Sir Charles encourages us to get a life:

"First of all, I'm not a damn loser. I don't twitter. I think twittering and all that facebook crap just makes you a loser. I've never said to myself 'I wonder what what's his name is doing today.' Shaquille O'Neal is one of my favorite people, I love him like a brother, but I've never said to myself 'let me twitter Shaquille O'Neal. I wonder what he's doing today."

Do Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan twitter?

"I hope not. I hope they've got a life. Anybody who sits around and worries about what somebody else is doing and you're following somebody else around, clearly makes you just a loser in my mind. I think the facebook stuff is stupid. People who sit around and worry about what some celebrity is doing, that's just ignorant to me. I truly believe that. I'm not trying to be funny or anything. Somebody has no life when they're sitting there worrying about what somebody has to say. Like 'oh yeah I'm at this place eating or I'm at this place today,' that just makes you a loser."

I have a digital SLR camera. Love it. But I need some input.

I love my 18-200 lens, but it's so darn SLOW. I tried to take pictures of Angel (my wife) doing some leaps (she's a dancer) the other day, and it was almost an exercise in futility.

Anybody know of a good site to find some tutorials on using aperture/shutter to full advantage, or preferably a book? I've been using Ken Rockwell's recommended settings on my D40 for a while now, and focusing on framing in my shots, but I'd like to be able to play with some different f-stop settings and shutter speeds now to convey some different things with the shots.

Apprentice Villain Omarosa Entering a Seminary
USMagazine, August 14, 2009

Holy moly.

Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, best known for her diva antics on NBC's hit "The Apprentice," is entering an Ohio seminary.

According to The Associated Press, she is slated to begin her ministry studies at United Theological Seminary in Dayton on Monday.

She will spend about two years pursuing a doctorate of ministry degree, says Ivan Hicks, the school's associate dean for African-American studies.

"She has expressed a calling in her life, and it is our opportunity to provide leadership and guidance as she makes a transformation," Hicks says. "We're excited about her coming to school at UTS."

He adds that she "has a heart for ministry" after doing work on behalf of the homeless and the poor in Haiti.

Omarosa's feisty reputation will actually help her as a minister, says Hicks.

"Some of the good things and bad things we've done in our lives help us to actually relate and to be more widely accepted as a minister," he says.

At the risk of sounding old-fashioned, or too conservative, or too much of a prude....it seems to me there is something quite disturbing about a movie that celebrates lying in such a "fun" way......Not that this is the only movie in which lying is celebrated, its just that this is quite up front about not so much the benefits of lying, but rather the downside of truth.....

On the other hand...it makes for a great discussion with people.....

How do we defend in light of this, that the only grounds for true freedom is truth......?

When the Sony Walkman was launched, 30 years ago this week, it started a revolution in portable music. But how does it compare with its digital successors? The Magazine invited 13-year-old Scott Campbell to swap his iPod for a Walkman for a week. Read the rest here.
Great article! A few takeaway phrases:

You can almost imagine the excitement about the Walkman coming out 30 years ago, as it was the newest piece of technology at the time.

Having said all that, portable music is better than no music.

These are amazing statements. To think of a market that is actually asking for responsible restraint and trading what used to be superfluous consumption into meaningful consumption...consuming with purpose, not as an end in and of itself.

As Christians, we need to infuse these trends with a new quest for Truth, and to teach again the value and dignity of the human person who should be at the focus of any and all marketing efforts.

I encourage you all to read the Pontifical Council for Social Communications "Ethics in Advertising" document here.

Gm "hopes" to make profit in 2011.

As do I (hope that I make a profit, that is). Any reasonable person could care less if GM makes another cent (and would likely prefer them to fail)...ummm...unless you hitched your horse to their carriage (sorry, mate)...but, then, I have to ask: why haven't you indexed? Here's the creator of the index fund on...well...index funds. This stuff isn't rocket surgery. Wanna listen to a dude who's prescience gains him some credibility? Check out Taleb in Black Swan or Fooled by Randomness. Note: podcasts w/ Taleb also available on econtalk.

HAHAHAHAHAHA...."A slump in sales forced GM to file for bankruptcy protection this week."
Subtext: "...and when we say 'slump,' we mean, 'damn, this has been like a drunk monkey taking the bar exam.'"

Say it with me, folks: Debacle. It really is atrocious that the BBC didn't say anything about the obvious tomfoolery and mismanagement that has been part and parcel of GM for...oh....years, nor the governmental coddling that allowed this sort of atrocity.

Tomorrow, Monday June 1st, we'll be live on the radio here in Guatemala City speaking about the global financial crisis from a Christian and moral perspective. We'll be on Ilumina FM 98.1 and you can listen online.

The show is at 5:30pm Guatemala time. To find out the time in your area, visit here.

If you missed it, the podcast is available for download here.

From Time Magazine:
If only it were the worst thing that a Roman Catholic priest has been caught doing. The Mexican celebrity magazine TVnotas recently published 25 paparazzi photos of the Rev. Alberto Cutie, the popular Miami Beach priest famous for his Spanish-language television and radio talk shows, cavorting amorously on a Florida beach with an attractive woman. Over a three-day period, the pictures also captured him kissing her in a bar. In one of TVnotas's "in fragranti" shots [Note to TVnotas copy editors: it's "in flagrante"] the woman wraps her legs around Cutie; in another, Cutie has a hand down her swimsuit, fondling her rear end.

So the now infamous and until a short while ago much loved charismatic catholic priest was caught by the paparazzi in Miami Beach with his Guatemalan girlfriend (a mother of 2) according to the New Miami Herald (who even published her home address). Many questions arise, celibacy will be questioned and once again, Christianity comes under attack as one of its leaders falls victim to sin and also to the unrealistic expectations we many times place on imperfect men.

CBS News Video of the story here.

Meet Gaby Moreno, a very talented Guatemalan singer songwriter who resides in the US. She is singing the theme for the new NBC series Parks and Recreation starring Amy Poehler. Gaby also won the John Lennon songwriting contest a few years back.

I'm sure we can draw great lessons and principles from this. Despite the fact that its hilarious!!!!!!

If you are from Guatemala, have visited Guatemala and know some basic Spanish, here are a couple of videos that describe our rich and carefree culture. A culture that thrives despite our issues and always finds a way to laugh in the face of our problems.

(This first video refers to a traditional snack -like Doritos- called Tortrix - made out of flavored, fried tortilla chips)

(This video shows through our Guatemalan slang, the greatness of our people and culture)

'Slumdog' strikes it rich with 8 Oscar wins
The film's eight trophies -- including best picture, direction, adapted screenplay and cinematography -- cement the reputation of Fox Searchlight as a champion of work that Hollywood won't risk.

By John Horn, L.A. Times

February 23, 2009

"Slumdog Millionaire" -- a love story that combines artistic ambition with broad commercial appeal -- won a leading eight Oscars on Sunday night, including the best picture trophy.

While the film's triumphs at the 81st annual Academy Awards marked an amazing outcome for a movie filled with subtitles, scenes of torture and a Bollywood dance sequence, the wins also cemented the reputation of distributor Fox Searchlight, which has become Hollywood's top advocate of the kind of daring works that movie studios have all but abandoned.

Director Danny Boyle's fictional account of a Mumbai orphan's surprising winning streak on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" also won Oscars for direction, adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing, original score, original song and sound mixing.

What'd y'all think of the movie. I haven't seen it.