

I’m also in a Romans Chapter 7 sort of mode.

I know the things I SHOULD be doing, but I don’t do them.

And yet I keep doing the things I SHOULDN’T be doing. “Wretched (wo)man that I am!”

And then I remember that following the experience of making bricks without straw, came the parting of the Red Sea and FREEDOM!

And Romans Chapter 8.

So I know circumstances are bound to improve and so will I.

Meanwhile, I have my blog buddies to keep me cheered up.

I've been doing some remodeling over at Nellie's.
Check it out and tell me what you think.

My grandniece, Kendra, who blogs over at Nerd's Corner made the neatest video for a class. She is in 7th grade. Her mom is my niece, cdroses, who pops in here and leaves a comment once in a while. Kendra's grandma is my sister, Sue

Kendra's video is here. It takes about 4 minutes to watch.

Grab a kleenex.

PS, Cliff and Paul; I fixed the link to Nerd's Corner.

Where is eveyone going?


Looks like a graduation.


Look at all the graduates!


There's a familiar face in there somewhere!


Here she is; my favorite member of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Class of 2009:

Emily K: Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Writing

Don't we look proud?

Hello everyone!

My friend, co-worker, and fellow Blogospherian Shelby had a very profound post up over at her place. I encourage you all to visit her and offer a few encouraging comments.

If you scroll down a ways, you can see some terrific pictures of her recent visit to NYC.

My son, Jack, would appreciate it if you went over to his place and had a looksee at his latest couple of posts.

Also: LOOK! I figured out the live link thing!!!

It used to be said that an extroverted person “wore his heart on his sleeve.”

Well, now a lot of people wear their stories on their chests. Or occasionally on their backs. Since I come face to face with about 125 people every day, I can’t help noticing some interesting T-Shirts.

Here are some I remember:
On a middle-aged straggly haired woman, missing two front teeth: “This is NOT the life I ordered.”

On a gray-haired grandma:
50% sweet
50% sassy
100% American

Being who I am, I remember anything that goes with a picture of a horse:

“Are you gonna cowboy up…or just lay there and bleed?”

“Cowboys are like fine wine;
They start out like grapes and it’s our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they turn into something we would want to have with dinner.”

Written upside down on the back of the shirt: “If you can read this, put me back on my horse.”

On the front: “You ride like a girl” On the back “….. you WISH.”

“If you think I’m a quiet person, it’s because we are not talking about horses.”

And I used to have one that said:

“I love Jesus,
My Horse,
And then it’s between you and the dog.”


On some hurried, harried mothers:
“I childproofed my house, but the kids keep getting in.”

“All stressed out and no one to choke.”

On a college kid:
“It’s only funny until someone gets hurt…
Then it’s hilarious.”

I’ve never seen this one, but Emily says it’s out there”
“Waterboarding – Yes We Can!”

Scarlet or Joe; please translate?
“Iglesia Nueva Jerusalen”

“Los Tigres Del Norte”

What’s the funniest t-shirt you’ve ever seen?

Moving right along....

...or not


Some of you may be wondering why I haven't been posting.

Well I'll tell you...





...I don't know...

Time just gets away from me.

Anyway, following are photos of my latest project: my container garden.

I started with some livestock mineral containers that my landlord very graciously gave me. Randy helped me drill some holes in it for drainage.



Then, we added rocks.
I don't know why, but all the research said to add a layer of rocks. On top of the rocks, I put a layer of horse manure (I have an infinite supply), and then some top soil I bought at the garden center. I figured, purchased top soil would probably be weed-free. Also, it was on sale 4 bags for 5 bucks.



Our cat, Goldie a/k/a Mr. Gold wanted to help with the chicken wire I used to keep the rabbits out of my containers.



I planted gold tomatoes, red tomatoes, tomatillos, jalopenos and green bell peppers. I saved one container for an eggplant and will get that in as soon as the eggplant bedding plants arrive at my garden center.



We put down some landscape fabric for weed control and sat the containers up on "rails" for adequate drainage.



