Bug's Bleat - - Good, Easy New Year's Resolutions

Volume 13, Issue 52 Friday, December 30, 2011

Hello All,

Happy New Year Y’all.
~~~~~
We’re settling into our new home with only about 20 boxes still to unpack. Hopefully my laptop and the missing chamber pot is in one of them.

Though only 300 ft2 larger than our old home, we have tons more closet and cabinet space. However the “open” concept has robbed us of some walls that would have been used to display photos and such so we’ll probably have to rotate them every few months.

Annette has “given” me the top of the chest of drawers in the bedroom to display my things (such as old cameras, train souvenirs, etc.)

Strangely, this home has far fewer windows than our old home but, due to the placement of the ones we have, the house is brighter and airier. Annette commented that we are closer to the out doors than before. This is probably due to the large french doors leading onto the patio that gives us ready outside access. Our previous home required a trip down stairs to get into the outdoors.

Our neighbors are great and, so far, my only problem is the weekly race to get to my trash can before my neighbor brings it back to our garage after it’s emptied.

If you have time, feel free to stop by. We’d really like the opportunity to show you our new home. We’re normally open from 9 am to 9 pm each day.
~~~~~
It’s been a sobering year for the class of ‘69 as we’ve begun to lose members from heart disease and other causes. I was thinking about the folks no longer with us when a documentary about the National Film Registry showed on PBS. It got me thinking about other folks that affected our lives such as W.P. Florence. Working for him taught me the importance of quality and dependability as well as much about entertainment and it’s meaning.

When Mr. Florence built the Cameo Theater, the new trend was to have glass doors, like the newly rebuilt Chatterbox did. But he opted to stay with the “old fashioned” solid wood doors. Because he wanted people to leave the world behind when they entered the theater.

And I still think that the best movies take us out of our lives and put us into another world. I guess that’s why I don’t like sad or depressing movies. There’s enough of that in the world we live in. I like movies that lift me up, show me the beauty of the world and the possibility of good in our lives.

But not everyone agrees with me and that’s o.k. In the end, it’s the way a movie affects you that draws you to it. Whether it’s an action thriller or a “chick flick.”

Each year since 1989, the Librarian of Congress has named 25 films to the National Film Registry that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant. "These films are selected because of their enduring significance to American culture."
[http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2011/11-240.html]
Films Selected to the 2011 National Film Registry include:

Allures (1961)
Bambi (1942)
The Big Heat (1953)
A Computer Animated Hand (1972)
Crisis: Behind A Presidential Commitment (1963)
The Cry of the Children (1912)
A Cure for Pokeritis (1912)
El Mariachi (1992)
Faces (1968)
Fake Fruit Factory (1986)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Growing Up Female (1971)
Hester Street (1975)
I, an Actress (1977)
The Iron Horse (1924)
The Kid (1921)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
The Negro Soldier (1944)
Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies (1930s-40s)
Norma Rae (1979)
Porgy and Bess (1959)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Stand and Deliver (1988)
Twentieth Century (1934)
War of the Worlds (1953)
The list of Films Selected to The National Film Registry, 1989-2010 (550 films) can be viewed at: [http://www.loc.gov/film/titles.html]
~~~~~
Some of you know our Friends Brandt and Pam Prince, missionaries to the Congo. They have three sons and have just adopted a baby girl. Unlike me, they love living in primitive conditions, in Africa. Their love and dedication never cease to amaze me. I'm sharing some of Pam's posts about their struggle to adopt this child.
~~~
Pamela Prince - A few days ago, I asked for prayer regarding a big decision we had to make. Yesterday we took in a little 3 month old baby girl whose mother died of Aids and her father abandoned her. She is precious to us and we are trusting God for all the steps ahead of us in this new venture. Thanks for your prayers.

Pamela Prince - Have you ever seen the movie Spy Kids? Where the parents use their daughter's extremely long name as their password- Austin says that's what our baby will be like. We have a name finally: Shukuru Juliana Marie Prince! That's not too long is it?

