Peakah's Provocations...

I finally watched the movie "Courageous" for the first time this evening.  Honestly, I was pretty skeptical.  First of all, I'm not much of a movie guy.  A movie's writing better be good or I'm out.  Also, I found out that this was the same outfit that produced "Fireproof"; it wound up getting turned off about 30 minutes into the movie because the acting and writing was pretty nauseating.  (Sorry Mr. Cameron, I loved ya in Growing Pains tho)  To be fair, you need to be in the right mood for that type of dogmatism, for it takes a particular frame of mind to deal with.

Tonight, the stars were aligned and I was saying to myself as I cuddled up on the couch between my two favorite girls on this planet and my boys littered over the remaining living room furniture- Bring the Dogmatism On Baby!  I was not disappointed.  There is a soft spot in my heart for unapologetic movies that unashamedly proclaim our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the Son of God.  This was one of those, and tonight, I was looking forward to it.



This is the fourth movie produced by Sherwood Pictures, a Baptist ministry out of Albany, GA.  Considering their most recent release, they are improving by leaps and bounds.  This movie had all 7 of us simultaneously tearing up and laughing all together.  I had my 9 year old daughter hugging on my left side as my beautiful wife clutched my right hand.  That alone made the movie AWESOME.

There are many places you can read about the storyline of the movie but there was one particular aspect that really hit me where it was designed to, where it was meant to leave a mark-

"The Resolution" really hit home with me.

"The Resolution" was written by the main character "Adam" (who is also the producer- Alex Kendrick) when he has one of the worst tragedies that can befall a man.  I'll try not to spoil anything if you are reading this but have yet to see the film, but in the face of our biggest fears, when our deepest nightmares come true, we get a unvarnished glimpse directly into our own souls- particularly our shortcomings.  The glimmering veneer we place over aspects of our lives so that the reflection comes back the way we want to see them is completely stripped away and what we are left with is a psychologically nude snapshot of ourselves.  We realize exactly what we could have done better- what we may have missed out on.

There are many ways to handle a shock to one's system when these tragedies occur.  We can retreat into the dark recesses of drugs and alcohol, we can retreat into the hermit's life of isolation and depression, among many other horrible outcomes we tend to choose for ourselves.  Adam's choice in the movie was to draw up The Resolution.

In a moment of clarity, he tells his close friends about the resolution he is drawing up and they decide they're going to join him in his fight to better himself by bettering themselves along side him.  There's always strength in numbers.  To the point where they decide that this resolution is important enough to create a ceremony commemorating the signing of this resolution, this vow to not wait until the next tragedy strikes to decide to improve themselves.  They're going to begin today, and they're going to include those that they love the most.

The moment that scene ended, I knew I was going to do this as well.  I want to reproduce that scene in my own home.


I will create this document myself, hold a family meeting where we as a family will discuss the contents of this document, have a formal signing ceremony, and proudly place this on a wall in our home for all to see.  This I am going to do because it is the right thing to do and I am a proud Father of 5 incredible children and the husband of an amazing Angel from Heaven that deserves nothing less.

I want this to serve as a reminder for those times when I am at a loss or at wits end, of what is most important.  I also want to share it with those who I love and with those who may need a reminder that as a Father (and especially a Mother) we are tasked with one of the greatest responsibilities that can be granted us in this lifetime- the care, nurturing, loving, and the teaching of our children.

If you are a Father of children and you desire to Stand Up and say "I WILL", send me a message, an email, or a phone call to let me know.  There is power in numbers.  This is a message that needs to be spread, shared, and a fellowship will develop.  Where there is accountability, there is action.

Here is the final scene of the movie (and if you haven't seen it yet, watch the movie first!) and I couldn't have said it better myself:


If you have a facebook profile, like The Resolution For Fathers page.  I created it as I was writing this blog post.  It would be nice to create a community where this message can be disseminated through the country and through the world.  Who knows what this may lead to!?

Oh, and if you haven't seen "Courageous" yet, watch it as soon as you can, especially if you're a Father.

One of my best bloggin buddies is a Philadelphia detective and all around shoot from the hip with his opinion kind of guy. I love this about him and the fact that he's a Guinness pounding, ice-hockey playing, Irish toughguy makes him all the more loveable in my eyes. The world (especially Philly) can use a lot more men like him.

Like most bloggers, (including myself- when I'm not killing myself to secure a living for my own family of 7) Shawn has dreamed of becoming published. Through a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and I mean that literally) he has achieved the dream of getting published even if it meant self-publishing. Self-publishing means self-promoting.

