Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
New Look
We've picked an "earthier" forest tone here. I plan to run a few pictures on top from my native Montana and swap in pictures with Carol's New England as well. We like the new look, and we hope you all do, to. And Michelle, thanks for giving us that dot in England.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling...
I read the Twilight series that is sweeping the teens in my area.
I had my reasons: I work with the youth in my church and like to keep current so I can understand them better. Also, I like a good book, and had heard positive reviews.
My take (having only read books 1-3): I am not such a big fan.
However,I can see why the young women in my area love it. The heroine is a misfit girl, who has no place that she truly belongs (what girl in her 12-17 yrs really feels she belongs). She doesn't consider herself beautiful, and in fact thinks of herself as slightly freakish. Again typical adolecent girl stuff here. Okay the girls are empathizing with her so far.
She moves in to a new place; this is where I start to have issues. She fixates on a young man. I mean obsesses about him. Bella (the heroine) and Edward (the hero) have bizarre conversations. While I never spoke that way as a teen, I will give her the benefit of the doubt, as some of the girls in my youth group speak differently than I did as well. (I don't just mean they are Texans)
Reasons I find the heroine to be dangerous for the young teen mind:
1. Her behavior with the hero
A. Obsessive - she goes comatose when he leaves her. As a modern woman I would hate to think that my desire to exist revolves around one person. She engages in risky behavior so she can hear his voice in her head. That is a little nuts, and not the sort of thing I would want for my youth.
B. He sleeps in her bed every night. - "Nothing happens until they are married" you say. I would not want my youth to think that spooning with a young man, especially one they feel deeply about, is a safe or acceptable behavior. If "back rubs in the front room lead to front rubs in the back room." Where the heck do you think gentle caresses and kisses in bed will get you?
C. Bella is far too willing to give her self to Edward. If he didn't have super human restraint more natural consequences from B. would have resulted. A young woman, thinking all men should be like Edward, will get in trouble, easy.
2. Characters are a little too flat for my taste.
A. many seem under developed. Examples: Charlie, and her girl friends. One would think she would have a girl friend that could have a personality other than how she relates to Edward.
3. Very predictable plot
At least so far. Even Jason, who just picked it up to a page I was reading, and skimmed a bit knew how it would end. Granted I haven't started book 4, but I think I know where this is leading.
That's about it for now. While I admire the authors desire to keep them chaste until married, I don't like the implications for regular couples. So I will finish the series, if only so I can say I did when I review it wit the youth, I don't think I will be a big fan.
I had my reasons: I work with the youth in my church and like to keep current so I can understand them better. Also, I like a good book, and had heard positive reviews.
My take (having only read books 1-3): I am not such a big fan.
However,I can see why the young women in my area love it. The heroine is a misfit girl, who has no place that she truly belongs (what girl in her 12-17 yrs really feels she belongs). She doesn't consider herself beautiful, and in fact thinks of herself as slightly freakish. Again typical adolecent girl stuff here. Okay the girls are empathizing with her so far.
She moves in to a new place; this is where I start to have issues. She fixates on a young man. I mean obsesses about him. Bella (the heroine) and Edward (the hero) have bizarre conversations. While I never spoke that way as a teen, I will give her the benefit of the doubt, as some of the girls in my youth group speak differently than I did as well. (I don't just mean they are Texans)
Reasons I find the heroine to be dangerous for the young teen mind:
1. Her behavior with the hero
A. Obsessive - she goes comatose when he leaves her. As a modern woman I would hate to think that my desire to exist revolves around one person. She engages in risky behavior so she can hear his voice in her head. That is a little nuts, and not the sort of thing I would want for my youth.
B. He sleeps in her bed every night. - "Nothing happens until they are married" you say. I would not want my youth to think that spooning with a young man, especially one they feel deeply about, is a safe or acceptable behavior. If "back rubs in the front room lead to front rubs in the back room." Where the heck do you think gentle caresses and kisses in bed will get you?
C. Bella is far too willing to give her self to Edward. If he didn't have super human restraint more natural consequences from B. would have resulted. A young woman, thinking all men should be like Edward, will get in trouble, easy.
2. Characters are a little too flat for my taste.
A. many seem under developed. Examples: Charlie, and her girl friends. One would think she would have a girl friend that could have a personality other than how she relates to Edward.
3. Very predictable plot
At least so far. Even Jason, who just picked it up to a page I was reading, and skimmed a bit knew how it would end. Granted I haven't started book 4, but I think I know where this is leading.
That's about it for now. While I admire the authors desire to keep them chaste until married, I don't like the implications for regular couples. So I will finish the series, if only so I can say I did when I review it wit the youth, I don't think I will be a big fan.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
I Remember When...
Today it did a really freak thing for East Texas - it got cold. Yep, it dipped into the 20s, today. The boys are not ones to stay inside at any time, and as I scrambled to find the camera of them all bundled up like they were headed out to find the Northwest Passsage I realized we had no batteries. SOOOOO, I decided to shoot for this little nugget to the right of the boys from just a couple months ago as they played slip and slide on a landscaping bag in our front lawn. Good times. It is supposed to "rain" tomorrow, so we are hoping it will combine with the cold and give us some snow.And, yes, this post also marks a return to family matters and away from the momentary political moment.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Oh, yes we did...
