'Twas the Night Before the Big XII

Argh, I couldn't get the coding to work right, but you'll get it...

'Twas the night before the Big XII and all through the land,

not a Tiger was stirring, not even the band.

Their Jockeys were hung by the locker with care,

in hopes that the Sooners soon would be there.

Truman was nestled all snug in his bed,

while visions of the BCS danced in his head.

And Pinkel in his kerchief full of Tiger pride,

and Bob and the Sooners ready to ride.

When down in San Antone there arose such a clatter,

Chase sprang from his bed to see what was the matter.

He realized the Option was gone in a flash,

and Maclin's dreams of running had just been dashed.

The Tiger tight ends trembled as they watched the show,

a Crimson and Cream luster set the horizon aglow.

When what to their wondering eyes should they find,

but a miniature Schooner, seven National Titles behind.

With a wizened old driver, skilled in leading his troops,

they knew in a moment it must be Bob Stoops.

More rapid than Temple his players they came,

and he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

"On Bradford , on Joe John, now Patrick and Murray!

On Chris Brown! On Iglesias! On Hartley and Kelly!

To the top of the conference! To the top of it all!

Now dash their hopes! Dash their dreams! Dash away all!"

And then in a twinkling, the Tigers fought back a scream,

and Chase saw the last of his Heisman trophy dream.

The defense drew in their breath and looked all around,

and realized that their "Pig" was nowhere to be found.

Bob's eyes how they twinkled, his coaches how merry!

As they carried on the legacy left them by Barry.

Gary's sad little face and a fear in his belly,

he shook on the field as his knees turned to jelly.

Pinkel spoke not a word, and the ball they couldn't carry.

Stoops filled up the scoreboard and then turned to Gary,

and laying his hand on the shoulder of his friend,

he gave Pinkel a nod and said, "Like Norman again."

Bob sprang to the Schooner, to his team gave a shout,

to the BCS they flew and left Mizzou down and out.

And we heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,

"Boomer Sooner to All and to All a Good Night!"

Special thanks to my friend Olivia, who I got this from...who got it from her friends Lauren & Etta.

Homecoming!

I am so excited!

After having lived in the northeast for over two years, I'm finally going home to Oklahoma for a visit!

Now, granted, I grew up in southern Florida, but I lived for 10 years in Oklahoma and I can't believe how much I miss it. I made amazing friends while living there and I just flat-out fell in love with the place. I now consider Oklahome every bit as much my home as Florida.

I cannot wait to get back there. I managed to find a fairly inexpensive flight over the Christmas holiday, and because it fell over the holiday when I don't have to work, I'm going to be able to spend 2 weeks in Oklahoma while only using 1 week of vacation time! What kind of deal is that!

Anyway, I'm just about to burst I'm so excited. Can't wait to see everybody!

Interesting Question & Music Monday

So, Fr. Fox over at Bonfire of the Vanities has posed a very iteresting question in a post titled Should Klingons be Baptized?

Basically, the question boils down to...if (when?) we discover sentient "alien" life in the universe are we called to evangelize to them also, or is the Gospel message and the Great Commission solely binding to humankind?

What a fascinating and thought provoking question. Fr. Fox goes on to pose several secondary questions (it's important to remember that all of this is being asked from a Catholic viewpoint) such as, could the "alien" males serve be ordained? And, could they be ordained to the priesthood and serve in persona Christi? If humans and the "alien" species couldn't procreate could they get married? What if they could procreate? That's just a sampling because there are some really interesting lines of thought to be followed from such a query.

Follow the link above to see the original question and responses. Some of the responses have focused on how this would be similar to when the Europeans invaded the Americas and there was debate on whether the indigenous inhabitants were human. I can see the relation to this question, but I don't think that the two situations were similar. I mean when the Europeans invaded the Americas they were able to have a debate on the humanness of the indigenous inhabitants...when we invade (I mean discover, but I guess they could invade us just as easily) another world there will be really no way to argue that the "aliens" are human.

It's an interesting theological quandry. One I'm really intrigued by. Check it out and make comments on his blog if 'cause I'll be checking back into this conversation.

