There Are Heroes Among Us

Justin Gregorich is a 14-year-old boy who the school’s weight room depressed because others called him a weakling. Minutes later he’s diving into a pond to save an old man from drowing. Never let someone tell you what you can’t achieve.

Western Culture Not All Bad

Despite the West’s over-emphasis on sex and materialism, we do have some positive concepts to offer the world. For one, few countries in the world give women as much respect and freedom as America. With the Taliban out in Afghanistan, a film-maker has released a pro-female movie called Osama, where a daughter cuts her hair, is given a boy’s name so that she can find work and support the family. Art has such a great power to bring focus to social injustices. Despite the horrors of war, Afghanistan is better off now. And they’re heading in a positive direction.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King has certainly made his mark on our country. But I wonder if people regard him in the way that he wishes to be regarded. Do you think Dr. King would think it appropriate for people to boo and protest someone laying a wreath in his honor? That’s what some did to President Bush. Instead, Dr. King would have wanted people of all colors coming together in brotherly love. “Phileos” means brotherly love. We’d like to honor Dr. King’s memory with a song that we think he would have applauded.

Colored People
[1, 1, 1, 1... 2, 2, 2, 2... 3, 3, 3, 3... 4, 4, 4, 4]

Pardon me, your epidermis is showing, sir
I couldn’t help but note your shade of melanin
I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement
Cause I see the beauty in the tones of our skin

We’ve gotta come together
And thank the maker of us all

(chorus)
We’re colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We’re colored people, and they call us the human race
We’ve got a history so full of mistakes
And we are colored people who depend on a holy grace

[1, 1, 1, 1... 2, 2, 2, 2... 3, 3, 3, 3... 4, 4, 4, 4]

A piece of canvas is only the beginning for
It takes on character with every loving stroke
This thing of beauty is the passion of an artist’s heart
By god’s design, we are a skin kaleidoscope

We’ve gotta come together,
Aren’t we all human after all?

(repeat chorus)

Ignorance has wronged some races
And vengeance is the lord’s
If we aspire to share this space
Repentance is the cure

[1, 1, 1, 1... 2, 2, 2, 2... 3, 3, 3, 3... 4, 4, 4, 4]

Well, just a day in the shoes of a color blind man
Should make it easy for you to see
That these diverse tones do more than cover our bones
As a part of our anatomy

(repeat chorus)

We’re colored people, and they call us the human race
[oh, colored people]
We’re colored people, and we all gotta share this space
[yeah we’ve got to come together somehow]
We’re colored people, and we live in a tainted world
[red and yellow, black and white]
We’re colored people, every man, woman, boy, and girl
[colored people, colored people, colored people, colored people, yeah]
–by DC Talk

Autolust Has Taken Me

Looking at pictures from the North American International Auto Show is really not healthy. It promotes all kinds of lust, not to mention a mental-calculator-process to see if I discontinued my cell phone, TV dish and turned the thermostat down would I save enough to swing one of these?

National Sanctity of Human Life Day

What’s more important than life? Without life, all other factors are null. Without life, the freedom of choice is irrelevant. Without life, there is no birthday, no graduation day, no wedding day, no anniversary day. Without life, there are no sleepy summer days or missing school for snow days. That’s just it, without life there are no days, no hours, or minutes. Today is the National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Tell your parents you’re glad they gave you the gift the life.

The Next Big Thing

At least on the technology front, Coursey is predicting that home Wi-Fi will be the focus this year. While very cool, I’m not so sure the mass populace will feel that they “need” it. More interesting to me, is Dish Network’s offer of their dish, installation, a HD-compatible receiver and a choice between two HD widescreens. Too good to be true? Sorry I’ve got to run and go read through their fine print.

Wie the Next Tiger?

Phenomenons aren’t very common, that’s why they call them phenomenons. Tiger Woods burst onto the scene after a record-setting amateur career. Michelle Wie is a bit more of a suprise, as a 14-year-old girl playing on a men’s tour event is unprecedented. Ratto and Harig are downplaying Wie, but with a opening round +2 (105th out of 144) it’ll take a remarkable effort to make the cut. Rather than be a realist and say, “She probably won’t make the cut.” I’d rather play the hopeful cheerleader and say, “Go Wie Go!”

My Computer is Skinnier Than Yours

It’s ironic how technology often surges in two opposite directions. On one hand, you ‘ve got those ever-expanding plasma TVs. Bigger is better, right? Then you’ve the teenie, tiny cell phones, mp3 players and even computers. Upstart has a computer/monitor device that’s only 3 inches thick. No more worrying about footprint size. What I don’t understand is why watches have chosen to go the larger route?!?

Half the Sky

It’s truly heart breaking to learn about the thousands of discarded little Chinese girls. Jenny Bowen saw the need and decided to do something about it. First she adopted Maya, where girls are consistently unwanted in favor of boys given their country’s lack of freedoms. Then she started an organization called Half the Sky that works to raise money and train nannies to care for the literally thousands of uncared for children in that country. Taking a cue from Mother Teresa, Bowen shows love for those who are truly poor in spirit. [via PostivePress]

Cool Names in the NBA

I noticed today that Mehmet Okur had a career-high 27 in the Pistons win last night. (My poor Bulls are basement dwellers.) Pretty cool name, Mehmet. Then I thought, what about Tayshaun Prince? That’s pretty cool. Here are some other hip-type names:

• Shareef Abdur-Rahim
• Raja Bell
• Speedy Claxton
• Baron Davis
• Vlade Divac
• Tremaine Fowlkes
• Manu Ginobili

I’m only up to the Gs! What are some others? What about the worst name in the NBA? And don’t say it’s Popeye Jones.

NASA Probe Lands on Mars

Lately, there’s been a renewed interest in Mars, and once the spacecraft landed all that was left was for the probe to start it’s 4-wheeling duties. Now it has! I don’t know exactly what the scientists hope to learn now that we know Marvin doesn’t live there, but they certainly are excited.

Voice Command Closer to Prime Time

Almost everyone agrees that interacting with electronic devices with our voice is a good idea, that is, if it works. Working well has always been the bugaboo with this technology. Apparently Voice Command is a step in the right direction, and soon to be playing on a PDA near you.

Anti-Stat Indicators Predict Economy Upswing

Slicing and dicing statistics is one way to predict the future. Another is to look at real-world situations and judge whether common sense says, “This means the economy is improving.” or “Look out! The bottom is falling out!” Jim Jubak has found 10 such indicators that are 5 up, 1 down and 4 neutral.

Robots Mimic Better Than Ever

There are robots and there are robots, but today’s robots are far past simple movements, lights and whistles. They’ve become almost human. Take, for instance, the stunt robots used in the LotR movies. Actually, they’re not the robots, but rather, digital models with texture mapped skins and whatnot. I wonder if these people are worried?

Survivors of Survivor

I understand that there’s a love/hate relationship with these reality TV shows. Me? If there’s competition, I love it. That’s why having an All-Star Survivors is really engaging. I already have some great background on most of the contestents so I know who I like and who I don’t. I know I’ve said this before, but I really wish I had come up with this whole “reality” idea.