It's over.

New posts are here:

Art's Strange World

Last Blooger Post (???)

I'm still here. After posting about twenty videos last week, I needed to go back to semi-blogging-hiatus mode for a while in order to recover (yeah, and I also had to go back to work).

I'm also working on the new Wordpress blog (this may be the last Blogger post). Even though many of the problems were resolved, my RSS feed is still majorly messed up and I'm just tired of blogging with Blogger... so on Monday of next week, look for something new here.

The Wordpress Blog will be at a slightly different address but this URL will automatically redirect so you won't need to change links. Not just yet anyway.

I'm also thinking about doing a couple of new things on the Wordpress blog. During my semi-hiatus, I've realized that trying to compose something interesting to say every day is far too time-consuming for my schedule. Or, maybe I've just run out of things to say.

Right.

Posting the videos is something I'll probably continue, though. Not 20 in a week but maybe just one interesting video I find per week.

I'm also planning to do a weekly post about music. I got the idea from this guy. He was doing a 100 acts in 100 days series which apparently was abandoned. I liked it and I'd like to do something similar but not daily. Weekly then. And not acts but recordings. Each week, I'll go to the CD collection, pull out something at random and write a post about it. I reserve the right to put that CD back in the stack and try again if the initial randomness produces something ridiculous. I also reserve the right to tap into my vinyl and MP3 collection from time to time as well.

In between, I'll continue with the photos and the incredibly witty and interesting (cough) babble you have come to expect...

I'm also planning something else but I don't want to give away all my secrets:)

Until then, I wish you all a safe and happy New Year's celebration.

The Day After...

Christmas has come and gone once again and the beginning of a new year quickly approaches.

My thoughts right now are subdued and a bit reflective as they tend to be on December 26th...

First, as always, I am utterly amazed by the enormous amount of gifts that "Santa" brought to my kids. Just mind-boggling really. They will struggle to find places for all their new "stuff".

Second, I am dismayed by the gi-normous pile of used wrapping debris that currently clutters our kitchen beyond recognition or usability. Not to mention the fact that I need to get this pile of crap out of the house before my wife returns from her annual post Christmas shopping trip with her friends...

Third, I imagine... I KNOW... that when I haul this load to the trash collection center, there will be a line of cars, pickup trucks and minivans all waiting patiently to unload their own piles of crap.

Apart from the inconvenience of this, it all makes me think that we have missed the point...

Christmas

Eternal God,
by the birth of Jesus Christ you gave yourself to the world.

Grant that, being born in our hearts,
he may save us from all our sins,
and restore within us the image and likeness of our Creator,
to whom be everlasting praise and glory,
world without end.

Amen.

The Book of Hymns, 1966; alt. by Laurence Hull Stookey

Alt. Copyright 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part XIX

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part XVIII

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part XVII

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part XVI

Christmas Youtubapalooza Part XV

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part XIV

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part XIII

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part XII

Christmas YouTubaPalooza Part XI

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part X

A logical explanation of exactly why this is one of the funniest things ever simply does not exist.



Yet this remains one of the funniest things ever.

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part IX

Christmas YouTubapalooza part VIII

A Contest?

Someone mentioned that there could be a vote on the Christmas YouTubapalooza...

I'm open to that.

So far, Bowie and Bing are in the front running.

(Hint) - Vote for the Ramones:)

Christmas YouTubapalooza PartVII

More of an Anti-Christmas song to hear some tell it...



Apologies for the poor video quality but we YouTuggers take what we are given I suppose...

(non) Christmas YouTubaPalooza Part VI (and a half)

As it sometimes happens, I heard an interesting song on the radio today and it reminded me that I both once liked said song and had totally forgotten that fact. It has nothing to do with Christmas but apparently I am all about the YouTube these days, so:



It's one of my favorite post-Beatles McCartney tracks. I would tend to agree with Father MadPriest's contention that the Beatles, and presumably therefore Sir Paul as well, are not really rock music. On the other hand, my lovely wife is very possibly the biggest Beatles fan in the South-Eastern US so I must mind my words.

