Oh Please, You Can’t Be Serious?

Willard went to the NAACP and gave a speech. He was booed about three times.

His first words in were “oh how I love the organ!” I guess the NAACP organ, much like Michigan trees, was “just right.”

He said he’d revoke “Obama Care”. That got  a boo.

He reminded everybody about how his dad had done much for the black community. I kept expecting somebody to shout out, “too bad you aren’t a chip off the old block!”

Most of the applause, when it occurred, was sparse.

Nobody cared.

It ended badly:

“If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you are looking at him,” Romney said, causing many in crowd, which stayed silent through much of his speech, to boo.

∞

The screwy Right, which is ironically always wrong, still can’t let go of the SCOTUS decision on AHC. One political pundit from the Washington Post went so far as to call Roberts a “Judas” who sold his soul for 30 pieces of silver. Of course, this election will mark the last chance to save America from that frightful descent into, as he puts it, “creeping, soft, socialist tyranny.” Dude, get a life. Get over it. You lost. Live with it. Or choose another country? That would be good.

∞

From time to time there is luscious proof that we here in Merika ain’t the only screwballs in the universe. Take Berlusconi, erstwhile prime minister of Italy–the land of love. Problem was Silvio indulged in the love just a tad too much and with girls a bit too young. But the Italian stud-muffin thinks that he can convince Italians to give him another go round. Now, it may be that Italians as too busy shoring up Roman ruins and making gnocchi to notice, but I don’t think so.

Word is that Berlusconi’s election team consists of The Donald, The Mooselini, and long-forgotten Glenn Beck–all proven political in-the-knows. Doncha believe me?

∞

They have a product on the infomercials called, “stretch genie”. You spray it in your shoes and it makes them bigger.

I wonder if it will work on my jeans?

Just sayin’.

∞

Everybody who goes to a supermarket has had the experience of finding that the size of boxes shrinks while the price stays the same. Your 16 oz suddenly are 14 1/2 oz. A cute what to try to fake you out.

Well it turns out that we humans (most of us at least) are crummy when it comes to figuring out when we are getting shafted or when we are getting a real bargain. The Atlantic has a neat little post about how we consumers are cheated. Best to take a look so you can avoid the pitfalls of shopping.

Oh gosh, I thought I was supposed to be thanking the job creators for everything. I thought they were benevolent helpful smarter than I persons who were looking out for me, and trickling down help for all my faith in them. Darn, foiled again.

∞

While we are on the self-help kick, go on over to Mark and Angel Hack Life and find out what not to do.  What are the 17 deadliest decisions you can make? Go find out, and don’t make ‘em.

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As some of you know, the Contrarian and I are now firmly in the 21st century when it comes to technology. At least fairly so. We have cell phones, one of which is a smart phone, two lap tops, one desk top, and a Nook. We can run most of them fairly competently now. However. . .

There is much being said about how these devices potentially harm us, as we spend more of our time relating to them instead of the rest of the world. The Contrarian sat in a dealership yesterday for several hours, and watched one waiter, literally take out his phone and “check it” about once every five minutes. I’m told that people who are guesting on talk shows rush to “check” during commercials.

Our friend Squatlo has something to say on the subject and you better go read it.

∞

Willard is taking a beating for his off-shore accounts, and his refusal to disclose his past tax returns. Since he’s really taking a beating over this, more and more comes the suggestion that there is REALLY something he doesn’t want people to know about.

But he continues to stonewall, and frankly with friends like this, who needs enemies?

Lindsay Graham, brown-nose whose nose is usually up the behind of John S. McCain, defended Willard thusly:

“It’s really American to avoid paying taxes, legally.”

Yep Lindsay, you tell ‘em.

∞

It’s always the next exit isn’t it?

Related articles

• Silvio Berlusconi set to run again to become Italian prime minister (telegraph.co.uk)
• Romney to NAACP: Voting GOP good for your families (sfgate.com)
• Romney to NAACP: Obama made it worse for you ‘in almost every way’ (thehill.com)

Our First Book Giveaway!

The Hatchette Book Group has given me the honor of hosting a book giveaway. I am grateful to them for the opportunity.

The book offered is Jason Frenn’s Breaking the Barriers: Overcoming Adversity and Reaching Your Greatest Potential.

Mr. Frenn has spent years as a missionary in Costa Rica, and had led innumerable crusades. He is also an inspirational speaker. Besides his evangelical work under the auspices of the Assemblies of God, he hosts a weekly radio program.

The book is listed under religion and inspirational. I would categorize it additionally as a self-help book and perhaps under the prosperity gospel genre, though I am sufficiently unfamiliar with that teaching to be sure.

Mr. Frenn has addressed the issue so many of us face: barriers to the life we wish which often seem impassable. His premise is that God wishes us all to live up to our potential and wishes us abundance in that fulfilled life. Through a step-by-step process Frenn guides the reader through a series of life altering changes that bring us in alignment with God character, Jesus’ wisdom, and the discipline of the Holy Spirit.

Each chapter is has at least two stories used to illustrate the point being made, and how development and adherence to the principle being taught results in a solution to the barrier  that inhibits progress. Many of the stories are compelling.

