My Life Story Part 1

My Life Story

I was born in Corona, CA.   My dad was stationed at the 29 Palms Marine base.  My dad was shipped to Korea, so we came home when I was about 12 days old.  My mother told me that when I was on the way to the Naval Hospital where I was bornMy earliest memory is when I was six months old. I was sitting in a small swimming pool on the front porch in Highlands, TX. My mom called me into the house to show me a picture of my dad who was overseas in the Marines. It was either that or sitting on an anthill thinking it would make a fine stool. They happened around the same age. I was living in this house.

My first house where I was in a pool on the porch

Where I was stung by sitting on an ant hill

When I was 18 months old, shortly before my dad came home from Okinawa, I was run over by my mother's best friend who had just gotten her driver's license. I had quit breathing and my leg was stuck on the tire and my leg broken under the fender well cover. I had quit breathing so I was presumed dead. That's not the only time I made a miraculous recovery but it was the first. Here is a picture of my grandmother's house where I was run over in the driveway by my mother's best friend who had just gotten her license.  I was playing with the shell in the driveway while my mother was untangling my dad's fishing line in his fishing reel.

Now empty lot where I was run over - Grandmother's House

I spent a lot of time at my grandmother's house. In fact, we practically lived there. My uncle who was ten years older than I would teach me morse code, my grandfather would teach me about drums and broke his lamb head snare when I was trying to play it which taught me a little about physics, my grandmother bought me my first toy guitar which I tried to tune even though it had a crank to play. I got in trouble for climbing a tree in the back when I was three or four years old. I had climbed way to the top and when my grandmother found me she told me to get down from there and switched me for it. My grandparents had a piano on which I used to tinker playing things like Chopsticks and basically learning the sounds of my notes, creating my own songs sometimes. I learned right from wrong there.

At her next door neighbor's house, I learned to play the accordion a little but the old man had little patience with a four year old so I didn't learn much. I think I got a song or two learned but that was about it. The neighbors were the Esteraks. I was fond of the woman of the house who fed her peacocks in her back yard. Even though her name was Mrs. Estrak, I called her “Mrs. Quack Quack” because that's the best I could do at that age. I think I learned to say her name properly by the time I was four, but I think I still called her Mrs. Quack Quack because that's what I had called her for so long just like I called my aunt Doris “Aunt Dodo.” Here's a picture of Mrs' Quack Quack's house.

Mrs. Quack Quack's House

I went down one day knocking on people's back doors asking for candy. The woman at the end of the street three houses over gave me some candy and called my grandmother. My grandmother came over there, apologized to the lady, grabbed me by the arm, and switched me all the way home. That was my first spanking by my grandmother and I thought I was being killed.

Mrs. Chandler's House where I got my first switching.

By this time I considered my grandparents more of my parents than my real parents. Having my dad come home from the Marines was difficult for me because I was used to getting all of the attention from my mom, my uncle, and my two aunts who were nice. My dad... not so nice. Moving away from the small town of Highlands to Houston with my dad was even more difficult for me at first. I wasn't used to this strange man with the loud Marine Sergeant voice yelling at me and beating me. Here is a picture of the house in Houston. It was white back then and I thought that's what they were talking about when they said The White House.

House in Houston on Candleshade Ln.

There I finally got used to having a father but hated the beatings, sometimes for a small reason like accidentally coloring outside the lines, or other times for no reason at all. He loved to beat me with his belt so I didn't have too many fond memories of him. At one point though, my dad started building a race car and made me disassemble the engine. I think I was about eight onr nine then. I was still skinny and weakly but I managed to get most of it disassembled with a little help from him on the hardest parts. He and his friends would put it all together and he'd go race at Meyer's Speedway in Houston. It was near Meyerland Plaza where my mother used to shop. It was fun watching my dad race every week though. I can't Meyer's Speedway anymore so it must have been torn down, but I did find Meyerland Plaza on Google Maps.  Meyerland Plaza was where I saw my first "Wild West Medicine Show."  It was put on by the radio station KILT if I remember correctly.

Meyerland Plaza

I went to Windsor Village Elementary School during that time, and in third grade I believe, I was going to the restroom and saw the principal and a few other people watching the Kennedy parade in Dallas. I stopped to watch. It was a live broadcast. I actually saw him get shot. When I got back to the classroom, the teacher called me a liar and I believe paddled me. The next day she profoundly apologized when she learned the truth for herself.  I had a best friend there named Grey Hayes who was a Jehovah's Witness and had a bomb shelter in his back yard.  He used to protect me from the bullies until he was severely injured, then I protected him.  Here's a shot of the old school.

Windsor Village Elementary shot with sign

Wide shot of Windsor Village Elementary

My mother sent one of her friends to pick me up and I wouldn't get in the car with her because they had just showed us a film on strangers. I didn't really know what a stranger was, but she was trying to get me into the car like a stranger did in the film, so I wouldn't go and walked all the way home.

