Democracy, Cake and Covert Agents

Today, I attended an event where a guy named Lynn spoke. That's not so much important to this story as it is an odd name for a large, bald man. Anyway, I'm not sure what the main point of his remarks were, but he has a really interesting background as a political consultant and now a strategic management consultant. And he gave us some really striking pieces of information about our democracy, the good and the bad. Take this, for example:

If there were only 10 people in America:

3 of them aren't registered to vote.

Of the remaining 7, only half will show up to vote (on a really, really good day)

That means only 3.5 people are voting.

And of those 3.5, we can assume that just over half of them voted for the person who won the election.

Which means that only about 2.1 people actually want to follow the elected leader.

The saddest part of that story is that it's not far from the truth. That's just plain pathetic. Not so much a democracy as a democrazy.

In other news, I've been trying to keep myself to less than 20 Weight Watcher points a day, in order to stay slim for the ho-ish dress for Saturday's prom. But I could really go for some cake right about now.

Last note of the night -- I went to a career info session for the CIA earlier this week. One of the CIA employees had been a covert agent for more than 20 years in the field. He was pretty cool but kinda freaked me out with the way he kept scanning the audience when he wasn't talking. And he kept moving around the room. I found myself wondering how many of our country's secrets he has in his head. And then I started wondering what the CIA knows about me. And then the recruiter started telling us what NOT to do if you want a job with the CIA -- the list included illegal drugs, criminal activity, and illegally downloading music. Honest to god. She actually said illegally downloading music and included it as a bullet on her powerpoint slide. I kinda feel like that automtically eliminates 80% of the college student population.

By the way, the CIA has posted its very own personality test. I've been diagnosed as a Curious Adventurer.

I think I'll go watch an episode of ALIAS now.

100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catchphrases

TVLand will be airing a special on the 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catchphrases, starting Monday, Dec. 11. It'll only appear online and over five days, the series will countdown TV's most quoted lines and give us the story behind them. Thank goodness. I've always wanted to learn the depth behind "Norm!"

I'm ruining the surprise for you, but really, are you going to watch all five installments? (Don't worry, I'll watch them all in bed for you. I love wireless internet). An alphabetical list of the 100 phrases follows:

-"Aaay" (Fonzie, "Happy Days")

-"And that's the way it is" (Walter Cronkite, "CBS Evening News")

-"Ask not what your country can do for you ..." (John F. Kennedy)

-"Baby, you're the greatest" (Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, "The Honeymooners")

-"Bam!" (Emeril Lagasse, "Emeril Live")

-"Book 'em, Danno" (Steve McGarrett, "Hawaii Five-O")

-"Come on down!" (Johnny Olson, "The Price is Right")

-"Danger, Will Robinson" (Robot, "Lost in Space")

-"De plane! De plane!" (Tattoo, "Fantasy Island")

-"Denny Crane" (Denny Crane, "Boston Legal")

-"Do you believe in miracles?" (Al Michaels, 1980 Winter Olympics)

-"D'oh!" (Homer Simpson, "The Simpsons")

-"Don't make me angry ..." (David Banner, "The Incredible Hulk")

-"Dyn-o-mite" (J.J., "Good Times")

-"Elizabeth, I'm coming!" (Fred Sanford, "Sanford and Son")

-"Gee, Mrs. Cleaver ..." (Eddie Haskell, "Leave it to Beaver")

-"God'll get you for that" (Maude, "Maude")

-"Good grief" (Charlie Brown, "Peanuts" specials)

-"Good night, and good luck" (Edward R. Murrow, "See It Now")

-"Good night, John Boy" ("The Waltons")

-"Have you no sense of decency?" (Joseph Welch to Sen. McCarthy)

-"Heh heh" (Beavis and Butt-head, "Beavis and Butthead")

-"Here it is, your moment of Zen" (Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show")

-"Here's Johnny!" (Ed McMahon, "The Tonight Show")

-"Hey now!" (Hank Kingsley, "The Larry Sanders Show")

-"Hey hey hey!" (Dwayne Nelson, "What's Happening!!")

