A photo of a sand sculpture at a beach in Pusan, about 260 miles southeast of Seoul. It was created during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. It signifies traditional Korean culture. Protesters gathered as they readied for the summit of the Pacific Rim leaders. One of those leaders was George W. Bush. Now that's a talented sandman.

Hollywood & Country part 2: Mere months after country star Kenny Chesney and Oscar winner Renee Zellweger had their marriage annuled comes news that Oscar winner Nicole Kidman (who starred with Zellweger in Cold Mountain) and country star Keith Urban have taken their relationship to the next level. The pair and their families spent Thanksgiving together at Urban's home in Tennessee. The Australian duo (although Urban was born in New Zealand; Kidman in Honolulu) have been "dating" (their reps claim they are just friends) since January.

Another one bites the dust: Another celebrity marriage down the drain. Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson are kaput as a married couple. I just have to say though that if I was Jessica Simpson and I had a man that looked like Nick Lachey, I'd go down on him every day. Likewise, if I was Nick Lachey and I had a woman that looked like Jessica Simpson, well, let's just say G spot would be part of my everyday vocabulary. It's almost as bad as when Mariah Carey divorced Tommy Mottola; I mean, HELLO!!!!!!

Goodbye big bear: Stan Berenstain, co-creator of the Berenstain bears books, has died at the age of 82. He wrote the books, more than 200 of them, with his wife. The first book, The Big Honey Hunt, was written in 1962.

Today is officially the last day of the hurricane season. However, tropical storm Epsilon has formed to the east of Bermuda and is the 26th storm this season. In an average season there are only 11. In addition, there were 13 hurricanes; only 7 form in an average season. Let's all breathe a sigh of relief. However, some storms can form in December.

A picture of treelights on Berlin's Boulevard. The boulevard stretches from Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I's former palace to the Brandenburg Gate. The trees are lime trees, first planted in 1647, and lit each year for Christmas. Must be some electric bill.

A picture of the Virgin Mary at the Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs Church in Sacramento, CA. People have been flocking to the "crying" Virgin since the stains were first noticed. My spouse, who is a minister, and I were watching this story on tv and he almost immediately said, "Rust stains." That sounds like a very plausible explanation. No doubt many others think it signifies the end of the world or the coming of Christ or something like that. I wonder what made her cry. Maybe all of the people who make bad choices.

Well it was only a matter of time before reality shows went another direction; this time looking for preachers. Yes, that's right, there's a new reality show called The Messenger that is auditioning and looking for preachers who have messages of hope and encouragement. One suggestion for a good riddance line in this game is, "To hell with you" and then flames shoot out and the preacher disappears.

Enjoy your evening,

paul

I really hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and remembered to truly give thanks for all that is around you; not just the things but, more importantly, the people, your talents, your health, your life. We just returned from Massachusetts where we spent a few days in Williamsburg with our adopted family. It's hard to tell who adopted who and it doesn't really matter. The fact is that everyone is so welcoming and accepting and generous. This family vacations together all the time, sees each other every day, works together at a green house they own, and still enjoys getting together for dinner and holidays. It's hard to believe this is the 6th year I've gone to see them with my spouse (he's been going for 15 years) and they have welcomed me as if I was one of their own. It's always difficult leaving and we always promise to see them again next year and sometimes we are fortunate enough to see them before Thanksgiving. It was a great time with friends, loads of food, drink, and laughter.

Potter Power: My spouse and I took Doug the 14 year old son of the family we stayed with to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Doug calls Jim, my spouse, his uncle Jimmy (even though they technically aren't related, he feels like Uncle Jimmy) and that of course makes me Aunt Paulie. It was fun hearing him laugh during the movie and watching him watch the movie. The movie is by far, in my humble opinion, the best one yet. It was very faithful to the book and though a lot of stuff was cut out because the book was very very long, what was in the movie was almost exactly the way JK Rowling had described it. I thought there were only one or two parts that felt a bit slow but for the most part it was action and excitement the whole way. A lot of reviewers have been saying the movie is so-so or the worst one yet; it just goes to show you that just because they are paid, it doesn't mean they are right. I like reading reviews but I don't put a lot of stock into them. Emma Watson, the girl who plays Hermione, is growing up to be quite a very pretty young lady; she'll be a heartbreaker. The whole cast was terrific and the casting coup was Miranda Richardson as gossip hound Rita Skeeter. This woman needs an Oscar.

That's about it for this week. I really hope you are all well and know I pray for each of you every day. Just because we don't see each other or talk to each other does not mean that we're not in each other's thoughts; but the seeing and talking is nice.

paul

Hello,

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and didn't eat too much. We are down in Williamsburg, MA with our adopted family. They are truly a rare bunch as they actually like spending time with each other and even going on vacations with each other. It's really weird because it's the total opposite of what I grew up with.
Today my spouse and I and our "adopted nephew" will go see the 4th Harry Potter movie.

