Sick and Wrong

I read an obituary in last night's paper and remembered the last name as one my mother had mentioned years ago. Obituaries often list illness or accident as the cause of death for a person in his 20's. This one didn't. I did some Googling and found a link to a blog, which conveyed that depression had been a factor. I Googled further and found a 20/20 video from 1988--telling more than my mother had told me at that time in my life.

Parts of the video evoked the same horror and sickness that the "how to perform an abortion" blog did. CAUTION: To illustrate how bad the situation was, 20/20 included sample pages from one of the cult's pamphlets. Images are mostly blurred--mostly.

I followed another link and found a post from the mother, in which she confirmed that the cause of death was suicide.

So here I've sat for at least the past hour and a half, trying to get it. I understand the "depression leading to suicide" matter a bit. It brings up the faces of a former classmate and a former student...and others.

The cult part flabbergasts me. Again, sickens and flabbergasts. What sort of person would preach these twisted ways? And what sort of man would follow them and preach them himself with a voice that sounds like whipped cream on top of a bowl of NutraSweet, following a dinner of pure sugar?

How dare these men use the name of my Lord and Savior in a way that warps everything He said two thousandish years ago and counsels us in today?

And what am I to do about that?

And This Makes Politics Make Sense

Shoulda Built a Fence

I was finding it rather ironic that we, many of whose ancestors once encroached, are outraged at the thought of being encroached upon. Apparently Robert Ariail thought so, as well.

South Dakota, Two Days after Thanksgiving

No wonder there were shotgun shells in the water...

Saw this sign as I was leaving. Hmm.

Cormorant Island

Trusty Alamo mug, which actually didn't need a tie-down. Good mug.






Dad bumping ice












"Magical," in a good way

Black dots in the sky? Geese. Thousands.

Sand bar point

One of the 10K Lakes

Thanksgiving included a trip to MN to see family. Minnesota being the land of 10,000 lakes (and driving past two with open water on the way there), I felt compelled to load my kayak into my car. I ended up finding an ice-free section along Highway 40--paddled against the wind and went under the bridge and beyond until I reached ice, then floated back. Beautiful day, so easy to give thanks for!

Why You Should Always, ALWAYS Wash Your Hands

You think I'm paranoid, but look--I'm only trying to protect you...

A Yak, a Book and a Sunset

Too stressed lately... Ever have those times when you don't want to do anything, but you drag yourself forward and do something you know is good, and you end up being rewarded for it?

Today, I would have been happy with a nap. However, I talked with MS on her drive home from work, and I happened to ask if there was open water on Lake Benton. Conveniently, yes.

So few days left... Okay...

I launched from the rocks that were around the bottom left corner of this picture; on the right side of the picture is ice. It wasn't a big voyage--just to the left side, where I pulled out my book, listened to geese (just below the horizon line, to the left of the tree), and started floating my way back. I'm sure the local fishermen thought I was nuts, but at least I didn't pull out my knitting.

The last week and a half have been rather like brittle ice; today on the lake in a little piece of plastic, I felt that glee again--the ice melted.

Compassion Lives!

A guy in uniform; a little girl with a gunshot wound to the head... It hurts to read of the origin; it's awesome to read of the action.

More linkage to it.

To the Batcave!

"She knows who we are."
"Guess we'll just have to kill her."
"Yep. We'll kill her later; we have work to do."

Are these the most consecutive lines of dialogue in this movie?

I was very amused by an opening section in which Batman & Robin clicked their heels together to activate their skates--remarkably Judy Garlandish.

PS: I can see electing a Kindergarten Cop governor or a Twin governor...but a Mr. Freeze governor? Californians must be nuts.

The Wii

I would know nothing about the Wii, but for CLE. It is now something I need to pay attention to, apparently. My favorite line in one news article describes it as having "...a small, cute main unit..." I find it very important for my friends' gaming equipment to be small and cute.

Second favorite section is on the poor boy who dressed in green and got referred to as "Peter Pan." (Hush, CLE...)

And maybe it's just the day, but since I'm still grinning about this Google image result, here's a potty humor link for you.

Have a good day.

So Much for Leonid, But a Good Day in All

Was it a 15 minute meteor shower? Is that why we missed it--the drive time? Regardless, I found a new stargazing spot (which is actually near a current kayaking spot). "Excellent" seems a horrid way to describe stars, and "amazing" seems overused, but "worth the chill that seeped through a hat, thermal shirt, fuzzy vest, Columbia jacket, lined nylon jacket and hood, and two blankets" doesn't have a ring to it.

