Blurring The Lines of Reality

So..........

I had a thing happen Tuesday that scared me ....We have had VBS at DUMC this week and thats an "all hands on deck " so late Tuesday afternoon I run home to sit down for a few before being back at 5:30.

I lay down ...take a quick 30 minute nap and when I wake up I have some intense blurred vision in my left eye. It lasts about 20-25 minutes but once the blurred vision clears up I am left with a pretty decent headache....and by decent I mean BLECH.

Long story short ....today I went to my eye doctor for a checkup on that situation specially since the same thing happened again this morning.

His verdict? Not sure what it is ....My eyes looked ok he said besides my usual little stuff ...

He said it could very possibly be a mild migraine.... Possibly stress related....lot of stuff maybe .

Here is where my stress is and my problem...I have a hard time letting things go.

As I mentioned we had our VBS this week and it was the first time in 4 years that I was not " in charge" of anything with the overall planning. I was there each night to watch and answer questions etc....I am technically over the new Childrens Director but ....I mainly sat back and watched this year

I was worried and stressed all week that things would go ok. That everything would be good for the kids ...Guess what ? It was great!!!

I know our Children's Director is very qualified to handle this job ....but after doing it myself for 4 years it was a bit hard to let it all go....Does that even make sense?

I am not one of these folks that looks for someone to say "Great job Jay, really nice VBS, you did so much hard work and we appreciate it" I dont seek out praise...thats not me .... I dont think it is anyway ....I am a behind the scenes kinda person ...Give the praise to the folks who took off work to help out...or to the grandmothers who made food all week....or the youth who gave up their summer time off to be there each night.

My thing is I just have a hard time letting things go and allowing othersto do things.....So my stress level was high....LET ME STRESS HERE ...I was very pleased with VBS and how things went ...our Childrens person is AMAZING !! We are so very blessed to have her

Add to that I have managed to get behind on final planning on our mission trip that we leave for on Sunday morning. ......

So yeah ....a stress headache/blurred vision thing was very possible and DID happen.

Caroling Out In The Snow.......

So.....

I once again would like to say for everyone who reads this little blog o mine.....I hate, detest,despise,loath the summer months. And of course our summer months are sometimes April -October.

It was 96 here in Montgomery today ....How in all of God's creation could you possibly find any sliver of joy from being out in 96 degree heat?

Laying out in the sun by the pool....Blech.

Going to the beach...when its up near 100...Blech.

Spend any amount of time outside that you dont have to ....Blech.

I like it cool...rainy...damp..overcast...cloudy...I have said it before but it fits my mood.

96 degrees makes me angry and bitter. It makes me want to get into fights with strangers at the grocery store. It makes me want to run over squirrels because they wear such heavy coats in the summer.

So heres the deal ....I will count each day of summer being gone as another day closer to Fall and Winter being closer....

I leave Sunday for Asheville NC for a week ...gotta be better there ...

Beating A Dead Horse....Perhaps??

So.....
There is something on my mind here ....Something big.
I go to church .....I have a passion for church. I don't mean the building where I go... I mean the Church. I enjoy the whole process. Communion,hymns,sermons, the people you meet as a result of being in a church. I know there are many folks who are turned off by the church. Those who search out the new and fun when they are looking for a church. Whats exciting at this church might be old news at the next one down the street.

Here is my problem....I dont know if I can continue to go to church anymore ....At least not at a UMC church.
I am disappointed in the UMC church ....I am extremly let down by the church.
For a long time now the UMC church has had a policy of not allowing gays and lesbians to be full members of its church. The policy states that if you are a practicing homosexual then you are in sin and therefore are not welcome in the UMC.
Well...You are welcome BUT you cant be a member. A little of the 'love the sinner, hate the sin' going on there I guess.
This year churches are being asked in the UMC to change the wording in their Discipline to allow ANYONE to be a member of the UMC, regardless of who,what ,when or where you are in life.
Problem is this ....Thats not going to happen.
Opponents of the change say that to do this would go against the social and moral fabric of the church....
My thing is this..The fabric of the church is tested daily by the tens of millions of open sinners who already worship freely in the church.
As Dr Billy Graham said " when did one sin become worse than any other "

How do you honestly let ANYONE become a member of said church if you are following this doctrine ....

How can we proclaim ourselves followers of a wonderful and loving Christ and yet turn our backs on someone ?
How can we proclaim ourselves followers of a wonderful and loving Christ and yet still find it within ourselves to proclaim ourselves better then someone else?
How can we proclaim ourselves followers of a wonderful and loving Christ, a man who openly welcomed SINNERS of all nature into his presence , and yet we still sit by and do nothing when "the least of these " are turned away?

