Conservative vs. Liberal - an illustration...

Read this article by Lloyd Marcus.  

Makes me think of the movie 300 where the hunchback is selling out the Spartan army to the Persian king.  The Persian king, Xerxes, is offering the hunchback all the pleasures of the senses, if he will divulge the secret passage to defeat the Spartan army.  

Xerxes says (my paraphrase), "Leonidas -the Spartan king- asked you to stand, all I require is that you kneel."

I hope that we do not kneel before our politicians who offer us a better way of life (in their eyes) if we will just let them take care of us. 

Surprised by Hope...

N.T. Wright says (at the risk of gross oversimplification)  there are two quite different ways of looking at the future of the world.  

" The first position is the myth of progress.  Many people, particularly politicians and secular commentators in the press and elsewhere, still live by this myth, appeal to it, and encourage us to believe it. Indeed (if I may digress for a moment), the demise of serious political discourse today consists not least in this, that the politicians are still trying to whip up enthusiasm for their versions of this myth - it's the only discourse they know, poor things - while the rest of us have moved on...  That is why the relentlessly modernist and progressivist projects that the politicians feel obliged to offer us ("vote for us and things will get better!") have to be dressed up with the relentlessly postmodernist techniques of spin and hype: in the absence of real hope, all that is left is feelings.  Persuasion will not work because we're never going to believe it. What we appear to need, and therefore what people give us, is entertainment.  As a journalist said recently, our politicians demand to be treated like rock stars while our rock stars are pretending to be politicians.  Sorting out this mess-which the Christian hope, despite current opinion, is well suited to do-should mean, among many other things, a renewal of genuine political discourse, which God knows we badly need."

Page 83 of "Surprised by Hope".

Let the discourse begin...or continue...

 

Local...

Every town can boast about something whether the restaurants, sports teams, scenery, weather, etc.  Long Island is made up of many towns that have a different flavor and feel.  This weekend we went to a local brewery in Patchogue called Blue Point Brewing Company.  We went on a tour and learned how they brew their different varieties of beer.  Whenever I am in a new bar I always try the local beer on draught.  Blue Point is by far (in my limited tasting experience) the best I have tasted so far.  My favorite is called a black and blue - they take oatmeal stout and mix it with blueberry ale.  Amazing.  In fact, I'm drinking one right now.

Let me know if you have a favorite local beer.

Another local favorite, for breakfast, is Toast Coffee House in Port Jefferson.  This place has ruined breakfast at most other places because nothing really compares.  I recommend the Hawaiian Quesadilla and the Good Burrito.  Laura always gets the French toast or pancake special of the day - Today was Apple Pie Pancakes (she housed them).  Toast also serves tappas on the weekends that I have not tried yet but will sometime soon.  Along with a great breakfast, Port Jefferson offers an historic downtown to walk and a ferry to Connecticut.  

Products...

A year ago you would never have been able to get me to part with my Birkenstock sandals.  I have consistently worn (through) a pair for the past eleven years.  Last September blasphemy came into my house when Laura purchased me a pair of Sanuks.  And that is all she wrote.

Recently I updated my wardrobe with clothes from a store called Nau.  I learned about Nau from an outdoor magazine.  Jack Johnson was on the cover so I picked it up and found a list of environmentally friendly stores and products - Nau was one of the featured stores.  Buying clothes online is a little odd because it takes some guessing as to whether the clothes will look good and fit right.  I took the risk and was very pleased.  The clothes are pricey but hopefully worth it.

For Christmas my parents bought us a Bunn coffee maker.  It is awesome because it brews coffee in 3 minutes and supposedly it makes really good coffee.  I'm not a coffee connoisseur quite yet.  I used to load up on the cream and sugar or flavored creamers.  Now I've been drinking it black mostly because Laura does and I can't be asking for cream and sugar when my wife is drinking it black.  I haven't had cream in my coffee for at least 6 months.  

Whole Foods has great coffee.  I prefer them to Starbucks.  At home we grind our own and brew it in the Bunn.  Trader Joes has good coffee and it is very affordable.  I just started getting Boca Java sent to me.  I have to recommend the flavor Surfin' Safari.  Typically flavored coffee is just a treat for me and this is one has an aroma that overwhelms the senses.