Womens Liberation: Or Not.

I'd like to speak about something that has had me thinking the last
several weeks. If you have kept up at all with the 'election buzz'
then you know that Sarah Palin has been asked again and again whether she
can be a good mom and the vice president at the same time.

I kept thinking we would get a good show out of it. I expected the Womens Lib
groups to be up and arms and they don't seem to be. With the whole 'Lipstick on a Pig' comment, i expected fireworks. But not from the Womens groups I expected. So I am confused
about that. Where the heck is Ellen and Oprah?

Anyways,
I also watched the first three episodes of 'Mad Men' - a TV series
that takes place during the 60s. I had to stop watching the show
though. After every episode I became so depressed. I felt so bad for the women characters in the show. They are treated so badly. Seriously awful. Even the main character treats his wife like a nut-case while he has an ongoing affair with another
woman.

Awful.

If the show is true to how the treatment of women was back then, then I am totally appalled. I can't even imagine it. My sisters would beat me to a pulp if I treated them like that.

Which brings me to my topic. Womens Liberation.

But first, I must admit I am on thin ice here. So hold any hurt feelings for the end and then maybe you can blast me in the comments if you'd like.

The Women's Lib movement began (depending on who you ask) somewhere
between the 40's and 60's. The big issues on the table were:

Women's Rights: such as voting.
Women's Independence: such as working, shopping, living, and so forth
Women's Equality: Women should be considered equal with men in all
matters, work, home, country.
Women's Respect: This refers to overall treatment in all aspects of life.

While this doesn't nearly cover the whole scheme of what went on
between the 40's and (really) the 70's (even to today sometimes), I
think I could clump all the other things and issues into one of these
groups.


Now, to begin, lets face it. The men really missed the ball on this one from the beginning. But since I am a man, and since no other civilization had formerly beat us to the punch in this area, I wont bash men too much here. However, there is no doubt that women were not treated well in any of these areas during this time or before then.

In fact, most of the world still fails in these areas, but I will only touch on my thoughts towards the American Womens Lib movement.

I remember ten / fifteen years ago the term; 'The Ally McBeal' woman. Now, I always thought Ally McBeal looked sick, like a cancer patient with hair. I didn't think she was 'foxy' as Cosmo magazine seemed to think at the time.

But there's no denying it; Ally McBeal stood as a symbol of womens success. She was strong, independent, a woman with force in the workplace. (I didn't really watch the show. My parents didn't let me. I don't think I missed a whole lot though.) She was what women could now be in this 'new world' of womens freedoms and so forth.

She was one of the first shows banking on what women had been pushing for for a long long time. Women have been encouraged to 'get outside' of the home. Join the real world. Make money. Claim the success and respect you (women) so richly deserve.

And they poured out in droves entering every aspect of the American (and International) business world. Today, this is still the case (and I'm all for it) that women hold some of the highest positions in America; one being Condi Rice who I have always liked. And of course I
must bring up Palin and Hillary. They are symbols of how far women have come.



Currently, on most people's standards, women are more 'free' now than
ever before in the history of - well any country. But as I look back
over the list that I presented at the beginning I am not so sure women
are as well off as they might think.

First: Concerning Women's Rights: Women received the right to vote,
even to hold the office of the President.
Hillary 'valiantly and honestly' ran for the nomination.
Hillary was even shot at by snipers as she got off a plane, she said.

Sarah Palin is running for VP right now.

I think women have really made true progress in this area. They have been given the rights by their government to do and be anything that they so wish - just like the men. In fact, if women are not granted the rights to do anything that a man could do, then the women will sue faster than Obama can say 'Change' and 'Hope' and 'Stupendous.'

And they will win too. Easily. Like butter on bread.

Women have also made progress with 'Independence.' Shows like 30 Rock
capture the 'typical' working woman in Liz Lemon. However, the whole
first season is how she struggles with keeping her independence (her
tv show and job) while trying to find a home, boyfriend, kids - all
the things that will 'remove her independence.' I was driving home the
other day and I counted four daycare business within a coupe miles of
my house.

And I began to wonder if in the struggle for independence, women are
forced to detach themselves from other areas of life that they might
want. It seems to me that it is always presented, not as a both/and
situation, but as a one / or the other situation. It is very rare I
think to see a woman balancing both, independence/ home life, and doing
it well. It happens for sure. But it doesn't happen without a great
deal of work and effort. On the one hand, women are encouraged by our
society to get out there and do something. Be something. Make money.
Become empowered. Like Jan on 'The Office.'

On the other hand, they are told to be good mothers. To nurture their
children. To be a good wife. To get to the gym. To keep a perfect
figure like the Desperate Housewives.

And they must remain in perfect balance all the time or they are condemned for failing. Homelife / Executive Life.

We don't hold men to these standards. Do the men have to separate
home life / work life?' Do they balance it well? Are they supposed to?
Am I being sexist by even making this comparison?


The third area is Women's Equality: And this is the area that I want
to harp on the most. In order for Cassie (my awesome wife) to be
considered equal in my home - one thing must occur. She can say she is
equal - she may think she is equal - she may act like she is equal - the government can say she is equal -

But she will not be equal unless I look at Cassie and truly believe that she is my equal.

I have to tell her she's equal. Treat her like she's equal. And so on.
Only then is she truly equal. If I was a scumbag who thought she was
lower than dirt, then there is nothing in her power to make me ever
acknowledge that she is equal. And without my acknowledgment - she has
nothing really. Even if the entire world tells her that she is equal
to me - it doesn't mean that I will ever acknowledge it.

The country can say 'She's equal.' But the country can also say that
Racism is not allowed - and we still have a ton of it. Sad to say but
true. And on all sides by the way - which is concerning and we will
have to deal with it later.


So in this area, the Womens Lib movement is cornered in that: in order
for success - they have to have the acknowledgment from every male
that they will be treated as equals, and also be 'considered' equals.
And this 'consideration' is a lot harder to get. You can force a man
in his cubicle to treat Betsy who works next to him in a nice manner.
But even if you point a gun in his face - you can't make him
actually think she is equal. And how one thinks is a reflection of the
heart, and sooner or later, the heart will always make itself known
through its actions.

Equality is not tangible. It can only be judged by actions. So when
women wish to be treated equally - they are wanting something that
they cannot really have, but are forced to interpret the actions of
those around them, men and women, in order to see if they are
receiving what they are wishing for.

Women's Respect is right up here with the previous. It is an
abstraction. It is not tangible. And the problem with abstractions is
that they can not be nailed down. You have to clarify the term before
you can measure it. I can't ask Cassie, 'are you respected?' Without
her answering me on some non-abstract term. (She thinks - Chason values my
opinion, he acts on my wishes, he treats me in an honoring fashion -
Yes, I feel respected.)

With that in mind:
Look around the country and see who the affluent women are. Who is
leading the Women's Lib? What women are valued and why? What women's
voices are being heard?