And there you have it: My Container Garden, thoroughly inspected by Mr. Gold.


So... what have you all been up to?

Ruby Tuesday

Palm Sunday Cardinal



I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but it was snowing like heck that day. I was shooting the picture through the screen door of my front porch.

This is Adventures in Laughter. Paul tagged me for this meme. If your name is at the bottom, consider yourself tagged and, on your blog, post six funny things about other people.

1. Here’s one about a cat. We had a grey cat named Christmas, who would come into our back porch every so often. Our back porch, if you walked straight in, opened into our kitchen. If you turned left, you went down our basement stairs. Since that’s where we all shed our shoes on our way into the house, Christmas usually found plenty of shoestrings to bat at, when he was a kitten. One day, when he was a grown cat, he came in and was reliving his childhood by enthusiastically batting at the shoestrings on one of my husband’s big work boots. He looked up and saw me watching him and he decided to take one of the strings in his mouth and take leave of his audience. Of course, the boot followed the string and startled him, so he started to run, but didn’t let go of the string in his mouth. He headed down the basement steps with the boot bouncing after him, so he sped up, but in his wild eyed panic, he hung on tight to the boot string, so the boot “chased” him down the stairs, kicking him in the butt all the way. When they reached the bottom step, he hissed and spat at it, which finally made him let go of the string. He gave it one more good, open clawed swat, just to make sure it stayed “dead” and strolled away, trying to keep his dignity intact.

2. Most of you know I work a check out line at a grocery store. I’ve posted this before, so feel free to skip it if you’ve already read this one. One day, a couple of Rednecks came through my line. They were classics: they wore camouflage zip front hoodies, overalls, baseball caps, and Tingly buckle front boots. They bought two big T-bones, two baking potatoes, a container of sour cream and a case of beer. They split the bill right down the middle. When the second man handed me his money, I counted it and came up 4 cents short. “I need four more cents. Do you have four pennies?” I asked him.
The first man answered for him, “Hell, yes, he’s got 4 cents. He’s always loaded with pennies.”
The second man said, “Yeah, but YOU don’t ever have no sense.”

3. I overheard a conversation between two young women and one was telling the other a story about something that had scared her. As the story progressed, she became more animated and talked faster and faster as she related the story of her frightful experience. She finished by saying, “I got so scared, it made me kneak in the wees!”

4. This one may or may not be true, but I still get a chuckle out of it. Legend has it that, during a formal dinner, Winston Churchill turned to Lady Astor and said, “Madam, you are quite ugly.”
Lady Astor replied, “You, sir, are drunk!”
“Yes,” he conceded. “But in the morning, I’ll be sober, but you’ll still be ugly.”

5. On his first day at work, the young man who was bagging groceries at my check-out station was very politely (just as he had been trained to do) asking each customer, “Would you like me to bag your milk?” and “Would you like some help out to your car with your groceries?” During the final hour of his shift, the repetition of it got the better of him and his mouth went into autopilot. He asked the next lady, “Would you like me to milk your bag?” He shook his head, trying to recover and said, “Would you like some car with your groceries?”

6. Marj, and old friend of mine told me this: One day, she walked to her local post office with a handful of letters to purchase stamps for. When she got there, she got lost in a conversation with someone in the lobby. When the other person left, Marj went stepped up to the window to buy stamps, but found only the letters in her hand and not her purse. She walked all the way back home – only to find her purse tucked under her arm. Her son-in-law was in the room with us when she related the incident to me and he said, “Geez, I wouldn’t even be telling anyone that story!”

And extra one at no extra charge.

This is about me – this is a meme after all. A while back, my pickup was in the shop and I had to use my husband’s car to get around. I made several stops in town and the last one was at the grocery store. It took an extra long time, because I ran into an old friend and ended up chatting for about half the time I was in there. I finally reached the check out line and reloaded my cart and headed out into the parking lot, trying to remember where I had parked my pickup. I wandered the lot for about ten minutes and was about to go back inside and ask someone to call the police to report a stolen pickup when I spotted my husband’s car. I thought, “There’s Randy’s car! What in the heck is he doing here!?”

