Crackers and tea for breakfast. I can see this day's off to a pretty good start.

I stumbled across this interesting ramble on writing workshops at Instapundit's page. From my limited experience, the whole get-in-a-circle thing doesn't do much for me. Written comments from the others in my group were things I looked forward to receiving - actual constructive criticim, that is, not the "nice piece, keep up the good work" crap. I have to admit, however, that I haven't been very good at dishing out constructive criticism myself in that kind of setting. I recognized a good read when I saw one, but I wasn't always articulate in my criticism of another student's piece. I think it was the whole get-in-a-circle thing that did me in - I mean, if you want a good idea of what awkward silence really means, you're invited to my next writer's workshop class. I'm just better at being an editor when it's more one-on-one.

Yes, this happens to me. All the time. Off and online.

Oh, shut up already. Otherwise you'll feel the wrath of my flipper.

Two very different areas, with one very similar problem: if one bites the hand that feeds him, one shouldn't think it won't smack back.

Updates and more later...when I'm more awake.

Yesterday Nikkiana posted THE best piece of spam e-mail ever.

And today is my brother Larry's 20th birthday. Lare, you're smart, talented, handsome, and all around a great guy. I'm proud of you and I love you. Have a great B-Day!

RIP, Bob Hope.

There're some who think their political party has been hijacked by extremists, there're some who're complaining about the prez not being conservative enough* any longer...and then there are some who don't really care about partisan politics anymore.

I can see why, too. The most significant quote to me was this: "I still cling to my own label, but I am very nearly ready to stop. I think the only reason I still do it is because I would rather label myself than let others do it for me." (M. Totten)

Me? I've always identified myself as either a moderate or moderate Republican or conservative. At one time I was even left-of-center. In the end, however, I don't think it really matters.

My political views aren't my God and they never will be.

*=registration required to read

I go now to the Lord of glory
Behind I leave my life's story
And I pray that you will see
That time was not spent in vain
For to live is Christ, to die is gain
I became what He molded me to be
Born a sinner, but died a saint
In the end forsaking death's taint
Striving for perfection all my life
Walking by faith, not by sight
Do not think I mean to boast
In the last of these pages
For the God who's reigned throughout the ages
Did consume me with His righteous fire
And now calls me ever higher

02.20.01
RIP: For my grandfather, BMN

Something I found in ye olde notebook earlier. For memory's sake.

I am one extremely happy reader at the moment. For one thing, two boxes worth of books that have been sitting by my desk since we moved into our digs last August have now found a home in my closet.

And I seem to be on another Vietnam War trip: I'm trying to finish Ketwig's ...and a hard rain fell, which is very very good, and I just received this amazing volume that was put together by a writer friend's namesake for a character of his: John Plaster.

Did I mention I was in Bookworm Heaven?

"Unaware that a live microphone was broadcasting their words around the Capitol, Assembly Democrats meeting behind closed doors debated prolonging California's budget crisis for political gain."

I'm glad I ain't a politician...

Qusay and Uday Hussein are dead.

Good riddance.

Thank you x million. I'm going to be in Bookworm Land for the next few weeks!

Some blogs I have neglected to shine the spotlight on:

Rev. Mike Murdock
DeeBeeDee
Common Things
Journey Inside My Mind
Letters to God
Gator Bites

Get moving.

DYL is back!

Need I say more?

What would you do if you got a letter like this one?

Methinks the newly minted Theologian Guy handled the whole affair gracefully, but something's wrong when a believer sends his lawyer after another believer over a NAME. Aren't we all supposed to be Bible geeks, anyway?

The jury's still out on Liberia, it seems. I found an interesting op/ed in yesterday's S.F. Chronicle about U.S. interests in Africa - or the lack thereof. Check it out.

Interesting things are happening in London. And they say real life is stranger than fiction.

Oh, of course - that's because it is.

Via Tim Blair: the text and audio of Tony Blair's speech at yesterday's joint session of Congress. Congrats on receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, sir. Nice speech, too.

By the way, did I mention that I'm no longer a Journalism major? It doesn't mean I'll ditch my interest in the media - it just means I'll be focusing more on my writing craft as opposed to focusing on how and where I'll be using it. Which means less worry for me and more fun for all of us. WOOHOO!

Now here's a great idea, inspired by a creative lady.

