Michelle sent this to me:
Quotes From:
BARACK OBAMA
THE AUDACITY of HOPE
RECLAIMING THE AMERICAN DREAM
Publication Date: October 2006
CROWN
Text copyright © 2006 by Barack Obama
“When Democrats rush up to me at events and insist that we live
in the worst of political times, that a creeping fascism is closing
its grip around our throats, I may mention the internment of
Japanese Americans under FDR, the Alien and Sedition laws
under Adams, or a hundred years of lynching under several
dozen administrations as having been possibly worse, and suggest
we all take a deep breath. When people at dinner parties
ask me how I can possibly operate in the current political environment, with all the negative campaigning and personal
attacks, I remind them of Nelson Mandela, Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn, or some guy in a Chinese or Egyptian prison
somewhere. In truth, being called names is not such a bad deal.
Still, I am not immune to distress. And like most
Americans, I find it hard to shake the feeling these days that
our democracy has gone seriously awry.”
“We think of faith as a source of comfort and understanding,
but find our expressions of faith sowing division; we believe
ourselves to be a tolerant people even as racial, religious, and
cultural tensions roil the landscape. And instead of resolving
these tensions or mediating these conflicts, our politics fans
them, exploits them, and drives us further apart.”
Questions of the Day: Can we just make this guy president?
The seminary at which I teach is located within a fairly old building. It’s the kind of place that generates ghost stories. So, on the last day of class, it did not surprise me when students responded vigorously when I asked them if there were any ghosts at Seabury. Apparently, there are quite a few stories and encounters.
I can’t say that I have had such an experience, but I must admit that the building can get pretty creepy at night. Maybe this can be a new development opportunity for the seminary. We can have paid guided tours through the haunted halls and into the deep passageways underneath the school. Maybe we can even get one of those Discovery Channel shows to do a piece on us. At the very least, it can’t be a worse revenue generating effort than letting filmmakers do a horror movie on the school grounds.
Even if Seabury has ghosts, how scary could they really be? I just don’t find the prospect of a bunch of dead, Episcopal, white guys to be all that frightening.
What’s the scariest movie that you have ever seen?
Last night’s journey to the Century did not change my answer; but I did see a remake of the Omen with Hope and Andrew. I like scary movies. The Omen has some nice little moments, but the idea of it was just not as scary the second time around. Much like Psycho, Jaws, or the Exorcist, when a movie comes across a new idea, or an old idea in a fresh way, it is intriguing. In the case of scary movies, the ideas they present are much more frightening the first time around. The first slasher movies—Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween—were really great… the first time around. They all get formulaic after about the 3rd or 13th sequel.
The original Omen had some really creative and disturbing moments. Beyond the idea of having the Antichrist embodied in a small, hollow-eyed child, there were some really creepy moments in the original story. These moments are what made the story great.
I still enjoyed the movie last night, but for different reasons. Sure, there were the jolting surprise scares. Some of the best parts of this remake, however, were subtler. For example, I thought it was genius to have Mia Farrow play the role of the nanny. What better servant for the devil-child than the original devil-bearing mother, Rosemary. I’m sure the producers had a good time thinking up that casting decision. The other fun part of the movie for me was watching the film in a theatre filled with dozens of screaming teenage girls. Jump-out-at-you movie moments startle me, but high-pitched screams startle me more. I must say, that the audience’s non-scripted participation actually enhanced the movie’s effect for me.
So, today is not my son Adam’s 12th birthday, but we are celebrating it today. Yesterday, his middle school had its last day. Soon, his friends will be heading to various forms of summer camp. We decided that now was the time to take party-action.
We are going to Dave and Buster’s. Adam really likes this place, and as far as entertainment/game places go I enjoy it too. If you play ticket games, D&Bs offers much better prizes than Chuck E Cheese. Here’s the thing…
It is illegal for minors to gamble. We do not allow children to use money in a gaming atmosphere when one of the motivations for using that money is to have a chance at making more money. Spending money + playing a game + possibility of making more money = gambling. [On a similar note, when we take out the gaming part of this equation, we have: spending money + possibility of making more money = investing or in some cases a bad infomercial business scam].
BUT, we DO allow kids to spend money and play games with no possible financial reward. Spending money + playing a game + possibility of getting a $1.50 prize = entertainment. We often will use the argument that children should not be able to gamble, because they are not old enough to know the value of money; but what kind of message are we sending when we allow them to spend money—and you can spend a lot of money at D&Bs—with only the possibility of getting a cheap door prize? Hmmm, spending money for entertainment (and gambling is a form of entertainment) with possible financial gains = BAD; spending money for entertainment with no possible financial gains = GOOD. I smell a capitalist at work in this equation. Someone is making money off this cultural equation, and today, it’s not me.
All these thoughts aside, I am still willing to pay a pretty good price to see my son happy and having fun on his 12th birthday. The parent-child lesson on money can wait for another day. Today, we play games, win prizes, eat pie, open presents, and celebrate.
Once in a great while a hero rises up from among us...
Check this clip out! You can also catch it with some loving commentary on Kanite's site. Click on the video for Nurse J.K.
We're proud of you Jennifer! Wow!
My blog is finally up again! Since I am doing a lot of writing in the next couple of weeks, I'm sure that many entries are soon to follow.