Congratulations to big-brother-to-be, Aidan ...


... and to his mom and dad, too!!!

I saw a preview for the new Jim Carrey movie, The Number 23. I want to see it, because I think Carrey will play his role convincingly and the premise is an
interesting one.

The "23 Enigma" refers to the belief that all incidents and events are directly connected to the number 23, some permutation of the number 23, or a number related to the number 23, given enough ingenuity on the part of the interpreter.

It sort of gets you thinking ...

ex: The World Trade Centre was attacked on September 11, 2001.

9 + 11 + 2 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 23

Rick Warren, who wrote the book The Purpose Drive Life, writes a monthly one page article for RELEVANT magazine. In last month's article, he said that today's church can't consider itself relevant if it is ignoring the crisis of HIV and AIDS.

Over the past 25 years, nearly 65 million people have been infected with HIV and an estimated 25 million have died of AIDS-related illnesses. Today, about 40 million people live with HIV, and 16 million children have been made orphans by AIDS.
(Warren, Rick. "Statements: four attitudes that preclude relevance", pp. 52, RELEVANT Issue 23, November/December 2006)

The topic of this article put me in mind of a story that one of my pastors shared about being called to the hospital in the middle of the night to be with a stranger who was in the final hours of dying from AIDS. After he had shared this story, my other pastor commented to the congregation, "I don't ever want to hear anyone here say that people who have AIDS get what they deserve. Think of what would happen to you if God gave you what you deserve".

Rick Warren used the acronym A.I.D.S. (Aquired Immune Deficiency Syndrom) to stand for:

A - avoidance
I - intolerance
D - distance
S - superstition

He said, and I agree, that this is how many Christians treat people who have HIV and AIDS. Rick Warren challenged the reader to counter these four negative attitudes with the use of repentance, acceptance, presence, and endurance.

A good plan, but unfortunately, the new acronym turns out to spell:

R - repentance
A - acceptance
P - presence
E - endurance

Charlie Mann e-mailed the magazine to point out Rick Warren's unfortunate error. His complaint appeared as a "Letter to the Editor" this month.

(Personally, I didn't even notice the R.A.P.E. anagram, because I was actually interested in the article's content. Get a hobby, Charlie!)

I have been a bit sore these past few days on the right side of my face. I used to get a lot of ear infections when I was a child, and I was worried this was the beginning of one. I couldn't really decide if the pain was in my ear or in my teeth, so I thought I would go to the doctor first to rule that out, then make a dentist's appointment.

Dr. Kriegler said my ears and my teeth both appear to be healthy. He suggested that I have an inflammation in my temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, which is the joint between my jaw and my skull.

I asked him, "What causes something like this?". Dr. Kriegler replied, "Chewing a lot of gum. Even a really thick, heavy piece of steak could do it". Then he paused, and cautiously said, "Lots of talking?".

Hmmmm ... probably the steak and gum chewing for sure!!!

Introducing the "burqini"!

To order your own, visit http://www.ahiida.com/.

Click here to play "Deal or No Deal" online.

Have as much fun as this woman, but in the comfort of your own home ... without the annoyance of what to do with your winnings!!!

This past Friday, Mark and I went for lunch at the Grosvenor Park location of The Great Canadian Bagel. I was so excited to walk in at noon on a Friday and find no line-up ... until I realized why.

The Bagel is apparently under new management, but unfortunately, the changes don't stop there. They no longer offer the pastrami or the chicken salad sandwich. The three employees who were working when I was there all seem rather surly ... especially when you ask what happened to the pastrami sandwich! The one or two other customers weren't exactly getting service with a smile either ... in fact, everyone was getting totally ignored. One man had a problem with his coffee, and the waitress didn't even get up to help him; she just kept reading the newspaper!

"I WILL NOT RETURN!!!"

Today in church, Pastor George asked who still has their Christmas tree up. I was the only one to raise my hand. He and a few other people cautioned me "not to feel bad", because they only just barely took their trees down this past week.

