Biblios

Some books I loved as a kid/young buck. Some I need to re-read, as my memory of them is somewhat sketchy. These will be in the kids' library. Definitely.

• A Wrinkle in Time, The Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet - Madeleine L'Engle
  
• Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
  
• Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo
  
• The 21 Balloons - William Pene du Bois
  
• The Martian Chronicles/The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury
  
• Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O'Dell
  
• Julie of the Wolves - Jean Craighead George
  
• Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne
  
• The Chronicles of Prydain - Lloyd Alexander (The Book of 3, The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, The High King)
  
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - Robert C. O'Brien
  
• Sounder - William H. Armstrong
  
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
  
• Animal Farm - George Orwell
  
• The Cricket in Times Square - George Selden/Thompson
  
• Old Yeller - Fred Gipson
  
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle - Beverly Cleary
  
• Where the Wild Things Are - Max Sendak
  

Thank you, English teachers, Mrs. Powell (4th-grade Gifted and Talented Teacher), Childcraft/World Book Encyclopedia, and the Troll book order program for introducing me to the wonderful world of lit. Oh yeah, and my favorite children's Bible. There's nothing quite like losing yourself in a fascinating world that someone created in their head and captured on paper. Too bad journal articles don't excite me the same way.

Monday

About a year ago, I posted something of an autobiographical sketch which covered my early years. (It was May 6, '05 if you're interested.) I was sitting here reading old posts when I realized I'm glad I started this blog. Reading the archives brought up memories and feelings that had been buried since I initially captured them on "paper". I'm looking forward to reading them again a few years from now, and see how I've changed over time.

We went by the Brooks' after services this week for one last hang-out with Ashley before the move to Ohio. We had a great time as usual, and finished off the night with an airing of "War of the Worlds". It was... interesting. I didn't like many of the characters in the movie, though Tom Cruise's character becomes tolerable by the end of the movie. The ending, while true to the H.G. Wells story, seems sorta rushed and the movie seems to end as if the studio just ran out of money and decided to wrap it up wherever they were. The Martians were pretty cool, although they appeared to me to be the same aliens from "Independence Day". I wonder how they rigged up those death rays to not damage clothing at all.

Luckily for Charlotte, the softball game this Sunday was rained out. Now the offensive juggernaut that is Anderson will have the opportunity to practice once or twice before we head up to make up the game. Maybe that rainout wasn't so lucky for Charlotte after all. Especially with our dead-eye pitcher having another few weeks to prepare.

I do not like green eggs and ham.

Warning: Title of post has nothing to do with the actual post.

It's been some week. I've started the Couch-to-5K program again, and I'm trying to drag the M.r.S. along. We both made it through day one with a little residual soreness. We're going out this afternoon for day two. Hopefully Nick can keep Noah occupied by pushing him around in his stroller; if not, well, we'll figure something out. The prospect of jogging while carrying 25 lbs. of jiggling boy around on my shoulders is not appealing.

We're supposed to be moving in 10 days. I guess we should start packing. Perhaps we can have a big get-together at the crib 2 days before we move again. In reality, everything will probably just get tossed into boxes on Mother's Day. Hopefully this is our last move before I graduate and purchase our first home. I'm really looking forward to having grass to mow, a garden to plant, gutters to clean, etc... I think I'll start looking now for some garish oil paintings for the walls. Something that has dogs playing poker or something like that.

Well, I've got to run and take my daily dose of The Cream and The Clear, and my daily injection of human growth hormone - after all, I've got a softball game to prepare for. Have a wonderful Sabbath, dear reader.

Edit: It's 7:34 and the M.R.S. is in Wal-Mart. Looks like Couch-to-5K is out for today.

Busted!

I went to Jalen's school for lunch today. He was quite surprised to see me - especially since he happened to be sitting at the "lunch detention" table for talking in class. I talked with the teacher who sent him to detention while I was there, and she assured me he wasn't usually a problem. Of course, by the time I see him again, I'll probably have forgotten this transgression.

I just met with a faculty member to pick her brain about a direction for my project. She gave me a couple of ideas which I'm about to read up on; hopefully, I'll still be able to get out of here next year. Now it's off to read some microsatellite papers. Ciao!

Feelin' old

My body shouldn't feel this bad after 3 games of basketball. I don't know what kind of shape I'll be in after this Sunday's softball game in Charlotte. Some practice beforehand would be nice, seeing as how I haven't played competitive softball since I was 18. (Well, there was one failed attempt to play intramurals in 2000, but I'd rather not talk about that.)

Today I became the father of a teen-ager. *sigh* Where has the time gone? I now know why parents make videos of their kids doing random things like playing in the living room. We watched a video last night of Nick playing in his walker and taking a bath in the kitchen sink when he was a baby. Again, where has the time gone? And man, could you ever see the resemblance between him and Noah!

Oh, and for you Anderson folx, this week's sermonette will either be about sin, God, or some combination thereof.

My education

Things I learned from my grandparents:

• No matter how sweet and docile they may appear, every old person in my family at one time was a hellion. Every one. Especially my two grandfathers.
  
  
• Every grandmother, no matter how sweet and docile they are now, at one time pulled a gun or a brick on a grandfather to help him reign in his stay-out-all-night tendencies.
  
  
• Clouds are to be feared.
  
  
• Clouds does not mean "clouds", but actually means "thunderstorms". All electrical items are to be turned off AND unplugged. No sitting on the floor is allowed. No loud talking or boisterous playing is allowed - for "The LORD is doing His work." (Does that mean he's vacationing when it's sunny out?)
  
  
• Jooging (stabbing) people and chunking (throwing) rocks are bad things.
  
  
• Sugar (diabetes) is prevalent in my family.
  
  
• The size of one's feet is directly proportional to the amount of time spent running around barefoot.
  
  
• Throwing bones into the slop bucket is a no-no. As an aside, I learned that it costs 25 cents to get your little brother to remove said bones from the slop bucket.
  
  
• Snuff is the nectar of the gods.
  
  
• Every part (and I do mean every) of a hog is edible.
  
  
• If it can be shot, it can be cleaned and cooked.
  
  
• All hand-held fans must have either a picture of MLK, JFK, or "Jesus" on the front, and an ad for the local mortuary on the back.
  
  
• No home is complete without a picture of the "Lord's Supper" on the living room wall. In the 70s, it was preferable that said picture have lights around the frame.
  
  
• Jimmy Carter was a good president; Ronald Reagan was the devil incarnate.
  
  
• Goody's powder cures anything.
  
  
• Addendum: Cornbread, rice, and fish scraps provide all the nutrients a family of cats needs. Old hubcaps are their favorite dishes from which to eat.
  

I think I'll go visit the family next week. It's been far too long.

I think the boys are excited by my musings. Agree?

Philadelphia

Kids = Crumbs

And I haven't even started on the truck yet.

Slurp

Caught him as he was working a popsicle to death. The look says it all.

As the M.R.S. has posted, we've settled on Daytona. Choosing this site eliminated the need to buy plane tickets or passports or the need for a rental car. That means mo' money, mo' money, mo' money! (Don't get excited - I'm a struggling graduate student, remember?) Anyway, it looks to be an 8-hour drive, which is not too bad. I'm strongly thinking of spending a night in Savannah on the way down and taking the fam to Paula Deen's restaurant. I wonder if her hoe-cakes have lard or bacon fat in them? It's a question that didn't come to mind until after I left her restaurant last time.

We found a place we liked, also reported by the M.R.S. Nick was all excited about the split-level floor plan. I was smitten by the thought of having a kitchen in which I could actually move around in again. The fact that I'll be able to open the fridge door without hitting the kitchen table is just an added plus.

I hate it when I let myself get caught out there starving! I just called China Wok and ordered a large chicken fried rice, fried chicken wings, and an order of sesame chicken. As I typed that last sentence, I realized I was perpetuating a stereotype again. I guess I'll dance my way to the restaurant, pick up my dinner, and chase it with the seedless watermelon I bought Friday. Oh yeah, and lust after a white woman. *sigh*

For the uninitiated

Jheri curl info from http://memorylab.deanlabs.com/FashionDetails.aspx?ID=221:

Once the natural (unprocessed) afro lost favor, the wet-look jheri-curl took over. Popularized by Michael Jackson, the jheri-curl is a chemical perm process that relaxes the natural kinky curl of black hair, leaving loose curls in its place.

