Story Time Tuesday ~ Return of the Skunk

This is a sequel to last Tuesday's post so if you haven't read it or if you need a recap, click here. Last week's story happened when I was 13. This week's story happened only a little over a year ago.

I woke up one morning to a horrible smell. It smelled like a skunk was cooking garlic and burning tires. I thought a skunk had been run over in the street outside my apartment. It was so bad I couldn't go back to sleep. So I got up took my shower, had breakfast, and got ready for work. I figured it was going to be a normal day, until I got to work.

I saw my co-workers standing around probably talking about the latest episode of LOST. I'm a fan of the show so I thought I would get in on the conversation. A few moments later someone spoke up and said "Whew, I smell skunk." I immediately knew it was me, but I said "It's probably Kathy again" (Names have been changes to protect the innocent). I had heard a story about how Kathy had been skunked about a year earlier. But it didn't take them long to figure out it was me.

I decided to leave and use some vacation time so my co-workers didn't have to suffer. It was so humiliating, but I knew Kathy could sympathize with me. It was kind of nice to have a day off from work, but I knew I had a lot of work to do at home to get rid of the smell. The funny thing is, I didn't smell anything on the way to work. I never would have shown up had I known. But I definitely smelled it when I got home.

I lit all the candles, burned incense, and opened all the windows. This was in February in Pennsylvania by the way. I washed ALL my clothes and doused all of my furniture in Febreeze. Then I did some research online to find better ways to get rid of skunk smell. There were plenty of methods and I went with soaking pieces of paper towel in Pine-Sol and placing them all over the apartment. It seemed to help.

I went to my Bible study later that evening. I wasn't sure if the smell was gone. I wasn't sure if the moment I walked into the room someone would yell "I smell Satan!" and start trying to cast demons out of me. Seriously though, I don't attend that kind of Bible study. No one seemed to notice, and I couldn't smell anything. Then I asked a little while later if anyone smelled skunk. Nobody did. So that made me feel better.

It took months for the smell to leave the house but at least it didn't follow me wherever I went. I still don't know to this day what happened, but I think a skunk may have sprayed in or near the house and the smell traveled through the ventilation and went into every room.

So that's my story. I have a thought though. I wonder if the skunk in this story was the offspring of the skunk in last week's story. If I had never saved the skunk with the bottle on its head, would the event in this story ever have happened? What if I traveled back in time and stopped my thirteen year old self from saving the skunk and then before traveling back to the present I would tell my thirteen year old self to put every last penny I had into a company called Google that would be established a few years later, oh yea, and I would also tell myself "Don't you EVER try to teach your little sister how to golf." (Next week's story, perhaps) Or if I met my thirteen year old self the universe would implode. Either way, the event in this story could have been avoided through the use of time travel.

Alright, I'm done being a dork now. See you tomorrow for Artsy Fartsy Wednesday.

I Hate Mondays! ~ Check THIS Out!

Remember when the self checkout machines started showing up in grocery stores? They were the coolest things ever, like they were from }}}THE FUTURE{{{ (those symbols are supposed to denote an echoey voice). Yea, those things were great, at least the first few times I used them. Then I started to notice that they can be very rude and mean.

Sometimes I would start scanning some items and then next thing you know the conveyor belt reverses and the computer says "Pick up the item, and try again!" in a very stern voice. I never thought I'd see the day when a machine would get snippy with me. Or sometimes the computer would say "The bagging area is full, bag some items before scanning more items". Well, where's the bagging robot? Did he call off sick?

It did this to me one time after I had scanned my last item. It wouldn't even let me pay until I cleared the belt. So I went down and bagged everything and left. When I got home I unpacked all my groceries. Then I looked for the receipt so I could log it in my checkbook. I couldn't find it. Then I realized I forgot to pay. So I rushed back to the grocery store. Needless to say, they were glad I came back. They had my information because I had used my shopper's club card and they got my information from the computer. I had returned to the store just before they called the police. It kind of felt like a set-up, like the computer was trying to frame me. It distracted me and I'll bet as soon as I left the store without paying it started yelling "Thief, thief!"