Well, if the Beatles were not really rock, they at least sometimes came very close. This was the closest, in my opinion, for post-Beatles Paul.

And there is a ROCKIN' cover version of this song still waiting to be made...

Incidentally, this song was recorded just down the road in Nash-Vegas. Local legend has it that "Junior's Farm" is a reference to a certain property in Dickson County, Tennessee where Paul and company held court, incognito, during the recording session.

Christmas YouTubaPalooza Part VI

New Computer.

This is nice. I've go the new computer all set up and it is NICE! It's only a cheap, basic home computer with no extras for us to use until we can get a nice laptop sometime next year but it WORKS.

I hadn't realized how bad the other one was. The very first, most obvious thing is that the monitor is literally smaller than some books I own. As compared to the old one which was larger than many TV sets. Yeah and same viewing area too! The monitor is crisp and bright. My eyes had become accustomed to the old one, I guess. It now looks dark and fuzzy and Yuk.

As a bonus, it now takes far less than 5 full minutes to log on or off, all the programs work, nothing freezes up, and I can have multiple windows open simultaneously.

And this computer is so small by comparison, we actually have some room on our desktop for something besides keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers...

It's really amazing - When I first started studying computer science, a computer with this much processing power would have filled a small room and cost a fortune. Now you can get it for $600.00 and it fits in two square feet.

Christmas YouTubapalooza Part V

Part V was to wait until tommorow but I see that there is a new addition to the Lutherpunk household. In honor of the birth of little Babypunk (Theodora Rose), I present you with the only excuse for a Buck Owens Christmas song that I can find:

No Tengo Futuro...

Jeb Bush has told a group of Spanish language reporters that he "has no future".

I don't know about that, but it reminds me of a song: No Future.

Which doesn't really exist on YouTube. This is the closest thing I could find:



I swear I tried to think of some way to connect this with my Christmas YouTubapalooza. But I couldn't

Christmas YouTubapalooza part IV

I realized I said I would post one video a day until Christmas.

Well, I lied. Sue me.

For one thing I missed Monday already so I need to make that up. Also, since I'm getting requests now (I have the videos picked out ahead of time) so I have too many videos for one a day.

Besides, this is a lot easier that trying to come up with something interesting to write about.

For Dizzy:



Not one I would have picked, but I can live with it. As for Wham!, Dizzy, maybe you can discuss this with my wife.

For everyone else:



I was always amazed at how good Bing and Bowie sounded together. Hope you like...

Christmas YouTubapalooza part III

Christmas YouTubapalooza part II

My son did indeed like the "I Am Santa Claus" video.

This gives me an idea - I'll post a Christmas themed video every day between now and Christmas. Exciting, huh?

Well, it sounded so in the solitude of my mind...

At any rate, here's Elvis' "Blue Christmas" from his 1968 "comeback special". Enjoy:

Some Updates...

First, I'm on vacation this week. That gives me time to catch up on my blogging, numerous errands and some final Christmas shopping. Stacie and I are giving each other a new computer so I'll be setting that set up and finalizing my Wordpress blog for the New year's roll out. I can't wait to get on the new computer even though it will be a basic no-frills type. This East German military surplus model I'm using right now has definitely seen better days...

Second, my part time job as a preacher impersonator has come to an end. This situation was always intended to be a short-term thing so I'm fine with that. I received official word of this last week from our District Superintendent. She also wanted to meet with me to discuss "my calling". We had a nice meeting where I basically stumbled over my words, said "um" a lot and probably left her with the impression that I am as confused and unsure about this subject as, well, as I am. At any rate, I will soon be participating in the Ministry Inquiry Process. I will keep an open mind about this but I think I know how it's going to turn out...

I will also say that I am very pleased with the Reverend Leimenstoll's commitment to utilize Certified Lay Speakers in this District. And it's not just talk - in addition to my experience with St. Paul, fellow Methoblogger (and CLS), John Carney, has been tapped to fill in at Cannon UMC early next year. Good luck John!