Hair care product manufacturer Jheri Redding created the process and a series of gels and conditioners to help maintain the distinctive wet-look. Having a jheri-curl required constant care and upkeep, as well as a hearty heap of oil activator conditioner to keep the hair soft and shiny.

Unfortunately for bus seats and car headrests, the jheri-curls oil activator left behind an unpleasant greasy residue. But such is the price of looking good.



S-curl info is from Wikipedia:

S-Curl is a trademark for a line of hair products designed to slightly straighten the natural hair texture of a man of African descent, so that natural wave and curl patterns are looser and more prominent. The term "s-curl" soon came to describe the hairstyle that resulted from the use of the S-Curl line products and the products of competitors.

Depending upon the strength of the application, an "S-curl" hairstyle has hair texture either only slightly less kinky than natural African hair, or more closely approaching the curly hair texture of a mixed or Latino person. Similar to a woman's permanent, an S-curl is applied using relaxers containing lye, and, like a jheri curl, requires continued use of specialized shampoos and conditioners to keep the chemically altered hair from becoming dry, hard, and brittle.

See what you're missing, Desiree?

Yesterday as we cruised through neighborhoods looking for "For Rent" signs, I guess Nick had had enough. Blue was still hanging in there though.



Noah, on the other hand, was a little perturbed at the M.R.S. for taking a picture of his brother without taking one of him. So, to insure peace and domestic tranquility:



OK, so I really just wanted to share pics of the boys. I like them almost as much as I like King Kong.

Feast possibilities

Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Daytona, or Oxnard.  I must have warm weather.

A wordsmith I'm not.

I usually type my posts out without thinking in advance what I'm going to post. When I read them later, I almost always hate them. I've thought of going back and editing them, but I'd end up editing them to the point that they would no longer reflect what I was thinking about when I typed the original post. I guess I'll leave them be, except for egregious flaws.

Great. [/sarcasm] The Lady Tar Heels have lost and Duke is winning. I guess I'll root for Maryland to win the Ladies' NCAA basketball championship, to go along with Florida for the men. I hope Aaron, Kristen, Zac, & Lindsay don't party too hard if the Gators win. Actually, I'd be amazed if anyone other than Kristen knew their school was playing for the national championship tomorrow night.

'Twas Beauty Killed the Beast.

And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty. And beauty stayed his hand. And from that day on, he was as one dead.

I fell in love with the big ape as a kid. At some point in my childhood, I saw the 1933 version of the movie; I don't remember how old I was when I saw it. I was fascinated by the idea of a giant ape who fought dinosaurs and pterodactyls. The whole "love story" aspect of the movie went way over my head at the time. I saw the 1976 remake around 1978 or '79 - whenever they started airing it on NBC as the movie of the week, or whatever they called it then. (That's what they did with theatrical releases before the advent of VHS and DVDs). I picked up on the love story this time, especially when Dwan (Jessica Lange) is begging Kong not to put her down because she knows the helicopters are going to shoot him down. I loved the mighty 8th wonder of the world, even though he was quite obviously a man in a suit. Lemme tell ya something: Peter Jackson's remake is BY FAR the best of the three. (The 1980s sequels to King Kong aren't even worth mentioning, btw.) I'd heard complaints that nothing happens in the the first hour of the movie. That's not true. Jackson introduces the main and supplementary characters, and fleshes out their backgrounds and personalities. This caused me to be emotionally vested in their predicaments once they reach Skull Island and all heck breaks loose. I really felt it when things happened to the characters. Usually only books draw me in like that - it's quite nice when a movie that's so visually stunning also packs an emotional wallop.

As for the aforementioned Skull Island, it's the creepiest place I've ever seen. I would've lasted about 3 minutes there - assuming my ship wasn't bashed to pieces on the rocks. That scene when the camera crew finds out that the island isn't uninhabited is priceless. You can feel the impending doom building, and there's nothing you can do about it. Incidentally, a dentist could make a fortune on that island.

And then there's Kong. No stop motion photography here. No man in a suit, walking and standing like a man. Nope. Kong is borne out in full fledged CGI a la Gollum for the LOTR flicks. This Kong is quick, agile, and STRONG. The fight with the 3 T-rexes is worth the price of admission. Did I mention that he's holding Ann Darrow almost the entire time he's fighting? One thing is certain: Kong ain't no punk! And then when he finally gets to fight without being encumbered by Miss Darrow, he handles his business. And this Kong has personality. At times he's a monster; at times, he's a big hairy kid. There is one scene that was unintentionally funny to me; Kong and Ann are sitting atop the Empire State Building enjoying a sunrise right before the biplanes arrive for the final showdown. Ann is sitting in his hand, and I kept expecting Kong to clutch Ann and say, Gollum style, "My precious!". Well, it was funny to me at the time.

The love story between Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody) and Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) is pretty understated, which was good. I think that subplot seriously weakened the '76 film. Here, it's shown just enough to make you understand why Brody goes to the lengths he does to save Ann. The eventual "relationhip" between Ann and Kong is also well played, and never strays into the realm of the unbelievable (assuming of course that you can believe in a 25-foot ape and an island full of dinosaurs to begin with). The genuineness of their relationship gives the denoument its power to punch you in the gut and bring you (not me, of course!) to tears.

The inclusion of the famous deleted scene involving giant insects and a ravine was a masterful stroke. Kudos, Mr. Jackson. I just wish you'd not felt the need to invoke God's name in the manner you did those two times.

A special thanks to Country Girl for hosting the viewing party and to Mr. Country Girl and Tman for feeding us. Daily Notion and Diamonds on the Inside rounded out our group. I hadn't done the group movie night thing in a while; I need to rectify that. Who's up for War of the Worlds?

The Husband Store

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE !

There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the Shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch… you may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building! So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband . .

On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.

The second floor sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good looking.

"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going. She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead good looking and help with the housework. "Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on This floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

Random brilliance thoughts

It’s the ultimate tale of unrequited love! It has everything – beautiful female lead, strong male lead, and a love so strong it reaches across geographic, language, and species barriers! That’s right boys and girls – King Kong is out on DVD today!!! I foresee a DVD purchase in my future. I may as well get the original 1933 version. I think I’ll pass on the tripe that was the 1976 version w/ Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges, and a man in a bad gorilla suit. Oh yeah, here are some random pix of the boys.



Random Stuff:

The McNairs and kids are nice people. Mrs. McNair reminds me A LOT of her sister R in L.A.

I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. I need to get out of the rut I've been in for the past 3-4 years. (I wonder if there's any connection b/t this feeling and me being in school?)

I want my kids to be musical. I looked at a set of drums, an 88-key keyboard, and an electric bass (for me) today.

UNC's Lady Tar Heels just beat my other favorite team to advance to the Final Four. I imagine Baton Rouge is off the hook right now with both their teams advancing.

I eat far too often when I'm not actually hungry. You can guess what's going to happen the the pizza leftovers at home when I get there.

When my boys were about 2, the docs told us that Jalen projected to be about 6'4" when fully grown, and Nick about 6'6". I'm guess I should scrap the books and teach them to jump, shoot, and dribble. Or I could give them cigarettes and have them end up about 5'8". I hope Noah doesn't end up being the runt of the litter - but then, someone's gotta be.

Anybody got some good credit they want to lend me?

I'll take those shiny shirts, Karl

I've got to stop letting my wife buy me clothes.

LSU 62, Duke 54

Interesting opinion by Michael Behe here, the author of "Darwin's Black Box", and a critic of Darwinian evolution. This particular article is about the filtering of scientific data through the materialistic worldview of most scientists.

Nick's hair didn't turn out to be very curly. As a matter of fact, it doesn't look very different at all. I guess a trip to the barber is now in order.

At least it's not a Jheri

My son is about to get an S-Curl. Fifteen years after they were popular. This should be interesting. At least it should eliminate the crying when we comb his hair. He's determined to let it grow long enough to be braided. Coincidentally, he first expressed his desire to get his hair braided around the time the M.R.S. braided his little brothers. Hmmmm....

Noah had his adenoids removed today. He's been asleep for most of the day, but now he appears to be back to his old self. Hopefully this will allow him to breathe through his nose now, and get rid of the Darth Vader-like breathing. I guess I should prepare to watch some hoops now. See ya after Dook goes down!