So I try not to use them anymore. I'd rather interact with a person than a machine. People have become too disconnected from each other because of so many machines and gadgets. It seems the more we use machines, the more we become like them. We become desensitized, apathetic, routine, too logical...

One of the last times I used a self checkout machine was when I was in a hurry. I had one item and all the other registers had long lines. There was one self checkout left open. So I scanned my item and put it on the conveyor belt. Then the belt reversed and the computer said "Wait for assistance" I could have sworn it sighed before it told me to wait for assistance as if what it really wanted to say was "Wait for assistance you moron. You obviously don't know that I am an advanced piece of machinery and you can't just go swiping bar codes any way you like. You have to do it my way, with grace and elegance. I'm going to call one of my slaves over to show you how to do it the right way, now wait here." I'm pretty sure that's what it wanted to say.

I don't hate all machines but just like everything else, they can be used for good or for evil. There is actually a very pleasant ATM just outside the grocery store with a British accent. When I swipe my ATM card it says "Please enter your secret number." Delightful. I think self checkout machines were created with evil intentions though. There are some movies out there like the Matrix, Terminator, and The Notebook that are about machines rising up and taking over the world. Actually, I think I might be wrong about one of those movies. But anyway, these movies always depict some form of advanced technology that becomes self aware and then tries to take over the world. But if it ever does happen, it's probably going to start with a disgruntled self checkout machine.

But for those of you who might have Mechanophobia (the fear of machines), don't worry, just watch the videos below and know that we are safe.....for now.

Freakin' Funny Friday ~ Jon Arbuckle is a Sad, Sad Man

Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield (the comic strip, not the president), is the person who inspired me to start drawing. I started drawing a little comic strip called "Egg Head" when I was nine years old. Later, when I was in high school, I drew a comic strip called "Sam". I'll have to see if I can dig up some of my old comics and post them on here some day.

I was trying to decide if this post belonged on Artsy Fartsy Wednesday or Freakin' Funny Friday, and I chose Friday because it's more about the humor than the art and creativity. It's about Garfield minus Garfield. Garfield minus Garfield is a website that shows Garfield comics in a different light. It was created by Dan Walsh of Dublin. Each comic has had all the characters taken out except for Jon Arbuckle, Garfield's owner (the cat, not the president). Here's the blurb found on the front page of the website that explains it better than I can:

Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain younge Mr. Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.

I'll include a few of my favorites throughout this post and I will add a link to the website at the end. I've always loved Garfield (the comic strip, not the president...ok, I'll stop doing that). I would read the comics in the newspaper everyday and save Garfield for last (the comic...oh yea, I said I was going to stop doing that. My bad). I enjoy this website because it takes the Garfield comic to a whole new level. Some of them are funnier, some actually make you think, and then some just don't make any sense at all.


You're probably wondering what Jim Davis thinks of all this. He's seen it and he actually likes it. You have to admire Jim for not taking legal action or getting upset over this. An article by Amy Orndorff of the Washington Post stated:

One of Walsh's occasional readers is (Jim)Davis, who heard about the site a few months ago. The cartoonist calls the work "an inspired thing to do" and wishes to thank Walsh for enabling him to see another side of "Garfield."

"Some of the strips were slappers: 'Oh, I could have left that out.' It would have been funnier," Davis says.

Garfield was born on November 19th, 1831 (the president, not the comic strip). Sorry, I couldn't resist. Most of you have probably stopped reading this post by now anyway.

The Garfield comic strip first appeared on June 19th, 1978 which is about two months before I was born. Garfield and I are pretty close in age. I guess that would make him 210 years old in cat years. Like I said before, Jim Davis was the one who inspired me to start drawing, which led me to an interest in art, which led me to the career I'm in now. I owe Jim Davis a lot of credit for where I am today.