Having the injury to my leg and dying for awhile caused me to be more sickly and less athletic than other children my age and very skinny as well, something that plagued me from that age through high school. Still, I continued to do my best at whatever I could do. I did a lot of reading. I loved science and religion. The first time I heard about God, I felt like I already knew him. The scar from the surgery was unsightly... and still is to some degree so I almost never wore shorts, something difficult in Southeast Texas heat. When I went to the beach, I hated to have to pull off my long trunks to go swimming in my swimming trunks. It made me very self conscious.

When I was about five or six, one of my best friends had to move away. His mother came to get him as he was playing outside with me. She explained to us how her husband had been killed in Vietnam and how horrible war was. Those words stuck with me throughout my life. When I heard the beatitudes, I took note of the following verse:

Matthew 5:9

New International Version (NIV)
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.

From that time on, my desire was to be a peacemaker. I tried to live as Jesus did and tried to behave as the Bible taught us to.

A few years after my dad started racing, he was transferred to Longview, TX by his company Triangle Refineries, Inc. where he had been a computer programmer. He was a CEO of Premier Oil in Longview. That's when things got rough. 

This was our house in Longview.  It's still the same ugly pink that it was then. 

I was beaten at home and beaten at school. I wasn't athletic then but did well at music. At the time we didn't realize that my kidney was infected and was getting worse and worse.

 

Our House in Longview, TX

It was a split level home and our bedrooms were upstairs. The television was downstairs on a room next to the basement. That's where my dad would sit and drink when he got home. He started beating me and my mom more frequently.  I made a few friends there and even had a girlfriend.  I was eleven through twelve years old when we lived there.  The boys were pretty rough, most of them and their dads being in the KKK.  They liked to beat me up because I was a Methodist and not a Baptist.  That gave me a pretty bad impression of Baptists.  That made things even harder.

My dad had decided to spend his money elsewhere and not at home.  Every night we would hide behind the couch to see if he came home sober or drunk.  If he was sober, he was relatively friendly.  If he was drunk, he was hell.  By then I'd had enough of his Marine Corps "discipline..." basically the torture he went through at 29 Palms. I was beaten at home and beaten at school. I wasn't athletic then but did well at music. At the time we didn't realize that my kidney was infected and was getting worse and worse.

One night, my dad came home, beat and pistol whipped my mom, shot a hole in the door to the garage, then put the gun in her mouth. After that he made her strip so he could take pictures of her. No, I'm not going to show you the pictures, but you could see the fear and hurt in her face. I had her burn them. Afterward, he went upstairs and laid on top of my sister and I had to push his drunk, passed out ass off of her with my legs. He was 250 pounds and I was a 98 pound weakling.

Although I had been disciplined by a Marine, I didn't like to fight because I wanted to be like Jesus. That got me beaten more than if I had stood up for myself. I did occasionally get in a fight with a neighborhood kid who would want to beat me up because I was skinny. Still, I was determined enough to tell my mom that I was going to take my sisters and go move in with my grandfather if she didn't leave him. She thought about it then finally made the right choice and left.

Hunger Striker Jumps White House Fence

Santa Cancels Christmas Because The North Pole Is Melting - (@LeeCamp on...

Christians Decline Help from Atheists to Feed the Poor and Other Atrocities

Christians Decline Help from Atheists to Feed the Poor and Other Atrocities


It was brought to my attention by an atheist friend that Christian ministries have been turning down the offers of atheists to help feed the poor. One group in South Carolina recently turned down the offer to help according to The Blaze.

 "After the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen in Spartanburg, S.C., turned atheists away last spring when non-believers approached the group and offered to help feed the poor, secularists are hitting back with an outreach plan of their own.

Upstate Atheists, a local cohort of non-believers, said that they were just trying to help and that the ban truly surprised them. And activist Hemant Mehta, a well-known secular blogger, was so stunned that he quipped that “Jesus would be so pissed off” as a result of the decision."

In another article The Blaze reports another Christian organization turning away the help of atheists.


"A Missouri Christian organization has turned down a local atheist group’s offer to help distribute Thanksgiving meals to the poor because the faith group says the two wouldn’t be a “good fit.”
Volunteers with the Kansas City Atheist Coalition have worked with the Kansas City Rescue Mission over the holidays for two years, but this year the Christian group has decided to include religious materials with each of the 500 meals that will be delivered, The Kansas City Star reported."


Such activity by Christians is unwarranted, cruel, and unjust. These atheists wanted nothing more than to help feed the poor and these Christian groups said that they didn't want “their kind” there. Landrum in South Carolina even said, “They can set up across the street from the Soup Kitchen. They can have the devil there with them, but they better not come across the street.” Christians are not only to minister to the poor but to atheists as well. They also are not supposed to turn away those who are trying to help them. Here's a biblical passage to back that up.

Mark 9:38-41

New International Version (NIV)

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.