Okay; Myrna, Sue, Shirley/Bob, Shelby, Joe, and Marla - you're up!

Peeps Are Back!!

They're showing up everywhere. Resting on the fence:



In the trees:



Nesting in the grass:



It's Open Season!



Yum. It was delicious!

POTUS and TOTUS
Teleprompter Of The United States...
Guys, this blog is hilarious. Barack's Teleprompter Blog. Everyone made fun of 43 (That's the most recent Bush for you Obama voters and Obama is 44) and his speaking ability and how "stupid" he was. I'll even admit his communication skills were not the best but it didn't make him stupid. I don't think Obama is stupid either, but his policies are way to the left! At any rate, I am going to go on a rant here.

There are a lot of articles out there on how Obama uses and is highly dependent on his Teleprompter. He even thanked himself for throwing a party on St. Patrick's Day. Well, apparently ToTUS has a blog of his own (her own for you feminists). I found a bunch more links on via google, good reading.

The great orator Freezes...
Teleprompter President...
I'd Like to President Obama, wait a minute... that's me...
Obama's Safety Net....

This one is pretty bad....

Have a great weekend!

A Daytrip
I've been taking my brother, who lives in a nursing home, on short daytrips to some local historic sites and small museums. He really enjoys getting out. Just don't ask him next week about where we went last week - he'll say, "I don't remember..."
Here we are in Bancroft, Nebraska at the John G. Neihardt Center.



Neihardt was Nebraska's Poet Laureate. He wrote a lot of Epic poems, but is probably most well known for Black Elk Speaks and When the Tree Flowered, both biographies of American Indians. I've read all his stuff, but my favorite of all his works are the two volumes of his autobiography; All is But a Beginning and Patterns and Coincidences.

Here is Neihardt's Study in Bancroft, where he wrote his epic poems:



It was a nice day when we were there, but we will be going back to see the Sioux Prayer Garden in late spring, when evrything is in bloom.

Winter's Last Hurrah



Which one do you like better? The one taken through the trees, or without the trees?



These were taken two weeks ago. Yesterday, it was 70 degrees. Winter in the Husker Nation... First day of spring: March 20. WOOHOO!

Here is the Youtube address of one of the cleverest songs I’ve heard in a long while:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmqIsnIp5uc

It’s a happy sounding tune but it provides the background for the angriest betrayed wife in the Western Hemisphere. The video features Rory + Joey. This husband and wife team were contestants on a show called “Can you Duet?” I don’t watch the show, but lemme tell you, “Yes, Rory & Joey CAN duet!” If you like good, new, classy Country Music in the traditional style, visit their website http://www.joeyandrory.com/ .

Now, the only thing I can find wrong with Cheater Cheater it is that it’s too short, so I thought we might try adding a few verses of our own here at OSM.
Here are the original words, in italics, followed by my own addition:

Cheater Cheater
By Rory Feeks and Joey Martin Feeks. The copyright is all their’s.
This is all just for fun, not for profit or publication elsewhere.

Cheater, cheater where’d you meet her? Down at Ernie’s Bar?
Did she smile your way, twirl her hair and say how cute your dimples are?
Did she use that line you’re place or mine while you danced with her real slow?
Tell me, cheater, cheater, where’d you meet that no good white trash ‘ho?

Liar, liar did you buy her whiskey all night long?
Did you hide your ring in the pocket of your jeans or did you just keep it on?
When the deed was done and you had your fun, did you think I wouldn’t know?
Cheater, cheater, where’d you meet that no good white trash ‘ho?

Loser, loser, hope you lover her ‘cuz you’re stuck with her now
So take your sorry butt and load up all your stuff and get the hell out of my house
But I just wish you’d tell me this one thing before you go,
Cheater, cheater, where’d you meet that no good white trash ‘ho?

Now I’m not one to judge someone that I ain’t never met
But to lay your hands on a married man’s about as low as a gal can get
And I wish her well as she rots in hell and you can tell her I said so.
Cheater, cheater, where’d you meet that no good white trash ‘ho?

