Recent paintings

So, where are they?
One was too awful and the next one was too big to scan. I have no digital camera. Today and yesterday my only painting was stenciling around a room at my mom's house. It looks great!
This is another doodle from last August.
Watercolor pencil again.

Just Click It!

"God is not at all invested in the church's isolated and mediocre projects."

I love this article by Barbara Nicolosi.
Another quote:
"As a talented filmmaker who is a devout Christian, Mel Gibson is absolutely an anomaly in Hollywood at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The reason for this comes down to the fact that artists who have talent and mastery of the craft very rarely believe in Christ, and that Christians who have any kind of mature faith very rarely have the passion, perseverance, and professionalism to succeed in the entertainment business.
It's not that Christians aren't making stabs at moviemaking and television production. It's that most of these efforts come to naught because our fears and misconceptions have us standing on the sidelines, cursing and boycotting and begging for favors from the pagans who have paid their dues and have the power to green-light stories for the screen."

Adapted from a chapter in Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and Culture (Baker Books), edited by Spencer Lewerenz and Barbara Nicolosi.

September 2005

10x7 watercolor and pen.

Process

I enjoy the process of creating something too much maybe. I need to appreciate finishing things too. In the same way, I enjoy the relationship I have with God, but need to also look to the goal of being more Christlike, and taking the steps needed to get there. Fortunately, that does not exclude the relationship part, but is dependent on it.

Bananas 03/14/06

This one took longer. 4x6. Not quite right but again, at least I painted.

Carnations and Status 03/13/06

45 minute sketch

I Miss the Dr. Who Series

I really like the 4th Doctor best (Tom Baker) but would love to catch up with the series as it is today as well. Click blog title to see where they're at now. It will be on SciFi starting March 17th.
Two of my favorite episodes is the giant rats and the one where they are trapped in a time cycle on a boat. What about you?

Me and My Cuz

© Photo by David G. Dinger

Two Drawings

The first one is a small watercolor pencil done in August. The second is what I did to it in Photoshop tonight.

This was my backyard

...and I say it always will be. It is part of the park system. Before we lived there a lady with the last name Mills was on the land. Prior to that, it was owned by the Battles family.
It had several buildings: our house, this horsebarn, a chicken coop, a deluxe outhouse, a shed, a pigsty and another shed way in the back. There were fields of daffodils, apple trees, plum trees, pears, blackberries, black raspberries, a natural spring, several waterfalls, deer, pheasant, quail, hawks, owls, geese, ducks, beaver, groundhogs, chipmunks, racoons and more. One year the ranger stopped by and gave us a baby racoon. Someone found the babies in the middle of a mall parking lot, and assumed their parent was killed. They delivered them to the park naturalists. We helped raise "Toony" and kept him in a rabbit cage in back of the house. As he got a little bigger, we simply left the cage open and Toony would climb trees and make some trips out to the woods. It was always cool to wake up and walk outside and look up in the huge maple and see his little pointy face sticking out from behind a Y in the tree. After awhile, we did not see him much, but we knew when it was him if he stopped by. He eventually got hit by a car after a couple years. It was a terrible first experience with death for a young teen. I always think of heaven as a place where I never have to worry about such things. I wish we could all just ride horses or walk and keep life more simple.
Anyhow, it was still a fantastic place to grow up after living my first 8 years on the West Side. Of course, I loved that, too, but that is for another post.

Space

Today I started to move anything graphic-design and computer-related out of my studio/office. I am going to attempt to set up my Design studio at my mom's house instead of here at my own. There are just too many things to be distracted by at home. If it does not work this time, I can just can all that stuff.
Here at home I will just have my art and craft stuff at home. Once all that other stuff [pressure] is out of there [ah! a cleansing!] I will have more space to actually work on my artwork instead of moving things just to find a surface area.
I already gave a bunch of stuff away to an artist who still had her Christmas tree up in January-- not so unusual, except it was from the year previous... And she should have a baby any minute. In any case, she still makes more stuff than I have lately, so God bless her, the stuff and her new baby.
I have enough stock photos to paper my house, inside and out.
I gave away all the Fimo and Sculpy that has been sitting in a Tuppeware breadbox for at least 10 years now. Some round boxes I have had on hand for about 6 years now, intending to paint them. Birdhouses, beads, and I am not sure what else.
I think I have 4 Macs and a PC. I will consolidate them if I can figure out how.
And maybe we will take in our niece's 3 kids after she runs out of money. I hope I can make some too, so we don't all end up on the street.
Anyways, I am hopeful. After all, Spring is less than 3 weeks away. That means probably only 2 or 3 more big storms (which, honestly, I kind of miss) and then lots of rain and wind. Good time to be indoors making artwork in my new spaces.

