Foundations - Session 1

At our church we are teaching a group class called ‘Foundations’ that is designed to help people pursue becoming more like Christ. This is the outline I put together for the first session. The outline is from the book ‘Fully Devoted: living each day in Jesus’ name’ but also included are some comments by me. I think this simplifies as well as adds some things to the book. Becoming like Christ requires us to make a continuous effort and this is identified in the Ten Core Values section.

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Summary of Main Points from Sunday Foundations Class

Book used for this class is: ‘Fully Devoted: living each day in Jesus’ name’ by John Ortberg et al.

Sections from the book used for this summary Include

·         Pursuing Spiritual Transformation - p7

·         Ten Core Values - p9

·         Fully Devoted: Living Each Day in Jesus’ Name – p11

·         Session One – What is true Spirituality? – p13

What is Spiritual Transformation?

Being transformed into likeness of Christ (Internal change leads to external change)

Order your way of life in such a way that you stay connected to Christ – Thinking as He thought, Speaking as He spoke and Walking as He walked

 To become more like Christ

Practice (Bible Reading, Prayer, Meditation, Church attendance, etc. – a/k/a the Disciplines), experience and relationships (group and /or one-on-one) help you live intimately with Christ  

Supreme diagnostic (Ask yourself)

Are you becoming more like Christ – more loving toward God and others?

Are the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) beginning to be exhibited in your life and are you ‘making every effort’ to add to your faith the ‘add to’s’ (2Peter 1:5-11) as a way to make that determination

Question to ask yourself and answer daily

How is your Spiritual Life?

(See Supreme Diagnostic above)

If your heart isn’t changing (toward God and others), you will look for more superficial and visible ways (external things) of demonstrating that you are spiritual (like the Pharisees in Luke 11:37-54), such as:

Bragging about how much we know

Thinking we need to be immersed in many spiritual practices

Looking down on people who (we think) are not working as hard as we are

Focusing on outward behaviors – things that people can see

The book (‘Fully Devoted’) is presented as a tool by Ortberg et al (with the 5 G’s Framework of Grace, Growth, Groups, Gifts and Giving) that will work like a Doctor to:

Help diagnose your Spiritual condition

Then prescribe the practices, experiences and relationships you need to make progress

 Your responsibility each week, as a participant, for each session as identified in the book

Complete the exercises

Do the Bible Study

Complete the Spiritual Exercises

Be willing to join in the discussion – with questions or disagreements

Listen attentively

Don’t dominate the discussion

Review the story of Hank – (does this describe you or someone you know?) These are the highlights

He attended church a long time

He wasn’t changing or being transformed

No one in church was

Surprised

Expected Hank to change

Surprised when he didn’t change

Other expectations of the church (Can these expectations alone identified below really change someone to become like Christ?)

Attend services

Read the Bible

Affirm right beliefs

Give money

Do church work

Volunteer

I think without having a desire of wanting to become like Christ and a hunger to know Christ it is hard to love God and love others. It involves internal change (heart change) not just external change or actions. See reference above to the Fruit of the Spirit and the Add to’s.

Two views of happiness

Two views of happiness below. Note the last word in Elizabeth Gilbert’s quote – relentlessly. I take that to mean you can’t ever stop pursuing happiness. If you are influenced by the world you can’t ever be completely happy until you buy the latest and greatest stuff – cars, clothes, jewelry, travel, liquor, etc. And you do know that never ends, right?

See God’s solution in the last line of the Scripture from Luke. But everything will be provided to you if you relentlessly pursue God.

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"People tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will descend like fine weather if you're fortunate. But happiness is the result of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly."

Elizabeth Gilbert

²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Luke 12:27-31

Who can be trusted with freedom?

"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid."

– Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

I saw this quote in the front of Mitt Romney’s book and thought it makes a great deal of sense and I think it provides a lot of insight into what we should consider when voting for the next President. A President who wants to make the US weaker by either deep cuts to military spending or by making its citizens weaker as a result of giving out more and more funds or privileges without requiring responsibility in return (adhering to principles) for these funds puts America at risk in many ways. The major way is through internal weakness and destruction.

