|
|
|
|
Thursday,
December 25,
2003 -
Benj
Merry
Christmas!
Hope
it's been a great Christmas for you so far. Below is a
Christmas poem that someone sent me. A little something to
remind us all of the Reason. God bless.
THE
PLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
H.R. Green Jr.
Twas the night before Christmas, but deep in his heart.
Was a cold empty feeling that would not depart.
He partied and drank with his friends all that night,
But nothing could fill the void in his life.
With his head in his hands, and tears in his eyes,
He knew he’d been betrayed, by the world and it’s lies.
‘Eat!, drink!, and be merry!, you’ll be satisfied’, they
said.
“But why am I feeling that I wish I were dead?”
“Did I miss something somewhere, another drug I must take?”
Or has all my life just been one big mistake?”
“I’ve tried it all and found nothing with a purpose or gain,
Just guilt and despair from life’s wicked game”!
With a bitter wale of rage, he stormed ‘cross the room,
Pulling open a drawer in his misery and gloom.
A revolver lay gleaming, loaded and ready,
With it firmly in grasp, he tried to hold his hand steady.
As he raised the cold barrel, to the side of his head,
He knew in a moment, he soon would be dead.
When out in the yard, there arose a great swell,
That sounded like the ringing of the old Church bell!
The voices of singing and laughing were heard,
Glowing lanterns in hand, through the snow as they stirred.
The songs that they sang, spoke of hope and great cheer,
Like angels from Heaven with a message so clear!
Away to the window, he flew in a flash,
He slid back the curtains and pushed up the glass!
And there on the ground, in the fresh fallen snow,
Stood the happiest group, with faces aglow.
‘Merry Christmas!”, they shouted, to the young man above,
The LORD sent us to cheer you, and to tell you of His LOVE!
How JESUS came down, to this world here below,
To die on the cross for our sins and our woe.
How HE rose from the dead, and is seated on HIS throne,
Offering you HIS FREE GIFT, and a new heavenly home!
God will SAVE YOU from hell, you won’t suffer loss,
Every sin washed away, by the BLOOD of HIS cross!
Won’t you CALL ON HIS NAME?, for that is your part,
Believing on JESUS, He will come into YOUR HEART!
They sang a sweet hymn, of that Christmas long ago,
When the SAVIOR was born in a manger so low.
He watched their warm smiles, as he sank to his knees,
His cold heart was melting, and craving for PEACE!
He bowed down his head, and let go of the gun.
And prayed to receive the LORD JESUS, GOD’S SON.
The weight he once bore, was moved from it’s place,
He stood to his feet with great JOY on his face!
"Thank you!”, he said, “I’ve been searching so long,
For the PEACE I now have as you sang your song!”
| | |
|
|
|
Thursday, December 18,
2003
-
Benj
The
Wright Brothers, ROTK, Shop Till You Drop
The
wheel.
The
printing
press.
The
deodorant
stick.
The
airplane.
The
personal
computer.
The
French
crepes
slathered with Nutella, cooked by Susan, IPF webmaster.
Proving definitively that something good can indeed hail from
France, even if it's just pancakes. ;-)
The
trend:
Y ou
are a smart bunch, so I'm sure you have figured out the common
thread: Great, historic, hugely altering inventions that
changed the world.
Yesterday
was the 100th
year anniversary of the first flight
taken by Orville & Wilbur Wright. I suppose this
centennial has special significance for me since I've spent most
of my life in a suburb of Dayton,
Ohio
where the Wright Brothers ran their bicycle repair shop and
built a little airplane in their spare time. But
yesterday's significance wasn't just felt in Dayton. It
was a historic milestone for the airplane, and was commemorated
by celebrities, governmental officials, and lots of
commoners.
And
so I thought I'd give some recognition to the Wright
Brothers. They've certainly made my life easier when
traveling. The one-hour flight to DC is definitely preferable
to the eight hour drive, more like seven if Sonia's
driving.
She doesn't yet read my online blatherings, so I can still say
whatever I want! :-)
Return
of the King:
The
greatest trilogy
ever,
movies AND books.
Can
you believe that this movie has been in release for over
twenty-four hours, and I still haven't seen it? To make
matters worse, I probably won't see it until the weekend. IT
AINT RIGHT! I guess some of you fine folks have seen
it by now, and hopefully it was the thrill that all the reviews
are claiming it is.
Gimli
speaks:
Here's
a piece with Gimli expounding on Tolkien &
Civilization. A welcome contrast to the lunatic
ravings and ridiculous tshirts of Viggo "No More
Blood For Oil" Mortensen, the splendid actor who
magnificently portrayed Aragorn in the movies. But I'll
take Gimli's view of the world any day over Viggo's.
Shop
Till You Drop:
I spent a few
hours this week furniture shopping and Christmas shopping, and I
thought I was gonna pass out when it was all over. Although I do enjoy
going to the Mall at Christmas time, it is just total
sensory
overload. I shoulda done what I did last year - buy
everything online and get it shipped free to my doorstep.
But I missed the deadlines for free shipping. And ended up
weak-kneed and bleary-eyed
from all the shopping. Oh well,
the eggnog latte from Starbucks was somewhat reviving and very
good.