After reading the first two chapters on Amazon, I'm hooked. Much like the show "The First 48" on A&E, (which I'm addicted to) a good book has the First Two Chapters that will greatly increase the likelihood of one's reading of the entire book. In fact, the book reads as its own episode of "The First 48" in the beginning.  The first two chapters can be read here. I anxiously wait for the book to arrive to take the remainder of the ride through a Philadelphia murder investigation.

Thank You Shawn for putting in the time and effort to produce this, you've given aspiring writers like me hope that it can be done!

I am a DIEHARD Syracuse Basketball fan. I grew up "down the street" from Hall of Fame basketball coach Jim Boeheim in Lyons, NY. I ride the tumultuous wave that is Syracuse Basketball each and every March as they play Tournament ball since the days Pearl Washington was electrifying the Dome.

So this season we have Antonio "Scoop" Jardine and Kris Joseph leading the team as Seniors as they make this season's push. Scoop decided to show some senior leadership in the second round vs Kansas St as he nailed the 3 and served up some delicious dishes for Christmas under the basket all second half long. It was a thing of beauty.

It is only because I haven't been conned into video taping my reaction to Syracuse losing Scoop after this season that you don't see my tear streaked face in the following video, but believe me, this could have just as easily been my 37 year old face on YouTube (minus the 50,000 hits):



Why do I bring this up?

Because when the reaction to a silly video like this is to have Scoop get in touch with the kid's mom to give this kid a birthday present, I remember why I love being a Syracuse fan all over again. (Despite all the negative press that has been circulating lately)

Syracuse.com reports:

After defeating Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament, the Syracuse basketball team is headed to the Sweet 16. That means fans of Antonio "Scoop" Jardine will get to see the Philadelphia native play at least one more game in an Orange jersey.

One of Scoop's biggest fans is Shane Oliver of Mattydale, who turned 4 years old on Saturday. The little guy became slightly famous on the Internet this month as more than 50,000 people have watched the video of him crying on YouTube when he found out that this is the last season at SU for Jardine, a fifth-year graduate student.

The Syracuse point guard saw the video himself and reached out to the boy's mother, Audrey Barone, on Twitter and arranged to meet him. Scoop met with Shane on Sunday after the team returned from Pittsburgh and gave the boy a birthday gift.

"I just met that Lil boy that was crying about me graduating and leaving Syracuse. #happybdayshane," Jardine tweeted afterwards.

So despite the fact that I will be on an airplane from Dallas to Vegas as they tip off in Boston vs Wisconsin in round of Sweet 16- I will be screaming jumping up and down and pulling clumps of hair out of my head assuming the plane's wifi connection allows me to stream what I can; I will be rooting for Scoooooop to continue to lead this team all the way to the promised land of their last (and first) Championship- New Orleans.

I will also be dodging the tazer leads of any Federal air marshals who determine that I am too zealous of a fan. So assuming I land alive and get to the nearest DVR that I have programmed to record the game, I will be screaming SCOOOOOOOP a little harder now.


Go Orange.

After a sweet day of hiking with my kids around the beautiful Big Lake, AZ area- this song played on my way back home while my worn out kiddos were napping in the back of the Excursion. The song remained on my mind the rest of the evening and I just felt like posting it here for Sunday morning.

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

This morning I turned 37 years old. I got up and hit the path to Fool Hollow Lake and absorbed the cool mountain air and light rain to start my day. I donned a sweatshirt to maintain a normal body temp of 37 degrees. (That would be in Celsius)

My body felt 37 years old during the walk but thankfully there was a Pandora app on my phone to get my blood pumping. The "Zac Brown Band Channel" was the perfect prescription for the shin splints.

So there seems to be something different about today. Something different about 37. After my walk I arrived at a very quiet home. The kids were off to school and my wife still relaxing in the bedroom. I decided to grab my pliers, retractable razor, and tie wire and turned over my sofa and tightened up the sagging springs to firm up the seats. Then I turned over my loveseat with dual recliners and repacked one of the sagging foam seats with some eggshell foam that has been gathering dust in my pile of camping equipment.

37 is the first irregular prime number and my behavior was irregular indeed.

Ok, so now my inner Cliff Clavin now beginning to yap in my ear.

Immediately my inner voice is in a slightly buzzed higher pitched New England accent.

--Did you know that the Green Monstah in Fenway Pahk is 37 feet tall?

-There are 37 bars in the digits of a digital watch.

-Spam was invented by George A. Hormel in 1937.

-Abraham Lincoln was elected to the House of Representatives at the age of 37.

-The only American President to resign from office was President #37. ("I am not a crook")

-The reign of Caligula (Emporer Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) began in A.D. 37.

