Our Life and Times

Been a long time...

2011-04-28T13:23:00.000-06:00

I really should be posting.
Since I signed on to facebook, though, I mostly post stuff there.

I'll try to think of something new to post.

I went back and was reading stuff I posted when Sariah and I met and were dating, leading up to our engagement and marriage. Good times... Good times...

I'm bursting!!!

2009-10-19T09:48:00.000-06:00

Do you ever feel as though you were born to be something amazing? Do you ever feel as though there is "something" deep inside of you that is just bursting to get out?

Lately, Carter and I have been struggling with all sorts of life's stuff. Our family has really been put through the ringer, a rollercoster ride of immense proportions. This morning however, I awoke feeling as though I could take on the world, look it in the eye and say, "do your worst, you'll not harm me today".

It's such an empowering feeling, to know, I mean really know you are an amazing person. To truly believe you are a son/daughter of God and all that it entails. That you are entitled to all the blessings, perks and benefits of having a divine Father in Heaven. I will radiate today! I will shine, with everything I have, because I'm bursting to overflowing.

Finally

2009-09-14T15:33:00.000-06:00

The countdown has begun and the waiting is almost at an end. I can't wait until this is all over!!!!

The Bad Day

2009-08-20T15:32:00.000-06:00

So Carter and I have been having a tough time lately with some issues within our family. I came across a book we purchased a couple of years ago by Ben Goode called the Bad Day Book. It helped me realize that maybe I don't have it so bad. Here's an example of one of his stories.
Seven Indicators it could be a bad day if you're a Chicken!
1. If you wake up in the morning and find that you're hanging by your foot in China Town.
2. Hurrying to get dressed, you zip your feathers up in your pants.
3. The chicken below you, who has recently started smoking, wakes up in the middle of the night and catches your fine under feathers on fire.
4. You get all excited to lay another egg, but sadly, you discover that you just needed to go to the bathroom.
5. While you're pecking for bugs out in the yard, you notice out of the corner of your eye the KFC truck drive and stop.
6. the farmer messed up and instead of putting you back in with all the hens for the night, he put you in the pen with one hundred and fifty roosters.
7. Having overslept in the morning at your hotel, you catch the first courtesy bus that comes along. Instead of going to the Poultry show, you realize too late that you are on the bus headed for the weasel convention.
Have a Good Day everyone!!!!

Gratitude in abundance

2009-08-03T13:37:00.000-06:00

Recently Colorado has had some really weird weather. Recently, my favorite brother-in-law on the Carter's side was hit by a tornado. We're so fortunate that no one was hurt or injured. Here are some pictures of the aftermath.

Favorite Time of Day

2009-07-08T09:46:00.000-06:00

When I was younger (much younger) my sister Naomi and I had to share a bed. We would be sent down to bed each night with the instructions, "Go to bed and no playing around". Yeah right, like that would EVER happen!! We would spend hours sometimes playing or making up games in bed. I remember those fond memories well and they often bring smiles to my face.
My husband and I have reverted back to my childhood, he never had to share a bed with his siblings. We'll talk and laugh and most often will stay up much later talking and goofing off than we do at any other time during the day. Often staying up waaaaayyyy past our bedtime. We keep threatening to start recording our conversations and our giggles and reviewing them at a much later date. How incredible it is to have so much fun with your spouse. He truly is my best friend.

Date Night .... It's a must!!!

2009-06-30T11:41:00.000-06:00

So recently our stake had a Womens Conference. The theme of the conference was the parable of the 10 Virgins. The idea was to go around to differnt booth and fill your lamp. They had all sorts of different ideas and items there. Our booth was date night. I'm proud to say that with the rare exception of just a few weeks Carter and I have continued go on a date every week for the past 2 1/2 years. We actually look forward to it. So I thought it might be nice if I posted some of our favorite cost friendly ideas for others to enjoy. I can't guarantee that once we have children we'll continue to date on a weekly basis, but we're going to give it our best shot.

1. Play a favorite board game, or challenge each other to childhood games—such as marbles, jacks, and hopscotch.
2. Make cookies and take some to a neighbor’s house. Place them on the doorstep, then knock or ring the bell and run to hide.
3. Read a book, the scriptures, or the Ensign together. If you prefer, read a book during the month, then discuss it in depth on your date night.
4. Make a list of the goals you want to accomplish in one, five, ten, or twenty-five years. Seal these lists in envelopes with a “to-open” date written clearly on the front.
5. Make holiday (Christmas, Easter, etc.) decorations for your home. Make Christmas gifts for family members or friends.
6. Plant a garden or a tree.
7. Dance to old records or to music on the radio. Learn new steps together.
8. Plan a special midnight supper, barbecue, picnic (summer or winter), make-your-own-pizza party, or candlelight dinner.
9. Make popcorn. Watch a favorite television show, video, or athletic event.
10. Refinish a piece of furniture for your home.
11. Read past entries from journals. Look at old photo albums and high-school yearbooks. Learn about your spouse’s childhood and teen years.
12. Plan an upcoming vacation or a second honeymoon—even if it’s only imaginary.

Favorite Recipe of the week

2009-06-26T13:05:00.001-06:00

Baked Flounder
Ok I got this recipe off of Alton Brown and was quite "ify" at first but Carter made it and I have fallen in love with it!!!! Soooooo YUMMY!!!!
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for the sweat and for seasoning fillets
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 (10-ounce package) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
* 1 lemon, zested
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning fillets
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 cup white wine (I don't really use white wine)
* 10 ounces grated Cheddar
* 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flounder fillets
* 3 cups leftover cooked rice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan over low heat, melt the butter; add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Add the spinach and lemon zest and cook until just heated through. Season with the salt and pepper, add the parsley, and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

Place the heavy cream and wine into a saucepan over medium heat. Once the mixture begins to simmer, gradually add the cheese and stir until melted. Set aside and keep warm.

If the fillets are large, cut in half. Season each filet on both sides with salt and pepper. Divide the spinach mixture evenly among the fillets and roll the fish around the mixture. Place the rice into a 2 1/2-quart casserole dish and spread evenly. Place each roll on top of the rice, seam side down. Pour over the cheese sauce and place in the oven for 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Frustrations of a would be "Mother"

2009-06-23T15:03:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine recently suggested I start posting a blog about the rollercoster ride of becoming a foster/adoptive parent. I thought I'd give it a shot. I think it might just help elevate some of the frustration this process has put our family and me personally through.

In our family my husband and I play certain roles. Although our roles often switch, or ebb and flow, it's a common understanding that I'm the one that kids like best. I'm the favorite Aunt. I'm the one that children seem to flock to. Maybe it's because when they look at me with those eyes, my heart just bursts and I can refuse them nothing.

This past weekend, we had a visit from Amanda and Jason and their three beautiful children. Liam and Harry are so fun loving and great kids. Molly their youngest is 20 months old and has stolen my husbands heart. On Friday Night, the Carter Clan went to a Rockies Baseball Game here in Denver and Molly wanted nothing to do with anyone else. She was so content to sit on Carter's lap and enjoy the baseball game with her Uncle and Grandpa. Several times I was so overcome with emotion and had to look away. I finally had my breakdown today after Amanda and Jason left.

