Fun

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Two More Things I Wonder About

It’s a fifth Friday, but I am sadly lacking in amusing photos. However, we can still have some fun. Here’s another installment of “things I wonder about.” If you missed my earlier list, check out my post from May 31,2011.

Senseless Traffic Lights
Colorado Springs has some of the most annoying traffic lights of any place I’ve ever been. Not only are they not synchronized, not only do they make you wait for ages while the intersection stays empty, but they turn red for no perceivable reason. It’s no surprise that we also have a significant problem with people running red lights.

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A Bible Quiz, Again

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, and that your heart is overflowing with gratitude for all God’s abundant blessings! Now that we’re all sitting around munching leftovers and perhaps taking a day off, I thought that it might be time for a bit of fun.

A little over a year ago I posted a little quiz asking, “How well do you know your Bible?” Since then I’ve continued to collect interesting quotes, and it’s time for Bible Quiz, Part 2. I admit, this one is a bit harder than the last quiz. Still, I have the utmost confidence in the Biblical expertise of my readers.

As with my last quiz, the answers are at the end, but no peeking until you’ve finished the test.

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The Communion of Saints

With all the hype about Halloween, we often forget that the name is a contraction of All Hallow’s Eve—the night before All Saint’s Day. Realizing that I know next to nothing about the idea of sainthood, I did some research. In the process, I found a very helpful site that explained a lot:

The Church, East and West, has always distinguished between worship (latria), given to God alone, and veneration (dulia), which may be given to the saints. The highest form of veneration (hyperdulia) is due to the Blessed Virgin Mary. If someone is treating a saint as one should treat God, then yes, that is idolatry. That being said, Catholics believe that the saints have a role in our lives, as intercessors on our behalf, because we are all united by our communion in Christ. The saints are continually praying for us and interceding on our behalf, on account of their closeness to Christ. This is because God is the God of the living, not of the dead. As such, asking a saint for intercession is no more idolatrous than asking a holy friend or pastor to pray for you.

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It’s Still Junk Food

I was looking through an old cookbook, circa 1955, snickering at all the recipes for Jello “salads” and casseroles laced with cream of mushroom soup (with crushed saltines on top). It was a cuisine based on white bread, white potatoes, and white rice. I grew up on this sort of diet. My mom was the consummate consumer, enthusiastically trying every new mix that Betty Crocker could come up with.

Of course, these days we are much more nutritionally savvy. We eat whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes, and brown rice. Our fruits and veggies are organic. We shun junk food. Our consciences are clear. Right? Then explain this:

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Four Facts I Learned Lately

Today I’m taking a break to share some things I’ve learned lately. I thought they were interesting. Perhaps you will too.

The World’s Population
We’ve all heard the statement, “Of all the people who ever lived, most are alive today.” It has just enough authority to it, just enough sense of “Huh, that’s interesting” that we all take it at face value. Well, I learned from a short article in the June 2011 issue of National Geographic Magazine that this is not true. As of this year, approximately 103 billion people have ever lived. And only 6.4% of them are alive today. Doesn’t that make more sense?

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Fifth Friday Fotos

Once again, we have a month with five Fridays, so it’s time for some fun photos. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there are far too many overly cute animal pictures circulating, all with clever baby-talk captions. Instead of adding to the pile, I thought that I would let you exercise your brains a bit, and suggest some appropriate captions for some photos of my own:


Western Gull

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The Life of the Party

Did you know that God loves a good party?

If the average Christian is asked to describe God, we usually come up with terms like holy, perfect, provider, healer, good, all-powerful, all-knowing, loving, and so forth. Of course, these are all accurate, and we do well to keep them in mind.

Non-believers are often less upbeat. God has quite the reputation as a glowering wet blanket, someone who thinks that if it’s fun, it’s sinful. Unfortunately, churches with rules such as no dancing, no playing cards, (and certainly no alcoholic beverages), build into that stereotype. It appears that God really needs a new PR firm. (Oh, wait, that’s the Church’s job!)

This may come as quite a surprise, but I’d like to point out that God really is a fun sort of guy.

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Bwaaak!!

It’s almost September, National Chicken Month. I adore chickens. Put those two facts together, and I have the perfect opportunity to enlighten you with some chicken trivia.

  • Chickens are the most numerous bird species on the planet.
  • Wild chickens are still found in south Asia, where birders know them as Red Jungle Fowl. There is also a feral population in Hawaii and in other spots around the world. If you want to check “Jungle Fowl” off your life list, you must find one of these wild birds.
  • According to Red Bird Farms, the average American eats 80 pounds of chicken every year. (We prefer the skinless, boneless breast, but other cultures prefer dark meat. Much of our domestically produced dark meat is shipped to other countries.)

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Three Things I’d Always Wondered About

Ever have one of those nights where you wake up at 3 am and your brain turns on and starts going around and around, wondering about stuff? You aren’t lying awake worrying about paying the bills or fretting about the assignment due next week. In fact there’s really no reason to be awake… except you are. And you’re thinking things like:

  • When it rains, why don’t sheep shrink?
  • How do porcupines mate without stabbing each other?
  • If bulls are colorblind, why are matadors’ capes red?

Sound familiar? If so, then you’ll understand where the rest of this post is coming from. If you have no idea of what I’m talking about, continue reading—and don’t blame me the next time you’re wide awake in the middle of the night, wondering.

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What Do You Want to Know?

Have you ever wondered about such conundrums, but despaired of ever learning the answer? Well, despair no more. Cecil Adams will use his superior intelligence and amazing talents of investigation, and tell you “The Straight Dope.”

Think of a snopes.com with a somewhat sarcastic, but very funny, twist, and you have Adams’ blog. With the byline, “Fighting Ignorance Since 1973 (it’s taking longer than we thought),” you know it’s got to be worth your time.

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