Saturday

Slow day. The 3-mile walk took 50 minutes and 22 seconds. It was sunny and in the low 60's with a projected high of low 80's. Very pleasant.

Weight: 93 pounds

Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

Revelation 12:7-12

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Rejoice then, O heaven and you that dwell therein! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"

Cold!

Our 3-mile walk took 47 minutes and 3 seconds this morning, and it was COLD! At least, it was cold compared to the temps we've been used to. It was in the low 50's and breezy when we started out and didn't warm up a bit while we were out. I was wishing I'd worn something heavier than a T-shirt.

I bought a little "pie pumpkin" at the grocery store and put it on the round coffee table when I got home. It's feelin' like Fall.

The photo above came from this page at Flickr.

Another under-48 day

The 3 miles took 47 minutes 42 seconds. It was in the mid-60's and cloudy when we started, but it was sunny not long into the walk.

We went to the Mid-South Fair today.

The Walking Program

The Fatfighters Blog is promoting a walking program that looks good. It looks like I would start in week 9 of the Intermediate step. I'm not sure how to increase distance in 1/4 mile increments when the track I walk is a 1/2 mile track.

After a day off, a walk

Today's 3-miles took 47 minutes and 4 seconds.

How Logical Are You?

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

found here.

Under 48

We walked our 3 miles in 47 minutes and 37 seconds.

Cool Moonwalking Bird

from Reddit.

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 1 (KJV)

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Banned Books Week

from the Memphis Business Journal:

In observance of the National Library Association's Banned Books Week, the University of Memphis' Ned R. McWherter Library hosts readings through Sept. 29 beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the library's rotunda. The readings will be from books that were considered controversial at some time in American history. Selections will include "The Rights of Man" by Thomas Paine, "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding and "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. A virtual panel discussion to introduce Banned Books Week will be held today from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in Room 226 of the library. All related events are free and open to the public. For more information, call Tom Mendina at 678-4310.

from ALA's Banned Books Week website:

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year, 2006, marks BBW's 25th anniversary (September 23-30).

BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

Amnesty International's Banned Books Week site, listing authors persecuted for their writings.

Text of some banned books online includes James Joyce's Ulysses, Canterbury Tales, Defoe's Moll Flanders, Aristophanes' Lysistrata, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's autobiography Confessions, Jack London's Call of the Wild, Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man and his The Age of Reason, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Ambrose Bierce's Can Such Things Be?, Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, "Little Red Riding Hood", Mark Twain's books Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, George Eliot's Silas Marner, Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, the Bible, and more.

Google's book search page on banned books

New Numa

I just found New Numa:



I got a big kick out of the original:



They make me smile.

There's a video interview at Yahoo!Video.

That video is gone, but there's one here.


The Numa Numa guy has his own web site.

Autumnal Equinox

Today is the Autumnal Equinox. Day and Night are the same length on this day, and the nights get longer from now on. Since Autumn is beginning, I'd love to see some Fall weather -crisp, brisk, sweater weather. High today will be in the 80's.

Rainy

The track was muddy and wet but not flooded. We did 3 miles in 49 minutes and 11 seconds.

Babylon 5 and Paul Williams

We've been watching Babylon 5 episodes on DVD lately, season 2 with #1 Son and season 4 with #2 Son. The season 2 episode we watched today was "Acts of Sacrifice" with Paul Williams, and I discovered that neither one knew who Paul Williams was. I showed them this site, and now they are enlightened.

What is your Spiritual Type?

The test is here.

This is me:

You are a Mystic, known for your imaginative, intuitive spirituality. You value peace, harmony, and inner silence. Mystics are nurtured by walking alone in the woods or sitting quietly with a trusted friend. You may also enjoy poetry, meditation, wordless prayer, candles, art, books, and anything else that helps you connect with God.

Mystics experience God best through rich images and symbols. You are contemplative, introspective, intuitive, and focused on an inner world as real to you as the exterior one. Hearing from God is more important to you than speaking to God. Others may attribute human characteristics to God, but you see God as ineffable, unnamable, and more vast than any known category. You are intrigued by God's mystery.

Mystics want to inspire and persuade others, and need to live lives of significance. At times you push the envelope of spirituality, helping the rest of us imagine who we might become if we followed your lead.

Sometimes you may feel a bit guilty about your need for solitude and silence. If so, you probably have bought into the American myth that says being alone and doing nothing is lazy, antisocial, and unproductive. Stop it -- now. Give yourself permission to retreat and be alone. It's essential for your well-being.

On the other hand, don't get so carried away retreating that you become a recluse. That only deprives the world of your gifts and deprives you of the lessons that come from being with others. Some Mystics may have a true vocation for solitary prayer, but the rest of you need to alternate retreat time with involvement and interaction.

Famous Mystics:

Thomas Merton | Enya | John (the Gospel writer)
Brother Lawrence (Practicing the Presence of God)
Desert mothers and fathers | Charlie Brown
Sister Wendy | Phoebe Buffay | Julian of Norwich
Luke | Anthony de Mello | The Who

The Upper Room has some information on saints here.

Cool and Sunny

We walked 3 miles in 48 minutes and 1 second this morning.

Chilly

It was in the mid-50's when we started out this morning, and I wore sweat pants. We walked 3 miles in 48 minutes and 37 seconds.

Avast there, me hearties!

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day. Aaarrrr!

If you're not quite sure how to talk like a pirate check out these helpful videos:

Rain

We got a late start, and the rain had flooded sections of the track that we had to detour around. We just walked 2 miles this morning. Our time was 37 minutes and 28 seconds.