tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-116651702012-01-27T17:49:27.166-08:00I rant near-daily about anything and everything: News; stuff in my personal, professional, family, and church life; things I read or watch; and as a Christian I of course rant about Jesus a lot.K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comBlogger1076125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-86642546373885623482012-01-27T17:38:00.000-08:002012-01-27T17:49:27.255-08:002012-01-27T17:49:27.255-08:00<h4><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3XubdkYs53o/TweO7MpVepI/AAAAAAAADoM/ZnTtI6FpM0E/s120/Election2012.png"><br>Wondering if any of the Republican presidential candidates are the Antichrist? Well, <i>maybe</i> one of them. Maybe.</h4> <p class="f">Ah, gematria. It’s just good clean fun. <p>Gematria, if you’re not familiar with it, is a system of numerical value that a letter or word has. Before Arabic numerals were invented, if you wanted to indicate numbers, you had to make do with your alphabet. Hence Roman numerals, with all its Is and Xs. Or in the case of Hebrew-speakers, they just gave each letter in the alphabet a value. Alef is one, bet is two, gimel is three, up till ten… then kaf is 20, lamed is 30, and so on till 100… then resh is 200, and so on till we’re out of letters. <p>So when <i>Revelation</i> refers to the number of one’s name, this what it means. </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/your-2012-antichrist-election-watch.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-8664254637388562348?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/EKSg7VU-g4Wff_VUivg1pWLb2h4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/EKSg7VU-g4Wff_VUivg1pWLb2h4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/EKSg7VU-g4Wff_VUivg1pWLb2h4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/EKSg7VU-g4Wff_VUivg1pWLb2h4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/sAQvSp8xoZs" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/your-2012-antichrist-election-watch.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-50991267958675711452012-01-16T20:16:00.000-08:002012-01-16T20:19:09.409-08:002012-01-16T20:19:09.409-08:00<h4><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3XubdkYs53o/TweO7MpVepI/AAAAAAAADoM/ZnTtI6FpM0E/s120/Election2012.png"><br>The only reason people see Gingrich as a serious candidate is because he’s a personally likeable guy. But you <i>don’t</i> hand power to such people.</h4> <p class="f">As <a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/who-do-i-like-for-president-actually-it.html">I said previously</a>, if I were still a conservative I’d vote for Rick Santorum: Social conservative (as I still largely am), fiscal conservative (as I no longer am), likes small government (whereas I think that dodges the real issue of <i>effective</i> government), and as a bonus is a fellow Christian. I would expect most conservative Christians to be like-minded. <p>Of course they’re not. Some are more libertarian than conservative, and are therefore Ron Paul supporters. Some are pragmatists, believe liberals might vote for Mitt Romney—revealing how very little they understand liberals—and therefore support him. Some are conservative but not <i>that</i> conservative, and will vote Romney; some are anti-Catholic and would like to vote Rick Perry, or Paul. <p>And then there’s the Newt Gingrich wing. </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/charisma-of-newt-gingrich.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-5099126795867571145?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Fnk46PyCD8vIwkhkIjPb_J0yAFs/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Fnk46PyCD8vIwkhkIjPb_J0yAFs/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Fnk46PyCD8vIwkhkIjPb_J0yAFs/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Fnk46PyCD8vIwkhkIjPb_J0yAFs/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/KsFcnqhu_Io" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/charisma-of-newt-gingrich.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-84426786021210860762012-01-15T00:17:00.000-08:002012-01-15T00:18:06.531-08:002012-01-15T00:18:06.531-08:00<h4><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Rrbf5mt70Bk/Sz8ExchwJwI/AAAAAAAACQc/KugJDbiC2Gw/BibleMonth.jpg"><br>Yep, I’m doing that again.</h4> <p class="f">Two years ago I started what has become for me a yearly thing: Reading the entire bible, <i>Genesis</i> to maps, over January. I could say “in a month,” but it doesn’t actually take me the whole month. <p>The first time I actually <i>timed</i> it was in 2010. At the time I wanted to explain just <i>how</i> doable it was, so I constructed basic ground rules: Roughly an hour a day, six days a week. I gave myself space to go over an hour if I wanted to squeeze in an extra chapter, although most of the time I’d read two or three books and knock off after only 45 minutes or so. I also intended to take Saturdays off, but if I inadvertently didn’t read Tuesday, it meant I’d be reading Saturday. Fudge room is always important when you’re sticking to a schedule. Anyway, got it read over 27 days. </p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/why-reading-bible-in-year-sucks.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-8442678602121086076?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/KRY7wxWVutpwwa-sHZVfiyWqu0Q/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/KRY7wxWVutpwwa-sHZVfiyWqu0Q/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/KRY7wxWVutpwwa-sHZVfiyWqu0Q/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/KRY7wxWVutpwwa-sHZVfiyWqu0Q/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/XrrZUg9mY_M" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/why-reading-bible-in-year-sucks.