More
on Christmas Day. Have a good weekend.
| | |
|
|
|
Wednesday, December 17,
2003
-
Benj
O
How the Mighty are Fallen
Saddam
Hussein has been called many things in recent years, but one
name I heard recently was "Little
Hitler."
An apt comparison, considering that Saddam was directly or
indirectly responsible for the deaths of at least one
million people
(his
fellow Iraqis, Iranians during the long Iraq-Iran war, Kuwaitis,
American troops,
countless innocents, his own relatives... ).
And
now he's locked up. Justice
has prevailed.
"The
tyrant is a prisoner." -
Great line. I don't usually watch TV or get online on
Sunday mornings. But I did this past Sunday, because my
mom told me to check my email since my dad had written me from
India. I am one of those behind-the-times-people who still uses dial-up
internet service
at
home, mainly since we still get it free cuz of the wife's
job. So as I waited for my glacier-paced computer to
fire up, the only thing I was thinking about was buying a shovel
to remove the freshly fallen 3" from the driveway
and
sidewalks. And then www.msn.com fully
loaded and I saw the now-infamous picture with the title
"Saddam Captured".
I
raced down the hall-way to the living room to flick on NBC, and
watched in amazement as Tom Brokaw reported.
What an incredible
Christmas
present
for
the Iraqi people, the troops, and world leaders like Bush &
Blair.
P.S.
IPF
will be updated tomorrow
and Binu
will update
on Friday.
| | |
|
|
|
Thursday,
December 11, 2003 - Benj
All
Hail the Hummer H2
"This
is my grown-up Christmas list."
Here are the facts about the Hummer H2 ...
They
are HOT.
And
not just HOT, smoking
hot.
Is there any other affordable vehicle on the
road today that makes people look again twice or thrice like
this vehicle does? I know $50,000+ is not very affordable,
but it's a lot more affordable than a Lamborghini or a Bentley.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger has at least a dozen Hummers. He
is probably the person most responsible for making sure that
civilians were allowed to purchase these military-issue
behemoths. He apparently loved the hard-core HUMVEES that
military people drive, and convinced the manufacturers to come
up with a civilian model. And thus was born the Hummer H1
($100,000+). And then the H2, which is even more
domesticated but still
hard-core enough to crush a puny little Corolla.
Great
line from his governor-race debate with Arianna Huffington, a
wishy-washy tax-evading liberal:
"Arianna, yoah tax loophole is so big that I can drive
my Hummah through it."
All
the colors look good. The
best are silver, black, and red, though. Me, I would have
a tough time deciding between the standard dark silver model, or
a custom-painted red model.
Driving
a red H2 would be louder than an explosion, and it would
scream "look at me driving this monster." Maybe
too loud. :-) Dark
silver then. Although
at the Atlanta airport a couple weeks ago, I saw a customized baby
blue H2
with some $$$ rims and tints. Baby blue is not normally a
color I would select for a car (or anything else), but somehow
it worked. Somehow.
11
miles per gallon.
Pretty pathetic fuel economy. But more than made up for by
the looks and the flair, right?
And
coming soon: the
Hummer H3:
Here's
some info on it.
| | |
|
|
|
Thursday,
December 4, 2003 - Benj
The
Pop of Benj
Below
is Round #2 of some pop cultural observations.
The
Return of the King: This
is the long-awaited final installment in the
"Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy. The director,
Peter Jackson, has declared this
final film to be the best of
the three - and a lot of the key actors agree with him.
This trilogy provides a stark contrast to the steep downhill
descent of the MATRIX films. The last two Matrix films have pretty much
been
relegated by the critics to the status of gone-to-pot-really-fast,
while the LOTR movies have exploded beyond any trio of films
ever released.
The
Passion: This
movie will be released on Ash Wednesday 2004, and portrays the
last few days of the life
of Jesus Christ.
What
a blend of pop culture and religion
(controversial movie that focuses on the most pivotal human
being in history). Some of the hoopla surrounding this
film includes: crew members being struck by lightning,
pages and pages of harsh articles denouncing the movie for
"anti-semitism", BILLY GRAHAM and other Christian leaders formally
endorsing the film, and Mel Gibson (the director) stating that
he sensed the Holy Spirit guiding him all the way through
production, Mel Gibson spending his own money to
produce.
Prediction:
based on what I've read, The
Passion
will far surpass any movie
ever released that focused on Jesus.
The
American President: For
better or for worse, the current president ends up
being a major figure in modern pop culture. JFK
and Bill Clinton were probably two of the most dominant
pop-cultural presidents in
the last few decades. They are still
dominant,
even though neither is in office and one has been dead for 40
years. Bill Clinton, for example, has a big appetite for great
books, great movies, and glitzy parties. JFK was the
personification of glamour in a national politician. Bush
Jr. and Bush Sr. are probably two of the least
dominant. Al Gore, anyone? (You knew I was
gonna weave politics into this pop-culture thing eventually!)
Michael
Jackson: Oh
the drama, the drama, the drama. First of all, let me
state that I do not believe that MJ is guilty even though he is stranger
than an alien species
(and incredibly naive as well). But people all over the
world are entranced by this guy's singing talent, dancing
ability, plastic surgery screwups, skin lightening, and
this ongoing weird weird drama. Just when he seemed to
have faded for good,
BANG
he's back in the spotlight.
