the OLD stranger in a strange land (moved to casadeblundell.com/jonathan): April 2006

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Quitting at 14.7 miles

We made it 14.7 miles b4 my feet and legs gave out. I need new shoes and a little more training and then im going the distance

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

Friday, April 28, 2006

Well I'm getting pumped and primed for the Global Night Commute tomorrow. Although it will be more of a daily commute for me and Phil.
We plan to leave around 10ish tomorrow morning. Hike the 20 miles or so to the DART Ledbetter station. Ride the train 10-15 miles to Park Lane. Then walk the remaining 1.5 miles to Northwest Church of Christ where we'll meet the rest of the folks coming from across the metroplex. At last count there were over 700 people signed up to join us tomorrow night. Awesome.
I hope to post audio, text and pictures throughout our walk tomorrow, so check in regularly to follow us along the path.

Things to do in Wal-Mart

I've seen a couple variations of this, but it's still funny:

How to kill time at Wal-mart, 15 Things to do at Wal-Mart while your
spouse/partner is taking their sweet time:
1. Get 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they
aren't looking.
2. Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the rest rooms.
4. Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone, 'Code 3' in
housewares..... and see what happens.
5. Go the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M's on lay away.
6. Move a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
7. Set up a tent in the
camping department and tell other shoppers you'll invite them in if they'll
bring pillows from the bedding department.
8. When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask 'Why can't
you people just leave me alone?'
9. Look right into the security camera; use it as a mirror, and pick your
nose.
10. While handling guns in the hunting department, ask the clerk if he knows
where the anti-depressants are.
11. Dart around the store suspiciously loudly humming the "Mission
Impossible"
theme.
12. In the auto department, practice your "Madonna look" using different
size funnels.
13. Hide in a clothing rack and when people browse through, say "PICK ME!
PICK ME!"
14. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker, assume the fetal
position and scream "NO! NO! It's those voices again!!!!"
And last but not least!)
15. Go into a fitting room and shut the door and wait a while; and, then,
yell, very loudly, "There is no toilet paper in here!"

Thursday, April 27, 2006

GNC FAQ's

Hi all! We have been swamped with emails about the Global Night Commute, so we've put up a box of Frequently Asked Questions on our page (and also below)... so PLEASE read them before sending a message. If you can't find your answer there, we would be more than happy to try to answer it for you, but please be patient with us.
Thank you!
GLOBAL NIGHT COMMUTE
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I sign up for the Global Night Commute?
Go to http://www.invisiblechildren.com/
theMovement/globalNightCommute/
Why isn't my name showing up on the list?
We have been experiencing a delay, so keep checking back. It should be there.
Where will it be in my city?
Go to http://www.invisiblechildren.com/
theMovement/globalNightCommute/, and find your city page using the drop-down menus on the right. Then look in the upper right corner of the page for location details.
What time does it start?
The event starts at 7pm local time, and a series of projects will get underway at that time. The event will be over after the sunrise photo the next morning. Cleanup help is always welcome :)
My city isn't on the list...
Sign up for the city that is closest to you. We are unable to hold this event in every city.
Is there a myspace page for my city?
We ran out of room on the friends section of our main page to list all the cities, so try looking up your city by typing in: myspace.com/ic(your city's name) -- make sure you replace "(you city's name)" with the actual name of your city; for example, if you live in San Diego, then type in "myspace.com/icsandiego"
There isn't a myspace page for my city. Can I start one?
Send a message to the http://myspace.com/icsandiego page to get set up with a layout.
What else should I know for the Global Night Commute?
Check out the PDF flyer at http://www.invisiblechildren.com/
media/pdfs/GNC_details.pdf.

County boycotts gas use

WOAI in San Antonio reports:

As gas prices near the $3 mark, some communities are keeping their money away from the gas tank and boycotting one of the nation’s largest gas companies.
Bee County judge Jimmy Martinez is asking for a boycott and has pushed a major county resolution encouraging citizens of Beeville, about 90 miles Southeast of San Antonio, to not get their fuel at Exxon-Mobil stations.

This sounds like an e-mail I've seen floating around for a couple years now. Does he really think it will work? My favorite is people who ask for a boycott of gas on one particular date. Sure that will work - Ha. It just means people will buy more gas the day before or the day after.
And on the same topic, John Stewart talked with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal last night on current oil prices. Good interview.

CWF trip to Nigeria

I know many of you have not received this letter in the mail yet. Maybe its because I haven't gotten to your part of my list yet, or maybe I don't have your address, but I wanted to post this and share it with everyone interested in helping the CWF go to Nigeria. We're looking for financial and prayer sponsors. If you'd like to make a donation to our trip, you can do so on this page. Just click on the Paypal ("Make a donation") button on the right hand side. Also any and all money raised from advertising on the same site goes directly to the Nigeria fund.

----

February 7, 2006

Dear Friends and Family,

As I start to type this letter, I look over a letter my sister Kara wrote exactly one year ago today, preparing to go to China. To think about the changes in her, myself and our family over the last year is overwhelming. I never would have imagined the struggles our family went through in 2005 and the joys and peace that we found in knowing God and knowing He remains sovereign and in control of our lives.
It was also roughly this time last year that I began working with the Christian Wrestling Federation.
As a ring announcer and “Commissioner” for the CWF over the last year, I’ve had the privilege to be part of a ministry that is starting its sixth year of ministry this year and has witnessed over 5,000 people come to know Christ. 2005 proved to be a year of renewal for the ministry as we began to feel God working and possibly leading us to full-time ministry in 2007. The CWF hopes to bring the lost to hear the same Gospel message that’s been repeated for 2000 years, in a very unlikely setting – a wrestling ring.
It’s a message of love for all mankind and a message that we as Christians have been asked to share to our Jerusalem, our Judea and the rest of the world.
I’m excited to say that this year the CWF has been invited to take that message outside of our comfort zone and into to Jos, Nigeria. We are planning to spend the first two weeks of October in the most populous country in Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world.
We are excited to spend time ministering to the predominantly Muslim population with our CWF shows across Nigeria, as well as working with a team from Lake Point Church in Rockwall, who will lead our visits to orphanages where we will help with sports camps and medical missions.
I ask that you will join us in urgent prayer this year as we prepare for our journey. Pray that logistically things will be taken care of. I can’t begin to imagine the work that will go into securing soccer stadiums and arrangements to bring a wrestling show to Nigeria. Please pray that the people of Nigeria will see that we are just ordinary men, but that we’ve been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). Pray that they will see the difference in our lives, which only Christ can bring about. Pray that God will begin to work now in the lives of those we will meet as well as our own individual lives. Pray that each of us will be prepared to share the hope we have whenever we are called upon.
I would also ask that you pray about giving financially to our trip. You can contribute directly to my account, or make a donation to the entire group.
If you feel led to support us financially, you may give a one-time gift or make monthly payments between now and October. A small thank you reminder and a self-addressed stamped envelope will be sent monthly, if you so choose.
Thank you for your time and may God continue to shine His face upon you.
In Christ,
Jonathan Blundell

Rangers pictures

Not sure what happened to the color on this first one, but here are a few pics from the Rangers game yesterday.

Cheap Bono tickets

FrontBurner has a way to get cheap tickets to see Bono next Friday night in Dallas. Click quick because according to the Star Telegram, tickets are going fast.