Mariah Carey - Miss 'touch my body.'
Hillary Clinton
Oprah
Brittany Spears
The Simpson Girls
Hillary Duff
Hanah Montana
Katie Couric
Lindsey Lohan
(insert movie star actress here - and then ask yourself why she's famous)
The Desperate Housewives
The Brokeback Anatomy Chicks
Beyonce

These are the handful of women I hear about on a weekly basis. Not
what I would call a bunch of earned-my-respect women. As you turn on
the radio or watch TV - you can't help but notice the amount of songs
about sex lately (more specifically - songs about scantily clad women
who are being told to do rated R things - but no one seems to notice).
Find me a song where women are viewed as something precious - and not as something with a rear end who wants to 'take me home.' Good luck.

You can't help but notice how the women on TV have digressed. Women used to be upset with the 'animalistic nature' of men. Now the women on TV have become the real 'Animals' -
driven by sexual urges that they can't control. The age of the
men=animals is over (they may still be animals: but the women are too.
So it levels out I guess).

Good women roll models are hard to find these days - these days when
it should be a lot easier right?


If the Womens Liberation movement has succeeded - then what should you
see? I am guessing a country filled with women who are not questioned
any differently then men. If someone says, 'Sarah Palin can you be a good VP
and mom at the same time?' Then someone should also ask, 'Obama, can
you be a good father and a good P at the same time?'

If the Womens Liberation movement has succeeded - then the role models
in the society would be those that are respected for who they are and
the things they have done as a women. Not for their looks. Not for what they can do in bed.

If the Womens Liberation movement has succeeded - then women should be
shown on TV in respectful manners. They should not be the animals that
the men were once condemned for being.

Since the women are rallying for things, some of which are not
tangible, then how can we know if women in America are really as free
as they would hope they are? How can we know how far the women really have come?

I think the Womens Liberation movement has somewhat failed. And while
it may not be as bad as it was in the 60's - I don't think it has
gotten much better.

I'll show you.

(till the next blog)

Cheers

The Desert Ramada

For those of you who don't know, Cassie and I are in the process of getting our house built. During this time, we made a critical error and moved into a smallish apartment only slightly bigger than a jail cell - with a smaller head clearance.

And I have hated it. We don't even clean it well because it doesn't feel like home. It feels like some horrible place we have to sleep with the local gangsta thugs throwing parties below us.

It's not just that the place isn't clean. Cassie and I have found neither of us have the motivation to clean it. We simply don't care.

Example: If you had an old ugly beat up car - a Buick Riviera per say - an 80's model - you wouldn't spend days detailing the car so your friends could see you driving the polished clunker around. In fact, you try to avoid the clunker and slump down in your seat every time you drive it so that people wont know that you are the owner of the car that is fuming up the parking lot.

Anyways,
The confinement of the apartment has done some weird things to me. To us.

Did I mention we have a three month old in there with us?

And a Labrador?

And Kitty Master?

Chaos I tell you.
But I seem to be learning some things. Which is almost always the point of hard situations. You must learn something from them or the hard situation is just painful and worthless.

Marriage is hard (I don't mean it's not good. Its great. But you are living with another person all day every day. Its not easy. Great. But not easy). Harder when you live in a confined space. You have to really work on the whole 'patience and love' thing. You realize you have more sharp edges than you previously thought. And those sharp edges are bringing your spouse to tears. So you work on chiseling those edges down and making them smoother - more patient. More kind.

And the architectural plans keep getting delayed or put off. And the City of Arlington is super snobbish and nobody seems to know anything helpful - and they become a delay to themselves.

And Cassie holding my screaming child who is upset because he's crampy, comes to me in frustrated tears wondering when we are going to have a home. Because this tiny prison-like place isn't home. This isn't the place where we relax. This dump of an apartment is like an annoying extended-family member you put up with because you have to.

We drove by our old nice apartment last week and as we passed it on the freeway I casually noted to Cassie, 'Is it bad that our old apartment still feels like home? And I miss it?'

She agreed.

Wandering around in a desert isn't fun. Even when you didn't doubt God and your being there isn't some punishment. You know the Israelites doubted God and ended up in the desert for 40 years. Which is remarkable when you think about it.

I figure - if I was in the desert and I started walking to the west - eventually, before 40 years, I would end up somewhere with a beach. Say I walked 7 miles a day, every day for a year : that's 2,555 miles. That distance should get you somewhere right? Somewhere with a beach? And fun drinks with little straw hats?

But the Israelites were in the desert 40 years. Walking around in the sand. And sand works the edges off everything. You take a car (the dumpy 80's Riviera for example) and put it in the desert for a week. You'll come back and find the paint chiseled off, the rubber worn down, the windows scratched and the engine wont start.

Now imagine the look of people in the desert for 40 years. Hard core bunch of people I think. Skin like leather. Tough as nails. Wrinkly. Tan like cinnamon bread.

But these people know hardship. They have had the time to think about their decisions. To wonder what got them there. To wonder about what other things they should have done. They have learned to live with the annoying extended-family member and to do it with patience and kindness. They have learned mercy and forgiveness during their lengthy stay at the desert Ramada.

Sometimes going through a desert period of your life can be a good thing. A chance to become a better person. A chance to chisel your hard edges away. A chance to get to know your wife in a new way. A chance to love her better. A chance to discover the crazy little things you learn about a person living in a confined space for a time.

Maybe the desert isn't so bad. Maybe the limbo of being there is an opportunity to see who you really are. To see how you respond and react in certain situations.

To see how patient you are with God. Your vocabulary changes in a confined space. You become turk. Not like the Turkish people.
Maybe I mean curt. Yeah, Curt.
Very tart. Straightforward. No messing around. No adjectives. Unless they are colorful and attached to four and five letter words.
The real you comes out. No doubt about it. And Gods place in your life, the real place he sits - not just the place you tell others God sits, becomes rapidly apparent and obvious.

It might not be easy or fun. But then, even Jesus went into the desert for a while. And nobody will say his trip wasn't eventful. It wasn't easy. But it was eventful.

Maybe rather than complaining about the desert, the heat and the sand gathering in strange orifices... maybe you should just embrace it.

I said before - if you go through a hard time and learn nothing, than the experience was worthless. I think that's true.


So, may you find the sand not quite as bitter as you thought.

Obama & The Woman

Final Count:

Change: 15 times.
Hope: 6 times
Thank You: Lost count
Promise: 30+

While we watched the Obama speech the other night, the only way we could make it interesting was to play a sort-of drinking game minus the drink.

We all took bets. I bet that Obama would say 'change' 23 times and 'hope' 11 times. I lost the bet.

Obama fails me again. And he didn't even say 'Martin Luther King.' Which I had bet on as well. How can you not mention Martin Luther King? Obamas black. It was Kings anniversary.
He totally blew it there. And I probably wouldn't care as much except that I had bet on it and now I have to buy Cassie something nice.

Cassie in some sad turn of events beat me on all counts. Sometimes she is hard to live with.

Overall the speech was boring. It was proof that people can get themselves al worked up as long as you promise them things that are not tangible.

And just when I thought I couldn't be less interested in the current state of politics -



McCain chooses a woman as his running mate.
My thoughts:

Hillary must be ticked off - a hellish inferno of rage that the blasted Republicans chose a woman after her astonishing and close campaign against the current savior of the world Obama.

Hillary must also be laughing a little bit that Obama's thunder was stolen when he had a prime oppertunity to choose a woman himself and he blew it.

