Blogolalia

Monday, March 07, 2005

Since this is right up my alley, it has to be done.

1) What is your favorite kitchen appliance?

Too many to name, but you cannot cook without a good quality chef knife. I’m also rather partial to the classic six-burner stove.

2) What kind of cookware do you have?

I’m in the process of migrating over to all Circulon. Slowly and piece by piece.

3) What color are your counter tops and cabinets?

The cabinets are a honey oak with medium slate-green counters.

4) Name one kitchen appliance or gadget that you wish you had.

Convection oven.

5) Describe your dream kitchen.

My appliances and sink area would all be stainless steel. I would have a commercial grade refrigerator and freezer. I would have a six-burner gas stove. Double ovens with one of them being convection. I’d have an island with a utility sink for veggie washing/disposal with cooling/warming drawers beneath the Silestone counters. My parents have Silestone counters (I believe they have something like Blue Safita on the island - the one they have is actually discontinued - and I think they have Blue Sahara or something similar on the main counters) and they are beautiful and resilient - you can use it like you would marble for pastries, it will take hot pans, and won’t scratch or nick with knives. I would also have a custom drawer for my knives - blocks aren’t that great for storing your knives. And finally, I would have a large walk-in pantry where I would be able to store, small appliances, decorative serving pieces, baskets, and glassware in addition to food items.

Courtesy: Christopher

We’re one month away from Tartan Day 2005 - this year it’s April 6. I wonder if we’ll have a Gathering of the Blogs again?

Thursday, March 03, 2005

I’ve been reading The Thinklings almost from their inception and their stuff never gets old. Much of it is over my head from a theological point of view, but I read to learn. Jared posted a thought-provoking post that sparked a long conversation in the comments. That generated another related post from Jared and another from Bill.

There’s too much good, meaty stuff to excerpt, although I really loved this from Jared in the Ethos/Theos post:

I have, I think, a justifiable concern with what Bono and others are preaching. I say “preaching,” because it is not just ethical platitudes the proclaimers of social justice are offering. They are explicitly connecting their call to “what God wants.” If you really love God, they seem to say, you would do more about __________. If you really want to prove you’re a good Christian, you would do ___________. On the surface, they are right, and they should not be ignored. (This does ignore the fact that most lovers of God and most Christians are doing these sorts of things, but that’s not the point.)

No, my point is that even while God is connected to the ethical demands of these self-styled prophets of social justice, a holistic biblical understanding of God is not. My contention, therefore, is that demanding the specific ethic of Jesus without regard for the specific theology of Jesus – and all that it entails – is generally pointless and ultimately fruitless. You can’t really understand and embrace Jesus’ teachings without obeying Jesus’ call to repent and follow Him. You can’t have the Sermon on the Mount without the hill of Golgotha.

Go forth and read.

It is incredibly challenging to try to come up with five separate questions for five people. Wow. And the people I know a little better were harder to do for some reason. Hence the delay, but better later than never, right?

Remember if you are being interviewed you must answer the questions at your own blog or in my comments section here. Post a comment to let me know that you’ve posted your answers. And you then must perpetuate the meme by interviewing five new people yourselves.

With that, here ya go, my friends ...

Rob T.:

1. You’ve known Jared since high school, did you guys hang out? If so, what’s a funny story from those days that you remember and can tell?
2. What is your all time favorite action movie? Why?
3. What is one question you want to ask God when you get to heaven?
4. If you had the option for an all expense paid vacation, what would it be?
5. What one famous person, alive or dead, would like to have dinner with?

Monjo:

1. Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?
2. Is there any one job that you would do regardless of how much you were paid?
3. Do you speak any foreign languages fluently?
4. Cricket: brilliant or boring sport?
5. Do you eat McVities? If you do, which variation is your favorite?

princess jami:

1. Is Jami your real name and are you really a princess?
2. I know you’re from Colorado - what is your favorite thing about your home state?
3. What’s your favorite romantic-comedy (chick flick)? Why?
4. If you could meet any one blogger in person, who would it be?
5. What was your favorite childhood toy? Do you still have it?