It is repeated here in Luke.

Luke 9:49-50

New International Version (NIV)
49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”
50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”


If you don't like the New International Version, feel free to look it up in the King James Version or whatever version you prefer. The verses will tell you the same thing. Jesus didn't tell us to turn away help from atheists or anyone else. By doing so, you are being a bad example to those you are trying to “save.” How do you expect them to even listen to a word you have to say after you've treated them in such a manner? How would you feel if you offered to help and organization and they said you couldn't help because you weren't a member of that organization and told you that you could have the devil with YOU across the street? Would you want to listen to anything else they had to say?


The same happened at a Sparanburg kitchen even after the atheist leader told the Christian Organization, Eve Brannon, president of Upstate Atheists told this to the organization.


"'I told them we wouldn't wear our T-shirts. We wouldn't tell anyone who we are with. We just want to help out,' Brannon said. 'And they told us that we were not allowed.'"


This kind of behavior is not only detrimental to their particular church organization but to Christians everywhere. They make people who don't believe or who are of other religions thing all Christians are like them. Since some of them are not familiar with Christianity or the works and teachings of Jesus, they are driving them away by doing the opposite of what Jesus taught.


At this time of year especially, we need all the hands we can get to help feed the poor. Due to the economic climate there are more people than ever before homeless and out on the streets. The banks which the taxpayers bailed out turned around and foreclosed on as many of those taxpayers as they could. It's not because they were lazy or didn't have a job. It was because of the greed of bankers who would make Ebeneezer Scrooge blush. Why would a Christian organization turn away help from anyone, especially if all they want to do is help to do good? It makes no sense and it certainly isn't the way people who claim to follow Christ should behave. Perhaps these organizations need to get a Red Letter Edition of the bible so they can re-read the words of Jesus? They should certainly quit making it so hard for those of us who do follow Christ to live as Jesus taught us around people of all faiths. Perhaps then the non-believers wouldn't be so critical of all Christians. What are your thoughts?




Sources:
The Blaze, ‘Jesus Would Be So Pissed Off’: Soup Kitchen’s Atheist Ban Sparks Controversy, Oct. 24, 2013 5:05pm, http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/24/jesus-would-be-so-pissed-off-soup-kitchens-atheist-ban-sparks-controversy/


The Blaze, Christian Org. Declines Atheists’ Help in Feeding the Poor for Thanksgiving, Nov. 12, 2013 1:11pm, http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/12/christian-org-declines-atheists-help-in-feeding-the-poor-for-thanksgiving/


Goupstate.com, Spartanburg Soup Kitchen turns away atheist volunteers, Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 4:45 p.m., http://www.goupstate.com/article/20131023/ARTICLES/131029846/1083/ARTICLES?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar

Brain Atrophy?

The CAT Scan of my brain showed some atrophy but no blockage or other problems. Atrophy? Does that mean I'm not exercising my brain enough? If I exercised it anymore it would surely explode. That's all I DO is think

Maybe I'm thinking about the wrong things? I haven't done any math for awhile and I quit thinking about sex altogether. SEX! THAT must be it. It's not NORmal for a man not to think about sex... not that I was normal, but I DID used to think about sex... a lot! Let that be a lesson to you men. If you stop thinking about sex your brain will atrophy!

Ghost at The Spaghetti Warehouse in Houston, TX

Ghost at The Spaghetti Warehouse in Houston, TX

Halloween is approaching so it's only right that there be something in Subversify to celebrate the event. I prefer true stories, though.


I've had a few interactions with the paranormal in my lifetime, but none more intriguing to me than my experience at The Spaghetti Warehouse. I'll give you a background of my other paranormal experiences which I believe may have been real first, though.


I lived in a haunted house from the time I was 14 until I graduated high school. That ghost was friendly. It was supposedly and ex-CIA agent who died in the house. He mostly liked to slam the door between the dining room and the kitchen if it was left open, but he would play with me sometimes. I would place objects on the table in a certain order and he would rearrange them. My grandparents, my uncle, my mother, and my sisters all witnessed the events multiple times. He also seemed to love Quentin's Theme. I had a bat kite hanging from a string that never usually moved, but when I put on that record, it would turn back and forth as if someone were dancing with it. When I told my grandmother about it she said that Quentin's Theme used to have another name. I can't recall the name she told me but it was something similar to “Annie's Waltz.” I tried playing other music from classical to hard rock to see if the kite would move because of vibrations from the speakers, but it was to no avail. It only moved when I played Quentin's Theme.


I only visibly saw him once, though. My cousin thought it was me at first and I heard him say, “Calvin, do you want to come out and play?” It replied back in a mean, loud voice, “NO!” I yelled to my cousin that I was in the bathroom under the stairs, quickly zipped up my pants (thankfully nothing got caught in the zipper), and ran out. I saw something that looked a lot like me going up the stairs which disappeared halfway. I believe that was the last time any of us saw or heard from the ghost. I HAD been injected with radioactive dye for a kidney scan a week previously, though. Perhaps the radioactivity caused me to split into two beings in a manner similar to the occurrences in the early horror movies? OOOooooh!