Paris
Hilton:
oh
wait, my
bad,
never mind. MOVING ON THEN.
Tiger
Woods: The
world's self-proclaimed "Cablinasian" is marrying a
blonde Swede. Is he black, caucasian, asian? Not
that it matters, his golf game is what counts. Is she
marrying him for his money? Will his game improve or
decline? (Golf is exceedingly
boring to
watch on TV, isn't it?) Does anyone out there know what
Tiger's religion is?
Arnold
Schwarzenegger: Jesse
Ventura (Minnesota) was probably the nation's first fusion of
governor & pop cultural icon. But he has been eclipsed big-time
by Ahnuld. Arnold now presides over the largest state in
the country (and the sixth largest economy in the
WORLD). Austrian immigrant, body-building champion, real
estate baron, fiscal
conservative, social liberal, Republican married into the
Kennedy Democratic dynasty. And the highest-paid movie
star in history. This guy scores very high on the
pop-culture meter. Let's see how he does in
office.
Santa
Clause is coming to town:
I
would guess that most
of you (like me) grew up without this myth being foisted upon
your young, innocent minds. But Santa
is everywhere
this time of year: in your local department stores, in
the movies, on TV, in song and rhyme, at lots of holiday
parties, probably even stuck in the chimney of your gas
fireplace. And determined to dump coal in your stockings,
no doubt. :-) He pretty much represents
Christmas
in today's commercialized existence. Sad, but
true.
Christmas
is just three weeks away, can you believe it? Here's
wishing you and yours the very best this holiday season.
Remember the Reason, though. It
ain't Santa or that big present you're hoping to get.
:-)
| | |
|
|
|
Thursday,
November 27, 2003 - Benj
Reflections,
Cappuccino
Cheesecake
Thankful
Reflections: I know it
may seem a bit trite to mull over some things that I'm
grateful for on this day of Thanksgiving. But I'm gonna do
it anyway:
-
Over 2.5 years of married
life: God is good, marriage
is great, and what more can I say. If only she didn't
get after me about my sloppy habits. :-) To all you
bachelor slobs out there, you should get your act together
sooner or later. Sooner would be better.
-
Family & Friends:
When it
comes down to it, relationships are
all that matter. And so I'm thankful for the family and
friends that God has brought into my life. That includes several of you readers who I know personally. Now
that I have publicly acknowledged you, please head to your local
mall to buy me a Christmas present. :-) (this
means you SHABOOQUA!)
-
The
Troops: For
helping to preserve our way of life in this country. For
risking their very lives to combat the modern scourge of Islamic
terrorism. For leaving behind their own friends and family
to serve the rest of us.
-
God: As
I said before in this space, Jesus is a Rock. In
these times that we live in, I am thankful for such a Rock that
we can stand firmly on without fear.
Moving
on........
Do
you like coffee and cheesecake?
Ever had them combined? I
tried this recipe
a couple years ago, and it turned out pretty
good - no doubt due to the recipe itself, and certainly not
due to my cooking skills. :-) Courtesy of
www.yumyum.com.
Allow
me to follow in the footsteps of my fellow webmasters by waxing
lyrical about the glories of
overstuffing
yourself
this
fine Thanksgiving Day. :-) Feeling
fat and sluggish?
Then go easy on the maple-roasted turkey, just eat one
of the crescent rolls, and save yourself some gut space for this
cheesecake. Or don't save yourself some space, gorge on
the cheescake anyway, and put yourself into a food-coma.
Your indulgent consumption is guaranteed to override any slight
caffeine-high that you might have otherwise gotten out of this
dessert.
Happy
Thanksgiving to each and every one of you.
God bless...
| Ingredients: |
| 1
1/2 c |
Finely
Chopped Nuts |
| 2
T |
Sugar |
| 3
T |
Margarine,
Melted |
| 32
oz |
Cream
Cheese, Softened |
| 1
c |
Sugar |
| 3
T |
Unbleached
All-purpose Flour |
| 4
ea |
Large
Eggs |
| 1
c |
Sour
Cream |
| 1
T |
Instant
Coffee Granules |
| 1/4
t |
Cinnamon |
| 1/4
c |
Boiling
water |
Instructions:
Combine nuts, sugar, and
margarine; press onto bottom of 9-inch spring- form cake pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F, 10 minutes.
Combine cream cheese, sugar, and flour, mixing at medium speed
on electric mixer until well blended.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Blend in sour cream.
Dissolve coffee granules and cinnamon in water.
Cool; gradually add to cream cheese mixture, mixing until well
blended.
Pour over crust.
Bake at 450 degrees F, 10 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F, continue baking 1
hour.
Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan.
Chill.
Garnish with whipped cream and whole coffee beans if desired.
Serves 10 people.
| | |
|
|
|
Thursday,
November 20, 2003 - Benj
Pop
Culture
Just
a few words on a few subjects ... Read
below. P.S.
There
will
be an update posted next Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), assuming I
get a break sometime
during the day. I would ask Chris to post the update for
me, but I am quite sure that HE will not have a break from EATING
that day. :-)
BRITNEY SPEARS:
The
great BRITNEY has another album out, which I will definitely listen
to with my Maryland cuzzins! (yeah right,
they can stuff that trash down the garbage disposal, and they
can do it NOW ;-) ;-) Britney and N'Sync belong on the ash heap of
has-been, wanna-be-great singers who faded after a moment in the
spotlight. But somehow she's kept herself in the light for
a lot longer than I expected her to.... All I
can say is it aint cuz of her
singing ability.
