Depressing?

One of my customers told me this morning that by the time the world ends, we will all be old and be dependent on pills.
You know I have had this conversation before - sort of similar anyway.
I have had the "depressing world" conversation with many types of people and in many different forms.
Some say "God is the pill. He is all you need."
Some say "Even Christians need medical assistance sometimes."
Some say "We are all depressed and we need something."
I say "blah blah blah."

After the brief conversation this morning I thought about things. The human frailty is what really drives us. When your happy and everything is going good, then you are probably positive.
When they crap is all around you and you see no end. You will probably feel depressed.
From the Christan view, we should always be happy and have faith that God will see us through. We should thank God for all things good and bad because it is in His plan. Hey, I have even said this publicly.

But, sometime, when the crap is all around and you know the truth, it is still extremely hard to overcome it.

I have been where I am at - at this very moment of typing this - several times. And every time, I have come out of the dark and into the light.

But, sorry to say that in this moment - the moment sucks!
And I do know the truth. But again, the moment sucks! The moment smells! The moment is almost enough to buy into the first statement on the crappy post. That maybe we really do need certain "happy" pills to cope, to get by, to survive!

Practice what we preach is a statement I hear often. I tell myself I need to practice what I preach.

I just had another thought - If we all practice what we preach, we wouldn't need to preach.

So today - in this moment - I am depressed!

Hopefully the light will come on and maybe - just maybe - a happier - more positive post will come in the future.

Adios!

Wednesday Quit Hits

Wednesday Quit Hits


 I am deeply disappointed. The cut may be too deep to heal. So please bear with me. When we received our latest issue of Hispanic (a magazine geared toward our Hispanic and Latino people), I was shocked and appalled. There on the cover was a picture of Perez Hilton. He had a “grinch – esq” smile like he was saying “Ahhhhhhh Senior Cortez, I got the award and not you.” A tear ran down my cheek. First – I didn’t even know who Perez Hilton was. My daughter told me (and then I knew – teens watch too much TV) he is a gossip guru. Lord help us all! Well, I really thought I was going to get that award. The award you ask? Hispanic Magazine’s HISPANIC OF THE YEAR. Oh well, Maybe next year.
 Pills. I am 42 and I have come to the realization that I take too many pills.
 Drivers – there are some great truck drivers out in the world. I can speak on this since I am in the transportation industry. But I will tell you the truth. The few that are _______________ (fill in your word here)…for them the General public should be VERY afraid.
 NYC’s Tavern on the Green – no more. And we never had a chance to eat there.
 Stress – I got too much of it.
 Crystal Ball Football Challenge – I missed 2 this year so far, but I am in good shape to win it!
 My pre-season football picks – NCAA and NFL – Stunk. I will do the recap when both seasons are over.
 Wade’s Top 100 Songs and Albums of all time. The lists are coming – be patient.
 Facebook – boring. I don’t want to aggravate the 1 or 2 people who actually read this and do Facebook, but I don’t get it…really…I tried but when I get on there all I want to is Blast off!

Well that is it for today. But since today is also Wednesday Quote Day let me quote that great philosophical singing group.
“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.” REM

Feliz Navidad

or.....




Albanian:
Gezur Krislinjden


Basque:
Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!




Choctaw:
Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito




Czech:
Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok




German:
Froehliche Weihnachten




Hawaiian:
Mele Kalikimaka




Hebrew:
Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova




Italian:
Buone Feste Natalizie

Japanese:
Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

The Three Wise Men

This is a message from my Uncle Manuel Symour.

Wonderful message for Christmas.....or in my opinion - anytime!

thanks Uncle Manuel - for the message and for allowing me to post it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Three Wise Men
Ez. 13:2-3; 14:1-3, 12-20

1. They were SURVIVORS through righteousness in the face of total collapse.
They were VICTORS in the midst of trial by obedience, patience, steadfastness, & faithfulness.
They were HOLY MEN true to God and upright in their lives.
They were FAITHFUL MEN daring to stand alone in isolation when everyone else chose the popular way.

2. NOAH – Gen. 6:5,8,9,12; Heb. 11:7 – His righteousness could not save the world.
(( Even of Abraham it was said that he believed God and it was accounted unto him for righteousness.))
Noah believed God and was obedient to Him.

DANIEL – Dan. 1:8; 10:11-12 – His righteousness could not save his country.
Daniel believed God and purposed in his heart to be steadfast in the purity of holy living.

JOB – Job 1:1,5,8 – His righteousness could not save his family.
Job was faithful to God in prayer, sacrifice, and patience. When God said to Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job..” reveals that God held Job in high esteem.


3. But a greater than these three wise men has come!
A. John 1:29 – “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
B. Romans 5:17,21 – the gift of righteousness – grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus
C. II Cor. 5:21 – that we might be made the righteousness of God in him
D. Phil 3:9 – not having mine own righteousness…Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith
E. Heb. 9:12 – by his own blood … having obtained eternal redemption for us
F. Rev. 5:8-12 - hast redeemed us to God by thy blood … hast made us … Worthy is the Lamb
G. Rev. 19:7-10 – the fine linen is the righteousness of saints (the righteousness of Christ imputed to us) …
for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

From Genesis 1:1 to Rev. 22:21 is the prophetical testimony that only the righteousness of Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb of God, is worthy enough to save us from our sins and to give eternal life.

Praise be unto God that my salvation does not depend upon my righteousness for it is but filthy rags in the eyes of God. Man’s righteousness cannot save, but the righteousness of Christ saves to the uttermost and for eternity.

Wise men believe the testimony of God that salvation is in the righteousness of Jesus the Christ of God!

Music Monday.....Susan Boyle

Music Monday is back (and hopefully will stay- at least until "Wade's Top 100" hits the Blog).
I don't always follow what everyone else listens to in music. If you know me then you know my musical tastes stretch the spectrum of the music world.
But like much of England, Scotland, the USA and probably the world, I was blown away by Susan Boyle's first performance on Britain's Got Talent. As a fan of America's Got Talent, I still enjoy watching her clip on you tube.
Well, from what I see and hear, Susan Boyle's CD is selling many copies.
I can attest that it should! It should be a Hot seller that is.
Quite frankly, the lady has a breathtaking voice.
Where has she been? Why did it take a TV show for the big break? And, after this debut album, will she sustain what she has now?
I wish I had time to go into my thoughts on these questions, but you can read other's thoughts on her and the many sites that discuss her.
I want to quickly talk about her album.
I Dreamed A Dream.
When I listen to this record, I hear all sorts of influences, changes in pitch, movements in voice, and emotion.
All of the songs are beautifully done and enjoyable to the ear.
The arrangements put down for her really help the listener to be captivated by her voice. She proves her worth though by that same voice. She can go high and go low and the flow between each is incredible.
Her cover of The Rolling Stones "Wild Horses" and "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables kick the record off with tremendous hooks - in other words - after you listen to those two songs. you will be hooked!
She does some awesome classics like "Cry Me A River," "The End of the World," and "Who I Was Born To Be."
She included 2 spiritual favorites on the record: "How Great Thou Art" and "Silent Night" and "Amazing Grace."
Her rendition of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain" is truly breathtaking. As is Madonna's "You'll See."
I love all of the songs on the record, but my favorite two are The Monkees' "Daydream Believer" and her version of "Proud".
As you can see I like this record.
Out of 5 stars?..............it gets a 5.

check it out for yourself.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Too busy to Blog...

