January 30, 2007 at 8:31 am (Christianity, Personal)
I heard on the radio last night that one reason Barack Obama’s grandfather became a Muslim was because he felt that Christianity was weak, that turning the other cheek and forgiving your enemy was weak. This thinking seems contradictory to me.
Does it take a stronger man to kill his enemy or is the stronger man the one who can live side by side with him, in peace, knowing they disagree?
Does violence ever really solve a problem or does it make it grow, often becoming a generational problem?
The problem here is not one of weakness, it is one of both patience and character. The violent cannot allow time the opportunity to heal or allow themselves to see past the easy answer. Violence disregards all other human characteristics beyond mere aggression. Acts of violence are acts of base humanity. In violence you become one dimensional, a weapon. There may be cunning in the execution and planning of violence, but none in the act itself. Violence is not strength, it is weakness personified.
Most often, violence is displayed by those that are without hope, at their wits end, seeing no way out. Is that strength or weakness?
Wars, which are the epitome of violence, are typically brought on by prideful men seeking glory. In the end, the instigators always lose the war and usually their lives through another act of violence.
The strong resolve their issues through mutual peace, the weak never resolve their issues through violence.
Christ spoke of living together in peace and loving one another. He showed He was anything but weak. He allowed himself to be killed to save all mankind. Everyone sees that he was killed but far too many overlook the fact that he didn’t stay dead. He proved that true strength rises above violence. He is not dead, unlike those that thought they were putting him to death. Christ still lives today. Someone please tell me how that is weak.
iTunes is playing Letter From Home from the album “The Road To You (Live)” by Pat Metheny
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January 18, 2007 at 5:56 pm (History, Images, Travel)
This story and the associated photos are pretty incredible.
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Behind the raging horseshoe falls of Niagara there lurks a dormant monster…
Pandora is playing: Cedar’s Mood (Live) from the album “Live at the Fat Cat” by The Sheryl Bailey 3
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January 10, 2007 at 8:29 am (Personal)
I’ve been sick a couple of times over the past few weeks and it’s getting old. I’m on the tail end of the latest, a virus according to the Doctor, and am finally starting to feel human again.
One thing I promise is that it isn’t the dreaded Man Flu. I found an article about this awhile back and wish I’d never read it to Anne as it’s now a standard joke in our house whenever I seem to be coming down with anything.
iTunes is playing Return Of The Handsome Rugged Man from the album “The Pursuit Of Accidents – Digitally Remastered 2 CD-Set” by Level 42
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January 7, 2007 at 6:49 pm (Food, Personal, Travel)
We were in San Antonio during Christmas and went to one of my favorite restaurants on the planet while there (twice). La Fiesta Patio Cafe in Universal City Texas is certainly my favorite tex-mex restaurant in the US, so far at least. Of course it’s possible that there will always be a soft spot in my heart (stomach?) for this place because it’s where I first encountered the most wonderful of tacos, the puffy.
For those who don’t know, a puffy taco is a corn tortilla shell dropped into super-hot oil so that it puffs up. Then it is stuffed with all kinds of tasty edible bits and served to your table where it quickly vanishes. Being mostly an enchilada lover makes it a rare event for me to go out of my way for a taco, but puffys are always worth it, especially the ones at La Fiesta. I typically order the Guacamole Puffy, also called the Guac Tac by those of us that are addicted to it. Of course you can get it with regular fillings like chicken and beef, but the Guac Tac is my favorite.
This restaurant also has an excellent roasted garlic salsa that will set your mouth on fire and bring any dormant taste buds back to life in a startling manner. We carried multiple jars home with us, some for friends and some to help us ease our way back into life with salsas of less potent character.
To complete my gushing tribute to this mecca of tex-mex, I present a couple of photos of the outside of the restaurant and a photo of my lunch plate on our final 2006 visit. On the plate there is a bowl of Tortilla Soup (yum) and a Guac Tac (super yum). Behind the plate is a well-worked bowl of the garlic salsa (yowsa).
iTunes is playing I’ll Dream of You Tonight from the album “Funnel Cloud” by Hem
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January 7, 2007 at 6:06 pm (Personal, Travel)
Well it’s 2007 and time for a new round of traveling, even though I’ve yet to catalog a whole lot here so far.
At this point it looks like trips this year, at least those I’m aware of, will include San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York, Albuquerque and our standard end of year trip to San Antonio and possibly Austin. There are always smaller, shorter, interstitial trips like one coming soon to Charlotte and of course there are speculative, hinted at, trips that can never be confirmed until the airline ticket is booked.
Sometimes it seems as if I’m constantly on the move. I commute to work and back home, there are kids in college who occasionally need us to claim them or return them to school and there are always people to visit.
So it looks like this will be another busy year of going places and that’s something I always look forward to.
iTunes is playing You Speak My Language from the album “I Can See Your House From Here” by Pat Metheny
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