Suprisingly, most of the ingredients are corn, some chicken, and in
smaller amounts chemical preservatives. 56% corn!

From:
http://www.alnyethelawyerguy.com/al_nye_the_lawyer_guy/2007/03/so_what_really_.html

"... thirteen [ingredients] can be derived from corn: the corn-fed
chicken itself; modified cornstarch (to bind the pulverized chicken
meat); mono-, tri-, and diglycerides (emulsifiers, which keep the fats
and water from separating); dextrose; lecithin (another emulsifier);
chicken broth (to restore some of the flavor that processing leeches
out); yellow corn flour and more modified cornstarch (for the batter);
cornstarch (a filler); vegetable shortening; partially hydrogenated corn
oil; and citric acid as a preservative. ..."

"A DIVORCE court judge ruled a man was RIGHT to beat and abuse his wife
— because the Muslim holy book allowed it. The terrified partner, a
26-year-old mum of two, filed for a quickie divorce after her husband
hit her and even threatened to kill her.

But the judge in Frankfurt, Germany, rejected her application — quoting
a Koran verse which some have controversially interpreted to mean a man
can beat his wife if she acts in an “unchaste” fashion.

The woman judge said it was “a religious thing” because both the wife
and husband were from Morocco — home to many Muslims."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007130605,00.html
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
How much more "cultural relativism" weenie-headedness will the west
yeild in order to make un-acceptable practices feel "welcome" in our
lands?

Its not ok to beat your wife. Its not ok to weasel away from civic
responsibility to uphold that law, and its clearly unacceptable to be so
spineless to have no principles. Jeeeez.

My daughter will soon be 13 (end of april). I'd like to get her
something special, something thoughtful. We dont see each other much -
maybe 1ce every two weeks as she lives about 70 miles from here.

She's a great kid, wonderful, does very well in school, and is a really
good sport. She's been through alot of grief (my poor choice of a wife
was very cruel to her - so the wife has been disposed of), yet my
daughter always maintained her composure and grace. Far better than me.

So I'm looking for suggestions on something that says "what a great kid
you are, i'm proud of you, you're becoming quite a young lady" - that
kind of thing. [I do tell her these things]

Rock n Roll Baby - I'm in a band performance of Pink Floyd's "The Wall"

"...The information has been made available today through a new website
developed by the French national space agency. The UFO information
revealed occurs during a fifty-year time span and includes 1,600
sightings...."

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/187422/france_makes_its_official_ufo_files.html

Of course the question is "Do you think there are really UFOs?"

I've never seen one, I've never met anyone who has. I accept its
possible. But, I'm a skeptic until I've been abducted and probed in
indecent areas.

I have heard an interesting idea, and thought it garbage until casual
web searching turned up some "maybe-ness". My friend, who is pretty
straight-up, says that UFOs are really just momentary glimpses of
time-machines that ppl make in the future, and they're just "visiting".
I thought it was silly. He then went on to talk about "foo fighters",
not the band, but, supposedly a real, and common, occurance first
documented in WW-2. [example
http://www.project1947.com/articles/arwwr.htm ]

So, I dunno. It would be 'cool' if there really were extra-terrestials.
It would be 'cool' to see any spooky 'UFO' things.

What do you think?

Who wrote the bible?

In my understanding God physically wrote the 1st five books of the
bible, and gave the 1st edition to Moses. Who broke it. He went back up
the mountain to ask for a new copy.

Not being one to repeat himself, God directed Moses to sit down with the
angels and make a 2nd copy. [I am making light, but, this is factually
supported in the Old Testament].

Fact of the matter is, nearly every story in the OT is duplicated. The
Laws of Moses are duplicated, the Ark story, the creation of man story.
Why duplicated?

Ah that is the real quetsion. Nobody knows which version is the "angelic
2nd edition" or the "exactly correct 1st edition". There is a wisdom in
this, and there is incredible insight when you start looking at what the
variances are of the "duplicated" stories, and why some are NOT
duplicated.

Torric wrote "if that's the case, then why would your god waste all this
time making everything, yet have only one sign of intelligent life among
the many discovered universes in space"

Who said there wasnt any other 'intelligent life'? Who said that the
earth was the only handiwork?