I made this last August

OUI!!!

One of My Top Ten Favorite Movies

Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
Opening by Narrator:
"On September 3rd 1973, at 6:28pm and 32 seconds, a bluebottle fly capable of 14,670 wing beats a minute landed on Rue St Vincent, Montmartre. At the same moment, on a restaurant terrace nearby, the wind magically made two glasses dance unseen on a tablecloth. Meanwhile, in a 5th-floor flat, 28 Avenue Trudaine, Paris 9, returning from his best friend's funeral, Eugène Colère erased his name from his address book. At the same moment, a sperm with one X chromosome, belonging to Raphaël Poulain, made a dash for an egg in his wife Amandine. Nine months later, Amélie Poulain was born. "

I Just Love the Little Red Monster

And there is a website for people like us, thank goodness!

Sing it

Click Here for a Great Website

I can see why this won several awards-- it's fantastic! The black & white cartoons are all worth going thru (click on "See It In Action"). As far as the ads, I would say the Extreme Nurses win against the Electromagnetic Navigators, the Egyptian Navigators, the Envious Nomads and the Encouraging Norwegians, although it's a tough call! ...and the Matadors are great!

Is My Driving Okay?

I have an interview on Monday.

Darwin's Nightmare

"In the Eastern Congo alone, the casualties of war on each single day
equal the number of deaths of September 11th in New York."

"Some time in the 1960's, in the heart of Africa, a new animal was introduced into Lake Victoria as a little scientific experiment. The Nile Perch, a voracious predator, extinguished almost the entire stock of the native fish species. However, the new fish multiplied so fast, that its white fillets are today exported all around the world.
Huge hulking ex-Soviet cargo planes come daily to collect the latest catch in exchange for their southbound cargo… Kalashnikovs and ammunitions for the uncounted wars in the dark center of the continent.
This booming multinational industry of fish and weapons has created an ungodly globalized alliance on the shores of the world’s biggest tropical lake: an army of local fishermen, World bank agents, homeless children, African ministers, EU-commissioners, Tanzanian prostitutes and Russian pilots."
- From the Website, Darwin's Nightmare

You can see this film in Cleveland on Friday, Feb. 10th, 7:30 or Saturday, Feb. 11th at 9:30 at the Cinematheque at CIA.

I am SO ready to go to this museum and camp out!

Harleywannabe

Didja Ever Make Funny Faces and Then Have Your Housemate, Photographer, Artist Friend Shoot a Picture?

I did, and I was too lazy first time around to tell you that her name is Cindy Pacura Steffen and she also took photos of flattened Pepsi cans I found in the art school parking lot. Her blog is viewable here.Did I ever think anyone was looking at my blog? Now I know!

The Other, Good Side, of a "Book of Daniel" kind of story

Here we have love and consideration instead of knee-jerk reactions to a situation where Christian film producers hired a gay man for the lead role without knowing it. Click the title link to read the story.

Torture

5 Reasons Torture is always Wrong
And why there should be no exceptions.
by David P. Gushee
Click title link to read the whole article.
I am a little lazy this morning and don't have time to fix my tags...

"Now it is time to raise our voice and say an unequivocal no to torture, a practice that has no place in our society and violates our most cherished moral convictions."
David P. Gushee is professor of moral philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee,

I could not agree more with the article above. I am taken-aback by people I know and love stating that someone ought to be tortured since "they would have done it to us!"

But then we have all-American movies to encourage us to be hardened to it, like Quentin Tarantino's Hostel.

