The Simple Stupid

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I heard a great quote that really sparked some intense thinking.
Truth is simple;
if it was complicated,
everybody would understand it.

--Walt Whitman

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It struck me on several levels. Religiously Judeau Chrisitan beliefs would agree with this saying. Christ states many times that His yoke was "easy" and that His ways are simple. What could be more difficult to do? Just believe? Faith in invisible stuff? Act as though it were? Not excluding and other additionals; the "magic" of it all would seem so simple that we are powerless to explain or comprehend such mysteries. Christ admonishes us to come as the little children. Who but children would have the audacity to be so simple. They believe anything at any time. They arent clouded by any lessons life has beaten into them or a thousand people have told them was impossible. Its no wonder that children are the first to be aware of the unseen. Children and animals are so empty of junk and rules that the impossible still has plenty of space to happen. Reality has no limits. Sometimes I think we are all unlimited; but our perception makes us much less....


Scientificly when you consider the human and its mind and its untapped
capacities, you have to wonder what you dont know. Are we only on the
first page of a forty page manual? How much and how terribly terrific are the things we have not the slightest clue? Of course, I'm a sucker for shows like the X-Files and Fringe that focus on the extraordinary; things so fantastic or terrible, they couldnt possibly be true; but what if they are? Then you through in the supercollider and wormholes and time travel and quantum physics and the lines of real and sci-fi begin to blur. Several years ago a cellphone or microwave would have been science fiction to someone. Of course, there are a few people left who dont believe we've been to the moon.


How do we unwrap our minds of life's curses and dissatisfactions? There are those making millions of dollars on self help programs, TV talkshows, a set of tapes, a set of books and any number of conveluted lengthy slickly marketed gems. Most of it can all be boiled down to something very simple; but you wouldnt pay half your earnings for a truth that simple...besides you already knew that. We would rather have some "other" authority's idea of perfection and perfect life than our own. Perhaps children have the best advice of us all. More ironic, its what we fed them because we supposedly believed it or are at least very comfortable deluding them with it very early in life. Perhaps all our solutions were the ones we left, discarded or forgot back in first grade while playing with all the other kids....little SIMPLE things....


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M

Snapshot, Sweat and Sunshine

The sun feels so warm outside in spite of being comfortably cool behind the huge window before me. I tell you this upfront. This blog has no overarching theme. Read at your leisure. My wifey and I are entering our third week of working out together. She has really hung in there. Beyond my proudness of her for just being who she is, she's a tough little cookie. I dont hold back on working out. She's doing good. I dont remember when it started; but I only hunted (and I use that term in every sense, hunted) women whose audacity to be different made them strong enough to survive what might crush the ordinary/fickle. She's a wonder woman.


Women tend to think strange things when it comes to sweat and what men consider sexy and a whole host of other $50,000.00 assumptions. Meanwhile, this blog isnt clearing up any of those deep mysteries in spite of being fully capable. One of the trainers walked by yesterday and remarked, "if my girl would workout with me like that, I would marry her today!" My response was, "be careful what you ask for." I knew he wasnt ready for that kind of commitment yet. We, men, are always ready with the next excuse/condition. Men are masters at turning a situation back on women and even convincing them it was there fault. Maybe its just our modern culture — its always somebody else's fault. Why does it take men so long to commit, to abandon the field, to leave the game, to walk off the field? Hmmm...boy would my readers increase if I answered any of these questions; so I guess I will just be happy with you being here now. Its one of those subjects that only breeds more conversation; not answers.


I assume its from being a nerd, then a college cheerleader and now in modest disguise that I always have a heart for the "neglected side of life," for the questions that one may have noone to ask or trust and/or those who cannot bear one more joke at your expense. You know who you are. Everyone matters. Everyone counts. Nobody has to be a size 2 or have a cosmetic surgery season pass to Dr. 90210. You dont have to be a Calvin model. Just be you and really understand loving yourself; especially if there is a shortage of those who feel the same way. Now thats not a ticket to be stupid or inconsiderate; just to stand your ground. Afterall, Bill Gates still isnt a Calvin model but....he's just as famous and certainly richer. No color makes you look better than green!




Nonetheless, my little warrior princess deserves a night off. The iron and steel will still be there when we get back. Its a great night for some nice romantic date that we can just enjoy living and appreciating. That's cool too. All work and no play makes mean people....and we know what they do. Hmmm feels like a wine and candles night.

Monday Again

This Monday has crashed off into tomorrow like an iceberg under the influence of Al Gore's Inferno. The day was cracking from the very beginning when when I rolled most reluctantly from the warm caress of my beautiful wifey onto a carpeted floor to a tiled cool bathroom floor. I knew it would be downhill til I saw her again. I spent this day wondering why I hadn't won the Lottery and resenting that I could be more aid to my fellow man due to my financial richness. I guess its good that I dont want it all for myself and that I would keep working anyway.


...just for teachers! They dont get nearly enuf praise or pay.

Anyway, I was just remembering some of the most influential folks in my life, teachers. Isnt it amazing how important education is in Tennessee; but we keep hearing about necessary "education" cuts.

All Gassed Out! NO GAS; just Friday Fixins!

It's another cool Friday...right; how could it not be, it's FRIDAY! It's been a great day for getting things done. In spite of being busy, its also a great day for reflections and for thankfulness. I dont know about you; but I have seen some strange things beginning to happen at gas pumps. My other side might not agree by replying..."but its human nature..." Anywhooo, gas seems to be right up front on everybody's wallets.





