A black Friday possibility

Looking to a buy a Christmas gift for the woman in your life [mom, sis, wife, daughter, friend] who has everything? Here’s an option [because chances are she doesn't have one of these]. How about buying her a very special necklace? What makes it so special? Well, it’s made of reindeer-dung. Yes, necklaces made with dried, sterilized and glitter-sprayed reindeer droppings are going on sale Friday at a zoo in Bloomington IL. in hopes of attracting holiday shoppers. There are also Christmas ornaments available made from the very same organic material.

But as a responsible American citizen today, one must ask…

embarassed reindeer jewlery provider

Have these pendants of poo been approved by the FDA?  Is there risk of further excrement decomposition resulting in some stinky gas being released into our already warming environment?  Are these free-range reindeer?  And what about exploitation – who is protecting their rights in all this? And who collects all these poo pellets – are they unionized? Do they have insurance [getting near the rear-end of an embarrased bull reindeer can't be safe].  Is Springfield aware of this? Does Washington know about all the pooping and scooping going on here in IL?  Have there been congressional hearings on any of this? If the sale of these waste recycled holiday treasures takes off – why not tax the crap out of this industry to help pay for health care? 

I’m sorry – I can’t help myself.  I have so many questions and most of them stink.

peace prize

Nobel Peace Prize

As I’ve been thinking more and more about the Nobel Peace Prize our President recently won, I’ve become more confused.  I do not question the President’s desire for peace worldwide and any reasonable attempt he makes to encourage it is respectable as far as I’m concerned. However, shouldn’t the prize go to those who have taken significant steps to actually bring about resolution to some conflict? Syndicated Columnist Cal Thomas recently wrote an article that got me questioning the legitimacy of all this. In his opinion,

“The peace prize concept is flawed because the problem of war does not lie with those who would make peace, but with those who would make war. If the Nobel committee were realistic, it would stop handing out peace prizes and start issuing awards for those who have confronted evil and produced peace in nations that have known only oppression. Candidates for such prizes would include Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher ad Pope John Paul II, who conspired to liberate Europe from the totalitarian hand of Soviet communism. Bill Clinton would also be a legitimate candidate for his efforts that stabilized Bosnia. He could take some small credit for the peace in Northern Ireland, which though worked on for decades, was finally brokered on his watch. President Obama was right when he acknowledged that he doesn’t deserve the prize. Neither did Yasser Arafat, Henry Kissinger, Le Duc Tho or Al Gore. The question should be: Why, despite man’s best efforts, including the League of Nations and United Nations, have we been unsuccessful in eradicating war?”

War, hate, conflict and violence remain a sad reality of our global environment. To get an idea of how vast the problem, visit GlobalSecurity.org.

Christmas is rapidly approaching. During this holiday season, perhaps we need to consider this…if peace is so prized, why doesn’t it actually exist in our world? What or who is missing?

he got it

Early this week, USA Today published a fascinating article by Stephen Mansfield. In it, he reports the story of a young man who back in the 1760s sat in Dublin’s famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral listening to Christian revivalist John Wesley preach.

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Aware the congregation of St. Patrick’s was filled with Dublin’s more successful, comfortable and satiated citizens, Wesley spoke with passion about what a life transformed by God would mean.

While praying for his fellow Dubliners, the man felt God say, “Make a drink that men will drink that will be good for them.” These experiences caused this rising entrepreneur to, as Mansfield puts it, “frame a vision for his fledgling company: a vision for producing wealth through brewing excellence and then for using that wealth to serve the downtrodden and the poor…”

The values the young man envisioned for his company were first honed in a life of devotion to God. He was an earthy but humble man who frequently thundered his views despite angry opposition. He put his time and money where his mouth was. He started orphanages and supported missionary efforts around the world. When he died, the Dublin Evening Post declared his life was “useful and benevolent and virtuous.”

The man? Arthur Guinness. His company? Guinness Brewery.  USA Today’s article headline: “Guinness Got It: The company’s 250-year legacy of God-inspired good provides myriad lessons for today. Among them: A benevolent corporate vision is good for business, for its employees and for the world.”

I particularly like Mansfield’s concluding comment: “We are tempted in our disgust with Wall Street greed and corporate misdealing to reject the economic engine that has made us great, to prefer the security of the state to the vicissitudes of free market exchange. What we learn from the Guinness story is that character is king, that markets without ethical boundaries make Madoffs but that corporations driven by a benevolent vision can do vast amounts of good. It is morals and ethics we need, then, not a new economic system…”

“By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.”

Great Christian leaders have a message for their contemporaries, as well as the leaders who follow them in succession…

a new reason to be clean

So today [Oct 21] The Wall Street Journal posted an article reporting some interesting research findings regarding marital intimacy. Apparently, couples that share housework have happier marriages and more active sex lives. Yes…according to the study, for husbands and wives alike, the more housework you do, the more often you are likely to have sex with your spouse. You can read the entire article yourself at The Juggle [WSJ.com on choices and tradeoffs people make as they juggle work and family]. I got to wonder, is this legit or is this just some industrial marketing ploy to sell more vacuums? Whatever the case, I’m guessing there are going to be a lot more cleaner homes in America for a while.

