Rags to Riches?

Rags to Riches?
Originally uploaded by darthvedder81.

Do you ever have some random bit of pop-culture from the past for no apparent reason unwittingly jolt itself into your consciousness? Well this morning I did, and I'm sad to say it involved nothing more exciting than the short-lived NBC musical "dramedy" "Rags to Riches."

Why God? Why?

Why would I, Christopher M. Dugan, on the first monday after Thanksgiving weekend 2004 arise with my first thought of the day being: I wonder what happened to Joseph Bologna?

Now one thing is for sure: Joseph Bologna is a silly name. And while we all know he played Nick Foley, the millionaire father of six orphaned girls during the carefree innocence of pre-Vietnam America, less certain is why he would play such a prominent role in my most private waking thoughts.

Now I have, admittedly, dreamt about Tisha Campbell and Kimiko Gelman (who played Marva and Rose respectively) but I've never once had anyone resembling Bridget Michele or Heidi Zeigler (Diane & Mickey) make a personal appearence in any cogitation. (Yes, while I once was reminded of Heather McAdam after seeing an extra resembling her on an especially touching episode of "Our House", this was less traumatic as Heather only appeared in the "Rags to Riches" Pilot!)

The show managed just 23 episodes (only 20 of which aired) from March 1987 to January 1988. Why, nearly 17 years later would this show spring into my mind on a cold November morning? Until just now I hadn't even thought of the show in well over 15 years—is something in my subconcious trying to tell me something? Is God trying to reveal his plan for my life by using this tale of a self-made millionaire finding love and life with six adopted teenage girls? Perhaps episode #15-"Marva in the Key of Cee", where Marva discovers Roses' piano teacher has a secret identity, will offer some clue?

Until this mystery is solved, I'll just have to glean all I can from my "Small Wonder-The Complete First Season" DVD's and my "Life Goes On" fan fiction.

Otherside

Oh boy, my first attempt at blog poetry. Enjoy, but watch out for dangerous flying shards of pretension!

You didn't exist
hadn't for a while
or maybe never really did...

And all that will last
are memories long past
let the current take them away...

Sail on sister dear
And move against the tide
Sail on my sister dear
We'll see you on the other side...

Free wireless?

Well here I sit in my old bedroom and I'm online! No my parent's didn't finally get a high-speed wireless network set up, but someone in this neighborhood sure did. The signal isn't very strong, but it works well enough to make me wonder:

Is what I'm doing wrong? I mean if you're dumb enough not to put a password on your wireless network, don't you deserve to have other people find and use it?

On the other hand, I'm using something I'm not paying for—unless I'm picking up a network from Olson Jr. High which is only 300 yards away from me. If that's the case I feel better because I'm stealing from an entity that already steals from me-the government.

Help me out here people, is finding and logging into a random wireless network with no password and a non-descript name ("Apple Network f18c81") wrong?

Wake-Up Calls

Click here to sign up for your free Target wake-up call everybody!

Kauffman Stadium

Kauffman
Originally uploaded by darthvedder81.

Here's a nifty "panoramic" shot of Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. It's three different 35mm shots I took (no tripod) spliced together in Photoshop—not seamless but I think it come out looking decent.

The trip Ben, John, Casey and I took there this past July was brief but still enjoyable, plus we got to see Santana kick some butt. It was definately a highlight of my year.

Opportunities Abound

I've felt myself in somewhat of an Evangelistic rut lately. I just haven't had many opportunities to talk about my faith or what I'm doing in my life to non-Chrsitians in any real or practical way. Something happened this last thursday that, while not particularily dramatic, changed my perspective on some things.

And it all happened at American Eagle-a store that I vowed never to purchase anything from, for American Eagle in 1997-1998 epitomized all that was trendy. However, in my quest to find a quality pair of jeans, I totally sold out and went to the dreaded AE.

All I wanted, really, was pants. It's not that I didn't want to interact with anyone, it's simply that the pursuit of pants, in my estimation is a noble thing and does not need to be all muddled and drawn out with a lot of conversation and gab.