Sure, McCain is after some of the Hillary vote - no doubt about it.

But so far this woman - Mrs. Sarah Palin - is the best thing since sliced bread.



First of all - she rocks.
A mother of 5 including a downs baby. How totally awesome. She hunts moose. She knows how to use a gun. She was previously Mrs. Alaska. She lives in Alaska. Her husband works in the oil industry. And when she speaks, she isn't polished. She's like a mother teling her children how its gonna be.

She is such a fresh breath of air.

The only sad thing is I still have to listen to McCain, Obama drone on and on without substance, and watch Bidens overly-polished politicians face.

Is there anyway I can just vote for her?

The Green Beasty (Part Three)

Who hands are these under the earth?




OK.
So we are back at the beginning. God has made the world and man (Genesis 2:1- 2:7).

In 2:8 God plants an orchard called 'Eden' and then 2:15, "The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for and maintain it." The Hebrew word here ( pronounced shamar) could also mean "to work it and keep it."

Shamar is used hundreds of times throughout the Old Testament. Shamar is often used to mean "Protect , watch, guard, careful to keep, Pay attention, make necessary precautions, keep track, Be attentive, be careful, Take note, obey carefully, and so on.

So Adam is in the orchard in Eden and he is Shamaring.
It is interesting to note that here, Adams job is to maintain (all of the above) the trees in the orchard. It is not until he sins is Adam commanded (pronounced) that he will toil in the ground for all his days which happens in 3:17-19.

Now, I bring this up for a reason. God originally had a plan for man - to cultivate that which God had created. To maintain the orchard.

For those of you who don't know (I didn't know so I did some research) - maintaining an orchard isn't easy.
It requires pruning the trees. Checking the fruit. Seeing which trees are growing best. Finding the best soil. Aerating the soil. Fertilizing. Managing the pest population. And so on.

Adam had a tough job ahead of him.

So then, Adam and Eve blow it big time. For us too. And Adam is cursed to toil, making his food grow from the dirt with which he came. A truly sad and ironic turn of events.

And any good business manager will tell you, its easier to maintain than start something new.

But NOTICE this. Adam was originally put in Eden to maintain it. And he failed.

Now he is forced to work the ground. Toiling in dirt all day is a consequence. A punishment. But he must do so if he wants to survive. No more easy free living. No more maintaining fruit already growing nicely on trees.
Nope. He starts with seeds now. And everythings different.

I bring up this story for several reasons.
First, it is one of the only stories in the Bible where we see nature and man in their prime at the same time. Nature is blooming, man is maintaining it, and also benefits from eating the fruit. Its all good, even if for only a moment.

After the fall, the earth and nature aren't benefiting man. Not really. The ground is producing thistles and thorns, and man is having to work his little naked butt off to survive.

This is where we currently are. Or maybe where we should be. But indulge me for a moment in adding what could have come next in the story.


"Then Adam learned how to farm. He built big machines that could farm entire fields in hours. He discovered how to track fish and catch them hundreds at a time. And Adam over produced because he made a fortune selling his food to other people. And rather than working for what he needed - Adam got all he could. He lived by the motto - Get Rich or Die Trying."

Ok - true. Maybe a little far fetched.

But God made the garden, orchard, and put man into it. And man was given the responsibility to maintain it. And he failed.

Does his failure mean we also shouldn't do our part in maintaining nature as God has created it? Should we live by the philosophy - We do because we can?

I don't think so.

I think God's original setting is what we should be going for. Even if we can't achieve it fully. We should try to maintain, to take care of, to watch over nature.

But I can't just leave it at this. I have to make my final point.
God didn't put Adam in the garden to maintain it and worship the garden. To obsess about the garden. To put the garden above the one who created it.
It is easy to get so obsessed with trying to save a fallen world and in the process forget how all this nature got here to begin with.

And the really scary thing is this.

What do you think will tick God off more? Doing a crappy job at maintaining nature which he created? Or forgetting about God in the process of mission go-green?

To sum up.
We only have one world to live in. One world that produces that which humanity needs to survive. We should respect nature and do our part in Shamaring it. We shouldn't be overfishing, overproducing, overeating.
But most of all, we should honor the one who is the true provider - God. The one who created it all to begin with.

Peace out homies.

I'm Old.

Well, this month I celebrated yet another birthday. The Big 27.
And I hate feeling old and I try real hard to pretend that I'm younger. But the truth is dreadfully apparent.

1. I'm not sleeping through the night anymore. I'm lucky to get six hours of sleep without having to get up at some point to answer the call of nature.

2. My thought processes seem to be fuzzy. For example: Cassie and I thought it would be a smart idea to save money and move into a smaller apartment while our house is being built.

We moved into this apartment that resembles a rat nest. It has one bedroom - a tiny bathroom - a tinier living room - and a kitchen fit for a submarine. Cassie just informed me yesterday that we are going to have to move our mattress into the living room because our little angel Kohen needs an entire room for himself to sleep.
Also, when our little priest screams all day, there is no where to go to escape him in the apartment. Even Chloe (our black Lab) has requested to move to my parents house where she could escape all of us and swim in my parents pool all day. I told her I would move out and be in their pool long before I would let her. Cassie says we both need to shut up because the baby might hear us arguing and start screaming again.
So, Chloe, Kitty Master, and myself are all huddled in the bathroom arguing over who gets to move out first.
And let me remind you that somewhere in my mind this idea sounded ingenious back then and has turned into madness.
Secretly I have been checking the bathroom mirror to see if I might look different from day to day. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

3. My body doesn't recover like it used to. For example: I go running (and you all know how much I loathe running) and I feel it in my legs for the next 3 days. I hobble around like a cripple every night when Chloe needs to go in the grass. Its two in the morning and I look 80 years old, leaning on my neighbors bush for balance.
And who they heck are all these thugs wandering around my apartment at night? They're like mosquitoes buzzing everywhere, wandering from car to car with flashlights. Its really weird. you would think their mothers would have them in bed but no. Here they are, tapping the glass on my drivers side window with a flashlight looking for who knows what inside. Pants falling down, holding onto their crotch with one hand and cigarette in the other.
There are many moons in my apartment complex. Many many moons.

4. I'm so tired all the time that eating horrible McDonalds food doesn't sound so bad anymore. Beats cooking.

5. Our microwave broke when we moved and I still haven't bought another one. So now I look into the fridge and can find nothing to eat. Cassie says there is food in there. But it must be hiding behind the old milk or something cause all I see is pita bread and something in a Tupperware container I can't bring myself to open out of fear it might eat me.

6. The gym club people called me 'sir'. I should have smashed them but I'm supposed to be filled with love and mercy. I may smash them tomorrow anyway.

7. My sports car has become an inconvenience. Can't fit all three of us in the thing without feeling like Bobo the clown. Its practically a rebirth climbing out the back of that thing.

8. I keep making lists like this one. I do this because I am to tired to remember how I started without a list. Like leaving little bread crumbs behind me so I can regroup with my sanity should I get lost.

9. I have all these chores and lists of things to do and I never complete t

The Art of Perpetual Motion

I don't remember who (and that's probably a good thing), but somebody gave us this little blue bouncy seat for Kohen.

