Sunday
religious right
An interesting article on how the very progressive United Churche of Christ is FIGHTING BACK against right wing Christian extremism.
Thursday
knoxville knightlife
FYI: I am endeavoring to put more of my blogging on Knoxville-area entertainment and music stuff on MY OTHER BLOG, The Pop Culturephile. So look for it there... daily.
racist journalism in tennessee
OK, so Brian Mosely has written yet another INCREDIBLY RACIST COLUMN in my hometown newspaper.
This one is pretty bad, but you really do have to see it in the context of HIS ONGOING, RACIST "COVERAGE" of issues related to Bedford County's Hispanic community.
The man appears to have a vendetta against immigrants (if you doubt this, just check out his PERSONAL BLOG. This is his blog, so he writes everything on it, plus you can get a better idea of his own views when he responds to commenters as "bkm" on the blog. It's scary stuff.)and that's his right, but he shouldn't be able to express it within the safety and supposed objective authority of the county's only daily newspaper.
ADDENDUM: Further perusal of this guy's blog reveals he's SEXIST, AS WELL
This one is pretty bad, but you really do have to see it in the context of HIS ONGOING, RACIST "COVERAGE" of issues related to Bedford County's Hispanic community.
The man appears to have a vendetta against immigrants (if you doubt this, just check out his PERSONAL BLOG. This is his blog, so he writes everything on it, plus you can get a better idea of his own views when he responds to commenters as "bkm" on the blog. It's scary stuff.)and that's his right, but he shouldn't be able to express it within the safety and supposed objective authority of the county's only daily newspaper.
ADDENDUM: Further perusal of this guy's blog reveals he's SEXIST, AS WELL
Wednesday
Flat Stanley in Afghanistan
Like many second graders all over the country, my son Elliot recently sent his handmade "FLAT STANLEY" off to travel around.
His whole class sent them off to various friends and family here and there, in hopes they would get interesting post cards and pictures back to the classroom from their Stanleys' travels.
Elliot's Flat Stanley was mailed to our dear friend Bill, who is currently spending a year in Afghanistan. We miss him terribly.
(THIS IS BILL WITH FLAT STANLEY)
Today, Bill e-mailed Elliot with photos and a letter about Stanley's adventures with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.
And as Bill notes in his e-mail, Elliot's mama is no fan of the war or guns, but these photos are very interesting and my 8 year old boy, who is very interested in the army and, yes, guns, will love them.
Bill's e-mail to Elliot:
Dear Elliot,
Greetings from Afghanistan. I hope you are doing well. I’m sure you are looking forward to the end of the school year.
You may recall that some time ago you sent me Flat Stanley, dressed smartly in his camouflage uniform, and asked me to take him on adventures in Afghanistan. I was glad to do so.
Just last evening, I returned from a five day expedition with US Special Forces. We drove to many interesting places, talked with villagers and looked for bad guys. I figured Flat Stanley would like to come along, and he agreed. I let him do many things he probably had never done before, and he seemed to have a lot of fun.
Knowing how much your Mom loves guns (just like Aunt Kimi, who REALLY loves guns … just ask her), I thought I would introduce Flat Stanley to some of the weapons we carry on our patrols. The first picture you see is Flat helping man a machine gun, specifically an M240B 7.62mm machine gun sitting atop my up-armored Humvee. He really liked that. He wanted to shoot it, but that might have scared the people around us, so I told him we’d do that later.
Next you will see Flat Stanley on the windshield of my Hummer. He was helping me and my team pull security, watching out for bad guys as the SF and ANA (Afghan National Army) were in a nearby village checking things out. He did a great job. Nobody bothered us, and I’m sure it was because they saw Flat Stanley on guard.
The next pictures are of ol’ Flat checking out my M4 carbine, the rifle I always carry with me on patrol. It fires a 5.56mm bullet and has a 30 round magazine. It’s close to an M16, just with a shorter barrel. Again, Flat really liked checking out my long gun.
The crowning moment of Weapons Day was Flat Stanley’s hand grenade instruction. He took to it like a duck to water. He needed a little help holding it, but you can see him getting ready to throw the frag grenade I carry with me on patrols. He was just practicing; he never threw it, but he was ready if needed.
You may know that Afghanistan grows a lot of poppies, which have beautiful flowers. Unfortunately, the pod’s juice is turned into bad stuff called opium and heroine. The people of Afghanistan are so poor that many feel they must grow poppies to feed their families, since they make more money selling raw opium than growing corn or wheat. We drove through many poppy fields, and Flat Stanley saw Afghanistan’s cash crop on the vine.