It seems that parenthood is so far out of our grasp. Watching my husband and seeing him interact with his young niece knowing he desperately wants children of his own is heart wrenching. Seeing him on the floor with his nephews playing legos pulls at my heartstrings in so many ways.

I'm still not sure why we are going through this trial, or why it's been so difficult for us, but I know this, Carter is such an amazing man and I'm in awe of him on a daily basis.

Happy Halloween!!!!

2008-10-23T13:17:00.001-06:00

Update

2008-10-01T13:41:00.000-06:00

I've been told that I need to update my blog. So, I'll try to get something posted this weekend.

Maybe I'll post some pictures of our new house.

We'll see.

We're buying a house

2008-06-17T12:54:00.000-06:00

In Aurora, CO.

Why I hate broadcast radio

2008-06-11T08:29:00.000-06:00

There's little or no variety.

I've been keeping track of the songs played on some of the local radio stations here in the Denver area. After tracking just the songs played from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday, I've determined just how limited their playlists really are.

Kosi 101.1 (Soft Adult Contemporary) June 2 to June 10
Songs rarely repeated between 9am and 5pm
Entire playlist = 285 songs
(about 19.5 hours of original music during 56 hours of broadcast time)

Alice 105.9 (Hot Adult Contemporary) June 5 to June 10
Frequent repeats between 9am and 5pm
(some songs repeated 3 times within the 8 hour period)
Entire playlist = 118 songs
(about 8 hours of original music during 32 hours of broadcast time)

KIMN 100.3 (Adult Contemporary) June 5 to June 10
Occasional repeats between 9am and 5pm
Entire playlist = 224 songs
(about 15 1/3 hours of original music during 32 hours of broadcast time)

Counting individual songs played between these stations, there's a total of 494 songs. I can fit all that on my mp3 player.

I'll keep tracking, and maybe add some more stations, and update my findings here.

The Real Victims of the Immigration Debate

2007-05-07T12:24:00.001-06:00

Kateri's birthday party at Mark's house

2007-05-07T11:40:00.000-06:00

Mitt Romney

2006-12-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

The Country's first Latter-Day Saint President?

The world still loves America

2006-11-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from an email I received from a close friend of mine.

We were a bit worried about visiting other countries because the media paints us as being hated by every other nation. Not so! We met people from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Russia, Japan, Korea, and of course, Wales, England, Ireland and Scotland. When they found out where we were from, they were thrilled. They all told us that the Americans were loved in their countries, and the only people we encountered that were unkind, were the French, and we were told that they hate everyone! So don't believe everything you hear in the news!

Anyway, we are home, rested, recovered from jet lag, and happy to have made new friends all over this beautiful world of ours, and in spite of how we are sometimes made to feel, I'm very proud to be an American!

love, Sue

Brother President?

2006-10-10T15:35:00.000-06:00

Gallup poll: Two thirds of Americans not ready for a Mormon president

I wonder how different the results would have been if the questions was asked:
"Generally speaking, do you think Americans are ready to elect a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as president, or not?”

He already gets my vote.

2006-09-26T12:32:00.000-06:00

Romney Rides High

Romney called favorite of 'theo-cons'

That classic song of our times

2006-09-24T21:07:00.000-06:00

You and I and George

Some wedding photos

2006-09-24T12:16:00.000-06:00

Isn't my bride so incredibly beautiful?

How Time Flies...

2006-09-13T11:53:00.000-06:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been 4 months since I've posted anything on my blog. I've probably lost all my readers.

Well, Sariah and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the LDS Temple in Las Vegas on September 2nd. It was such an amazing day, from arriving at the Temple in the morning to the reception and honeymoon afterwards. It was so overwhelming.

I'll give some more details soon. I promise.

Love ya all,
Carter

Moussaoui's Oubliette

2006-05-05T09:22:00.000-06:00

Unlike most people I think Zacharias Moussaoui is getting exactly what he deserves. He doesn't get to be martyr, he doesn't get to make any more speeches, he gets to be forgotten.

Moussaoui is going to be dropped into his own personal oubliette in Colorado's SuperMax prison. And when he dies in 50 years or so, no will even remember who he was or what he tried to do. Instead of a Full page layout on page one announcing his execution, at best he'll get a couple paragraphs announcing that the one time confessed jihadist died of kidney failure, and was buried in American soil because he had no family to claim him.

On Les Aura!

I'd like to sell you a sandwich.

2006-04-28T14:52:00.000-06:00

An analogy of Gasoline prices and the American free market.

I'm a sandwich maker, I make and sell sandwiches. I buy my ingredients, bread, meat, lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayonaise, etc., at the local market.

I sell each sandwich for $1.00.

The ingredients for a single sandwich cost me $0.75. Part of that $0.75 is sales tax, 8%, or 5.5 cents.
The government (State, Local, & Federal) requires that I collect $15.5 cents for taxes on each sandwich I sell.

So after selling you the sandwich for $1.00, recouping the cost of making the sandwich, and taking out the taxes, I have 9.5 cents in profit. But, because that is income, the government wants part of that too. In my current tax bracket I pay 31.6% in taxes. So, 3 cents on each sandwich I sell also goes to the government.

So, for the sandwich I made, the store that sold the ingredients got 69.5 cents, the government who did nothing at all got 24 cents, and I got 6.5 cents. So my percentage of profit is 6.5%.

Let's say I sell 88 Billion Sandwiches, at $1.00 each.

It has now cost me $61.16 billion dollars in ingredients.

You might think that I would get $5.72 billion after taxes but I'm in a much higher tax bracket and now instead of 31.6% in taxes,
I pay 83% in taxes, or $6.9388 billion.

So, 8% of the $61.16 billion for the ingredients is $4.8928, plus 15.5% of the $88 Billion in sandwich sales is $13.64 billion. $4.8928 + $13.64 + $6.9388 = $25.4716

So the government gets $25.4716 billion total, even though it still hasn't done anything to contribute to the sandwich making.

I'm left with $1.3684 billion dollars in profit. My profit percentage is down to just 0.01555.

One day the price of Bread goes up 150%. So now the ingredients for 88 Billion sandwiches costs $70 billion instead of $61.16 billion. I don't want to make less of a profit, So the price of a single sandwich goes up from $1.00 to $1.11.

88 billion sandwiches at $1.11 = $97.68 billion
Ingredients = $70 billion
Taxes = $5.6 (8% of $70) + $13.64 (15.5 cents per sandwich) + $7.0052 (income tax on my profits) = $26.2452 billion
Profit = $1.4348 (0.01469%)

So the sandwich buyers look at the extra 11 cents they had to pay and then they look at the extra $66.4 million dollars I made selling this batch of sandwiches and accuse me of price gauging even though my profit margin is actually smaller. While behind the scenes the government laughs it up with the extra $773.6 million dollars they got (almost 12 times more than what I got) for doing nothing.

So when 8% of that extra 11 cents you are paying is for taxes, and only a seventh of 1% of that extra 11 cents is my profit who's really gauging the average american sandwich buyer?