Craig:

1. If you could live anywhere other than Montana, where would it be?
2. Is there one book that really impacted you? What is it and how did it impact you?
3. What is your earliest memory?
4. What is the name or nickname that you always wanted as a kid?
5. Name one thing that you love most about your wife.

Jon:

1. Name a favorite TV show that no one knows you watch.
2. How did you propose to your wife?
3. What’s your favorite meal?
4. What is your favorite “go to” verse/passage from the Bible?
5. What is the last thing that one of your children taught you?

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Because I can’t help myself (and I’m procrastinating a bit), I bring you the movie/tv quote meme from Robert the Llama Butcher.

List the First Five Movie/TV Quotes that come into your head (must be from different movies/shows).

1. “I’ve got this incredible feeling of deja vu.” Unsure who said it, but it’s from Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

2. “Salsa. Seltzer. Salsa. Seltzer.” Either George or Jerry on Seinfeld.

3. “Head! Pants! Now!” Mike Myers as the Scottish dad in So I Married An Axe Murder. (Honorable mention also from that movie - “I’m not kidding, that boy’s head is like Sputnik; spherical but quite pointy at parts! Aye, now that was offsides, now wasn’t it? He’ll be crying himself to sleep tonight, on his huge pillow.” Yes, I had to look that one up.)

4. “Would you blow me where the Pampers is?” Old lady to Gutter (Jon Favreau) in PCU.

5. “Chicken pot ... chicken pot ... chicken pot PIE!” David Cross who played David Spade’s brother on Just Shoot Me. (I never saw that particular episode, but my sister did and quoted it to me - we’ve quoted it to each other ever since.)

Go forth and meme.

Monday, February 28, 2005

Jared suckered me into this meme by posting a response to one of his interview questions that sparked a response from me in the comments. Since the interviewee is then tasked to interview five people to keep this thing going, I am one of the lucky ones. So here ya go:

1. What is your favorite thing about your job?

That’s hard to answer with just one thing. I like saying for whom I work when asked. It’s kinda cool to work for the US Marshals, although it really is not like The Fugutive at all. Or Karen Sisco, for that matter.

2. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

Funny question. Super strength, I guess. I’m kind of a physical weakling.

3. What is your fondest childhood memory?

Hmmm...I have a lot of specific childhood memories and they’re all pretty good. *thinking* I think I’ll have to say our England years. I’m thankful that my grandfather took a lot of home movies when they visited us and my parents took a lot of photos. I’m also thankful that we were in the British public school rather than the school for American kids. I think my memories of that time are sharper because of those things than they would be otherwise since I was only 6-8 years old at the time.

4. What is your favorite Bible verse?

Ephesians 3:14-21 - For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

5. If they made a movie of your life, who should play you?

At random times I’ve been told I look like a combination of Glenn Close and Jennifer Grey (pre-nose job). I don’t know. Both are pretty good actresses that I think could play me pretty well. Then again, I’m a lot like Monica Geller Bing personality-wise.

So, I need to perpetuate this meme. As Jared did, I’ll take the first 5 commenters to interview.

Friday, February 25, 2005

From Robbo Llama Butcher:

Turning to other things, another sure sign of Spring in Dee Cee is the return of the Out-of-Town High Schoolers (Adolescens vulgaris). They start turning up in great field-tripping hordes, jamming the Metro and jangling the nerves of ordinary commuters with their incessant squeels and bellows of “Ohmigod, we’re going underground!” and ”How many more stops to the Smithsonian?” and perhaps worst of all, mimicking the automated voice that says, “Doors closing - please stand clear of the doors, thank you.” (Note to anyone planning to come to Dee Cee for a visit: DO NOT DO THIS!)