I can still only identify one constellation--Orion--and I can sometimes find the Big Dipper. If I pause, wipe my glasses, and still see a big smear in the air, I assume that's the Milky Way.

No shower tonight, though. When we heard an eerie chorus from the south and ARG said they were coyotes, I was quite happy to leave. We'd already had a spotlight shined on us by local law enforcement--what else could the night entail?

Not All of Us Are Musically Gifted

But this guy somehow is!

Thanks, ARG!

A Bad Day

Beaten, bruised, drained

Wanting no more to be the Wonderwoman of my own little cosmos

'Tis a good day for a blanket and a puppy

I, unfortunately, have no puppy

A mere four hours and I will numb myself

with deafening levels of U2

my friends' couch

and Yoshi on the screen

Creativity in Advertising Goes Far

But not quite far enough. Check these out, though: blow-on/off candles.

I do despise it when my mithril armor gets that waxy build-up on it...

Word from an Uncompassionate, Hateful Lemming

Goalie: Gay Promotes 'Hatred and Spite' Against Religion

"From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate." --Elton John

When I taught on a reservation, I had a kid who, when reading about something negative done by white people, would exclaim, "Man, white people always [fill in the blank]!"

Exasperated after a couple of episodes, I looked at him. "Dean--I'm white. Do I do these things?"

"Naah, not you; you're cool."

"Okay, then; next time, say, 'Some white people...'"

He nodded. The next time we read, and somebody did something stupid, Dean blurted out, "Man, white people always..." He glanced at me. "Some white people always..."

I guess that if a 14-year-old can learn this, there's hope for an adult celebrity.

There's a chance that I agree with the tenets of organized religion that are being criticized. However, I'd bring them up a bit differently--tactfully, perhaps.

So how about a little rephrasing? "Some members of organized religion..."

Or was it really not about the presentation at all? Would you still lump me with the rude ones merely because I disagree with your choices?

Stop Test-Driving Your Girlfriend

Ouch... The guy's harsh. I don't think any of my guy friends would take this from a woman. And, as I think of it, they probably shouldn't.

Michael Lawrence writes of looking toward a marital relationship with consumer-based eyes: Will this produce the best results for me? Then he points out that that's not the way to do it.

The problem of course is that as a single Christian man, not only are you going to marry a sinner, but you are a sinner as well.

The Bible reminds us that though our marriages are to be pictures of the gospel relationship between Christ and the church, none of us get to marry Jesus. Instead, like Hosea, we all marry Gomer; that is to say, we all marry another sinner, whom God intends to use to refine and grow our faith in Jesus.

Ouch again--nothin' like being likened to an adulteress... But what a concept--man realizes woman's sinfulness and imperfection (as well as his own) and loves her anyway. Woman, realizing her own sinfulness and imperfection, loves man for his choice to love her and respects him despite his sinfulness and imperfection.

Instead of asking if she's the one, you should ask yourself, "Am I the sort
of man a godly woman would want to marry?" If you're not, then you'd be better
off spending less time evaluating the women around you, and more time developing
the character of a disciple.

Same back at ya, sister: am I the sort of woman a godly man would want to marry?

With that, I'm off to clean, spend some time in the Word, and make a chicken casserole for supper. (Might even use a recipe.)

Thanksgiving Cheer

The chin singers...

Not quite as entertaining as dancing turkeys singing "I Will Survive," but chuckleworthy nonetheless.

Which Sci-Fi/Fantasy Character Are You?

Yesss! I am She of the Bunned Hair!

Once you find out who you are, there's a database link to more information about your persona. Okay, here's where I go from "geeky" to "cool." Some info is columnar...much like our beloved standardized tests...and whether you're reading about a scientific precept, a personage of historical significance, or, say, a character you've watched 37 times, you're still reading, right?

The birth of a new assignment for my Title I reading students...

• Go to http://www.tk421.net/character/ and find out who you are. (Aaah...if only "finding ourselves" were this easy...)
• Once there, click on the databank link. [If you find yourself having freakish qualities, by all means, go back, rethink answers, and try again.]
• Using complete sentences, answer the following questions in a Word document.