It sits on the floor of my living room. I place Kohen into the seat, press the button, and voile; it vibrates.

At first I thought this a wonderful piece of fine furniture. Kohen slept. I slept. The world was a happy place.

Until Kohen began screaming through the night.

And the day.

And the mid-morning.

And at Barnes & Noble.

And pretty much anywhere else I went.

Kohen screamed. I screamed. The world wasn't a happy place.

And then one day, during one hellish screaming fest, I bounced Kohen up and down in my arms.
And he stopped screaming.
Until I stopped bouncing him and he went right back to screaming notes only I and dogs could hear.

And I figured it out.

9 months in a bouncy womb + stupid vibrating blue chair = Kohen is only quiet when he is bounced.

So I am bouncing. And Cassie is bouncing. We're both bouncing like disturbing women in rap videos. And Kohen is quiet. And the world is a happy place.

Until Cassie's and my arms feel like they're about to fall off. And the screaming starts.

So we bought him this really expensive swing. It plays music and has five levels of fun swinging action.

And Kohen hates it.

Because it swings and doesn't bounce.

Kohen projectile vomits in the swings general direction.

And now we can't take it back to the store.

So we started bouncing him in our laps. And Kohen likes that.

So we're bouncing him in our laps. Kohen is happy. And the world is a pleasant place.

Until our arms and legs feel like they're about to mutiny and head to Mexico without us. Kohen's screaming. And the world isn't so great.


And thus, Cassie and I have developed the art of child in perpetual motion.

By the end of this, my biceps will be the size of Buicks.

The Green Beasty (Part Two)

First of all, I would like to begin by saying today is my 27th birthday.

May you rejoice and be glad in it.



Now, onto the Green Beasty.

My last blog talked about those in the group that believe creation happened as chance.

This one will focus on those who believe creation happened by intelligent design (meaning God, aliens, something with creative power that is not human).

This group believes that they and the rest of creation (the universe and earth and all in it) were created.

Not only created; but created on purpose with a purpose. That whatever intelligent being created them, they are here for a reason. This group has a much easier time in dealing with green issues for the simple reason that they fall back on their creator when it comes to these issues.

While the other group goes green out of fear and guilt, this group goes green out of an inherited responsibility and the fear of not following through with this responsibility.

The idea goes: Intelligent being creates Earth and man. The intelligent being leaves earth to man, that he should take care of it. Man takes care of the earth. For a while. Until Texas Tea is discovered. The world goes to pot. Pollution reigns. The intelligent being is ticked off with man for abandoning his responsibility. Intelligent being torches man.

So when it comes to tending to, cultivating, and taking care of the Earth; this group, because of its belief in intelligent design concerning creation, goes green because they feel the responsibility to do so.

Like when your mom tells you to take out the trash. You take it out.
When your boss tells you to prepare a presentation. You prepare it. And you prepare it well (if you want to keep said job).

Seriously, who wants to be the guy who destroys the Earth and then runs into Earth's creator. The creator says, 'What have you been up to?'

Stupid man - 'Oh. Not much. Just destroying what you created.'

'The Earth looks like crap now,' says the Creator.

'Yup.' says idiot man.

ZAP.

Idiot man no longer exists. (End of story)

So already, the presuppositions concerning creation that one brings to the issue of Global Warming, El Nino, Going Green, and such are first and foremost on the table.
You can't even start the conversation without seeing where the other person is coming from; chance or intelligent design.

But unlike those who believe he Earth was created by chance, those in this group have the problem then of figuring out the following:

1. What is my responsibility to this world?
2. What is my responsibility to its creator?
3. What are the consequences should I let the world go to pot?

And these are all good questions.
And this is where the people in this group go down their differing roads. The concept of intelligent design is broad, and all forms of God fit into this grouping. And Gods are different much to the dismay of the unitarians.

While I know about Buddhism and Islamic beliefs, I have decided not to focus on them for the remainder of this series. Mainly because I don't believe in either one of them.

Rather, I will focus on Christianity.

Till next blog,

Enjoy this fine and glorious day on the planet Earth, and may you remember my birthday. Oohrah.

The Green Beasty (Part One)

You can't help the constant onslaught of the media and the 'Going Green' Phenomena.

Perhaps you feel like I do; a hostage held at gunpoint seconds away from death should you accidentally throw your Coke can into the trash can instead of the recycling bin.

Maybe you've seen the bumperstickers -

"Going Green doesn't mean you have to love the Irish."

"Help Stop Global Warming: Shut Your Ozone Hole."

"McDonalds Isn't Food."

"Love Your Mother Earth."

"Humans Aren't the Only Species on Earth - We Just Act Like It."

"Plants and Animals are Disappearing to Make Room for Your Fat @$$."

"Insatiable is not Sustainable."

"May the Forest Be With You."

And so on and on and on and on ......

You can't turn on the TV anymore without someone propagating Global Warming - The Ozone Layer - Recycling - and how we should all drive less, ride bicycles more, pay more for gas, and revert back to the 1800's and save future generations.

So Global Warming is a big issue. A green issue. Its leafy some might say.

(A Rabbit Trail That I Must Indulge for a Moment)

It is ironic that people hate having people show up at their door, witnessing and so forth, standing on street corners and such; people in general hate being preached to.
And yet the 'Going Green' crowd invades every form of media on a daily basis shoving its mucous-colored hand down our throats at every available opportunity.
And on top of that, we are supposed to like it.
I just saw 'Walle' and its every bit as bad as 'The Happening.' The whole movie is propaganda on overconsumption and how fat people are destroying the world with their garbage. Is this the death of Pixar?

(Conclusion of rabbit trail)

But rather than going on and on (like the wacko environmentalists) ranting about the ludicrous nature, intrusion, and obnoxiousness of the 'Going Green' movement, I decided to be productive and figure out what the Bible says about the World, taking care of it, and how it relates to Global Warming, Going Green, and the Destruction of Mankind.

As I sat down to begin, I realized that this study would take far more time to write than one blog, so I spaced it out into several; and I truly hope that you will find this article beneficial (Its always encouraging to discover that there are sane people still living in this ridiculous world.)

The First Issue to address is creation.

Why?

Well, there are two groups of people in the world: those who believe the world was created by some sort of intelligent design (God - Aliens - something other than humans); and then those who believe everything was created by chance, a big bang, evolution, Darwin, something organic.

This article will not dive into my view of creation - but this must be addressed first and foremost because everything else concerning this argument truly lies here. YOU CANNOT ADDRESS THIS ISSUE WITHOUT FIRST HAVING A PRESUPPOSITION CONCERNING CREATION.

“The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic” -Charles Darwin

Those that believe the world was just created by chance group mankind into the organic beings category. My Science book from college states that humans are mammals (yes, at a Christian University). While humans may be superior to all the other creatures, we are not really different. We are organic masses that grow, mature, reproduce, and die like everything else. So humans, the dogs, platypuses, and rhino's are all on equal footing according to those who believe in creation by chance.

All the other beings in the world, mammals included, live in harmony with the Earth and what's in it. In the movie the Matrix, Mr. Smith says, 'Every living being on this planet creates an equilibrium with its environment.' (Or something like that.)