I have amazing, loving friends. They are spiritual and caring. They would carry you to the top of a mountain. They have gone to church, they have helped with programs,they have gone on trips, they have taught Sunday School, they have served on church boards, they have prepared meals, they have laughed with everyone, they have cried real tears in times of sorrow, they have brought flowers when a child is born, they have brought a casserold when a loved one died, they have been there through thick and thin. Flush times and bust times.
But if they made the choice to be honest and live their lives as who they are ....Then they are not welcome in the UMC.
How and why do we do this ??
This makes me sad.

Someone said a few weeks back that "we throw open the church doors and start living the life of Christ. Live it in a full and total way. Invite the beggers, homeless,gays, straights,prostitutes ALL sinners into our lives. Imgaine being known around town as THAT CHURCH THAT ACTS JUST LIKE JESUS"

How can we proclaim ourselves followers of a wonderful and loving Christ and yet close our doors to anyone who is searching for the same Jesus that we follow, but they just happen to be gay?

Better yet, how do we have the nerve to show our faces after closing that door??

To Borrow A Term From a Dear Friend ....MEH !!

So.......
It's Tuesday morning at 12:54am and I am up when I really should be making every effort to be getting sleep since I have to be up at 6am.

I got this idea for a blog post kicking around in my head ...But I honest to goodness dont have it in me tonight to post ..
Perhaps tomorrow ...anyway thats it

$38.00 Is Alot Of Money To Me ....

So.......
I dont do the bullet points but this will be a mix of stuff...enjoy

Let me say first of all ...I have been fairly busy at work. For those of you out there who work at or have worked at churches you know that there are times when you are in a moment of down times. Not alot going on, laid back ...then BOOM its crazy intense with stuff going on...Thats been me since Tuesday of last week. I promised myself I would not go into any long details BUT since Wednesday I have cooked or prepared three different meals for the following numbers of people ..80 on Wednesday, 51 on Saturday night and 104 on Sunday at lunch.
I am sick of food shopping,chopping,cooking,serving,washing dishes,putting dishes and pans up, taking pans back out...Bah! Needless to say I am taking a day off tomorrow...

Many many thanks to all who sent me birthday messages and wishes on Thursday ...It was a nice day.

I got a notice this week that my health insurance has gone up $38.00 dollars since last month. I have had this insurance since the fall of 2000 and in that time its gone up $53.00 dollars. $53.00 over the past almost 9 years was all it went up ....pretty good I think. Then BOOM over the course of a month it goes up nearly forty bucks. Sucks

I have had some pretty good political talks with close friends from church. Civil, polite converstations ...very enjoyable. Shame they cant all be that way

On Saturday night someone called me his "favorite liberal". This coming from a big republican ...Fun.

Some thoughts(not all my own but interesting)
Ever been in a parking deck and looked up and thought how much weight is sitting above your head?
Why do so many folks(myself included) get so attached to their personnal items?
What ever happened to size A batteries?
Ever sit at a stop light and think how much trust we put into those lights? Trusting that they are not all green when we drive through and intersection.

I have said this before and if it makes me weird then so be it ...but I love Christmas music. Its almost to the point that I listen at most any time of the year. It just relaxes me....Christmas is a fun time for me ...I enjoy it and the music makes me think to that time of the year and then I get relaxed.

I saw the teaser trailer for Toy Story 3 and it looks pretty fun....

Summer Mission trip to the Asheville area is in three short week. I am excited.

Alright ..Thats it for me ...Goodnight all

Sum...Sum....Summertime!!!

So....

As we all know I am not that fond of the summer but with summer comes the urge to hit the road...load up the car and head on a the great American roadtrip...buy a plane ticket and fly somewhere....jump on the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe and see the country. I was reading Mr Lucas' blog and decided I would share my plans for the upcoming summer months.

As usual, youth stuff will keep me pretty busy with some added day trips this summer but the two big things I have coming up are ...

I am going back to Washington DC in July. In less than two months actually...

Taking my mother, my brother and his family My aunt and uncle in Georgia are going also...

We are driving up and will be spending 8 days. I am excited. They are excited.

One reason for my excitment is the fact that I know a little about the DC area after having spent a couple of weeks up there with the youth on mission trips.

I know the METRO lines pretty good....I know the roads moderatly well....I am looking forward to playing tourguide and not having to keep up kids from the youth group.

