out of the blue

First watch this video that Aaron Brown posted:

Apparently John McCain has some really strange brain-thoughts. Or spatters. Or fizzlings.

He thinks that America is the political manifestation of Christ's teachings. Does anyone else find that hard to swallow? Especially Christians, I would think.

Why does he think that his faith is "of better spiritual guidance" than (I presume) the other candidates? Just because he's a God-fearing Republican? Or is that merely a demonstration of his personal hubris?

I really wonder what's going on in the back of his head when he talks about the immigrants. Perhaps it's just my bias, but it feels like he wants to demand that they convert to Christianity, which is obviously superior.

Worst of all, he claims that the number-one issue is the candidate's commitment to the Judeo-Christian tradition. I should hope that their ability to weigh the advice of experts and make rational decisions concerning the future of the country is a little higher on most candidate's lists.

At least Obama stands for something. McCain wants to be president because he thinks he's godly. And I'm not sure whether he means "god-fearing" or "god-like".

I don't know whether anyone except Ann will truly understand this, but there's something wonderful about making yourself a birthday dinner.

I marinated the pork this morning in soy sauce, sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, bird's-eye chili peppers and garlic. I fried the pork with baby corn, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, ginger and more garlic. I fried the noodles with sesame oil. Delicious. I think I've perfected another dish.

I'm in a weird musical mood right now. I have songs floating around in my head. I'll hear one song for a few seconds, then switch to another, and another, and I can't seem to decide on anything to listen to. They can't keep my interest long enough. Sultans of Swing, Lay Down Your Weary Head, Things Have Changed, and Black Heart are some of the songs swirling around.

The adjectives apply to my last test and myself, respectively. I'm completely done with the semester. Actually, I was finished yesterday at 4:40, but I didn't tell you.

I may be around more for a few days. My family arrives on the 10th, and we start traveling around Europe on the 13th (Friday, incidentally). I somehow doubt I'll post much during the three-week trip. There will be pictures and stories when I get back to the States late on the 27th.

Perhaps a more thoughtful entry tomorrow or Friday.

Ever since I started keeping track of the books I read, I've counted every month to see how many I read. I have averaged between 10 and 11 since I started in April 2006. But each month I feel pushed to read more, simply because of my books page.

So this month I got to a great start. I was at 12 books by the 10th. That's more than my monthly average, before a third of the month was over. I felt giddy with accomplishment. I thought to myself, "That was easy! I bet I could read a book a day this month."

So I did.

The list….