On the job mistakes

I just got caught up on my Must See TV for the week. It was late and I should have been sleeping, but I needed to unwind. I watched tonights Daily Show, along with tuesday's Scrubs and Teachers. I noticed a recurring theme in each of the shows. People make mistakes. Sometimes its a misscommunication Sometimes its a matter of poor judgement. And sometimes its a matter of life or death.
Today I got free tickets to the Rangers game. Luckily I got to take the afternoon off and enjoy Americas past time with some friends. Unfortunately it was last minute and with the cool weather I didn't think to wear sunscreen Now my arms are paying for my mistake.
The point is, theres always a payment or consequence for mistakes.
It might mean you have to run a correction in the paper. You might have to suffer through a sunburn. Or you might have to swallow your pride and admit you were wrong.
Even in the grand scheme of life theres a punishment for our mistakes or sins.
For the wages of sin is death. - romans 5:8
That sucks. The ultimate punishment.
Even in the Jewish (and others) faith there was/is a punishment for sin. But thank goodness for grace and the rest of the verse.
... But the gift of God is eternal life.
I'm so glad its a gift and not something I have to earn. Because watching those shows tonight and thinking about my own life, I'm quite certain no one would ever be good enough to earn something like eternal life from a perfect God, who demands perfection.
Oh and theres one more part to the verse.
...through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That's the only way you can get the gift. Jesus is the only one who can give it to you. And He wants to. He's offering it to you right now. All you have to do is accept.
''grace. Its a name for a girl. Its also a thought that changed the world''

www.needhim.com

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

New Kinkster cartoon

Kinky Friedman has released his third cartoon for his campaign for Texas Governor.
Noted Texas musicians sing alongside the Kinkster, including Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Bruce Robison, Kelly Willis, Pat Green, and the Dixie Chicks.
Check it out and save yourself for Kinky.

Bush picks Fox News's Snow as White House spokesman

Fox commentator Tony Snow named new spokesperson for White House. From NPR:

President Bush on Wednesday named conservative commentator Tony Snow as White House press secretary, putting a new face on a troubled administration.
Snow, a Fox news pundit and former speechwriter in the White House under Bush's father, replaced Scott McClellan who resigned in a personnel shuffle intended to re-energize the White House and lift the president's record-low approval ratings.
"My job is to make decisions and his job is to help explain those decisions to the press corps and the American people," Bush said, with Snow and McClellan at his side in the White House briefing room.

If Bush picks a Fox News Commentator to speak for his White House, what does that say about media bias?

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Test 2. Test 2.

Test. Test.

From Third Day

From Third Day:

Hopefully you were one of the many loyal fans who came out to see the spring leg of the Wherever You Are Tour! If you were, you probably saw the movie trailer to “Invisible Children: Rough Cut” that has inspired us to reach out to the community of Gulu, Uganda to bring aid, awareness and resolve to the conflict in which children are abducted from their homes, strapped with machine guns and machetes and forced to fight in the rebel army (LRA).
This Saturday, April 29th, over 37,000 people across the US are taking part in the Global Night Commute, a worldwide event organized by the Invisible Children, Inc. organization, that will involve the trek of thousands of men, women and children from around the world into major cities where they will mimic the nightly commute of the Ugandan children by marching en masse from one point to another and sleeping at their final destination for the entire night. The goal of the movement is to raise awareness and ultimately end Africa’s longest running conflict by facilitating a change in the policies of the US government in regard to the situation.
We hope you will join the thousands who have committed to take part in the Global Night Commute! Check out www.InvisibleChildren.com for more information and to sign up for the commute in your city!
Also, check out our new Advocacy page at ThirdDay.com that tells about World Vision, Blood:Water Mission, Hands In Service, The ONE Campaign and several other organizations who are hard at work to serve the poor, the orphans and the widows in Uganda and other parts of Africa.

Monday, April 24, 2006

I may need to find new work May 6

Ever have a dream that you're just dying to have come true?
And then when it does you realize, there's nothing left for me to do here?

The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth will present Bono, lead singer of Irish Rock Band U2, activist and co-founder of DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), on Friday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Music Hall at Fair Park. This TIME Magazine Person of the Year in 2005 has used his celebrity worldwide to influence the powerful to the benefit of the poor. Bono will speak on his work to bring attention and resources to the fight against global AIDS and poverty in Africa.

Lifepoint Church

Winner of the best Church website in Ellis County - hands down: Lifepoint.org.
This church is a new plant from several other churches and just started meeting on Easter Sunday (I believe).
But from the looks of the website and the information posted there, I'm going to visit for sure.
It draws me in. They even have a blog :-)

Lifepoint is a new church in Red Oak, TX. It is the point of our life to treasure Christ above all things. We are here to inspire loving relationships with God and to create loving relationships with others. Lifepoint understands it's purpose is to participate in God's mission by loving and serving others in His name.

American giveaway backfire?

Eric shared a Letter to the Editor in the DMN today. If you haven’t heard, American Airlines gave away free one-way tickets to guests at a Dallas Mavericks Game last week. But you had to fly from Love Field in Dallas, which is limited on its flights by the American Airlines supported Wright Amendment. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are currently battling their sides in congress, the media, the public, as well as the Fort Worth and Dallas city councils.

Perhaps giveaway will prove anti-Wright point
Wouldn't it be odd if American Airlines' ticket giveaway highlighted how bad the Wright amendment is for travel?
Your story touted that people receiving the free tickets will be able to travel anywhere American flies from Dallas Love Field. They might be very frustrated to find that means only Kansas City, St. Louis and a few cities in Texas because of Wright.
Maybe American Airlines inadvertently will encourage repeal of the "Wrong amendment" with this promotion.
Stefan Koziolek, Dallas

Another thought on the issue:

I'm no fan of American or D/FW Airport
Re: "Mavs fans score air tickets," Thursday Business.
American Airlines passes out tickets at a Mavs game for Love Field? Disingenuous.
American trying to promote Love Field? Hypocrisy.
Bottom line? People who live east of Dallas, in the eastern and northern parts of Dallas and most of the rest of the metro area don't want to use Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport – not just because of distance but because it is possibly one of the worst U.S. airports.
When I am forced to fly American, I am always amazed by the lack of service and the employees' arrogance, not to mention the price gouging.
Nobody wanted D/FW Airport except for people who live in the western suburbs of Dallas, including the big suburb of Fort Worth. It's Amon Carter's revenge and a folly for North Texas.
Rob Lofland, Lindale

20 Excuses

Michael shared a great link over the weekend: 20 Excuses for Not Accepting Jesus.
Check it out. It’s a pretty good read and a great link to share.

