.~Javier Plumey~.|Fatih, Technology, Politics, Whatever.

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1034635/My-bizarre-life-Madonna-Guy–BROTHER.html

I just found this interesting article, which is a small summary of some of the comments made by Christopher Ciccone, Madonna’s brother. Yes, that Madonna. Ordinarily this stuff doesn’t interest me in any way, but he has a sort of captivating style and knack for detail that I couldn’t help but read the entire article on the inner happenings of Madonna’s life. Let me tell you it’s SCARY.

The money, the power, the ego. Wow, even if half of what he says is true, I cannot imagine what really goes in the life of the super rich and powerful. I’ll have to be careful, I guess, when I make a fortune off my latest single: Like a Sinner, Going to Confession for the very first Time. You know you want to sing it, so go ahead.

An interesting factoid I just picked up from HarryT at the MobileRead forums, of which I am a huge fan and participant.

It turns out that the popular version of Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth” is not in fact the original story that was written by Jules Verne in French. The original story is more accurately titled “A Journey to the Interior of the Earth”.

And the difference doesn’t end there. The more popular “Center of the Earth” version has some changes in character names and even some major plot points. Having read the “Center of the Earth” version some years ago, and in anticipation of the new movie being released with the same title, I downloaded the original version, with a more accurate translation, from the MobileRead forums here.

I’m looking forward to seeing the differences and also to seeing this on the big screen!

I’ve actually had my eye on this thing for some time, but it looks like it’s going to be something you can get your hands on pretty soon. I’ve looked high and low for some decent mobile recording gear, especially since my Zoom H4 went the way of the buffalo. Not withstanding its funky appearance, if the sound quality is decent, this would make a great unit for a podcaster who does recording on the scene. I’ll have to keep an eye on the reviews and see how it shapes up.

Like Rebecca says, being pregnant is the new black. I guess Jamie Lynn Spears agrees.

While I think the world needs more kids, I don’t like the idea of kids having kids outside of marriage. The media wants to cover it as ‘news’, but really all they are doing is glorifying the fact that these young girls are having sex and children out of marriage.

For thousands of years before the twentieth century, young women have been having children at young ages. That’s no big secret. However, those societies were different and operated under strict moral codes that said that young women should be married when they have children. I have no desire to relive the days when woman couldn’t vote and were treated as property of their husbands, but in this case, God I miss the good old days!

Ok I will admit that I am sweating the new iPhone 3G. It comes out today and even though I have the cash to get it, it would mean spending more cash to cancel my T-Mobile contract. I want it. Badly.

And that’s exactly why I am going to wait to buy it. It would be very easy for me to give in to temptation and just go get it. I would be quite happy playing with the new features, uploading pictures, downloading apps, using the GPS…ok I’m getting carried away here and starting to lose my nerve!

But seriously, aren’t we as Christians supposed to be able to control our desires (whether for flesh or tech)? Shouldn’t I have enough will power to simply say, “I’ll wait until my contract is up”? Shouldn’t I be fiscally responsible for what God has given me? The answers to all of these questions is a resounding “YES”, which is exactly while I will say “NO” to the iPhone. Or at least a “later”.

Update 7-11-2008 12:01 PM EST: It now appears that the process of in-store activation has gone completely belly up! Long lines and frustrated consumers greet anyone going to by a phone today. Plus, many of them were sent home to activate because AT&T lost connectivity to the activation servers. I am glad I listened to my conscience…and my wife!

Update 7-11-20008 3:50 PM EST: So if use the iExam application on the iPhone, should I feel better? Check it out at the Curt Jester. Thanks!

It looks like I have some sort of attention deficit disorder regarding the theme on this site. I like this theme and I am going to start tweaking it a bit. It’s bright, colorful, elegant, and reminds me of summer. Plus it seems that many of my posts are, like, depressing, so hopefully the them reminds you that sun will come out tomorrow! Hope you enjoy it.

It’s time to put your dollar where your faith is! The AFA has asked for a boycott of McDonald’s for throwing their full corporate might into promoting the same sex marriage agenda. If you want your money to go into helping same sex couples gain legal marriage status, then keep on ordering those Big Macs. As for me and my house…we will go to Wendy’s.

From AFA:

I fired off this email to President Robert Bruininks, of the University of Minnesota Morris, regarding disgusting statements made by one of the professors of the university on his school-operated blog. Here is sample of the comments. WARNING, serious language here:

“It’s a Frackin’ Cracker!”:

“Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion
wafers?” Myers continued by saying, “if any of you would be willing to do what
it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I’ll show you
sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won’t be tempted to hold it hostage
(no, not even if I have a choice between returning the Eucharist and watching
Bill Donohue kick the pope in the balls, which would apparently be a more
humane act than desecrating a goddamned cracker), but will instead treat it
with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and
presented here on the web.”

Bill Donahue represents the Catholic League, who first posted comments about a University of Central Florida student who held the Eucharist hostage for days. This tirade of stupidity was an apparent response to Mr. Donahue’s comments.