Finally, the beginning of another semester looms and it looks like I won't be taking classes - again. Assuming I am able to return to my studies in the Fall of '07, it will have been a full year with zero educational progress. That stinks.

So that's where I'm at - confused, uneducated and limping along with a half broken blog and a clunky old computer.

Blogger Still Sucks...

Apparently, I am able to publish my blog at this URL again. For over a week, I was unable to do so for some unknown reason after going Beta. I switched back to Blogspot publishing and redirected my URL to that site instead as a temporary measure. I've tried switching back every day since to no avail. Today, it worked. Why today? Why not, I guess.

I also believe this is the reason some have not been able to comment, so hopefully that's fixed now too.

But I have to log in twice just to use Blogger now and I must log in fully each and every time even though I click the little "remember me" check box under the sign-in. And if I try to leave a comment without first being signed in, my comment gets obliterated.

Oh yes I 'm still going to Wordpress.

Jan, 1, 2007!

Videos

No particular reason for this except that I like the song and my son loves it so...



Edited to say that my son has informed me he really doesn't like "TV Party" all that much...

Whadda ya mean, you loved it yesterday!

"Well, that was yesterday."

Geez, everyone's a critic. Fine, here's a video I found of "I Am Santa Claus". Maybe he'll like that better...

Five Things About Me...

As tagged by the Reverend Mr. Punk, here are 5 things you probably didn't know about me (and probably didn't care to know):

1 - I have the (relatively) rare trait of green eyes. Both my parents, my sister and all four of my grandparents had blue eyes. Conventional wisdom says this is impossible but it is true (though very rare). Recent research has proven that human eye color does not follow the commonly accepted genetic rules. I have a link to prove this somewhere but it's late and my green eyes are tired so you'll have to trust me on this...

2 - As an adult, my weight has fluctuated by almost 100 pounds (175-280). Fortunately, at the present, I am closer to the lower end of that spectrum. But it's a constant battle.

3 - I am a frustrated luthier. I have designed and constructed numerous stringed instruments such as dulcimers, a bass and a violin. I've also restored or repaired several instruments. My passion was to be a guitar maker, though, and I built several electric models. My main acoustic guitar is also hand built and was probably my best work. I eventually came to the realization that passion does not necessarily equal ability and I looked to other areas as creative outlets...

4 - Like LP, I once thought it would be a good idea to become a vegetarian. Unfortunately, I love to cook and to eat meat. What was I thinking? I lasted just over a year. Though I lost a lot of weight, I ultimately came to the conclusion that if God had wanted us to be vegetarians, She would not have made all Her other beings so dang tasty!

5 - I am totally fascinated with projectiles. Not in a scientific way - but simply by making inanimate objects fly through the air. Footballs, arrows, bolts, pumpkins, bullets, spitballs, pencils, diet Coke and Mentos - you name it - if it can be hurled, shot, catapulted, blowed up or thrown impressively, count me in day or night!

5 1/2 - The above once resulted in a serious injury and a subsequent surgery many years later. Here's some friendly advice: if you ever try to shoot home-made arrows out of a wrist-rocket style slingshot, please make certain that the arrow is long enough to remain seated in the throat of the slingshot at full draw so as not to shoot yourself full through the back of the hand, thus pinning your young hand to the handle of said slingshot. AND in the following visit to the emergency room, make ABSOLUTELY sure that the novice medical attendant removes every last sliver of errant wood from your hand or you might be visiting the hand surgeon to have the encapsulated scar tissue removed some 20 years later! Seriously.

I hereby tag Supergirl, Carolanne, and Dizzy.

Christmasy Meme...

I was tagged by Lutherpunk, so here goes:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Nothin' but 'Nog. Of course it would be the United Methodist Global Committee on Traditional Christmas Drinks approved non-alcoholic variety.

