The Redneck Desert Dweller

Stole this one from Cat…thanks for reading… =)

1.While driving down the street, looking for an address, do you turn the radio down?
Sad to say, but yes.

2. If you could hug one person right now, who would it be?
Everyone. We all need hugs.

3. my favorite number is…
7

4. What is your favorite kind of weather?
Sunny, 80 degrees, no humidity.

5. If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is he homeless or naked?
Yes.

6. If you could travel anywhere in the world, without cost being a deciding factor where would it be?
Back home to New York to see my family…I miss them.

7. Are you a home body, or a social butterfly?
Depends on the mood. Normally I’m definitely a butterfly, but I get in moods like I’m in today, and I am a total home body today.

8. Beer, wine or liquor?
Once again, depends on the mood. Mostly beer, but I’ve been known to make friends with Mr. Daniels, Captain Morgan, and various types of rum.

9. If your partner was unable to have sex due to illness or injury, would you stay with them?
Hard question because I’ve been there, done that…and I stayed…only to have her cheat on me. But if I ever got married again, it would be yes. Absolutely.

10. Do you drink milk?
No.

11. Do you prefer apple or orange juice?
Sheesh. Can’t I feel like both? OK, OK, I’ll make a choice. OJ.

12. What’s the most you’ve ever won on a scratchie?
dunno…$40? I haven’t played those things in a LONG time.

13. Do you own any fish?
The only fish I own now are in the freezer, waiting to be eaten.

14. Who is jealous of you?
I have no idea. Braindead people?

15. How many messages are in your inbox/outbox on your cell phone?
Text messages? More than I can count.

16. When’s the last time you sent a text?
Last night.

17. Do you believe there is only one “right” religion?
Wow…finally a meme question that can be answered with scripture. James 1:27–”Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

18. What’s your favorite planet, besides this one?
My favorite planet???? Non-sequitur.

19. Do you vote for city-related issues?
Depends. Since I am a renter without kids, I tend to stay away from school board and property tax issues. Everything else? Yep.

20. Have you ever been to the Vatican?
No.

23. Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon?
This is so embarassing. No. And it’s a day trip from here.

24. Have you ever had to run for your life?
Yes. It’s amazing how much trouble you can get into just wandering around in cities that you aren’t familiar with.

25. Ever been to a family reunion?
No.

26. Can you play golf?
Don’t know. Probably not.

27. Do you prepare soup in the microwave or on the stove?
Microwave. I’m single and male.

28. If your lover cheated on you and profusely apologized, would you accept them back into your life?
No. No. No. No. No. Absolute and final deal-breaker. I’ll put up with about anything else…but that’s Bubba’s line in the sand.

29. Do you eat crab?
Yep. Every chance I get. Which for me means…about once every 2-3 years.

30. Are you the kinda person who will search the entire room for the remote?
Sometimes.

31. Is it all about YOU?
Almost never.

32. Pretend you are a really good cook: what meal would you make?
I’m a pretty decent cook. My meal…hmm….start out with some artichoke-spinach dip with freshly baked bread, and peach bellinis. Next, lemon-dill salmon with green beans almondine. A little fresh raspberry sorbet to cleanse the palate. Penne Bolognese. A simple green salad with an oriental ginger dressing. Dessert would be creme brulee and coffee.

33. Are you in debt?
Yep. Sorry to say.

34. If you could have a plane ticket to anywhere right now, where would you want it to be to?
Once again, back home to New York.

35. How often do you do laundry?
As needed.

I thought this was pretty amazing…

I took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! “Wants to make a favorable impression and be recogn…” Click here to read the rest of the results.

Why is it? Why is some hate speech punished, and some applauded? Yes, I know…it all depends on the target.

Well, Geraldo Rivera seems to be one of the people who can say stuff like this and get away with it. On page 2 of a rather complimentary piece done on Mr. Rivera, he talks about those people who he believes are “stoking anti-immigrant hysteria”, and names Michelle Malkin as one of them. Now, I think he’s full of it, but hey. It’s America, and we have freedom of speech.

However, my warm and fuzzies on freedom of speech disappear with his next statements. Here’s how it appears in the Boston Globe:

“Michelle Malkin is the most vile, hateful commentator I’ve ever met in my life,” he says. “She actually believes that neighbors should start snitching out neighbors, and we should be deporting people.
“It’s good she’s in D.C. and I’m in New York,” Rivera sneers. “I’d spit on her if I saw her.”