The only other things running close are politics and the economy. I join the ranks of so many wondering how can we pay more for gas after ....well; thats another blog. Its funny odd how far people will drive for a lower price....which kinda defeats the purpose of saving since it just cost you more gas to go get it for less. Of course, thats providing you can actually find any. It would appear that somebody has found a way to recycle plastic bags...."gas pump sweaters!" [seriously...nobody steal that idea;...except Paris Hilton...]





I passed 3 stations before I could even get ANY gas which was AFTER I waited in line. My wifey will tell you, personally I dont say much about gas prices because my thought is so what! If I want/need it I'm gonna get it anyway, so why complain about something I either cant do anything about or I'm gonna bow to anyway (gas prices). However; just because I CAN pay $40.00 dollars a gallon doesnt mean I WILL. Enough is enough! Its gotten out of hand and 4 years, much less 8, ain't gonna fix it. I'm getting my bicycle out this weekend. Ok...that's all I am going to rant on this issue. Toons say it all.





...so lets just eat; but wait delivery trucks run on gas too....hmmm..I wonder who they will pass along the cost to? Yeah, but I GOTTA eat; so on to the Friday Fixins! Oh this one is really good. What could be better than smooth warm chocolate on a fall day except adding peanut butter (and I PREFER Jif) to the mix. This one is worth all its fat grams!!!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Puppy Chow

Ingredients
7 cups Chex cereal
2 cups golden grahams
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp fine salt
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup Butterfinger Marble Mix-Ins*
1/8 cup butterscotch chips, chopped
1/8 cup peanut butter chips, chopped

Directions
1. Combine cereals in a large bowl.
2. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter over low heat, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
3. Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal, stirring gently with a plastic spoon until coated.
4. Measure the powdered sugar into a large plastic zip bag (or a bowl if you don’t have a bag that’s big enough). Then add the chocolate mixture, Butterfinger Marble Mix-Ins*, butterscotch chips and peanut butter chips into the bag and shake (or invite your kid into the kitchen to shake it up for you).

* If you can’t find this, chopped butterfinger bars would work great too. Great recipes from Chocolate Peanut Butter site, two of my most favorite things.You might also salivate for some Cheesy Ranch Mix

Thats all I got and I gave it to you! Have a great weekend.

Fringe Benefits: The Spooky Familiar

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Well its happened again. I tried and tried to avoid being in this situation again; but to no avail. It seems that sooner or later every season some new show comes along that hooks me. Last year it was Heroes and before that the X-Files. Other than those, I can take 'em or leave 'em; not including the nightly news so I can see who shot who and current gas prices. Oops...I shouldnt leave out the Sara Connor Chronicles struggling to keep up with the herd. The Fringe: how do I say it and where do I begin....hmmmm.


Well I guess the basics are first. Its a Tuesday night show whose plot centers around a female FBI agent who is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena. Of course this show is riddled with conspiracies of secret societies, the milk of history. Now let me get this out of the way up front; yes, its kinda like X-Files with its winding and "things that go bump in the night" plots; yes, it has a dramatic flare like the first season of LOST; and yes, (for we older viewers) a twisted reality much like the old Twilight Zone or Planet of the Apes.

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Obviously there are some hiccups with the show, afterall its TV; but at the core of all great cult stories and conspiracy theories, there's just enough truth or doubt to give them the spark of life, even if its self perpetuating. Tim Goodman of SF Chronicle writes a great blog story on how to fix the show. Much of which I can agree with except the odd 3-D graphics that show up in a trademark expectation. After watching again last night, I found the premiere show better inspite of watching the characters begin to grow. No doubt, there is much room for character growth; but noone knows everything about someone when they first meet...so thats cool.

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The show has cool graphics! There's just no way for a Salvador Dali, M.C. Echer fan to overlook. Yes, they are odd; but isnt that what makes us unique. Its as strong as the LA Law double donks at the beginning...you know whats coming on without even looking at the screen. We all love symbols; baseball, hotdogs and apple pie with the Statue of Liberty in the background cheering us on to victory. Thats grits and gravy with free cathead bisquits!

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But on to the meat of this blog. Why I like the Fringe. It has a darkness that can only be located around thin shards of truth that society would never really want to know as in the media following the troops around and erasing what Hollywood has so tainted reality with — the glories of war. Don't get me wrong, freedom isn't free and war is not only hell but manditory. Nothing changes without blood, weapons and conspiracy. Such truths are always enshrouded with religion, politics and the ethics of the button pushers. The Fringe represents the same magic that has kept Area 51, the Bermuda Triangle and Atlantis just on the outskirts of our fears and imaginations. Whether the show makes it our not; its premises will never expire. Its the classic X-File when Mulder finally comes face-to-face with the aliens and then doesnt know what to do but unload his clip which wasnt firing any bullets anyway. We have all these moments of searching and wanting but we have yet to plan what we will actually do in said moment. It's like the old lottery question: What woud you do if you won a million dollars? Ok, you hooked up all your friends and family and paid your debts but there's $999,250 left to be used. What looks back at us when we look at the obvious? We seem to be flooded with media that tells you its one thing thats not that but like something else...ie Secret, strong enough for a man, but made for a woman; pink is the new black, grapple - the taste of grape in the size of an apple....where does it stop? Vice President, pretty as a woman; strong as a bulldog?