Churches: like any large volunteer organization

Thomas has found a great quote from Malcom Gladwell and an interesting blog on Rick Warren:

Churches, like any large voluntary organization, have at their core a contradiction. In order to attract newcomers, they must have low barriers to entry. They must be unintimidating, friendly, and compatible with the culture they are a part of. In order to retain their membership, however, they need to have an identity distinct from that culture. They need to give their followers a sense of community—and community, exclusivity, a distinct identity are all, inevitably, casualties of growth. As an economist would say, the bigger an organization becomes, the greater a free-rider problem it has. If I go to a church with five hundred members, in a magnificent cathedral, with spectacular services and music, why should I volunteer or donate any substantial share of my money? What kind of peer pressure is there in a congregation that large? If the barriers to entry become too low—and the ties among members become increasingly tenuous—then a church as it grows bigger becomes weaker.
One solution to the problem is simply not to grow, and, historically, churches have sacrificed size for community. But there is another approach: to create a church out of a network of lots of little church cells—exclusive, tightly knit groups of six or seven who meet in one another's homes during the week to worship and pray. The small group as an instrument of community is initially how Communism spread, and in the postwar years Alcoholics Anonymous and its twelve-step progeny perfected the small-group technique. The small group did not have a designated leader who stood at the front of the room. Members sat in a circle. The focus was on discussion and interaction—not one person teaching and the others listening—and the remarkable thing about these groups was their power. An alcoholic could lose his job and his family, he could be hospitalized, he could be warned by half a dozen doctors—and go on drinking. But put him in a room of his peers once a week—make him share the burdens of others and have his burdens shared by others—and he could do something that once seemed impossible.
When churches—in particular, the megachurches that became the engine of the evangelical movement, in the nineteen-seventies and eighties—began to adopt the cellular model, they found out the same thing. The small group was an extraordinary vehicle of commitment. It was personal and flexible. It cost nothing. It was convenient, and every worshipper was able to find a small group that precisely matched his or her interests. Today, at least forty million Americans are in a religiously based small group, and the growing ranks of small-group membership have caused a profound shift in the nature of the American religious experience."
As I see it, one of the most unfortunate misunderstandings of our time has been to think of small intentional communities as groups 'within' the church," the philosopher Dick Westley writes in one of the many books celebrating the rise of small-group power. "When are we going to have the courage to publicly proclaim what everyone with any experience with small groups has known all along: they are not organizations 'within' the church; they are church.

This is just funny

Thanks to “Tall Skinny Kiwi” Andrew for the link

Wear Yellow on Saturday

From the Global Night Commute Group:

That's right....everyone wear yellow shirts and bring the following

1. You and every person you know
2. A pillow and sleeping bag
3. Wear a YELLOW T-shirt
4. Pen and paper and sharpie
5. Art supplies to draw pictures for the Ugandan children
6. Snacks for the morning
7. You and every person you know

Most of the Dallas group is meeting at SMU and walking from there to the church on Northwest Highway. Phil and I are still planning on walking from Waxahachie, but we will likely jump the DART rail at Ledbetter since the site is further away. Right now we're planning on leaving between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday. Let us know if you want to join us, we'll be glad to have your company.
We'll walk from Waxahachie to the Ledbetter DART Station (estimated 10-15 miles) then ride the DART rail to Park lane and walk to the church (estimated 5 miles or so). We're going to double check those figures so we better know what time we need to leave.
Sign up and join us: invisiblechildren.com.
And BTW - Dallas isn't the only city - city's around the world are holding their own events.
AND... The filmmakers are scheduled to be on Oprah this Wednesday. This should grab everyone's attention. Watch out. This is going to be big!

Immigration an "elixir" for Britain's economy

From the AFP:

Eastern European immigrants are an 'elixir' for Britain's economy, easing inflation, boosting output and raising tax revenue, according to a study.
The latest official figures show that net migration to Britain hit 223,000 people in 2004 with beneficial effects for the British economy, according to the Ernst and Young Item Club, published in British newspapers.
Most of them came from the new eastern member states of the European Union, which allows them to come and work freely in Britain.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Pre-order Red Hot Chili Peppers

You can now pre-order The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new album, Stadium Arcadium, and automatically receive the new single, “Dani California” from iTunes. The pre-order also gives you access to pre-sale tickets for the group’s upcoming tour. And you'll be automatically entered to win the band’s complete catalog and an engraved Red Hot Chili Peppers iPod.

Happy Earth Day

Earth Day is tomorrow and with it, I've been reading up on biodiesel more and more.
I've even found several sites with people using straight vegetable oil in their engine, rather than a biodiesel blend.
Apparently, with a conversion, you can run your diesel engine on straight used vegetable oil - which most restaurants will give you for free, so they don't have to pay for it to be recycled.
I found a couple bands here in the U.S. who are driving their entire tours across America on used vegetable oil - for free.

"The diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and would help considerably in the development of agriculture of the countries which use it"
"The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time."
Rudolf Diesel 1911 (inventor of the diesel engine)

According to Wikipedia, used vegetable oil costs on average 40 cents a gallon. Boy I'd love to fill up on that today.
Here's a company that has perfected the conversion from diesel to used vegetable oil to a science: Frybrid
They sell entire kits, including tanks for the used vegetable oil within toolboxes for trucks. How about a 91 gallon fuel tank, full of dirt cheep or even free fuel?
The conversion kits they sell average between $1500 to $2000.

Powering up a car withvegetable oil rather than gas
Lehigh University fired up over alternative fuels

Save Darfur

From Save Darfur Coalition:

We have collected more than 500,000 postcards to send to the White House!
That's right – over half a million postcards calling on the president to take further action on behalf of the suffering people of Darfur.
Thank you for everything you have done so far. Now, can you keep the pressure on? We're just nine days away from the historic Rally to Stop Genocide in Washington, D.C.
Click here to download postcards that you can print out and have friends, family and neighbors sign. Then send them back to us (the mailing address is on the card) before the April 30 Rally to Stop Genocide.
Or you can click here to use the online tell-a-friend form.
We know that Darfur is on President Bush's mind. Just yesterday in an appearance with President Jintao of China, President Bush again raised the issue of the genocide in Darfur.
Now is the right time to demonstrate to President Bush that the will exists to stop this genocide. Just think, if just half of the people on our list get 20 friends, family members and neighbors to sign postcards, we'd have over a million messages to President Bush.
We can't wait to announce that we have ONE MILLION VOICES FOR DARFUR. We need your help to get there.
Thanks,
David Rubenstein
Save Darfur Coalition

Emergent/Postmodern

Thanks to Thomas I'm an Emergent/Postmodern Christian. Ok... maybe not thanks to Thomas. He just showed me the way to find out what I am. It's probably thanks to many other things that made me the "man" I am today.

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern

79%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

68%

Reformed Evangelical

68%

Fundamentalist

61%

Neo orthodox

50%

Classical Liberal

46%

Roman Catholic

36%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

32%

Modern Liberal

32%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Manchester Passion

Judas/ Jesus/ Peter

I meant to post on this earlier this week, but got sidetracked and forgot.
A group in Manchester, England put on a Passion musical in the middle of the city that was aired on the BBC.
The musical took a modern day look at Passion week, as if Jesus came today. Songs were sung by Oasis and other bands from the area.
Thomas found a video of the Last Supper and "Love Will Tear Us Apart" from the musical and I ran a search and found some more.
Check them out.

Update on last night

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post this earlier, I've been in court all morning (I've always wanted to say that - as long as I wasn't the defendant). I was covering a number of cases for the paper.
Anyways - the rundown of the matches is very irrelevant this morning. We had over 1250 kids last night at Sachse Assemblies of God and there were 169 decision cards filled out and 105 agreed to a discipleship program the church offers.
WOW. It was an amazing night. It almost felt like a ECW show (not that I've ever been to one), without the blood and guts ;-).
There were kids everywhere, including the balcony and crowding around the ring on the floor. I had to almost push my way from the ring and back to the sound booth between matches.
Anways, it was exciting. Thanks for all who prayed. Don't forget we have another show Saturday in the Balch Springs area - come and support us if you can.