Here's the oddball.

I beleive the bible literally, when it is meant to be taken literally
(the Pentatauch). Parts of it are intentionally figurative, and should
be understood that way (revelation, daniel etc). I also accept that
there are several other scriptural documents that were "left out" by
Constantine in 330ad.

In my view, the Gospels are NOT meant to be taken as "Gods Word". Only
the 1st five books are considered, literally, as Gods word [there's more
to say on that]. The 5 Gospels are factually at odds with each other,
however, that does not take away from the message, the purpose and the
meaning. In fact it underscores the message & meaning by the overlapping
of 5 accounts that vary in detail. [Five? Paul writes that he has his
OWN gospel distinct from Peter's gospel]

Further, its is my view that Jesus was not divine. Who said Jesus was
divine? Constantine - the same emporer who decided which books make up
your bible. The same emporer who founded the Catholic church, and the
same emporer who decided Jesus was born on Dec 25th. Check it out
yourself. A non-divine Jesus makes the promise of the Messiah all the
more real. All the more tangible. It makes it very REAL that each of us
can/could/should acheive 'christ' status. After all, 'christ' simply
means anointed.

There's more to my heretical views...

Sam,

Think of it this way. You are 1/2 the church. Feel comfortable knowing
that finding your matching 1/2 of a church is going to take awhile. You
may find, like myself, that there's no one particular flavor of
christianity that is suited to you.

For example, I was raised Catholic. Nothing more to say.

I liked the theology and the ritual of Lutheran, but, the ritual ran dry
after awhile.

I attended an evangelical high-school and that was theologically
interesting, to a degree, but so far into the 'drama-scale' that I
couldnt tolerate it.

I've attended synagogues, and mosques. I'm partial to synagogues, but,
overall, I dont "fit in" anywhere. So, if I find someplace suitable,
I'll send you a postcard.

At least it was WARM out today.

Hey Camp, the "montana" thing? Oh, I dunno, I was born with it. Sorta
sticks out at the end of my name. <grin> Its my last name.

I'm thinking of taking a road trip to Montreal in early april. Its been
awhile since I've been there, and I used to go frequently. I notice
there are many members from the Quebec Province, I'm looking for
suggestions on things to see/do around Montreal. I cant speak French,
but, know enough French to get around - so making recommendations for
French-Speaking-Only is welcome.

Of course there's Quebec City, which can't be beat. I remember
intentionally getting lost one day on the ride from Montreal to Quebec
City and found myself at a waterfall park. Anyone know the name/location
of that place? It was a few miles off the main highway, in a farming
area.

For this weekend trip I'm thinking 3 days (Fri, Sat, Sun). But, would
like to plan for a longer trip later this summer - suggestions anyone?

[Any kind of suggestion is welcome either posting here, or by emailing
it to me. I'm interested in whatever you think is interesting, be it the
local dinner, museum, club, stadium, nature site...]

Its the first day of spring, I've been living alone for a year now, and
i've noticed a couple things about myself. During the first couple weeks
there wasnt much money for food (you know the deal - "Rent Money" or
"McDonalds") and after eating alot of rice & beans, the tastes of other
food became more noticable, more intense. Fruit became a delight - a
sweet taste to relish.

I dont have much "physical" contact with people, as you'd expect. But,
what I didnt expect was how "noticable" the sensation becomes. When I
shake someone's hand, I notice if their hand feels warm, fleshy, or
bony. I notice if the shake is firm, over-done, or wimpy.

I also notice when I accidentally touch someone. On the train a lady sat
next to me, fell asleep, and her leg flopped against mine. Wouldnt have
even thought of it before - but, impossible not to notice now. Wasnt
even 'sexual', just 'noticable'.

But the most intense sensation of presence is when I see my girls. I
normally see them once/twice a week. I was pushing my 3yr old on the
swing today, and I've heard her laugh a thousand times, but, today it
just seemed like the 1st day. Her bright-eyes and wide smile lingered in
my thoughts for the rest of the day. When I held her I noticed the
smallness of her, and realized it wont be much longer that she'll be so
easy to carry. My other daughter, a 5yr old, went out of her way to get
me a single cookie. I noticed the extra effort on her part. Later, when
we were wrestling I noticed the sound of her heartbeat. I also noticed
the "smart-azz" look in her eyes, and realized where she gets it from
(me!).

