When I listen to Christmas music, I am usually quite taken with the beauty of the music and singing. I find it only fitting that the musical arrangements, the words, and the blending of the voices with the music is some of the most beautiful music ever composed and performed. It's almost like all of the performers are doing what the song the Little Drummer Boy, speaks to, that is performing the best for Him. The link below (if it works) is one of my favorite songs. For the next 10 days, you will be able to listen to it.

http://prs.net/play/aNx4NNwEpoAtzUIipVDhQg.html


By celebrating the birth of the One who is the sacrificial lamb, we cannot help but think of the great sacrifice He made for us. And, if only for a short period, we live a life closer to the way He wants us to live, during this celebration the world may actually become a better place. Merry Christmas to all.
James A.

Does the fuzzy brain actually read the comments? Inquiring minds want to know. Also I have another topic for the brain. I read this in the paper this morning. It was a report on the Pope's year-end speech to the cardinals. "A secularized society that bases its decisions too much on reason and logic and leaves no room for faith "is not capable of entering into a true dialogue with religions."" I found this to be an interesting quote, but it's not my blog so I'm curious to hear the brain's thoughts on the matter.

The answer to the question is: of course I read the comments. I did not read the story to which you are referring, but I find nothing in the statement, that does not make sense (that is illogical). Essentially, all religion boils down to a matter of faith. One of the definitions of the word faith, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary (definition 2b) is this: b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Most of the Nicene Creed which we recite at Mass, are things that cannot be proven. They are things in which you must believe, or in other words have faith in, in order to be a Catholic. If you solely believe in reason and logic, you would by definition, rule out religion.
James A.

The following link is one reason I never wanted to do one of these. I think it's kind of the way I always thought of a blog. A usually uncreative, personal diary that is usually not very interesting to very many people.



http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110009409



James A.

New York Times newspaper at least partially sponsors Jeopardy. I find their ad almost humorous. They talk about the fact that it's not about the sections, or the fast presses, or several other things, and then they say "it's all about the quality of the journalism". I guess I have a question, is there such a thing as an anti-ad?
Kreeder, how's that?
James A.

I just finished a fantastic book, Flags of Our Fathers. The book Is written by James Bradley, son of John Bradley, one of the 6 flag raisers on Iwo Jima, in collaboration with Ron Powers. John Bradley was the only flag raiser who was not a Marine. Bradley was a corpsman in the Navy, assigned to the Marines when they landed on Iwo Jima. Three of the six died on Iwo Jima. Of the other three, Ira Hayes, was a Pima Indian, who unfortunately when he returned, had a very tough time readjusting to life for a number of reasons. He ended up dying as an alcoholic, who couldn't hold a job, and couldn't handle the fame that came to him as a hero, only about 10 years after the flag raising. Rene Gagnon, from New Hampshire, actually believed, that he was a hero, and was owed quite a bit by the government, or a grateful America for his part in raising the flag at Iwo Jima. And then there was John Bradley. Bradley was the only person in that famous photo that not only survived, but became very successful in the small town in Wisconsin where he lived. He had a very simple philosophy. He was not a hero, for raising the flag. He just happened to be in the spot, at the time, and he just lent a hand. In his mind, the real heroes of Iwo Jima were those who did not return. The flag raisers were all members of Easy Company, which on D-Day at Iwo Jima, numbered 350 men, and 30 days later, when Easy Company was removed, it consisted of 27 individuals. The savagery of the Japanese was absolutely unbelievable. When the Marines landed at Iwo Jima, there were some 22,000 Japanese soldiers, literally dug into the walls of Mount Suribachi. Over 16 miles of tunnels connecting hundreds of rooms for everything from sleeping, eating, and shooting for the Japanese, honeycombed the mountainsides. Almost all of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers died on Iwo Jima. The final two Japanese soldiers finally surrendered in 1949. Many of the Japanese soldiers died at their own hands, rather than surrender.
It never ceases to amaze me, how almost every book about Marines, and/or the Marine Corps all say basically the same things about the pride, the honor, the loyalty and the belief in their duty that the Marines (as a unit) have always portrayed. I know we need an Army, an Air Force, and the Navy, but I am proud to have served as part of the most elite and honorable fighting force the world is ever known. In case you can't guess, I highly recommend the book Flags of Our Fathers.

I realize this is very early in his career, but Sidney Crosby certainly looks to be one of the all-time greats in the NHL. As a rookie last year, he garnered over a hundred points. This year, he already has 51 and is leading the league in points. The other amazing thing, is the guy in second place in the point standings, is Jaromir Jagr, the Penguins number one draft choice in 1990 or 91. And when you throw in Mario Lemieux, you've probably got three of the best players ever to play in the NHL. All three of these guys have, or will (barring serious injury) lead the NHL in scoring for several years during their careers.
This year's version of the Penguins is really starting to come together. I believe they have won their last four games, with another tonight. In the last two games, Crosby has gotten 10 points. It would really be interesting to see how many points Jagr might have gathered during his career had the NHL enforce the rules during his first 12 years the way they have in the past two or three years. With the enforcement of the current rules, the NHL has become what it always should have been, a wide-open, fast-moving, exciting game. The current crop of rookies second third and fourth year players (Crosby, Kovalchuk, Ovechkin and Malkin), are extremely talented and exciting, and will make for an extremely entertaining product for the NHL in the next couple years. I would love to see the NHL back as a prominent sports league
James A.

Given the fact, that I don't know what I'm doing, this ought to be a real treat for the readers of this blog. I'm not real sure why I am even creating this, other than the fact that at least two of my children have suggested that they might be interested in reading some of my thoughts.

For those of you, who do not know me, and might be interested in who I am, I will give a little bit of background about me.

I am a 54-year-old, fairly conservative, opinionated, white male. I am married to my first wife, and have been for almost 32 years. We are the parents of five children, ranging in age from almost 31 years, to 24 years old. The first four are boys, and the last is our lovely daughter. I am the second child, and the first son of my parents, who have produced 15 children (eight boys, seven girls). We range in age from 55 to 33. And for those of you wondering, yes we are all from the same mother and father.

I do not know what form this blog will take, but I have a feeling you may hear from my children, my siblings, my nieces and nephews, and any other relatives who wish to throw their two cents in.

As I mentioned earlier, I am opinionated, and I guess that if I am doing this, I am not going to be too concerned about stating my opinions. If possible, I will try to keep separate sections for opinions, and general news and random thoughts.