Donald Trump saying “Two Corinthians” instead of “Second Corinthians” is one thing, but doing it at Liberty University is on another level, especially when you consider that’s where Sen. Ted Cruz announced his candidacy. I don’t know the number of Evangelicals Trump has supporting him, but I have a feeling such a gaffe is gonna take him down at least a few points.
Some of you might be surprised, but I’m not a supporter of Hillary Clinton. However, I did get a good laugh at the shirt this guy was wearing when he took a picture with her husband, the former president. Heck, I like his reaction.
DaughterGeeding isn’t perfect, but sometimes she’s too good to be true and I feel that I don’t deserve to have such a special thing as my child. School let out early on Friday and I picked her up. While driving home, she was pretty quiet and then said, “Hey Dad, I just finished all my homework.” Without being told, she pulled out her homework and did it in the car on the way home. She said she didn’t want to forget to do it and wanted to get it out of the way so she could enjoy the long weekend.
I drive by Iris Park when I take DaugherGeeding to school. “Iris” is just one letter away from “ISIS” and “IRS”.
Speaking of DaughterGeeding and her school, her headmaster emailed all the parents about Valentine’s Day. This is the first year of existence of the school, so I’m guessing the headmaster wants to set precedence with a few things. The letter is long, and you can read it here (I redacted a few things), but it doesn’t look like there will be any Valentine’s Day parties and students won’t do that thing I did as a kid, decorate a shoe box and everyone in the class places a Valentine’s Day card in everyone’s box. Somewhat related, I remember when WifeGeeding was teaching in a Coppell elementary school and there being an issue with numerous parents having flowers delivered to their daughters at a school.
It was good, but I expected something more from director Ridley Scott.
The movie won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, which I thought was absurd. But after watching the movie, I can somewhat see why it fit in that category, and it had a handful of actors in it known for their comedy, though they weren’t comedy in the film).
I’m a big fan of AMC’s ‘Halt and Catch Fire’, so it was cool to see Mackenzie Davis get an important role in the film.
When the movie came out there was a lot of talk about the author, but I should have paid attention to how cool the story was of how it became a film, per IMBD – The writer of the novel, Andy Weir, first published his book for free on his own blog for fun. Then people asked him to put it in a downloadable form, then to put it on Amazon for Kindle download which he did at the then minimum price of $0.99.
How much does NASA get paid to consult on movies? Zero – NASA is federally funded, yet charges no one, including private for-profit organizations, any fees for use of and access to its archives and consultancy.
The author admitted his biggest inaccuracy in the story was the fiece storms on Mars because of its atmospheric pressure – The Martian surface averages 600 Pa (0.087 psi), about 0.6% of Earth’s mean sea level pressure of 100 kPa (14.69 psi). It is so low that a “fierce storm”, as they put it, would be something akin to a very light breeze messing up your hair.
One of my biggest concerns watching the movie was mission planning and planet alignment. Earth and Mars travel at different speeds in different orbits, so it’s conceivable Earth could be on one side of the sun or solar system and Mars at the other. Mars’ oribt lasts for 687 days. However, the author was well aware of this – Author Andy Weir wrote his own computer programs using real Earth and Mars alignment data to determine the best theoretical date for the Ares 3 mission to launch.
I recently heard of the science fiction short story “The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov, and gave it a read this weekend, which was pretty good and a bit deep, especially if you are a bit fascinated with the singularity, when computers or machines are smarter or outrun human capabilities.
First line in the story: “The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light. The question came about as a result of a five dollar bet over highballs, and it happened this way:“
Briefly, this is what the story is about, per Wikipedia: The story deals with the development of universe-scale computers called Multivacs and their relationships with humanity through the courses of seven historic settings, beginning in 2061. In each of the first six scenes a different character presents the computer with the same question; namely, how the threat to human existence posed by the heat death of the universe can be averted.
The Rams are moving back to Los Angeles. Peter King’s MMQB had a few interesting tidbits:
Archie Manning was the last QB to win a game for the Rams in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where they’ll play their games until a new stadium is complete.
The Rams will be celebrating their 50th season next year. They started in Cleveland, moved to LA, St Louis, and now back to LA.
Jeff Fisher is the head coach of the Rams, and his only other head coaching stint was with the Titans/Oilers when they moved from Texas to Tennessee. So even though he’s coached for only two organizations, he will now be coaching in his sixth home stadium – The Astrodome (Houston), Liberty Bowl (Memphis), Vanderbilt Stadium (Nashville), the Tennessee Titans multi-named stadium (Nashville), Edward Jones Dome (St. Louis), L.A. Coliseum (Los Angeles). Coaching seasons: 21. Venues: 6. Record: 174-162-1.
I caught some of the ‘Angie Tribeca‘ marathon on TBS yesterday. If you are a fan of Leslie Neilson in either the ‘Police Squad’ television series or The Naked Gun movies, you’ll love this eight or ten episode half-hour comedy show, which was created by Steve Carrell and his wife. It even has some great guest stars like Bill Murray.
