Hello,

It's a windy and sunny spring day on this Thursday. Not a trace of snow in our yard or on our road. Yea!!!!!!

I am really enjoying The Office, the remake of the British series of the same name. It's funny, envelope pushing and as close to a perfect remake of the show as possible. So far they've kept in the offensive aspect of the series which is really good. I'm pleasantly surprised at how daring they've been. Steve Carrell is very funny and nails the role that Ricky Gervais was so memorable in. Hopefully NBC will continue to allow the show to keep everything it has (and then some) and lose nothing. They've done a nice job of advertising it too.

Ridiculous item of the day: Nothing like stealing from your employer before you are hired. A man in Florida was applying for a job last Thursday when a video camera caught him taking an employee's keys, opening an office, and taking 15 lottery tickets from a file cabinet. He then left and returned four hours later to finish the application. He was arrested when he returned and found in his van were the keys and the 15 lottery tickets. A double whammy for him; the lottery tickets had previously been voided. Not a good day!

That's all for today, more later.

paul

Hello, it was another beautiful day. Went to see The Upside Of Anger; a great movie, wonderful acting and the best cast movie I've seen in a while. Joan Allen was riveting; she never went overboard and really knows how to inhabit a role without going over the top. Why hasn't she won an Oscar? Kevin Costner seems to just get better looking with age, talk about a hunk. The only flaw with the movie were a couple of things that were just out of place: One daughters medical crisis and Allen's fantasy of another daughter's boyfriend's head exploding. The movie does hit a little too hard in some places with the message, however, it really shows how anger and bitterness can distort our view of life and hold us back. A must see and did I mention the casting is impeccable?

Ridiculous item of the day: A republican politician in Colorado, decrying same sex marriage, said that it could one day lead to interspecies marriage. He mentioned a man in Boulder, CO, who tried to marry his horse. However, that was a political stunt during a short lived allowance of same sex marriage and it happened in the 70's. I think we should prove him right. I think we should all go out right now and marry our dogs, cats, horses, any animal we have. Oh come on, you know you have such deep feelings for Fifi and Fido. You see the way they look at you; they just make your heart go pitter patter and besides they already share your bed.

Songs I'm enjoying on the radio: "The Hand That Feeds" by Nine Inch Nails. I've never been a big fan of NIN. I have enjoyed a song here and a song there, however, this song just gets my whole body moving. What a great first single from their new album. "B.Y.O.B." by System Of A Down. This group I have enjoyed from the beginning and I'm sure people would be surprised to know I enjoy listening to them. With lyrics such as "you feed us lies from the tablecloth" and "why don't president's fight the war?" you won't be blamed if you think this is a political song (haha). And also "Holiday" by Green Day. One more is Kelly Clarkson's new one, "Behind These Hazel Eyes" a catchy, midtempo song. It's not as catchy as "Since U Been Gone" which is annoyingly infectious, however, it's still a good song. I don't think she's got the greatest voice, or the most talented singer out there right now, however, she is talented and bearable when she doesn't put out songs like "Breakaway."

That's all for now. Peace wherever you are.

paul

another great title for today's post

It's Wednesday and today will be in the 60's. Yesterday was gray, cold, and damp and today the sun is out, the birds are busier than ever and it's warming up. I truly enjoy watching the birds at our feeder, in fact I would watch all day long if I had nothing else to do. I do wish the squirrels would just go away forever. They have been getting into the bird feeder and throwing food all over the ground and hoarding it so that it goes fast. We've done a few different things to keep them away and so far for the past day and a half they've not been in the feeder. I've been watching. I would really like to get rid of the big feeder and get one that is squirrel proof but Jim likes the big feeder (it has sentimental value). If worst comes to worst I'll get a new baffle.

Ridiculous item of the week: Remember in the Friends episode when Joey did that poster for the STD? No, well he did and then he got all nervous that people would really think he had one. At the end of the episode he saw the poster and tried to tear the bottom half (with the disease) off. Unfortunately, being NYC, there were other ads from other posters under his; touting such things as drugs, abuse, etc....and his picture topped them all. Well in NYC (imagine) four male models are suing because an ad campaign for domestic violence went longer than it should have. The four men all signed up to be part of an ad campaign for domestic violence. Their pictures behind bars on a poster with the captions, "successful executive, devoted churchgoer, abusive husband." The posters were to only be up for 5 weeks in NYC subways and buses. However, the posters also ended up in police stations and charities and were up far longer than the five weeks. Friends of the models began to actually think they actually beat their wives. But tell me, was this before or after the five weeks were up? One signs up for something like this and people see the posters, what difference does it make how long they are up? Hundreds (maybe more) of people ride the NYC buses and subways each day. Isn't it possible that after the first 2 weeks people were wondering, "hmmm, I wonder if he's really a wife beater?" Now they are each suing $1 million each. Why don't they just go out and get a real job?