Random title that has nothing to do with the post

Nothing much going on here.  Waiting for the NCAA tourney to kick back into high gear Thursday.  I expect Duke to go down at some point this weekend.  Right now I’m on the UConn bandwagon.  As for the women’s tourney, I feel cheated – they have UNC and the Lady Vols in the same bracket.  If they both win out, they’ll have to play each other BEFORE the Final Four.  The ACC might get 3 teams in the Final Four – that would be impressive even though I don’t relish the thought of the Lady Blue Devils being there.  Anyhoo, it’s off to read some scientific mumbo-jumbo Infinity style.  Ciao!

Oh yeah – I think the M.R.S. is about to join the blogosphere.  She set it up last night, so maybe she’ll start posting soon.  I’m not on blogger right now so I haven’t linked to her yet, but her URL will be shonta77.blogspot.com.  Sayonara.

Oxen in a ditch

So I go outside to load the truck and go to services. I notice the truck appears to have a pronounced lean. "No way," I say. "Not today. Not as I'm trying to get to services to give my first sermonette!" Sure enough, when I get to the truck I see the front tire on the passenger side is flatter than a pancake. I have a can of Fix-a-Flat, so I decide to use that instead of changing the tire. That way I can get to services and handle the tire later. The can recommends that the valve stem be at the 4:00 or 8:00 position. I decide to back the car up a little bit to get the valve stem in the right position. I put the key in the ignition and turn. Nothing happens. I turn it again. I get a clicking noise, but no ignition. So I have a flat tire AND a dead battery? "No way. Not today. Not now." Well, I guess I can take the time to change the tire now. In my suit and white shirt, might I add.

I own a Chevy Blazer. The jack and lug wrench are in a compartment in the back of the truck. I go to open the hatch and BOO-YAH! Nothing happens. (?!?!?!?!) Now I have to climb over the back seat to drag out the equipment I need. Great. As I'm finally changing the tire, the M.R.S. calls our uncle to see if he can come give us a boost. He's working. Great. Anyway, our next-door neighbor comes home as I'm finishing up changing the tire and offers to boost us off. At first, nothing happens. Just as I'm starting to think the problem is with the alternator or the starter, the Blazer starts up. Yes!!!! We pile into the vehicle, pull off, and hightail it down the road. We have to stop to put a little air into the spare, and hightail it some more until we get to services. Thirty minutes late. No sermonette para mi! Luckily I remembered to call our elder when I first noticed the tire was flat and other arrangements had been made. So now I've got a reprieve until the end of the month. At least the sermonette's ready.

I guess the church wasn't ready for some "new truth"!

Gary, if you read this, we'll be seeing your uncle Rod next week.

Cotton: The other white meat

Thanks for all the well wishes and the cyber- group hug after my meeting/presentation. It went fairly well. The toughest member of my committee wants me to focus my research more towards answering a particular biological question - trouble is, I haven't come up with one. Oh, I have some things that I'm trying to find out, but he wants me to use the data I'm generating to address something a little more specific. It looks like I'll be taken the written portion of my qualifying exams in mid-to-late April, and my NSF grant proposal that I'll defend orally will be due at that time as well. Then again, this may not happen until July; it depends on when my 4th committee member can fly in from Washington State. Anyway, this is where the rubber meets the road; I expect to be doing a lot of lab work, data analysis, and studying for the next few months. I'm treating this sort of as my "last hurrah" weekend... *sigh*

Now I've gotta go and pull a Manuel B. Yes, that's an inside joke.

Must... resist... darkside...

I was flipping through the channels last night when I saw this band on our local PBS station.  I stopped because I thought it was Alison Krauss & Union Station, but I was wrong.  Before I knew it though, I’d spent about half an hour watching them perform!  The band was Rhonda Vincent & Rage.  Anybody out there in the blogosphere heard of them?  They were absolutely fantastic – particularly the banjo player and the fiddler!  The M.R.S. just shook her head.  I feel I must go listen to some rap to balance things out.  (Don’t worry, none of the hard-core, “gangsta” stuff.  I like rap-lite.)  

So I’ve got a grad committee meeting tomorrow @ 11:00.  I’m working on the Powerpoint presentation now, and it’s coming along quite slowly.  I know they’re gonna rip me apart, but at least it’ll be done by 12:30.  “Why are you taking this approach?”  “What biological questions are you trying to address?”  Yadda,yadda, yadda…  I also plan to schedule my written & oral comprehensive exams for sometime in April.  I guess I need to check my calendar and see when the Holy Days are again.  Then if – IF – I pass, I will officially be a PhD candidate.  After that, it’s just a matter of finishing up my research, writing up my dissertation, defending it (i.e., get ripped by my committee again)  and getting’ on through.  Wish a brotha luck.  Better yet, join me a prayer or two!  I have a feeling I’m gonna need a group hug tomorrow.

What happens in TN stays in TN

Chattanooga has been a blast! We missed the Bible study last night because it took us 5 hours to get here instead of the expected 3-3.5. Apparently the roads were especially dangerous yesterday - we were stuck behind 3 separate accidents on 285 and I-75. We finally arrived around 8:40, just as the Bible study was winding up. We checked into our hotel and as expected ran into brethren in the hall. We were starving by this point, so we walked down the street to City Cafe. Once inside, we ran into Juan, Jason, Rebekah, Leif, and Camille and shot the breeze for a minute before making our way to our seat. The diner had quite an impressive selection of food: fried appetizers, spinach & queso, fajitas, quesidillas, breakfast, Greek food, Italian dishes, and the LARGEST desserts I've ever seen. Since we were starving, of course we ordered too much food. Our server gave the M.R.S. a glass of wine, a humungous slice of strawberry cheesecake, and a chocolate chip cookie the size of Cuba (for Nick) on the house. We eventually waddled back down the street and turned in for the evening.

Did I mention the diner had a full bar?

Sabbath services were wonderful. Mr. League gave the sermon, filled with a lot of good advice. I couldn't tell you what the overall theme of the sermon was, but it was interesting nonetheless. Mr. Fritts and the choir sang a beautiful song for special music; "God Chose Us" by Paul Williams. I think there were 90 people at the Bible study, but there were at least 200 present for services. Tennessee, Atlanta, and Blairsville (GA) were well represented; I also met brethren from Laurel (MS), New York/New Jersey (including someone whose blog I read on occasion), L.A., Dallas, Charlotte, Bluefield (WV), Birmingham, and a surprise visitor from our congregation in Anderson. Most everyone stayed for the dance as well. I'm not really a dancer, but I got on the floor once or twice - once to do some incredibly difficult dance called the Bunny Hop.

I don't know what tomorrow holds. Juan is trying to put together a basketball game. I think Marshall M. a ball, shorts, sneaks, AND a jersey (?) just in case he stumbled in to a pick-up game. I'll give Juan a call in the morning to see what's up. If that falls through, we might hit the IMAX or the aquarium down the street - or we might check out the new aquarium in Atlanta. They DO have whale sharks and belugas.

To top it off, we made it back to the room just in time to see my beloved
Tar Heels spoil Senior night for JJ Redick and the boys in Cameron indoor stadium. Life is great!

I-85 to I-75 to I-74

Day 1 of the Couch-to-5K program went well. I wanted to keep on going since I didn't even work up a sweat. How am I going to find time to run this weekend? I guess I'll try to squeeze some running in Sunday when I get back from Chattanooga. Do I take the fam to the aquarium in Chattanooga, or do I hit the new one in Atlanta on the way home? The facility in Atlanta has 2 whale sharks that I'm dying to see. If I didn't know any better I'd think the decision has already been made.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend, even though I don't dance. I've contacted a few people from Blairsville and Atlanta who are going. I guess I should book us a room before we get there. How did civilization develop without the internet? I need to stick Post-it notes all over our hotel room reminding me that services will be at 10:30 Sabbath morning instead of the 2 p.m. that I'm used to. I do hate that I'm going to miss Dr. Doug Winnail's visit to our local congregation this week. *sigh*

Oh well, the Sandman beckons. G'night folks!