At the rate your career is going, you're going to be CEO and living in Beverly Hills, so it would only be a rather easy road trip for you, but I'll be happy to fly down for a visit and stay in the guest house on the Payne Estate, that is, if you aren't renovating it – again.
Ummm…your headmaster may be overthinking things a bit (or just really, really loves to write flowery prose that "must" be read by a captive audience). "Will not love choose its own season?" Dude, it's elementary school. For now, you may enjoy getting two-page letters about things like how Valentine's Day will be celebrated, but I guarantee that shtick is going to get old by the time DaughterGeeding is in 3rd or 4th grade. At some point (probably once your son hits school and you're balancing all this info for two kids), all you want to hear from the school is that your kids are doing well, and a bullet-point list of what you need to do. An 1100+-word essay on the meaning of "love" and how it relates to elementary education? Ain't nobody got time for that.
(Pssst – and here's the secret: not caring about/reading all that doesn't make you a bad parent. But don't say that to the helicopter parents who, based on some hints you've dropped about this school, are almost certainly omnipresent and will absolutely try to shame you into thinking you're doing it wrong if you don't gush over how awesome those kinds of "updates" are. Spend your time and energy where it matters.)
Asimov = greatness.
I see that clickbait there, with "Disney" in the title…
DaughterGeeding sounds like a keeper. Homework can be a touchy subject around our house – my son just wants to play sports and/or XBox, and my daughter just wants to procrastinate until the last possible moment. That gets old quickly.
Gotta agree with Jason – Liberty University gets a lot of stuff wrong, so I don't think it's a killer for Trump. Besides, his version of jingoistic "christianity" is pretty much in line with what many hardline GOP voters seem to believe, anyway: God, guns, & country – and not necessarily in that order.
I agree about the headmaster. If we were to look in the dictionary, I wonder if we would find his/her picture next to the entry for "pretentious." A simple: "Please parents, no Valentine's cards or candy in class" would have sufficed. This helps us better understand the rationale behind the homework assignment you posted earlier regarding your kindergarten-aged daughter!
Makes me think about the scene in "Good Will Hunting" when Matt Damon's character puts the Harvard kid in his place: "How you like them apples?" 🙂
Glad to see you posted the Asimov story. I don't know if you have read much of his works, (or similar Sci Fi), but it can be quite thought provoking. If you enjoyed The Last Question you might also enjoy "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke. I remember reading it for the first time as a teen and really being forced to think a bit.
"Blessed Saint Leibowitz, keep 'em dreamin' down there"
So, just to be clear. America's Evangelical community is OK with Donald Trump being racist, sexist, arrogant, rude, and divisive, but NOT OK with him pronouncing 2 Corinthians differently. Got it.
Yes, but don't always confuse evangelical with political/evangelical. There is a growing liberal evangelical movement in America. As they grow, it will be a shift akin to the one that occurred between the generation that supported segregation, and the ones that followed. I don't believe I am overstating that, but I do believe it will be a long time coming.
I believe that more and more evangelicals will approve of things like Obamacare, movements like Black Lives Matter, and criminal justice and housing reforms. However, just like your average Baby Boomer's parent that doesn't like gays, there will always be a large segment society, especially in the Bible Belt, that associates conservative politics with religion. They will be for the death penalty, against universal healthcare, and continue to oppose most social services–despite the fact that that is definitely not what Jesus would do.
Before you get too ahead of yourself there Mr. Geeding; my sons are opposite of each other when it comes to just about everything, daughter Geeding is all that…enjoy it….we'll see how son Geeding performs in the future. Good luck.
No worries, I'm not getting ahead of myself, just really proud of my daughter for having initiative and a good attitude at such a young age and wanted to share, not brag, and I hope it didn't come across that way. Years ago when I told one of my best friends, a father of four, that our toddler daughter hardly cries and is very obedient, he said very sternly that the second one wouldn't be like that, and he was certainly right. That supports what you are saying, kids are different and just because we are fortunate with our daughter, we might not be with our son in certain aspects. He's already proven to us that he's much different than his sister, and that's not a bad thing, but he does have some rough edges that needs smoothed.
Both of your kids are fantastic in their own ways. I think our situations are very similar with older girls and younger boys. They are both very similar.
"but he does have some rough edges that needs smoothed"
Prov: 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another"
The cool thing is, as you help smooth his rough edges, he will be polishing yours. And that is meant as a complement to your fathering, not as a slam to your rough edges.
No worries, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't coming across as a know-it-all. And thanks for sharing your life with me, and I do appreciate you taking the time to do so.
The new stadium in LA is going to be less than 5 miles from my company’s corporate office. Road trip?
