To All You Telemarketers Out There...

Two days ago, I signed up for the "Do Not Call" list. That means you only have 29 days left to irritate me to the point of going insane. I don't know how you do it....you call every other hour, and only for me. It's like you know that my grandma, the owner of the house you call, has gone on a month-long trip. You NEVER call for her anymore! What's going on?!

And here's a tip....if you mispronounce my name then I'm going to assume you mean someone else and will always tell you that the person you unknowningly ask for (me) is not at home. My last name is not pronounced "Le Whore", as you believe. Yes, it's unfair that it is not a common last name, (which means that the pronunciation is anyone's guess) but it's such a good method to for me to weed out people who DON'T KNOW ME!

You have 29 days and counting. Have fun while you can and if you call after those days are up, expect hell.

Some Lovely Pictures/Artwork

Just wanted to share some lovely artwork and pictures, you can find the at the following links -

http://www.jabberwocky.com/photo/israel/jerusalem.html
http://www.terragalleria.com/middle-east/israel/jerusalem/jerusalem.html
http://www.infohub.com/pictures/images_jerusalem_535.html


Jerusalem at Night


Hebrew Crafts in Jerusalem

The following artwork can be found by doing a google search for "Christian art"

Archangel Michael

Not Happy

I got ripped off............BIG TIME.

It's been suggested by a relative that I write a letter of complaint to the company (that shall remain nameless) who sold me the laptop which only had a trial version of Windows Vista (while telling me it was a full-version. Not true) and to the company who mistakenly told me I had to buy a "new users" version of Vista for my laptop, which I did. The only thing, I am not a 'new user' of Vista! And the price difference (that I just discovered today) between a 'new user's' version and the 'upgrade version' I should have bought is over $170! Is this how companies can ethically treat a new customer nowadays? They had all the necessary information to tell me that I didn't need to spend an extra $170, yet they did so anyway. They could tell that this was the first time I had bought my own computer and therefore wasn't familiar with new set-up practices, yet felt it was ok to completely rip me off! And as far as the store that sold me the laptop? They knew this information too! ATO:IUETSL:EKTJO:I@$()*&)(!()!

So I'm in the process of writing two very long and very detailed letters of complaint. Never ever thought that buying a new laptop would cause so many problems.

What to write, what to write....

I want to write. I want to write something of significance, so I'm thinking about putting together a devotional of some sort. It would be based on my own life experiences, what I know about the Bible and what I'm continuing to learn as the days progress. It would absolutely be a long-running project, I wouldn't expect completion of it before three year's time. But if it weren't even published, it would be a great learning tool and an accomplishment I could be proud of. I don't want this to be a small devotional, it would at least be 3-4 pages for every day of the year. My demographic, persay, would not be for people who buy small devotionals to put on their toilets for their guests' quality reading time. This also wouldn't be some kind of systematic theology course. I would want it to fall somewhere in the educational/inspirational/relational/social genre, with a little humor thrown in the mix as well. My aim could lean towards assisting people who have had tough times lately, or continually. Or someone could turn to it to read a story they like. I DON'T KNOW!

The question is, of course, would anyone want or care to read it?

Ideas and assistance, please! I'm going to start a new blog (a scratch pad of sorts) where I (and you) can post topic ideas:

http://www.devotionalscratchpad.blogspot.com

I Want a New Oprah!

Ok, it's almost 11pm and I'm at home sitting in my scrubs from work, (either prune juice or brown gravy has stained my pants) playing my Superman Returns DVD in the background (gotta love Kevin Spacey!) and all I can think about at the moment is how much Oprah sucks.

I realize that the timing for this post isn't the greatest. She just opened a school in Africa for underpriviledged girls, most of who are affected by the AIDS virus. That is fantastic, really! The facts that "suck" about Oprah are those which have happened in the U.S., especially what the American public has viewed on her TV show. My top 5 reasons for Oprah "sucking" are as follows -

1. She believes in everything, and therefore believes in nothing.
What a great example to set for the 8 million viewers who watch her show daily. Laud the benefits of Christianity (the music, especially. She has a favorite gospel choir, you know.), but don't forget the Dalai Lama's teachings, how to practice meditation, and get a few sentimental Muslim guests in the mix, too. How do you improve your "spirit" when you can't pick a way to do it?

2. She believes in a communal "spirit" shared by everyone.
Oprah and her friend Gail took a promotional tour of the U.S. and during the last episode which featured this trip, and after she had visited professional celebrity impersonators, an Ahmish community, had crashed weddings, etc (I didn't watch every episode), she had the following concluding statement - "We all have the same heart". Bullcrap. Oprah, you just crossed an entire nation of 300 million people, populated by immigrants from all over the world, with differeing religious backgrounds, financial status, age, skin color (the list goes on and on)....yet we're all the same? How about this statment - "We're all ruled by the same God, who gave us each our own individual soul"? No wait, that's too conservative...it would never go over on Oprah's watch.