(cough)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

Wrapped up tighter than Pat Buchanan's sphincter during Gay Pride week. Just ask my wife. No, I mean ask her about the present wrapping, not about Pat Buchanan's sphincter!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

This year, it's white lights on a white tree with PINK ornaments! Pink!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Nope. But I did shoot some out of a tree once.

5. When do you put your decorations up?

Normally, at the beginning of Advent. But for some reason, Ms. Supergirl went crazy and had the tree and decorations up before Thanksgiving this year. See link on #3.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

What's NOT my favorite holiday dish would be an easier question to answer. Can't go wrong with a big juicy baked ham, though.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

Like LP, playing with my cousins at Granny's house on Christmas eve or Christmas afternoon.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I was really young, maybe 4 or 5 and I was sitting on the lap of one of those department store Santa's and I remember looking at the guy and thinking, "uh-huh...".

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Only a small one (or two). Or four. Or...

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?

IT HAS PINK ORNAMENTS, OK? Obviously, my wife decorates the tree while I'm at work...

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

Love it until it happens.

12. Can you ice skate?

What kind of a question is that? I'm from Tennessee. Of course not.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

One year I got one of those BIG Hotwheels race track sets as a kid. That one sticks out for some reason. And I'll never forget the feeling I had when I first saw the solid gold ring that Stacie had custom-made for me with a garnet that I (sort of) dug from the earth myself. More recently, the digital camera was way cool. Thanks dear!

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

Being with family. Hands down.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Does Eggnog count? You've realized by now that I REALLY like eggnog. Light on the nutmeg please and heavy on the, uh, nog. Pecan pie is good too. Chess pie. Pumpkin pie. Or just any old pie. Is there an eggnog pie?

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Grandmother's house again. We did it as kids and now our kids know they will go to Bee's house on Chistmas eve and Bennie's house on Christmas morning, no questions asked.

17. What tops your tree?

This is getting irritating - a PINK stylized star. It's all PINK. Get over it!

18.Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

I know some will say 'giving' just because it sounds better, but if I had to choose between the two, it would really be giving. Especially to the kids. I remember a couple of years ago when we went way overboard on their "Santa" gifts. The joy on their faces was overwhelming. Tad had been misbehaving somewhat and we had threatened him with the "lump of coal" business. On Christmas morning, he looked at us amid the piles of toys and wrapping detritus and said, "I guess we were pretty good after all!" What can beat that?

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?

Easy - I Am Santa Claus by Bob Rivers. I also love all the classics - White Christmas, Blue Christmas, Silent Night, O Little Town... and about a dozen more.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?

Yuck! Unless you first disolve them in Vodka. That's Yum. Well, that's what I've been told...

If you really read all that, consider yourself TAGGED!

ARRRRGGGGHHHHHH~!!!!!!!!!

I cannot begin to desribe the frustration I have had with Blogger, Blogger Beta, Blogspot, whatever, over the past couple of days.

It all started this past weekend when I found that I could not comment on most other blogger or blogspot blogs. Then I found out that the reverese was also true: many others could not comment on my blog and some couldn't even see it. Even the one who did comment weren't showing up.

Then on Monday, I tried to write a new post only to be denied write access to my own server space. I quickly verified that everything was OK with my server and FTP settings. So I decided, against better judgement, to try switching to Blogger Beta.

Bad idea. That's when things really started to get crazy. I had to log in twice to every session only to be told that my login had failed. When I logged in again, I was right back with the same problems I had before - posts not publishing, no comments capability at all, etc.

I tried changing every setting on my blogger account that I thought would make a difference -all to no avail...

In desperation, I even lowered myself to emailing the Blogger "support" team. What a joke! I did not even get a "We will address to your problem as soon as we quit picking our 19 year old IT student noses" BS reply!

Finally, in double secret desperation, I tried switching my publishing from my FTP server to a plain Blogspot address and, voila, everything works like a charm.

The only problem is that no one but me knows this... Everyone else in the world is going to my old URL.

Thank you so much Blooger!