So I enter the store, find a unit of pant that is to my liking and proceed to the checkout. I casually mentioned to the guy behind the counter that I was looking for any special discounts they might have. He says he dosen't think so but -hey ho-one of his female coworkers steps in and mentions casually that if I can get a 15% discount if I sign up for a AE special store card (which, other than 3 novacaine-free root canals, is the last thing I need). Needing to save 8 bucks, I complied and the exciting form filling and data uploading began!

Here's where it gets funky...

While the modem is dialing and the AE headquarters prepares to reject my application I got into a fairly long and interesting conversation with these two lovely salespeople, who were both, roughly my age. I mentioned I'd worked in retail once, and hated it. They agreed that, yes retail can completely suck sometimes. We then talked about music, and the horrible music videos the mall pumps in to store video screens. This lead to the female AE employee asking what music I liked, if I played an instrument, if I played in a band, and so on. I said yes, and this gave me the perfect opportunity to plug LUX, which I did. They seemed, suprisingly interested in it, presented me my newly purchased jeans and my credit rejection papers and sent me on my way.

On the surface there is nothing particularily exciting about this story. I've read a number of vastly exciting tales of Credit rejection and this totally pales in comparison. What was interesting to me was that here, at American Eagle of all places, I was interacting with people in a positive way , telling them something about my life, and telling them about Lux. More importantly, was the lesson I learned:

Our jobs as Christians are to lead transparent lives. Not just to people we know and interact with on a regular basis, but to the world. I didn't get into anything too serious with these people, and I didn't even mention God once. The point isn't that we have to immidiately preach the gospel to everyone we meet, but shouldn't we at least nudge them in that direction? Do we just do the "God" thing for people at church or to the people we want to really impress? If the opportunity is there to tell someone about your life and what you're committed to, why not take it? Not in any weird way of course, but in a tactful and purposeful way.

And believe me, if there are opportunities in horrible soulless, trendy mall boutiques, opportunities abound...

The War in Iraq-an unmitigated disaster.

The War in Iraq-an unmitigated disaster.
Originally uploaded by darthvedder81.

New Music Tuesday

New Music Tuesday
Originally uploaded by darthvedder81.

I picked up a few new discs today. The first, of course, was Pearl Jam's greatest hits album "Rearviewmirror." It's a two disc set and is a pretty thorough compilation. It's nothing I don't have already (other than less reverby remixes of some of the tracks from "Ten") but the completist in me had to have it.

Next up is Dire Straits first album. Released in 1978 this isn't new at all, but it's new to me and that's all that counts. Mark Knopfler is God.

Lastly I somewhat reluctantly purchased Collective Soul's latest, "Youth." The album art (as I mentioned in an earlier blog) is absolutely horrendous. I've only listened through the album once, and it's a pretty passable record. It's "poppy" but it's not nearly as processed as their last album. I'll probably need to have another listen or two before I can give a final verdict.

Well that's about it-now I must Shake and Bake®.

Buy this book

Buy this book
Originally uploaded by darthvedder81.

I just wrapped up the final front and back cover for this guy. It turned out pretty good and it's one of the few books I've worked on that didn't have to be fixed by the head designer. The imagery did end up changing from the original comp (which you can see on Amazon) but I think it's an improvement.

Pretty bold trim too, as you can see. Hopefully whoever is making the plates registers this one properly and the binder makes a skillful trim so 1/4 of the l, n and g aren't missing.

So please buy this book, and indirectly support me in doing so (it looks like it might be an interesting read.)

Seasons of Life

A couple of times a year I like to sort of mentally take stock of things. This usually occurs in April-May, and then again in October-November. Don't ask me why exactly, but it's these two times a year that I like to re-evaluate myself as a person and a follower of Christ. There isn't a specific day I pick to sit down and think about things, it's just my mind tends to linger on different aspects of life over the course of a few weeks (and then the craziness of the holidays comes and then the grind of winter.)