Bing. Bong.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

There are only a few bloggers who actually make me laugh out loud. Fluid Pudding is one of them, but she’s not for the faint of heart. She’s blunt, uses harsh language, and is hilarious. And she knits.

Thanks for the chuckle, FP. The sweater/hat are adorable.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

My parents and I found our new church through their website. We thought it looked good and conveyed the information we sought.

Thinkling Shrode Rob T. asked for samples of good church websites because his church is ready to update their site. I posted the link to my church and just went back to the comment thread to find that someone had recommended the Heal Your Church Website blog. I’ve been meaning to check that out for a while, but never got around to it. But I clicked over today.

Scrolling down a bit, I found this post about McLean Bible Church’s website. The opener made me laugh out loud (it’s a great parody of the real thing). Go take a look, I’ll wait.

MBC is a rather respected church in the local area and it’s seen some remarkable growth in the last 10 years. I jokingly call it Willow East because they have close ties to Willow Creek in Chicago. But I attended church for a short time at MBC back when they had moved into their last “new” building in McLean. Their pastor is the real deal and has a heart for reaching this area with the Gospel. And I have friends who are members. For a while I considered going back when I left my old church, but I wasn’t really interested in a mega-church and the Lord led me to FCC instead.

I have to agree with MeanDean of HYCW that it’s not necessarily seeker-friendly to imply that users are lame because they don’t have Flash installed or pretty much demand that the user install it even though if they scroll down a tad they’ll see the content they were hunting down anyway.

bold the states you’ve been to, underline the states you’ve lived in and italicize the state you’re in now…

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Courtesy: Jon

Sometime in the early morning, my stats counter rolled over 100,000 visitors. I have no clue whom it was, but I wanted to take the time to thank my loyal regular readers. Somehow, two and a half years ago, I never imagined that I’d still be blogging this long and that I would have made so many good, blog-friends. Thanks to those who’ve provided invaluable technical support - you know who you are - I greatly appreciate your aid. Thanks, also, to the folks who comment (and often!). I value your feedback, whether you’ve agreed with me or not.  Thanks for the challenges, encouragement, laughter, and fun.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

PSA: Thinklings.org is working again.

Monday, February 21, 2005

As a favor to my blog buddies, I thought I’d pass on that The Thinklings crew are having some technical difficulties. They have the blog on .org and .com and for now the .com link works. So until further notice, click The Thinklings for the main blog and click Mysterium Tremendum for Jared’s blog.

I’ll update again when they have the .org blog working again.

In the meantime, Bill/Jared - I’m impressed with pMachine’s hosting service so far. Tech support is very responsive, the price is reasonable, and they speak blog.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Because I promised Bryan:

WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME?
Elizabeth

WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING?
Sand colored khakis

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Sean Hannity

DEAD OR ALIVE, NAME THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LOVE TO MEET.
Presidents Bush (yes, both of them and I will count them as one)
Peter, the disciple of Jesus (he’s the most knuckleheaded of the lot and I relate to that)
Laura Ingraham (she cracks me up)

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
An orange

IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Burnt sienna

HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW?
Partly cloudy and chilly

LAST PERSON YOU TALKED WITH ON THE PHONE?
A guy from our HQ

THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX?
His frame/size

SHOES YOU LOVE TO WEAR.
Birkenstocks

HOW ARE YOU TODAY?
About 85% on the wellness scale, but cheerful

FAVORITE DRINK?
Vanilla Diet Coke or sweetened iced tea

FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK?
Corona

FAVORITE SPORTS?
Professional baseball and football

HAIR COLOR?
Natural color is probably a dark blonde/light brown. I am a chemical blonde.

EYE COLOR?
green

DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Not anymore. I stick with the glasses these days.

TYPE OF VEHICLE YOU DRIVE.
Toyota Corolla

TOP FIVE FAVORITE FOOD?
Mexican
All seafood
Italian
Chinese
Indian

LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Manchurian Candidate (2004)

TOP THREE PET PEEVES.
Mental laziness or lack of common sense
When people don’t use their turn signals
The phone

ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT?
Absolutely and I wouldn’t anyway. I’m traditional enough that I expect the guy to ask me out.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS BETTER?
Both, either, depending on the situation.

