Love is in the air

Well, you can add my sister to the list.

Nikki Dugan and Mark Wallace are getting married on a date to be specified later.

Mark proposed to her on monday night and then, like the total class-act he is, had his parents and my family get together at "Ray Romano's Macarena Grille" to celebrate. It was a very enjoyable and not-at-all awkward time.

A lot of people I know are now married, are going to get married or are well on their way to getting married, but woh-ho-ho not me.

To be frank, I'm completely sick and tired of love and romance right now. Not that I wish anyone any ill will as I'm truly happy for everyone finding their soul mates and all that crap. I'm just sort of dazed and, uh, fazed from love right now. And I know for a fact some of you out there know where I'm coming from. One day I'll come around I'm sure (I hope), but for now I'll just use all that time I could spend looking for love by re-alphabetizing my bullion cubes.

But again big congrats to Mark and Nikki. I'm glad you guys found each other and are happy.

Just don't make me video your wedding, that's what Mikey is for.

Click here to flood my sister's blog with messages of congratulations!

Note to Losers: The Kerry Signs Must Come Down

I still see them everywhere—on mammoth SUV's, tiny little 2 cylinder hybrids and on those ubiquitous of all election paraphernalia—yard signs:

Kerry/Edwards

or

Veterans for Kerry

or even

Polish Americans for Kerry/Edwards

My neighbors continue to have their Kerry sign in the front yard. It's sort of crookedly jammed in the ground, but it's there and I see it everytime I get in my car.

The election ended almost two months ago, Kerry supporters. Your guy lost. Take your signs down now. Christmas shopping today, I counted twelve different vehicles with Kerry stickers (often combined with painfully unfunny liberal political stickers like: "More Trees, Less Bush". Har Har.) That's twelve vehicles with Kerry stickers! In Edina!

When Bob Dole lost in 96' I didn't keep his sign in my window for six weeks. And when Bush was able to fend off Gore's election thieves in 2000 I didn't feel the need to spite anyone by plastering Bush/Cheney signs everywhere.

Maybe this points to something even more fundamental about the left in general—their inability to let anything go or even learn from history. I mean just who are the real progressives in this country? Those that continue to hold on to failed economic policies and global isolationism? I think not.

At any rate, take your signs down losers.

Chewie sings!

Click here for what we've all been waiting for—the Mighty Chewbacca singing the "Facts of Life" theme song.

Richard

Richard
Originally uploaded by darthvedder81.

Here's something fun I made.

If any of you out there are "Photoshop gurus" (or "fitness gurus" for that matter), feel free to replace Richard with another funny picture—then email me your results or post them on your own Blogs/Xangas.

Because that's what we are all about here at "Chris Dugan: News & Views", bringing people together by making fun of things.

Remember Pearl Harbor

At 7:53 A.M. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Lieutenant Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, in his lead Japanese bomber, called out on his radio, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!). It was the code-word that signaled that the Imperial Japanese Navy had achieved maximum strategic suprise over U.S. Army and Navy forces based in and around Pearl Harbor. At 7:55 A.M., the Japanese war planes attacked.

By the time the attack had ended, the Imperial Japanese Navy had accomplished its goal of crippling the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Most of the fleet was at the bottom of the harbor, and most of the Army, Navy, and Marine fighter planes and bombers were smoking ruins.

Taken from Steven E. Ambrose's "The Good Fight: How World War II Was Won."

The attack on Pearl Harbor, to me anyway, is one of the most significant events in United States History. It was the first large-scale assault on U.S. soil since the War of 1812 and, up until 9/11, it was the most horrific loss of human life in a single foreign attack in American history.

Four days after Pearl Harbor, Germany and Italy also declared war on the United States and the U.S. involvement in WW2 began.

