Giving Thanks Early

God is good!  All the time!

Twenty Years Ago ... the Moss Family
The Moss Family ~ Jon, Rachelle, Terry & Derek (1990)

Just a couple of months ago, I had a hard time counting my blessings as I’d been taught.  Striving to praise Him during the storms, instead of just when the sun shines, so to speak.

Now, just a handful of weaks later, my cup overflows, my heart is bursting with joy and pride and my blessings seem as uncountable as the stars.

Yesterday, while I was shutting down and packing up to return home from work, I received a jubilant call from my son.  He’s currently wrapping up his college at SMU’s Guildhall in Plano, Texas.   The reason for the call?  He’d accepted an offer from Haliburton for an astounding salary (which I won’t repeat here to protect the parties involved).  As soon as I got off the phone with Derek, I spent the next few minutes bouncing off the walls and sharing the great news with my co-workers, who probably thought I’d lost my mind. Once my feet touched the ground again, I rushed down to the lobby to catch my vanpool ride home.  I shared the news with them as well and phoned my dad during the commute home.

Once home, I told Terry, because Derek hadn’t called him yet.  Later that evening, I received a call from my uncle and aunt in Virginia to congratulate and share in the good news.  Overall, Tuesday ended on a very high note.

Today, I received even more good news from Rachelle‘s boyfriend.  He also finally found employment in Denton, Texas, within just a mile or two of their house.

Derek marries Royna in July 2009
Moss Family Addition ~ Derek, Royna, Rachelle & Terry (July 2009)

I’m so excited for all my offspring and would-be-offspring.  Next week, when Terry and I head south to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with all of them (Derek & Royna and Rachelle & Nic), I plan to continue my continual prayer of thanksgiving with them.

One week to go before I can be reunited with my kids!  Lord, let the days fly by and my heart overflow with Your peace and grace.

Amen!

Stargate Served Cold

How many different ways can you dish up revenge?  Stargate Universe explored several possibilities in last night’s episode ‘Malice‘.

The Lucien Alliance loose canon, Simeon, not only escapes and kills his tag-along guard while free roaming Destiny, he continues his killing spree, taking down two civilians at once and multiple marines, raids the armory, takes a hostage and flees with her to one of the three planets in range of Destiny’s stargate. Rush, oddly enough, is first through the gate before it closes while Colonel Young et al. are still scrambling to catch up.

The IOA back on Earth wants Simeon alive, believing he and only he holds information regarding a Lucian Alliance attack on the home planet.  Those chasing after the resourceful cunning Simeon are not convinced he will impart the information even if captured alive or that the information is reliable.

The rest of the episode consists of a cat and mouse game with Simeon playing the cat to deadly and explosive effect.  Colonel Young didn’t heed the warning of the leader of the Lucian Alliance prisoners on Destiny, not believing that one man could prove so fatally dangerous.  The surprise, to everyone but me perhaps, is who finally outwits Simeon.

Many characters who are normally optimistic, forgiving and peace-loving, reveal their weaknesses during this crises, but forge ahead and prove their mettle.  Small steps with big results.

Next week’s episode trailer left me with a bad feeling.  Do we really need to ‘magically’ meet up with the stranded survivors who chase to leave Destiny last season? And they ‘magically’ bring back a shuttle to Destiny?  Pshaw!

Postscript on the location … eerie and alien … can you say ‘New Mexico’?  Here’s an excerpt from the link in the first paragraph above:

“We went back to New Mexico. To the Bisti Badlands. Not the same desert as we went to in the pilot, but another desert that is incredibly alien-looking. I went to the location for some of the shoot, and it was … I’d never seen anything like it on earth. It was a bizarre formation created by melting glaciers, and it is just … there’s these things called hoodoos, which rise up out of the ground, and there’s mineral deposits all through them. And so it looks truly alien. It looks incredibly remote, ’cause it is. We were in the middle of nowhere. Fifty miles south of a place called Farmington, N.M.”

(Executive producer Brad Wright, in an interview with Blastr.com)

Book Review: Haze by Modesitt (4 Stars)

Haze by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read in November 2010

I admit this is the first Modesitt science fiction novel. I’m no stranger to his work in the fantasy field, having read all the Recluce and Spellsinger novels and two of his Imager novels.