I enjoyed watching the cartoon Garfield and Friends when I was a kid. I wasn't too impressed with the Garfield movie that came out in 2004. I guess it was okay though. Lorenzo Music, the original voice of Garfield passed away in 2001 so they got Bill Murray to do the voice of Garfield which I thought was an excellent choice. I thought it was a very interesting choice as well because Lorenzo Music also did the voice of Dr. Peter Venkman on the Ghostbusters cartoon, and Bill Murray played Dr. Peter Venkman in the Ghostbusters movies. Wow, I am a geek.(On a side note, they are currently working on Ghostbusters III.)


I'm going to bring this post to a close now. Blogging about this got me thinking of starting a side project. I think I'll call it Garfield replaces Garfield. It will feature Garfield comics in which president Garfield replaces Garfield the cat...




...or, maybe not.

Here are the links to some websites:

Garfield Minus Garfield

The Official Garfield Website

President Garfield

Deep Thought Thursday ~ Popping the Bubble

I think I'm going to pick up where I left off with last week's Deep Thought Thursday. Not the part about being pushy, but about the part where I talk about not calling myself a Christian. Click here if you haven't read it already. I appreciate the comments from Jesse and Matthew on last week's post. It's always good to hear some constructive criticism rather than deconstructive criticism. I just want everyone to know that I am not against Christians or the church. I am involved in the church as well as other groups that help the community and others in need. I know the difference between serving God and spending time with God. Most importantly I believe Jesus Christ came to earth to show us a better way to live and he died for all of our sins and that we can be forgiven. I believe in all these things but I don't call myself a Christian. Why? I guess I have to go back a few years.

When I was 27 I had a girlfriend. She was a good girl, but it bothered me that she didn't want to go to my church and that she didn't believe exactly the same things I believed. One night she wanted to go to a party where there was going to be a lot of drinking. She wasn't even going there to drink, she just wanted to be with her friends. She invited me to go but I told her I didn't want to. I didn't just stop there though. I tried to convince her not to go. I can't remember everything I said to her but I know I became something I had never intended to become. I had become a self-righteous judgmental hypocrite.

Needless to say, that relationship was pretty much over after that. She dumped me a few weeks later. She told me that I was no better than her. She was absolutely right, I needed to hear that. On a side note, we are still friends. We're not close friends but we still check up on each other now and then to see how things are going.

After we broke up I started to think about my life, about the things I believed, and the way I lived my life. I had been all talk, but there was no walk. Sure, I didn't really do anything bad, but I didn't do anything good either. I was lukewarm. I spent over a year questioning who I was and what I was doing wrong because what I thought I knew was right didn't seem to be working out.

I started to ask questions. My church, which is called Lifetree, really helped as well as a group called Valley Mosaic that I started attending. I'll talk more about those in the future, or you can click on the links to check them out now. The Valley Mosaic site is still being worked on.

Then I discovered podcasts and blogs. It was like finding gold! I listened to all kinds of pastors, teachers, and speakers. People like Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Rick McKinley, Donald Miller, Mark Batterson, Nicky Gumbel, Craig Groeschell, Craig Gross, Mike Foster , Matthew Paul Turner, Jon Acuff, Brian McLauren, Dr. Peter Rollins, and the list goes on and on. Listening to podcasts, reading blogs, and asking God questions have helped to shape who I am now and what I am becoming.

I've gone from someone who didn't question, thinking what I believed was the only and right way to believe, and avoiding non-believers to someone who now asks God questions, being open to what others believe, and accepting others as they are. So that's how my life has changed over the last few years. I feel like I've gone off topic again, so back to my point.

In last Thursday's post I said that God cares more about what is in our heart than he does about the terminology we use to describe our worldview. But I guess that doesn't really explain why I choose not to call myself a Christian. Over the past few years I've heard statistics and sayings that have encouraged me to drop that title. I could be lame and say stuff like I'm trying to be like Jesus and Jesus wasn't a Christian, or the word Christian only appears a few times in the Bible (depending on what translation you have). But I'm not going to do that.