Music Monday (hey Rev. Rodgers...check out #5, remember when you thought I made band names up? haha!)
1. Lord Move, Or Move Me. FFH
2. That's What Love's About. Stacie Orrico
3. Sweet Caroline. Neil Diamond (Secret Exposed: I am a HUGE Neil Diamond fan!)
4. Contest Song. Thunder Hill
5. 20 Nothing. Skankin' Pickle
6. Cover Me. FFH
7. A Country Boy Can Survive. Hank Williams, Jr.
8. The Way You Love Me. Faith Hill
9. Marlboro Man. The Toasters
10. Out of the Window. Violent Femmes

The rules for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria (ca. 310)

I'm a survivor!

That's right, I'm a pink-eye survivor! It may be commonly associated with kids, but I've never had pink-eye and it was freaky. All in all, for having something illness-wise, it wasn't too bad. I didn't actually feel bad...my eyes just looked like crap and I had some trouble seeing with all the gunk in my eyes. But, other than that, it wasn't too bad.

Since I couldn't go to work this week (though, we only worked Mon-Wed) because pink-eye is highly contagious (so the dr. says) I spent most of the week doing some long overdue reading. It was nice to be able to read as much as I did just because I wanted to (though it was difficult sometimes because of the aforementioned gunk in the eye).

It has been a long while since I had time to just read whatever I wanted. Until early June I had been in school full-time for the past five years and spent most of my reading time doing assignments. During the past year at HDS I kept telling myself:

I have a dream!

I have a dream that one day I can read

what I want,

when I want,

and

if I want!

Well, the dream has been achieved...and it is sweet indeed!

I read five whole books last week. Most were non-fiction books about subjects I'm interested in and they were really good. It was awesome to get to read thing I'm interested in intellectually, but without the spector of academia overshadowing me.

Probably the best think I read last week was a book of fiction though. It's important to remember that I haven't read a lot of fiction in several years. Being a student (unless your a Literature student) kind of runs fiction out of your life, so it was good to finally find some fiction that was good. I had recently read, and I think I mentioned on here, The Kite Runner which was supposed to be really good according to pretty much everyone, but I didn't really like it at all. It just kept going on and on, and I felt the ending was pretty obvious before you ever got there.

Anyway, this week I read a book called Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The story basically follows a young man through a summer in the 1930s when he worked for a circus. It was really, really good and the author was really able to bring the inner workings of a circus to life. I left the book feeling that I had actually had a behind the scenes look at classic circus life. The ending was just amazing too. It wasn't a really climactic ending, but it just made me feel that everything works out for a reason. I highly recommend it.
**Movie instead of book recommendation: Cecille B. Demille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) starring Charlton Heston.

Oh, and my Sooners beat Oklahoma State 49-17 to win the Bedlam game, which means the Sooners are the Big XII South Champs and will face the Missouri Tigers (AP, BCS #1) for the Big XII Championship in San Antonio on Saturday night! Hells YEAH!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of St. Columban (ca. 543-615)

Thursday Thirteen

In honor of Huck/Chuck'08 (see here) I give you...

13 Facts About Chuck Norris!

1. On a high school math test, Chuck Norris put down “Violence” as every one of the answers. He got an A+ on the test because Chuck Norris solves all his problems with violence.
2. If you spell Chuck Norris wrong on a google search it doesn’t say, “Did you mean Chuck Norris?” It simply replies, “Run while you still have a chance!”
3. When monsters go to sleep at night they check their closets for Chuck Norris.
4. Superman owns a pair of Chuck Norris pajamas.
5. Chuck Norris’ dog is trained to pick up his own poop because Chuck Norris doesn’t take crap from anyone.
6. Bill Gates lives in constant fear that Chuck Norris’ pc will crash.
7. Ghosts are actually caused by Chuck Norris killing people faster than God can process them.
8. Chuck Norris once had a heart attack…his heart lost.
9. When Chuck Norris looks in a mirror it shatters, because not even glass is stupid enough to get between Chuck Norris and Chuck Norris.
10. Chuck Norris can create a rock so heavy that even he can’t lift it…then he lifts it anyway just to show you he’s Chuck Norris.
11. Chuck Norris doesn’t play hide-and-seek…he plays hide-and-pray-I-don’t-find-you.
12. Chuck Norris is suing NBC claiming that “Law” and “Order” are the trademarked names for his left and right legs.
13. Bullets don’t kill people…Chuck Norris does.

Thanks Be to God for Chuck Norris!

Greatest Political Ad EVER!!!

HUCK/CHUCK'08!

Big-Ups to the blog where I initially found this gem.

I H-A-T-E thanksgiving!