Don't be alarmed by the political stuff...if you want to scroll down and see movies of the kids, just roll on by this.
As I've had more and more occassion to visit a number of the blogs that are out there from some of our friends and relatives as well as some of their friends and relatives, I've noticed that some might seem to share an assumption. And while I agree that this assumption
might be warranted in part (we are, after all, LDS) I hate assumptions in general. As you might have guessed, that assumption is that we voted for John McCain and not Barack Obama. That assumption, as you might guess from the pictures and the title of the entry, is a false one.
Speaking for myself, let me give you my reasons for voting for Mr. Obama, and why, for the most part, I voted against John McCain (my true heart's desire was a Nader / Paul ticket, but that is another story).
1) Character really does count. I was outraged when Bill Clinton used the Oval Office as a brothel and then lied about it. Why would my opinion change about a man like McCain who cheated on his first wife and left her because she wasn't attractive any more, and who repeatedly berated and belittled his current spouse in public (before he ran for president)? If his current wife has a pre-nup, I didn't think that was character I could count on. In my little world, adultery trumps pot smoking and "terrorist" paling any day on the nasty-stuff-not-to-do list. Forget the racial slurs from Obamas preacher - I'm worried about the ones that came out of McCain's own mouth. Besides, McCain peddles booze in Arizona - not exactly what I call the family values candidate.
2) The Religious Right. McCain was a hero to me in 2000 when he pegged the tele-priestcraft-evangelsits as "agents of hate." Eight years later he threw his arm around them and all but offered to serve as their shoe shine boy. Sorry, but when Pat Robertson calls Episcopalians and Methodists the Anti-Christ, I know that the Mormons are the next to go if somebody doesn't stand up. Are there plenty of dems that feel that way about Mormons? I think this week in California proves that is the case. Nevertheless, my past experience has shown that while the Left may disagree with my religion, they will, for the most part, let me excercise it without criticism on a personal level. In other words, I've only ever had Baptists spit at me and throw bottles at me, not liberals.
3) War. We surely need to defend ourselves, but Exxon profits reaching the highest level in the history of the world? Sorry, folks, no way you can convince me that the very real attack on the United States wasn't manipulated for commercial gain. President Eisenhower's last speech gives you chills when you think about this. Give me a Nixon, give me an Eisenhower, give me anybody that is willing to use diplomacy over ill-conceived adventurism ala Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge.
4) Smarts. A BA from a naval academy vs. a JD from Harvard Law. I know, I know, street smarts are supposed to be enough (whatever), but I've had eight years of "nucular" and I think I'll take elitist for the next eight. I understand that our last two Harvard men, Kennedy and W. (with an MBA after his history degree at Yale) were busts, but I'll take one more gamble on the school considering it also gave us the two Roosevelts, and the two Adams.
5) Hope. Is Hope so wrong? Lincoln brought hope on the coat tails of his second term. Roosevelt (both Teddy and Franklin) brought hope to difficult times. Reagan brought hope to 8.5 million unemployed and an America with 18% inflation. Frankly, none of those leaders had been "tested" with years of policy making before America threw in with them. What, Reagan could see Mexico from California? It was hope he spoke about.
6) Foreign policy. Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran vs. Obama in Berlin. 'Nuf said. See point 3.
7) John Maynard Keynes vs. Milton Friedman. John Maynard Keynes via WW II gave us moderated prosperity for 30 years. Milton Friedman and supply side economics gave us obscene greed and wealth transfer from the lowest 40% of Americans to the top 5% of Americans. Keynes is a blunt and bloody economic instrument, but Friedman has proved to be...unspeakable.
Ok, so I'm sure to take a ribbing from some of my associates and certainly some of the relatives for this. I could be wrong (I did vote for George W. Bush in 2000), but I really hope I am not. I really had to ponder this one out, and as far as I'm concerned, if the kids in Idaho are shouting "assassinate Obama," I've chosen the right side.
As I've had more and more occassion to visit a number of the blogs that are out there from some of our friends and relatives as well as some of their friends and relatives, I've noticed that some might seem to share an assumption. And while I agree that this assumption
might be warranted in part (we are, after all, LDS) I hate assumptions in general. As you might have guessed, that assumption is that we voted for John McCain and not Barack Obama. That assumption, as you might guess from the pictures and the title of the entry, is a false one.Speaking for myself, let me give you my reasons for voting for Mr. Obama, and why, for the most part, I voted against John McCain (my true heart's desire was a Nader / Paul ticket, but that is another story).
1) Character really does count. I was outraged when Bill Clinton used the Oval Office as a brothel and then lied about it. Why would my opinion change about a man like McCain who cheated on his first wife and left her because she wasn't attractive any more, and who repeatedly berated and belittled his current spouse in public (before he ran for president)? If his current wife has a pre-nup, I didn't think that was character I could count on. In my little world, adultery trumps pot smoking and "terrorist" paling any day on the nasty-stuff-not-to-do list. Forget the racial slurs from Obamas preacher - I'm worried about the ones that came out of McCain's own mouth. Besides, McCain peddles booze in Arizona - not exactly what I call the family values candidate.