“We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities... still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.” - Charles Darwin

But not humans. Humans consume natural resources, burn gas, make more food than they can eat, drink more than they can drink, cut down trees, dump oil into the ocean, and throw plastic six-pack rings into parks where birds heads get stuck in them and die. Sometimes this happens to baby dolphins too when the plastic rings get hurled into the ocean.

Humans are basically a virus on this planet - consuming everything in its way.

So those that believe the world was created by chance are consumed by guilt (that they are destroying everything) or by fear (that their children wont survive in the gaseous fumes of the ruined earth) - and think that we should all do everything possible to save the planet - save it now darn it!

Guilt or fear.

“The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference” - Charles Darwin

I narrowed it down to guilt and fear because no other mammal (or other species) on this planet cares about anything but itself and its spawn. You don't see elephants running off to save giraffes. You don't see baboons lift a finger to help the gazelle that's being torn apart by a lioness.

And sine humans are mammals, we should only care about ourselves and out spawn as well. And this is evident in the culture around us. It is every man for himself.

This is what Darwin taught us after all right? Survival of the fittest.
The only problem is, survival of the fittest doesn't leave people with a reason other than guilt or fear to save this planet. To go green.

You can't call it love. Lions don't love the earth. They need it. We don't love the earth. But oxygen is pretty darn important for my survival.

In the end, if it is a decision between my survival (and comfort) and the Earth, my survival will win out every time.
And if it was between your survival and the earth - you would choose you as well you selfish person. Thats the truth. Thats Darwin for you. Its easy to care when it doesn't hurt you. But once you can't afford to drive to work anymore because of the $20.00 gas prices - we'll see how loyal you really are to not drilling off the coast of Florida.

Now I say all of this, not as condemnation for those in this group, but as the logical procession of thought according to how this view of creation must see the world.

“I was a young man with uninformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything; and to my astonishment the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion of them.”- Charles Darwin

Now, lets move on to the second group.

The Happening

This blog began as one thing and in turn, led me to something else entirely. Last Friday night, I went to the theater ( a huge one that costs $9.50 for a ticket) with my gorgeous wife and sister and brother (that's $38.00 bucks before drinks and popcorn) to see M. Night Shyamalan's new movie

'The Happening.'

Let me begin by saying that overall, I am an M. Night fan. Sixth Sense was a great and scary movie. Signs was also very good. While Unbreakable didn't do to well in the box office, the cinematography and soundtrack was great and I really liked it.

Lady in the Water was the worst thing ever. But all good people should be allowed mistakes.

Michael Mann has Miami Vice.
Spielberg has the new Indiana Jones movie that totally doesn't live up to par.
Peter Jackson has King Kong which should have been edited down another 45 minutes.

So all that to say, I wanted to give good ol M. Night a break. After all, unlike the rest of these guys, M. Night writes his own stuff. You have to give the man his due credit.

(SPOILER ALERT:) I am going to divulge a critique here and I will discuss the ending - read further to your own peril.


The Happening easily has some of M. Night's most scary scenes ever. It is filmed in a very scary way, and although most of the movie occurs in the middle of a bright afternoon, the disturbing nature of the movie keeps a steady suspense throughout.

And I would have left the theater happy -

I would have gone home with a smile on my face -

I would not have vented and raged to everyone in the movie theater parking lot and in general made a huge spectacle of myself -

Had I not watched the last 10 minutes of the movie.

I would have been ok without an explanation of why things happened in the movie. (Stories these days are not required to answer every question).

But no.

M. Night blows it. In the last ten minutes, he preaches. Which good story tellers should NEVER DO (which is why Christian movies perform horribly at theaters and everywhere else).

Mr. Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan blames the entire thing on global warming, the movie serving as a warning to all those driving SUV's.

I was so ridiculously furious with paying so much money to watch propaganda. I am so HUGELY sick of having 'global warming' and 'going green' shoved down my throat on a daily basis.

And there I was, paying a fortune to eat the crap-movie up.


Walking out to my SUV with everybody else in the theater walking out to their SUV's that we have all filled with $4.10 gasoline/gallon -
I felt several question pass through my head.

Why do people believe this stuff?
If I continue buying gasoline for my car are the trees going to kill me?
What is my true responsibility to this earth?
Who does the earth belong to?
Can I get my money back from the theater?

And it is that third question that struck me - What is my true responsibility to this earth? Doesn't God say something about it to me? What does God think about all this global warming - Al Gore - Hollywood bandline - shove it down your throat - we're all going to die - end of the world - going green thing?

And I would love to write my thoughts here but it occurred to me -

I haven't spent enough time studying the Bible on this issue to really give my answers yet.

So that's what I'm doing now and I'll get back to you.


and oh, when it comes to The Happening - rent it maybe, skip the last ten minutes, or just don't.

Cheers.

The Boy Who Never Sleeps

My mom always says to me, 'Chason, say something profound.' As if this isn't already a hard enough task. But lately, with Boy-Who-Never-Sleeps, it is impossible.

It is impossible to say anything even remotely intelligible. The other night when looking for the pacifier at 3 am, I caught myself saying, 'Yes, but, that's not where it be.'

So maybe I could be a rap artist after all.

So the big question of the day is, 'What is Kohen mad about?'

This is multiple choice you have a 1/3 chance.

a. He is poopy.
b. He is hungry.
c. He enjoys being upset.
d. I am trying to have a phone call and he enjoys watching me squirm.
e. He wants to be held.
f. Hillary appeared on the TV and scared him.
g. He is afraid that Shymalan's new movie 'The Happening' will be as bad as 'Lady in the Water.'
h. He wants to see how long his parents can remain awake and still dress themselves.




Last night he shot out the side of his diaper and drenched his mother. The mother then handed the blessed child to the father who changed the diaper and got shot in the chest. Then after the third diaper, the father fed the blessed child from a bottle, as is customary in those days, and the child not only threw-up the entire bottle, but everything in his system all over the father.

And the father was well pleased at the overall distance of the projectile vomit.

I have learned that my brain feels like cotton-candy lately. It can neither think nor sleep. Which would be awesome if I was on the battelines somewhere. But I'm not.

Well, geez. Boy-Who-Poops is calling again. Gotta go.

Cheers

Success or Failure

I was out jogging yesterday.

Lets stop for a moment and discuss my disdain for the sport of jogging. I hate it. Absolutely hate it. The reason?

Because there is no reason.

I can play soccer or football, tag, ultimate Frisbee, race, whatever...and I can do all these things because I have a reason. If you don't run faster than the other guy, you wont catch the ball, and then you wont win. I can run all afternoon if I am trying to win something.

But to run laps? Its all so pointless. I feel like a gerbil or hamster in a cage running on the spindly run-in-place-circle-thing. Even with headphones on listening to angry music (yes it must be angry and preferably someone should scream every now and then to release my frustrations) its still mind-numbing.

I count the laps, one - two - three

and the whole time I'm thinking, 'Chason, you're 26 years old. Your metabolism is gone buddy. Let it die in peace. Embrace the obese community. At least they're happy, sitting at home watching Wheel of Fortune. You don't see them doing laps do you? No, you don't. Now stop this jogging business and go order a pizza.'