Here's one for you as you sit and consider just how much you did eat (so far): It was evident in the egg eating contest; confirmed in the cheesecake contest; she wasn't bested in the baked bean contest nor was she defeated in the eating contests of crab cakes, meatballs, and fruit cake; now she's claimed top prize in the turkey eating contest. Thirty-seven year old Sonya Thomas, from Virginia, won the roasting pan trophy for eating a ten pound turkey in only 12 minutes. While most of us haven't even finished our vegetable in 12 minutes, Thomas, who only weighs 105 lbs, beat out several men for the $2,500 prize. Surprisingly, she is only ranked #2 in the world behind Takeru Kobayashi from Japan. Personally I think it's a bit gross (ok, it's a lot gross) and no way would I ever want to see it.

And one more just so you know there are crazier people out there than you or me: You may have heard about the woman who tried to step outside for a smoke; at 39,000 feet. Sedrine Helene Sellies was flying from Hong Kong to Brisbane for a vacation and since she was frightened of flying she had taken some sedatives & sleeping pills and then decided to mix those with some whiskey. Then she walked over to the airplane door with a cigarette and lighter in her hand and started trying to open the door. Luckily a quick flight attendant stopped her. She missed out on the 7year prison term with a $1000 fine and must have 12 months of good behavior. I want to know what her reaction would have been if she had actually gotten the door open. Would she have just walked outside as if she was stepping onto a sidewalk? Thankfully no one was hurt in this almost disaster.

Enjoy your day,

paul

A picture of Su Lin, the 15-week old giant panda cub, at the San Diego Zoo. How cute!!!!! The panda is adorable too.

A carpenter in Massachusetts got an apology from Home Depot Inc. after being accused of stealing. Michael Panorelli was working with a client in the Mass. store and the client picked up a pencil next to a cash register for Panorelli to use, Panorelli pocketed the pencil and when he left the store he was approached by a worker wanting some identification. Then Panorelli received a letter advising he was banned from Home Depot stores and would be hearing from some lawyers. Panorelli went to the Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence, Mass. and Panorelli subsequently received a written letter of apology from Home Depot. Talk about the pencil police. Yikes!!!!

A picture of Bush in Mongolia. He drank some fermented mare's milk (think of warm beer and buttermilk). He also ate some cheese curds; unfortunately reporters couldn't watch. He did steer clear of the camel as he didn't want to be spit on. Can you imagine how much that picture would have gone for?

My Oscar video pick of the week is a 1973 (oooh, the year I was born) film that features Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner (in a pre-Bionic Woman role) and John Houseman. The film is The Paper Chase and it features a class of guys (and women but the men are front and center) in their quest to pass their first year of law school and Harvard. It's a trying time for these guys as they are grilled and pushed and tortured by Professor Kingsfield (Houseman in his Oscar winning role). Bottoms is the main character, Hart, and he ends up falling in love with Susan, who just happens to be Kingsfield's daughter. He thinks that Kingsfield considers him a protege of sorts until after a year teaching Hart, Kingsfield turns to him in response to a compliment and says, "What was your name?" Houseman deserved the Oscar but didn't deserve to star in the CBS series created in the late 70's.

I think I was too harsh on Reese Witherspoon in one of my previous posts. In terms of her portrayal of June Carter, she did a fine job. It was, in fact, the best thing I've seen her in and I've seen her in a number of movies (no, not only the Legally Blonde) movies.

There is a wonderful article by John McCain in the November 21 issue of Newsweek. It was actually last week's issue. The article talks about the timely topic of torture (McCain was tortured during Vietnam) and what a hottie he was when he was younger. One can tell by looking at him that he was sexy when he was younger; of course some people would think he STILL is sexy.

paul

EXCELLENT NEWS!!!!!! My spouse went to the doctor this past week and, after just one shot of Lupron, his psa level went from 22 to 1.62. Lupron is supposed to kill the testosterone in the body which cancer cells thrive on. It does still need to go down further, however, that's terrific. Thank you for your prayers; don't stop. Prayer always helps and works (just don't think of it as a cosmic ATM).

We had some snow this week, just when we were thinking we might not get any until December (or maybe that was just me thinking that). Ahhhhh, winter is here and there's no fighting it so let's all move to Florida.

Earthy eating: My spouse and I have, for some time now, been talking about eating healthier. Well we've finally put a dent into that idea. First, consider this; I'm just a boy from Texas so it's kind of a prerequisite, as a Texan, for me to like meat and in the past I became downright dour if Jim made a dish that didn't include meat. Now we only eat meat once, possibly twice a week (that includes the weekend). I have to say, and it's very strange, that I don't really miss having meat every night. It's really strange I thought I would be hungering for meat but I'm really not. For example, Jim made vegetarian chili with tofu and I never even noticed that there was no meat in it. That could have been because the pieces of tofu were chewy like meat. The Boca burgers and chicken nuggets (faux meat) are good too and taste just like the real thing. We also eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day and not only that but we've started drinking organic milk which, quite honestly, tastes the same as regular milk but it's healthier.