Washington DC is a great city ....

The other trip is in the planning stages...I have a good friend from high school that lives outside Philadelphia Pennsylvania. She has been on me to come visit for over a year now and finally I am working towards taking up up on the offer.

Our initial plans call for me to fly into Philly and spend some time with them seeing the area...Amish Country, Valley Forge etc. Then spend one day driving up to NYC and seeing some stuff in that area....

Looking at sometime in August for this trip.

Plane tickets are really cheap right now and I need to strike while the iron is hot....It will be nice to see her and her family.

Should be a fun summer ...
What are you doing ?

COLD WINDY WET COLDPLAY!!!

The above picture is from the concert and the best I could do with a $170.00 camera...but this is indeed COLDPLAY up there ....

So.....

After a 15 year break from concerts I made the trek over to Atlanta on Sunday afternoon to see the greatest rock band in modern history....COLDPLAY!!! For me to go to a concert that did not include some type of big band music or a type of salute to the old standards of the 1930s and 40s was a BIG DEAL. Yall know me ...I am a dork when it comes to music.

Here's the deal though ...It rained ...ALOT. I mean SOGGY SOGGY ground and grass. I am usually prepared and for this I was ...I took a chair. We get to the gates and they are telling everyone to take their chairs back because for tonight only ...chairs are not allowed. HUH?

Anyway ...sitting on the ground for a couple of hours getting wet was not fun but seeing COLDPLAY in concert more than made up for it ...

For me to stand in rain...sit in wet grass....get really cold from the wind blowing ...that was a big deal...

As I mentioned we had lawn seats and although we were not down front we had really good spots and could see the band pretty dang good.

So as of today I have seen The Drifters,Janet Jackson, The Eagles and Coldplay in concert....

LOST

I have made no secret of the fact that this past season did not do it for me ...but the season ender was really good. I am looking forward to the end of the show next year.

I am reading a really good book right now called The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin. This guy had so many health and digestive problems and was literally wasting away from poor health. He then turned to the Bible and some friends and started looking into how folks ate YEARS ago ....going organic, living off fresh items, getting back to the basics. His changes in his lifestyle were amazing and clearly seen in his photos. I bought this book last year but am just now reading it ...I am very impressed so far.

http://www.yubz.com/

Go to that link and then follow into the US area.....I think i would enjoy having one of these little gadgets. ....again because I am a nerd

SINATRA

Martin Scorcese has been tapped to direct a big screen bio about The Voice. All the legal stuff has been finalized and now casting has started. Tina Sinatra has said that she wants this to be done on the same level as RAY and WALK THE LINE. Release should be sometime next year....

I am excited

and Congrats

.... to Mary D for graduating this past weekend from law school!!! Mary has become my sounding board about a subject near and dear to my heart. We have a shared passion for one BIG topic....Glad to see her done with school.

BLECH

So.......
Just right quick ...Former Veep Dick Cheney makes me sick to my stomach....
Just wanted to share

The Only Hell Mama Raised Was Me ..........

So.......
I would seem that it has been a few weeks since my last blog post....I have come here a couple of times during that span of time and thought "I should write something" but nothing ever comes .
I really dont have much tonight either but here goes.....

Gay Marriage
Love it ...Hate it....Support it or protest against it ....Its gonna happen folks. In a few years with the help of state legislatures and state supreme courts this will not just be a regional thing (thank you New England) it will be nationwide. I always go back to my original argument- How can one section of the population be denied something that another section is granted.
The US Constitution is VERY clear on things such as this ....
I read today an article saying that we are removing God from the rite of marriage. Marriage is a legal bond ...recognized by states as such. By saying that a state will recognize gay marriage does not force ANY church to perform ANY ceremony. If a church wants to allow gay marriages to take place then that is up to each church.
But if someone wants to go to the courthouse and LEGALLY become a married couple ...then that should be allowed.
If I had lived 40-50 years ago I would like to think that I would have come down on the right side of intergration....I would ahve been so proud to tell my family and friends that I helped make a difference in some lives by doing what was right.
In 40-50 years I plan on telling my family and friends that I was on the right side of history...