A quick HTML page to redirect traffic to this temporary site should do the trick for now but I am done with Blogger. I mean DONE. I realize this is a free service and all but this crap is just the last straw. Instead of addressing the known problems with Blogger, these ignos decided to try to keep up with the newer blog software platforms by adding snazzy gadgets and features to a BROKEN platform. Broken. It's crap. It's worthless. Nada. Finito. Over and done with...

Wouldn't it have been better to have kept Blogger as a basic, no frills program that actually works?

Silly, of course not. What am I saying???

OK, I realize I'm ranting. I'm sorry but I am so PO'd right now I could just scream.

I'll leave you with some friendly advice: If you are using any Blogger product, drop whatever you are doing and switch to anything else that you can find: Vox, Typepad, Wordpress, whatever.

Do it!

Do it Now!

Personally, I'm going with Wordpress. It's free, easy to use and looks great. It won't let you use scripts but at least IT'S NOT BLOGGER.

And for pete's sake, if you're still on the old Blogger, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, switch to BETA.

Whatever you do, DO NOT switch to BLOGGER BETA!!!!

I'm still around...

I'm still around... but Blogger Beta is giving me fits and I'm so busy these days it's not even funny. In fact, it's crazy! But I will have a break from the craziness soon...

So, while the world waits in anticipation of my return to 2-or-3-posts-per-day blogging, I'll leave you with these brief tidbits:

Shelby attended a formal dance on Friday evening. Here she prepares to leave the house all dressed up while Tad looks on. Aren't they cute? Mean, but cute.

And Tad went on a school field trip today. He lost his permission slip so his teacher told him to write one out and have his mom sign that instead.

Tad asked Stacie what to write and Stacie said, "Write 'Tad has my permission to go...' wherever it is that you are going."

Minutes later Tad brought back a piece of paper reading - you guessed it:

TAD HAS MY PERMISSION TO GO WHEREVER IT IS THAT YOU ARE GOING

Ahem...

Days of Infamy.

It was sixty-five years ago today that the Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbor air base on O'ahu.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt called December 7th "a date which will live in infamy". But in this post 9/11 world, is December 7th "living in infamy" or barely clinging to life? It seems like there are fewer news headlines concerning the anniversary this year. Most that I saw were more like history lessons than commemorations. Hopefully, this won't be the situation as the day goes on.

This story, though, points out that Pearl Harbor veterans are in their 80's and 90's now and this will most likely be their last reunion... Pearl Harbor is on the brink of passing from living cultural memory into the musty yellow pages of history. I grew up knowing many who at least remembered the event - teachers, grandparents, church members. My children have known very, very few. Their children will know none.

Yet today, with hundreds of Pearl Harbor vets still among the living, we have, perhaps inadvertently and certainly prematurely, relegated this day to the history books. Daniel Martinez, chief historian at the USS Arizona Memorial said, "We are seeing the passing of a generation." We are. And many are not even taking notice.

Possibly September 11th has become the new "day of infamy". That is to be expected but must we forget the old one so soon?

Let us not do that and...

If you've read this blog for very long, you know what comes next.

5400 people lost their lives in the attacks on December 7th and September 11th. That many people, many of them children, have died from hunger related illness or outright starvation in the past half hour.

I mean no disrespect to the families of those who lost their lives on December 7, 1941, only to ask this:

What will we do in response for those who lose their lives on December 7, 2006?

The Child is Teacher of the Man.

I survived my first weekend of scaled-back blogging just fine. What has it been - 4 days now without a post? I wrote a very brief post for the Methoblog but, otherwise, I resisted the temptation to write about a variety of more or less useless subjects. And the world still turns...

As a result, I accomplished several things this weekend - I did some offline reading and some exercising (both which I need to do more often). I also read some good blog posts.

I read with glee my wife's "yeah right" Christmas list. It's lovely that she wants to buy me an Rx-8 but unless she's got 30 grand stashed away someplace I don't know about, I think the car under the tree will look much more like this one.

