Wit & Whim

Pagan conspiracy!!! How does it come to be that the first Indy 500 I go to in ten years is on Trinity? No way. Of all the unholy anomalies! A veritable masterstroke of the Devil, the world, and my sinful nature. I am stunned, shocked, and appalled!!!

I think that many of my gloomy ruminations of late come directly from my reading material, which has been, mostly, history. Right now I am working through The Guns of August, which is an absolute masterpiece, which is heavily involved with the people and personalities that drove the beginning of WWI. The imperfection of men is never more apparent than when it executes poor military plans, which were recognized by those executing them as a poor course of action, resulting in the deaths of tens of millions. The reason the plans were exercised was pride and a fear of losing face. The Kaiser went from nervous, right before he declared war, to being absolutely debilitated by migraines after. He never intended to actually start a war; he only wanted to posture and make France and Britain recognize Germany as superior. He was bluffing and he never believed France and England would call his bluff. German strategists even published their strategies for taking France by going through Belgium in

Glenn Beck is the most astute and powerful political commentator of our time. His words have illuminated the darkness that surrounds the American political establishment, and he has a tremendous knack for finding and drawing the lines between corrupt figures. Whether you are a fan or not, only a fool--or someone who has not listened to him--would question his obvious intelligence and preternatural ability to sniff out lies. He is instrumental in the current political awakening. That said, the man is driving me totally batty. The current conservative movement has this asinine notion that God has chosen America for excellence. America, historically, is exceptional; it is the one time in human history when the form of government was devised by wise men in a time of peace. The American people are those who were willing to risk everything for the opportunity to live a better life and worship in accordance with their consciences. The fact that much of our population came here because of reli

An experience for the ages--the one we have all been waiting for--I just watched Twilight: New Moon! I am still reeling from the joy of this experience. My lungs are still empty from the *oomph* that was the powerful delivery of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. My mouth is still filled with a biting tang, which resulted from my heaving with ecstasy at the touching and subtle romantic scenes. The acting was unlike anything I have ever seen. Delivered with a wooden aspect and unrelenting melodrama, the dialog could have been written by teenage girls. Edward Cullen's whispered cliches are absolutely masterful, and only matched by the surly self-hate of Kristen Stewart, who is just so good that she manages to make everyone around her look better...much better. Taylor Lautner, sadly, does not match up to their measure. His performance has none of their memorability, but at least he has looks and personality. The score. Ah, the score! It never meets you with anything unexpected an

I have been trying for a long time to figure out why they put so much into Ablaze$ . I think the strongest insight I have received--thus far--has come from Stephen King. His book, The Stand, is a masterpiece of post-apocalyptic fiction. There is one character in particular who opened my eyes to a grim possibility. I will not say much here because I believe that this is a book that should be on any 'to read' list. Perhaps I have been naive the whole time, but something I read earlier made sudden sense. They (synodical bureaucrats) believe that they are bringing the people. As the King character said, it is the sin of pride; thinking that you must provide the people for God's purpose. They are rational bureaucrats. They pay lip service to God's ability to provide, but instead of using synodical resources to send out priests to baptize and celebrate in poor regions of the world, they spend the resources trying to draw more people; people with money. They do not trust that

The Shewoof--a generally brilliant and dazzling character--pointed out again--to someone who should have known--one of the greatest distinctions that separates a homeschooler from the average; something that I always forget that people need explained. My dear, dear, friend always wonders why I work so doggedly; as he says, I could have the A with a third of the work. His questions have the wrong focus; it is not about the grade. I work well after I have my A because I want to learn; not just to be stamped with a letter that says I learned. I don't know why, but I am always so shocked when people don't understand that concept. What else is education for? PS: I have it on fairly good intelligence that all three individuals under this roof will be out at midnight, barking at the moon; It's the tacos.

This morning I realized that I have a desperate need for more bandannas; this being brought on by the fact that most of mine are pretty monotone. Also, I couldn't help but notice that my morning ritual in the bathroom took three songs. Shewoof's took (like) a whole Five for Fighting CD, and yet, she will protest to her dying breath that she doesn't take that long. We know the truth. Certain pictures are better left unshared. I am sad that Lala will be gone. I feel like an Irish hooligan has taken a brickbat to my head. And I need to sign up for a new math placement test sometime this summer. The requirements for the class I want to get into were surpassed by my first test, but I was not a Liberal Arts major yet. *Le sigh* This slate of classes was too easy; I need classes that make me work and think. Plus, I like it when more of my grade comes from my written work than from my exams. Just my thoughts this morning. ...and why is it so hot in here???