Swine Flu
Do you have it yet ? Have you had it ? I dont mean to make light of something that has already taken the lives of ....well, taken the life of one person.....but this has really gotten out of control in my opinion.
Sunday at church we wore gloves AFTER cleaning up with hand sanitizer to serve communion. In all the years of being at DUMC we have NEVER done this ...not even at the height of "regular" cold and flu season....Its crazy to me .
I am one of the most germaphobic people you will ever meet(not a fan of hugging and shaking hands, whether or not there is a global crisis that could end with us all dead from the swine flu)
but I think this is all overkill.
A friend of mine made a point the other night ...he said he had read that on average 106 people die everyday in the USA from traffic accidents....and yet we hardly hear about that one .... Swine Flu is sexy, its dramatic, it gets us worked up and it sells !!
Perhaps, if this strain is still around come fall and winter we should worry but for now I say lets enjoy the summer.

Star Trek
I am excited about seeing this movie but am also a bit worried about the direction it will take....The guys behind the rebooting are the same guys who bring us LOST...Sooooo we will see...I am there tomorrow night at 10pm.

Health
My work out sessions are going good although I have allowed my work to creep into them a bit ...Its hard to find the right balance but overall its good for me .
I have started including a lot more fiber and organic foods in my diet. I am also coming up on one month of not drinking sodas. I will admit to having one the other day ...a diet coke and it was just ok. Mainly been water,coffee and juices for me.
I go back next week to the heart doctor for some follow up tests. We shall see how that goes....

Personal
I am still tired of being single. Saying that i am tired sounds stupid but thats what it is .....I want something but have a hard time going about finding it and making it happen. One day .

and finally ...I have decided that my next phone will be an iPhone. I am going to bite the bullet and get one ....they are cool, my cool friends have them (looking at you Mr Lucas and Bill)
but Twitter still sucks

Its late and I have breakfast at 6:30 at Chappys ....
Peace to you

Contained Therein.......

So......

I have wanted a garden for a long time. A LOOOOONG time....but the backyard is really shady and not really a good spot for growing veggies. I have been reading so much about folks who are planting gardens for the first time and I really wanted to get something going on my end.

When I was growing up we had huge gardens....tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peas, beans, watermelons and potatoes. It was great.

So after much research and looking around my house for the most sunlight during the day I have decided that I will plant a container garden outside the kitchen door.

It will be small in size but MIGHTY in what it yeilds. I am going to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans and maybe squash. I am also going to do a small herb garden with basil, parsley,oregano and coriander. Did you know that coriander grows into Cilantro??? Who knew....

I am excited about this ....if I can keep the damned squirrels away (already been reading about what to do about these little pests) and if everything gets at least 6 hours of good sun , then I think we will be ok.

Going...Going ...Gone.......

So.......

In my attempts to get into better shape I decided about two weeks ago to give up sodas. I quit cold turkey on a Wednesday and have to date had only three Diet Cokes since...

I had a slight nagging headache the first few days but since then its gone really really good.

I have been drinking alot of juices mainly cranberry juice. I recently read that its a good idea to mix water with the juices since many juices have their own natual sugars.

I have also been drinking more water of course.

I have kept a container of Crystal Light in the fridge and while I know this stuff is also not the best for you its better than a Coke.

Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages add unneeded calories to our diet without providing any beneficial nutrients. One 12-ounce can of soda has 41 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to about 10 teaspoons! The daily guidelines for sugar call for limiting sugar to no more than 12 teaspoons per day for a 2,000 calorie diet. Yet the average American drinks 576 cans of soda per year – that’s almost two a day!

Its nuts when you really think about it....

Dont get me wrong ...I love a cold cold Coke. It is great on a summer day or at a cook out and I am not saying that I will NEVER again have one but it was time to cut them out of my daily diet.

But ...this is a positive step for me

STUFF.....

So.....

Stephanies blog post the other day got me to thinking ....so here goes

Stuff....We all got it. We all buy it. We all (be honest) covet what others have sometimes. Here's the thing....We dont need it all. And I really think that goes without saying ....

Do I need a small digital video camera when my regular digital camera will make videos? No

Do I need an iPod? No....I listen to mine here and there. I have started using it more since I started working out...but I rarely use it in my car or at home.

I have a ton of books....tons. But why do I keep them?? They gather so much dust ....I used to collect Gone With the Wind stuff until it almost took over my life and now that stuff is sitting in the attic gathering LOTS of dust.

I think about my Nana who lived the last two years of her life in a shared room at a nursing home. The entire contents of her 88 years filled one medium sized box when she died.....

88 years -One box of stuff.

I have a closet full of clothes and really I maybe wear 1/3 of whats in there ....I have some regular pants and shirts that I wear but everything else for the most part just hangs there...Never used.

