Courage & Sacrifice

The Grand Duke of Luxembourg (what a great title!) is the last Grand Duke in the world, and one of the few royals who is not merely ceremonial. He is apparently in the process of losing his executive power to veto legislation, after objecting to a new Luxembourgian law that allowed euthenasia.  

Over at The Distributist Review, John Medaille offers this commentary:

He was a minor prince on a minor throne in a tiny country. But the Grand Duke was right to make one last Grand Gesture in the name of life, in the name of Europe, in the name of his own people... The Duke is accused of violating democracy; in fact he has defended it by attempting to stop its illegitimate use.

There's something brilliantly romantic (in the old sense of that word) about a bold, principled gesture that comes at such a cost.  Long live the Grand Duke, executive powers or not.

Contrast his action with the Prime Minister's. PM Jean-Claude Junker also opposes the law, but he says parliament's authority should override the Grand Duke's objection. Nevermind that the Grand Duke is constitutionally endowed with veto power (for now, that is). The PM apparently does not object to Parliament stripping the Grand Duke's authority. I wonder - in what sense does he oppose the law? In fact, he seems to be supporting it.

Spiegel online quotes the PM as saying “I understand the Grand Duke's problems of conscience, but I believe that if the parliament votes in a law, it must be brought into force."

Maybe he thinks the Grand Duke should have only used his veto on bills which the Parliament didn't pass? I wonder -if the PM were in the Duke's position and was asked to sign a law he did not believe in, what would he do?

If it was me, I hope I would follow the Grand Duke's example.

Christmas & Consumerism

Well, it's that time of year again, when well-meaning people of faith roll out their annual complaints about the commercialization of Christmas. They're not wrong, for the most part, but I think they tend to overlook one important aspect of this whole thing.

The cool thing about the consumerism of Christmas is we also get the Christmas-ification of the Consumer Cathedral (aka The Mall).

Personally, I find it amazing that, for one month out of the year, I can go to the mall and consistently hear the Gospel proclaimed, in song, over the loudspeakers. I'm not saying that's entirely right - just that it's a little bit amazing.

Sure, they play Frosty and Rudolph, but it's not unusual to hear Christmas songs with lyrics about Jesus' mission to "save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray." At the mall. Over the loudspeakers. I think that's really something.

I hardly ever see the reverse happen - people from the mall almost never come to my church and spend a month singing their advertisements. THAT would be something to complain about.

Free Money!

In a blatant example of blog-post-stealing, I'm borrowing some words from Andy Sernovitz' appropriately named blog, Damn I Wish I'd Thought Of That. A few days ago, he posted about Restaurant.com's cool new offer:

Restaurant.com will let you send a free $10 gift certificate to 3 friends each day from Nov. 26 to Dec. 25.  (Yes, there are real $10 good-as-cash gift certificates.)

(In case you're wondering how it works, restaurants provide the discounts to get more business.)

How can you give your customers a reason to tell 3 friends about you?

Send your friend $10 here.

Pretty cool, isn't it? What a brilliant marketing idea!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

The other day I heard the song "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" on the radio. When the singer got the line "...and Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again," I burst out laughing.

My first thought was "What a funny line!"

My second thought was "How have I never noticed that line before?"

Seriously, has that line always been in that song? 'Cause I don't remember EVER hearing it before. It caught me off guard so much that it actually made me laugh. How I managed to make it through 35 Christmases without hearing that line is a mystery beyond my comprehension.

(and it is a pretty funny sentiment for a Christmas song, when you stop to think about it)

Bob Charette Interview

Bob Charette wrote the cover story for IEEE Spectrum's latest issue. It's titled "What's Wrong with Weapons Acquisitions," and it's a fascinating, gutsy story.

Yes, I know there are many ways to answer that question, but Charette's take on it is really insightful and authoritative. He was recently interviewed on NPR's Here and Now, and you can listen to the interview here (and now).

Earth Friendly / Tone Deaf

Walking through a bookstore the other day, I came across a calendar with a big green "Earth Friendly" sticker slapped on it. It proclaimed that the calendar was made from recycled paper and soy-based ink.  I whipped out my handy-dandy fuzzy camera phone to take this photo, just for you:

The reason I took the photo is not because earth friendly printing options are so snazzy, new or surprising. No, I took the photo because the calendar was all about combat jets, as the photo below shows. The printing may be "Earth Friendly," but that's not the term I'd use to describe the subject.

The fact that I really dislike the F-22 (which is pictured on the front of the calendar) has nothing to do with my reaction. OK, maybe a little something to do with it. But even if it was a more respectable fighter on the front cover, I'd still think it's a strange choice of wording for that little green sticker.

Next time, maybe they should go with "100% Recycled Paper" sticker instead.

Boomer Sisters Update!

Big news from the world of The Boomer Sisters!

The fourth book in the series, The Boomer Sisters And The Pirates of Lake Champlain, is now complete and ready for sale! It's got adventure. It's got peril. It's got pirates. And not to give too much away, Champy (the local lake monster) makes a little cameo appearance near the end... sorta. Follow the link above to read a preview and order your own copy!

Also, I'm expanding out into Boomer Sisters Merchandise a bit, and proudly announce The Boomer Sisters Coloring Book! It features artwork by the talented Mandy Hoelmer, as seen in all four books.

Of course, all the books are still available at Rogue Press, just in time for your holiday shopping!

It's for the kids...

I apologize for the more-fuzzy-than-usual quality of this photo, but it's compliments of my handy-dandy fuzzy little camera phone, and which seems to get particularly fuzzy when the subject is up close.

Anyway, we were sorting through some of the kids clothes the other day when I noticed the tag on one of the shirts. I thought, this is a very strange brand name, and I therefore must blog about it.

Seriously, who thinks "Anxiety for Kids" is a good name for a brand of clothing? What's next - replacing the Nike swoosh on kid's shoes with the orange ball from the Prozac logo?

Surf Ohio!

The Ohio Surf & Skate shop is just down the road from our house here, and it cracks me up every time I see it. 'Cause yeah, when I think of surfing, I think of Ohio.