Jan-Feb 2012 News & Views
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012————————————————————————–
Plain & simple thinking may just make one simple , or it may make one a wise old person, with enough of it ,as it can accumulate…
Simple-mindedness can grow with ”under a shell” type of thinking , with little or no Biblical basis. A good thing to avoid in the New Year…
Newer items of interest & possibly wisdom always at the top of the page …
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19. When it comes to auto fuel additives , stabilizers ,etc. ”Lucas oil” brand is by far the best buy for the money . It was started ,and is still run by a man who at one time ran a small stable of semi-trucks , and knew that about all the major oil company fuel add-ons were mostly fluff & advertising. Feb.27-12
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18. Still want to go on the Sail & Sing Cruise Feb 27?
Aprox. 500 Mennonites are setting out on a 4 day ‘singing” cruise out of Miami on Feb 27-12 . As of Feb 23-12 , one can still get on the boat , cabins are still available at $249. and up PP on the particular cruise . But you may be among the 1500 passengers that will not get tickets into the ”singing” part , or the hoop-a-loo of it. (and you pay extra for that !) That has been booked up for a while ……….Bon voyage…Update Mar. 05-12 …Well , they all got back , we were looking at photos online. It is reported that some of the 1500 non-Mennonites on the boat were curious.
Someone overheard a man asking his wife, on the ship’s elevator..”How did you ever manage to get us on a cruise with this many Amish on it ?”
Someone else was heard asked .”Is this spring Break for the Amish?”.
We ourselves went on one of the ‘Big Red Boat” singing at sea Templeton cruises in the late 1990′s . It was great . We got on the last day because of a cancellation , and was our 1st experience about cruise trips. We tired quickly of the almost non-stop preaching & singing, but enjoyed meeting people . Don’t recall exactly the price for the 4-night gig then , it was around 2K for 2 people . But it was on an older trans-atlantic type of Steam powered ship , launched originally in 1964 as the Olympic. It felt more like a real Ship and the food was awesome.
That same boat later became a Japanese ”Peace Ship” , during which time it was attacked by pirates , but outran them because of the speed put on by the Steam powered engines. Two years ago the ‘old ‘Olympic” was beached on an Asian shore , and scrapped by hand by thousands of workers , it was too expensive to run.
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17 So what or who is in a Cult ? The world’s foremost expert on Cults , Dr Margaret singer (1926-2003)
”If a religion weakens ones spirit and personal religious growth , it is a cult , If it strengthens one’s personal experience , that can be true religion ”. End of quote
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16.This week’s Time,Feb13 issue, has an intriguing small note on a new Mexican photojornalist’s upcoming book ,”Las Majeres Flores”. The compiler befriended and photographed ,and somewhat described Mexican Mennonite Women’s lot in the Northern Mexican areas, over a two year period . It is all in Spanish ,except the pictures. Feb 05-12
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15. The Great Uncle Sam’s Tax refund check sweepstakes is now in full swing . A single person or a couple with a child or two that make 10K-12k ,(Minimin wage) per year are now looking at a ‘refund’ check for 5-8 K. That is good. What is not good is that it is almost always all gone in a week or two . Payday lenders have been lending against these checks for months. Landlords, too have patiently waited on them . It is noted ,too that lots of renters move right now , it is called take-and- run, till next year’s check. ….Jan 31-12
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14. Political junkies are astounded at the ongoing Republican Primary . This is the most interesting saga ever . Even better then 1984 when Stompin’ Gary Hart was on a roll , winning little states like Maine before he self destructed dramatically……Jan 26-12
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13. Mitt Romney , the leading Republican contender for President , has not had a Job for years , but still made over 21 millions last year on investments. Maybe we need to put him in to plug the deficit in Federal USA spending. The USA has spent almost 5 trillion dollars more then it brought in over the last 4 years . That is over 150 million dollars borrowed every hour of every day , that supposedly needs to be paid back some day . Wow, and Wow again ……Jan 25-12
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12 The fungicide in the Brazilian Orange Juice in the news now. It seems to be a politically sponsored thing . The Florida O.J. Folks who reported them on this ,had always used the same thing too , until 09 , when they went on to something milder , and failed to renew the yearly request (and permit) to the EPA to use the stuff ,for Oranges.
A lot of other USA fruits like apples , peaches etc. still are sprayed with exactly the same stuff , and legally in the USA. Makes one about want to go organic.At least wash the fruits real good…….Jan 21-12
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11.Wow , that big boat is not going anywhere . The biggest passenger ship to ever go down , is laying on it’s side near Italy , in shallow waters. After seeing a photo of the boat Captain , we hope the authorities thought of giving that chap a breathalyzer test.It weighs in at 120.000 tons . The Great Titanic was only 45.000 tons, a hundred years ago… Jan 15-12
On a related note , the worst ever Known Shipwreck loss of life was the ”Wilhelm Gustloff’ a German refugee ship loaded with over 10.000 people , about half of whom were children . In 1945 a Russian sub torpedoed her and she went down with approx. 9500 lives lost .
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10. we in the mainland USA are having a very mild winter , so far . Not so in Alaska , they are having an extraordinarily harsh winter . And why would anything but Polar bears live in Alaska in the Winter ? Jan. 10-12
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9. So you feel like Bungee jumping ? Watch the video of the “Australian girl falls in bungee cord break in Africa sky news” on Dec 31-11. She miraculously survived.