Another post I liked, from Susan as Herself, is a wonderful and well written story about a homeless man accosting a woman at the bus stop. Susan tried to help the woman and ended up helping them both. This story almost made me cry...

Sorry, no punch line. Really, I really felt like crying.

With that story fresh in my mind, I prepared to attend the 50th annual Tullahoma Christmas parade on Friday evening. Stacie had to attend a reception for the parade VIP's on behalf of her employer beforehand so the kids and I met her after work and tagged along. The reception was held in an historic local house for parade volunteers, organizers and special guests.

For reasons that are unknown to me, some "special needs" folks were also in attendance. They came in and milled around before the VIP's arrived and it soon became obviously apparent that "they" had not been expected. They sure enjoyed the food though. Stacie overheard one guy say, "We never get to pig out like this!" Tiny sandwiches and dainty cookies is "pigging out"? For these folks, yes, it is. There was some concern among the powers that be that the food and drink would be gone before the important people arrived. Yeah, I know, priorities.

About this time, one of the special needs folks, a young adult gentleman whom I had never met, approached me, extended his hand in greeting and said (I think) "Merry Christmas". Before I could reciprocate, he took a step forward and bear-hugged me. Some of the important people started to laugh while others abruptly walked to the other side of the room. (So as not to 'catch' whatever affliction he had, I suppose) But what the heck, I figure the guy needed a hug and I probably did too so I hugged back, slapped him on the shoulder and said, "Merry Christmas".

I felt like leaving at this point but Stacie had to stay for a while and my son needed 'to go' in a different way. After we found the bathroom, jeans clad Tad and I proceeded to hang out in the adjoining hallway while the fancy and important people ate their tiny sandwiches and discussed "portfolio diversification" in the reception room.

That's when Tad and I encountered another, younger, fellow from the special needs group. This kid was totally in a world of his own. I'm not sure what his affliction is - Down syndrome perhaps - but it appeared to be very severe. He sat alone and motionless in the darkened hallway while the festivities were going on in the next room. He stared intently at an orange and white toy pom-pom. It was one of those little football fan pom-poms with the long handle. Occasionally, he would violently shake the pom-pom as if to kill the thing, then go back to staring.

I observed him as casually as I could and I noticed my son warily observing this boy as well. Finally, after several rounds of pom-pom shaking, the young man looked up at the ceiling and said something very loudly but completely indecipherable. This surprised Tad and he jumped a bit but it was also like a light bulb went on above his head. He had been studying this young man, trying to understand what his 'deal' was. Why did he not talk to us or even glance our way? What was his fascination with the pom-pom? Once Tad heard the boy 'speak', though, he seemed to suddenly understand. Tad also suddenly felt the need to engage this fellow in some way. He moved a bit closer and began to talk to him the way kids sometimes do, "Hey, what's your name?", "I like that pom-pom.", "You like UT?" and so on. The young man only looked at Tad vacantly once or twice. Tad didn't relent though, continuing to talk to him about the pom-pom, football, toys, the wassail he had tried, you name it, only occasionally looking over at me with a shrug when the boy did not respond.

In fact, Tad received virtually no reply from his new friend and what reply he did receive neither he nor I could begin to understand. I doubt that it made a bit of difference in the world to the other boy. I'm not even sure he realized we were there. But Tad was trying to do good. He was trying do the right thing. He was living out what Jesus, Stacie and I (but mainly Jesus and Stacie) have tried to teach him: to treat others with respect no matter who or what they are. Maybe it is just his young age and innocence, perhaps he will grow out of it and become a cynical and jaded adult like so many of us are. I hope not because this eight year old boy I call my favorite son displayed more class and dignity, showed more love and grace, and acted in a more adult manner than all the important, fancy people in the other room combined.

Once again, I felt like crying but this time my symbolic tears were tears of joy - joy in knowing that there are people like Tad and Susan in the world who try, against all odds and upon the most improbable occasions, to simply extend a helping hand to some poor lost, suffering soul.

You know, there might just be some small glimmer of hope for the future of this frail estate we call humankind after all...