Serious Thoughts on Proselytizing...

A friend recently forwarded me a link to a video on youtube that was done by Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller fame.  The video was about an encounter Penn had with a christian who gave him a bible after one of his shows.  Penn is an atheist and merriam-webster defines an atheist as "one who believes that there is no deity" (God or supreme being).  I really liked the video and appreciated Penn's honesty.  He talks about "proselytizing" and says:

“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" 

“I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”

This video has triggered so many "shiny" thoughts and since this is my blog, I thought I would share them.  I realize you may not agree with me and I am not asking you to do that, I am simply sharing some thoughts that this video triggered in my mind.  I would like to ask that if you post comments that you keep them respectful. So here we go!

Refrigerators, Wisdom and Bright Sides...

George & the Fridge

Ten years ago my husband, Michael, bought a stainless steel refrigerator. He graciously gave his first wife everything when she left, so he had to acquire all new appliances and this was his first purchase. This fridge had all the bells and whistles, it was a side-by-side with ice-maker and water dispenser in the door. But what caught Michael's eye was the stainless steel! The Fridge was mesmerizing in all its shiny beauty.  I don't know why but I have found that stainless steel appliances are like catnip to men. Needless to say, my husband was smitten with this refrigerator and the Fridge became a part of our lives.

Sadly our family's love affair with the Fridge did not last long. The first sign that our relationship had been rushed and not well thought out was the first night we had pizza.  Michael tried to put a medium sized pizza box in the Fridge. I mean part of the reason for buying pizza for dinner is the ease of it. Order Pizza. Get Pizza.  Eat Pizza. 

Put leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow's breakfast or lunch. It is about as simple as dinner gets.  Alas, the Fridge didn't care about ease. On the contrary, the Fridge had decided to make life a little difficult. We had to rearrange the shelves and the weird movable shelf/hanging buckets on the door (do these things have a name?) all to make the thing fit and if that wasn't enough we had to tilt the pizza box sideways to get it past the weird door buckets and all that was contained in them. This event seriously strained our relationship. Easy pizza dinner became more complicated after this incident as did the love we once shared with the Fridge.

What's the deal with your vision?

My Eye after the Cycloplegic Exam

Those of you that know me personally know that I have been having problems with my vision. Those of you that don't, probably think I am a lousy blogger who never seems to blog anymore.  So for those of you that don't know me or those of you who have asked or simply wonder what the deal is with my vision, here goes.

oc·u·lar [ ókyələr ]

1. relating to eyes or eyesight: relating to, perceived by, or performed by the eye.

Two years ago I was diagnosed with ocular migraines. Though they are classified as migraines they don't come with the typical "brain smashing" pain that comes with regular migraines (is there anything regular about a migraine? I am sorry I digress.)  Ocular migraines are visual aura's that affect the vision in both eyes.  They can include flashes of light, zigzagging patterns, blind spots and\or shimmering spots or stars.  They temporarily interfere with certain aspects of life, like reading or driving but they don't last very long and the condition is not considered very serious.  For the last two years I would get these infrequently, about one every other month.