I was going to get on here and write a quick blog about being too busy to blog.
Then I noticed my previous blog on "What am I..."
The title "Wjat Am I..."

so here is a quite by me...... "Wjat the heck. Don't I know how to spele?"

later

Wjat am I...

WHAT AM I…Reading – Inkheart by Cornelia Funke and Talking The Walk by Marva Dawn. What’s in the (ever-growing) stack? Cornelia Funke's Inkspell and Inkdeath, The Fugitive Menno Simons by Myron S. Ausburger, Walking East To West by Ravi Zacharias, William Pitt The Younger by P.W. Wilson, Amazing Grace - William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas, Boneman's Daughters by Ted Dekker, Martin Luther - Selections from His Writings - Edited by John Dillenberger, Secret Germany by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, Sense and Sensuality - Jesus Talks With Oscar Wilde by Ravi Zacharias. (All of these books will get read sooner or later).
What’s on the wish list – or Possible Future reads: DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown; The Twilight books, All of the James Lee Burke books I haven’t read – I used to read all of his books, but got sidetracked. I need to catch up. Especially with the Dave Robicheux novels. The latest John Grisham - I can't remember the name. After visiting a local Barnes and Noble yesterday, I want to read or re-read some Hemingway and Truman Capote.
(I guess I should get cracking on the reading!) I need to retire!

WHAT AM I…Watching – on TV - Dancing With the Stars is over for the Season. Still love Extreme Home Makeover (AKA The Sunday Cry). Greys Anatomy, Castle (Castle is a really good show that I didn’t think I would like, but it is a remarkable show). Ghost Whisperer reruns and if we catch it on Friday.
Movies – recently have seen: InkHeart – great movie. Race To Witch Mountain – ok. The Game Plan – good.
Nothing else really.


WHAT AM I…Studying – The Play Clueless at Christmas. I play Jim. Have to study study study those lines.


WHAT AM I…stressed about – Learning all of the lines for the play.


WHAT AM I…anticipating - Ketchup - GET IT?


WHAT AM I…happy about – I’m livin!


WHAT AM I…thinking about – issues that in the greater Mennonite Church and the local church that bother me.


WHAT AM I…listening to – at the moment – Sugarland. Have been listening to a lot lately. Too much to list. But here is the short list: Owl City, Clyde Hopkins, Alicia Keys and Jay-Z (just that one song Empire State of Mind), Miley Cyrus (I aint kidding), Susan Boyle, Hurricane Bells, 3 oh! 3, Band of Skulls, Lights, Lady Ga Ga, Bebo Norman, Chris Tomlin, Tenth Ave. North, etc etc etc.



WHAT AM I…down about... Phil John's passing. Real good man! Always enjoyed talking to him.

Some random pics

What a Trip! or Wanna Trip - depending on your view.....

Strike a pose

Clyde Hopkins

On a recent Memphis trip, we were strolling up and down Beale St. Before we left the downtown area we walked into Memphis Music. This is a remarkable store with just about everything from the Memphis Music scene (plus more). Whatever you want from the Blues to Cash to Elvis to King, they have it.
When we walked in, there was a little elderly gentlemen sitting at a rectangle card table with some CDs in front of him. Curious, I looked down and noticed the picture on the CD was him.
He looked at me and spoke a few words and handed me a CD. I didn’t really understand him (due to the loud music in the store) so I understood the CDs to be free. I did understand when he said he would autograph the CD (that and the fact that he was holding a sharpie). So I asked, How much? (Good thing) and he said $17.00. I thought about it and figure I probably wouldn’t get one. Then he said the music playing is him.
I am not that big into Blues but this stuff coming from the stores’ speakers was astounding. So I had him sign the CD and then I took a picture with him. I didn’t intend for him to stand up but he did. I watched him labor at standing up when other people took pictures with him. He stood up and we took the picture.
We have the CD and it is a regular listen at my office while I work.
I had no idea who Clyde Hopkins was before we walked in that store on Beale St. and I still don’t know much about him. I searched the web for information but there isn’t really much on him. But now – at least - I can listen to his music, and the music in my soul is better for it.
Note about the picture: I “RARELY” put pictures of myself on the Blog – in fact this is the first time. IF this shows up on facebook, I will go pick up Clyde and we will hunt you down!

Seriously, if you get a chance, check out Clyde Hopkins’ music. Blues fan or not, you will enjoy.

Wednesday Quote (on Thursday)

Busy Busy Busy Day, so I only have time to put this quote on the blog...but it is a good one!




"We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive." Albert Einstein

Son of Sam....Child of God

Son of Sam is now a Child of God
Something about serial killers interests me. You have to admit, something about the process – whether it is the acts themselves or the search and capture – peeks interest in people.
If it were not true, you wouldn’t see it on the news. You wouldn’t see movies – fact or fiction – about the subject.
I think what really fascinates me about these troubled people is the fact that like the adulterer, the idolater, the gossiper, the liar, the stealer, the evil dictator – they too (gruesome – no feeling serial killers) have a chance to make good and turn their lives over to Christ.
A While back I did a speech on Loving Your Enemies. In this, I said that very thing. No matter how hardened the heart, if a person is still breathing, they have a chance to be saved. I can’t remember, but I may have put that speech on this blog or the past blog. If not, I will post it in the future.
Anyway, this very morning, I was reading my daily devotional and low and behold, the subject was "Free Behind Bars."
David Berkowitz was sentenced to consecutive life sentences for killing 6 people (and wounded many others) in New York City. He was known as "Son of Sam." He was captured in 1977.
He did confess to the crimes so he could avoid the death penalty. Since then he has been denied parole several times.
About 10 years after his capture, a fellow inmate talked to him about Christ. He gave David Berkowitz a Bible.
Berkowitz said that the book changed his life. He said, "Everything seemed to hit me at once. The guilt from what I did…the disgust at what I had become…I got down on my knees and began to cry out…I asked Jesus to forgive me… A peace flooded over me…I knew that my life, somehow, was going to be different."
You can get some CDs and videos of his conversion through Focus on the Family.
A question for you to ponder.
Why should I accept that someone like David Berkowitz could be a genuine Christian?

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18323/son-of-sam

WCC is Back

I am Back…What a long and strange trip is has been.
I have not BlogD in a long while. As you can tell. All 3 of you who read this junk.
So, Where the heck have I been?
I can tell you now. Couldn’t tell you before. Sorry.
I have been away.
I have been on a top-secret mission. A project for the British Government with my good friend, Coleus Bond 0022. He is James’s cousin, twice removed.
Anyway, in my absence I had lined up 2 of my dearest friends, Maenad T. Smothers and Jimmy J. Jackson, to do guest posts. But I noticed when I posted this note, they didn’t do jack!
They had some great ideas lined up. Maenad planned on expounding on his love of Rap music and the TV show Ghost Whisperer. He had a huge 5-part essay on why Ghost Whisperer and Cool Moe Dee go hand in hand.
Jimmy; on the other hand had a twelve-part essay on why Hillary Duff should run for President (when she is old enough). He also planned on a 3 part session on the healing powers of Shanaia Twain’s song, Come on Over.
Sorry (or maybe I am not sorry) you missed these guest Blogs. I will check on them to see why the heck they didn’t post.
Well, I am back. I will post a proper blog soon.
While I was gone, I barely read. I rarely wrote. I didn’t watch any movies.
Pretty uninspiring, I know.
My goal to Blog everyday was really shattered. So I will try to make up for lost time. At the same time I don’t want to put crap on here that is worse than what I already put on here. Oh by the way – while I was gone, my English and my grammar got worser.
Well, I didn’t blog, but the Brits were quite happy with my work.
Would you like a spot of tea?

