I know what you're all thinking: "Sag's atheist, but he's talking about a blessing?"
Right. But let's talk about the first first. Not only am I an atheist, I'm a bassist. I broke a string tonight while practicing. First time in some 15 years of playing. I reckon that's not too bad.
Alright... on to the blessing: I got a RAISE today at work!!! While that's not a first, it's always a good thing (and it'll help buy a new set of Rotosound bass strings (Swing Bass 66's, .105 ga, for those who care or are looking for last minute gift ideas)).
Most importantly, the reminder. When I got home from work this evening, there was a package waiting for me. Always enjoying arrivals of such wonders, I tore into the brown wrapping paper with zeal. Thirty minutes later (there was ALOT of tape), I was rewarded by the appearance of a blue and white box proclaiming that I had received an HP printer cartridge. Now I knew that this couldn't be the case, so I pressed on. After cutting through the tape (SEE... I can learn), I found two Christmas-wrapped boxes inside. Now, I couldn't just open these on my own... they were from my parents, and we don't get to spend every Christmas together these days. So I decided to save them for later, when I could call them and share the experience.
Around 9:30 PM, I called and announced the package's arrival to my mom, who was as excited as I was. Just like a little kid, I asked her if it was okay to open them, or if I should wait until the appointed day. Of course, Mom being the Always Loving Soul (tm) said, "What the heck... open them now!". Of course, I didn't waste any time.
The second gift that I opened is the one that really got me. A simple, tasteful Nativity scene proclaiming "Peace". Which now holds a coveted placement in my home. Mom explained that she just wishes peace for everyone, in spite of the conflicts, difficulties, and troubles any of the family (she got them for *everyone*) have been frought with this year.
Honestly, how could that not be a Good Thing (also tm)? While the symbol is certainly theist in origin, the meaning of the symbol is something to benefit every last one of us, religious or not. That means, "Anti-theists, get over yourselves."
Of course, the conversation continued, moving on to Christmases of yore, back when we enjoyed them together as a family. It was always a special time. Unfortunately, that which makes such things special can also put a clock on them: we don't get to spend many Christmases together now that my family is spread all over the country.
What is remarkable about our Christmases is that the food and gifts and all the other things that trimmed out our Christmas celebrations always took a backseat to the meaning of stopping and taking the time to appreciate our family and friends. Even when some weren't getting along. It didn't matter. What mattered was that the time was taken to put all of that aside and just enjoy and be thankful that we were with people that care and love together. We were at peace with ourselves, with each other, and as one.
These are some of my most cherished memories of all.
PS. For the curious, the first gift is perfect for the 80's retro-nerd in me: The Star Wars Vault. An amalgam of 30 years of Star Wars history. I love it. I'm such a geek!
12.20.2007
12.13.2007
Rush is coming to OKC!
I mentioned earlier that I love Chicago, but they don't hold a candle to Rush. Ever since I moved to OKC, I've had to travel hundreds of miles to see them live since they haven't played here in years. That will apparently change in 2008 on the extension to their Snakes & Arrows World Tour! Hopefully they get a better crowd here than they had in Dallas the last three times I went. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll play in Tulsa, too.
This is a FANTASTIC early Christmas present!
PS. For those wondering, S&A has grown on me substantially since its release, though I still have trouble listening to "The Larger Bowl".
This is a FANTASTIC early Christmas present!
PS. For those wondering, S&A has grown on me substantially since its release, though I still have trouble listening to "The Larger Bowl".
Like we need another reason to hate
So, part of my job is to write grants. I'm not particularly fond of this, considering it brings me into contact with a ridiculous cross section of government lunacy. The latest result: being told that my last grant application was rejected for funding because the grant applications that my agency puts together are "too good".
How ridiculous is this?! Is there some sort of sweet spot that we're supposed aim for? The goal of a competitive process is to achieve success by being the best performer. There is no "too good", only "the best", who should come out in first place. What is this, college football?
