Will he ever shut up?!?!

Blogger is working well tonight! I really don't have anything to say...I just got on to make some template changes (adding Gugon's and Deb's links to the sidebar) and figured it would be a waste to not say something.

Tony Snow is Bush's new press secretary!?!? Hmmm. Interesting. I really, really, really like Tony Snow. Hmmmmm.

The Wife is doing pretty good over at her blog, eh?

Spent the day in Traverse City for work today...did some inspections, visit some media customers, ate lunch at Union Street Station. Had a cup of seafood gumbo and a grinder...mmmmmm, mmmmmmm.

Kelly Pickler just got voted off of American Idol. Mixed emotions here. While the audio quality of the show just went up...the scenery and entertainment values changed for the worse.

OK...This is really lame...I gotta go. Started a new Peretti book tonight; "piercing the Darkness". I guess it's a follow up to "This Present Darkenss"...not a sequel, but same concept from what I gather so far. Should be entertaining (when is Angels and Demons in Cosmic Battle not?).

Later Peeps,
K~

OK, so it's been a little while...let's get to it, shall we!?

We were in Kentucky over a long Easter Weekend...hence my absence from this site. I apologize to all four of my regular readers (nay...all 3 since apparently one wasn't so loyal and bailed due to this absence) for not supplying you your dose of pertin' near twice weekly musings of a rather weakly muse. Whatever.

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Answer to Jody; who was curious if I would return to my regular television habits post lent. My dear sister...I would love to say "No, I will not"...which was precisely my thought when I read your comment nearly one week ago (on Good Friday). But since Easter Sunday, my viewing has increased...maybe doubled. Most of this due to catching up on TIVO'd shows that were taped while we were gone.

However, with that said, I do think I learned a lesson. If nothing else, I do realize that I clutter my brain with far too much noise to be in-tune to that "still small voice". Also, I need to be reading more. More anything...scripture, fiction, anything (other than more newspapers...I do too much of that). It truly is nothing more than a waste of time (most of the time). So while I do not intend to "log down the minutes in front of the TV", I do intend to cut much of it out of my daily routine. 2 hours a day is plenty...if I have more free/down time than that, I need to be at the gym, reading a book or playing with my kids.

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Gugon...Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. Speaking of reading entertaining stuff...folks, this guy's blog is suspenseful/abstract/addictive, sometimes comical and almost always freaky weird. You have to read the story from the beginning...or at least from this point...about three posts in and you're hooked.

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I'm seeing a lot of visitors from all around the country lately...Hey! Drop a line in the comments section! Say Hi! STAND UP AND BE COUNTED MAN!!!

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Follow up to the South Park thing (my last post). Well...Comedy Central wussed out. What a bunch of slimy, spineless, yellow-bellied cowards they are. Punks. Do you know what they call people who mercilessly make fun of people that don't retaliate (i.e. the Jews, Christians, Mormons, Hispanics, Gays, Blacks, Asians and Republicans who are regularly lambasted on your channel)...but then freak out, turn tail and bow down to the fear of reprisal from people who may pose a physical threat to their safety (i.e. Muslim Extremists)?

Well...besides being the typical schoolyard bully...where I'm from, you're a P@$$Y A$$, Punk Faced, F@&&et B!%&H. Bunch of pansies. Cowards. Losers.

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Had a party last night for a co-worker that is leaving us for warmer pastures. Mike & Pam are moving to Columbia South America...oops...I mean South Carolina. Bon Voy-a-gee my friends...we'll see ya' around February.

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That's all I got for the moment folks. HEY!!! CHECK OUT DEB'S BLOG!!! Just started it. She's looking to keep you up to date with the household happenings, pictures of the girls, etc.

Out for Now...Peace!
Keith

While I DO NOT LIKE South Park...I agree TOTALLY with the sentiment in the article below...and therefore support it's creators in this endeavor.  Good Luck Gentlemen!

Check out This Article

So here's an interesting by-product of my Lenten fast from TV:

As (all four) of the faithful readers of KeithRants know, I'm limiting my T.V. intake this Lenten season to no more than 2 hours a day. Now before you go getting all self-righteous on me...yes I know that may not sound like a big deal, but see my previous post for an idea of the amount of time I am around a TV that's on. What's more, my reading of on-line news papers and news sites has also dwindled to nearly nothing.

You see, I am a news junkie and a political addict. Now, being able to see more clearly as the media fog has lifted from my brain due to this recent fast, I can admit that. I would say I watched no less than 3 hours of cable news a day...on most days, probably an average of 6 hours of news between Fox, CNN and Network news. This does not include the time I would spend reading the equivalent of 4 daily news papers on line, in addition to catching all the latest headlines and angles from places like the Drudge and Huffington reports. And if there was something big going on that day in the political spectrum (a resignation, a character assassination, a speech from the President) those numbers could easily double. To say I am (or was) well informed would be an understatement.

(Now before you go wondering what kind of Husband/Father I am, back off! Nary a day passes without me playing at least 3 games of "Pretty, Pretty Princess, Dora Candyland or Go Fish" and my daughters NEVER go to bed with less than 3 "My First Bible" stories).

Anyhow...what's my point? I always wondered (with much envy) how one can be an "I don't give a $@#&" person. I've always wanted to be that guy. One that looks to dodge jury duty, who doesn't vote, who can mouth off and opine with out the albatross of knowledge and information hanging from his neck. I see it now...these people spend their media time watching, listening and reading only "entertaining" things. Because, in a nutshell, that's the only thing I've done with my limited media intake of late...and quite frankly, I don't have the first damn clue as to what's going on in the world.

It's a strange feeling. At first, one of inadequacy and quite honestly, it stressed me. But now, a couple weeks into this thing, I'm really growing quite fond of my newly found ignorance of current events.

Now this next point is heart felt, without any sarcasm implied. This has given me more time to spend in that which is truly (eternally) important. I've spent more time in bible study, reading books, listening to Christian broadcasting, etc. I mean truly...isn't this one aspect of what Christ and Paul meant by not being caught up in the ways of this world, since we belong to another? If we belong to God, shouldn't our focus be on that?

I am actually quite sure there is a balancing point...albeit elusive. We should be in tune enough to recognize and stand for those things the Lord would have us to do...without being so obsessed by happenings in this world, that we lose sight of the next. As a matter of fact, the tension point might be exactly that location where we are knowledgeable enough with this world to make us long for the next.

At any rate, it's been an interesting experiment. One I pray will give me a better perspective on my priorities.

Part 1 - Jeff Foxworthy's view of Michigan :

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Michigan.

If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Pellston is the coldest spot in the nation, you might live in Michigan.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Michigan.

If you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year, you might live in Michigan.

If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Michigan.

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Michigan.

If you have worn shorts and a coat at the same time, you might live in Michigan.

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Michigan.

If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Michigan.

Part 2 - You know you're a true MICHIGANDER when.....

1. "Vacation" means going up north on I-75.

2. You measure distance in hours.

3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.

4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.

6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).

7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.

9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.

12. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.

13. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.

14. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.

15. Down South to you means Ohio

16. A brat is something you eat.

17. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole barn.

18. You go out to fish fry every Friday.

19. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.

20. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

21. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."

22. You drink pop and bake with soda.

23. Your doctor tells you to drink Vernors and you know it's not medicine.

24. You know what a Yooper is.

25. You think owning a Honda is Un American.

26. You know that UP is a place, not a direction

27. You know it's possible to live in a thumb.

28. You understand that when visiting Detroit, the best thing to wear is a Kevlar vest.

29. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Michigan friends.