Life Advice From Old People
I blogger meets up with old people, asks advice, and records it.
www.lifeadvicefromoldpeople.com
Here’s a news segment on the blog:
Coming soon: Life Advice from Clergy
Add comment August 31st, 2009
Archive for August, 2009
Preacher’s Wife Warns of Adultery in the Pulpit
Just when you thought the shock had worn off from all those stories about sex and the church, a preacher’s wife comes out with a guidebook for straying ministers, their spouses and their mistresses.
In an interview with Essence.com, Dr. Betty Price, wife of megachurch televangelist Dr. Fred K.C. Price, discusses her new book, ‘Warning to Ministers, Their Wives and Mistresses.’ The inspiration for this tome about temptation came from the paramours:
Add comment August 31st, 2009
Homeschooled Girl Ordered to Attend Public School Over Her ‘Rigid’ Faith
Amanda Kurowski is a 10-year-old homeschooled girl who performs well academically and is socially well-adjusted. But her strong Christian beliefs were reason enough for a New Hampshire court to order her out of homeschooling and into a public school.
The daughter of divorced parents, Amanda has been homeschooled by her mother, Brenda Voydatch since first grade. Her father, Martin Kurowski, is opposed to homeschooling, arguing that it prevents “adequate socialization” for Amanda with other children. He requested that she be placed in a government school.
In the process of renegotiating the terms of a parenting plan for the girl, the Guardian ad Litem – who acts as a fact finder for the court – reported that Amanda was found to “lack some youthful characteristics,” partly because “she appeared to reflect her mother’s rigidity on questions of faith.”
The GAL concluded that Amanda “would be best served by exposure to different points of view at a time in her life when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief and behavior and cooperation in order to select, as a young adult, which of those systems will best suit her own needs.”
Add comment August 31st, 2009
This Kid Likes His Bacon
Add comment August 31st, 2009
Bank Tries to Forclose on a Church
A bank is suing one North Little Rock’s largest churches for $1.1 million dollars and is asking that the church headquarters be sold at auction.
Regions Bank says Full Counsel Christian Fellowship has failed to pay off a loan on its ministry headquarters building. The bank also wants to sell two smaller tracts of land owned by the church.
The headquarters includes the church’s administrative offices, a bookstore and a Bible-training center. It also houses the church radio station and its School of the Prophets.
Full ArkansasBusiness.com Article
I have to admit the name of the school sure did catch my attention. It almost sounds like a school for prophets, like something out of a Harry Potter book or something.
The article goes on to mention that the church has a membership of 4500.
Add comment August 31st, 2009
Band shirts hit wrong note with parents
T-shirts worn by the Smith-Cotton High School band have evolved into controversy among parents.
The shirts, which were designed to promote the band’s fall program, are light gray and feature an image of a monkey progressing through stages and eventually emerging as a man. Each figure holds a brass instrument. Several instruments decorate the background and the words “Smith-Cotton High School Tiger Pride Marching Band” and “Brass Evolutions 2009” are emblazoned above and below the image.
Assistant Band Director Brian Kloppenburg said the shirts were designed by him, Band Director Jordan Summers and Main Street Logo. Kloppenburg said the shirts were intended to portray how brass instruments have evolved in music from the 1960s to modern day. Summers said they chose the evolution of man because it was “recognizable.” The playlist of songs the band is slated to perform revolve around the theme “Brass Evolutions.”
The band debuted the T-shirts when it marched in the Missouri State Fair parade. Summers said he was surprised when he received a direct complaint after the parade.
While the shirts don’t directly violate the district’s dress code, Assistant Superintendent Brad Pollitt said complaints by parents made him take action.
“I made the decision to have the band members turn the shirts in after several concerned parents brought the shirts to my attention,” Pollitt said.
Pollitt said the district is required by law to remain neutral where religion is concerned.
“If the shirts had said ‘Brass Resurrections’ and had a picture of Jesus on the cross, we would have done the same thing,” he said.
Band parent Sherry Melby, who is a teacher in the district, stands behind Pollitt’s decision. Melby said she associated the image on the T-shirt with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
“I was disappointed with the image on the shirt.” Melby said. “I don’t think evolution should be associated with our school.”
Add comment August 31st, 2009
Bag of Randomness
- WifeGeeding and I went to the “good” Braum’s for a little dessert on Friday night. An old man limping with a cane walked in nice and slow, sat in the booth in front of us, laid out two dollars, and sat back comfortably. In a few minutes a manager and a female coworker came by with some ice cream and a cup of water, both of them greeted the man by calling him Harold, and then they carried on some small talk with him. Apparently he’s been doing this a while. And I think this proves that even in a large metropolitan city, sometimes you can go to a place where everyone knows your name.
- IKEA hasn’t changed much since 1965
- For fans of the television show The Office, here are some spoiler pictures.
- I noticed in Barry’s blog that some flag poles were not set to half-staff in our area. That thought entered my mine as I drove around Saturday by several businesses that still had their flags at full-staff. WifeGeeding thinks it wasn’t intentional, I hope she’s right, but this Star Telegram article makes me think differently.