Anyways,

Back to the reason for this blog.

I was running my laps like a good hamster and I was thinking about the present church-situation, and I was wondering about the church's success in America, Texas, Dallas. I mean Christianity is huge business these days. Tons of retail stores, cool shirts, and you hear all about the 'Evangelical' vote in the news with the election coming up.

It sorta reminds me of the horrible 'Biosphere' movie, in that, people can actual live their entire lives inside the 'Christian bubble and culture' without ever coming out for anything. Yes ladies and gentlemen, unlike ever before in the history of man (except for maybe the crusades and the entire English history and Catholic church thing), Christianity is selling big.

And so as I ran my laps I was wondering, 'How do I know that the church in America is so successful?'

I thought to myself, Cassie and I have lived in this apartment for two years (we move out in 2 weeks OohRah). And I thought to myself, if I hadn't gone to any church on my own, and physically walked into the building of my own accord, would I have any clue of there being a church near where I live? Would I have any idea of the state of Christianity in those churches in my areas? Would I have a grasp of what is going on as far as the evangelical movement goes if I didn't physically walk into the doors between 9 and 12 on a Sunday morning?

I live at the corner of two major free ways; the Dallas North Tollway, and George W. Bush Turnpike. Within 5 miles of my house are at least 10 churches that I know of, and of those, Prestonwood church is one. Prestonwood is a huge church (my graduation ceremony was held there. Their choir practice room seats over 400 people).

I throw out that fact because in my two years of living here, I have never been contacted by anyone, any church, or any evangelical event.

Now, the Obama people came to my door during dinner, like bad Aamway salesmen, and they tried to spread Obama's HOPE and CHANGE to my life. And I hated it, plus The Office was on and this was before the baby came and I wasn't so tired that The Office was still hilarious. So I really wanted the Obama people to leave.

Lets face it, I can't think of anyone who gets excited when strangers show up at the door selling something. (Yes I know what you're thinking, 'Christians aren't selling anything.' But in a way, all the techniques are the same and if I can't tell the difference between the Christians, Mormons, and the Aamway people - they're all selling something).

So I thought to myself, 'If I don't want people to show up at my door during dinner, then how else would they contact me?'

The only thing I came up with was via the United States Post Office. But stamps are expensive these days and I haven't had time to invest in the Forever-stamp and the prices are going up again and...

So I was baffled. I didn't want people at my door and I haven't received any mail from any church. So how do I know the church in America, Texas, Dallas, the Tollway, is successful today?

Well what is the church supposed to be doing exactly anyway?

And I remembered Matthew 28:19 & 20 which pretty much sums it up in a nutshell.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

So I was running and thinking about all this and here's what I came up with. The church's (and by this I mean the churches in my area - it may not be national and it certainly isn't international) strategy is to get people in their doors. If you don't get in their doors they aren't going to do much good for you. And I can see why they don't invest a lot in going door to door. People hate that right? So they focus inwardly and build huge buildings with children's programs and Upward basketball, and soccer programs, and design cool coffee bars inside the church walls with free wifi, and on and on...

All this to get people in. Then their strategy takes on a new form once they have people within the door.

Now, without being too critical of the churches in this area, after all, they are filled with brothers and sisters in Christ and I don't want to give off the more-holy-than-thou feel.

But if no one has contacted me in any way, then it is not too hard to believe that the other 239 apartment units in my complex have not been contacted either. And the 2000 units in the complexes across from me and beside me haven't been reached either.

So then I was thinking that the church was really closer to a failure then. But who's fault is that really?

I'm thinking now that in many ways it is mine. And other Christians living in the complex like me.

If people don't want people showing up door to door, the only way they are going to hear about Jesus is through relationships. The neighbor beneath me. The lesbians down the hall from me. The girl with the loud boxer two doors down who lives with her boyfriend. The broken New Orleans family who just moved away.

The success and failure of the church, Christianity, the evangelical movement cannot possibly be judged by its large buildings and created culture. In many ways I think it cannot be measured at all. Because its success lies on the responsibility of myself to communicate with those in my sphere of life.

So when we crest over the hill up the street at Park and Midway Rd. and I see the Mecca like dome in the distance that is Prestonwood church, I wonder how many of its members are just trying to get people in their giant building. And in the process of this, I wonder how many people are being missed in suburbs and apartment complexes everywhere around and between the streets from one huge church to the next.

Is the church today, successful? I hope so. And I hope to step up to the plate and contribute. I hope you do too.

Cheers.




(I recognize this blog is long enough already but I think some clarification may be needed. I do not think that church programs of themselves are wrong. However, the real battle over the success of the Gospel in America does not lie within church buildings, but in the seas of people who never step foot in those polished doors. Therefore, while programing does provide ways of advertisement and incentives to draw people into their buildings, they fail as well, in that they appear to the surrounding community as just that - advertisements and incentives. Which is no different than Aamway or Abercrombie & Fitch.)

Baby Begins

Allow me to establish some ground rules.

1. I am not liable for anything I may say after being awake for four days on account of the baby.

2. If I put a diaper on backwards because my eyes no longer see straight - it is OK. The diaper still works.

3. No one can condemn me for my house being a mess.

4. If my hair turns grey prematurely, I would appreciate if everyone would pretend like its not.

5. If you are whining and I reach over and start bouncing you up and down, you should not take it as sexual harassment.

6. Do not ask me to speak about love, mercy, or patience anytime within the next two months.

7. If the baby gains weight, so do I. Please pretend not to notice.

8. Boxer shorts look a lot like normal shorts in the dark. If you see me in the parking lot in 'the Benjamin's' - look the other way out of courtesy.

9. Never before has Obama been of less interest to me, don't expect me to talk about him anytime soon.

10. After four days of insomnia, 'The Office' is no longer funny. In fact, Michael Scott whining sounds a lot like the baby.

Tread softly people. The Captain here with 'Special K' is seriously impaired.

Cheers.

King Spencer Recap

Well, it is about time for the latest installment of King Spencer.



For those of you who don't know much about King Spencer, it was a story that began many many months ago about a Lion who ruled the city of Eklo.

Eklo had its share of problems, the poor didn't always get taken care of, the sick didn't always get fed, and people there weren't always happy. In fact, it seemed to King Spencer that the city was never perfect, that no matter how hard he tried, things never worked out the way he wanted them to.



Then one day, a fat Hippo showed up in the city and told everyone about a city called Thotwel - a city that did it all right. This city had everything, its own food, its own culture, its own rules and customs.



Thotwel sounded so good to the townsfolk of Eklo, that they all left King Spencer in hope for a better life in the new, bigger, better city.



Eventually, King Spencer visited Thotwel himself - and found things were a lot different than he imagined. Especially the King of Thotwell, a scheming racoon named Bobby.

Bobby had it all figured out. If people all did the same, acted the same, ate the same, walked the same (and so on and so forth); than a paradise city could be established. So Bobby set off to create such a city - but one problem stood in his way.

In order for Thotwel to work, all the other cities had to be wiped out (otherwise there would be too much diversity in the land, too many decisions and differences for a real Utopia to work).