I truly despise and hate the thanksgiving holiday. Part of it is because of how insulting it is to the Indigenous people of the western hemisphere, but that is only a minor part of my abhorrence of thanksgiving. But, because I always love to pick a fight I've put two images and one video that address the Indigenous viewpoint about thanksgiving.

So, what is my major beef with thanksgiving? I find it incredibly abhorrent, horrible, and truly disgusting that Americans (and Canadians for that matter) are so entirely self-absorbed, self-centered, and just plain selfish that they must set an entire day aside just so they don't forget to say thank you.

Perhaps it's the impact of my upbringing, but I just believe we should thank God every day, every hour, every minute, and every second for all He has gifted us with...not that I'm perfect in that regard either. I just truly believe to do anything less is a slap in the face of a gracious and loving God.

"If the only prayer you ever say is 'Thank You" it will be enough."

Meister Eckhart

blechhhhhhhh

Scotty's sick...will check in after my benadryl does it's thing.

Can someone be my mommy?

Who's on first?

who's on first with star wars

Add to My Profile More Videos

Thursday Thirteen

My 13 Favorite Cartoons

(in no particular order)

1. The Super Friends

2. Hong Kong Phooey

3. King of the Hill

4. Scooby Doo

5. Space Ghost

6. Batman & Robin

7. Fat Albert

8. Thundercats

9. The Flintstones

10. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

11. GI Joe

12. Transformers

13. Frosty the Snowman

Don't screw around on the Rez!

Justice...

Miccosukee Style!

So, a guy was evidently running from the police on my rez (Miccosukee Indian Reservation) back in Florida and jumped in a pond and was eaten by Poncho, the gator who lives in the pond. I find the story Hi-freakin-larious! (story here)

Poncho has lived in that pond forever. Everybody back home knows who Poncho is.

I cannot believe the state is going to kill Poncho for doing what gators do. He was just being himself. You can't fault a gator for going for a meal...can you? I know the law is similar to when a dog bites a human the dog is usually killed also. But a dog is not a wild animal. Wild animals are, well, just that...wild. They do what they do and if you get bit/maimed/killed it isn't the animals fault. Poncho was just doing what Heseketvmesse (God/Creator) taught him to do.

It's really sad.

Suspected Car Thief Eaten by Gator
Man Died After Fleeing From Police Into Pond on Fla. Indian Reservation
By DAVID SCHOETZ
Nov. 13, 2007 —
Authorities in Florida are saying very little about an incident last week in which a suspected car thief reportedly fled from police into a small pond on an Indian reservation and was eaten by an alligator.

ABC News' South Florida affiliate WPLG reported that Thursday the Miccosukee Police Department, which handles law enforcement for the Miccosukee Indian Reservation, along with K-9 units from the nearby Sweetwater Police Department, responded to a call about two men breaking into vehicles in the parking lot of the tribe's 300-room resort and casino.

Police reportedly captured one of the men, but the other dived into a nearby retention pond ignoring a sign that warned about dangerous alligators in the pond.

Eyewitnesses told WPLG that bystanders on the bank of the pond saw the gator, which the station reported was nicknamed "Poncho" by resort employees, and urged the man to swim back to shore, but he eventually screamed before disappearing underwater. The body of the man, who has not been identified by police, was discovered by divers Friday, 50 feet below the water's surface.

A dispatcher for the Miccosukee Police Department told ABC News that the department could not comment and that an investigation into the death was ongoing. A lieutenant for the Sweetwater Police Department referred all questions to the Miccosukee police.
Gator Trapped, Put Down

The alligator that authorities believe is the one that killed the man was trapped and killed, and is now being held at All American Gator in Pembroke Park, Fla.

Under Florida state law, any alligator that kills a person must be destroyed.

Brian Wood, owner of All American Gator, told WPLG that the Miami-Dade County medical examiner hold him to hold the reptile for inspection. Neither the medical examiner's office nor Wood was available for comment, but Wood reportedly told the local station that it's not uncommon for a gator to behave defensively.

"Some gators have a nasty disposition, and he was a nasty gator," Wood told WPLG. "He seemed to have no fear of people, which indicates that he was fed."

Though alligators have a reputation for attacking Florida pets, they also occasionally attack humans. Since 1948, 275 unprovoked human attacks have been reported in Florida, with 17 resulting in death.

More than 18,000 alligator nuisance complaints were filed in Florida last year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and 7,000 gators were removed by authorities.

