Don't Let Jesse Jackson Preach At My Funeral!

On my way home today I turned on the radio, like I normally do, to listen to whatever CD happened to be in the CD player. I decided today however, to listen to the radio. I have pretty much given up on FM radio, but I still like NPR and some AM channels. I first turned to AM 1250, which is the AM station for WNEM-TV 5, one of our local CBS affiliates. Upon tuning in I heard someone singing a looooooooooooong drawn out version of "Wind Beneath My Wings". I immediately recalled that today was the day that Rosa Parks’ funeral was being held in Detroit. I listened to this long winded song for a bit and when I had enough, I changed the channel to NPR to check out All Things Considered. When I didn’t find the news story interesting I turned back to AM 1250. I was interested to hear the Rev. Jesse Jackson preaching to the attendees of Rosa Parks’ funeral. I decided to listen to him preach for a little bit. I have always found his type of preaching very interesting. At my church when the priest does his thin there is little to no excitement or passion in his voice. When Baptist minister preach you can feel the excitement and passion in every word they say, and that is what I find intriguing. Anyway, I listened to the Reverend preach and he said some very moving things. He spoke about Rosa Parks in very high regard. He talked about her n relation to Dr. Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders. It was a great sermon…or at least that’s what I thought until he started talking politics. He began by saying that we should put a life size statue of Rosa Parks in the halls of congress. I agreed. He then said we should honor her along with the men we honor each day that were associated with slavery and segregation. Again, I totally agree. Then Jackson started on a tangent of attacks on President Bush, all of which I happened to also agree with. Jackson spoke of how Bush just selected a candidate for the Supreme Court who is anti Rosa Parks thinking. Jackson also spoke of how a couple of years ago Bush went and placed a wreath on M.L.K’s grave ant then the next day began fighting to eliminate affirmative action. Again, I totally agree that Bush is a turd. What I don’t agree with is Jackson’s choice to use the death of Rosa Parks, and her funeral, as a platform to promote his political agenda. A funeral is a time of mourning, or a time to get some closure. For other a funeral is a time of celebration. It’s a time to celebrate that the deceased has left this earth and gone to a better place. I was not aware that for some, a funeral is a place to stand on a soap box and promote a political agenda. I believe in civil rights and I agree with many of the things that the Reverend spoke of, but I found it completely disrespectful, even offensive, that he chose this day and place as his venue to voice his political agenda. I lost a lot of respect for Jesse Jackson today!

Wow! I believe that was my first real rant on this blog. For anyone reading this who might one day attend my funeral: Please, do not let Jesse Jackson preach at my funeral! (or do my eulogy). Instead, encourage everyone to remember me with a smile, and have a drink…on me!

See ya.

Red & Yellow

Autumn is here. We took a trip to the Chipewa Nature Center this weekend to do a project for Katie's biology class. After we finished the project it was time to take some pictures of the fall colors.

Looking Up

Webber w/Bandana

Katie likes Webber to look festive. A dollar store bandana always does the trick!

Fall Colors

Autmn Blanket

Farmland Sky

Teepee?

Pumpkin Farm Landscape

Gourds

Webber meets the Goats at the pumpkin farm.

Windmill #1

Webber loves to lay in the sun!

Lot's of Leaves

It's Fall

Electrical

 

iPod Update...

I'm sure you'll understand why I haven't posted an update to "My iPod is Home." I've been too busy listening to about 100 podcasts that I missed while the iPod was down. So here's the update: After finding out that the iPod had arrived over at my parent’s house, I left work and drove as fast as possible to their house. I was so excited when I finally arrived at my parents and saw the box on the kitchen table. I immediately opened the box and was even more excited when (this is the point where you can pretend that in the background, when I finally open the box and see the iPod, a chorus of angels begins to sing and the iPod magically floats out of the box. As it floats out of the box there is a heavenly glow around it, the glow begins to appear larger and larger as the iPod starts to float to my hand until it finally rests in my grasp...) I removed the packing material to find that they had actually shipped me a brand new iPod. The case and screen had no scratches or finger prints and it looked just like my original iPod did the first day I got it. I want you to know that even though I was excited to see a new iPod I was still a little skeptical. I was just a little worried that when I plugged it into my computer I would find that this iPod was also corrupted. I am very happy to say that that was not the case. Anyway, after seeing that I actually had a new iPod, I showed it to my parents. They had never seen an iPod and they were both pretty interested. I answered all of their questions and showed my Mom how to work it.

The Update

When I got home I immediately went to my computer and plugged the iPod in. Again, I didn't have high hopes that everything would work. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the iPod Updater pop-up on my screen. I updated the software, plugged in to the power source for a reflash, and then plugged back in to my computer to add all of my music. At the time of the update I had 2045 music/mp3 files in iTunes. I began the update at 8:03pm and amazingly my iPod was completely updated by 8:49pm. I disconnected it from the computer and did a test listen to some random songs and podcasts just to see if there was any skipping. Everything worked fine and the rest is history. I have had my earbuds in my ears for the most of the last 4 days, and I have loved every minute. I missed a lot in the podcasting world and I have been very eager to get caught up.

I am thinking of adding a list of my top ten favorite podcasts to the sidebar of my blog. Many of my friends have been asking me questions of which podcast I would recommend. The best I can do is to tell them which podcasts are my favorites, tell them about podcast alley, and let have them take a listen. We'll see what happens.

See ya.

My iPod is Home!

I just found out that my "new" iPod has been delivered via FedEx. It's at home and I can't wait to see what they sent me...will it be a brand new iPod or a refurbished one? We'll see. You can be sure I'll let you know what they sent me. I am so excited!!! I haven't been able to keep up on all of my podcasts and I can't wait to catch up. There's lots of listening to be done! Stay tuned.

See ya.

Happy Birthday! Capone

Finally

So I am finally getting around to sending in the iPod... it is pay-day after all. How long do you think it will take HP to send me my "new" iPod. It doesn't matter I suppose. I just want to have an iPod that works and that doesn't let me down when I need it the most. In the interim, I have been using my iRiver to listen to my Podcasts and a small number of mp3's. I have to say, I like my iRiver almost as much as my iPod. The only downfalls of the iRiver are the small dispaly screen and battery life. Anyway, I can't wait to get my "new" iPod. I will be a very happy boy the day it arrives at my door.
Fall is here, and with fall comes the time when the trees explode with beautiful colors. Since I have developed love for photography I have spent most of my time taking pictures of flowers and other summer things. I am excited for the fall because it will give me the opportunity to take photos of the color changes, leaves, leaf piles while raking, and eventually the "naked" forest. The colors are changing fast here. I am hoping to get out on Sunday to take some pic's at one of our local nature centers. Stay tuned...

See ya.