24:
This
is the greatest TV show ever. And that's an estimable
opinion, considering I've hardly watched any TV over the course
of my life! (aren't most TV shows reminiscent of something
that smells awful, like fish curry gone
rank?).......... So flip on your TV next Tuesday night at
9pm EST and see what you are missing. And go
rent Seasons 1 & 2.
Kiefer Sutherland ROCKS.
LEBRON JAMES:
There can be no doubt that King
James has entered the universe of American Pop Culture.
Gazillions of dollars in contracts, people watching
his every move off and on the court. And the guy is just
a teenager. I must see him play
live. He'll probably come out with a cheezy rap album as
his next publicity stunt (hey, it didn't slow down the
ShaqMonster).
RUSSELL CROWE:
Yes, he can act like no other and he's brilliant. His unpredictable
attitudes make him seem larger-than-life and
fascinating. What if he and Vin Diesel had a fistfight?
(I'd place my bets on Russell the Furious pounding
Vin the Meathead).
CLAY AIKEN:
First
of all, I barely watched any of the AMERICAN IDOL
competition. Most of the competitors just are not worth
the time of day. But the few times that I flicked on the tube
and heard Clay sing, my jaw would drop. Brotha has a
powerful powerful voice. Big boy Ruben sings well too, but
he is not in Clay's league, and he shouldn't have got first
place. No way, no how. It was rigged I tell
you. Someone needs to start counting the hanging chads.
| | |
|
|
|
Thursday,
November 13, 2003 - Benj
LOTR,
Politics Watch
It was incredibly
WINDY
last night. Wind like I haven't heard/felt in a long time. My 30
minute walk last evening turned into an adventure of trying to stay balanced on
my two feet. It was sort of scary-looking outside, with the trees swaying
madly back and forth and the dark sky streaked with greyish clouds. Lying
in bed, I could hear the wind whistling and groaning and honestly it was all
kinda eerie. But pretty cool at the same time.
LORD OF THE RINGS:
The
third movie in the trilogy arrives at a theater near you in just
one month. But don't just settle for the LOTR movies.
Pick up the books and read them on your
rapidly-approaching Christmas vacations. You
won't be disappointed. They are superb
works of fiction. SUPERB.
The "book of the twentieth century",
according to some
polls. I'll even lend you my
copy, if I can dig it outta the boxes they were packed into when
I moved last week. :-)
POLITICS WATCH: It's looking
more & more like George W. Bush versus Howard Dean.
Dean is fundraising like a madman and getting the megawatt
endorsements. And Bush is raking it in faster than Bill
Gates on a good day. But
my interest in the Democratic
candidates waned sharply after that debate several weeks ago
that I reported on. The two candidates who had the best
chance of defeating Bush, IMHO, were Joe Lieberman and
John Edwards, and they are fading fast.
My estimate of
their Bush-beating ability is based on
things like: their positions on national defense (Lieberman),
what region of the country are they from (Edwards), prior
national campaign experience (Lieberman), smooth-talking ability
(Edwards), ability to translate knowledge into common-sense talk
(Edwards), and pure unadulterated charm & ability to work
the voters (Lieberman and Edwards, but especially
Edwards).
DECLINE OF THE DEMOCRATS:
Now I'm not saying that Howard Dean cannotddefeat
Bush. Maybe he can, but maybe not. What I am saying
is that all these candidates just give a very crowded,
stuffy feel to this whole race, and it's somewhat
demeaning. I mean, come on, how can a complete
race-baiting inflamer and inspirer of riots and murder ( AL SHARPTON, the
bane of New York City) end up on the same stage with completely
respectable people like Lieberman and Edwards???
Granted, Sharpton
is funny as all get-out, but he is a spectacle and
nothing more. An articulate clown in an ill-fitting suit
and a busted up hairstyle. He would be a hugely scary
president. And he already is a genuine DISCREDIT to the
Democratic party and to the African American community (and he
is positioned to be the "president of Black America"
after this race, mark my words. Kinda like Jesse Jackson
was after his run for the presidency way back
when).
VERMONT, VERMONT:
So within the next 6 months, look for
things to heat up between Dean and Bush. I gotta give Dean
credit for his environmentalist stance in his home state of Vermont, though: we visited Manchester,
VT this past summer and it's God's
country up there... trees,
mountains, lakes, streams, fresh unpolluted air, breathtaking
natural beauty. But there are too many liberals up in that
neck of the woods, and look for their homegrown candidate to go
down in flames next November.
You heard it here.
Peace.
| | |
|
|
|
Thursday,
November 6, 2003 - Benj
Jesus
is a Rock in a Weary Land
Building on the Rock? Building
on sand? The below verses
stuck out to me this past weekend at a youth-focused retreat
that I attended. It's pretty easy to just get in a routine
with our lives, and kind of live in an unthinking way. But
that kind of living doesn't lead to building on a solid foundation, which we
all need to do, especially given the times that we live in. God
bless...