Subsidies -
In response to Jason's question about subsidies here is a quick tutorial on subsidies as it would relate to my Sandwich business.

One of the reasons reasons the tax on each sandwich is so high, is so the government can use the money for Sandwich subsidies. Subsidies are money that the government pays to a business so that the business will do something it wouldn't normally do on it's own, because it isn't profitable. So far as I know the amount a company receives in subsidies isn't included as part of their reported profits, but I could be wrong about that. Since subsidies are not used in any way to pay for Sandwich production I didn't mention it in the calculations above.

In this case the government pays me a subsidy to maintain a reserve storage of bread, meats, and other ingredients. See, the government is worried that so many people depend on my Sandwiches. If there was an emergency such as a hurricane destroying the wonder bread factories, then there would be a shortage of bread and therefore sandwiches, and this would drive up sandwich prices to $3.00 a sandwich. So the government pays me to keep a reserve supply of bread, which I wouldn't normally do, because I don't make any money storing bread.

Another subsidy the government pays me, is to help defend, service and maintian wheat and tomato crops in areas where they are in danger due to some local political unrest. For example, most of our tomatoes come from Northern California. The military invades Northern California to get that horrible dictator Arnold Schwarzeneggar out of power. This endangers tomato production, so I help to keep the tomatos safe, again insuring that the Sandwich supply remains stable.

The government also pays me a subsidy to research ways to make Sandwiches more healthy, and ways to reduce the amount of waste produced from Sandwich consumption (wrap your head around that one).

Baby Names

2006-04-20T14:34:00.000-06:00

Here are names that I thought would've been better for Tom and Kate's illegitimate baby:

Carrie Bien Cruise
Alice Ken Cruise
Carnie Val Cruise
Nora Weejin Cruise
Yuri Pien Cruise

How Taxes and Tax cuts work

2006-04-14T11:16:00.000-06:00

From a letter to the Chicago Tribune, March 4, 2001 (author unknown) -

Every night, 10 men met at a restaurant for dinner. At the end of the meal, the bill would arrive. They owed $100 for the food that they shared.

Every night they lined up in the same order at the cash register. The first four men paid nothing at all. The fifth, grumbling about the unfairness of the situation, paid $1. The sixth man, feeling very generous, paid $3. The next three men paid $7, $12 and $18, respectively.

The last man was required to pay the remaining balance, $59. He realized that he was forced to pay for not only his own meal but the unpaid balance left by the first five men.

The 10 men were quite settled into their routine when the restaurant threw them into chaos by announcing that it was cutting its prices.

Now dinner for the 10 men would only cost $80. This clearly would not affect the first four men. They still ate for free. The fifth and sixth men both claimed their piece of the $20 right away. The fifth decided to forgo his $1 contribution. The sixth pitched in $2. The seventh man deducted $2 from his usual payment and paid $5. The eighth man paid $9. The ninth man paid $12, leaving the last man with a bill of $52.

Outside of the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings, and angry outbursts began to erupt.

The sixth man yelled, "I only got $1 out of the $20, and he got $7," pointing at the last man.

The fifth man joined in. "Yeah! I only got $1 too. It is unfair that he got seven times more than me."

The seventh man cried, "Why should he get $7 back when I only got $2?"

The nine men formed an outraged mob, surrounding the 10th man.

The first four men followed the lead of the others: "We didn't get any of the $20. Where is our share?"

The nine angry men carried the 10th man up to the top of a hill and lynched him.

The next night, the nine remaining men met at the restaurant for dinner.

But when the bill came, there was no one to pay it.

For Always...

2006-04-11T15:54:00.000-06:00

Pictures Of You

2006-04-06T17:40:00.000-06:00

Lauren, Elysse, Sariah, and Harley feeding the fish at Lake Mead

Sariah at the jewelry store, the day we bought her engagement ring

Carter and Sariah (on our second date)

The new SLAVE class

2006-04-03T12:44:00.000-06:00

And here I thought slavery was made illegal in the United States with the 13th Amendment to our constitution.

So, now we've got our Congressmen and our President talking about allowing illegal aliens to remain in our country to work jobs that Americans won't work. It makes me sick every time I hear that phrase. I bet this same argument was made in the debate arguing to keep slaverly legal over 100 years ago. "Those black slaves are doing jobs that white people won't do."

I just listened to Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor talking about his immigration bill. He talks about all the new laws that it will create. Mr. Kennedy, what difference will that make when we don't enforce the laws that already exist? He talks about how his bill is not giving illegal aliens amnesty. Yet, he just said minutes before that we must recognize that we won't be deporting the 11 million illegal aliens we have in the country now. So, they are here illegally and won't be deported, they face no punishment for their crime. Mr. Kennedy, how is that not amnesty? That is the very definition of amnesty.

So, at what point are we going to need another amendment to the constitution to free all of our new slaves? When do we enforce our labor laws and insist that all these "guest workers" are paid at least minimum wage? When will they to be given an apology and promised a plot of land and a donkey to compensate the violation of their human rights?

We have 11 million illegal aliens in this country because in 1986 we gave amnesty to 3 million. So if we do this again, in 2026 are we going to have to debate what to do with the 37 million illegal aliens we will have in the country?

Eisley

2006-03-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

Please watch these videos, fall in love with this band, buy all their records and paraphenalia, and worship them as I do.

Eisley - Golly Sandra (Live at the Troubadour)

Eisley - Like We Do (Live at the Troubadour)

www.Eisley.com

Am I Evil?

2006-03-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

You Are 44% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side.
Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

Guilty before proven Innocent

2006-03-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

Senator Russ Feingold, democrat, Wisconsin, has just stood on the Senate floor and said in no uncertain terms that President George W. Bush has broken the law and should be censured. Now I pay a lot of attention to what is going on in our country, what our leaders are doing and I watch and read the news constantly throughout the day. At no time has President Bush been indicted for any crime, he hasn't been impeached, he hasn't had any hearing, he hasn't been tried. One of the rights gauranteed by the constitution is the right to trial, and that all those accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty. I guess Senator Feingold is unfamiliar with the constitution.

If the President is impeached, tried and found guilty of violating the law the I would agree to appropriate punishment. However, calling for a censure of the President at this time, making unproven claims of violating FISA laws and misleading the American people, is completely inappropriate, ignorant, and is nothing more than a public political stunt. Is Feingold courting the Left for a possible Presidential nomination?

It's Official

2006-03-01T01:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, Sariah and I are official engaged. She has an engagement ring on her finger.
Here is the ring.

This isn't an actual picture of her ring, but it's very close. (I found this picture on the internet)

This is the actual ring, sorry about the poor focus, my digital camera doesn't take good close-up pictures.

And here it is on Sariah's beautiful hand.