Lately I've been thinking about my relationships, and all the people that have come into my life and gone or, for whatever reason, I still find myself around regularly. It's easy to take people for granted I think. We all have hopes and expectations for our relationships, or the relationships we want to have, but we can't forget what God has already blessed us with. A lot of people I thought or hoped I'd be better friends with, I'm no longer friends with at all (or they have left my life completely). On the other hand, a lot of people I thought I'd never be friends with I know quite well-human relationships are unpredictable like that. Which begs the question...

Do we deserve more from people and do they in turn deserve more from us? Probably. But I don't really think that's the point. Everyone is in a different place, and the challenge I think is to love people the best we can irregardless of what we get back.

Nobody has perfect friends, a perfect family or a perfect boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife. Nor are we ourselves perfect. All we can do is stay as closely connected to God as possible and let him work in our lives which in turn will benefit the lives of others. That's it.

I've had a hard time talking to God lately. Specifically about my wants and needs, which got me to thinking: Why not just give thanks? God wants us to ask him for what we need and even what we want, but if things are coming up dry in that area (like they seem to be for me right now) why not just thank him for what he has given us already-particularily the people he's put in our lives (even people we hate). They may not be the most eloquent or complete prayers we'll ever make, but it's better than not talking to God at all. God has already given all of us so much, and he'll continue to give us even more than we really need. As we blaze on towards the Thanksgiving holiday, let's really strive to be thankful for what we have and in all we say and do.

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psalm 103:1-5

Pepsi®-Holiday Spice™

Pepsi Spice
Originally uploaded by darthvedder81.

Look! Just in time for the holiday's it's Pepsi®-Holiday Spice™! I just picked up a bottle, and I can't tell yet if I like this or not. It tastes a little like OK (the greatest soda ever) but it also tastes a little like motor oil. I'll get back to you all on this...

In other news, the Noel Heikkinen blog has linked to my blog. I have finally arrived, so forgive me for being weepy.

He liked that Darth Vader/Heidi Klum commercial I linked to. That's good because I thought it might have been inappropriate. Although if Noel likes it that must mean it's REALLY inappropriate, so now I don't know what to do (just kidding Noel). :-)

November 10, 1975

In remembrance...

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya.
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the Gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early!

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot

Sorry...

but this is just too funny!

Serious thoughts on the election

Well I had my fun with those funny John Kerry and Michael Moore blogs. Now I thought I'd throw my two cents in on this past Presidential election and all of it's ramifications.

I've organized my thoughts into three main categories, and they are as follows:

1. God just bought us some time

As a nation, I think it's no secret we have turned our back on God. Not only are the basic tenants of the Christian faith being slowly but surely removed from our institutions, but the very notion of a righteous and sovereign "higher-power" is being totally taken out of the national philosophical dialogue. The current mantra from the intellectual elites of the left is that if you are "religous" (read: Christian) you somehow don't have the right to allow your spiritual beliefs to dictate your political conviction. This was a problem long before the 2004 Presidential campaign of course, and God in his mercy has been gracious, but time is running out. It's not so much that Bush was the "good guy" and Kerry was the "bad guy"-I think Kerry was misguided and wrong but not wicked. The problem I have is with the people that backed the Kerry campaign-the Hollywood elitists like Michael Moore, the mainstream media, and our intellectual institutions (virtually all major universities, in my estimation are run by Marxist-Humanistic-Relativists). All of that time, energy on money put in to destroy President Bush has come to nothing. Never before had any sitting President had so much thrown at him for the sole purpose of bringing him down. Hollywoods best and brightest, the intellectuals and most of our media have failed. These people were soundly defeated and I believe the almighty has bought the church "four more years" to bring the culture back to some sort of a basic understanding of our founding principles and the one who blessed us with those principles in the first place.