In October, an 83-year-old woman in Savannah, Ga., bled to death from wounds she suffered in a gator attack. It was the first fatal alligator attack in that state since 1980. The eight-foot alligator was captured by resource officers and killed.

Also in October a Florida man was sentenced to die for a 1998 crime in which he left a 5-year-old girl in a section of the Florida Everglades known as "Alligator Alley." When the girl's body was found, her skull was crushed and an arm was missing.

(story source)

Tonight on PBS

As part of Native American Heritage Month the PBS show Independent Lens will be premiering the documentary Miss Navajo at 10pm eastern time.

Synopsis:
For the past 50 years, the Miss Navajo Nation pageant has celebrated Navajo women and traditional values, language and inner beauty. Held over a five-day period at the annual Navajo Nation Fair, contestants are required to showcase skills that are crucial to Navajo daily life, including sheep butchering, fry-bread making and rug weaving. Through interviews with new and previous pageant contestants, Miss Navajo reveals the importance of cultural preservation and the meaning of being a woman in Navajo culture.

Crystal Frazier, a twenty-one-year-old Navajo woman, lives on the reservation in Table Mesa, New Mexico. Living in a house without running water, Crystal helps care for her family’s livestock, makes a weekly trip to the well for water and does a share of the cooking. A tomboy and former high school basketball champ, Crystal is confronted with a new set of challenges when she decides to compete in the 2005–06 Miss Navajo pageant. She acknowledges her own shyness and says that participating in the Miss Navajo contest would probably be a good experience. Miss Navajo follows Crystal’s journey leading up to the competition, while former Miss Navajos share their own memories of the pageant and what it meant to them. Each previously crowned “queen” also experienced life on the reservation and faced the challenges of working as a leader in the preservation of their culture.

Conceived as a “celebration of womanhood” by filmmaker Billy Luther—whose mother, Sarah Johnson Luther, was Miss Navajo Nation 1966–67—Miss Navajo offers a different take on what it means to be beautiful, exploring tradition in Diné, or Navajo, culture through one woman’s quest for the Miss Navajo Nation crown.

Trailer:

Music Monday

1. 'Til the Day I Die. Third Day
2. Free Ride. Audio Adrenaline
3. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. U2
4. Kashmir. Bond
5. Blessed Assurance. Avalon
6. Beverly Hills. Weezer
7. I've Always Loved You. Third Day
8. Yes, I Believe in God. Rebecca St. James
9. Lord I Lift. Sammy Ward
10. Hip Hop Star. Beyonce

The rules for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of St. Josaphat (ca. 1580-1623)

Aging and such...

Not a lot of people know how old I am. It isn't that I keep it a secret. In fact, I'll happily tell anyone the truth when asked.

So, for inquiring minds...I am 35 (36 in March).

My age is becoming increasingly important to me. Not because of vanity...actually quite the opposite.

I'm a 35 year old man who looks, at best, 22 (see left). Now most people would consider this a great thing. But, I feel it is a kind of burden.

You see, as a 35 year old who looks to be in his early 20s it has become really hard to deal with people who think I'm in my 20s. I'm tired of getting carded for EVERYTHING! I even got carded at a Wal-Mart once because the town had a curfew. Now, I know most people my age and older would love get carded, but I'm tired of it.

I'm tired of people not taking me seriously because they think I'm so young or too young. I'm tired of walking into offices on my campus (I work at a university) and people just assume I'm a student...and treat me like one. I even had one person who I had to tell 3 times that I wasn't a student before they could even hear what I was asking.

You know what the worst part of looking like a man in his early 20s is...dating women my own age. Some men will claim that this would be a HUGE advantage. But, I'm not one of them. I would love to meet and go out with someone near my own age (30ish). But, when women my age see me they totally write me off as being too young (not that I blame them).

And therein lies the problem I'm noticing in my semi-old age. I'm starting to think more and more about "adult" things. Getting a house, finding a job I can retire in, marrying, children, retirement, etc. Maybe it's because I look so young (even to myself), or because I started college early and am just now getting out into the professional world (for real this 2nd time around).

I'm just starting to find myself thinking about life issues I've never really thought about before. I used to think I didn't want children, and I'm still not sure, but I'm thinking about children and what it would be like to be a father more and more lately. Even what it would be like to serve as a foster parent.

I think that may be the oddest part for me. I didn't have the best childhood, which used to make me not want to raise children. I was terrified I'd be exactly like my parents. Now, I'm not saying that I'm totally over that fear. What I am thinking, though, is that because of my experience, I might be able to give another child who has had a rough time of it something more...especially because of my experience.