Track the train: Derailed is the new movie that stars Jennifer Aniston as the sexpot. Ok, first of all, Aniston is not who I think of when I hear the word sexpot and secondly Aniston is not a very good actress. She is adequate in the role mainly because the role is a bit vague, kind of like the look on her face during most of the movie. The movie was pretty good for a thriller/gangster/revenge movie even though I did have the twist figured out not even a quarter of the way into the movie. It also made me really glad that I lead an honest life.

Black is back: Maybe it was the family violence that made me think of my own childhood, maybe it was watching a fellow tortured soul, or maybe it was just that the film had more emotional oomph than last year's dead singer movie, Ray, but I totally enjoyed the film Walk The Line. To prepare for the film I listened to my one Johnny Cash cd. Walk the Line tells the story of Cash's early years; from 1944 as a 12-year-old growing up in Arkansas to 1968 just before he and June Carter got married. It chronicles his brother's death, start up as a musician, first marriage, drug abuse and ultimate engagement to June. Both Reese Witherspoon (June) and Joaquin Phoenix (Johnny) did their own singing and playing. Witherspoon is good as June but I've never thought she was an actress with a lot of depth; Phoenix, however, is the real star. He is superb as Cash and it was interesting to hear how his sound evolved over the years. Phoenix's performance as Cash is revelatory (I sound like such a critic) and extra poignant points for Phoenix because he too had an older brother that died. And, no, Cash did not always wear black. The film is ultimately about two people fighting their demons, fears, and doubts and deciding to love themselves and not care about what others think. Something many of us, myself included, can take a lesson from. It's our life so WE have to live it, not somebody else.

Another week has passed and again my spouse has a busy weekend filled with church, funerals, weddings, classwork. He's taking an online course for pastors but thankfully that will be done in December.

We had some nice weather this past week but now it feels like the temps are on the downlow again. Winter is right around the corner; let's just hope Mother Nature is kind to US this winter. She hasn't been very kind to the rest of the country.

R. Vs. R. Journalists slanting the truth, politicians wielding and abusing their power, the cutthroat world of the news; I'm so glad those things don't happen in 2005 (major sarcasm in that sentence). The film Good Night, and Good Luck tells the story of Edward R. Murrow who was instrumental in toppling Joseph R. McCarthy's reign as "witch hunter." It shows the 1954 broadcast of See It Now in which clips of McCarthy were shown and as a result McCarthy's stock dropped. McCarthy eventually went on the show to defend himself but that backfired too. The movie features real clips of McCarthy and some of the hearings. David Strathairn, as Murrow, and the rest of the cast are all good. I really like Patricia Clarkson who plays Shirley Wershba, the real life newswoman who worked with Murrow, but I wish she had had more to do in the film. Incidentally the film is directed by George Clooney. And everyone (or just about everyone) smoked. Even Murrow smoked on the air. Can you imagine if today Brian Williams just decided to light up on NBC Nightly News? As far as Murrow goes, it's too bad we don't have more people around who are like him; ready to take a stand for justice, truth and liberty. As a society we've become too comfortable and complacent and too afraid to venture out of our comfort zones.

Holy homily: I've been training to become a deacon in my church and one of our recent assignments was to write a one page sermon on one of the parables in either the book Mark, Matthew or Luke. I chose the story of the persistent widow which is found in Luke. Instead of slanting the sermon toward the corrupt judge, I focused instead on the woman who wanted justice. I got some nice feedback from the class (yes, the sermon was given during the class of nine, not during Sunday service) and while I wasn't nervous (all those years in theatre have paid off) I didn't memorize the sermon and had to rely on a script. I lost my place a few times and then started making some stuff up, that wasn't on the sheet, while I found my place. Then I was thinking I was going too long so I ended up skipping over some stuff. It was a great experience; one that I would not have even entertained a year ago. Would I like to preach during Sunday service? Absolutely. Am I ready? Not even close. I've published the sermon on my blog

Stranger than fiction: I can't make this stuff up....You may have heard this story. In 2003 Bob Dougherty became the butt of a practical joke. At a home depot store in Louisville, Colorado, Dougherty went to the bathroom and sat on the seat which had been covered with glue. He had recently had heart bypass surgery and thought he was having a heart attack. An employee who heard Dougherty calling for help thought it was a hoax. Finally after about 15 minutes an ambulance was called. The paramedics had to unbolt the toilet and wheel Dougherty out. The lawsuit was filed last Friday.

You may have been seeing the clips of the congressmen/women in the House of Representatives fighting over the war in Iraq; I can't help but think I'm watching a trailer of a movie. Coming soon to a theatre near you: Wages of War or How the House Heats Up. Our personal fav "scene" is the one member saying, "The tombstones do not say Democrat or Republican."