"Hostel is about three hedonistic fools who indulge in all manner of unethical pleasures until they find themselves trapped in a game where others fulfill their own appetites for cruelty by torturing human beings and killing them in slow and grisly ways—decapitations, throats slit, heads smashed in, digits being cut off and body parts diced and tossed into a furnace, point-blank shootings, eyes being pulled from sockets, flesh drilled full of holes, a person throwing herself in front of a train, and more. It seems designed to delight people who share the unhealthy appetites of the movie's villains."

"Guess what? Hostel is also the No. 1 film in America, tops at the box office. That means we're bound to see a lot more of this kind of thing over the next few years, in which other movies try to outdo Hostel—and the two Saw movies—with increasingly intense and explicit violence."
Read the rest of the article at http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/hostel.html

And we are ENTERTAINED BY THIS?
What is wrong with people???

About Tarantino, in case you don't know his style
"Tarantino's story - raised by his mother in Los Angeles and Tennessee, he became obsessed with low-budget potboilers and exploitation films in his teens and worked in a California video store - has become the stuff of legend. A generation of fans can recite the events of Tarantino's life as though they were Davy Crockett yarning about his backwoods encounters with grizzly bears.

What made Tarantino significant as a filmmaker was that he had the audacity to create an unusual new kind of modern movie from the dismembered pieces of old genres. As he did so, he hit filmgoers squarely between the eyes at a moment when they were hungry for something unique - yet oddly familiar."
Read the rest of the article by HENRY CABOT BECK: http://www.nydailynews.com/10-05-2003/entertainment/movies/story/123288p-110734c.html:

The weird thing is, I bet you anything if I met QT, I would like him. I have this feeling he would be harmless fun to hang out with or talk to. My husband even saw "Kill Bill" and "Pulp Fiction" and I understand QT's writing would hold up fine with no violence, but I am sorry-- I am against anything that hardens our sensibilities to any kind of harm. Yes, that would include the military service, but that is another blog, isn't it?

Jon Stewart Defends Mega-Churches?

Kim finds an interesting conversation on The Daily Show.
Click title-link.

Update on Teenager

Well, my 'son has been into something new, but old. He and his sibs drew and painted quite a bit when they were little, but not as much now. He changed that when he recently started reading and working from an Anime book, how to draw it, that is, and he comes home with at least a drawing a day now! And they are NOT BAD! He's turned out more artwork this year than I did all the last 3, and I am the one labeled "artist" in my house. I am proud of him. You can see more of his work by clicking the title link.

I Just Love The Reverend Al Green, My Brother in Christ

I got nothin' to say except that I never get tired of hearing his music and his thoughts.

Instant Twanswations

The Dialecticizer, by Rinkworks, has been one of my favorite fun tools for years. It can take any phrase, such as, "Gene, it's about time you got up for your exam, since it starts in half an hour!" and converts it into
(1) Redneck: "June, it's about time yo' got up fo' yer exam, on account o' it starts in ha'f an hour!"
(2) Jive: "Gene, it's about time ya' gots down fo' yo' 'esam, since it starts in half an hour! Right on!"
(3) Cockney: "Gene, it's about time yer got up for yor exam, since it starts in 'alf an 'our! Right!"
(4) Elmer Fudd: (my personal favorite) "Gene, it's about time you got up fow youw exam, since it stawts in hawf an houw!"
(5) Swedish Chef: "Gene-a, it's ebuoot teeme-a yuoo gut up fur yuoor ixem, seence-a it sterts in helff un huoor!"
(6) Moron: "Gene, uh uh uh, it's bou' time you got up f' your exam, siss it starts in half an hour! Doihh!"
(7) Pig Latin: "Enegay, it'syay aboutyay imetay youay otgay upyay orfay youray examyay, incesay ityay artsstay inyay alfhay anyay ourhay!"
and
(8) Hacker: "gene,, it"z about time ypou got up fro yor exam, snice it starts In 4hlf aN HOur!!!!!!!1 AACX)R OYUUUuUUU bceauiz you arfe lame"
I usually stick with #4 & #5.
You can do entire paragraphs.
Here's one from an anti-walmart page:
Original: "Wal-Mart has become much more than just a small corner store in rural America. In the past 10 years, Wal-Mart has grown into the largest retailer in the world -- number 1 among the Fortune 500 -- and is America's largest employer. With more than 1.4 million employees and over $10 billion in profits, Wal-Mart is a giant company with giant responsibilities. First and foremost, Wal-Mart has a responsibility to all Americans to set the standard for customers, workers and communities, and to help build a better America."
And converted for you to Elmer Fudd (funniest when read aloud):
"Waw-Mawt has become much mowe than just a smaww cownew stowe in wuwaw Amewica. In the past 10 yeaws, Waw-Mawt has gwown into the wawgest wetaiwew in the wowwd -- numbew 1 among the Fowtune 500 -- and is Amewica's wawgest empwoyew. Wif mowe than 1.4 miwwion empwoyees and ovew $10 biwwion in pwofits, Waw-Mawt is a giant company wif giant wesponsibiwities. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit! Fiwst and fowemost, Waw-Mawt has a wesponsibiwity to aww Amewicans to set the standawd fow customews, wowkews and communities, and to hewp buiwd a bettew Amewica."

