Happy National Baked Bean Month!

Stem Cell
Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) broke from President Bush and announced his support of pro-stem cell research legislation. It could hurt Frist politically since Christian conservatives will not be happy, but it did gain him the praise of people like Nancy Regan who support stem cell research in hopes it will provide help for Alzheimer patients. The article quotes Frist:

"It's not just a matter of faith, it's a matter of science,"

Where’s the line?

Check out a previous Ninetyandnine article: "Stem Cells: Objections and Answers."

Catastrophe in India
Nearly 750 people have been confirmed dead as a result of monsoon rains in India. Our prayers are with them as rescuers search for survivors.

Wowsers
18 inning baseball game between the Jays and Angels—almost five hours long. Toronto finally edged past.

Un-UnSolved Mysteries
There is no Bigfoot. Sorry, everyone. DNA results show that the suspicious hair sample of a monster in the woods is actually bison, and thus the mystery ends until the next time someone sees another fuzzy clump of hair, etc. Reminds of this bumper sticker I saw yesterday: “Elvis is dead. Get over it.”

Balance
I’ve bored you with details about my work life, but in thinking about it again, I’m brought back to one of the biggest challenges I think young Christians face: balancing life. There’s school, work, church, family, friends, occasional sleep, and how dare you think you could throw personal time or a hobby in there. (And maybe it’s not fair to limit this to “young Christians.”) How do we cope? I would love to see more instruction on the balancing act. Granted we need doctrinal teaching, but is there a way to supplement some updated practical living teaching? Some resources, such as Life is a Three-Legged Stool by Sis. Thetus Tenney, are out there. Check it out.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Top 10 Fun

An Extra by Me
I told you I was going to bombard you with off-the-wall stuff I hadn’t gotten around to yet. Here’s one of my top 10s I compiled, many of which are based on actual hotels I’ve stayed in that didn’t quite live up to the one-star advertised rating.

top 13 signs you know you're in a cheap hotel:
1. listed as guess amenities: alarm clock
2. postcards are available at the hotel conceirge inside the bait shop
3. aluminum foil bunny ears on the tv
4. gutted deer in motel parking lot
5. you're awakened at 4 a.m. to the sound inside the bathroom walls of quarreling chihuhuas (otherwise referred to as mice by hotel management)
6. hotel clerk: "what do you mean, 'air conditioning'?"
7. you find out the whirlpool advertised on the billboard involves a blow-up kiddie pool and a boat trolling motor
8. you ask for a non-smoking room and the clerk laughs.
9. sign over the bed: "please dispose of all toe nail clippings properly."
10. wake-up calls involve a bullhorn.
11. you inquire about continental breakfast and the desk clerk tosses you a little debbie.
12. listed as nearby attraction: Stuckey's
13. hotel clerk: "don't forget to jiggle the handle when you flush."

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Making up for Lost Time

I’m Back!
I apologize for my infrequent blogging this week. But (yay!) my big deadline at work has ended! I helped with a presentation in New Orleans on Tchoupitoulas St (I’ve been waiting all day to say that word!), and so that became all-consuming for the last week. Now life goes back to “normal,” but we know “normal” is just a setting on the washing machine. However, I can now add sleep and blogging to my to-do list once again.

The home stretch looms, however. I only have 4 blogging days left (if you count the weekend), so be forewarned that I’m about to bombard you with all the weird, off-the-wall thoughts I haven’t got around to yet.

Jaws XVII
Another shark bite… but this time in the Atlantic off Daytona beach. Does anyone remember a summer like this?

NASA News
Discovery successfully docked to a space station. NASA says the debris that fell away is foam insulation and the shuttle is in no danger.

Where There’s a Will…
A blind teenager in Nebraska has amazed many with his video game skills. You’ve got to check this out.

More from London
London Police now have 20 people in custody after nine more arrests were made in connection with the recent terrorist activities.

Links of the week
http://www.leaderu.com/ - Sponsored by Christian Leadership Ministries (for Christian professors), this site offers articles, reviews, and commentary from an academic angle. Should especially interest collegiate readers.

http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1524121,00.html – review of new book that mixes faith and fiction. Did The Da Vinci Code and other books like it open a new door for Christian writers to use adventure novels as a promotion tool for religious beliefs? Also, note that the review writer ends with a bitter note that Christians are starting to “gradually shape the cultural agenda.” Why is that a problem? What are non-Christians afraid of?

Wouldn’t You Love to See This?
Wild ponies made their annual swim across Assateague (a barrier island in Maryland) to Chincoteague (a Virginia resort island) where the ponies will be auctioned off as part of herd control management and to benefit the Chincoteague Fire Department.

We Want Wendy!
My good buddy Wendy has submitted an application to date Lance (see previous post). As I hear preachers sometimes say about their congregations, I am so Godly proud (what does that mean?). Anyways, in this case it means that I thought Wendy’s application was absolutely hilarious and posed some interesting food for thought. Make sure you check it out.