There are practical lessons for achieving success in prayer and daily life that will assist the person bogged down and seemingly “stuck” in an unhealthy place. One of the more useful ones is the writing of a “eulogy” or epitaph of yourself. What would you like to be remembered for, what attributes would you hope loved ones and friends might say about you at your funeral. These can give good clues as to your desires in life, often hidden in the busyness of life. They can suggest areas you need to improve.

At the end of each chapter are specific prayers to recite daily as you move to change your actions, your beliefs, your thoughts, and turn them to those that uphold and invite God’s action in your life.

You should know that this book takes a decidedly literalistic approach to scripture. Whether you agree theologically with that or not, you will surely find good advice for bringing God into the forefront of your life and thus growing in both faith and in achieving the goals you set.

Whether it be finances, relationships, personal addictions, or career change, the methods Mr. Frenn offers are helpful to consider and implement.

***

Now as to the giveaway. If you are interested in obtaining a free copy (five are being offered), leave a comment to this post and your email address-or e-mail me separately if you are uncomfortable making it public.

The giveaway will conclude on September 4, 2009, and the winners will be e-mailed on September 5. I will randomly draw five names from all those submitted.

Winners so notified must return the  e-mail with full name and address. No PO Box please and the offer is good only in the US and Canada.

I will submit this information to the Hatchette Book Group, which will mail the book directly to you.

That’s all that is required.

Please consider that even if you don’t feel the book would be your type, think about whether you know someone who would enjoy it, and let them know how to submit an entry, or do so on their behalf. Or consider it as a gift to a person or library that you think might benefit from it.

I have another offering for next month, and no doubt based on the success, this process many well continue. Good luck to all!

Treating My Head

It’s always been ironic to me that we place procreation as such a sacrosanct right. The offices of psychologists and psychiatrists tends to belay the fact that most of us are raised by people qualified for the task.

Still, since most of us manage to live out our lives without killing, torturing, or otherwise seriously violated others, I’ve never placed much truck in blaming my woes on the abysmal abilities of my parents.

I have spoken before that I suffer from mild depression, mostly SAD, which as you might expect, occurs mostly in the winter time. I at one point took anti-depressants for something less than a year, but found weaning myself off them more painful than the underlying disorder, so I self manage. Mostly this works pretty well, and I am not symptomatic for months at a time.

I guess it was symptomatic  that a few days ago I wrote a piece on “shoulds.” I obviously missed the signal that this should have alerted me that the cloud was returning. And as usual, new insights arise which I have not yet processed but you might find helpful or not. You may have suggestions or not.

Either way, I’m writing it out as my therapy.

I don’t think I’m unusual in having “rituals.” Rituals to start my day, rituals to end my day. Most people do. I tend to go a bit further and have “cleaning days” and so forth. Shopping is a morning thing, laundry is done on certain days. I don’t get apoplectic if I find it necessary to do laundry on an off day, but I like the schedule. I like to reward my “tasks” with rewards, such as a quiet cup of coffee, reading a book, meditating, cooking a favorite recipe, sitting down to read blogs and so forth. As I said, for the most part this works.

Until it doesn’t. This summer has been a bust here in Iowa. The garden hasn’t produced well due to too much rain and too cool temperatures. Thus a number of plans we had have fallen aside. The Contrarian has had a plethora of VA appointments which have resulted in success on one problem and the rest of the testing has brought relief since all were negative. Now I find myself contemplating the fall and winter and yet I don’t recall having much in the way of summer.

The ironic part, is that the very thing that gives me the impetus to do all the shoulds in my life, the schedule, now looms as the enemy. I see the days as endless sameness. It’s Tuesday, the toilets call. It’s Friday and the laundry beckons. I am engaged in an endless round of tasks that never resolve themselves but merely ebb and flow from “need to do” to “done for now.”

Life becomes an endless treadmill of sameness. I’m not sure how to break the cycle or if I should. The endless routine seems  in the end to build to a crescendo that spills over the top and threatens to flood my life. Yet, I’m afraid if I end the routine, my basic laziness will paralyze any effort at all. Church activities which are not so much within my control, meaning I can’t set the schedule, may be what keeps me reasonable on an even keel.

And I don’t mean it to sound dramatic. It is not. No one, other than the Contrarian would notice any difference. And frankly, he hadn’t noticed any change. I just know that I began to feel these moments of utter “who cares” that would flit through my mind. I could and am able to shake it off and continue, but they are coming by more often and that’s a warning to adjust things again.

It’s just that life seems a little grayer than it should be. The news is a downer, the Internet stories are a downer, the weather is a downer. Are you gloomy yet? Anyone who has depression understands, it seems that you must struggle to make yourself do the things that you used to do with either dispassionate ease or with delight. Everything gets harder. The luster dims on all that normally brings joy.

Mostly I guess I’m reaching out to ask what coping mechanisms work for you. I know a not insignificant number of our blogging community suffers from various depressive like states, and we humans are incredibly creative in finding ways that solve our problems. I guess I’m creating a virtual self-help clearing house here.

So I’d like to hear your tips for pushing away the blues. I guess that I’m discovering that with depression, you can’t just create a world that solves the problem. It’s a fluid illness and requires adaptation over time. The routine that worked yesterday is the demon that makes my world look monochromatic today. It’s a good thing to know, and I’m glad that I have realized that.

Now I need to look at new solutions to old problems. Perhaps we, in our struggles, manage to reach out and help each other. I like to think we do.