Leave it to government to reward the anti-achievement mentality by buying votes from the grasshoppers. As long as we continue to enable those who choose not to perform, we grow weaker as a society.
How ridiculous is this?! Is there some sort of sweet spot that we're supposed aim for? The goal of a competitive process is to achieve success by being the best performer. There is no "too good", only "the best", who should come out in first place. What is this, college football?
Leave it to government to reward the anti-achievement mentality by buying votes from the grasshoppers. As long as we continue to enable those who choose not to perform, we grow weaker as a society.
11.30.2007
When "Atheism" really is just another religion
Now I'm certain that this post will be enough to stir lots of people into a thick, rich lather. Good.
I am atheist. No, not "atheist" like the anti-religious crackpots out there who hate on religious folk as much as religious folk hate on them---but in the literal sense of the word: "without theism". I'm not "anti-theist", which is really what the non-religious haters are, I'm just without religion. And I'm very happy and secure in my spiritual beliefs.
Now, I have to say that it does irritate me that the anti-theists have really screwed it up for us atheists. I mean, when you actually mention to someone that you're atheist, you get looks that are normally reserved for the Jehovah's Witnesses that roll up on your doorstep or the terrorists who kill in the name of (wonderful, peace-loving, tolerant) Islam. Anymore, today's atheism is just the other side of religion's mystical coin.
I found a refreshing treatise that not only points out some of the more ridiculous aspects of today's atheism (anti-theism), but also shows that many of those are so analogous to the views they claim to oppose. If you like, take the jump:
10 Things Christians & Atheists Can Agree On
PS. Yes, I was quite surprised to find such a coherent read on Cracked.com. But it is what it is.
PPS. For all you anti-theist religion-haters out there: if you can provide a properly cited quotation from the founding documents (the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence) of this country where "separation of church and state" is guaranteed, please enlighten me. BTW, The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, ... ". Putting religious quotations on public buildings does not constitute making a law, last time I checked.
PPPS. My post-postscript reminds me of those who believe that this country is a "democracy", although there's no mention of this word or derivatives thereof throughout the founding documents (but this is another post for another day).
I am atheist. No, not "atheist" like the anti-religious crackpots out there who hate on religious folk as much as religious folk hate on them---but in the literal sense of the word: "without theism". I'm not "anti-theist", which is really what the non-religious haters are, I'm just without religion. And I'm very happy and secure in my spiritual beliefs.
Now, I have to say that it does irritate me that the anti-theists have really screwed it up for us atheists. I mean, when you actually mention to someone that you're atheist, you get looks that are normally reserved for the Jehovah's Witnesses that roll up on your doorstep or the terrorists who kill in the name of (wonderful, peace-loving, tolerant) Islam. Anymore, today's atheism is just the other side of religion's mystical coin.
I found a refreshing treatise that not only points out some of the more ridiculous aspects of today's atheism (anti-theism), but also shows that many of those are so analogous to the views they claim to oppose. If you like, take the jump:
10 Things Christians & Atheists Can Agree On
PS. Yes, I was quite surprised to find such a coherent read on Cracked.com. But it is what it is.
PPS. For all you anti-theist religion-haters out there: if you can provide a properly cited quotation from the founding documents (the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence) of this country where "separation of church and state" is guaranteed, please enlighten me. BTW, The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, ... ". Putting religious quotations on public buildings does not constitute making a law, last time I checked.
PPPS. My post-postscript reminds me of those who believe that this country is a "democracy", although there's no mention of this word or derivatives thereof throughout the founding documents (but this is another post for another day).
9.17.2007
Mmmm... Chicago.
Spent some time this eve listening to one of my very favorite bands: Chicago. I've been a fan of theirs for over 20 years, and they most definitely had an influence on my early musical development (I played sax in an earlier life). There's just something so right about their first 14 albums... the ones that they recorded on the Columbia label: they all just have a certain groove that clicks with me.
