I recently heard a radio interview with Dr. Demento, and this song was mentioned:
It still cracks me up! Should I admit that I get the nerdy references? And I totally forgot Donny Osmond acts as Yankovic’s back-up dancer. Classic.
My high school yearbooks included a cool feature: a “Year in Review” section in the back, outlining national news stories in various fields. I haven’t pulled those yearbooks out of the basement in quite awhile, but I always loved how they kept everyday high school life in context.
I’d occasionally like to do something similar here on the blog. I sometimes need the reminder to look outside my day-to-day experiences to the bigger context of things happening in this world.
- 7.0-magnitude earthquake hits Haiti on January 12 devastating an already severely impoverished nation and ranking as the 6th deadliest earthquake in history
- Vancouver successfully hosts 2010 Winter Olympic Games
- Canada wins the most gold medals, including Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey
- United States tops the standings of total medals won
- Apolo Ohno became the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time with eight medals (passing Bonnie Blair’s six)
- 8.8-magnitude earthquake hits Chile on February 27
- The Hurt Locker wins best film at the 2010 Academy Awards
- Congress passes historic healthcare overhaul
- Icelandic volcanic ash cloud covers Europe for weeks and grounds flights
- An April 20 explosion at offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico causes the largest oil spill in history as oil continues to gush from the sea floor
- Apple launches the iPad
- Chicago Blackhawks win first Stanley Cup in 49 years
- L.A. Lakers win their 16th NBA Championship
- In the first round of Wimbledon Men’s Singles, John Isner (U.S.) defeats Nicolas Mahut (Fr.) in the longest match in tennis history: 11 hours, 5 minutes over 3 days by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(9-7), 7-6(7-3), 70-68 (183 games in total)
- General Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, “resigns” after his critical comments (of President Obama and VP Biden, among others) are published in a Rolling Stone interview
- Spain win their first World Cup trophy (also the first for a European team on a foreign continent), and South Africa proves itself worthy of hosting the tournament
- Unemployment levels continue to stay high as the U.S. seeks to find a way out of economic recession
What headlines have I missed?
We have not been planning to take a vacation trip this year. Some long camping weekends, yes, and maybe some ‘staycation’ time, but nothing major. We’ve been saving up to completely overhaul the kitchen instead.
Well, we got an opportunity we couldn’t refuse. Jeff is spending a week in the U.K. for work later this month, and his company will still pay for his flight if he comes home a week later. It’s not likely that we’ll get another chance like this so we’re going to delay the kitchen project and I will be joining him for a week when his work is done.
We’ve both wanted to visit England for a very long time and are super pumped about this trip! However, since everything is so last minute (at least for a trip of this magnitude) we’re scrambling to figure out what we want to see and do.
Anyone have tips/advice for us? What are your must see/must do things? What are the good, but not outrageously expensive places to eat? What’s overrated and too touristy? We’ll probably end up using London as our base, but we haven’t ruled out staying outside the city some as well.
My sister-in-law sent some recent pictures of our nephew Max, including some from his 2nd birthday party we attended a couple weeks ago. Without further ado, I present to you the cutest S family nephew/grandson:
Just read this fabulous article from NPR: An Evangelical Crusade To Go Green With God.
YES! YES! YES!
Who is the evangelical in question? Dr. Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention. Southern Baptists going green? That breaks down a few stereotypes.
Now, personally, I’m not sure what level of government involvement I’m comfortable with — If I have to accept a political label (I detest political labels), the closest one is libertarian. But I’m not 100%. It really depends on the issue and situation at hand. I’m glad to see that Moore is taking a stand to say that “conservative” (essentially “conservative evangelical Christian”) shouldn’t put a person in a political box. He is advocating thinking through each issue from a Biblical standpoint, not simply accepting whatever the “conservative” political party says. YES!
Moore’s reasoning for going green is the same as my own:
The reason to rally for a green movement is literally all around, Moore says. “God cares about the Creation. He displays himself in nature, and so the more that people are distanced from the Creation itself and the more people become accustomed to treating the Creation as something that is disposable, the more distanced they are from understanding who God is.”
Moore has another reason: “People are designed to be dependent on Creation and upon the natural resources around us. In order to love future generations, in order to love cultures, we have to love the ecosystems that support those things.”
Individuals will always disagree on how a problem should be solved, but we should at least all agree that it is a problem.
“Human flourishing means a healthy natural environment, and it simply isn’t good for ourselves or for our neighbors to live in a world that is completely paved over and in which every piece of green land is replaced with a Bed, Bath, and Beyond,” he says. “That’s not how God designed human beings to live.”