The second occurrence, which I believe was real, was when someone called me to exorcise some demons out of their house. I had just left the ultra-right bible college in Florida that went so far as to send staff to spy on people who went on dates to be sure they didn't kiss or do anything not “Christian.” This was COLLEGE for goodness sake! I also objected to their teachings on the bible and Christ in general. When they brought a couple up on stage in front of the entire college to ridicule them for having half a beer when they ate pizza, I was out of there after advising the woman to seek legal counsel and sue their pants off... but I digress.


I was back in Houston feeling that I had done the right thing and helped expose a very non-Christian Christian college. I had taken up going to a Bible Church instead of a Church of Christ or Baptist Church, both of which I had been to prior to heading off to college. I had a good knowledge of the bible and had studied and pondered the more paranormal acts of Jesus such as healing the sick and casting out demons. My confidence was pretty high.


When I was called to cast out the demons at the person's house, I told them to call the preacher. When they called back and said that the preacher was afraid because a demon had attacked a man who cast out a demon in the name of Jesus and the name of Paul, I thought, “That's silly. He should know that it was because he added the name of Paul that the demon was able to attack him.” Still, I didn't want to do it because I had taken about two hits of a weak joint earlier in the day but I felt I had sinned and wasn't worthy. I told the person to call the elder. I got on my knees and prayed that God send someone else from the church because I didn't feel worthy. The person called back and the elder had turned them down and was afraid for the same reason. After praying for forgiveness for my horrible sin of taking a couple tokes off of a joint, I reluctantly agreed to go to cast out the demons. It was early in the evening when I arrived at the house. Before entering, I prayed for protection. I rang the doorbell and the woman answered the door. She was about 18 or 19 and had called her boyfriend to come over after I had arrived. While we were awaiting his arrival, I asked to see the area of the occurrences she had seen. She took me into her bedroom and I looked around.


Her dresser was cluttered with pictures, perfume, nail polish bottles, and lipstick cases. The closet door was open revealing a plaster skull that appeared to have had a black candle that had been burned enough to make it drip on the skull... I suppose in an attempt to make it look scary.


The woman stood by the closet as I entered the room. The skull appeared to move wherever she moved. I thought that might have been accomplished with fishing line or something and moved further into the room. Suddenly, the bottles on the dresser started flying at us. It was like something right out of the movie The Exorcist but this was before the movie was released. The bottles were hitting her but stopping about a foot away from me and dropping to the floor as if they had hit a wall. Perhaps I should have prayed for protection for the woman as well? Ah well. It was my first (and to this date) only exorcism. I examined the bottles and the dresser to be sure there were no strings or wires or devices that could hurl the bottles and decided that it wasn't phony. I immediately said, “Satan, I cast you out in the name of Jesus!” and all of the activity stopped.


About that time, her boyfriend arrived at the door. They came in and I asked them some questions about whether or not they had engaged in any Satan worship or summoning of spirits to which they answered, “No.” I was confused as to what caused the problem in the first place, so I asked about anything I could think about. I asked about Astrology books and they had a lot of them and handed them to me, but I didn't feel that would do it. I asked if they had any books on voodoo or anything else and they said, “No, but we have this.” They then pulled out a large Satanic Bible. I thought maybe that would do it. Just to be sure, we took all the books and the skull to the middle of the street in the barely developed neighborhood where I crashed the skull on the pavement and burned the books. Yes, I burned the books. Okay. So I was a book burner just that once. So sue me! I then turned to them and told them to get into a church that they could live with and stay in it. I didn't hear from them until ten years later when they called me to thank me. Somehow they found that I had moved to Texas City and gave me a call. Now it's time to get to the Spaghetti Warehouse in Houston.


My now late wife and I went to Houston to eat at the Spaghetti Warehouse because we loved Italian food. It may have been an anniversary or just a romantic date, I'm not sure since my memory fails me, but I was looking forward to a romantic dinner out then some lovemaking afterward. It was around 6pm when we arrived and the sky was clear and the sun was still shining. As I entered, I asked to sit upstairs so I could overlook the beautiful fixtures that had been installed in the place. I loved fixtures and articles from the past, partially from noticing the amazing handiwork that was put into my grandfather's house which was said to be haunted. I really don't know. I was always drawn to the beauty of the past and the majestic carvings on buildings from around the 1800s. Since it was after my back surgery, I was in a wheelchair so it was around 1990 when we went. At the time, I had no knowledge of anything other than some people saying the place was haunted. I didn't believe it. It's one of the several places in Houston said to be haunted. Here is a link to a page on CBS which lists several haunted places in Houston, TX. Since it's a major network news station, I expect it to be more reliable than some of the links I found when searching, though they may have added some mysticism to sell it as a Halloween news article.


http://houston.cbslocal.com/top-lists/houstons-most-haunted-places/


The only one I've been to is The Spaghetti Warehouse. I guess it's listed first for a reason? What was its history? I decided to look for an article tonight that had some history on why they believed the alleged occurrences at the Spaghetti Warehouse happened. I found this on Examiner.com.