Another cool pic, this one of a fire juggler with some firesticks. I would really like to know how these people "eat" fire. It kind of seems like a magic trick and I know there is a "secret" to it. This is from Clifton Beach in Cape Town, South Africa. Talk about no fear.

A picture of a boat, on the Tonle Sap River, with many many electric lights. This is just one boat that was at the annual Water Festival held in Phnom Penh. Almost 400 boats were featured from countries such as Vietnam, China, and Laos. It reminds me of the Lite Bright toy that I had while growing up. I used to like turning off the lights and making the different pictures.

Madonna's new album Confessions On A Dance Floor does live up to its name; it does make one want to dance. However, the album as a whole is not Madonna's best work, they are not even her best dance tunes. They lack a substance that would warrant a repeat listen. The first single, Hung Up, is THE best track on the album, by far. It samples Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight), the ABBA dance hit. Madonna should have sampled a dance hit for all of the tracks. If she had the album may have been better and worthy of her talents. How disappointing from Madge.

My oscar video pick of the week is a film called True Grit. It's about a young girl, Mattie (Kim Darby), who wants to avenge her father's death and enlists the help of a one-eyed US marshall, Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne); at his curmudgeonly best. A third person is thrown into the mix, a Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (Glen Campbell), who thinks Mattie should be barefoot in the house and not out gallavanting with the men. Mattie, however, is a tomboy and not afraid to use a gun and will stop at nothing to find the man who murdered her father. The three of them trudge through Indian territory and it's a race to see who is quicker with the comebacks; Rooster or LaBoeuf. Surprisingly, Glen Campbell holds his own against Wayne and Wayne has some really funny lines. The three characters are all so odd together that half the fun is seeing their interactions with each other. It's not the best Wayne role I've seen; that would be his role in The Shootist. It's not a typical western and it was John Wayne's winning role; his only one.

It's time for the traffic jam of winter. The time of year when movie studios roll out their best films in the hope that they will be fresh in Academy voters' minds when they vote on them for the big prize. Starting tomorrow there is at least one movie opening up each week for the next month and a half. Therefore, I'll be taking up residence at the theaters in and around Rochester. My mail and calls will be forwarded. Such films as King Kong, Brokeback Mountain, Transamerica, Narnia, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rent and Syriana are highly anticipated by me. The piece de resistance of the season is Memoirs Of A Geisha. I have been seeing the trailer for this film for months but I still haven't tired of it. The book was extremely compelling and I was totally absorbed by it. I know I should expect to be disappointed by the film but I'm really really looking forward to it. I don't think I've ever felt this way about a movie before, it's really weird.

Wherever you are today, be happy and peace be with you.

paul

Just weeks after an inmate escaped from a Texas prison, now two inmates have escaped from an Iowa prison. Both were convicted of murder and are still on the loose.

The woman who robbed four banks while talking on her cell phone has been captured and let me tell you she is not the sharpest tool in the shed. That's exactly how I would NOT plan on robbing a bank. She didn't even have a mask or have her face covered. Intelligent.

You heard it 'hear' first (yes, I spelled that wrong on purpose). In my Sept 18 entry I predicted that Gabrielle would fall down some stairs and lose her baby and after watching this week's Desperate Housewives, I was right. And George killed Bree's psychiatrist. I thought that it was going to be a dream he was having but then they went to a commercial and I realized he really killed the guy. He's gotta go. This show better get back to the sharpness and compelling stories it had in the first season, and quick.

Enjoy your day,

paul

Would you like me to read your chocolate? How would you like some tocolate? It's the new thing, which was evident at the 8th annual Chocolate Show in NYC. Tea inside chocolate. Chocolate truffles filled with Earl Grey or Irish Breakfast tea. Both green tea and chocolate are full of antioxidants so why not combine the two? Sounds simply splendid!!!!

Golly Gee: Tropical storm Gamma has been spotted and while it hasn't been upgraded to hurricane status, it does, no doubt, make many people nervous. After Gamma, the next one would be Delta followed by American Airlines, Southwestern, and then Jet Blue.

Stranger than fiction: An unsuspecting sparrow was shot dead by an air rifle in the Netherlands. The sparrow flew through an open window of an exposition center where employees of a tv company were laying out dominoes in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for falling dominoes. The sparrow knocked over about 23,000 dominoes before it was shot. The group which set the record at 3,992,397 dominoes is now out to beat their own record with over 4 million dominoes.

paul

My thanks to my friend David who sent me this. Some equal opportunity offending at the expense of our bovine friends.