Song of the Day

2006-02-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

"Golden Ticket" from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
(Sariah knows why)

I never thought my life could be
Anything but catastrophe
But suddenly I begin to see
A bit of good luck for me

'Cause I've got a golden ticket
I've got a golden twinkle in my eye

I never had a chance to shine
Never a happy song to sing
But suddenly half the world is mine
What an amazing thing

'Cause I've got a golden ticket
I've got a golden sun up in the sky

I never thought I'd see the day
When I would face the world and say
Good morning, look at the sun
I never thought that I would be
Slap in the lap of luxury

'Cause I'd have said:
It couldn't be done
But it can be done

I never dreamed that I would climb
Over the moon in ecstasy
But nevertheless, it's there that I'm
Shortly about to be

'Cause I've got a golden ticket
I've got a golden chance to make my way
And with a golden ticket, it's a golden day

'Cause I'd have said,
It couldn't be done
But it can be done

I never dreamed that I would climb
Over the moon in ecstasy
But nevertheless, it's there that I'm
Shortly about to be

'Cause I've got a golden ticket
'Cause I've got a golden ticket
I've got a golden chance to make my way
And with a golden ticket, it's a golden day

This is a cool little Brain Teaser

2006-02-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

Apparently this is an IQ test given to job applicants in Japan:

"Everybody has to cross the river".

The following rules apply:

Only 2 persons on the raft at a time
The father can not stay with any of the daughters, without their mother's presence
The mother can not stay with any of the sons, without their father's presence
The thief (striped shirt) can not stay with any family member,if The Policeman is not there
Only the Father, the Mother and the Policeman know how to operate the raft

To start click on the big blue circle on the right.
To move the people click on them.
To move the raft click on the pole on the opposite side of the river.

http://freeweb.siol.net/danej/riverIQGame.swf

I Am Yoda

2006-02-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

A venerated sage with vast power and knowledge, you gently guide forces around
you while serving as a champion of the light.

Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not - for my ally
is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy
surrounds us, and binds us. Luminescent beings are we, not this crude matter!
You must feel the Force around you, everywhere.

Yoda is a is a character in the Star Wars universe. More Yoda information is
available at the Star
Wars Databank.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

2006-02-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

The song of the day is "Yellow" by Coldplay.
(Sariah knows why)

Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah they were all yellow,

I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow

So then I took my turn
Oh all the things I've done
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know you know I love you so
You know I love you so

I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh all the things you do
Cause you were all yellow

I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know for you i bleed myself dry
For you i bleed myself dry

Its true look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine
look at the stars look how they shine for you

Al-Qaeda recruiting in plain view of the whole world

2006-02-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

If you've watched or read the news recently then I'm sure you've heard of the protests raging throughout many Muslim countries. The protests are against the publishing of offensive cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammed. But, when you consider that the cartoons in question were published last September, questions arise as to why the protests are happening now, why not five months ago?

These protests aren't unusual, and the current protests hide two sinister purposes -

1) All this media attention on meaningless violent protests draw attention away from reall issues, such as Iran's progress toward achieving their nuclear ambitions.

2) These protests are prime recruiting camps for Al-Qaeda and similar terrorist organizations (it's naive to think that Al-Qaeda is the only one). What better place to find young Muslims already angry with western culture, and willing to express that anger in violent ways. It's not like Al-Qaeda can advertise in the local edition of Al-Jazeera. So, they incite these riots in Afghanistan and other countries, then recruiting agents start making contact with impressionable Muslim men in these mobs, and start selling them on the glory of martyrdom and virgins in heaven. Terrorism is like a virus that spreads, and so far we haven't managed to find an anti-viral agent to stop the disease.

Mitt Romney's Healthcare program

2006-01-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

Mitt's the man!!!

Romney’s health plan is no sop to socialism.
By Edmund F. Haislmaier

My choice for President in 2008

2006-01-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

This is the man that I want to see on the Republican ticket. This is the man I want to vote for.

Mr. Romney Goes To Washington.

With this man as the Republican nominee for president, it won't matter if Mrs. Bill Clinton is the Democratic nominee, it won't matter who their nominee is.

Romney in '08!!!!

The Libraries of Eternity

2006-01-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

I once had a dream. I dreamt of a library. In this library were the works of all the greatest authors in history. The titles of the books were unfamiliar to me, however. The Return of the Third Son by Charles Dickens, In Pursuit of Peace by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., The King's Last Order by Alexander Dumas. Being an enormous fan of Dumas and Dickens, I was understandably confused that here were books I had never heard of, written by my favorite authors.

I sought out the librarian to inquire as to the origin of these books and if perhaps they were mislabeled. The librarian was an impossibly tall, lean fellow whose mere presence inspired silence and respect for his august position. I asked of this great man how it is that there were books here on his shelves that appeared to be written by my favorite authors but were nevertheless unheard of by me. He responded by asking me a question. "What was Charles Dickens final written work?" Well, that would of course be the mystery of Edwin Drood, which was unfortunately left unfinished when Charles Dickens died. The librarian took me in hand and led me to a shelf at the heart of the library. He removed a volume and handed it to me. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"

"Yes, that's the one," I remarked.

"Take a look at it."

I thumbed through the book for a moment, then flipped to the book's list of contents. This book contained 12 chapters. Now I knew that at the time of Charles Dickens death he had only written 6 of the planned 12 parts of this story. I pointed this out to the Librarian.

"This library in which you now stand contains the works of the greatest authors ever to live on the Earth. However, you will not find here a single book written during their mortal lives. The books contained on these shelves before you were all written after the author had completed their mortal probation."

At this revelation I took a look again and the sheer size of the library. It was vast, I looked down between the enormous shelves and could not see an end to the aisle in which I stood. Finally it dawned on me, why would an author stop writing, stop creating, stop imagining, simply because he or she had passed from this mortal world into the next.

The libraries of Eternity await us, a place where there is no end, no limit, to the contributions of humans to literature, music, art, theater, film, etc.

Some Christmas thoughts

2005-12-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've seen the news reports. People complaining about certain retail stores posting "Happy Holidays" messages, and front door greeters expressing "Holiday" wishes. Sure, it bothers me too that Christ is being left out of Christmas, but I think Christians are fighting the wrong battles. Christmas doesn't belong in a retail store anyway.

Christmas belongs in our homes.

What we should be trying to change are the minds of those people who read "The Night Before Christmas" to their children instead of Luke Chapter 2, on Christmas Eve.

We should be trying to change people that teach their children about Santa Claus, but don't teach their children about the birth of Jesus.

We should be changing the hearts of people who sing "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer," while forgetting to sing the praises of our Lord in hymns like "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" or "Silent night".

What we should be trying to change are people who pride themselves on all the gifts they purchased for their friends and family, but fail to share with their loved ones the greatest gift ever given to humanity by our Lord Jesus Christ. When you give your gifts this year, tell the people you love that your gift is in rememberance of the gifts of God. Of the gift of His only begotten Son.

We are so blessed to live at a time and in a nation where we can worship freely and openly. We should remember that so many of our Christmas traditions were adopted by Christians who were desperate to hide the fact that they were celebrating the birth of our Lord, under fear of death. I will gladly display a Christmas tree, and decorate it with tinsel and lights, and remember those brave people who found a way worship the Lord even in times of persecution.

And I will remember that the Lord himself was humble enough to come into the world as a helpless infant, that we could learn from his example. That God loved us enough to sacrifice His only begotten Son, that we may be forgiven of our sins, that we will be ressurrected, and that if we choose to, we can live with Him again someday.