$50,000 text

Kate Moore, a 15-year-old Iowa HS student recently won $50,000 in the LG U.S. National Texting Championship. How did she get so good at texting? Apparently she owns a 14,000 texts-per-month habit. Get this — 250,000 people participated in the competition.

Moore’s winning phrase was “Zippity Dooo Dahh Zippity Ayy … My oh MY, what a wonderful day! Plenty of sunshine Comin’ my way … ZippittyDooDahZippityAay! WondeRful feeling, Wonderful day!” which she completed flawlessly in less than 60 seconds.

Another 15-year-old girl from Staten Island, NY wasn’t so lucky. She recently fell down an open man hole cover while texting.

Wow — and I thought my kids text alot.  But so far, I haven’t seen any money and no serious injuries! afaik…bbs

popular Jesus

While organized religion may be losing popularity among the masses, Jesus apparently is not.  In a recently released public survey, 33% of polled Britons say Jesus Christ is the person they would most like to communicate with from beyond the grave. [FYI, Princess Diana came in second, Shakespeare third]

Intended to promote the third season release of ITV [Independent Television Authority] British sci-fi show Primeval on DVD, the survey surprised pollsters – how exactly the question relates to the show I’ve yet to figure out but I think it has to do with time travel.  One survey spokesman conceded, “These results show that Jesus Christ will always be the British public’s ‘Superstar.’”  I wonder how Americans would answer the same question – humm?

Jesus also showed up today in a Washington Times post by Julia Duin about a new Jesus book out called, “Journeys with the Messiah” by Michael Belk.  It’s a collection of photos of a Jesus with modern day Italians from all walks of life.  Belk told Duin, “I want people to see these images and say, ‘This isn’t about religion, it’s about life.’  The non-churched are frightened by anything that has ‘Jesus’ or ‘church’ connected with it.”

I’m not sure Belk is right about Jesus frightening anyone – but when it comes to ‘church’ that may be a different story.   You can see Belk’s project at thejourneysproject.com.

eternity

In case you were wondering…apparently there are a number of new and alternative ways you can spend eternity.

As high quality diamond: for a price, companies will extract carbon from your ashes and convert them into colored diamonds up to 2 carats.

In outerspace:  a rocket shop will launch your ashes into space or to the moon.

As a fireworks display: companies will mix your ashes with fireworks to create a 200-shell firework display set to music..spreading you all over the area.

As a coral reef: have your ashes mixed into a custom-made concrete reef which is lowered into the ocean or other body of water.

In a sporting venue: most Chicago ballparks will arrange for your ashes to be scattered on the playing field when the stadium is empty.  The big question here is – CUBS or SOX?

at a theater near you

Well it has finally happened. Tucker Max’s best selling book, I hope They Serve Beer In Hell, has been made into a movie and hits theaters in just a few days. Now, I read a lot of books — many listed on the NY Times best-seller list. And I’m the first to support an individual’s right to express themselves in whatever medium they choose. And normally, I refuse to critique books I haven’t actually read or movies I haven’t seen….but in this case I make an exception. This is just my opinion – but I cannot see anything positive or redeeming in the kind of reckless and remorseless debauchery that is apparently represented and promoted in Max’s literature or film. Clearly, Tucker Max disagrees. In the introduction to his book he writes,

“My name is Tucker Max, and I am an a******. I get excessively drunk at inappropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging d*******. But, I do contribute to humanity in one very important way: I share my adventures with the world.”

Giving credit where credit is due, Tucker is at least honest about himself and his behavior. Alot of people will no doubt laugh at his degenerate antics but the notion that Tucker Max is somehow contributing to humanity is in itself a joke.

“The way of a fool seems right to him.” -Proverbs 12:15

Keep it simple

The notion of simplicity keeps showing up in my life, work, reading, discussions, etc. By and large, it remains just that…an idea – because few things are simple these days. In an age where advancing technology and global communication is supposed to streamline and uncomplicate all the confusion and make things easier and faster to accomplish – in many ways it just makes matters worse.

I don’t think I’m alone in this. It seems people today are hungry for simplicity in life because the world around us has become so incredibly complex. Simple is not easy, but it sure sounds appealing to me.

Quotes on simplicity…

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. [Leonardo da Vinci]

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary can speak. [Hans Hoffman]

To be simple is to be great. [Ralph Waldo Emerson]

Out of complexity, find simplicity. When the solution is simple, God is answering. [Albert Einstein]

Got to get back to something simple just to save yourselves…keep it simple nowadays and that’s just that. [Van Morrison]

mapping national sin

Most people have heard of the 7 deadly sins [pride, envy, wrath, sloth, gluttony, lust, greed]. Well now it is possible to see them or at least where they are most prevalent. Geographers from Kansas State University recently created sin maps of the US by plotting per capita stats on things like theft [envy], killings [wrath] and STDs [lust], etc. While the actual science behind the mapping is questionable, the results are interesting. FYI – red represents the more sinful – blue less so – beige the more saintly.