I couldn’t agree more with the end of this article:
It’s hard to say which argument individual evangelicals will be drawn to, but Moore says being pulled in different directions is a good thing “if being pulled in directions means that we’re thinking through issues from a biblical point of view, rather than from a purely political point of view.”
“And just because we agree with some of our political allies on some very important issues, that doesn’t mean we agree with those allies on every issue,” he adds. (Emphasis mine)
“Evangelicals can’t simply be anybody’s interest group. We’re going to have some disagreements, but we have to have that conversation. And it has to be more complex than simply parroting slogans.”
What do you think?
I have been blessed to meet and get to know many interesting, fun people in my quarter-century (well, just over) of life. One of those people is Jaimie. Actually, I’ve never met Jaimie face-to-face despite the fact that we briefly overlapped at our small college and have several mutual friends. We have gotten to know each other through blogs, Facebook, and email. She writes a cool blog (see link above) and interesting fiction. Why am I telling you about her? Well, first of all because you should read her blog, but also because she gave me a blog award!
There are a few rules that come with this award:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered (in no particular order).
4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.
Following in Jaimie’s rebellious footsteps, I am not going to comply with all the rules. However, I am going to pass along the award to a couple deserving bloggers I know. You should all read their blogs too.
- Liz, who writes about her life as an American living in Mexico, a mom to two beautiful babies, and a Christian woman trying to make sense of her place in this world. Liz and I were friends in high school and recently reconnected through the internet. She has a gift for words and tells great stories.
- Rick, who tells about life on the farm (Castle Prairie, as he calls it) in North Dakota and writes unapologetic editorials. Rick is an atypical blogger (as a stereotype), and has a compelling voice and interesting things to share. I have greatly enjoyed learning from his perspective over the last couple of years (has it been that long?).
An honorable mention of sorts goes out to the following bloggers who don’t post consistently enough to make the above list (but from whom I would love to see more posts!):
I don’t know what cookbook this originally came from as it was passed down to me years ago from my long-time friend Katie. It’s the recipe that her family has used for many years, and I remember first putting together calzones with her family when I was in high school.
This recipe is easy to experiment with (the dried herbs and whole wheat flour are my own additions), and makes two 9- to 11-inch pizzas or two calzones.
Neopolitan Pizza Dough
A Neopolitan pizza crust must be thin. If you prefer an extra crispy crust, roll the dough into a round 11-inch diameter, rather than the 9-inch specified in the pizza recipes. Note that these directions make enough for two crusts. Each recipe calls for half the amount. You can refrigerate the extra dough for up to two days or double the toppings and make two pizzas.
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water (105ºF)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup cold water
1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or half white whole wheat); plus extra for kneading
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1/2 tsp dried basil (optional)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (optional)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (optional)
In a large mixing bowl, stir the yeast into the lukewarm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the olive oil and the cold water, and then whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour and the salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour and dried herbs (if using), 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes together in a rough mass.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and velvety, 8-10 minutes. It will be soft. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
Divide into two equal protions, knead briefly, then roll each portion into a smooth, tight round ball. To use the dough immediately, sprinkle a little flour on the work surface and set the balls on it. Cover them with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour, then stretch top the dough as directed in each recipe.
(For short-term storage, resulting in more flavor, place the dough balls on a small baking pan lined with a kitchen t0wel, cover them with a second towel and refrigerate for up to 48 hours; remove from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before forming the pizza.)
For calzones:
Preheat the oven to 500ºF, placing the pizza stone on the lowest rack of the oven.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface (a pizza peel or baking sheet works great so it’s easy to transfer into the oven). Sprinkle a little more flour on the top of the dough and, using your fingertips, press evenly into a round, flat disk about 1 1/2 inches thick and 5 inches in diameter. Lift the dough and gently stretch it with your fingers and then over the backs of your fists, using the weight of the dough to allow it to grow in size.
While you are stretching the dough, gently rotate the disk. Continue stretching and rotating the dough utnil it is about 1/4 inch thick and 8 inches in diamter. Try not to let the center of the disk become too thin. Next dust the peel or baking sheet with more flour and lay the pizza in the center.
…now the improvisation…
We usually put sauce on one side of the dough. Often, we sautee vegetables (green peppers or onions) first. Sometimes we’ll add pepperoni or chicken. It’s really up to you. Fresh basil, oregano, garlic, or other herbs are great too! Be generous with the mozzarella (or other cheese of your choice). Either way, adjust the dough as you see fit.
When you’re all done, fold the dough over and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Tear a stream vent about one inch in the center of the top with a sharp knife. Spoon tomato-basil sauce over the vent and spread it around for decoration. You can sprinkle parmesan on top as well.
Bake until the top is golden brown and the bottom is dotted with dark brown spots, 8-9 minutes. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese, and voila, dinner is served!