98.6

Now I know how the Martians felt in the original War of the Worlds.  It’s amazing how quickly a virus can bring one down!  I felt the attack coming on Friday night, and tried to fend it off with by taking Airborne and sucking on Vitamin C lozenges.  Didn’t work.  Like MJ dropping 38 on Utah while battling the flu, I manned up and made the arduous trek to my parents’ home after church.  Once there I pretty much spent Sunday and most of Monday in a horizontal position.  One benefit of being sick is that it’s a great kick-starter for a weight-loss regimen.  Anyway, now I’m all better and should be my normal self at church tomorrow (look out world!).  Nick and I are going to watch John Huston’s “The Bible” tonite, which covers the first 22 books or so of Genesis.  I remember watching this late one nite as a kid.  From what I remember, it covers creation, Asam & Eve, Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham & Isaac.  I remember being scared when Lot’s wife turned into the pillar of salt.  Should be fun!

No, really, I'm not complaining!

So I was lying around yesterday thinking a comment someone made to me at the Feast. The comment came after some Jamaican brethren (OK, mostly sistren) sang special music. As they sang, they swayed rhythmically back and forth. A friend (who happens to be black), commented on how you never see that. I hadn't really paid it that much attention, as I grew up Baptist, and one sees far more activity than swaying when the choirs really get into it. My friend went on to opine that some in the church would be offended by the swaying of the choir. At first, I didn't agree, but after giving the matter some thought I think my buddy might be correct. How many things are frowned upon because of cultural differences and not for scriptural reasons? For example, many brethren listen to classical music on the Sabbath. I do too - but I also listen to instrumental jazz. I don't know if I'd break out the jazz while other brethren were visiting unless I knew for certain they wouldn't be uncomfortable.

Take our hymns, for instance. I like the way they're written, and I love the arrangements for almost all of them - but I don't think that they will be sung the way their written now by every nation. You can click on the album name to hear a snippet of "Praise the Eternal". Some nations will "jazz them up" a certain way, and some nations will jazz them up in other ways,IMHO. Is that wrong? I think there are going to be noticeable differences between services in Lagos, Auckland, and Jerusalem. I think God will revel in the different flavors His worship will take among the various peoples of the world. Of course, the aspects of each culture that is counter to God's way of life must be discerned and removed. I have a CD (somewhere) by Chris Jasper, a former member of the Isley Brothers. Apparently he attended WCG for a time in the late 80s or early 90s. Anyway, his CD "Praise the Eternal" contains his versions of the title track and "Holy Mighty Majesty". I happen to like his versions, but I imagine his renditions would border on sacrilege for some.

I heard there were some naysayers a few years back when a male ensemble performed a contemporary gospel song for special music at another Feast site ("Awesome God", I believe it was). The problem was not the lyrics of the song - but the way the song was performed. I remember there being some miffed brethren at a Feast in Panama City a few years back when a guy performed a sax solo of "Amazing Grace" for special music. Now, I understand that "Amazing Grace" probably made those people uncomfortable because of its association with mainstream religion. That's understandable, I guess, considering most people in the church want to distance themselves from mainstream religions as much as possible. Still, I thought some of the reactions I heard were a bit extreme. But hey, what do I know?

Anyway, I'm rambling. I'm going to make a more concerted effort to ask myself when I see something I think is wrong: "Do I think this thing/action/idea/attitude is wrong because it is - or because it's different than the what I would do?" If I can't determine that whatever it is is wrong according to the Bible, then I guess I have some work to do on myself.

PS: Liking Bob Dylan's or Dave Matthews' singing SHOULD be frowned upon! I'm sure there's a Scripture in there somewhere that covers that.

... here comes baby sans baby carriage

Apparently our cousin was a wee bit more than 7 months pregnant.  She had her fist prenatal visit this morning.  She’s now in the hospital, dilated  cm.  There should be a new member of the fam tonight or tomorrow morning.  Whoa.

Edit: He's here! Seven lbs, 3 oz. Born sometime around 9:45-10:00.

More Nickisms

Overheard by me after Nick's class visited a local nursing home:

The M.R.S.: Nick, what did your class do at the nursing home?
Nick: We gave out flowers.
M.R.S: Did they say thank you?
Nick: No ma'am. They were too old.

Convo @ Ruby Tuesdays. We were sitting beside a map of the United States.

Nick: Daddy, it shouldn't take us long to get to Florida.
Me: Really? Why not?
Nick: Because all we have to do is drive through Gorilla and we're there!
Me: Gorilla? You mean Georgia?
Nick: Is that what that says?

For Desiree

1. Name: Michael Bernard Palmer
2. Birthday: 8/4/70
3. Place of residence: Clemson, SC
4. What makes you happy: Making my wife/kids laugh
5. What are you listening to now/have listened to last: Classic Soul/Motown Sound (AOL Radio)
6. Do you read my LJ and be truthful about it: Yes, Desiree, I do. Quite often.
7. If you do, what is particularly good/bad about it: It's always entertaining. Sometimes funny, sometimes not so. But it's always a compelling read.
8. An interesting fact about you: I almost made it to the National Spelling Bee twice (before it was televised on ESPN)
9. Are you in love/have a crush at the moment: Madly
10. Favourite place to be: Panama City, FL @ Feast time
11. Favourite lyric: "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day..."
12. Best time of the year: Summer! Long days, not cold!
13. Weirdest food you like: Chicken Feet (stewed, of course)
14. Do farts make you laugh: Depends on whether I'm the flatulatee or the flatulator.

RECOMMEND
1. A film: National Treasure
2. A book: Island of the Blue Dolphins, Roots
3. A band, a song and an album:
Band: The Temptations
Song: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" by Isaac Hayes
Album: Emperors of Soul (5-disc compilation of the Temptations)

PLUS1. One thing you like about me: Your humor, sarcasm, and the love you extend to my boy. OK, so that's 3 things.
2. Two things you like about yourself: That's hard... Maybe my height and my taste in women. *That should secure me some brownie points with the M.R.S.*
3. Put this in your LJ so I can tell you what I think of you, which most of you won't.
4. POST A PICTURE OF yourself

Family ties.

I went to a funeral on my wife's side of the family Wednesday. The deceased family member was very respected and loved in the community and by the family. A great deal of care went into sending him out in style. After the graveside service, the family ate at the church and then everyone eventually ended up at my wife's grandma's place (she's the sister of the deceased). Within 4-5 hours of the covering of the casket the following things were witnessed:

1. A BIG argument (and near fistfight) between one of the deceased's sisters, 2 nieces, and the wife of one of the deceased's brothers. The argument was triggered by long-simmering animosity toward the sister-in-law, and by tacky comments she was overheard making at the funeral.

2. The dissolution of the marriage of said brother and sister-in-law. You can almost pinpoint the exact moment of fracture.

3. A near argument involving the who was taking home which particular flowers left over from the funeral. Did I mention all the flowers in question were identical, except for one pot held a slightly larger flower?

4. An announcement by one of the teen members of the family that she is pregnant. Seven months pregnant to be exact.

I guess this trumps the almost-fistfight between my mom's oldest brother (67) and one of her sisters (56) at a dinner for my Grandma last September. At least I could blame that one on excessive alcohol consumption.

Hot Buttered Sole

So Saturday night I was at Longhorn's steakhouse with the usual eat-out crew (minus a few)and it was quite crowded. We waited about an hour for a table, and I took up my usual spot on the end, right beside the high chair. Nick and Noah fell asleep while we waited, but by this time Nick was wide awake and in full "I want chicken fingers and root beer" mode. Noah ws still unconscious however, lying on his back across my lap. Eventually we get our food - for me, grilled chicken breasts smothered with portabella mushrooms, asparagus, and melted provolone cheese, along with a baked potato with butter and sour cream. *mouth watering at the memory* Anyway, just as I dug in, Noah woke up and began to thrash. Before I could secure him and sit him upright, UP went his right leg and then (in what seemed to be slow motion) DOWN came his right leg right on the table. My son's shoe landed smack-dab in the middle of my baked potato. His shoe was covered in sour cream and (now) mashed potato. Nothing like a little faux leather and dirt to improve one's dinner. At least I provided comic relief for the table across from us. I thought the girl who saw the whole thing was gonna spit her beer on her date.

Richard Kiel, what hath thee wrought?