“The ghost tales center on a young pharmacist who was dedicated to his job. He was busy with a pile of paper work with invoices overflowing upon his desk. Grabbing a stack of the files, he headed for the back elevator. Without looking, he stepped into the dark, open elevator shaft and fell several feet to his death. 
When the man didn’t return home in time for dinner that evening, his adoring wife began to worry. She hurried to the warehouse hoping to find her husband busy at work. Instead she found a found a group of people standing in and about the building talking about a tragedy that occurred there.  Inside the warehouse she found the remains of her beloved husband crumpled at the bottom of the elevator shaft. The distraught woman died at her home about a year later. Her family believes she died of a broken heart.”


http://www.examiner.com/article/arizona-ghost-hunter-travels-spirited-spaghetti-warehouse-houston-tx


They describe a man who fell down the elevator shaft, and his wife who died a year later of a broken heart, but what I saw was a young, beautiful woman, strangely dressed, who hit on me. I thought the woman had some nerve hitting on me in front of my wife but, due to her beauty, I found myself secretly longing that I was single. The woman first said, “You're a mighty good looking man. I replied, “You're not bad yourself. Meet my wife, Diane.” After meeting my wife, she said something along the lines of, “Would you like to go somewhere and make out?” I replied, “No. I'm married.” She then walked to the elevator when I turned down her advances, then disappeared... fading away rather than just vanishing. I could have taken her up on her offer, but then I would have been divorced and would have to have lived with a woman who only appeared when she wanted sex. Oh, that's the same as marriage, isn't it?


I thought maybe I was seeing things or that perhaps the waitress knew who the woman was. I thought she might have been a customer who had been seated around the corner where I couldn't see her. When I called the waitress over and asked if she had seen a woman that fit the description I gave her, her face turned white and she replied, “That's the ghost.” I thought the staff had probably been coached to say such things, but seeing the woman vanish in the elevator was very puzzling.


We had problems with our elevators at work at the refinery but ours were much newer than those old wrought iron gates they used to have. They had safety devices to stop the elevator if the door was open and had heavy steel doors which opened vertically. Sometimes the safety devices would fail and you could open a door and the elevator wouldn't be there. When I went to the Spaghetti Warehouse, they still had the old gate on the elevator. I can't recall if the wrought iron gate had any safety devices but I remember thinking it was rather ineffective for an elevator door. I came up in it because I was in a wheelchair at the time. Maybe that's what attracted the ghost?


I found a video on YouTube that describes the story of the legend of the haunting. I never viewed it until today, 10/07/2013.

http://youtu.be/6RNGFWVRHo0


Now, I don't believe in orbs. I think orbs are just lens defects or peculiarities of the particular camera being used. I think the discoloration on the picture is probably a result of aging and moisture. It's harder, though, to dismiss a lovely woman hitting on me in front of my wife, heading into the elevator when I rejected her advances, closing the door behind her, and disappearing without the elevator ever moving. Was any of this real? Who knows for sure?


Here is the link to the official The Spaghetti Warehouse in Houston and other states.


http://www.40meatballs.com/

Capitalism is the Best? Eh... Not So Much

I was trying to have a conversation with someone about why Capitalism doesn't work as prescribed and this article pretty much sums up that conversation.  There is more I would like to add though.

The Big Flaw in Capitalism 

The problem with free market capitalism is that a very few will amass a large where of the market then use their power to keep smaller businesses from entering the market. This prevents Capitalism from working as prescribed. If a few large corporations join together and buy up all of the businesses so that no new competition can enter the market you no longer have Capitalism but a Corporate Oligarchy. That is what has happened because of the "deregulation" that so many Republicans have worked toward. That is why corporations are now considered people, their money is considered speech, and our votes don't count for squat unless we have the money that the large corporations and the top 2% have. Capitalism is good in theory, like any other system of government, but in practice things don't work the way they are supposed to. If someone tries to offer something new on the market so that people can have an affordable and better alternative, the large corporations either buy the new business and bury the patents or they defame and set up the owner so that the new business fails. Remember DeLorean?  Remember Tucker?  If you haven't seen this movie, I suggest you watch it.  Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)  It will show you how major corporations squeeze out the little guy.  I also suggest watching The Corporation, a movie that will show you the legalities that drive them to be the blood suckers that they are.

If everyone was honest, free market capitalism might work, but, as we all know, not everyone is honest.  Someone will always find a way around laws that are supposed to keep the market fair and based upon supply and demand.  Theoretically, the person who makes the best product would rise to the top and people who make poorly crafted items would fall to the bottom.  Advertisement would be to let people know the features and specifications of the item(s) rather than all the glitz and glamor (and sex) that says "Buy!  Buy!  Buy!"  The information would be useful in making an intelligent decision on which product best suits your application and needs.

