I entered "JESUS" in the search engine at CafePress.com. I ended up with a long list of bumper stickers, some of which I'll share. Here are some of my favorites: (Ok, before the stones are thrown – I found these really funny. Some are truly horrible as well… just because I posted them does NOT mean I agree with them. …all)
I FOUND JESUS(He’s in the trunk of my car)
I FOUND JESUS (He was behind the sofa)
Christianity does not teach hate
Aslan is on the move
Christian who thinks
Jesus saves sinners! (And redeems them for valuable prizes)
The real Jesus forgives your jesus for being a greedy republican warmonger
Jesus would use His turn signal
Jesus was a social activist liberal
WWJT = Who Would Jesus Torture?
Get Real! Like Jesus would ever own a gun or vote republican
Jesus is coming ~ look busy
The fish symbol with “sushi” in it
Jesus told me to mock George W Bush
Hatred, bigotry and intolerance are not Christian values
Want less
Draft SUV drivers
So many Christians so few lions
Who would Jesus Bomb?
God doesn’t exist so I guess no one loves you
We’re making enemies faster than we can kill them
Ok, so stone me later... these were funny! I'm shopping for stuff to make my momivan "findable" in the parking lot. Honda's tend to congregate enmasse in this town. Gahhh!
Well, Animal Control came to visit Sandy Pit, the chained pit bull next door. The neighbors say they did not breed her and that there were only four in the litter - that none died. (Uh huh) And they already knew who complained. And we got the one finger wave as we were leaving today. If I put one of those “chains hurt” bumper stickers on my car, think something would happen to it?
I've been spending a lot of my free time playing "virtual" games lately. The latest one I'm hooked on right now is a combination of plush and virtuality: Littlest Pet Shop (LPS) Virtual Interactive Pets.
Shawn and I have been up to our necks with stress over buying new furniture and necessities for our new apartment, and while on our search for that stuff, I came across some incredibly adorable plushies with big eyes and pretty fabrics. I think the reason I was attracted so much to them was because of their big eyes and sweet faces. (Shawn said I have a thing for toys that are top heavy, haha.)
I first came across the LPS bunny when Shawn and I were at Kohl's a few weeks ago. I saw that there were more animals available so I started searching for them at the stores we went to. I immediately fell in love with the panda, and after noticing how rare it was in my area (I had only seen one in all the stores we visited), I snatched her up when I realized I couldn't live without her. Normally, I go for the pink plushies, but there's something about her dark oriental print that really draws me to her. I've named my panda Moshi Moshi (which can mean "hello" in Japanese in certain contexts).
Plushies aside, I found that I could delve even more into Moshi Moshi's world by visiting littlestpetshop.com to interact with her virtual character. I just plugged her special access code in the LPS: VIP system and Moshi Moshi's life started coming together.
Even though the games and plushie sales in general are geared more towards younger, teenage girls, I'm actually not that great at all of the activities, haha! In fact, Shawn had to help me out for a while until I got the hang of it. As I play more games, I gain more points to spend in the stores for clothes, furniture and plants for my garden.
There are some features I haven't accessed all of the features yet. There's an option where I can "meet" other people on LPS, but I'm thinking that I'll rawk out Moshi Moshi and her friend, Chiisai (a pink mouse) and their houses first so I won't look too silly in the LPS virtual world. ^__~
Chiisai (which means "small" in Japanese) is the newest addition to my LPS family. I looked up all of the plushies online, and I thought the mouse was very similar to Yukimo's build (tee hee). Of course, I couldn't resist.
This last Sunday, Shawn and I made it our mission to hunt down and find the mouse. I really didn't feel like ordering her online when I knew that at least one could be found in stores just a few miles away from me. >__> I think I have a kawaii sickness or something.
Anyway, we ended up finding Chiisai at the very first store (a Toys 'R Us) we went to, and there happened to be only one mouse on display. Just like Moshi Moshi, Chiisai was one of a kind for me.
I'm still working on building her wardrobe and room in my house.
Besides playing my newfound LPS love, I've been working on a new Maple Story character. Kathleen decided that she wanted to try playing on a new server, so our friend and I decided to try it out with her.
Now, I'm not a huge Harry Potter book fan (the writing style seems too simplistic and I get bored easily), but I do enjoy watching the movies. So when Kathleen said that she wanted to create a guild dedicated to Harry Potter characters, I was in. I would take a bullet for Luna Lovegood and Kathleen was nice enough to let me take that character while she took Nymphadora Tonks, and our friend taking Professor Moody. We had to think up names that sounded similar to the book characters, yet were original enough to enter into the MS system. As it turned out, Luna Lovegood became LunieLove; Nymphadora Tonks became NymphyTonks; and Professor Moody became MadMoodDood.