There's a relatively new song out now on the airwaves by Nelly and some other rappers extolling the virtues of having a tricked-out mouth. Rappers Paul Wall, Lil John, and Baby, or Birdman, of Cash Money records are extremely proud of their platinum and diamond-encrusted dental work - Mr. Wall in particular. I don't think I've ever seen a photo of him with his mouth closed.



Perhaps I could bolster my image by donning precious metals in my oral cavity. I've found several styles which match my personality. Perhaps you, dear reader, can help me decide. Come to think of it, my new grill could double as a retirement plan. As I accrue wealth, I could bling more & more teeth. When I reach retirement age, I can just cash in my dentures. I'm liking the sound of that...



I'd be remiss if I didn't give credit to the first to sport the metallic grin. Honor to whom honor is due and whatnot.



Jaws, all dentists, orthodontists, and jewelers salute you.

No grits or sweet tea to be found.

It's been a long week. San Diego was great, thanks to brethren and my labmates. We arrived in SD around 6:00 Friday evening. It sure gets dark early in CA. Their sunset is about 30-35 minutes earlier than here. After arriving at my hotel, I unpacked (something I NEVER do) and ate a solitary dinner at the restaurant on-site. Afterwards, I read some in Psalms and passed out.

Sabbath morning I had a leisurely breakfast at the same restaurant, and made contact with Joe, my ride to services. Services were great, as usual. Mr. Way gave a sermon on the 9th commandment. After services I met his family, as well as everyone I didn't meet before services. We ended up being among the last to leave, and I rode with a professional shuttle driver to the Young's place in Crest. There we had a festive meal of green and red enchiladas and taco salad. There was lots of stimulating conversation about various aspects of our beliefs. Mostly, I listened, which is what I tend to do around people I'm just getting to know. My new shuttle-driving friend gave me a lift back to the hotel around midnight, and once again I passed out.

Sunday was my busy day. I attended the Cotton Workshop and the International Cotton Genome Initiative meetings, and managed to stay awake the entire time. I was a little worried about that b/c I ate a huge liver and onions dinner immediately before the meetings began. Later that night my old boss at Clemson took a group of us out to dinner. It was basically people who'd worked for him at Clemson and people who now work for him in Arizona. There were other scientists there as well; people with whom he'd collaborated at one time or another. There were about 30 of us altogether. I recommend the Old Town Mexican Cafe if you're ever in SD. Did I mention that I was almost late to the meeting b/c I was watching the end of the Pittsburgh/Indy game? That was one of the most exciting 4th quarters I've ever seen. Poor Peyton. I really wanted him to win and shed the "can't win a big game label." It's getting harder to defend him though.

Monday was the day I had to stand by my poster. I basically found out that my data looked like crap. I mean, it would've been considered good if I was using poly-acrylamide, but since I was using agarose the marker bands should've looked more crisp and with less background. Enough of that. We hit the Cheesecake Factory after that with some lab-mates and then I came home and passed out.

Tuesday was a free day for me. We went on a 3-hour whale watching tour that morning and saw quite a few California gray whales, along with pelicans, sea lions, and dolphins. It was quite a trip - until I ate the Hebrew National and got a little queasy. Once I hit the bay though, I was fine. The guys went to tour this WWII aircraft (the Midway), while a couple of the gals went kayaking. The aircraft carrier was cool - even though I felt like I was in a submarine inside it. We eventually found ourselves in Pacific Beach, which is in La Jolla, I believe. I eventually made it home and passed out.

It was kinda fun this year not being the only one from the lab at a conference. I guess it's back to the daily grind now. I think I'll have another glass of wine and then go pass out.

Pulling an Annette...

For the geek in you... This is the poster I'm taking to the Plant & Animal Genome Conference in San Diego tomorrow. Helloooo Cheesecake Factory!

I'm supposed to be in San Antonio...

I can't begin to imagine the anguish the people of Tallmansville, WV must feel. After being twisting in the wind as to the fate of the miners trapped 260 feet underground, the families and friends of the trapped miners were euphoric after being told that 12 of the 13 miners were alive. According to an article I read on Worldnetdaily, and according to statements given on Anderson Cooper's show, officials knew within twenty minutes that this information was inaccurate, yet did not inform the families of the true status of the trapped miners for 3 hours. With the 12 deaths, then the added pain caused by the inaccurate information, I sense a major class-action lawsuit in the future.

I just heard Ariel Sharon has had a brain hemorrhage. Didn't he have a light stroke last week? I wonder how things will change in Israeli/Palestinian relations with the advent of a new Prime Minister. I wonder if Netanyahu will regain the office.

USC & Texas are starting to pick up steam now. The fourth quarter promises to be a dandy.

Dear Coach Bowden:

Please recruit kickers like you recruit for the other positions.

Sincerely,

FSU fan watching Penn State celebrate after we missed an extra point and 2 field goals

PS: I don't blame you, Mr. Cismesia. I know you didn't miss intentionally .

Sell-out...

... or Convert? I just bought an Alison Krauss CD from Cracker Barrel.

And Kansas City is out for the kid.

And I still haven't seen King Kong.

Nick-isms

Comment from Nick as we’re sitting around the dinner table munching on homemade nachos:

“Umm, this is good!  Mama you’re a good cooker!  I’m gonna be a good cooker too when I grow up and get a job.”

“Daddy, when I grow up, who’s gonna be my grandparents?  And who’s going to be my mommy and daddy?”

You gotta love kids.

Power to the People

Several of the local brethren are without power tonight after an ice storm passed through. Luckily we weren't affected, though the dogwood tree in our yard was a casualty. We stopped by the Brooks' to find them sitting in the dark around a kerosene heater. Did I mention the giant redwood that was blocking their driveway? I'll let TMan tell yall about that. Greenville, Williamston, and Anderson were hit harder than Clemson, apparently. I know that Country Girl is without power, but her mom has electricity. I don't know about the Greenville brethren, or the Hughes, Higgingbotham, and Wakefield families. The Burdettes are OK too.

Potluck sure oughta be interesting tomorrow. I foresee lots of cold cuts and peanut butter sandwiches.

1 Little 2Little 3 Resurrections...

Hey - the Recover post link really works!

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Rev 20:11-13, NKJV

This past Sabbath we heard a sermon from Rod King on Resurrections. I enjoy this type of sermon for a few reasons: 1) It shows God's incredible love and mercy in insuring that ALL humanity will have a chance to choose to receive His offer of salvation; 2) The Scriptures we covered are great for reviewing a "trunk of the tree" church doctrine; and 3) It helps me look forward to the day when I will see my daughter again.

Daughter? What daughter?

The M.R.S. and I had a daughter, Kierra Nicole, on August 13, 1997 during the sixth month of pregnancy. She didn't survive, but she didn't suffer either. She never took a breath. I can remember holding her tiny body in my hand; she was soooo small. I remember her perfectly formed hands and feet, and the fact that she had my nose. We had a little funeral for her, and I really remember only two things from that day: my mother-in-law bringing in a dress from a doll, because that was the only thing that would fit Kierra, and I remember her casket. It was about the size of one of my shoeboxes. The sight of the miniature coffin amidst the normal gravestones was incredibly surreal. It was almost like I was outside of my body watching the goings-on from afar. The M.R.S. took it pretty hard, but we've both recovered pretty well, I think. Forgive me for piggybacking on something the Burdette girls mentioned a while ago, but it's scary when I realize how infrequently I think of her. And I feel guilt also; not only don't I think of her enough, I remember how bummed out I was initially over the pregnancy and how inconvenient the pregnancy was to my life. So much for not being selfish and callous. But boy, am I gonna make it up to her! I'm going to be the daddy of daddies to her. I look forward to seeing and raising my little girl. Of course, I'll let mommy love her too. And change her diapers.

And just as uplifting is knowing that all who have lost children, parents, friends, and lovers will see them again as well. Think of the mistakes we've all made in relationships with others; people you've left on bad terms, never to see them again. People you've loved whom you hurt in one way or another. People we weren't able to help whose problems cost them their lives. Think of how good it will be to be able to help them; to repair damaged relationships; to be able to help them achieve the happiness which is available for all. God speed that day!