Since we know that not everyone is honest, the dishonest people will find a way to corner the market, to get around laws, to find loopholes with the help of their corporate lawyers, and end up with monopolies or at least oligarchies of the very few.  Examples are the "Big Three" automakers, Exon Mobil and BP (though BP may have effectively run itself out of the country now), the Sam's Club/Wal-Mart chains, and others.  Since they had enough capital to run the other companies out of business or buy the smaller companies, they can now inflate prices to whatever they want as long as someone can pay for their products.  With the current automotive industry offering few affordable clean energy alternatives and people have to drive to get to work, the oil companies have people over a barrel (excuse the pun).  People HAVE to buy gas to go to work so they can afford gas to keep going to work so they can put aside a meager amount to buy things that were meant only for the rich... like food, shelter, and clothing.  Now that the rich have bought the government, they want to take away our safety nets like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security... which, by the way, we paid for in a separate tax so is not part of the regular budget.  I won't even mention how they've already stolen a great portion of the FICA funds and haven't attempted to pay any of it back while they've taken out billions of dollars in loans to subsidize greedy bankers at the taxpayer's expense.  How did the bankers respond?  Why, they were grateful to the taxpayers and foreclosed on all the houses that they could so that the taxpayers wouldn't be burdened with the cost of maintaining a house.  After doing so, they had city governments make it illegal for the poor to camp in public parks because who wants to see poor, unwashed people starving to death?

There once were laws that heavily taxed corporations who sent jobs overseas.  There were once laws that somewhat prevented companies from joining together to overtake small businesses.  All that has been changed now thanks to "deregulation."  Yes, government subsidies helped the corporations, but you have to look at the root cause.  

 "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." ~ Henry David Thoreau

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henrydavid161709.html#wcO3Ev30X8Yuuoxz.99

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henrydavid161709.html#wcO3Ev30X8Yuuoxz.99

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.

Henry David Thoreau

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henrydavid161709.html#wcO3Ev30X8Yuuoxz.99

What few regulations still exist are ever being turned to favor the large corporations.  That is the story of how Capitalism failed.

Cal Jennings

War or Peace? - A message to my fellow Christians

AAs Christians we are supposed to fight a spiritual fight for peace, not a physical one.  Even as the signs or "birth pains" point to Christ's return, we are to continue steadfastly to work for peace, feed and clothe the poor, and show others God's love.

Jesus never promoted violence.  He told us to love even our enemies and to turn the other cheek.  He didn't condemn people but brought his message of love and peace so that others might be saved.  He even saved and befriended a prostitute.

Jesus didn't separate himself from others but associated with prostitutes, tax collectors, barkeeps (publicans), the sick, lepers, the possessed, and the dispossessed.  He sent his message not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles.  He didn't show disrespect to people of other faiths but encouraged them to follow him.  This is far from the Hellfire and brimstone attacks that occur at the hands of well meaning Christians.  The condemnation is what drives so many away from the good news that Jesus brought us.  Instead of rallying for war, we should love our enemies and call them to peace.  We should give credit where credit is due and I feel that we should give credit to Putin for helping to avert WWIII.  If we acknowledge the good in our enemies, they might come to acknowledge the good in us, forming a cornerstone for peace between our countries.  Don't forget that Russia was our ally in WWII and helped us to defeat the Nazis.  Remember, Jesus said, "Blessed be the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God."  Spread peace my friends.s Christians we are supposed to fight a spiritual fight for peace, not a physical one.  Even as the signs or "birth pains" point to Christ's return, we are to continue steadfastly to work for peace, feed and clothe the poor, and show others God's love.

Jesus never promoted violence.  He told us to love even our enemies and to turn the other cheek.  He didn't condemn people but brought his message of love and peace so that others might be saved.  He even saved and befriended a prostitute.

Jesus didn't separate himself from others but associated with prostitutes, tax collectors, barkeeps (publicans), the sick, lepers, the possessed, and the dispossessed.  He sent his message not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles.  He didn't show disrespect to people of other faiths but encouraged them to follow him.  This is far from the Hellfire and brimstone attacks that occur at the hands of well meaning Christians.  The condemnation is what drives so many away from the good news that Jesus brought us.  Instead of rallying for war, we should love our enemies and call them to peace.  We should give credit where credit is due and I feel that we should give credit to Putin for helping to avert WWIII.  If we acknowledge the good in our enemies, they might come to acknowledge the good in us, forming a cornerstone for peace between our countries.  Don't forget that Russia was our ally in WWII and helped us to defeat the Nazis.  Remember, Jesus said, "Blessed be the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God."  Spread peace my friends.

