tidbits
So you must have been pretty bored to have wanted to comment on whether or not I should do away with the beard. Here's the official tally: Eight (8) of you said keep the beard or some form of it, five (5) of you said shave it, four (4) of you said it could go either way and the rest of you out there could careless whether or not I keep it.
In the end, I kinda like mad4books's comment about letting it be a seasonal thing. So I'll probably shave it and keep it off until October rolls around. I'm seriously tempted to go here and let them pamper me. (Yes, I just used the word "pamper.")
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Thank you for all the comments on yesterday's post. It helps to hear your stories and get your advice. Laura and I are new to this so hearing from those of you who have experienced this before is extremely helpful. We cherish your words.
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I'm thinking this American Idol is going to be the last. The field is exceptionally weak this year and if this cat keeps advancing then the show will meet it's doom for sure. It's run its course. The end is near.
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Much like Sanjaya of American Idol, why do we let Dr. James Dobson hang around? The guy is nuts! Now he's playing the roll of God declaring which candidates are Christ followers and which are not. His name is quickly becoming synonymous with names such as Pat Robertson and the like. He's either A) scary, B) nutty, C) disillusioned or D) all of the above. Yikes!
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In the end, I kinda like mad4books's comment about letting it be a seasonal thing. So I'll probably shave it and keep it off until October rolls around. I'm seriously tempted to go here and let them pamper me. (Yes, I just used the word "pamper.")
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Thank you for all the comments on yesterday's post. It helps to hear your stories and get your advice. Laura and I are new to this so hearing from those of you who have experienced this before is extremely helpful. We cherish your words.
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I'm thinking this American Idol is going to be the last. The field is exceptionally weak this year and if this cat keeps advancing then the show will meet it's doom for sure. It's run its course. The end is near.
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Much like Sanjaya of American Idol, why do we let Dr. James Dobson hang around? The guy is nuts! Now he's playing the roll of God declaring which candidates are Christ followers and which are not. His name is quickly becoming synonymous with names such as Pat Robertson and the like. He's either A) scary, B) nutty, C) disillusioned or D) all of the above. Yikes!
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posted by jch at
9:50 AM
22 Comments:
Wow! How did Dobson get to this point? I have long held some of his stuff in the realm of "hmmm. . .maybe" as opposed to the blanket acceptance many give it. But I think this line from the article you linked, "While making it clear he was not endorsing any Republican presidential candidate," is just funny. That makes me almost want to question the sanity of the journalist, as well.
I didn't comment on the beard because I'm one of those who could see you both ways easily, but if you're going to get pampered I have to tell you this funny story about my Dad. My Father spent 20 years in the Air Force and had to shave everyday of it. When he retired, he let his beard grow simply because he refused to shave anymore. He doesn't necessarily want a beard, but he's over shaving, and he has stuck to that for the 17+ years since retiring. He does get it trimmed regularly because he isn't one to be imitating ZZTop facial hair legend, and he still goes to the same barber every time. Is it because of the good work and low price. . .no, my friends, my Dad goes there because he gets a free neck and shoulder massage with every trim. He thinks that's the best almost nap in the history of the world. So, listen to a wise, old man and go for the pampering if you're going.
Try the goatee for a week or two before you shave the whole thing off.
I heard that about Dobson, too. Several things he's said lately has caused him to lose credibility, at least in my eyes. I think sometimes our perceived power goes to our heads, and causes us to do some pretty stupid and arrogant things. Maybe it's Alzheimer's... Which is worse? To think that a terrible illness might make him say stupid things, or that he says stupid things because stupid?? I don't know. Makes me sigh.
you should at least go in for a free consultation!
1) i have found the beard (or the head, which i also shave) to be the thing which my add impulsiveness can act out on. instead of buying an expensive car or running around the living room in circles, i can simply shave my head/beard. this works for seasons as well.
2) you and laura are obviously doing well on the parenting front. your awareness is what is consistently stunning to me, a real effort to be present and aware. i think that makes it a lot harder to mess up.
3) i was done with idol 2 seasons ago. as soon as i started realizing that the best thing an idol contestant can do is almost win.
4) my wife used to work for focus on the family. james dobson is crazy. he has been for years. it's only now becoming apparent.
Add me to the list of those who think Dobson is nuts! We live just a few miles from the Focus campus and I can't drive past the place without shuddering. What scares me even more than the things he says publicly are the people who buy what he says because JAMES DOBSON says it. Ughh.
And I vote for keeping your beard.
Hey, we have a couple gift certificates for The Art of Shaving. Let us know if you want one and we'll unearth them. I didn't comment earlier but I'm a fan of the seasonal beard. It's too yuckyhot for facial hair in the summer, no matter how fab and stylish.
If you loose the beard you loose your BHC (Brooklyn Hipster Credibility). I think you need to keep the beard because it helps offset you saying "folks" all the time.
American Idol always has a someone who shouldn't be there. Remember John Stevens, and Matthew Rogers, Scott Savol, and Kevin Covais? All of these people hung around way too long, just like Sanjaya Malakar. He will be around just long enough for a really great person to go home, then the American people will wake up. What's maddening about him is that he seems to be wasting his opportunity.
What about LOST? Has it redeemed itself for you? One question, why was Locke wet before he blew up the submarine??????