Cheater, cheater where’d you meet that low-down, uptown,
Slept with every guy, around pressed on eyelash, no good white trash ‘ho?

New verses:
Redneck, roughneck, where in the heck was your common sense?
Did you just get drunk, like a dirty skunk, and throw caution to the winds?
Well, I hope she was worth all you lost on Earth. But I’d still like to know;
Tell me, cheater, cheater, where’d you meet that no good white trash ‘ho?

A Phrase Creates Stories

This is a rerun from 2006, when I first got interested in blogging (Thank you, LaDawn!) Since I’ve had neither time nor inspiration lately and Shelby is tired of me not posting new stuff, I thought I’d put up a few reruns, especially for those of you who didn’t join me until later in my Life as a Blogospherian.

I and my kids, Jack, Em, are all writers. We used to do an exercise where one of us would challenge the others with a phrase on Saturday and the rest of us had to come up with a story before the following Friday. Here are a couple of winners:

Sometimes the Dragon Wins
By Jack Carson.

There’s a story out there, no one really knows who told it first, but it’s been around for long time. Anyway, it goes a little like this. There’s this village, a quaint little anywhere place, that just so happens to be in the vicinity of a ferocious dragon. As you can imagine, being terrorized by a dragon on a regular basis is not very pleasant.
So along comes this knight. Resplendent in his armor, astride his white stallion, his sword sharp, his lance long, his head empty. Anyway, this knight goes to slay the dragon. Cinch, right? Well, the knight doesn’t return for about a week, and finally the villagers send somebody to see if he’s completed his task. All this guy finds are the bones of his horse and a fused lump of melted metal, with all that’s left of the knight rattling around inside as crumbled bits of charcoal.
The guy goes back to the village and all he has to say is, “Sometimes the Dragon Wins.”