2. Righting the ship

We may now have people in control of the executive, legislative and quite possibly the judicial branch that have that "basic understanding." Do all Republicans have the answers? No. Are Democrats the enemy? No. But for the first time in, well, ever we have the chance to turn the culture around. Roe v. Wade could be overturned, or at least the abortion issue could be brought back to the state's jurisdiction (and we know which way the "red" states would go on that). Traditional marriage should stay protected. And we may also see our massive, bloated government and it's welfare system that has kept people down and dependent on government reduced. This could give Christians more resources (read: money) to help those who need it. The radical left is already terrified of this and hates us for it, but frankly who cares? We need to reach out to the culture as much as possible but not at the expense of righteousness.

3. The Church must step up

We know God has "bought us time" and we know that finally, our government may once again find it's proper role. I believe this leaves the rest up to the church. It is the church's job, not the state's, to bring charity to those who need it. Real charity, not impersonal government give-aways that don't get at the real problem. I'm anticipating more tax cuts, less regulation and maybe even increased direct support of "faith-based institutions." Are we going to spend our extra money on a new SUV or are we going to use it to further God's kingdom? With democracies burgeoning in Afghanistan and Iraq we might see new opportunites for the Gospel in the middle east. Those places my not be "safe", but they will certainly be more open to allowing missionaries and aid-workers in the country.

The bottom line is that Christian's need to get back to a place of influencing the culture again but also showing empathy and compassion to a hurting world. Right now I feel like the church is either a) being too influenced by the culture (which I see in some "emergent" church movements or b) shutting itself away from the culture and making itself largely irrelevant. With God's grace we need to find the right balance.

Michael Moore, by association, also big loser

I'm a moron
Originally uploaded by darthvedder81.

Although it took longer than originally anticipated (due to his mysterious disappearence after election night), Michael Moore has been declared, by association, a gargantuan loser.

"All of my lies, distortions and assaults on the Bush presidency have come to nothing, and because of this I must confirm my status as a loser of the highest order" Moore said in a statement earlier today.

Moore's documentary "Farenheit 9/11", was released earlier this year and was the filmaker's attempt at tearing down the Bush presidency.

"All that money, energy and time has amounted to total and utter nothingness. I toured colleges, spoke at rallys and appeared on hundreds of talkshows" Moore said. "My 'grassroots' campaign to destroy George W. Bush had absolutely no affect on the people of this country. I have failed in every possible way."

"Also, I'm a fat, ugly, no talent moron" Moore added.

Moore then stepped down from the podium, waddled into a local day-care and ate a baby.

It's Here! A Dugan exclusive!

Star Wars Episode III Teaser Trailer! Click "download", pick a server and go!

Lucasfilm may shut down this link so check it out while you can.

The teaser will be playing in front of "The Incredibles" which opens tomarrow and will be available for free on starwars.com by the end of the weekend.

Confirmed: Kerry is big loser

Big Loser
Originally uploaded by darthvedder81.

At 1pm CST today John Kerry confirmed his own status as a big loser.

"I have lost the election, and as a result of this, I am a big loser" said the hapless Presidential candidate.

With Bush's commanding lead in the popular vote and victories in key "swing states" such as Florida and New Mexico, Senator Kerry desperately needed to win Ohio's 20 precious electoral votes.

Alas it was not to be.

Senator Kerry continued:

"This was not a failure of my campaign or my staff. Simply put, not enough people filled in the circle next to my name, and as such I did not receive enough votes to win, making me a pathetic loser."

Had Kerry actually presented one or two ideas on political matters both foreign and domestic, instead of pandering to the out-of-touch radical left, he may have been able to secure enough votes to win. But this is all speculation, and only one thing is for sure.

John Kerry and John Edwards are big fat losers.

"What can I say?" said Kerry at the end of his concession speech. "I'm a horrible, miserable failure who looks like that guy from 'The Munsters'".

Added Kerry, "My wife is a frightening, clownish she-demon".