Wednesday Quote

"Write what you like; there is no other rule. "
O Henry (1862-1910)

A Crushing Blow

this one is hard to swallow

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091019&content_id=7495070&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

Back in Time?

For some reason, I feel like I have going back in time when it comes to music.
Other than Lucinda Williams and Rosanne Cash (although they both have new stuff but have both been around awhile) I have been hitting the 80's music.
On my mp3 last week I went back and listened to 80's hard rock band Ratt. I even listened to some Ozzy Osbourne. Maybe because Kelly is on Dancing With The Stars. ???.
I also landed on Sigue Sigue Sputnik and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
In my car I have Sirius Satellite radio. I have been listening to 1st Wave - the 80'2 alternative channel. All sorts of "blasts from the past" have been on the radio.
Tears for Fears
Wang Chung
The Cure
REM
Blondie
Big Country
Psychedelic Furs
Peter Murphy

One song stuck out. IT wasn't even one of my favorites back in the day, but I really like it now.
The song is Pure by Lightning Seeds.

check it out. It is pretty good.

What is the World is coming to.....

You decide.... I don't have any opinions, yet.


Louisiana Justice of the Peace denies marriage license to interracial couple

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_on_re_us/us_interracial_rebuff


The Boy in the balloon....not in the balloon

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_boy_in_balloon

no Wednesday Quote...but Yes...King Cobra

I am sitting at home (waiting on the A/C guy to tell me what the deal is with our unit) working. Yes, I am working. I am not playing on the computer.
I had a great Wednesday quote from O Henry, but it is on my desk at the office.
SO I will give you the King Cobra blog instead.

King Cobra

I am talking about the SNAKE. Not the Malt liquor or the band. The snake.
The other day I was trying to wrap up my research for Wade’s Top 100 Songs of all time and I came to the band King Cobra. I remember sometime in the 80’s that this Hard Rock band had one song I liked. I had the tune stuck in my head but couldn’t remember the song title.
In my research I searched King Cobra. Obvious to more and me then – so now – I knew I would have to dig. Searching for King Cobra: you get tons of sites for the snake.
I don’t care for snakes. Although my favorite place to go to at the zoo is the snake house. A place that I fondly remember from my youth was the Snake Farm. And I don’t mind seeing a king snake in my back yard (although at first the site of one startles me – I mean, I see snake then once I determine it is ok, it doesn’t bother me).
When I typed in King Cobra, my eye immediately went to the You Tube sites for the snake.
They had some wild stuff on there.
Here is my favorite.





here is another cool one

Crazy finish to a High School Football game

You have to check this out. read the story and watch the video.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1001233

Music Monday...Lucinda and Rosanne

Normally, I go into great detail when writing about music.
Not because of lack of respect or love of the music, bit for time; today I won't go into great detail on 2 singers, but will let you look and hopefully listen for your self.

Two of the most influential women in music - in my opinion - today are Lucinda Williams and Rosanne Cash.
Most of you have heard of Cash and may or may not have heard of Williams.

Rosanne Cash, to me, has always been in the shadows of her father's name. This is both a pro and a con. She can stand on her own music when it comes to this.
I was exited when my wife told me about a Rosanne Cash record called The List. Cash basically honors her dad and the artist whose songs she covers on this record. Johnny Cash would sing these songs (and many more) to her. This record is great. We listened to it on Saturday and I had to down load it and order it. IT is that good.
Check out these links on this record and on Rosanne Cash herself.

http://www.rosannecash.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosanne_Cash

http://www.cmt.com/news/nashville-skyline/1623474/nashville-skyline-rosanne-cash-talks-about-the-list.jhtml

Lucinda Williams is an incredible singer. She is one of the last "folk-rock-country rebels".
Her music has been covered by other artists (that is always a positive testament) and she continues to produce high quality tunes. She was born in Lake Charles, LA and has many songs about towns in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Many singers and bands credit Lucinda as being one of their influences.
Check out these links to read and hear more of Lucinda Williams.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucinda_Williams

http://www.lucindawilliams.com/
On this site, you can hear clips from all of her music. Go to "Records" and it will take you from there.

Eat Mor Chikin...?????

You would think:

As many times as those Cows wrote "Eat Mor Chikin"..................you would think they would have learned how to spell it by now..................

What Am I...

reading: Walking From East To West - Ravi Zacharias

Listening to: Lucinda Williams. Various songs...I am downloading to the MP3...also Rosanne Cash - The List - this is an awesome record!

Nervous about....Dodgers up 2 games to zip...we win and we move on in the MLB playoffs...LSU - Florida.....tonight!!!!!!!!

man I am so stressed now, I can't go anymore


HAPPY SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

check out the Rosanne Cash record.......very good.......you will like it......

Haven't they heard of Jean Lafitte?

Those Somali pirates will never learn.
Haven't they heard of Jean Lafitte, Edward Teach (Blackbeard) or Henry Morgan?
check out the story on this link....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091007/wl_africa_afp/somaliapiracyshippingfrance_20091007151820

HAAAAARRRRRRRRRR

or they can click this link and see if they have what it takes to be a Pirate

http://books.google.com/books?id=vh_-ronCGOcC&pg=PA34&dq=pirate+book#v=onepage&q=pirate%20book&f=false

I have a fairly serious problem...

…but I am getting much better. I have had this problem for quite some time. I tried over and over again to overcome it. I make great strides and then I receive some of the “stuff” that contributes to this problem and I just can not say NO.
Then I get stronger and my will power rises and I am able to look the other way and pass up the temptation.

Hello, my name is Wade and I am a CHARITY GIFT RECEIVAHOLIC.

We all get the mailings. They are a request for a donation for cancer research, MS, the homeless, feed the children, etc etc etc (the list is too long to put on this blog). For quite some time, I would send all of them money.
They hooked me.
I couldn’t pass up the address labels or the grocery list pads, or the “to do” pads, or the cool stickers (this is another list that can go on and on). So I felt like if I accept their gifts, I need to send them some money.

Now we are getting at least one per day. In the recent past we have received nickels, cross pendants, a rosary, an eagle (you can hook to a chain), all of the stickers and pads mentioned above, and much more.

I even received a dollar once. I received a fleece blanket with a “C” on it. That was cool (or warm). But my favorite so far is from the Arbor Day foundation. I sent them 10 dollars and I received some cool stickers and address labels. I also received the promise of getting 10 tress native to South Louisiana, a calendar, a bunch of seeds and a book (they hooked me on the book). If I actually receive these tress, expect a tree for Christmas!

Now, if you know me, you also know I do care about charities and such. All of the mailings we get are really important causes and I am not mocking them with this blog. But I do have a problem.
But I am getting better. Lately I have been throwing the mailings away with out opening them.

I hope and pray that these charities get the money they need to keep going. Like I said, I care about all of them and think they all do a good deed to society. But if I continue to give to all of them, you might receive a mailing from me one day.

Again, they are all worthwhile causes.