Here's my contribution:

So what're you waiting for?

(link via Bene)

Strange how circumstances can turn around over time. Now it seems like one can be ostracized on campus grounds because his skin color is much lighter than someone else's.

Case in point: a white student wants to hang a flyer about a forthcoming speech in the campus Multicultural Center. A group of black students who were eating pizza and holding -- get this -- a Bible study session in the vicinity stop him because they recognized the flyer and objected to the white student posting it there because the flyer was "disrespectful." (The speech in question, as a matter of fact, was going to be given by a black man who at the time just had a book published called It's OK to Leave the Plantation.)

To make a long story short: the white student leaves the area after one of the black students attending the Bible study session (what in the world were they studying!?) told him she would call the police if he didn't leave. She called the police, anyway. The white student later gets heavily, ahem, disciplined for maintaining a "disruptive" presence. In the campus Multicultural Center. (What, was the Multicultural Center now divided into black/white/in-between areas?)

My gosh, the disgusting ironies that abound.

NOTE: FIRE is getting on the university's case about this, but the university has yet to respond on the matter. They'd better soon, or they'll be facing a lawsuit.

(original news link via Misha)

We had a guest speaker, Dr. Thomas Kindall, at our church yesterday who talked about evolution versus creationism. I've rarely strayed close to the ongoing debate surrounding these topics because I don't know enough about either to offer much insight. What I do know, however, is that I definitely didn't originate from monkeys or amoebas. But here are some questions that were tackled yesterday for you to ponder:

1. What is race?

2. Were you able to offer some sort of response to Question Number One?

3. If so, what's the difference between the words "race" and "ethnicity"?

4. What is melanin?

5. Why is the full title of Charles Darwin's controversial book not given in the latest edition?

6. Why is evolution accepted as fact today when in scientific terms it remains an unproven theory?

7. Should you care about controversial issues like racism and evolution? Why or why not?

8. Do you think evolution really has anything to do with racism?

9. Does it really matter?

10. Should it matter?

UPDATE: Martin Roth points to a recent radio interview with Francis Collins (head of the Human Genome Project) in Melbourne.

The two most interesting points of this interview:

1. Francis Collins is a Christian.
2. One of the most significant findings from the HGP is that there is only a 0.1% difference in the DNA sequences of people who come from different "races" (ethnic background).

Chalk this up as one of the most irresponsible things I've done up till now. I was going to call it the whackiest or the craziest, but, well, Irresponsible seems to fit better. 'Sides, I've gotten reamed for it already.

Not this past Tuesday, but Tuesday from last week, we (Roommate, Excitable Cousin, and me) were visiting some relations who live in a pretty quiet residential area...on a hill. A hill with a 45% grade. And it's nighttime.

Roommate's Boyfriend is there, and Roommate & Boyfriend are too busy paying attention to each other, so Excitable Cousin and I hop into Roommate's car and decide to go for a ride, with Roommate's permission. (I will therefore say this: it's only partly my fault that this occurred in the first place - I mean, if the Roommate had said no, I couldn't drive the car, none of this would've happened.) Excitable Cousin is the first one to get behind the wheel.

Bad. Idea.

Excitable Cousin has driven her dad's truck before, but one needs less pressure on the brake to stop the truck, and more pressure on the gas pedal to make the truck go. Not so with Roommate's car. In fact, it's completely the opposite.

So Excitable Cousin is giggling as she steps on the gas pedal, hard, and we zoom out of the neighborhood at 45 mph. I'm clutching the passenger chair as she stops because she needs to make a U-turn. Well, a U-turn isn't possible, so now we try a 3-point turn. No, this isn't working. I'm starting to sound like my mother as I tell her to stop, you're going to hit the frickin' car behind us, turn the wheel left harder so she won't hit the parked car in front of us, okay, there you go, now press on the gas gently, gently!, okay, now you can go... Oh, and are your lights on? Good. 'Kay, go slowly, ease up on the gas, oh, there's the Roommate & Boyfriend getting their entertainment for the night as they watch me have several near heart attacks and the Excitable I-Had-Too-Much-Caffeine Cousin hits the curb as she tries to parallel park the car again.

Ugh.

I get behind the wheel, as the Roommate suggests I take the Excitable Cousin to the nearby community college that's just down the street so my I-Had-Too-Much-Caffeine relation can have a larger area to practice in.

