U.S. quietly OKs fetal stem cell work, harvesting the raw parts of aborted children. I could comment that this is ghoulish, but I think we, as a nation, have lost all concept of the ghoulish. "Distasteful," "Unfortunate," "Regrettable, but necessary," don't count.

More than that, it's already made my novel/screenplay irrelevant.

We had a great day today with the nieces and nephews -- the most well-behaved trio on this planet, I'm certain! Well, it's time for bed.

I must've been the only person on the planet who had never heard of Trey Anastasio (proof: he's already played on the Tonight Show). I still don't know who-all he's played with (Phish, as it turns out -- a band I never really got into, so that explains my ignorance) but his debut solo-album literally singed my wig!! (Well, not literally because I don't have a wig, but it insofar as that expression can be applied to the enjoyment of music -- never mind). It's probably the strongest recording I've heard in the last five years -- all the musicianship of Zappa's greatest bands (without the often disturbing innuendo), it's funky, energetic, tender when it needs to be, and (this is a great compliment for a recording) they know when to lay-it-all-out into a 3-minute solo or supercharged horn/rhythm-section frenzy and when the song just needs to be ended...

Anyway, this album will last for a dozen-years easy. Check it out.

Huzzah! The S-Video/Stereo-Audio cable for the GameCube works for the Nintendo64 as well!!! Let the nieces and nephews be entertained by Kirby!!!

I don't know if it's proper blogring ettiqu... procedure to blog a blog which belongs to a ring to which you also belong but Blergg Blog is the most refreshing blog I've seen in a loooong time. Awesome: a normal, healthy, 17-year-old anime-fan considering a religious vocation: we need 1,000,000 more like her (well, they don't all have to dig anime, of course -- that could get a little weird)!

So there I am, cruising past the park, which is PACKED with people there to listen to the band. Tons of folks (this being Plymouth, most of them with strollers). I'm blasting my funky jams (courtesy of Mix 92.3 FM, baby!), crusing (note the second 'cruising,' for literary effect) in my Big Ford (not a euphamism), its 4.6L purring, I nod and then I realize that I still have the "Baby's First Years," sunshades with the big outward-facing "Ideas Inspired By Parents!" logo suction-cupped to both rear windows.

Yeah, I'm cool.

Too funny.

Puttin' up a shed,
Puttin' up a shed,
We shall go rejoicing,
Puttin' up a shed.

I found this page pretty much by accident. Wonder if they have this for each shuttle mission?

So I've been reading a bunch of these Catholic blogs lately (well today and yesterday) and I think I know what their problem is (not that they have any problem, but if they did indeed have a problem it would be this): I don't know that these folks have enough non-Catholic, non-Christian, anti-Catholic, anti-Christian friends. Heck, I don't have any Catholic friends unless you count Dr. Whalen (whom I haven't seen in... four years?) and my dad. I have exactly one Christian friend who attends that Northridge Monolithic Pluralistic Christian Compound outside of town (I'd *love* to review their financial records sometime). The rest of my friends are either ambigious on the subject of religion (any religion) or violently (well, not so much violently because that implies passion which so many of the anti-religious crowd lack... they've mastered eroticism and angst and a mixture of the two can sometimes pass for passion) anti-religion. So... I'm not really sure where I was going with this... my head still hurts (see below).

Maybe this is a 4th of July thing. Checking my archives I see that I had a bad headache last year on this date (and I also made that same co-dependence day remark last 4th, too).

Ugh. The worst possible time to have a bad sinus-induced migraine is on the Fourth of July in Plymouth, MI, where otherwise seemingly-college-educated people turn into explosive-crazed yahoos. This I don't mind so much. What I do mind is that 364 days of the year these people lose that yahoo spirit and just become so many easily-led don't-rock-the-boaters. Oh well.

Inconsiderate motorcycle guy (who is an explosive-crazed yahoo the other 364 days of the year), the one who idles and revs his impossibly loud Harley right outside my baby son's window from 11:30-12:00 at night tried blasting down our residential (read speed limit 25 miles-per-hour) street again tonight and I was outside so I tried my little theory of dashing out into the street in front of him. He slowed down and drove a very respectful speed the rest of the time he was on our block. Take back your streets and your neighborhoods, America!!! People need to be considerate and yet at the same time not completely passive.

Ow ow ow. My head hurts. You know it's bad when the only thing you can think about is Van Morrison's "Moondance," but with different words:

What a lov-e-ly night for a Migraine
My head hurts so much I think it might pop
I've become extremely photo-sen-si-tive
My head hurts so much, Dear Lord make it stop.
Ow ow owwwwww-ow-ow-ow. Ow ow owwwwww-ow-ow-ow.... etc.

Maybe it's a tumor?