Other quotes from Dwight D Eisenhower 34th President of the US and a 5 Star General who served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II.

·         "A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."

 

·         "Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow."

 

·         "Only strength can cooperate. Weakness can only beg."

·         "The history of free men is never really written by chance but by choice; their choice!"

 

·         "Only Americans can hurt America."

 

·         "Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free."

·         "The best morale exist when you never hear the word mentioned. When you hear a lot of talk about it, it's usually lousy."

 

·         "If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom."

What makes men strong?

“The pursuit of the difficult makes men strong”

– George Romney

Why You Need To Lead With Your Heart

Why You Need To Lead With Your Heart

By Mark C. Crowley – Fast Company

October 15, 2012

http://www.fastcompany.com/3002141/why-you-need-lead-your-heart?partner=commentdriver#comment-683119498

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I’m wondering if you have ever been exposed to this type of thinking about Management that is discussed in the article below. Everything in this article may be correct but my experience is that when results are on the line, when deadlines have to be met and when the chief of the Division demands something then no one cares about anyone’s heart or emotions. In fact if you don’t control your emotions there is a good chance you’ll be fired or get reprimanded.

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If you think your brain makes you a great leader, you better check your head.

According to the Conference Board, job satisfaction in America has been on a steep and steady decline for an entire generation. The century-old research organization reported this summer that more than half of all US employees are unhappy in their jobs today--effectively an all-time low.

Recent Gallup studies not only validate that people feel worse about their work, bosses and organizations than ever before, they reveal a remarkable 71 percent of American workers are either not engaged in their jobs--or have become actively disengaged.

Clearly, all this discontent is bad for business. Gallup estimates that it's costing $300 billion in lost productivity every year.

Given all that's at stake, and with all the great business minds presumably attacking the crisis, we're left to wonder why we've yet to stem the tide? How is it that we haven't yet identified what it will take to re-inspire our nation's workforce?

Drawing upon recent scientific discoveries, it appears it's because the solution contradicts one of the most widely accepted and long-enduring paradigms in business. We now know that the path to engaging workers is through their hearts.

What We All Were Taught: "Keep The Heart And Emotions Out Of Leadership."

The idea of bringing the heart into workplace leadership widely is seen as being a soft and weak approach that inherently undermines productivity and profitability. Traditional leadership theory assures us the best managers are the brainiest and most analytical--intentionally insulated from emotions.

But according to research conducted by the Institute of HeartMath, organizations that will endure and even thrive will be those that reject flat-earth attitudes about heart and leadership, and accept that both feelings and emotions play an enormous role in driving employee (human) behavior.

If your desire is to be a leader who attracts and retains the best people all-the-while producing truly uncommon and sustainable performance, here are two things you must know about the power and influence of the human heart:

The heart is the primary driver of optimal human performance

HeartMath's research largely has been focused on the physiology of optimal human performance--what has to go on inside of a person's brain, body and nervous system to be able to think clearly, maintain composure, and perform to one's full potential.

According to Dr. Rollin McCraty, HeartMath's Director of Research, they've discovered the heart, as "an organ of perception and intelligence," is a huge part of the equation.

"We now know that the heart and the brain are in a constant two-way communication and that the heart sends more information to the brain than vice versa. The signals the heart sends affect the brain centers involved in our decision-making and in our ability to perceive. In other words, each beat reflects our current emotional state. If we're angry, irritated or frustrated, the heart beats out a very chaotic message. Conversely, more positive emotions create harmony in our nervous system and the heart rhythm pattern we have when we're in our most optimal state."

Coincidentally, a Towers Watson study recently showed that the greatest driver of employee engagement worldwide is whether or not people feel their managers and organizations have genuine concern for their well-being. Heartmath's corresponding insight: More caring leaders set off the neural machinery that produces optimal workplace performance."

Emotions drive performance

The prevailing belief in leadership is that emotions undermine good decision-making and other cognitive tasks and have no place in the workplace. But the new research is very clear that the repression of them greatly inhibits human functioning.

"While it's obvious that certain kinds of emotions drain our energy and thereby negatively affect our performance," McCraty says, "we now know it's our emotions that drive our biochemistry--not the other way around. Feelings and emotions, therefore, determine our level of engagement in life, what motivates us and what we care about."