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-35163325488124425422012-01-06T18:52:00.000-08:002012-01-09T22:39:25.790-08:002012-01-09T22:39:25.790-08:00<h4><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3XubdkYs53o/TweO7MpVepI/AAAAAAAADoM/ZnTtI6FpM0E/s120/Election2012.png"><br>My take on the presidential candidates… with an explanation for the political novices.</h4> <p class="f">Some of my friends outside the United States really don’t understand our system. Either they know nothing about American politics and say, “Only <i>two</i> parties? How can you pick presidents with so few options?” Or they look at our primary season and treat every single Republican candidate as if they’re all running <i>en masse</i> against President Obama in November. Considering all the news coverage, I can see how they’d come to that conclusion, but no, it doesn’t work that way. <p>Remedial civics time. Americans, you can skip this part, unless you’ve forgotten it all. <p>The United States has two major parties: The left-center Democrats, founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and refined into its current incarnation by Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton; and the right-center Republicans, founded by anti-slavery big-government liberals before the Civil War, flipped from progressivism to conservatism by William Howard Taft, and refined into its current incarnation by Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, and George W. Bush. <p>They do not work at all like other countries’ parties. The candidates define the party’s platform, rather than the party leaders defining the candidates’ platforms. The candidate for president becomes the party’s leader, and as president, <i>remains</i> the party’s leader. </p></p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/who-do-i-like-for-president-actually-it.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-3516332548812442542?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PISPnatR9pZ6LHq42mhPZeAOYAI/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PISPnatR9pZ6LHq42mhPZeAOYAI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PISPnatR9pZ6LHq42mhPZeAOYAI/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PISPnatR9pZ6LHq42mhPZeAOYAI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/7Yb8fSgweZA" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/who-do-i-like-for-president-actually-it.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-25734648513343098922012-01-04T17:38:00.000-08:002012-01-04T17:41:26.694-08:002012-01-04T17:41:26.694-08:00<h4>TV executives apparently don’t understand what a short attention span your average Internet user has. We’re not sitting through two minutes of commercials.</h4> <p class="f">Years ago I stopped watching TV and started renting movies from Blockbuster. When the economy tanked, I dropped Blockbuster (as did everyone else, which is why it went belly-up), and started watching the TV shows that were now suddenly available on the Internet. <p>Of course, Internet TV is growing to make the same mistakes that broadcast TV did. Stands to reason; they’re run by the very same people. The one I’m gonna rant about today is the commercials. </p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-wrote-this-during-commercial.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-2573464851334309892?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/MJUzXAtEIQQmLPfUhbfnOdgepPM/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/MJUzXAtEIQQmLPfUhbfnOdgepPM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/MJUzXAtEIQQmLPfUhbfnOdgepPM/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/MJUzXAtEIQQmLPfUhbfnOdgepPM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/D_TWzIXdsV4" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-wrote-this-during-commercial.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-7242282502307975332012-01-02T17:54:00.000-08:002012-01-04T17:41:06.733-08:002012-01-04T17:41:06.733-08:00<p class="f">Every year the print media, and now the Internet media, regurgitate old news by putting together top ten lists of the most important, or best, or otherwise most relevant articles of the previous year. Most of the blogs I read are coughing up a top ten. <p>Blogger, the web-based software I use to crank out my blogs, provides stats so you can see which of your posts are most popular this very instant, or over the last 24 hours, seven days, month, or all time. I does <i>not</i> provide you with information for the past year. To do that you have to hop into the editor, scroll through everything you&#39;ve written over the past year, and note the tally of pageviews that each have had. </p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/no-top-ten-list-for-me.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-724228250230797533?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/d3l3r5eGK8EDsacy4F_m35M3ock/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/d3l3r5eGK8EDsacy4F_m35M3ock/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/d3l3r5eGK8EDsacy4F_m35M3ock/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/d3l3r5eGK8EDsacy4F_m35M3ock/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/gZgtK0MP1Dg" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2012/01/no-top-ten-list-for-me.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-17876324035809437862011-12-31T14:02:00.000-08:002011-12-31T14:03:17.718-08:002011-12-31T14:03:17.718-08:00<h4>I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. That’s not to say I won’t resolve things <i>around</i> the New Year.