DEMOCRATIC
You have two cows.Your neighbor has none.You feel guilty for being successful.Barbara Streisand sings for you.
REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.Your neighbor has none.So?
SOCIALIST
You have two cows.The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.
COMMUNIST
You have two cows.The government seizes both and provides you with milk.You wait in line for hours to get it.It is expensive and sour.
CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.
BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.
AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one.You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.Your stock goes up.
FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.You go on strike because you want three cows.You go to lunch and drink wine.Life is good.
JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.Most are at the top of their class at cow school.
GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.
ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are.While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman.You break for lunch.Life is good.
RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You have some vodka.You count them and learn you have five cows.You have some more vodka.You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.
TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two.You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature' s private parts.You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.
IRAQI CORPORATION
You have two cows.They go into hiding.They send audio tapes of their mooing.
POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls.Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.
BELGIAN CORPORATION
You have one cow.The cow is schizophrenic.Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish.The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.The cow asks permission to be cut in half.The cow dies happy.
FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow.Everyone votes for the best looking one.Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one.Some people vote for both.Some people vote for neither.Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell

Here's a link to something fun. If you are a Bush fan I would recommend you not go to this page. Everyone else, enjoy.

http://uk.download.yahoo.com/ne/fu/attachments/buildabetterbush.htm

The place: The Westchester Cat Show. The service: A eulogy for Ginny, a dog. Ginny was a schnauzer-siberian husky mix who was well known for resucing tabbies who were endangered. She passed away in August of this year. The photo was supplied by www.ginnyfanclub.com Ginny lived in Long Beach, NY, and is seen cuddling with Blondie, the cat. The service will take place on Nov. 19.

In one of my previous posts I wrote that I did not remember dinosaurs in the original King Kong movie. I saw a trailer for the new King Kong and saw some scenes with dinosaurs. I was mistaken; there were dinosaurs in the original King Kong. I recently saw the original again and the dinosaurs show up on the island. I haven't seen it since I was 11 and that was 21 years ago. WOW!!!! I'm getting old!!!!!!! Anyway, my memory didn't serve me well in terms of the movie's content but it's always nice to revisit a classic.


paul

My first sermon as written for my deacon training class. Not everything that is written was said and I said some stuff that is not in this text. It was on the Luke parable about the persistent widow. Luke 18:1-14


Keep It Up


What was wrong with that woman? She obviously didn’t know when to give up or how to take a hint. She might have just as well been hitting her head against a wall. How did she do it? How did she keep it up? How do any of us keep it up? How many of us, while growing up, heard that phrase? Keep it up. Keep it up and I’ll show you my belt, keep it up and I’ll pull this car over, keep it up and Santa Claus won’t be visiting you. It’s a wonder any of us are here; a wonder any of us get up day after day after day. The woman in Luke kept it up. She got up every single day wanting justice, never once ceasing until she got it. Justice. Now there’s a word it’s sometimes hard to imagine seeing. Look at our world: children are abducted, natural disasters take out thousands at a time, riots, cancer, hard workers laid off. And within our own lives: the hurt, the derision, the pain, the loss. Why even bother? Why not give up? What compels us to keep it up? The woman in Luke knows. She wanted justice, however, couldn’t it just as easily have been love, friendship, family or something else that was worth getting a door slammed in her face every day? Many of us are taught growing up that persistence pays off; we are told if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. We are told to never give up. Many of us are taught that from an early age. The woman in Luke was obviously taught that same thing. In the movie Titanic, Jack and Rose are on a sinking ship; literally. Some people hurl themselves into the ocean desperate to get off of the ship; others sit in their rooms quietly accepting their fate; still others push people out of the way to be first on one of the lifeboats. Jack and Rose do none of this; they stick with the ship and each other despite the pandemonium around them. They keep their hope up until the very end, even when the ship plunges into the water, they hold on to anything they can find that will keep them afloat. And when Jack has passed on Rose still promises never to “let go.” Sometimes our lives are like a sinking ship. We flounder and flail and search, sometimes in vain, for something or someone to hold on to. How do we do it? How do we stay afloat and not sink? How do we keep it up? How do we keep knocking on that same door? Almost twelve years ago, a week before my 21st birthday, I had three things happen to me. My married lover moved out without so much as a note, my mom died of cancer, and my sister and brother shunned me when they found out I was gay. Talk about a birthday celebration! I just wanted to crawl under the covers of my bed and never ever come out. Instead I got up every single day, went to work, spent more time with the few friends I had and eventually I realized I was not drowning and flailing; instead I was floating along peacefully. How? How is it possible for any of us to do that? Faith. Faith that things will get better, will get easier, will get done. We may not realize it but we have it inside of us; it’s what keeps us going, keeps us from drowning. So why do some drown while others stay afloat? For the same reason that some people believe in ghosts and others don’t. Many of us think: How can we believe in something we can’t see? How can we believe in something that we can’t look at with our eyes? The answer is that we can. That’s how we have the faith to keep going. The song is called open the eyes of my heart for a reason. We know we can see God; our eyes reveal God to us every day. We see things that prove there is goodness that prove faith is alive that prove there is a God. We see these things every day, everywhere we go. People opening their homes to strangers after a natural disaster; the couple that adopts a newborn with AIDS; people donating brand new clothes to someone who has lost everything; someone in the checkout line at the store who helps a stranger pay for their groceries. People stand up for the weak, the oppressed, the downtrodden. Yes, these things really do happen; every single day. Look at our own church at how so many people have been touched, opened up, and experienced that faith that they thought they had lost. It was never lost, it was always there; it was just a matter of opening our eyes again to see it. So like the woman in Luke it is imperative that we persist in our endeavors. We need to keep searching, keep trying, keep from drowning. We need to use the eyes that God blessed us with. We have to keep knock knock knocking on those doors. We need to persist in our faith so that hope will remain alive. We need to keep it up. If we do then we’ll see that behind those doors God is showing us the things that we are so desperately seeking. Amen.

