Top Gun: Maverick was everything I hoped it would be and more. It’s probably the greatest summer movie I’ve ever seen, and is the best sequel to a movie ever, except for the sequels to The Godfather and Star Wars. I’m actually thankful Cruise only allowed it to be released in theaters and made us wait two years, it was worth it.
A year ago, I would have really been bothered by this, but stuff like this is no longer surprising or upsetting to me. DaughterGeeding told me on the ride to church yesterday with her brother and mother, her mother stated she wasn’t doing anything to keep her or her brother away from their father. When they arrived at church, DaughterGeeding asked her mother if she could sit by her father. The ex told her no. In doing so, she kept our daughter away from her father. The girl specifically asked if she could be with me and the ex prevented that. She can’t see past her own hypocrisy.
On Friday night I decided to do something out of my comfort zone and attend a Celebrate Recovery session at one of the closest churches near me. I had nothing else to do on a Friday night, and it was rather convenient. I’ve always described Celebrate Recovery as Alcoholics Anonymous with a Jesus sticker slapped on it. During the orientation, they listed a bunch of things they are and are not. Under the “are not” list was “Alcoholics Anonymous with a Jesus sticker.” For what it’s worth, I don’t think there’s anything wrong if they are AA with a Jesus sticker nor consider it a insult. But, they are gonna have to convince me they aren’t. In a lot of ways, from the testimonials I’ve heard, AA is a fantastic group and I sometimes wish I had an alcohol problem just to hang out and make new friends.
In case you know nothing about Celebrate Recovery (CR), each session starts off with a big group meeting and then men and women go to separate smaller groups.
Like AA, introductions are similar. So, in an AA meeting, guy would start things off by introducing himself by saying something like, “Hi, I’m Bob, and I’m an alcoholic.” In CR, they state whatever they are recovering from. So you will hear things like “Hi, I’m Bob and I’m recovering from pornography and gambling” or “Hi, I’m Becky and I’m recovering from overeating.”
I really liked what the first person had to say, “If you already have a church home, we ask that you keep going to your church. We’re not trying to recruit you. But if you are looking for a church, feel free to visit.”
They held this group at a Church of Christ. Traditionally, they don’t use instruments, the praise God just as they are. The session started off with some praise and worship music, with instruments. So, it looks like CR is non or inter-denominational. I’m not sure of the difference.
One sentence which stuck with me, “Looking busy is the greatest camouflage.”
If you go to five straight sessions, you get a free CR Bible. If you bring a friend, you get a wooden nickel. Seriously. I think after accumulating so many wooden nickels, you can trade them in for something.
I doubt I will go five straight times, because of the kids, but I think I’ll go back. This is Keith 1.5 trying to upgrade to Keith 2.0.
As saddened as I am about the latest school shooting, I was fortunate to hear the news while my children were in my rent house home. The ex and I start a summer possession schedule next week, so they still stayed the traditional Thursday night with me (just ask a single-father in Texas how important Thursday nights are). Despite my ex alienating our kids from me last year, I still try to abide by the golden rule of “treat others as you would like to be treated.” I knew if I was separated from the children during an emotionally sensitive time like this, I would just want to be around them. I was tempted to contact the ex and see if she wanted to either have dinner or get ice cream with the kids. But, she has a pending lawsuit against me and continues to claim I’m a manipulator, so I erred on the side of caution.
DaughterGeeding informed me that before she visits a friend’s house for the first time, her mother will contact her parents and ask if their are any firearms in the house. I don’t have a problem with her doing that, but it does surprise me as she never did that sort of thing when we were married.
Since we’re on the topic of firearms and the ex. The time frame between the rifle photo and her leaving me was three months, with no objects being thrown during that time period. My attorney thought it was odd for her to suddenly become concerned about me and a firearm and darting off three months later, despite us discussing it in depth and what I thought was a resolved issue. However, at the custodial trial, despite lacking evidence, she made it a concern. After mediation, my attorney found it interesting how firearms wasn’t brought up a single time, yet her first demand was for me to be regularly drug tested. Clearly, she was never really concerned about me and the firearm.
There are three big releases this weekend. If one of these don’t at least pique your interest, then I doubt we’d get along socially, at least regarding pop-culture. Maybe we might find something in common with sports.
Top Gun: Maverick
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Stranger Things Season 4
DaughterGeeding is a huge fan of Stranger Things fan and started a countdown clock the day the release date was released. It starts airing 2:01 AM Central, and I’ll be up watching it with her. Yes, I’m a fan of the show, not a fanatic, but for me, it’s more about making memories. We’re going to to binge watch the entire new season in one setting.
I’m not embarrassed by my service as a volunteer on the rec team at the summer Baptist encampment Camp Copass. But I’m a little embarrassed that our theme was “Top Son” and we all went by call signs from the movie. And yes, I was Maverick. There are photos, and even a video that exists.
I only eat two varieties of Sweet Tarts, the pink and the purple. So, when I buy a package, I typically eat less than half of what’s in it. The ones I don’t eat either go to the kids or the trash.
