past history of a book

We are currently on a week-long holiday in Lincoln City, OR.

The other day we stopped in at a thrift store where I took a look through the various previously read (i.e. used) books.

In my searching of the shelves I came across one of those title-identified “Bathroom Reader” books (i.e. ‘Encylopedia of stuff to read on the toilet’ or something like that.)

Anyways… it was as I was thumbing through it’s pages it all of the sudden dawned on me (as if the title and the fact that the book was used should not have been enough of a clue) BUT it all of the sudden dawned on me as I was taking a gander at the book that “Hey… this book has been in someone elses bathroom.”

I stopped my looking-at of the book and reshelved it.

don’t stop me now

Me-thinks that what we need is LESS Elvis impersonators and MORE Freddie impersonators:

Or maybe not.

Okay, less Elvis impersonators… unless they are Elvis Costello impersonators, they’re okay.

fifteen

“Andy Warhol was wrong. In the future, people won’t be famous for fifteen minutes. No, in the future, everyone will sit next to some famous for at least fifteen minutes. ….” from the book ‘RANT’ by Chuck Palahniuk.

This quote makes me think. Hmmmm there might be something to this… even though I did a stint on radio, it did not make me famous (although I was known as “the nearly famous…”) yet I have been around people who drew a bit more media attention:

I have ridden in an elevator with Jesse Jackson and his entourage.
I have escorted Gary Ridgeway .
I have interacted with Kenneth Bianchi.

“….in the future, everyone will sit next to some famous (or perhaps infamous) for at least fifteen minutes…”

Who would you cite as your fifteen minutes of NEXT TO fame?

a quote from Wm. Shakespeare

props to Decline and Fall.

Sage Francis- ‘Makeshift Patriot’

What follows is a slideshow that was created using the song ‘Makeshift Patriot’ by Sage Francis. (please note that this slideshow, that I found on YouTube, was not created by Sage Francis)

For those who want a bit of background from the lyrical artist himself, a response of sorts to the question: “Just what is Sage Francis talking about?” Here is a clip of Sage France talking about ‘Makeshift Patriot.’

two Andrews

My wife and I have been blessed with 3hree children.

It is not uncommon for people to notice the uniqueness of their names–
Tansy (age 11) was named after the tansy plant.

Becket (age 9) named after Thomas a’ Becket

And Andrew (age 3).

The usual comment regarding our children’s names is: “Tansy, Becket, and Andrew? What happened with his name…? ” Understandably, implying that Andrew has a normal name.

But I dispel their inquirery by responding… “He is named after St. Andrew, the Fool for Christ.” That response usually is received with acceptance that though Andrew might be a normal name, the reason behind the name is unique enough to satisfy.

I share that story to say, today Saint Andrew, fool-for-Christ of Constantinople is commemorated today (Oct 2 on the Old School -aka: “Church calendar”).

Read the life of Saint Andrew, Fool-for-Christ here.

Saint Andrew, please pray to God for us all.

Troparion, Tone 4

Thou didst choose foolishness for the sake of Christ/ and didst make the crafty one foolish./ Thou didst persevere with thy struggle in the midst of turmoil,/ and Christ has brought thee to paradise./ Intercede with Him, O Andrew for those who honor thee.

Many years to you my little gromit!!

Tabasco and the Cold War

I enjoy an entertaining conspiracy theory, the more creative the concept behind it the better.

One that I found creative was one that a man at work shared with me how the April 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was a reprisal for the March 1995 Tokyo City subway sarin gas bombing…. I said it was creative.

And so it is not to amazing that I when I came across the following blurb on a website, that was giving ideas for keeping animals out of a person’s garden, it triggered my curiosity:

Try tabasco……it keeps all animals far away from area…the CIA used it to keep animals away from there top secret drop sites during the cold war….they spent millions and found tabasco did the job.

I attempted to find a supporting statement somewhere online, but with no success. So I decided to write the Tabasco company and ask him about this as I figured this was a part of their product history and they would know. Their response was positive, but a smidgeon vague:

I’ve also heard this story; in fact, there is a spy-related documentary that aired on the History Channel (or one of those types of channels) that mentions this use of our product. Unfortunately, I can’t recall the name of the program offhand.

In the words from The X-files “The truth is out there.”

it appears that “the revolution” will be a profit making venture

40 years ago today Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, icon for some neo-wannabe-revolutionaries who seem to know nothing more about him than maybe the title of one of his books ‘Guerilla Warfare’, was killed in Bolivia.

The irony of Che’s life is, as my friend Matthew points out: “Yes, and now all the Capitalist are laughing to the bank with his merchandise sales.”

Don’t agree???
Does this imagery look familiar:

Ca-ching… “Will that be cash or charge?”

————

On a different Che-related note… For those who want to see an interesting film about Ernesto, before he became the “Che” I encourage you to watch ‘The Motorcycle Diaries.’ It has been a while since I have seen the film; but it gives some insight into how how Ernesto Guevara’s compassion and social conscience were developed.

Having seen the film, I cannot help but wonder how Ernesto’s life would have been different had he come to Christ; if his compassion had been nutured and fed by the Gospels and in the Holy Orthodox Church with her Sacraments and spiritual medicines.

worth more dead or alive?

Except for the fact that I am aware that my life-insurance would pay off the house if I were to die, I have confirmed that I am worth more (in dollars and cents) alive than dead –good to know.

According to ‘The Cadaver Calculator’ my corpse would be worth a whopping $3520.00

The way I figure it, that works out to about $9.65 a day for 1 year.
I guess I need to take better care of myself.

But the dead can teach us something; something worth more than money, as is evident from the following story from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers:

A brother came to see Abba Macarius the Egyptian, and said to him, “Abba, give me a word, that I may be saved.” So the old man said, “Go to the cemetery and abuse the dead.” The brother went there, abused them and threw stones at them; then he returned and told the old man about it. The latter said to him, “Didn’t they say anything to you?” He replied, “No.”

The old man said, “Go back tomorrow and praise them.” So the brother went away and praised them, calling them, “Apostles, saints, and righteous men.” He returned to the old man and said to him, “Did they not answer you?” The brother said, “No.”

The old man said to him, “You know how you insulted them and they did not reply, and how you praised them and they did not speak; so you too, if you wish to be saved, must do the same and become a dead man. Like the dead, take no account of either the scorn of men or their praises, and you can be saved.”

rhymes with duped

This post is a bit… earthy. You have been warned.

We are trying to teach Andrew, our 3 year old, to use the toilet. Unlike his older siblings when they were his age, he has no real desire. The way I see it, he has figured out that he can go to the bathroom and have his diaper changed all while watching his favorite TV show. For him it is a win/win situation.

So my dear wife has come up with a plan to get him using the toilet– the bribe.

Every time Andrew uses the toilet and actually goes to the bathroom he can choose a prize. Nothing big, but then when you are three it does not always take much to dazzle you.

So one day while Andrew was on the toilet he farted, and with that fart came a… nugget. Now is accidentially going the bathroom actually going the bathroom??? My wife says that Andrew got her on a technicality; I just find it humerous that she got played by a 3 year old.