This novel includes two story lines that alternate and converge. Both stories use Roget’s point of view, but during separate time lines in his life. This gives us a glimpse of current events and some of Roget’s back story which also serves to world build (or re-build) Earth in our future. Earth is a mess, ecologically speaking, and ruled by the Federation, a Sinese-based empire. Roget experiences discrimination in his career advancement because he is a descendant of the remnants of the United States (oriental supremacy and occidental minority). The current time-line follows Roget as he explores the planet of Haze (Federation designation due to the orbital shields) or Dubiety (as referred to by the inhabitants).

Modesitt explores two philosophies of government and society. The Federation is an extrapolation of all that’s wrong with empires, as history continually shows. Haze/Dubiety is an example of an extreme instance of choice and consequences. Citizens have freedom of choice so long as they never harm another person and take complete responsibility for their actions and their consequences. Modesitt gives several good examples of testing the boundaries of this scenario.

Comparable to some of the best of Heinlein’s social engineering science fiction. Yet the characters take back stage to the themes, but not so much that you get bogged down in data dumps or didactic digressions. I felt the most sympathy for a dachshund named Hildegarde in a painting Roget kept an image of to talk to and ease the loneliness of his existence.

Most of the science in the Federation appears to be hard science, although I don’t remember how the Federation battle cruisers traveled to Haze (whether it was FTL or hyperspace or hard science believable travel). The Dubiens had some technology that seemed fantastic and Modesitt didn’t go into explanations so I can’t confirm or deny the science behind their “Trans-Temporal Entropic Reversal” system.

I got a chuckle when Roget’s guide took him to dinner at the Lucasan club. See my status updates for more on that scene.

Roget’s leap of faith, although predictable, was no less poignant. And the epilogue, while a bit corny, did bring a smile to my face.

Book Review: All Clear by Willis (5 Stars)

All Clear by Connie Willis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful, exceptional, loved every page. I find myself unable to describe what truly astonishes me about this novel without giving away huge spoilers. I laughed, I cried, my heart filled to bursting and erupted with hope and inspiration.

All Clear picks up where Blackout abruptly ended, back in the Blitz, London during the Blackout, the air raids, the shelters, life marches on for the stoic British citizens.  Our stranded time-traveling historians face the facts, for the most part, and buckle down to survive.  Rationing recipes, holding down jobs, wondering if the next air raid will destroy your employer’s building or your home, constant commute disruptions caused by bombed out streets, communication disruptions (telephone lines down and mail slowed to a crawl), doing the odd heroic rescue on the side, and don’t forget the rehearsals for the latest diversionary play performed in the underground tube stations by the hodgepodge of amateur actors directed by none other than Sir Godfrey.

Connie Willis revealed the essence of Britain during the Second World War through these glimpses into the everyday lives of it’s citizens.

Now that I have reached the end, and seen all the pieces fall into place, I must re-read both novels to truly appreciate the masterful ingenious tale crafted by Connie Willis.

Book Review: Blackout

Blackout (All Clear, #1)Blackout by Connie Willis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fifty years in our future, time-traveling Oxford historians studying key moments early in the Second World War become stranded in time in various locales around England. Like the contemporaries they are assigned to observe, the historians increasingly feel the weight of impending doom.

Doubt seeps into their belief that the continuum, the embodiment of a chaotic system, prevents damage or alteration to the time line; a self-correcting system. The butterfly effect, more aptly referenced with the catch phrase ‘For want of a nail’ becomes an argument both for and against altering the time-line. All doors back to Oxford and home seem sealed off and hope flickers and flutters against the background of air raid sirens and the Blackout.

The author peeled back the curtains to give us a glimpse of England in 1940, the astonishing courage and fortitude of her citizens. Amidst all the danger and bleakness, the light and compassion continued to shine. And the occasional comedic interludes, especially as respects to two incorrigible children, Alf and Binnie, and a rag tag amateur acting troupe forged in the shelters and tube stations during air raids, directed by a retired knighted Shakespearean actor, Sir Godfrey. Willis captures the soul of the British to a tea.

Be prepared to move directly on to the second novel immediately. The only reason I didn’t give this first novel five stars relates to the torture I would have endured waiting six months to read the second half. I didn’t torture myself, though, because I waited until All Clear was released before starting Blackout.