-"Hey hey hey!" (Fat Albert, "Fat Albert")

-"Holy (whatever), Batman!" (Robin, "Batman")

-"Holy crap!" (Frank Barone, "Everybody Loves Raymond")

-"Homey don't play that!" (Homey the Clown, "In Living Color")

-"How sweet it is!" (Jackie Gleason, "The Jackie Gleason Show")

-"How you doin'?" (Joey Tribbiani, "Friends")

-"I can't believe I ate the whole thing" (Alka Seltzer ad)

-"I know nothing!" (Sgt. Schultz, "Hogan's Heroes")

-"I love it when a plan comes together" (Hannibal, "The A-Team")

-"I want my MTV!" (MTV ad)

-"I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl ..." (Larry, "Newhart")

-"I'm not a crook ..." (Richard Nixon)

-"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV" (Vicks Formula 44 ad)

-"I'm Rick James, bitch!" (Dave Chappelle as Rick James, "Chappelle's Show")

-"Is that your final answer?" (Regis Philbin, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire")

-"It keeps going and going and going ..." (Energizer Batteries ad)

-"It takes a licking ..." (Timex ad)

-"Jane, you ignorant slut" (Dan Aykroyd to Jane Curtin, "Saturday Night Live")

-"Just one more thing ..." (Columbo, "Columbo")

-"Let's be careful out there" (Sgt. Esterhaus, "Hill Street Blues")

-"Let's get ready to rumble!" (Michael Buffer, various sports events)

-"Live long and prosper" (Spock, "Star Trek")

-"Makin' whoopie" (Bob Eubanks, "The Newlywed Game")

-"Mom always liked you best" (Tommy Smothers, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour")

-"Never assume ..." (Felix Unger, "The Odd Couple")

-"Nip it!" (Barney Fife, "The Andy Griffith Show")

-"No soup for you!" (The Soup Nazi, "Seinfeld")

-"Norm!" ("Cheers")

-"Now cut that out!" (Jack Benny, "The Jack Benny Program")

-"Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!" (Stan and Kyle, "South Park")

-"Oh, my nose!" (Marcia Brady, "The Brady Bunch")

-"One small step for man ..." (Neil Armstrong)

-"Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" (Grey Poupon ad)

-"Read my lips: No new taxes!" (George H.W. Bush)

-"Resistance is futile" (Picard as Borg, "Star Trek: The Next Generation")

-"Say good night, Gracie" (George Burns, "The Burns & Allen Show")

-"Schwing!" (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne and Garth, "Saturday Night Live")

-"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" (Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle)

-"Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids" (Trix cereal ad)

-"Smile, you're on `Candid Camera'" ("Candid Camera")

-"Sock it to me" ("Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In")

-"Space, the final frontier ..." (Capt. Kirk, "Star Trek")

-"Stifle!" (Archie Bunker, "All in the Family")

-"Suit up!" (Barney Stinson, "How I Met Your Mother")

-"Tastes great! Less filling!" (Miller Lite beer ad)

-"Tell me what you don't like about yourself" (Dr. McNamara and Dr. Troy, "Nip/Tuck")

-"That's hot" (Paris Hilton, "The Simple Life")

-"The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat" (Jim McKay, "ABC's Wide World of Sports")

-"The tribe has spoken" (Jeff Probst, "Survivor")

-"The truth is out there" (Fox Mulder, "The X-Files")

-"This is the city ..." (Sgt. Joe Friday, "Dragnet")

-"Time to make the donuts" ("Dunkin' Donuts" ad)

-"Two thumbs up" (Siskel & Ebert, "Siskel & Ebert")

-"Up your nose with a rubber hose" (Vinnie Barbarino, "Welcome Back, Kotter")

-"We are two wild and crazy guys!" (Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd as Czech playboys, "Saturday Night Live")

-"Welcome to the O.C., bitch" (Luke, "The O.C.")

-"Well, isn't that special?" (Dana Carvey as the Church Lady, "Saturday Night Live")

-"We've got a really big show!" (Ed Sullivan, "The Ed Sullivan Show")

-"Whassup?" (Budweiser ad)

-"What you see is what you get!" (Geraldine, "The Flip Wilson Show")

-"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" (Arnold Drummond, "Diff'rent Strokes")

-"Where's the beef?" (Wendy's ad)

-"Who loves you, baby?" (Kojak, "Kojak")

-"Would you believe?" (Maxwell Smart, "Get Smart")

-"Yabba dabba do!" (Fred Flintstone, "The Flintstones")

-"Yada, yada, yada" ("Seinfeld")

-"Yeah, that's the ticket" (Jon Lovitz as the pathological liar, "Saturday Night Live")

-"You eeeediot!" (Ren, "Ren & Stimpy")

-"You look mahvelous!" (Billy Crystal as Fernando, "Saturday Night Live")

-"You rang?" (Lurch, "The Addams Family")

-"You're fired!" (Donald Trump, "The Apprentice")

-"You've got spunk ..." (Lou Grant, "The Mary Taylor Moore Show")

The Prom approaches

Yes, this is another shallow posting but I'm so tired. Tired of being admired, tired of love uninspired, let's face it, I'm tired...oh wait, that's Lili von Schtupp. Right then.