I guess I can do some justice by giving you some links to a few to check out for your self.

http://www.neworleansmission.org/

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/main/default.aspx

http://www.stjude.org/stjude/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f2bfab46cb118010VgnVCM1000000e2015acRCRD

http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dotorg_homepage&s_src=google_adwords&s_subsrc=gaw_feedchildrengen--3131761692--feed%20the%20children

The other day I received a cool grocery list pad. I couldn’t pass it up!

the Major League Baseball Playoffs are here

Since (whoever reads this) you had to endure my Dodger rants throughout this baseball season, I feel obligated to share my post season picks with you.

I won't go into great detail.

I picked an all LA World Series (Dodgers vs. Angels) when the season began so I will stick with that.

National League
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Dodgers wins series in 5 games (5 game series)
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies
Phillies in 5

NLCS
Dodgers vs. Phillies
Dodgers in 6 (7 game series)

American League
Los Angeles Angels vs. Boston Red Sox
Angels in 5
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
Yankees in 4.

ALCS
Angels vs. Yankees
Angels in 7

World Series
Dodgers vs. Angels
Dodgers in 7

Dodgers.....Your World Series Champ.

Wednesday Quote...times 2

A lady visited our church this past Sunday and I apologize for not getting her name. She was recently battling bells palsy but she was on of the most positive people I have come across.
She said "Circumstances don't affect God's peace."


and

"Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another." John Muir

The Ant War ... update

On Tuesday the ants were hit hard again. Shock and awe could only describe what they must have felt.
Many casualties. Their numbers are dwindling.
Today they were hit hard again.
It appears they are retreating, but......with these pests, the battles always rage....the War never ends!

The Ant War

The Ant War
Chances are we have all had dealings with ants. Those crazy creatures we "love".
About a week ago, we had a few in one of our cabinets. This is not entirely uncommon when it is rainy for a few days straight for people to have some ants in their house.
Well these ants were relentless. We battled them and fought them. We sprayed and beat them.
We thought the war was over in just three battles.
The Battle of The Cracker Box was a ferocious affair. After a long fight, we beat the any army back.
The Battle of the Sugar Jar was almost over before it started. They tried to infiltrate but we stopped them.
The Battle at Door’s Edge was an assault by us. We won. It was tough but we won.
This past Sunday they were back.
I couldn’t believe it. They infiltrated 2 boxes of cereal. The cereal was closed tightly. Do these ants know how much cereal costs?
We fought them back a bit and held them off.
Then we brought out the Big guns.
The bomb.
In the Battle of Attic, the bomb hit the ant troops hard. It seriously crippled their offense.
I let one of the bombs go in the attic because we thought the ants might be in the wall some sort of way.
They never left a trail like ants normally do.
We came home from work yesterday and YES…dead ants everywhere. I bet we swept up 5 pounds of ants (this is an exaggeration of course).
We won yet another battle.
Did we rest on our laurels?
No.!
Today we let off another attic bomb. I can’t wait to get home to see what we find.
I will report on battle number 5 – The Battle of Attic part 2 - later.

Wade's Top 100 ...update

Wade’s Top 100 (songs and LPs of all time) update:
The research (the long research) is moving along. I am about 80% done on the research end.
If you ever decide to take this on and honestly give all songs you have ever heard an equal and fair shot, DO NOT DO THIS. This is a long and tedious task. If I wouldn’t be so far into it, I would abandon the project.
But I will truck along.
Like I said, the research is approximately 80% done. If someone comes out with a new record while researching, I do check that record out. I would hate to pass up a hidden gem.
The top 100 songs might end up being the Top (more than 100) songs. I already have well over a thousand songs making the second tier. We shall see.
The entire process is approximately 78.3% research, 24.5% compiling, and 11.7% recording (I know this doesn’t add up – but neither do I).
So, hopefully before the end of 2009, You will be able to delve into my music world and check out Wade’s Top 100.

Until then…
Some listening suggestions (new and old):

These are some albums you may like.
Lucinda Williams - West
This is her 8th studio album, release in 2007. This is probably my favorite overall Lucinda Williams record. But, all of her records are so good; you wouldn’t go wrong with any one of them.

Paramore – Brand New Eyes
This is their new album – just released. Every song is pretty good. This is a good listen. The lead singer is from Meridian, MS – I think.

Stellastarr – Civilized
This is their latest record. It was released this past summer. It is their 3rd full-length record. This is a pretty good Alternative/Indie rock band.

Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American
This is the band’s 4th record. It was released in July 2001. Shortly after the attacks on September 11, 2001, the band changed the title to Jimmy Eat World. This is an awesome record.

The Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray
This 1992 record is one of my favorites of all time (it is probably a sure thing to make Wade’s top 100.

Matthew Sweet – 100% Fun
This 1995 record…same as the Lemonheads record. Both are tremendous works.

Well, if you listen to any of these, let me know what you think.

Hallelujah!

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091003&content_id=7310128&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

October goals....the Eider duck

GOAL
My goal in October is to Blog everyday. Here I am 2 for 2. I don’t want to just throw senseless jabber on the Blog, so if I see myself getting to that point, I won’t post.
My set up was for Monday to be all about Music.
Wednesday would be the Quote day.
Saturday would be the AM I day (I copied this from other blogs).
Then I would fill in between. With a full time job, it is difficult to Blog everyday, but I will try. And I will try to keep up with the program.
So today is Friday October 2. Already.
I have this Nature desk calendar and (if you could not tell) I get some of the quotes I post from it. They are quite interesting and moving.
Next Wednesday, I have an awesome quote for you. Yes, it is from the calendar.
Back on Sep 22, the calendar showed the Eider duck eating an urchin. My first reaction was…OUCH!
Then the next day it sowed the same duck swallowing the urchin. Again…OUCH x 2!
These pictures were taken around Canada’s Belcher Islands. Fitting.
For your enjoyment, I linked some interesting items to read on the Eider duck and the Belcher Islands.

http://www.audubon.org/bird/boa/F39_G5k.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eider

http://www.mitiq.com/belcher-islands.htm

THE AGONY..THE TORTURE..THE TORMENT..THE ANGUISH..THE SUFFERING..THE DISTRESS..THE PERSECUTION

The Agony, the Torture, the Torment, the Anguish, the suffering, the distress, the persecution…