Sometimes the Dragon Wins
by Emily Carson
He sits poring over the police report, the crime scene photographs, the coroner’s reports, and the tentative timeline. His name is Don Glasser and he is a profiler for the FBI. It is his job to analyze crime scenes and provide a profile of a possible suspect. As he has so many times before, he allows himself to imagine the crime as it happened.
Sarah Breckner tucks her four year old son, Stevie, in for the night. It’s a little chilly, so she shuts the window above his bed. Or tries to; it sticks and she can’t quite get it all the way down. She settles for shutting the blinds and giving Stevie an extra blanket. Sarah goes downstairs. She has trouble getting to sleep most nights; as is her habit, she turns on the television and lays down on the couch. It isn’t long before the droning noise has lulled her into a doze.
Outside, an intruder cuts through the screen of a living room window. He uses a hammer and a screwdriver to break the lock. Sarah stirs in her sleep, but it’s been a long day. She doesn’t awaken.
Quietly, the intruder climbs inside the house. He leaves footprints in the mud beneath the window, as well as a track on the floor. No fingerprints; he’s wearing gloves. He approaches Sarah, quietly, so quietly. She mutters in her sleep. Quickly he bends over her and clamps his hand over her mouth. She awakens, struggles, bites her lip, drawing blood.
Don takes a sip of coffee and grimaces. It’s from the bottom of the pot, thick as mud and bitter as death. This is the part that frightens him most; it’s easier to figure out what happened at the crime scene than it is to read the mind of the criminal. Yet that is what he is expected to do, it’s what he’s been trained for, to analyze the behavior of a suspect and provide a personality. What was this assailant thinking?
He jumps on Sarah, straddling her, pinning her down. Sarah is a strong woman; she runs nearly every day and swims three times a week. Fear makes her stronger, fear for her child and herself. She fights him, scratching his face. He hits her, sending the back of her head against a lamp. Her nightgown twists around her body as she struggles, leaving chafe marks on her neck and armpits. She backhands him, leaving bruises on her knuckles. Her struggle enrages him; he hits her again and again, breaking her nose, blacking an eye.
The assailant brings out his knife. It’s a hunting knife, made to dress deer and other game. He stabs Sarah through the right forearm, the knife going between the radius and ulna bones. Sarah screams. The noise finally wakes Stevie. He runs to the top of the stairs but doesn’t go down.
The assailant stabs Sarah four more times, two mortally. One punctures a lung, the other slashes the aorta.
“Mommy!” The intruder looks up. He didn’t expect a child. He runs out.
Sarah gets up. As her life is ebbing away, she knows she has to call for help. She staggers toward the kitchen and the telephone. It’s so far and she is so weak. So much blood . . .
Stevie runs down the stairs. He is crying hard now, and he wants his mother to be OK. He clings to her leg as she tries to get to the kitchen. Her blood drips down on his hair and inside his pajama top.
She’s almost there. “Please,” she gasps, not sure who she is entreating. She can feel the strength leaving her legs. Her knees buckle as she grasps the phone. She collapses on the floor, spent. Stevie huddles beside her, still crying as his mother breathes her last . . .
Don rubs his temples. One of his migraines is coming on, making his left eye water and left hand feel weak. He shuffles the papers in front of him, trying to piece the suspect together. From the footprints, he was about 6’4’’, weighing between 260 and 300 lbs. Sarah had his DNA under her fingernails, but this is either a first offense, or the perp has been careful till now, because they haven’t got a match from criminal records. Don thinks it’s more likely that the UNSUB, or unidentified subject, has been careful. Most criminals don’t start out breaking in and attacking. If the UNSUB had any record, it would be for window peeping or breaking and entering.
Since the man ran after he saw Stevie, Don doesn’t think he was stalking Sarah. A stalker would’ve expected the child. Sarah was well-off and attractive. It’s possible the man only had robbery on his mind, but got other ideas when he saw Sarah asleep on the couch. Entering, the UNSUB was organized. He had the knife and the tools. When he couldn’t control Sarah, he became disorganized. He left the tools under the window and the knife on the living room floor. This tells Don that he hasn’t attacked anyone before; any further crimes will begin blitz-style, with the UNSUB using maximum force to subdue his victims. He’ll have learned from this failure.
No fingerprints, no composite sketch. One witness, a traumatized four-year-old. Don writes his profile, but isn’t hopeful. Unless this man attacks again, or is arrested on an unrelated charge, it’s not likely he’ll be found. Stranger crimes, ones with no connection between the victim and the perp, are among the hardest to solve. By all accounts, no one who knew Sarah Breckner wished her ill. It appears she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Don lets out a frustrated growl, shoving some of the paperwork off his desk. He makes a promise then, one to Stevie and his mother, that he will not give up. He will keep fighting and looking for clues. Despite this, something one of his mentors at Quantico once said runs through his head: “Sometimes the dragon wins.”


And Janell’s “Sometimes the Dragon Wins” story? I’m ashamed to say, it was started, but never finished.

Maybe next time…

Do you have one to share? Remember, “Sometimes, the Dragon Wins…”

Little Joe Loves You Tube and...
Hey, little Joe has an enfatuation with Planes. Probably because I am always on them. At any rate, I bought him two model 747's. And recently, in an effort to entertain him without watching CARs or NEMO or Madagascar, I turned to the net. I was astounded by what I found. I think you will get a kick out of these... they are endless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAfQwDizpRo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feGZ4l5fk4Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKqO6gdJIz8 - I did a landing similar to this last April.

I love flying, and my frequency of flying boosts my confidence in aviation and aviation safety. You'd be amazed if you saw what passenger jets could really do. Check out the links above and they will lead you to many others! Enjoy, and its addicting.


By the way, this is also interesting...


http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html

Here is an imagined conversation:

Me: Dear God, I’m trading in my Armor of God for the "Suit of Secularism." The Armor of God is too much for me. I can’t do it. So, instead of girding my loins with the Belt of Truth, I’m swapping for the "Thong of Lies." You recognize the Thong of Lies, don’t you? That’s the one that says, “Go ahead and satisfy your lusts. It doesn’t matter. No one will ever know. You can get away with it.”