Here’s the letter I sent:

Mr. Bruininks,

I am not a student at your university, nor do my children attent your institution, but I am appalled at the shocking comments made by Paul Zachary Myers, one of your professors, regarding his plans to desecreate the Eucharist. The Eucharist is an essential part of the Catholic-Christian faith and we Catholics believe it to be the physical manifestation of the presence of Christ. Regardless of his personal opinions, Mr. Myers has no right to so blatantly and shamefully disgrace the millions of Catholics around the world through the language on his university-operated blog.

If he had chosen to do this on his own personal blog, then we could excuse his lunatic ravings as a mere expression of a deluded and uneducated opinion. However, since the post was made on a blog maintained by the University of Minnesota Morris, we can only assume that his opinion is one which matches that of the administration of the university, mainly, yourself and the other faculty.

I ask that you take these steps:

1. Censure Mr. Myers
2. Delete the post from the blog
3. Demand that Mr. Myers post an apology
4. Make an official statement separating your institution from the opinion of Mr. Myers

I hope that you will take action on this matter and restore the good name of the faculty of the University of Minnesota Morris.

UPDATE: I have since learned that the blog is NOT operated by the university, but instead merely linked to it. I have sent a revised letter to the President stating that if the university removes the link from their site or if they provide a clear disclaimer that they are not associated with Mr. Myers’ ramblings, then no apology from the University or Mr. Myers is necessary, though one would be appreciated, considering the incrudelity he showed in the vulgarity of his comments.

UPDATE: The University has taken off the link from their site. In this matter, Mr. Meyers’ behaviour has been proven folly and the matter is closed.

Many of us take for granted that we can just hop in the car and go get anything we pretty much want. From electronics to food, for must of us, every possible distraction is just a few minutes away.

Now that the price of gas has skyrocketed, I think it’s time to review the age-old pastime of walking. I’ll give you an example from our own life.

Last night we decided to walk to Walgreens to pick up some…personal items, shall we say.

So we decide to make an evening out of it. First, I walked with my son and wife to Dairy Queen for some cold, smooth ice cream, where we had a nice chat about something that I can’t remember and then we walked from Dairy Queen to Walgreens for the other stuff. Then we walked back, weaving through rush hour traffic, and ended the night by looking up through the telescope to watch the moon.

What made this little adventure so nice was that it was no adventure at all. Here we were, doing the most mundane of things, like eating ice cream and picking up toilet paper (yes, toilet paper, now you have it), and it was some of the best family bonding time we’ve had in a while. Why?

1. We spent over an hour together without a single electronic gadget. When was the last time the average family could say that?

2. Our conversations were about nothing significant. We reviewed our vacation and played walking games (like “red light, green light”). We sang songs from our son’s favorite TV show, The Backyardigans. We tested his reading ability by picking out words on signs. We talked about cars. Families need lots of insignificant talk, not just morsels of meaningful dialogue. When it comes to family, quantity is better.

3. We sweated together. That may sound gross, but families who toil together (though a walk can hardly be considered work) stay together. That’s my theory. Our walk was a shared experience. Each of had to look out for cars, we had to tell each other when it was safe to cross. We all saw the same ducks swimming across the canal. There’s a certain simple beauty in walking up to your doorstep and seeing the same sweaty face on that of your family’s.

If we were to write a movie in the fashion of Indiana Jones (the old ones, at least) about our family adventures, they would have titles like “The Plumey Family and the Curse of the Broken Walk Signal” or “The Plumey Family: Raiders of the Dairy Queen Bathroom”.

Don’t pass up the simple pleasure of spending what may seem to be meaningless time with your family. No matter what age your kids or your parents, these mundane adventures will be lasting memories in your family for years to come and you will be drawn closer in ways you never expected.

This is the first post on the impact of a slow economy on family values. And I’ll admit this is an interesting place to start: strip clubs.

I can’t tell you how many fathers I have met in the course of my travels that actively go to strip clubs, with or without their spouse’s awareness. For some it’s just a distraction, but for others it’s an addiction. Either way, husbands and fathers who go to strip clubs are putting into jeopardy their marriages and their families.

So it appears that the downturn in the US economy is also impacting strip clubs, at least here in South Florida where I live. This is from the Sun Sentinel:

Angelina Spencer is national executive director of the Association of
Club Executives, a group that represents adult entertainment clubs. She
says she fields calls every day from strip club owners around the
country feeling the pinch of a bad economy.

Spencer says entertainment is a luxury item and “one of the first things people give up.”

Fathers and husbands spending less time at strip clubs is a good thing, even if the reasons for their absence have more to do with their wallet than their ideas of sexuality and respect for their wives.

On the flip side, a down economy also means that there are more women who are willing to try strip teasing as a form of income, which is why we should be helping groups like XXXChurch to reach out to men and women in the adult entertainment industry.

Not to turn this post into a discussion of this organization, but despite their lack of orthodox methodologies and teachings, they really are doing something really interesting to reach out to those afflicted by addictions to pornography and the “adult entertainment” lifestyle.