They also let you enter a URL and it will convert the text on the website to the language as well.

If you've read this whole thing and laughed, great-- Boot yuoo prubebly hefe-a vey tuu mooch teeme-a oon yuoor hunds. Um gesh dee bork, bork!

How Do You Show You Love Someone? How Do You Know You Are Loved?

I have a friend from Ohio U, Keith Wasserman*, who always signs his letters with the words "Love is a Verb." He's done this for as long as I've known him.
In youth group we used to sing a song called "Love is Something You Do" (It's not always something that you feel, but it's real).
One of my favorite popular Lists is Dr. Gary Chapman's Five Love Languages, where you ask yourself which language you like to use when you express love, ("1. Words of Affirmation; 2. Receiving Gifts; 3. Quality Time; 4. Acts of Service; 5. Physical Touch") thus finding out how you would best recognize love being communicated from others. I even bought the "teenager" version of the book, because I really want to figure out how my teenager shows love by being absent, and how I can effectively communicate love back to him as a stepmom. When kids just hide in their rooms all the time and stay online, it is hard to know what they think, who they are or what they like any more. (If our house was bigger, I would never have let the computer go into his bedroom.) When they do come out of their caves and they are either snippy or wordless, it is not exactly a visit where you feel you've connected. It leaves me feeling that either there is something I am doing wrong to bug him, something I am too aware of that will bug him because he feels guilty, or usually, just a dry, empty feeling that I no longer have a 'son.
Good thing he is 18. I know that it explains most of the problem.
God bless him.
* If you clicked on Keith Wasserman, when you get to the Good Works site then click on "What We Do" in the left-hand column. You will see a link to his story, his ministry to the homeless in Southeast Ohio and lots of other great things on that site. His page was in Frames so I could not link you right to him.

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Ben and Melody Pahlow, just regular people, unemployed with 4 kids, started Global Family Rescue after hearing their neighbor's stories of his life in Rwanda during the mass genocide. They set it up so you can change lives for whole families.

Carmen

I have now surpassed Carmen Miranda's age when she died of a heart attack. She was an amazing artist, full of incredible energy and creativity. Did you know she designed those outfits herself? If you haven't sat down for a Carmen Miranda Marathon, you owe it to your funny bone to do so, ending with (or should you start with?) the very strange and wonderful The Gang's All Here. I just love her.

What is Wrong with this Picture???

Hatt-Baby!