I don't think I'm as attached to LunieLove as my other MS characters (Minkka and Roonies), but it's been fun starting working on a character of such a low level. ^__^
I've also gotten into the routine of playing Animal Crossing after I finish my work shift every day. There's something extremely relaxing about sitting down and playing in a world that contains absolutely no worries. I can get money for my house's furniture just by collecting fruit around the village, and I can pay my mortgage at any pace I want. In fact, I don't even need to pay off my house if I don't want to! Living a simple virtual life is so much more enjoyable sometimes.
Gimme a V! Gimme an O! Gimme an X! What's that spell? VOX!
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Once you're a fan, you can also add photos and videos to the page, write on the wall, and connect with other Voxers in ways you may not have previously. Plus, it's a great opportunity to let people know about your Vox blog, or start discussion topics. To become a fan, just visit the official Vox.com Facebook page and click the "Become a Fan" button in the upper right hand corner.
Once you've joined, why not post a response to the current discussion topic? Just post a link (and a brief description, if you'd like) to what you consider one of your all-time best Vox posts.
What are you waiting for? Become a Vox.com fan on Facebook today!
Story by Lance Cpl. Casey Jones
RAMADI, Iraq (July 9, 2008) - The Provincial Government Center for al Anbar, located in the heart of downtown Ramadi, was a vicious and violent battleground for much of the last five years.
But as the city emerges from the violence that has plagued it for so long, thanks in part to Iraqi and Coalition forces’ security efforts, the center now stands as a as a symbol of peace and stability. Governmental leaders operate there daily, overseeing a variety of departments critical in continuing the region’s growth.
First Sergeant Patrick J. Dostal, the Headquarters and Service Company first sergeant with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, is on his second tour in the city and is overwhelmed by the center’s development since his first tour in 2006.
“The government center now is a totally different place,” Dostal said. “Before, you couldn’t even see the actual building. You could tell there was some type of structure there, but that was it.”
Dostal said the government center was a key target for insurgents because of its strategic and symbolic importance. They often lurked on the outskirts of the building waging a constant battle, eager to disrupt government operations. The building was so heavily fortified, he said, it could not be seen from nearby streets and the surrounding area was a sea of ruins composed of collapsed buildings and piles of concrete.
“We received plenty of small arms fire, indirect fire, rocket-propelled grenade attacks and roadside bombs always popped up,” said Dostal.
In the last five years, the government center and the area around it has undergone many changes during efforts to secure the building. The concertina wire and large sandbag reinforcements surrounding the area have been removed.
One of the most notable changes resulted from Iraqi government and Coalition forces officials’ decision to bulldoze approximately three blocks of rubble around the center.
“All of the abandoned shops, and a building we called the Rashid Hotel in front of the (center), were bulldozed,” Dostal said. “The insurgents would shoot at us from those spots. Bulldozing around the government center gave us more room to protect (the center). The attacks still happened, but not as often.”
The transformation the government center has undergone can also be attributed to the citizens’ revolt against al Qaeda in Iraq.
“The citizens stood up to al-Qaeda and now Ramadi is pretty quiet,” said Cpl. Abdias Betancourth, a motor transportation operator with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, who also served in the city in 2006. “The people are determined to get back to a sense of normalcy.”
With the reduction in violence, increased cooperation between Iraqis and Coalition forces, and a functioning provincial government operating safely inside the confines of the government center, the city of Ramadi has taken a turn for the better.
I hate phones. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I hate them. I use them, but usually with an annoyance that is palpable. I ran across “telephonophobia” which looks like a word I could make up – but I didn’t. Fear of phones. Phone phobia. I read some stuff on the internet and found it very interesting indeed. I even found a person here on Vox who has that. It is very interesting!
What brings this up? I have a number of bills that come directly from my debit card each month automatically. However, my credit card was involved in a security breach and the bank issued me a new one – like it or not - and killed the old one. So I’m left to sort through all the things that are automatically charged on my debit card each month. So one company waiting to make the next charge on my account sends me a letter telling me to call them to straighten things out. A letter? Who uses a PAPER letter with a STAMP in this day and age?! They could have emailed and it would have been resolved by now! So I go to their website, enter the new card information and fully explain the situation via email to customer service. I just got an email saying “please understand” “you have to call us.” Do I? What happened to the customer being right?! I don’t know how I’ll resolve this, I imagine I’ll just call them. There are people out there who are TERRIFIED of phones – a real honest to goodness sickness. Is this company going to tell them “please understand” “You MUST call us!” They DO want their money – correct? I’m offering it… just not over the phone.
I don’t like phones. I don’t know if I’m exactly afraid of them… that seems like a stretch. I just know I have really developed a strong dislike for them.
And I am not kidding… I just looked up telephonophobia and there is a company selling a “proven” method of curing the fear of phones. Yep! Right there in big letters is their 1-800 number! That’s how you’ll contact them for this big cure! Just pick up the phone and call… which is exactly what every telophonophobia person is going to do RIGHT AWAY! I thought it was just kind of a spoof site, a joke or something. But no, it seemed serious. Call for the cure of the fear of phones. Only a call away. Silly humans.
