Today, I ventured into Manhattan to run a few errands and to placate my own personal vanity with some new clothes from the summer. Alas (and alack), after a few hours of fighting my way through the tourist-choked sidewalks, I came up empty handed. But the venture wasn’t a complete wash out. The day paid off when, as I settled into my seat for the bus ride home, I notice the gentleman across the aisle from me had on a baseball cap with those puffy, iron-on letters spelling out the words ‘Pro-life’ where normally it would read ‘Von Dutch’ or ‘Juicy.’ I was completely fine with this. In a town where Yankees hats come in every color of the rainbow, I really don’t care how you adorn your head. But when he turned, I saw the icing for this little cake-like picture. Affixed to the side of his hat was a button that clearly depicting the remains of an aborted fetus in all conceivable Technicolor glory.

Eeeewww…

At this point, I’ll admit that I was both a little grossed out by this tactic and extremely impressed that he had somehow made it this late in the day without a punch to the back of the head. But on further reflection, I was actually quite happy that he could and did wear this button. No matter how diametrically opposed in morals, ethics or religious values someone is from myself, I still think they have every right to state what’s rattling around in that skull of theirs, as obnoxious as it may be. In fact, I support his right to express himself so much that I decided to help him out with a button of my own design. Do you like it? If you click on the image you can download a printable version that you can wear.

The next time he goes out with his puffy letter hat, I hope my new found friend decides to wear my button. He has every right to.

Posted by Thom at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If indeed that is the case, then my friend Enrique's Flickr post is worth about two thousand words. Ok, so it's just a beginning but, Enrique's artistry as photographer is undeniable and certainly worth repeat visits as he posts more pictures. Worthy of professional standing, when I asked him once why he never transitioned from being an amateur, he mumbled something about needing to eat. I guess Annie Leibovitz has cornered all of the good gigs.

Posted by Thom at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'll be the first to admit that I have been very negligent with my blog. While I see Kevin posting new entries about every other day, I haven't so much as typed a character in almost 3 weeks. Thanks for making me look bad, Kevin.

The worst part is, I really don’t have any excuses. No, I didn't go anywhere, I haven't been sick and, for the last time, I didn't loose my fingers in a tragic combine accident. Nothing like that has happened. I’ve just been lazy. So now it’s time to play catch-up. Actually it’s more like catch back as I plan to now post a bunch of back dated entries. So grab a snack, this may take a while.

Posted by Thom at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Many take time on this highest of Christian holidays to worship and reflect on the great sacrifice our Lord and Savior made to spare our unworthy souls from an eternity of fiery torment (have you accepted Him?) Beth and I decided to break with tradition this year, so we went to the Darwin exhibit at the Natural History Museum (insert sign of cross here).

Blasphemous? Maybe. But, it really was an excellent exhibit. It demonstrated what kind of man Charles Darwin was and how deliberate and thoughtful he was about his theories. A tedious and meticulous observer, Darwin wanted to explore every possible angle of evolution because he knew how controversial an issue it would be. That (and wanting time to grow a really authoritative beard) is why it took him twenty years to publish the first of his theories. The end of the exhibit even addressed the issue of “intelligent design” and how it undermines science by excusing what we don’t full understand as unexplainable.

Although I consider myself a Christian, I’ve never been much of a Church-goer. I’ve always thought that ritualistically attending a monotonous lecture in an ordained building once a week was – just like fluoridated water – another form of mind control. The great outdoors has been the church for me because that’s the one that God built. Personally, I always thought evolution and natural selection were common sense. Never once have I really thought these ideas had to be at odds with any Christian teachings. And besides, Darwin and Jesus really had a lot in common. Nobody like what they had to say when they where alive and they both had beards.

Happy Easter, by the way.

Posted by Thom at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another day, another birthday(s). We went to a 60th birthday party for our friends, Sandy and Evan today. So as not to prematurely age them, that’s a combined birthday party – they’re only thirty each. This year, Beth and I will turn a collective 62 but, we won’t be having a joint gathering. Beth wants her own party for purely selfish reasons

Outside of the creative age-based marketing spin, what really made this party interesting was that Sandy and Evan decided to hire a magician to go around to various congregations and interject a trick or two into the conversation. However, this created an inherent paradox in the event as we were celebrating a 60th birthday and one expects magicians to only perform at children’s events. Needless to say, the universe nearly collapsed

Posted by Thom at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

. . . at least that's what young David Sedaris's mother told him once when he shoved a coin purse sized piece of meat in his mouth at a family barbeque.

On Friday, Beth and went to see David Sedaris give a reading of new essays at Town Hall in New York. For those you unfamiliar with David (Dave for those of us who are) he is best known as a writer of wry autobiographical essays, a commentator for NPR and former elf. His stories and articles often poke fun of himself and his eccentric family but, beneath the surface he manages examine serious life issues with his unique perspective. Among his body of work, my personal favorite is Me Talk Pretty One Day. If you’re interested in reading any of his work, this collection of stories is a good place to start.

Posted by Thom at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)