Uh, wait a minute. What’s with the spitting on people? And especially a mixed-race, female journalist? What in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks did she ever do to deserve to be spit on? I mean, if he wrote that he’d spit on Hillary Clinton for something she said, I believe that his career in journalism would be done like dinner. But I guess since he’s talking about a conservative columnist, everything’s ok, huh? Well, here’s what I gotta say about Geraldo. Man up, Nancy…and find someone your own size to pick on.

Michelle, I’ll be honest. I don’t read your Immigration Blog too often…I prefer to just stick to your main page. But whatever the case, Geralda was WAAAAYY off-base to say that. God bless ya, sister.

Bubba sez God bless…and hate speech is wrong. No matter what.

Well, if you live in Arizona, and you read this blog and the news, it didn’t take long for you to realize that Bubba’s church, Cornerstone, has been in the news. A lot. It would appear that our church accountant has taken a lot of money from the church. An arrest has been made, and they are going forward with prosecution. We also found out the accountant and her husband have been divorced since 1997, which is more than a little misleading because he was an elder of the church at one point, and she did pre-marital counseling.

I was more than a little shocked. And hurt. Brenda had counseled me during my marriage, and Lane was also there for me during a lot of the rough times of my divorce…not to mention one of the guys in the Bible study I attended for a long time.

I won’t bore you with a lot of details that you can read elsewhere. But there are some things that Bubba thinks you need to know. Brenda and Lane have made some big mistakes, yes….but these are the same people that have supported me through some of the toughest times of my life. And I hope that I get the chance to be there for them and their two kids. Because sometimes, kids, the story of someone’s life is much bigger than just a mugshot and a story taken at the lowest point. Lane, Brenda, and kids…if you’re reading this…Bubba loves ya. A LOT.

There are also going to be those of you that just want to rail against Christianity, and so-called “mega-churches”. Go ahead and do so…just don’t do it here. Bubba sez that’s all I got to say about that.

I ran across a website this morning that was sad, to say the least.

The folks over at A Little Leaven appear to be doing something good…pointing out hypocrisy in today’s Christian churches, so that we can get back to the business of preaching God’s word in our churches.

However, after reading a bit, it just seems that they take every marketing campaign and ridicule it. About 2 weeks ago, my church was the target because of our Bringing Sexy Back series. Since I have to leave the house in about 30 minutes and I’m not even showered yet, I’m not able to add a coherent response yet…but Bubba won’t be silent.

If you’re from that website…and you’re reading this…please know. Cornerstone is not trying to manipulate God’s word into what we believe. Are we using a gimmick to get people in church? Yep. Are they going to hear God’s word if they show up? Yep. Do we present it in a way that everyone understands? You betcha. Do we twist it to placate everyone? NO, NO, and NO. The sermons from this series are available here….check it out for yourselves.

Until next time…Bubba sez don’t mock what you don’t understand.

It is what it says. Proceed at your own risk.

Just found another Redneck blog called Born Again Redneck, which I thought was interesting because that’s what I am. I especially liked his post dealing with obesity and poverty statistics. Bubba sez check him out.

It sure is hot here. The Phoenix area just broke a record by having its 29th day this year with temps over 110 degrees. Thank God the buses here have air conditioning, just like the good Lord meant it. And the Arizona Republic is there to tell us that it could be worse. For instance, in Marble Bar, Australia, it was over 100 degrees for 162 consecutive days from October 1923 to April 1924. Well, guess you know why I don’t live in Marble Bar.

The Diamondbacks dropped their third straight to the Padres over in San Diego. They are now tied with los Padres for the lead in the National League West. C’mon boys, time to get moving. After all, my White Sox aren’t going anywhere this year…and can ESPN talk about ANYTHING besides the Yankees and Red Sox? ENOUGH!

I need to get making thank you cards for everyone that attended my birthday party. Won’t be tonight, however; I have to set up the lights at church for this weekend.

I just finished reading For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn. Shaunti spoke at our church last weekend…and I have to say…this book really nails down some of the most fundamental us boys have understanding girls. If you’re a guy, and especially if you’re married…Bubba sez get it. NOW.

There are several things I want to get sometime in the next few…well, whatever it takes: a new computer (yep, I’m gonna build it), an airline ticket back east so I can see my family, and an old beater of a car that I can pick up for really, really cheap.

Why do people complain about the heat here? Lemme tell ya somethin’….you live in a desert!!! If you don’t like the heat…MOVE! Bubba sez ’nuff said about that.

If you like cute games, you must check out orisinal.com. Nothing that’s going to addict you forever, but some really cute stuff there.

