LIFE IN GENERAL

Latest stuff

2011-03-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

     --Went to see the movie 'Limitless' late last night and it was an above average flick (Normally movies get the it's all right, or, ehhhhhh!) Bradley Cooper stars as a down on his luck writer who meets his ex bro-in-law after 8 yrs and introduces him to a drug which allows you to use all of your brain instead of the usual 20 percent.I'll say nothing else about it. Robert De Niro stars too. Rest of the cast was unfamiliar and that's the way I like it.
      --Watched UNCW in the Women's NIT and baseball against George Mason in Fairfax, Va. while on vacation last week. A lot of local college teams in the area to follow. Get out there and go see 'em. UNCP, UNCW, Coastal Carolina, Fayetteville State, Methodist and Campbell (probably left someone out) all within a fairly short drive. Support them .
      --Love the cool weather the past few days. Got to see a little bit of snow Saturday night/Sunday morning up in Fairfax. Don't understand all the summer hype. I think of hot, humid, torrid, muggy conditions when you mention summer. If summer temps stayed in the mid-80's during the day and low to mid 60's at night I'd be with you on praising the summer.
       --Been on the Lily Allen bandwagon the last few weeks musically. She did the song "Smile" which played in one scene from 'He's Just Not That Into You'. It's just a different sound from this lady. I read Simon Cowell is willing to give some big bucks to get her as a judge on the English 'X-Factor' show. I think she can be just as snarky as Cowell on the show. Hope she decides to create some more music too.
      --Lot of good Jesus stuff going on around us. Hearing a lot of positive stuff going on as far as salvation goes. Got to keep on spreading the Word so others can receive it. Which brings me to some song I heard earlier today. This song may be kinda old but it was talking about school shootings and went on to slam green-haired, earring wearing, etc. types. Totally unfair. I don't see the connection. I don't know but some of the most truly evil people around are wearing 'normal' stuff, suits, i.e. Bernie Madoff or George Soros. Come on people, don't slam what you don't understand and besides slamming them why don't you reach out to them.
     Bye, for now.

5 for Tuesday

2010-12-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

The above once again stolen from Bree.

1. Well, I started a whole new thing called Jesus Moment on my Facebook posts. Once daily, I find something written, videoed, tweeted, posted or whatever and see what we can do with it. No matter how silly or serious, it's fair game. Interesting finds: the way too easy missed soccer shot, a Kate Bush music video, the fight in the Texans-Titans game plus several good scriptures. Kinda fun and I look forward to what I'm going to come across.
2. Caught a show called the Schnitt show on the net the other day. Looks like the guy is on XM as well as over 40 terrestrial stations across the country. Of course, it's entertaining. Some liberal calls in and makes a fool out of himself. Always a good laugh, if you ask me.
3. Why do libs get upset when anyone mentions a tax cut. I mean, everyone gets upset if the electric bill is a bit higher than normal, but libs just don't seem to care how high everyone's tax bill gets. Get government out of the way of taking our money and handing it to the hopeless. I can choose more wisely than they can where my money can go to help others.
4. Saw the new Tron movie this past Saturday. Went in keeping low expectations. Was worried it would be generic. It dragged a teensy bit at the beginning, but once Flynn's son entered the Grid it was on. Loved the movie. Also saw "Unstoppable" this past week. Character development was a little weak but the climactic point did have me feeling a bit tense. I wanted these people to succeed in saving the day big time.
5. The new 'Sun Stands Still' study reached a new high with the mentioning of juggernaut this past week. I immediately thought of Marvel Comic's Juggernaut who is an unstoppable force. The Incredible Hulk and the Mighty Thor had plenty of trouble with this guy and never really stopped him. Just think what we damage we could do to Satan if we applied this to our prayers. I think much could be accomplished if we did the audacious and used the irresistable power of prayer even more than we thought we ever could.

This Jesus stuff is serious!