And so Eklo was just another city to be destroyed to make Bobby's dream possible.

But then, King Spencer met a noble Golden Retriever named Thomas who instructed Spencer to never give up. And with Thomas' encouragement and guidance ringing in his ears, King Spencer has set off home -

to rebuild Eklo

and to take care of that scheming raccoon, Bobby.





That's the recap people. For those of you who would like to read the entire story, you gotta page back in history for all the King Spencer saga (all the blogs start 'King Spencer...')

Thanks for all you readers that have made King Spencer a hit.

I'll keep them coming as long as you enjoy reading them.

The next issue of Spencer will show up tomorrow.

Till then,
Cheers.

Paco's Lil Nino

Well friends, Kohen is finally home. And it is far greater than I imagined. So far today, he has made poopy diapers, eaten, eaten some more, and slept. And strangely enough, I find this highly entertaining.

Which is great because after watching the season finale of Grey's Anatomy I have been considering throwing my TV off my second floor balcony (henceforth the show will be called Brokeback Anatomy and grouped in with Disgusting Housewives, Dancing with the Naked Stars, and Sleeping with Everyone in the City).

But then, I remembered the small joy I find in my XBOX 360 (which requires a TV and thus saved the Sanyo from its crushing death) and I was so excited at the thought of Paco Wont Beg having his Lil Nino playing with him!!!

Of course, this is probably a long ways off, because the controller is bigger than the lil nino's head. But you can never start them too soon.

I also got him his first soccer ball, and I was excited about that too.


But now that the dust has sorta settled, (I say this entirely loosely considering I can't remember the last time I slept more than two hours without waking up), I thought I would tell you about the two epiphanies I had the night Kohen was born.

The first has to do with Kohen's delivery.
Cassie and I talked a great deal about birthing methods, and we didn't really share our thoughts with other people so as not to upset them if theirs were different. We both wanted to go the natural route, skip the epidural and drugs, didn't want to induce, and wanted Kohen to come in his own time.

Of course we understood the need for emergencies and so forth. We weren't arrogant enough to think we could plan the whole thing out. Well maybe a little.

We attended the Lamaze class for 12 hours, watched all the horrible movies, practiced breathing hard, I wore the sympathy suit (which hurts a man a lot more than the ladies might think). We did it all so that when the time came and Cassie's water broke (just like in the movies) and Chason drove 130 mph down the street to get to the hospital, we would know how to work through the pain and have a natural birth.

And then Kohen came. The entirely non-natural way. As if to say, 'That's really great and all Chason, but let me take all the control and power you thought you had, and show you how powerless you really are.'

And then there was the 15 minutes in hell, where the doctors took Cassie (Kohen still inside) and left me in the hall outside the operating room alone. And that is where these epiphanies occurred.

In desperate moments, all the frills and eloquence in my prayers goes out the window. I just blurt things out. And I was panicking. And I was reminded of this song I wrote in high school - it was about this family going into the hospital and the mother struggling and dying and the baby comes out and it's just the father and baby alone.

I still remember all the words and chords. And several months ago I was playing through this song and I thought it was too sad. So I changed the words where everybody lived.

And it was this song that came flooding into my mind during the 15 minutes in hell. And I was pleading with God saying, 'You can't do this. I changed the words. Everything was supposed to be OK. This can't happen. You can't let this happen.'

Which is not entirely rational, but the moment wasn't entirely rational either.

And I was thinking, 'Nothings going right here. This is all wrong.' And the tears were coming down my face and I told myself I gotta pull myself together because Cassie was going to look into my face and if she saw my eyes teary she would lose it.

So I started pacing back and forth. 'Pull yourself together Chason. Pull yourself together.'

And then, the next thoughts I had struck me as even more absurd.

'None of your friends had their babies this way! The number one thing you didn't want was a C-section! And here you are! Doesn't God know how important this was to you? Doesn't he know how frustrated you are right now? Does he even care? How come other people can induce early, schedule their babies birth like a business meeting, and everything can go fine? But you can do everything right - plan everything right - and this happens!'

And this little rant went on for a few moments until I was ushered into the room.

I still can't answer these questions with a true amount of satisfaction. But when Kohen was placed on the table (breathing bad and looking worse), for just a small moment it was like I could see so much more of what was going on in the world. How trivial so much of it is. I think I take life too much for granted sometimes.

I mean, here I was freaking out over a C-section and the trauma, and I was actually upset because things weren't going MY way.

It's so sad, and I know it is. And before you think that I am pathetic, know that you do it too.

It's so easy to forget that God has plans in the world that don't always correspond with ours. And sometimes his plans don't make much sense to us in the present moment. Sometimes hard and traumatic stuff happens - and in these moments we capture a glimpse of who we really are - how self-absorbed we really are.

And then when Kohen was on the table it was like someone whispered in my ear, 'Hey Chason, to raise this kid right, you have to let all that go. You have to live for other people here. You have to give yourself and your wants, and all the ways you think things should be, and let it all go. After all , it was never really in your hands to begin with.'

Sad. Four years in Seminary and I still don't have this little fact down.


And that brings me to the second epiphany.

God, the Father, sent Jesus into the world - and he arrived in an unexpected fashion; a little boy coming from non-wealthy parents, with not a cardboard box to call his own. No one expected him to come in this way.

Just like I expected Kohen to come a different way.

But God had a plan for Jesus all along. And, as a proud father now, I can honestly talk about the bizarre thing that happens when you look down into your son's eyes. You just love him so dang much.

You don't even know him yet, but you love him so much anyway. He's been in the world ten minutes and you can't bear to see the world without him. It's such a crazy thing. No other love is like this.

I didn't love Cassie the moment I met her. The love started growing then and it continues to grow now. But there was a time that love wasn't.

But the love for your own son is already there, the moment he's there.

And the more amazing thing is - that God knew the entire time that Jesus' whole purpose was the cross. That his son was going to die in an agonizing and horrible way.

And that this death was necessary for a bunch of people who weren't worth rags. A bunch of people that hated him and still do.

You know, they teach you in Sunday school (or perhaps I should call it ABF because it's cooler and hipper and newer) all about God's love.

But I don't think I ever truly grasped the ridiculous size of this love until the other day, in the ICU, when I first got to hold Kohen.



Well, more later. But may you catch a glimpse of this ridiculously huge love today.

Cheers.

Kohen's Going Home

That's right ladies and gentlemen; after 5 days in ICU, Kohen has finally been given the green light to go home tomorrow.

Since Cassie and I haven't really been around the house much the last week - going home will be great.

If I ever see the inside of the Baylor ICU again, it will be too soon.

But right now, it is late and I am going to try to get some rest on this fold out chair the hospital calls a bed and dream about the bills Kohen has wrapped up during his short little life and hope it isn't as much as my college tuition.

Good night all you 15-minute geniuses.

Cheers

Kohen Update

Just wanted everyone to know that Cassie was discharged today. She's doing really well and glad to be home.

Kohen is still in ICU - he's doing really well though. Cassie and I fed him today for the first time. It was loads of fun.

Hopefully, we can bring him home tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest.

Thanks for all your prayers.


