Archive for February 2008


Hugh’s New Toy

February 27th, 2008 — 8:07pm

Hugh’s Scooter

Ever since I got to Raleigh, I have wanted one of these. Thanks to the generosity of some very cool people, now I have one. It will do about 45 mph max, which means it is safe on all the city streets (most of which are 35 mph).

My reasons for getting it and not a car were several:

  • It is eco-friendly. It uses very little gasoline.
  • On a related note, it is wallet friendly. I can drive about 80 miles on a gallon of gas. I splurge and get the high-test. :-)
  • It is also low-overhead. I tend to minimalism, and the attraction of owning a vehicle that I can drive with no paperwork requirements of any kind is hard to pass up.

However, I have found one downside: Driving this thing when the temperature is below 40 is just damn cold. But at 80 mpg, I can afford a lot of padding.

2 comments » | fun, me

Obama is probably NOT the anti-christ

February 22nd, 2008 — 4:09pm

I tend to be very NOT political. Politicians do what they do, and being mad about that is sorta like being mad the grass is green.

When I was a small lad, (I think it was the 1980 presidential election) I remember asking my mom who she had just cast her vote for, and she told me that was private and that you never had to explain to anyone who you had voted for. That always made an impression on me, and to this day, I am very closed mouthed about who I will (or have) voted for.

Today, I got an email from a high school friend who I reconnected with last year. Now, I am on her email list, where she forwards me dire warnings of computer viruses,  various urban legends and poems about Jesus superimposed over huge memory hogging pictures that end with the admonition that if I too love Jesus, I will forward the email to every person I know, post haste. Normally, I just hit the delete button. I am sure you do too.

Today I was informed by an email she forwarded to me that Barak Obama is the anti-christ.  Who knew? Maybe he is, I do not know. Heck, for all I know, you are the anti-christ. However, there were a lot of allegations in the email that I have heard again and again and are just plain untrue.

For instance, Barak Obama  is NOT a Muslim, radical or any other sort. He is an active, baptized member of the United Church of Christ, a rather liberal mainstrean Christian Church, and has been for over 20 years.

Barak Obama was NOT sworn in to office on a koran.  That was Keith Ellison, from Minnesota.

Yes, his middle name is Hussein. So What! One of my best friend’s middle name is Sherman, but that does not mean he burnt Atlanta.

He has NEVER refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance. He has NEVER refused to put his hand over his heart when saying the Pledge. The infamous picture you have no doubt seen was during the singing of the National Anthem. The last football game I went to, well over half the people did not cover their heart with their hand during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner.  Many of them went to get beer and peanuts. Give the guy a break, for crying out loud.

His father is NOT from the Middle East. He is from Kenya, which is to the Middle East what Mississippi is to Wisconsin. This I found curious, but if you cannot be bothered to do research, I guess geography is beyond your reach as well.

Look, next time you want to forward me a dire warning about people stealing kidneys, Obama being the Anti-Christ or some dying kid who will get free chemo if I save my coke can tabs, check it out first on Snopes.com. You will save yourself much embarrassment.

For example: http://snopes.com/politics/obama/

15 comments » | friends, fun, musing, popular

Christians Wrong About Heaven, Says Bishop

February 13th, 2008 — 6:26pm

Christians Wrong About Heaven, Says Bishop : I just love N. T. Wright.

Comments Off | @aside

Love Wins. Always.

February 12th, 2008 — 10:49pm

Love Wins. Always.

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Love Wins. Always. (via )

February 12th, 2008 — 7:18am



Love Wins. Always. (via )

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Love Wins. Always.

February 11th, 2008 — 1:31pm

For those of you who are complaining you have not seen me in a while…

It was pure stream of consciousness, with no retakes (as you can see).

More on this later.

Comments Off | Jesus, Raleigh, me

Jesus Radicals

February 5th, 2008 — 11:18pm

Jesus Radicals

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“Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they…”

February 5th, 2008 — 6:50pm

“Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes, which have turned everything upside down —Oscar Romero”

Jesus Radicals

Comments Off | @aside

Jesus, power and justice

February 5th, 2008 — 9:19am



Jesus, power and justice

Comments Off | @aside

40 days and 40 nights

February 4th, 2008 — 4:38pm

I have known her for years. The day I first met her, we went to eat supper at Dino’s, my favorite Italian dive in the whole world and drank wine (which we brought with us) from water glasses (which Dino’s provided). The thing I remember most about that meal was laughing.

She is one of those people who always makes you laugh, who is creative in ways I cannot begin to be, who has an outlook on life that astounds me with its optimism. She has not had a lot of success in her life, primarily due to poor choices she has made, most of which have involved the consequences of alcohol or marijuana. Those of us who love her have wrung our hands, shook our head and decided to love her anyway.

As of last night, she has been clean and sober for 40 days and 40 nights.

K____, I am so proud of you.

4 comments » | friends, popular

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