At the rate your career is going, you're going to be CEO and living in Beverly Hills, so it would only be a rather easy road trip for you, but I'll be happy to fly down for a visit and stay in the guest house on the Payne Estate, that is, if you aren't renovating it – again.
LOLOLOL
I think “Two Corinthians” may actually be the more correct technical pronunciation. Besides, I think Liberty gets a lot of things wrong in the Bible.
Isaac Asimov is pretty impressive. Read some of his books, which you can pick up for a dollar sometimes at half price books. They’ll blow your mind.
Ummm…your headmaster may be overthinking things a bit (or just really, really loves to write flowery prose that "must" be read by a captive audience). "Will not love choose its own season?" Dude, it's elementary school. For now, you may enjoy getting two-page letters about things like how Valentine's Day will be celebrated, but I guarantee that shtick is going to get old by the time DaughterGeeding is in 3rd or 4th grade. At some point (probably once your son hits school and you're balancing all this info for two kids), all you want to hear from the school is that your kids are doing well, and a bullet-point list of what you need to do. An 1100+-word essay on the meaning of "love" and how it relates to elementary education? Ain't nobody got time for that.
(Pssst – and here's the secret: not caring about/reading all that doesn't make you a bad parent. But don't say that to the helicopter parents who, based on some hints you've dropped about this school, are almost certainly omnipresent and will absolutely try to shame you into thinking you're doing it wrong if you don't gush over how awesome those kinds of "updates" are. Spend your time and energy where it matters.)
Asimov = greatness.
I see that clickbait there, with "Disney" in the title…
DaughterGeeding sounds like a keeper. Homework can be a touchy subject around our house – my son just wants to play sports and/or XBox, and my daughter just wants to procrastinate until the last possible moment. That gets old quickly.
Gotta agree with Jason – Liberty University gets a lot of stuff wrong, so I don't think it's a killer for Trump. Besides, his version of jingoistic "christianity" is pretty much in line with what many hardline GOP voters seem to believe, anyway: God, guns, & country – and not necessarily in that order.
I agree about the headmaster. If we were to look in the dictionary, I wonder if we would find his/her picture next to the entry for "pretentious." A simple: "Please parents, no Valentine's cards or candy in class" would have sufficed. This helps us better understand the rationale behind the homework assignment you posted earlier regarding your kindergarten-aged daughter!
Makes me think about the scene in "Good Will Hunting" when Matt Damon's character puts the Harvard kid in his place: "How you like them apples?" 🙂
Glad to see you posted the Asimov story. I don't know if you have read much of his works, (or similar Sci Fi), but it can be quite thought provoking. If you enjoyed The Last Question you might also enjoy "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke. I remember reading it for the first time as a teen and really being forced to think a bit.
"Blessed Saint Leibowitz, keep 'em dreamin' down there"
So, just to be clear. America's Evangelical community is OK with Donald Trump being racist, sexist, arrogant, rude, and divisive, but NOT OK with him pronouncing 2 Corinthians differently. Got it.
Yes, but don't always confuse evangelical with political/evangelical. There is a growing liberal evangelical movement in America. As they grow, it will be a shift akin to the one that occurred between the generation that supported segregation, and the ones that followed. I don't believe I am overstating that, but I do believe it will be a long time coming.
I believe that more and more evangelicals will approve of things like Obamacare, movements like Black Lives Matter, and criminal justice and housing reforms. However, just like your average Baby Boomer's parent that doesn't like gays, there will always be a large segment society, especially in the Bible Belt, that associates conservative politics with religion. They will be for the death penalty, against universal healthcare, and continue to oppose most social services–despite the fact that that is definitely not what Jesus would do.
Before you get too ahead of yourself there Mr. Geeding; my sons are opposite of each other when it comes to just about everything, daughter Geeding is all that…enjoy it….we'll see how son Geeding performs in the future. Good luck.
No worries, I'm not getting ahead of myself, just really proud of my daughter for having initiative and a good attitude at such a young age and wanted to share, not brag, and I hope it didn't come across that way. Years ago when I told one of my best friends, a father of four, that our toddler daughter hardly cries and is very obedient, he said very sternly that the second one wouldn't be like that, and he was certainly right. That supports what you are saying, kids are different and just because we are fortunate with our daughter, we might not be with our son in certain aspects. He's already proven to us that he's much different than his sister, and that's not a bad thing, but he does have some rough edges that needs smoothed.
Both of your kids are fantastic in their own ways. I think our situations are very similar with older girls and younger boys. They are both very similar.
"but he does have some rough edges that needs smoothed"
Prov: 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another"
The cool thing is, as you help smooth his rough edges, he will be polishing yours. And that is meant as a complement to your fathering, not as a slam to your rough edges.
Mr. Geeding: It didn't come across as you were bragging, you were stating a fact. I just wanted to share my personal experience with you..
No worries, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't coming across as a know-it-all. And thanks for sharing your life with me, and I do appreciate you taking the time to do so.