Merry Christmas.

Sariah and Aaron's song

2005-12-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

Extraordinary Way by Conjure One

What I have is nothing to my name
No property to speak of
And no trophy for my game
Intangible and worthless
My assets on the page
My coffers are empty
Any offer of safety has faded away
But what I have
What I have is

On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this

That makes me lucky
God, I'm lucky, so much luckier than I ever thought I'd be
'Cause what I have (what I have)
Means so very little to this world
A promise that I kept and a bridge that I saved before it burned
The sacrifice that I made
Brought me to my knees
A choice that cost me everything and set somebody else free
But what I have
Is the value that you see in these things

On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this

That makes me lucky
God I'm lucky, so much luckier than I ever thought I'd be
'Cause what I have
Is the value that you see in these things

And everytime I forget those things you bring them right back to me

With your patience
When I'm blinding mad
And your passion
When I'm really, really bad
And your eyes
Taking in everything I am
And your body and soul and the way that you know
How I treasure you

On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this

That makes me lucky
God I'm so lucky
So much luckier than I ever thought I'd be

On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!!

2005-11-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hey, enough negativity already.

It's the holidays, and I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Whether you spend it with friends or family, enjoy the holiday. Give thanks to God for all we have been given.

Let's remember for a moment why we celebrate Thanksgiving.

The true story as chronicled by Governor William Bradford in his book, "Of Plimouth Plantation".

The Pilgrims set up a communist system in which they owned the land in common and would also share the harvests in common. By 1623, it became clear this system was not working out well. The men were not eager to work in the fields, since if they worked hard, they would have to share their produce with everyone else.

Bradford wrote that their experience taught them that communism, meaning sharing all the production, was vain and a failure

The Pilgrims changed their economic system from communism to geoism; the land was still owned in common and could not be sold or inherited, but each family was allotted a portion, and they could keep whatever they grew.

Their new geoist economic system was a great success. It looked like they would have an abundant harvest this time. But then, during the summer, the rains stopped, threatening the crops. The Pilgrims held a "Day of Humiliation" and prayer. The rains came and the harvest was saved. It is logical to surmise that the Pilgrims saw this as a sign that God blessed their new economic system, because Governor Bradford proclaimed November 29, 1623, as a Day of Thanksgiving.

iPOD Porn

2005-11-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

"For the busy pervert who just can't wait 'til he gets home"

There's only one comment I can make -
Is there really a need in this depraved society for pornographic videos on the go?

Thou Shalt Not Bootleg

2005-11-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

As I've indicated in previous posts I am an enthusiastic lover of music. I especially love live performances, if a group or artist can't give a good performance live then they should find a new career. As such, I attend lots of concerts. Something I enjoy doing is taping the Concerts for my own personal listening for many years to come.

Let's be clear, I have never sold a CD or Tape in my life. I believe music should be shared freely. At no time would I ever tape a show for my own personal financial gain, and would never endorse such a practice. I also avoid copying or downloading music that is copyrighted.

Another thing I want to stress is that this practice, contrary to what some people would have you believe, is not illegal. TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 113 > § 2319A of the US code states, "Whoever, without the consent of the performer or performers involved, knowingly and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain fixes the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance in a copy or phonorecord..." Therefore, unless you intend to record a show for personal gain, you've got no problem. Unfortunately, each concert venue has their own rules regarding recording shows, as I found out Saturday night.

In 5 years and about 40 concerts worth of recording I have never before been caught. Saturday night, I attended a Journey concert in Houston, and had a couple of disadvantages in trying to conceal my recording devices. One, I was wearing a white shirt, it had been hot earlier in Dallas and I know Houston is usually even hotter, so I chose to wear a short sleeved white shirt. Two, I hung the microphone from a cord around my neck and left it on the outside of my shirt in plain view. I worry that placing the microphone under the shirt might muffle the sound. Third, the seat my ticket put me in was on an aisle, a very busy aisle where lots of ushers and security people passed me all night. So, during the final song of the concert I was approached by a security grunt and asked to come with him.

He took me out of the main seating area to an open vendor area near the exits. At that point I was surrounded by about 5 of these Security people. I then started telling blatant lies that I had forgot to bring a disc for my minidisc recorder, that I hadn't actually recorded anything, that the mike was hanging around my neck because I had forgotten that it was there. When one of these low wage security punks asked me if I thought they were stupid, I had to fight hard the urge to tell him just how stupid I thought they were. These guys were just absolutely jumping up and down, you'd think they'd caught Osama Bin Laden or something. Now at this point, I realised that the only way I was going to leave without further trouble was to give up the disc I had ejected from my recorder in secret and hidden in my belt.

There is a reason I use a minidisc recorder rather than some kind of digital recorder. With a minidisc recorder you can eject the disc. This comes in handy when you are caught; if you bring an extra disc, you can give the security guys the extra blank disc, and keep the one with the actual show recorded on it. Well after 40 shows and never being caught I had grown complacent and had failed to bring an extra disc. So to get out of there without any more hassle I gave up the disc, even though I was completely within my rights to refuse to give them anything.

Now I confess all this for a reason. I think my days of recording shows like this may be over. Even though this is not a crime, it is certainly against the rules of the venues where these concerts are held, and I'm sure the band and their management would not want this happening either. So, after some weekend soul searching I felt that this form of dishonesty, although a victimless crime in my opinion, isn't in keeping with the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I ask the forgiveness of everyone who feel my actions and dishonest practices have harmed them in any way.

Democrats Are Against Free Speech?

2005-11-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Nov 2nd, the House Democrats successfully voted down the Online Freedom of Speech Act.

77% of the House Democrats voted against the act, or abstained from voting, in contrast to the 78% of House Republicans who voted for it.

The Online Freedom of Speech Act ammends Paragraph (22) of section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. The 1971 Act regulates disclosure of Election Campaign finances. Paragraph 22 of this act defines Public Communications, such as television, telephone, mail, newspapers, etc. The purpose of the amendment voted on yesterday was to exclude internet communication from the list of Public Communications. Essentially making all internet communications exempt from all Election Campaign finance rules.

I'm inclined to agree with the Democrats on this one. This vote was not about free speech as some people would have you believe. I agree with a lot of the limits set on what candidates can and can't do during Election Campaigns, and I would hate to see the Internet become an unrestrained vehicle for politic ads. Lets keep the internet focused on its main purpose, the distribution of free pornography.

Singing Mice

2005-11-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a really interesting article about mice:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,174173,00.html

Apparently male mice sing to the female mice. I guess I must have mice genes in me, because since I found my eternal mate, I can't stop singing.

Music, being the 4th greatest thing in the world, is an important part of my life. Singing is something I enjoy a great deal. But, for the last 3 years I really haven't done much singing. I just haven't been in the right state of mind, or so I thought. Turns out I just hadn't met the right mouse who makes me want to sing.