The latest Gang of 100 update -- the G Unit invaded my house last week for a potluck dinner and, I gotta say, the international students were the life of the party! By the end of the night, they were talking dirty, taking shots of beer out of the spoonrest on the stove, and acting all rowdy in the kitchen. No holding back! I love it. And once again, we successfully proved that many Chinese are missing the alcohol processing enzyme.

And the MBA prom is on Saturday. (yep, that's right. Prom. Or as the planners say, "The Winter Formal." There's some talk among the G Unit about getting corsages but I'm not sure if we'll actually go that far. Summer is pushing for it.) I've decided to wear the somewhat ho-ish red dress that has remained hidden in my closet for years because it's a tad too scandalous to wear to the church prom or business dinners. While the prospect of getting dolled up and finally putting this dress to use is appealing, it's most unfortunate that the conversion of hot dress to makeout session isn't likely. Most of the men in attendance will be Gang of 100 members or Elders, and the ones not in the program are only there because their women dragged them. Too bad. Maybe I'll wear the dress to an upcoming wedding ... since I have to go stag and hang out with the cutesy couples, I might as well try to add to the wedding hookup statistic. I don't think I've ever done that before. Not that hooking up with a stranger at a wedding is on my Top 100 List of Things to Do Before I Die, but it could be fun and at least make me feel happy face.

Speaking of happy face -- I gotta say that my sister always makes me smile. She arrived to Thanksgiving dinner with her hair all curled, highlighted in red, wearing a puffy black jacket with a fur-lined hood, a Roca-wear shirt, and talking on her Verizon chocolate phone. hee. I LOVE my sister!! And I get a kick over how different we are sometimes. She wants to move to Baltimore, I want to live in London or NYC. She loves living alone, I gotta have roommates. She's Rocawear, I'm Banana Republic. She just got a raise and a promotion, I'm still a broke grad student. hm.

Hope you all enjoyed turkey over the break!

Guaranteed to make you laugh!!!

purple haze

One of my favorite sites is OneWord.com

The idea is that you get one word and 60 seconds to write something. It's a free-flowing exercise; you just write what's on your mind, on your heart. And it's fun to see what other people have written.

Today's word was BALLET.

Not something I generally have a close connection too but went with it anyway. Here's what I wrote:

dancing alone in graceful flowing movements. pink slippers that seem so delicate but show a toughness beyond. and yet what fragility exists in the dance. one fall and it's over. learn to follow, learn to co-exist, learn discipline and focus, learn to pick yourself up, to smile for the audience, to not look foolish, learn confidence and humility

It's funny how your subconscious can connect any two random items. I don't know much about ballet, but I know about performance. And I know about being strong and being fragile at the same time. I know about how one piece of news, one situation, one person can rattle you more than you ever imagined it would.

Doncha just hate when you can't run fast enough? you can move to a new city, find new friends, start a new life, make new memories to override the old ones and yet those pesky shadows from the past keep up with you. and not only do they slow you down, they make the present all fuzzy too.

All-TIME 100 Albums

The folks over at Time magazine have compiled a list of the 100 most influential albums of all time. Organized by decade, the list only includes nine albums from the 2000s -- and it includes re-releases or compilations from four dead artists. What does that say about the state of music in today's age!?! No Brit, Xtina or Justin albums, I'm afraid.

Check it out for yourself.

The Fall Funk

Yep, it's right about that time. That time when the novelty of being in a new city with new friends starts to wear off. When you start to miss the people and the things you left behind. When the new life isn't so easy anymore and you question whether coming here was the right decision. And on top of it all, the weather turns crappy.

