English Proficiency

One of 73,270 California high school seniors are unable to fulfill a new state law requiring students to pass a test of basic English, math and algebra to graduate. That's 1 in 5 members of the state's Class of 2006, says the state Department of Education. More than half of those who still need to pass -- 40,002 students -- don't speak much English.

-- San Francisco Chronicle, Feb 27, 2006.

How can you gradute from High School without knowing English. This is an English speaking country. Try pulling the same stunt in any other country in the world and they'll just laugh at you.

Nothing like a little controversy to stir up a Monday afternoon.

Make God's Word Your Daily Bread

The New Testament is
CONTAINED
in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is
EXPLAINED
in the New Testament.

The New Testament is
CONCEALED
in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is
REVEALED
in the New Testament.

The New Testament
AUTHENTICATES
the Old Testament.

The Old Testament
ANTICIPATES
the New Testament.

The New Testament
LIES HIDDEN
in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament
LIES OPEN
in the New Testament.

The Old Testament
PREDICTS
a Person.

The New Testament
PRESENTS
that Person.

Food for thought

A Folk Classification of Animals>

Living on the Ground


Animals with hooves
-Split hoof and chews cud [EDIBLE]


ox, sheep, goat, hart, gazelle, roebuck, wild


goat, pygarg (ibex), antelope, mountain sheep


-Whole hoof and chews cud [INEDIBLE]


camel, hare, rock-badger


-Split hoof but does not chew cud [INEDIBLE]


pig


Animals with paws [INEDIBLE]


Animals that creep or swarm [INEDIBLE]


weasel, mouse, lizard, gecko, crocodile, chameleon


Animals that travel on belly [INEDIBLE]


Animals with many feet [INEDIBLE]

Living in the Water


Animals with fins and scales [EDIBLE]


Animals without fins and scales [INEDIBLE]

Living in the Air


Animals that fly
-Clean birds [EDIBLE]
-Unclean birds [INEDIBLE]


eagle, vultures, osprey, kite, falcon, falcon,


raven, ostrich, hawks, sea-mew, owls, cormorant,


pelican, heron, hoopoe, bat


Animals that swarm, with wings and jointed legs [EDIBLE]


locust, grasshopper, cricket


Animals that swarm, with four feet [INEDIBLE]

"...commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." – 1 Timothy 4:3-5

Garter and Bouqet...

PNC caught the garter at my wedding. He's set to marry Stella in July.



Corinne caught the bouqet and got engaged to Ari this past weekend.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!

taking a break...

From Karen's Xanga. Kinda weird...not only am I a theater major, but I'm an ACTRESS!!! Not an actor, but an actress!!!

You scored as Theater. You should be a Theater major! Like a bohemian actress, you are seasoned and confident and not afraid to express yourself! Theater 100% Journalism 100% Dance 92% Mathematics 92% Sociology 92% Anthropology 92% Art 83% Chemistry 83% Linguistics 75% English 67% Philosophy 67% Biology 67% Engineering 67% Psychology 58% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com

No mas, por favor.

No more travelling...please. I can't stand another 6 hours of being trapped between two people with their elbows on MY arm rest and their knees crossing over to MY territory while the chair in front of me is securely lodged into my kneecaps.

But I do have to commend Chicago's O'Hare Airport. They designed it in a way such that if you're trying to connect to a different flight, you have to run all the way from one end of the airport to the other. Never fails!! It's like running in the middle of the Mong Kok...where everyone is trying to connect to their flight. Rumbling, bumbling, stumbling....enough with the sarcasm.

The highlight of O'Hare International falls not on their eateries, their location, their peculiar way of placing terminals...but in their bathrooms. Ah yes....the ultimate fortress of solitude where one can regain what's left of one's self-dignity after going through a security check.

What's so good about O'Hare's bathroom? Well...for one, 2/3 of the essential handwashing elements are automated. The faucet is automated. SCORE! The soap is automated. DOUBLE SCORE!! But their paper towel dispenser is not! WHAMMY!!! C'mon Chicago...you've spent the money already...might as well spend a little more and be completely sanitary!

Another plus of O'Hare's bathroom are their toilet seats. This could be a plus or a HUUUUUUUUUGE minus....but the cowboy hats (the term I use for the paper thingy you sit on) is automated! Instead of having to do the customary "Pull up-pull down" to launch a cowboy hat, you wave a hand across a sensor to automatically replace the seat covering, hereafter referred to as the CURRENT SITUATION. And it's not a cowboy hate, oh-no. They have elected to use this plastic tubing that slides ontop of the seat. The CURRENT SITUATION, slides into a housing behind the toilet, disappearing to who knows where. And a NEW SITUATION comes out to replace the CURRENT SITUATION. Of course, one can't help but think, "Are they using the same plastic tubing over and over again??"




Thought provoking, it is...
Anyhoo...professor moved one of my two midterms to the week after. WOOHOO!!!

Up up...and away....

Flying out to Philadelphia again. I was just there two weeks ago. Last week I was in San Diego. Now I'm going back to Philly. I'm really not looking forward to the 7 hour flight into windy Chicago and even windier Philly. I'm certainly not looking forward to waking up in about 2 hours to catch a 6 o'clock flight. Throw in the two midterms next week and me missing class this week due to travel...and I'll say this is officially a Bad Week. Hey...I'm allowed 2 "Bad Weeks" every year. This will be one of them...I'll save the other one for when I forget my wedding anniversary or something....