</h4> <p class="f">Years ago I stopped doing New Year’s resolutions. Not because I consider myself perfect, and those of you who like to kick people off pedestals will easily remind me I’m not. No; it was part of an overall package of self-reform I underwent years ago. I didn’t even come to it over New Year’s. I resolved to do several things: To stop gift-giving <i>only</i> for Christmas and birthdays; to stop tithing an exact 10 percent, down to the penny, to my church, but to give generously; and to make resolutions as needed, and not just at the beginning of the year or month. <p>Hey, if you need to quit huffing paint, do you wait for the New Year? No; it might be February, and you only have five brain cells left before your IQ drops to the point that you’ll soil yourself every time the phone rings. So you put down that spray-can <i>now</i>. And the same goes for any resolution: If it needs to be done, don’t put it off. Don’t procrastinate till the New Year. </p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-resolutions-and-my-newest-one.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-1787632403580943786?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jAGkske8lrZw5FIByGSIyxuIy7s/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jAGkske8lrZw5FIByGSIyxuIy7s/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jAGkske8lrZw5FIByGSIyxuIy7s/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jAGkske8lrZw5FIByGSIyxuIy7s/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/62Q-Q6nZ3N8" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-resolutions-and-my-newest-one.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-73835088563459723612011-12-17T13:23:00.000-08:002011-12-17T13:42:27.475-08:002011-12-17T13:42:27.475-08:00<h4><img src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Rrbf5mt70Bk/Rd-FG4c5zdI/AAAAAAAAAH8/N9zicr46-qw/s200/Starbucks.jpg"><br>I’m easy to shop for. Here’s why you don’t believe me.</h4> <p class="f">Some years ago I was told, “You’re hard to shop for.” Which is baloney. I am <i>easy</i> to shop for. Just get me coffee. <p>Anyone who knows me, knows I love coffee. (They don’t always know I love tea, and that I actually drink as much tea as coffee. They always assume my big giant travel mugs contain coffee, ’cause there’s no tea-bag string dangling from the side. You’re supposed to <i>remove</i> the bag, people.) They know I like to hang out at Starbucks™, not for the ambiance but so that I can overdo it on the free refills. They know I don’t just drink it black; though I <i>tend</i> to drink it black, I also drink it with cream, with flavoring, as espresso, as a latté, iced, whatever. They know I drink dark roasts and light roasts, medium roasts and espresso roasts. They know I drink decaf after noon. They know I don’t have a favorite; that <i>coffee</i> is the favorite. <p>Knowing all this, somehow they can’t figure out that I would really like coffee for Christmas. </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-being-hard-to-shop-for-and-why-im.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-7383508856345972361?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/A25tQKRHxbO0OBcHD7JwgQpxpqk/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/A25tQKRHxbO0OBcHD7JwgQpxpqk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/A25tQKRHxbO0OBcHD7JwgQpxpqk/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/A25tQKRHxbO0OBcHD7JwgQpxpqk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/riTHgZgHp2w" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-being-hard-to-shop-for-and-why-im.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-7432744198121078732011-12-14T15:32:00.000-08:002011-12-14T15:39:47.356-08:002011-12-14T15:39:47.356-08:00<h4>Hatred is not the only fruit of bigotry. Apathy and contempt are the more common ones.</h4> <p class="f">Bigotry, pure and simple, is the assumption that you are better than someone else. Not because you’ve <i>earned</i> that position; it’s because you just <i>are</i>. You were born better, raised better, went to a better school, have more money, or have age and wisdom over others. (Or the advantages of youth.) You live in the greatest country in the world, or practice the best religion in the world, or follow the best ideology. Or you have the best parents in the world, or the noblest ancestors, or you have the purest genes. <p>In some cases it’s because you believe you <i>did</i> earn it: You have your wealth because you worked for it, or you have your social connections because you made the time to develop them—and others don’t because they’re deficient. So you made <i>yourself</i> better. <p>Of course, it’s not too big a leap to the assumption that you made yourself better because you’re <i>innately</i> better. That’s the subtle nature of Objectivist bigotry. <p>In any event, bigotry is the antithesis of Christianity. </p></p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-bigotry.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-743274419812107873?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bHvvHmAMufOxf3ohG-305QYXpRU/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bHvvHmAMufOxf3ohG-305QYXpRU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bHvvHmAMufOxf3ohG-305QYXpRU/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bHvvHmAMufOxf3ohG-305QYXpRU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/m3b-4_Zqvq8" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-bigotry.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-56655292862017242902011-12-13T10:40:00.000-08:002012-01-06T19:27:44.390-08:002012-01-06T19:27:44.390-08:00<h4 class="y"><script>youT('MHAWZBvW37k')</script>You never know what the computer’ll spit up.</h4> <p class="f">There’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHAWZBvW37k">this new commercial for Axe™ deodorant</a> that’s been playing on <a href="http://hulu.com">Hulu</a> lately. It claims that Axe™ can stop what they call “premature perspiration,” which according to the commercial women do not find attractive. Well no; a guy with sweaty underarms is likely not the most appealing sight. But the guys in <i>this</i> commercial don’t develop their sweaty pits over time, like the normal human male; even the sweatier-than-average human male. These guys react as if they’ve just had a… let us say <i>release</i>… and suddenly their previously pristine shirts are drenched with sweat, and the women react in disgust and revulsion. It’s meant to make you think of <i>another</i> sort of premature reaction, and make you laugh at it. Made me laugh the first few times I saw it. <p>But here’re the problems. There are more than one. </p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/12/inappropriate-commericals-for-little.