The Gang of 100 is definitely in the Fall Funk. First off, the workload is simply overwhelming -- we could work 18 hours a day from now until the end of the semester and still have stuff that remains undone. Second, I think folks are starting to get a bit "homesick." The Chaos, for example, recently returned from a trip back home, where he saw old friends and family. I think he was surprised (even a bit shocked) by how much he's missing back home. And for the folks who are in long-distance relationships, this is about the time that the strain really starts to take its toll. We all tend to understate how much the world goes on and changes when we leave, you know? Third, well, the weather is just grey and uninspiring. The leaves are almost all gone, collecting in wet, dirty clumps along the curb, colors faded and dull like a shirt washed too many times. It just feels like the weather said, forget it, I'm sick of trying to be sunshiney all the time. It's too hard. I'm going on strike. Like the Boston nurses.

Even yours truly, the ultimate optimist, is suffering slightly from this inescapable state. There's no doubt in my mind that coming to Washington was the right decision. And even if I went back to Boston, my life would be radically different from what it was before. Which depresses me even further, since I rather enjoyed that former life and can't ever have it back again. And then I start to miss that old life, plus the life that could have been had I stayed, and the friends I left behind and the stories I only get second-hand and a few days late, and that all prevents me from enjoying the life I have now, which frustrates me because I like this life too, and thus begins the vicious cycle. Funny how one's brain can operate in circles.

But when I think back to all the times that I moved and left friends behind (and there have been plenty!), this is about the time when the new location starts to lose its luster. The first two months immediately after a relocation are always exciting and adventurous. The third month starts to plant questions in your head about your decision, especially because the old friends who used to call all the time aren't calling as much anymore and you start realize that your lives are starting to become more and more separate. It's not necessarily good or bad, it just is. And then when the fourth month rolls around, you're really stuck, trying to live your current life but keep hold of the vestiges of the old life. As the old Chinese proverb goes, the man who stands in the middle of the road gets hit from both directions.

However, life goes on, and eventually you get over the funk. You figure out how to make the most of the present while keeping the best parts of the past with you. And usually time spent at home with family and tryptophans and cranberries does the trick. Or at least gives you enough of a boost to get through the next month until Christmas. Hang in there, Gang -- this first hellish semester is nearly over and we certainly can't give in to those ratty professors who are trying to break us!

What exactly is cheating?

Cheating.

We all think we know what it means. But Gandalf, a professor of mine, told us on the very first day of class that he defines cheating as one student's refusal to help another student learn something. In his molasses-smothered voice, Gandalf recounted a tale in which he discovered one study group had refused to lend a hand to another study group when aid was requested. So, he dragged the unhelpful crew to the Academic Ethics Board and demanded they be written up for cheating. They couldn't figure him out so they threw out the case.

Now, in addition to that being a fabulous story from a very wise man, it gives us opportunity for pause. I mean, we're all supposed to be collaborating as a team, right? In the "real world," no one has to take a test by herself, write up a memo by herself, create a powerpoint presentation by herself. Of course not! We all seek out input from smarter people. Why on earth should the academic world measure us by some other construct?

Unfortunately, in The G Unit, the collective wisdom ain't really all it's cracked up to be. Here I am, thinking I'm in the smartest, funnest, wittiest, bestest cohort of the Gang of 100. So, in accordance to Gandalf's definition of cheating, we took our first (open book) quiz collectively. That's right, we split up the questions so each study group answered five questions and shared the answers with each other. We had a great time, arguing over a couple of tough questions, laughing about this new way of taking quizzes, and relieved because most people hadn't read all five chapters.

We collectively scored around 70%.

Boy, we're lame. Even with an open book/open note, collaborative quiz we answered 30% of the questions incorrectly. So much for teamwork and the future of corporate America. You'll be glad to know, however, that we've scored slightly better on subsequent quizzes.

But the cheating story gets better. Last week, the integrity of The G Unit was put to the test when we had to run through an exercise in class that required collaboration and trust. The idea behind the "game" was to tempt teams to cheat. On the surface, it looked like if your team screwed over the other teams, you would earn the highest payout. Except that at the end of the day, the game was set up such that all teams had to collaborate in order to win the maximum payout. A cheating team could "win" but not as much as if they had collaborated.

Unfortunately, The G Unit failed. The teams negotiated, came up with an agreement, but when push came to shove, two teams went against their word to "cheat." It completely destroyed the trust and suddenly the dynamic in the room turned contentious and suspicious. It was actually pretty remarkable that a group generally so collegial, friendly and trusting could dissolve into such behavior. There was a moment in the negotiations where I thought trust could have been restored, but when the "non-cheating" teams decided to confer together, the "cheating" teams immediately assumed the other teams were out to get them -- and again, the trust vanished.

