i'm everywhere you look!

well, i couldnt resist. jeff posted his celebrity look-a-likes, and i just had to find out who mine are. i was a little disheartened because the first couple of pics i tried, the software said it couldnt detect a face! i was about to toss my computer out the back door when i realized i was using doctored photos that i'd cropped and pasted onto other photos, so i went with the only pic i have, which was taken with a little girl that used to live in my cottage. i was kind of jealous because HER #1 match was russell crowe! but i'm fairly satisfied with what i came out with... although i was puzzled with my #1 match... george herman "babe" ruth. i thought the software went by looks only... didnt think it could tell anything about my prowess on the baseball field... and i hope the rock hudson thing IS only about looks!

francis crick was a nobel prize winner, but i see no other resemblance there (not that i've been awarded my nobel prize just yet), alexander lukashenko is president of belarus, bono is just plain cool!, mario vargas llosa is a peruvian essayist, so i get the writer's angle there, i'm rather shocked that pierce brosnan is so far down the list!, and the only reason i included james caan is because, of the other 2 matches, one was a girl... monica bellucci of matrix fame (although she IS italian and good looking) and the other was HARRY BELAFONTE!!! so the software is flawed for sure, but fun nonetheless.

the thing i need to remember is that i am an original, and God loves me just the way i am! in fact, He loves me so much He sent his Son Jesus to die for me!! so even if i DO bear some resemblance to francis crick, its ok, 'cause God created me and mr. crick and every one of us in His image... who can argue with that??

dean cirelli, cub reporter

hey, guess what? i'm sitting here waiting for the mail to run because i should be getting a letter telling me i've been nominated for a pulitzer prize! jeff noble, owner, publisher and editor-in-chief over at monticello live made me a reporter the other day... how cool is THAT?? the arkansas baptist home for children had a groundbreaking ceremony for their new duplex cottage the other day, and i noticed a reporter from the local paper there furiously scribbling notes, and i thought to myself, JEFF IS GETTING SCOOPED! when i told jeff about this, he pointed out to me that the reason he was getting scooped is because i failed to mention to him that anything was going on that day. so i felt bad for about a second, and then i offered to write the article for monticello live, and he printed it! and now, 3 days later, it's even got a PICTURE to go with it (my sources are a bit unreliable right now, but as i break bigger and more spectacular stories, they'll want to come along for the ride!)

i cant wait for my next assignment. maybe the mayor will fire somebody... but who's left? hmm... there's over 9,000 people in this berg, and there's over 9,000 stories out there waiting to be told.......

find out your true inner vehicle

a friend of mine down in new orleans emailed this little quiz to me. i'm pretty happy with the outcome (even if the AFA is boycotting me)... i LOVE this car! so what's under your hood?

I'm a Ford Mustang!

You're an American classic -- fast, strong, and bold. You're not snobby or pretentious, but you have what it takes to give anyone a run for their money.

"Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

pc run amuck

no jeff, i'm not talking about my computer, i'm talking about a case of political correctness even weirder than the time the elementary school in massachusetts banned the game "tag" during recess.

on friday fox news reported on its website that a school in england was planning to put on a production of "the three little pigs" and in order to keep from offending any muslims, they were changing the pigs to puppies! since friday, however, cooler heads have prevailed, including the local imam pronouncing the move bizarre and uncalled for, and the organisers of the kirklees primary music festival reversed their decision, and the pigs are back in.

what wasnt made clear in the original article is that this was a church of england school and not a public school. that was especially bothersome to me, although i do realize that the Church is not very strong as a whole in europe. also, the follow-up article stated that the play in question was not "the three little pigs" at all, but rather roald dahl's version of "little red riding hood." i looked on wikipedia (not the gold standard for research i know) but there was no reference to mr. dahl being credited with writing a version of "little red riding hood" and i sure dont remember there being any pigs in it. in any event, whether a Christian school or a public school, england or america, this is indeed quite a strange turn of events... strange to the point that even muslim leaders were condemning it, stating that stuff like this just makes them seem more and more like outcasts.

more amazing insights on political correctness on the way soon!.....

waiting for the other shoe to drop

well, while the initial outcry over gen. peter pace's remarks regarding the immorality of homosexuality was just as i thought it would be, the uproar seems to have died down insofar as the general is concerned. there was outrage from the usual suspects, as well as from sen. john warner, allegedly conservative republican from virginia. and the general himself even stepped back a bit (although to his credit he has not apologized, and says he doesnt plan to), saying he shouldnt have put his personal opinions out there in the chicago tribune interview.

by the way, since when should anyone (and i dont care how public a figure they are) have to feel regret for expressing their personal opinions in a free country?? more to the point, in a country where one is free to express their personal beliefs because people like general pace have made it their vocation and given their lives to protect those freedoms? he said that "dont ask, dont tell" is the law and he stated his support for it, so he toed the line as far as the official government stance is concerned. why should being a high profile leader preclude a person from having and expressing a personal opinion? the guy's doing his job and he's upholding the law... that should suffice.