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL?
I prefer the cooler seasons - winter and fall. But I do love the fresh blooming flowers and trees of spring.

HUGS OR KISSES?
Yes. Depends on the person and the circumstance.

RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS?
One night stands are stupid, not to mention immoral. Yes, I’m making a judgment statement.

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
Depends on the vehicle - candy? chocolate. Ice cream? Vanilla.

THREE ANIMALS YOU WANT TO OWN.
I’d love to have a pure-bred dachshund that I would name Oscar
Or a cat that I would name Mr. Kitty
Maybe a Norfolk Terrier that I would name Sparky

NAME FOUR PLACES YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO VISIT.
Ireland
Australia/New Zealand
Alaska
Canadian Rockies

FIRST CONCERT YOU EVER WENT TO?
I have no clue, but it was probably a Christian artist.

LIVING ARRANGEMENTS?
1 single family dwelling, 2 adults, one child, 2 dogs, one cat, 2 birds, one hamster.

WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?
The Bible and In His Image (Book 1 of the Christ Clone Trilogy) by James BeauSeigneur.

WHAT IS ON YOUR SCREEN SAVER AT HOME?
The meadow graphic from the top of my blog without the text. This is my wallpaper. My screensaver is from TWoP - the Amazing Race Tubey version.

FAVORITE CARTOON?
Looney Toons or Superfriends.

FAVORITE SMELLS.
Pumpkin pie, vanilla, popcorn, men

SMELLS YOU HATE.
Body odor, vomit, poop, and the desperation of a liberal argument. (I stole Bryan’s answer.)

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
What day is it?

FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT THE SINGLE LIFE.
I can do what I want when I want

HOW DO YOU EAT AN OREO?
Eat one side of the shell first, then lick the white center, then eat the other half of the shell.

WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG? By blog, I assume the writer meant post. No telling since lots of people pick random memes and run with them. If you’re one, let me know in the comments or with a trackback.

There ya go.

LATER: I forgot the 3rd person I want to meet and punted the screensaver questions because I was summoned to a meeting. I hit submit before I was actually ready to submit. The corrections have been added in italics above.

I saw this meme at Tony’s yesterday, but resisted the temptation to do it myself. Then this morning, I found that Craig called me out! So, Craig, here ya go.

What’s your favorite kind of cookie? Too many to narrow it down to one. Chocolate Chip, Samoas, ginger snaps/’Nilla wafers. My mother’s oatmeal cookies.

Who is America’s most overrated actor? I have two legends that I’m a bit “meh” about - Robert DeNiro or Al Pacino.

Name a guilty pleasure. I’ve mentioned this before - Bill & Gloria Gaither’s Homecoming stuff.

“Scrubs” or “Everybody Loves Raymond”? Is death an option? I don’t watch either regularly, but I’ve seen enough of both to have to select Scrubs. It’s snarkier, sharper, wittier.

Name two things you can’t live without. Craig had the obvious answers of “Oxygen and water. Seriously.” My answer can’t top that, but I’ll say my faith and my family. *everybody say, AW!*

Your first pet’s name + your mother’s maiden name = your porn star name. I believe our first pet was Pretzel and my mother’s maiden name is Getchell - Pretzel Getchell. And that is hi-lar-i-ous!

What song are you listening to right now? I’m not listening to music at the moment - I’m listening to Laura Ingraham’s talk radio show.

Name your celebrity crush. Regular readers know that I’ve got a thing for Hugh Jackman.

Favorite punchline from a joke. I know no jokes. Seriously. I am humorless.

Who do you want to pass this meme off to? Jared, for sure - he always bites the meme apple. I’ll also add Eric, Bryan, and Jaynee.

OK, tigers, go get ‘em.