And now for the rundown of the matches:
Chris Idol v Apoc - no contest due to interferance
Tim Storm def. The Bishop
CWF Champion "Jesus Freak" Rob Vaughn def. Son of Thunder in title match
Apoc & The Bishop def. Chris Idol and Tim Storm in a tag match

See that wasn't near as exciting as the first few paragraphs.

Court room fun

Loads of fun to be had in district court today.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

CWF Shows tonight and Saturday

Don't forget our shows this week:

Tonight
Sachse Assembly of God
Grand opening of new youth facility!!!
7pm. FREE!!!
2709 Third St. Sachse,Tx 75048.
972 495-1116

Saturday April 22
CWF @ Brotherly Love Ministries
6pm.
A Plus Christian Academy
10327 Rylie Rd. Dallas,Tx 75217.
Tickets between $5-$10
972 287-5500

Scott McLellan resigns

From ABC News/AP:

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Wednesday he is resigning, continuing a shakeup in President Bush's administration that has already yielded a new chief of staff and could lead to a change in the Cabinet.

Does this mean he's headed back to Texas to work on his mom's campaign?
Also, from NPR:

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is giving up his policy portfolio and press secretary Scott McClellan is resigning, continuing a shakeup in President Bush's administration that has already yielded a new chief of staff.
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the president had not yet made the announcement, said Wednesday that Rove is giving up oversight of policy development to focus more on politics with the approach of the fall midterm elections.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Nick Anderson's Over a barrel

This is from Nick Anderson, a cartoonist for the Houston Chronicle.
Also, here's a comment on his blog:

And the Democrats keep fighting against drilling off of our coasts and in the frozen tundra of Alaska.

Dont forget to get a free iPod

Don't forget to sign up and get a free iPod.
I'm telling ya, all you have to do is sign up for one of the offers and then get five friends to do it. You can cancel the offer anytime after you get credit for doing it. You know you want to... I know Thomas could use a new iPod. He's been saddened since his went on the blink. Here's his chance to get a new one for free ;-)
Get your free iPod here

People 2 Pray is public

People 2 Pray is now in public beta.
What does that mean to you?
It means you can now register and enjoy the service I and several others been using for the last month or so.
People 2 Pray is a web 2.0 peer-to-peer app that allows you to post your prayer requests to the masses, or to your selected group. Then the system keeps track of your prayers and lets others read and respond, as well as lets you write the answers to prayer.
Sign up now and lets all put this service to good use.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Letter from friend

A local artist and art teacher sent me this email today. Thought it was worth sharing.

This is a letter of mine that my daughter put on her blog.
As a mother, teacher, artist, and citizen I feel very strongly about this issue. Would you be comfortable passing it along? You could present it with a full disclaimer so you don't have to take any heat from it.
If this makes you uncomfortable in any way, please know that I am WAY OK with you refusing to do it. I have other ways of getting the message out.
In case you can't open the attachment, I'm including the letter in the body of this email below.
--
An Open Letter:
Estos palabras de mi corazon son para mis mijas y mijos,
These word from my heart are for my daughters and sons, of all races, all countries of origin, all socio-economic groups, and all cities in all states who protested the new laws about illegal immigration, I am so proud of you. In your youthful enthusiasm, idealism and courage, you did what “We The People” have forgotten how to do. Like the forefathers of our forefathers, you protested.
By the thousands, in high spirits with endless possibilities shining in your eyes, you made the pilgrimage to City Hall. You know that this country is the land of milk and honey, the place where dreams come true. Your parents brought you here, mostly at great risk to themselves, knowing that if you are born in this country , if you are willing to work hard enough can make a good lives for yourselves. As soon as you were old enough to understand they told you, “Get an education in this country, my love, and the future can belong to you.”
Your parents have worked hard ever since they entered this country. They have done whatever they had to to keep you healthy, fed and in school. Sometimes that means you don’t see them often; sometimes that means you have to grow up too fast and do the things they would do if they only had more time at home.
In History and Civics classes you learned what the spirit of this country is all about, and that was inspiring. Though you may be young, you already have learned the lesson that in many places in our world, there are no inalienable rights. Speaking one’s heart may be rewarded with torture, jail or death. There is no right to congregate or bear arms. Anyone seen in the streets after curfew can be shot. There is very little health care, education, programs to provide food for the needy. In an economy where the needy serve as the foundation upon which the country operates, there are simply too many for whom to provide. You read about the Tea Party held in Boston and you were excited. You read about the protests in the 60’s, the sit ins and marches that erased forever the notion that this country was only for a certain few. And perhaps you thought, “If ever I saw injustice, that’s what I would do.”
And then injustice invited itself right into your home and sat right down with your family as if it had the right to participate in your goals and dreams. This government is trying to pass laws that will affect your family and your future without even consulting you - without even understanding your situation. Your parents may be legal or illegal aliens, but you are citizens. And in this country citizens have rights.
So you came by the thousands to protest without weapons or fists, just your amiable willingness to engage in dialog.
In the news I heard about the principals of your schools punishing you by eliminating prom. Freedom is never achieved without consequences. And it is those consequences that make it such a sweet reward. But I believe we missed a huge opportunity to show you the importance we place on the traditions that in the past won for us our taken-for-granted freedoms. The consequences could have been that you were charged to create art, poetry, drama, and music about this dilemma. You could have been taught a universal socially acceptable voice.
We have forgotten that our country was built on the right to protest. How have we have come to regard protesters as fringe lunatics?
We are so comfortable in the illusions we have built on credit so we can appear like we belong to the ruling class, that we have forgotten to keep our eye on the ruling class.
If protest were part of our active vocabulary of responses to governmental interference with our inalienable rights, we would have turned out en masse the day after George Bush, Jr. won by thievery his first presidential election. We would have raised our voices and let them know that we won’t tolerate any more funny business. No Nepotism. No hanging chads. No Polling improprieties.
If we weren’t afraid of awakening out of our sleepwalk, we’d protest. But we seem to have forgotten that if we are subjected to no shrill actions, then we are merely reciting out of our hypnotic trance.
If we weren’t logey with excess, we’d have noticed by now that what we thought was merely the nibbling of mice at our core values and rights, is really the work of large deforestation equipment. We turn over in our complacency and pull up the cozy covers while our standing in the world community goes into the wood chipper, piece by piece.
If we weren’t so self absorbed, we might wrest our gaze from the mirrors and looked out the window, noticing that the mountain tops are being lopped off and the rivers are running red with the blood of our mother earth. The glaciers are melting. Our four legged brothers and sisters are fleeing their homes only to find that there is no where to go. With out knowing which species hold the cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, AID’s and other human health maladies, we stand by and even invite industry to decimate scores of species a day. A DAY! All so we can hold in our sweaty grasp a fistful of freshly minted, newly designed dollars.
We are distanced from the ones who speak out.
We think of ourselves as too fragile and sensitive to bear the truth.
We don’t even vote. Is that apathy or what?
I want you to know how much I admire your action. You will make great citizens and I hope in the coming weeks we respond to your protest in ways that encourage you. We need your fresh perspective and your passion.
Write poems and songs about your families that came here for better lives. Paint you ideals in oils and acrylics and hang them on our walls so all may have the privilege of seeing the world through your eyes. Write and perform plays about how the government of this country sometimes looks frighteningly like the ones your parents fled. Show us, please, with your idealism and enthusiasm, what we no longer have the innocence and objectivity to perceive. Make us angry; make us feel guilty; make us remember what it feels like to be alive and belong to the family of man.