Matthew 7:24-27, NIV - "Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who
built his house on the rock.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house; yet it did not
fall, because it had its
foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words
of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish
man who built his house on sand.
The rains came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house, and it fell with a great
crash."
| | |
|
|
|
Thursday,
October 30, 2003 - Benj
Welcome
...
Welcome
to Susan and Brenda. Keep up the good
writing. Gender
Genie is a webpage
that analyzes writing samples and determines if the author is
male or female. I tested a couple entries from this
homepage, and it looks like it works.
"The
program's success seems to confirm the stereotypical perception
of differences in male and female language use. Crudely put, men
talk more about objects, and women more about relationships.
Female writers use more pronouns (I, you,
she, their, myself), say the program's developers, Moshe Koppel
of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, and colleagues.
Males prefer words that identify or determine nouns (a, the,
that) and words that quantify them (one, two, more)."
More
here.
Iraq continues
to be precarious, with no end in sight. Pray for our
troops. Seriously, if you haven't been praying for
the troops and the Iraqis and our leaders, then get on with it. The
sooner things wrap up over there, the better for
everyone. And prayer will help.
Lebron James
had a stellar debut in the NBA last night, even though the
Cleveland Cavs lost to the Sacramento Kings. He's been
hyped
like crazy, and it looks like there's substance to match the
hype. Will he be the next Michael Jordan, combining
marketability, charm,
court smarts, and extreme playing skills?
| | |
|
|
|
October
23, 2003 - Benj
Ode
to Footwear, Mortgage Rates
So my old faithful Rockport
leather sandals have finally
bit the dust. As a lot of you know, Rockports are about
the best in footwear comfort. And they are usually $$$,
but my sister got these for a steal a long time ago.
Sadly, one of the straps on the left sandal broke a couple weeks
ago. Those of you who know me probably got tired of seeing
the same sandals every single summer for the last many
moons. But those were the most comfortable pair of
footwear that I have ever owned. You know how you get
attached to a favorite well-worn tshirt or pair of sweats?
How you feel like you could wear them almost every day?
How you'd even wear them to church if you could get away with
it? Well these sandals were my old faves. And now,
they're headed to the trash heap. Already replaced by a
pair of less comfortable, brand-new Bass wannabees.
Buying a house? Shopping
around for a mortgage rate? After
the last few weeks of tenacious, bull-headed research, I am a
little bit educated on this blasted mortgage stuff. And
TIRED OF IT! What a headache! What a lot of
numbers and interest rates and details to keep straight!
Make your spouse do all the research for you, like mine did to
me! Better yet, just keep renting and throwing
your money down the drain, if that's what you're doing
now! ;-)
Politics Watch: Here's
a presidential dream ticket scenario
for the 2004 presidential race.
| | |
|
|
|
October
17, 2003 - Benj
RUSH,
ARNOLD, FALL FOLIAGE
Beginning next week, I plan to update
weekly on Thursdays
rather than Fridays. FYI.
So the mighty Rush
Limbaugh
has fallen. His many enemies are
overjoyed and ranting and raving. First he got the boot
from ESPN for making a "racially-charged"
remark about a black quarterback. And then the National
Enquirer broke the story on his former housekeeper
supplying him with illegal painkillers. And now he's in
rehab for at least 30 days, after publicly admitting his
addiction last Friday (on his radio show). He will live to
fight another day, no doubt. But I feel for the guy, and
hope he pulls through this huge trial.
Governor Schwarzenegger: Arnold pulled it off in
California, and it was a landslide. The extent of the
landslide almost makes me feel bad for Gray Davis,
the now departing Governor. Almost, but not quite.
The fact that a hawkish, fiscally prudent Republican can win in
California is a great boost for the party. And he'll be a
great fundraiser. But should
Arnold ever be on a national ticket (president, for example),
some of his views would not gel with many conservatives:
pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, pro-gun control. Senator
Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is trying to push thru some legislation
that would change the current US Constitution which says that
someone must be born in this country to run for the
President. Hatch's proposal would allow someone who's
lived in the USA for 20+ years to run. We'll see where it
goes. If it ends up passing, look for Arnold to run for
president in
2008 or 2012.
FALL FOLIAGE:
Last weekend, we went to
a nearby park to enjoy the changing of the leaves. Simply
breathtaking. Go out and enjoy it. They are changing
color faster this year than usual, and will mostly be on the
ground in a few short days.
| | |
|
|
|
September
26, 2003 - Benj
STUFF
Interested in downloading a
three-dimensional
screensaver?
The "Lord of the Rings" and the "Lantern"
screensavers are pretty neat. And these are legitimate
downloads, not spoofs like the amusing stuff Binu
has been directing you to. ;-)
The California
governor race is heating up.
Less than two weeks until the election, and it's off-the-charts
craziness and mayhem. In case you haven't kept up with it,
this is the race where a sitting Democrat governor is about to
get booted just a few months into his second term and will quite
possibly be replaced by Arnold
Schwarzenegger, who's running as a
Republican.
AUTUMN has
arrived. Leaves have already started changing color and
falling to the ground, and temperatures have dropped down to
jacket-wearing levels. 'Tis the season for bonfires &
hot apple cider.