I was listening to the xxxchurch podcast and they talked about a poll which stated that when people were asked what they thought about Christians the top two answers were that Christians were too political and anti-homosexual. I have no interest in politics. When I got to that intersection I looked to the right and saw the conservatives, then I looked to the left and saw the liberals, and I kept on going straight. It's not that I'm sitting on the fence, it's that I'm conservative with some things and liberal with other things. I cannot claim to be completely conservative or liberal. And even though I don't agree with homosexuality, I don't hate anyone who is. I have friends who are gay and they are more Christ-like in their actions and attitude than many others who call themselves Christians. Why is it that we focus so much on protesting homosexual sin, but turn a blind eye to heterosexual sin. What's the difference? Not one sin is greater than another.

Nicky Gumbel, a pastor in London and is known for starting the Alpha course, once said, "When I hear people say 'Christians are such hypocrites.' I say 'duh!'". I love that quote, it's so true. But who isn't a hypocrite at one time or another. I definitely was when I was talking about being judgmental earlier in my story.

I could go on and on with statistics and quotes, but I don't want to sound like a Christian-basher. I don't want to bash anybody. God has called me to love others, he has called us all to love unconditionally.

I could start calling Thursday's post "Popping the Sterile Christian Bubble" but I won't. The fact is Christians need to stop hiding their dirt, I need to stop hiding my dirt. We can't pretend that we're perfect because the fact is we are all so far from perfect. We can't advertise that once we give our lives over to God that everything is going to be easy. Jesus may have said that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, but he also said that we may face many hardships when we choose to follow him.

There is so much more I could say but I'll finish with this: Does God favor a person who believes Jesus is Lord and does his best to follow in his footsteps regardless of what he calls himself, or a person who calls himself a Christian and does nothing, or does things for his own personal gain?

Artsy Fartsy Wednesday ~ M.C.E.

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972), better known as M.C. Escher, was one of the world's most famous graphic artists. His work has been a major influence in the way I approach graphic design. He didn't consider himself to be an artist, rather more of a mathematician. To me he truly was an artist though. Before he started creating mind-bending optical illusions and impossible structures within his artwork he created some beautiful images (below). Click on any picture to make it larger.


He created these images while traveling around Italy by freight ships. He would sketch the port towns while the ship was docked. While doing this he met his wife, Jetta (pictured below), and they settled in Rome. He traveled around Italy for another 11 years making sketches that he would later make into lithographs and woodcuts.


Escher became captivated by regular division of the plane, which is based on the principle of tessellation, and started experimenting with it in his drawings. This is where most of his well-known work comes from (pictured below).


M.C. Escher's work has appeared in pop culture as well. Below is M.C. Escher's original work called "Relativity" and a lego re-creation of it.


In the beginning of the movie "Labyrinth" by Jim Henson a poster of Relativity appears on the wall in Sarah's bedroom. Later in the movie Relativity comes to life as Sarah is trying to rescue her baby brother. For those of you who haven't seen Labyrinth it's a movie starring David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, and a bunch of muppets. What are you waiting for, go rent it! But finish reading this post first :)



To wrap this up I will leave you with my favorite M.C. Escher piece. It's titled "Belvedere". It appears to be normal at first, but study it for awhile and you'll find something interesting. Click the picture below to make it larger.


That's all for today! Visit the official M.C. Escher site here and see over 250 of M.C. Escher's works in the Picture Gallery.

Story Time Tuesday ~ Bottled Skunk

It's time for another Story Time Tuesday. This one is a real stinker, let's get started!

Today I'm going to take you way way back to the early 90's. I was thirteen and I had a paper route. It would be the first of many jobs I would have growing up. One day as I was delivering my last few papers I saw a skunk walking along the side of the road. I think this was the first time I had actually seen a skunk up close, or at least one that was alive and not squashed in the middle of the road. I thought it was kind of odd for a skunk to be walking down the street in the middle of the afternoon.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed the skunk had a vitamin bottle stuck on its head (He must have been trying to get his daily supplements). I watched the skunk as it walked along the side of the road clunking its head against the curb as it walked, *CLUNK* *CLUNK*, it looked so pathetic. I felt bad for the skunk as it kept trying to push the bottle off its head with its paws. I remember thinking to myself, "Oh God, please don't let me be the one to get the bottle off this skunk's head."