Any thoughts?
I still laugh when I think that 63 percent of Israel turned out to vote in their latest election. Over 75 percent of Iraqi's voted - with bombs going off around the country. We think we need to bring democracy to the U.S.? They should be bringing it to us.

UMHB steals the show at TIPA

UMHB just took home a ton of awards from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. Congrats to all the winners.

Texas Intercollegiate Press Association
San Antonio, TX, April 6-8, 2006
UMHB AWARDS

On-site contests– No divisions in these competitions; small schools and large compete equally in the same contests.

1st place Radio Newswriting – Chelsea Schilling
1st place TV Newswriting – Matthew Irvine
2nd place Copy Editing – Natalie Kaspar
2nd Headline Writing – Christi Snow
2nd Column Writing – Christi Snow
2nd TV Sports Writing – Sarah-Jane Sanders
2nd Radio Commercial – Matthew Irvine
HM Feature Writing – Jessa Grassi

Charles T. “Chuck” Choate Memorial Adviser of the Year – Vicky Kendig

Scholarship Winner – Sarah-Jane Sanders

Previously published entries – Division 5
1st place Headline – Christi Snow
1st Picture Story – Alicia Whaley, Erin Spurgeon, Sarah-Jane Sanders
1st Sports Page Design – Jessa Grassi
1st Single Subject Design – Megan Benishek, Alicia Whaley
1st In-Depth Reporting – Natalie Kaspar
1st Sports Feature Story – Jessa Grassi
1st General Column – Brandy Gill
1st Sports News Story – Chase Williams
1st News Feature Story – Natalie Kaspar
1st Critical Review – Alicia Whaley
2nd Overall Excellence – Bells Staff
2nd Information Graphic – Sarah-Jane Sanders
2nd Ad Design – Stacey Voelker
2nd Page One Design – Natalie Kaspar
2nd News Story – Sarah-Jane Sanders, Christi Snow
3rd place Sports Action Photo – Karl Eason
3rd Editorial Cartoon – Travis Mitchell
3rd Opinion/Editorial Page Design – Christi Snow
3rd Feature Page Design – Sarah-Jane Sanders, Jena Coulson
3rd Illustration (non-photo) – Travis Mitchell
3rd Sports Action Photo – Karl Eason
3rd Feature Story – Sarah-Jane Sanders
3rd Best of Show
HM Picture Story – Alicia Whaley, Megan Benishek, Danielle Hampton
HM Feature Photo – Sarah-Jane Sanders
HM Information Graphic – Sarah-Jane Sanders
HM News Photo – Natalie Kaspar
HM Single Subject Design – Alicia Whaley, Erin Spurgeon

U2 #1 with One

The BBC reports that a line from U2's One topped the charts as the number one lyric this year in a VH1 poll.
The song was originally released in 1992 - and the CD single was the first CD I ever bought.
It was number 7 on the UK charts when released and the latest rendition, with Mary J Blidge went to number 2.
Top 5 Lyrics:

1. U2 - One. "One life, with each other, sisters, brothers."
2. The Smiths - How Soon is Now? "So you go, and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die."
3. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit. "I feel stupid and contagious, here we are now, entertain us."
4. Bob Marley - Redemption Song. "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds, have no fear for atomic energy, 'cause none of them can stop the time."
5. Coldplay - Yellow. "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you."

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Fun Video(s)

Guy fights himself with tiny energy balls
Star Wars kid goes Matrix
High School Star Wars - really great editing

Happy Easter

Evangel Temple had an outreach today on the east side of Waxahachie for the kids in the neighborhood. Between 200 to 300 kids showed up to hunt Easter eggs and meet the Waxahachie FD, Police Dept and Easter Bunny.

Mike McIlvain blogging

Mike McIlvain has gotten into the blogging world now.
Check him out. I imagine he'll have some great world wide pics.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Evil Evil prank call

http://monkeydoo.com/onlineflash_thering2.php

Check this out.
When you click on the website, you type in your friend's phone number, fill in a brief word or two about them (i.e. location, birthdate, age or whatever), tell the system what you want it to say, and then a link will be created for your friend.
Once they click on it, a ring-esque video will play and their phone will be called right away and the message will be delivered.
Freaky. I tried it on myself.

Simply genious (if you're into that sort of prank call).

College students considered religious centrist

I caught a press conference on CSpan last night about a study by Harvard University Institute on Politics on College Students and their religious and political views.
I found a link to the video of the press conference on CSpan.org, but it appears to be bad.
Maybe it will start working in the near future. You can however watch the full press conference from the Harvard University website.
Anyways, it was an interesting study.

Traditional party identification labels of "conservative" and "liberal" are antiquated, and don't fully represent students.

They said that the majority of college students define themselves as independents rather than the traditional Republican or Democrat. Students also tend to buck traditional liberal or conservative labels, looking more at right vs. wrong.

Religion is important in the lives of college students, but Republicans and Democrats may never agree on the role of religion in politics today.

Seventy percent of the students felt religion was important to them.
Twenty-five percent of students said they became more spiritual during college. Over 60 percent of Republican students thought that religion and spirituality in America was declining and it was a bad thing.
While over 50 percent of Democrat students thought that religion and spirituality in America was increasing and it was a bad thing.

Morality playing a strong role in students' political views.

On the issues of right and wrong, Republican students tend to be focused on three major issues, abortion, stem cell research and gay marriage. But the study found many are also concerned about the moral issues with the Katrina response.
Democrats also tend to add educaenvironmentroment and health care to their concerns.
All students are concerned about genocide worldwide.

(The survey) finds seven out of ten of America's college students believe that religion is somewhat or very important in their lives, but they are sharply divided "along party lines" over how strong a role religion should play in politics and government today. Despite these differences, more than half of students agree they are concerned about the moral direction of the country. While a majority believes hot-button issues like abortion policy, gay marriage and stem cell research are issues of morality, many also agree that the Government's response to Hurricane Katrina, education policy and Iraq war policy are also questions of morality.

Some other information the study found was:

Both Democrats and Republicans agree on their concern over the country's moral direction, but students are generally optimistic about our country's future.
College students continue to support a more multilateral U.S. foreign affairs stance and are conflicted over unilateral action to prevent nuclear weapons development, including in Iran.
More than seven in ten students believe the United States should withdraw some or all U.S. troops from Iraq.
Potential 2008 Clinton-McCain presidential matchup is a dead heat on campuses.
President Bush's approval rating still dropping, as students continue to feel the country is on the wrong track.
A majority of students trust our government's ability to correctly choose which phone calls and e-mails to monitor, but they are still generally unwilling to allow it.

I felt like the study showed that today's students are more concerned about human life in general than their parents may be.
One part of the study showed that students supported the spread of democracy by large ncasualtiesil casualities were in play.
Then the support decreases dramatically.
Anyways, it was an interesting program. You can take a quick survey yourself to see where you fit in. Click here for the survey.
More information:

Press release on the study

Full report

Top line data

Video of the press conference

San Antonio Business Journal readers pick Kinky

An online poll by the San Antonio Business Journal shows Kinky winning the Texas Governors race with 56% of the vote right now.

New location for Dallas Global Night Commute

A new location has been named for the Dallas Global Night Commute. I'm assuming they had trouble getting permits for the original location.

