According to the Bible, we are to do everything to the glory of the Lord. Therefore, everything that we do can be considered an act of worship if done for the Lord. Too often, the world is caught up in tradition, too set in their ways. I say screw conformity. As long as you are using your talents, then go for it. Worship is whatever we make it to be.
Enjoy this video from Caswell, NC, that defines what creative worship is.
“Festivus yes, bagels no”! That is the chant of Kramer when he is forced to work on Festivus. Yes, Fresivus, the holiday for the rest of us. As I recalled in “The Best Way to Kill Christmas Cheer…” I am not the biggest fan of Christmas. In fact, I am a huge Grinch. Instead, I like to celebrate a holiday made famous by Seinfeld.
This will give you a bit more background information…
Festivus is an alternative to the crass commercialization of Christmas, typically celebrated on December 23. It involves The Airing of Grievances (telling your family and friends all the ways they have disappointed you during the year) and does not end until the Feats of Strength (pinning the head of the family/hot of the party) are accomplished. A plain, metal pole is used in lieu of a Christmas tree, because decorations (such as tinsel) is distracting from the true meaning of the holiday.
Every year, my devoted friends throw a Festivus party. I think that it would be a wonderful tradition to start where I live. They get together and give the traditional Festivus gift (that is a gift that no one wants… fruitcake), and share in the traditional Festivus meal… meatloaf.
There are even Festivus songs!
O Festivus
(To the tune of ‘O Christmas Tree’)
O Festivus, O Festivus,
Costanza’s day, for the rest of us.An aluminum pole, it’s tinsel free,
And feats of strength, who can pin me?O Festivus, O Festivus,
Costanza’s day, for the rest of us.No raining blows, for sake of a doll,
Just grievances, aired to you all.O Festivus, O Festivus,
Costanza’s day, for the rest of us!
The reason why I love Festivus is because it is a fun, counter culture tradition. It is refreshing to be able to enjoy a bit of satire during the holidays. So, why don’t you consider some Festivus party ideas and spread the love of Festivus to you and yours!
It’s easy! All you have to do is follow the chart!
Here’s to a happy Festivus and many Festivus miracles!
“Blast this Christmas music. It’s both joyful AND triumphant.” As I drive down the road, I lament the fact that my favorite radio stations have SOLD OUT and begun to play nothing but Christmas music. I can’t take it! I can’t stand it! The holiday season, Christmas specifically, is just about as happy as a small wild hedgehog breathing its last hedgehog breath. Okay, maybe not quite that dramatic, but you get the point…
I am a GRINCH!
I mean, so much that last year my students changed the words of “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” to be about me.
In the words of the Grinch, “Ugh. Bleeding hearts of the world UNITE!” You may look at me and thing, “but how can you hate Christmas, its so happy.” Well, lets take a moment and explore it together.
1) Family Issues - Let’s all be good psychologists and take the obvious approach. It’s not because I have deep scaring memories of bad Christmases with my family. My parents did a great job of creating, cultivating and experiencing the Christmas magic. They went out of their way to save up all year so that we could have everything that we wanted on Christmas morning. I remember one Christmas, they hid presents on our porch, rang the doorbell, and convinced my brother and I that we saw the elves run away, leaving us an early present. Another instance of holiday happiness was going to see the Tanglewood Festival of Lights every year. We literally got everything that we asked for, and Christmas morning was a magical morning. All of my family memories are positive… we have to keep exploring.
2) It all starts waaay too early: Shortly after they get done with Halloween, the Christmas crap starts showing up in stores well over 2 months before the actual event! The DAY after Thanksgiving (don’t get me started!) people are out putting up the tacky “yard ornaments.” December technically starts on November 25th in America. Is nothing sacred anymore?