What a title. No, it is describing my recent bout with Shingles (on my head and eye). The title is not describing my medieval battle I had in a dream once. It isn’t even describing the economy today (although it probably could).
Today’s Blog title is only describing one thing.
MY ________ ON THE CURRENT PLAY OF THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS.
COEM ONGUYS!!!!!!!!!
In the Dodgers last 9 games, they played 3 of the worst teams in baseball. They took 2 out of 3 from the lowly Nationals. Then they split the first 2 games (of a four game series) with the poor Pirates of Pittsburgh. Stressing…yes. Taxing…yes. BUT not too big of a deal. I figured "ok we have 4 games left (2 with Pittsburgh and 2 with the Padres). We win one and we win the West."
Well, they lost all 4 and with each lost the words of the title to this Blog grew in my head.
WHY?
If you watched the Dodgers (and didn’t know they did clinch at least a Wild Card berth…and did – and still does – barely – have the best record in the National League) during this 9 game stretch you would think they were the worst team in baseball. They did have a come from behind win in Washington DC, but they also squandered at least 2 late leads. Errors also cost them 2 of these games. Sometime I think the "D’ stands for Doom and the "LA" stands for Laugh At Wade.
Usually when a team I root for loses, I feel a little better when I read quotes from players or coaches on what may have gone wrong. I am trying in this case, but nothing I read is making me feel better.
So here we are.
As of last night’s action (for lack of a better word) the Rockies are nipping at our heels. They are 2.5 behind us. That is stressing.
The Rockies have a game tonight against the Brewers, then the Dodgers and Rockies play a 3 game series. After that the regular season is over.
If the Rockies win tonight, they can actually win the Division with a sweep of the Dodgers. Many experts say it won’t happen. I am not so sure. The Rockies play good – hard baseball – year round. The Dodgers, I feel, were looking ahead to a celebration that hasn’t happened. They should have wrapped up the Division a week ago but didn’t. So here we are, with less than a handful of games left, my heart rate is rising and my stomach is churning. All because of a sports team way out in California.
After every season – whether it is the Dodgers or LSU, I say I won’t watch sports again. Of course I know I am lying to myself.
When I grow up I really would like to stop stressing over sports (the LSU – Miss. St. game last Saturday probably cost me a few days).
So, I will not go to Dodgers.com or espn.com until Sunday night. Then I will not have to stress between now and then.
… On second thought, I will probably monitor the Rockies game tonight to see if they lose.
Stress!

It has been over a week...so

What's the deal?
I've been busy with medical issues, but thank God I didn't end up in the hospital. It was close. Still have the issues but I am taking enough drugs to test positive on one hundred drug screens. oh well....gotta get better.

So during the week and one day of not blogging...

I am still reading Green by Ted Dekker and Anabaptist Preaching - edited by David B. Greiser and Michael A. King. This book has a different writer for each chapter. I am looking forward to the ones I haven't read yet, but especially Chapter 8.
Books on the stack (waiting to be read):
Boneman's Daughter - Ted Dekker
Talking The Walk - Marva Dawn
Walking From East To West - Ravi Zacharias
Secret Germany - Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh
Sense and Sensuality: Jesus Talks With Oscar Wilde on the Pursuit of Pleasure - Ravi Zacharias
"I BETTER GET TO READING!!!!!"

I do realize I stress too much. Even though I know the Truth and it does set me free. I still stress. sometimes I stress and don't realize it. I stress trying to get away from a place to go to a place so I can de-stress. Boy That is stressful!
So I lift my .5L of Nestle Pure Life Water (half of the label is written in Spanish) to NO STRESS!

TV. Here is my admission section. America's Got Talent is over. It was a great season. Dancing With the Stars has started. It should be a great season. Gray's Anatomy starts tonight. I didn't think we would watch it (and wait for it on DVD) but oh well.

Movies: we have the John Adams Documentary waiting (from NETFLIX) to be watched. Looking forward to that.
Can't remember what we have seen lately. I guess it wasn't good. Oh, we did watch 17 Again. It was actually good.

The Dodgers. We lost last night but so did the Rockies. We are 5 games up with 11 to go. Magic number is 6. Getting closer. This too, is part of my stress.

NFL. My week 2 picks were cruddy. I am embarrassed to say I went 7 - 0 (18-14 overall). I think that is the worst I have done...in a long time. Week 2 is usually a hard week for me (but 7 - 9 ...come on Wade). Hopefully week 3 will bode me better (not sure if that is proper English - grade me).
My fantasy team rolled - thanks Chris Johnson!
I am 2 - 0 in the Crystal Ball Pick 'em league, so that is so far so good.

Music: I have been listening to Opera lately.........and I like it!

Adios

11-5 : not my best start to NFL Season picks, but...

Well, Week 1 is in the books and I ended up 11-5 on my NFL picks.
Not the best, but I will take it for now.
I missed on Philly vs. Carolina - I didn't show Philly any love but I didn't think Carolina would stink up the joint.
Jets vs. Houston - I am not crowning Mark Sanchez as Joe Namath II, but he looked pretty good. Houston - I thought was better.
Denver vs. Cinci - fluke. That play will never happen again in any game this season.
Miami vs. Atlanta - I still don't think Atlanta is as good as people want to think they are.
Arizona vs. SF - Kurt Warner hurt me in Fantasy Football too!

So. What will next week bring?
There are some tough week 2 games, so we shall see...........................

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

That was one of the great lines from a great actor. Patrick Swayze passed away yesterday from pancreatic cancer.
He wasn't one of my favorite actors in the world, but he was always solid. He would rank up there in my top 20 - if I had to list one. I probably enjoyed about 90% of the movies he starred in.
Dirty Dancing , The Outsiders and Ghost were probably some of his more popular movies.
My favorite:
RED DAWN

"Wolverines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Swayze was a great family man and that is what he should be remembered for.

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/39dirty-dancing39-star-patrick-swayze-at-57-ap

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000664/

No Credit card machine = no fried chicken

Thank God for the Small Things

I had to go to the Post Office today. When I got back I had planned to eat the lunch I brought from home. I had a nice baked chicken breast with green beans and fingerling potatoes.
MMMMM
Well on the way to the USPS, I have to pass the only 3 eating joints that are in the town where I work. I wrestled back and forth with stomach issues (eat fried chicken from Daddy's or Birdies or go back to the office like a good little fat boy and eat my baked chicken). The pressure mounted and I succumbed.
I pulled into Daddy's and walked in.
"I'll have 2 chicken breasts and 2 jalapeno peppers, to go please" ,I told the cashier.
"No peppers", she said.
"Well just the two breasts will be fine", I said hiding my disappointment in the "no peppers" issue.
She obviously saw me reaching for my credit card (I only had a dollar in my pocket) when she said "Card machine is broken".
All I could say was, "well OK. Have a nice day."
When I walked out, I looked over at Birdies across the street and said "NO"!!!!!!!
So thank God I used my cash at the post office. Thank God the card machine was broken.
As I am typing this, I am enjoying my baked chicken, green beans and potatoes.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Wade's College Crack pot predictions

College Football predictions

I am not that good at College football predictions but I will give it a try. Also, these were done prior to the Oklahoma loss to BYU. I am just now getting to put them on the BLOG.

ACC Champ: North Carolina
They will almost run the table – including wins at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Looses to out of conference underdog East Carolina and Conference underdog N. Carolina State will keep them from being perfect.

Big 12: Nebraska will meet Texas in the Conference Championship game:
Texas wins. Texas ends up 12 – 1(they will lose to Missouri)(and almost lose to Oklahoma State).
The Big 12, along with the SEC will be the most exciting conferences to watch this year.

Big 12
North
Nebraska
Missouri
Kansas St.
Kansas
Colorado
Iowa St.

South
Texas
Oklahoma St.
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Texas A & M
Baylor

Despite predictions I am rooting for Oklahoma St. to win the Big 12.

Big East

Cincinnati will win it all.

Conference USA

East Carolina vs. Tulsa in the championship game: East Carolina winning it all. They will run the table in the conference but lose to out of conference foes West Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Mountain West

Utah will win it all.

Independent

Notre Dame will finish 9 – 3 (they will lose to USC, Michigan and Navy.

WAC
Boise State will win it but lookout for Idaho.
Boise St. will not go undefeated so there will be no BCS controversy.



PAC 10

USC will win the PAC 10 without a serious challenge. Look for Washington (I thought this before the LSU game) to win at least 6 games this year.