The new location is:
Northway Christian Church
7202 W. Northwest Highway
Dallas

The scheduled meeting time is 7 p.m. April 29.
Be sure to signup and get involved: http://www.invisiblechildren.com

Latest on Phil's sister

Here's the latest from Phil:

Here's the latest:
Sorry for the delay in sending updates, but my time on the PC has been limited the past several days! However, I did want to take the time to let you know that my sister is continuing to get better and should be released from the hospital soon....The doctors have yet to come up with a definete explanation as to what happened, but all her tests continue to come back normal! She finally regained her consciousness sometime on Wednesday and is now doing things on her own again, such as eating, walking, and going to the restroom! Praise God for her continual and speedy recovery.....At this point the best prognosis the doctors can give is that she had a massive seizure that was brought on as a result of the stress, shock and head trauma from her accident as well as the recent loss of her best friend to cancer!! There is some speculation right now that my sister may have epilepsy, which is treatable and controllable with proper medication....She will be be visiting the nuerologist regularly to have her brain scanned and tested so they can try and figure out what exactly is wrong with her! Thanks so much to each of you for your love, support, and prayers.....It overwhelms me to think of the number of people praying, even people I don't even know! So, for what it's worth, THANK YOU!
A lot of thoughts have been rolling through my head the past few days and I've been wrapped up on the "goodness" of God! Our God is infinetely GOOD, and never for a moment does he cease being a GOOD God! Bad things happen, terrible things, and things don't make sense or seem fair to us! At any moment, at any place in the world there is suffering, pain, and loss happening! When our mind and our hearts get fixed on the "bad" things of this world, GOD IS still GOOD.....Weather there is pain or suffering or life and healing, GOD IS GOOD....
Much Love to all of you and may you be overwhelmed by the goodness of our great God
PHIL

Good Friday thoughts

I thought this was a great post from Mark Batterson:

Good Friday
Since it's Good Friday I thought I'd share a devotional thought:
Did Peter feel a twinge of guilt every time he heard a rooster crow?
There is a poignant scene right after Peter denied Christ. A rooster crows. And Luke 22:61 says, "At that moment, the Lord turned and looked at Peter." I don't think it was a vindictive look. I think Jesus wanted to establish eye contact to maintain relationship with Peter, but Peter went out and "wept bitterly."
You know how certain sights or sounds or smells can trigger a memory? I’ve got to think that every time Peter heard a rooster crow he winced. It was a daily reminder of his failure. He was haunted by three denials.
Peter gets a bum rap. He is forever remembered as the disciple who denied Christ three times, but we forget the fact that he is the only one who got close enough to get caught. Peter is the disciple who sinks in the Sea of Galilee, but he is also the only disciple who walks on water! And Peter is the disciple who impulsively cut off Malchus' ear when the religious leaders come to arrest Jesus. But I don’t see any of the other disciples coming to Jesus' defense do you?
Lack of Evidence
All four gospels tell the story of Peter cutting off the right ear of Malchus, a servant of the high priest. Luke 22:51 says that Jesus "touched the man's ear and healed him."
Let me state the obvious: you don't cut off someone's ear and get by with it, especially if that someone is the High Priest's servant. Worst case scenario: Peter gets charged with attempted murder. Best case scenario: Peter gets charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
We tend to overlook this subplot, but Peter is in a world of trouble!
Then Jesus intervenes.
Somehow he reverses the irreversible. He reattaches the amputated ear. But he does more than heal this man's ear. I love the way my friend and mentor, Dick Foth, puts it: "Jesus destroys the evidence against us."
Stop and think about it.
Malchus files a civil suit against Peter and takes the witness stand. He says, "Peter cut off my ear." The Judge says, "Which ear?" Malchus says, "My right one." The Judge says, "It looks fine to me." And the case gets thrown out of court for lack of evidence!
This isn't just a story about Jesus and Peter and Malchus. It's a picture of what Christ accomplished on the Christ. He destroyed the evidence against us. It's like the Accuser of the Brethren brings charges against us, but the Judge says, "The evidence has been destroyed." And the charges are dropped.
That's why it's called Good Friday.

Grace, it's a name for a girl. It's also a thought that changed the world.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Will Global Night Commute make a difference?

More information: invisiblechildren.com

Can't get involved on April 29? Go ahead and start writing your congressmen now.
Let them know you're concerned and you want to see America do something about it.

Why is an American life worth more than the life of an African child?

The Simpsons on Conan

I'm not sure when this first aired, but I just found a video of two guys who do the voices of several Simpsons characters on the Conan O'Brien Show, who used to write for the Simpsons. Quite funny.

Perry for VP?

A writer for the DMN suggests a possible bid by Texas Gov. Rick "McDreamy" Perry or Hutchison for VP in 2008.

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry had very different messages about federal spending in recent appearances before two very different groups.
To Senate budget writers in Washington, he pleaded for $2 billion to compensate the state for hurricane relief.
Four days later, Mr. Perry drew cheers from a Republican gathering in Tennessee when he lambasted big-spending government where "deficits explode, entitlement programs take over."
His appearances point up the dual strategies of a governor who insists he's focused on Texas as he approaches re-election while allies work to burnish his national credentials as a potential vice presidential nominee.
The out-of-state events not only have heightened his profile but they also have created behind-the-scenes tension with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's backers. They see her as a more likely choice for vice president on a GOP ticket in 2008.

Dirtbags guaranteed winning record

With a 11-1 win over Fastonal (sp?) last night our softball team has guaranteed a winning record (.500) for the spring season.
There are four games left, including one double header so whether we win or lose the rest of the season, we have a winning season.
As a small sidenote I went 3 for 3 last night with 2 RBI's. Can't complain about that.
Anyways come on out and enjoy the remainder of the season.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Liberal biased left-wing Republican backed big business media

DMN columnist Steve Blow talks about the media's bias today in his column. Be sure to read it. It seems as though it doesn't matter which side of the aisle you're on, it seems everyone wants to believe the media is out to get them - and it's a little far-fetched at times.

I was startled the other day to realize: I'm a Jew. And a Gypsy. An Irish immigrant. A lawyer, too.
Granted, I haven't taken nearly as much grief as those others. But like all of them before, it's now my turn to be a scapegoat. A whipping boy. A convenient enemy.
You see, I'm a member of the hated mainstream media.
Now, if the term "mainstream media" doesn't automatically make your lip curl, then you haven't been indoctrinated by the political fringes. But trust me, it's no compliment to be "mainstream" these days.

Pegasus Plaza

Dallas' Global Night Commute will be at Pegasus Plaza - Main St at Akard, Dallas.
This 16000 square foot, $3 million plaza was built with assistance from the actress Greer Garson, a Dallas resident. A fountain and nine granite boulders bearing the names of the Greek muses mark this plaza. The Red Flying Horse, Pegasus, was restored and relit for the year 2000 and placed atop the Magnolia Hotel at 1401 Commerce Street downtown.

Another update from Global Night Commute

Event Details:

7 p.m.: Arrive to their designated location that was listed on the website by means of walking and/or public transportation. If that is unfeasible, then participants should drive to a destination nearby and walk over.

7 to 9 p.m.: Find event staff and get a packet with instructions for the night. That packet will give instructions for a letter writing campaign to respective senators, as well as provide a prompt in an art project to express the individual voice in a creative way. Individual photos will be taken of the participants at the event to be used in these art projects. These personal expressions will be compiled and used for a book that will express what this night is about.

9 p.m.: There will be filming/photographs taken of all the participants standing in front of one sign that will express part of a message to send to the world. This statement, combined with the statements from the other cities signs, will be part of a larger message which will come together and show the unity of the event throughout the world in the final movie, as well as other pieces of Invisible Children media.

