Ruff, Ruff, and Away!

There's finally a cartoon I can watch with my 3-year-old daughter: Krypto the Superdog. It comes on Cartoon Network, and it looks like they're showing all 30 episodes back-to-back in the period of about a month. The premise isn't the most creative and the writing often lacks some intelligence, but there are a few laughs here and there, it stars Superman's dog, it has guest appearances from Ace the Bathound (Batman's dog - duh), and it's geared toward the pre-school level, so as I mentioned, I can watch it with my daughter. I probably wouldn't be following it if not for that last fact, but I will be on the lookout for when the Ace the Bathound figure pops up in stores...

My Second Childhood

Now I yam the Master!

When I my brother Joe told me about these, I knew I had to get one. Oddly enough, they were $2 less at Disney when we went a few weeks ago than they are at Toys R Us and WalMart.

I collect toys - mostly it's Batman and comic-related toys, as you might expect, but I couldn't pass up the novelty of a Darth Tater.

Julianna turns 3 in a few days, so we were at Toys R Us today doing some birthday shopping with practically the whole family. Of course, we were there for her, so I didn't look for anything for myself...















I don't know how these cool, dark chocolate M&Ms appeared in our cart...




Or this C3 Construction Batmobile that I've been eyeing since Christmas...

The Gas-flow Conspiracy

Has anyone else noticed lately that gas pumps are pumping gas at a different rate? Is it just me, or are they all slower? Almost like all the gas station owners got together and said, "Hey, if we pump the gas slower, no one will really notice that it costs more, since it takes the same amount of time to pump the same price in gas." Ok; maybe not at all gas stations, but I've definitely noticed it. The gas price has doubled over the last 6 or 7 years, and it seems like pumps move the gas about half as slow.

You think I'm kidding?

Quote of the Day
Just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
(Not sure who said it; I first came across it in the Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson)

The Most Important Things

A lot of people decry followers of Jesus. It's sad, though, because I don't think it's because of what Jesus said, or what His followers who knew Him have said.

I'm thinking about what Jesus said was most important. Religious leaders of His day tried to trap Him by asking what the most important command was. He answered by quoting the Old Testament book we know as Deuteronomy: "Love God." He quoted the book we know as Leviticus, giving us the second: "Love people." Is it these two things that are pushing people away?

Before He died, Jesus also told his disciples how people would know they were from Him: "Love one another."

Paul, the most prolific of the New Testament writers (in documents, if not in words) and also an apostle, told the church that was at Corinth what he considered to be of greatest importance in our faith: "Jesus died, was buried, and was raised again." I know there are many who have trouble with this, being outside our Western, logical, scientific way of thought, but I don't think it's the greatest thing that pushes people of our culture away.

I wonder, if we raised these things up, once again, as being most important, would we be more successful in sharing our faith?

Quote(s) of the Day

'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.'
-Jesus, to hypocritical religious leaders, as quoted by Matthew (The Message)

Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples--when they see the love you have for each other.
-Jesus, to his disciples, as quoted by John (The Message)

The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day.
-Paul, in a letter to Jesus' followers in Corinth (The Message)