Travel:
Next Friday, I depart for a 7 day trip (mostly
work-related). So I may or may not get to update over the
next couple weeks. Keep it locked, though, as my IPF
comrades will continue to keep you entertained.
Peace.
| | |
|
|
|
September
19, 2003 - Benj
Is France An
Enemy?
I
found the below NY Times article to be interesting and
perhaps
on
point. For your consideration. France's behavior
over the last several months is not something to take lightly or
ignore. Hugely serious consequences could result in our
lifetime. I've posted the entire article here, rather than
just a link, since the NY Times requires people to
register. Read up.
Our War With
France
By
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, NEW YORK TIMES 9-18-2003
 t's
time we Americans came to terms with something: France is not
just our annoying ally. It is not just our jealous rival. France
is becoming our enemy.
If you add up how France behaved in the
run-up to the Iraq war (making it impossible for the Security
Council to put a real ultimatum to Saddam Hussein that might
have avoided a war), and if you look at how France behaved
during the war (when its foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin,
refused to answer the question of whether he wanted Saddam or
America to win in Iraq), and if you watch how France is behaving
today (demanding some kind of loopy symbolic transfer of Iraqi
sovereignty to some kind of hastily thrown together Iraqi
provisional government, with the rest of Iraq's transition to
democracy to be overseen more by a divided U.N. than by
America), then there is only one conclusion one can draw: France
wants America to fail in Iraq.
France wants America to sink in a
quagmire there in the crazy hope that a weakened U.S. will pave
the way for France to assume its "rightful" place as
America's equal, if not superior, in shaping world affairs.
Yes, the Bush team's arrogance has
sharpened French hostility. Had President Bush and Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld not been so full of themselves right
after America's military victory in Iraq — and instead used
that moment, when the French were feeling that maybe they should
have taken part, to magnanimously reach out to Paris to join in
reconstruction — it might have softened French attitudes. But
even that I have doubts about.
What I have no doubts about, though, is
that there is no coherent, legitimate Iraqi authority able to
assume power in the near term, and trying to force one now would
lead to a dangerous internal struggle and delay the building of
the democratic institutions Iraq so badly needs. Iraqis know
this. France knows this, which is why its original proposal
(which it now seems to be backtracking on a bit) could only be
malicious.
What is so amazing to me about the
French campaign — "Operation America Must Fail" —
is that France seems to have given no thought as to how this
would affect France. Let me spell it out in simple English: if
America is defeated in Iraq by a coalition of Saddamists and
Islamists, radical Muslim groups — from Baghdad to the Muslim
slums of Paris — will all be energized, and the forces of
modernism and tolerance within these Muslim communities will be
on the run. To think that France, with its large Muslim
minority, where radicals are already gaining strength, would not
see its own social fabric affected by this is fanciful.
If France were serious, it would be
using its influence within the European Union to assemble an
army of 25,000 Eurotroops, and a $5 billion reconstruction
package, and then saying to the Bush team: Here, we're sincere
about helping to rebuild Iraq, but now we want a real seat at
the management table. Instead, the French have put out an
ill-conceived proposal, just to show that they can be different,
without any promise that even if America said yes Paris would
make a meaningful contribution.
But then France has never been
interested in promoting democracy in the modern Arab world,
which is why its pose as the new protector of Iraqi
representative government — after being so content with
Saddam's one-man rule — is so patently cynical.
Clearly, not all E.U. countries are
comfortable with this French mischief, yet many are going along
for the ride. It's stunning to me that the E.U., misled by
France, could let itself be written out of the most important
political development project in modern Middle East history. The
whole tone and direction of the Arab-Muslim world, which is
right on Europe's doorstep, will be affected by the outcome in
Iraq. It would be as if America said it did not care what
happened in Mexico because it was mad at Spain.
Says John Chipman, director of the
London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies:
"What the Europeans are saying about Iraq is that this is
our backyard, we're not going to let you meddle in it, but we're
not going to tend it ourselves."
But what's most sad is that France is
right — America will not be as effective or legitimate in its
efforts to rebuild Iraq without French help. Having France
working with us in Iraq, rather than against us in the world,
would be so beneficial for both nations and for the Arabs'
future. Too bad this French government has other priorities.
| | |
|
|
|
September
11, 2003 - Benj
9-11 Reflections
A short article is posted
at the
IndaPhatFarm
Post.
| | |
|
|
|
September
5, 2003 - Benj
Summer's Gone
& Democrats Debate
So a lot of you are back
in school now. Waking up early, staying up late, getting
homework done? Ah, I remember those blissful days of
summer vacation ultimately crashing rudely into the harsh
reality of that first day of
school. Year after year,
hardly being able to wait until school finished for the
year. Then cruising through summer after summer,
worry-free and loving life. And then bang
the school year started back up. I feel your
pain.
But at least you had a
summer vacation over the last couple months, right? Pretty
soon (sooner than you think), you will be a hard-working,
full-time member of the workforce.
8, 10, 12 hours+ per day will become normal. Weeks and
weeks of summer vacation will be a distant
memory. You'll
perhaps stop staying up late, so that you can get enough
sleep at night to put in a hard day's work. Hopefully,
though, you'll enjoy your job and it won't feel like a
drag. Maybe it'll even be something you look forward to,
day after day. What would a dream job be for you?
