Ladders of Opportunity?
Wow... I just read through Obama's speech from this morning while eating lunch pre-flight, and I must say: I was impressed. I got teary-eyed through a few parts of it. His take is very well-thought, mature, and inspirational. It's no wonder he's doing so well in the race for the White House.
But here's my problem with it - and him: He speaks of "providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations." And yet the most important and divisive issue - the one killing off 1/3 of this generation, and the one most affecting the people he is speaking of - is that of abortion. And he made no mention of it.
And so I ask: Where is the "ladder of opportunity" for the baby who suffers at the hands of a doctor, deprived of his opportunity for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" because of the expedient "choice" of a mother?
True are the "contradictions" of which you speak, Mr. Obama. Were this not the case, you may just be the perfect candidate for my vote. For I harbor all the other feelings you speak of and the desires to see our nation succeed through forward-looking and forward-thinking. But we won't until we own up to the terrible injustice that has ended the lives of many more Americans before they were even born than did slavery affect the lives of slaves. Facing the injustice of infanticide is "where our union grows stronger", where we learn to truly sacrifice and "It requires all Americans to realize that your [moms] dreams do not have to come at the expense of my [your child's] dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children [including those waiting to join us outside the protection of the womb] will ultimately help all of America prosper. "
For, in fact, you said it: "In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well."
If it weren't for this, I think I'd trust you. I think you'd have my vote. But instead, I know your history, and it ain't pretty...
(***Warning! Video contains one brief graphic image):
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 3/18/08 at 2:00P in Politics & Current Events
Read the full story | 145 reads & 4 comments
A Good Husband's Priorities
I ran across this entry today on a blog that I keep an eye on via RSS, A Good Husband. The entry is titled "Duties of a Husband," and it's spot-on to how I think and feel. Not always how I act, but that's part of being human. But here's how Cory thinks overlayed with my thoughts and reactions. Be sure to click through to his full entry for his back story and other info as well...
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 3/5/08 at 9:20P in Marriage & Fatherhood
Read the full story | 146 reads
8.5 Pounds
That's my first-week loss on the new diet. Rock on!
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 3/3/08 at 9:18P in Personal Journal
Read the full story | 143 reads & 1 comment
An absolutely FANTASTIC weekend
I had one of the BEST weekends I've had in months this weekend, as Suzanne, Thomas, Matthew, the family, and several friends saw to it that I had a great weekend leading up to my 30th birthday.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/25/08 at 7:52A in Personal Journal
Read the full story | 168 reads & 2 comments
Ah, Ecumenism...
This gave me a good smile just now as I'm about to pack my laptop and walk to my gate for my flight... be sure to check it out. 'Tis interesting to see the various fruits of the spirit played out in the "personalities" of the various parts of the Body of Christ.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/7/08 at 7:54A in Church
Read the full story | 192 reads
Super Bowl. For Real.
Here's my take: For the first time in years - as long as I can really remember (without giving partiality to the years the Rams were good and played in it) - the GAME was much, much better than the ADS this year.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/3/08 at 10:40P in Sports
Read the full story | 157 reads
Welcome Marcus Robert!
Congrats to Rob & Tina, parents of a brand new baby boy. Marcus Robert was born last night at 6:45 and measured in at 9 lbs 14 oz and 19 inches long. Rob reports via email that baby and mommy are doing fine! Awesome!
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/2/08 at 9:13P in Family & Friends
Read the full story | 175 reads
Star Trek + Rodents
If you liked the chimney sweep commercial I posted last month, you'll LOVE the midgets manning the deck of the Starship Enterprise trying to figure out call about the termites.
I promise there's no jingle to get stuck in your head for days on this one...
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/2/08 at 9:10P in Marketing/Advertising
Read the full story | 189 reads & 1 comment
Housewife Job Description
I thought I might get in trouble for posting this until Suzanne laughed when I mentioned it to her last night... Enjoy...
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/2/08 at 9:08P in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 191 reads & 1 comment
An Excellent VOLS Story
Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, the Vols QB who got injured in '94, giving none other than Peyton Manning his break as QB as a freshman, has finally been honored by the baseball Vols.
His old UT number (#3) has been retired - the first Vols Baseball number to gain the honor. Read all about it.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/2/08 at 9:06P in Tennessee
Read the full story | 169 reads
Next Time I'm in New York...