Pamela Prince - I received a wonderful package today from some awesome missionary ladies in Kigoma, Tanzania full of fun things for Juliana! Thanks to Karen Rasmussen, Nicola Evans, Gina Johnson, Ruth Johnson, Tim Barb Kelly, and I don't know who else was in on that but we appreciate it very much!!!! Love you all!

Pamela Prince - I think I'm going to have to learn to drink coffee if baby Juliana doesn't let me sleep more! I can barely make it through the day I'm so tired!

Pamela Prince - The DNA test I need for Juliana is not available in this country so now I have to get special court permission to take her out of the country so we can test her in Kigoma. Praying for favor and for QUICK action in a SLOW- MOVING country!

Pamela Prince - Have gone to court the last two days to be told, Come back tomorrow! It's interesting to me that the court reporter writes everything down (no computer or typewriter to help him keep up) and he's completely the worst cross-eyed man I've ever seen. I have no idea how he can see to read or write and he's the court reporter!

Pamela Prince - After 15 days of going back and forth to government offices and countless hours of waiting and pushing and fighting, I have the last document that is required for our court session tomorrow morning at 9. I am expecting the adoption to be finalized tomorrow. I need to be able to travel with Juliana to a doctor in Tanzania, that's why everything has been so rushed. But we're close to the end now! Prayers please!

Pamela Prince - Pray. Push. Fight. Pull. Pray harder. Threaten. Beg. Smile. Plead. Scream. Cry. Wait. Pray some more. Stand. And then it happened! Today in court, the judges declared Juliana to be ours! That may actually be a record: 16 days from start to finish for an adoption to take place. Of course that's only on the Congo side. I think I'm gonna rest awhile before I even start the American side of things. But she's ours! Praise God!

Pamela Prince - I hate traveling in Congo. We get all ready and packed up and then they say, "oh it will be tomorrow" I HATE BOATS AND CARGO SHIPS for a million reasons but especially when they don't stick to a schedule.

(NOTE: She made it across the lake to have the baby tested. Now she's trying to get back home.)