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-5665529286201724290?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gb8lccFQHZ54u-1V62UIFsi1Ze8/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gb8lccFQHZ54u-1V62UIFsi1Ze8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gb8lccFQHZ54u-1V62UIFsi1Ze8/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gb8lccFQHZ54u-1V62UIFsi1Ze8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/q6E2TNDwgLk" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/12/inappropriate-commericals-for-little.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-64684498092352299232011-11-25T15:13:00.000-08:002011-12-13T19:50:50.512-08:002011-12-13T19:50:50.512-08:00<h4 class="y"><script>youT('q1ZV4Mx7tw8')</script><a href="javascript:amz(&#39;B000V68UGE&#39;)" style="color:aliceblue">“Black Friday”</a> from Steely Dan’s “Two Against Nature” concert. The only good Black Friday out there.</h4> <p class="f">Today is “Black Friday,” which in the States is the day after Thanksgiving, widely reported as the biggest shopping day of the year. It’s not really. That’d be the Monday after Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving is when half of America, groggy from having overeaten the day before, spends the day lounging and eating leftovers—no longer obligated to cook all that food. <p>The other half is either in the merchandising business and is obligated to work; or consumers who decide they actually want to brave the crowds and contribute to the madness. <p>Hence the name “Black Friday.” </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-black-friday-comes.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-6468449809235229923?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/L0nq4MyqFJLv8gRz1imGZ1Q0KE4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/L0nq4MyqFJLv8gRz1imGZ1Q0KE4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/L0nq4MyqFJLv8gRz1imGZ1Q0KE4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/L0nq4MyqFJLv8gRz1imGZ1Q0KE4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/pogq9DPwNRY" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-black-friday-comes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-81367922126808674342011-11-20T00:00:00.000-08:002011-11-20T00:00:01.929-08:002011-11-20T00:00:01.929-08:00<h4><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/search/label/Squish on Sunday"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7FtH9MsosM8/Te6efVIdxTI/AAAAAAAADNs/BIR8IzVdM88/Squish%252520on%252520Sunday.png"></a><br>Sort of a semi-autobiographical strip. And by “semi-autobiographical” I mean “vaguely like something that happened to me.”</h4> <p class="cs"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0Y5_sAQ6MuA/Tshvq1nMDDI/AAAAAAAADh4/f4NrIUi2nYE/Squish33.png" border="0"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0Y5_sAQ6MuA/Tshvq1nMDDI/AAAAAAAADh4/f4NrIUi2nYE/s440/Squish33.png" width="440" height="159&quot;"></a> <br>Mr. Squish, CSU Sacramento <i>Hornet</i>, March 1991. [Click to embiggen] <p class="f">The above strip was kind of an inside joke about the aftermath of the 1991 California Intercollegiate Press Association convention. Though nobody actually managed to toss a mattress into the pool of the Beverly Garland Hotel in Sacramento (or a Coke machine, or an ice machine, or a TV) there <i>was</i> some mayhem. The statute of limitations allows me to confess that I <i>did</i> vengefully flood a utility room. That was the only vandalism I knew of. <p>As to what was so vengeful about it, I’ll get to that. </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/11/conventioneering-with-mr-squish.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-8136792212680867434?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/-EY9KsPV36wh2ZxxKhIwPr-FInc/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/-EY9KsPV36wh2ZxxKhIwPr-FInc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/-EY9KsPV36wh2ZxxKhIwPr-FInc/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/-EY9KsPV36wh2ZxxKhIwPr-FInc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/IM5hWcrfxcg" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/11/conventioneering-with-mr-squish.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-17830264618046963032011-11-06T19:48:00.000-08:002011-12-13T19:51:36.695-08:002011-12-13T19:51:36.695-08:00<h4><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/search/label/Squish on Sunday"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7FtH9MsosM8/Te6efVIdxTI/AAAAAAAADNs/BIR8IzVdM88/Squish%252520on%252520Sunday.png"></a><br>In which Leonard gets in trouble for selling crap.</h4> <p class="cs"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Cq86VnyODSw/TrcxQ7ctLGI/AAAAAAAADhk/S3kX1rmePfI/Squish32.png" border="0"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Cq86VnyODSw/TrcxQ7ctLGI/AAAAAAAADhk/S3kX1rmePfI/s440/Squish32.png" width="440" height="157"></a> <br>Mr. Squish, CSU Sacramento <i>Hornet</i>, March 1991. [Click to embiggen] <p class="f">This is the first appearance of the glass-filled Mr. Squish plush toy. I actually wanted to manufacture them, you know: Cheap fuzzy dolls that would make a tinkling sound whenever you moved them, because they were stuffed with a combination of ceiling insulation and shards of safety glass from busted windshields. (I drew the glass a lot more jagged in panel 3.) I didn’t just want to <i>joke</i> about Mr. Squish merchandising being made from inferior product. I wanted to take the joke further, <i>deliberately</i> make inferior product, and have people buy it anyway, enjoying the irony of it all. </p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/11/defective-mr-squish-products.