Marcal's profileroundwoundsoundPhotosBlogGuestbookMore  |  Tools Help |
|
January 23 Sunrise in the NorthwestFunny how a simple sunrise can put your life into perspective.
The past three days have been very cold due to an icy cold front blowing down from the Arctic. Consequently, the weather has been dry and sunny. This combination of clear sky and chilly temperatures makes for some stunning early morning vistas. I sit on the top floor of my office building, on the east side, right next to the windows. My new schedule has me getting here before 7:00, and it has really paid dividends. There is nothing quite like watching the horizon in layers of color slowly give way to the bright sun coming up over the Cascade mountains. I'll try to get a picture for y'all some time. It is a daily reminder that not only is Someone Else in charge here, but none of the work I do matters a hill of beans in the grand scheme.
January 21 Donate to Fred!Fred Thompson is running solidly in third place right now. However, third isn't good enough, as you well know. Contributing will greatly benefit his campaign in the coming weeks as the shift changes to Florida, a very expensive media market. Anything helps, and no amount is too little. Go Fred!
January 02 Happy New YearTo those who read my blog, which so far is one, my apologies for being so woefully delayed in posting entries. I hope the new year brings a renew commitment to bring you the latest news, opinion, politics, and culture issues as I see them.
More to come. Take care. November 26 Cold TurkeyPost-vacation blues... I always feel let down after I come back from vacation, no matter where I might have gone. It's partly because I have to get back into my work routine, and all its accompanying stress, and partly because I had such a good time on vacation that I don't want to let go of it. Am I alone on this? We spent the last week in Missouri visiting family. It was a really good time, and we had about 20 people show up for Thanksgiving dinner. The spread was truly stupendous - potatoes of all variety, an enormous bird, twenty (count 'em) pounds of pig, vegetables of every sort, and iced tea by the gallon. Of course, for dessert there were cakes, pies, two kinds of fudge, bark, truffles, and coffee. Yes, my friends, it was a true feast, in every sense of the word. If you're family and you weren't there, we missed you. I hope you can make it next year. If you're not family and weren't there, we missed you, too! October 27 The Ghost of GurdenIn the spring of '03, while still attending Harding, my friends Jake and Jon and I decided to go check out this ghost for ourselves, having been told the story of the railway worker killed on the tracks, forever haunting the site in search of his head! We signed out for the night and hit the road on a very chilly night. Upon arriving in Gurden, we searched in vain for the right railroad track. After a while, we were stopped by a friendly police officer who must have noticed we were lost. When we told him where we wer going, he casually pointed us in the right direction, like he was giving us directions to the hardware store. When we found the track, we grabbed our coats, grabbed our flashlights, and one of my friends grabbed a, um, defensive weapon, shall we say, and we headed out.
The night was completely cloudless, and the moon was shining bright. It was also really, really cold! We walked along the track, long since abandoned, which only added to the trepidation I was already beginning to feel. Nevertheless, we soldiered on, probably a half mile or so. I can't begin to tell you how unnerving it is to walk along an old train track, through the middle of the woods, with nothing to defend myself but a pocket knife. To further complicate things, this same friend who was packing also thought it would be cool to bring along a white candle, which he told us attracts ghosts. My other friend and I quickly vetoed that idea. I knew I'd see enough without luminescent assistance.
We finally stopped to see what we could see. About a half mile down the tracks, plain as day, was a distant figure dancing on the track. I was terrified at this point, but stuck it out since my friends were with me. As we continued watching, the figure started coming closer! After a while we realized it wasn't really a ghost, per se, but more like spook lights, which you can read about here. http://www.legendsofamerica.com/MO-Spooklight.html (I've seen these lights, and they can be quite unnerving, especially when they're dancing on the hood of your car!)
Anyway, the longer we watched, the more the figure danced. First one solid light, then two, leaping and flying around in the air, landing again on the tracks. We were starting to enjoy the show, but then we realized it was coming closer, and closer, and closer! Finally, we decided to head back to the car, just as it was approaching us from less than 50 yards. When we looked back, it was gone.
Looking back, the ghost of Gurden was neither ghostly nor scary. Someday when I get back to Harding, I plan to take that two hour drive down I-30, take the Gurden exit, and drive about 10 miles into town. If I'm lucky I'll run into to that officer again.
In reality, this story really isn't all the scary. A little sad, even. Linked below is a collection of eyewitness accounts of the "ghost" of Gurden, AR. As you'll see, these accounts are nearly identical to my ours. Enjoy.
