Whoo, boy, am I opening a can o’ worms on THIS one. Exhibit A to the left here is one of the cartoons the Danish papers had the courage to print. Now, it’s not that the cartoon is really in bad taste – not when we Christians have to content with the ‘art’ of Robert Maplethorpe, and countless other depections in the media of Christians as narrow-minded, biggoted simpletons – but it is not the cartoon itself (nor what it implies) that I want to talk about tonight. No, campers, it is the reaction to the cartoons – not by the radical Islamists, but by everyone else. [Read more…] about Why doesn’t Islam practice excommunication?
Archives for 2008
The Entitlement Generation.
Look around. Think about how our society seems to be going to Hell in a hand basket. Consider the many things that seem just…wrong, and ask yourself, “is there an underlying cause?” I don’t know that I’ve gotten to the “who” or “when” or maybe even the “where,” but I have a pretty good idea of the “what” and the “how.”
I call it “The Entitlement Generation.” [Read more…] about The Entitlement Generation.
Everything that’s old is new (again).
I’ve actually been blogging for years – far longer than this blog has been up. While my old blog died with my old company, it occurred to me that it would be nice to have a lot of the old posts I’d written online. The answer is a bit of database manipulation, where I pull the old articles from an archive I have, and posting, then resetting the post dates. That way, the posts remain in their original, chronological order, and I’m not faced with old posts getting in the way of the new stuff. So, if you’re of a mind to look over some of my oldies (but, IMHO, goodies), feel free to scroll back to the older stuff. It’s not all there (yet). but as I get time to upload it, eventually, the old posts will live again.
The Energy Mess.
Okay. It seems that everybody and his cat has an opinion on the energy problems we face here in the good ‘ol U. S. of A. I’m no different. The difference is that unlike most of the pundits out there, I don’t have any other axe to grind other than speaking what I see as the truth. No liberal bias. No conservative bias either. In particular, I am beholden to no special-interest groups.This shouldn’t be a liberal versus conservative issue (which is part of the problem). It should be strictly an American problem, and it should unite us.
In light of this fact, I’m going to share with you some common-sense bullet points that I hope will reframe the discussion on what to do to get our energy prices under control. [Read more…] about The Energy Mess.
How ideas happen.
I get to be creative for a living. In fact, my livlihood depends on me coming up with creative solutions to problems, and creative ideas in marketing, advertising and design. I’ve given a lot of thought to how ideas come into being, largely because the more ideas I get, the better off I am (within reason). There’s an old saying I like, “necessity is the mother of invention.” You could argue that it’s also the mother of creativity, or at the very least, the spark that lights the match of imagination. Case in point… [Read more…] about How ideas happen.
The Hardest Working Man in Merchandising.
James Brown’s dead and gone (may he rest in peace), but his fame lives on. Which would be fine, except that now his estate is selling off his memorabilia, in order to satisfy some of his debts. That’s a shame, because I think it cheapens his memory. Now, Brown was certainly an eccentric at times, but he was undeniably an important figure, both musically, and racially. (Few remember in light of the almost self-parody he became later in life, how he actively worked to diffuse racial tensions in the early 60’s.) In the spirit of keeping his spirit – and his sense of humor – alive, I have an idea for his widow(s) and kids.
The James Brown Alarm Clock. [Read more…] about The Hardest Working Man in Merchandising.
Babes with Bullets.
Here’s the deal. We live in uncertain times. The one thing we can count on is that we can’t really count on anybody but ourselves. Now I’m a big believer and supporter of both our military, and our public servants (police, fire, EMS). I believe they are ALL underpaid, overworked, and unappreciated. However, no matter how good they are, they can’t be everywhere at once. And when it comes to defending yourselves against the wolves of the world, your best bet is not to hope a shepherd is around when you need one, but to stop acting like a sheep. [Read more…] about Babes with Bullets.
There’s no place like Home (Depot).
I like to build things. Particularly out of wood. I grew up in a woodworking shop – it was my Dad’s hobby. (Kind of a weird hobby for a musician – using tools that could end your career in a split second – but I digress.) I love everything about woodworking – the smell of fresh sawdust, the math skills needed to take raw stock and turn it into something useful, the feel of a piece of wood just sanded – you name it. I’m there. I like to work from a rough sketch, working things out in my mind, then putting down the bare minimum info on paper. It’s more fun that way, rather than creating some really detailed, isometric drawing, with dimensions accurate down to a 64th of an inch and so forth. I find that when I work from a rough sketch, that I oftentimes improvise solutions to problems I’d not anticipated, and end up with a better finished product. Some call that “listening to the wood,” but I’m not so mystically inclined. Still… [Read more…] about There’s no place like Home (Depot).
Mumbo Gumbo.
My wife is brilliant.
And it’s rubbed off on our daughter.
Now, you might be thinking at this moment, “Yeah…sure. Everybody thinks their kid is brilliant, and a lot of husbands feel that way about their wives.” That’s probably true, but I have proof of my family’s brilliance. They’ve started their own language. And it’s…it’s…absolutely brilliant. Allow me to explain. [Read more…] about Mumbo Gumbo.
Call Her Irresponsible…
You gotta admire chutzpah. For the rest of the goyem out there without a working knowledge of Yiddish, “chutzpah” is defined as meaning “insolence”, “audacity”, and/or “impertinence.” In colloquial English, think of it as having a pair of big brass ones. And The Speaker(ette) of The House has a big pair, indeed. For those of you not following political discourse (and instead form your opinions based on the sound bites fed you from the New York Times, Washington Post, and the ABC/NBC/CBS cabal of Mainstream Media (hereafter known as “MSM”), here’s REAL newsflash: Pelosi has effectively shut down the U.S. House from conducting any real work, because she is determined to block a vote by Republicans and maverick Democrats to authorize drilling for oil off the shores of the United States. At any cost. And when a politician decides to do something “at any cost,” you can be assured of two things: 1) it’s gonna cost a lot, and 2) the taxpayers will end up footing the bill. But I digress… [Read more…] about Call Her Irresponsible…