Sure thing. It turns out that driving down a 45% grade hill is funner than I thought it'd be.

Excitable Cousin gets behind the wheel again. All right, going 50 mph in the parking lot - uh, not a bad thing, right? Sure, cuz, you can go up that little drop-off area-- Hey, waitaminnit, you'd better not go up the street, you might try to hit another car over there [parking lot is full there]. Um, there's a bus coming behind us, you want to move so we're not in the way? Watch out, ease up on the gas pedal! *CRUNCH* Okay, that didn't sound good...

I get out of the car because the Excitable Cousin got a little too out of the way and hit another curb. No (visible) damage... Hey, cuz, why don't you let me drive back, eh?

I suppose this is one of those You Needed to Be There incidents, but really - we didn't get caught by a cop and arrested for driving without a license. We didn't swipe any cars. I certainly didn't hit anything.

The moral of the story? Don't have a driving lesson with an easily Excitable seventeen-year-old.

Especially if you don't have a license yourself.
And especially if escapades like this one gives her one heck of an adrenaline rush.

I've been mostly opposed to landing troops in Liberia. I don't see U.S. intervention there as being of any strategic interest to us, but Michael Totten points to others who say that it is. Interesting stuff there.

In the meantime, Pat Robertson has been blasting Pres. Bush on the same issue.

UPDATE: Ted Olsen from Christianity Today has more on Pat Robertson's support for Charles Taylor. (link via Josh Claybourn)

Student leaders in Tehran have reportedly canceled plans to hold protests on the anniversary of the '99 student uprising, but this hasn't stopped people in other countries from holding their own protests to show support for those students.

Courtesy of Oxblog, here is a list of planned demonstrations taking place today in the U.S.:

New York: from 11-2 at the Ralph Bunche Park and Dag Hammarksjold Plaza, at 47th and 1st Avenue

Washington, D.C.: 10:00 am at the West Front of the Capitol (with the participation of several Senators and administration officials)

Los Angeles: 5:00 pm, times outside the Federal Building in Westwood.

London: 2:30-4:30 Wednesday, in front of Number 10

Austin: 6 pm in front of the Capitol

Dallas, 5 pm on July 13th, at the Intercontinental Hotel

Houston: 5 pm on July 13th, at the Hilton on Westheimer Road.

It's very likely that bloggers and others attending the demonstrations will report back on what's going on.

This isn't D-Day, per se, for the Iranians, but those mullahs are right to be nervous. Extremely nervous.

As for the students... Well, in the words of Ah-nuld, "They'll be back."

Just a note: this week's Carnival of the Vanities is being hosted at Winds of Change.net. Check it out.

(Intermission: That's Carnival #42. Forty-Two. Douglas Adams, anyone?)

I will be hosting the Carnival of the Vanities in August. Call it a birthday present to myself, because it will be going up on the 27th, anyway. Further details are forthcoming, but if you have any questions or would like to host the Carnival at your own blog, contact Silflay Hraka for more info.

That was your way-too-early announcement for the day. I'm going back to bed.

UPDATE: Here's the current lineup of future hosts for the Carnival, in case you're interested.

This post has been floating around in my head of late. I think it's mostly because I've started reading this book, plus a number of other factors. Ah, well - enjoy.

Shana Barrow carefully eased herself through the slim opening in the back that, for the moment, served more or less as an entrance into the war-torn building; all of the other "doorways" were now just gaping holes that the enemy could easily use as target practice.

She wished John had joined her for this simulation run, but the practice schedule he'd enforced for his students seemed to have wiped him out just as much as it had the students themselves. No matter, she thought. There's always next time.

She silently slipped up the stairs to the third level of the seven-story building and let herself into the room where her Baby was waiting. A half-smile briefly crossed her face as she approached the loaded rifle and checked it over one more time.

Perfect. Everything was perfect. And her target was right on schedule, from the crunch of pebbles and the hollering voices wafting in from right outside the building.

Shana had checked to make sure no one had followed her back to this particular spot; it was not like her to boast about the ability to play a shadow, as it were, but her own safety was her first priority. The target itself was secondary. If he saw even a glimpse of her, her operation would be endangered.