A little over a week ago I decided that I wanted my future bride to hear my singing, so I spent the weekend recording songs for her. At times I was up until 4:30 in the morning singing for her. I'm sure my neighbors loved that. In the end I ended up with a CD of 14 songs that I was pretty proud of. Some were better than others, and some were off key. But, I felt it was representative of how I've been feeling.

Just call me Mickey and give me some cheese.

Calvin and Hobbes, I miss you.

2005-10-25T13:57:00.000-06:00

I remember reading my very first Calvin and Hobbes cartoon in a newspaper while sitting in the waiting room of a Dentist's office. Following my appointment, I just had to show it to my Mother. I started collecting some of the funnier and inspired strips and still have them in a box in my closet.

Calvin and Hobbes wasn't just about jokes and making people laugh. It was about imagination, enjoying life, and seeing the beauty and fun in everything. It was about a 5 year old learning new things from his parents, and teaching them a thing or two in return. It was about friendship and love.

There has been no other piece of cartoon art that has touched me the way Calvin and Hobbes has. I miss those little black and white drawings the way I would miss an old friend.

Journey proves once again that they always have been and always will be a Rock band

2005-09-28T14:24:00.000-06:00

Dateline Sept 28, 2005. Grand Prairie, Texas

I can't say enough good things about this show. The crowd was on it's feet for most of the show. Even jumping up and clapping along as Mystery Mountain was counted in. Every member of the band was in true form and rocked the house. From the jam band blues starting the show to the jam band blues that closed it I couldn't get enough. The Dallas crowd loved every minute of it.

And the stage set. WOW! That set, the backdrop lights, the psychedelic video projections. Whoever design this stage show needs to win awards. I can't wait to see the DVD.

Yes, its true they filmed tonight's show for a Television Special and DVD release. This DVD is gonna kick the 2001 DVD's Butt. This is the kind of show that I've been waiting for Journey to play for the last 20 years. And true to the Texas spirit the show was complete with Steve in a cowboy hat, and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.

There's nothing holding these guys back.
Thank You Neal, Ross, Jon, Deen, and Steve. None of us are worthy.

My letter to Senator Harry Reid of Nevada

2005-09-08T09:14:00.000-06:00

Dear Senator Reid,

I want to thank you for spearheading the investigation into the causes of the current tragedy in New Orleans and the gulf states. As a concerned American I there are some questions that I hope will be answered by this commission.

1) What special powers has God bestowed on George W. Bush that allowed him to create a category 4 hurricane?

2) How did he manage to steer the hurricane into the gulf and then north to inflict the maximum amount of damage on the south, Biloxi and New Orleans in particular?

3) Did he choose these cities because of the utopian societies set up there by the many years of government led by elected democrats?

4) Did George W. Bush specifically time this event to coincide with the terms of the corrupt Mayor of New Orleans, Nagin, and the inept Governor of Louisiana, Blanco? Did President Bush do this at this time knowing that Mayor Nagin would fail to implement the city's emergency plan to evacuate the infirm, impoverished, and those without transportation? Did President Bush choose this timing knowing the Governor Blanco would fail to use her power as Governor to deploy the National Guard to assist in evacuation, rescue, and security operations before and after the storm?

5) Did George W. Bush use Cindy Sheehan as a puppet to distract the nation and hide the implementation of his secret Hurricane agenda?

6) What method did President Bush use to destroy the New Orleans Levies? Were bombs used? Were any military assets used?

I want these questions answered because as an American I want to be reassured that if the Nation had elected John Kerry in November 2004 the winds that blow across this great planet would have blown in a different direction. I want to know that this Hurricane would never have happened if George W. Bush was not President. I would hate to see the people of this nation elect anyone with such superhuman powers again.

Aaron R. Carter

Capitalism at it's most evil

2005-08-21T20:14:00.000-06:00

This is one of the most depressing stories I've read in a while.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/16/tech/main781387.shtml

We criticize Iraqi's for setting off bombs defending some ideology that we don't understand, and here we are in America beating each other with folding chairs for a 4-year old used laptop computer.

The people in this country need to abandon the consumer attitude. It's almost like an addiction. We work jobs that we hate to buy junk that we don't need. We buy gas guzzling SUVs that seat 7 even though there's only 3 people in the family, and complain when the price of gas goes up. Don't even get me started on Christmas shopping.

All around that dull gray world
of ideology
People storm the marketplace
and buy up fantasy
The counter-revolution
at the counter of a store
People buy the things they want
and borrow for a little more
- Rush, "Heresy"

It's been a while

2005-08-02T12:42:00.000-06:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted to my blog. I guess I just don't have anything interesting to say lately.

I'm going to post soon about how I think our nation needs a new feminist movement.

Okay I love you, bye, bye!

-Carter

Harry Who?

2005-07-13T09:12:00.000-06:00

In a rare post, here is something that I think is right with the world.

This week sees the release of a new Harry Potter book, number 6 in the 7 volume series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I wonder if people were as excited in anticipation of the release of each Narnia or OZ book.

Once again I will be waiting in line at a bookstore near me at midnight Friday. I love the hype, I love the excitement. I love hanging out with hundreds of other like minded parents and kids who just can't wait for the next chapter in Harry's unfortunate life.

And, one of the things about it all that I like the most, is that all this excitement is for a book. It's not for a movie, it's not for a new rock 'n' roll album, it's not for concert tickets. And not just any book, it's a book with good wholesome family values, morals and life lessons. I don't think there's been any other popular release in any format that has been more deserving of all this attention. If only other authors, filmmakers, and musicians would take a cue from J. K. Rowling and find a way to inspire the minds of the young and old everywhere.

My advice to "Hollywood"

2005-07-05T08:42:00.000-06:00

From ABC news -
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=906992&page=1

I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out the problem and the solution.

1) Make better movies. The last movie that I actually looked forward to seeing and couldn't wait for it's release was "The Village". There just isn't anything to get excited about anymore. Hollywood has completely lost it's imagination. Every movie coming out these days is a remake of something, or based on something else. The movies out recently - "Star Wars III" a sequel, "Batman Begins", a sequel / based on a comic book, "War of the Worlds", a remake / based on a book, "Fantastic 4", based on a comic book, "Bewitched", based on a TV show, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", remake / based on a book, "King Kong", remake, "Dark Water", based on a book, "Herbie, Fully Loaded", a sequel or remake depending how you want to look at it. Even "Cinderella Man" is based on a true story. Why would I shell out a single dime to see something that was better the first time? And it's not enough that they remake the hits of yesteryear, they remake the crap of yesteryear too, ie. "Bad News Bears" or "The Longest Yard". Come on!

2) Make fewer movies. If you insist on making so much crap, make it for DVD release only. I'm going to feel less irritated if I return a DVD rental unwatched, than if I have to walk out of a theater after wasting $20.00 on tickets, snacks and beverages. The movie studios need to trim the fat. Most manufacturers will lower the amount of product they are creating if demand for that product goes down. The movie industry has done the opposite. If there weren't 5 or more brand new releases to theaters every single week, it would be more of a treat to go to the movies when that rare must-see movie is released.