Yay! I found it! I almost thought it was gone forever! Don't bother if you are on dialup...
Paste it into your browser; it does not seem to like being a link for some reason.
http://www.nata2.info/humor/flash/hatten.swf

My Take on the Daniel Thing

My pastor woke up to a radio report on the controversy on The Book of Daniel, a new show on NBC. He blogged about his own frustrations with Chrisitans and cultural reactions, which you can read in his own words here.
Well, we watched it, figuring we would probably like it. We saw no problem with the idea of Jesus being there for people, real problems being shown, and all that kind of thing. We actually kind of liked it for the first 20 minutes or so. After a few problems, habits, secrets and so forth were presented, we were rather prepared for some resolution, including some good insight from the "special guest," Jesus. Thing is, as nice as Jesus was on the show, and as much as the words and ways he said his words were right on, no one seemed to be all that affected by them. His "presence" on the show was more like Tinkerbelle or Jiminy Cricket or a fuzzy teddy bear to carry around. No one seemed to talk about any of their problems except for the gay son, and no one seemed to have any kind of conscience or guilt. There was very little kindness from anyone, but Jesus, the Pastor, and Peter, either. After awhile, it just got to be a parade of one escape route (ie: booze, pills, sex, computers, sex, adultery, theft, drug use, etc.) after another, which was so ridiculous (and kinda boring). Nothing really drew you in long enough to be interested. Rather than showing some creative way of dealing with real problems, it seemed to say nothing matters and no one is ever really honest. Well done, but shallow and ultimately irritating content. We don't even get a chance to know any of the characters except the priest, a little bit.
I have to give it some thought, but those are my initial reactions. We won't worry about missing it. If I want to watch something like this, I would rather see Desperate Housewives.

Aslan & Hobbes

A wonderful article about promotion/production of commerical junk: Christianity Today: Tale of Two Kitties.
"I don't want some animation studio giving Hobbes an actor's voice, and I don't want some greeting card company using Calvin to wish people a happy anniversary, and I don't want the issue of Hobbes's reality settled by a doll manufacturer. When everything fun and magical is turned into something for sale, the strip's world is diminished."
Bill Waterson, Creator of Calvin & Hobbes

Why Don't You Get Some Art on Your Walls?

My friend Linda is a muralist, faux painter as well as a portrait artist. Would you consider getting your walls painted? She is not booked up at the moment, so now is your chance!
Linda Zolten-Wood

Paper Flowers

BBC: "Mexico's government has welcomed a nationwide political tour by the Zapatista rebel movement, saying it will boost the county's democracy."
I have so much to learn. Pray for Mexico's people.

What's a Stepmother to Do?

Okay, I have a sleeping teen. I know that is not all that unusual, but c'mon, it is 1:20 pm.
My 'son (He's my stepson, but I will call him 'son for short; he DOES have a mother) came to live with us suddenly when he was 12-going-on-13, in the month of March, as he was in sixth grade (painful enough in itself). He went through a lot of emotional pain, got himself sick with it and missed a lot of school the first year with us. After that, I think he decided he could not afford to screw up school on account of someone else's craziness, so he focused on saving the justice system that caused all this. He went through the normal gawkiness, schoolkid cruelty and friend-making stuff for that age, and by the time he was in High School, he was pretty much focused on being an honor student and a senator or something. This all went along swimmingly for a few years, gaining trophies and certificates and getting to school early every day, ignoring girls and playing strategy games on the computer. Since he has a "curse" of winning most games he plays, I think things were going fine, until June of this year, when he attended a convention put on by the American Legion. There, he had to wheel and deal for Mayoral positions and offices and such. This wheeling and dealing did not go well; he learned he did not like it at all. All political aspirations went down the tubes.
Now, let me tell you, we did not steer him towards "politics." We had to tell him early on, not to tell people he wanted to be a "politician," but to say he wanted to work for Government. He dressed up in a suit and tie for church, while we were dressed quite casually. He is "clock" person, always wanting to know what time things are and he is rarely late, if ever.
Ever since he turned 18 this year, he has changed his persona probably about 3 times. After this experience with the Boy's State, he started working out, slimmed down, got a cell phone and started becoming interested in dating, really interested. He was interested in his TAN. Yikes! Then, he went out to Kansas to visit his mother, brother and sister for the first time since she took off with his siblings in 2001. He could show himself to be an honor student with a healthy bod and a cell phone. He was OKAY. Then he got back home and had no idea who he was anymore.
At this point, he stays up all night online with people we've never met (who knows if he has either?) and sleeps way, way, way too much. He decided he is not so smart and even wanted to just quietly go to a Kansas community college. (He's moved on from this idea, thankfully) He does not come downstairs much and hardly eats. Descriptions like this are usually ones that go with Drug Use, but that is not it; I think it's Depression. My sister, who's worked with youth for years says it is normal. Normal is one thing, but how about healthy? What do I do for him? So far, I feel what I can do is to continue to invade his space (lightly, with respect), pray for him, involve him as much as possible, keep checking on him and asking him how he is, but I feel like I need to do more.