View all my reviews

Honoring All Who Served Veteran’s Day 11 November 2010

Veteran's Day 11 November 2010
Honoring All Who Served Veteran's Day 11 November 2010

My family tree is full of veterans who served this great nation of ours.  I can’t begin to list all of them, or even get their ranks and service times correct, since I don’t hold those records currently.  My father is the genealogical guru at present for the family.  Some day, I know, the torch will be passed to me, but I pray not any time soon.

My great-grandfather, Rev. John Hodge, served in the Army at Ft. Leavenworth in the 1920s (and probably the 1930s, but again, I’m not the expert on this information).  I remember him as the pastor of the church I grew up in, the Easton United Methodist Church in Easton, Kansas.

Both of my paternal grandfathers served in the military.  Daniel Dempsey, my father’s biological father, did, but I don’t remember what branch.  I remember him as a bagpipe playing Shriner and all around musician and showman.  My dad’s step-father, Ralph Andrea, served in the Army Air Corps during WWII and in the Air Force during the Korean War.  He retired either as a Lt. Col. or a Col.  I remember him as a fun grandpa hosting us for summer visits to St. Paul, Minnesota where he worked for 3M until he retired yet again.

My uncle (my dad’s brother) is a retired Air Force Colonel.  He lives in Virginia, after a long stint in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  He dabbles well in watercolors, writing and reading books I mooch, swap, trade and bargain buy for him like mini-Christmas gifts year round.  One of his authorial projects include stories his dad told him of his war and military experiences.  Someday, I hope to be an alpha reader for that project.

A couple of my mother’s brothers were Marines and one or two of my cousins (from among her five brothers and sisters’ offspring) also joined the military.

For many months I carpooled with a veteran of the Army, whose wife is also a veteran.  Many of my fellow church members are either active and/or retired military, veterans one and all.

I even thought of joining the Air Force when I turned eighteen; my dream to be a fighter pilot.  Sadly, that was impossible in 1982, since women were forbidden combat.  My hat’s off to the women who blazed the trail without me.

My whole heart, my whole being thanks each and every veteran, whether I’ve met them or not.  Your service is unequaled, your courage unmatched.

Restaurant Review: Smokin’ Guns BBQ

After Terry’s appointment at St. Luke’s Hospital, he spent an hour or so in my office while I wrapped work up.  We debated the merits of a couple of barbecue places he wanted to try on the way home from the Country Club Plaza.  If I’d known how much ‘fun’ it was going to be getting home from North Kansas City, Missouri (to Lansing, Kansas), I might have voiced a louder opinion about his other suggestion.

Taking the scenic construction route east from the Plaza Library along Volker to US-71 North, and a second more leisurely scenic byway through the construction zone along the I-29/I-35 bridge across the Missouri River, we found ourselves exiting onto Bedford Avenue which deposited us in a railroad track infested industrial area.  We gingerly navigated the railroad crossings and arrived to front row street parking before the Smokin’ Guns BBQ establishment.

Terry ordered the burnt ends platter (reasonably priced at just a bit over ten bucks) and I wanted to order a quarter of chicken, but was informed they were out of chicken for today.  So, I had to quickly review the menu and settle for a regular sized turkey sandwich with a side of green beans.  Terry’s sides included baked beans and potato salad.

We seated our selves in the very clean but still slightly small eating area with the cliche’d red and white checked plastic table clothes.  We were served within a couple of minutes of getting our drinks.  My turkey was flavorful and moist.  The green beans disappointingly bland but very hot (temperature wise, not spice-wise).  They could have used some pepper and some ham or bacon as the white onions were more garnishment than flavor.

I tried a bit of Terry’s burnt ends and found them acceptable but not as sweet as I had expected.  The baked beans had a slightly smokey flavor, but nothing that exploded or excited my taste buds.  I’ll pass on the potato salad as I’m not sure it was made in house.

Neither one of us could finish our portions (nothing unusual there, I’m on a diet and Terry’s medicines often cause his digestive system to suffer).  Our return trip was an adventure, since Smokin’ Guns was located in a ‘peninsula’ of the Missouri River (almost surrounded on three sides by the river) and I needed to go almost due west to get to Lansing, which is impossible if you look at a map and where the roads lead from that area.

So we took another scenic route north using 9 highway up through Parkville.  I only made one wrong turn (left on Main Street in Parkville) and dead-ended to a railroad crossing (with a train racing me to the road) near the Farmer’s Market pavilion.  I turned around and headed up the hill on Main Street, eventually reuniting with 9 highway, which I somehow left in one of the construction zones.