...remind me to go here.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/2/08 at 9:01P in Caffeinated
Read the full story | 151 reads
Choir Sets World Record
A Catholic choir in India has sung for 40 hours (non-stop), breaking the previous world record (36 hours) held by a Christian choir in 2004.
I suppose a little interdenominational / ecumenical competition is always a good thing.
Funny thing is: when I mentioned this to Mario and Steve tonight at Mass, they said we should try to beat them. Go for 80 hours non-stop or something. Then Mario joked that we could probably pull out that much Dan Schutte music and go for TWO world records.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/2/08 at 8:54P in Music
Read the full story | 160 reads & 2 comments
Kids say the...
"Romney. Me. Friends"
- Thomas, tonight, with some news on in the background.
Don't ask where he got it... we've given modest contributions equally to Romney, Paul, Thompson, and Huckabee so far this election season (no comments please on the only one we haven't given to being the one ahead in the polling right now. But I worked on getting him to say "Huckabee" the rest of the evening. He's stuck somewhere between "Huck" and "Bee".
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 2/1/08 at 9:51P in Personal Journal
Read the full story | 125 reads & 1 comment
Pontoon Road Railroad Crossing - Finally
All those homes and businesses that were bought ten or so years ago to make way for a new approach to and crossing over the train tracks at Pontoon Road & Nameoki Road? The large, multi-story office-building-sized pile of dirt that's been there for close to 5 years? All finally going to come to completion in a glorious railroad overpass, apparently. Finally.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/29/08 at 7:22A in Local Flavor
Read the full story | 134 reads
Christ made Himself poor for you
Lent begins in eight days with Ash Wednsday - this year's message from the Holy Father for Lent has been released. This year, the focus is on almsgiving.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/29/08 at 10:45P in Church
Read the full story | 151 reads
True Relevance
Two thousand years pass, but still, brothers listen, say yes, and cast their nets.
And they are full.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/29/08 at 10:41P in Personal Journal
Read the full story | 124 reads
The Perfect "Husband"
Great stuff. Don't miss a second of this one... be sure to watch it all the way through... then comment with what you think...
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/28/08 at 8:04P in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 138 reads & 1 comment
Happy 50th, Lego!
Today marks the 50th birthday of one of everyone's favorite toys... LEGO blocks! It was 50 years ago today that the patent for the Lego brick was filed with the U.S. Patent Office.
To celebrate, Lego is scouring each country across the world for a Kid Lego champion from each country... and then plans to fly them all to Denmark for a World Kid Lego Championship. Awesome!
I think that a church was the most significant thing I built with my Legos when I was growing up. What did you build?
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/28/08 at 6:52A in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 114 reads & 2 comments
Surgery
So, most of you already know that I had a surgery yesterday. Nothing major - just a little something that had developed that I had let go for quite sometime and would keep getting worse if I didn't deal with it.
I just want to mention that it was the first time I've ever gone under general anesthesia. (I just had local anesthesia when I had my wisdom teeth removed.) WOW! That was something else.
Here's how it played out: At 6, we were at the hospital. We did the paperwork and I went back to get in the gown and wait for the doctor. Then Suzanne and my mom got to come back and join me. By 8 I had seen the doctor and the nurse came in and put the medicine into my IV that she said would make me "a little tired and drowsy" before they applied the general anesthetic. I kid you not - from about 30 seconds after she put that into my IV until just over 2 hours later when I woke up in the post-op room, I remember absolutely NOTHING. Not a single thing. It's as if 2 hours of my life just went away and I had no idea what I did (I presume that I did pretty much nothing.)
That's pretty amazing - and a weird feeling. But all went well and I'm just resting and recovering. The worst part is that I'm not able to pick up anything over 10 pounds for 2 weeks, so I can't pick up and hug the boys, but Thomas gets that I have a "boo boo" and he's cool about being the doctor of the house now to help me get better. Gotta love it.