Willow Creeker, Bono Pro/Con, Scary Christians, etc.

I just like so much on this blog (http://ktrayn78.blogspot.com/), I had to share it with you. I especially love the pickup from The Situation (Nice to see Christianity still scares (Tucker Carlson)) and of course, anyone who quotes Annie Dillard is a friend of mine.

This Year was Different

Even though so many things are still on my to-do list, things that have been on the list for years, there are some things that actually came out different. On the other hand, the reason things were different this year probably had more to do with circumstance and blessing, rather than anything I did.
- I worked outside (that is, I was employed outside) this spring, got to work in the sunshine and rain, with plants. If I could work outside most of the time it would be great.
- Life is really different now, since my dad left this world for the next one. I am not sure this has really come home to me yet, but I can tell you I sure miss talking to him and sitting at the breakfast table telling funny stories.
- I re-met two people this year. I met them and conversed with them for awhile before we realized we were classmates 30 years ago. It is so cool to see them today.
- I revamped my portfolio and resume a couple times, and actually feel much better about both.
- I made Christmas dinner. We had a party the day after that, too.
- I got out of town for a week.
- I had the best garden ever.
- My stepson is finally acting more his age (he had been acting much older than he is).
- I did more writing.
more when I think of it...

I know I've seen that coffee drinker before somewhere

I am so good at wasting time...
Click the link to pimp your own nutcracker.

Expectations

I have a recurring seasonal problem. In the spring, it happens right after Easter when drug stores push out all their pastel-wrapped candy and mass-produced "Welcome Spring" junk and replace it with extremely bright plasticware for your poolside parties and backyard barbecues. The illusion is that I will, by the time it is appropriate to use such things (yet a few months off in Cleveland), be slim, tan and sitting by the pool with my nails done and my cute children splashing nearby. This, of course, never happens. I am lucky if I even get to the pool more than twice and I don't have kids anyhow.
While I am realizing with sorrow that I did not have the summer of my expectations, spending the last few minutes of Labor Day at a pool somewhere, and doing my nails, the stores are already starting to stock their shelves with Fall Items. This would include lots of overpriced chunks of wax that smell like apple pie or caramel cookies and more mass-produced wreaths, this time with the word "Fall" stuck on in chunky wooden letters painted by people who do not speak English. I ignore most of this blather, knowing that in just a few weeks, the Christmas stuff will be on the shelves.
I approach this with caution, but it still sucks me in anyhow, and I let it happen. I shop alone, slowly walking through the quiet aisles, knowing that only a few of us are looking at this stuff yet. I want to see what the new thing is and try to remember what i have in storage. The vision I have is to actually be "ahead of the game this year" and have my cards go out on the day after Thanksgiving, have a party the second weekend of December and have plenty of extremely beautiful cookies baked, ready to eat and share. Hopes of this continue until around... NOW.
It is December 21st. The house is very decorated, very OVER-decorated. I have a Santa Station, a Silver and Gold window sill, a Rudolph Shelf, Snowman Center, Country Christmas Corner and, of course, a Nativity Scene. Outside are blinky lights, a wreath, 2 inflatables and some peppermint candies. No one drops by to see such things, but I enjoy them as do some of my family members and my niece and nephews.
But, that is it. We've only bought one gift, I just got my new oven so I did not start baking yet, I am excited about having company on Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day, but I am stressed about not being ready, so I am burning out. This means I am fighting a cold, which also means I am too tired to care or to make things work out.
On the other hand, what is there to work out, if you just view Christmas as the Feast of the Nativity? Nothing. You come as you are, and you prepare your heart and you expect God. This is, actually, much easier than all the other preparations, since it does not include "stuff." Just prepare Him room. The cookies don't matter anyhow.