The next day, Flat Stanley and I visited an old fortress in the middle of the desert. It was made of mud and hardened in the blazing Afghan sun. Though it surely is centuries old, it still stands today. I am not sure, but it could have been built by Alexander the Great of Greece/Macedonia, who came through this very area on his way to the Hindu Kush mountains. Flat was mightily impressed with the mud walls and battlements, as you can tell by the smile on his face.
Just yesterday we were out in the Afghan desert near Farah Rud, which is sort of a rough neighborhood. Flat Stanley handled himself like a real soldier. Here are some pictures of Flat Stanley, first with me, then with my terp (short for interpreter) John. John speaks Dari, Pashtu, some Urdu and Farsi (akin to Dari) and of course English (very well). We think John actually is an American trapped in an Afghan’s body. He’s a great guy and a great terp. In fact, John was wounded a couple of years ago by an RPG round when he was manning a .50 machine gun for some Special Forces soldiers.
I go on expedition again fairly soon, and I hope Flat Stanley can come with me for more fun and sights. If he does, I’ll take pictures and send them to you.
I hope these pictures (and some others I tossed in) give you an idea of Flat Stanley’s adventures here in Afghanistan. It has been a pleasure showing him around. He would make a great soldier. Thanks for sending him to visit. When he tells me he’s tired of soldiering in Afghanistan, I will carefully send him home to you.
Warmest regards,
Bill
His whole class sent them off to various friends and family here and there, in hopes they would get interesting post cards and pictures back to the classroom from their Stanleys' travels.
Elliot's Flat Stanley was mailed to our dear friend Bill, who is currently spending a year in Afghanistan. We miss him terribly.
(THIS IS BILL WITH FLAT STANLEY)
Today, Bill e-mailed Elliot with photos and a letter about Stanley's adventures with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.
And as Bill notes in his e-mail, Elliot's mama is no fan of the war or guns, but these photos are very interesting and my 8 year old boy, who is very interested in the army and, yes, guns, will love them.
Bill's e-mail to Elliot:
Dear Elliot,
Greetings from Afghanistan. I hope you are doing well. I’m sure you are looking forward to the end of the school year.
You may recall that some time ago you sent me Flat Stanley, dressed smartly in his camouflage uniform, and asked me to take him on adventures in Afghanistan. I was glad to do so.
Just last evening, I returned from a five day expedition with US Special Forces. We drove to many interesting places, talked with villagers and looked for bad guys. I figured Flat Stanley would like to come along, and he agreed. I let him do many things he probably had never done before, and he seemed to have a lot of fun.
Knowing how much your Mom loves guns (just like Aunt Kimi, who REALLY loves guns … just ask her), I thought I would introduce Flat Stanley to some of the weapons we carry on our patrols. The first picture you see is Flat helping man a machine gun, specifically an M240B 7.62mm machine gun sitting atop my up-armored Humvee. He really liked that. He wanted to shoot it, but that might have scared the people around us, so I told him we’d do that later.
Next you will see Flat Stanley on the windshield of my Hummer. He was helping me and my team pull security, watching out for bad guys as the SF and ANA (Afghan National Army) were in a nearby village checking things out. He did a great job. Nobody bothered us, and I’m sure it was because they saw Flat Stanley on guard.
The next pictures are of ol’ Flat checking out my M4 carbine, the rifle I always carry with me on patrol. It fires a 5.56mm bullet and has a 30 round magazine. It’s close to an M16, just with a shorter barrel. Again, Flat really liked checking out my long gun.
The crowning moment of Weapons Day was Flat Stanley’s hand grenade instruction. He took to it like a duck to water. He needed a little help holding it, but you can see him getting ready to throw the frag grenade I carry with me on patrols. He was just practicing; he never threw it, but he was ready if needed.
You may know that Afghanistan grows a lot of poppies, which have beautiful flowers. Unfortunately, the pod’s juice is turned into bad stuff called opium and heroine. The people of Afghanistan are so poor that many feel they must grow poppies to feed their families, since they make more money selling raw opium than growing corn or wheat. We drove through many poppy fields, and Flat Stanley saw Afghanistan’s cash crop on the vine.