anyway, the firestorm has settled down for now, probably because alberto gonzales and karl rove are currently drawing so much attention. and even within the gays-in-the-military discussion, hillary clinton and barack obama seem to be catching more flak than gen. pace because of their recent dance around the question. but make no mistake, this isnt over yet, and we're sure to hear more voices added to the mob seeking the general's resignation. so, here's your chance to show your support for general peter pace: you can send the president (who also serves as commander-in-chief of our armed services) an email and ask him to publicly voice his support for general pace: comments@whitehouse.gov. there, just like an AFA action alert, but without being asked for money!

look for a new chairman of the joint chiefs soon...

i can already hear the howls of protest and the calls for resignation or dismissal. in a time when it is probably career suicide to say anything un-politically correct, especially with a democratic majority in both houses, gen. peter pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, has gone on record in an interview with the chicago tribune as saying homosexuality is immoral, and that the military shouldnt condone it by allowing gay personnel to serve openly. he went on to equate homosexual behavior with adultery, saying that adultery would not be tolerated in the military ("... we prosecute that type of immoral behavior...") and feels that homosexual activity within the military should be treated likewise.

all this comes on the heels of the news that rep. martin meehan (D-MA) has introduced legislation to abolish the military's ban on openly gay personnel. additionally, sen. hillary clinton has gone on record as wanting to reverse the dont ask, dont tell policy that her husband signed into law... not to keep gays out of the military, but to allow them to serve openly.

hats off to gen. pace for making a bold statement... but probably ending his own career.

read the tribune article here, and tell me what you think...

brew me some coffee or the bus driver gets it!

well, i've read a post from jeff where he confesses to being a coffee prostitute... i've read a post from kevin where he confesses to being a tv junkie... and of course if you read jim with any frequency you know he readily admits to being a coffee junkie... it says so right there in his blog header!

so i've come under heavy conviction after reading all these true confessions. i've only shared this with a few folks, but i can no longer be silent. i must confess. on more than one occasion, i've forced our bus driver to deviate from our designated bus route and pull in over at dad's so that i can get juiced up. yes, i'm an admitted hijacker. i am............ A COFFEE TERRORIST!

below is covertly shot footage of one of our most desperate caffeine runs... normally we take it nice and slow so as not to attract the attention of the authorities, but on this day, i was out of control. thankfully the children were already off the bus.

separated at birth??

top photo: dean stockwell as wilbur whately in the film adaptation of h.p. lovecraft's "dunwich horror" circa '70.

bottom photo: mark wegley as mark wegley in high school circa '91.

talk about freaky! anyway, i've always (well, always ever since i started reading his blog) been fascinated with mark's fascination with all things h.p. lovecraft, and now i think i know the reason why!! does he harbor a secret desire to star in a re-make one day? and who would appear opposite him in the female lead played by sandra dee in the 1970 original?

now i for sure wont be posting any incriminating photos from my youthful past (if any actually existed i mean).

dear church...

i recently read 2 thought provoking posts (along with their thought-provoking comments). one from jeff noble entitled "how long do you plan to be at your church?" explores the comings and goings of church members. the other post, from tj scott, entitled "choose who you will lose" discusses the differences among local bodies of believers, and the choices available to individual worshipers based at least in part on style of ministry. both link to posts from over at monday morning insight that are also well worth the read. and dont forget to weigh in with your comments on all three blogs (and here too!)... everyone's thoughts and opinions matter and can make a difference!

after you've read all that (if you havent already), i'd like to direct your attention to what might be considered the flip-side to this discussion. there are plenty of stats and surveys out there that attempt to give us a better understanding of the behaviors and habits of church goers and former church goers, but as i was perusing youth specialties president Mark Oestreicher's blog last night, i came across this amazing website: letters from leavers. its run by a couple of fuller seminary students, and its a place for folks who have left their church (and in many cases left THE Church), to basically write a "dear john" letter. all of the survey results in the world wont give the kind of insight that you'll find reading these letters. some writers are angry, some are hurt, some feel that they've been shunned or disregarded by staff, some feel they've been deceived either by their pastors or by the very tenets of Christianity itself. in any event, this is a must-see for church leaders and members alike (and while there are a series of survey questions that follow each letter, they come across in a more personal and individualized context when attached to each letter, rather than just analyzed as an anonymous group of responses to questions not fleshed out by the relating of personal experiences).

hopefully, reading these stories will give us new eyes and ears and hearts for those precious folks who sit in the pew next to us and may be struggling with that age-old question, which isnt just about church membership, but life itself: "WHY AM I HERE?"

i want one of these!