3) The Tree: I am not a crazy, wacko environmentalist person who goes crazy about deforestation and cutting down trees. No, I am a Republican. And I digress. I just don’t understand why people want to put up a tree in their house (which makes a mess) only to decorate it with tons of ugly ornaments. I mean, my grandparents used to have a basement full (and I’m talking shelves lined all of the walls, buckling from the weight) of hallmark ornaments. Now, they are in boxes in my ‘bedroom’ at my parents house… with barely a path left to get to the closet. Trees are something that I’ve never been able to bring myself to spend money on.
4) Gifts: Who doesn’t like free stuff, right? I am bad about spending money on myself as it is. I don’t do it. Unless it is food or coffee, I never buy new clothes, get my car washed, or do any similar things for myself. I’ve never minded getting things for other people, that’s not an issue either. Really, what I think it boils down to is the fact that we as a society already have so much. We have so many things that we don’t use, don’t need, but yet they ‘increase our standard of living’. Really? Really people? I have made it just fine without a microwave, with the shoes that I have, with the clothes in my closet. I don’t need more. And yet, when you tell people that you DON’T WANT ANYTHING FOR CHRISTMAS they make it out to be like you’re some sort of self-righteous zealot. No, I just don’t think that people should spend their hard earned money on me. I appreciate the thought, I do, but I honestly don’t want (or need) anything. I am fine, thank you. (And on a note of irony, my brother LITERALLY just called me to talk about Christmas gifts. You can’t make that shit up).
“And they’ll feast, feast, feast, feast. They’ll eat their Who-Pudding and rare Who-Roast Beast. But that’s something I just cannot stand in the least. Oh, no. I’M SPEAKING IN RHYME!”
5)The fact that people give you a hard time if you’re not SOLD OUT for Christmas. Yes. Try telling someone that you are a self-proclaimed “grinch”, or that you don’t enjoy the Christmas holidays. They will look at you funny, question you and assume that you are an anti-religious happiness hater. Some of the aforementioned adjectives may be true. My intention is not to steal anybody’s joy. On the contrary, my intention is to lead my life, perusal, without encroaching on the happiness of others. Instead, I am isolated and criticized for my lack of Christmas joy. It just isn’t there. And you can’t put it there.
As defined by Urban Dictionary, a Grinch is someone who loves to gripe or complain about stuff peripheral to holidays (e.g. traffic, crowds at the mall, etc.) or a person who incessantly does the aforementioned, year after year.
The reason cited in the book for the Grinch’s intense hatred of Christmas is that his heart was two sizes too small. It is possible that the Grinch hates 
Christmas because he feels alienated from society due to his nature and strange appearance. This makes him envious and bitter and he strives to ruin happiness around him as he probably feels he has been wronged. Again, I don’t go out of my way to try to ruin the happiness of others. And my heart isn’t two sizes too small. Instead, I think that my answer is fairly simple…
I am a Grinch because I choose to be. I consciously choose not to actively participate in the festivities associated with the holiday season. It’s not that I don’t believe in the reason behind the season, only that I simply don’t care to invest in the fanfare. I’m too tight with my money to buy a tree, too lazy to decorate my house, and too prideful to accept the charity of others. Thus, I don’t get nearly as excited about the holiday season as those around me.
I think that is an accurate, honest, and fair analysis.
So I leave you with this, a wonderful quote from Mr. Cary’s version of “The Grinch”. “That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? That’s what it’s always been *about*. Gifts, gifts… gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts. You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your garbage. You see what I’m saying? In your *garbage*. I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I found at the dump. And the avarice… The avarice never ends! “I want golf clubs. I want diamonds. I want a pony so I can ride it twice, get bored and sell it to make glue.” Look, I don’t wanna make waves, but this *whole* Christmas season is… .stupid, stupid, stupid! There is, however, one teeny-tiny Christmas tradition I find quite meaningful… Mistletoe. Now pucker up and kiss it, Whoville!”
After the earlier beaching of a still living humpback whale on Noorderhaaks desert island near Texel island in the Netherlands, today another whale stranded on Noorderhaaks.