While listening to NPR yesterday, a commercial really had me confused. I thought I heard “bathroom counterfeiters” and was really perplexed by the business. But, the person was actually saying “bathroom counter-fitters” and that made much more sense.
Yesterday morning the Musers on The TICKET brought up the topic of how the sound of gas-powered leaf blowers are irritating and makes one anxious, especially when the lawn crew uses them excessively for what seems like an hour. I suppose my version of hell would be living next door to someone using a gas-powered leaf blower on these wind chimes I found at Costco.
I do not know how to avoid using a split infinitive and to not use a double negative in this sentence. Me no right to good.
I watched David Letterman interview Kevin Durant on Netflix. Both men stated they weren’t interested in pursuing happiness, which caught my attention and surprised me. I’ve been chasing it since the separation and hope to eventually find joy. It got me to do some research, and this is what Durant had to say about it:
“I don’t even like to use the word happiness. That’s just such a fleeting feeling. It can just go so up and down, I don’t wanna chase that feeling. It’s just not an efficient way to live for me. I feel like just having peace and really just enjoying being alive every day is the best place for me to be. You know, I don’t wanna be happy or sad. Like, I don’t even wanna have to go through that. I just wanna kinda just float through life, I experienced so much. I just wanna take on every experience for what it is and enjoy it in the moment. You know, I don’t wanna chase happiness, I just try to stay even.”
I suppose what he’s really talking about is being present. But it got me thinking if I’ve been chasing the wrong thing this whole time. Perhaps I should chase peace instead of happiness; and by finding peace, I’ll find happiness, as it will be a byproduct which will hopefully lead me to joy. (Everybody now, “I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy deep in my heart. Where? Deep in my heart.“)
This guy is so great. Keep pushing. Keep asking. Be aggressive. Make them accountable. https://t.co/JYwGgPRwHn
Yesterday was the last day of school for my kids. I asked if teachers talked about the shooting in Uvalde. Not a single teacher. I thought singe most of the victims were in fourth grade, my son’s fourth grade class would have mentioned it. That’s a tough one to handle, and I’m not sure how I would have handled it if I were a teacher. So, no gripes or complaints on my end.
Sometimes, after these tragedies, you simply want your kids around, just to hear them in the background, to know they are safe and under your protection. Divorce prevents that.
Former Georgia running back Herschel Walker won his state’s Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat yesterday and then responded to the Uvalde shooting today by saying, “What I like to do is see it and everything and stuff.”
I know the competition is stiff these days, but I say this as a native Texas whose family goes back to Henry Wax Karnes and Joseph de la Baume of Bexar: @tedcruz is the worst excuse for a human being to represent this state in my lifetime. https://t.co/OUEzSJjIcl
I had to do some research on that last photo. It’s taken from the view of Jupiter’s south pole. Here’s the best explanation: It is not actually blue; the name is an artifact of the color scheme used in mapping Jupiter’s magnetic field. Indeed, photographs yield no visible hints of the Great Blue Spot. The dark blue region in the magnetic map just indicates a confluence of invisible magnetic field lines entering Jupiter at that point – almost a second south pole sticking out near the equator.
I don’t get to drop my kids off at school often, but every time I do, I think it might be the last time I’ll ever see them alive because of school shootings. The kids only have a half day of school today. Their mother has asked me to watch them after school and during her teacher work days this week. Last year, to keep the kids away from me, the ex coordinated with her mother and sister to alternate days and drive 110 miles from East Texas to watch the kids when I was available, less than a mile away, and the kids preferred me over them.
Fort Hood likely will be renamed Fort Cavazos after a blue-ribbon commission recommended that the Confederate-named Army base receive a new name along with eight other military bases nationwide. The Naming Commission, which was created by Congress and is responsible for recommending new names or removal of names and symbols that commemorate Confederate figures within the Department of Defense, called for Fort Hood to be named after Gen. Richard Cavazos, a native Texan and the Army’s first Hispanic four-star general.
FWIW – Cavazos was a veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and was born in Texas. John Bell Hood was born in Owingsville, Kentucky and died in New Orleans.
Marvel Stays Family-Friendly, Erases Violent Scene From MCU Series – The article refers to the fight at the end of the first episode. The footage of the fight is in the article, and it would have been a great addition. But, I remember when I first watched it and unaware there was a fight scene filmed. At the time, I thought they made a good move going the “less is more” route. It left me intrigued. Especially with it being the first episode, and left some mystery and a cliffhanger for the next episode.
Glad to hear that the TNT crew spent time with the paralyzed Shawn Bradley. But it was embarrassing that our playoff basketball game had a rain delay. I did feel for the AAC crew having to fix such a problem so on the spot.
Located at the DeCordova Energy Storage Facility in Granbury, the 3,000 individual battery modules stored in 86 containers can hold 260-megawatts, which can power about 130,000 Texas residences during normal grid conditions. The Lithium-ion system stores excess electricity from the grid and can also release the energy when demand is high.
