Katie’s Beer

I discovered a great feature of a fellow Minnesota blogger, The Lady Logician, on women who think and speak logically and make it into the news for such. That’s a great idea!

I also found a great post on a woman who has ranted on why a recent peace rally was a failure. Her rant gives insight to an extreme left-wing mindset. The Lady Logician writes…

Pity poor Susan…she is sorely disappointed.

A few weeks back I rode my bike to the State Capitol for a peace rally. It had everything a rally should have — labor, veterans and Gold Star mothers, respected speakers, a sunny day — except people.
It was subdued and surreal, like the final scene from “On the Beach,” the 1959 movie about nuclear annihilation, in which banners flutter over an outdoor stage and flyers scuttle across the flattened grass and no one is there.

In her typical over-reactionary style, Susan then goes on to talk about the peace rally that flopped and her hyper-imaginative reasons why it flopped. Read on…

I’m glad Lady Logician noticed this in the paper. I’d like to think that logic-less thinking is on the decline, but I’m probably wrong.

Tags: politics, local blogs, Minnesota by TK
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The other night, my son wanted me to pick him up from a friend’s house. It was one of those winding and confusing townhome developments and I couldn’t find any house numbers. He cheerfully offered to just run over to the nearby park. It was 10pm and very dark. I shouted “No!” into my cell phone. Didn’t he realize who hung out in that park at night? Thankfully, he really wasn’t aware of that side of night life and I’m glad we had an opportunity to discuss it on the way home.
This morning, Ian and Margery Punnett discussed their recent daytime stop at a local park. Their discussion led to a mention of Mara Gottfried’s recent article on sex in public parks highlights many disturbing things, least of which involves homosexuality. This sentence from the article has stuck in my brain this morning:

“…her perception is that law enforcement’s attempt to crack down on men cruising for sex “waxes and wanes with public outrage.”

Can I interpret that statement as police crack down on certain crimes based on how much citizens complain about particular laws being broken? What is wrong with that? The radio discussion this morning led to questioning of whether the police are wasting public dollars. I think that it would be wasting public dollars to NOT keep the park usable by all for public activities. I wonder if Mara Gottfried could find no one else to make an argument against the sting operation. Her idea that public outrage is somehow not valid surprises me.

An excerpt from the article:

The man was watching a pornographic video in his minivan in a St. Paul park. He turned the portable screen so an undercover police officer, sitting in a car next to him, could see it and invited him into the van.

When the officer got in, the man exposed himself, the officer said.

The officer quietly told the 48-year-old he was under arrest and walked him to a nearby vehicle, where officer Heather Weyker was waiting to take down his pertinent information and get a mug shot.

“You can’t do this kind of stuff in the parks,” she told the man. “This is inexcusable for the people who want to use the parks to walk their dogs and hang out with their kids and they can’t.”

The man was one of four arrested by St. Paul police for indecent exposure Wednesday in Crosby Farm Regional Park, off Shepard Road. In the past six weeks, police have arrested about 40 others for similar activity in this park and another on Meeker Island, said Sgt. Steve Anderson.

The stings have been driven by complaints about men engaging in public sex and lewd conduct in both parks, police say.

Police are taking a multipronged approach: They’re working with prosecutors, suggesting that perpetrators who are convicted and sentenced to community service be assigned to parks to clean up trash, Anderson said. Condom wrappers and other debris are a big problem, police say.

Shrubbery recently was cut back on Meeker Island in the Desnoyer Park neighborhood to allow fewer places to hide, Anderson said. Signs warning that the park is under surveillance and that no loitering or lewd conduct is permitted were posted on Meeker Island and in Crosby Park years ago, but new ones have been put up on Meeker Island, Anderson said.

Critics said the sting operations are unfair.

“We often downplay or pay little attention to indiscretions between males and females who engage in sexual encounters in public - be it in the back seat of a car, in the back of a bar, in a unisex restroom - and then sensationalize any cases that involve same-gender contact,” said Lorraine Teel, executive director of the Minnesota AIDS Project.

Teel said there’s a double standard and her perception is that law enforcement’s attempt to crack down on men cruising for sex “waxes and wanes with public outrage.”