Big 10

Penn St. Will win the conference.
Followed by Ohio State.

And now……..The MOST exciting conference in college football………..THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE!

I like Ole Miss, but they will have to prove it. I may be upset at the end of this thing, but you NEVER count out any SEC team.

Here it is:
(Regular season records)
SEC East
Team Conf. Record Overall record
Florida 7-1 11-1
Georgia 6-2 9-3
Vanderbilt 4-4 7-5
Tennessee 3-5 6-6
Kentucky 3-5 6-6
So. Carolina 0-8 4-8


SEC West
Team Conf. Record Overall Record
Alabama 8-0 12-0
LSU 7-1 11-1
Mississippi 6-2 10-2
Arkansas 2-6 5-7
Miss. St. 2-6 5-7
Auburn 0-8 3-9

The SEC puts 8 teams in Bowl games.
Florida loses to LSU. Georgia loses to LSU and Florida. LSU loses to Alabama. Ole Miss loses to LSU and Alabama.





The National Championship Picture (this prior to Bowl games but after Conference championship games)

Texas 12-1
USC 11-1
Penn St. 12-0
North Carolina 11-2
Oklahoma St. 10-2
Nebraska 10-3
Ohio St. 10-2
Florida 12-1
Alabama 12-1
LSU11-1
Ole Miss 10-2




Penn St. (who benefit from a fairly easy schedule) will meet Florida in the BCS National Championship game. Alabama and Penn St. will be undefeated in the regular season and they will be riding high. Florida will be known as the champ who knocked off two undefeated teams on the way to their championship. Florida will clobber Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Then they will beat Penn St. in the BCS Championship game. I really don’t want to be on the Florida bandwagon but…

Florida will be the National Champion (their only loss coming to LSU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

It is FOOTBALL Time!!!! Wade's NFL predictions

Football is Here
Wade’s NFL predictions

Some quick notes: I live in the New Orleans area but I am not a “die hard” Saints fan. Yes I love it when they win and get a little perturbed when they lose, but it is not like I feel when the Dodgers win or lose.
These predictions are not biased in any way. It is how I truly feel.

Here you go:

AFC

South
Tennessee 12-4
Indianapolis 10-6
Houston 9-7
Jacksonville 4-12
I am really high on Tennessee this year. I think they have the complete package to win this division. Only 2 of their losses will be from the division. A split with Indy and a split with Houston. I really liked Houston to make the playoffs this year, but I think they will just miss it. Indy will slip in as a wild card. Jacksonville will be competitive, but their end result will be a crummy record.

East
New England 11-5
Miami 8-8
Buffalo 6-10
NY Jets 5-11
New England won’t repeat last year. They have their QB back. They will easily win the division. I thought Miami might do better than 8-8 and squeak into the playoffs, but when I played out the season’s games, 8-8 is all I thought they would do. Buffalo will take a while to get going on offense and by the time they do, it will be too late. I don’t have much faith in the Jets this year, but give Mark Sanchez a few years and they might be a contender.

North
Pittsburgh 13-3
Baltimore 11-5
Cleveland 7-9
Cincinnati 5-11
Pittsburgh and Baltimore are the cream of the crop in this division. Both will make the playoffs easily. The battle will be for first place, but I think the Steelers will prevail. Cleveland and Cincinnati will round up the bottom. I just don’t think they have it this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cinci actually finishes better than Cleveland does.

West
San Diego 10-6
Kansas City 6-10
Denver 5-11
Oakland 4-12
I was high on San Diego going in. They will easily win the division, but unlike last year, they won’t make much noise in the playoffs. KC and Denver will have bad years. Oakland will win 4 games only, but it won’t be Jamarcus Russell’s fault.

Playoffs
Division Winners
Tennessee
New England
Pittsburgh
San Diego
Wild Card
Baltimore
Indianapolis

Indy and San Diego will be knocked out in the first round. Then Tennessee and Baltimore will have a slug fest. Tennessee barely gets by. New England will win a close one at Pittsburgh. Tennessee will shock and roll all over New England to get to the Super Bowl.


AFC Superbowl Representative
Tennessee

NFC

South
New Orleans 11-5
Atlanta 10-6
Carolina 10-6
Tampa Bay 4-12
I really do believe that the Saints offense will continue their high scoring ways and their Defense will be much improved. This will propel them to win this tough division and go even further. Tampa Bay will be cellar dwellers. Atlanta – who I am not very high on – will beat out Carolina for a NFC wild card spot.

East
NY Giants 11-5
Philadelphia 10-6
Dallas 8-8
Washington 6-10
Giant’s fans should be happy. This team will be a beast this year in the regular season. Philly will easily make the wild card for the playoffs due to tiebreakers with Carolina. Neither team will win in the playoffs. Dallas will be mediocre and heads will roll. Washington will round it out – the bottom that is.

North
Green Bay 10-6
Chicago 9-7
Minnesota 7-9
Detroit 3-13
Detroit will win 3 games. Brett Favre won’t lead the Vikings to the Promised Land. Chicago will fall a little short to make the playoffs. Green Bay will win the division but not by much. Green Bay is the best team in this league and thanks to Division games, will win it.

West
Arizona 11-5
Seattle 9-7
St. Louis 8-8
San Francisco 6-10
I was high on Seattle going in, but like other division, once I played the games out, Arizona will again prevail and go far in the playoffs. They are just too good on offense not to. Seattle will have a good year and win some big games, but it will be the games they “should” win that will keep them out of the playoffs. St. Louis will be about 8-8 give or take. The 49ers just won’t have it this year.

Playoffs
Division Winners
New Orleans
NY Giants
Green Bay
Arizona
Wild Card
Philadelphia
Atlanta

Arizona will easily knock Atlanta out of the first round. Green Bay will barley get by Philly. The Saints will roll over the Packers in the Superdome. Arizona will be cold, but will just get by the Giants. The Saints will prevail over the Cardinals in a high scoring affair. The Saints will be in the Superbowl.

NFC Superbowl Representative
New Orleans

Superbowl
Tennessee vs. New Orleans

Winner: Tennessee

Tennessee will beat the Saints in a close Superbowl game. The high powered Saints offense will come down a bit and the MUCH improved Defense will fall a wee bit short as the Titans get just enough to win.

Like all predictions, these may be way off or right on….who really knows.

Tomorrow, the NCAA (which was compiled before the season ….I haven’t had the chance to get it on the blog until now!

PS...Dodgers vs. Angels...World Series.....I said this before the Baseball season began............we shall see!

E. A. R.

My favorite poet, hands down, is Edwin Arlington Robinson. I don't get on that facebook thing much but if you check my picture out - it is Edwin and not Wade.

so for your poetic enjoyment....from 1920...here is

The Dark Hills
by Edwin Arlington Robinson


Dark hills at evening in the west,
Where sunset hovers like a sound
Of golden horns that sang to rest
Old bones of warriors under ground,

Far now from all the bannered ways
Where flash the legions of the sun,
You fade - as if the last of days
Where fading, and all wars were done.

OK (LA) this is weird

On my lap top I have an LA Dodgers sticker....the "LA" symbol...

(the one you see above)

well, I had a little nick (funny - if you get it...) on the right hand corner of the "L". I tried to straighten it out and ....WAM....I nicked (there it is again) (origin of the sticker)the end of the sticker....well I look at it and immediately think.....MAN.........

