I was listening to Rod Stewart's beautiful cover of Cat Stevens' "The First Cut Is the Deepest" the other day, and remembered that I had recently heard part of Sheryl Crow's version of the song -- only part, because I turned it off.
So I thought to myself, "How many more cover songs is Sheryl Crow going to mangle?" She already destroyed Derek & Dominos' "Keep On Growing." About the only thing she's done that I like is "Picture," and that's a duet.
Mood: Disgusted
Music: Great White: "Rock Me"
2008-12-18
2008-12-17
Fishes
The other day I remarked to Maryanne that not only do the Darwin badges some people put on their cars bother me, but so do the resulting Truth badges that feature a traditional ichthys eating the Darwin parody. While evolution and Creationism may be at odds with each other, evolution and Christianity are not mutually exclusive ideas. I think it's possible for a person to accept scientific ideas and still live a Christian life.
I think this also illustrates the absurdity of fundamental, hard-line Creationism. Maryanne started watching 17 Kids and Counting, a show I find somewhat disturbing not only because of the rigid, inflexible beliefs of the family members, but their belief in Creationism, which took them to a Creationism museum. The museum featured neighboring displays of dinosaurs and Adam and Eve -- not the same display, but they might as well be showing Jesus riding a dinosaur for the scientific inaccuracy of it all.
I also remarked that Creationism is also very self-serving and prejudiced; it presumes to suggest that the Judeo-Christian Creation story is the only one that's truthful, and the creation stories of any other religions (and mythologies) are wrong. I compared this to the First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before Me." It doesn't say there are no other gods; to me it just says God wants to be first and only on your list.
Enter The Greek Myths by Robert Graves. Here Graves not only analyzes the symbolism of the Greek myths, but compares them to the mythology and the cults of the rest of the eastern Mediterranean. The similarities are fascinating, as he draws parallels between ancient Greek myths and the myths of other cultures, including Egypt and Babylon, and even the Norse and the ancient Jews. It's the kind of academic examination of the stories that seems to be lacking from those who take a literal view of scripture.
Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Led Zeppelin: "Dazed and Confused"
I think this also illustrates the absurdity of fundamental, hard-line Creationism. Maryanne started watching 17 Kids and Counting, a show I find somewhat disturbing not only because of the rigid, inflexible beliefs of the family members, but their belief in Creationism, which took them to a Creationism museum. The museum featured neighboring displays of dinosaurs and Adam and Eve -- not the same display, but they might as well be showing Jesus riding a dinosaur for the scientific inaccuracy of it all.
I also remarked that Creationism is also very self-serving and prejudiced; it presumes to suggest that the Judeo-Christian Creation story is the only one that's truthful, and the creation stories of any other religions (and mythologies) are wrong. I compared this to the First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before Me." It doesn't say there are no other gods; to me it just says God wants to be first and only on your list.
Enter The Greek Myths by Robert Graves. Here Graves not only analyzes the symbolism of the Greek myths, but compares them to the mythology and the cults of the rest of the eastern Mediterranean. The similarities are fascinating, as he draws parallels between ancient Greek myths and the myths of other cultures, including Egypt and Babylon, and even the Norse and the ancient Jews. It's the kind of academic examination of the stories that seems to be lacking from those who take a literal view of scripture.
Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Led Zeppelin: "Dazed and Confused"
2008-12-08
Decorating
I finally got the Christmas tree up yesterday, which turned out to be a bigger project than I expected. It required moving a large number of large items out of the living room, including moving a number of Sarah's toys into her room and moving one of our end tables downstairs temporarily.
The remaining challenge is getting some Christmas shopping done. Between my work schedule, Maryanne's work schedule, and dealing with two young children, I really don't know when, or if, we'll get any of it done.
Mood: Stressed
Music: Autograph: "Turn Up the Radio"
The remaining challenge is getting some Christmas shopping done. Between my work schedule, Maryanne's work schedule, and dealing with two young children, I really don't know when, or if, we'll get any of it done.
Mood: Stressed
Music: Autograph: "Turn Up the Radio"
2008-12-01
Making Memories
When the Packers thoroughly dismantled the Bears, I thought maybe it was a sign of them getting their season turned around. Of course, that was before seeing them get dismantled in turn by the Saints, and then lack any kind of special teams play against the Panthers. I'm now anticipating them finishing 8-8 on the season. No, I'm not one of those people that's going to blame it on Favre being traded away. The quarterback has nothing to do with inconsistency on defense and special teams.
The Thanksgiving holiday was fun, though, and in retrospect I'll likely remember it more than the Packers' mediocre season. November 22nd saw the arrival of some family for Magan's baptism: my sister and niece flew in from Colorado for the event, and my aunt and uncle flew up from Florida; my mother even came. Then over the course of the next few days everyone drove to Door County to have Thanksgiving at my mother's house. It was good having everyone together, even if it was a saddening reminder of those that are no longer here to share it with the rest of us. I also got to see some good friends. Despite the stresses of traveling with a young infant I think we all enjoyed the trip. Even Sarah enjoyed it, so much so that she didn't want to leave Sunday morning and put up a terrible temper tantrum when we finally left.
December is here, now, and with it the feeling of winter and the holidays. We got quite a bit of snow last night, enough to cause some schools to be delayed this morning. I don't anticipate the snow melting anytime soon. I enjoy having a white Christmas; I think it somehow appropriate, even if it does add another stress to the holiday season. The next several weekends will be busy while Maryanne and I try to ready ourselves.
Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Scorpions: "Wind of Change"
The Thanksgiving holiday was fun, though, and in retrospect I'll likely remember it more than the Packers' mediocre season. November 22nd saw the arrival of some family for Magan's baptism: my sister and niece flew in from Colorado for the event, and my aunt and uncle flew up from Florida; my mother even came. Then over the course of the next few days everyone drove to Door County to have Thanksgiving at my mother's house. It was good having everyone together, even if it was a saddening reminder of those that are no longer here to share it with the rest of us. I also got to see some good friends. Despite the stresses of traveling with a young infant I think we all enjoyed the trip. Even Sarah enjoyed it, so much so that she didn't want to leave Sunday morning and put up a terrible temper tantrum when we finally left.
December is here, now, and with it the feeling of winter and the holidays. We got quite a bit of snow last night, enough to cause some schools to be delayed this morning. I don't anticipate the snow melting anytime soon. I enjoy having a white Christmas; I think it somehow appropriate, even if it does add another stress to the holiday season. The next several weekends will be busy while Maryanne and I try to ready ourselves.
Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Scorpions: "Wind of Change"
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