I couldn't just leave the poor thing. So I stood in front of the skunk, which is probably where you want to be if you're anywhere near a skunk. I reached down and grabbed the bottle and before I could even pull the bottle off the skunk's head, it pulled it's own head out, it kind of surprised me. I was just kind of standing there in awe and the skunk seemed a little disoriented. Then we locked eyes and time seemed to stand still as we just stared at each other.

Next thing I remember is that skunk's tail sticking straight up, so I turned my tail and ran. It chased me for a few feet and then started to walk away. I stopped to look back at it. Then it looked back at me and gave me a wink as if it we're saying, "Thanks, man. You're a real life saver." Okay, it didn't really wink, but it did look back at me and then continued on its way.

I know most of you who read this are probably disappointed that I didn't get sprayed, but I do have another skunk story for next week in which I may or may not get sprayed. You'll just have to wait and see. If any of you have ever had a close encounter of the stinky kind, leave a comment. Come back tomorrow for Artsy Fartsy Wednesday!

I Hate Mondays! ~ No More Cones!

Click the picture to see it larger.

It's that time of year again. Everything is in bloom. The world is becoming a colorful place again. Gone is the lifeless cold of the monochromatic winter. I love Spring, everything is turning green. Green is my favorite color. But I hate the color orange when it's all over the highway. Yes, spring is not only the season of new life, but it's also construction season. Oh how I loathe construction season. I'm shaking my fists now as we speak. Cones, signs, flashing lights.....grrrrrr. I usually like the color orange, just not when it's all over the vast expanse of the interstate.

I've been working at my current job for about a year and a half now. I've been around for a little over 30 years and I don't ever remember the highway I use to get to work ever being worked on...ever. Of course now that I have to travel this stretch of the highway everyday for work, they decide to work on it. It started last Spring when they tore the road up and we had to travel to the other side of the highway. Then they would tear up the other side and we'd have to travel the other side. This seemed to change almost everyday. I never knew what side I would be traveling on next. At the end of last summer when they were finished they patched it up but it was still bumpy so everyone had to drive on that throughout the fall and winter. They're just now getting around to paving it this year so I'm hoping it'll all be over soon.

I guess the reason I decided to talk about this particular subject today is because one night last week I was driving home from my girlfriend's house and I'm just traveling down the highway, "Dum, dee, dum, dee, dum" and next thing you know I almost hit one of those orange markers. I swerved to the left to stay on the road and I think I may have hit something. I thought I got a flat tire but fortunately I didn't. The thing is, there were no warning signs telling drivers there was construction ahead. I thought maybe I missed the signs but I talked to a few other people and the same thing happened to them. I don't know how the Department of Transportation could be so careless. By the way, if you happened to be traveling on Rt. 220 near the Rt. 15 exit in Williamsport, PA, last week and had this happen to you, please comment.

I could go on forever talking about highway construction but I'm going to narrow it down to this top ten list of reasons why I can't stand it. Here they are in no particular order:

#1) The driver in front of me that apparantly thought the reduced speed limit sign said 20 m.p.h. instead of 50 m.p.h.

#2) The cop that sits on the side of the road that is just waiting to bust anyone for anything. I pass by them thinking to myself "Please stay there, please don't come after me."

#3) Trying to pass the semi-truck before the highway narrows to one lane.

#4) Increased roadkill - I can just imagine a groundhog or opossum trying to cross the road at night like they normally do and then they come across a concrete wall that wasn't there before and they're like "What the he.." *CRUNCH!*

#5) Traveling between two sets of concrete barriers is probably more difficult than trying to fly an X-wing through the trenches of the Death Star. I repeat to myself as I'm driving, "Stay on target, stay on target!"

#6) I think I have a slight case of OCPD which causes me to count all the cones as I pass by them.

#7) Taking a detour through a small town no one has ever heard of like "Hickleberrysberg" where people sit on their porches and watch you slowly go by because they have nothing better to do. This is probably the most excitement they've had in awhile. "Look ma and pa, the parade's come to town!"