-There are 37 genes in the mitochondrial genome.

-The number of the beast is 666. (37 x 18)

-All American Express cards begin with the number 37.

-There are 37 points in a the "perfect" bridge hand.

-If a fertile man and woman have sex every day for a month, there is a 37% chance of pregnancy.

-37% of pregnancies resulting from in-vitro fertilization are multiple.

-Tiger Woods had a string of 37 consecutive holes without a bogey at the 1997 Masters. (This should not have anything to do with the pregnancy stats above.)

-The record for most men's basketball victories in a season is 37.

-When NY Yankees pitcher David Wells pitched a perfect game against Minnesota, he had retired 37 consecutive batters.

-The 37th Pillsbury Bake-Off was won by contestant #37.

...really!

I've got a meeting in Las Vegas, NV on Tuesday morning. This presents the perfect opportunity to explore northern Arizona on the motorcycle (using I-40 as little as possible). Weather permitting, I plan on cruising through the Arizona hills taking pictures and adding them to the map below. Should be exciting! I sure hope my heiny can handle the 10 hour cruise!


View Scenic Route- Show Low, AZ to Las Vegas, NV in a larger map

Can you tell I'm looking forward to it?

I remember coming home from swimming practice in high school and eating an entire 1 lb box of spaghetti covered in my mom's amazing meat sauce and then going out to do some mountain biking along Bailey's hill only to come home later and eat an entire box of ritz crackers topped with two cans of cheese whiz. On A Daily Basis! I was a whopping 2% body fat and barely cracking the century mark in lbs at 16.

20 years later I'm 36 and by only walking by the deli in the supermarket, I'll net a 4 lb gain. (Damn you samples!!) I now weigh over twice what I did at 16! Granted I'm not swimming 3000 yards and going on mountain bike excursions through the woods in the dark on a daily basis, but my how things change. The extent of my physical activity currently consists of manhandling a computer mouse and holding my big fat head up with my other arm on the desk, or expertly working a remote control. Ok, don't get the wrong idea; I'm not a behemoth or anything, but I do have that prototypical spare tire around the midsection and some gelatinous new life form existing under my chin. My wife and I have decided it's time to go on a diet... for real this time.

We've done diets before. Shoot, my store associates and I won a Biggest Loser competition that was held town-wide. I really didn't do a whole lot except eat less and move more and I dropped approximately 25 lbs in 3 months. However, that was a few years ago. I've discovered that the more time that goes by the harder dieting is at an exponential rate.

Well I'm one week in to a new diet hating the crap out of it. However I have lost a few lbs so I'm not giving up. I think I'm just in a psychological transition period from enjoying a carefree (lazy) 'eat whatever' mindset to a more disciplined approach. I've gone on the hCG Diet which includes drops to curb the attack of the appetite and a 500 calorie a day diet that truthfully has gotten pretty boring considering I cannot eat poultry. I am allergic to bird. It's a fat juicy ribeye for me on Thanksgiving day.

The hardest part is giving up the anticipation of the preparation. Let me explain. All week long I look forward to Saturday afternoon and Sunday as a day where we are all together as a family and the cooking showcase begins. It involves all 5 senses- The sounds of sizzling bacon, the wafting smells of lasagna in the oven, the giddy glee that goes into firing up a grill, the sight of seared meat over a fire, touching all the textures that make up various parts of the meal, and finally the Taste! Then there's the rewarding relaxation mode of everyone lying around and watching America's Funniest Home Videos and belly laughing with each other.

Ok, I'm sounding a bit apocalyptic by suggesting that these things are no longer going to occur while dieting. But the anticipation of the preparation has definitely disappeared. I can no longer eat those things I've been looking forward to all week! This Sunday's meal is "Apple Day" on the diet for crying out loud! What sick individual thought of this? How's that lasagna kids? Off the deep end I go.

So I'm trying to put things in perspective. Yeah, it'll be great to lose weight and I want to support my wife by doing the diet with her- I'm going to stick it out. We'll feel better as we continue, particularly when that gelatinous form under my chin goes back to whatever sick realm it emerged.

I'm going to look back upon this post and think, "OMG, what a crybaby!" and I'm ok with that. Writing this out has allowed me to expel that angst that is probably keeping the lbs holding on to my midsection in the first place.

So, let the revealing begin- (btw I'm 5' 11" tall)

April 29th 2010 I weighed in at 215.0 lbs.

Today is May 8th and I weighed in at 210.6 lbs

I'm going to stick with this diet for a few more weeks just to spite myself and prove that I do still have that same discipline that got me through the swim practices and mountain biking rides when I was 16... it's just so sad that we all can't eat like we did when we were that age!

