The EnchantedAnother review(?) of our show is up. It reads more like an ad than an actual reviewm, as there seems to be no kind of opinion given as to if we did a good job with the show or not. I guess that's better than a bad review though. There's still time to see the show.

Time for the Friday Five again:

1. Are you superstitious?

I have a few superstitions that I kind of jokingly follow.

2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?

I watched an actor walk all the way around a building to get to another entrance to avoid walking under a ladder.

3. Believer or not, what's your favorite superstition?

"Knock on Wood" Most people who swear up and down that they don't have or believe in superstitions will still say it or even actually do it.

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual?

I believe in luck. I don't know that I believe that anything I do can affect luck one way or the other. However, I never shave during tech. On the other hand I don't shave that often when I'm not in tech...

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?

The stars move in predictable patterns. Since there's nothing that's going to change in the way stars move, why do people need new horiscopes all the time? Just get one that covers the next 100 years and be done. Guess that wouldn't work, since astrology's a crock.

So... today is my parents' 27th wedding anniversary. They're really quite amazing. They met on a blind date, got married young, raised two fairly obnoxious children, and are still making it look a whole lot easier than it really is. They've been through some rough times. Some of those tough times they made, some they didn't... but they made it through. That alone is worthy of admiration. But the fact that in the process they raised us to be willing and wanting to work as hard as they have on a relationship adds another layer of amazement to what they've done.
Beyond merely staying together, a marriage is soemthing that has the risk of ending without seperation. I truly believe that they have managed to stay married all these years because they truly love each other. They love each other to the point that they don't understand the concept of not loving each other. Sounds great... but that can bring problems of its own. When someone is that much a part of your life, you sometimes forget that they are there at all. You make desisions, confident that what's right for you is right for them, because they are part of you. Luckily, after sharing so much, you're usually right, but those times when you're wrong, it can hurt so much more. Not only do you hurt someone else, you hurt the part of you that is that person. A relationship that close takes so much work to get through the hard times, but the good times are so much better for the same reasons. You never have to worry about having someone to share your joy with. And joy is not something you can keep to yourself. The littlest things are expanded by sharing them. Finding the $5 bill on the sidewalk is a personal acheivement when you tell someone else. Finding a CD you really like is better when someone is there to be happy for your find... it doesn't matter if they couldn't be paid to listen to the music on the CD, they are still glad that you got it.
People often talk about taking things one day at a time. I think this is too much... take things in 10 minute bursts. When you look at it that way, it's almost impossible to have a bad day. Sleeping is good. There's a several dozen good things. A meal, even a mediocre one will fill in a couple of good chunks. And when something is bad, your ten minutes are over soon and you can move on.
Everything that I believe and everything I know to be true I owe to may parents on one level or another. Their good and bad times taught me that the bad is worthwhile because it makes the good even better, and that in the end, the bad is insignificant in proportion to the good. I love, and respect my parents more than I'll ever be able to tell them. My wish for them is that when they hit 30 years, and 40, and 50, and however far they go into the future, that they will be as passionate, determined, faithful and adventurous as they are today. I hope they always remember to see the bad things as spice for the meat that is the good. JTE + PJE February 12, 1977

From kryogenix.org

I got to thinking. In these increasingly, almost entirely secular times, part of any man of God’s ministry must be to spread the Word that they see clearly to the ranks of those who do not.... There’s little point speaking on such subjects in sermons at Mass: that would be, quite literally, preaching to the converted. The majority of the secular population will only come into contact with ministers on ceremonial occasions: weddings, christenings. And funerals. So, on the seesaw between honouring the one member of the congregation and preaching the Word of God to the unbeliever, where should the priest come down?

I respect Stuart Langridge for this article. While he is still uncertain as the appropriateness of the moment chosen, he has actually put some thought into his feelings about this situation. People in most Christian denominations, believe that sharing their faith is a fundamental part of their belief system. They believe that not sharing their faith is akin to failing to notify someone that their house is on fire. Far to many people feel that being exposed to other people's religion's is offensive. (Of course most of them only feel this way about Christianity.) The great thing about free speech is that with it come the right to ignore anyone you want. If you don't want to hear about Christianity, you have the right to tune them out. You have the right to think about baseball, pasta, or porn while they talk. You do not have the right to tell them they can't tell you about Jesus. If you tell someone "I don't believe in Jesus" you have shared your religion with them, you cannot be offended if they feel the right to do the same to you. If you don't like it, suck it up. Seriously. Christianity is as much a protected belief as Islam, Bhuddism, Wicca, or any other. Just because it's popular doesn't make it wrong.
If the person at the funeral that Stuart Langridge attended shared the same faith as the person speaking at the funeral, there is a good chance that for the speaker to not share a message of faith would have been more dishonoring to them than anything else. The next time you hear someone sharing their faith and feel offended by it, ask yourself if you feel they should be offended if you told them that you did not share their faith and that they were a bad person for holding that faith.

