Willie Nelson - Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

Fury

I haven't been looking forward to a movie this much since I heard they were finally making The Lord of the Rings.



This makes Brad Pitt the second best-looking tanker in Army history. ;P

"Why does everyone settle for stupid boringness and penalize people like us who have passion?" -- Maggie Thrash

Because they're afraid, Sweetie. People want to read books about other people's passion, watch movies about other people's passion, listen to songs about other people's passion, and gossip about other people's passion, but they're terrified of experiencing it themselves: it burns. And because they lack the courage to throw their own hats into the ring, they treat us with cool derision and mockery. Sour grapes.

Hell with them.

As a servant earnestly desireth the shade, and as an hireling looketh for the end of his work: So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I arise and the night be gone?' and I am full of tossings to and fro until the dawning of the day. -- Job 7:2-4

"Let God be true, but every man a liar" -- Romans 3:4

Touching the Untouchable

I had a chance to spend the day yesterday with Pastor Devan, as I drove him to the airport in Norfolk. Devan is from India, and was born a Dalit, or "Untouchable". When he was a young orphan, living in Mother Theresa's home, Jesus appeared to him in his bedroom. Not a dream, a waking theophany. He has been beaten nine times for breaking caste taboos (for instance, begging food for his dying mother from someone of a superior caste), and nearly killed on several of those occasions. Don't be fooled by pie-in-the-sky Western portrayals of the wondrous wisdom and peacefulness of Hinduism: it is a great spiritual darkness. Ask the Untouchables.

At one point, starving, hopeless, and depressed, he climbed a mountain to kill himself, but the Lord spoke to him audibly, calling him to serve Him. Later, he was led to go to a training course for indigenous pastors, but spoke no English, and was going to be sent home. He locked himself in his room and fasted and prayed for sixteen days, when he began speaking in tongues, which then changed to English, and he was supernaturally instantly granted the ability to speak and understand English.

Now he has founded over 11,000 churches in India, mostly among the Dalit, as well as orphanages, sewing schools for women to teach them to earn a living, wells for poor villages, help for widows and beggars, education and support for native missionaries, and much more. Now this is the Gospel in action. No matter how educated and cultured you are, or how beautiful your worship, or how lovely your own little life is, if you're not living like this to some degree, you're not living the Christian life. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal," and "When you did it not unto one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it not unto me."

When someone like Devan tells you that you are a good man and forms a special bond with you at once, it makes you feel good about yourself; you have to trust his spiritual discernment. I've been rather doubting myself and my relationship with the Lord recently, and this is exactly the encouragement and confirmation I needed that I am not, in fact, crazy or delusional. Thank you, Lord. And thank you, brother Devan.

This is Kokkiligadda, my new Indian "daughter". Unlike those massive charities you see on TV, I have a direct connection with her through Devan. I already love her.

Can't You See

Tom Waits - Green Grass

Message to ISIS Cowards

380 Wokonda Trail
Stanardsville, Virginia

Come and get me, bitches.

Miss Misery

You're just a kid

The Art of Manliness on inter-sex communication

Q:

My wife and I got into an argument the other night about how many hours she has been working at her job. I would like her home more. I let things cool down a bit and did not speak with her again that night. The next day, I thought I would apologize to her for getting into an argument. But when I texted her, she responded with a snide remark. As hard as I tried to make things right, it just turned into another argument. It seems like no matter how hard I try, she is not willing to make up. Should we go to counseling?

A:

Hold on, let me get my police issue bullhorn. Testing one two. Okay. “PUT DOWN THE PHONE. REPEAT, PUT DOWN THE PHONE. IF YOU VALUE YOUR RELATIONSHIP, STEP SLOWLY AWAY FROM YOUR TEXTING DEVICE.”

Let’s talk about texting. I’ll get back to your marriage in a moment.

Call me old-fashioned (believe me, it won’t be the worse thing I’ve been called) but I just don’t believe that all of our problems can be solved with technology…or pharmaceuticals (something I’ve mentioned here in a previous column). Some things should be handled old school. In this case, we’re talking about…well, talking.

If you care about her, AND you’re dealing with a touchy topic, do not text, do not email, do not Twitter. Really, don’t you think your relationship deserves more than 140 characters?

If everything is just peachy, then sending an I love you is swell. But if you’re wanting to apologize, explain, plan, express feelings, offer support, debate or disagree, DO NOT do it electronically. If you must, pick up the phone. But this old guy’s advice is to do it face-to-face.

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/05/27/ask-wayne-man-appologizes-to-wife-in-text-message-wife-responds-with-snark/ 

Well this is something that I've learned the hard way, to be sure. Where was this a year and a half ago in my life? I think about 90% of what's happened is exactly this: she probably understood something so completely different from what I intended when I tried to write her to fix things, that I couldn't imagine it if I tried. Of course, it's not entirely my fault: I did ask, repeatedly, for a face-to-face conversation to sort things out. And have yet to have had one.

Dropkick Murphys - Rose Tattoo

13 Tank Reunion

Got together at Ft. Knox last weekend with guys from my first unit, the 13th U.S. Cavalry. Mostly re-telling old stories of fights and drunken shenanigans and people and places now gone.

 The 13th Cavalry was the Army's very last horse cav regiment.

One of my two best Army buddies, Mitch Stein, and me in front of an M60A3 Patton tank, the ones we were on in 13 Tank, at the Patton museum, Ft. Knox. Remember the story from my bio about almost shooting my best friend? This is the guy.

The barracks where we took basic training together. Now abandoned. Fort Knox has been the home of Armor since the very beginning, 1940, when they switched from horses to tanks, but now they've moved it to Fort Benning, Ga., and combined it with the Infantry center. When we arrived for training in April 1985, we stayed first in the original wooden barracks from WWII. Pretty sad to see it all go. 

 Reliving memories of basic, in the spot where we and hundreds of thousands of men experienced untold hours of pain and misery from 1967 until last year. When we went to basic, it was still HARD, especially for combat arms soldiers, who trained separately with guys from just their own branch. Ft. Knox has three lovely hills which drill sergeants just loved, quaintly named "agony," "misery," and "heartbreak".

Notice how I look normal-sized amidst my comrades-in-arms? There's nothing light on a tank.

 

On the way home, I passed the spot where I wrecked my truck. Back up at the top of the pass, there are now signs all over instructing truckers to pull over for mandatory brake inspection before going down the pass.

"Feel the fear and do it anyway." -- Jillian Michaels

Nothin'

PTSD Dogs

I don't post a lot of "isn't that cool" links here. After all, this isn't facebook. But this is seriously cool.

I was just talking yesterday about how my cat has been keeping very close to me lately, and wondering if he somehow sensed how poorly I've been doing. I love animals.

Back in the Saddle

I'm back. Heart rate is just about where it should be, lower back is still a little twingey, but I can manage.

So I upped my workout. New routine:

1) 1 hour of cardio on various machines
2) Grappling circuit

3) Stretch
4) Free weight training: split routine. Monday chest, Tuesday back, Wednesday core, Thursday shoulders & arms, Friday legs. I use machines for leg day because of my knee.
5) Sauna

I know you bodybuilders out there are saying "You can't mix heavy weight training with all that cardio and endurance training!" Yeah, I'm aware. But I'm not trying to bulk: I'm big enough.

I'm thinking about adding some yoga and tai-chi; my gym has free classes. With that, I could be moving about 4 or 5 hours every day.

"All paths are good, provided one arrives."

-- Rousseau

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time; also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

-- Abraham Lincoln