That's all for now. Enjoy your spring day and pray for each other.

paul

another good title

It's a gray, damp and cold Tuesday here in Western NY. I'm not complaining because I know by the end of this week the sun will be shining and it will be near 60. I will think positive, I will think positive.

Ridiculous item of the week: One of the top rules when committing a burglary is never call the police while still at the scene of the crime. A man in England learned that lesson too late when he broke one of the other rules; always have a good escape plan, he didn't. He robbed a snack bar in a railway station and after downing a 6 pack of beer he tried to escape through a window. Unfortunately he was too big or the window was too small. He then phoned the police for help and that's when he was arrested. The whole incident cost him $908. It would have been a whole lot cheaper to just buy a 6pack at the store.

That's all for today. wherever you are today, enjoy........

paul

title goes here

I hope everyone had a nice Easter. It's still a bit chilly here today in Western NY but it's not snowing, however, it is damp and muddy. There's no stopping spring though and this week will be in the 60's.

Ridiculous item of the day: Never throw out plastic Easter eggs without first opening them to see if they are empty. One woman in Wisconsin learned that lesson a little too late. A woman donated some items to the Salvation Army that had belonged to her grandmother, among them some plastic Easter eggs. A strange thing to donate but that's just me. Anyway, while reading her grandmother's diary, the woman discovered that her grandmother had filled the eggs with cash. It seems her grandmother had planned a special Easter indeed. The woman went back to the store but by then the eggs were gone. The store manager is hoping a "goodhearted soul will come forward."

That's all for now. Wherever you are today, enjoy yourself.

paul

what should I call this?

It's a chilly Easter Sunday morning. This week is supposed to get up into the 50's and possibly even the 60's by the end of the week. I can start wearing shorts pretty soon....Yea!

Ridiculous item of the week: It's never a good idea to beat up your trash man. That's one rule that a family in Philadelphia didn't follow. While following their garbage truck and picking up bags of garbage, Richard Meyers and a co-worker passed a house where the garbage had NOT been put out. At that point, Eugene Dykes, one of the owners of the house, yelled for the truck to stop; it didn't. Dykes then started putting bags of garbage in the truck (luckily for him the truck was going slow enough to do so). Then he got mad and he, his wife and sons started hitting garbageman Meyers. Meyers had to crawl under the truck for protection. I think next garbage day instead of picking up garbage at that house they should pelt the house with garbage. I always make sure our garbage is out in PLENTY of time for the garbageman; don't most people?

Wherever you are this Easter day, have a wonderful one.

peace,

paul

Hard to believe but tomorrow is Easter. Even harder to believe that next week marks the beginning of April. Almost a quarter of the way through the year.

We had our monthly artsy fartsy movie today. Once a month some people from the church get together to see a movie (usually an independent or small budget film). Today we saw Schultze Gets The Blues, a movie about a mine worker who retires and has to figure out what to do with his life. He decides to take up the accordion and ends up going to Texas. The adventure that follows is touching and funny. By the way, the film is in German (w/subtitles of course) and the language barrier is just one of the things that makes the journey interesting.

Ridiculous item of the day: Have clothes, won't wrestle. The amateur sumo association in Tokyo thought it would be a good idea if teenagers wore "sumo pants" while wrestling. The thinking was that kids want to look cool (and what teen doesn't want to look cool?) and the "mawashi" that wrestlers typically wear just wouldn't be stylish enough. The wrapped cloth covers the bare minimum but the professional sumo wrestling body decided it won't let kids wrestle at the national stadium if they are wearing pants. So much for modesty.

That's all for now. More later.

paul

F-F-Finally Friday

Happy Good Friday!!!!

I work at a job where I don't get all the bank/school holidays off (I don't automatically get the major holidays off either) so today doesn't feel like a holiday or anything but an ordinary day. At least it won't until I try to go to the post office.

Ridiculous item of the day: Talk about waking up dead: A woman in British Columbia, Canada woke up in the morgue last weekend. The 87-year old was a resident of an extended care facility and while she was sleeping her roommate passed away. When the driver of the ambulance arrived, he took the woman without checking her wrist bracelet, and it ended up he took the wrong one. When the woman did wake up, imagine her surprise, she was in the hallway of the hospital morgue. Lucky for her the morgue workers had already noticed her legs moving. Needless to say the ambulance driver was immediately fired.