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-1783026461804696303?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/1WEESDZoSTWnRdEnKmN6cMPCEqE/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/1WEESDZoSTWnRdEnKmN6cMPCEqE/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/1WEESDZoSTWnRdEnKmN6cMPCEqE/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/1WEESDZoSTWnRdEnKmN6cMPCEqE/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/Qfbia_4aW0Y" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/11/defective-mr-squish-products.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-86967221906007806282011-11-05T14:29:00.000-07:002011-11-05T14:46:18.191-07:002011-11-05T14:46:18.191-07:00<p class="f">November 5 is in many ways International Anarchy Day, because in the United Kingdom it’s Guy Fawkes Day and many anarchists consider him their patron saint—if anarchists have a saint at all. If you’ve not seen <a href="javascript:amz(&#39;B000FS9FCG&#39;)"><i>V for Vendetta</i></a>, you’ve at least seen the ubiquitous Fawkes masks all over the place. But more about Fawkes later. <p>In any event, this November 5 has been dubbed “Bank Transfer Day,” in which people are encouraged to close their accounts at large national banks and transfer the monies to credit unions, or at least small local banks. This way, people can proclaim their discontent or disgust with the large banks’ behavior, and can whittle away at the banks’ holdings and depower them to some degree. <p>My first “bank” was a credit union, as is my current one. So I don’t need to transfer. Not to brag; I have made the mistake in the past of trying out the big banks. </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/11/its-bank-transfer-day-been-there-done.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-8696722190600780628?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/CM-M6d5pUyH8aRMuPh8JyQgPNH8/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/CM-M6d5pUyH8aRMuPh8JyQgPNH8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/CM-M6d5pUyH8aRMuPh8JyQgPNH8/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/CM-M6d5pUyH8aRMuPh8JyQgPNH8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/bXn-s4_0Cpo" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/11/its-bank-transfer-day-been-there-done.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-11798193576488310112011-10-31T17:31:00.000-07:002011-10-31T17:32:04.562-07:002011-10-31T17:32:04.562-07:00<h4><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/search/label/Squish on Sunday"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7FtH9MsosM8/Te6efVIdxTI/AAAAAAAADNs/BIR8IzVdM88/Squish%252520on%252520Sunday.png"></a><br>Happy Halloween from Mr. Squish.</h4> <p class="cs"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yy_L8Zg57IE/Tq84aCt1ksI/AAAAAAAADgA/sM2VxRlnB6M/Squish31.png" border="0"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yy_L8Zg57IE/Tq84aCt1ksI/AAAAAAAADgA/sM2VxRlnB6M/s440/Squish31.png" width="440" height="170&quot;"></a> <br>Mr. Squish, CSU Sacramento <i>Hornet</i>, October 1991. [Click to embiggen] <p class="f">Out of sequence this week (and on the wrong day; I should’ve posted this yesterday) but since today <i>is</i> Halloween, and I’ve reserved <a href="http://morechrist.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween.html">my usual Halloween rant for my <b>More Christ</b> blog</a>, I decided to be topical and put up a Halloween strip. I drew a few. I’ve only posted up to March 1991, but this week I’ll jump forward a semester. <p>Yes, it’s a cheap laugh to have “guest stars” from other strips in your strip. Hey, sometimes I went for the cheap laugh. </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/10/in-pumpkin-patch-with-mr-squish.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-1179819357648831011?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xRQok866oqzsDysT93iyhhkNYUQ/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xRQok866oqzsDysT93iyhhkNYUQ/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xRQok866oqzsDysT93iyhhkNYUQ/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xRQok866oqzsDysT93iyhhkNYUQ/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/VbVcalpmaLQ" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/10/in-pumpkin-patch-with-mr-squish.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-90056083699311685382011-10-22T08:00:00.000-07:002011-10-22T08:00:00.390-07:002011-10-22T08:00:00.390-07:00<h4><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RGtJ6cyCvaA/TqLY70i82AI/AAAAAAAADfg/4QKoh49FM-I/OccupyWallSt.jpg"><br>How Occupy Wall Street is like the Chinese democracy movement.</h4> <p class="f">This may sound familiar. But history <i>does</i> tend to repeat itself. <p>Way back in 1989, a bunch of young Chinese students got fed up with the way things were going in their country and decided to occupy a public place—Tiananmen Square, Beijing—and stage a non-violent public protest. They wanted the powers-that-be to stop hoarding the powers they had. They wanted something more democratic. Their protest lasted about seven weeks, and spread to a few other cities; Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi’an, and so forth. They got the world’s attention. <p>What triggered it? Deregulation; China was finally moving from a fixed economy to a market economy. Ultimately that was a good thing, but at the time it triggered some upheaval. Since prices were artificially low, suddenly there was an economic recession, high inflation, and job insecurity. College graduates were frustrated that there would be no place for them in the new economy. So they wanted some more say in the way things were run. They wanted democracy. <p>They didn’t get it. </p></p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/10/have-nots-once-again-yelling-at-haves.