watch them all as they fall

New Pictures.

got me reaching for the moon

I've never been one for New Year's resolutions, but I decided this year that I needed to do more reading. The stacks of books I own and haven't gotten around to reading have continued to grow steadily, and I keep adding more books I don't own to my reading list. I also have made a habit out of reading as many as five or six different books at a time without finishing all of them. So I set the goal for myself this year that I would read thirty books in 2008. Now is the ideal time for me to catch up on my reading since I'm working part time and not doing a heck of a lot else.

So far I've been very impressed with my progress; I've read six books in under two months. Those books include Catcher in the Rye, Timeline, Choke, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, The Alchemist and Touching From a Distance. The next one to be finished will be Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel. Having read nearly seven books in the first two months, I've considered upping my goal to forty-five books rather than the original thirty. My only complaint is that I seem to oscillate between voraciously reading an entire book within a few days time and then not reading anything for nearly a week. I'd like to see myself getting more into a habit of reading a couple chapters of one or two books every single day.

touching from a distance

Updated.

the song in your ear or the book in your hand

I'm much more comfortable with Barack Obama's take on the relationship between religion and politics than I am with someone like Mike Huckabee's. It's refreshing to see someone who professes to be a Christian focusing on social justice issues, rather than just beating on issues like gay marriage and intelligent design in schools over and over and over. I am disappointed by his pro-choice views, but when was the last time a pro-life candidate really made a strong effort to do something about abortion anyway?

I really don't understand how the Democrats are so stupid that they'd even consider nominating Hillary Clinton over Obama. I've always been honest about Ron Paul's incredibly slim chance of getting elected (despite his enormous popularity on the internet), and there is no way I could vote for someone like John McCain--who openly supports continuing the war in Iraq for another one hundred years--so I can only hope that the Democrats realize what a horrible idea it would be to nominate Clinton. After Ron Paul, in my mind Barack Obama seems to be the only other electable candidate.

(For some reason the video seems to overlap the sidebar when I view the page in Firefox, but it is normal size in Internet Explorer)

just one more mile

Blickensderfer selected Conneaut’s top citizen

"CONNEAUT — Robert Blickensderfer — World War II pilot, local historian and award-winning photographer — has been selected Conneaut’s 2007 Citizen of the Year.

Blickensderfer, “Blick” to his many friends, was one of five nominees for the annual award, said Julie Germovsek, the chamber’s executive director. Nominees submitted by residents are voted upon by past award recipients and former chamber presidents.

Blickensderfer, a resident at the Villa at the Lake in Conneaut, has accumulated decades of public service, according to his nomination. A member of the Conneaut High School Class of 1939, he served with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, piloting troop transport planes that participated in the Normandy invasion. He also flew planes during assaults of Sicily, Italy, Holland and the final paratrooper drop across the Rhine River.

He continued to serve as a U.S. Air Force reservist and, in 1967, was appointed liaison officer for the Air Force Academy, helping local students apply to the prestigious military academy.

Blickensderfer studied at the Ray School of Photography in Chicago and spent two years in photo work in Erie. In 1949, Blickensderfer took over the Howard Webb photo/ camera shop on downtown Main Street, a business he would operate for 30 years.

He was active with the First United Methodist Church for nearly 50 years, and also helped create the Conneaut Area Historical Society in 1996.

Blickensderfer’s extensive background in Conneaut history was invaluable, Edwin Wharton, society president, said Wednesday.

“He was very helpful with his knowledge of the area,” Wharton said. “He was our treasurer for many years. He was very well-known and an asset to the organization.”

Blickensderfer specialized in Native American artifacts and participated in local archaeological digs, Wharton said."

Hopefully the Ashtabula Star Beacon won't sue me for reprinting part of their article on Grandpa.