1. Who is your character?
2. What is his/her/its homecountry/homeplanet/homeregion?
3. What is your character's physical description?
4. Who does he/she/it enjoy spending time with?
5. What accomplishment is your character most proud of?
6. What is the worst experience he/she/it has ever gone through?
7. If this character were a member of your family (aside from yourself), who would he/she/it be most like?
8. In a battle situation, where would this character be most useful?
9. If you watched a movie with this creature, what movie would it be?
10. What else did you think was interesting?

• Copy and paste your entire Word document as a comment under the "Sci-Fi Characters" entry of our blog.
• Read your blog comments to the rest of the class.

Thanks to B for the site--quite some time ago!

Handy Hint #221

Don't keep your pepper spray and your inhaler in the bottom of the same bag.

Dramatic Pomposity

Tonight's fantabulistic letter to the editor:

The questionably-motivated efforts of misguided and ill-informed people were thwarted on election night by the voice of the electorate.

If not for the tireless persistence of those of you who took time away from yourselves, your friends and your families, we would now be looking upon a dark period in the history of not only our state but also our country.

Though the marriage amendment passed leaving bigots to enjoy the product of their prejudice, a woman's right to command her own body and life and the balance provided by the judiciary in our representative democracy are still intact after a long and harrowing battle against the less-enlightened who plague our society with their hateful and narrow-minded dogma.

Among the casualties in their fight were our time and money, and also our relationships.

Family arguments were the norm for some of us, and some had friendships torn along the line separating faith from reality. But, this morning we are still strong, standing tall within our hearts looking with determination to a future where freedom, equality, and liberty again can assume the offensive and press the forces of tyranny and oppression back into the primitive recesses of human error from which they were born... Knowing that they'll come again spreading lies and ignorance, keep your vigilance... Let us never again retreat from this tempered bastion named liberty.

--Ryan Larson

I don't believe I've seen such propaganda since browsing the Cliff's Notes for Mein Kampf.

Bulleted in no particular order...

• The gracious "winner" of an electoral process doesn't often refer to the opposing side with the terms "misguided," "ill-informed," "bigots," "prejudice," "less-enlightened," "plague," "hateful," "narrow-minded," "their fight," "separating faith from reality," "tyranny," "oppression," "primitive recesses of human error from which they were born," and the anticlimactic "lies" and "ignorance."
• I think I can see how Mr. Larson may have damaged some relationships in this round of voting.
• "Dark period in history?" And convenience-driven termination of human life is...light?
• "A woman's right to command her own body and life" supercedes the rights, bodies and lives of yet-to-be-born women (and men). Asinine.
• If one is to use words of ostentatiousness in a letter to the editor in Podunk, SD, I, for one, would prefer they be presented with satiric creativity rather than dramatic pomposity. A humble request.
• "...a future where freedom, equality, and liberty again can assume the offensive..." If abortion is equivocated with freedom, equality and liberty, I do indeed find that offensive.

Whenever people say 'We mustn't be sentimental,' you can take it they are about to do something cruel. And if they add 'We must be realistic,' they mean they are going to make money out of it. --Brigid Brophy, writer (1929-1995)

The Pledge Inspires [gasp] Nationalism?

Board member Jason Ball argued that the
pledge inspires nationalism...

Isn't that the point?

Inflammatory?

I do believe a challenge has been issued.

Thank you to all who are/have been serving in our military and as our allies. Thank you to all who support them.

I sat at a Veteran's Day program today and looked across the bleachers at our high schoolers while they were being addressed. Then my gaze drifted toward my middle schoolers. I sat between 6th grade boys who can still sing "My Country Tis of Thee" in a higher pitch than I can.

Our grandcestors who served had a vision that extends beyond the kids I teach--beyond their children, even. I am amazed, grateful, prayerful...

Tough...to Wear Pink...

An example of letting the punishment fit the crime...

I've looked at my middle schoolers this way.

I hope it had the same effect.

I Think...

I'd still rather sleep in my car…

Big in the News

My goodness—my little state is big news!

The Morning After

So it's the morning after. The marriage amendment passed in our state; the abortion ban didn't.

The cool part about this is that even though I voted with a pencil yesterday, I can vote with my presence in the days to come. As I got involved with a "vote your values" movement pre-election, I started noting the difference between "pro-life" and "anti-abortion." It's one thing to shake my finger and say, "Don't do this." It's quite another to come alongside someone, learn about her situation, then still be able to say, "There's a better way."

I have a couple of friends who are post-abortive. I've cried and prayed with one as she works through the healing process. I am so grateful to her for having trusted me with her story. She is much more an authority on this than I am. How can I encourage her to share with others who face crisis pregnancy situations?