Initial cynicism toward this information is something McCraty routinely experiences firsthand. The US military has contracted with HeartMath to teach its soon-to-be deployed personnel how to maintain psychological composure when enduring the most stressful wartime circumstances.

Here's how McCraty successfully persuades a room full of sceptical soldiers that feelings and emotions are the driving force in their lives:

"Some of you joined the military for the paycheck, but I'll bet it's not the majority of you. I'll bet you're here because you care about the country and its way of life, right? Raise your hands."

All hands go up.

"And you have the courage to stand up and do something about it."

Everyone nods their heads.

"You have the integrity and dignity to stand up for America."

McCraty then hammers home the point: "Are these not emotions?"

"Yes, they're the strongest emotions we have. Courage gives you the power to do things others wouldn't or couldn't. Dignity is doing the right thing when no one is looking--that kind of integrity. These are all the emotions that really motivate us and determine what we care about in life…why we choose to do the things we do in life."

The bottom line

It's long been believed that a job and a paycheck was sufficient motivation for workers to perform. But pay in all of its manifestations now ranks no higher than fifth in importance globally as the reason why people excel in their jobs.

While the idea of managing people with greater care may strike some as intrinsically wimpy, the Conference Board's ongoing employee engagement research has proved that workplace leadership cannot succeed without it.

What matters most to people is how they are made to feel by the organizations that employ them, and by the bosses who manage them. So, demonstrate to your employees that they're authentically valued. Provide them with opportunities to grow and to contribute at a higher level. Appreciate their work. Make people feel they matter. Do all these things and more--knowing it's rarely an appeal to our minds that inspires any of our greatest achievements.

Mark C. Crowley is the author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century. Reach him on Twitter @markccrowley or via his website.

When does Respect start?

'Earning respect starts with giving it'

- Suzanne Grant, Commenter, "Why You Need To Lead With Your Heart" at Fast Company

Don't want to think?

Saw this on the internet today...

"The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking."

 -- John Kenneth Galbraith

Some questions are more important than others

I heard a discussion today about which of two questions would be better to ask your children. Take some time to think about the two questions referenced below.

Then I think you should take some time to think about the questions identified for Adults below..

 

 

Which question is better to ask your children?

·       What do you want to do when you grow up?

(Adults - What are you striving to become (not only in your job or career)? Why? Do you want

your kids to become this?)

Or,

·       Who do you want to be like when you grow up?

(Adults - Who are you becoming? Are you happy with this? Is your family happy? Do you want

your kids to be like you? You have choices.)

The example picked is important to your child’s future.

 

I have found I have become a better man by choosing to follow Christ and to be like Him. You can also. Following Christ is a relationship you will have personally with Jesus. The relationship that others have with Jesus won't affect you unless you let it.

 

An example you may relate to is following a sports team. At some point in your life a friend of yours may have encouraged you to follow a sports team when they were doing very well. You begin to follow and enjoy the team and learn more and more and look forward to the games. You are happy with them even when they lose. But you friend gets discouraged when the team loses, starts to complain, stops attending and watching games and ultimately moves onto another team.

 

Will you stop rooting for the team just because your friend stopped? Maybe you did. Or Maybe you decided that your friend's decision about the team won't impact you. That's the way to look at your relationship with Jesus. Everyone makes their own choice about Jesus. If you let Him He will help you change your life. Just ask Him into your life to be your Lord and Savior and then start to learn more about Him.

 

 

*These questions for your children were part of a discussion on Glen Beck’s radio show today

 

 

Raising taxes is not the only solution

In the private sector if a business wants to continue to operate it has to earn a profit. And if it doesn’t, it has three options. Increase sales, reduce costs or increase sales and reduce costs at the same time. Private sector executives will make a decision and take action to resolve the situation.

The politicians currently with the predominance of power say the only way to resolve our budget situation is to increase taxes? So why is it that the politicians aren’t willing to reduce spending?