#8) Getting lost while taking a detour. You're almost guaranteed that the guy at the gas station is going to tell you to take a left at the hot dog stand which may or may not be there when you get to the place you're supposed to turn.

#9) Where is everybody? Seriously, have you ever seen construction workers working on a construction site? I think little construction elves or sprites come out at night or when no one is around to see them work.

#10) Why do they narrow a twenty mile stretch of road to one lane just to work on a small 5-foot section of the road?

Thanks again for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. I hope all of you travel safely today.

Freakin' Funny Friday ~ You Too!

It's Friday. The weekend is almost here! It's time for some fun. It's time for Freakin' Funny Friday. It's been a long week and I know you're ready to enjoy the weekend. Let me help you with that.

So I overslept this morning and I was going to be late for work so I had to zap-fry my pop-tart on high for 3 seconds in the microwave. I didn't have time to remove the pastry from its pouch and insert it vertically into my toaster, that would have taken way too long. As I was driving to work I saw two log trucks pass each other on the highway and I thought it was a little odd. I knew I was going to be late for work so I stopped by the donut shop. I figured my boss wouldn't be so upset if I brought donuts. So I bought two boxen of donuts. I got to work and saw one of my co-workers. I said "Hi Carolyn" She said "It's Caroline, Dan, it's Caroline." I said "It's DHANYE!" My boss was pretty psyched about me bringing in the donuts. He said "Oh good, you got one that has frosting all over the top with sprinkles only on the one side." Work wasn't too bad. I had to ship out ten boxens that all weighed exactly 22lbs. and had a girth of three. Three girth units. I took my lunch break. I had two fig newtons, some cran-chops, and some of that peanut butter and jelly that comes in the same jar and put that in a squeeze bottle. I love that peanut butter and jelly that comes in the same jar. I can't be opening all kinds of jars and cleaning who knows how many knives! I went to dinner with some of my co-workers after work. We went to an IHOP. I don't know what's up with the roof of that place, but you're supposed to eat the pancakes, not worship them. The waitress brought our food and said "Enjoy your meal." so I said "You too!" One of my co-workers was bragging about all of his accomplishments and talking about himself. When he was finished I leaned in and said "I walked on the moon." I had half a cup of ice cream for dessert. After dinner we all left and I told everyone to take luck. When I got home I put my leftovers in my new refridgerator. My new fridge is really cool. It's got an egg area, a meat drawer, and a crisper where I can put crispy things, like potato chips. I decided to unwind by going out on my back porch to relax and yell "HEY! HEEEEEEYYYY! HEY, HEY, HEY! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYY! HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!"

Okay, some of you are probably completely lost right now while others of you completely understood everything I just said in that last paragraph. That little story you read just now is a mish-mash of references to the comedy stylings of one Brian Regan. He is one of THE funniest comedians I have ever seen. Most people have only recently found out about him but I've been following his career since the late 80's. One of my favorite bits that he does is when he talks about the day of the science fair in school and he has nothing prepared so he just puts some dirt in a styrofoam cup and tries to pass it off as his science project. It reminds me of the science fair we had at my school in fifth grade. I didn't know until a few days before the science fair that it was mandatory to do a science project. We were given six weeks to work on it. So my mom drove me to the hobby shop and I bought a plastic replica of a human lung. I put it together and painted it. Then I found some information on lungs in my science text book (this was before the internet) and wrote it down on that big piece of poster board that you use to stand up behind your project. I got to the fair and there was one kid who built a machine that blows bubbles, another kid was hatching a baby chick, and of course there was the kid with the volcano. And then me with my sad little plastic lung. I think the parents had a hand in helping out the other kids, more or less. Probably more if not completely. Needless to say I didn't win first place.