Some of you have asked about my wonderful co-worker. Well, she left a couple of comments on here, one of them not so nice. After seeing it, I went to her desk and asked if she wanted to sit down sometime and talk. The response I got was “sure, but I don’t have anything I need to say to you.” When I mentioned that it’s sad that things had to end this way, the comment I got was “oh well, sh!t happens.” I left the offer open; but as of this post, I never heard back from her. I also see that her vow to not read my blog anymore was pretty much a lie; it still gets read by at least a couple of others at work.

You know, the only reason I put that post up was because I wanted to have a face-to-face conversation with her. And I’m not really sure why. I mean, it’s not like I want to date her again, or anything like that. I guess I’m just sad that someone who I was close to apparently doesn’t like me anymore. After her post, I know I have a couple of things to apologize for, and would gladly do so if given the opportunity. But it looks like it’s just going to be one of those things that just kind of gets left hanging out there.

Can you believe that August is almost over? I can’t.

Dear Lord, please give me the strength to clean my house. It needs it…badly.

Well, that’s about it. Bubba sez God bless…and hug yer loved ones today, mmmkay?

Bubba sez….hey, y’all…check this out!

Late tonight/early tomorrow we will have a total lunar eclipse. Bring yer clan outside an’ freak ‘em out. Here in the wonderful Grand Canyon State, it starts at 1:51 am, with the moon being totally eclipsed at 2:52. Starting around 5:22 am you should start to see the moon again when it emerges from the shadow of the earth.

Bubba also sez…I’ll try to check it out…but I gotta work tomorrow!

Well, I’m back from the cool, peaceful, and relaxing Prescott Pines retreat for Singles & Others, 2007. A fun time was had by all, and Jeff didn’t have any kidney stones. If you went to the retreat, I personally thank you for coming and making this time what it was. Especially Brenda, the organizer of all this chaos…thank you so much.

We then came back to church…and it was definitely worth it. Shaunti Feldhahn came to our church to speak, and it was spectacular. She spoke about her first book, “For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men”…and all I can say is that there are some amazying truths that were discussed about some common misconceptions about how the male mind works. The one that really stuck out in my mind is the one about how fragile the male ego really is. I know that people normally see me as a hyper-sensitive male, and probably part of that is true. However, I believe that part of that is also because I let my true feelings out when I’ve been hurt by something. If a woman hurts my ego, I either tell her about it or withdraw…and I know that there is more than one person that wishes I would “grow up”. But I would rather be honest about my feelings, and work it out with that person than to just pretend everything is OK.

Well, more to come during the week. Bubba sez God bless.

Well, the news story of the day seems to be that Michael Vick has entered into some sort of plea agreement with the State of Virginia, admitting that he helped run a dogfighting operation, including buying property to house the dogs, and admitting that he had a hand in killing at least some of the dogs that were destroyed.

If you know Bubba, this ain’t sittin well with him. I do not believe dogs were put on earth by God so humans can shape them into killers, and I don’t believe that a dog should be put to death, humanely or otherwise, just because they cannot perform an athletic feat. It’s also my personal belief that anyone that enjoys seeing two dogs fight “to the death” has something wrong with their medulla oblongata.

But what really gets me going about this is the fact that Michael Vick appeared to be on top of the world. A respected athlete earning more money than people should ever be allowed to earn for playing a game, one would think that he would have no need for this type of illegal and intensely cruel activity. But, like Bubba’s momma sez, “that’s where thinkin got ya!”

Studies have shown that people that abuse animals have an incredibly high likelihood of physically abusing humans as well. If that’s the case, then anyone caught anywhere near a dogfighting operation is a potential abuser. That means the trainers, property owners, spectators, bettors, everyone.

If we have compassion and understanding, though, we know that abusers have often been abused themselves. Hopefully everyone involved will get the healing and help they need.

So, with all of this being said, Bubba has some final thoughts. Michael, and the rest of the defendants in this case, need jail time. Not 60 days in Sheriff Joe’s tents or something like that…but at least a year, if not more. Volunteer time in some no-kill shelters would be a good thing, too. And last, but not least, a lot of therapy to determine where these people have been failed to the point where they think animals killing each other for SPORT is a fun activity.

Now, I know what some of you are going to say. What about hunters? What about National Geographic films showing lions hunting down gazelles? Well, the hunters that I know use the animals for food, so it isn’t just sport. And the lions and gazelles is just part of the survival instinct of animals, and not just for fun and games. There is a huge difference between gathering food, and killing something just for the sake of watching it die.

Bubba sez say a prayer for Michael and his misguided cronies…that somehow they experience healing through all of this. And if you think dogfighting is fun…get some help, k? God bless y’all.