In a small way it gives me an insight to the ascetic's mind set. Why
would anyone deny themselves basic comforts of life? Because you become
numb to it when its constant and overwhelming, but, it becomes sweet and
unforgettable when its infrequent.

"Simplest pleasure"

My 3yr olds laugh.

"Do your chidren tell you they love you with a kiss and a hug before
they go to bed?"

Are you kidding? No way. Its always the same thing:

"...cant I stay up 10 more minutes?"
"...I'm not tired"
"...Awwww Dad, PLEASE?!"
"...I have to go pee"

I do, but not to ask, only to say "thanks for what I got, and what I
dont have".

I was pretty convinced this was the way to go, until recently a
hindu-priest gave a lecture and its changing my perspective. He said,
"asking for something in a prayer is like eating. It is right and proper
to ask Mother for food when you are hungry. You may ask her for sweets,
and sometimes she will give this. Most times she will give veggies. It
is perfectly fine to ask when you are hungry, it is rude to whine when
you dislike the food given. It is foolish to not ask, because you may
simply starve."

We all are equally susceptible.

We all do our best to "brain-wash" each other - when we cajole our
friends to see a debate point our-way, when we argue with the boss,
co-worker that they're wrong... we brain-wash our children, our spouses,
even our-selves.

Its probably OK, until it becomes clearly malicous. When I try to
"brain-wash" you into becoming an agent of my ill-will to a 3rd party -
thats when it becomes really evil. In that case - who is most
susceptible? Those who have the most to lose. The wealthy, the elite,
the powerful. And, those who have the least to lose - the poor, the
destitute, the cast-outs.

When someone can focus a collective to carry out a violent action
against an establishment, thats a revolution. Its needed at times,
innocents will die, but, the greater good *may* be served.

When someone can focus a collective to carry out violence against
another collective, thats what leads to genocide. The real problem in
Iraq isnt the US, its the Shia/Sunni mindsets that are at war with each
other. Its very much about brainwashing - sunni's want shia's dead, and
vice-versa. Propagate that hate through the children, glorify the
killing of the other... it's got so little to do with the US.

Thanks everyone - seriously thanks for posting really thoughtful
replies. And thanks for nobody starting a flame-war over "my position is
better than your position!"

I liked the feedback, and I liked the poking at my ideas. You guys gave
me something to think about.

A church is no different than any other organization of people.
Bowling-Leagues are in it "for the money" to the degree of
self-sustaining, just like Yacht Clubs of the rich and famous. There is
no requirement, or reasonable expectation, that a church should be poor.

I see where you're going with it though: there are people who become so
enraptured with their church that it becomes a money-pump. One side
"suggests", and the other side "supplies". I know all about this first
hand - the person I was with funneled 80% of her income into her church
(to be fair, a good percentage of that was going to
child-care-run-by-the-church).

There's nothing wrong with a church saying that you should fork over a
percentage of your income. There's nothing wrong with idiots who blindly
give it. There IS a problem when the application of that money is
improper and its covered up. Its even more disgusting when its a
"church" thats spending money on Vega$ trips and hookers! We all know of
this situation happening - way too often.

My friend is putting on a "Pink Floyd the Wall" show on Friday. I'm in
it, and we're making all the stage props together. On sunday we decided
it was time to make the "Hammer" logo banners.

[If you've not seen the movie, its a neo-nazi/fascist styled 'Crossed
Hammer' logo, and you should know that the album shows what azzholes the
neo-nazi's are. It mocks them.]

So, we gather our materials - cloth, spray paint, stencils, and we sit
down to paint them. Where should we choose to paint? At his apartment.
In harlem. only, we cant paint IN the apartment - we have to go outside,
on the sidewalk and spary paint neo-nazi logos ...in harlem. On the day
that the "cop shooting indictment" is announced.... in harlem.

Thankfully the first coating of spray paint was so crappy that we paused
to think about it. Then we realized what a stupid assed thing we were
doing - and again, we're actually mocking the neo-nazis, but, that
wouldnt have mattered much to anyone offended. We decided it was better
to do it at MY apartment.