A special thanks to everyone who offered up prayers during my surgery (you know who you are) and are praying for my recovery. I certainly feel their impact, and feel great - much better than I thought I'd feel at this point. That has to be God's grace thanks to your intercession.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/26/08 at 5:41P in Personal Journal
Read the full story | 104 reads
A Super Bowl spot to make you think
This spot is currently slated to air during the Super Bowl (or so the rumor mill says), but it's quickly gaining pre-game steam on YouTube. Turn up the sound and enjoy a different kind of spot - one that'll grab the attention and make you think.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/26/08 at 5:38P in Marketing/Advertising
Read the full story | 140 reads & 1 comment
From Vol... To Bishop
Most of you are well aware of my affinity for all things related to Knoxville and UT. This one's cool and hits close to home in two ways: Father Vann Johnston, an alumni of Knoxville Catholic High School and UT (a Vol!) has been named the new shepherd of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. Yep, the diocese just south of us here, covering the southern 1/3 of Missouri (and my grandparents' home and parish.) Congrats, Father... err... Your Excellency! And know of our prayers for a fruitful tenure as bishop of your diocese.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/24/08 at 7:49A in Tennessee
Read the full story | 108 reads & 1 comment
RSS 101
I'm a huge fan of RSS. What's RSS, you ask? Well, it's basically a "push" or "broadcast" mechanism that websites, online news sources, blogs, etc. use to push new contents to you electronically. You can use online tools and/or software on your computer to pull all of the RSS "feeds" you're interested in into one convenient place to review when you can.
I, for one, have tried three or four different RSS readers from various companies over the years, but have fallen in love with - and been using - Google Reader - for almost six months now. As of right now, I'd still highly recommend it.
You might think that subscribing to a lot of sites' RSS feeds could actually mean that you spend more time "surfing the web." I've found, however, that the opposite is true. RSS and my reader put more of the information I'm most interested in right in front of me on demand - without me having to invest the time to go out searching for it across the Web. And it's also allowed me to cut back on my physical/print subscriptions to various magazines and newspapers as information sources. Now, the only print pieces I get any more are the ones I want to be able to carry with me on plane flights.
The only problem with RSS right now is that not enough people know what it is and how to use it, or even why they should give it a try. Click "Read the full story" for a bit more, and for a sketchbook video clip explaining RSS
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/23/08 at 9:55P in Internet/Online
Read the full story | 111 reads
Bill Marriott: Lessons Learned as a Boy Scout
Another very cool blog post from Bill Marriott, Chairman & CEO of Marriott International (full disclosure: I am a very, very frequent customer of Marriott-branded hotels when I travel and a lifelong boy scout, and Marriott is a client of my employer)...
In this blog entry, he shares some tales of his years as a boy scout, some of his favorite memories (and those of his biggest challenges as a scout), and what scouting means to him, and in people that he hires.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/23/08 at 9:50P in Scouting
Read the full story | 115 reads
Two Posts to Warm Your Day
Don't miss either of these blog posts that I ran across yesterday and today, respectively...
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/23/08 at 9:46P in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 97 reads
WiFi in the Sky
This summer, American Airlines (my airline of choice) will test in-flight WiFi. And anti-missile systems. While I suppose the latter could prove to be more important, I'm very ready for the former. Word is it'll be priced between $10 and $13 a flight, depending upon flight duration. If I were in a focus group, I would suggest that it'd be cool if I could use my AAdvantage (frequent flyer) miles to "buy" WiFi, instead of forking over the cash every time. Southwest, my other airline of choice, also plans to start rolling out in-flight WiFi this summer. No word on pricing from them yet. Of course, with the added value of Anti-Missile services, I think I'll still pick American as much as possible.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/23/08 at 9:43P in Internet/Online
Read the full story | 92 reads & 2 comments
Does Your Cross Have a Jesus?
Stephen Colbert sat down for this hilarious little chat with the governor of his home state (South Carolina) the other day. It brought out some of the key differences between Catholics and Protestants. Funny, funny, funny. Enjoy!
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/23/08 at 9:38P in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 114 reads
That Ain't No Paper Cup
Available next month: This "Not a paper cup" from DCI (Decor Craft, Inc.), the same people that brought you the "This is not a plastic bag" canvas bag.
A little pricey at $20, this one won't end up in the landfill each time you use it.
Described by the company as: "Double walled porcelain cup with silicone top. Eco-friendly and reusable. Dishwasher safe."
If it only promised thermal qualities, I might be interested...
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/23/08 at 9:16P in Caffeinated
Read the full story | 114 reads
Starbucks 2.0: Free Refills
In Starbucks' hometown (Seattle), they are testing offering small cups of drip coffee for $1 with free refills.
That's about 50 cents less than a cup of drop coffee usually retails for in a Starbucks.
And that regular price is just one fill-up, thank you very much.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/23/08 at 9:13P in Caffeinated
Read the full story | 98 reads
The Cruise/Scientology Indoctrination Video
"Let me put it this way: if Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch was an 8 on the scale of scary, this is a 10."
