This was a little to much like my work.

My son and I recently wanted to go check out a movie. It was before the new Christmas Carol movie came out, or we probably would have gone to see that one. Instead, we opted to go see "Where the Wild Things Are."

I know the kid in the story is supposed to be a bratty little lad that throws a tantrum and runs off to where the wild things are. I know, but I guess I wasn't expecting him to be a pathologically bratty kid that runs off on the night his mom has her new boyfriend over for dinner.

When he gets to where the wild things are, he finds, not just a group of monsters that first want to eat him then make him king like monsters are supposed to do. He finds an enclave of domestic violence, jealousy and general stupidity. I guess the movie maker really wanted to drive home the point that you could always have a much worse family. You could live in a place where you can't call the cops on the monster that is tearing up the house and throwing people around.

In any case, the whole movie reminded me of a bad night on the job. One of those nights where you go from one stupid group of people's house to the next dealing with their idiocy.

If I were you, I would skip this movie. Just go read the book again, if you liked it and leave it at that.

Live from Arizona's 15th Congressional District

In a recent read of Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers", I discovered that, typically, you have to do something for about 10,000 hours before you can be considered, or actually be, an expert.

Think about how that transfers to the things you want to be good at: playing the piano, public speaking, a job skill, or even being good at your marriage.

About marriage, it about 416 and 2/3's days to add up to 10,000 hours. So, after about 14 months of marriage, you should be an expert, right? If Gladwell's ideas are as true as he believes, after your first year or so of marriage, all your problems should disappear.

Unfortunately, we don't get to spend all those hours together to make us experts. And, when we are together, we are not always practicing good marriage practices. So, I think it takes more like 25 years of an exceptional marriage (which I would define as one where the marriages take time to try and work at it) to become an expert at being married.

I am coming up on 18 years, so I am on my way.

Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies and everyone goes, it's....

Extra points for you if you know the Artist and Title of the song with the lyrics found in the title of this post. Also, 3 bonus points if you know the denomination that I was with at the first church where I was the head Pastor guy.

Emily is in her second year of debate this year, so we are excited to take her to check out a debate on a topic that interests us. Here is what the official info says:

AzOSA to Host November Debate

Did God Use Evolution?

There's no question that the omnipotent God, Creator of the Universe, could have used Evolution as the process to create life including humans. The question is did He and can we be certain either way.

AzOSA is pleased to present a debate on that very subject. Hear arguments from both viewpoints and decide for yourself:

• Does the Bible allow for the insertion of evolution
• Can the creation account of Genesis be interpreted to support the long ages required for evolution
• Is the order of events in the creation week to be regarded as factual
• Should the Genesis account of creation be regarded as historical narrative or allegorical

About the debaters

Mike Riddle, Speaker, Author, Answers in Genesis

Mike holds a degree in mathematics and a graduate degree in education. He has been involved in creation ministry for more than twenty five years. Prior to getting involved in creation ministry, Mike was a captain in the U.S. Marines and a national champion in track and field.

Peter Waller Ph.D. , U of A Prof., Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering

"I enjoy teaching. Teaching includes communicating a message to an audience in an interesting and entertaining style, carefully constructing the message whether the message is in a speech or a paper, and challenging students to consider all sides of an issue. My goals are to improve student skills in math and writing, group participation and communication, and problem solving. In addition to being a place to communicate knowledge, the classroom should be an environment where students obtain skills that help them succeed in life."

I know that all of you aren't interested in where we came from and all that, but I am. If you share an interest, come see the debate.

When: This Thursday, November 19th at 7:00pm

Where: The First Evangelical Free Church, 4700 N. Swan

Can it be?

They say that little babies don't yet know how to smile. It is a social muscle that doesn't develop until they are several months along. I am not sure I believe them.

However, when Emily, our oldest daughter, was born fourteen years ago she smiled at me. After she was born and all that, they brought her over to me wrapped in a little pink blanket and she looked up at me and flashed an Emily grin. No-one else saw it, so I can't prove it, but I was there. She, however, claims no memory of the incident.


If you're lucky, you can still see her show that same smile. Like on days like today, her birthday.

In the company of heroes

I found out that the Agent assigned to our squad is the one who originally put this video to music and found himself in a little bit of trouble because of it going 'viral', finding it's way all around the country. I have also met the agent that stars in the video.

So, if you haven't seen it yet, check it out right here:

A small contribution.

I recently met a man who flew in Jimmy Stewart's bomber squadron during WWII. He was a tail gunner and his B-24 was hit over Germany forcing him to bail out. He spent the rest of the war in Stalag 17, which was made famous by the movie of the same name. Unfortunately, the rest of his crew didn't make it out of the plane.

On this day, veteran's day, it is good to reflect on those who have made sacrifices and even gave their lives for our country.

It seems petty in comparison to guys like this, but I thought I would share a couple of things I did during my time in the service. It was a small contribution.

Enlisted and set off to boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base on July 11th of 1988.

After completing Basic Training, The Law Enforcement Academy in Lackland, I was sent to Ft. Dix, NJ for Ground Combat School

After this, I was assigned to Davis Monthan Air Force Base here in Tucson.

Attended M-60 machine gun school, combat rifle school and Desert Warfare Training before my deployment to Dhahran Air Force Base on January 1st, 1991.

Was in Dhahran during Operation Desert Storm. Our base suffered the highest casualties of that conflict when a scud missile hit a National Guard encampment. I think I was playing volleyball with a net someone had made out of parachute cord when the missile hit. It was the last of several scuds that his out base.

Returned to DM on July 4th 1991 and separated from the Air Force on July 11th of 1992.

That's about it for the highlights. I am in awe of those who serve today and face multiple deployments and see that we are still threatened in this conflict, even on our own soil, by extremists like the shooter in Ft. Hood.

Thanks to all those who have served and who are serving and protecting us today.

A Change of Pace

Last night, the girls and I dressed up and headed down to the local Fox Theater to catch the 1934 movie "The Thin Man".

The Thin Man has been one of our favorites for a while and it was a treat to see it in the restored Fox Theater.

I have discovered that some of the older films are more dialogue driven than what we would see in many contemporary films. We have been so conditioned away from dialogue driven that the idea of a movie that is dialogue driven sounds kind of dull and uninteresting. However, it really is fun. In some ways, these films have the feel of a fun play, where you feel like you are there listening to people actually talk.

Take for instance, the Thin Man. Even though it has three shootings and at least two guys punched out, most of the fun is the clever and witty dialogue of William Powell and Myrna Loy's characters. Here is a list of some of the more memorable quotes. They seemed more fun in the middle of the movie, but you still get the idea.

So, while good movies are still being made, it is still fun to watch some films where the dialogue alone could grab you attention and it was enough to make the movie enjoyable.

And here is a list of some of our family favorites:

Arsenic and Old Lace
The Philadelphia Story
The Shop Around the Corner
Casablanca
Sabrina (the one with Bogart and Hepburn)
You Can't Take It With You (I have another (rather unflattering) story about this one. Maybe I will include it here sometime).