Random Stuff for the Weekend

Matisyahu Busts
I love, love, love it when stereotypes get busted. I haven’t seen one get busted this well since I met a hick-talkin’, Kneau Reeves-lookalike cowboy from West Monroe, LA who, shortly after our introduction, started singing a rap song he’d written -- and sounded pretty good.

I took Stu up on his suggestion to check out Matisyahu, who throws a wrench into traditional stereotypes by combining his Hasidic Jewish beliefs with rap. I wasn't disappointed in the least, as his music is mystical and beautiful and his lyrics epic and timeless. Predictably, the whole album is peppered with plenty of yo-yo-yo’s and yi-yi-yi’s, but they fit well with the strong reggae flavor. Other than the evident longing for Meshiach to come, I was surprised by how much a Christian could relate to his songs.

And speaking of Jewish people . . .

Are You a Pharisee?
Take this handy self-diagnostic quiz and find out!

And finally . . .

Yes, I’m An Opportunist (So Sue Me :)
One thing that became glaringly clear after Hurricane Rita left town is that possessions are simply burdens in disguise. For instance, my family is paying $120 a month to store items we haven’t needed in five months. Even further, I have functioned quite well on no more than six pairs of shoes since then. Even more shocking is that I found out I actually liked it that way!

Now Mack and I are moving again, for what seems like the 42nd time since the end of September. In an effort to further simplify our lives, I decided to sell most of my clothing, shoes, purses, rollers and other almost new beauty items on ebay. However, I figured all my A/P friends might like to have the first shot at all of it, so I decided to hold a private sale for them first. If you are a size 4/6 female living in the Beaumont area and would be interested in cheap, modest and currently stylish clothing and other stuff, shoot me an e-mail, and I’ll send you an invite. Half of the proceeds will be donated to various ministries I support, and as a fringe benefit, we’ll even get to meet in person! Woo-hoo!

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

Introducing . . . The Blog Wars!

"Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There's too much fraternizing with the enemy."
--Henry Kissinger

He checked his notes, loaded some words into the cannon and fired them off, squinting into the horizon as he waited. It wasn’t long before his brief moment of patience was rewarded. He heard her squeal and suddenly, his world was filled with the evidence of her displeasure. Words, hot and sharp with wit, rained down all around him. He hit the ground, wounded and confused as the air filled with smoke. Pink smoke, smelling faintly of perfume. Gasping, he pulled himself along the ground with his arms, anxious to reach the secret arsenal he had been hoarding in anticipation of desperate moments like this one. Even as he cracked it open, and all the books he'd ever read about women and relationships came tumbling out, he still had a rumbling feeling in the bottom of his gut that he was fighting a losing battle. Either that, or maybe he was just hungry . . .

Girl vs. Guy
Ever wish you could step inside the brain of the opposite sex and take a peek around? Ever wonder what you might find inside -- providing there was anything to see? (Heh, heh.) Well, two of my favorite Ohioans, previously referred to on Just a Little Bit Odd as Queen of Shoeba (a.k.a. Shana Blunt) and Jimmy Machine (a.k.a Robert Sites) have recently teamed up to give you the chance to do just that.

Ever since Eve gave Adam an apple and a seductive smile, the battle of the sexes has raged throughout the ages. For the next week or month or however long they feel like it, Robert and Shana will be taking that battle to new heights (depths?) by giving you a male/female perspective on various random issues affecting both genders. I wish I could say that they're doing it in an effort to reduce the misunderstandings that often plague male/female interactions in order to increase love and harmony in our domestic relationships, but I don't really think their motives are so altruistic. Considering the fact that Shana referred to these Blog Wars as "sparring and dueling . . . like circus monkeys," I'm pretty sure they're just in it for the fun of it.

And lucky for us, because fun it promises to be! Theme #1 discusses "Putting Out the Vibe," so check out these sneak peeks, brought to you exclusively by ninetyandnine and A Month in My Life:

Sneak Peeks
From Shana's blog, if only it were fiction: "Every hair that is straightened shall be curled, using tools that could coax a hit list from a terrorist. As your hair wriggles itself free from it's heated captor, an aggressive and menacing shot of hairspray is fired angrily at it, daring it to move."

From Robert's blog, Where the Sidewalk Ends: "The metrosexual is perhaps the one exception to the "guys have it easier" rule. Although a man, this individual will spend hours upon hours in front of a mirror preening, plucking and . . . (deep breath), primping, poking, pulling, lint rolling, ironing, buttoning, unbuttoning, wiping, blotting, waxing, whitening, clipping, adjusting, readjusting, and obsessing in general. If married, this individual will more than likely be much tanner and prettier than his wife."

And Then There's Me, Mediating It All
Shana and Robert have asked yours truly to come up with topics and mediate the discussion, which I was thrilled to do. What an honor to associate myself with two rising stars in the world of A/P Blogdom and make them talk about things I find interesting. I think you'll find them both very witty, insightful and make-you-laugh-all-the-tease-out-of-your-hairdo funny. And who knows? Maybe you'll accidentally learn something to give you the edge on one of the most exciting, most exasperating battles on the planet.