The thing I like about Brian Regan is that most people can relate to the things he talks about. Plus he's pretty clean, the whole family can enjoy his brand of comedy. I have some family members that are pretty conservative and they actually enjoy watching him. I don't mind if a comedian uses bad language now and then but many times some comedians get pretty excessive in thier language to the point where it's not even funny anymore. I think it's funny today when a comedian drops the F-bomb and they think they're being innovative and edgy. "You're breaking some new ground there, Copernicus" as Brian Regan would say. Brian is definitely one of a kind when it comes to what he does. I suggest you check him out. HE'S FUNNY! WATCH HIM! YOU MUST WATCH HIM! I WON'T STOP BADGERING YOU UNTIL YOU DO! Oh wait, what did we talk about yesterday? Oh yea, don't be so pushy. But seriously, I highly recommend him. I'll leave you today some videos of his stand-up. See you next week when we'll start a new week with an "I Hate Monday!" segment. Have a great weekend! Take luck!










Visit the official Brian Regan site here.

Deep Thought Thursday ~ Don't Be So Pushy!

I've always enjoyed "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey" on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. One of my favorite Jack Handey thoughts was "If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let'em go, because, man, they're gone." So I've decided to title Thursdays "Deep Thought Thursdays". Today's subject can sometimes be a little touchy, or rather pushy.

"Don't push your religion on me!" Chances are you've said this phrase to someone, had it said to you, or you've heard someone say to someone else. It doesn't matter who you are, we all have our beliefs. I don't consider myself to be a religious person. I believe in God and I try to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

I guess you could call me a Christian but I try not to use that term. Too many people who refer to themselves as such do not reflect Christ in any way. Mohandas Gandhi once said "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Another great thinker and teacher, Rob Bell, once said "Christian is a great noun, but a horrible adjective." I find this to be so true. The word Christian is slapped on so many things like music, books, and even breath mints. I've even heard there is a Christian office supply store somewhere here in the US. It boggles the mind! I'm not trying to tell people not to call themselves Christians though, I have no problem with that.

I have two reasons why I don't call myself a Christian. One, that term is too vague. When I tell someone I'm a Christian I feel like I have to explain what kind I am. Two, I don't deserve to be called one because I am not always like Christ. I'd rather refer to myself as a follower of Christ. Like I said earlier, I "try" to follow the teachings of Jesus. I don't always suceed and I sometimes fail at trying to be Christ-like. I guess what it boils down to is that I believe God cares about what is in our hearts rather than the terminology we use to describe our worldview.

Well, this train has gone way off the tracks. But I'll get back on track now and get to the point I was originally trying to make. We were talking about people pushing their religion and beliefs on others. I totally agree that this is wrong, and what was doing just now was sharing my beliefs I was not pushing my beliefs on you just now in the last few paragraphs. There's a difference between pushing and sharing. No one is holding a gun to your head and making you read this and if there is then that's really weird and screwed up.

But why do people feel the need to be pushy and try to make other people believe the same things they do? Perhaps it's because that person has found something that works and makes them feel fulfilled and they want to share it with others so badly that they become aggressive and won't stop badgering people about it. It's almost like someone reads a newspaper article that they really enjoy and they want everyone else to enjoy it so they start shoving the newspaper into people's faces yelling "READ IT! READ IT! IT'S GREAT! YOU MUST READ IT! I WON'T STOP UNTIL YOU DO!" That's just crazy.

I'm not just talking about religious fanatics here though. I'm talking about people in general. I've seen this behavior in other areas as well. Throughout my teens, 20's, and now into my early 30's I've had various people say to me "We've got to get you drunk." Now I don't mind a drink or two now and then but I'm just not into getting drunk. I've been there before and I don't really enjoy it when the room starts to turn at a 45º angle as I'm walking. But there are a few people out there, probably more than that, who make it their goal every weekend to get drunk, plastered, intoxicated, hopped-up, smashed, sloshed, (insert your own slang term here), etc. They think it's great and they want to share that with others. They've found something that they believe is fulfilling in their life. Then they push a bottle in your face yelling "DRINK THIS! DRINK THIS! IT'S GREAT! YOU MUST DRINK IT! I WON'T STOP UNTIL YOU DO!" Sounds a little like a religious fanatic doesn't it? So the next time someone says to me "We've gotta get you drunk", I'll just reply, "Don't push your religion on me".