What I need are stronger relationships with people.....What I need is to get to bed early and get good rest at night .....What I need is to be a better brother, son and friend.....What I need is to strengthen my bond with God.....

What I dont need is more stuff...

To Tweet Or Not To Tweet.....

So..........

After almost two weeks of trying out Twitter I have come to this conclusion....Its not for me.

I have been getting feeds on my phone and have been updating as much as I thought was necessary....I have read folks updates as they have come across the feed....I have heard and read the pros and cons of this little treasure known as "tweet tweet" and have decided that its just not my bag . Here is why I dont think its a good fit for me ...

I dont need to know what folks are doing every second of their lives. I dont need to be a part of converstations being held between two folks.....Converstations that have nothing to do with me.

And I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to follow what I am doing

-jason is taking out the trash then reading.

-jason is updating Facebook then headed to Target.

-jason is about to have his teeth cleaned.

-jason is working, at work, working, blah!

Really? This makes for a really boring day if thats all folks read.

I am not calling anyone ANYONE boring....am just saying that it would be boring to me to have only that type thing to read on Twitter. Why does anyone care what I am doing ? Every time I turn around

Twitter will not change my life...Facebook has not changed my life....They are just a small part of my daily life..... And now Twitter has gone the way of the DoDo Bird in my life...its gone.

I with everyone the best with Twitter. Some of yall love it ..some of yall are on the fence.

If any of yall want to let me know what you are doing .....Give me a call anytime!

Y Not ...

So ......

After much talk and discussion with friends and family I joined the Montgomery YMCA on Thursday. My primary reason is to get into a regular workout/excercise program. The thing that propelled me to do this was what happened last weekend in North Carolina.

After arriving at Mt Mitchell Park we decided to take a very short hike to the peak.....That turned out to be a bad idea for me. While it was not a long hike it was a steep hike and I tell ya folks ...I just about got me.

I was incredibly out of breath...heart was pounding....sweat pouring. It was a sad sight and of course I was trying to laugh it off.

But the main thing is this ....it scared the CRAP out of me.

So ...I joined the Y. Its a good step in the right direction.

Its Right Across the Street

So......

I just wanted to post a quick rant before I get on the road headed for home ...

I arrived in Asheville about 9pm on Thursday night and went to check into the Haymont Inn. The guy at the desk does not have my reservation !?!?! Huh ?

Guy nope sorry , no reservation.

Me-Ok, do you have a room ?

Guy- Sure , a king room , no problem. One night?

Me-Noooo, actually I need a room for three nights... like my orginal reservation said.

Guy-Ohhhhhhh sorry that room has already been booked for the weekend!?!?!?

Me-What? Really? That quick?

So here is what happened...a couple of weeks ago there was some type of security breach on my account and the bank sent me new cards. THe card i had used to make the reservation was used to "hold" the room and by the time i was set to head to NC that card had been cancelled since I had received a new one...

If you dont show up to the Haymont Inn by 8pm on the night of your reservation they automatically bill your room for the amount. When they went to do that my card was declined since it had been cancelled anyway.

The guy at the hotel showed me the paper where my stuff was declined and I noticed that someone had written on it "RESERVATION CANCELLED 8:31".....

I am not upset about their policy of cancelling things ....i was a little put out that they rented the room in less than 30 minutes and seemed to care less about what I was going to do ...

I called Howard Johnsons next door and got in for the rest of the weekend at a cheaper rate no less....

As Stephanie said in her blog ....The customer service industry is geared to be good for the industry not the customer it seems. Sad

This Howard Johnsons needs some work BAD....but the rooms are HUGE and CLEAN. Beds are very comfortable and overall its a nice place to stay ....

Hey Haymont....Learn a few things from your neighbors!

Hope Springs Eternal ....

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;Man never Is, but always To be blest:The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

-Alexander Pope,An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733

So.....

Spring time in the Southland !!!!

I am going to go on and say it ....it is the absolute best of anywhere in the country! Many of you know that I am very partial to the Winter time...I love the short days and the cool nights. I love it...but a very close second is Spring.

In just a few short days around here the landscape just comes alive....almost overnight it seems.

Literally OVERNIGHT....I was outside yesterday and did not notice any buds on the oak trees in my front yard and today when I came home in the late afternoon, I swear to you there were little buds everywhere!!