10 p.m.: Once people finish writing their letters we ask that they enjoy the evening in the company of strangers with hearts as big as theirs. We encourage people to spend time with their friends, meet new people who are actively pursuing the resolution of the war in northern Uganda. 6am: At sun up, another group photo will be taken around the sign, due to the lighting at that time.

7 a.m.: People will begin to leave the area and a clean up crew will start clearing the area. Designated areas are expected to be left exactly as people found them.
* Note: There will be filming and photography throughout the event.

What to bring? Sleeping bag, pillow, flashlight and any art supplies that they may want to use/share in the making of the art project (i.e. pens, markers, crayons, glue, etc.).

To find out more about Invisible Children Inc. or the Global Night Commute check our website at www.invisiblechildren.com. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at
globalnightcommute@invisiblechildren.com or at (619) 631-0362.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Global Night Commute

From the Dallas Global Night Commute team:

PLEASE READ!
There have been MANY of you asking us about the location.
Here's the deal. We have a location but we can't tell you where it is until we have the permit in our hands. The city has been very dificult to work with in this situation.
I can tell you that it is in downtown Dallas in a very safe part of the town and for those of you who are concerned with safety, we're most likely going to get courtesy officers to watch out for the group.
We've also gotten a lot of people (parents) asking about this and my responce to you all is COME TOO!!! This is by no means solely for young adults and teenagers.
We want everyone there from toddlers to senior citizens.
If you have any further questions or comments, please send us a message or call the offices in San Diego, the number is on the invisible children website
www.invisiblechildren.com
Also, you HAVE to sign up online. It's crucial you do this so that the government can see the numbers and know how many of us care about this.
www.invisiblechildren.com/
themovement/globalnightcommute
Thanks and God Bless

As a reminder, Phil and I will be making the walk from Waxahachie that day, so anyone who wants to join us, come along. We'd love to have your company.

Still haven't found what I'm looking for

Brian Bailey has a great post on Google guilt.
What is Google guilt?

def. A sense of remorse for bringing people to your blog or website through search engines under false pretenses.

So what does that mean?
Brian explains that as he tracks his blog's visitors he realizes people probably leave his site saying, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for."
Through using common phrases in his titles, he realizes many "can't always get what you want."

First, I like to use common phrases to title my posts, or at least I did the first 12-18 months of this blog. I think the technical word for this may be pun. Here's a sampling...
I wanna be just like you
My post is the first result on Google, above the actual song on Amazon. The subject is A-List bloggers.
More love, more power
A song title that seemed like a brilliant phrase for a post about power outages.
Face it girls, I'm older and have more insurance
Not the title, but still the first result on Google if you're looking for the line from Fried Green Tomatoes. The subject of the post? The 2004 Republican Convention.

I'd love to just post the whole entry here, but then U2 wouldn't be able to read it from Brian himself.

Final results

Final unofficial runoff results for Ellis County
Final unofficial results in the runoff election are as follows:

Republican:
District Clerk
Melanie Price Reed 1347 58%
Cathy Beer 990 42%

Commissioner, Pct. 2
Bill Dodson 688 60%
Larry Jones (I) 450 40%

Criminal Appeals Judge Place 8
Charles Holcomb 1116 62%
Terry Keel 677 38%

Democrat:
United States Senator
Gene Kelly 50 25%
Barbara Ann Radofsky 153 75%

Lieutenant Governor
Maria Luisa Alvarado 62 31%
Benjamin Z. Grant 139 69%

The Living Room

Thought I'd give you all an update on what we're now calling, The Living Room.
Our Saturday night fellowship/gathering has put together a vision and plan to begin things with.
We've got a new myspace page up (in the works) and we hope to have a blog or website up soon as well.
Here's our vision: A safe harbor for fellow travellers joined in prayer and fellowship.
Here's our plan: We will pursue the heart of God through prayer and worship. We will intentionally engage the world around us. And we will be a place to discover who God is and who we are in Him.
So that's the basics. Come join us Saturday's at 7 p.m. in Waxahachie. Bring some chips or drinks or snacks and come for a good time.
We're going to start a study of Ecclesiastes the Saturday after Easter - April 22. So read chapter 1 and come for some great discussion. (I say "we" but I actually have a show that night).

Early runoff results

Here are the latest results for early voting in Ellis County.
This is "unofficial" and early voting results only.

Republican
District Clerk
Melanie Price Reed 692 - 66%
Cathy Beer 360 - 34%

Commissioners, Pct 2
Bill Dodson 336 - 60%
Larry Jones (I) 224 - 40%

Criminal Appeals Judge Place 8
Charles Holcomb 492 - 63%
Terry Keel 284 - 37%

Democrat
United States Senator
Gene Kelly 12 - 24%
Barbara Ann Radofsky 37 - 76%

Lietenant Gov
Maria Luisa Alvarado 15 - 31%
Benjamin Z. Grant 34 - 69%

APME awards

My publisher forwarded the info on the APME Awards today.
Here's the list of awards the WDL took home over the weekend:

Texas APME Awards, held in Houston:
Class A
Star Breaking News Report of the Year - Waxahachie Daily Light/JoAnn Livingston and Sandra McIntosh
Freedom of Information - (3rd) Waxahachie Daily Light/Jonathan Blundell
Deadline Writing - (2nd) Waxahachie Daily Light/JoAnn Livingston
Short Features - (3rd) Waxahachie Daily Light/Sandra McIntosh
Comment and Criticism - (2nd) Waxahachie Daily Light/Neal White
Business Reporting - (3rd) Waxahachie Daily Light/Jonathan Blundell
Team Page Design - (3rd) Waxahachie Daily Light/Neal White, John Hicks, Shirley Wiese and G.R. Mendoza

Update on Phil's sister

I believe Blogger is down, or my Internet connection is not working well this evening. I’ve been out all day workig at the Special Olympics, but Phil gave me an update on his sister earlier today.
For those of you who don’t know, Phil’s sister was involved in a car accident Sunday and was unconscious for a while.
She checked out OK at the hospital Sunday, but went into massive seizures yesterday afternoon.
They feared brain hemorrhaging, but they’ve ruled that out now.
Here’s the update from Phil:

First let me say that I am overwlemed at the number of people praying for Dayna....Words can not express what that means to me and what it is doing for my sister! So thanks SO much to each of you for your love and prayers!
Alright, so the GOOD news is....and I do mean GOOD!!! There is no internal bleeding in her brain and there is no brain hemraging, which is unbelievable since the original speculation was almost certain that is what it was happening! She has been in the hospital since 12 noon yesterday and has not yet awoken from her sleep/dream state...The doctors have not been able to say for sure what is going on, and they are waiting to perform some more extensive tests on her brain! All of her vitals appear to be normal and she is breathing on her own, so she is not in a coma!
However, last night she developed a fever and the doctors have been running tests as think she might possibly have some form of meningitis....
I guess at this point there are just a lot of unanswered questions, and nobody seems to know for sure what is wrong with her! I would ask that you pray for the medical staff as we have had some difficulties getting them to give her the proper treatment and care that she needs!
Things are definetly looking better at this point, but we must never stop praying! Thanks again for your love and support, I am truly amazed and blessed by each of you!

MUCH LOVE

PHIL

I will continue to send more updates as I find out more!

--
Please join everyone in praying for Dayna and her quick recovery.