The next day, Flat Stanley and I visited an old fortress in the middle of the desert. It was made of mud and hardened in the blazing Afghan sun. Though it surely is centuries old, it still stands today. I am not sure, but it could have been built by Alexander the Great of Greece/Macedonia, who came through this very area on his way to the Hindu Kush mountains. Flat was mightily impressed with the mud walls and battlements, as you can tell by the smile on his face.
Just yesterday we were out in the Afghan desert near Farah Rud, which is sort of a rough neighborhood. Flat Stanley handled himself like a real soldier. Here are some pictures of Flat Stanley, first with me, then with my terp (short for interpreter) John. John speaks Dari, Pashtu, some Urdu and Farsi (akin to Dari) and of course English (very well). We think John actually is an American trapped in an Afghan’s body. He’s a great guy and a great terp. In fact, John was wounded a couple of years ago by an RPG round when he was manning a .50 machine gun for some Special Forces soldiers.
I go on expedition again fairly soon, and I hope Flat Stanley can come with me for more fun and sights. If he does, I’ll take pictures and send them to you.
I hope these pictures (and some others I tossed in) give you an idea of Flat Stanley’s adventures here in Afghanistan. It has been a pleasure showing him around. He would make a great soldier. Thanks for sending him to visit. When he tells me he’s tired of soldiering in Afghanistan, I will carefully send him home to you.
Warmest regards,
Bill
scientology and silent birth
Perhaps you've heard something or a lot about how Scientology encourages its female adherents to have "silent births." Much has been made in the press about how Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise's knocked up, common law fembot will be required by Cruise's religion to keep her mouth shut whist birthing.
Well, the Church of Scientology issued a press release yesterday intending to SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT on what this silent birth thing is REALLY all about. I guess they meant for their statement to make people feel better about the whole wacky idea.
Well, they failed.
The statement reads in part:
"Does this mean that a mother cannot scream or moan at all?
Of course they can make noises — the point of silent birth is NO WORDS. This is a principle of Dianetics and to fully understand why, read the book Dianetics the Modern Science of Mental Health, by L. Ron Hubbard."
No WORDS? Women cannot SPEAK while giving birth? This is nutso.
In addition to the normal communication that goes on between mother and baby's father during childbirth, a woman needs to be able to tell her midwifeor doctor what she's feeling. And most women I know who have given birth also tend to offer up a few "Holy mother of GOD, this hurts!!!" sorts of statements while having a baby.
The Scientologists' official statement also fails to address another of their weirder birthing tenets, which is that the mother should be separated from her baby following birth. This, of course, is not only cruel and bizarre, but downright dangerous. Human mothers and babies are designed to remain in close, skin to skin contact almost constantly in the days and weeks following birth.
Another weird SCientology thing is L. Ron Hubbard's claim that babies who are not breastfed should be fed not FDA-approved infant formula, but a concoction of his own devising that he claims to have picked up during his time travels while HANGING OUT WITH THE ROMANS. (I swear it says this. Click the link and read it.)
Poor Katie Holmes.
Well, the Church of Scientology issued a press release yesterday intending to SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT on what this silent birth thing is REALLY all about. I guess they meant for their statement to make people feel better about the whole wacky idea.
Well, they failed.
The statement reads in part:
"Does this mean that a mother cannot scream or moan at all?
Of course they can make noises — the point of silent birth is NO WORDS. This is a principle of Dianetics and to fully understand why, read the book Dianetics the Modern Science of Mental Health, by L. Ron Hubbard."
No WORDS? Women cannot SPEAK while giving birth? This is nutso.
In addition to the normal communication that goes on between mother and baby's father during childbirth, a woman needs to be able to tell her midwifeor doctor what she's feeling. And most women I know who have given birth also tend to offer up a few "Holy mother of GOD, this hurts!!!" sorts of statements while having a baby.
The Scientologists' official statement also fails to address another of their weirder birthing tenets, which is that the mother should be separated from her baby following birth. This, of course, is not only cruel and bizarre, but downright dangerous. Human mothers and babies are designed to remain in close, skin to skin contact almost constantly in the days and weeks following birth.
Another weird SCientology thing is L. Ron Hubbard's claim that babies who are not breastfed should be fed not FDA-approved infant formula, but a concoction of his own devising that he claims to have picked up during his time travels while HANGING OUT WITH THE ROMANS. (I swear it says this. Click the link and read it.)
Poor Katie Holmes.
Tuesday
the lord's name
Last night my 14 year old son Henry & I were chatting about why it bothers some people to hear "Oh my God."