Moving

Don't you love it? I came home Monday to find a notice from Family Housing. The University is shutting down our complex due to the rising operating/maintenance costs. It appears that some of the underground oil tanks are leaking, and must be dug up along with any contaminated soil. So far they've tested 7 of the duplexes, and found 2 oil tanks to be leaking. They had to dig 75 feet down to remove all the contaminated soil from the first duplex, which damaged the foundation and forced the demolition of the unit. The second duplex is scheduled to be demolished this month; it's leak did not descend as far as the first one but covered a larger area. According to figures shown at the "town" meeting last night, it cost Housing ~$360,000 to take care of the first duplex; the second is expected to cost about $150,000. There are also 36 townhouse units which need sprinkler units to be brought up to university standards. This is expected to cost another $150,000. It's estimated that to keep these facilities going would require us to pay more than $300 additional bucks per month in rent. They realized that isn't feasible, so they're shutting the units down. There are 98 families living here, and many of us went to a "town" meeting last night to hear from the Director of Housing. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of anger directed at her. I felt sorry for the lady. Anyhoo, we all have until June 30, 2006 to find new cribs. At least we have 6 months. So Tman, what are you doing around the end of June/beginning of July? lol

Thanksgiving weekend

The M.R.S. and kids


Tryptophan.


Me and my neice Ashleigh


Nick, Ash, and cousin Queen


My older brother Ronnie with his neice and nephews


Cosa Nostra

H.G. & Me

I’ve been skimming H.G. Wells’ The Outline of History (yes, THAT H.G. Wells) and came across some interesting passages.  I thought I’d share them with you.  The italicized comments are Mr. Wells’ – the rest are mine.  

We shall tell what men have believed about Jesus of Nazareth, but him we shall treat as being what he appeared to be, a man, just as a painter must needs paint him as a man.  The documents that testify to his acts and teachings we shall treat as ordinary human documents…  This is what we have already done in the case of Buddha, and what we shall do later with Muhammad. (Outline of history, page 497)

We are left, if we do strip this record of these difficult accessories (the great star that brought wise men, the massacre of the male infant children, the flight into Egypt, etc.) with the figure of a being, very human, very earnest and passionate, capable of swift anger, and teaching a new and simple and profound doctrine – namely, the universal loving Fatherhood of God and the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven… (page 498)

Now it is a matter of fact that in the gospels all that body of theological assertion which constitutes Christianity finds little support.  There is, as the reader may see for himself, no clear and emphatic assertion in these books of the doctrines which Christian teachers of all denominations find generally necessary to salvation…  …There is no evidence that the apostles of Jesus ever heard of the Trinity – at any rate from him.  The observance of the Jewish Sabbath, again, transferred to the Mithraic Sun-day, is an important feature of many Christian cults; but Jesus deliberately broke the Sabbath, and said that it was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.  Nor did he say a word about the worship of his mother Mary, in the guise of Isis, the Queen of Heaven.  All that is most characteristically Christian in worship and usage, he ignored.  Sceptical[sic] writers have had the temerity to deny that Jesus can be called a Christian at all… (page 499)

As remarkable is the enormous prominence given by Jesus to the teaching of what he called the Kingdom of Heaven, and its comparative insignificance in the procedure and teaching of most of the Christian churches…This doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven, which was the main teaching of Jesus, and which plays so small a part in the Christian creeds, is certainly one of the most revolutionary doctrines that ever stirred and changed human thought… (page 499)

During this indefinite time (the first two centuries A.D) a considerable amount of a sort of theocrasia seems to have gone on between the Christian cult and the almost equally popular and widely diffused Mithraic cult, and the cult of Serapis-Isis-Horus.  From the former it would seem the Christians adopted Sun-day as their chief day of worship instead of the Jewish Sabbath, the abundant use of candles in religious ceremonies, the legend of the adoration by the shepherds, and probably also those ideas and phrases, so distinctive of certain sects to this day, about being “washed in the blood” of Christ, and of Christ being a blood sacrifice…  The contributions of the Alexandrine cult to Christian thought and practices were even more considerable.  In the personality of Horus, who was at once the son of Serapis and identical with Serapis, it wa natural for the Christians to find an illumination analogue in their struggles with the Pauline mysteries.  From that to the identification of Mary with Isis, and her elevation to a rank quasi-divine… was also a very natural step.  Natural, too, was it for Christianity to adopt, almost insensibly, the practical methods of the popular religions of the time.  Its priests took on the head-shaving and the characteristic garments of the Egyptian priests, because that sort of thing seemed to be the right way of distinguishing a priest.  One accretion followed another.  Almost insensibly the originally revolutionary teaching was buried under these customary acquisitions… (pages 512-513)

Jesus called himself the Son of God and also the Son of Man; but he laid little stress on who he was or what he was, and much upon the teachings of the Kingdom… (page 514)

Mr. Wells certainly did not share the COG view of who and what Jesus was, nor did he have the same understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven – but it’s interesting that he could see that that was the thrust of Jesus’ message while here on earth.

Blue-eyed devil?

My wife is convinced she’s married to a white man – although she’s the one with the pointy nose, thin lips, and green eyes.  This belief is most often vocalized when I’m singing along with those country and 70s AM Gold compilations you see offered on television at 1 in the morning.  Hey I can’t help it if my musical tastes cover several different genres.  I tell her she doesn’t have anything to worry about until I come home and start singing bluegrass tunes.  Incidentally, I DID almost but an Allison Krause and Union Station CD when I stopped by Cracker Barrel yesterday.  Almost.  Maybe she should start to worry now…

I had to make an impromptu trip to Anderson yesterday, and while I was there I stopped by the Ridgeway’s sign company.  I ended up staying there for about an hour and met several of the people who work there.  It’s kinda odd seeing people you know socially  in a professional environment.  All is I know is if I ever need a sign made, they’ll be the people I turn to.  I even got to chat with Caesar the iguana for a while.  Reptiles are sooo cool.  Patti was surprised to find out that I wanted to be a herpetologist at one time.  I wanted to curate a reptile exhibit in a major zoo or in a natural history museum.  And here I am working with cotton.  Go figure.

It was quite a pleasure seeing Desiree this past week.  Nick didn’t want her to return to California.  It was also nice to see Tom, as well as the other visitors we had at services.  Mafia was a pretty fun game.  I’ve just got to remember not to be taken in by Summer’s sad “y’all are pickin’ on me” faces.  Mr. B., you would’ve put Johnny Cochran to shame in a courtroom.

I’m really considering skipping the San Antonio conference and driving to KC.  What do I do?  The San Diego trip in mid-January is a done deal though.  Got my tix and everything…  Nothing beats San Diego in January man, absolutely nothing.  Except eating Pot Stickers at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch in San Diego in January.   One of my co-workers wants us all to go whale watching while we’re there.  Sounds cool to me.

One other thing I learned while in Anderson yesterday:   it’s amazing just how much of a guy’s crack can be exposed to the world and him be completely unaware of it.  And that’s all I have to say about that.

Incredible.

?????

Troop 625

I was a Boy Scout once.  If I remember correctly, it was for about 3 years, beginning somewhere around the time I was 12/13.  I absolutely hated it.  Boy Scout Troop 625, Clio, SC.  Our meetings were on Wednesday nights @ 7 p.m.; our hut was a little wooden building about ½ mile from my house.  There was this one house I had to walk past that had dogs.  I still remember the fear of not knowing whether they were going to pick this week to chase me home or not.  For some reason, they never seemed to bother me when I was on the way to Scout meeting.  In my memories, the hut is always cold when I arrive, though I know that couldn’t have been the case in the spring/summer.  The mind is funny that way.  You ever wonder how many of your memories are actually memories, and how many of them are revisions of what REALLY happened?

Anyway, I was the first (and only) black member of the troop.  My brother joined a couple of years later, but I was on my way out by then.  My Scouting experience has been one of the few times I intensely felt like an outsider.  I NEVER felt like I belonged.  For one, I just wasn’t gung-ho on camping like most of the others.  I couldn’t enjoy our canoe trips, or our tubing trips down the Chattooga River because of my inability to swim.  Try spending 12 consecutive hours fighting panic and see how you like it.  The biggest reason I think I never “fit in” is because of some preconceived racial/socioeconomic baggage I brought with me.