Syrian War Poem

Syrian War Poem
by Cal Jennings

Off on yonder distant sands
The stage is being set
For a frightful holy war
Thst one won't soon forget
That is, if one is left to tell
The miseries of war
Perhaps if one does find a home
Upon a distant star
For on the face of Mother Earth
No life will be maintained
As radiation falls to earth
Upon a weary rain
Blood will flow like rivers swollen
Full of body parts
Our neighbor, moon, will turn blood red
The stars will fall like darts
Not one person will escape
by plane or train or car
All because the drum did beat
A-rum-tum-tum for war

War with Syria?

I guess things were getting too peaceful for the Obama administration.  It seems that now our president wants to bomb Syria because Syrians were bombing Syria.  That makes perfect sense, right?  

The claim is that President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on his own people.  There are counter claims that the rebels are the ones who used the chemical weapons.  

None of the matters to the president, though.  What really matters is that he keeps the Orwellian perpetual war going.

Years ago, America decided between a consumer economy and a military economy and chose the latter.  It is war and war mongering that keeps the economy going because of that choice.  If you dare to speak out against war and violence you are hated and attacked by the powers that be.  If you dare to protest, our government will use its own chemical weapons in the form of pepper spray on you, even though it is your right.  All the while, millions of women are teaching their children that going to war is honorable.  It's not.  It's a bloody massacre filled with the death of innocent men, women, and children... not to mention the servicemen and servicewomen on both sides.

It's extremely unpopular to be a peacemaker in America.  This "Christian Nation" is so blood thirsty that it doesn't seem to understand that Christ spoke against war, hatred, and revenge.  Even the Apostle Paul spoke against it.

Romans 12:17-20

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[a] says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”^[b]

Footnotes:

1. Romans 12:19 Deut. 32:35
2. Romans 12:20 Prov. 25:21,22

How can we dare call ourselves a Christian nation when we are doing the exact opposite of what Christ would have us do?  Even those who aren't Christians should be able to see the logic in this.  Violence begets violence so causing more violence isn't going to do a thing to stop violence.  Yes, Syrians killed Syrians so why should we go kill more Syrians in the name of being "peacemakers?"  America needs to get out of the war business and mind its own business at home.

This 'n' That

My mom got home from the hospital yesterday.  She had extremely high blood pressure so they kept her a couple days to try to get it under control.  She's doing fine now.  They had to change one of her medications.

As luck would have it, either my mom lost her wallet or it was stolen from her purse.  Both her ATM card and mine were in her wallet.  Now we have to go down to the bank and cancel both of the cards.  That means we'll have to withdraw cash to pay for groceries in a few days.  It's not a big deal but it's a hassle.

This vertigo keeps making the screen appear to move, so it's difficult to write anything.  That along with my blurred vision makes it even worse.  I need to get to an opthalmologist to have these cataracts looked at.  I just hope my insurance covers it.

Yes, I'm typing completely random thoughts.  Since I'm pretty much confined to the house, I have nothing interesting to write about.  Since the doctors can't operate on me because my heart is too weak still, I have to live with the physical problems caused by the surgical screw-ups.  I can't even help my mom bring in the groceries because of the surgical hernia.  It makes me feel pretty weak and useless.  I guess I am.

I had really wanted to make a zombie film with Karen's niece and her friends but I don't know if that's going to be a go now that Karen dumped me.  It would have been fun just to make a low budget film.  Karen's niece was writing the script.  She's a very intelligent young woman.  She reminds me of a young Katy Anders in more ways than one.

It is hard for me to find purpose in my life right now.  I think I've alienated just about everyone.  Looking forward, I don't see much of a future.  Maybe my sister will end up sticking me in a nursing home where I will rot away until I die.  I've already spent a day in one and don't look forward to being in there longer.  Sometimes I wish God would be merciful and just take me in my sleep.

Love, Hope, Peace, and Christ be with you,

Cal

I Figured It Out

Yesterday I posted something that I had written a couple days earlier then revised.  I left a long comment to Katy that was full of fear and anxiety.  I didn't realize what was going on until later last night when the anxiety came to a head. Yeah, I got angry about being dumped, but that was just a very temporary thing.  Yesterday I started freaking out over EVERYTHING.  I had the urge to jump out of the bed from the anxiety.  At that point I realized what was going on.  The feeling was unmistakable.  I have cabin fever.

I've only had cabin fever once before maybe five or six years back in December.  My son was driving me to my sister's house for Christmas dinner when I was suddenly gripped with a strong urge to jump out of the car.  I made it to my sister's house but sitting through the dinner and chit chat was nerve wrenching.  It continued even when I got back home.  Come to find out, it was cabin fever.  I had heard my grandmother talk about getting it when I was a teenager.  It was my mom who told me about when she had it and recognized the symptoms in me that I remembered my grandmother talking about it.