3) Lower ticket prices, I know ticket prices are set by the theaters, but obviously they set these prices based on what the studios are charging for each screen the theater shows the movie on. The other thing about ticket prices is that they are fixed. You expect people to pay the same amount to see "Star Wars III" as they pay to see "The Longest Yard". The product isn't the same why should I pay just as much.

4) Make more G and PG rated movies. For the most part parents won't take the whole family to the movies for anything rated PG-13 or R.

5) Stop casting Tom Cruise or any number of so called "stars" who can't even act. I wanted to see "War of the Worlds" but didn't want Cruise, Spielberg or anyone else involved to get a dime of my money. So, I bought a ticket to "Batman Begins" (a far superior movie) and went to see "War of the Worlds". Based on what I know about the movie industry, this really didn't matter anyway, since the studios get paid by the theaters for each screen they show the movie on, and ticket sales don't go to the studios.

I also have advice regarding the so called movie pirating scare. If DVD releases weren't overpriced then it wouldn't be a problem. I find it hard to believe that the industry really needs to sell a DVD movie for $20 or more when it only costs pennies to manufacture. There's no argument about the cost of marketing, or production of the actual movie, or anything else to convince me that they would be losing money by selling DVD for $10 or less. It's just Hollywood gluttony, and it's going to continue to bite them in the butt until they all end up as bankrupt financially as they are morally. This might be a good thing, though. Tear the entire movie industry down, then maybe we'll get something worth going to the theater for.

Justice Souter's home in danger.

2005-06-28T12:27:00.000-06:00

http://www.freestarmedia.com/hotellostliberty2.html

This isn't a joke. As a result of the Supreme Court's ruling, on which Souter was part of the majority, he could lose his home.

A Supreme Case of "What the @*%^# ??"

2005-06-23T15:18:00.000-06:00

If you own property in the United States, pray that the government never decides that they have a better use for it than you do. The courts won't even help you.

Today the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the New London Development Corporation to allow them to "condemn" 15 properties that are privately owned in New London Connecticut. NLDC was contracted by the City of New London to develope an area near the closed Fort Trumball. The development came as a result of Pfizer (another heartless American corporation, don't get me started on this and other pharmaceutical companies) announcing plans to build a research facility in the Fort Trumball area. The City of New London realized, "hey the properties adjacent to the new facility would be prime area for businesses that will serve Pfizer employees." They purchased all of the parcels of land that they could, but when 11 owners refused to sell, all of the sudden the development of this area by private businesses is in the public interest. "Hey, we can condemn the properties that we can't buy and seize them under the 'emminent domain' laws if it is in the public interest." Sounds like Communism to me.

One of these families that is being evicted is a couple who have lived in that house for 60 years. The wife was born in the home and it has been in the family for over 100 years. I'm sure that when her parents bought the property they didn't anticipate losing it so the city of New London can lease the properties to fast food restaurants and build a Hotel / Conference Center. "We don't care if this has been your home, it's more important that the Pfizer employees have someplace nearby to buy sub sandwiches and hamburgers for lunch."

If only we could get the 5 Justices who voted in the affirmitive off of the bench. That would truly be in the public interest.

The Da Vinci Deception

2005-06-22T14:02:00.000-06:00

Read this author's blog about how Dan Brown plagarized his books when he wrote The Da Vinci Code.

http://davincicrock.blogspot.com/

After reading the legal filings, I'm pretty convinced. If you're not convinced read Lewis Perdue's original books, Daughter of God and The Da Vinci Legacy.

A Healthcare system that's worse than ours?

2005-06-20T12:20:00.000-06:00

We complain about our healthcare system here in the States, but it could be worse. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely despise the medical insurance system. In my eyes Insurance is simply state sponsered extortion. Medical insurance was created as a way to gaurantee equal access to healthcare regardless of financial status. Great idea, right? Not!

On the flipside is a state healthcare system, everybody pays into it, via income taxes. Unfortunately, without the opportunity of being able to charge insurance companies and patients exorbitant and excessive fees for very little service, medical professionals have little incentive to offer quality care.

So, in Britain they have a state healthcare system and also allow private "self pay" healthcare. Well, in hospitals or clinics that offer both, guess who gets treatment first? The patient that can pay, and patients that are already waiting get to wait a little longer. Canada's supreme court just ruled against a ban on private care in that Country, and Canadians are justifiably concerned.

So, although we Americans face legal extortion whether we need medical treatment or not, I don't think we should look to Canada or Britain for answers. If only there was such a thing as a Doctor, Pharmaceutical Company, or Medical Equipment company that was honestly in the business of helping people.

Great idea for a reality show

2005-06-13T13:19:00.000-06:00

I just thought of this and decided to write it down.

A songwriter competition, kind of like American Idol (I hate using this comparison, but it's the closest thing to what I'm envisioning).

Instead of a bunch of amateurs screeching to today's pop hits, the shows contestants would come up with their own songs which would be performed each week by established singers.

Each week could be a different genre of music, Country, Rock, Pop, Blues, etc. The contestants would know a week ahead of time the singer that they would be writing for, that way they can tailor the new song to the singer. Then a couple days before airing, the singer would come in and rehearse the new song.

One challenge that I have thought about is that there won't be a lot of current popular singers that would want to take the risk of being on the air and having to sing a really poorly written song.

Maybe there would be a group of a dozen singers and each week would rotate which singer is paired with which songwriter. That way the producers aren't trying to constantly sign up singers, and when the show is successful more singers would want to join in. Also, with a set group of performers, for the first episode they could have them perform one of their own hit songs, that way it sets the bar, showing what the singers are truly capable of.

And, a different take on the reality show, nobody is eliminated. Each week, each song is given points, by judges and by the audience and viewers. The very last show would reveal the winner, and they win a contract, or scholarship, or whatever.

This reality show idea is copyright 2005, Aaron R. Carter. Do no steal my idea you money grubbing jerks.

What movies make more money

2005-06-13T12:34:00.000-06:00

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/13/entertainment/main701331.shtml

So, they suggest that hollywood make more G and PG rated movies because they make more money. By that same argument, hollywood should make more Science Fiction movies.

The top 25 grossing movies of all time:
1. Titanic (1997) $1,835,300,000
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1,129,219,252
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $968,600,000
4. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $922,379,000
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) $921,600,000
6. Jurassic Park (1993) $919,700,000
7. Shrek 2 (2004) $880,871,036
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) $866,300,000
9. Finding Nemo (2003) $865,000,000
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $860,700,000
11. Independence Day (1996) $811,200,000
12. Spider-Man (2002) $806,700,000
13. Star Wars (1977) $797,900,000
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) $789,458,727
15. Spider-Man 2 (2004) $783,577,893
16. The Lion King (1994) $783,400,000
17. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $756,700,000
18. The Matrix Reloaded (2003) $735,600,000
19. Forrest Gump (1994) $679,400,000
20. The Sixth Sense (1999) $661,500,000
21. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) $653,200,000
22. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) $648,200,000
23. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) $641,107,697
24. The Incredibles (2004) $624,037,578
25. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) $614,300,000

That's 19 out of 25 movies that are Science Fiction / Fantasy films. Another 4 of the top 25 are Disney animated films. The last two are about a big boat and an idiot. Only 1 of the top 25 was rated R, and it is only in the top 25 because it was a sequel to a far superior movie.