·         First, they have convinced you that you won’t have to pay for the increased costs of government programs. And they are driving a wedge between you and the wealthy. And now the President is trying to convince you that the millionaires and billionaires in America will end up paying for new programs and costs (their fair share) – but if you investigate these claims you will see that the M’s and B’s don’t have enough wealth or income to pay all of these costs.  You know, I think the Administration has a bridge they want to sell to you. That’s right you are going to have to pay for all these additional costs, if not now then sometime in the near future if we continue on the same path.

·         Second, they are counting on you giving up the fight to lower the taxes that they said they wouldn’t raise to cover the additional programs in the first item above. Plus it won’t only be taxes. Once the government has taken the wealth of the M’s and B’s and it isn’t enough, they know you don’t have the ability or the willingness to resist and fight them as the M’s and B’s did. So they will find ways to take more and more of your wealth and income. By the way these types of things have happened in the past. See the examples of totalitarianism regimes throughout history.

·         Third, the spend-with-no-limit politicians want to spend more money (all government spending is basically used to buy more votes so the politicians get re-elected) and know that you will vote them out of office if they are totally honest with you about what they want to do or spend funds on. Politicians treat you as if you are a mushroom – they keep you in the dark and covered with manure – and then they do everything they can to tell you how great everything is.

What can you or should you do?

·        The way you, your family and friends vote for President in the upcoming US Elections in November is critical.

·        Contact your US Senator and have them demand that the US Senate introduce and pass a balanced budget bill. The US Senate has refused to introduce and vote on a budget bill for three years. The reason for this is that the Senate Majority Leader doesn’t want his members on record as in favor of increased spending. The US House has passed a budget bill and the President will ultimately have to sign a mutually agreed upon bill.

·        Look at the proposed direction of the US for the next four years and realize that America will not become stronger by continuing to give more and more money to those who don’t or won’t work and by providing benefits and special treatment to certain groups. This only makes people weaker if they are not expected to work or to stand up for themselves. It produces planned dependence. The US becomes stronger when we have stronger people. People who are not severely challenged should be expected to contribute to the economy of the country. These are people who take responsibility for themselves and their country. Contact your US Senators and US Representatives and ask that they pass legislation to this effect.

·        Do the same things at the State and Local levels if the same problems are occurring there. One of the reasons there may not be a problem in these areas is that most, if not all, states have balanced budget requirements where government cannot operate without a balanced budget.

The future is in your hands and you can help to set the right direction or the wrong direction.

 

Leading from Below

In the private sector if a business wants to continue to operate they have to earn a profit. And if they don’t, they have three options. Increase sales, reduce costs or increase sales and reduce costs at the same time. So why is it that the politicians aren’t willing to reduce spending as well as to increase taxes?

·         First, they have convinced you that you won’t have to pay for the increased costs of government programs. And they are driving a wedge between you and the wealthy. And now the President is trying to convince you that the millionaires and billionaires in America will end up paying for new programs and costs – but if you investigate these claims you will see that the M’s and B’s don’t have enough wealth or income to pay all of these costs.  You know, I think the Administration has a bridge they want to sell to you. That’s right you are going to have to pay for all these additional costs if not now then sometime in the near future.

·         Second, they are counting on you giving up the fight to lower taxes they said they wouldn’t raise to cover the additional programs in the first item above. Plus it won’t only be taxes. Once the government has taken the wealth of the M’s and B’s they know you don’t have the ability or the willingness to resist and fight them as the M’s and B’s did. So they will find ways to take more and more of your wealth and income. By the way these types of things have happened in the past. See the examples of totalitarianism throughout history.

·         Third, the politicians want to spend more money (all government spending is basically used to buy more votes so the politicians get re-elected) and know that you will vote them out of office if they are totally honest with you about what they want to do or spend funds on. Politicians treat you as if you were a mushroom – they keep you in the dark and covered with manure – and then they do everything they can to tell you how great everything is.

What can you or should you do?

·       The way you and your family and friends vote in the upcoming US Elections in November is critical.

·       Contact your US Senator and have them demand that the US Senate introduce and pass a balanced budget bill. The US Senate has refused to introduce and vote on a budget bill for three years. The reason for this is that the Senate doesn’t want their members on record as in favor of increased spending. The US House has passed a budget bill and the President will ultimately have to sign a mutually agreed upon bill.