It is a male sperm whale. It is about 13 meter long.
As for the humpback, it is still alive, but said to be in a very bad condition. The Dutch government has decided to euthanize the animal with a painkiller tonight.
The American Revolution ushered in a period of changing political ideologies, placing the fate of a nation in the hands of a select few elected legislators. These legislators faced a daunting task; govern a new nation in its infancy and most crucial moments, all the while protecting their personal honor and ideologies. Joanne Freeman brilliantly portrays the politics of the new republic. In her book Affairs of Honor: Politics in the New Republic, Freeman proposes that the politics of the early republic revolved more around personal honor and interconnectedness than the governing and cultivation of the new nation and concern for the public good.
The politics of the first post-revolutionary Congress produced more discord than unity. Politicians were more concerned about their personal honor, friendships, and pocketbooks than the common good. William Maclay, a congressional representative from Pennsylvania and arguably one of the most paranoid representatives in the first congress, documented each congressional meeting with the utmost fervor and detail into his own personal diary. Through his diary, the true nature of early American politics was exposed. These congressional representatives used personal honor as the basis for their battles. Even the congressional floor housed violence. Politicians often launched verbal assaults such as “coward, liar, rascal, scoundrel and puppy” in an attempt to insult ones personal honor.In addition, caning was a popular way to display displeasure with ones foe, such as the duel on the congressional floor between Matthew Lyon of Vermont and Roger Griswold of Connecticut. Griswold overheard Lyon accusing him of cowardice during his service in the Revolutionary War. Griswold purchased a sturdy hickory walking stick and beat Lyon more than twenty times with it, denouncing him as a “scoundrel”. Lyon escaped the beating, armed himself with a set of metal tongs from the fireplace, and proceeded to defend himself, all occurring in the middle of a meeting of the House of Representatives. Another popular mode of displaying displeasure was through a “paper war”, or a series of articles and essays published in local newspapers, one intended to refute the political position of their opponent. In addition, pamphlet writing, although it reached a more limited public audience, allowed the writer to elaborate in much detail about the issue at hand and to defend their own personal honor. Yet, despite the criticism, these congressional representatives had no precedent to refer too. Congressional representatives such as William Maclay were never able to obtain widespread influence on the congressional floor. Such influence in congress arose from interconnectedness and personal friendships with figures such as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Through this, a shift toward party politics began to arise, with the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. Freeman argues, “the shift toward a national politics of party was a gradual process that took place one decision at a time, making it virtually impossible to declare a single defining moment of birth.” However, this shift was imminent. The honor code of conduct that the legislators followed contained no distinction of personal and private lives. Any argument could easily escalate into a duel, putting both personal honor and livelihood at risk. Freeman does well in examining the effect of personal honor on the function of the first congress. 
Freeman discusses in detail the fact that personal honor became the target of political affairs. She does well to examine many key players such as Hamilton, Jefferson, Burr, and Maclay, displaying their individual role in changing the political nature of the country. In addition, Freeman makes an outstanding point by noting the fact that these initial representatives were concerned with how history would remember them. Due to this fact, many of them kept diaries in an attempt to set the record straight about their individual roles in congress. Documents such as Maclay’s diary and Jefferson’s “Anas” have proved to be vital primary resources in the understanding of the politics of the early republic. Freeman takes ample time to describe in detail the different methods of dishonoring ones foe. However, she does not stop there; her examination of the consequences of such actions proves how influential and important these affairs of honor truly were to the future of American politics. Freeman’s examination of early American politics adds much to the understanding of the country’s past and corrects the view that contemporary politics evolved from a golden age of gentlemanly politics.
