Monday, April 30, 2007

weekly post from April 28, 2007

Hello friends & loved ones,

Another week is behind us and here in Western, NY it's a gray and dreary day. A good day for just staying in bed all day. I didn't but don't feel guilty if YOU do.

It's so nice waking up each morning to the chittering and tittering of the birds. Each bird has different songs and I will just lay in bed listening to their singing. Also when we go out and walk the dog we can hear them singing throughout the day and into the evening. It's as if they are just joyous all the time. They never seem to tire of singing even on a gray day like today. If only us humans could be like our feathered friends. We get tired, depressed, worn down and don't feel like talking let alone singing. We let outside things affect us; the weather, economy, war until we seem to have no more left to give of ourselves. We need to make sure we are taking care of ourselves and building ourselves up so we can share our songs with others who might never hear one; so we can share ourselves with others who may not have anyone else in their lives.

So as you go about your weekend make sure you sing your song. Sing loud and remember the person who hears you singing may be the person who needs to hear it the most.


And as always stay safe, stay happy, and stay healthy.

peace,

paul

Thursday, April 26, 2007



A pic of my spouse feeding a pigeon during our recent trip to Boston's Public Gardens.

One with my spouse and the pigeon. I was surprised how into it he got.
Another one

Here's one with the pigeon just about to fly away with his food. He took the whole peanut in his mouth, as you can see here.

My spouse and I had a ball feeding peanuts to the pigeons. We couldn't break them fast enough.


Not real clear but this is a pic of one duck trying to mate? with another one.

A photo of one of the ducks eating a piece of bread. We were furiously throwing the bread in but the ducks were less than interested; we finally had a taker.

During a recent trip to Boston, my spouse and I caught up with some old friends and spent some time walking around the Public Gardens. We even rode the swan boats, a picture of which is shown here.

humor

After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!)
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

And the best one for last...
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

weekly post from April 20, 2007

Hello friends & loved ones,

It's an absolutely beautiful day in Western, NY with temps in the low 60's and the sun shining bright bright bright. There are still clumps of snow here and there that are trying to stay on the ground as long as possible. They won't last much longer at all.

Despite the sun in this part of the world, the sun isn't shining in Virginia this week. This past week our Virginia experienced something horrific. The tragedy that happened at Virginia Tech this past Monday is something most of us would never have imagined happening. All week long television has been flooded with stories about what happened. This is nothing new. Whenever something tragic like this happens, the news inundates us with the story dissected in more ways than we could possibly imagine. It's overkill times 100. It gets to the point to where the story produces a feeling of "UGH! Not again!" and I want to change the channel immediately.

The past week has had more than its share of finger pointing. Blaming (yes, that's the awful "B" word) is counter productive; it gets us nowhere. There are many arguments about this tragedy, however, those who say a lockdown would have been the best thing really need to think about that. There was a two hour lull between attacks at the campus and no one knows where the student was in those two hours. If the campus had been locked down, who's to say that the student would not have been in another building? Also VT is a 2,600 acre campus; I wouldn't want to be in charge of shutting down a facility that huge. Were mistakes made by the campus? Yes. Could they have handled things differently? Certainly. What other campuses around the nation need to be doing is focusing on how they can prevent this type of incident. Let's face it most campuses aren't safe the way they should be. Instead of beating a dead story we need to be proactive and prevent this from happening again. Our culture wants to talk about things 500 different ways from Sunday. My heart goes out to the families of the people who were killed and to the family of the gunman. While we are all healing let's remember that we are all united and blaming and pointing fingers will only prolong the pain.

To my friends & loved ones enjoy your weekend. As always be safe, be healthy and be happy.

love,

paul

Sunday, April 15, 2007

weekly post from April 14, 2007

Hello friends & loved ones,

Another week has passed and another Friday the 13th is behind us. I'm not a believer in Friday the 13th bringing bad luck; I believe our reactions to life and what it throws us can be considered our luck. Some of us think the Gods are conspiring against us and some of us think that life is just a road with curveballs around every bend. I've no idea what the hell I'm saying except that life is what we make it.