·       Look at the proposed direction of the US and realize that America will not become stronger by continuing to give more and more money to those who don’t or won’t work.  This only makes people weaker if they are not expected to work. It produces planned dependence. The US becomes stronger when we have stronger people. Contact your US Senators and US Representatives and express your views about this

·       Do the same things at the State and Local levels if the same problems are occurring there. One of the reasons there may not be a problem in these areas is that most, if not all, states have balanced budget requirements where government cannot operate without a balanced budget.

What kind of package are you?

I think this quote is right on the money. And I think it applies to everyone.

‘When a man is wrapped up in himself, he makes a pretty small package.’

By John Ruskin

Texas Pushes $10,000 Degree

Texas Pushes $10,000 Degree

Gov. Perry Renews Call for Low-Cost College Education as Student Debt Loads Rise

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443493304578039040237714224.html?mod= WSJ_hpp_sections_news

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This is an interesting article identifying changes in education for the benefit of students that includes creativity, technology, higher standards, larger classes, scholarships and changed attitudes. All of this can lead to lower costs for degrees.
It’s interesting that additional amounts of money have been spent by the US Government for about 50 years through Great Society Programs for education and other government services with the result that costs have risen at rapid rates and included constant hiring of more and more teachers and related staff with relatively little improvement in education. This article presents some hope for education for the multitudes at lower costs where the education system won’t be held hostage by the unions, bureaucrats and politicians.

The idea that constantly spending more money will solve the problem is foolish in this case because government doesn't have complete control of the process and probably doesn't want complete control. The way the system is set up now everyone involved can continue to benefit and point the finger at others as the cause of the problem and not have to worry about reductions in funding, loss of significant numbers of jobs or being turned out of office.

Change is within our grasp if we will make the commitment to educate our children in the most effective ways at the most effective cost.

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For sale: a college education for $10,000 or less.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is renewing his call for such lower-cost undergraduate degrees, in what he hopes will be the state's signature response to the national problem of rising college tuition and student debt.

"A $10,000 degree provides an opportunity for students to earn a low-cost, high-quality degree that will get them where they want to go in their careers and their lives," the Republican governor said in a statement last week. The governor has repeatedly urged schools to find ways to teach students more efficiently.

Ten Texas colleges have responded to the governor's challenge, first made a year ago. Angelo State University, a 7,000-student school in west Texas, announced Wednesday it will offer a $10,000 degree starting next fall. The 10 schools educate more than 50,000 students, or roughly 10% of the undergraduates at public universities in the state, but don't include the state's flagship public universities, such as the University of Texas at Austin.

As details of the colleges' plans have emerged, so have skeptics who question the financial and academic viability of pricing college at a fraction of the roughly $30,000 that students at Texas public universities pay on average over four years. They say reaching the $10,000 goal in some cases involves big scholarships for select students rather than real reductions in the cost of providing an education, and thus the path to a low-cost degree still isn't open to large numbers of students.

Taylor Ball, a graduate student in education at Angelo State, said the school's reduced-rate degree doesn't cover many significant costs, including campus housing, meal plans and textbooks. "It's those other fees that really get you," she said.

Mr. Perry's plan comes at a time when tuition is soaring; undergraduate costs at public four-year universities climbed 139% between 1990 and 2010, according to the nonprofit College Board.

For the 2011-12 academic year, average tuition and fees across the nation were $8,244 at a four-year public university and $28,500 at a private institution, the College Board said.

Driving recent price increases are cuts in appropriations for higher education by states as they struggle to balance their budgets. Between 2006 and 2011 state governments appropriated 12.5% less per student, according to a March report by the State Higher Education Officers.

One result is that students are taking on increasing amounts of education-related debt. Americans owed $904 billion in student loans at the end of March, nearly 8% more than a year ago, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That compares with the $679 billion they owed on credit cards at the end of the first quarter.

A handful of public and private schools have experimented with ways to reduce costs. The University of the South in Tennessee cut tuition by 10% two years ago. That same year, Seton Hall University, a private school in New Jersey, cut tuition 68% for certain top students to match the in-state rate for Rutgers University, a nearby public school.