Azaleas, bradford pear trees, dogwoods....the list goes on and on. For just a few short weeks everything is alive with color .....before fading to the dull greens of late spring and summer. I like to think of it as Gods way of saying "I know its gonna be hot in a few short weeks but I am giving you this wonderful treasure now to enjoy"

One of my favorite movies is Driving Miss Daisy....There is a scene that begins with nothing but shots of everything blooming in the springtime of Druid Hills in Atlanta....Its my favorite part of that movie ...Miss Daisy is sitting on her porch listening to Song to the Moon from the Opera Rusalka, with all this images of Gods wonder being shown. Beautiful!

For just a few short weeks you can feel the Earth growing ....and you feel young again ....

As Mayor......

So ....

We elect a new mayor tomorrow.....and I am voting for Todd Strange. After looking at all the candidates I decided that Mr Strange has the experience level needed to take Montgomery forward.

His closest challenger is Michael Briddell. The main argument I have heard from folks about Mr Briddell is that he worked closely with Mayor Bright and has what it takes to step into the mayors office. I aint buying that one ....

I have also had alot of folks tell me that Todd Strange is a Republican ...and how can I vote for a republican ??? Please....

Todd Strange has had years of experiances being a big business owner. He has held various jobs on county levels and has worked hard to bring more business to the city of Montgomery as well as the county. I like that he has the heart of a businessman . He knows we need more industry and more stores and more restaurants to provide jobs for people.

He can see what Montgomery needs to continue to grow ....

Michael Briddell will someday make a great mayor perhaps but just not now.

Snow Job ....

So.....

As we all know it snowed here on Sunday. I loved it...my nephews loved it ...my youth loved it ...a few of my friends loved it. I had my first snowball fight since 1993!!

Here is the thing...the overwhelming talk I heard all day Sunday was

• This is Alabama ...it DOES NOT SNOW in Alabama



• I hate this stuff...why does it have to snow.

I can understand if you dont like snow because you grew up in Ohio River Valley. Or perhaps you spent your childhood in Wisconson or Upstate New York. These are places where it snows...ALOT.

But....in Alabama we hardly ever get accumulated amounts of snow. I mean we might get flurries every now and then but its rare to get enough to build a snow man or have a snowball fight. We go YEARS withouth anything and then we get what we got on Sunday. At one point Sunday it was snowing hard enough that you could not see across the street from the church. On Sunday, to hear it from some folks, you would think that it snows weekly around here...that we typically have to dig out from massive amounts of snow.

Last year we had snow in January and that was the first time we had more than a dusting in about 6 years.

Folks will say that snow is dangerous....people have accidents. Thats true and thats a sad fact about snow....but for the most part its a beautiful fun thing to be in and around. I stood outside on my porch Sunday morning for about 30 minutes ...before the Sun was up good...and enjoyed the silence. Snow tends to make things quiet ...it muffles things....it was great.

I talked to my youngest nephew on Sunday night ...he sounded so tired since he had played so much since 6am. He loved the snow and was so excited to see it ....I asked him how his day was and he said "Jay-c, it was the best day ever ". Kids are so innocent and find happiness in the simplest of things.

I wish we all still did......

BORED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So.....

I typically try to stay away from this stuff but it was a slow few minutes at DUMC and i went along with it ....

A new thing is going around where you go to Wikipedia Random and the first article you get is the name of your band. Then "Random Quotations" and the last four or five words of the last quote on the page is the album title.Then you go to Flickr and on the Explore Last Seven Days the third picture is your album cover.

Here is mine

Band Name -Organization in Europe

Album-As The Naked Truth

Album Cover-Three Lemons Picture

OSCAR!!

So.....
I used to be a big fan of award shows....Used to watch them all the time. The Grammy, The Emmys, The Oscars, The Tonys(yes that one too)....but then a few years back I just sorta stopped.
I think it was around the time that Saving Private Ryan lost best picture to Shakespeare in Love....but in the same year Steven Speilberg won best director for Saving Private Ryan??!?!? HUH?
Anyway....award shows do nothing for me. Dont get me wrong...There are some aspects that are enjoyable to watch. Like the part where they give an award to someone who has done alot for folks over the years.......Using your influence and name recognition to help others. This year they gave an honorary Oscar to Jerry Lewis for all his work with the MDA. That was a good thing....
Also, the late Heath Ledger won for his role in last years Batman movie....That was nice to see. He was a great talent.
But at the end of the day I typically dont decide to see a movie based on the fact that someone in that movie won an Oscar or the movie itself won.
Dont get me wrong I will still watch parts here and there ....As i said some parts are enjoyable .

But....Let the work stand for itself....Thats what Brando and George C Scott did ....they refused Oscars because they said they did the work....made the movie and it was over...
Move on.