What a lesson in building trust, in negotiation, in human nature. And this example was only between folks who know each other and generally like each other! Imagine what these sorts of talks are like between warring nations or antagonistic parties.

A whole lotta ugly

About a month ago, one of my roommates (I'll name her Duck) told us that she was going to inherit a free sofa from her boss. This was greeted with much enthusiasm, since our current sofa is indescribably uncomfortable. Seriously, I wanna know who designs these things -- who conceives of a piece of sitting furniture that is ill-suited to sitting??

Anyway, Duck went off with her new beau to pick up the sofa. Since her boss has impeccable taste and deep pockets, she assumed the sofa would be tasteful, expensive, and modern. Unfortunately, the coach was none of the above. Duck discovered that the unwanted sofa was not only the ugliest thing she had ever laid eyes upon, but it was only a loveseat and it was the very first piece of furniture that her boss's wife had ever purchased. Wifey was so sad to depart with it, but ecstatic that it was going to a good home.

In Duck's words:

"I didn't know what to do! I was so caught off guard that I couldn't say no. I should have just told her that it was the wrong size, but I couldn't do it! I just couldn’t! I was speechless!"

How often is one rendered speechless by a sofa? In a haze of confusion and disorientation, Duck and the beau actually loaded up the thing into the truck and tried to fit it into the house. Then they decided it was so ugly that it had to go. So they left it on the side of the road with a "FREE" sign. And then they left the house.

I came home later that evening to this sight on my driveway:

Y'all, it has BUTTERFLIES on it! Who puts BUTTERFLIES on a sofa? I don't even think Mariah would want it. It's not just ugly, it's FUGLY in every sense of the word. It’s pink. And blue. And yellow. And green. With flowers. And it's worse in person. When Duck came back to the house, hours later, the POS sofa was still outside. No one even wanted it for free. Not a living soul. Then, she got worried that the dew would completely ruin it, so we had to drag it back into the house at midnight.

The next day, I left for class and returned in the evening to find the fugly sofa neatly covered by a sheet, which was duck-taped into place to cover all its garish parts. My other roommate, Chestnut, calmly explained that she was trying to do work in the living room but the fugliness was so distracting that she had to cover it up in order to concentrate.

That’s quite an accomplishment for a sofa. Anyone want it?

Ditka diversifies

Ditka does wine.

The "Ditka Kick Ass Red" is a powerful wine with a nice, pleasant pepper finish. And it's going to cost you $40-50 at Costco. The most bizarre part of this story is that all of it is actually for real. Ditka is doing wine.

What's next? A Deion Sanders fashion line?

Republicans are depressed today

Okay, so I might be an uber-politico-nerd, but it was rather fun and exciting to watch the Virginia senate returns last night. I was totally hooked -- and so glad that I registered and voted. For the first time in years, my vote actually mattered. Not that it was a waste of time to vote, but I was registered in Texas throughout college and then registered in Massachusetts afterwards. Neither one of those states will see a close national election anytime soon. (Although, the MA governor's race this year was electric!)

I'm mad at myself for not even thinking about heading out to the Capitol Hill bars to watch the returns. Gotta get used to being in WDC for these sorts of things, I suppose. I wonder what it was like over at Casa Blanca last night...

The moral of this year's midterm elections, though, is to watch out for those squirrels.

----
Editor's Note: Shoot, I totally forgot -- Britney's back on the market, kids.

Mobilizing the Masses

Now that's a motivated-looking crowd. Thanks, Mr. President.

Readers, I hope you have taken the time to register to vote, filled out your proxy, or will be at the polls tomorrow!!!

Need to improve my dating karma

Yep, it's official. No more dating. I was absolutely dreading going out with SpeedDateBoy tonight – and this is after I had postponed the date for two weeks (or 19 days, as he so politely corrected me). That parenthetical really should be enough said, but no, there's more.

For all you guys out there, here are a few tips, courtesy of The Lady V. First, try hard not to call her seven times in one week. Even if you think she’s really cute. Even if you met her on a random night and bought her a drink while she was speed dating. Seriously, seven calls in one week is kinda aggressive. And it makes you seem desperate. Both are major turnoffs.

Second, don't invade a girl's personal space on the first date. Specifically, don't try to squeeze into the same revolving door section. Believe or not, it’s not cute.