2010-12-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

     Over time, I have witnessed several instances in which an outstanding sermon or other Christian event has just transpired and not two minutes after people come out it's like, did they just hear anything at all. It irritates the heck out of me. As Bree would say, I am very sensitive to people just kinda-sorta being into this Jesus stuff. If it wasn't for her, there are times when I would just chuck the whole church thing and not be bothered by these one or two people who make it difficult and discouraging to go.
     Can't do that, though. I've got to stick it out. There is a purpose for ol' fat Tom and it's probably right there in front of me but I haven't grabbed it by the neck and wrangled it in just yet. Got to keep on movin', don't stop. (Hey, Bree borrowed a SoulIISoul lyric a few days ago on a tweet and I'm using one now.) Why?
      Well, first off, I have two kids, Drew and Lydia. If I chuck it, they won't be going either. As much, anyway. I'm sure Bree would do her best to get 'em to go, but eventually it would come down to, "Hey, Dad's not going. Why should I?" We don't ever want to diminish what church is in their eyes. We have to bring 'em up right, y'know?
      Second, I want to be that shining light to people who are a bit skeptical of the whole God-Jesus-church thing. I want to be a friend to the undesireable ( of which I am one). People who just tend to ignore the spike-haired, the punk rocker, the pierced, the tattoed, the whatever will not be ignored by me. Everyone deserves the Christ experience and we have got to be vigilant and be strong for all people, not just the desirable (whatever that is).
       Third, I want to be part of a crowd who is with me in this. Can't do this by sitting it out. The more we have fighting for the undesireable to get to know their Savior, the better. I know several of you guys and ladies are with me on this.
       I guess the bottom line is this--we have got to get serious and be on the same page with Jesus stuff. If you don't agree, just go away, because you are a hindrance. Better yet, reflect on it and figure out what to do to get your heart in the right place and tackle what we all want to do, be a part of the Great Commission.
       Love you all!!!

2009-09-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

-Well, TCU won again, 56-21, over Texas State. The next victim will be the loathesome Clemson Tigers. -Why is there a perception that the USC Trojans are this otherworldly ultra-invincible team? Once again, they choked, losing to the Washington Huskies. Watch as the polls only drop them 2-4 notches this week. Drop them 10-12 notches because the Huskies are coming from the abyss of lousy teams of last year. We don't really know if they are powderpuffs or not. -Don't really know who the best team is yet. Hard to say. The SEC looks a little bit stronger than last year but not as good as '07. -The Chase starts in Nascar today. I think Tony Stewart will be ok. It's just been his year. Juan Pablo Montoya has been a surprise during the middle of the season. He seems to finally be getting the hang of left-turn racing. -Finance Chairman Bernanke claims we are coming out of the recession. Hogwash! Cash for Clunkers, the first time homebuyer's $8000 credit and the no-tax weekend in many states artificially inflated the numbers. Restaurant business increased but only because menu prices increased. Don't let those loony libs fool ya. -What is it with all these bailouts and cash incentives? Wouldn't it be easier to give all Americans a break and help the economy by giving us a huge tax break? People will spend if they get some of their hard-earned money out of Obama's clutches. It's simple, people! -Had a nice time with my peeps at the Lumberton High School game this past Friday. Although the game was a blowout, it was great to rag and be ragged by my acquaintances and to have Bree and Lydia make an appearance at the game (especially since Bree doesn't get into football). Good fun times for all (plus I snagged a souvenir football now two weeks in a row.). Maybe I'll check out the Pirates again later this season. -Love that one cent sales tax increase here in NC. How much do you want to wager it won't expire in 2011 like it's supposed to? -love you, my good friends. Bye, for now.

Wednesday's, Friday's and News

2009-08-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

Wednesday is my day off during the week and just about anything can happen. It's so great to be able to have so many options and I think we can all agree on that.
This past Wednesday I took Drew to the dentist. So we go and of course Drew doesn't like the goo (fluoride) they put in his mouth. But he does like the goodie bag he gets. Even though Drew HATES the goo, Amy Britt does a great job at keeping him at ease.

Later, we decided to meet Bree in Fayetteville and cruise on over to Barnes and Noble. Going to the bookstore is always a treat. I mean, even if I don't find what I want to read, we can still jump on the StarBucks coffee and Bree's favorite White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake.