Now, in spite of what some people say, there's really not much you can do about it but ride it out.  Valium helps, but if you don't have your prescription, you aren't going to get any relief.  It's especially difficult for those of us with anxiety disorder.  The odd thing is that it hit me in the Summer.  It's generally a Winter affliction.  Maybe the darkness in my room because of the jasmine vines covering my bedroom window had something to do with it.  Still, I've been out of the house walking, going to the doctor's, and going to get groceries.  It's not like I haven't left the house at all.  I HAVE been confined to either a hospital bed or my bed a lot this year because of the heart surgery though.  Maybe that has something to do with it.

I feel sorry for poor Katy as I unloaded my emotions on to her comment.  I don't like doing that to people.  I really wasn't myself.  It was the cabin fever... either that or a bad trip flashback from something I took in the 70s.

I'm In Limbo

Yes, I'm in limbo.  You wouldn't think it possible, would you?  Still, here I am, floating in a void, nothing to see, nothing to do, nothing to look forward to, nothing interesting to talk about... I'm just in limbo.  In fact, I'm not sure how or why I'm typing this blog.

Unfortunately for me, there seem to be a lot of allergens in limbo.  I've been floating around sneezing with my nose running.  I'm glad I had a box of tissues with me when I was zapped into limbo.  At least sneezing and wiping my nose is something to do now that I think about it.  I guess limbo isn't a TOTAL bore.

The one woman in the world who I thought would never betray me... did. My guess is that she got in contact with some other person from high school whom she admired.  I'm so used to that happening by now that it barely phases me.  It pisses me off a little, but other than that, it's just the same old boring story of my love life.  Now I've decided to just wait for my death alone... which would only be a problem if it's going to be a long way off.  I've gotten used to being alone so it's not much of a problem for me anymore.


I'm in limbo. I'm in the middle of nowhere. No friends to call on me. No ability to go anywhere. No future to look forward to. No money to do anything. No way to get my bottom teeth pulled. I'll just float here letting my bottom teeth rot, poisoning my system and further damaging my heart until I leave limbo forever.


Everything is fine. I'm in limbo.

What is the Greatest Commandment?

                                                 What is the Greatest Commandment?

What IS the greatest commandment?  We have a couple answers here.

Matthew 22:34-40

New International Version (NIV)
The Greatest Commandment

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Footnotes:

Matthew 22:37 Deut. 6:5
Matthew 22:39 Lev. 19:18

If you look at these verses above, you get two rather than one; however, if you read Galatians 5:14 you get the most important commandment, loving the Lord being assumed:

Galatians 5:13-26

New International Version (NIV)
Life by the Spirit

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Footnotes:

Galatians 5:13 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.
Galatians 5:14 Lev. 19:18
Galatians 5:17 Or you do not do what

There are reasons for verse 19-21 talking about the acts of the flesh. They all cause someone pain. Some of them cause more than one person pain... sometimes many people. It's all about love, folks. It's all about love.

Love, Hope, Peace, and Christ is With Us All,

Cal-el

Man of Steel Review

      Who better to review Man of Steel than Superman himself? ;)  I thought it might be really good because I heard so many people say it was. They were mistaken. It wasn't good. It was a rerun of the same old Zod story with slightly different twists. I figure they put General Zod in the Christopher Reeve movie for comic relief. Why Smallville and Man of Steel have to dig him up and put their own twist on him, I don't know. The only reason I can think of is that they don't have an original idea in their head. If I see one more story about Zod I'm going to puke. Maybe they're doing too much coke or smoking too much crack. I guess people who never read every comic book where Superman made an appearance might think it was good. My niece thought it was. The one plus I will give it is that PARTS of it were closer to the comic books that I read from the time I was six or seven through high school. What really ticked me off was the music. Let's compare.

                                                                     John Williams

http://youtu.be/e9vrfEoc8_g

                                                                    Hans Zimmer

http://youtu.be/LaxqxfpSzMQ

     In comparison, I think that Hans Zimmer's version would be a good lullaby. John Williams' version gets you excited and ready to see some super action. What's worse is that it didn't get any better throughout the movie. Every music scene had uninteresting music that really didn't match the scenes. After all, the music is supposed to set the mood for the scene. I guess that's why they had Superman's takeoffs sound so loud. They needed SOMEthing to wake you up. Hans Zimmer should write for movies like Out of Africa.

                                                   John Barry – Out of Africa Theme Song

http://youtu.be/eWZ2adCaKo4

     Comparing him to John Barry might be a bit too much of a compliment for Hans Zimmer, but to be fair, I haven't heard any other of Hans Zimmer's music.  John Ottman did a much better job than Zimmer.

                                                     John Ottman - Superman Returns

 

http://youtu.be/MRjW8d98198

     Another thing... they had to go and change the back story of Superman going from a kid to Superman as did Smallville. No Superboy. I don't like when they completely screw with the original story. It's like reading Moby Dick then when you get to the movie the story is about Jaws. I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 at the most. 

 Love, Hope, Peace, and Christ is With Us All,

Cal Jennings