Video pick of the week: I saw a wonderfully written, paced, and directed French film this past week titled Red Lights. Directed by Cedric Kahn, Lights tells the story of a married couple on the way to pick up their children from summer camp. The male has a penchant for whiskey (he can't seem to drink it fast enough) and the female seems to revel in nagging him and picking at him. Fed up and determined to prove that he is the man, he turns off and goes into a bar. His wife threatens to take the bus the rest of the way if he goes in, he does, and she's gone when he comes out; but did she really take the bus? When he stops at yet another bar and gives a ride to a stranger, the nightmare really begins. The suspense builds slowly and it's not right away that we sense there's some real danger. When we finally learn what happened to the wife is when we realize that the night they were separated will resonate with them for a long time. Bonus points for the road shots while the husband is driving. I kept feeling like I was in one of those race car video games and I clenched a few times. Extra bonus for a clever jump-in-the-seat moment near the end (yes, even though I didn't jump). This is how a suspense movie should be made and I'd be surprised if the director wasn't influenced by Hitchcock.

That's all for now. Wherever you are today, have a nice one.

paul

a lovely spring? day

Yes, it's spring but you wouldn't know it to look outside. We got between 2 and 4 inches of new snow between yesterday and last night. Ahhhhhhh, May, May wherefore art thou May.

Ridiculous item of the day: We've all heard of road rage but snowball rage? A woman in Massachusetts, picking up her daughter from school, had her vehicle pelted with snowballs by some kids. The woman got out of her car and started chasing the kids, with a tire iron (that'll do some damage). The kids continued to throw snowballs at her. "Cold" under the collar, the woman went back to her car to get her pepper spray. A male student, whose car was being blocked by the woman's, asked her to move the car and an argument ensued. The student then found himself on the wrong end of the woman's pepper spray. She has pled not guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and carrying a firearm (apparently pepper spray is one) without having it properly registered. Next time I'm sure the kids will just throw stones.

That's all for today. Enjoy YOUR day!

paul

another cold day

It's hump day and it's still cold. What a surprise!!!! And to top it all off there is talk of more snow (another surprise).

Not much new to report today, another day, another day.

Ridiculous item of the day: A film about volcanoes on an IMAX screen sounds rather exciting. However, if you live in the South, in Texas, Georgia, or the Carolinas, you won't be able to see it. The film makes reference to a connection between human DNA and microbes inside undersea volcanoes. It seems people in the south don't subscribe to evolution, rather they believe in creationism. The film may upset those people so it won't be shown in those (and possibly other) southern states. Damn Southerners; spoken like a true Texan (which I am).

That's all for today. Enjoy your day, wherever you are.

paul

what's a good title for today?

It's Tuesday, the third day of spring, and it still feels like winter. Helloooooooo snow, go away already.

Another teenager has gone on a shooting rampage (no, this isn't a joke). A teenager in Minnesota has killed his grandparents and eight other students (including himself) all the while brandishing a gun and smiling. How does this keep happening? It never fails, however, that when this does happen, you hear stories about how the teen was an outcast, made fun of, not with the "in" group. Maybe one day soon we will realize the importance of paying more attention to our future.

Ridiculous item of the day: A new study in Britain is taking place. More than 600 patients are being assembled by a doctor of the University of York in Britain. This treatment dates back to Napoleon but has since been pushed to the side thanks to antibiotics and newer treatments. In order to alleviate pain and prevent infection, and in a shorter amount of time, maggots are being used to eat dead tissue and kill of bacteria. In Britain, more than 600 million pounds, or 1.15 billion dollars, is spent each year treating leg ulcers. The belief is that maggots can heal us faster. Last year the USFDA actually approved maggots as a "medical device." Lest we think that maggots will start reproducing and "taking over our body," the greenfly larvae (which are sterilized) are said to only be interested in the unhealthy tissue and would start eating each other before they went after healthy skin. If this works and does heal wounds faster, these little critters could be coming to a hospital near you. FYI: Everytime I think of maggots (which is not often), I think of that scene in Poltergeist where the researcher is in the kitchen and starts eating the chicken and when he looks in the mirror he sees it is covered with maggots. EWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!

That's all for now. More later.

paul

It's the second day of spring here in Western NY and the snow is still falling. The roads are just slick enough to make driving a little dangerous. Winter is not exiting gracefully.