Who says there's nothing good on the radio. Some songs I'm really digging: Hung Up by Madonna, Cry Out To Jesus by Third Day, Comin' To Your City by Big & Rich, Animals by Nickelback and Big Blue Note by Toby Keith.

Happy Harmonizing

paul

Hello,

What do James Ingram, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Kim Carnes, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan have in common? They all sang on the same song that I heard on the radio last night on my way to work. It was We Are The World and I had forgotten how cheesy it was. Of course 21 years ago it was quite big and made a huge statement and, yes, I have the album somewhere (well, not the album but the cd anyway).

Oscar video pick of the week: It's Sweet Bird Of Youth, the movie based on the Tennessee Williams play. I've never been a big fan of Williams's plays (even though he was family). He was talented and wrote some powerful plays and I'm even less of a fan of the movies from those plays. I didn't particularly enjoy the film Sweet Bird Of Youth, not for the story anyway. The performances were good but I think what I enjoyed most was seeing a very young Rip Torn (yes, Larry Sanders's boss from The Larry Sanders Show) who I didn't even recognize for the first half of the movie. Once I looked up the character he played I started seeing the resemblance of the older Torn (if that makes any sense). Most shocking is Shirley Knight who plays one of the love interests of Paul Newman. At the ripe age of 26 she was quite glamorous and not bad to look at and she was very svelte just as Shelly Winters was at one time. Ed Begley (yes, Begley Jr's dad) won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and Geraldine Page (who was married to Torn at the time and would not win her own Oscar for another 23 years) plays the aging movie star; still glamorous and svelte but over the hill (in the movie anyway). I kept staring at Shirley Knight though, thinking, "she will be playing Marcia Cross's mother-in-law in 43 years, looking frumpy and bloaty."

Enjoy your day,

paul

In at least one school district in Dover, PA, the voters have chosen evolution over intelligent design. 8 school board members who were backing a statement about I.D. to be read in science class were voted out in favor of Dems who want I.D. taken out of the curriculum. Of course 8 families sued saying that that was a violation of separation of church and state. The ruling is expected in January. I agree that I.D. should not be taught in science; one cannot make the argument without the mention of God. That's the whole point behind I.D.

Poor Ah-Nuld, 4 of Schwarzenegger's major reform initiatives were voted down by CA voters. Not only that but when the governor went to vote the computer showed he had already voted. That was just an operator error; during testing to make sure the system was properly connected, one of the elections workers put in the Terminator's name. It was soon cleared up but it seems like the gov has been put in his place.

paul

I saw the trailer for the new King Kong movie. I will probably go see this movie just because it's Peter Jackson and it will be an EVENT movie. You know the kind; the ones where it's so big that everyone goes to see it and then talks about how disappointing it was. I think the last really good event movie I went to see was Jurassic Park. That's probably not entirely true but it's the only one I can think of right now. War Of The Worlds (the Tom Cruise remake) was sooooooo disappointing. Damn Steven Spielberg. By the way, I don't remember there being dinosaurs in the original King Kong movie. There are dinosaurs in the new movie. Alrighty then!!!!!

Killer "K"aught: The twice convicted felon who escaped from a Houston jail has been recaptured. He was found outside of a liquor store talking on a pay phone and drunk as a skunk. He apparently escaped after meeting with an attorney but not his own attorney and slipping into some civilian clothes. The clothes are believed to be the same ones that Charles Victor Thompson, the convict, wore during his sentencing and smuggled into his cell; somehow. He then showed several prison employees a fake badge and from there he made his way out of the prison. Now he's back in. The key to escaping from prison is NOT being caught and put back in.

Bushism: Another quote in the Bush book. While discussing the policy on detainees held in the war on terror, Bush was quoted as saying, "We do not torture." Um, hello, what about Guantanamo Bay? What about Abu Ghraib? We do torture.