Election Eve

For today's blog I shall defer to Mr. Charles J Chaput, the Catholic archbishop of Denver. For all my disagreements with the Catholic faith, they seem to be the only denomination who consistantly get right the oh-so-volatile faith/politics issue. Many (certainly not all) Evangelical denominations continue to distance themselves from the political arena entire. This is a travesty. I've also been very disappointed with the stance the "emergent" church (a movement that I am, I guess by default a part of) has been taking on politics. In an effort to distance themselves from the "Radical Christian Right" they have, in my estimation, alienated themselves from the body (in the micro-sense) and missed a real opportunity to be "salt and light" (in the macro-sense). I understand that Christ was not a Republican, but he also wasn't a go-go government welfare, relativistic pacifist either.

At any rate, chew on this article. Mr.Chaput makes his point clear, methinks.

NY Times Article October 22, 2004 OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Faith and Patriotism
By CHARLES J. CHAPUT

The theologian Karl Barth once said, "To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." That saying comes to mind as the election approaches and I hear more lectures about how Roman Catholics must not "impose their beliefs on society" or warnings about the need for "the separation of church and state." These are two of the emptiest slogans in current American politics, intended to discourage serious debate. No one in mainstream American politics wants a theocracy. Nor does anyone doubt the importance of morality in public life. Therefore, we should recognize these slogans for what they are: frequently dishonest and ultimately dangerous sound bites. Lawmaking inevitably involves some group imposing its beliefs on the rest of us. That's the nature of the democratic process. If we say that we "ought" to do something, we are making a moral judgment. When our legislators turn that judgment into law, somebody's ought becomes a "must" for the whole of society. This is not inherently dangerous; it's how pluralism works. Democracy depends on people of conviction expressing their views, confidently and without embarrassment. This give-and-take is an American tradition, and religious believers play a vital role in it. We don't serve our country - in fact we weaken it intellectually - if we downplay our principles or fail to speak forcefully out of some misguided sense of good manners. People who support permissive abortion laws have no qualms about imposing their views on society. Often working against popular opinion, they have tried to block any effort to change permissive abortion laws since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. That's fair. That's their right. But why should the rules of engagement be different for citizens who oppose those laws? Catholics have an obligation to work for the common good and the dignity of every person. We see abortion as a matter of civil rights and human dignity, not simply as a matter of religious teaching. We are doubly unfaithful - both to our religious convictions and to our democratic responsibilities - if we fail to support the right to life of the unborn child. Our duties to social justice by no means end there. But they do always begin there, because the right to life is foundational. For Catholics to take a "pro-choice" view toward abortion contradicts our identity and makes us complicit in how the choice plays out. The "choice" in abortion always involves the choice to end the life of an unborn human being. For anyone who sees this fact clearly, neutrality, silence or private disapproval are not options. They are evils almost as grave as abortion itself. If religious believers do not advance their convictions about public morality in public debate, they are demonstrating not tolerance but cowardice. The civil order has its own sphere of responsibility, and its own proper autonomy, apart from the church or any other religious community. But civil authorities are never exempt from moral engagement and criticism, either from the church or its members. The founders themselves realized this. The founders sought to prevent the establishment of an official state church. Given America's history of anti-Catholic nativism, Catholics strongly support the Constitution's approach to religious freedom. But the Constitution does not, nor was it ever intended to, prohibit people or communities of faith from playing an active role in public life. Exiling religion from civic debate separates government from morality and citizens from their consciences. That road leads to politics without character, now a national epidemic. Words are cheap. Actions matter. If we believe in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, we need to prove that by our actions, including our political choices. Anything less leads to the corruption of our integrity. Patriotism, which is a virtue for people of all faiths, requires that we fight, ethically and nonviolently, for what we believe. Claiming that "we don't want to impose our beliefs on society" is not merely politically convenient; it is morally incoherent and irresponsible. As James 2:17 reminds us, in a passage quoted in the final presidential debate, "Faith without works is dead." It is a valid point. People should act on what they claim to believe. Otherwise they are violating their own conscience, and lying to themselves and the rest of us. Charles J. Chaput is the archbishop of Denver. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company