If you'd like to get a hold of me, feel free to e-mail me at havesomesoup(at)hotmail(dot)com.


I'm more reliable there.

29/33.


Intelligence Test

That's right, 27 out of 33. And I'm just getting warmed up.


Intelligence Test

Umm... maybe Spanish should be a secondary concern.

Ok, TV played a semi-prominent role in my childhood as is true for many of my friends and, thus, there are a lot of emotions and pleasant memories tied to certain shows. Unfortunately, I believe that this is no longer true for many of today's youth. Today's children's programming appears very shallow, teaches nothing, and seems poorly thought out. What happened?

Well, thanks to the ever-amazing YouTube, I've been able to locate some shows which I haven't seen in 10-15+ years and take a wonderful trip back in time. Please - do join me.

What I find most fascinating is my attachment to the theme songs of these shows. I haven't heard them in years but they've never quite left me. And the first few notes send me racing back to the days of my youth, lying on the carpet and glued to the TV. Here I offer a brief smattering of my youthful delight. Let me know if you were raised on these shows or do tell which ones won your attention.



Today's Special
I found this online a while back but when I did I wished again that I, too, had a magic hat.

---

Adventures of the Little Koala
This first notes of this theme immediately take me back. Thanks, Nickelodeon.



and why not an actual episode of the Little Koala?

---

David the Gnome
This show is beyond cool in my eyes. Full of adventure, the theme song is absolutely inspiring.

---

Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ok, I have always loved this show and I've secretly been in love with the theme song since I heard it. I have never admitted that because I thought the song was too girly to love with the children's choir and all; but no longer - I will say I love the song and dream of adventure whenever I hear it.



Pt. 2 (Can't leave you hanging)

---

Happy watching.

...And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.


And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

This story just makes me sad.




KATY, Texas (AP) -- A man unhappy with an Islamic association's plans to build a mosque next to his property has staged pig races as a protest during afternoon prayers.

Craig Baker, 46, sold merchandise and grilled sausages Friday for about 100 people who showed up in heavy rain. He insisted he wasn't trying to offend anyone with the pigs, which are forbidden from the Muslim diet.

"I am just defending my rights and my property," Baker said. "They totally disrespected me and my family."

Muslims don't hate pigs, they just don't eat them, said engineer Kamel Fotouh, president of the 500-member Katy Islamic Association in this Houston suburb.

"I don't care if he races, roasts or slaughters pigs," said Yousef Allam, a spokesman for the group.

The dispute began when the association asked Baker to remove his cattle from its newly bought land. The association plans to build a mosque, community center, athletic facilities and a school.

Baker agreed to move his cattle but thought the Muslims also wanted him off the land his family has lived on for more than 100 years.

Earlier this month, Baker conceded that the Muslims probably aren't after his land, but he said he had to go through with the pig races because "I would be like a total idiot if I didn't. I'd be the laughingstock now because I've gone too far."

All the same, Baker plans to continue the weekly pig races until interest dwindles.

The association never meant to imply it wanted Baker to move, Allam said.

"If we somehow communicated that to him, then we apologize," he said.

Resident Susan Canavespe said the pig racing wasn't mean-spirited -- "It's just Texas-spirited."
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


"It's just Texas-spirited"

::sigh::

Not much can be said to express my unending disappointment in ourselves.

The following is taken from here. I only read it and found it entertaining.



With his decision to publish a hypothetical account of his ex-wife's murder entitled If I Did It, O.J. Simpson has become the real life embodiment of the narrator from ..The Tell-Tale Heart.. (if the narrator from "The Tell-Tale Heart" had starred in the Naked Gun trilogy). Because we know it's hard work to be that self-incriminating, we've gone ahead and given O.J. titles for his next 16 books about hypothetically committing murder.



I Didn't Not Not Kill Nobody


If There Was Hidden Evidence The Cops Didn't Find, Here..s Where It Would Be


Okay, It Was Me. Just Kidding!


