B is for Bet

sunday evening at the Taj Mahal....

I spent the evening with my nephew Micah seeing the photos from his stay in India. Very interesting stuff. Makes me glad I live in the good ol' US of A. :) Many palaces.....but also much poverty there. The contrasts seem to define the country.

Tomorrow will be non-stop talking to students: advising and approving schedules, hearing about their summers and trying to point them in the right direction for this semester.

Church this morning was good.... the soloist sang a beautiful song, one I had not heard before. Does anyone who also heard it know the title, author, lyrics? My guess at the title would be..... When God Is Near? The words were very appropriate for the occasion of new freshman facing a new situation. Also for the life of me, I can't remember the congregational hymn by Fanny Crosby... I was going to post the text here, but I can't remember the title to look it up. grrrr.

very busy right now...

Everything is very hectic right now. I worked at the office till almost 7 last night. Then went home to think some more about class syllabi, etc. Things will be frantic on Monday as well with students returning this weekend and seeing advisers. Miss Parks' funeral was yesterday afternoon. For those interested in more details.....

good news!

the yummy way to add antioxidants, lower blood pressure and stave off heart attacks: eat dark chocolate. I have a suggestion...... see this.

what freshmen don't know...

In addition to all the knowledge we college profs hope to impart to incoming freshmen soon, Jeff Quinton at Backcountry Conservative reminds us of what else they don't know. Some items on the list are simply mind-boggling.

diversity?

Here's a great column by UNC-Wilmington professor Mike Adams about the lack of diversity among faculty at most universities today. In it he proposes a "quiz" to identify conservative applicants to help improve hiring practices in academia. (here are just a few of the questions: 1. My last meal: a) had at least one type of food that had parents, or b) was comprised solely of vegetables.
2. The most evil leader of the 20th century was: a) Joseph Stalin or, b) Ronald Reagan.
3. If a burglar broke into my house this evening I would rather: a) shoot him, or b) find out why he hated me.)
He includes interesting data about the makeup of the UNC faculty: none of the campus's political science professors is Republican; none of the 31 full-time English professors were registered Republicans; there were no Republicans in the philosophy, religion, anthropology, or sociology departments. And he says "he considered complaining to the Chancellor, but he was attending a Democratic fund-raiser the day (Adams) tried to reach him."
Adams describes himself as having been "hired by UNC-Wilmington in 1993 when he was a Democrat and an atheist. Since then, he has turned out to be a big disappointment."

Miss Joyce Parks

Miss Joyce Parks, speech teacher at BJU for more than 50 years, died this morning at Barge Hospital following a battle with cancer. She will be missed greatly by the BJU family and her students, both former and current. Miss Parks was awarded the Alumni Association's Distinguished Servant Award last November.

From that citation is the following information about Miss Parks' distinguished career:

She was selected "Parliamentary Teacher of the Year" in 1996 by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation's National Parliamentary Education Project and in 2001 upon the recommendation of the Chief Parliamentarian of the United States Senate was recognized by the South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus as strategist and educator for Thomas Jefferson's Manual of Parliamentary Practice which is used by the S.C. Senate.

I worked with Miss Parks in the Fundamentalism File at Mack Library for several summers. She was a delightful co-worker, always interested in new ideas and always thinking of her students and how she could best serve them. Her service to the Lord and to her students will be remembered.

Miss Parks' funeral will be Thursday at 2 p.m. in War Memorial Chapel.

I wish I were......

...artistic. I've always admired artists--the creativity, the productivity, the uniqueness of the artistic way of looking at things. When I worked at the Press this summer, I was always amazed at the art department and what they can create. I want to be an artist! is this talent something people are just born with? is it something that is developed? is being artistic a lot about being born with it and a little about being trained? Is it like being musical? Unfortunately, I missed out on the musical gene too. :( but at least I think I have the gene that appreciates the artistic when I see it. Are there any artists out there who have a theory about this? have you always been artistic? is it something that can be learned?

I have an ulterior motive for asking this question. I think I'm going to take an art class this semester. I've picked one that seems like one you could learn even if you weren't terribly artistic to begin with. Fiber Arts. My ulterior motive is to ask if anyone out there knows anything about this class. The course description says something about paper-making, bookbinding and weaving. What do you think? do I have what it takes to be a fiber artist? :)

LT Smash returns home...

This is one of the blogs that first got me noticing the whole blog thing. Written by a US Navy reservist who wrote from the Persian Gulf area all through the war... occasional posts from Mrs. Smash as well. The good news--LT Smash is home.

A praise

My nephew Micah arrived safely back in the US on Saturday after spending 5 weeks in India working with a missionary doctor in his clinic and traveling throughout India. He flew out of the Bombay airport Friday and arrived in DC on Saturday around 6:30 p.m. Praise the Lord he was out before today's bombings. CNN is reporting that no one is being allowed into or out of Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay). btw, how have I missed this name change? I've never heard of Mumbai. hmm. I would not be winning the Geography Bee.

I don't like Al Franken.... at all.

I watched part of Matt Lauer's interview with Al Franken on the Today Show this morning. I don't think I've seen them devote that much morning time to one story, one author, one book in quite a long while--if ever. It seems that most of the media are loving this story because it gives them an opportunity to bash FOX News without appearing to be doing so: they're simply covering the story. But the collusion between the media and someone like Franken is so apparent (at least to me) when he is interviewed by mainstream media. They can't keep from showing how much they agree with his perspective, and they communicate this sort of inside knowledge that of course no one in his right mind likes FOX or thinks it is a legitimate news channel. No matter that the public through their viewership of FOX communicates otherwise. MSNBC has included an excerpt from Franken's book on its website. It won't take you long to see what Al Franken is all about. He's not funny. He's sacrilegious. The excerpt will tell you more than you wanted to know.