Ridiculous item of the day: I haven't written anything controversial in a while, well I'm in the mood to do so today. Once again Bush and his cronies have put their noses where they don't belong. The ordeal of Terri Schiavo has continued for 15 years and shows no sign of letting up anytime soon. The House and the Senate passed a bill that applies only to Schiavo to let the parents ask the judge to reinsert the feeding tube; it was removed on Friday. Schiavo has been in a persisten vegatative state since 1990. Just let the woman die in peace and with some dignity. How long does she have to linger like that before it's enough? That's not a quality filled life, no matter how you look at it.

That's it for now. Have a peaceful day.

paul

Sunday

Not much of a posting yesterday, it was a long day and I just couldn't muster too much to say. I've got a lot to say today; spring is here and it feels so fine. Just a little bit of snow still on the ground this morning and also the thinnest sheet of ice (how strange). It's not cold but it's not warm either. Wouldn't it be cool if on the first day of spring the weather just changed suddenly to match the season?

Ridiculous item of the day: Supernatural event or just a regular fire? A pet store in Michigantown, Indiana, was destroyed last October and only one animal survived. A palm-sized turtle named Lucky is the only animal that didn't perish in the fire. A red-eared slider turtle, Lucky has now developed a goatee and pointy horns on its shell, according to the store owner. The owner says it's the face of the devil and he wants to make it known that he was there. Lucky's behavior hasn't changed; which means he hasn't started spinning his head in a 360 degree direction or spitting up pea soup. The owner does plan on auctioning off a dvd of Lucky's story that he produced. He will do this via the internet and even offer the winner the option of buying Lucky. No word on if a miniature cross will come with Lucky.

That's all for now. Enjoy your Sunday.

paul

Saturday night here and I apologize for blogging so late but the internet has been funky today. We had a wonderful church retreat at Ellison Park (for those of you NOT in the Rochester area, it's a very nice park with lodges and trails etc.....). We had 33 people which is a great number for our church. I'm off to bed and I'm such an old fart (32 going on 82).

Ridiculous item of the day: Oh, I'm too tired......Life is ridiculous.


More later.

paul

Hello,

It's finally Friday and the snow is melting and the mud is coming through. Yes, Sunday marks the official arrival of spring and the birds (not to mention the people) are thrilled. We have a church dinner tonight to talk about our church retreat tomorrow. Being the pastor's spouse, I have to go tonight and smile and nod occasionally (wait, I'm not an accessory, who am I kidding, I'll just butt right in and say what I please).

There was a neat (who still uses that word besides me?) article that I read this past week about the Bible and how Christian conservatives try to use certain phrases within the Bible to persecute GLBT people. By the way, they are misinterpreting the phrases. Anyway, the other teachings and rules in the Old Testament are ignored by those same Christians. It was a cool article. If you are interested in reading it, here's the link: http://cjonline.com/stories/031205/opi_roy.shtml I think it's at least worth a read.

Ridiculous item of the day: Alan Keyes, the loser, oops, I mean losing Senate candidate (he was crushed by Barack Obama for an Illinois seat) is at it again. He had nothing but bad things to say about same sex marriage at a Christian rally in Florida. First he called homosexuality "selfish hedonism" and called Mary Cheney a "selfish hedonist." And by the way, the Cheney family hardly blinked when he said that but John Kerry invokes her name, in a positive manner, and they are just thrown into a tizzy.....disgusting!!!! Then Keyes kicks his own daughter out because she is a lesbian and now he has this to say, "Marriage exists in order to respect, recognize and enforce obligations that arise from the fact of procreation." He then went on to mention that heterosexual couples who don't procreate won't hurt the institution of marriage but gay unions would "annihilate" it. Excuse me, isn't that contradictory? You should get married to procreate but if you don't that's ok. What a joke!!!!!! Ok, that's my little rant for the day.

I leave you with a quote from Shaquille O'Neal, NBA player extraordinnaire, in response to being one of the NBA players listed as obese, according to the body-mass index, "I'm classified as phenomenal."

Wherever you are today, have a phenomenal one.

paul

Oh, that's a good title

Scott Peterson sentenced to death, Robert Blake a free man today, and Michael Jackson's trial is still going on. What is it with celebrities and their inability to stay out of trouble? Granted Scott Peterson isn't a celebrity, not in the traditional sense anyway, but I'll bet more people than not know his name now. Which celebrity will be next? As sure as the sun is bright, there will be another one.