Gentle Backrubs and 101 Other Activities You Can Do With Your Ex-Wife Besides Brutally Killing Her


I Did It (It = Not Commit Murder)


Arrest Me, I'm Guilty... Of Nothing


The Day I Scored Four Touchdowns in One Game and Didn't Kill My Ex-Wife


I'm Only a Murderer On Opposite Day


I Killed My Ex-Wife and Her Friend In A Jealous Rage..Not!


If I Murdered Two People And Wrote A Book About It, This Would Be It


Why I Did What I Didn't Do


'I Wish I Could Go Back In Time And Not Commit Murder.' That's What I'd Be Saying If I Did It.


I Ruined My Life When I Didn't Kill Anyone That Day


The Football Player Who Killed His Ex-Wife - A Fictional Novel by O.J. Simpson


There Was Blood Everywhere: My Life as an EMT Trainee


I Murdered 'Em (Doing Stand-Up. [Not that Thing About My Ex-Wife.])

Ok, I know it's a little early but I've decided what I want for Christmas. Somebody make note of this!




Ahh, can "life" get any "better"?




Merry Christmas.


P.S. This isn't even a joke

Derek Webb is giving away his latest album, Mockingbird, free of charge from Sept. 1 thru Dec. 1. You can check out FreeDerekWebb and get the album. It's not just streaming on his site; you download it and own it free of charge.


Get it.
It's free.
It's Derek Webb.


www.freederekwebb.com

During my junior year in high school, I had a teacher named Nancy Graves who taught U.S. History. I think I had her class in the morning. Well, for whatever reason, U.S. History was not my forte that semester - Ms. Graves repeatedly made comments on my class work which pointed out my incompetence. One day, I decided to compile some of the comments she left for me just to truly comprehend the progress I was making in the subject.

I've been going through some old boxes of papers here at home and guess what I found: "Sending Me to the 'Grave:' Self Esteem Boosters by Nancy Graves." The comments listed below are from homework assignments, quizzes, test questions, and essays. Enjoy.


Assignment: "Josh - This is very weak. Very little outside information and you have no clear argument."
"What are you talking about here?"

Test Thesis: "Josh - I have absolutely no clue what this sentence means: Do you??"
"Josh - Where is an answer to the question!!?"

Quiz: "Josh - Did you read this??"

Quiz: "Josh - somewhere in here I think you have said something related to the article!!"

Assignment: "Josh - This is much better - but you don't make connections from one paragraph to the next. There is no clear path through your argument."

Quiz: "Did you read the chapter?"

Assignment: "Weak!!"
"No clear thesis!"
"Too many useless words!!"
"I don't understand"
"Could be a good point"
"Josh - This is very confusing"
"JOSH!" (She scratched out a whole paragraph)
"Josh - you are undoing your own thesis"
"You are listing documents - not using them"

Quiz: "NO!!!!!"

Essay: "Not much here"

Test Thesis: "What does this say?"
"Josh - This does not meet the needs of an intro paragraph. You do have a thesis - but you acknowledge no shades of gray - and I, the reader, have no idea what you are going to use as evidence for your thesis."

Assignment: "Josh - you need a much more effective first paragraph!"
"No directions to the reader"
"No point in summarizing documents. We all know what they say!!" (She crossed out a paragraph)
"This paragraph is vague - I'm not sure what the topic is!!"

Essay: "I'm not sure what your point of view was in this response."
"??"
"??"

Essay: "Tuchman argues Wilson found it unacceptable???"
"Poorly phrased!!!"

Quiz: "Josh - To note that Plessy case is an accomplishment in black struggle for equality indicates a total lack of knowledge on this subject!!! :( (she actually drew a sad face on my quiz)

Essay: "What does this mean?"

Quiz: "Good job on extra credit!" (I got a 5 on the quiz)

Quiz: "This does not look like improvement to me!"




Now, allow me to put an end to any questions you may now have: I have graduated from college. Take that, Ms. Graves.


:::cue 'Pomp & Circumstance':::

I admit: I'm addicted to those banner-ad games. You know the ones - "Knock out Bush" or "Knockout Osama" or "Defeat the Thugs" or "Flick the Crumb Past the Mice into the Can" or who can forget "Get Bush to Lift Weights Faster than Arnold"? They're all great.

I am, however, especially fond of this one:




It never gets old. And I have about 18 new ringtones.