While I'm on the topic, you won't generally find Peter Cetera on lists of "most talented bassists". Regardless, this cat could get out with the best of them.
Chicago's still around today. Cetera's been gone long gone (yeah, I know, BAD), and there have been some other changes to the lineup, but they're still touring. I have a feeling that they're destined to become a Vegas act, what with the subs that they put in from time to time. I've got no prob with that.
BTW, if you've ever heard Stone of Sisyphus, drop me a line. It's just been confirmed that this "lost album" will be released toward the end of the year. Sweet.
While I'm on the topic, you won't generally find Peter Cetera on lists of "most talented bassists". Regardless, this cat could get out with the best of them.
Chicago's still around today. Cetera's been gone long gone (yeah, I know, BAD), and there have been some other changes to the lineup, but they're still touring. I have a feeling that they're destined to become a Vegas act, what with the subs that they put in from time to time. I've got no prob with that.
BTW, if you've ever heard Stone of Sisyphus, drop me a line. It's just been confirmed that this "lost album" will be released toward the end of the year. Sweet.
9.11.2007
I will never forget.
Though September 11th has been declared a national holiday, I cannot find it in myself to be very festive. In fact, I celebrate 9/11 much like I do Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veteran's Day: with deep introspection and reverence, and great thanks. Many heroes died 9/11/2001---heroes protecting the American nation. These are the Patriots that today was set aside for.
The writing below is not my own, but states better than I ever could the way I felt that day and still do today.
First Battle
By Jim Quinn, 9/16/2001
As we sift through football fields of rubble with cement dust clogging our eyes and throats it may hardly seem that there is victory anywhere in this landscape of catastrophe, but there is. The first battle of the war has been fought and it was a decisive victory for America. It didn't happen on the ground, it just ended up there. It happened sometime between 10:00 am and 10:37 am in the sky over Somerset PA on United Flight 93.
This was not just a symbolic victory; it was a win for the practical utility of freedom versus the robotic behavior of programmed fanaticism. In other words, it was a test of who we are versus who they are, and we won!
While there is some evidence that our military may have been forced to make a terrible choice last Tuesday it's clear that with or without an "assist" from one of our flyers, whom we shall hold blameless. The other members of our military on board the plane had already made their decision. The contents of cell phone calls from the plane bear witness to this. "But military?” what in the world are you talking about Quinn? Allow me to explain. These people weren't in the military when they boarded the plane. They enlisted in flight. They did it without a recruiter. There was no paper work and no promise of a college education or a career skill to secure their future. They signed up knowing their future would be less than 15 minutes.
The significance of the outcome of this battle will be lost on these over funded, over educated, oil saturated former Nomads. It should make them drop to their knees and make them pray to Allah for forgiveness, but it won't. Here's why:
The Battle of Fight 93 was a short but decisive encounter where the fanatic met the free. Where a group of people who have been programmed from birth to believe in the sanctity of self destruction and mass murder in the name of a god who does not exist as they envision him, came face to face with something they never understood; free people who are used to thinking for themselves.
It took decades of preparation, training and pseudo religious indoctrination to prepare these men to sacrifice their lives for their twisted purpose. It took a bunch of free Americans about two minutes to prepare to sacrifice theirs. These men and women who began their day with a toothbrush and a plane ticket and nothing more on their plate than the expectation of a business meeting and dinner at Fisherman's Wharf; these people with husbands, wives and children to consider, unhesitatingly chose to give their lives for their fellow Americans in less time than it takes to boil an egg.
Advantage: Freedom!
As I write this, God is probably hearing from a vast number of people He hasn't heard from in a while. In times of difficulty we are moved to turn back to that which we have neglected. Freedom will be the tool of victory in all battles as it was in this one. It is of desperate importance that we understand from whence the tool of victory emanates. You'll find it in the writings of the Framers of our Constitution. Faith and Freedom will triumph over fanaticism.
