ODD – Oppositional Defiant Disorder. CBS News reported on it tonight. The subject of the story, 8 year old Christopher, was labeled as ODD. What the news report showed was a kid in need of a good spanking. The father of Christopher was not shown. Just the mother wrestling with Christopher telling him not to do something….asking him to “Take a minute.” I think if there was a strong father figure around to dish out corporal punishment, Christopher wouldn’t be classified as “ODD.” Christopher knew exactly what he had. And to him it meant he could act up and blame it on his disorder. Unfortunately the mother was more concerned about classifying her son’s supposed disorder, rather than actually being a good parent.
I suspect Christopher may have been acting out for the CBS camera crew. Biting his mother. General just acting bad….
I realize that I’m basing my opinion on a 4 minute news report. Yet sometimes I think we are too quick to classify children with an alphabetical soup of psychological disorders. Instead we need to teach parents how to do their job.
North Korea Situation
Our next question comes from Tim:
What do you think about North Korea? They seem to me like the little ant telling the anteater that if he sticks his head in the nest one more time, ITS
TOTAL WAR! I say sanction them and just let them starve. Granted the country and people in it aren’t that big and probably would take a long time to starve, but we have time.
Someone on a discusson board said this:
“North Korea is really starting to remind me of that stupid annoying kid on the playground who would think it was infinitely funny to ALMOST punch you in the face, and when you ducked it, laugh and gloat for hours about how he “made you flinch.”
At times I then to agree. North Korea is like that 2 year old that just wants attention. What do they want? Face-to-face talks with the US and ultimately a non-agression pact. What they just might get is more sanctions. Aggressive behavior is not the way to go about this. Instituting reforms would get better results.
If we do give them food, it is given to the soldiers, not to the starving peasants. So I don’t think we should give them any humanitarian aid.
If North Korea does a 1st strike…launching a missile against one of our bases or territories, no doubt the US Military will blow them off the face of the earth. Seoul might get in the firefight, however it would have been NK’s decision to “pick a fight” with us.
In any case I think North Korea’s time is limited….either through regime change from within or from outside forces.
Mark Your Day Planners for War
Mark your calendars. War could start next Thursday. I would hate for you to plan a picnic knowing that a war would be starting. And sometimes I wonder how good are we at keeping secrets. When the British tabloid “The Sun” knows when war will start.
And Bush told Chirac ‘We will not forgive and we will not forget.” in regards to the threatened veto of the UN referendum authorizing force against Iraq.
So I’m anxious about this Iraq situation. How will it affect me? How will it affect America? Are we going to see more terrorism on our soil? Its something I can’t control, yet I feel it is important enough to share my fear of dread with you. Then I think of the lilies (Luke 12:27-28) and remember everything’s gonna be alright.
So I discovered Bob Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street” the other day on where else…Lightning 100. What a great song. Its too bad today’s generation has no sense of Dylan’s genius in songwriting….unless of course the Dixie Chicks decide to cover one of his tunes.
I’m compiling a list of Wonder Years quotes. I hope to make a whole page containing the quotes on this site. The first one comes from the episode titled “Private Butthead.” Don’t let the episode title fool you. Its got a great quote at the end:
“Love is never simple. Not for fathers and sons. We spend our lives full of hope and expectations. And most of the time we are bound to fail. But that afternoon as I watched my father sheltering his son against a future that was so unsure, all I knew was they didn�t want to let each other down anymore.”
It wasn’t the acting that made that a great series. Dana McKeller (Winnie) couldn’t act. And to some extent neither could Fred Savage. It was the writing that made the series exceptional.
And today is Mardi Gras. I remember the one and only time I celebrated Mardi Gras was in my 9th grade French class. We had some kinda bead party. It was pretty lame as I remember it. Our teacher seemed to be the only one excited about it. Methinks she had never celebrated it before at a “real party” in New Orleans…
Anyways I had a friend from college who lived near Biloxi, Mississippi. She said all along the gulf coast, each city has their own Mardi Gras celebration. Typically Biloxi’s celebration is much more tame compared to New Orleans.
Mardi Gras…what a strange celebration. Everyone is sinning right up until midnight and the everyone all of a sudden gets religion in their life or something. I guess it’s that type of mindset. Living unholy lives when nobody is looking, and then during a 40 day part of the year, giving up chocolate or something….
OldVersion.com…find older versions of current
OldVersion.com…find older versions of current programs.
03.03.03
It’s 03.03.03. That’s a once in a lifetime experience. Or perhaps a once in a century occurance.
The sun is out. Toldyouso. Only in this weblog will you find the headline of the day being the sun being out. I lead a very boring life.
Mr. Blue Sky, why did you have to hide away for so long?
“Sun is shinin’ in the sky,
There ain’t a cloud in sight
It’s stopped rainin’
Everybody’s in a play
And don’t you know
It’s a beautiful new day, hey hey”
Electric Light Orchestra – “Mr. Blue Sky”
I took the cat to the vet today for its yearly shots. After howling the whole 15 minute car trip there, the cat shut up when we got to the vet’s. Purred while in the waiting area. The vet called it “nervous purring.” Never heard of that term before. “Nervous laughter,” yes. “Nervous purring,” no.