It's kind of weird. All this started happening right after I graduated from Harvard. And then I ask myself, was it my graduation from Harvard or is it the fact that I have a real job now? Or is it the fact that I've had to switch from being a student to becoming an advisor of students. I mean, my job is requiring me to be much, much more adultlike than I've ever had to before.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I don't feel like I have a home right now. I've been in my job and my new town for about five months right now, and the town most definitely does not feel like home at this point. It's hard being on a college campus when you're basically the only one starting new.

This wasn't the case when I was a student. As a student you always start the year off with a group of fellow students who are new, and this allows you to bond over that experience and create friendships. This isn't the case with my job. I'm the new person...the only new person. No one to bond with over the same experiences.

And I'm not a student...I'm not one of the "guys," in fact, I'm now one of "them." I don't think I ever consider the consequences of becoming one of "them." I'm totally by myself.

This was exacerbated this weekend while I was taking a group of students to a conference at Dartmouth.

I was never particularly fond of Boston, though I think this had a lot to do with my experiences at Harvard Divinity School which skewed my perception of Boston.

But, this weekend as I was driving in New Hampshire, I felt a soft spot in my heart for...get this...Shaw's Supermarket. It made me think of Boston and my friends there. Not quite home, but more of a home than my current situation. I mean I had all these disconcerting emotions over a grocery store? It was more than weird.

Anyway, I guess all I'm trying to say is that I'm in a period of transition and it's a transition I'm not quite sure what to think. In some ways I think it is really good, and in some ways I think it is causing me to miss other things I should be taking note of.

I don't know...I guess I'm just venting...thanks for listening.

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Feast of St. Martin of Tours (ca. 316-397)

Thursday Thirteen

13 Pet Peeves

Special thanks to WorksForMom

(per usual...in no particular order)

1. Not getting a real person when I call a company or service department.
2. Not having what I need to do my work when I need it.
3. People who don't know the difference between a "podium" and a "lectern." (answer: you stand on a podium, you speak from a lectern)
4. Excuses.
5. Stores that put carpet or uneven flooring at the location the carts are so you can't tell if your cart has a bad wheel.
6. People who don't do what they say they will.
7. Priests who don't follow the liturgy.
8. Smokers & Smoking.
9. Unironed clothes.
10. People who listen to their iPods so loud that I know exactly what they're listening to...dude, turn it down!
11. Elitism.
12. Using selective scripture quotes to support a point...anybody can pick and choose scripture out of context.
13. Professors who use the classroom to further their political/moral/ethical agenda.

Sooner Joke of the Week...

Sooner Joke of the Week!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Feast of Bl. John Duns Scotus (1266-1308)

WTF...this is really sad:

Priest Accused of Stalking Conan O'Brien (Source)
Nov. 7, 2007, 11:26 PM EST
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A priest has been arrested on charges of stalking late-night talk-show host Conan O'Brien by writing him threatening notes on parish letterhead, contacting his parents and showing up at his studio, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The Rev. David Ajemian, a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, was arrested last week while trying to enter a taping session of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" at New York's Rockefeller Plaza, said Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan prosecutor's office.

Ajemian referred to himself as "your priest stalker" in one note and complained of not being allowed in to see an earlier taping of the O'Brien show, court papers say.

"Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans?" the note said.

The letters and e-mails, which started coming in September 2006, continued even after Ajemian was asked to stop and were "intended to cause annoyance and alarm," Thompson said.

"I want a public confession before I ever consider giving you absolution — or a spot on your couch," wrote Ajemian, who signed the notes "Padre," Thompson said.

Ajemian also has been in contact with O'Brien's parents, Thompson said.

A telephone message left Wednesday night at St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Church in Boston, which Ajemian gave as his address, was not immediately returned.

O'Brien is not commenting, an NBC spokesman said.

The Boston Archdiocese said in a statement that Ajemian had been placed on leave and was no longer allowed to minister publicly. O'Brien has participated in fundraising activities for the archdiocese.

The priest and the late-night host may have attended Harvard University at the same time.
O'Brien graduated in 1985, and Ajemian graduated from high school in 1979 before attending the Ivy League school, according to an alumni magazine published by his high school.

The priest could face up to a year in prison if convicted of aggravated harassment and stalking.