Pamela Prince - Still stuck in Kigoma, waiting on a ship to take me home. So today I took Juliana swimming for the first time! She liked it and so did I. It was very refreshing in this intense heat.
~
The ship she's talking about is to take her from Tanzania, back across Lake Tangayika to their home in the Congo.
~~~~~
The Good, Clean Funnies List gcfl-info@gcfl.net

Good, Easy New Year's Resolutions

Just for today, I will not sit in my living room all day in my nightdress. Instead, I will move my computer into the bedroom.

I will not bore my boss by with the same excuse for taking leaves. I will think of some more excuses.

I will do less laundry and use more deodorant.

I will avoid taking a bath whenever possible and conserve more water.

I will give up chocolates totally. 100%. Completely. Honestly....

I will try to figure out why I *really* need nine e-mail addresses.

I will stop sending e-mails to my wife (husband).

I resolve to work with neglected children -- my own.

I will stop sending e-mail, ICQ, and Instant Messages while on the phone at the same time with the same person.

I will spend less than one hour a day on the Internet. This, of course, will be hard to estimate since I'm not a clock watcher.

I will read the manual ... just as soon as I can find it.

I will think of a password other than "password."

I will not tell the same story at every get together.

I won't worry so much.

I will cut my hair.

I will grow my hair.

I will be more imaginative.

I will not ring the stewardess button on airplanes just to get her phone number.
--
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Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List A cheerful heart is good medicine... (Prov 17:22a) Mail address: GCFL, Box 100, Harvest, AL 35749, USA

Go to http://www.gcfl.net/mlfrontend.php to change your subscription options or unsubscribe.

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The latest GCFL funny can always be found on the web at http://www.gcfl.net/latest.php
~~~~~
"Laugh whenever you can and cry if you need to." __ "Bug"
"I read the end of the book. We win!" __ "Bug"
"We may not be able to cure the world, but we don't have to make it sicker." __ "Bug"
"There just ain't enough fingers for all the holes in the dike." _ _ "Bug"
"It's no big deal doing what God tells you to do. A big deal would be NOT doing what God tells you to do. Just ask Jonah." _ _ Paul Troquille
“Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.” Knowledge is power. _ Francis Bacon
"The problem is here and now. The time for talk is past. The time for action is now."
Comments on the first Earth Day _ James F. McClellan via John "Fuzzy" Thurman
~~~~~
Hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Again, thanks to all our contributors this week.
"Remember Pearl Harbor? Remember 9/11!" __"Bug"
God bless and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
God is Good and Faithful CU 73 IC JFM CSP NREMT_I KC5HII

P. S. If you'd like to be added to the distribution, just drop us E_mail at kc5hii@suddenlink.net
. We offer "Da Bleat" as text, a "Blog" and as a newsletter with pictures in Word and PDF format. The latest issue is usually updated sometime Saturday. For the "Blog" version just go to one of the several addresses on the web. For the latest issue, go to http://www.bugsbleat.blogspot.com. Older issues can be found at http://www.bugsbleat_q__.blogspot.com, where _ is the quarter (1, 2, 3, or 4) and __ is the year (05, 06, 07, 08 or 09). We also have a site [http://bugsbleatphotos.blogspot.com/] where we post photos that I like.
Let us hear from you if we can switch you over to the "Word" or "PDF" version of "Da Bleat".
If you'd prefer to read "Da Blog" version, just drop us a note at kc5hii@suddenlink.net and we'll switch you from e:mail delivery to "Da Bleat" Blog. We appreciate your encouragement. We also appreciate your communication when you desire to be taken off our mail list. If you are on this mail list by mistake or do not wish to receive "Da Bleat," please reply back and tell us to discontinue service to you. This email was scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2011 before it was sent.
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Bug's Bleat - - GCF: New Car

Volume 11, Issue 50 Friday, December 11, 2009

Hello All,

Katie McWilliams, one of our FAVORITE young people, is part of a group of Oral Roberts University students who will be going to Colombia in March of 2010 for a International Community Development trip in the coastal city of Cartagena. If you would like to donate please go to missions.oru.edu. On the left side of the page, under the MISSIONS section there is a link to donate. Please specify COLOMBIA. Thank you so much for your support! Together, we go!
~~~~~
I tripped and fell today. My right eye doesn't hurt. Pretty much everything else hurts, especially left wrist and ribs. Annette is pouring on TLC. However, since I can’t use my left hand, this will be an abbreviated “Bleat.”
~~~~~
You’re missing a feast for the mind and spirit if your not reading Jimmy’s blog [http://jhmalone2.wordpress.com/]
~~~~~
DarynKagan.com
Don't worry. I'm not turning into some crazy cat lady. The animal leg count around here remains at 7!

Meet The Newest Family Member: Daryn's 3-Legged Foster Cat
Sure had been awfully empty around here since Tripod the 3-Legged Wonder Cat passed away in July. Funny thing happened...another 3-legged cat has found her way to my home. Come meet her.
Watch Video [http://darynkagan.demo.nimbussoftware.com/animals/stories/an_091211_lilypisa.html]
~~~~~
America is not at war. The military is at war. - - America is at the mall, or watching the movie stars.
~~~~~
SOMETHING COOL

If you go to [www.LetsSayThanks.com] you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.

Also, Since December 2002, [http://www.give2thetroops.org/] has supported approximately ONE MILLION deployed U.S. troops with loving care packages and letters from all over the nation. This was made possible only with the help of tens of thousands of generous and patriotic friends in the U.S. and abroad. To date, they’ve sent more than 96,000 enormous boxes and more than 20 million letters and cards from caring citizens. This is the least we can do to show our troops how much we care about them. Our troops need to know that we support and appreciate the sacrifices they make for us, our families, and our future. This is about giving back to those who give all.