Third, if she has to leave because she’s dog-sitting and didn’t get a chance to walk the dog, it’s usually best if you don’t offer to “come with.” Who DOES that?

Lastly, don’t ever, ever, ever wear a sweater vest. Ever.

sigh.

Now I see why Washington D.C. was rated No. 9 on the Best Cities for Singles list.

Maybe I should take the advice of Gang of 100 member GFiddy (that was his choice for a code name, don’t look at me). I gave him the recap of the night and he scolded me for not coming up with a better lie – “If you’re gonna date, you gotta learn to lie,” he sniffed. Specifically, learn lies that make it impossible for the unwanted date to join. Can’t say I fully agree with GFiddy. Lying seems pretty cold, unfeeling, oh and unethical. But hey, GFiddy is also the guy who attempted to reassure me by saying there are plenty of fish in the sea and not all of them are floating on top.

Oh lordy.

I heart Borat

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Borat is taking America by storm. This blog entry is devoted to the comedic genius of Sacha Baron Cohen. A nod to Jon Stewart, as well!



Need another fix? Borat talks with Conans O'Brien.

More? Watch Matt Lauer interview Borat on The TODAY show.

And if you want to know what Sacha Baren Cohen is like in real life, check him out with Jon Stewart a few years back.

Satan strikes again

Any predictions on how the Ted Haggard scandal will play out? Sure, the whole gay sex this is only an allegation. Still, the man has admitted to buying meth and a male-on-male massage but nothing more.

I suppose regardless of whether Haggard is innocent or guilty, the real issue is what happens next. How will the church respond? How will individual Christians respond? How do evangelicals react in a way that is appropriate, humble, and restorative of the public's faith?

I wonder as I wander

For those of you who have asked about my faith and how it influences my life, my views on politics, my activism, I point you in the direction of Sen. Barack Obama. He recently gave the keynote at the Call to Renewal conference and you can read an excerpt from that speech here.

If we truly hope to speak to people where they’re at—to communicate our hopes and values in a way that’s relevant to their own—then as progressives we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse. Because when we ignore the debate about what it means to be a good Christian or Muslim or Jew; when we discuss religion only in the negative sense of where or how it should not be practiced, rather than in the positive sense of what it tells us about our obligations towards one another; when we shy away from religious venues and religious broadcasts because we assume that we will be unwelcome—others will fill the vacuum, those with the most insular views of faith or those who cynically use religion to justify partisan ends.

Not too long ago, I had a conversation with Gang of 100 member, Autumn, about this very same topic. She's spiritual, although tends to stay away from organized religion. We were chatting about the pro-life protestors that came onto campus that day, complete with huge poster boards depicting bloody, chopped up, aborted babies. They were lined up along one side of the street and some pro-choice students were lined up on the other side, chanting things like "Get off our campus!"

We bemoaned how useless both groups were -- from the offensive posters and chants, to the physical lining up on different sides of the street -- and somehow started talking about how "religious" people defend their positions by quoting the Bible. Her main complaint was that Bible quotes don't mean anything to someone who doesn't believe in the Bible. And I have to agree with her -- I may be motivated and inspired and called to action by what's written in the Bible, but nothing is accomplished if I use it as ammunition. Why don't more Christians (including me!) take the extra step more often to make their faith relevant to people of other beliefs? I wonder, is it because we're lazy? Or because we don't know how to do it? Or, even scarier, is it because we're just so used to being told what positions a Christian is supposed to take and we're more concerned about making noise about those positions than winning hearts and minds?

Halloween is over ...

...and not a moment too soon. My costume consisted of an all-black outfit with an orange hat and a saltshaker around my neck. I was dressed as a Duracell battery, so my costume in full was "assault and battery." Evidently, that took too much thought because most people couldn't figure it out.

Anyway, the hardcore members of The G Unit met at Winter's house and headed to Steve's Bar where the DJ spins kickin' music. Seriously, this guy gets it DONE and I can speak with authority since I've now twice witnessed what happens on the dance floor there. By the end of the night, I had danced/grinded with a law student, two Jamaican men and all the G Unit males present, befriended a Peruvian tequila salesman named Guillermo who kept giving us free shots, polished off a rum and coke, a gin and tonic, an Irish car bomb and a Jaeger bomb, felt up a man wearing fake boobs, broken three glasses, and fallen down the stairs. I have the nasty bruises to prove it.

By all means, it was a successful night.