Music Monday & Week in Review

Music Monday

1. Intertribal Whistle Song. Cozad
2. Kryptonite. 3 Doors Down
3. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey. The Beatles
4. Bus Driver. Caedmon's Call
5. Great Expectations. Steven Curtis Chapman
6. Live. Nichole Nordeman
7. Brass Monkey. Beastie Boys
8. Paris. Faith Hill
9. The Fightin' Side of Me. Merle Haggard
10. Knee Deep. George Clinton

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Week in Review
This section is new and I'm just trying it out. I'm borrowing/aquiring/stealing this idea and format from Who Am I...Thanks Who Am I! Though most of this is from 2 weeks ago since I was out of town last week...but you get the point.

Reading-
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
This book has received rave reviews, but I just don't get it. It was a good enough read. I kept turning pages to see if something major was going to happen, but it never really did. The book just seemed to go on and on with no discernable reason. Oh well, if you're just looking for something to read I suppose it's ok.

Watching-
Heroes
I didn't watch this at all before this year because it came on at the same time as 24, which I LOVE. But, I started watching it this season and I have to say I'm intrigued even though I don't know what happened last season. I'm still a little confused by the story-line, but I keep watching so it can't be that bad.

The Hills
This is my big, dark secret...I'm a fan of MTV's The Hills. I love this show. It is so totally wrong. It's a semi-reality (meaning MTV knows the characters schedules and such, but it's unscripted) show that follows some really, really rich 20-somethings as they live out their lives in Beverly Hills. I like this show mainly to see the absolutely insanity of these kids lives.

In My Netflix Queue-
The Fox and the Hound
I wanted to see this and relive part of my childhood, but you know what...it wasn't as good as I remember it being. The animation was really poor and it was readily apparent that this was a movie Disney was hoping would save its fortunes in the early 80s. Though the part where the fox and hound meet each other and the hound says "I'm a hound dog...hoooowwwl!" Is just as funny now, as it was in my childhood.

The R.M
This movie was about a Mormon missionary who returns home from his 2 year mission to find that his parents don't really miss him and his girlfriend left him. That's about as far as I got. This movie was horrible. I couldn't even watch it to the end. I maybe watched 30 minutes of it before I turned it off.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
This HBO movie followed the plight of the Lakota during the late 1880s culminating in the Massacre of Wounded Knee in 1890. The movie was supposed to be fairly well-balanced between the Euro-American view and the Lakota view. I suppose it was, but I felt it got some of the historical facts mixed up and that those mistakes will cause some people to misinterpret what the Lakota were experiencing. I suppose it was a really good attempt, but I just feel it really fell short, though I'd still give it 3 stars on the Netflix scale.

Listening-
Carnival Ride, the new album from Carrie Underwood
This album is amazing! It's better than her first one and every track is a winner!

I especially love the song So Small. I literally cried the first time I heard it. It's amazing!


Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of Ven. Solanus Casey (1870-1957)

Twice in a lifetime!!!!!

Just in case you missed it...as I did because I was on an airplane and missed game 4!

The BOSTON RED SOX

are the

WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!

So, I've been on the road most of this week traveling across the Navajo and Hopi Nations. Let me tell you, this is some of the most beautiful country in the world!

Having grown up in the humid south, it was a little (ok, a lot!) dry for me. But, this just may be the most beautiful part of Indian Country...and it's definitely the most beautiful part I've ever been too.

I wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay $25 to see God's creation. There is just something morally wrong about charging people to see God's creation and perhaps I made a mistake, and should have gone ahead and paid to see it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

So, though my photographic talent doesn't do the region justice, here's some pictures for your enjoyment.

This is a roadside stand that sells Indian arts near Tuba City, Navajo Nation. I LOVE the fact they advertise themselves as "Nice Indians"...too funny!

This is on the Hopi Reservation near Tuba City, Navajo Nation.

On the Hopi near 2nd Mesa.

At the Hubbel Trading Post near Ganado, Navajo Nation.

At the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Navajo Nation.

Dine' College in Tsaile, Navajo Nation (Dine' is the Navajo word for themselves).

Near Tsaile, Navajo Nation.

Wheatfield Lake, Navajo Nation.

Near Ft. Defiance, Navajo Nation.

So, I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix and they were nice enough to leave water in my room for my convenience. Nice, huh?

Note that the convenient water costs $5.25, but they'll bill me for it...oh, and they'll replace it for me too. What a deal!

All in all, it was a great trip.

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Feast of St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639)