Monday, June 30, 2008

Need Halls in the Hall

Yes, coughing has become so pervasive at Kennedy Center performances that one wonders why people should even go out to listen to live music or theater.

We've only been to one concert in the last 2 1/2 years, but we noticed the same thing as this (former) patron of the National Symphony Orchestra. And we went in the middle of April, not when you'd expect people to be fraught with colds.

I do remember in Atlanta, for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, they provided free Halls cough drops prior to entering symphony hall. It was a great help for a lot of people.

Full letter found here.

Consequences

Can you imagine if your "project" at work had these kind of consequences??


The physicist Martin Rees has estimated the chance of an accelerator producing a global catastrophe at one in 50 million -- long odds, to be sure, but about the same as winning some lotteries.

HELLO!! "GLOBAL CATASTROPHE" (!!) More at: Link

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Government

"How can anyone be expected to rule a country that produces 265 varieties of cheese?"

-- Charles de Gaulle on his governance of France 

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Another WHOA!

This is even crazier than the first one I posted.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Painting Pics - And More

Atlanta-like Weather

Clear Clear
99°F
Feels Like: 113°F
Wind Chill: 99° Ceiling: Unlimited
Heat Index: 112° Visibility: 10mi
Dew Point: 75° Wind: 5mph
Humidity: 47% Direction: 160° (SSE)
Pressure: 29.88in Gusts: 0mph
Raw Report DataKJYO 101900Z AUTO 16004KT 10SM CLR 37/24 A2988 RMK AO2

Sunday, June 08, 2008

What makes us so different?

Our neighborhood market is hosting a community event today to celebrate locally grown food and goods. In essence, "Eat Local" "Local Is Better" "Sustainable Environment" etc...

And then I had a thought (it was either the sun - from stupidly hitting a bucket of golf balls in 98 degree heat - or the Starbucks double-shot on a dehydrated mind; regardless...). There are families that teach their children that protecting/saving the environment is the highest good. In fact, those families seem to always be involved in environmental protection/conservation events and efforts. It's really an integral part of their lives.

As another example, Hillary Clinton talked about a family in which the daughter (8 yrs old, maybe?) had saved for TWO years to go to Disney World. And then she decided to use that money instead to go with her mom to Pennsylvania to work for Clinton's campaign.

Where am I going with this? Simply put: Why are Christians, and specifically Bible-teaching/believing Christian parents, singled out as the "crazy Christians" or "intolerant" or "brainwashing their kids" to think only one way. Why are Christians condemned for teaching their kids to live a certain way or to have certain fundamental beliefs?

What about the environmentalists? They teach their kids that we have to protect Mother Nature and polluters/greenhouse emissions makers are evil and are to be hated. They teach them to eat organic, spurn the big-bad commercial farmers, and believe that the planet will be saved by driving on electric. As for the politcos, surely the 8 year old didn't just wake up one morning and decide that Clinton was the superior candidate - she had help from her parents' own disposition. Her parents' fervor was translated into this child's mind, changing her priorities and desires.

Not only do these parents impart their beliefs to their kids, but they teach them to recruit followers to their beliefs. They think less-highly of those that disagree with them. They hold parties, events, and gatherings, even singing songs to celebrate their ideologies.

But they are celebrated. They are said to be teaching their kids to be forward-thinking, independent, pioneers. While in fact, they are just imposing their own worldview on their kids.

So I ask again - what makes us different? Bring your own answer (I know mine) - it's just food for thought.

[ps - 1. I make a lot of generalizations; I admit. Just making a point. And 2. I'm not against eating organic, or sustainable, or anything like that. =) ]

WHOA

Saturday, June 07, 2008

"Historic" - "Epic Traffic" - Busted Hope?

These are directly pasted from WashingtonPost.com .

On Thursday:

Not even Republicans could have planned a worse combination of time and place for a rally in support of Sen. Barack Obama than today's planned 6 p.m. event at Nissan Pavilion....Pete Frisbie, chairman of the Prince William Democratic Committee, said the Obama camp chose Nissan Pavilion in western Prince William because it is the largest venue in Northern Virginia. But the crowds could wind up being twice as large as the pavilion can hold. "It could be up to 50,000," Frisbie said. "It's the first event of the national campaign and a historic moment."


On Friday:

The presumptive Democratic nominee drew more than 10,000 people to a late afternoon rally at Nissan Pavilion.... Die-hard Obama supporters and undecided voters converged on the amphitheater in Prince William County three hours before the candidate was scheduled to take the stage at 6 p.m. State and local transportation officials had braced for a major backup on Interstate 66, but traffic was like that of a normal evening rush.


Wow - anyone else think that Virginia may not be as "Obama-ready" as the campaign had expected? The first event after winning the nomination, and you can only manage 10,000 people?? It's going to be a long 5 months for everybody.