- The Ted Kennedy graveside service was quite poignant. Cardinal Emeritus Theodore McCarrick’s words were very touching, and I was very moved as he read the senator’s letter to the pope, and the Vatican’s response. I thought those letters would never be revealed. Kennedy’s letter was almost like a letter to God, and to hear it read right before he is put into the earth just makes it all the more moving.
- Imagine just how hard and emotional it would be to write a letter to God (or even the pope) as you know you are living your last days asking for grace and admitting your faults.
- I’m fascinated with Catholic tradition and ritual. I wish I had a Catholic priest or expert with me during the funeral to answer all my questions. For instance, during the begging of the funeral the coffin was draped in an American flag and was brought halfway down the church aisle. The honor guard removed the flag (I wonder where the flag was placed during the ceremony? And I don’t think it was folded into a triangle.) and then the Kennedy family placed a white cloth that covered the entire coffin. I’ve seen the white cloth on the coffin before, but sometimes there’s a different color stripe on the cloth. Then there was other ritual things performed using instruments I’m unfamiliar with. It’ all just quite fascinating, and makes for one classy service.
- The 49′ers should have never changed jersey’s. What they wore on Saturday night is what they look best in.
- I turned 34 yesterday. WifeGeeding got me one of the following:
- A manicure/pedicure gift certificate.
- A traditional straight razor shave gift certificate.
- A gift certificate for a massage.
- A 1080P HD projector.
- A Bob’s Steak and Chophouse gift certificate.
- She also got me a Baskin Robbin’s ice cream cake. Mmmmmm.
- I was lucky enough to have lunch with a couple of my good friends and my wife on my birthday.
- I usually have a hard time enjoying my birthday.
- An old roommate from college called and talked to me on my birthday. It was a long conversation, and I loved every minute of it. I can’t tell you how much a simple phone call meant to me.
- Speaking of phone calls, my family from Vietnam even called to wish me a happy birthday.
- When both of your parents are dead, your birthdays are just ‘different.’
- Grace
2 comments August 31st, 2009
West Texas field reads: ‘Say no to Obama!’
LUBBOCK — A former art teacher used his West Texas field to carve out a protest about the Obama administration’s proposed overhaul of the health care system.
Sam Bates recently plowed some weeds and left behind the message “Say no to Obama!” that’s best viewed from the air.
Bates said he had some “free time” and wanted to offer his unhappiness with what’s been going on in Washington.
“This is a sign of frustration,” Bates told KCBD-TV on Monday.
“You know, it’s not so much Obama, but just some of the things he’s done recently with the health bill he’s trying to pass through, and it’s just as much Republican and Democrats fault in the House and the Senate that won’t stand up to some of the things. That’s basically what’s frustrated me,” Bates said.
The Obama administration has been pushing its proposal to reshape the $2.5 trillion health system.
Bates said he dug out his message for the benefit of pilots flying in and out of Lubbock.
“I thought, maybe some pilots flying from here to Dallas would get a good chuckle,” he said.
Bates said his friend who is a crop duster helped him put aerial photos of the field on the Internet.
The sign in the lake bed will disappear when the season changes.
“Once winter hits it will kill these weeds, and who knows, maybe next year I’ll have something else,” said Bates.
3 comments August 28th, 2009
The Quest for 31 is Almost Over
NFL super fan, Hans Steiniger, has been attending professional football games in different NFL cities for the past three years in an attempt to see a game in each home stadium, a feat he calls, “The Quest for 31”. Now in his fourth season of NFL travel, Steiniger sits a mere five stadiums away from completing his journey. The remaining “Final Five” are the cities of Denver, New York, New Orleans, Washington, and Baltimore.
What began as personal challenge for the longtime Bills fan from Buffalo, N.Y., quickly became a city-by-city immersive study in the home team experience across the nation. Like an NFL chameleon who adapts to his surroundings, this fan tailgates with locals on gameday, eats traditional local foods, and wears a home team jersey for each game he attends.
Some of you local folks may wonder if he will visit the new Cowboys Stadium. Yup, he’ll attend the Carolina game at the end of September.
I have to admit I’m a bit envious of this man, it would be a total blast to watch a game at every NFL stadium. But I couldn’t go as far as he did wearing a cheesehead and doing whatever he could to root for each home team. But then again, he was mature enough to put things behind him so he could have a true home field experience.
And the guy loves his NFL football, he even proposed to his wife during an NFL game and had an NFL themed wedding. Heck, he even dedicated a website to sports themed weddings: www.sportsthemedweddings.com
That must be love, getting married where the Detroit Lions play.
But I will also admit, this wedding invitation was pretty creative.
Hans is actually a reader of BoN, and you may recall me posting about his quest a while back. Other than our love for the NFL, we are both half-Asian. When he eventually completes his quest for 31, he may just be worthy of my Half-Asian Hall of Fame.
2 comments August 28th, 2009
People of Walmart
A website dedicated to the “interesting” shoppers of Wal-Mart.
And if you submit your own photo, you have the chance to win a Wal-Mart gift certificate from $25-$100.