Feel bad???

I have my tree up deliberately.

Today is Ukrainian New Year's Day!!!

Duh.

It's fun to be Ukrainian!
It's nice to be a "Uke"!
If you were born Ukrainian,
Well, consider it a fluke!
It's alright to be a Spaniard
An Italian or a Jew!
But it's so fun to be Ukrainian!
I'm Ukrainian; how 'bout you?

A MESSAGE FROM HEALTH CANADA

A record setting blizzard hit Saskatchewan this week. There were 90 kilometre per hour winds and 25 centimetres of snow. It was the worst blizzard to strike Saskatoon in 50 years, and the most snow that Saskatoon has ever received on January 10th.


"Git inside, Ma! Storm's a comin'!!!"
I drove to church for Bible study at 10 AM Wednesday morning, partially because I'm "hardcore", partially because I'm crazy, and partially due to my brother's encouragement that "I don't think it's as bad as it looks". I made the short drive without much trouble only to find an extremely surprised Pastor George telling me it had been cancelled. I headed next for Preston Crossing to do an errand, but I quickly changed my mind and turned back when I encountered white-out conditions.

Despite Mark's suggestion that I should stay at home for the remainder of the day, I braved the roads again to get to my job, telling him, "In my line of work, you can't just say, 'I'm not coming'!". I arrived safely ... to receive calls from nearly all of my co-workers telling me that they would not be coming.

All but one of our residents made it home, the fact it was allowance day probably being a big factor, and I forbid them to leave again because the buses were stopping at 6 PM. I spent the evening in a big old house with four other staff, eight toddlers, two newborns babies and ten teenage girls.

"Too many residents and no co-workers make Karen ... something, something."

The girls refused to take me up on my suggestion that, "We'll all play hide-and-go-seek. I'll be 'it', but if I don't find you by 10:30 PM, just go to bed", but it was still a good evening with only one notable disagreement. At midnight I drove home on the newly plowed streets in less time than it took me to shovel out my parking spot.

The Star Phoenix encouraged people to submit their blizzard stories, but in my opinion, the prize for the best blizzard story goes to my friend and co-worker Shannon, who delivered a 10 pound 7 ounce baby boy at 11:26 PM January 10, 2007!!!

So tell me ...
Where were you during the KILLER STORM OF '07?

This week I watched the premiere of the new CBC show "Little Mosque on the Prairie". My friend Shallen converted to Islam last year, so I have become a bit more knowledgable about Muslims since that time. Although I can't really relate to some of the humor, I hope it stays on the air for awhile.

What I learned this week:
1) I was mispronoucing imam "iman".
2) Shallen is friends with the show's creator, Zarqa Nawaz.

This clip was featured on a commerical for the show, and it really made me laugh:

(It's funny because I'm a protestant ... tee hee!)

Thank you to Natasha for the awesome Christmas present!
I wore it to teach Sunday school today!!!

Last night, I watched Peter Jackson's King Kong for the second time. During the time the main characters spend on Skull Island, they encounter giant bugs, bats, and leaches, all variety of dinosaurs, and, of course, a 25 foot gorilla. The native people of Skull Island also try to kill them all and sacrifice a member of their group.

Halfway through the movie, I turned to my friend and said, "Why do the native people even stay on Skull Island?!?".

He replied, "They obviously don't have the means to colonize elsewhere".

I said, "They can build an 100 foot wall, but they can't build a boat?!?!".

I also kept thinking of the Simpson's episode where they parodied King Kong:

Carl: I heard we're goin' to Ape Island.

Lenny: Yeah, to capture a giant ape. I wish we were going to Candy Apple Island.

Charlie: Candy Apple Island? Whatta they got there?

Carl: Apes. But they're not so big.

As a new year dawns, it brings with it new aspirations, new hopes, new resolutions, and a whole new beginning ...

May you be blessed with the prosperity to live life to the fullest, serene moments to bring you peace and happiness, and may each new day bring you new joy.