Cheers.

Kohen's Arrival

Wow.

The story about Kohen's entrance into the world, now that the aftermath isn't quite so scary.

Well, It started on the morning of the 22nd. For some reason (providence) Cassie and I woke up and decided that we should probably start taking our 'hospital' stuff with us wherever we went. So we packed up six small bags (which weighed 100 lbs that I had to carry) and loaded them into the truck.

We drove to Arlington so that I could work at the office on our house plans. I worked from about 10 am to 5 pm. Then I went over to my parents house where Cassie was waiting.

We decided to grill hamburgers and I began getting stuff ready for the grill. Cassie disappeared to the restroom for a little while.

When she came out, she found me and whispered, 'We need to go now. Like now.'

After the shock absorbed, I grabbed my stuff and into the truck we went. Cassie was panicking a little bit because she was bleeding a lot.

I thought that must be normal. So we called the doctor who thought it was probably normal, thinking her water had broken, and the doc told us to go home and monitor the bleeding.

For some strange reason (providence) I felt compelled to not go home. Instead I took Cassie to downtown, near the hospital. I figured, heck, if her water broke, we can monitor the bleeding from some restaurant and wait to see if Cassie went into labor.

But, Cassie was still bleeding. A lot. Through her clothes.

So I pulled over at Target and bought her some big, loose gym pants. She changed in the Target bathroom, but it took her thirty minutes because she couldn't stop bleeding.

When she came out, She was already bleeding through the pants.

At this time I decided it was an emergency and we went to the hospital down the street. I figured she was probably not supposed to be bleeding this much, and it was way more blood than water.

Sorry for the details.

Anyways, we got her checked into the hospital and into a room by 7:30 pm. A nurse hooked up the baby monitors by 7:40.

Our midwife/doctor showed up by 7:45.

She (the doctor) took one look at the baby's monitor and her expression was a frown. She quickly pulled on some gloves and checked Cassie out.

Then a kind of whirlwind hit.

Five nurses came in all at once and began doing all sorts of things; a sonogram, blood counts, IV, and other stuff.

Our doctor paged the C-Section doctor.

Now, in case you didn't know, a C-section was the last thing Cassie and I wanted.

But when Cassie was busy with a nurse, our midwife snuck over to me and told me that a C-section was necessary because there was a very serious, life and death problem with the baby.

She told me she wanted me to know so that I could be strong when she told Cassie.

This is me being strong.

So she told Cassie who didn't really absorb any of it but looked at me through the oxygen mask. I could tell she was in shock.

And she kept bleeding like crazy.

They whisked her into the operating room within 5 minutes. Brought me in a couple minutes later after the epidural.

And at 8:34 pm we had a baby.

He was great, but was breathing really fast so they took him up to the NICU.

Cassie's blood pressure sky rocketed to 155 over 99.

This is me being strong again.

As it turns out, 40 percent of Cassie's placenta had ripped away from the wall causing massive bleeding everywhere.

The baby, under serious pressure, pooped in the womb and his heart started dropping really fast.

Which is why we went into surgery so fast.

Had we not gone into surgery when we did, the doctors think Kohen would have swallowed more bad stuff. Cassie's bleeding didn't stop until an hour or so after the surgery, when they gave her pitocen to stop the bleeding.

So for about an hour, life was horrible and scary, and there were at least ten doctors in the room at one point, and it was very hard to see them shoving tubes and stuff all into the baby and Cassie.

But now, everything is going well. The baby's breathing is great. Cassie's blood pressure is back to normal.

And we have a lot to be thankful for.

Cheers guys.

Kohen's Here!!!!

Freebird Conquered

Yes, I recognize that I am 26 years old.

I recognize that any day now I will have a kid.

I recognize that there are a million other things that I could have been doing.

BUT I CONQUERED GUITAR HERO 2 ON EXPERT!

That includes defeating the monster song 'Freebird.'

I had sweat pouring down my face, my shirt arm pits were soaked, my fingers trembled, and I could feel my smile growing as I conquered the hardest part of the song and new that victory was immanent.

I beat the song with 86% of the notes.

After it was over and threw my arms up into the air and rejoiced - and then I called six people just to gloat (they didn't really care but I appreciate their efforts and congratulations).

I kept waiting for the news van to pull up and interview me. Sadly they never came.

Maybe I should call them and let them know I am awesome....

So now, I have to go buy Guitar Hero III!

Cheers

Juno and Raising Children

So I watched Grey's Anatomy the last couple of weeks (or it should probably more appropriately be called 'Brokeback Anatomy' - Two dudes made out two weeks ago - and two women last week.'

The show was about how 'McSteamy' was in trouble because all the hundred nurses were boycotting his surgeries because he slept with them all because he is a 'man whore.'

So McSteamy becomes a sad man whore.


Then, I watched the movie Juno. After all they hype I expected it to be good. After watching it I felt a deep sense of sadness.

Sure the film was done really well, but the ending was so tragic to me. The child is viewed the entire movie as an inconvenience that Juno can't bring herself to abort because the child has fingernails.

So she has the child.
Her parents are shocked that she's sexually active.
The two 'adoptive parents' have issues - the woman is obsessed with motherhood and the father wants to run away with Juno.

And somehow along the way Juno realizes her deep love for the idiot nerd who got her pregnant in the first place.

(SPOILER ALERT)

And the movie ends with Juno in the hospital with her teenage lover, their baby in the arms of another woman, and Juno's mom promising that next time Juno can have the baby on her terms in her time.

So babies are now viewed like my McDonald's meal? Get when you order them, hot and fresh. If you don't like it, get rid of it?

Sacrifice babies for convenience?


But the thing that bothers me the most is the language used by all the young people in the movie. Perhaps I have grown up modest, I would prefer to think I have grown up with a certain sense of respect for sex and the human body.
But these kids throw around words for sex and bodily functions like the would talk about their silverware.

The innocence, purity, and wonder of sex and the human body is completely lost on these kids. Everything is exposed. everything is out there. And that's the way they view the norm.

Of course, they would call it 'enlightenment' or even 'honesty'. But the whole view of sex, the body, the miracle of children, is viewed through this movie in a distorted fashion.

This is not the way I believe God intended us to behave concerning these areas.

Which brings me back to the state of TV. You have Brokeback Anatomy, Dancing with the Stars where the women dress like whores and strippers and I can't watch without feeling dirty, Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City -

And I think that there is no going back.

The innocence is gone, and I am afraid it's gone forever.

Forty years ago it was an amazing thing for Beaver to hold some girls hand. Maybe even a kiss on the lips.

Now, you have Mr. Big.

And this frightens me because I am about to have a kid any day now and I want him to experience sex with its purity and innocence attached. I want him to know that just because he knows all the human body parts and functions by their medical names, he doesn't have to use them a hundred times a day. I want him to know that he doesn't need to be obsessed with breasts and sex, and listen to music about strippers and poles and Kodak moments like the rap song I heard last night.

And right now, I have no idea how to do that.

Are we all to be 'enlightened' now? Are we all supposed to know everything about everyone and talk about it?

Am I going to find condoms and little blue pills in small packages next to my salt and pepper?




I guess I will find out soon enough.