So I watched part of the Grammys last night. I came in during the Earth Wind and Fire part of the grand Funk Spectacular. That was pretty sweet... Earth Wind and Fire rocks, I'm really starting to dig Robert Randolph and the Family Band, and George Clinton is an icon of funk. Amazing that him and Bill are from the same family...
(awkward silence)
Anyway... I find Outcast entertaining, although "Hey Ya" is getting very, very old. And during their bit with EW&F, I was impressed that the dancers they had on stage were not only fully clothed, but were male, and not small. While I enjoy seeing women dance, especially when they are attractive women with a minimum of clothing, it's nice to see that someone out there remembers that those sorts of dancers do not make music and aren't a vital part of the performance. But then... what was with the whole, bad western imitation of Native Americans. Not exactly offensive, but definately in poorer taste ant Janet Jackson's boob. I mean really.
Oh and the anti-music-piracy commercial was DUMB, much like the Phillip-Morris sponsored "anti-smoking" ads, it made me want to go download some music. But hey... without the RIAA, there'd be no music, just like there was no music before the RIAA. Because people downloading music (who I've heard are also people who buy more music) do more to hurt the artists than exploitive contracts that keep the ownership of the music with the lables instead of the artists and make it so an artist can sell 10,000 copys of an album and end up owing the label money. Of course they'll never be able to pay back the lable, because they can't release anything on their own, and the lable won't promote any new albums for them. Yeah... the downloaders are the problem.
Oh well.

I'm not one to go on political rants... many other subjects are much more fun to rant about, and politics in this country is lately a big waste of time. The Democrins and the Republicrats are pretty much indistinguishable, and where they differ, it's to such extremes as to not be practical for changing anything anyway. I took a couple of the on-line presidental candidate selector things. Oddly both of them said that Kerry was the best match for me. Not withstanding the recent allegations of being in bed with the insurance industry (an personally aggrivating subject at present) I found is stand interesting. There probably isn't a political canidate I would agree with who has a chance. As the old saying goes, anyone one smart enough to do the job right is also smart enough not to want the job. So there's that. My views are simple in a very complex sort of way.
I think the "Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces" should have served in the active military, preferably been in combat. Actually I'd rather that they could say they never had a chance to have served in combat, because there's been none in so long... but since that's still at least another generation away, that's out.
I would prefer they be someone who's run a business... preferably one they started, financial management is something I think you can only learn the hard way.
I think the president should also be technologically aware and use the internet in a sensible way. It's a great way to tell the people what you're doing... what if the President had a blog? It's also a way to find out what the people are thinking.
There are other standards, but even finding someone who fits these three would be a start.
Today I found out though that you can win the presidential election with 11 states. Just 11. California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. That's it. It's a screwed up system we've got... yet it's still the best there is right now.
Oh well. I'll vote, my candidate will probably lose. (Nader 2000!) and it'll keep going somewhere... if it gets too fucked up it'll change... neat how that's set up.
End of rant.

It's time for the Friday Fiveagain:

1. What's the most daring thing you've ever done?

Gotten married. The idea of spending your entire life with one other person, basing every decision on them, putting them before you, over-riding gut instinct on a daily basis... or at least trying to.... That's insane.

2. What one thing would you like to try that your mother/friend/significant other would never approve of?

My mother is slightly more insane than I am... so that's not a good standard. I don't think there's anything that's so stupid that my wife would object outright to that isn't so stupid that I have no interest in it.

3. On a scale of 1-10, what's your risk factor? (1=never take risks, 10=it's a lifestyle)

3 maybe

4. What's the best thing that's ever happened to you as a result of being bold/risky?

I'm married! (see number 1)

5. ... and what's the worst?

Probably the financial impact of several bad decisions I've made. If you are a freshman in college... Do Not Get Credit Cards!