[Read more →]

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Just last Saturday, I ventured to Down in the Valley to see if I could find CD’s of artists still not available on iTunes.  One specific group I was looking for was Led Zeppelin.  I did find their music, of course, but was confused by the album titles and songs.  I was never a huge fan, but I want a couple of favorites. Which did I want?  Which was live?  Why are their complilations so expensive???

I left with used copies of City of Angels and Huey Lewis and the News.  Always the bargain shopper, I figured that used CD’s are cheaper than buying the songs outright on iTunes.  No Led Zeppelin, though.  I decided I needed to do some research before plunking down so much money.  But how?  Nothing is available online, at least legally.

Good news came yesterday.  Beginning November 13th, I will be able to download Led Zeppelin songs from iTunes.  I’m happy!  Should I be sad?  Did a 60’s giant fall with a thud to corporate America?  I don’t think so.

Led Zeppelin’s decision to sell its music online coincides with the end of a fierce bidding war over the rights to administer the band’s catalog of songs, which includes the classics “Stairway to Heaven” and “Rock and Roll.” Under a separate deal the band is to receive an estimated $60 million in exchange for extending its ties to its longtime music publisher, Warner/Chappell Music, for at least 10 years

60 million dollars.  Now that’s a good retirement fund!

Source:  New York Times

Tags: Music by TK
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The St. Hilaire’s didn’t win, but competed in style.

Wife-carrying contest
By a margin of only a third of a second, a Boston couple claimed victory at the 8th annual North American Wife Carrying Championships held Saturday at Sunday River Ski Resort.

“We could never expect something this good,” said Keith Cardoza after successfully bringing Julia Stoner, his girlfriend of six months, through the 253.3 meter course.

For the victory, Cardoza and Stoner may receive $1,000 toward a trip to attend the World Wife Carrying Championships in Finland. The couple were also awarded a check for $675 (five times Stoner’s weight) and Stoner’s weight in beer. The latter amounted to nine twelve-pack cases.

OK, so there’s no scandal, but here’s my questions. First of all, how can the winners NOT be married? If it’s a wife-carrying contest, then you must carry a wife. I guess the rules have changed over the centuries. The official rules say, The wife to be carried may be your own, the neighbour’s or you may have found her farther afield; she must, however, be over 17 years of age. NO mention of a girlfriend.

Secondly, what beer did they receive as a prize? Would you compete for nine cases of Miller Lite? Probably not. Would you compete for nine cases of Moose Drool? More likely.

Tags: Uncategorized, Beer by TK
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I am still looking for an explanation of how the court appearances for the check fraud and the lying about the drugs came to be on the same day. Are they connected? In my mind, the emotional nature of going to court for either one would be huge and for both would be even bigger.

This story is a good illustration for Christians of how we are all hypocrites in that we remain both saint and sinner on this earth.

Another thought is why should she retire from the sport?

“I have asked Almighty God for forgiveness . . . because of my actions, I am retiring from the sport of track and field, a sport that I deeply love,”

Sounds like she is playing God by setting up a severe consequence for herself. Is she assuming that is what God wants her to do? Or is she trying to garner sympathy by her self-imposed ban from the sport. I find her statement of retirement intriguing and revealing. Her action is something most of us do, of course, but it doesn’t make it the right consequence.

If God has given you gifts in a particular area, should you ban yourself from it when you fail or make a mistake? If you were a doctor, the answer might be yes. But how will it hurt anyone for her to stay actively involved in sports? The potential to help others might be greater. Granted her “mistakes” were quite large and occurred over a long time, but surely she was NOT born with “feet of clay”. I assume she showed promise as an athlete long before anyone introduced drugs to her. I would think the harder (and more humbling) road would be for her to continue as an athlete and have to face accusers every day. Of course, the natural consequence of her actions is that she probably would be banned from many events anyway. But it seems to me that for her to continue in her sport in whatever way is allowed would allow her to use her God-given talents and be a positive example for the many who are still tempted by performance-enhancing drugs.

Hat tip to Mollie Heminway’s discussion of this story at Get Religion.

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