You see, the rest of my troop was white.  And they went to Marlboro Academy, the private school in the county.  Many of their parents taught in the public school system, but they sent their kids to the private school.  We (the black kids) were taught that the reason the private school existed had nothing to do with academics – it was strictly an option to integration.  In short, they didn’t want their kids interacting with US – which was fine, in that the public school and academy kids didn’t cross paths much.  We assumed they didn’t like us, and called us n-----s when safely within the confines of their precious academy, so therefore we didn’t like them.  I have no idea how accurate that picture is or was, but I do know that that’s the picture I had in my head as I tried to become part of the Scouts.

As a result, I held back.  I was polite, somewhat friendly, etc.  But I refused to completely “buy in”, so to speak, partially because I didn’t completely trust the other guys.  Looking back, I never had any problems with any of the guys.  Many of them went out of their way to make me feel welcome.  I just couldn’t shake my preconceived notions.  Couldn’t shake them.  When we were having fun, I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop – the racist joke (“No offense, Mike), the “accidental” use of a racial epithet…  To my knowledge, it only happened once, and it was perpetrated by someone who came into the troop after I did.  Even though I know better, there is still a large part of me that wishes I’d knocked him into next week.  What made it worse is that I don’t (and didn’t then) think he said what he said to be mean – I think he thought what he was saying was acceptable and OK.

Once I got into high school sports my practices interfered with attending Scout meetings, and I eventually stopped going altogether.  My brother pretty much stopped when I did.  I do wish I could go back and interact with those fellas again without my biases.  Most of them were good guys; several of them went to Clemson.  We occasionally crossed paths, and exchanged pleasantries.  I lament the missed opportunity to forge stronger and longer-lasting relationships.

Scouting wasn’t all bad though.  We had a memorable campout on the beach, where I found out that sand gets EVERYWHERE.  There was a five-mile hike, followed by the planting of hundreds of pine trees that ended up being very enjoyable; and there were trips to Carowinds that were quite pleasurable.  And I did learn to tie a bunch of knots.  I think the Scouts are a good thing; perhaps the boys will get to experience it.

Something I meant to post a while back...

A link to an article by Philip Skell, from Penn State U. it's entitled "Why do we Invoke Darwin?"

Not surprisingly, his article generated some responses. I also like his reply to those responses. I won't post the responses, but he has a link to them.

Post-op Deux

Noah’s procedure went quite smoothly.  The docs called him back at 8, and the doc came to tell us everything went smoothly at 8:07.  By 8:45 we were sitting in Cracker Barrel eating breakfast.  Not bad, Medicus, not bad at all.

I was experiencing shoulder and neck fatigue last night and this morning, so I jokingly mentioned to the M.R.S. that maybe I should hit Jalen up for one of his Loritabs.  Well, mother-in-law (who went to the doc’s with us) pulls out this Tylenol bottle and whips out a Loritab.  She gives it to me and I take it on the way home.  After about 15 minutes my neck and shoulders started to feel much better.  I decided to lie down for a little while and take a short nap before going to work.  This is around 10:00.  Next thing I know it’s going on 2:30 p.m. and I’m just now coming to.  I rush to my 3:30 seminar and still feel sluggish and drowsy @ 5:10.  No more of those for me.

Thanks for all the well-wishes and prayers.  I think I’m going home now.  A nap sounds nice.

20051117

So Nick drew a picture of the earth yesterday and showed it to us at the dinner table last night. It's a fairly good representation, overlooking the fact that he had Greenville and Clemson (30 miles apart) on different continents. He graciously labeled a few other key locations: American, Jamaica, and My Am Me (say it quickly). Apparently our Feast trip has made an indelible impression upon the young man. I love this kid.

Noah gets the tubes in his ears tomorrow morning. He can't eat after midnight, so I really hope he sleeps through the night and doesn't wake up looking for sustenance. I suggested stuffing him with a nice big bowl of oatmeal around 11. Let's pray it works.

We had our first frost this morning - almost six weeks before the end of the year. This year's weather has certainly not been normal. Oh well, it's back to homology searching for me. Technically it should be similarity searching, since the term homology assumes an ancestor/descendant relationship. Let me not bore you guys. Later!

Grrrrrrrrr

I am hating UNIX right now. And similarity searches. And labwork. And seminars.

OK. I feel better now.

Clemson/USC

I just received this in my Inbox.  Of course it means nothing to you if you don’t live in SC. This year the game was only going to be available via Pay-per-View. Hmmm…  I think I know some people who might want to watch.  Maybe it’s time to have a social gathering at the crib!

One of the many benefits of living in University Housing is that from time to time you are able to enjoy additional amenities. We are pleased to announce that you will be able to view the Clemson/USC game in the comfort of your Clemson Home without having to pay the Pay-per-View cost. This event is presented in conjunction with the INC Group (providers of the Direct TV service on campus). They also are providing the link at Littlejohn where you may view the game in a larger setting. We hope you enjoy the game and we thank you for being a resident of University Family Housing.

Go Tigers!

111405

Just curious – who reads this thing?  

Post-Op

The surgery went well. Jalen had some debris removed from his left knee in a 45-minute arthroscopic procedure. We got some great news from the doc - the ACL was only partially torn, so the doc thinks it may heal on his own, removing the need for reconstructive surgery when he's done growing. They also found a slight tear of the lateral cruciate ligament, but it's very minor and should heal itself as well. Jalen was quite groggy afterward, but there appear to be no long-term negative effects. Everyone's prayers and well-wishes are greatly appreciated.

I'm a little (ok, VERY)disgusted at myself. I haven't gotten very much work done this semester. Where has the time gone? Apparently, much of it has been spent right here in front of the PC or in front of the telly. Anyway, it's time to pay the piper: I have a committee meeting Friday, in which I'll learn if my research project is sufficient to earn a degree, and whether or not I'll have to take anymore classes. If there's one thing I'd like to change about myself, it's my laziness. And my insecurities. And my desire to be liked by everyone. I guess I also need to work on my inability to count to one properly.

Heather L., if you read this, know that Mark thinks you look like Julia Roberts too.

The whole T.O. saga really makes me feel good about Monday's Dallas/Philly game.

So where's the Clemson/FSU viewing party going to be?

Almost Friday

The NBA is back! The Miami Heat were making a run against the Indiana Pacers when Shaq stepped on Ron Artest's foot and rolled his ankle. Of course TNT showed the ankle bending at 90 degrees several times, in sloooow motion. That had to hurt - particularly with 350+ lbs. coming down on it. Miami just lost by three.

Jalen went to the doc today. It's official - his arthroscopic surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. No more sports for him for a while. The doc says that he's gonna need another surgery later on, after his skeleton has reached maturity. Whether that means no sports until then, I don't know. I even got to bring him home for dinner today. He stayed here for about 3.5 hours, and got a kick out of playing with Noah. Noah cried the first few times Jalen picked him up, but he seemed to be coming around by the time I took him home.

Sights

A view of Montego Bay from a hillside



On the streets of downtown Montego Bay





Ironshore - one of the wealthier residential areas



Chillin'



Joy, pure and unaldulterated



Noah stands!!!!



The boys by the end of the Feast



Some of the Jamaican brethren



Choir



Speakers/Ushers





And of course, the beach!

Gettin' my fix...

I should've captured all my thoughts on the Feast immediately upon returning. Dr. Scott Winnail and Mr. Wally Smith and Mr. Lascelles Frazier gave wonderful messages, each touching on various aspects of the meanings of the Holy Days, the final fulfillment of the days, and training to be servant rulers/judges and members of the family of God. We also had good sermonettes by members from different locales, and a couple of DVD sermons as well. I knew a couple of people who were celebrating their first Feast (one has only been attending services PERIOD for a coupla months), and I think the messages, particularly the messages given on the last day of the Feast and the Last Great Day, did a great job explaining the meanings of the Festivals in a way they could easily understand. Whenever we have visitors at services who don't have a COG background, I often wonder how some things come across to them. When we have a live speaker it's not as much a problem, as the live speaker can give a little background info on the topic, but when it's a video... I remember the jolt I felt when I heard someone mention 2nd and 3rd tithe without explaining what they were.

Nicholas had a wonderful Feast. He made quite a few friends (as usual), and did not limit himself to the kids he already knew. He now has friends in Jamaica and Canada to go with his U.S. contingent. He became particularly attached to little Rachel from Calgary. He wanted us to stay in MoBay until Sunday b/c that's how long Rachel was staying. He's already ready for next year's Feast. He said something quite touching on our flight from Atlanta to Miami on the way down. We were looking at the scenery below us when he says in a soft voice, "I wish Grandma could see this." Awwww... One day, son; one day.