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8. Just because it’s on EBay does not say it is a good deal . We were recently looking for a Werner 22 ft multi-ladder . EBay has one for $299 plus shipping . Our local Lowe’s store has the exact same item for $169 .
Also a 50 ft round-type drain snake . Online for $75. At Lowe’s for $26 .
Some folks ship Harbor Freight tools with a mark-up on Ebay.
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7. All you ex-Aylmerites , Look up ”RCAF Station Aylmer No 14” on Utube. The commander of this base took film of the fliers training there in World War II .(This is 3 miles west of the Current Aylmer Ontario amish Colony) Over 4100 fighter pilots from the British Commonwealth trained on Harvard aircraft there , before going off to Europe . 26 students and 12 instructors died there in training accidents , 11 are buried in the local cemetery .
Base Commander Irwin returned there to a Memorial dedication in 1983 , and as a flight of old Harvard war-birds roared over in a salute , he dropped over dead of a heart attack.
I’ve never since seen those huge fluffy Clouds , like they have around the great lakes up there , they are on the film ,too , from the early 40′s……Jan 09-12
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6. Dwight Eisenhower was elected USA President in Nov. 1952 . He had only let himself be persuaded to Run 5 months earlier , The Democrats and Republicans both wanted him for their Nominee.Compare that to today’s marathon run , lasting years and years each time.
A slight problem arose when it was discovered Eisenhower never had a Birth Certificate filed in his own name. It was filed in Oct. 1952 , one month before the Election . (Sounds familiar ?)
He had 6 brothers , each to whom the Nick-name Ike was given . (Fat Ike, Little Ike, big Ike , Etc) . His Nick-name at home was Ugly Ike.
The most famous US army General in World War Two , he never saw action in his entire military career. He was a terrific manager , and used those skills very well in his presidency , A cold analytical thinker , with no known close friends , He made a very great President.
And what about all those ”I like Ike ” buttons, with the huge grin ? A brilliant marketing ploy , indeed. Jan 08-12
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5. “As a tree falls . so will it lay” . The second most quoted meaning from a Bible verse in Amishland is taken out of Ecl. 11-3.
And what is the most quoted Bible verse in Amishlands ? Phil 2-12 .. ”Working out our salvation with fear and trembling “‘. All quoted in German language , of course.
And what is the most quoted , misused , and misinterpreted verse in the rest of Christianity, one hears it almost every day in Church gatherings if discussions arise. ? Matt. 7-1 .. ”Judge not ,,,,,,,,” . Jan 06-12
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4. President Obama is vacationing in Hawaii . His Republican Opponents are slugging it out trying to figure out which of them is to oppose him next fall . Almost the entire news media , and White House press Corps treat our Pres. Obama about like a King and rarely pose any meaningful questions to him , just fawning admiration. After all , this President did win a Nobel Peace prize , just for ”giving people hope”.
They used to savage President Bush almost every day , with tough questions , and who can forget the ”off the record” photos and videos of him in odd postures , like when they were getting him ready for speeches , etc. ?
It looks like Mitt Romney , the Mormon .
Whether he can win , or not , we shall see .Pres. Obama is a really nice guy ,and all … After all, the nation is not all like California , where it is now not viable for a republican to win any state-wide contest .Dec 31-11
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3. We were looking up the Amish Family Life magazine online. They of course have no On-line presence, being Amish .
A Christian ,Perhaps Anabaptist company called Scroll Publishing ,Sells about all the Pathway products , and has a very accurate write-up on the Amish Pathway folks , including it’s magazines . We notice they also offer about all of David Bercots’ books , too. They have a lot of worthwhile products and projects , and are upfront that they are only selling, not representing, Pathway products. At least there is a good On-line presence for them .
We did not see any of Frank Viola’s books offered , the ones we have mentioned several times on here. Perhaps it is because he is not Anabaptist oriented , like Bercot is.
We have read several of Viola’s books , and can say they will stir one’s thinking .
Back to the Amish Family Life monthly Magazine , It was originally set up to be called the ”Family Circle” , back in 1968 , until someone pointed out to them that there was already a national magazine by that name , available at all supermarkets , etc. We suppose they had never noticed that . Dec 31-11
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2.Texting on the cell phone is a never ending thing , it seems like . Perhaps it may be a good tool to keep in touch , but there are boundaries to it .
You probably should not do it in Church , certainly not as you are trying to carry on a conversation with a real person on the side , and not when you are driving .
one of the above activities may cause a loss of friendships , and one may cost your , and or other’s lives . Dec.30-11
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1. We are sitting here eating a seasonal concoction , an old fashioned fruitcake . The Fruitcake has a well deserved reputation of something that is perhaps an ordeal to eat . Once a year is enough, at Christmas , is the thinking .
There is the old joke about that there is only one cake in the whole country , people keep passing it from one to another hoping someone will eat it ……Then it is gone .
The ones you buy at the store , the ones you send for , even the ones at the bakery ,almost always have the same characteristics. Too dry, or too crumbly, over-baked , or perhaps the ”fruity” things taste funny . or the whole thing has a reminder of cardboard chips to it .
But the one we are eating just now is absolutely superbly perfect , and will age out well .
And who baked it up ?? Dear Wife Lynda did , of course . Dec.29-11
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