We can never say enough thank you's.

Thanks for taking to time to support our military!

Best Wishes, Happy Thanksgiving and
Have a Very Merry Christmas,
John E. De Armond
( Little John )
U.S. Army Veteran ( This We'll Defend )
Life Member American Legion Post 136
American Legion Rider Post 136
Life Member Disabled American Veterans
Paralyzed Veterans of America
~~~~~
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The D. R. Congo

Dear Friends and Family

Hello from the battlefront!

In many ways, the Christian life can be compared to a battle. We know that Jesus won the war for us but many times the small battles we fight can still seem challenging. Well, that’s been our life here lately.

We’ve been battling snakes since moving in this house- 15 of them were cobras! One of them actually climbed up Brandt’s leg to his chest, went across his chest and down the other leg! He said he squealed like a girl! I said, I didn’t blame him one bit! I do thank the Lord that even in the midst of all these snakes, we have all been protected and no one has been bitten.
Another battle that we have been fighting was for our health. Since July the electricity and running water to our town has been cut off. Many people have gotten cholera and dysentery and died. Our whole family actually got food poisoning but in the midst of that battle we saw God as our Healer. He restored our health.

A big battle I have been fighting is for my joy. I tell you, life is hard without electricity and even harder without running water. I spent most of the first month just crying over our situation but I am thankful that I have overcome and gotten my joy back!

Another battle we face is of course a spiritual battle. But in that too, Christ gives us the victory! My evangelism students and I have been going door to door evangelizing every week. Many people have given their lives to Jesus! The best part is the students are starting to catch a vision for personal evangelism and will continue to win souls for life!

In some battles, we know it’s not our battle but the Lord’s. We let Him fight it for us. In other battles, we are called upon to fight. For this battle of living without electricity we originally thought it would be a short lived crisis but now we understand it is going to take a while to fix whatever is wrong. We are in the process of looking at alternative energy sources. Because our area has a lot of wind, we think a windmill would help us to acquire enough electricity to at least run a fridge and some computers for home school. We will need a windmill and several large batteries to run an inverter which would supply us with electricity. If you would like to give a special offering toward this, we would greatly appreciate it. The total cost is around $4000. Please mark your offering for Prince windmill so it will go to the right place.

Thank you so very much for all of you who give so generously to us.
For financial support:
Please make checks payable to AMA and mail to:

P.O. box 22007
Little Rock, AR 72221

Write PRINCE on the memo line.

Joyfully,
Brandt, Pam, Austin, Ty & Ben . . . [http://masters-hands.blogspot.com/]
~~~~~
The latest from Michael Yon, the foremost “milnews” blogger on the web.
~
Greetings,

It's turning cold in Afghanistan. The 2009 fighting season has more or less ended, though we can expect to see reduced fighting until probably March or April. Spring Break in the United States will be Spring Offensive here. Though it's December, our commanders already are talking about Springtime and how to hurt the Taliban while speeding development. Likely the war will reach an all-time peak during 2010. This could be a very bad year for the Taliban.

President Obama's decision to send more troops is popular among the troops here. And for the first time I see a real fighting chance emerging. Though sharply increased fighting should be expected, there are cracks in the Taliban. They are not invincible and we can beat them, and finally I believe we probably actually will. (Touch wood, and pass the ammo...)

A short dispatch is up. [http://www.michaelyon-online.com/first-december-report-from-afghanistan.htm]

Very Respectfully,

Your Writer,
Michael Yon

PS Please sign up for my Twitter.com updates at "Michael_Yon" [http://twitter.com/Michael_Yon] (not Michael Yon).