Professional athlete? Successful musician? History professor? Radio talk show
host? Business
owner?
Where am I going with all
this? NO WHERE. Just musing out loud, reminded of
the days of going to school, summer
vacation lazy days, playing
baseball in the neighborhood park, chasing the ice cream truck,
annoying my siblings when I would get bored, going on vacations,
playing with friends for hours and hours, reading, trying to
talk my dad out of making me study during the summer. And
so on. :-)
For those of us in the
work force, the start of the work year for a lot of companies
seems to be around September 1st. In that regard, starting
school and starting the work year is about the same. Have
a great year.
DEMOCRATS
DEBATE: The Democrats
held their first party-sanctioned debate last night in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Almost half the population of New
Mexico is Hispanic, and the Hispanic vote is believed to be
critical to the 2004 election, so instant Spanish translation
was made available and one of the debate moderators frequently
spoke in Spanish.
Even some of the candidates uttered a few Spanish words, usually
by reading the lines with a terrible accent. I personally
found all the Spanish-speaking to be somewhat mind-boggling
(English is
our national language after all), but I suppose it was a good
move politically.
For those of you who don't
know me, I have been interested in politics for a long
time. And last night's debate was a good one, so I thought
I'd pen down a few thoughts about each Democratic
candidate. Time permitting, I will try to offer my
thoughts after some of these debates. A couple days ago, Binu
asked if you readers know who the democratic candidates
are. Well, whether you do or not, here's a brief
introduction. I will rank each candidate's debate
performance as either excellent, good, okay, or
poor.
Howard Dean:
This former governor of
Vermont, a practicing physician, has taken the political
establishment by surprise this summer. He surged big-time
in June 2003, and has taken the
lead in most polls and in
fund-raising. His performance last night was good,
I would say. He was definitely articulate, very smooth in
his delivery. Also seems bright
but somewhat arrogant. But with all the hype about him this
summer, I was expecting a great performance, which he did
not deliver. Critical question: can someone who
opposed the recent Iraq War really truly defeat President
Bush, who at least has the perception of being very focused on
terror?
Joseph Lieberman:
Okay, you probably know who
this guy is. He was Al Gore's running mate in the 2000
election. During the whole Florida debacle, some clever
partisans changed their names from Gore Lieberman to Sore
Loserman. Lieberman is a devout, somewhat Orthodox Jew
who is not afraid to mix a fair dosage of religion into his
political discussions. He is not doing as well as expected
in the race so far. But he tore into Dean last night,
about some of Dean's flip-flopping regarding trade issues.
Great line about the "Bush Recession being followed by the
Dean Depression" Overall performance: good.
John Kerry:
Senator
from Massachusetts who just happens to have the initials JFK,
and who also supposedly has the best presidential hair since...
JFK! Standing a lean 6'5", he has an elegant,
aristocratic (somewhat haughty) appearance. Kerry was the
frontrunner just a few months ago, but has been eclipsed by
Dean. I thought Kerry did quite well in the debate last
night, with several humorous, pointed barbs at Bush and
thoughtful answers. Overall performance: excellent.
Dick
Gephardt: The
best performance of the evening. His answers were rousing,
passionate, strong, and they pumped the audience.
His repetition about Bush being
a "miserable failure" was very harsh, but very
memorable. Gephardt stood out from the rest of the
candidates last night. He's a long-serving Missouri
Congressman who served as the House democrat leader for many
years. Overall performance: excellent.
Interesting sidenote:
Gephardt hasn't aged much in 20 years, and he is an Atkins Diet
devotee.
John Edwards:
Senator
from North Carolina. He was my early pick way back when to
be the candidate that would eventually take on Bush.
Reportedly, the Bush team would most prefer not to run against
Edwards. Smooth, southern, charming, very
articulate. But too mild perhaps? Perhaps he'll be
selected as a VP. Overall performance: good.
Bob Graham:
Senator from Florida. Some people think that if Gore had
picked Graham instead of Lieberman in 2000, then Graham could
have guaranteed Florida and Gore would be president today.
Oh well. Graham is famous for keeping very meticulous
diaries (including such details as exactly what he eats, what
time he has bowel movements, etc. How weird.) In
last night's debate, this guy just didn't stand out at
all. He needs to drop out of the race, and hope he gets
picked for the VP slot. Overall performance: poor.
Dennis Kucinich:
Very liberal congressman from
Northeast Ohio; former Cleveland mayor. Supposedly the
favorite of Ben & Jerry (yes, the ice cream). Opposed
to NAFTA and most free trade agreements. He's an
interesting spectacle in this race, but he's not going
anywhere. Looked a little scary last night, like a goblin
kinda. Spoke very rapidly and fluidly and gave good
answers. Overall performance: good.
Carol Mosely Braun:
Former ambassador, Former
Illinois senator. She is the only female in the race, and
she's African American. Still dogged by some scandals
stemming from her senatorial race. During the debate last
night, she was strong in her first response. But after
that, she didn't do so well. Her words were somewhat
halting, and she wasn't always very clear. But she did
have a great line (from her grandmother supposedly):
"It doesn't matter whether you came over to America in a
slave ship or on the Mayflower, or over the Rio Grande, we're
all in the same boat now."
Overall performance: okay.