Jason,
I know you think you've purged anything and everything Texan but you are just off on the idea that "folks" is a purely Texan word. Go to our favorite daily periodical, N Y Times, and in the search area type in "folks." You'll find many an article that use the word. You'll also find it commonly used in political speeches. Finally, folk music found its place as "popular" music around 1958. Wanna know where it took root? Yep, Greenwich Village in NYC. So fear not, my friend. I'm not giving away my roots when I use the word, I'm just joining the masses who see the value in it.
I think James Dobson uses the word "folks" a lot too... at least you're in good company...
Sadness of the greatest depth comes over me when I think about why folks of any sort would want to rid themselves of their Texas heritage.
I haven't purged anything Texan from my life...look at my voting record! On second thought, I probably should have.
I took your little NY-Times challenge and the majority of the time folks was used in the text the last seven days was inside a quote. So until Friedman uses it, I am not biting.
Please don't misunderstand me, I don't think you should stop saying it. It adds to your "aw shucks-ness" and softens you up a bit. Throw in the beard, and the tall tales about college football and BAM all of a sudden people are forced into reconciling the good old "Tahoka boy" talk with the hipster look. Probably enough to land you as a cover story about the international appeal Brooklyn has (because everyone know that Texas is independent and can secede anytime it wants to right which practically makes it another country?!).
People Texas is great, and I will teach my son about the supreme greatness of the Dallas Cowboys, ACU, and all the great water-parks. So don't worry I am not hating. Texas rocks..."GO LONGHORNS!"
Great water-parks?! J-wild, you're funny! You're also brave...posting "go Longhorns" on an Aggie's blog.
Jason, T Friedman did use the word "folks" in his op-ed piece on Feb. 23, 2007. And I quote: "The only thing the Bush folks all agreed on was that they would never do anything ..." Friedman used it again in a Feb 7 op-ed piece in which he wrote, "These folks know how to calculate..." There are more. Should I keep going?
Brother, you issued the challenge and I (or Friedman) responded. Concede, my friend?
And Jana, I'll allow the "Go Longhorns" yelp only because it was the Year of the Aggies - we won in football, had a much more successful year in basketball and are targeted to do well in baseball. WHOOP!
But I will agree with Jason that Texas water parks are frackin' incredible!
Ok here goes...
Joe, you are right, I give and you win. So now you are 1 for 30.
And I wasn't cutting down on TX with the water-park comment, you can see their water-parks from Space!
Frackin' is such a useful word. Satisfying in the mouth and the ear, and doesn't ruffle Mom's feathers. I've yet to use it in a sermon, though.
Thanks, BSG. See you in 2008. [sniffle]
peace -- K
Dobson said: "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression."
You said: "why do we let Dr. James Dobson hang around? The guy is nuts!" "He's either A) scary, B) nutty, C) disillusioned or D) all of the above. Yikes!"
You're my boy, Joe, but your irony detector must be low on batteries.
(I don't know much about Dobson, by the way; I just know that he did not condemn Thomspon to hell in the quote you provided, and that you sound a lot more hateful in this case than he does).
Kraig, you obviously don't know much about Dobson. Let me inform you. When the guy says someone is not a Christian, Dobson is definitely condemning the person to hell. Definitely. Nothing ironic about that.
So I'm hateful? Nah, just fed up. That's hardly hate-filled. You obviously don't know me either. :)
He said it was his impression that the guy was not a Christian. You have no idea regarding the context of this quote.
You should give Dobson the same benefit of the doubt that you want him to give other people. It is easy, when we disagree with someone politically, to read everything in the worst possible light. I suspect that you may be doing this here.
You're still just mad because you couldn't hang with me when we jogged!
Kraig - your niavete is kinda cute.
Joe:
your condescension notwithstanding, I decided to look more into the quote that inspired you to call Dobson "scary." Turns out, unless you have some reason for believing Dobson to be a liar, he really did not know if Thompson professed to be a Christian or not.
"Dr. Dobson told Mr. Gilgoff he had never met Sen. Thompson and wasn’t certain that his understanding of the former senator’s religious convictions was accurate. Unfortunately, these qualifiers weren’t reported by Mr. Gilgoff. We were, however, pleased to learn from his spokesperson that Sen. Thompson professes to be a believer."
I didn't mean to make a big deal about this. I was up late one night, came across an old email from you, stumbled onto your blog, was surpised with your vitrolence, and posted what was intended to be a lighthearted rebuttal.
I hope you are doing well. If you get back to Texas, I'll give you chance to cure me of my naivete.
Hey Kraig - no biggie man.
But for the record: You seem to think that my "vitrolence" (do you mean virulence?) is politically motivated and while I don't align myself with the Christian Right, this has nothing to do with politics. I'm just tired of people like Dobson representing the face of Christianity. And if you don't think he does, then you need to get out of the Bible Belt. :) This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with religion.
Furthermore, you need to read more of my writing because this stuff doesn't even come close to the bitterness and hate speech I spew forth!
BTW, thanks for frequently checking in tonight!
"Kraig, you obviously don't know much about Dobson. Let me inform you. When the guy says someone is not a Christian, Dobson is definitely condemning the person to hell. Definitely. Nothing ironic about that."
Joe,
Just think of him as the "weird uncle" in the family. Every family has one.
And I really do mean "in the [Protestant evangelical] family." As an Orthodox, I don't notice anything Dobson says anymore. :) Though, alas, we Orthodox also have those, usually the very-recently-converted, who tend to shoot off their mouths rather than give their new faith time to sink in. (I'm talkin' to *you*, Sam Torode!)
Ryan L
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