3. She has a magazine devoted to her and what she loves.
Why should her personal interests/hobbies/favorite purchases matter to anyone? Talk about a severe case of narcissism. If I had created a magazine devoted to my loves (Monty Python/my new clarinet purchase/books on theology) it would tank in two days, tops. Yet this magazine, half of it being advertisements and the other half being a list of her favorite things (which you too can buy!) skyrockets every month! My knowledge of Oprah's favorite slippers at the moment does not improve my life in any way whatsoever.

4. She regularly lists the risks of being married and how it isn't for her.
With how long she's been in a relationship with this Stedman guy, marriage apparently doesn't apply to her. That would be one hell of a prenup, I guess. One reason marriage won't work? - The cheating factor. Believe me, Oprah, you have a much higher risk of being cheated on when there's no reason for commitment than when you have the legal protection against it that comes with being married. She's won't buy the cow when she can get the milk for free (which you can, too!). WOOHOO!

5. Her lack of charity except when it benefits her self-promotion or TV show ratings.
Yeah, that's a pretty bold statement. See above regarding the timing of this post and reason. Oprah recently made a statement regarding giving more of her $ away, saying (not completely verbatim here), "My being destitute will not help anything". Oprah, no one is asking you to become destitute! And by the way, what is being destitute in your opinion? Because to a lot of the American public, living in a 1-bedroom apartment and eating mac and cheese every once in a while would not consitute being labeled as "destitute". For someone who is worth over a billion dollars, would an extra $1 million to charity sting so much? Sure, you can give gift cards (for the purpose alone to give to charity) to your audience, promote it in advance, have every news website and tv news organization talk about it before your show's air date, and then bask in the ratings glory. Oprah, I beg you - give to a cause and then refuse to air it, talk about it, or print it in your magazine pages. PLEASE! Humility is a virtue and if it convinces you any further, humility is a strengthening of your 'spirit'!

Comments? Anything you'd like to add? Or do you completely disagree? I'm going back to watch the DVD. Go Superman!

The Intolerance of Elton John

Elton John - I Love his music. At least I used to, anyway. Check out this beauty of an interview:

Elton John Interview

Let me disseminate this for you, in case the stupidity of these statements has left a dark haze over your eyes. If you are a secularist, feel free to stand up and applaud Mr. John's statements. Ok, sit down, now.

"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred toward gay people," ....."Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays."

What do you consider a religion, Elton? Narcissism definitely counts as one. Celebrities have this notion that since they have the power of popularity, they can use media outlets to promote whatever kind of viewpoints they hold and then not expect a retort from anybody, and ESPECIALLY not a negative retort. You are not God, Elton, at least not to anyone but yourself. You have not set the standard for right and wrong. That was taken care of on the top of a mountain over 4,000 years ago (another post subject to come). I doubt that if directed to, Mr. John could point out a single verse in the Bible (assuming he refers to Christianity in this diatribe against religion) which would illuminate his beliefs above.

See, tolerance is a two-way street. Someone could easily point me out as a homophobe (I'm not, and don't even attempt to accuse me of that!) because of my belief that homosexuality is wrong on all counts. However, I would come back at that same person and accuse them of being "intolerant" of my set of standards. Believing that a person can do anything they want and not be deserving of judgement from another or the consequence of that person's actions is not tolerance, its ignorance. Ignorance of right and wrong, ignorance of God, and certainly ignorance of the truth. Yes, there is a truth for everything, truth is not a creation of Western religion and it does not vary for every person. Judgement is shown to the person who walks into a job interview with an application that states a past criminal record and to the person who decides to wear a brown belt with black shoes (both are a big no-no). Judgement is given to the parent who can't calm their screaming 2-year old in the aisle of a Target store and to the person who talks on a cell phone in a crowded elevator. What do you do with that judgement though? Do you ignore it when convenient, or do you search for the reasons as to why it was handed down upon you? Or do you accuse an entire set of ideals and way of life for billions of people on this planet of promoting the hatred of gay people? Not once did Elton John say that religious dissent was aimed toward the sexual ACTS of homosexuality. No, to him religion directs hatred to gay PEOPLE? Give me a break!

"From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate."

Organized religion (excluding narcissism) is a saving grace for billions. Secularism is a risk, spreading to all within earshot of a radio, newspaper, television or the internet. Those who participate successfully in organized religion do their best to avoid the quick-spreading plague of secularism, and that infuriates liberals. They don't understand a Christian's reasoning and as long as they proudly hold the label, 'liberal', never will. And they will never cease until the mantra of "I'm Ok if you're OK" is ground into, replayed, and spit out of everyone's Central Nervous System grammaphone. A lemming doesn't jump off a cliff because it's brain, suddenly warped by it's Christian lifestyle, told it to. Organized religion was created from the inspiration of the compassion and peace that God Himself gracefully handed down upon us, JUDGEMENT FREE!

John also criticized religious leaders for failing to do anything about conflicts around the world.

"Why aren't they having a conclave? Why aren't they coming together?"

So Mr. John wants the religious leaders of the world, people who lead a religion(s) he thinks should be banned because of it's ineptitude and lack of response to crisis to have a conclave and come together to help save the world? Does anyone else see the hypocrisy in this statement? That would be comparable to me saying, "Well, I sure do hate the KKK and believe it should be banned completely, but they should really commune together and do something about this whole racism thing.".