This past Friday began the high school football season. Drew and I usally go to a game with David Hester and Jimmy Driscoll or with whoever can make it that night. Friday night we went to see South Columbus vs. Lake City. Lake City was really impressive winning 34-13. If South Columbus team is up to par with the teams the past few years, then Lake City might be making a run for a SC State Championship. It was that much of a mismatch.

The family and I were waiting on supper at Bravo Pleasant Pizza Saturday night when "Mr. Can't Get Enough Info" noticed the Greek TV station had a big news report on the fires outside of Athens. I told Bree "I bet the news sources over here won't even mention this." Much to my surprise around lunchtime Sunday, I was listening to WDAV out of Davidson and they had a report about the fires. I was extremely happy. In most cases it seems the news reports over here ignore a ton of news going on outside of our borders. A couple of years back I had to go online to an Australian news source to find out about a super typhoon. Over here --- no coverage! It's as if this catastrophic event has to hit the U.S. to register a blip on the U.S. news radar.

And as always,
Bye for now---
Tom

Football, The Beach, Baseball and Dead Computer

2009-08-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well, the Vikings signed Brett Favre today. Gee I picked the Vikings to win the Super Bowl. I'm not saying they are going to definitely win the Super Bowl, but it won't hurt. The Vikings have the #1 rush defense last year and that probably will be about the same this year. So look out for Minnesota people. You heard it here last week.

I had a nice time at Ocean Isle last week with the family. It's so tough to do much family stuff with busy schedules and everything else going on in our daily lives. It was Lydia's first trip to the shore; to actually touch the water. She seemed to enjoy being out there with the nice weather. Drew and I had fun goofing around in the surf. Bree and Lydia hung out with Melissa and Nikki and did what girls do. I love those times of being together.

I witnessed a player do something that had never been done in the franchises history. Andrian Fernandez went 6-6 for the San Diego Padres last week. Not even Tony Gwynn had ever done that and we all know what a hitter he was. I'm sure nobody gave the Padres/Brewers game much thought last week. But it's amazing what surprises you may see if you give the odd stuff a chance.

Finally, our computer died over the weekend. I think Obama had someone send virus because I went negative on him. Ha ha! I am going to dislike having to look for another one. Well, it will all work out I guess.

Bye for now-
Tom

Football, movies, food and, oh yeah, an anniversary

2009-08-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

-I am going with the Minnesota Vikings over the
Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl because Jesus told me so. No, just going with it because right now it could be a genius pick or a total flop. Right now, the Detroit Lions are in first place, so, who knows. We shall see.

-Picked up a copy of "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" and was not too impressed. The weird
thing is, I thought all the actors did a great job but the story didn't flow and the characters didn't develop much. Peter Sarsgaard, Jon Foster, Sienna Miller and Nick Nolte all did a nice job. I can't complain a bit. But don't get the movie. It goes nowhere.

-Saturday night, Bree, the family and I tried out Pierro's an Italian Bistro on Ramsey Street in Fayetteville. You know you have those nervous moments when you try a place for the first time. We walked in and the staff were all nice. I had pizza and Bree had the stromboli and the food was pretty darn good. Check this place out guys. It's alright!

-Today is our 13th anniversary. I have also known Bree for right around 20 years. I've known her for half my life so I should keep her around for the other half. Ha ha! Highlights would definitely be having our kids, Drew and Lydia, traveling to places together and just being there for each other whenever things are on the downside. We bring each other up when things look bleak and make the most of everything when it's going good. I love my Bree and I know she loves me. It's always a work in progress but I think we both know we can make it through about anything good or bad and keep it a strong, loving, supportive relationship. Love ya Bree!

Bye for now-
Tom

Nothing too heavy today...

2009-08-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I mentioned the Democrats using reconciliation to possibly pass Health Care Reform. THIS will explain the term and show why it's undermining the will of of a majority of Americans. Looks like they are going to do it despite overwhelming opposition. Talk about 'stickin' it to the man.

Well, football season is on the way this weekend with The Hall Of Fame game. I am going to soon make a prediction about who I think will get to the Super Bowl this year. Stay tuned...