Synopsis: it's not done.

Icebreaker

Dad and I went kayaking yesterday. The first place we tried to put in, we found ice. It had frozen then broken, and was pushed by constant waves (is that an oxymoron?) toward the landing. Adventuresome as it may have been to journey out in that, we drove to the other side and entered in calmer waters.

It was a new section of water for both of us, and we heard a strange sound as we explored. It was like a helicopter taking off...but not going anywhere. There were birds to our west, and we watched them gather themselves in the air, swoop, and re-land. So many in the gatherings...were they barn swallows or something of that sort? Dad thought they were ducks, but naah--couldn't be. Dozens of them, together?

Closing in on the southwestern shore, we paused our paddles when the birds took flight again. Studying their silhouetted forms, we realized they were truly ducks--and that noise, again... Their wings--echoing off the hills surrounding us... So odd, so awesome.

Having bullied the ducks away from their stomping ground, we tried to follow a tributary we'd seen from the road. We'd both noticed its lack of wave action, so we eased our way around the corner and past mini ice bergs. (Exactly how far does an iceberg protrude beneath the visible surface? I've seen Titanic, and I was floating along in a piece of plastic.) We both ran gently into the frozen sheet, and I chopped at it with my paddle. (I have much more respect for people who pilot those large, arctic ice-breaking ships, now.)

I don't get it. Sitting in that plastic banana and tapping forcefully at frozen H2O, I was a happy clam. I was a kid with a few favorite toys in my bubble bath. And this is happiness? Hmm. Good to know.

From a Blog to a Blog to...News

A pro-life group purchased the building an abortion clinic was housed in, then ousted the abortion clinic. That's practical evidence of being pro-life and anti-abortion. Alright, maybe it's not practical for most of us, but...

I appreciate how this article makes mention of the pervasive essence of death. I've been to Andersonville prison in Georgia; I've been to Gettysburg in PA. There's not a different smell or sound or anything, but the sense... It's not like a cemetery, and it's not a scariness of death. It's the horror of the sadness of death?

The Alpha Center in Sioux Falls is at the site of a former abortion clinic. A woman actually walked in one day, requesting an abortion. Counselors talked with her, and she showed up again months later--peaceful with her decision, a beautiful baby girl in her arms.

Oh, God...to be able to take them all over...

Cheney's hunting in SD on Tuesday. Wouldn't this make you not want to get out and vote?

BRR

Bush Royal Rampage

Much easier to play on a tablet than a laptop or a desktop, if you've been blessed with that sort of technology.

Could You Win the National Spelling Bee?

How'd you do?

Kosher 4 Passover. Again very strange...but now there are songs running through my head. They weren't there before, so this must be effective...

Mmmm...buzz...

And a positive side of trolls.

Stare Down Sally

Fantastic site. An inspiration for all.

So Saddam is to be hanged. Despite his button-up shirt and suit jacket, I'm getting a visual of the lone tree on a dusty landscape (from "Maverick?"). Noose around his neck, Saddam stands up on his horse and harangues the assembled crowd. Doesn't matter. The horse is going to be led from under him anyway.



The point of this entry: amoebous.

Or maybe I'm stuck on a friend's comment from this morning: an apology with a clarifier isn't really an apology after all. When do you...or I...come to the point of realizing that an error was made and responsibility needs to be taken?

Murdering the masses or hurting someone you care about...why is it so hard to say, "I was wrong," then sit down and shut up?

Choice Trumps Right?

I ran into a horrid blog last night--one on which a "helpful" woman had written up instructions for performing an abortion. She directed it as aid to the unfortunate women of SD, if the law banning abortions is passed next week.

Numerous people wrote in to make mention of her idiocy--this is not best as a tried-at-home procedure. The author snidely responded that her intent was to assist people in setting up illegal clinics. A) If I were a scared girl intent on having an abortion, I'd find my best friend and coerce her to improvise on instruments and perform it for me, since the step-by-step directions were provided. B) If I were going to even an illegal clinic, I sure hope they'd have used something other than a blog for their manual. C) If the clinic did use a blog as a reference manual, I certainly would prefer that the blog's author wasn't one who referred to humans she disagreed with as "trolls." I suppose I'd be worried about professionalism.

I think it's ironic that the "pro-choice" crowd ignores a main tenet from the Declaration of Independence--the self-evident, unalienable right to life?