From there, it was a quick jaunt through more police directed traffic constructions zone on 45 highway west.  We finally spied I-435 and zipped back over the Missouri River to the Land of Ahs (aka Kansas) and enjoyed K-5, the sunset and the autumn foliage.  I retrieved the Firebird from the Hallmark parking lot and still managed to make it back home as Terry was pulling into the garage.

Construction zone headaches aside, Smokin’ Guns BBQ will not be on our return list in the near future.  It’s Kansas City … so many barbecue joints, so little time.

Stargate Turnaround

Tonight’s SGU episode, ‘The Greater Good’ provided greater plot and character development than I’ve seen this entire season.  I couldn’t help but cheer when Young finally got a choke hold on Rush … too bad he stopped so soon.  Young is more naive than I thought if he believes Rush has had a change of heart and ‘given his word’ (Ha! … if he believes that, I’ve got a bridge I could sell him) to work with Young and not against him.  So far Rush’s track record does not support this affirmation.  At least the other scientists now have access to the bridge and all of Destiny’s systems.  Rush no longer holds all the cards … thank goodness!

Next week’s episode looks even better  … more action and more tension, this time with the Lucian Alliance leftovers.

A Requeim for Reverie

My feeble attempt to muse upon Mr. Modesitt’s questions posed in his blog post today entitled ‘The Failure of Imagination.’

Specifically, in his closing paragraph, the question:

“The immediate question is to what degree the proliferation of graphic everything minimizes the development of imagination. And what are the ramifications for the future of both society and culture?”

Is our obsession with gadgets and glitz impeding or ability to excel in the hard sciences?  Where are the young up and coming visionary innovative scientists and inventors? Lost in a maze of mindless virtual mayhem? Distracted and disillusioned from the implacable mountain of hard work and study they must climb before great achievements are realized.

I too lament the decline of perception and a sharp increase in instant gratification; easy answers, quick fixes.  And at least half of my offspring may eventually contribute to the ‘problem’ of faster, flashier graphic violence as an aspiring artist hurtling toward the gaming industry galaxy.

I’ve thus far avoided the allure of today’s graphically bloated games.  I’m an old school drop-out of D&D who prefers a text based MMORPG exactly because my own mind is my first and best cinematic director.

I pose a ‘what if’ scenario, which most likely has been done before in science fiction.  What if all of us became blind? How, doesn’t matter — could be disease or radiation or some other catastrophe. Would your imagination musculature be up to the challenge? Would we then strive towards ideals that benefit all since we would need to depend on and trust each other for survival?

Turn off the tube.  Put down that game controller.  Take a walk.  Walk the dog (you both need exercise).  Close your eyes.  Or read a book.

Try a proactive response rather than a reactive reflection.

Sunset, Sunrise, New Moon, Old Stars

With the return to normal time (sans daylight savings time), the commute home last night included a typical Midwestern autumn sunset.   Clear blue orange sky streaked with white vapor trails of the jets filled with people from the coasts who hop over the Heart of America and rarely pause to visit.   I kept my eye out for the waxing moon’s sliver, since the new moon occurred around midnight Saturday.  After the sun set I finally spied it, much higher in the sky than I anticipated.

Terry had dinner nearly ready when I returned from my errand to WalMart where I invested more money in Hallmark than I do the rest of the year combined.  Terry had prepared pan friend pork chops with some glazed carrots that were yummy.   I ate my sourdough as an appetizer, although three slices may have been a bit much.  We retired to the great room to watch the new episode of House, after which Terry entered his food coma and I read myself to a similar somnolent state.

When I woke up this morning, I realized I had forgotten to contact my father, who was on the road to Virginia.    My uncle had remembered to call his brother last night and confirmed he’d finally stopped forging east in Coventry, Virginia, only about three hours shy of their home.  I call him this morning during my commute to work and we chatted for a few minutes as he once again headed east into the sunrise over the mountains in Virginia.  I used the same sunrise to continue reading until the van arrived at work.

Another aspect of the change in time, I don’t see as many stars when I leave the house in the morning.  By 6:15, the eastern sky is already a pale yellow, and I can barely see Sirius or the stars in Orion’s Belt.  Some stratus clouds were also interfering with stargazing this morning.