You know I was thinking the other day, when people ask me if I like country music, my knee jerk reaction is a resounding “no.” Yet the real answer to this question would be “Yes, but not the country music you like.” An example is Lucinda Williams. Nobody has ever heard of her. Yet she wrote “Passionate Kisses,” which was covered by Mary Chapin Carpenter. I had heard her on Lightning 100 a few months before I saw her in concert – opening for Tom Petty in 1999. A few days after hearing her in concert, I went out and bought her album. And I haven’t been disappointed.
Then there’s Son Volt. Pretty much “alt-country.” They use southern twang and really sound like country music at times. They had one big hit “Drown” which really sounds alot like that “You Aint Seen Nothing Yet” by Turner Overdrive.
The type of country music that I hate is the same pop music that I hate. It’s that slickly produced junk designed to appeal to the masses. Fickle. Flakey. Shania Twain, are you listening? There’s alot better music out there. Son Volt, Lucinda, Uncle Tupelo, and Wilco are just some of the better choices that can be made.
The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow…
Like that old refrain from that overplayed Annie song, I have heard that the sun will come out tomorrow. 17 days of no Sunshine is making the Music City look like Seattle. Everyone is all angst ridden and starting their own grunge bands. So maybe the sun will shine.
Funny thing is, I’m a newsaholic too. Always in search of news on the web. Its all I read anymore. Why should I subscribe to the Tennessean when the majority of their news stories are posted daily to its website.
So the El Salvador preparation class starts Wednesday night and will continue until we leave. I guess we’ll find out what to expect. I understand part of the required viewing is “Romancing the Stone” movie. Or at least it should be. There are limited number of large classrooms available at church. So we’ll probably all get comfy in a small room. Kinda like preparing for the plane ride over there or something. Stuffing 30 people in a small room; stuffing 300 people in a plane…. The Sunday after we get back is Easter. So that will be interesting. I wonder if we will wear our El Salvador homemade shirts on Easter. The first Sunday after you get back from a long extended mission trip or youth trip is bittersweet. I always wish people could get out of their stuffy church buildings and really experience God.
The installation that went wrong…
Spent much of the day prepping a computer to use in the audio/visual ministry area….displaying songs and announcements on the machine. Had to install a bunch of hardware on it. CDRW Drives, Zip Drives…. The PC doesn’t even have any USB ports on it. Then there’s not any sound cards….
I think these machines were just terminal machines. They didn’t need much on them. Just the basics. The main thing is that these machines are better than what we’ve got. Even some of the church secretary’s machines are 8 years old. This will be a good improvement to them.
So a bunch of things went wrong with the installation. But we eventually got it to work. Everything is good to go for Sunday morning.
So while picking up some computer equipment at a local computer store, I ran into someone I went to school with. He recognized me. I guess I haven’t changed much in appearance since high school. On the other hand, I would have never recognized him. I guess this is only a preview of what might occur at my reunion this summer.
Sinbad is coming to Lipscomb. I’d like to go to this. I hear Sinbad is really funny and really clean. So maybe I’ll be able to go….
Friday Five: Reading
1. What is your favorite type of literature to read (magazine, newspaper, novels, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)?
I hate reading fiction. I have never enjoyed it. Perhaps it was how I was forced to read them during my school years. Reading comprehension was not my favorite activity.
I read news sites on the web mostly. Always searching for new information. As far as hard copy print goes, I read magazines and newspapers.
2. What is your favorite novel?
I don’t like novels. I have only read a handful of them. Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park.” And that was only because I was on vacation without a tv to watch….in the tri-cities area of East Tennessee.
I’ve read excepts of William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying.” Seemed sorta interesting. But like I said, I don’t enjoy reading fiction stuff.
3. Do you have a favorite poem? (Share it!)
Are some Bible verses considered poems? Prose or poems? I don’t know. One of my favorites is Micah 6:8.
Otherwise I don’t really have a favorite poem. Or at least one that I can think of right now….
4. What is one thing you’ve always wanted to read, or wish you had more time to read?
Nothing. I don’t enjoy reading.
5. What are you currently reading?
Someone else’s webpage.
Karen Whittle’s Antiques…my aunt’s antique
Karen Whittle’s Antiques…my aunt’s antique shop.
Mister Rogers and His Neighborhood
Growing up during my early elementary years, there were 3 shows that were somewhat of a trinity on PBS. Sesame Street, Electric Company, and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Now that neighborhood is a little bit more empty. Mr. Rogers died overnight.
I remember Mr. Rogers well. He showed us how crayons and pencils are made. He had Lou Ferrigno (the Hulk) on his show to talk about how monsters aren’t real.
Then there was the Land of Make Believe. King Friday, Prince Tuesday, X the Owl, Daniel Striped Tiger, Lady Elaine, Henrietta Pussycat. Do any of these names ring a bell? Did you know Mr. Rogers did the voice of almost all of the above characters?
What Mr. Rogers will be remembered for is teaching multiple generations of children that they are individually special in their own unique way.
“If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”
-Mister Rogers