Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Spring recital

Time for some new vids and pics.
Verbose, aren't I? What more can I say, tho? :)

Easter



Recital (4/25/08)


End of Haydn "Surprise" Symphony No. 94

Mariah's song "Phases of Matter" (yes, she wrote it--didn't quite get to composing a new tune for it, though)
A solid keeps its shape. Its parts do not escape. Look at me, I'm plain to see, a solid keeps its shape.
A liquid fills a cup. A liquid fills it up. Look at me, I'm liquidy, a liquid fills a cup.
Gases fill the air. They fill it here and there. Look at me, I'm hard to see, gasses fill the air.
Solid, liquid, gas: each of them have mass. Look there's 3, it's plain to see: solid, liquid, gas.

Pets

Note how Honey keeps her distance from the cats! Bob is on the left (you can see his nub tail if you look closely). He and Stormy obviously get along well. Actually, Honey gets along pretty well with them both, but Bob is boss, unless Stormy decides to put him in his place.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Neandertals and Gene Wilder

I just can't resist. A recent news article on New Scientist presents (and they're serious) a "reproduction" of how a Neandertal would pronounce "e." Click here to hear it and not have to read their article. :)

Now, I can't help but notice a distinct parallel to this and an arguably hilarious clip from a famous Mel Brooks movie, Young Frankenstein. Indulge me and watch this clip, mentally substituting "Neandertal" for "creature. " Perhaps we have a new animatronic paleoanthropology exhibit in the making? Enjoy.


Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Weariness, repetition, and revelation

As I cleaned part of the bathroom for the thousandth time (I rarely do it all at once), I looked at the rest of the bathroom, knowing that it was coming due for needing cleaning--showing its yuck--and I felt momentarily overwhelmed. Vacuuming, laundry, taxes all still needed to be done. The yard will begin to need maintenance very soon. Pet things needed tending. It's endless. Even doing bits at a time. On a bad day, this could get very depressing. I remember thinking, I just wish this were like other things I like to do--things that are done when they're done and you never have to do them again. Like a puzzle, logic problem, or sudoku. Even a video game. But no, that toilet is going to need to be scrubbed again in a few days, but I'll probably let it go a week or so. As I pondered my "plight," the Lord spoke to me. No, I didn't hear a voice, but like so many other times, a thought was planted.

What must it be like for the Lord to forgive us? Over and over we do the same thing--sometimes not even asking for forgiveness or being oblivious. Yet--and this is the really cool part--He doesn't get weary! He knows our frame, and He pities us as His children. And there's another cool part to this. God is done. In our temporal prison, we don't see the end, but He does. He's done! Christ said on the Cross, "It is finished!" And what He accomplished there was so much more important than any of the most-fulfilling tasks I have been able to say that about.

This led me to yet another thought. How awesome is it that He lets us have any idea of what it's like to be Him? To be able to experience love, fulfillment, completion, beauty--even music and art. He Who is the Great Musician and Who gave us these abilities created us in His image to be able to experience these albeit temporary, imperfect pleasures. What a foretaste of Glory Divine! In the most mundane things, we can see things of God. My yucky bathroom: a reminder of our fallen world--a sinful state of never being perfect. Yet God is done. He has already given John a vision of the New Heavens and New Earth--restored and perfect!

As I continued to clean my bathroom, I thanked God for His gift that moment in sharing these thoughts with me--and then for his tireless patience with me. I remembered that whatever I do, I should do it heartily as unto Him--even if it's cleaning a bathroom. I thought that cleaning the bathroom gave a comfortable place to my family whom I love--in a way, I was loving and blessing them by cleaning the bathroom (although I'm sure they'll probably never see it that way--but that's ok). And I was most happy with the thought that I can look forward to a time of rest--a completion--and the continual decay will be forever put away, leaving only the blessings and wonderful things to enjoy forever. Unfathomable. But ... He has blessed us with an inkling, and I'm grateful for it.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

License to be silly

Not that I restrict myself to silliness on 4/1, but it's fun to have a day when others cut loose too in this often–unnecessarily serious life. After all, laughter is the best medicine so they say. So, with no further ado, here are some samples of silliness for your amusement:

http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/


A medicine man prescribed a long, thin strip of rawhide to his patient. The instructions were to eat one measure of it daily. After a few weeks, the patient returned to say he was done with the treatment. When asked how things were going, the patient replied, "The thong is ended, but the malady lingers on."

Three construction workers ate their lunch on a high I-beam. The Chinese one, sick of rice, complained: "If I have rice for lunch tomorrow, I'm going to jump." The Mexican one, sick of tortillas, chimed in: "If I have tortillas again, I'll jump too." The American one, thoroughly displeased with his bologna sandwich said, "If I have another bologna sandwich, I'll jump as well."
The following day, the Chinese worker opened his lunch, let out a disgusted grunt, and jumped. The Mexican worker, opening his lunch, sighed and jumped. The American opened his lunch, threw the sandwich and leaped off in fury.
At the funeral, the Mexican and Chinese worker's wives were crying softly into their tissues. Surprised, they noticed the American wife was chuckling. Appalled, they asked her how she could laugh at such a tragedy, to which the American woman replied, "He packed his own lunch."

'Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.' - Ronald Reagan

Last, and least:
"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world.
I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it." -- Barack Obama

Got any funnies to share? :)