Free-For-All-Friday

Yay for the weekend! Whew! You appreciate it like never before when working with property insurance in a state that’s just experienced two major hurricanes within a month. The weekend couldn’t come soon enough. And just for bonus, God blessed us with an incredible cold snap. It’s 74F right now and I just don’t know what to do with myself! It feels so awesome!

Offbeat
I’ve seen it all: Car for Dogs.

Speaking of animals: Giraffe Has Brain Tumor Removed.

Speaking of cars: Late Pope’s Ford Escort up for Bidding.

Not to be outdone, BMW coincidentally donates: New Car for New Pope.

Heads up collectors: Kermit and Sesame Street on stamps.

Back to animals: Grandfather Fights off Coyote Attack.

October’s New Month Resolution
I’m bringing back single-outfit Sunday. Yep, that’s right. I don’t know about you, but around here we’ve been wearing casual/dressy casual for Sunday a.m. and dressy for Sunday p.m. I’m tired of dealing with two outfits. So this month I’m wearing the same outfit for both services. I’m such a rebel.

Celeb News
So it appears Lindsay Lohan has been in her second car crash while running from paparazzi. This after Lindsay’s last episode prompted California contra-papa legislation. So at this point the score is Lindsay 1, papa 2. Meanwhile I have an idea for the next great reality TV show…

Just To See You Smile…
My buddy Mitchell passes this photo on. Behold the tape at work!! Can you say "duct"?
[Photo creditsunknown]

What if the Hokey Pokey Really Is What It's All About?

More on Hurricanes
Hurricane Stan has claimed over 200 lives in Central America. Once again, my heart goes out to these victims. And one group of hurricane experts predict October could be another busy month hurricane-wise. Meanwhile Tropical Storm Tammy is weakening along the East coast, thankfully.

Weekending
What does it mean that I start planning the weekend activities on Tuesday? Anyway, this weekend will involve a major party for the LSU game Saturday night. Incidentally, today I ran across a how-to article on tailgating. Folks, let me break it down for you. It’s not a true tailgate party unless somebody asks “did you throw the tasso in the jambalaya” or comments “that shrimp etoufee needs a little more Tony’s Chachere.”

Meanwhile this weekend the World Championship Gumbo Cookoff in New Iberia will be going down. If you happen to be riding around the Bayou Teche area, this is where you could really get some good tailgating recipes.

Ninetyandnine News
The Neumanns, missionaries to Latvia, are the Ninetyandnine guest bloggers for October. Be sure to take a look.

Tech Notes
The Book King points out one more cool feature for ipod owners. As he notes, it’s not hard to speculate that soon Blackberrys will merge with iPods, and we’ll have an "all in 1" handheld communication device. Expect Star Trek by 2009.

On a related note, Roomy#1, the techie of my posse, was the source of a major revelation. Did you know that when you burn a CD, it leaves a mark on the back of the CD showing that it now has data? I had no clue.

Meanwhile (have you noticed I've used that word three times now?) does anyone really know what the acronym PCS stands for? I know it has something to do with cell phones from the beloved "The PCS user you are calling is unavailable due to Hurricane Katrina..." message. PCS? Hmm… Personal Cellular Schmphone?

Politics, Religion, and Money--Not Taboo Today

I'm broaching three off-limit topics for any of my family's typical gatherings. My family-people are passionate about these subjects, so we try to refrain during get-togethers so as to avoid "debates" and generally keep the peace. But suddenly with a blog, I can delve into anything because I don't have to share my home with you all Christmas weekend.

Headlines
Iraq is closer to a Constitution. Check out the pictures on any of the major news sites. It’s refreshingly unusual (in my admittedly Western thinking) to see Iraqi men and women perusing copies of the Constitution draft. How 'bout this democracy thing?

The Religious, Enigmatic Miers
As predicted, things are heating up regarding Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. One article reports that her religious faith is a big factor behind the President’s choice. (I was bothered by the article’s sneering tone, including a poke at Christians for the “God is love/homosexuality is sin” angle. And don't even get me started on the "holy roller" reference. But what should we expect, I guess?) In the meantime, I still want to know who Harriet Miers is. We've heard everything from "quiet" to "pitt bull." What gives?

