Day 11 of 100 blogs in 100 days

Day eleven of my quest to read 100 blogs in 100 days (while recovering from the self induced coma of watching too much NFL football and wondering what happened to the mighty Titans, my beloved Cowboys rise to former glory and the best zero to zero game ever as the Colts topple the Ravens.)

I've been simmering on "My Life as a...Gas Station Attendant" for several weeks. The blog is "The online journal of a man and his daily and weekly struggles with 40oz-guzzling vagrants, gasoline pump drive-offs, cantankerous coworkers, and eighteen-year-old gangsta potheads who don't think I can spot their fake ID's. It's a Tennessee tragedy, here for your amusement."

This blog is eerie in the sense that I'm not reading a blog per say, but sitting on the bar stool behind the counter with the Gas Guy and observing life as humanity wheels in and out; observing God's creatures walk before our eyes; we should love them all, but do we like them all?

I mean, we all been there.. born "naked, cold and hungry - and it got worse", full of innocence as Cabbage Patch kids, raised in cube farms... There is pain when we are not operating in our destiny, unfullfilled in our jobs or worse yet, to be among America's working poor existing at $7.25 per hour raising a next generation full of dreams and hoping to make a difference. Or some hurricane (physical or emotional) displaces us to a land of promised provision.

That gas station counter keeps moving as a shifting line in the sand. Working class heroes have their dreams and expectations dashed looking for the "Good to Great" companies to work for... only to be sadly myth-taken. Jamie comments, "... I will now have to painfully wait for more [blog postings] in my cubicle made of carpeted wood while servicing morons who I do not have the pleasure to see into their eyes to see what is truly happening in their souls."

Gas Guy explains,

"When I started this job a small span back, I was bitter and sarcastic, and saw people and things only so well as they conformed to the veil of my bitterness and sarcasm. Sometimes that filter produced some pretty funny descriptions of events, but the descriptions were funny because I had taken reality and perverted it to fit my peculiar and unique sense of humor. I still do, of course, but try to at least recognize that that’s what’s going on. When I can’t possibly resist the urge to label things and people to conform to my snarky predisposition toward them, I at least struggle to comprehend that the description is not the event, that people are not reprobates because I’m in a bad mood, nor saints when I am ebullient. They are what they are, wholly independent of what the three pounds of gristle in my skull is inclined to designate them that particular day. Life and time transpire as they do, and my opinion of it changes matters none at all."

I encourage you to start at the beginning, read through all the comments and get a grip on the reality that life does not revolve around thyself. I'm sure that many of the folks we stand in line with at the local gas station will be seated with us at a banquet table in the not too distant future.

As for myself, I am much kinder to those behind the counter; I just needed to harsh reality of Gas Guy's perspective to open the eyes of my heart. I haven't given up on humanity yet -

Picuture source: Cartoons by Cartright

Witness and Response: September 11 Acquisitions at the Library of Congress)

Will Eisner. Reality 9/11,2001. Ink brush, ink wash, opaque white and plastic overlay with tempera. Published in Alternative Comics' 9-11 Emergency Relief.

Exhibition Overview (Witness and Response: September 11 Acquisitions at the Library of Congress): "As the title of this exhibition suggests, Witness and Response: September 11 Acquisitions at the Library of Congress features the collections that the Library has amassed and is still receiving about the tragic events of [four years] ago. It is an exhibition that reveals much about the Library of Congress as an institution, its astounding collections, and its equally remarkable staff. At its core, this exhibition is the story of how the 9/11 materials in this national institution arrived here and today reflect what America has experienced while providing assurance that the record will be here in the future for America's citizens and others to recall and scholars to study."

View the 911-object list of the collection and the images ...

Lord have mercy - and bring healing to America as we grapple with the heartache of 9/11.

Hey you!

Photo source: beatrice

Day 10 of 100 blogs in 100 days

Day ten of visiting 100 blogs in 100 days -

Wow, I'm tired... didn't know that heaving bags of donated clothes, sorting toiletries and stacking cases of water would wear me out today as I was sorting through the donations for Katrina at my church this morning. Should have known better as generally I don't lift anything heavier than a pencil (that's what I tell people to avoid significant heavy lifting!)

So here it is at the eleventh hour and my favorite blog for today is Sharon Cobb. Her byline reads: Political and social blog. Wait... stop right there... From my blog surfing, 90% of political blogs are rant filled, finger pointing, Bush bashing, spit spraying yell fests... so I sort of scan them and while I try to apply the "Help Me Understand" approach; the expressive nature of constantly using the "F" word to drive home a point just turns me off....

Fortunately for me.... her blog delivers more - "We will also include book, movie and cd reviews. Polls, interviews, opinion pieces and humor will be sprinkled around, too. That all being said, just remember this: All you need is love. Everything else is just commentary."

Now I did take the time to read through Sharon's blog and while I don't agree with everything she writes, the blog features engaging writing and is civil as well... Must be her journalism background... and also via our what-were-top-five-cdscassettes-comments on Tangled Up In Blue, a great music blog that I mentioned on Day 7, Sharon is not only a night owl, but has impeccable musical tastes (like me)!

As a bonus, visit http://www.SharonCobb.com and read the story of THE FULL MANGLER... good stuff! Cobb County... nice pit stop in the blogosphere.