Http://www.michaelyon_online.com/index.php
~~~~~
We’ve Watched:
taking chance [9.7] Starring Kevin bacon
~~~~~
We’ve recently read and recommend: books by Susan moon
~~~~~
http://www.shelfari.com
http://www.shelfari.com/bugsbleat/shelf
~~~~~
Photos on the front of this weeks “Bleat” include the boys on our train trip.
~~~~~
We’ve now got several addresses on the web for "Da Bleat." For the latest issue, go to http://www.bugsbleat.blogspot.com. Last quarter’s issues can be seen at http://www.bugsbleat1q09.blogspot.com.
Our photos are posted at http://www.bugsbleatphotos.blogspot.com.
If you want to see photos of Last April’s train wreck in Magnolia, go to http://www.bugsbleattw.blogspot.com/
~~~~~
Feel free to share the "Bleat" with any and all. That's why we publish it.
~~~~~
Dr. Pat Antoon’s Address:
Pat Antoon 06669-010
Federal Prison Camp
P.O. Box 9300
Texarkana, TX 75505
Be sure and keep him in your prayers.
~~~~~
BreakPoint
Flirting with Danger
New Moon
By Chuck Colson
December 11, 2009

The Twilight series of novels—and now the movies—are wildly popular with teenage girls. And that’s a shame. I’ll tell you why.

You may remember that last year, Mark Earley on BreakPoint reviewed the film Twilight, which was all the rage. Now there’s a Twilight sequel, which is drawing millions to the box office.

I can’t tell you to just go back and read that earlier review because New Moon, the second entry in the series, has a brand-new set of disturbing and possibly even dangerous messages for young girls.

If the story in Twilight was a textbook case of an unhealthy relationship, New Moon is a study in how not to break up. At the beginning, the vampire Edward leaves town with his family, leaving behind his teenage girlfriend, Bella, for her own protection.

Bella responds by going nearly catatonic for three months, withdrawing from family, friends, and classmates. From there, she goes steadily downhill.

Bella discovers that every time she does something dangerous, she has a vision of Edward scolding her. So she proceeds to go for a motorcycle ride with a biker she meets on the street. She tries driving a motorcycle herself with no instruction, thus resulting in a bad accident. And finally, she nearly drowns herself while cliff jumping in a lonely spot.

Do I even need to point out what’s wrong with this picture?

In fact, both Bella and Edward show an appalling disregard for their own lives, not to mention for the way their actions might affect others. Edward romanticizes the idea of suicide, repeatedly stating his determination to kill himself if anything bad ever happens to Bella, and telling her, “You’re my only reason to stay alive.”

Bella herself has an abnormal fear of aging, longing to remain eternally young like Edward. She’s so afraid of growing old that she panics on her 18th birthday. And she doesn’t care that becoming a vampire might deprive her of her own soul; instead, she tells Edward, “Take it, I don’t want it.”

My colleague Molly Wyer has written an excellent study guide on Twilight, which you can find at BreakPoint.org. She writes that “even though Bella knows that Edward is...constantly tempted to drink her blood, she does not pull back from the danger. Instead, this terrifying possibility seems almost to add an edge of excitement and danger to their relationship. While Edward’s vampiric attraction to blood is clearly wrong...Bella wants to become a vampire as well. She longs for what is forbidden.”

Yet another troubling aspect of the story centers on Jacob, a rival for Bella’s affections. New Moon reveals that Jacob is a werewolf, meaning that, just like Edward, he could seriously endanger Bella if he ever lost control of himself for a moment.

Essentially, this means Bella has to spend her life walking on eggshells around both of her romantic interests, not daring to make either one of them upset.

Do we really want to be presenting what looks like a classic abuse victim as a role model for young girls?

If your kids are at even remotely interested in the Twilight craze, or if they read about it or get involved with their friends, you need to sit them down and talk to them about some of these issues. Teenagers swept off their feet by New Moon need to know that in real life, danger isn’t romantic or glamorous.

It’s just plain dangerous.