Happy Co-Dependence Day, everyone!!! Think you've got rights? Buy one of these and find out!
(I've got mine! It's really nice -- Amendment IV is highlighted (that's the whole point)! It bends a bit to conform to the shape of one's cheek when put into one's wallet, however. But it does cut one mean tomato!).

I've just stumbled through (down into, across?) the rabbit hole and have come across Mark Shea's Weblog. Long a fan of Catholic Exchange I knew it existed, just never bothered to check it out. Shame on me. This is just one tiny arc of the Catholic weblog circuit, of course, which just may instill in me the belief that weblogs are more than just for narcissistic weenies who can't spell (don't judge me!).

It may even engender a newfound interest in doing a weblog and doing it right (might have to activate The Censer or even -- gasp! -- System193.NET!!! More on that to follow).

Well, here's something I was going to post on Voice of the Rabble Faithful but they are (perhaps wisely) not accepting new lusers on their message boards.

(I was going to be a lot more vulgar and less-prophetic but they, also wisely, censor their posts).

Change the Church, Lose the Faith

Check this out.

What is the Church? Is the Church a plum, a prize, or a power to be purchased (eg. generally any municipality and its subjects), plundered (eg. Hamburgler and McDonald's Hamburgers), or co-opted (eg. VOTF and the Church) -- the font of Truth which bestows upon those who control it some sort of supernatural authority, Holy underwrit? Or is the Church instead an organism, the most perfect of all organisms: the Body of Christ? Think about this for a moment.

Then consider: the one thing upon which intelligent design theorists and natural selection theorists seem to agree (to this layperson) whether or not as much is stated by them is that when discussing an organism (whether it be an animal, an organ, or an automobile) is that the form or shape of an organism follows or is dependent upon its function.

Now: whether you hold to natural selection theory or intelligent design theory (it is indeed a shame that no evidence could ever be admitted to support either) consider the ogranism which is the Body of Christ. Her present hierarchy, Her form, can then be explained one of two ways: She is either the result of some sort of socio/political natural selection or else She is the the product, the creation of some intelligent designer. Third explanation: She is like unto Jazz and Her form is Art.

So this is very interesting: if She be the result of a process of natural selection, She can only be changed through some sort of overcoming, a Foucaultian power struggle, an existentially violent cage match (if you will). If VOTF is successful in changing the Church, changing Her form through such means, the function of the Church -- rightly called the Faith -- will no longer remain intact. One cannot switch about the structure of all of those incomprehensible doodads underneath the hood of one's automobile or recklessly rearrange or the structure of one's heart or liver and expect any of the above to work. So too: in changing the form of the Church through co-opting Her teachings or Her earthly power one will instead distort, malform, and otherwise render inoperable the Faith. Your mission will have failed, the Faith will have been lost.

But now, consider the alternative : that Her form, The Church, Christ's Body, is the product of some intelligent design. Now: consider the Deisgner.

Now think: could anyone who attempts to violate and warp the form set forth by the Designer Himself ever really hope to succeed?

ps. IMHO -- It seems a bit presumtive for ANY organization to refer to themselves as the Voice Of The Faithful (implying that apart from their agenda the faithful have no voice). Perhaps VOTMR (Voice Of The Misguided Rabble) would be a monniker more apt?


Update: Maybe VOTF is too easy of a target? Maybe so if they didn't appear to be so heavily funded and have so many members.

No blog updates in 20 days!!!

And I realize that there are some people checking this page from time to time -- to all of you I apologize for not updating this thing on a more regular basis.

I just haven't had much to say, lately... not much which would interest anyone (this is in itself, I realize, not very interesting).

But stick around... the ol' creative bean will start to churn and tick once again.

This is pretty cool. This guy tracked down his own stolen car.. using his Sprint PCS phone.

The Best Movie Review I've Ever Read... and you don't have to even read the second part. This is high-larious.. because it's so darn true.

Families of 11 dead illegals to sue U.S.

"The families of 11 immigrants who died illegally crossing into Arizona from Mexico have filed a $41 million claim against two federal agencies, saying the government's refusal to put water out in the desert contributed to the migrants' deaths.
....
"Attorneys for survivors of the deceased said that U.S. Border Patrol policies had shut down more populous portions of the Arizona border and forced illegal aliens to enter through more remote areas."

Full Text of Note Left With Mail Bombs
I'm here to help you realize/ understand that you will live
no matter what! It is up to you people to open your hearts
and minds. There is no such thing as death. The people I've
dismissed from this reality are not at all dead.


This is crap.

eBunintheOven.com

How did these people survive the big dot-com implosion?

Well, well, well... by my watch it's been quite some time since I've posted here. For those of you keeping score, I'm working on a screenplay adaptation of my novel, reworking large portions of it to make it a much more worthy screen story. I wholeheartedly recommend the book "Story," by McKee (forgot his first name, sorry) to anyone even considering writing a screenplay -- even if you're just doing it as an intellectual exercise, as I am.