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-9005608369931168538?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FnWKnjWNbfVQzUIMmA0WqAQ0Lmg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FnWKnjWNbfVQzUIMmA0WqAQ0Lmg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FnWKnjWNbfVQzUIMmA0WqAQ0Lmg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FnWKnjWNbfVQzUIMmA0WqAQ0Lmg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/tElgxlX9cKQ" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/10/have-nots-once-again-yelling-at-haves.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-82411076918500850902011-10-16T16:00:00.000-07:002011-10-16T16:07:04.343-07:002011-10-16T16:07:04.343-07:00<h4><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/search/label/Squish on Sunday"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7FtH9MsosM8/Te6efVIdxTI/AAAAAAAADNs/BIR8IzVdM88/Squish%252520on%252520Sunday.png"></a><br>How to make the kiddie show profitable.</h4> <p class="cs"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-egiBikEUP00/TptUjdUGoxI/AAAAAAAADfE/duUfA31cHek/Squish30.png" target="_new"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-egiBikEUP00/TptUjdUGoxI/AAAAAAAADfE/duUfA31cHek/s440/Squish30.png" width="440" height="159"></a> <br>Mr. Squish, CSU Sacramento <i>Hornet</i>, March 1991. [Click to embiggen] <p class="f">Lagging behind on the Mr. Squish strips, I know. Well, back to it. <p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/mr-squishs-neighborhood.html">The previous one</a> showed you what <i>Mr. Squish’s Neighborhood</i> looks like; this one shows you what it consists of. Yes, you can be Mr. Squish’s neighbor, but it’s gonna cost you: You’ll want to join the fan club, and you’ll want to buy the coloring book and crayons, and you’ll want to talk your folks into moving into Mr. Squish’s <i>real</i> neighborhood. (Hey, if you can get them to buy the other, cheapo stuff, what’s to say they’re not sucker enough to go for the 30-year mortgage?) </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/10/mr-squish-and-product-placement.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-8241107691850085090?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bCQO3JBIhTyaRb-Dv9mLPb4AQzY/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bCQO3JBIhTyaRb-Dv9mLPb4AQzY/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bCQO3JBIhTyaRb-Dv9mLPb4AQzY/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bCQO3JBIhTyaRb-Dv9mLPb4AQzY/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/CfBWMsMhRu4" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/10/mr-squish-and-product-placement.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-87671576585310420702011-10-05T09:59:00.000-07:002011-10-05T10:00:59.750-07:002011-10-05T10:00:59.750-07:00<h4><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ozUvD_sc7s/ToyMWU_mF_I/AAAAAAAADe8/9rgboKt5nZs/s400/k-love.png"><br>I’m not a fan.</h4> <p class="f">Rarely do I ever listen to <a href="http://www.klove.com/">K-<small>LOVE</small></a>. Or any radio anymore; I prefer my iPod, and if I listen to any radio shows it’s because they’ve been made into podcasts. I only encounter K-<small>LOVE</small> when I’m interacting with other Christians and one of them decides to turn on the radio, and once again my ears are assaulted with <u title="That’s their slogan. Don’t blame me.">positive, encouraging K-<small>LOVE</small>.</u> <p>If you aren’t familiar with K-<small>LOVE</small>, it’s either because you listen to better radio or live outside North America. K-<small>LOVE</small> is a radio network headquartered in Rocklin, California. Their format is a combination of Christian adult contemporary rock, and pop-style worship music. Whenever your worship pastor busts out a new song, she’s probably heard it first on K-<small>LOVE</small>. </p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/10/obligated-to-listen-to-k-love.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-8767157658531042070?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/JNNQkvzDf0a00-KixwyK9ES3mg0/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/JNNQkvzDf0a00-KixwyK9ES3mg0/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/JNNQkvzDf0a00-KixwyK9ES3mg0/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/JNNQkvzDf0a00-KixwyK9ES3mg0/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/cCrdrvietyw" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/10/obligated-to-listen-to-k-love.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-14823259628524896652011-09-23T18:26:00.000-07:002011-09-23T18:54:47.372-07:002011-09-23T18:54:47.372-07:00<h4><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-anXxPB43msc/Tn04JLZA1dI/AAAAAAAADeQ/ozps1WW0yQE/IsraelFlag.jpg.jpg" <br>It’s not “Israel right or wrong.”</h4> <p class="f">My views on Israel are not conventional, and therefore controversial. Most of the Christians I know assume, and firmly believe, that my views should automatically and unquestioningly be pro-Israel. They are stunned when I say they aren’t; they then assume that I’m at best an anti-Semite… and if that’s what they think I am at <i>best</i>, I needn’t bother to tell you what they think of at worst. <p>The average American Protestant believes that the Jews are God’s chosen people, and that Israel is a nation of God’s chosen people. And why not? The bible says so. </p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/where-i-stand-on-israel.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-1482325962852489665?