- I tend to get disappointed in my pastor when a tragedy hits, either local, state, or national, and he doesn’t reference it in his sermon. However, even though the order of worship referenced the title of a sermon that corresponded with his current theme or subjects of sermons, he pulled an audible and solely focused on the attacks in Paris and how we as Christians cope and understand this changing world. I applaud him for this, and the one thing he said that really stuck with me was, “Angry and scared people are prone to mistakes.” That made me think of a time in college when a business professor asked if Michael Douglas’ character, Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, was correct in his iconic speech “greed is good”. After a good bit of student discussion, he told us that Gekko was wrong in this particular sense, because greed clouds judgment.
- The attacks on Paris caused U2 to cancel their concert from Paris that was to be broadcast live on HBO Saturday night, something I’ve been gearing up for since none of their concerts were remotely close to Dallas. Since there was no concert, WifeGeeding commandeered the remote and put on the Oklahoma/Baylor game. Well, at least the outcome was pleasant.
- U2 were rehearsing in a hotel three miles away from the Eagles of Death Metal concert attack. Their security locked this down pretty quickly and the watched the drama unfold on television. No word on when the concert will be rescheduled. All four band members did lay wreaths and place a handwritten tribute at the Bataclan concert site.
- I think SNL had their most poignant opening ever, even more than the first episode after 9/11. There was just something about the shortness and simplicity of it that struck me.
- Dallas Morning News – The Top 100 Places to Work – I’m surprised Southwest doesn’t make the list anymore, but the Container Store continues to hold strong. I’m also surprised to see a couple of school districts on the list. Other than the list, I thought the By The Numbers section was quite interesting. For instance, one company has been around since 1783 (not all in Dallas, of course) and out of the 100, 49 are private companies, 23 are public, and six are nonprofits.
- Even though don’t agree with his political philosophy, I’ve always respected Paul Ryan and admired him to a certain extent. When he was his party’s VP nominee, I didn’t like the way he came across in speeches and interviews. However, he came off exceptionally well in last night’s ’60 Minutes’ interview. He doesn’t have a split personality or anything, but people tend to be one way while vying for a job and another while they get that. Heck, to a certain degree, I think I’m the same way during a job interview and a few months after I worked my first day. Ryan also seems best when he can be himself and not trying to conform to a campaign or image. I wish Ryan the best in his time as speaker and truly hope he can bring a spirit of maturity and compromise to the House.
- I do get a kick out of how Craig Miller of The TICKET thinks Ryan’s marathon time mistake is unforgivable. And while looking up his marathon time, I ran across this old website that calculates your run time to a Paul Ryan run time.
- This picture of Obama and Putin at the G20 fascinates me. Here’s a GIF of the moment. Other than that unavoidable awkward guy, it looks like a regular busy hotel lobby, but in there in the corner are two of the most powerful men in the world sitting and chatting, through translators I’m sure.
- Former Texas A&M, Kentucky, and Texas Tech head basketball coach (who was once arrested in Kentucky for a DWI) is now head coach and athletic director at Ranger College and seems pretty happy. He may not be making $2.7 million annually, but $108,000 is still pretty nice.
- A FiveThirtyEight news writer has a new book “about her experience learning to pray as an atheist-turned-Catholic.” Here’s an interview.
- A Burleson mother wrote a book about the time her daughter with two rare life-threatening digestive disorders fell 30-feet from a tree back in December 2011 and spoke to Jesus when she was unconscious and later became cured of her ailments. The book has now been made into a movie, brought to you from the same folks that made another similar movie about a child talking to God called “Heaven is For Real”, and this one stars Jennifer Garner. You can watch the trailer here.
- Army football team takes the field with French and American flags after Paris attacks – And here is the GIF of the moment.
- France’s New Defense Building, Inspired by the Pentagon, Is … a Hexagon – The title is a bit misleading, only the center has a hexagon.
- It’s not a verified Twitter account, but I’m amused that the mayor of Carrollton uses a Mayor Quimby avatar.
- GIF – That cat came out of nowhere
- GIF – Crew members sleeping on the space shuttle (a bit creepy)
- Imgur – Evolution of Barbie’s face throughout the years
- Imgur – This barber cape has a window so that you can still use your phone while getting a haircut
- A cobra of all things – Texas Teen’s Death Ruled As Suicide By Snake
- How a second, as in the time unit, got its name – Wikipedia – It is qualitatively defined as the second division of the hour by sixty, the first division by sixty being the minute
- It’s like they are the tree rings of the human body – Cancer clues can be found in toenail clippings – Because your toenails grow at different speeds, each one represents a different period in time. A clipping from your little toe captures substances that have been in your body for roughly a month. A clipping from your big toe gives a snapshot of a year’s worth of exposure
- I ate at the Rodeo Goat in Dallas on Friday. That’s a damn fine burger they serve, and there’s a Fort Worth location as well.
- Today’s dose of ‘MURICA!
