Whales

Oh the Whales! Humpbacks off the Coast of Gloucester (don't pronounce the C for some reason) Mass. We saw about 12-14 of these amazing creatures. These two came really close and I kind of got excited. It was planet earth from 5 feet away. Amazing.

The Water Balloon Hearings

After seeing the news of the hearings they were going to have on Capital Hill about the financial crisis and who was leading them, I had a thought. This is very much like the hearings we had in my house over 20 years ago as to "Why doesn't the TV work right now?" It was a mystery because nothing looked smashed or broken. (I'll be playing the role of Senator Chris Dodd in this story). So my mom looked at both of us and asked me what happened. I was always the credible one between me and my brother and it was almost always his fault, so it made sense for my Mom to ask me what happened. I had the floor, set the agenda and plainly said that my brother Eric was at fault, no questions. He was the guilt party and that was the end of that. This is how I feel about these hearings. This WSJ article points this fact out about asking the trustworthy person, Sen. Dodd, to run the hearings. Only problem being no one has taken more money from Fannie and Freddie, had special favors given to him by Country Wide mortage and actually oversaw the banking comm. for the last 2 plus years but Dodd.

I don't know if the hearings will ever happen were Sen. Dodd gets called to sit infront of the microphone but here is my moment:

I broke a water balloon over the TV. Don't ask me why or how but fortunately the TV dried out and started working again.

How to not help the poor.

Here is a fantastic clip on how unhelpful and even destructive government policies of good intention were. I was blown away by the stats on Washington D.C. and what the marriage rates were pre-1963 in the black community and the beginnings of government programs.

If your a Christian then you really need to be thinking about this and what it means to first answer the call to love your neighbor and then figure out how to best do that act.

Norrrrmmmm

Being tourists was awesome.

Bawston

Les and I got to take a great trip to Boston last weekend and had an amazing time with her sister and boyfriend. We got to see both the city and others parts of Mass so you get the tour over the next few days.

Apple picking was the first activity after we got settled the next morning. This orchard was crazy huge and I participated in the "Three apple challenge" with Leslie's sister Laurie. There were amazing candied apples and the goal was three but we called a truce at two. Jaw fatigue, sugar rushes and nuts really kept three apples a legitimate challenge and not for the weak.

They had these really cool ladders to climb in the trees. I kept thinking about what their liability payments must be with unattended ladders around the property you can climb at your discretion.
Colors. Lots of Colors. This last picture was taken in Concord and the sun was just shining through these leaves as I sat and ate my monster Lobster roll, with Lobster Bisque. Lobster will show up again later.

Palin is so street

Hopefully you stayed up late enough to catch this re-appearance by Palin on the News Update on SNL. Hilarious.

Hot off the Presses

If you are looking for a good study Bible then I would recommend getting this baby.

The ESV study bible has been a long time in the making but just looking at the contributors and knowing alot of them, you can't go wrong. This is by far, in my humble opinion, the best study Bible ever put together. If you ever went to Covenant Seminary or know of it then you will recognize alot of the names who put this together. It really is some world class work. So go get you one, it's on my Christmas list already.

Character Counts

This was a really good article about Why How you do something, like business, does matter. Nice to hear someone say that America got away from just common sense money management. It was interesting that one of the main arguments as to why you should do things ethically is how connected we are technologically. People will see what you are up to so you better be doing them ethically. That's true but I can think of a better reason.

Worst ever out of the Closet

Pound for pound I think the worst thing ever put on film was this R. Kelly train wreck "Trapped in the Closet." It's a 22 part video-soap opera narration called "hip-hopera" that gets worse as it goes on. The more I read on this thing, I believe they are serious. This is not meant to be funny at all, thus making it hilarious.




This clip is only 3.45 and it is by far the best part of the movie. It only gets worse. If you want to watch a longer 20 minute version, it will feel like 40 minutes have gone by, then enjoy this beauty.




Does anyone want to submit something that smells worse??

Worst Ever??

Please enter your submissions for the worst movie you have ever seen. I have a train wreck that I don't believe can be beat but I want to know just how low to set the collective bar. What do you got?

Vols orange for this convict

They finally found the person who hacked Sarah Palin's email and he is none other than a UT economics student. I'm sure the university must be proud of their little volunteer but at least his volunteer orange will come in handy. Amazing that this kid could get 5 years for something small but monumentally stupid. I believe the next step in the investigation is to somehow link Phillip Fulmer to this case so that UT can get rid of their football coach at the same time. Some argue what he is currently doing to the football program might be criminal.

The Science of the Sandwich

Come with me into the kitchen where I make myself happy. Putting together a rocking sandwich basically takes two things. Boldness, because cooking in fear is not what we were made for and the gospel is true even in the kitchen and second is good basic ingredients.

I have been rocking some fun sandwiches lately and it's not just enough to build them, you have got to heat those babies up. I'm getting crazy here and I fired up two skillets because one was already dirty. This is a grilled sandwich with Turkey and White cheddar.
Start with two day old Bread Company bread. I have access to lots of old bread, so giant loaves of bread I can slice is great. You need like half a square foot to work with on these things. You need to get that Turkey grilled and hot first. It will not have time to heat in this monster sandwich. In the skillet on the right is a piece of bread with olive oil, I like this better than spreading butter, and three pieces of sharp white cheddar, thin sliced red onion and oregano. This is a winning combination as I have found that especially Vermont white cheddar and oregano make a great pair.

You can see what I am working with here on my crazy fun cutting board. Now what you see in the very front of you is not an optical illusion. That is sour cream. This is what I mean about not cooking out of fear because the gospel is true in the kitchen. I use it like mayonnaise on one side of the sandwich. That melted into the cheese adds this great creaminess that you just can't resist.

Now according to my food research lab (basically how I feel after I eat this thing) it comes in at under 648 calories not including sides. You do have to keep the heat low and since I'm using gas I keep an eye on everything. You have to treat this sandwich with love and respect like you are making a risotto or nursing a Puma cub back to health. All three endeavors take love, boldness and attention.

This was paired with a side of salsa verde and chips. So be brave my friends and start slicing, heating, cutting and melting your way into your own heart and fill your stomach and taste buds with the things you would so love.

This would be a staple in any restaurant I ever started.

My Fighting Cardinals

This wonderful football season got way more interesting when my alma mater Ball State cracked the AP top 25 at 25. We are over achievers! In honor of these feat, it would be only appropriate to bring back the greatest sports caster in Ball State history.

In these troubled times

This from Proverbs has been a good reminder of both what the pursuit of the love of money leads to and where our leaders stand before God.

Proverbs 21:1-8 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. 2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart. 3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. 4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. 5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. 6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death. 7 The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just. 8 The way of the guilty is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is upright.