So we got into the whole not-taking-the-Lord's-name-in-vain thing (unless it's the Dark Lord, of course ;-) ) & Henry told me that in his opinion, saying "Oh my God" doesn't constitute taking the Lord's name in vain. Instead, he believes that this is when someone does something evil, like fight a war or beat a child or oppress a certain class of human being, and it's done in the name of God. That says my very wise teenage boy, is taking the Lord's name in vain.
So we got into the whole not-taking-the-Lord's-name-in-vain thing (unless it's the Dark Lord, of course ;-) ) & Henry told me that in his opinion, saying "Oh my God" doesn't constitute taking the Lord's name in vain. Instead, he believes that this is when someone does something evil, like fight a war or beat a child or oppress a certain class of human being, and it's done in the name of God. That says my very wise teenage boy, is taking the Lord's name in vain.
Monday
thursday night fever
Today I discovered an amusing entertainment blog based in Nashville called THURSDAY NIGHT FEVER
I'm perusing the archives and so far have discovered this gem: PAUL ANKA GOES POSTAL.
You'll enjoy it. Trust me.
persecution of midwives
Looks like yet another American midwife has become THE SUBJECT OF A WITCH HUNT
I wrote THIS ARTICLE about the widespread harassment of midwives in this country.
It's truly sad.
I wrote THIS ARTICLE about the widespread harassment of midwives in this country.
It's truly sad.
Saturday
love
Not long ago, someone I care about a lot told me he has not been in love since 1996 or so (he's 37 and has never been married). This struck me as highly unusual.
I started thinking about what it means to say you are in love, romantically speaking, as opposed to just liking somebody a lot. What does it mean to be in love? How do you know you are actually in love? How long does it/should it take to know that you love someone? What about love at first sight? Is it possible? Can you love more than one person (again, romantically) at the same time?
What are your thoughts? Comment below.
I started thinking about what it means to say you are in love, romantically speaking, as opposed to just liking somebody a lot. What does it mean to be in love? How do you know you are actually in love? How long does it/should it take to know that you love someone? What about love at first sight? Is it possible? Can you love more than one person (again, romantically) at the same time?
What are your thoughts? Comment below.
work
My workload has gotten HUGE recently. The Tennessee Supreme Court decision last week affirming term limits for elected county officials means that I have been busy, busy, busy covering that this week. We are doing a special live version of the weekly public affairs show I produce (if you don't know, I am a TV/Online producer at an NBC affiliate) on Sunday to talk about this story, since the decision means most of our local government may have just become ineligible to serve. I have also had some training I have had to do.
I've also been getting tons of bread and butter (as opposed to super creative ) freelance work. I've been writing a lot for HGTV.com. (Here's an HGTV article I wrote recently on quartz countertops.) And I also just got a nice assignment doing some consumer product/tech writing for a communications company.
This was the first assignment I had gotten from these folks, so I really wanted to make a good impression. They offered me two projects, we'll call them project #1 and project #2. I told them I could do project #1 but didn't have time for project #2, so I suggested a good writer/editor I know to take on project #2.
So I got to work pounding out project #1 and turned it in yesterday. Unfortunately, however, our wires had gotten crossed. They thought I was doing project #2, not project #1. I have to say that's the first time I've met a freelance deadline....but turned in the WRONG PIECE OF WORK.
I felt really stupid.
They were very nice about it, so now I will do project #2 by Monday. I hope they dont think I am so dense that they never hire me again. But I'd say that's a strong possibility.
I've also been getting tons of bread and butter (as opposed to super creative ) freelance work. I've been writing a lot for HGTV.com. (Here's an HGTV article I wrote recently on quartz countertops.) And I also just got a nice assignment doing some consumer product/tech writing for a communications company.
This was the first assignment I had gotten from these folks, so I really wanted to make a good impression. They offered me two projects, we'll call them project #1 and project #2. I told them I could do project #1 but didn't have time for project #2, so I suggested a good writer/editor I know to take on project #2.
So I got to work pounding out project #1 and turned it in yesterday. Unfortunately, however, our wires had gotten crossed. They thought I was doing project #2, not project #1. I have to say that's the first time I've met a freelance deadline....but turned in the WRONG PIECE OF WORK.
I felt really stupid.
They were very nice about it, so now I will do project #2 by Monday. I hope they dont think I am so dense that they never hire me again. But I'd say that's a strong possibility.
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