In Texas, the University of Texas at Arlington introduced a $10,000-degree track that will credit classes students take in high school and at a local community college, and incorporate a $10,000 scholarship to qualifying students.

Texas A&M University-Commerce, near Dallas, will offer a $10,000 degree in "organizational leadership" that will award some course credits to students as soon as they have demonstrated competency in a subject, such as accounting, by passing an exam—a potentially quicker route to a degree than the usual method of awarding credits only after students have spent a certain amount of time in class.

To offer its new $9,974 degree, starting next year, Angelo State will increase class sizes, offer courses online and will incorporate a $5,000 annual scholarship for participating students. To qualify, students must have relatively high standardized test scores and maintain a grade point average of 3.5 or better.

The program is designed for mature students, such as those with work experience who are prepared to be focused in their pursuit of a degree, said Angelo State President Joseph Rallo, who notes that younger students often take relatively light course loads and struggle to complete their degrees in four years.

The push for lower-cost degrees has generated widespread concern among Texas professors, who say they fear schools are sacrificing quality by seeking savings, for instance by increasing the use of adjunct professors.

Adjunct faculty often are paid on a per-class basis and have to teach heavy loads just to earn a modest living, leaving them little time to advise and guide student outside the classroom, said Ann McGlashan, a Baylor University professor who heads the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Thomas Lindsay, an education expert at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank in Austin, said critiques of low-cost degrees miss the broader significance—that colleges, for the first time, are broadly thinking of ways to lower their costs.

"The governor has incentivized the sort of creativity on the part of schools that it is going to take to address the college affordability problem," he said.

Write to Nathan Koppel at nathan.koppel@wsj.com and Douglas Belkin at doug.belkin@wsj.com

 

Sandwiches Made Famous by Movies

Movie Sandwiches: Sandwiches Made Famous by Movies

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/movie-sandwiches.htm

Sure, you eat within the dark confines of a movie theater (and arguably more than you would in any other venue), but how often do you pay special attention to what’s being eaten on screen? Over the last two decades, sandwiches in particular have played a starring role in some of the country’s most notable films. Remember Denzel Washington’s pastrami feast in the 1993 movie Philadelphia? What about dozens upon dozens of shots of the White Castle slider in the 2004 stoner flick Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle?

Here’s a look at five momentous sandwich-eating adventures, all made famous by the silver screen:

National Lampoon’s Vacation, 1983
Fewer characters captured our attention in the ‘80s better than the bumbling, dorky, and ultimately lovable Clark W. Griswold, hysterically played by Chevy Chase in the National Lampoon flicks. In the original, written by John Hughes (of Sixteen Candles and Breakfast Club fame), Griswold blithely enjoys a bologna sandwich in a park one day, only to find out—yuck!—that crotchety old Aunt Edna’s dog, Dinky, has urinated on it. “Mom, my sandwich is all wet,” protests Griswold’s son Rusty, played by a teenage Anthony Michael Hall. “They’re all wet... Oh God!... The dog wet on the picnic basket,” exclaims Mom, as Griswold spits out his bite. Aunt Edna famously looks at hers, shrugs, and keeps on eating.

The Breakfast Club, 1985

Set primarily within the four walls of a single classroom, The Breakfast Club relies on the small stuff to stay interesting. The lunchtime scene in this ultimate coming-of-age cult classic is genius: each of the five students stuck in detention put their own gastronomic spin on things. Take Allison Reynolds, the dark, introverted, weird outcast played by Ally Sheedy: she replaces the pimento loaf from her sandwich with Pixy Stix and Cap’n Crunch cereal. If you endeavor to make your own, be sure to smash the sandwich down once the fillings are in place—it really adds to the authenticity.

