lent2022

Chris Knight's avatar

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may go down as the textbook example of all the wrong ways to try to take over a neighboring country.  I’m reading the reports (whichever ones may be accurate) and it just blows my mind how unprepared Putin was in sending his forces into Ukraine.

First of all: WHY did Russia commit its forces during the winter?  The vehicles have gotten bogged down in mud and mire, just as any armchair strategist knew would happen.  But this seems to be the classic pattern for Russia.

There does not seem to be a reliable system of replenishing food, ammo and replacement artillery.

Speaking of that artillery, there are reports that the Ukrainians have more tanks now than when the war began, because they keep capturing Russian tanks and painting Ukrainian markings on them.

The Russian trucks and other vehicles in the invasion convoys have shoddy tires, and ...

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Day 27 of writing a blog post each day during Lent!  It’s now well past the halfway mark.  It’s also significant because 27 is my lucky number.  I appropriated it from “Weird Al” Yankovic but strangely enough 27 has shown up a LOT in my life.

Today, I did nothing.  Couldn’t get to work ‘cuz the dog and I were both under the weather (I had no idea fried chicken could carry cholera, or that’s what it felt like).  So I don’t have much to offer but since we’ve mentioned Weird Al, here’s one of his greatest ever music videos: “Amish Paradise”!

Speaking of “Weird Al” Yankovic, next month he kicks off his “The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculous Self-Indulgent Ill-Advised Vanity Tour”.  And best friend Ed has secured us some tickets.  This tour will be like the previous vanity tour: no straight-up song parodies, mostly the lesser-known songs from ...

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Have been thinking of this song a lot lately.  Maybe because my birthday is coming this week, and everything that comes with being older.  I’m reminded of all that has come before, and all of the people who have gone on.  The lyrics are so filled with meaning.  I don’t know the religious beliefs of DeVotchKa but the words really resonate with me:

Hold your grandmother’s Bible to your breast

Gonna put it to the test

You wanted to be blessed…

 Maybe it also has something to do with how the song was used in the commercial for Gears of War 2.  And that game came out in a really trying period for me.  I thought the song was beautiful.  It has become an anthem in my mind, when I think back to certain things that have happened in my life.

So here it is, one of my ...

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 They are the team I now want to see take it all:

Go Peacocks!!

(And dude with Seventies mustache for the win!)

Amazing game Saint Peters played last night against Perdue.  Now hoping they’ll send North Carolina home tomorrow.  Either Saint Peters wins the tourney, or I want to see it come down to Duke and UNC… with Coach K leaving triumphant.

...

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What a week!  I was so pooped last night that I couldn’t watch the Duke/Texas Tech game (GO DUKE!).  Your friend and humble narrator has transported four clients, made five drug runs (what I call getting medication to patients) and did all kinds of other stuff in the past several days.  Now it’s the weekend.  Time for lots of playtime with Tammy and doing some minor tasks around the house.

But that’s not much of an entry for “blogging during Lent”.  I thought that since it’s Friday, time for a little fun…

This spring is the fortieth (?!?) anniversary of G.I. Joe: that much beloved toy line from the Eighties.  Not just toys, but also the comic series (which was quite a serious read) and the animated series.  Lately Hasbro has been posting full episodes of G.I. Joe on YouTube and I’ve been relishing these little visits back to ...

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 I’ve posted this cartoon before at least once.  And I think it’s way past time that we watch it again.  This is from 1948 and if we had only heeded its wisdom all along.

But, I like to think that it’s not too late to say “NO!” to “ism”.

Courtesy of Harding College and in glorious Technicolor(tm), here is “Make Mine Freedom”:

...

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I can remember the very first time that bipolar disorder reared its ugly head.  It was the second week of January in 2000.  A very snowbound winter.  There was a storm every two or three days, it seemed.

Maybe being trapped inside by incessant snow and ice was a trigger for what came about.  Or maybe it was primed to blow up anyway, at that precise time.  What I most remember was that I became extraordinarily creative.  Inflamed with imagination.  Overwhelmed with energy.  I had received a flatbed scanner for Christmas and I found myself going full-tilt wacko finding uses for it.  Lots of mischief.  I spent two solid months in creativity overdrive.  I was writing.  I was making new images in Photoshop.  I got invited to join the staff of TheForce.net and I readily accepted.

It wasn’t all fun and games though.  I was fresh out of college, looking ...

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Wow.  Day twenty of writing a new blog post each day during Lent.  I’m starting to believe that I can actually pull off this thing.

Yesterday while looking at the blog stats, I discovered something that startled me.  Over the past 48 hours, this site has received three visits from Kiev, in Ukraine.

Someone going through tribulation that I cannot comprehend, for whatever reason thought to visit my blog.  Actually, at least two someones.  Two of the visits were repeats from the same IP address.

I really don’t know what to say, about that.  Except this:

Whoever you are, I am praying for you and your fellow Ukrainians.  You are not forgotten.  You have friends out here.  And maybe someday, sooner than later, we can properly introduce ourselves to each other.  Maybe someday we will get to meet in person.

I would very much be honored to know who you ...

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 A week ago I wrote about watching season one of The Chosen: the crowd-funded series about the life of Jesus and His followers.  It’s been on my mind a lot during the past several days, especially how magnificent the cinematography is.  Like I said earlier this is camera work that is HBO premium television quality.  The casting is excellent and the performances are endearingly genuine.  This is a show that sucks you in and makes you wanting more.

Well, I just finished watching The Chosen‘s second season and I continue to be amazed.  Opening up with a time jump not unlike those from Lost, volume two resumes where the first season left off.  It isn’t long before new characters are introduced and we see earlier ones get fleshed out even deeper.  I think it’s safe to say at this point that my favorite character has to be ...

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