It now looks like the Rocky Mountains.........oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!! the Rockies (of Colorado) are only 5.5 games behind us (the DODGERS) going into tonight...........

I am stressed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

am I reading too much into things.....?

I really have to quit being into sports.....................I have said that so many times in the past.....now it is time for Fantasy Football..........more stress.......................CAN I MAKE IT??

What Am I..

What Am I…Reading: Green by Ted Dekker – this is book 0 of the Circle Trilogy (actually 4 books) IT is the beginning OR the end. Just started it but I know it will be good. All of his books are good.
I am still reading Anabaptist Preaching – A Conversation Between Pulpit, Pew, and Bible by David B. Greiser and Michael King. This is one of 2 books we were required to read for the Speaking Institute I attended. Awesome Time. I learned a lot. I should have been finished this book long ago, but I am getting there.

What Am I …Listening to: Death Cab For Cutie (what I listened to most today – I bring my mp3 player to work and listen to it some). I heard there 2008 song "Grapevine Fires" on the radio the other day and I liked it. I had heard some of their earlier stuff so I figured I would pull their music out and listen.
I have also been listening to Tenth Avenue North....great new band. See past Blog about one of their songs.....

What Am I …thinking about: as always too much to type OR too private to share!

What Am I …happy about: Madeline gets to go to Family Camp. She is over the Swine Flu.
Plus lots of other things. Boiled Crabs last weekend were awesome!

What Am I…stressing about: the Dodgers. Yes we are 5.5 games up in first place in the N.L. West, but until they mathematically clinch, I will stress. I still feel – despite all of the "experts" discussions that the 2 LA teams will face off in the World Series.

What Am I…watching on TV: America’s Got Talent . I never thought I would like this show, but I must admit it has been pretty good. Can’t wait for Lost – the last season will start sometime in early 2010.

What Am I…watching from NetFlix: We watched Tempted with Burt Reynolds only because some scenes were filmed in Des Allemands and a couple of people we know (names not mentioned for privacy purposes) were extras. The movie was terrible. We did not watch the whole thing, but we FF or Rewound to see the Des Allemands scenes – or I should say SCENE. Trust me, You do not want to watch this movie!
We also watched I’ve Loved You So Long starring Kristen Scott Thomas. It is a powerful Foreign Language film (be ready to read sub-titles). It was great. Trust me, You DO want to watch this movie. We also saw Knowing starring Nicholas Cage. This was a pretty good Sci-Fi flick. Trust me, If you are a Cage fan, you DO want to watch this movie. IF you don't care about Nicholas Cage or just think he is ok, the you might not like the movie. Sometime, to me, the actor actually does make the film Worth watching.

And a final thought………I was listening to ESPN radio yesterday and the Herd (with Colin Cowherd) and he was saying that this (this time we are in) is one of the best times of the year for the sports fan.
The Major League Baseball season is winding down – the good teams are vying for the playoffs and Pro and College Football regular season are about to crank up.
I could not agree more!

Wednesday Quote

I never grow tired of quotes by Yogi Berra.....

here are a few to enjoy...

Even Napoleon had his Watergate.

Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.

Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.

He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious.

I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.

I'm a lucky guy and I'm happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary.

for more great Yogi Berra quotes, go to:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/y/yogi_berra.html

Commercials that are always funny...no matter how many times I see them

Commercials that are Always funny

They have many commercials – past and present – that I like.
There are currently 4 running that I think are hilarious.
Did you see the Wendy’s commercial for the new Bacon Double Cheeseburger? All these people are amazed that it only cost $1.29.
This commercial would not be funny, but for one guy. There is a dark haired fellow – sounds like he is from Jersey or Philly or some wonderful place like that – who makes this commercial for me.
With one line, I roll laughing every time. He says “I can get about two a ‘dem.” The way he says it cracks me up. I love it.
AT-T has an ad out there about roll over minutes. They have had some terrific ones in the past with this one family. You’ve seen them; the kid doesn’t want to use the old minutes even though the mom says they are still good. Who knew, those little orange circles would be part of a great commercial. The latest (and it has been running a while – and it is still funny) is when the family is in the van and the son doesn’t want the rollover minutes. He cuts his mom off in mid sentence. He gets the LOOK! That look is funny and scary at the same time. I love it.
Verizon has the commercial where the parents are sitting and working on Facebook and Twitter. Their kids are irritated. The mom keeps writing, “I love you” on the daughter’s facebook page. The dad keeps twittering. When the son asks his dad to stop, he says almost to his self (while twittering) “I am sitting on the porch.” Hilarious.
Then we have the T-Mobil commercial with that nerdy little fellow and Katherine Zeta Jones. She asks where his parents are and he says (in that suave voice) “Richard and Linda won’t be joining us the evening” as he click the mood music and the fireplace on. Eventually Katherine Zeta Jones gives him the look and he relents. Great ad.
Do any of these commercials make me want to buy their product?
No.
Wendy’ is disgusting.
I already have AT-T.
Verizon is good (I had it on a company phone in the past) but I already have AT-T (only because they had the best plan at the time we needed phones).
But the commercials are great!

Wednesday Quote (on Thursday)

"In the mountains of truth, you never climb in vain." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Struggling with LA

In a season that began with much hope and promise came the Manny Ramirez "suspension" set back that was for all actuality, no set back at all. I boldly predicted that when he came off of his 50 game suspension, the Los Angeles Dodgers would be at least 12 games up in first place. Well, they were not 12 games up, but they were close to it.
So here we are, on August 26. We are only 2 measly games in first place. The Dodgers are 2 up on the Rockies, coming off of an extra inning loss to that Rockies club. The game last night basically paralleled the season. Up early, then down (the Ramirez "thing") then back on top (playing like World beaters during Manny's absence) then bam....we lost.
As sick as I get when the Dodgers lose (and believe me - my belly hurts today), I still feel we will win the World Series over the other LA team (the Angels). That was my prediction at the beginning of the season and I won't back off of it now. But I will say, my comfort level is diminishing.........quickly.
So lets go DODGERS....win tonight, win tomorrow and come out of Colorado with a 4 game lead on the Rockies. If this happens, I truly feel we got it, but much to my chagrin, it probably be with stress involved.

Roses For Black Moses

if you happen to be in Memphis tomorrow and have some time, you should go the the Isaac Hayes Tribute at Soulsville USA - Stax Records.....wish we could go....

http://www.soulsvilleusa.com/programs-events/detail.asp?id=93

Vick

Vick, Michael

I really thought that I would never comment on the Mike Vick issue.
But, I have to.
I will keep it short.
First, I do feel that professional athletes, movie stars, “big time” pastors, high profile people, famous musicians, etc do get preferential treatment for certain acts.
I do feel what Mike Vick did was wrong, offensive, cruel, etc.
But I also feel he deserves a second chance. He got his second chance.
Lets just say you or I did what he did. We served our time. We were sorry and remorseful. Our employer gives us a second chance. Don’t you think you or I would deserve that?
Yes.
I actually heard a guy on the radio say that if he did the same thing and his employer gave him a second chance, he would deserve that second chance. He followed that up by saying “But Vick doesn’t deserve it (the second chance).”
This guy can’t be to swift.
Mike Vick’s case is the same. It just happens to be the Philadelphia Eagles and the National Football League instead of Bob’s Vacuum Service.
His employer gave him a second chance. If your employer gave you a second chance it would be the same thing.
Another person told me that Vick isn’t sorry, he is just giving lip service so he can get back in the NFL. I asked him if he went to Mike Vick’s house last night and Mike Vick told him that over iced tea?
Now I hope he is truly remorseful about what he did do. No one that I know will ever be able to tell that.
So, in the spirit of humanity and the spirit of forgiveness, he deserves a second chance.
Whether you agree or disagree is up to you.
If you disagree, go read your Bible. There are a lot of words telling you why you should agree.

