This is very cool. I wish they had higher resolution images of Lynchburg and Roanoke, but it’s still pretty cool.

I found the house I lived in when I lived in Japan. And the high school I went to there. Crazy!

My birthday was last Friday. I stayed home from work that day, and spent some time with the girls. We had a party Saturday afternoon, so Megan spent much of the day Friday preparing for that. She baked three cakes… a strawberry cake with creamcheese frosting, a two layer pineapple upsidedown cake, and a three layer citrus cake. The citrus cake had a layer of orange, lime and lemon cake, with a lemon custard inbetween them, and an orange flavored frosting. They were all, of course, delicious. We also grilled some burgers and dogs, and had other picnicy type foods. We had 51 guests at our party. It was hoppin’.

Megan got me some nice running shoes, to help me with my regimen. They were actually too small, so we went back and got some others. For the first time in my life I got size 14 shoes. I have stepped into the land of Big & Tall. I noticed later that they’re actually the same design as Megan’s shoes, only different colors. “No wonder I liked them so much”, she said. Pretty funny.

She also got me Glen Phillips new cd, which I am enjoying, and Primer, which I have enjoyed, continue to enjoy, and can now push off on unsuspecting friends to enjoy.

With my Citibank Diamond Preferred Rewards card, I earned enough points to get a $100 giftcard. I just ordered one for Land’s End, so that Megan can get some clothes for herself. And maybe the girls, if they have any good deals.
I actually have enough points for another $100 giftcard some place… but haven’t decided where to use it. We’ll see if my ladies get enough clothes from this deal.
Anyhow… pretty cool. I buy lots of gas. I get free gift cards.

We watched Saved! last week… I don’t remember when it was. Thursday or Friday… I don’t remember.

Anyhow… I knew it was an anti-christian film and a preachy one at that, but I was curious about it. And, since the library had it, and I didn’t have to pay to watch it, I figured I’d check it out.

It’s about students at a Christian high school. Much of it is mockery of typical evangelicalism in the U.S. It was, of course, an exageration, but it made that point well…. that much of evangelical culture is pietistic, insincere, and… well, stupid. I laughed at several of these moments.

However, the film was all about pushing tolerance. The gay guy, and the unbelievers… they should all be accepted for who they are, because, hey, ‘it’s all too much to live up to.’

In the end, I felt like the whole movie was fake. It was very artificial… just a setup to push the agenda. It never felt real. Other movies are written just to carry a message, but they don’t feel like it. Those story can feel real. The story carries the message. But with Saved!, it was all canned.