In those few dreadful seconds over Somerset, the template for the coming battles emerged from the fires in which they were forged. Free Americans fought the first battle "on the fly" and "by the seats of their pants". They did it with the only tool they had the resourcefulness of people who can still think for themselves. They earned victory and the admiration of the Free World. The fanatics earned a smoking hole in the ground.
The writing below is not my own, but states better than I ever could the way I felt that day and still do today.
First Battle
By Jim Quinn, 9/16/2001
As we sift through football fields of rubble with cement dust clogging our eyes and throats it may hardly seem that there is victory anywhere in this landscape of catastrophe, but there is. The first battle of the war has been fought and it was a decisive victory for America. It didn't happen on the ground, it just ended up there. It happened sometime between 10:00 am and 10:37 am in the sky over Somerset PA on United Flight 93.
This was not just a symbolic victory; it was a win for the practical utility of freedom versus the robotic behavior of programmed fanaticism. In other words, it was a test of who we are versus who they are, and we won!
While there is some evidence that our military may have been forced to make a terrible choice last Tuesday it's clear that with or without an "assist" from one of our flyers, whom we shall hold blameless. The other members of our military on board the plane had already made their decision. The contents of cell phone calls from the plane bear witness to this. "But military?” what in the world are you talking about Quinn? Allow me to explain. These people weren't in the military when they boarded the plane. They enlisted in flight. They did it without a recruiter. There was no paper work and no promise of a college education or a career skill to secure their future. They signed up knowing their future would be less than 15 minutes.
The significance of the outcome of this battle will be lost on these over funded, over educated, oil saturated former Nomads. It should make them drop to their knees and make them pray to Allah for forgiveness, but it won't. Here's why:
The Battle of Fight 93 was a short but decisive encounter where the fanatic met the free. Where a group of people who have been programmed from birth to believe in the sanctity of self destruction and mass murder in the name of a god who does not exist as they envision him, came face to face with something they never understood; free people who are used to thinking for themselves.
It took decades of preparation, training and pseudo religious indoctrination to prepare these men to sacrifice their lives for their twisted purpose. It took a bunch of free Americans about two minutes to prepare to sacrifice theirs. These men and women who began their day with a toothbrush and a plane ticket and nothing more on their plate than the expectation of a business meeting and dinner at Fisherman's Wharf; these people with husbands, wives and children to consider, unhesitatingly chose to give their lives for their fellow Americans in less time than it takes to boil an egg.
Advantage: Freedom!
As I write this, God is probably hearing from a vast number of people He hasn't heard from in a while. In times of difficulty we are moved to turn back to that which we have neglected. Freedom will be the tool of victory in all battles as it was in this one. It is of desperate importance that we understand from whence the tool of victory emanates. You'll find it in the writings of the Framers of our Constitution. Faith and Freedom will triumph over fanaticism.
In those few dreadful seconds over Somerset, the template for the coming battles emerged from the fires in which they were forged. Free Americans fought the first battle "on the fly" and "by the seats of their pants". They did it with the only tool they had the resourcefulness of people who can still think for themselves. They earned victory and the admiration of the Free World. The fanatics earned a smoking hole in the ground.
9.03.2007
Well, this is it.
I'll be sharing my extemporaneous thoughts and impromptu experiences here.
For all the nudniks, troglodytes, and other troublemakers out there: what I post on this blog represents my personal views only, not my professional or other views, and certainly not any views of my family, friends, employer, clients, etc. I know it's hard to believe, but there do exist people that can keep their professional lives and personal views mutually exclusive.
For all the nudniks, troglodytes, and other troublemakers out there: what I post on this blog represents my personal views only, not my professional or other views, and certainly not any views of my family, friends, employer, clients, etc. I know it's hard to believe, but there do exist people that can keep their professional lives and personal views mutually exclusive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