Although Freeman presents a well-supported and persuasive account of early American politics, her studies do not provide an all-encompassing account of the first post-revolutionary Congress. Freeman presents her argument based on the accounts of William Maclay, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Through the experiences of these members of congress and the documents they left behind, she draws conclusions about the period as a whole. Freeman would have done well to include adequate information about the type of decisions made by the congress and the impacts thereof. In addition, contextualization of the information presented would have greatly increased the readability of the work. Many of the accounts that Freeman presents overlap one another. Freeman does not contextualize the information in the year that it happened, leaving the reader to place the information themselves. Had this been included in her account, Freeman’s evaluation of the first post revolutionary congress would have been greatly improved. However, Freeman’s work, since its publication in 2002, gives an accurate depiction of the politics of the new republic that is sure to be a vital part of any revolutionary-era scholar’s library.
Freeman’s research has received a warm reception within the scholarly community. Freeman does well to provide a concise and readable account of revolutionary-era politics. Although her writing sometimes becomes hard to follow, attempting to make complete sentences by connecting quotes to prove her point, her anecdotes of caning and dueling are enough to keep any reader’s interest. In addition, Freeman is able to raise interesting points about the representative’s consciousness of their own mortality and their concern with how history would remember them. Freeman’s publication has proven itself a valuable insight, providing a comprehensive overview of revolutionary politics. Her thesis that American politics revolved around a system of honor has brought forth new understanding of the actions of Hamilton, Jefferson and Burr. Freeman presents a captivating, readable, and well-researched account of the self-conscious, reputation-minded politicians of the 1790s.
In the secondary social studies classroom, this publication would serve students well, providing them with readable, accurate information, as well as interesting anecdotes from the time period. Joanne Freeman provides a well-argued publication supporting her thesis that the politicians of the early republic concerned themselves more with personal honor and interconnectedness than the governing and cultivation of the new nation and concern for the public good. Her account is one that even the casual reader with little knowledge of the subject could easily pick up and enjoy. Freeman’s work has become indispensible in the field of early American politics, and is highly acclaimed within the academic community. Freeman provides a colorful account of the concerns of the first congressional representatives, proving that although modern politics may appear a circus of differing ideologies and personalities, proving that American politics has relatively consistent throughout history.
For more information on the Tar Heel News, visit
http://ncsocialstudies.org/
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I promise that I will get back to writing soon. In fact, I already have a topic for tonight… Until then, I wanted to share another great website. This one is called Worth1000.com. You can create an account and submit photo shopped pictures into different themed contests. Some of the work is incredible.
“I Ain’t Gonna Drink That”
“The Secret Life of Santa”
I hope that you enjoyed these as much as I did. Don’t be afraid to follow my blog… You never know what I’ll rant about next!
I wanted to share with you one of my favorite websites. Despair.com. This website has become famous for its “Demotivational posters.” Yes, you read that right. All of these are from there. Enjoy!
I turned off my car, as the lights on the trees in Kings Mountain illuminated my face. “Do I really want to do this?” I thought. I waited, nervously, in my car to see who else would show up. As I saw car doors around me close, and the strange, wandering souls that are ‘theater people’ emerge from them, I began to judge. “They look like they’ll be really good!” “He looks more of the part than I do.” With much fear and trepidation, I walked towards the theater, hoping that auditions were on another night. The lighted background of the marquis confirmed my fears. Auditions were tonight.
I walked into the empty theater with the others, and turned right back around to go to the lobby. No one was there. Logically, we knew that we could not be the first ones in the theater, that would make us seem like overzealous theater geeks who are way too serious about community theater. No one wants that label.
But we sat down anyway. And then they came. They. The crazies. There was the short boy who was older than he looked, probably due to some hormonal imbalance. There was the curly blonde mousy-faced girl, who took herself way to seriously. Her sister followed, a shorter version of the blonde, only with a short bob haircut and a wannabe snood. Next came the lady who “dressed the part” for her audition, complete with western vest and braided hair. Then, to my complete and utter people watching pleasure came the hipster girl! Yes, the girl with runs on the front and back of her stocking, high lace up boots and a floral dress, topped off with wet, unkempt hair. This audition had everything it needed. The rest were older folks and the ones who showed up in sweats, all of whom were relatively normal.