I'm not trying to single out people who drink, I was just using that as an example. It happens with many things like food, music, movies, books, sports, etc. Well, this post has gone on long enough. Come back tomorrow when I'll reveal the fifth and final theme of the week. This is Dan, signing off.....NOW GET OFF MY PORCH!!

Artsy Fartsy Wednesday ~ It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright

I've decided to reserve Wednesdays as a day to appreciate and talk about art in all of it's various forms. I am a graphic designer by trade. My first post which was my introduction to this blog has a picture of my personal logo. It contains my initials, DL, in case you were trying to figure out what my logo was. It's a lower case "d" and an upper case "L". The orange dot is the hole of the lowercase "d". Both letters have been cropped so you don't see them fully. Anyway, this post isn't about me, it's about mewithoutYou.

If you've never heard of the band mewithoutYou, then shame on you! Seriously, you need to get out of your cave and check them out here. I've seen them perform twice now and I plan on seeing them again and again and again. They played a free show a couple weeks ago that I went to and the first time I saw them was at Purple Door in 2007. They have released three full-length albums titled "[A-B] Life", "Catch for Us the Foxes", "Brother, Sister" and they are coming out with their fourth album "It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright" in about two weeks, May 19th.

mewithoutYou can best be described as an indie, alternative, experimental rock band. They come from Philadelphia, PA and they tour around in a 1976 MC8 Charter bus that runs on vegetable oil. Lead singer, Aaron Weiss, is extremely open and honest in the lyrics he writes. The songs he writes cover issues such as God, unity, struggles, suicide, love, forgiveness, equality, etc. All the songs he writes are deeply poetic and I've sat around with friends and discussed Aaron's lyrics before and we've all come up with different ideas about what the songs are about and what they mean to us. That's what I like about his music, it's open for interpretation like all good art should be. I think it's interesting how the "m" in mewithoutYou is lowercase and the "Y" is upper case. I think the reason why the "Y" is uppercase is because it refers to God and some of the songs Aaron writes are about what his life would be like without God. But that's just my interpretation.

Well, I could ramble on all day talking about mewithoutYou but I'll let you explore them on your own. There is a link to their website in the second paragraph if you didn't catch it before. I will leave you with a music video which happens to be one of my favorite mewithoutYou songs, "Paper Hanger" along with the lyrics below. Come on back tomorrow when I reveal Thursday's theme. Till next time, adios!

Paper Hanger @ Yahoo! Video

Paper Hanger~by mewithoutYou

Not one motion of her gesture could I forget
The prettiest bag lady I ever met
Pushing her cart in the rain
Then gathering plastic and glass
She watched the day pass
Not hour by hour
But pain by pain
I was a basket filled with holes
She was the sand I tried to hold
And ran out behind me
As I swung with some invisible hands

I stopped believing, you start to move
(She was like wine turned to water then turned back to wine)
I stopped my leaving and the better man bloomed
(And you can pour us out and we won't mind)

I was dead, then alive
She was like wine turned to water and turned back to wine
You can pour us out, we won't mind
A scratch around the mouth of the glass
My life is no longer mine

If you're still looking for a blanket, sweetie
I'm sorry, I'm no sort of fabric
But if you need a tailor
Then take your torn shirt, and stumble up my stairs
And mumble your pitiful prayers
And in your tangled night's sleep, our midnight needles go to work
Until all comfort and fear flows in one river
Down on the shelf by the mirror where you see yourself whole
And it makes you shiver

I stopped believing, you start to move
(She was like wine turned to water then turned back to wine)
I stopped my leaving and the better man bloomed
(And you can pour us out and we won't mind)

I was dead, then alive
She was like wine turned to water and turned back to wine
You can pour us out, we won't mind
A scratch around the mouth of the glass
My life is no longer mine

Our lives are not our own
Even the wind lays still
All I felt was fire and cold
And movement, movement
If they ask you for a sign of the Father
Tell them it's movement, movement, movement and repose