Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Neil Diamond - A Closet Conservative?

Ok, that's stretching the truth more than a bit, but he did show a faint glimmer of conservatism.

I attended his concert in Dallas and was surprised to see that 100% of all merch proceeds were being given to Hurricane Ike relief. Isn't that fantastic? Still, I was not moved enough to spend money on memorabilia that will end up in my concert storage chest. What a noble idea though. Here is a megastar who is not highly publicizing his charity efforts. There was no fanfare in the media, no blaring of horns, no single engine planes with banners floating behind them. Nothing. Just innocuous signs at the merch tables declaring intentions.

Now, with all that said, I realize that Mr. Diamond is a liberal. When he started talking about the proceeds for Ike, I was expecting a diatribe. What I got was a tenet of conservatism. Take the government out of the picture and let the people do the work.

Mr. Diamond said he'd been to Galveston Bay touring the area. He said one of the barrier islands had 350 homes before Ike. Post Ike only 50 homes remained standing. The residents were living in tents. Living conditions were not good, etc. To myself I was thinking, "ok here we go,here is the Katrina reference." But I was surprised. He said 100% of the proceeds from merch would go to these Ike victims. He and his band would match the take dollar for dollar. He wanted to have each of these displaced families within 4 walls of their own home by Christmas.

Wait for it...imaginary drum roll....he did not want to wait for the government to take care of these people. What? Hey don't liberals support government intervention?

Go Neil. My friend who attended with me is a Dem to the core, unfortunately. He said "government" and she replied with "worthless administration can't be counted on to take care of anyone."

While I believe Mr. Diamond was in fact poking at the current administration, remember he is a liberal, he did get this correct. Why shouldn't we arm ourselves with saws, hammers, and the tools of home building? Why not make the trip to Galveston to help our neighbors rebuild.

This ties in with Russet's post on Outsourcing Charity. Why must we always look to the government to solve problems?

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Russet Shadows

...WELCOME to Random Jumbled Thoughts...

!!!BOY COOTIES....BOY COOTIES...BOY COOTIES!!!

Yes, the world is coming to an end. I have allowed a member of the opposite sex to post on my blog (hence it is no longer pink...see I can compromise). Russet is a dear friend; a male version of me, to a degree. We have a 90% agreement rate on most things because 100% would be too freakish. We've been friends for nearly 10 years...maybe longer, but I stopped counting.

A while back, he asked me if I wanted to do a blog together. I balked at first...then thought about it. Humbling that he would think my writing could stand up to a joint blog. And while I agreed, we came to the conclusion that neither of us wanted the pressure of having to post on a regular basis. The perfect solution: An invitation to post on my blog.

So let me tell you about my friend...Russet (makes me think about a potato, but that's really not the point) is Christian, conservative, unique. He has been blessed with a keen mind, a beautiful writing style, and a love of music. He also has a sense of humor. Sometimes I don't understand it, but that is the beauty of being a girl. I don't have to understand boy humor. Oh, he uses really big words, so have the dictionary handy. I have learned much from him. There are many other attributes of which I could extole; however, he is modest and I don't want him to blush.

So, without further ado, may I present one of the best guys in the world: Russet Shadows. He will be posting here from time to time. So, please take time to read what he writes.

Monday, October 20, 2008

And On The Eighth Day...

...God sent a text message...

There I was in church Sunday morning, listening to the pastor deliver his message. I got distracted by the vibrating buzz a couple of seats next to me. Someone (who shall remain nameless) had his iPhone resting on the bible in the seat next to him. Yay! At least he had it silenced.

Anyway, the light and buzz caught my attention. He reads his text message, sends one and puts the phone down. 2 minutes later, it goes off again. Read. Text. Repeat. This pattern transpired during the majority of the sermon. The more it happened, the more distracted I became. I found myself focused on the number of text messages sent versus the message the pastor was delivering. Needless to day, I was very annoyed at myself.

This person is a part of the ministerial staff...so I should cut him some slack, right? Maybe the folks he left in care of his responsibilities at the main campus needed him. After all, he wouldn't be having a general text conversation with someone during the sermon, would he?

I would like to think not.

Why is it that even in the midst of worship, when our hearts and minds should be focused on the One who loves us beyond all reason, we allow ourselves to be distracted by the world?

Friday, October 03, 2008

Guitar Lessons 11 & 12 - Cialis For Guitars

...when your performance won't stand up...

Practice. 1 hour, every day until success is achieved.

By the time I hit Lesson 11, I switched to a classical, nylon string guitar. Definitely not a high end classical, but a much richer, full-bodied sound that my very inexpensive steel string. Getting used to the strings and the width of fretboard didn't happen as fast as I thought it would.

Needless to say, practice, practice, practice.

I've been stuck on the same piece of music for the last 4-5 weeks. I just haven't been able to master it. That was until I got home after my last practice. Finally, I understand how the rhythm is supposed to flow. Finally! It actually sounds like a piece of music.

I've also got the Bach piece to use as my warm-up. It's still a struggle as well.

Again, practice, practice, practice. There are days I just don't want to practice. Take today for example. I have a headache. I want a nap. What am I going to do?

Practice