Congrats #1000

Congrats to someone in Lancaster, Blackpool in the UK. They were the 1,000th person to visit my page since I installed my counter at the end of February. Looks like they were looking for info on P.O.D. and their new song for Rey Mysterio's entrance in the WWE.

Monday, April 10, 2006

End Genocide in Darfur

From Sojourners:

The inspiration for this subject line didn't come from Pollyanna. It came from the late Senator Paul Simon. After reflecting on the genocide in Rwanda, he said: "If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different."
That's a powerful statement. It means that we had the power to stop the genocide in Rwanda, but that too many of us chose not to act. It also means that we have the power now to stop the genocide in Darfur if we do choose to act.
Send a letter - Join the Million Voices for Darfur Campaign
Sojourners is teaming up with our good friends at the Save Darfur Coalition and nearly 100 organizations to gather 1 million signatures on postcards. These postcards and their messages will be sent to President Bush, urging him to take action. After you're done signing, you will have the opportunity to spread the word to your friends. Gathering 1 million signatures is as simple as you passing the alert to 10 people, who each send to 10 people, and so on.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Darfur, an estimated 400,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million people have been displaced. The world has watched silently. Paul Rusesabagina, whose life and experience with the 1994 genocide in Rwanda was portrayed in the movie Hotel Rwanda, put it this way: "A detachment of well-equipped peacekeepers, made up of less than one-twentieth of the American troops now stationed in Iraq, could have easily stopped the killings without risk" (emphasis added). In short, we are asking President Bush to give real meaning to the words, "Never Again."
Take Action - Join the Million Voices for Darfur Campaign
In addition to joining the Million Voices for Darfur campaign, we invite you to come to Washington, D.C., for a rally on April 30 to demand that we use our resources to end the genocide in Darfur. In addition to the rally, the Save Darfur Coalition is sponsoring lobby days on April 28 and May 1, so we encourage you to come early or stay late!
Click here for more information about the Rally to Stop Genocide
Thank you for using your voice. We believe that with God's grace working in and through us, we can end this genocide.

Peace,
The Sojourners Organizing Team
Adam, Matt, Christa, and Nadia

NETPA

Found the listing of NETPA awards online. The awards were also given out this weekend.
The awards are for the North East Texas Press Association members. It looks like the WDL placed in almost every category for our class. Congrats to everyone involved.
I'm still trying to find a listing of TAPME winners. I think I heard Eric and Sandra both won for our paper as well as Neal and JoAnn.

CWF Schedule

FYI.. here's our latest on shows scheduled for the next few months:

April 19 Sachse Assembly of God
Grand opening of new youth facility!!!
7pm. FREE!!!
2709 Third St. Sachse,Tx 75048. 972 495-1116

April 22 CWF @ Brotherly Love Ministries
6pm. A Plus Christian Academy
10327 Rylie Rd. Dallas,Tx 75217.
Tickets between $5-$10 972 287-5500

June 24 Chisolm Trail Baptist Church Kid's Camp
Glen Rose,Tx

July 22 First Baptist Church - Grapevine
Riverbend Children's camp Glenrose,Tx

Fun game

Looking for a stimulating game? If you haven't played Sodoku yet, get ready for some fun - that is if you enjoy logic games, for free, on the web :-).

Love taking tests?

Love test taking? Or just Q & A?
Check out web.tickle.com to try all sorts of tests including testing your IQ. I won't publish my IQ results here... maybe I'll email them to you if you ask nicely, but no promises.

Jesus films posted

It's amazing, but a year after I found them, people are still asking me where they can watch the Jesus parody films from Vintage 21.
I believe the group has taken them off their website, but have no fear... you can now watch them on my Myspace.com page.
For those of you not familiar with the videos, its basically a Mystery Science Theater 3000 take on an old film about Jesus. It's not meant to be scriptural, in fact I believe it's quite the opposite. It's meant to take a humorous look at how "outsiders" view Christians.
Just visit my profile and click on VIDEOS underneath my picture (oh and you'll probably need to be a myspace member to view the videos).

Flash Mob Pillow Fight

The Austin Statesman has some photos from a Flash Mob Pillow Fight in Austin.

APME awards

I'm not one who loves to brag on myself, but I'm feeling pretty good today. I was just informed that I won two honorable mentions at APME over the weekend.
My story on downtown parking (I think I wrote it my first week at WDL) won an honorable mention for business reporting and my story on the Roach "problem" at KFC won for Freedom of Information Act use.
I guess it's good to know you're doing things right when judged by your peers. As soon as I can find one, I'll publish a full list of the winners.

NY Times reports other ending planned for West Wing

The NY Times reports that originally Santos was not planned to win the presidential election last night on The West Wing.

Like many political campaigns, the presidential election depicted last night on "The West Wing" on NBC would have had a different ending had it been held four months ago.
But the reversal of fortune for Matt Santos — the Democratic nominee, played by Jimmy Smits, who was the victor — had nothing to do with any shift in opinion among voters.
Instead, Lawrence O'Donnell, an executive producer of the show, said he and his fellow writers had declared Santos the winner only after the death, in mid-December, of John Spencer, who portrayed Santos's running mate, Leo McGarry. At the time of Mr. Spencer's death, the plot for last night's episode had been set: the election was to be won by Alan Alda's Arnold Vinick, a maverick Republican (modeled a bit on Senator John McCain), whom many Democrats (including the Democrats who write the show) could learn to love.

The story also discusses the future of the cast members, including President Bartlet (Martin Sheen), who plans to enroll in college at The National University of Ireland in Galway.

West Wing - Election Night Part 2

Last night reminded me again that I really miss Leo's character and I'm really going to miss the West Wing when the season ends.
It was somewhat predictable that Santos would win the election, but I loved all the "false finishes" during election night.
I loved the speach Santos gave to encourage voters after Leo (John Spencer) died. "This is bigger than Leo and anyone else - this is about a vision for our nation."
I loved the heartfelt interaction between Josh and Donna, Josh and Santos and CJ and the President as each of them learned of Leo's death.
It was if they were just finding out for the first time that John Spencer had died.
I hope there are some Emmy's lined up for the cast and crew on this one.
I really wish the show could continue with a Santos presidency, but I guess all good things have to come to an end. Thank goodness for the West Wing on DVD.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

WDL wins at Texas APME

The Waxahachie Daily Light brought home the first place award for Star Breaking News Report of the Year, Class A this weekend. I don't know if we brought home any other awards or not, but that is apparently the only first place award we won.
A full list of first place winners can be found on the DMN website.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Prayer on the Daily Show

The Daily Show discussed a new scientific study, that set out to prove if prayer works or not.
According to the study, prayer may do more harm than good.
Stewart suggests it was leaving out the word "Amen." If you don't end it right, you can't expect to get the right answer.
He also wonders if the study has any "real world application."

Tom Hanks filming in the Metroplex

From the DFW Film Commission:

A large studio feature film starring Tom Hanks (also producer) is interested in finding a mansion/estate locally to shoot at this fall, likely October/November. Scenes take place primarily around the swimming pool and sounds like only a few days of filming. The property should have pretty large grounds and the house they want is VERY elegant and traditional in style. The film is set in the early '80s. Please respond via e-mail with suggestions, including contact information if all possible. We appreciate all leads but particularly those that have already expressed an interest in allowing filming. 214.571.1050 - www.filmdfw.com

Think I can sell them on my second story apartment/duplex?