"It's like the peace movement in the '60s. Musicians got through to people by getting out there and doing peace concerts, but we don't seem to do them any more," he said. "If John Lennon were alive today, he'd be leading it with a vengeance."

I don't believe for a second that those peace concerts did much of anything for the attendants but give them a large open, grassy space to smoke weed in mass. (In mass? That kinda sounds like a church!) Everything is relevant to someone high on weed!

"Did you see that cat cross the street?"
"Yeah, I did. It was HILARIOUS!"
"Did you hear about the civilian deaths in Iraq today?"
"Uh-huh. We have to create a movement, let's go to Iraq and get every solider out of there! Man, I need another toke."

The peace movement of the 60's didn't do much. Vietnam, Korea, the Gulf War, and Desert Storm all still occured, no matter how many hundreds of "peace concerts" were performed in the grassy fields in Northern California. Stupid people still shoved daisies into National Guard's rifles to "make a point". Apparently, someone on weed will believe that a single daisy will prevent a rifle from rocketing a steel bullet propelled by gunpowder out the end of it's barrel.
If Mr. Lennon were alive today, I would dare Elton John to ask him where Lennon's notion of "peace" came from. And if he asked enough questions, the creation of peace would undboutedly point to God. A God who set the standard for all humans, the same humans who fail miserably at every attempt to reach these standards. It doesn't mean we have to stop trying. And we certainly don't have the right to blame organized religion for standards we refuse to acknowledge.

We all have choices in life. For me, my current choice was made from that of a consumer's standpoint. I will no longer buy Elton John albums, and the ones I currently own will be shoved in a box labeled "garage sale".

Or would that choice just reflect my intolerance?

I'm Not Dead!....I'm Getting Better!

That's right, I'm still alive. Barely.

In the process of purchasing a new laptop (my current one dies when I talk to it in a certain way) and will do my best to post here on a regular basis once said laptop is...in my lap. HAHA! Boy I'm tired.

Anyway. Expect these upcoming subjects. This will be a good reminder for me to not forget as well.

Stupid Radio Commercials

Why Oprah Sucks (That's right, I said it! Who's with me?)

Right and Wrong - How do we tell the difference?

Questions I'd like to ask God (serious and not-so-serious)

Dirty Jobs (the show)

Political Campaign Commercials

I think that's all for now. Check in when you can and I'll make an effort to post on here at least once a month. That is, if you still have an interest.

My Magazine Cover Blurbs

If I owned a magazine, the cover words would look something like this -

"Jennifer Aniston talks about Dr. Scholls, the movie, "Son of the Mask" and why the paparazzi both "Sucks and Blows"

"How to please your man by going away forever!"

"Are your kids addicted to cheese?"

"Why Linda Blair hates green pea soup"

" "Celebrity Duets": Who are these people?"

"Makeup tips to help you look like a banshee for the fall"

"Cat and Mouse - Why must they fight?"

"Saddam Hussein picks the 50 best dressed of 2006"

"Who told Ben Affleck he could act?........REALLY, WHO DID IT?!"

"How to lose weight by amputation"


I need help.

Wide Awake Nightmare

Wow, it's been almost a month since my last post on here. What a shame. Sorry about that, things have been crazy since the move out of the cities (YES!) early this month. What an absolute relief! I'll try to post on here as often as possible, but a dial-up connection really doesn't afford much of that kind of opportunity.

Anyway, so I'm watching TV while eating breakfast this morning and I see something almost unbelievable. So apparently there's this popular show on TV called "The View" (yes, I know lots about this show, just being sarcastic here). The premise is that 4 middle-aged to post-menopausal women gripe about the news, their personal lives (concurrently sharing WAY too much information) and each other. Then they get these celebrities guests on and lose all journalistic integrity by morphing into the biological class known as "homo sapien gushesforattentionus". How this show has stayed on the air for almost 10 years is beyond me. WHY?!?!?!

Back to the commercial. There's some sort of Broadway theme, so Rosie O'Donnell immediately appears, of course. Her devil horns are cleverly hidden underneath a black cap (maybe she wasn't wearing a cap, can't remember). Then she begins.........to........"Sing". AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! So do the rest of the cast! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! They warble on about how they can't dance or sing (then why are you doing it?!) and are going to "Shake up the View". Yes, please, shake up the view. Shake up the view of my tv so that channel goes to black during the 10am hour. I'm begging.

After the singing, there's some bizarre fast-moving closeup of a barn owl with a lisp. This magical owl says something like, "You are all stars to me!". Shut up, owl. You are choking on a bone from your daily diet of rodent news consisting of MessNBC, CNN and the New York Times. Nobody likes barn owls.

This is the sign of the end-times.

"And I saw a dragon with the face of Starr Jones come down from the sky. She roared, "Give me free stuff, I'm a lawyer!". After my denial of her request, the dragon vanished and Rosie O'Donnell took it's place. With her immediate out-of-tune warbling of tunes from the cursed musical, "Suessical", fire began to rain down on earth from heaven....."

Anything you'd like to add?

Don't You Forget...

September 11th.