Broke my wrist a few weeks ago (throttle wrist even) and can't ride my new bike in this gorgeous weather. Here's a video I made a few months back going from Phoenix to Show Low, AZ. HURRY UP AND HEAL WRIST!

(Guest Article by Timothy Elliot)

Over nine months ago President Obama ceremoniously declared that his new bill, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act was a “major step forward in America’s commitment to families and caregivers who tend to our wounded warriors every day.” But every day, including the January 31st deadline for the program to be implemented, those wounded warriors and their caregivers have been left high and dry on their own. Instead the Department of Veterans Affairs has been struggling to handle the extremely complex, bureaucratic program.

The Department of Veterans Affairs demanded new benefits and funding for veterans because of the increasing number of disabled veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program is supposed to help caregivers of wounded veterans provide support, particularly because of the influx of victims of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The program was meant to benefit soldiers with PTSD especially, as it has recently lead to an average of 950 veteran suicides a month. Because traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, both of which are among the most common afflictions ailing soldiers and veterans of the current wars, are difficult to diagnosis and treat the VA was hoping for a bill that effectively allowed caregivers to request benefits on behalf of their injured spouses or relatives to provide support for soldiers and veterans who were not receiving care. However, officials in the Department of Veterans Affairs have complained about the extremely bureaucratic nature of the bill, saying that it’s made it overly difficult to establish who qualifies for the new benefits.

One of the problems with the bill is that it is unclear whether it applies only to veterans of the two current wars or to all veterans, as the Department of Veteran Affairs had lobbied for. The VA wanted the bill to apply to all veterans because of the increasing numbers of veterans with mesothelioma. LikeTBI and PTSD, mesothelioma can be extremely difficult to diagnosis because the symptoms of mesothelioma are similar to other, less serious disease. Mesothelioma symptoms, including trouble breathing and a fluid build-up in the chest are diagnosed in nearly 1,000 veterans a year, and goes undiagnosed in many more. The VA fought hard for the bill to apply for veterans with it because although the mesothelioma life expectancy is only a year or two after diagnosis, the steadily increasing number of diagnoses is making it difficult for the VA to handle under current regulations. Unfortunately it’s still unclear whether the bill will apply to these veterans as well.

Three weeks after the deadline he set for his bill and nine months after his premature celebration Obama has yet to take a single step forward in his commitment to our wounded warriors and caregivers who tend to them. It’s time to demand that he move forward with action, instead of just with useless rhetoric.

--Timothy Elliot

Story Here!

Activist Post: Martial Law, Economic Meltdown, and Executive Orders

With the Federal Reserve actually suggesting that inflation might be the cure to the weak economy, massive unemployment numbers and a crashing dollar, one has to stop and ponder. The chairman of the Fed, Ben Bernanke, was a child prodigy, scored a near perfect SAT score, focused his studies around the Great Depression and is a statistical genius. So why is he so willing to abuse the Dollar and essentially sign the death warrant for America?

Read on, this article hits it on the bullseye...

And all through the town

Tempers were flaring

Emotions all up and down!

I, in my bathrobe

With a cat in my lap

Had cut off the TV

Tired of political crap.

When all of a sudden

There arose such a noise

I peered out of my window

Saw Obama and his boys

They had come for my wallet

They wanted my pay

To give to the others

Who had not worked a day!

He snatched up my money

And quick as a wink

Jumped back on his bandwagon

As I gagged from the stink

He then rallied his henchmen

Who were pulling his cart

I could tell they were out

To tear my country apart!

' On Fannie, on Freddie,

On Biden and Ayers!

On Acorn, On Pelosi'

He screamed at the pairs!

They took off for his cause

And as he flew out of sight

I heard him laugh at the nation

Who wouldn't stand up and fight!

So I leave you to think

On this one final note-

IF YOU DONT WANT SOCIALISM

GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!

Link to video source here:
http://www.foxnewsinsider.com/2010/07/02/stossel-special-whats-great-about-america-2/

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
-John Stuart Mill

Gov. Brewer: 'Mr. President, Secretary Napolitano - Do Your Job!'

This ad will be the model for the 2010 elections in November...

See ya in November 2010 Democrats.

These machines are what we are depending on to elect our representatives... is it any wonder that they no longer represent us?

Easily Hacked Voting Systems to be Used in MA Special Election for the U.S. Senate

This movie clip was embedded in that article and if this doesn't make you cry like the volunteer, nothing will... kiss our democracy goodbye.

I'm participating in a Wounded Warrior Project in Spring of 2010 in Dallas, Texas. Please help me raise money to fund this outstanding program!


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