What an angel

My little niece, Destiny, gets to be an angel in the Christmas play at our church. This is very exciting because she gets to wear a very beautiful satin and lace dress, a pair of wings and a tinsel halo. Little 6-year old girls -- most of them I know, anyhow, are really into this. Destiny is into it in a really big way because she is extremely fond of nativity scenes-- any of them, large, small, two and three dimensional, she loves them. She first exclaims, "Look! The Baby Jeeeesuss!!!!" She loves babies. Now Destiny gets to be a real part of this nativity scene, and there is nothing like it. To see God in such approachable form is the bomb! Tonight she went from carrying around a palm-sized manger with the Holy Family enclosed, to finding a large ceramic Nativity in the foyer of our church (one that she could get right up close and personal to, by design), to actually being IN and part of it-- wow. I am so grateful for these experiences. I am so grateful for each and every person who has gone way out of the way to put this together.

Wonderfalls is Wonderful

My brother sent me the Wonderfalls DVDs for Christmas. We've only watched the pilot so far, but we LOVE it! Why does all the good stuff get cancelled? At least Earl is still on!

List of denominations/churchs I've attended

Not like you really want to know, but I am a Lister.
1958-'65 Archwood Congregational/____ Congregational (now called UCC)
'65-'67 Brookside Baptist (best Sunday School program)
'67-'90 Mayfield United Methodist (the nicest people)
'90-'92 Parkside (big and "correct")
'93 Scranton Road Bible Church (way too far to drive)
'93-'97 Mayfield Free Methodist (a small country church right in the suburbs)
'97-'99 Fellowship Bible Church (I would still be here if it was not so far away)
'99-01 Assembly of God - Word of Grace (great people, really loud service)
'01- present Bethany Covenant Church

Also, during college I attended the Presbyterian, United Methodist and the Wesleyan Church. During times of stress when great contemplation is necessary I find an Episcopal church or I just go to the woods, any season. I've also been to house churches and have participated on a Taize team. One of my all-time favorite church buildings is the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in NYC (http://www.stjohndivine.org/). I also got to look out my window at work and see St. John's downtown, where I could go in and pray at any time. My dad used to go into Old Stone Church for the same reason. During school I loved to go into Church of the Good Shepherd in Athens. I am so glad they chose to keep their doors unlocked. I love kneelers.

The thing I look for in a church is whether the people love each other and if they are doing something outside themselves for the community. It is also nice to avoid building projects at all costs. I hope to find a very poorly run gossip chain. I finally moved from one church when the pastor said, from the pulpit, that during his summer vacation he got to golf with a "non-Christian," and that it was the first time he had been around one for months. Sheesh! Like it's a novelty! I was at one church that gave out great "God hor's d'ouvres" but could not provide a thing for the older Christian. Most places I've been, probably all, have been full of human forgiven sinners, so I felt at home.

Another note to self

My Pastor has a blog, and...

he also has tickets for the U2 concert this weekend! How cool is that? I'll betcha too, that if you asked him if he would rather be greeted with Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas, he would probably just be happy that he was greeted and respond accordingly.
(the green title above is a link)