For $7,926,458 Your Name Can Be in this Blog
Someone bid $25,000 to be named in a Stephen King book. Can you imagine? You can place bids to name characters in other authors’ books too. It’s all part of a fundraising effort by the First Amendment Project.

Pass the Plate… er, the Debit Card Swiper
Speaking of money, what about a debit card swipe thingy at church? I mean, who carries checks these days? And cash? Yeah right. So hows about a little ATM in the church vestibule that accepts tithes/offering payments by debit/credit card? Who’s up for it? Am I being sacrilegious by requesting a little modern convenience for the sanctuary?

This Just In!

Speaking of American Idol...
A reliable source tells me the daughter of a prominent Pentecostal minister has been accepted as one of the 10 finalists for American Idol! We'll know for sure in January!

Katrina, One Month Later

Louisiana has called off its search for bodies after Katrina and today announces the death toll at 964. We never would have believed anything so devastating could happen, and yet it was predicted in eerie detail by many models, specialists, and natives.

In the aftermath, there has been a finger-pointing tournament with blame assigned to everyone from President Bush down. There were interviews including those where Mayor Nagin admits that President Bush was ready to send in aid immediately but was called off by Governor Blanco (D-LA). Governor Blanco was reportedly caught on camera admitting her mistake. There were admissions of blame from the Oval Office and the termination of the head FEMA official as the general public outcry pointed to the failures and weaknesses in the response effort. And yet the overlooked statistics refute the myth that nothing was done effectively.

Hopefully what we’ll remember are the six year-old heroes and the millions of people who participated in relief efforts.

Life in neighboring Louisiana communities, such as Baton Rouge, changed overnight and will never be the same. But it goes beyond that. Life will never be the same for people across the U.S. who now have a little New Orleans in their neighborhood. I close with this much-quoted introductory letter to all the fine folks taking in New Orleans evacuees.

If I were a Painter, I'd Wear Black

Deep Question of the Day
Why do all painters wear white?

The Jury Is Out
President Bush has nominated Harriet Miers to fill O’Connor’s seat. Miers is a staunch conservative—no surprise there. But what is a surprise is that she’s never been a judge before. So in what would be an interesting jump, she’d leap from lawyer/counsel straight to a seat among the highest-ranking judges in the U.S. Expect a huge battle over this one kids.

Let’s review President Bush’s tenure. It has been overshadowed by a largely controversial war which, among other things, has driven down his approval ratings. If the war does not reach a definitive conclusion between now and when he leaves office, how will the next administration address that? Continue the war to try to wrap up with some decisive action we can call an American victory? Or go ahead and get the troops out to avoid more loss of life and appease the American public? Either way, if President Bush leaves office with the country still at war, it will be hard to call it a success of his Presidency. So do you think his greatest legacy will be installing a conservative Supreme Court?

Other
In her new book, American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino reveals that she is illiterate. It’s a shock to me that the system hasn’t progressed any more than it has. Somehow I envision 2005 America being beyond that. I thought adult illiteracy was a problem for our parents’ generation. How can we still have people slipping through the cracks? I can only hope that with her newfound “idol” status, Fantasia will use the position in a positive way to promote adult literacy efforts.

By the way, does anyone have a problem with the show title American Idol besides me? Ick.

Fun Things That Happened This Weekend
Well, who put my top ten suggestions into practice? I didn’t quite get around to it all, but it was a good weekend nonetheless (not enough people use that word these days).

- Squirrel season opened. I did not participate this year, however, it brought back fun memories of opening weekend at the grandparents in the country, many moons ago.

- Friends from church got married – possibly the first A/P wedding I’ve ever been to that wrapped up right under the one hour mark. Oh yeah! The Rev over at The Benchwarmers (David Bunch) performed the ceremony. Way to go!

- Tried new Blue Bell flavor called Birthday Cake. 6.8 on a scale of 1 to 10.

- Dyed my fingers blue before church Sunday. Yeah... toilet bowl cleaner thingy... technical difficulties. Oh the book I could write called House Cleaning... With Duct Tape.