war-criminal-in-chief

Doug Thompson of Capitol Hill Blue has written an intensely powerful column about the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Here are parts of it; I highly recommend reading the entire piece. I agree with it completely.

parking spotus illuminatus

Thanks to the fine folks at Mini, I’ll never again have to drive around blocks and in endless loops through parking lots, searching for a parking space. That’s because a recent issue of The New Yorker came complete with an “ancient and definitely real parking amulet”: the parking spotus illuminatus.

if you want…

Last evening, the theme of my church’s Christmas Eve Vespers service was “The Birth of the Holy.” Now, if you’ve read this blog at all, then you know I’m an atheist. So why was I 1) at a Christmas Eve service, especially one that talked about 2) “the Holy”?

Because 1) I love Christmas, for reasons relating to joy and love and music and color and lights and giving and sharing and family and bringing the world to life in the midst of winter cold. I listen to the Christmas story with the same mindset as I do any other story, and I appreciate the careful consideration that led the early church to mesh their commemoration of Jesus’s birth with an existing Pagan holiday, thus helping popularize their central figure and bringing tremendous happiness to the world each December.

time flies

Today is my 19th anniversary. Where did all that time go? I’m very fortunate in that they’ve been extremely happy years (other than a few downturns caused by unavoidable life events). But — almost two decades! Whoa! It truly doesn’t feel like it’s been anywhere near that long.

How is it possible that my daughter will start taking driver’s ed in a month or so, and have her license all too soon?

How does my 11-year-old son have the right to suddenly be taller than his mom and wearing his dad’s blue jeans?

And, of course, how come if I still feel 23 inside (well, OK, not 23, but maybe 33), I don’t get to keep looking that way outside, too? 😀

It’s a wonderful day, even better than 19 years ago. Tonight I’m having dinner at a new and very eclectic restaurant and then going on a drive to look at Christmas lights. My family’s winter vacation starts at the end of this school day, and Christmas is just around the corner. Life is good.

asses of evil

A couple of days ago, Tim told me about a bumper sticker he’d seen. It featured the faces of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld, and with them, the words “Asses of Evil.” I’m delighted to say that I’ve found the source of the sticker and that mine is now on order.

kleptiPodmania

We have children; therefore we have iPods. We bought our daughter her first iPod for her 13th birthday; with it, thank goodness, we purchased Best Buy’s Performance Service Plan. I’m not normally one to pay for extended warranties, but the salesguy warned us that iPod hard drives don’t last long and pointed out that teenagers have a tendency to drop things — and the plan covered normal wear and tear. My daughter’s iPod lasted about 6 months and then died with no warning. I returned it, and after a brief check Best Buy handed over a brand-new one. Another six months went by, and, just like the first one had, the second iPod went belly-up. By this time, Apple was no longer making the original model, so my daughter received a brand-new video iPod — an upgrade that cost us nothing extra.

words of the day

anxious. stressed. overworked. overvolunteered. scattered.

tired.

if I were God

In response to yesterday’s post, Ben asked whether I believe in God. His question reminded me of a service two years ago at church, during which three people with very different takes on the concept of God gave their personal answers to the question “What would you do if you were God?” I spoke, giving my atheist viewpoint; the other two speakers approached the subject differently, one as a more or less traditional theist, the other from a semi-pagan, God-as-creator-and-encompassing force belief structure. It was an extremely interesting morning. Following are my comments from that service. 

my weekend

Saturday

8:20 a.m.: Arrive at church; unload car entirely full of groceries

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon: Work with other volunteers to make 30 loaves of Scandinavian Ginger Cake, 59 jars of Brandied Hard Sauce (to go with Plum Pudding), and 12 jars of Smores Bars mix, all for next Saturday’s Yuletide Fare

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.: Volunteer crews change over; clean up from the morning, set up for the afternoon

1:00 – 1:30 p.m.: Run to Subway to get lunch for volunteers; sit down for about 10 minutes

1:30 – 5:30 p.m.: Work with volunteers to make about 24 dozen Buckeyes (peanut butter candy dipped in chocolate, a lot like a homemade Reese’s Cup), about 48 dozen chocolate-dipped Bourbon Balls, and about 8 dozen Gingersnap Bourbon Balls

5:30 p.m. (and various points earlier in the day): Work with the Guilderoy Byrne sound guy and people doing decorating to help get things set up for our Celtic Christmas concert