Getting ready to watch a movie with Bree, my wife. I am doing the usual thing when I pick out a movie. The obvious overhyped movie, OBSESSED is already eliminated for me. OBSESSED is like the Ashley Simpson of movies this week. It gets all hyped and there is nothing to it (sounds like Obama). Anyway, I tend to like movies that don't have some huge following or star power. A lot of the best movies are done by actors who are kind of under the radar, like Campbell Scott. That guy does a lot of great work in movies and you don't hear about him. He and his buddy Stanley Tucci who is in the new movie Julie and Julia usually do some pretty good work. I'll let you know soon what I picked out. In the meantime, check out Campbell Scott in Roger Dodger.

Random 'Stuff'

2009-08-05T15:18:00.002-07:00

As I mentioned on Facebook earlier today, I was checking out some music on The Strobe. You know, it's the channel with Ashford and Simpson, KC and The Sunshine Band, etc. A little later on I heard a song from a band called LIME. It had more of a techno sound than disco. Singer sounded like a cross between Terrance Trent D'Arby and Marianne Faithful. I checked them out and they are from Canada and they are described as a disco hi-NRG and sythnpop band. I cannot remember the name of the song that was played but if you are into any kind of electronic sounding music, you may want to check them out. There are several songs on the ol' YouTube.

I took my daughter, Lydia Faith, to get her shots today. She had to get 3! I definitely wasn't looking forward to it because this would be her first experience of pain. I took her in and she obviously cried as they jabbed the needles into her little body. She's been a little cranky today which is understandable. I tell ya, I went through this with Drew, my son, and you just don't get used to it.

On a somber note, I heard a report that President Obama would use reconciliation if the Senate filibustered the Health Care Reform Bill. This means they can pretty much just ram this thing down our throats unless the Senate outright votes it down. So, pressure needs to be put on our elected officials to kill this bill which the American people cannot afford. We are already in the hole for over $1,000,000,000,000 (yeah that many zeros is a trillion), and Mr. Obama wants to continue sucking money out of our wallets. Why are people still fooled by this arrogant little man? I guess the Antichrist will have an easy time if people can't see through this liar's schemes.

Random 'Stuff'

2009-08-05T15:18:00.001-07:00

The Daily Fishwrapper Observations

2009-08-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

Interesting. The fish wrapper gives me an opportunity to make people upset. The report on President Obama possibly raising taxes on the middle class to pay for health care legislation made me laugh. About a year and a half ago, Rudy Giuliani was told Obama will only raise taxes on the rich on Hannity and Colmes. Giuliani responded anybody that pays taxes is rich to Obama. Obama is making Giuliani's response sound like pure genius. The sad thing is all this tax money is going to be blown on spending programs. At least when Bill Clinton raised taxes he did use some to pay down the deficit. I don't think Obama cares or has a clue about what he's doing to the country with his proposals. Just think, Cap and Trade and the expiring Bush tax cuts are still to come. Scary!

AP PHOTO/ US ARMY

I found this photo interesting. In the soldier's left hand is a pack of Nekot Peanut Butter crackers from my company Lance. It's good to see that our product is spreading good will between the soldiers and the Iraqi people.

Hey, I've even got something about the comics today. You know that dog in the strip GET FUZZY? That dog has the funniest expressions on his face. I don't even have to read the thing and he kills me! I saw one where he was punched by the cat and I was hooked. Good artistry...

Not much today, so...
Bye for now
-Tom

Hello

2009-08-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I am finally getting this thing off the ground. I have been wanting to do one of these for a long time. I get it started and never follow through.

Let's just say this blog will not be about anything specific. You never know what will be the topic(s) of the day. I am pretty much interested in anything you can think of, at least to some degree.

I like to look at things that most people don't see. For every Brittney Spears that's overcovered there's a BAT FOR LASHES with minimal coverage. For every UNC that gets 15 inches of newsprint, there's a WISCONSIN-GREEN BAY that nobody knows of.

So, we'll put it this way, there's a lot of stuff out there and we're going to try to shed some light on it. Have fun with it!

Bye for now-
Tom