2) The Religious Right. McCain was a hero to me in 2000 when he pegged the tele-priestcraft-evangelsits as "agents of hate." Eight years later he threw his arm around them and all but offered to serve as their shoe shine boy. Sorry, but when Pat Robertson calls Episcopalians and Methodists the Anti-Christ, I know that the Mormons are the next to go if somebody doesn't stand up. Are there plenty of dems that feel that way about Mormons? I think this week in California proves that is the case. Nevertheless, my past experience has shown that while the Left may disagree with my religion, they will, for the most part, let me excercise it without criticism on a personal level. In other words, I've only ever had Baptists spit at me and throw bottles at me, not liberals.
3) War. We surely need to defend ourselves, but Exxon profits reaching the highest level in the history of the world? Sorry, folks, no way you can convince me that the very real attack on the United States wasn't manipulated for commercial gain. President Eisenhower's last speech gives you chills when you think about this. Give me a Nixon, give me an Eisenhower, give me anybody that is willing to use diplomacy over ill-conceived adventurism ala Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge.
4) Smarts. A BA from a naval academy vs. a JD from Harvard Law. I know, I know, street smarts are supposed to be enough (whatever), but I've had eight years of "nucular" and I think I'll take elitist for the next eight. I understand that our last two Harvard men, Kennedy and W. (with an MBA after his history degree at Yale) were busts, but I'll take one more gamble on the school considering it also gave us the two Roosevelts, and the two Adams.
5) Hope. Is Hope so wrong? Lincoln brought hope on the coat tails of his second term. Roosevelt (both Teddy and Franklin) brought hope to difficult times. Reagan brought hope to 8.5 million unemployed and an America with 18% inflation. Frankly, none of those leaders had been "tested" with years of policy making before America threw in with them. What, Reagan could see Mexico from California? It was hope he spoke about.6) Foreign policy. Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran vs. Obama in Berlin. 'Nuf said. See point 3.
7) John Maynard Keynes vs. Milton Friedman. John Maynard Keynes via WW II gave us moderated prosperity for 30 years. Milton Friedman and supply side economics gave us obscene greed and wealth transfer from the lowest 40% of Americans to the top 5% of Americans. Keynes is a blunt and bloody economic instrument, but Friedman has proved to be...unspeakable.
Ok, so I'm sure to take a ribbing from some of my associates and certainly some of the relatives for this. I could be wrong (I did vote for George W. Bush in 2000), but I really hope I am not. I really had to ponder this one out, and as far as I'm concerned, if the kids in Idaho are shouting "assassinate Obama," I've chosen the right side.
I pledge allegiance...
It sounds like he says "with liberty and love..." there at the end. I don't think I really object to that.
The Cutest Headache You'll Ever Get
Carol breaks out the keyboard for the boys now and again. There is a lot that we let them do with instruments of their own, but the keyboard is a real treat for them.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Columbus, New Mexico
Site of the famous Villa raid on the United States, Columbus is one happening little place. I seriously could not get to sleep the night I stayed there for all the crowin' going on. I mean literally, the dogs barked until 3 AM and then the roosters started crowing until sun up, at which point the traffic from Palomas started in.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Ol' Mexico
In May Jason took a group of students to Chihuahua Mexico. He visited a lot of places (including the famous Mormon colonies...more video to come on that). Here's a short video of the trip made by the Latin American Studies Department at his university.
Baby Girl Dormady
Here we go, folks. Some of the first pictures of what we are sure is a little girl. Coming to a family far away from you in March. Pardon us...they are a wee bit crooked. The name of our new little bundle will be Helen Diane...named after Carol's two grandmothers.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Summer Fun
Let's try out some video from this summer. In July we slipped over to Natchitoches (pronounced Nakatish) Louisiana for a folk festival. We all had a great time, and I think that is one of the few times we actually got away for quite some time. Take a look at what we found.
Wiener Head Giraffe?
Our family has entered the 21st Century with a blog. Huzzah. The Extraordinary Ordinary is our (my - Carol seems a little unenthusiastic about the project at this point) attempt to celebrate the little adventures of our growing family.
In truth, I could say "we" as Isaac, age 4 until January, seems fairly excited about it and he even picked out the URL - http://www.weinerheadgiraffe.blogspot.com/. Yep, you read correctly, Wiener Head Giraffe.
He hadn't seen the picture featured here, but after he gave me that name I had to google Wiener Head Giraffe and see what came up. This one showed up on several blogs - City of Marigolds and I Heart Weener Dogs to name a couple. To be honest, this is more of a giraffe headed wiener, but it still works for me.
The Island of Dr. Moreau aside, we plan to use the space to keep the "grands" up to date, perhaps to keep in touch with distant friends who don't have access to our MyFamily page, and to indulge some self satisfying desires to share our extraordinarily ordinary adventures and some reflective prose with the occasional unwitting web surfer.
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