That's all for now.

paul

Oscar video pick of the week: The Country Girl, directed by George Seaton. The film follows a tortured married couple, played by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. Crosby plays Frank Elgin, a once celebrated stage actor who is offered the chance to be great again; Kelly plays Georgie, his steadfast and loyal wife. The couple suffer a tragic loss and struggle to recover from it. Frank turns to the bottle and Georgie deals with his alcoholism by being the co-dependent and faithful wife. When Frank is offered the chance at the stage again, Georgie is determined to see him succeed; or is she. William Holden plays Bernie Dodd, the director of the new show and Dodd learns, through Frank, that Georgie is manipulative and controlling and she doesn't have Frank's best interest at heart. Bernie becomes convinced that Georgie is potentially harmful to Frank and by extension the show. The scene in which Bernie learns the truth about the marriage is a terrific scene that would make a great audition piece. The acting is top notch and Grace Kelly give a tour de force performance in her Oscar winning role; her only one. The film was also nominated for Best Picture and Seaton was nominated for a director Oscar. Crosby also scored a Best Actor nod but lost out to Marlon Brando. It's a terrific film and truly a classic.

paul

Another week is behind us and we are another week closer to the sometimes dreaded holiday season. Thanksgiving will soon be here and 2006 looms just around the corner. Hard to believe that we are more than halfway through the 00's of the 2000's.

As the riots in Paris stretch into the two week mark I think it's important to realize that, when it comes right down to it, we really do live in a tenuous world. Let us remember to treat each other with respect and to be honest and true.

What a long week, not for me, but for my spouse. He had a commitment almost every night this past week. Next week, again, he has several night commitments during the week. Not only that but 98% of the time he has more energy than I do and I'm half his age. I could learn a thing or two from him.

From Rochester to Capoteville: Fairport, NY, native Philip Seymour Hoffman is back in the new film Capote. The film follows the story of Truman Capote's initial idea for and the writing of the book that eventually became known as In Cold Blood. It details his friendship with and insinuation into the life of serial killers Richard Hickok and more importantly Perry Smith. Hoffman is almost flawless as the fey Capote. Gone is his baritone voice, sleaziness, and awkwardness that he's shown in other roles. These are not negative things only aspects of his characters. Instead Hoffman is understated, graceful, pensive. It's not an excessively showy role and Hoffman makes it look all too easy; never going over the top (these are the only reasons Hoffman could be denied the Oscar for 2005). Otherwise he is a lock to win for a portrayal of an actual person; Charlize Theron won two years ago for playing an actual serial killer. In Theron's case she had lots of makeup to aid in her performance; for Hoffman he relies solely on his voice, mannerisms, walk, and no obvious makeup.

Next week: Murrow takes on McCarthy and hail my first homily (or as I like to call it, a sermonette).

Suck this: The new movie Jarhead is out and, no, it's not about Jar Jar Binks. It's about a marine corp unit during Operation Desert Storm (the first war in Iraq). The term comes from the look of the marines head after it's shaved high and tight. Adapted from Anthony Swofford's book of the same name, the film answers the question: What do you do when you are a sniper in the corps and want to fight in the war but never even get a chance to fire your rifle? Based on Swofford's own experiences during that time, Jake Gyllenhaal (mean and buff) plays Anthony and Peter Sarsgaard (who should finally get an Oscar nom in the supporting category) plays another sniper who partners with Gyllenhaal's character. It's not a pretty film and Jamie Foxx (who won the Actor Oscar last year for playing Ray Charles, shows up as the staff sergeant with the mouth he wouldn't want to bring home to his mother). Chris Cooper shows up briefly in the film and is without a doubt this year's Jude Law. Jude Law, last year, Law was featured in no fewer than 6 movies within a span of a few months. This year, in addition to Jarhead, Cooper is also in the film Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, and several more movies next year. For those of you who think Gyllenhaal is dreamy, he spends a lot of time with his shirt off and in one scene has nothing but two Santa Claus hats on: one on each head.

paul

I think I'm back in the groove, for now anyway. For a while there I just didn't feel like writing; I didn't feel inspired. I would not want to have to write for a living because I would be very very poor. I have a better appreciation for professional writers who experience writer's block.

I've been seeing the trailer for the movie Memoirs Of A Geisha; actually I've been seeing it for a while. Being the avid reader that I am, I recently read the book. I read it mainly because if a movie is coming out that was originally a book I like to try and read the book first. I had heard the name of the book bandied about from time to time over the years (it was written in 1997) but had never read it; until now. It was a bit difficult at times because the book is about the life and culture of Geisha; not a subject I'm immediately interested in. It follows one of the most popular Geisha in early to mid 20th century and how she deals with the two lives she has always wanted: the life of a Geisha and having the love of her life. It's a fascinating book and I'm really looking forward to the movie. Forget Harry Potter and Narnia, for me the movie event of the fall is Memoirs. It will be really nice if the film is a contender for Best Picture.