Relatively.
We first had to do a script reading, you know, to gauge our acting ability. Now for people like me, who are borderline illiterate when I have to read in front of people, this is difficult. Does it not seem ironic that they want to gauge acting ability based on a cold read from a script that you are unfamiliar with. Especially one completely written in dialect. By George, that is a great idea.
So I read. And I didn’t do half bad. At least, that is my humble opinion. Aside from tripping over a bit of dialect, and not realizing that the director wanted us to read the words of the song (really? Who does that?) I was in the same boat as about everyone else.
Next came the dancing. I want to set the scene for you. Imagine a three legged dog. (For the sake of this example, he shall be named Lucky). Lucky has to learn how to two-step. Yes, two step with three legs… and turn… all at the same time. What happened to Lucky in your mind? Well, that’s about what I looked like on stage. End of story.
The last part of the audition, my strongest suit, was singing. Of course they didn’t have me sing any of the songs of the character that I was auditioning for. Again, logic seemed to be their strength. Instead, we had to sing a few well-known songs from the show. Every person had sung before me. Mouse-faced blonde girl missed quite a few notes and was very nervous. Hipster girl could only hit the notes if they were dropped an octave. (And she swayed back and forth while she sang, like she was imagining herself in an undiscovered local indie band). I like to think that I did well. At least I didn’t miss many notes… and the music director remembered my name. (Which isn’t saying much, because she remembered every single person’s name who auditioned… including mine… so I can accurately make that claim).
And it was over. 
It was an interesting experience, overall. It felt as though I was trying to rediscover my “glory days” when I actively participated in theater. It reminded me how much I like to perform, but hate being in the spotlight. (Paradox). And lastly, and most importantly, it reminded me what a gold mine for people watching the community theater setting is. People come out of the wood work to audition for shows that they have never heard of before. They take themselves entirely too seriously. I mean, if this was Broadway, I could understand. But it is COMMUNITY FUCKING THEATER. Not to dis it, because, you know, I am involved in it, but really, let’s get a bit of perspective.
So here’s to landing a principle role and not only getting back into a past-life passion of mine, but to the unfathomable amount of writing material that will manifest itself through interactions with these interesting creatures.
What Duck Commander is Really Selling (REBLOG)
THIS IS A REBLOG FROM
http://robsumrall.wordpress.com
Phil Robertson may not appreciate me writing about his business or his family. I’m what Phil would derisively call a “yuppy.” I don’t own camo, hunt, or have a beard. That’s not to say I’m some granola PETA-type; I’m a devoted carnivore who loves gumbo, fried fish, and even the occasional boudin link. Phil lives off the land and, frankly, doesn’t think very highly of the lifestyle the rest of us non-outdoorsy types choose to live. I dwell comfortably in the suburbs buying my groceries at Kroger where the butcher kindly dresses my meat. In some ways, Phil and I have about as much in common as Snooki and the Pope, which is why it may seem odd that I have been sucked into Phil Robertson’s world via the uber-popular Duck Dynasty reality show.
Phil’s story fascinates me.
Decades ago, Phil kicked his wife and kids out of his house in a drunken rage. Phil was more interested in partying and hunting than parenting. About three months later, he came crawling back to his estranged wife, Miss Kay. Phil desperately wanted his family back. Willie Robertson, Phil’s son and CEO of Duck Commander, writes in his autobiography,
“Fortunately for all of us, Kay was strong enough to forgive Phil and take him back. But she took him back with the following conditions: Phil had to quit drinking and walk away from his rowdy friends.”