Only one of the movies on this list was released prior to 1993 (Star Wars in 1977). This is partly a result of higher ticket prices and wider distribution.

This list is also only based on theater ticket sales. Taking into account Video and DVD sales and rentals would change this list significantly.

(list obtained from www.imdb.com)

Big Brother knows best

2005-06-10T14:49:00.000-06:00

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/10/earlyshow/living/parenting/main700908.shtml

When did we, as Americans, lose our right to make our own decisions about the medical treatment of our children?

This is a 12 year old girl who can think for herself, and she doesn't want the treatment.

Now, admittedly I don't know these people, and I don't know to what degree her parents have influenced the girl's opinion. But, even if they are wrong, and the girl needs radiation therapy to cure her of the cancer, isn't it her right and the right of her parents to refuse treatment?

This is similar to another case in Utah about a year ago in which the State had ordered a girl taken from her family because they would not subject her to the medical treatment prescribed by her doctor. This also brings up thoughts of the Terry Schiavo case in which government officials tried to enforce their views regarding the treatment of a vegetative woman.

Disgusting, it makes me sick to my stomach. And to make matters worse the State officials had even considered removing the family's other three children and placing them in State custody. It's time to start another letter writing campaign, I think. Darrell Azar of Texas Child Protective Services is going to get an earful from me, along with whatever judge is assigned to the case.

You are a murderer, your girlfriend is not.

2005-06-07T12:35:00.000-06:00

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,158783,00.html

Can someone please explain to me how two people can participate in the same activity to end the life of a baby, and only one is a murderer?

The actions of both of these people showed indifference to the life of their innocent victim.

Here I Am

2005-06-01T11:09:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's right I'm here, at work, in Irving, TX. For those of you who were concerned, because I wasn't where you thought I was going to be. At least you didn't start a nationwide man hunt. I'd hate to have to pay $40,000 for a search I didn't ask for.

Why exactly does it cost $40,000.00 for a bunch of people to tromp through the woods and swamps of Georgia anyway?

The Evils of Caffiene

2005-05-24T15:07:00.000-06:00

http://www.medpagetoday.com/tbindex.cfm?tbid=1091&topicid=43

According to this article: First-graders have more behavior problems on the days that they are exposed to caffeinated colas than on the days that they have caffeine-free drinks.

Exposure to caffeinated cola drinks impaired children's learning ability by causing restlessness, hyperactivity, and inattention. On the days that the children were drinking caffeinated drinks, their Connors scores increased an average of 5.5 points compared to the days that they were only drinking caffeine-free drinks.

Those poor persecuted perverts

2005-05-20T07:22:00.000-06:00

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/family/4511059/detail.html

Six flags is now advising guests that it reserves the right to eject guests who are convicted sex offenders. I suspect this is more of a public relations ploy to attract more guests, than an actual attempt to keep deviants out of their parks.

The key here is that they will only subject park attendees to background checks if they are caught behaving inappropriately. I wonder exactly how they will accomplish this, since it would require the suspect to volunteer his identity, and so far as I know you don't have to provide identification to buy a ticket. I haven't been to six flags in years, being as I'm not a child anymore, so I could be wrong about the park requiring I.D. for entrance.

In short, although this sounds good, and the mainstream media loves this kind of P.R. B.S., I really don't see how this will solve any problems. Hopefully, these parks also have a policy of not hiring convicted sex offenders.

Dead Sea is Dying

2005-05-19T08:38:00.000-06:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7902962/

According to this article the Dead Sea and Jordan River are drying up? This seems significant, it sounds like something that might be prophesied about in the bible. I'll have to look and see.

Kidney Transplants

2005-05-18T09:13:00.000-06:00

Okay, so last night on Law & Order SVU the episode was about black market kidney transplants.

I was curious, so I looked up some statistics on ustransplant.org.

According to their reports there were 50,855 people on the kidney transplant waiting list at the end of 2002. It is also reported that there were 3396 people who died that year waiting for a kidney.

Obviously, with a US estimated population of about 288 million people, it would be safe to assume that there were at least 50,855 healthy people with kidneys out there that they could donate. The problem is, what is a person's motivation for donating a kidney?

The argument on LAOSVU last night was that if it were legal to sell kidneys then there would be a lot of people willing to sell their kidneys and lives could be saved. The other side of the argument is that if organs were for sale to the highest bidder, then only the richest people would get transplants.

I'm not sure where I stand on this issue. Obviously, it's against the law to sell organs here in the U.S., but should it be? In this country a lot of people argue about the right to do whatever we want to our own bodies, this argument is heard most often for abortion rights. I don't agree with this argument when it comes to murdering babies, but it could sway me when you're talking about saving other peoples lives. It is within our rights to donate organs voluntarily, it just isn't legal to benefit from it financially.

Newsweek

2005-05-17T14:20:00.000-06:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7864705/

I feel like suing the editors and writers of Newsweek for lible. Their irresponsible "reporting" has further sullied the image of the American People. Don't Muslims have a bad enough opinion of us without making more crap up?

I know I'm mostly alone in this opinion but this is yet another example of why complete and total freedom of speech and of the press is a bad idea.

From the bill of rights -
Amendment 1: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

How did we get from these simple words the right to lie, the right to say and publish offensive material, the right to incite hatred and riots? Okay, so we don't abridge the freedom of speech, but does that mean we can't punish people who use their "free speech" to hurt others?

Unfortunately, the more pressure our governing officials puts on Newsweek to apologize or retract the original article, the more it appears to outsiders that the story is true and is being covered up. Keep in mind that a lot of other countries don't have the freedom of speech and of the press that we do. They may not understand that articles in Newsweek are written by individuals who are trying to sell advertising space in their magazine.

I don't believe that the Qu'ran was ever disgraced in the way described by Newsweek, but the thought of such a thing happening disgusts me, and I'm not even Muslim.

Ward Churchill

2005-05-17T14:15:00.000-06:00

http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/cherokee.html

By the way, this honorary associate membership was given in the early 90's. Ward Churchill claim indian status when he was hired by C.U. as part of their affirmitive action program in 1980, 11 - 14 years prior to his supposed enrollment in the Keetoowah tribe.

Along with everything else, this man is clearly a pathological liar.

Ward Churchill

2005-05-17T14:08:00.000-06:00

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3783579,00.html

What an idiot! How does a person like this get a tenured teaching position at a major university? According to Churchill all it takes to be a Native American, or American Indian, is to say "I'm an Indian," have a couple of other people say "He's an Indian," and carry a membership card.

I wonder if I can use that same logic to become a cat. "Meow."
"Everybody wants to be a cat. 'Cause being a cat is where it's at."

I blame the University of Colorado for hiring this moron just as much as I blame the moron. "Who is more foolish, the fool, or the fool who hired him?" - Obi-Wan Kenobi (paraphrased)

Where to start?

2005-05-17T14:05:00.000-06:00

Where does a person start when logging all the things that he or she sees wrong with the world? Orwell's 1984 seems utopian at times compared to the world we live in.