Took this last September – U2360° at Soldier Field, Chicago

One of my favorite pictures from Disneyland a week and a half ago.

That’s where I am. One of these days I’m expecting a nice surprise, like winning the lottery or something. My luck’s got to turn at some point, right? RIGHT?

I’m not sure what Bible those people have been pretending to read, but the one I grew up studying had this guy named Jesus in it who taught that each person is equally loved by God as one of his children and, as such, deserves *our* love and kind regard, too.

Who are any of us to decide that hey, God was wrong, this person doesn’t deserve equal treatment because I don’t like (how poor he is/the color of her skin/who he kisses at night/the way she talks/etc.) ?

I’ll tell you – we’re nobody.

Here’s a tip from me to you: If you are a Christian, you’re not allowed to pick and choose which of Jesus of Nazareth’s teachings you want to follow; it’s all or nothing. None of this Well, He said to tend his flock and to love everyone and treat them how I want to be treated, but He couldn’t have meant for us to actually use some of our hard-earned money just to help sick people. They’re probably all crack addicts with ten kids anyway and should just get a job and save their own money. bullshit. Aside from the fact that there are plenty of hardworking individuals who would be helped by a public option, that does not matter. Even if every last person who would benefit was the racist stereotype of a welfare queen who is too lazy to work, you as a Christian should still support this anyway because it is ALL OR NOTHING. LOVE THEM ALL. TREAT THEM ALL LIKE YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS BECAUSE THEY ARE YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

Also, Jesus said so:

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

- The Gospel of Matthew 25:34-46, New American Bible
    source: The Vatican

¹ Spoiler: We already have a system that does that! It’s just not as large in scale as the proposed public option in the bill currently before Congress.

I’m flipping through a bunch of pictures I took when I went to Hawaii a few years back, and I came across this one. It looks like I took it in Black & White, but I didn’t. It’s the Pacific Ocean with clouds over it, from the top of Diamond Head.

I would go back to Hawaii any day, no questions asked. It’s amazing there.

Tomorrow is a Pig Roast benefit for my cousin’s family. Her husband was just diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of May, and he was unlucky enough to get a really aggressive brand. Of course, neither of them have health insurance through their jobs, and they have three teenagers. Anything that helps pay the bills, man. My brother’s hosting at his place, and they’re there setting stuff up right now.

Tonight I’m going to do some rocking out on my fakey Rock Band drums, then get up early and head out for doing whatever needs to be done. Pray for good weather, a big crowd, and more importantly, pray for Keven if you’re of a mind. He’s a good guy.

re: Rock Band – I downloaded the three Metallica songs from the music store, and the sound mixing on them is CRAP. I still love them, though. Those little flames in the drum difficulty area aren’t kidding. The “easy” version of the songs (Ride the Lightning, Blackened, and And Justice For All) is quite a bit tougher than the medium and hard on a lot of other songs. I think I am in love.

Okay. Off to rock out! Maybe I should eat, so I can have a beer or two. That always makes for Happy FunTiems* with coordination.

*spelled that way on purpose, yes

United breaks guitars

I have to get up with a stinking alarm tomorrow (I hate doing that on a Saturday) so I can go babysit my sweetie pie niece while her big sister goes with her dance class to go perform at a local nursing home. I guess I’ll have to get up earlier than I’d planned so I can wash dishes and clean up the kitchen before I go.

All this because I came home and sat down “just for a minute”, then was too lazy to get back up. Maybe if I went to bed at a decent hour during the week, I wouldn’t be so tired all the time, right?