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/mgQ-f3IkhMQ5lsfchJuEuRpXqyA/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/mgQ-f3IkhMQ5lsfchJuEuRpXqyA/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/mgQ-f3IkhMQ5lsfchJuEuRpXqyA/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/mgQ-f3IkhMQ5lsfchJuEuRpXqyA/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/V7yQMZvcgfc" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/where-i-stand-on-israel.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-76191451499169285382011-09-11T19:46:00.000-07:002011-09-11T19:47:39.211-07:002011-09-11T19:47:39.211-07:00<p class=f>Of course, most churches today were talking about 11 September 2001, but at my church today we were also talking about <a href="http://www.thereporter.com/ci_18866119?source=most_viewed">Vicky Corral.</a> On Thursday evening, she was fatally shot by (allegedly; you gotta say that till a confession or jury makes it official) Sidney Wilson, the father of two of her children. <p>This morning her mom, Olga, spoke about it. She represented my feelings exactly, so I suppose I needn’t rant about it. Sadly, it’s rare that you see people in grief ever saying such things. It was an outstanding sermon, and I’ve attached it below. Download or stream it. <p class=n style="margin:0.5em 0"><a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/storage.nm-storage.com/thesanctuaryvacaville/downloads/September_11_2011.mp3">“<b>September 11, 2011</b>”:</a> <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://channels.ourmedia.org/players/1pixelout/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" style="height:24px; width:260px; vertical-align:top"><param name="movie" value="http://channels.ourmedia.org/players/1pixelout/player.swf"/><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://s3.amazonaws.com/storage.nm-storage.com/thesanctuaryvacaville/downloads/September_11_2011.mp3"/><param name="quality" value="high"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-7619145149916928538?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/IyOHLt3roFDzxM226Z7-m7pOnis/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/IyOHLt3roFDzxM226Z7-m7pOnis/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/IyOHLt3roFDzxM226Z7-m7pOnis/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/IyOHLt3roFDzxM226Z7-m7pOnis/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/fXFbDcD-s0c" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/dealing-with-tragedy-more-than-one.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-48935557784742439502011-09-10T21:57:00.000-07:002011-09-10T21:57:14.781-07:002011-09-10T21:57:14.781-07:00<h4><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w181Y_9nRfo/R6PL_wZcYuI/AAAAAAAADFQ/Vp0Rxfu8Yuk/Bethany.jpg"><br>Sometimes “righteous anger” is anything but righteous.</h4> <p class="f">Sometimes when big, traumatic events happen, it brings out the best in us. Sometimes it doesn’t. <p>No, I’m not talking about the events of 11 September, 2001, although it’s understandable you might guess that. Nor am I talking about <a href="http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_18866119">the woman in my church who was murdered Thursday.</a> (Still processing that one.) I’m talking about <a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/06/on-closing-of-school.html">the closing of Bethany University.</a> <p>Since the announcement that it was closing, and the official vote to close it, its owners, the Northern California and Nevada District of the Assemblies of God, found a school, <a href="http://olivetuniversity.edu/">Olivet University</a>, that is willing to buy the campus. They assumed Bethany’s $15M or so worth of debt, and in exchange they got the facilities. Kinda nice; it keeps the district from going bankrupt, and there’s still gonna be a Christian college in Scotts Valley. Win-win. Right? <p>Well, not according to some. </p></p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-people-angry-about-closing-of-school.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-4893555778474243950?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/WRrwIcEBZogNEIIsVegXQ6ZPZL8/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/WRrwIcEBZogNEIIsVegXQ6ZPZL8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/WRrwIcEBZogNEIIsVegXQ6ZPZL8/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/WRrwIcEBZogNEIIsVegXQ6ZPZL8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/_zohP86fXNg" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-people-angry-about-closing-of-school.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-74135199737796212882011-09-07T12:00:00.000-07:002011-09-07T12:11:06.666-07:002011-09-07T12:11:06.666-07:00<h4><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wIkvvovpPSE/SOu-OVQqxKI/AAAAAAAADFQ/JzkQTdxPxp4/Religions.jpg"><br>I can do without the interfaith part. It&#39;s far more “inter-” than “faith.”</h4> <p class="f">As the tenth year since terrorists attacked the United States on 11 September 2001… and I sense some of you are inwardly groaning ’cause you’re thinking, “Oh, <i>no</i>, now Leslie’s gonna share his thoughts about “September Eleventh.” No, I’m not. I’m gonna go meta on your impatient asses and share my thoughts about other people’s thoughts. How d’you like <i>them</i> apples? <p>What triggered this rant was the bellyaching of various fellow Christians about some of the memorials that are being put together. The memorial at “Ground Zero” in New York City, put together by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has opted to not include any clergy. The remembrance service at National Cathedral in Washington D.C., put together by the Episcopal Church, is including a lot of clergy, but (<a href="">according to Fox News</a>, who <i>would</i> report this) the Southern Baptists are pitching a small fit that there aren’t any Evangelicals among the clergy. Seems the Episcopalians figure they can represent Christianity just fine without ’em. <p>Let me here express my distaste for interfaith services. </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/notes-on-911-memorials.