It was at this rebuilding point of Phil’s young life that other things began to change as well. Willie writes, “From that day forward, Phil started his study of God’s Word. He attended church several times a week and started going to Bible study nearly every night. He was baptized at the age of twenty-eight and gave up drinking and partying altogether.” Phil’s newfound faith wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan phase. He continued to serve the Lord and grow in his faith. Today, he frequently speaks to men’s groups about Jesus. True to who he is, Phil wears camo to these speaking engagements.
Phil was blessed with, among other things, an entrepreneurial spirit and a vociferous work ethic. Forty years ago, he invented a double reed duck call that he would self-market, self-produce, and grow into a multi-million dollar company known today as Duck Commander. Despite his considerable success in the water fowl hunting industry, Phil and his family are probably better known as tv stars than the hunting world heroes they are.
Last week, 6.5 million Americans joined me as I tuned in to watch the antics of the Duck Dynasty cast. That equates to the largest viewing audience ever on their host network, A&E! Duck Dynasty has spawned a burgeoning industry of T-shirts, bobble heads, and other trinkets that are flying off the shelves of the West Monroe, Louisiana company’s shelves. I’m a proud owner of Uncle Si myself!
No doubt, Duck Dynasty is at the pinnacle du jour of popular culture. And I have a theory as to why.
While I enjoy the zany antics of the cast as much as the next fellow, I believe they are not the primary reason for Duck Dynasty’s popularity. I imagine that the hunting theme is also not that big of a deal to most viewers. In fact, the show is really not about hunting at all. I believe the big drawing card for Duck Dynasty is its emphasis on family. Almost every episode has a “plot” that revolves around family relationships and the natural tension they create in life. Whether it be sibling, marital, or parental, these relationships play out before our eyes where people act surprisingly decent and respectful. I believe America is tired of the ”Jerry Springer-ization” that afternoon television has wrought upon us. We are weary of pregnancy tests that tell who the baby’s daddy is and sisters that sleep with their brother-in-law. Most families don’t need to turn on the t.v. to see dysfunction played out; it’s happening next door or maybe even down the hall in their own home. We are exhausted from relationships gone awry, and Duck Dynasty is like some funny, bearded, camouflaged oasis that reminds us that family can work. The cast remind us that we can resolve our differences without screaming and yelling. We don’t have to have a revolving door of serial relationships in our lives that leave us emotionally spent and hollow on the inside. Phil Robertson and his family remind us that family indeed can work.
What Phil would tell you is that family works best when people follow God’s design for it. That means that, at least for the Robertsons, their faith in Jesus guides them on how they should structure their home life. Though the show always ends with the Robertsons praying, their faith is downplayed by the producers. A&E promotes Duck Dynasty with the tag line, “Money. Family. Ducks.” At the newly-opened Duck Commander store, the word “money” has been scratched off of the posters. “They give us these to pass out,” Al Robertson, the only Robertson without a beard, said of the posters. “We ‘X’ out ‘money’ and write in ‘faith.’” Faith is key in understanding the Robertson mentality and why their families work.
My hope is that Duck Dynasty is only beginning a meteoric rise on the cultural scene. We need more messages like the one they present. Numerous shows portray families in non-traditional ways, distorting God’s design. Each of these sitcoms brings a level of acceptance to culture. I’ve discovered that people who laugh through what is wrong very rarely slow down and think through what is right. The Robertson clan gives a much-needed alternative. The traditional family does work. They are swimming against the current of culture in a sea of liberal media bias, but, miraculously enough, they are making it.
I imagine that as long as the Duck Dynasty series remains true to its family roots, its ratings will continue to soar. I have to wonder, though. Did Phil imagine that when he went crawling back to Miss Kay trying to restore his family, that his journey would lead down this path? Could he have understood that he would one day have a rare platform to proclaim the benefit of family to culture where families are unraveling faster than a bullet from his favorite rifle? I doubt he understood all of that back then, but I’m thankful for a bearded man and his family that model faith to a world desperately lacking examples.
It turns out that the most important product Duck Commander markets isn’t duck calls at all – it’s family values rooted in faith.