June 08 Waltrip Watch - PoconoAfter qualifying in the back, running in the back, and finishing mid-pack last week at Dover, Waltrip headed off to Pocono. See his name on the lineup? No? Look farther down. Keep going...keep going...there - 44th. This brings Waltrip's abysmal record to 2/14. For you stick-and-ball types, Waltrip is batting a .143, and other than Dover, hasn't started a race since Daytona (the All-Star doesn't count as a race, if you ask me). Speaking of, why is that he even made the All-Star? 2 starts in 14 races isn't exactly stellar. His teammates Dale Jarrett and Jeremy Mayfield also failed to qualify again, leaving the rookie A.J. Allmendinger, the inexperienced David Reutimann, Dave Blaney, and Brian Vickers to carry the Toyota mantel. June 07 Only in SeattleStanding at the bus stop this morning, minding my own business, I catch a whiff of a woman's perfume. Not a good perfume, I might add. I look for the source and what do I see? A MAN - with long, curly hair, tight jeans, and makeup. Oh, and the perfume. His Roman nose was big enough to paddle a canoe, and the makeup wasn't hiding his stubble very well. His extensions notwithstanding, what was really annoying was the way he/she constantly was flipping his/her hair back and playing with it. Like I said, only in Seattle. June 06 Pinups Slated for De-PinningPolitical correctness will be the death of western society.
Warning - this comes with a PG-13/R rating.
Eisenhower's Order of the DayI have to wonder how the mainstream media would cover this monumental, seminal event. Thanks to the men who survived to defeat the German forces, and to those who didn't. We owe our very existence to the sacrifice of these modern-day heroes. Our hats off to you, gentlemen. RIP.
Eisenhower's Order of the Day before commencing Operation Overlord:
D-Day RemembranceMy Fellow Americans:
Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far. And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer: Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph. They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest — until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war. For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home. Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom. And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them — help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice. Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts. Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces. And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be. And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keeness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment — let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose. With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace — a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen. Franklin D. Roosevelt - June 6, 1944 June 04 Pearls of Wisdom"There's one fundamental reason to vote Republican: it's 2007, and the Democrats are debating whether there's a war on terror." -Rush Limbaugh Open Your EyesReagan couldn't have said it better. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18 June 01 Hillary Event Flunks Spelling BeeYou mean to tell me NO ONE in Silicon Valley ran spell check on this one? Come on, people! F7! How hard can it be? Perhaps this glaring error is just a symptom of a society infected with the disease called Apathy. I can't tell you how many times I've been given flak for pointing out obvious grammar and/or spelling errors. It started when I was in third grade, and hasn't let up since. Here's a link to the 100 most often misspelled words in English: please read this before tommorrow.
Applied Materials, Adobe, Seagate, Silicon Valley Leadership Group: congratulations! You can't spell! May 31 Feeling Nostalgic?
Check out this link sent to me this morning: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/special/ppcs/ppcs.html I was amazed to see many of the places I visited growing up. This plant was literally around the corner from grandma's house: My alma mater: this is one of those old buildings on the campus that no longer exists, but still holds a lot of sentimental value:
The Searcy Armory in Searcy, AR (where I went to school) was an important weapons storage facility from 1925 - 1949:
These are just a few of the gems I discovered this morning. Happy reminiscing! May 30 Who's in the mood for a little collectivism?Hillary in 2004 - This woman is dangerous. We Are All in It Together, Clinton Says: Financial News - Yahoo! FinanceWe Are All in It Together, Clinton Says: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070529/clinton_economy.html?.v=1 May 29 Auf Wiedersehen!http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/5/28/12530/1525 Cindy Sheehan, classy to the end, announced yesterday she is resigning her position as "the "face" of the anti-war movement." Like a lion in the throes of death she lashes out at everyone and anyone within striking distance, including her dead son, claiming "he really died for nothing." The Ft. Payne GospelOne of my favorite songs...
When It All Goes South - Alabama May 25 Remembrance?My question to 25% of Muslims living in the US - how do you like having a 3-day weekend, courtesy the US Armed Forces? Many of them died defending this country, the same country you would see bombed by the radical Jihadists. Tell me, if you can; how will YOU honor the fallen soldiers? Religion of peace? May 24 Another race, another DNFhttp://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/05/24/mwaltrip.tnorris.lowes/index.html
If you're even a casual NASCAR fan, you're familiar with this incredibly embarassing and shameful situation. Michael Waltrip has now failed to qualify for 10 of 11 races this year. He has not raced in a points race since the Daytona 500 in February.
Exit question; how long does NAPA put up with this abyssmal performance? |
|
|