God: You will know.
And I will know.

Me: And, instead of the Breastplate of Righteousness, I’m going to start wearing the “T-Shirt of Instant Gratification.” This T-shirt will help me to remain guilt-free while I am pursuing the fulfillment of all my earthly desires.

God: This is not really a very good idea. But you are always free to choose. I guaranteed that from the very Beginning.

Me: While I am at it, I am going to exchange my Shoes of the Gospel of Peace for the “Slippers of Contention.” Now, I can complain, gossip and criticize to my heart’s content.

God: That won’t make your heart content.

Me: I’ve had enough of trying to carry around this Shield of Faith. It’s heavy and cumbersome and a lot of people look at me like I’m crazy when they see me carrying it. So I’m going to put it down and take up this "Suitcase of Doubt." Everyone recognizes it and I don’t have to try and explain difficult questions.

God: Wow, if you thought the Shield of Faith was heavy, I can’t wait to see what happens when you pick up that "Suitcase of Doubt!"

Me: Uff Dah! That is a heavy son of a so-and-so! I think I’ll just put it down and leave it here while I finish getting dressed. I need to find my hat. Here it is – I’m taking off the Helmet of Salvation and from now on, I’ll wear the “Beanie of Good Works.” Wait a minute, it doesn’t fit very well, does it?

God: You will never be able to find one big enough to cover all of your transgressions. That’s why I sent my Son to the Cross. Trust me on this one.

Me: You know what else? I’m getting rid of this Sword of the Spirit. It hurts people’s feelings and it would be much easier and I could be a lot more popular if I went around with the “Weapon of Mass Reconstruction.” The one that rewrites history, so that the thoughts and ideas of the people from the past get in line with our modern, progressive views on personal choice and the ‘fine line’ between good and evil.

God: Well… good luck with that. But it seems to me that it shows a tremendous amount of disrespect towards the people who designed and financed the monuments that represent those historical, “old fashioned” notions.

Me: Okay, well, it looks like I’m all dressed and ready to go. You know, this "Thong of Lies" is pretty uncomfortable… it’s riding up on me and, well, that’s all you need to know about that. And this "T-Shirt of Instant Gratification" is covered with stains and has gotten holes in it already. It’s way too small. And look how threadbare it is. I don’t think it’s going last much longer. These "Slippers of Contention" fit me pretty well, but they are kind of ugly, aren’t they? This "Suitcase of Doubt" is really heavy. So is the "Weapon of Mass Reconstruction." I don’t think I can carry both of them. I’ll have to leave one of them here and come back for it when I get where I’m going.

God: So… where are you going, all dressed up like that?

Me: That’s a good question…. This particular outfit came without a map.

Based on Ephesians 6:11-17

Random Thoughts...
I am working on a post about my trip to China.. there is more to that place than the great wall, but I haven't gotten all my pictures downloaded yet (been busy working). But there is a very ugly side to the country, makes me un-comfortable..
In the mean time, a couple of cool links... Very interesting stuff to watch.. Is this the beginning of the silent majority come back?

Revolution in Chicago

• I am not a MSNBC fan, but love CNBC (Sorry FBN). I especially love Kramer's Mad Money Show. I don't watch it during the day, but gotta love the guy in this video.
• http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1039849853

This is going to piss the PETA off!

• I have to admit, its kind of funny and somewhat related to a post I am working on re: China
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090218-extinct-bird-photo.html

For the National Security Crowd...

• http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2009/ss_syria0140_02_17.asp
• Simply amazing, a state sponsor of terror and we are helping them out. Nice!

Amazing Video's from Iraq. These are real videos, some warning on graphic.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEzBd31fBnc
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Iz5MwPsfyo
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eD_Lo61rAw
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXvEy8leKpM
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY8Aw_DVrmQ - this one's kinda funny
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAYc-wFV2cQ

The China post I am putting together is related to its infrastructure, restaurant menu's and productivity.

Happy Friday!