I’m a visual person. If I’m going to have a conversation with you I want to either be able to look at you or look at your words. If it’s visual I get it. If it’s purely auditory… I can so easily be a million miles away. People speaking at the front of a room of people – well – that just doesn’t really work as an effective form of communication with me. Yet at the same time I love an audio book or a radio show. But that’s because I don’t have to sit and pretend to be listening – I can listen AND work. I hate the forced inactivity of a lecture – taking notes helps but generally my notes are generally more of a commentary on the material or an expression of mental boredom. (Why does “church” have to mean sermons and lectures – the most single most ineffective form of communication in today’s multi-media world?)
Secondly, I’m a highly focused person. It’s called “super-focus” and I learned about it through some of my husband’s Special Education material. Yes, it’s considered “Special Education” if you hyper-focus and don’t want to jump from subject to subject like the American school system forces students to do. It’s actually on the “gifted” end of the spectrum but anything outside of the narrow standard mode of education in this country is considered “Special Ed” on the top side or on the underside. Is that messed up or what?! I can focus on one thing for days on end, but when I put it down – it may be months before I can come back to it again – sometimes years. I prefer quiet and I work best alone. It is a lot to ask anyone else to focus the way I do.
How does super-focus relate to the telephone? Sounded like a rabbit trail, I know. But the thing is – a phone call is an interruption. I really hate external interruptions. I interrupt myself by doing five different things at once anyway. Now I have this demanding device that requires my attention not in a minute when I’m coming up for air – but right this instant before it stops ringing. It is annoying, distracting and frustrating. And I’ll check out and see who is calling before I answer… but first of all is to silence that INFERNAL ringing! What a horrible racket! And it has to be that loud or I won’t hear it across the studio or around the house. (oops, I left the ringer off) (ALLLLL weekend!)
And that’s part of it. I don’t like the noise. I don’t like how cell phones cut in and out. It can be really hard to hear and you never know when you pick up the thing if you will have to shout to be heard or what. I don't like the auditory intrusion into my quiet world.
And generally I think the use of cell phones in public is just plain rude. I answered a call in Walmart today because I had to. But every time the person on the other end of a call like that asks a question - I think about the information in my reply. Do I want a complete stranger to know this about me? The person calling me doesn’t know I don’t want the whole bottled water isle to know certain information about me and I don’t want to be saying “I can’t talk right now, there is a strange looking guy in a green shirt beside me and I don’t want him to know the answer to that question... Am I going to be one of those rude shoppers chatting away? (Sometimes with a headset so you can’t even tell if they are on the phone.) Oh, I hate that!
And some people just need to vent. Ok, crisis? Call me. I’ll try to talk you down off the ledge, that IS important to me. And I’ve been there for friends going through some really tough stuff. And I just listened to them go on and on around the same mountain four times… it was about the listening not the content and I understood that. I hated it, but I understood it and was willing to do it. Because they are important to me. However, nobody gets to make a pattern of that with me. Some people use the telephone like I use my blog – to vent. Great. But I can’t be on the other end of that line. Nope, not gonna happen. I’ll sit with you over lunch, or swing from the rafters with you for hours… just don’t expect a phone to be involved.
A new study is out. Using a cell phone is more carcinogenic than SMOKING. Can you believe that? I’m a genius for not wanting that contraption in my hand, much less next to my brain! I need all the brain cells I have!
I am very upfront with people that I don’t like phones. If someone asks for my phone number I generally give them my email address and tell them I don’t do phones. And I have one friend who will email me and tell me to call her. (I’ve been over this repeatedly.) And she’ll call and leave a message and so I’ll respond to her on email. I was at a board meeting recently and when they brought up the use of a phone tree, I told the whole group I don’t do phones. It’s no secret. I’m not ashamed of it and I don’t care who knows. I still have one friend who refuses to except or respect this. So she emails me to call her. Aheh… Or calls me and leaves a message for me to call her as soon as… Yeah. Not so much.
It’s funny really. A company sending me a letter to tell me that I must call them. And then a follow up email saying “please understand” and “call us.” But yet they want money from me. I can make a purchase online. I can enter my credit card securely online. But I can’t get them to complete my transaction online. I really felt like writing back “please understand – if you want your money you’re going to have to email me about it.” But no. I guess I’ll end up calling them in the morning. Grrrr
Eve: The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the GIANT MEATBALL!!!
Eve and Julia: (giggles)
Julia: Big frog!
E: The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the BIG FROG!
E&J: (more laughter)
J: Little frog!
E: The itsy bitsy spider climed up the LITTLE FROG!
E&J: (in hysterics now)
I couldn't make this stuff up.
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