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-7413519973779621288?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NOy0acedT64eXY-SFz_tB7aS2CY/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NOy0acedT64eXY-SFz_tB7aS2CY/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NOy0acedT64eXY-SFz_tB7aS2CY/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NOy0acedT64eXY-SFz_tB7aS2CY/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/Jx1nuglxHY4" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/notes-on-911-memorials.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-82354983965626661832011-09-06T22:35:00.000-07:002011-09-06T22:39:05.835-07:002011-09-06T22:39:05.835-07:00<h4>Of course, your friends’ stinginess in tipping might cancel out your generosity entirely.</h4> <p class="f">When I go to a restaurant… well, lately, because I’m on a tight budget, when I go to a restaurant, I tend to go where tipping isn’t expected. That way when I <i>do</i> tip, any amount is appreciated. But when I go to a restaurant where tipping <i>is</i> expected, I prefer to overtip. And by overtip, I mean go over the 15 percent gratuity that American custom dictates that waiters should expect. <p>However, whenever I go to these restaurants with other people, most of them do not share my views. Quite the opposite. Some of them, including the Christians, and <i>especially</i> certain Christians, don’t believe in tipping. They’re offended by the very idea. </p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-tipping-and-overtipping.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-8235498396562666183?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jMaowW23id87fkvDpNEoyYpI90E/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jMaowW23id87fkvDpNEoyYpI90E/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jMaowW23id87fkvDpNEoyYpI90E/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jMaowW23id87fkvDpNEoyYpI90E/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/Qj0bibs4GJo" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-tipping-and-overtipping.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-21620208820228196502011-09-04T16:30:00.000-07:002011-09-04T16:37:56.729-07:002011-09-04T16:37:56.729-07:00<h4><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/search/label/Squish on Sunday"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7FtH9MsosM8/Te6efVIdxTI/AAAAAAAADNs/BIR8IzVdM88/Squish%252520on%252520Sunday.png"></a><br>How you interpret it kinda depends on you.</h4> <p class="cs"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yK-6pK1Z9kU/TmP-uFMDH1I/AAAAAAAADcE/md4u4T3JwYU/Squish29.png" target="_new"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yK-6pK1Z9kU/TmP-uFMDH1I/AAAAAAAADcE/md4u4T3JwYU/s440/Squish29.png" width="440" height="161"></a> <br>Mr. Squish, CSU Sacramento <i>Hornet</i>, March 1991. [Click to embiggen] <p class="f">Kiddie show host Fred Rogers, host of <i>Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood</i>, used to begin every show by coming to the set (which was ostensibly designed to look like his house), exchanging his jacket for a sweater, exchanging his walking shoes for some tennis shoes, and singing the song, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” The shoe-switching bit always struck me as weird, because when I was a kid, we didn’t wear a different pair of shoes around the house. Some of my neighbors didn’t wear shoes in the house, but they didn’t <i>switch</i> shoes; at their houses you walked around in your socks, or barefoot, however the case might be. In cold weather you might wear slippers, but house shoes? <p>Well. I always figured it would be funny if Mr. Rogers were to switch, instead of shoes, <i>pants</i>. So that’s what Leonard does here. </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/mr-squishs-neighborhood.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-2162020882022819650?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/JJpLXO0XpW-9nHYvS1hQz6g8PxM/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/JJpLXO0XpW-9nHYvS1hQz6g8PxM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/JJpLXO0XpW-9nHYvS1hQz6g8PxM/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/JJpLXO0XpW-9nHYvS1hQz6g8PxM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/KTano2uINVw" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/mr-squishs-neighborhood.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665170.post-52979137006480915192011-09-02T21:30:00.000-07:002011-09-02T21:38:29.695-07:002011-09-02T21:38:29.695-07:00<p class="f">At Celebrate Recovery, one of the phrases that gets thrown around a lot is “grateful believer.” Short for “grateful believer in Jesus.” As in “Hi, I’m Fred, I’m a grateful believer, and I struggle with…” followed by the laundry list, short or long, of what they struggle with. <p>Yesterday I introduced myself with, “Hi, I’m Kent. I’m a believer, but I’m an ingrate. I take God for granted.” <p>It didn’t catch on. </p></p></p><a href="http://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/ungrateful-believer.html#more">Yikes, there's more ranting…</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11665170-5297913700648091519?l=kwleslie.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/R49ylQaJaoJjgLjkdL8iCpUGvX4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/R49ylQaJaoJjgLjkdL8iCpUGvX4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/R49ylQaJaoJjgLjkdL8iCpUGvX4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/R49ylQaJaoJjgLjkdL8iCpUGvX4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheEveningOfKent/~4/4UkmxFeyZpw" height="1" width="1"/>K.W. Lesliehttps://profiles.google.com/100450734601084794555noreply@blogger.comhttp://kwleslie.blogspot.com/2011/09/ungrateful-believer.html