I’m still not up for submitting an application myself, but if I had any pull on the selection committee, I would rally for Wendy. If she winds up with Lance, I suggest the happy couple come to Youth Congress and moderate a panel discussion on the joys and woes of online dating.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Happy Milk Chocolate Day!

The Gift of Chocolate
July 28 is national milk chocolate day. I would normally observe this special holiday by devouring any combination of the beloved dietary staple (i.e. chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter cups, m&m's, and so on). However, I have turned a new leaf. For nine days now, I have been chocolate-free (and also ice cream-free, which is even harder). I'm also still walking before work, which has my friends seriously contemplating a mental health evaluation since this is so un-Lee Ann. What can I say, Youth Congress is exactly 2 weeks away and I'm trying to make up for the last 2 years of late night-snacking and considering "holding down the couch" a form of exercise. I'm hoping that I can keep this up post-Congress, but I've already promised everyone at work I'd bring donuts the first day back to break this health craze. We'll see. In the meantime, somebody eat a Caramello for me.

We Have Liftoff!
Thankfully the shuttle launched successfully today. I have to admit to some serious concern, especially after the decision was made to launch despite past problems and incomplete testing. But so far so good. There was some debris that fell away from the shuttle, which I’m anxious to hear an explanation about. (Shame on me for ending that sentence with a preposition.)

Continued Activity in East
Oh, this is nice--mobs of angry Afghans chanting “Die America!” The U.S. is naïve if she thinks change can be implemented overnight against the backdrop of centuries of a completely different culture. I’m not trying to make a pro/anti-war statement, I’m just stating that regardless, we need to realize the challenges facing our troops and policymakers.

Meanwhile, authorities arrested five Egyptian men in New York with video equipment, a large amount of money, and maps of the subway system. They are being deported. ...Is America about to experience another wave?

New on Ninetyandnine
In response to the recent controversy on what ladies should do to attract a spouse, Joseph Castorina has contributed this week’s cover: “The Real Attraction Factor (God’s Version)”.

From the Homefront
Tonight I ran across some observations I once noted about life where I live. There’s a lot of hype about “rednecks” these days. Last week I heard someone on NPR, of all places, offer commentary on the “redneck” culture. Lately it’s becoming a subset of society or something. I don’t know about all that. These are just things I know about my world--for better or worse. Not proud, not ashamed. For no particular reason, I feel like sharing:

• Nothing like arriving home from your local university one afternoon and finding the goat staked out in the front yard having a hay day (no pun intended) on the lawn.
  
• You aren't surprised by this because you remember that the REAL weedeater is still in pieces in the barn from when dad decided to "add a little muscle" to it.
  
• You are expected to report the play-by-play of the funeral home visit to those who couldn't attend.
  
• You accidentally go to the wrong funeral home but use it as a chance to catch up on a little community gossip and meet interesting new people!
  
• You do "the happy dance" in the gas station parking lot on the rare occasion you are able to open your gas tank without the aid of your trusty flathead screwdriver.
  
• Where I come from, we call duct tape chrome.

And Now the Home Stretch
My tenure as guest blogger is rapidly expiring. If you have special comments, stories, or duct tape testimonies to share, e-mail me now. I’ve actually been putting in insane hours at my job the last few days, but that deadline is in sight and I’m looking forward to a great final week of blogging. This has been such a fun experience, largely because of your participation; please take a moment and share your thoughts. Thanks to all our readers for the dialogue. E-mail me!

Something Smelly

Lance
Congrats to Lance Armstrong on a record and a legacy. Keep an eye out for the full scoop from The Bench Warmer.

Another Lance
This poor guy will either love or hate his friends for this one. Friends in Utah took out a billboard advertising the (un)lucky bachelor. Lance Archibald is a 31 year-old Mormon, and his friends think he should be married by now. Sounds eerily like our Apostolic take on it and also reminds me of last Youth Congress when people were walking around introducing themselves, “Hi, I’m ApostoliGrl777, s/w/f.” Guess this story proves Apostolic or not, the whole connection process is an animal all its own. Any which way you can, huh? Still, don’t be expecting a “Date Lee Ann” billboard going up in Baton Rouge or I know some friends who are going to be excommunicated.

Speaking of...
Pope Benedict XVI has angered Israelis. He prayed for God to stop terrorism, and in that prayer he mentioned Egypt, Britain, Turkey, and Iraq—no Israel. Honest mistake? Who knows. It is true that we shouldn’t overlook Israel. While not minimizing what recent countries have suffered, we should realize that this level of violence is something Israelis confront constantly.

Also on a related note, I want to mention that the new Pope has repeatedly made it a point to suggest possible "bridges" with the Islam world. Christians, that should be food for thought.

What Smell?
Bringing Hobart, Indiana, to the map, Debra Fields lost in court over her right to keep two hogs (Bacon and Molly) in her residential home. I can’t make this stuff up, folks. The “pets” weigh in at about 300 lbs each and can produce up to 35 lbs of ahem…waste each. Neighbors sued and won. I would imagine one of the greatest courtroom moments was when Debra took the stand and dismissed the neighbors' complaints about the odor on the grounds that she couldn’t smell anything. …I guess you just get used to it?

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!