Haystacks

Note to self:

Traci, isn't it cool how iTunes gives free singles away every Tuesday? I know sometimes you just mindlessly download the tune and forget to go back listen to it. No biggie. It's free, after all. But here's a suggestion; when you go to purchase that catchy pop single you heard on the radio, check your free downloads first, okay? I don't know that anybody needs two versions of Bubbly by Colbie Caillat.

Loving God. Loving You. Loving Our Neighbor.

This has become our church mission statement. Based on Luke 10:27,

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.

we are reaching out to each other and to our community. It is an exciting time for our church. I'll be contemplating this verse and doing my very best to learn to apply it in my everyday life.

Do you have any thoughts on this verse? If you're not a Christian, what are your thoughts on this concept as a value? Please weigh in with your thoughts. I want very much to examine this verse from every angle and inside out.

I've been tagged.

Mark  tagged me with this meme.

1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

This amazing passage is from Neil Gaiman's poem "Instructions" from his book Fragile Things.

If an eagle gives you a feather, keep it safe. Remember: that giants sleep too, soundly; that witches are often betrayed by their appetites; dragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always; hearts can be well-hidden, and you betray them with your tongue. Do not be jealous of your sister: know that diamonds and roses are as uncomfortable when they tumble from one's lips as toads and frogs:  colder, too, and sharper, and they cut.

 

And since I'm reading 2 books, you get a bonus.

Athens is essentially a city formed on the village pattern of clustering around a central plateia, or square. In and around the plateia are the neighborhood cafes, shops, and newsstands:  The plateia is the backdrop for children's soccer games, newspaper-reading, pastry-eating and people-watching. The central inner courtyard of an Athenian apartment building is a kind of feminine version of the plateia - if the men sitting at the cafes outdoors keep an eye on the community's public life, the women on the courtyard scrutinize its private life.

From Patricia Storace's "The Secret Lives of Athens"; Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places

And now to keep the fun moving along, I tag...

My wonderful husband, who is always reading something interesting
Barbara, my blog friend and fellow book freak
Stephanie! Whatcha reading?
And finally, my Ali's. 

The other shoe...dropped

Earlier this week, it was reported that Qtrax would be the breakthrough website for free music. No more illegal downloading necessary. This site would allow you to legally download thousands of tracks from major record labels, all in exchange for advertising space. Yesterday, Associated Press releases this. Due to some licensing issues, the service has been put on hold.  (Mark has been following the story and I've been reading along on his blog.)

I'll confess, I"m guilty of an occasional download. Before you call the Feds, hear me out. Nine times out of ten, that one song leads me to purchase an entire album.  Most times if the song doesn't inspire me to purchase the album, I delete the song. I cannot tell you how many times I have snagged the free iTunes single of the week (Oh! It's Tuesday!) and after a few listens, made the $9.99 commitment. 

I will be watching to see how this all shakes out. Will Qtrax launch with a smaller catalog? Will there be occasional freebies, as with iTunes, for enticement? Will it become a jukebox service, ala Pandora? Will it diappear altogether and become a footnote in the digital music encyclopedia?

Open letter to the President

Dear Mr. President,

I know you are busy so I will get right to the point. If you send The Wards $1,200, I promise to spend it immediately. Not only will I spend it, I'll spend it on big ticket American items. I'll buy a new fridge or range. Perhaps I'll replace my cock-eyed back door that never shuts tightly (and was probably manufactured in China), with a first rate American made door. I feel certain that the lumber we are considering purchasing to build our new platform bed was grown on American soil.
You know you can count on us to follow through, Mr. President. The last time you sent us money, we used it for down payment on a new car; an American made car. We won't let you down, Sir.

Your Fellow Americans,
The Wards

Gadget Alert!

This is the newest must have for me.

This little guy allows you to upload pictures to your computer  without cables or readers.  How easy is that? It will upload your pictures to your favorite hosting site as well. No more downtime transferring to the computer then to the photo site of choice. Eye-Fi works with Photobucket, Flickr among others. It also jibes with social networking sites like Facebook, and Vox. And a plus for me, Typepad.

Anyone tried this yet?

I hope to have one by...oh...I don't know...Valentine's Day. I'll get back to you and let you know how it goes.

From the Cosmic Joke file

Week 2 of contact wearing: My doctor tells me everything looks great except I (for whatever reason) produce greater amounts of protein in my tear ducts than normal. No biggie, he says, just use eye drops to keep the lenses clear and prevent drying. I drop by Walgreen's and pick up a little bottle of Opti-Free Express.
The good doctor says to use the drops as directed whenever I notice cloudiness or dryness in my contacts. I notice. I open the package and get the drops out only to realize the writing on the label is so very tiny I can't read it through clouded, dry lenses.

The Universe chuckles.

Who needs writers?

With the writers' strike, networks are forcing reality television at us like an aggressive perfume sprayer at the front door of Macy's.  It's unavoidable. I'm not a big fan of reality series. They just don't hold my attention. Television is an escape for me. Who needs more reality?

Last night, after turning off the boob tube and bemoaning the lack of good programming, a drama unfolded outside our front door. The people who live across the road are a COPS episode waiting to happen. When they aren't being annoying or just plain weird, they can be entertaining. Last night they drove a blazer into a muddy field. Imagine their surprise when they couldn't get the vehicle up the incline and back onto the road. I mentioned it was muddy, right?

For about 20 min, this group whom we sometimes refer to as a less attractive cast of MY NAME IS EARL, tried in vain to drive the blazer our of the mud pit and onto the paved road. They finally succeeded in getting the front tires on the pavement. They then tied a rope to the blazer, attaching it to the rear end of a mini van. The problem was this: The blazer sat front tires on the road, while the mini van moved perpendicular, driving on the aforementioned road. As we watched them bind the 2 muffler-less cars together, Jason muttered, "No good can come of this."

The van revved up. The blazer fishtailed. Mud flew through the air. When the noise died down and the vehicles stilled, the blazer rested in the ditch. Two tires were still on the road, but now it was the left side tires and not the front two. After a few more attempts, and one damaged light pole, the van finally dislodged the blazer.

We turned off the entertainment portal (meaning we closed the blinds) and wondered what the next episode would bring.

Who needs writers?

3...2...1...Contacts!

I'm headed to the eye doctor this afternoon to get contacts. I've never tried them before and it's not a sure thing that they will work for me, but I thought I would give it a go.

Wish me luck!