Enjoy your day,

paul

With another hurricane season almost behind us, it's time to write about the inundation of reporters, newscasters, and other pundits that dominated our tv screens while the wicked weather wailed in the background. I'm talking about reporters standing in the middle of the hurricanes (of course this could apply to earthquakes, tornadoes, and also tsunamis) talking about how the wind is blowing rooftops off the houses and the rain is drowning everything in sight; everything except for the reporter and the cameraman. These reporters, or hurricane whores as they are called, are determined to bring the public the story not from the safety of their studio but in the trenches. This raises the question: Why can't they focus on the family stuck in their home, forced to wait out the storm because they don't have a car to get out of town? Why can't they do a piece on people caught in the storm, the human interest piece of it? Just because the reporter stands "in the middle of the storm" does not mean it's newsworthy; it means it's stupid. That's not news, that's just poor judgment. Although I did enjoy a Today show piece that aired earlier this year. The reporter was doing her post-storm piece from a canoe and in the middle of the segment two men walked into the view of the camera. Yes, they actually walked which made the reporters canoe seem unnecessary. Turns out the water was not feet deep but only ankle deep. As the season winds to a close we can look back on this season as the one in which mother nature said to us, "I may decide to take a nap from time to time but I can wake up any time I want."

paul

Awww, mommy, can we have one? This 2-month old Sumatran tiger cub is only one of the three of the endangered species of tiger. The cub resides at Indonesia's Siantar zoo in Medan.

Another piece of art; this one's at the Grand Palais in Paris. It is part of the Melancholy-Genius and Insanity in the Western World exhibition. The artist is Ron Mueck and the title is "Big Man." The exhibition runs until Jan. 16 of 2006. It's a bit creepy if you ask me. He appears to be looking right at me.

Scrambled or over easy? It's not breakfast, it's art. Made of fiberglass and high gloss epoxy, this fried egg represents the beach dwellers of Sydney, Australia's Tamarama Beach. Called the "Big Chook" this display is part of the ninth annual outdoor sculpture which recognizes art contributed by Australian and international artists.

Not your typical pumpkin carving. Scuba divers in Key Largo held a contest, the first special event since the evacuation due to hurricane Wilma. I'm determined that scuba diving will be my next big adventure. I didn't really have one this year and it's about time I had another one. My tandem skydive was well over a year ago.

It's another glorious fall day here in Western, NY. The leaves continue to fall en masse and I fear I won't have them all raked before the snow flies. Oh well there are worse tragedies.

A judge in Salt Lake City, Utah, is trying to keep his day job. Judge Walter Steed's removal was ordered by the Judicial Conduct Commission after an investigation, which lasted 14 months, determined Steed had violated the bigamy law. The complaint was originally filed by an ex-polygamous group founded by women. It was realized that Steed has three wives, all biological sisters, and that although having three wives has not affected his judgments he should be expected to abide by the law if he is to uphold it. Attorneys declined to proceed with criminal charges . There are around 30,000 polygamists living in Utah. Polygamy used to be sanctioned by the Mormon church but the practice was abandoned in 1890.

Meryl Streep does her best Jewish mama jive in the new film Prime. Streep plays Lisa Metzger, a therapist, whose patient Rafi (Uma Thurman) divorces her husband and meets David Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg; most known for playing Jake in the tv show One Tree Hill). David also happens to be Lisa's son. Thurman's Rafi is gentile and once Lisa finds out that David is Rafi's new steady she doesn't take kindly to it. It's not a bad film and it never crosses that line of being ridiculous; in fact it's quite well done. Greenberg looks like a cross between Angel's David Boreanaz and a young Matt Dillon and I thought this was one of the best roles I've seen Thurman in.

Rotten Remake: Alanis Morissette (Ms. Jagged Little Pill herself) has done a cover of Seal's ditty called Crazy. Why? Why? Why? Stop the insanity!!!!! Morissette is so talented and creative that she could have done two original songs that were better than this remake. It doesn't capture the dance floor beat of Seal's original and Morissette doesn't capture the urgency that Seal compelled us to listen to.

I got out of work this morning and did something I haven't done in a long time; I looked at the stars in the sky. I just stood there (groceries in hand) staring at the millions of them. How great to live in the country where so many of them are visible.

Ok, so Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination for Supreme Court judge and Bush goes and nominates Sam Alito (or as he's being called Scalito). Why? Because he's being called a radical conservative in the same vein as Antonin Scalia. First the Republicans were decrying Miers and her nomination and now, I'm certain, the Dems will pooh-pooh Alito's nom. Here's looking at you Bush for yet another zinger!!!!

Non-Oscar video pick of the week: I finally saw the film House Of Flying Daggers; the artsy fartsy foreign language film starring Zhang Ziyi. The film follows Mei (played by Ziyi) as a blind showgirl who may or may not be the daughter of an honored fighter who was killed. She's also quite a fighter herself. She meets Jin, a member of the corrupt government who thinks he knows who Mei is and lures the government's men to her. Eventually the two fall for each other and instead of being on opposite sides become allies as they fight the evil general's men. Soon, however, Jin's betrayal is discovered and then the fates of Jin and Mei are sealed by another character. The film's colors and cinematography are lush and vibrant and the fight scenes are unbelievably mesmerizing. I don't use the term unbelievably lightly. It's a wonderful film and I'm looking forward to seeing Zhang in this year's Memoirs Of A Geisha.

That's all for now.

paul