She checked the scope, letting her vision adjust to the barely visible crosshairs etched into the eyepiece. Her Baby was angled down so that the barrel pointed at the wide swath of dirt that served as the main street in this part of the city. Anyone standing in her line of fire would be dead before they'd figured out what had killed them, mainly because no one would suspect that she was behind the room with the actual window until it was too late.

Snipers were very meticulous about their set-up, John especially. Shana would know - the man had once been her instructor. And she could still hear him lecturing her about the myths the old Terran movies had depicted about sniper positions.

"You don't ever stand next to a window in an urban area, Shay. You could be dead before you got a shot out. They'd be able to see yer muzzle flash, and they'd be all over you in seconds." The numerous simulations they'd run had more than proved this to be true.

Her target slowly rolled into view in an early twentieth century vehicle that still seemed brand new. The soldiers milling about and the target's various lackeys failed to shield him from her Baby's eye, which she quickly lined up with the tiny patch of skin just above his upper lip.

Turn your head just a little to the right, my friend, and say "Auf Wiedersehen"—

"Corporal Barrow?"

Shana slowly straightened and quickly schooled her features as the entire simulation dissipated in a quick flash of pixels exploding into nothing. She turned sharply and saluted to the officer standing in the simulation chamber doorway. "Mon Capitane?"

He smiled apologetically and inclined his head to one side. "Lights out, I'm afraid."

"Ah, of course." Her shoulders slumped, but her face stayed expressionless. "I'm sorry, sir ... I didn't realize how late it was."

"It happens." He watched her salute again and begin to leave the chamber, then stopped her just outside the doorway. "I caught you at a bad time, didn't I?"

She paused, then turned to look back at him. "I nearly had him, Lieutenant."

"Who?"

The half-smile that had touched her lips earlier now reappeared. "Have you ever wondered what Terra would've been like if certain tyrants had been done away with before they had the chance to unleash their terror upon innocent people?"

"I dream about it, Corporal. Frequently." He gave her a curious look. "Which target were you aiming for this time?"

"The Führer," she simply answered. "Adolf Hitler. Goodnight, Lieutenant."

Now here's an interesting shift - it's a bit subtle and perhaps rather telling as well about a swath of opinions and support regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict here in the States, but it's there all the same: Jewish voters, a bloc that's usually sided with the Democrats in every election, are regarding the Republicans more favorably because of their pro-Israel stance.

This should make the 2004 elections fun to watch, considering there's a Democratic presidential candidate who's Jewish - and it seems like he's not making any headway among American Jews at the moment.

(first link via Tim Blair)

I received an e-mail yesterday that frankly took me by surprise, mostly because I don't recall ever visiting this website before.

I'll direct you to this dude, however, because I think he's the one who really deserves the credit for my site design. Thanks, Jason.

Went down to Torrance to spend the weekend with my sisters Vic and Miriam, cousin Rachel, and Vic's boyfriend and his family.

I will say this for you folks who live in or around L.A.: when you guys put on a fireworks display, you go all the way. An online buddy of mine and I were cruising down the 405 and I was basically able to see a great show from one end of the horizon to the other. I think I'm gonna try to come down every July Fourth now. Maybe. We'll see.

Back to the Routine.

UPDATE: Actor Buddy Ebsen died yesterday in Torrance. Interesting. (via Daniel Morris)

Happy 227th Birthday, United States of America.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

- Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776

Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

39 years, plus 9 more and counting.

I love you!

My friend Mamamontezz pointed this Tech Central Station column out to me, and she had good timing about it, because lately I've been hearing arguments like this one:

Citing chaos, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean told NBC's Tim Russert, "We need more troops in Afghanistan. We need more troops in Iraq now." This issue is a hot topic as coalition soldiers are ambushed almost daily. Besides Dean, other Democrats have made similar arguments. Left-leaning think tanks, the media, and even a few Republicans are now all harping on a perceived lack of troops in Iraq even as the Bush administration plans for heavy reductions by the end of the year.

In case you read my last post and thought I had some vendetta against you, I don't. I don't know how many people out there who read my blog have a thing against Jews - I haven't gotten too much feedback from folks with an anti-Semitic bent.

However, if you couldn't tell already, I have this bad habit of slipping into the second person sometimes when I'm writing. In future posts, I'll clarify which audience I'm addressing when I do use the second person.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled ramblings...