Ridiculous item of the day: A Berlin post office had a little scare when a package started vibrating and making strange noises. Afraid it may have been a bomb, the workers brought in the sender of the package and to their surprise it was a life-size female sex doll. According to the police, the man wanted to return the doll because it kept turning itself on at the wrong moment (talk about premature ejaculation). All was back to normal when the guy removed the batteries. No word on if/when the doll will get her groove back.

That's all for now. More later.

paul

p.s. Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!!!!

can't think of a title today

Good morning, on this cold Wednesday, from Western NY. It's so unusual for it to be cold. Nothing much new today, same old same old. Same stuff, different day, yada, yada, yada. The week is halfway over and while I would usually be looking forward to the weekend, this weekend is going to be very very busy. No time to be a couch potato this weekend. Oh well............

Ridiculous item of the day: Coming soon to the Great White Way: The Regal Beagle (the Three's Company Musical), Everybody Knows Your Name: Sing for Cheers, and Tootie Talk: The Facts Of Life Musical in the key of L. Ok, I made those three titles up but with such movie to stage shows as The Producers, Hairspray, Spamalot, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, soon one will need a remote control for the theatre. And coming soon, these titles are not made up: The Apprentice: The Musical, Shrek, and Catch Me If You Can (from the Tom Hanks and Leo DiCaprio movie). And if you are keeping score, the next move will be to have commercials at the theatre like the ones they spend 20mins showing at the movies.

That's all for now. More later................

paul

no title today

Another cold day here in Western NY; not a big surprise. The sun feels nice, however, and the days have the "look" of spring to them. Not too much longer and some of us will be complaining how hot it is.

Ridiculous item of the day: Talk about silly souvenirs; how would you like a man-hole cover? No? Well they are apparently big in China. Around 240,000 (yes, thousand) man-hole and street drain covers were stolen in Beijing last year. The covers are stolen and then sold as scrap for a mere two dollars. Big business those man hole covers and we thought homeland security was big. Beijing is experimenting with new covers that are made of non-metal materials and have no recycling value. The theft of the covers is described as rampant.

That's all for now. More later..........

paul

It's a cold Monday here in Western NY. I know I didn't blog yesterday but even God rested on Sunday (haha....I crack myself up).

I'd like us all to take a moment to realize just how precious life is. Over the weekend in Brookfield Wis, a man walked into a room where a church service was being held and started shooting. In all, he killed seven people, including the minister and his son and wounded four other people. He then shot himself. He had been a member of the congregation. It just goes to show you, one day you can be going along like la la la and then boom!!!!

Ridiculous item of the day: Just when you thought it was safe to take otc medicine; think again, it could come back and put you in jail. A former judge in California found himself in jail after a urine test showed traces of alcohol. Judge William Danser had been under house arrest for fixing traffic tickets for friends and acquaintances and was ordered to spend 90 days with an electronic monitoring device (like Martha Stewart). One of the requirements is that he had to stay away from alcohol. Well wouldn't you know it, Danser got sick and as luck (or lack of luck) would have it got an unexpected visit from his probation officer. In bed, as a result of his bad cough, Danser had to take a urine test and that's when the alcohol was found. The culprit: the NyQuil he had taken for his cough. He was only 7 days from the end of his sentence but he still had to spend a week in the clinker. Next time he might want to try an herbal remedy.

That's all for now. Wherever you are today I hope you are smiling.

paul

slippery Saturday

Hello,

We just had a couple of blasts of snow. Just enough to cover everything and make the roads slippery. Winter, it seems, is not going to go willingly (but does it ever?).

We had a wonderfully relaxing Saturday; started out giving away one of our tvs to our pet nanny. We don't have it hooked up, haven't used it in years so we figured we'd give her a newer one. She made some delicious cinnamon muffins.

Then we watched Princess Diaries 2. I know, I know, Princess Diaries 2? It was a fun, mindless movie. And it had Julie Andrews too. Then a short nap and now we are sitting here watching Animal Cops. I can't believe so many people are so cruel and neglectful of animals. I may not be much of an animal person but even I know how to treat them.

Ridiculous item of the day: If you've ever seen Psycho then you know that Norman Bates impersonates his dead mother. Well here's one for you: A man in Instanbul impersonated his dead mother in order to collect her pension. Suspicious bank employees (his deep voice was one give away) alerted the police and raided the guy's home and found his mother (the real one) buried in the basement. He told police the mother died of natural causes. Hmmmm....we'll see. The guy had previously been convicted of carrying firearms and armed robbery. He had also previously withdrawn over $6,000 (U.S.) from his mother's account.

That's all for now. Wherever you are tonight be safe, healthy and happy.

paul