The M.R.S. is still on Cloud 9. She got to hook-up with her "sister", and go shopping, and FINALLY make it to Jamaica. I'm planning to milk the FoT as long as I can.

Getting back into the real world has been a bit of a drag. I've got to put my nose to the grindstone for the remainder of this year and crank out some data, prepare for conferences, catch up on my labwork, and write a paper for submission to a journal. I've got to have a meeting sometime in the next two weeks to find out if I have to take any more classes or not, and to determine if my project is sufficient to earn a doctorate. Theoretically, my committee can decide that my project is insufficient and have me do something else, or they can make me take more classes. I don't think that's going to happen, but I'm a little nervous nonetheless.

I need to update my links. I read more blogs than I have listed, and I think the links should reflect that. Incidentally, I met another blogger, Jalpenojelly, at the Feast - though I didn't know she had a blog at the time. I'd even left a comment on it before leaving, but I didn't make the connection until I returned home. Oh to have back those brain cells I killed back in the day!

Visitors to MoBay

These are off the top of my head. I only listed family names; not all members of a family were necessarily present. Of course I'm forgetting some families, but this'll give you some idea of who was in Jamaica. I think we had a high of 224 people, with about 50-60 being local brethren.

Missouri - Cristal, Beyersdorfer, Millich, Burson, Jersett, Damon, White, West,

SC - Palmer

NC - Winnail

NY - Cartwright

TX - Mason, Marley, Riggs, Arnold, Hubbell, Myers

NB - Bashus, Pomicter, Karper, Tieken

OH - Bibb, Rawlings

KY - Rogers, Bunch, Woodward, Shirley something and her husband ...

GA - Grimes, Nicholson, Thrasher

Canada - Molnar, Remple, Wittingham, Trineri, von Hollen

Finally Home

Just got in about an hour ago. Jamaica was great. Getting there was not - we didn't get there until the afternoon service of the 1st day. Leaving was not - our Wednesday flight was cancelled due to Wilma and we didn't leave MoBay until this morning. Then we have to deal with U.S. Customs in Miami. Then we get to Atlanta, and the battery in our truck was dead. The Feast itself was totally terrific - more to come on that front later. I should probably go to bed now. Ciao.

PS: I gained 10+ pounds.

Home Internet Access is the Worst Thing...

... that could have happened to me.

Atonement is now over, and so it's back to the FOT countdown. I finally got to see Mr. Rod McNair, as he delivered our sermon via video. It approached Atonement from a completely different perspective; he discussed different aspects of the spirit of self-indulgence, and ended up contrasting that spirit with the self-denial inherent in observing Atonement, and in a Christian's overall life. Along the way he touched on the symbolism of the OT ritual. He sounded quite a bit like his late father. Quite a bit. His hairstyle reminded me of his uncle Raymond. Today was a good day - and Ryan's has never tasted better.

I took a few pictures of my hometown while I was there (I guess it would be harder to take said pictures when I wasn't there). I took a few representative pics of the type of homes that line Clio's Main Street.





I've never asked, but I assume these homes were all built around the turn of the 20th century. Perhaps an architect out there can venture a guess. I especially love the large porches. I'd hate to have to heat one of those jokers though. Most of these homes are owned by members of the older families. Of course, we have our brick homes and trailer parks and dirt roads too, but these homes give Clio its character, I think.

To give you an idea of just how booming a metropolis it is, I took a pic looking east and looking west at the major intersection in town. Okay, so it's the ONLY intersection.




Please pay no attention to the dearth of businesses and the lack of pedestrian traffic. It was a dreary Monday, after all. Funny - I never thought I'd feel like a tourist in a place in which I'd spent 18 full years + summers.

In case you haven't yet realized how rural my hometown is, here's the view from my paternal grandmother's front door:



Yep, that's right. White Gold.

Here's the view from my maternal grandmother's front door:




That's a ginning facility for the aforementioned White Gold. I guess I was destined to end up working in cotton.

All of a sudden, an important question comes to mind: Why am I still up at 5 AM? I don't have a midterm today, like some. Why am I not sleepy? I should go to bed anyway, seeing as how I have a million and one errands to run tomorrow before sundown, not to mention staying awake in my 3:30 Genetics/Biochemistry seminar. *Yawn* I think I'll do just that. Ciao!

Look Homeward Angel

I hated that book.

While we were gone,the Internet fairy decided to drop off a cable modem at our apartment. I was forced to finally upgrade the computer from Windows 98 to Windows 2000. I was gonna go the XP route, but I didn't think I had enough RAM for that. So I'm sitting at the crib now, on a big Tuesday night, posting from Nick's room. Life is good.

The M.R.S. is on the phone with one of our friends from Cincy. I hear excitement, so they must be talking about Jamaica. We'll be seeing them and their boys Monday. Only six more days... six more days. Whoa. Where has the time gone? Not that I'm complaining...

Anyway, the trip to Clio was wonderful. We didn't do much but sit around and let everyone love on the boys. I took my dad's bicycle out Sunday and rode through my old stomping grounds. It was good to ride and see people without them recognizing who I was. It was bittersweet too - I realize more each time I go home that you can't go home again. I miss the innocence of my childhood. It's also sad to see how some people have turned out since high school. Drugs, poverty, having too many children at a young age, etc., have taken their toll on more than a few of the people I grew up with. One of my childhood playmates died the night I came home. He was 3 years older than me, but he lived right in front of my closest male cousin; we spent many an afternoon playing backyard basketball, three-man baseball, and just listening to music. His mom was my 3rd-grade teacher. I visited his family yesterday before I left and they all seemed to be doing about as well as could be expected. His older siblings moved away when I was a child, so I don't think they were expecting to see that "Little Mike" was 6'2", 217 lbs, with three kids of his own. My old teacher was really pleased to see me, and I her. I just wish it was under different circumstances. She pulled out an old high-school football team photo, and as I rattled off the names she began picking out pallbearers. So far I've been lucky with regards to losing close family members. My father's father died when I was too young to remember him, and my maternal grandfather died in '96. His was really the only family death that was of someone close to me.

Anyway, I guess it's approaching bedtime. To end on a positive note, I leave you with this:

HOW 'BOUT THEM COWBOYS????

There's no place like...

I’m going home tomorrow night!  I haven’t seen the folks since the beginning of June.  Noah’s changed so much since then.  This’ll be their first time seeing him crawl, pull himself up, eat real food, etc.  They’ll really get a kick out of seeing him.  Perhaps Jalen will get to go; I’ll talk with his mom tonight.  Right now I need to go gas up and get the oil changed before sundown.  I need to pick up something for dinner too.  Do I have time to squeeze in a game or two of hoops as well?  Perhaps so, if I get off the computer.

I wish I were starting school over.  I’d major in something like English, or History, or Computer Science.  I’d love to design websites, and maintain something like LCGchat or Blogger.com.  Another area that interests me is forensics.  Why did my alma mater wait until this year to start its Forensic Science program?  I don’t want to be out at crime scenes or anything like that – I’d be content doing the lab workups.  That’s an avenue that’s still open to me, but I feel somewhat obligated to continue working in cotton, as that’s what’s paying the bills and putting me through school.  We’ll see.

I’m looking forward to services tomorrow.  The Winnails (Scott & fam) are coming down again.  Nick and their son hit it off pretty well, so he’s excited too.  We were double excited to find out they’re gonna be in Jamaica too.  Dr. Winnail always delivers heartfelt sermons, and it’s sorta cool seeing someone under the age of 75 at the podium.  (Just kidding old timers!!!)  I remember when Mike Elertson visited us before moving to Canada – I thought he and his wife were a just a visiting couple; I had no idea there were ministers in my age group!  That’s not completely true; I did know about Rod McNair, but I’d forgotten about him.  

Shonta’s making a low-carb cheesecake for the pot-“success” (thanks, Mr. Bardo) tomorrow.  We’ll head out for the old homestead that evening and stay until Monday.  That way there’s no fussing from my mom about us spending all day Saturday in Charlotte or Walterboro.

SNAP!!!  I was just informed that the abstract for the Plant & Animal Genomes Conference is due today.  I guess I need to come up with one ASAP if I want to go to San Diego in January.  See yall!