I'm a firm believer in doing things that are outside our comfort zones and I did just that today. I was raised Missouri Synod Lutheran (feel free to look it up). It's more conservative than Evangelical Lutherans and they are definitely not gay friendly. Today I went to St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Hilton with Cathy (hey, Cathy) a friend of mine and my spouse. We had lunch with her today and she and my spouse were discussing the interim pastor at her church. I had no idea who the guy was and part of me wanted to see him and hear him preach. I'm also a firm believer in staying current (that includes knowing what other "closed" churches are doing) and I wanted to experience another Lutheran service. It had been a while since the last one. As soon as I walked in the doors the memories came flooding back from my childhood. The board that lists the hymn numbers, the lamp that indicates the presence of Jesus, the rote readings of scripture, the heavy perfume of the old ladies, the lack of a real community greeting and the solemnity of the parishioners. At the Open Arms church (where I go), we are sometimes quite raucous and we have no problem calling out as the spirit moves us. At the service today, I kept wanting to interject little things such as "yes", "praise", and "alright." Things that you might hear at a Pentecostal church. I had to reign myself in because it was not THAT kind of church. I was surprised that while reciting the Confession And Pronouncement Of Forgiveness and The Apostles Creed, I remembered (by heart) a line here and a line there. Not the whole thing but just enough to make me think, "Whoa!" I'm glad I did it but after being a part of an open and affirming church (a real one), there's no going back. What did you do that was uncomfortable this past week?


Until next week....Stay safe, stay happy, and stay healthy.

paul

Saturday, April 14, 2007

youtube link

Anyone remember the My Humps song by the Black Eyed Peas? Well here's a spoof of the video done by Alanis Morissette. Who knew that she was funny as well as a talented singer? Enjoy!

paul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91sqAs-_-g

Friday, April 13, 2007

I-Mess

Keith Olbermann refers to the Don Imus brouhaha as I-Mess, so I've borrowed it from him. It's sad that this news item is still dominating the airwaves; he's been fired already, let it go. I understand that people want to debate the race issue, however, there are more important things to worry about in the world right now and the man is gone; he's no longer on the air. Do I think he should have been fired? No. I do realize this is not the first time he's made racist remarks, however, I truly believe that he is being made an example of. If I were Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter or gangsta rappers (all of whom have made their share of racist, homophobic, bigoted remarks) I would be quaking in my studio chair right about now and being extra careful of what is said. If I were Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, I would be focusing on these yahoos that continue to play on the airwaves and continue to make noxious remarks. Let's put this story to bed once and for all and stop beating a dead (or in this case fired) horse. And, by the way, a civil rights activist should stand up and speak out against ALL civil injustices. You can't call yourself a civil rights activist and then pick and choose which slurs to get riled up over. What about Isaiah Washington from Grey's Anatomy still being employed after using the word faggot? What about the Duke Lacrosse guys who are now deemed innocent and have to live with the title of rapist for the rest of their lives? What about Ann Coulter still being embraced by the Republican party after calling John Edwards a faggot? And speaking of Ann Coulter, she is much worse than 10 Don Imus's. I've heard it said that her vitriol is done for shock effect. I don't care what effect it's used for; it's hateful and disgusting.

peace,

paul

Sunday, April 08, 2007


Here are some pics of our church decked out for Easter service. I've included some pictures of the flowers, the fellowship hall set up for the luncheon we had after service, a pic of some of the desserts, and a couple of pics of the mantilla (a headdress used by Spanish women that we used as a tablecloth) that features a picture of the last supper.
Enjoy,
paul

















Here are a couple of pics of our fat cat, Perry, who likes to pretend he is a dog by fetching wads of paper. If he sees us throw one away, he will dig in the garbage to get it out.

paul


Saturday, April 07, 2007

weekly post from April 6, 2007

Hello friends & loved ones,

It's 25 degrees here in Western, NY and the snow is back and doesn't look like it's going to let up; at least not before the end of next week. They are even calling for a snowstorm sometime next week. It's frickin' April, ok, enough with the white stuff! At this rate we won't see summer until August and by then we'll be getting ready for fall again.