By Your side

I was "snookered" into renewing Sirius Satellite radio....I got a good deal.
I listen to all sorts of music. I was listening to "Sirius 66" The worship channel.
I heard this group Tenth Avenue North. The song was Hold My Heart. Great song.
I liked it so I downloaded the album on my Rhapsody and finally got a chance to listen to the whole record. Great!
There is a song on the record called By Your Side. It BLEW me away.
check it out.....and check out the lyrics.

Lyrics to By Your Side :
Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away
Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run
And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you
Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life I want to give you life(Chorus 2x)
Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you I'll never let you go

Wednesday Quote

"Touch the earth, love the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, and her seas; rest your spirit in her solitary places. For the gifts of life are the earth's and they are given to all..." Henry Beston


"... and who gave us the earth?" Wade Cortez

John Hughes

"Bueller....Ferris Bueller...." Ben Stein said it best...

John Hughes - one of my favorite directors died today in my favorite city.
He passed away of a heart attack.
He was an awesome director. His movies speak for themselves so I won't try to write about how great they were.
Even though many of the most popular movies he directed were in the 80's, I can still watch most today and be transformed to when I first saw them.
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/3980s-teen-flick-director-john-hughes-dies-nyc-ap

go to the Wikipedia link below and you can see the mark he had on the movie industry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hughes_(director)

The Many Faces of BRONCKHORST

The Many Faces of BRONCKHORST

I was driving on the I-310 in Luling (Louisiana) and saw a Boars Head Provisions Truck. I didn’t think much of it but as I was exiting off of the interstate, I happen to look at the side of the truck. The word BRONCKHORST jumped out at me like Jaws in Jaws 3-D. I couldn’t read the rest of the writing because I was exiting and the truck wasn’t.
That word stuck in my mind.
I figured it was something to do with meat because I thought that Boars Head was a meat company of some sort.
The more I thought about the word, it drove me crazy. So I had to do a Google search on it.
This is what I found:

Giovanni van Bronckhorst is a soccer player....he has his own web site: http://www.giovanbronckhorst.com/

Bronckhorst is also a municipality in Gelderlan, the Netherlands : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronckhorst

and it is on a web site that I can't read : http://www.bronckhorst.nl/

There is an Indonesia Entrepreneur named Anantya Van Bronckhorst : http://www.linkedin.com/pub/anantya-van-bronckhorst/3/737/738

Rudyard Kipling (he wrote The Jungle Book and Captains Courages) wrote The Bronckhorst Divorce-case: http://www.readprint.com/work-4291/The-Bronckhorst-Divorce-Case-Rudyard-Kipling

I could not find anything about Meat or food having to do with Bronckhorst so I went to the Boars Head Provision web site.
Which is also a part of the FRANK BRUNCKHORST CO LLC.

SO THE WORD ON THE SIDE OF THE TRUCK WAS NOT BRONCHORST, IT WAS BRUNCKHORST.

OH WELL, I LEARNED A FEW THINGS ABOUT BRONCKHORST.

No is the Universal Language

Today, I ate Chinese food with my buddy Lariesha. I cracked open the fortune cookie at the end - hoping for that next "great piece of advice" and wham! NOTHING...No cheap - two bit fortune on that little strip of paper.
I actually made a loud noise when nothing appeared. If more people would have been in the dining hall, I may have had some on lookers.
Anyway, after asking the "can hardly speak English (WHICH I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH AT ALL...I AM ACTUALLY AMAZED AT HOW PEOPLE MAKE IT IN OUR COUNTRY WHILE NOT SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE - I AM IMPRESSED!) waitress for a go box (I had to bring my one shrimp and 2 onion slices back to the office for an afternoon snack) I asked her if it meant something special since I didn't get a fortune in my cookie.
She said with a smile...."NO"

Fortune Cookie Logic

These are some of the recent "fortunes" we took from the Chinese Fortune Cookie.
"Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak."
AND
"Don't stop dreaming, otherwise sleep will get awfully boring."

Have you ever thought about the fortune cookie?
I really have not.
I don't really eat them, however the ones we had at Bamboo Garden in Boutte (LA) last Friday night were actually good.
Anyway, I did a little reading...(no wonder it takes me forever to read a book - i read too much other stuff).
Here are some links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_cookie

http://weirdfortunecookies.com/

recipe: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/desserts/tp/fortunecookies.htm

A few Backyard pics

A Tribute to Roy

I learned this morning that our cousin Roy passed away.
He is in Heaven now with lots more than you and I.
He touched so many people in his life. He was a trooper.
Roy developed Spinal Meningitis when he was 3 months old. This crippled him, but he was able to walk with braces as a child. The disease did affect his speech but never his mind. He had a Beautiful mind. He was smart. He loved to laugh. He loved coming to church and on the days he came, the church was a little better. When he came we always sang his favorite Hymn, "When We All Get To Heaven."
So here's to you buddy!
"He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God." Acts 3:8

the Nose Knows

Smelling.
What a fine art it is.
I do not know what I would do if I couldn't smell.
Of the 5 senses, it ranks right up there with the best of them (but so do all the rest).
Do you ever think of your favorite smells?
Here are some of mine…
(in no particular order)
1 – fresh cut grass
2 – the smell of a long driving rain
3 – bleach after it gets on my hands. That long lingering waft is so pleasant
4 – gas (I am talking about the fuel – although…) but not if it gets on me – then I hate it.
5 – gumbo and stew that is almost ready to eat
6 – the green of a tomato plant
7 - dirt

Gonzo's Connect the Classics

today is Wednesday, but when you read this play like it is Monday - music Monday...

Gonzo’s Connect the Classics

On one of the local New Orleans radio stations, WKBU – Bayou 95.7, there is a show called Gonzo’s Connect the Classics.
Basically, listeners call in and request the play list. The only rule is that whatever song the listener requests, the first letter of the song must be the same as the last letter of the song playing. If the song playing ends with an “E” then it is considered a wild card and any song can be played. I don’t really listen to this station (I do like the type of music they play) but Joel in our shop has it on often. It is a pretty cool idea and sounds fun.
So in the spirit of this show, I give you Wade’s Connect My Classics.
Why? You might see a song on here that sounds interesting….you might listen to it….you might like…….then again, you might not.
I will start with a song I have been listening to a lot lately (I will not use any “E” wild cards. For game purposes I will only capitalize the first and last letters of the song title (the band – in case you want to look up – will be in parentheses)
Help I’m alivE (Metric) – Everlasting frienD (Blue October) – Done stealiN (Carolina Liar) – Near wild heaveN (REM) – Nyc’s like a graveyarD (The Moldy Peaches) – DizzY (Jimmy Eat World) – You’re beautifuL (James Blunt) – Lost my minD (Matthew Sweet)….

Ok this isn’t as exciting as I thought it would be….I guess the concept works better on a radio show with actual listeners calling in…….oh well…