Writing out in the open

I compare this blogging experience to living in the dorm at OU. It was always possible that someone could come up to your door, whether open or closed, and visit. Sometimes it was a card game, a walk uptown, time to go to the cafeteria, or just sitting around yammering in the hall or on your bed. I liked living in the dorm. I could express myself by what was on my walls and on my stereo and I liked being seen and known. It was simple and small-- there were no attics to go through or extra boxes. It made it so easy to come and go each day. There were people around all the time, so you could process almost everything you encountered. Of course, being an art major, I did not want to speed through that process since I was not so concerned about making money like a business major. I had this idea that I had something to say.
Now that I've been home for 24 years (which actually never really happens to Bobcats), I have too much stuff to say. I have a backlog of things I've started to read or plan to read and tons of art supplies. I have almost 50 years of photos, boxes of things meant to be made into scrapbooks, clothes that I, for some reason, think I will fit back into, WAY too much paper, images, books, magazines, dishes, bowls of rocks and shells, birdhouses, bottles, boxes, frogs, computers, monitors, pens, camping equipment, pet supplies, and somewhere around 43 screwdrivers.
There are some actual hoarders (http://www.discover.com/issues/oct-04/departments/psychology-of-hoarding/) in my family, and I have come close to the real thing over the years (Ha! Okay, I hoard). I think hoarding comes from the idea that we will have time to do everything we had in mind with all the stuff we have. It crowds out thoughts of today, since we have endless "unfinished business." It also causes us to feel that we have failed in some way, since we never seem to accomplish what we had in mind; it's all too much to really do. Fidgiting around with boxes and piles of junk wastes amazing amounts of time. You can get really good at sorting things for no particular reason.
But getting back to the dorm thing and why this relates to blogging...
I save because when I first encounter something, I have a response in mind. If I can respond immediately, like I did in the dorm, that is great. But people like me want to do a little more research (an exhaustive study, actually) and practically write a book, with pictures. Blogging gives me the opportunity to respond more quickly--not because I've done my homework, but because I have the illusion of audience. The ever-so-slight pressure of losing that audience causes me to process more things more quickly. You have an exaggerated sense of your own importance, but that doesn't seem to feel as strange as it used to, since so many others appear to as well.
Next, I will show you my biology notes from 8th grade.

Holiday Circlefest at University Circle

Photos Courtesy of Juan Quirarte

Well, Circlefest was fun. Most people who told me they wanted to go with me did not, but at least my buddy Carol & I had fun anyhow. Her husband actually thought no one would be there! Wow! He does not know Clevelanders so well. Most parking lots were full and by the end of the day, there were tons of people lining the sidewalk out in the cold, deep, beautiful snow, just to watch the lantern procession. It was way cool. A nice man gave his lantern to Carol, which made her day. She will use it in her art class.
There was no way to get into the Botanical Garden-- the line was too long. We looked at the CIA student art sale as well as the main exhibit there. We also took in the Church of the Covenant mini-tour, the Thwing Center gingerbread man decorating (and eating), bought some earrings and then saw the exhibit at CMA of the Arts & Crafts movement. VERY nice, but I must admit I was reaching sensory overload before I finished that. We ran into Glen & Juan, who were so kind to give us a ride to our car.
Next year, I bring my niece and nephews...

Life should be so simple

I still think it is okay to just get up, eat my cereal and go outside and play.

Snow

It has been snowing very heavily all day.

What a beautiful voice!

This morning I heard a version of "Heirloom," a popular Christmas song that has been out a year or two. Today, though, it was by a different singer, and it was absolutely breathtaking to hear her sing. I could hardly wait to hear who it was. Turns out, she is a local 17-year old girl in high school-- Ashley Nehmeh! Trapper Jack, from WDOK's morning show played this song last year on the show and was immediately swamped with phone calls. In one week, the family had sold 2000 copies of her cd. She shared the money with her sibs. The interview with her this morning revealed a lovely, gentle and Christian young lady. She has a Christmas album out now. The link above (What a beautiful voice) leads to info via the radio station. If you purchase through the station, a portion of the proceeds benefits the WDOK Feed-A Family Campaign. You can also link to her website (http://www.drnemeh.com/ashley.html) from which, if you scroll down far enough, you can access several more samples of her beautiful voice.

I am ALWAYS Ready to Polka

How many times at a wedding will you hear the DJ pull out a polka? Maybe they will play a polka, but it will probably only be the Beer Barrel polka, and very likely, a BAD recording of it. The other possibiliites are Pennsylvania Polka or the Too Fat Polka.
Well, if you are online, then you can hook up now, to www.polkajammer.com and expand your polka horizons! Enjoy!

Message to Self

Get a job. Put up the tree. Decorate the living room. Do your taxes. Lose weight. Enter your address list on the computer. Get a job. Clean the basement. Bake cookies. Polka dance. More later... when i fiinish that.