It's that time again when we celebrate Jesus' resurrection and the days leading up to that celebration. We had a wonderful Seder at church last night with bitter herbs, charoset, parsley, matzah bread, horseradish, gefilte fish (which was actually quite good but cold) and green beans and chicken. We even used the four cups (which represent Sanctification & Freedom, Deliverance, Redemption, and Thanksgiving & Hope) which were filled with either grape juice or Manischewitz wine.

Jesus Is The Reason For The Season: There's a song that starts with the line, "It's all about you, Jesus" and I cringe every time I hear it. Yes, it is about Jesus but let's not forget that we do all of the work. Having said that, the Man has managed to dominate the news this week....again. Some people may be saying, "Is He still around? Didn't He die?" Well, yes, he did about 2,000 some odd years ago. The first story came out of Chicago where a senior at the Art Institute of Chicago made a papier mache statue of Jesus complete with robes, a neon blue halo and the face of....Barack Obama. Obama's campaign distanced the presidential hopeful from the artwork and many, including Obama's campaign, felt the artwork offended religious sensibilities. Yeah, yeah, yeah, well what about the statue itself. Why couldn't it look like, say, LL Cool J, or Denzel Washington, or even Jamie Foxx. Instead it looks like someone with the initials B.O.

The second story in the news was out of NY. The sculpture titled My Sweet Lord was cancelled at an exhibit in NY due to Catholic (surprise, surprise) protesters. Well, here's the reason. It's a sculpture of Jesus made out of chocolate and, by the way, it's anatomically correct. Well, Jesus was a man, wasn't he? The sculpture was made from 90kg of chocolate and, while it wasn't intended to be eaten, Jesus did say to the disciples at the last supper, "Take this bread, my body, and eat it." (ok, I'm paraphrasing but essentially he was telling the disciples to eat him).

And speaking of eating Jesus you can actually eat a chocolate Jesus; and it's bite size too. Great for freaking people out during Communion or for noshing between meals, you can eat Jesus every day of the week. It's featured at
www.chocolatefantasies.com and for those of you who need to get in touch with your feminine side, there's even chocolate Mary.

Also stay safe, stay happy, and stay healthy.

Until next week....

peace,

paul

weekly post from April 1, 2007

Hello friends & loved ones,

Spring is here and the snow is gone. For the most part the snow is gone; there are some clumps that are hanging around and refuse to melt away so easily. I truly enjoy watching our bird feeders. Luckily we have birds pretty much all year round. I never tire of seeing how busy they are and how they cavort and fight and eat and make messes. It's very similar to us in our own lives. We play, work, gather, and, yes, fight. What we need to remember is that when we fight or have a disagreement we are still a family. We should remember not to let the words or anger or frustration get in the way of what's important. All different types of birds compete for the bird seed; some are bossier and more aggressive than others but they still all hunger for the same thing and they still gather together for their sustenance. Likewise we all come from diverse backgrounds and we all hunger for the same things; love, acceptance, a sense of value and worth. If we go around fighting with each other that will only make our lives more miserable and disconcerted. We never know how long we have so instead of fighting and pushing and pulling each other, let's try some peace and show each other acceptance and kindness; even to those we find it most difficult to express those things to. Try it and you might find yourself lighter and feeling better as you go through your day. Surprise someone with an act of love or kindness.

My new favorite website is youtube. I used to just watch one or two clips every now and then and wasn't really that interested in the website but now I'm up to several clips a day. In fact I'm in the middle of watching one as I type this. There are some clever and funny clips on there and I've become kind of obsessed with it. I'm blaming it all on Keith Olbermann because he's always showing funny and jaw dropping clips on his show. It's all his fault.

Until next week: Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay happy.

The Spouse Saga continued

So, today I walked into the bathroom and saw that there was a new roll of toilet paper on the toilet paper holder but it wasn't placed in the holder and, in fact, it wasn't even unwrapped from its package. Needless to say I unwrapped the toilet paper and placed it on the roll. When I asked my spouse about it, he mentioned that he didn't need it and placed the new roll there for me. What he failed to mention, and what I know, is that the last time I was in the bathroom there was still some toilet paper on the roll. This means that he finished the roll and did not put the new roll on the holder because he didn't need anymore. What!!???!!!!! That's just laziness. Men: You can't live with them and you can't train them in bathroom etiquette.

peace,

paul

Friday, April 06, 2007

Saturday at the store with spousey

So, my spouse and I decided to take a jaunt to Dansville this morning; about half an hour from where we live. We needed some more bird seed and suet and then decided we would shop at Tops (they never stop saving us more; we saved a whole $8 and spent about $80). We got to Tops at about 11:27 and Jim knew I was expecting a phone call at 12:30 and I wanted to be home by that time to take the call. Any other time Jim would be breezing through the store and I'd barely be able to keep up with him. He's literally like a whirling dervish, you can see his form but he's all blurry because he's moving so fast. I literally go over one aisle to get something and come back to where he was and he's already three more aisles over. But not today......