3 comments August 28th, 2009
Anonymous Tweeting
Tweet From Above and Tweet From Below (TFA/TFB) let you post anonymous messages on Twitter without creating an account or posting those messages in your own Twitter feed. And why would you want to do that?
Well, we thought of a gazillion reasons, but the most basic is this: You’re a Twitter user, and sometimes you want to respond to something in the Twitterverse without your comments being broadcast to your followers or attached to your name. Standard @replies are okay, but maybe you want to let an obnoxious Twitterer know it without starting a feud. Or maybe you’re a (dis)satisfied customer of one of the umpteen businesses on Twitter and you want to give them feedback without starting a “relationship.” Or maybe you just need to get something off your chest.
Add comment August 28th, 2009
Healthcare Protest
A man in an Obama mask whips an elderly man using a walker.
Even the liberal that I am found this creative.
Add comment August 28th, 2009
Tool Link
Ford trucks now keep a running tally of what construction tools are back on board and which may have been left on the job site. It’s part of Tool Link, a $1,120 RFID tag option for Ford trucks.
Add comment August 28th, 2009
Bag of Randomness
- I haven’t been to a high school football game in a very long time. It’s probably been over six years. That might change this year.
- I knew my high school build a new stadium not so long ago, but I had to idea it was so nice. But I still prefer the old stadium that I think was built during the Depression.
- I can remember a time when everything in those pictures were nothing more than grass.
- Heck, I even remember a time in Mineral Wells before the Wal-Mart and a McDonalds. And now that have a Chili’s.
- But Mineral Wells isn’t that small of a town, after all, it does have two, count ‘em, two Dairy Queens.
- What’s the proper rule for ending a sentence with both a question mark and an exclamation point? What form of punctuation should come first?
- For you Ticket listeners, I listened to a lot of Fake Greggo audio yesterday. WifeGeeding was laughing pretty hard.
- A laptop with two screens? I think I need one.
- Google Maps now includes live traffic data and average traffic patterns for a particular day and time.
- Have you ever looked at a clearance sign and wondered if the height that is stated is actually true? So did this guy, and he’s actually measuring some of them.
- What’s inside a Slim Jim
- There have been a lot of notable celebrity deaths this year. My sources tell me that Billy Graham is on deck.
- I got an email from one of my readers that took a cruise from Argentina to Antarctica. Check out pictures of the the trip here, which includes lots of cute animal life. He also posted a video in which a group of guys stripped down to their undies and jumped from an iceberg into the antarctic water.
- Massachusetts has not had an open Senate seat since 1984.
- Tactical Canned Bacon will last for ten years [Thanks, Danny!]
- For the most part, this video/cartoon explains my view on why I support health care reform.
- Speaking of healthcare, one of my Canadian readers left this comment in an email exchange that has stayed in my head and I can’t help but agree with it: It’s insane to me that country that prides itself on being one of the great empires of our history won’t take care of it’s people. A 1,000 years from now they’ll look back on America and this debate and probably wonder what they were arguing about.
- Confusing Movie Time Travel Chart
- Faith Baptist Church in Primrose, GA brings home the bacon.
- This Mythical Creature Chart is actually pretty genius.
- Ted Kennedy’s first webpage
- Here’s a nice non-partisan thing that Senator Ted Kennedy did regarding 9-11. For each Massachusetts family that lost a loved one to that tradegy, he called to offer his condolences, all 176 of them. And then there’s a story about one family that couldn’t find the proper military discharge papers to give their loved one a military burial, they called the senator for help, and Kennedy was able to make it happen. Watch the ABC News video here.
- That military discharge paper is called the DD214. I’ll forever remember that document because we needed it for just about anything veteran related when we were burying my father.
- I remember a General Norman Schwarzkopf Tonight Show interview right after his retirement. He mentioned that when he retired, someone handed him the DD214 and told him that whatever he does, make sure he and his family never lose that document because it is the only thing that will show he served in the United States military. That cracked him up considering all the news footage he was on regarding the Gulf War.
- Grace
3 comments August 28th, 2009
Dedicated to Barry
Who didn’t have a clue what a Trapper Keeper was last week.
3 comments August 27th, 2009
It’s Official: The 4-Day Week Works
A year ago, Utah’s governor instituted a 4-day, 10-hour-a-day workweek for some 17,000 state employees—and the results so far show big benefits.
Add comment August 27th, 2009
Judge: Ky. can’t legislate dependence on God
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It is one thing to trust in God, but quite another to be ordered to rely on protection from above during national emergencies, a judge has ruled.
Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate said in Wednesday’s decision that references to a dependence on “Almighty God” in the law that created the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security is akin to establishing a religion, which the government is prohibited from doing in the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions. Ten Kentucky residents and a national atheist group sued to have the reference stricken.
The judge wrote in the 18-page ruling: “The statute pronounces very plainly that current citizens of the Commonwealth cannot be safe, neither now, nor in the future, without the aid of Almighty God. Even assuming that most of this nation’s citizens have historically depended upon God, by choice, for their protection, this does not give the General Assembly the right to force citizens to do so now.”
Add comment August 27th, 2009