Friday, May 22, 2009

10 Years

Today, dear MyndFood readers, is a day for celebration!

Shawna and I celebrate our 10 year anniversary today! That's right, 10 years!

I have to say, I don't deserve to have had 10 great years with such an incredible woman--and I count every day a blessing that we have together.

Sometimes it takes a paradigm shift in order to understand what true love really is, and I'm so incredibly fortunate to have found it.

So, here's to an incredible lady--who has stuck with me for 10 years! And here's to at least 70 more!

I love you Shawna! I count myself fortunate to have you as my wife. I certainly don't deserve someone as truly amazing as you!

Happy Anniversary!

Oh--if you have Shawna's phone number/email/facebook (gasp) tag, send her anniversary greetings!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Wal-Mart vs. Green Day (Go Wal-Mart!)

Kudo's to Wal-Mart for not selling the new Green Day album (which has vulgarity and other adult content).

Wal-Mart's music purchasing policy has always been that they'll not sell an album that requires a parental advisory sticker. They'll allow artists to sell a modified version of the album (with adult content removed) in Wal-Mart stores, but not the original content.

Apparently Green Day doesn't like this policy, and is blathering on about "censorship". I don't see it as censorship (if, that is, censorship is defined as "repressing speech, art or any other form of communication"). It's not repressing, it's simply Wal-Mart applying a standard to the products that they choose to sell. Green Day is still free to make the album, sing the songs, and sell the album anywhere else that'll carry it.

Would Green Day be angry at me if I disallowed my daughter from buying their CD? Would that be repression?

At any rate, I'm proud of Wal-Mart, and you should be too. I urge you, take a few moments and sent an email note to the folks over at Wal-Mart, at questions@checkoutblog.com, congratulating them for their high standards!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

America's Greatest Threat

MyndFood Readers:

It is with great solemnity that I write this post. I read, this afternoon, with great horror, about a brave legislator from North Carolina (Congressman G.K. Butterfield) who has devoted himself to fighting the newest silent enemy to attack unsuspecting Americans everywhere.

And, in support of his valiant fight, I post this, asking you, faithful reader, to send a letter to your local congressman asking them to please support the "Don't Let The Bedbugs Bite Act of 2009". I have, for your benefit, included below sample text for you to include in your letter, but first I would like to give you some statistics.

Bedbugs are, according to Butterfield, a force to be reckoned with. They are known to have attacked every state in the Union en masse. They are easily transferable: they jump into suitcases and travel across borders. And they can go for up to a year without food.

While they aren't carriers of any disease (that is, you won't get sick if you're bitten by one), they are a distinct public health concern because, as Michael Potter of the University of Kentucky (the leading US authority on bedbugs--which doesn't seem like much of a feat, if you ask me; how many people, really, have devoted their academic career to studying bedbugs, for goodness' sake?) says, bedbugs often cause great emotional distress to their victims. "They're, like, ready to blow their brains out," says Potter (although, if you ask me, a person is already in pretty bad shape emotionally if bedbugs cause them to contemplate suicide).

Butterfield's proposed legislation would allocate $50 million to programs to help train public health officials about these diabolical critters. Further, it would require that public health departments submit Bedbug plans to the federal government, and would require the CDC to research the impact of bedbugs on mental health.

It's a relief knowing that our elected officials are committed to our protection, and are working on our behalf on the issues that really matter. So, with that, I ask you to please copy the following text into an email to your local legislator; let him know how important an issue this is.

Dear Legislator:

I am writing to ask you to please support Rep. G.K. Butterfield's proposed legislation, the "Don't Let The Bedbugs Bite Act of 2009".

Bedbugs are, very possibly, the single most important issue that we, as a nation, face today. National security, global unrest, the economy, the health of big business and unemployment pale in comparison to this enormous issue.

Bedbugs, while they don't carry any communicable diseases, bring great emotional trauma to those who are afflicted with them--even pushing some to the point of suicide. That's un-American. Our government MUST do something!

We must understand how to identify bedbugs--that's why I support the $50 million that Rep. Butterfield has allocated to bedbug training. And we must understand the emotional effects--which is why I support Butterfield's plan to push the Centers For Disease Control to spend their time and resources studying the psychological effects of bedbugs (the CDC has the swine flu thing pretty much under control, right? What else is there for them to work on?). Finally, though, if the crisis on Wall Street has taught us anything, it's that we CANNOT TRUST business--which is why I support Butterfield's plan to require many businesses to submit bedbug control plans to the federal government for approval.

No cost is too great, no expense too extreme, if it saves us from this "Insect of Evil", these insect brokers of terror. We must fight, and we must prevail.

And so, I ask you, legislator, to lead the charge!

Sincerely,

[your name]

Friday, May 15, 2009

10 Year Anniversary Trip

So, next Friday is our 10 year anniversary--that's right, on May 22, Shawna and I have been married for 10 years--nearly 1/2 her life ;-).

At any rate, I'm taking her on a surprise trip (in a few weeks) in celebration of our 10 years--well, it's not a surprise that we're going on the trip; the destination is the surprise. The thing is, she won't stop pestering me: she wants to know where it is I'm taking her.

So I thought I'd give her a hint. MyndFood style. Maybe a few hints.

So here's the first hint: there are lions, tigers and other animals there.

Guess?