Today, Jim decided to plod along as if he was a 90-year-old man. He had to go down just about every single aisle. If he went down an aisle and at first didn't see anything he needed, he would turn around and just look for something to buy. I was really getting frustrated and just wanted to get out of Tops. I don't like Tops and I think it's because the lighting is so harsh. It must be the white floors; at least the floors at Wegman's are neutral colors and creates a nicer lighting environment. After what seemed like an hour or two, we were finally ready to check out.

Our check out guy had to have been family (Jim is certain of it and I'm almost certain of it). He was so flamboyant (but that doesn't necessarily mean someone is gay) and when he was bagging the groceries he was literally just prattling on about the different items we had gotten. It wasn't even anything of much substance, just prattle. It wasn't really annoying; in fact it was kind of endearing because he had a sweetness to his voice. Jim didn't want me to use his real name and wanted me to refer to him as Pansy (I kid you not!) instead.

We finally got out of Tops and into the car at 12:06 (almost 40mins later; arguably the longest 40mins of my life) and got home, unloaded and put away the groceries and still had 8 mins to spare. And I didn't even get the call on time; that call was three minutes late.

I'm truly exhausted now and will be retiring to the boudoir to rest my weary head. I'm so glad I'm not flamboyant!

peace,

paul

p.s. Just because someone calls themselves a spouse does not, I repeat not, give them the right to hand you the phone while you are indisposed (if you catch my meaning)!!!!!! That's just not right.

fun

A friend sent this to me and for those of you who want to know a little more about me, here goes. Enjoy.

Terrible Twos

Two Names You Go By: Paul, paulie

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: slippers, sweats

Two Things You Want in a Relationship: honesty, sex

Two of Your Favorite Things to do: read, play volleyball

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment: President Bush out of office, summer

Two pets you had/have: Casper, Perry

Two things you did last night: ate at a seder, finished a book

Two People that live in your house: Jim and me, of course

Two people you talked to last: Jim and myself

Two Things You're doing tomorrow: Watching Survivor, sleeping in

Two longest car rides: Texas to NY, NY to MA

Two Favorite Holidays: New Year's, Christmas

Two favorite beverages: water, Pinot Grigio

peace,

paul

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Rotten Remakes

There are very few remakes that I truly enjoy and it never ceases to amaze me the songs that are being remade. Is it so a new audience can enjoy the song? Why not just have the original artist do a remix of the original. It doesn't even have to be a major makeover, just a re-tweaking. There are two songs that are now out in remake form. The first one went to #3 in 1988 and was sung by actor Patrick Swayze with help from Wendy Fraser. The song was "She's Like The Wind" and was from the big blockbuster soundtrack Dirty Dancing which was from the movie of the same name. Now female artist Lumidee (aka Lumidee Cedeno) has remade the song and given it more of an R&B/hip hop sound to it. It's not good; in fact I'd much prefer to hear the plaintive sound of Swayze over this ridiculous redo. By the way, Lumidee was only 3 years old when the original peaked on the chart.

The second song that has gotten the update treatment was a #1 hit from 1998 called "Truly Madly Deeply" by the group Savage Garden. There aren't a lot of ballads (treacly drivel) that I would listen to over and over but this is one of them. It's Darren Hayes's feeling and emotion and smooth falsetto that I enjoy, not to mention the words. Well now the German group, Cascada, has remade the song and given it a dance beat. It's awful and I like dance music. Cascada had a modest hit last year with "Everytime We Touch", the video of which was also shown on the Logo station.

If you hear these songs and want to share your opinion then let me know.

peace,

paul