Steelers won....WOOHOO!! Kinda happy for Bill Cowher. I'm a big fan of people who deserve to win, actually winning. The Superbowl was one of the most non-entertaining one ever, but Superbowls are Superbowls. Regardless of who plays and how they're playing, people will tune in. I actually watched the entire game!!

The commericials were below expectations. I guess when you set yourselves up every year, you're bound to come back down sooner or later. My favorite one will have to the be Fed Ex one where the caveman kicks the little dinosaur, then gets stomped by the Gigantic Dinosaur.

PRAISE THE LORD!!! Solomon So finally made it out of Carol's womb!! I think he'll be the first baby that I wouldn't mind calling me "UNCLE." Will be another year or two before that happens tho....I'm in no hurry.

Tax Season

It's tax season, the time when W-2's and 1099's start rolling in the mail. I really dread this time of the year...especially now that we're filing as a married couple. With the mortgage and deductions...oh, it's gonna be a headache. Anyhoo...that's not what's triggering this post.

A couple of days ago, Tommie asked me a peculiar question. The same question that I came up with last week....In the Bible, why are tax collectors seen as antagonists?? What did they do to deserve such a stigma?

The New Testament mentions the words "TAX COLLECTOR" 26 times. They are coupled with prostitutes.

I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. Matt 21:32.

They are paired up "sinners" and are singled-out.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." Luke 7:34

Jesus was shown spending time with tax collectors, the most famous ones being the disciple Matthew (Matt 9:9) and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:2).
Is tax collecting really such a sin?!? These people are simply doing a job. Yes, they are working for Herod. And yes, they are taking money from people who rather not give it up. But it's not like they're stealing. They are carrying out an order by the government - submission to authority. Perhaps the writers of the gospels feel that tax collection connotes the idea of greed and stealing. But that's a generalization.

In American history, the United States have always been opposed to taxes. From the days of the Revolutionary War - "No Taxation without Representation" till this very day, "Read my lips. No new taxes!!" -- George Bush Sr.

Maybe Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are early Republicans?? I don't know. But it clearly explains why nobody and I mean NOBODY (Democrats / Republicans) likes the IRS.

Book Review

I always find myself buried in books. Always starting them, never finishing them, and constantly wanting more. Well, January was a good month. I actually finished three books in the same month.


The first book, Now I Can Die in Peace : How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the 2004 Red Sox -- by Bill Simmons (aka the Sports Guy). Simmons has a column in ESPN Magazine and ESPN.com. This book is really just a conglomeration of his articles dating back from 2002 up till the Red Sox captured the World Series, with comments added on the side. His writing style is geared towards male audiences in their late 20's to mid 50's with reverances to the Karate Kid Series, Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather and true nitty gritty nose-grinding sports commentary. A great bathroom reader since each article can really stand alone and any sports fan who's experienced rise and falls of any team can relate to Simmon's pain and anguish, joy and exuberance. Definitely worth getting from a used book store.


The second book, Life of the Beloved : Spiritual Living in a Secular World -- by Henri Nouwen. This was lent to me by a dear sister. I agree with her that Nouman is indeed a special writer that presents his thoughts with succintly and concisely. The book was originally intended for an audience living in a secular world without a clear understanding of God's love and his desire to have a relationship with us. Nouman admits that he missed his target audience and he missed me with this book also. Other than two paragraphs in the last chapter of the book, I did not find the book particularly appealing.


The third book, Heartbreak & Triumph : The Shawn Michaels Story -- by Shawn Michaels, Aaron Feigenbaum I only read 50% of the book and thumbed through the rest of it while spending some cold afternoons at Barnes and Noble. An autobiography of one of the most renouned professional wrestler in the past 20 years, Michaels chronicles his days starting as a rookie and emerging as the Champion of the WWF. This book goes into a wrestling entertainer's perspective of the business and gives good insight on what happens behind the closed curtains. Michaels is not candid about the "storyboard drama" that goes into modern day wrestling entertainment and he trumps this book with his final declaration that Jesus Christ as his personal savior. A history book, an inpirational book, an avenue down memory lane. I would probably say, go to your local bookstore and thumb through it.

Stay tuned for February reviews....

When rules aren't rules

CHICAGO (AP) - New York Knicks forward Antonio Davis was suspended five games Thursday by the NBA for climbing into the stands to confront a man during a game in Chicago, and that fan said he did nothing wrong and was attacked by Davis' wife.

How far will you go to defend the honor of your wife? Antonio Davis of the Knicks acted and reacted by running to his wife's safety. Can he depend on everyone else to protect his wife? Depend on security to "break things up?" The probable assiliant was intoxicated. Who knows what he would've done! Does he deserve to be suspended? Probably...cuz rules are rules. You do the crime, you do the time. But what if Antonio Davis ran into the stands to save a child from falling concrete?? He'd be a hero instead of a zero. Interesting...

Less than a week from finishing our paint job at home, we're considering re-painting. The yellow chosen for the dining room is a little too bright. When the sun is setting and shines through our window, you can get blinded if you look straight at the wall. But there's no way we can paint this quarter. Will have to wait till after finals I guess.

On a lighter note...I was in the bathroom earlier, doing my thing. I look up at the ceiling and see a horrible paint job!! And I think to myself, "Geez...I could do a lot better than that."

2557 days

Today marks our 7th Anniversary as a couple....