The people of New Orleans...

Christy, one of my fellow bloggers from Chapel Hill, NC provides a face to face, shoulder to shoulder glimpse into the hearts of people she met in New Orleans...

I was in New Orleans 43 days ago. I had such mixed feeling about the Big Easy. I puzzled the fact that a whole southern economy could be based on nudie bars, alcohol, and t-shirts with the F- word, but not sweet tea. I was overwhelmed that so many older people had service jobs, and many of them looked as though they were homeless. And I was surprised that such a huge portion of its population was black, -that says a lot coming from someone who grew up in Flint, MI

While I was so over the heat, and whole Bourbon Street experience, I fell in love with the food, the history, the music, and most of all the people. Heidi and I met or encountered so many people in New Orleans who captured a tiny piece of my heart...

Read the rest here: deep thoughts and random ramblings

Photo source: Hibblen Radio

Day 9 of 100 blogs in 100 days

Day nine of visiting 100 blogs in 100 days -

Merlin Mann from San Francisco has what I think the best blog - 43folders - on productivity & little tips and tricks that just make our mess that we have in front of us easier to manage - or as he says, "[I am a] big fan of tiny improvements. And cool tricks. And time savers. So, whenever I find a neat little bauble or a sexy new hack, I’ve tended to barrage my unsuspecting friends and email-list associates with lengthy, structured TMI breakdowns and tutorials."

It’s a site about stuff that interests Merlin, including (but not limited to):

• productivity and time management tips
• Mac OS X programs and technologies
• ideas about modest ways to improve your life and reduce stress
• cool or helpful shortcuts that makes life a bit easier

So whether you're into Moleskines, Getting Things Done, Hipster PDAs or creative thinking for making life just a little bit more uncomplicated, then 43folders is a blog and a valuable resource you'll want to bookmark!

Also check out the community wiki as well.

Think of it as a modern day companion to Hints from Heloise for us cool types...

The one that didn't get away...

My neighbor Frank caught a 25 lb catfish from Percy Priest Lake - with a hook and line - I'm not a fishing fan (probably because I can't sit still that long - but I have to say, I am more bent on taking up fishing than golfing...) , but fishing fanatics tell me there is no challenge in catching catfish.

I've even heard of good ole boys that the best way to fish for catfish is taking a stick of dynamite and tossing it in a lake... Hmmm...

Anyway, Frank taught me how to fillet a catfish - step one is to "put a nail in a tree", step two is "take his pants off"... Texas talk for filleting a catfish!

Eating catfish is some tasty stuff - I'm getting hungry now - any recommendations for good catfish restaurants in the greater Nashville area?

One more fish insight - last time I went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, I was so hungry that I gathered up the family and headed for the nearest seafood restaurant!

Are U Ready ?

I AM SO READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!

Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans!

NFL Football is finally here!

Day 8 of 100 blogs in 100 days

Stephen standing on a guard tower at Camp Seitz just outside of Baghdad. Abu Ghraib prison is just over his right shoulder.

Day 8 of my ongoing quest to visit 100 blogs in 100 days...

Bio: Stephen Mansfield believes that life ought to be lived passionately, adventurously and on a large scale. His own manner of living has certainly reflected this philosophy and it has made him the writer, the statesman, and the educator that he is.

I've written about Stephen back in July on this blog - "My former pastor at Belmont Church in Nashville, Stephen Mansfield was not only an excellent Biblical teacher, but has found success as a speaker and best selling author. Stephen has a passion for history, leadership and if one ever had a seven minute conversation with him, the word "destiny" always came up!"

And whenever anything, I mean anything that will be reflected in history, I always turn to Stephen's blog and articles for a perspective. Lots of thought and preparation goes into his writings; better yet there is always an undercurrent of being sensible and reasonable - which by the way challenges our prejudices and filters on how we look at life through our foibles... isn't that what leadership and owning up to personal responsibility is about? - Listen. Invest. Shape destiny.

Stephen addresses the issue of rebuilding New Orleans on his blog and also lays out a challenge and opportunity:

....this is an hour for the Christian Church to arise. History confirms that cultural crisis is often the opportunity for the Church to reveal the Jesus she preaches and to heal society to the glory of God. This has led to some of the greatest cultural advances on record and to seasons of bright renewal for people of faith. If we have been searching for some way to be culturally relevant, here it is. If we have been searching for the power to heal souls in trauma, here it is. If we have been looking for an opportunity for the Church to be as great as she once was, here it is.

Thanks Stephen - Blessings to you always. Miss seeing you.

Mansfield Group - articles, multimedia, recommendations, reading lists and yes, a blog as well.

Living Paycheck to Paycheck Made Leaving Impossible

Washington Post Staff Writer Wil Haygood writes:

Living Paycheck to Paycheck Made Leaving Impossible:

"To those who wonder why so many stayed behind when push came to water's mighty shove here, those who were trapped have a simple explanation: Their nickels and dimes and dollar bills simply didn't add up to stage a quick evacuation mission.

'Me and my wife, we were living paycheck to paycheck, like most everybody else in New Orleans,' Eric Dunbar, 54, said Saturday.

He offered a mini-tutorial in the economic reality of his life... "