Al Sharpton:
Reverend, civil rights
activist, general trouble-maker and race-inflamer. One of
the most intriguing personalities to come out
of
NYC in modern
times. But he makes too much trouble, kinda like Jesse
Jackson. He was unable to attend the debate last night,
supposedly due to bad weather conditions that made him miss his
flight. I've heard him speak on other occasions though,
and he is definitely the most entertaining of all the
democratic candidates. Often humorous, usually
quotable. He has a preacher's flair, and bad hair to
boot.
That's it, folks.
More later.
| | |
|
|
|
August
29, 2003 - Benj
Republican -
Democrat
First,
here's wishing you all a great holiday
weekend. Things have
been quite busy of late for me, so I know the extra day off will
be a relief.
Second,
a little
political
humor
for you. Below is a story (true? untrue? does it
matter?) that a friend forwarded to me.
A woman in a hot air
balloon realized she was lost. She lowered altitude and
spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse
me, can you help
me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I
don't know where I am!"
The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in
a hot air balloon approximately 30 feet above sea level. You are
31 degrees, 14.97 minutes
north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west
longitude."
She
rolled her eyes and said, "You
must be a Republican."
"I am,"
replied the man. "How did you guess?"
Well," answered the
balloonist, "everything you told me is technically
correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information,
and I'm still lost.
Frankly, you've not been much help to me."
The man smiled and
responded, "You
must be a Democrat."
"I am,"
replied the balloonist.
"How did you know?"
"Well" said the man, "You don't know where you
are, or where you're going. You've risen to where you
are due to a large quantity of hot air. You've made a promise
that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect ME to solve
your problem. You're in EXACTLY
the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now
it's MY fault."
| | |
|
|
|
August
22, 2003 - Benj
Rough
Week
The
UN
got bombed in Iraq by terrorists, and several Iraqis were among
the dead.
Hamas & Islamic Jihad both claimed responsibility for a
horrible
homicide
bus bombing
in Israel, which killed several children and an 18-month old
baby. The so-called peace process in Israel/Palestine has
been blown apart, yet again.
In the midst of all this terror, a
bit of "good news" from Iraq: Two of
Saddam's worst cronies
were captured, Chemical Ali and Saddam's Vice President.
Summer
Days
waning: Another Labor Day weekend is almost upon
us, signaling the
end
of summer.
And what a mild summer it has been. Honestly, can you
remember the last time we had a summer with such pleasant
temperatures week after week after week? Unless you live in
France,
which perhaps deserved a blazing hot summer after the foolish preening
and posturing about the Iraq War. It's been a great summer for spending time
outside, barbecues, eating at restaurants with outdoor tables,
taking road trips, and so on. But
autumn
is still my favorite season, and it'll be here
soon.
All
for now. Have a good weekend.
| | |
|
|
|
August
15, 2003 - Benj
Thank
God it wasn't
Terrorism
Lights out last night across 3000 square North
American miles. Power for more than 50 million
people was cut off. Affected cities included
NYC, Albany, Ottawa, Toronto, Cleveland, Toledo,
Detroit, etc.
I didn't even hear about all this until
6pm last night. My sister Rebecca, who lives
in NJ, called and asked "Are you watching the
news? It's
History in the making." Apparently these power companies all have
electricity-sharing agreements with each other, and
so a malfunction at one company ended up crippling
several others. You would think that there
would be safeguards against such a massive domino
effect.
Back
for more.
I
updated IPF once before, as some of you may recall.
Click
here
to read that update from September 2002. I am
Chris' older cousin (my mom and his mom are sisters)
and we've been tight for 20+ years. And
despite all the wedgies I gave him way back when, he
still asked me to be part of the IPF team! I
will try my very best to not embarrass him with some
amusing childhood story in a future update. ;-)
Working
with the IPF team should be fun, and I'm looking
forward to it. Shout-out to Crystal
G for
overseeing the biggest department of all: Pictures.
My updates will probably cover a variety of topics,
and for now will be posted on Fridays.
I welcome your feedback via email or the message
board. Be honest. I can take the heat.
I usually stop crying after a few hours. ;-)
Politics
and Faith will definitely be a couple of the
areas that I write about. To commemorate the
launch of IPF v2003, I want to quote a Scripture
passage that I've been thinking about lately from II
Corinthians 4:16-17:
"That
is why we never give up. Though our bodies are
dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
For our present troubles are quite small and won't
last very long. Yet they produce for us an
immeasurably great glory that will last forever."
Peace.
| | |
|
|
|
Submitting Content Made Easy
A.
Submitting Content:
Missing your Birthday in the B-Day section? Want to submit an article,
event
or
comment? Well, we just made it easy for you. Just fill out the
form below, and click submit. Its as simple as that.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |

IPF is not affiliated with a
specific church or denomination. Therefore, the opinions, comments, media and
message board content reflect the opinions of the authors and visitors of this
site, and as such, any questions and concerns should be directed to the
webmasters at
chunglao@hotmail.com.
The Phantom and its logo are
copyrighted to King Features Syndicate. All Rights Reserved.
©2001-2012
Korean Mafia.
All rights reserved. All Movies, Pictures, and other non-IPF content are
copyright of their respective studios/companies. This site is best viewed in
Internet Explorer and the 1024 x 768 screen size.

| |