This was a war fought and won largely by normal people. Farmers, factory workers, teachers, college students, artists, doctors, men from all walks of life dropped what they were doing and boldly went off to fight for their country. These weren't superheroes or perfectly-trained military specialists—they were our Grandfather's and Great-Grandfather's. The vast majority were under 23 years old and had families, friends and significant others just like you and me.

To be honest I sometimes feel like I need a "war to fight" or a cause to be a part of. I have pondered, off and on, the possibility of joining the military but those thoughts pass, as I think I'd probably be joining for the wrong reasons. The soldiers of WW2 weren't doing this to fulfill any personal dream or grand desire, they were also doing it to simply serve their country.

The lesson I think to be learned here is not that everybody needs to enlist in the military. The lesson I learn is that we all desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves, to sacrifice our comfort and dreams for a greater cause. Serving one's country in the military is certainly one way do to this, but I think an even nobler cause is following and serving the creator of the universe. It is a privilage us "normal people" are given that we may choose to reject or accept, but if we do accept it, let's not simply treat it as we would joining a club. Let's learn from those that fought and died for us. Let's sacrifice our comforts and give God all we have.

If it dosen't cost us something of what value is it?

P.S. I heartily recommend checking out "Band of Brothers." It's an eleven-part documentary-style drama covering the 101st airborne from D-Day to V-E Day. The production values are jaw-droppingly awesome (especially considering it was made for HBO) and it very accurately portrays what WW2 would have been like for a soldier. Even if you don't like "war movies" this is worth a rent purely for it's historical value.

Letting Go

As some of you may recall, in June of 2002 I smacked into a deer on Highway 77 in Apple Valley. It totaled my poor but dependable Honda Civic and forced me to purchase an all new Honda (dropping a sizable chunk of my savings in the process). Other than that loss of some liquid assets, this event didn't affect me too much—except for one thing.

Whenever I drive on that particular stretch of road, or any dark somewhat lonely thoroughfare, I am in a constant state of panic. I feel as though at any moment a deer might jump out in front of my car, cause major damage and cover my car (or my person) in deer entrails. I flinch at any sign of debris fluttering accross the road. I drive 5-10 miles per hour under the posted speed limit. I turn my brights on whenever there isn't any oncoming traffic. My heartbeat increases and my palms sweat. In short,this past event affects my present experience in very real and tangible ways.

Every time this happens to me, it always gets me thinking: How much do we let our past experiences and memories affect how we live and react today? In may be a very real memory that causes us to act in delibrate and obvious ways or it may simply be a "vibe" or a feeling we get that makes us respond to things more subtly.

We've all had things happen to us in our relationships, in our experiences—in our lives that we wish hadn't happened. Maybe we had some control over these events or maybe we had little or none. Maybe we did something wrong, maybe somebody wronged us, or maybe it was a "deer smacking" event that came out of nowhere without any real cause. Should our response be "Why did this happen?" and should it cause us to act differently next time? Well certainly if we have done something wrong that should be our reaction.

But what of the things that people have done to us? Or the seemingly random events? Is our reaction simply anger and "Why me God"? Or is it, "What are you trying to teach me here God?"

The way I see it, life is a great lesson for us. We are accustomed to go to church or the Bible to be taught. But I think God teaches us much just in our life experience, and as such we are constantly given "tests" to see how we might react.

I think what it all comes down to is letting go of what we can't control, and obeying God in what we can.

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV

Ben Stein

Believe it or not, Ben Stein ("Bueller? Bueller?") wrote me a personal email today. I left a message for him on his website and he, for whatever reason, was kind enough to respond back.

In light of that, click here for a piece he wrote for "Eonline" of all places. I think he makes some great points about Hollywood and who the real "heroes" of our world are.

An excerpt:

We are not responsible for the operation of the universe, and what happens to us is not terribly important. God is real, not a fiction, and when we turn over our lives to Him, he takes far better care of us than we could ever do for ourselves.

In a word, we make ourselves sane when we fire ourselves as the directors of the movie of our lives and turn the power over to Him.