Yep. That says it all.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/17/08 at 8:00P in Weird News
Read the full story | 114 reads & 1 comment
To Omniture!
It's official! This evening, the final approval of our sale to Omniture was given. And so I excitedly join my new employer, Omniture, and its "broadest, fastest-growing and most complete set of Web analytics and related on-line marketing products and services available in the market." The old Visual Sciences came down in the lobby of the Herndon office and the new Omniture sign went up. Very cool. Picture after the jump.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/17/08 at 7:00P in Michael & Suzanne Work
Read the full story | 131 reads
Collinsville in American Airlines' In-Flight Mag
Flipping through the American Way in-flight magazine during my flight today, I ran across - of all things - an article on Collinsville's Catsup Bottle water tower. It's part of their "Wacky America" article on "ideas for roadtrips you won't soon forget."
Ranked among the Toilet Seat Art Museum, the World's Largest Ball of Twine, the World's Largest Lemon, and the Beer House, the Catsup Bottle comes in #3.
Hey, I thought we were onto something when we drew the Catsup Bottle on our piece of paper to hang on the ceiling of the pizza parlor in North Carolino, but I never knew the bottle would make American Way It's like a whole new level.
Of course, Suzanne would surely remind us that the Catsup Bottle is not one of Illinois' 7 Wonders. However, the Great River Road through Alton and Grafton, which she helps promote, is.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/16/08 at 7:45P in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 121 reads & 2 comments
Passionate Faith. Faith that meets Life.
And on the First Things blog, the Archbishop of Denver writes this absolutely beautiful essay on participation in the public square as Catholic citizens. I agree with every letter and every word. In fact, every space as well. It begins:
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/16/08 at 7:13P in Faith & Evangelization
Read the full story | 106 reads
Marriott CEO blogs on a place I've stayed...
Bill Marriott blogged today on his "Marriott on the Move" blog specifically about the TownePlace Suites where several of the older/senior shows staffers stayed while working at the last National Scout Jamboree. Of course it's been remodeled since we were there (as he blogs about), but it was beautiful then and is likely beautiful now. I know the exit he and his wife took quite well, having spent close to three months of my life living around this exit over the course of three Jamborees.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/16/08 at 7:10P in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 132 reads
The Passionate Worker vs. The Fearful Worker
Seth Godin (whose work I have greatly admired and utilized in my work for years) posts this very cool little blog entry (some of his best are these little short snippets of thought) on his blog today. I relate.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/16/08 at 7:08P in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 114 reads & 1 comment
Web Analytics: The Movie
Check this out... Sony Pictures is about to take what I do for a living (web analytics) mainstream in a new movie about a serial killer who uses real-time traffic data from site visitors to decide how quickly to kill people. Interesting, I must say. I'm not quite sure from what type of data that information would be derived, but it'll be interesting to see, nonetheless.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/16/08 at 6:55A in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 123 reads
RIP Beck's Lodge
She's seen better days, that's true. Beck's Lodge in Collinsville, long an eyesore at St. Louis Rd. & Sumner Blvd., has finally fallen per this article and Jared's eyewitness account. See... good things come to those who wait.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/16/08 at 6:47A in Local Flavor
Read the full story | 125 reads & 1 comment
Customer Service: The Good & The Ugly
Today I want to share two contrasting stories of customer service that Suzanne and I experienced over the Christmas season this year. The Good: Godiva Chocolatier. The Ugly: Kohls.com.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/14/08 at 5:42P in Personal Journal
Read the full story | 209 reads & 3 comments
Hey, That's My Desk Too!
I'm working on it, of course, but this cartoon looks almost exactly like the grand "Organizational System" that I employ on my desk:
Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/14/08 at 5:39P in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 114 reads & 1 comment
Bush With the Ladies
Surprising fact: Sisters provide better security than the Secret Service.
(President Bush with a group of nuns during a visit to the Church of the Beatification on the Mount of the Beatitudes in Israel, on Friday January 11.)
[photo: David Furst, AP]
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/14/08 at 8:02A in Fun Stuff
Read the full story | 117 reads
Evil, Evil, Evil Ad
Someone, somewhere, has this in their creative portfolio... C-H-I-M-N-E-Y
Posted by Michael Halbrook on 1/14/08 at 7:49A in Marketing/Advertising
Read the full story | 133 reads & 2 comments
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