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

The Opposite of Anonymous

Since my fear of being anonymous is right up there with my fear of bungee jumping from helicopters, I thought I'd post some recent photos of the Mack and me:



Please, please after viewing this vision of loveliness, do not go slap your kids for not being this cute!

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

I Think It's Me

“The statistics on sanity are that one out of every
four Americans are suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.”
-- Rita Mae Brown

“Guess who’s back . . . Shady’s back . . .”
As I sit down at my computer, fingers poised over the keyboard to once again write for a deeply spiritual and highly respected institution, why on earth can I think about nothing but old Eminem songs? Can there possibly be anything less Christ-like than Eminem songs? What’s wrong with me???

If my current state of mind is a bit unstable right now, I blame that on a whole month of nothing but Stuart Kent, uncensored! That’s more than enough to make one start laughing giddily, hearing annoying songs playing in one’s head and nailing down one’s yard with posters that read, “Kent Curry for President 2008!” Of course, since I like feelings like that (current annoying song excluded), I’m currently circulating a petition for Stu to take up blogging permanently. If you’d like to add your John Hancock, please shoot me an e-mail.

Like Kent, Some People – Stu Included – Make Easy Targets
Allow me a minute to get something straight about what Stu’s been telling us this past month . . . he’s a fireman, a position recently voted “Sexiest Job in US,” who is now working around a whole lotta women. Does that sound like a deadly combo or what? I sure hope he has enough smelling salts and pepper spray in his scrub pockets to keep all those female nurses from either swooning or attacking him, especially if his claim of looking like Nicholas Cage isn’t as wildly exaggerated as it sounds. Poor Stu. I know how mindless women can be sometimes. We all should pray for him.

My Life, In Which Thumb Twiddling is Considered an Extreme Sport
What a hard act to follow; what an exciting life firemen have! I wish I could say the same for myself, but the following pathetic but true story should illustrate how humdrum my life is: A few weeks ago I had a suspicion my mother had been snooping through My Documents on my computer and my e-mail. When I confronted her at dinner the next evening, my dad piped up.

“Oh yeah, she told me about that!” he said. “She said you must have a very boring life.”

Sad, that my mother would find her life so boring she’d stoop to sneaking around in mine, only to find out I’m worse off than she is! Yes, this is 25-year-old Grandma Wendy, reporting for blogging duty. You guys ready for my exciting stories about sock knitting and bingo night? Just kidding . . . sort of.

“Yes, she’s back . . . Wendy’s back . . .”
. . . for a whole 31 days, at least! Boy, does it feel good to be a blogger again; there are so many things that need a good raking over the coals! Ah, choices, choices; where to begin?

Heh, heh. Still kidding. I like to think my days of sarcastic and cynical writing are over, but we’ll see. My mentor seems to think you guys will still like me without my “teeth,” but we’ll see about that too.

On a recent post, a blogger friend of mine remarked that I seemed to have dropped off the radar since I left Just a Little Bit Odd. Well, I certainly have done that, but it really wasn’t my choice at all. Our home was damaged in Hurricane Rita this past September, and we are still a long way from normal. It’s only been within the past month and a half that I finally got regular, reliable Internet service. So if I haven’t been reading your blog, or if we’ve been out of touch, I’m sorry. I’m just now getting back into the groove of things, and I hope to be back up to speed before long.

So stick around! I have a feeling things are going to start getting more exciting real soon . . .

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

So Long Bloglings!

Stu is gone, making way for the next monthly blogger, whom I hope won't be anonymous. Take care all who read, and God Bless!

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

Yahoo Heard of Matisyahu?

I stumbled across this guy named Matisyahu the other day in the NY Times, then saw his music video at work Sunday, King without a Crown. Chaim Potok would be proud of this guy, an Hasidic Jew who blends rap, reggae and righteousness. I watched the video again tonight (Monday) at Yahoo Music, so go have a look. There's something compelling about this fellow, and that is his compassionate lyrics hidden in music that attracts the ears of young listeners. You may know volumes about this guy, so bear with me, and help me out here if you do. And, go buy The Chosen and The Promise in mass market paperback. Read it while jammin' to the man, Matisyahu.

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

Q: How Many MONTHS Have 28 Days?

A: All of them.

And Stu is fading out, fast, in the month of February. Only two people guessed for a free book, and the door is still open. You, too can be a winner. The odds are now down to 354-to-1. But since we're on the subject of odd, this month-in-the-life-of-Stu has indeed been odd. I gave you the random thought patterns and idiosyncratic ideas that float through my head in a month. Feb was also the month of blessings, as I passed my final RN clinical exam, discovered some great family news (maybe), and found out Saturday that Uncle Sam wants to send me money, back. So tomorrow's my last blog day, then you get a female for March. Don't Touch That Dial!
-Stu

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

"Driving into the sunset"