Copyright © 2009 Prison Fellowship. All Rights Reserved _ _ http://www.breakpoint.org/
~
Residents of Columbia County, Arkansas are represented in Congress by:
Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D_ AR)
Phone 202_224_4843
FAX 202_228_1371
http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
~
Senator Mark Pryor (D_ AR)
Phone 202_224_2353
FAX 202_228_0908
http://pryor.senate.gov/contact/
~
Representative Michael A. Ross (D _ 04)
Phone 202_225_3772
FAX 202_225_1314
http://ross.house.gov/?sectionid=77§iontree=7677
Other states congresspersons can be found at: [http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/]
~~~~~
Words of the Day:
nonplus: to render utterly perplexed; puzzle completely.
bonhomie: a pleasant and easy manner.
fatuous: inanely foolish; stupid; also, illusory.
solicitous: manifesting, expressing, or full of care or concern.
ratiocination: the process of reasoning.
cogitate: to think; to ponder.
recalcitrant: stubbornly resistant to and defiant of authority or restraint.
from http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/
~~~~~
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them." - Andy Rooney

"Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me. It is an uncomfortable doctrine which the true ethics whisper into my ear. You are happy, they say; therefore you are called upon to give much." - Albert Schweitzer

"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it." - George Orwell

"A time will come when a politician who has wilfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own." - H.G. Wells

"Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized." - A. Eustace Haydon

"The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober." - William Butler Yeats

"Nothing great has been and nothing great can be accomplished without passion. It is only a dead, too often, indeed, a hypocritical moralizing which inveighs against the form of passion as such." - Georg Hegel
~~~~~
BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS
http://breakingchristiannews.com/

An Iranian Muslim Couple Comes to Christ
Aimee Herd (Dec 7, 2009 )
They came wanting to say their Islamic prayers, and ended up praying to Jesus for salvation!
...Read Full Story [http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=7380]

Steven Curtis Chapman Shares Hope for the Hurting from Out of His Own Grief
Aimee Herd (Dec 8, 2009 )
"God's purposes and plans for our lives are good. If it's not true, I better stop singing right now and shut down and never sing or say another word. That's what God's Word says. We don't get to pick and choose the parts we like. It's either all true or it's all bogus. I believe it's true." –Steven C. Chapman

...Read Full Story [http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=7385]

310 2nd Ave SE
Albany, Oregon 97321
541_928_2642
E_mail editor@breakingchristiannews.com
US Orders: 1_866_358_7426
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GCF: New Car

A husband, the owner of a new car, was somewhat reluctant to allow his wife to drive his prize possession. even to the Supermarket which was a few blocks from the house. After she insisted, he finally relented, cautioning her as she departed, "Remember, if you have an accident, the newspaper will print your age!"
_ _______________________________ _
(((\ \>|_/ )___________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / The reason most people \ \_/ ////
\ / play golf is to wear clothes \ /
\ _/ they would not be caught \_ /
/ / dead in otherwise. \ \
_ ____________________________ _
/ )| Thomas S. Ellsworth |( \
/ / | tellswor@kcbx.net | \ \
_( (_ | http://www.kcbx.net/~tellswor | _) )_
(((\ \>|_/ )___________________( \_| ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Bridal Panic

The day after a young couple had returned from their honeymoon, the bride called her mother in a panic.
"What's the matter, dear? Was the honeymoon dreadful?"
"No, but oh, Mama! As soon as we got home, he started using the most horrible language! Horrible four-letter words!"
"Darling, shh," said her mother. "Calm down and tell me what he said that was so awful."
"Oh, Mama, it's so embarrassing," cried the still sobbing bride. "He said words like COOK, IRON, WASH, DUST!"

(_:][:_)

_=+=_
Rate this funny at http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny060113
Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List A cheerful heart is good medicine... (Prov 17:22a) Mail address: GCFL, Box 100, Harvest, AL 35749, USA
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