Sarah turned me on to this article about an American and her two children who are held captive in Soudi Arabia against their will, while an inneffective American government gives pat answers and sidesteps issues. Now, I’m not one to criticize my government, but something about this situation just bothers me. The fear of not being able to come home is a very real one, and to think that Americans would be prevented because of some kind of supposed custody rights is unthinkable. Hey Bush, its time these people were taken care of, its time we as a Nation stood…

Choices The choices we make Are telling things For in them we place Our dearest dreams The consequences We can’t avoid Yet God is faithful To bring much joy So make them wisely With much prayer For God is waiting With gifts so rare your poet,

The June 2002 Photo Essay pics are posted! Whew… I am so caught up with everything… but i’m a very tired boy. 1.5 hours of sleep just doesn’t cut it. I’m going to get real comfortable with my pillow for the next 12 hours, so I’ll see ya’ll later.

While I was in Africa, a friend, whose name is Joshua, caught me with a rather cool expression on my face. It is debated weather I look evil, cool, or just funny, but here is the photo. I call it JCool.

I am now completely XHTML and CSS2 compliant, and I have the validation icons to prove it. <grin> You can check for yourselves by clicking on them. They are located rught underneath the search box on the left side of the page. Thanks go out to the W3C for all their help and their handy validator. I should go to bed, but my body still thinks its not tired due to the copious amount of caffeen consumed earlier this evening. It seems like I get the most done when I’m in this state. Pity I can’t get this way without…

Few things are as rewarding As a roomate who is affording Of your habits and living conditions He has the same tolerance Of messy apartments And does his fair share of the cleaning He likes C. S. Lewis And J. R. R. Tolkien And readily listens to me So this is my poem My verse and my sonnet These are the words of an Ode to my Roomate

On the 4th of July, Saint Louis puts on a fair that lasts all weekend. Each night they shoot off a full fireworks display. So today, I went with friends and family to the fair and saw the fireworks. I composed a Senryu and a Haiku while observing the festivities. Here they are for you: Thousands of people Swaying and dancing at night The sounds of the fair Brightness in the night Reflection of light from fire Bursting in the sky your poet,

Jon from McStuff.net references this story from the Chicago Tribune in his July 3rd.br /> Michael Newdow says he is an atheist, but what he best exemplifies is Oscar Wilde’s definition of a cynic: A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Truth is that, more than an atheist, Newdow seems to be a secular fundamentalist–someone intent on ridding American public life of anything he perceives as even vaguely religious. He’s a secularist Savonarola. The problem with that is that “isms” have a way of blinding their adherents to other important realities–and to the larger…

Oh Yes… It is here at last… The Africa Photo’s are online, please feel free to view and comment at your leisure. For those who don’t know, the photo’s are composed of shots taken during my recent trip to Uganda Africa. There is one gallery devoted to London and four galleries devoted to Africa. Please enjoy.

My good friend and roomate, Jon McDonald from McStuff has been on a quest. A quest to find and understanding about what church to attend and believe as the truth. He finds himself stuck in a mire of conflicting arguments with no seeming end to the questions that are left unaswered. Just today he mentions in his Blog that he wished Heaven would give him a clear answer. … … … Well Jon, here it is. You should come to church with me. It is perhaps an avenue you haven’t tried yet, my church not to be compared to other…

Ever wonder about those chance meetings, and how much affect they have on your life? Yesterday, I decided to go see a movie. Lilo and Stich was pretty good, and I reccomend it for all you family types out there especially. But the movie isn’t what I wonder about. Her name is Sierra. Sierra is a young lady of 15 who started a conversation with me while I was sitting in the theater before the movie started. She lives somewhere in Ollivette and works at Six Flags. She’s about to be a Junior in High school, and she is unsaved.…

Sarah, from Creative Slips comments on the recent decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to prohibit the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an unconstitutional ‘endorsement of religion’ because of the addition of the phrase ‘under God’ in 1954 by Congress. she says, The recent appeals court ruling on the Pledge of Allegiance has made wonder – in a sort of fuzzy way (them painkillers can make thinking rather hard sometimes) – about the Christian response when politics and religion get thrown into the mix. Often the most common response when something this big…

This saturday I went to Six Flags for the first time in eight years. The experience was exilarating, and riding roller coasters was more fun than I remembered. <grin> I have composed two senryu to remember the event by. Each senryu is taken from one of the three main rides at Six Flags over Mid-America, the Batman, Mr. Freeze, and the Boss. Enjoy Hanging from mid air Rightside up then upside down Fast goes the Batman Zero to seventy Pure verticle then backwards Fridged Mister Freeze Great speed in the turn Whipped left then right, up then down The Boss…

I was musing today at lunch. Somehow, my mind wandered onto the topic of art and what its purpose is. It serves, I think, its best function when it acts as a cue. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a cue as, ‘A stimulus, either consciously or unconsciously perceived, that elicits or signals a type of behavior.’ The art community is always talking about how important art is to humanity, and how its neglect will cause a degration of the quality of our culture. It has sought valiantly and sometimes stupidly for a definition of art and has failed to achieve…

Hmm… its the kind of article that demands comments, but i’m not sure where to start. Interestingly enough, the pastor at my fathers church spoke on this topic this last Sunday. The issue of whether the number of times you attend church affects your spirituality is one that legalists get upset about. I agree with Paul Huse. The pastor quoted St. Francis of Nicee who said, “In essentials Unity, in non-essentials Liberty, in all things Charity”. The day and time a church worships is up to the liberty of that body of believers. The reason for attending a church service…

Lotus Haiku, who ever you are, is quite the talent, and I am impressed with her command of the seventeen syllable form. I thought I would share with you what she told me. Please forgive me Lotus, if you did not intend for your messges to be revealed. My voice be revealed A mystery to be solved All in due time, friend For now be content For a brighter existance You have brought to me I will continue As long as is my fortune I hope you enjoy /lotus/

Some people have all the good ideas. I mean, if I had thought of something like that, maybee I would be sitting pretty in the money too… <shakes head ruefully> Man some people just have way too much time on their hands.

Dear Lotus Haiku At your service I will be Enjoy be happy

In the hazy fields of a country town, there lies the home of my parents. I love coming home to this house. Its located on the very edge of a town of only 300 people. Only a few miles down the road, is a lake. In the morning, I will walk out the front door and look to my left. There to greet me will be an endless expanse of corn and wheat. I’ve been to Africa and I’ve arrived at a new appreciation of the beauty of America. I truly love this land.

It like the end of an era… I’ve lived in my apartment for almost a year and a half, and soon, very soon i will have to buy another roll of ceranwrap. I know… its seems like I’ve always had that roll… It won’t be the same without it.