When Harry Met Sally, 1989

In a rom-com where nearly every line is quotable, perhaps no scene is more famous than Sally Albright’s famous chow-down in the legendary New York City deli Katz’s. Albright, played by Meg Ryan, is trying to convince her friend Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) that he might not be quite so savvy as he thinks in the sphere of female satisfaction. To drive the point home, Albright puts her fork down, takes a breath, and enacts a minute-long, extremely audible fake orgasm that captures the attention of everyone in the restaurant. Harry, meanwhile, is forced to put down his pastrami sandwich—a Katz specialty, of course—that he’s been so dutifully consuming. At the end, one amazed onlooker remarks to the waitress, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Dave, 1993

A poignant moment in the ‘90s rom-com Dave comes when presidential impersonator Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, awakens one night in the White House and asks Secret Service agent Duane Stevenson to accompany him to the kitchen so he can make his “special sandwich.” As Kovic and Stevenson discuss things the average person would certainly wonder about if given access to the President’s security team—say, whether Stevenson would actually take a bullet for the President or whether he ever uses his gun—Kovic mindfully assembles an ultra-bionic sandwich piled high with meat and lettuce. “So that means, now you’d get killed for me too?” Kovic concludes. Then he hands Stevenson half of his masterpiece.

Spanglish, 2004

A sandwich stars in the 2004 Adam Sandler flick Spanglish just as the narrative comes to a head: Sandler’s John Clasky, having just realized his wife has cheated on him, comes home one night after working as head chef of a popular restaurant and whips up the best sandwich he’s ever made in his life for his live-in housekeeper, Flor Moreno. It’s over sandwich-making that Moreno, played by Paz Vega, and Clasky realize their love for each other, and it’s no wonder: world-renowned chef Thomas Keller actually provided the recipe for the movie and personally taught Sandler how to make it. There’s finesse involved, of course, but the basic gist is this: three slices of bacon, fried up perfectly in a pan and drained, plus melted monterey jack, mayo, a fried egg, a tomato, lettuce, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Apparently the egg shouldn’t break until the moment you cut the sandwich, which has 1,200 calories when made correctly.

 

Think about this

Forbes Thought Of The Day

“Life is given to us, we earn it by giving it.”

— Rabindranath Tagore

Are The Presidential Debate Reviews Already Written?

Some tips for watching the Presidential Debate tonight, Wednesday, October 3, 2012, between US President Obama and his Republican opponent Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts.

The reporting by the major media, or the ‘main stream media’ as they are referred to, on tonight’s debate will be that:

·         President Obama killed it and cares more about people and Romney doesn’t have a chance because he wants to raise taxes on the middle class to benefit the wealthy.

·         Even if Obama makes a mistake, the media will say that he looked more Presidential than Romney, that he cares more for people and that Romney only cares about raising taxes on the middle class and that all of his policies will benefit the wealthy. Pretty standard boiler plate stuff for Obama and his minions.

·         In the event it appears to the public that Romney is the winner, or at least did better than Obama we won’t hear much about it but the media will probably say that Romney didn’t do as well as he could have or that Obama was at a disadvantage or that Romney still wants to raise taxes on the middle class to benefit the wealthy.

I think the media has just done a similar thing as I have by pre-writing their stories or commentaries before the debate because they know what they are going to say by using some of the stuff that I have used above. This is the standard stuff (DNC talking points) the media has been dispensing since the DNC Convention.

Some advice for you, that I have heard or read on or in the various media sites listed below, that can help you during and after tonight’s debate.

Don’t let the main stream or major media influence you in their attempts to discourage you from voting for Romney. If you only watch the main stream or major media (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS, NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times and most other major newspapers and many local TV stations) reporting you will always be disappointed because they have made no effort to be fair or to accurately report on what is going on in politics.

Their polling numbers being reported are distorted in many cases because they over sample Democrats and that causes the results to be skewed in favor of Obama. They want Obama to win and they will do whatever it takes to help him get re-elected. To verify this, listen to the reports on all the major networks and media outlets and you will hear them use the same words and themes to describe those opposed to Obama or his philosophy and policies.

And check to see what polls were most accurate and at what point during past elections. Polls conducted now don’t really matter. It’s the polls right before the election that will be the most accurate and that is because the pollsters have to maintain some type of credibility so they can get work in the future.

The way to get a better understanding about what is really going on in America and around the world is to read and listen to media outlets with views in opposition to Obama and the Liberal Progressives and read the opinions and editorials and view the commentaries that appear on the following sites:

The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-opinion-commentary.html?mod=WSJ_topnav_opinion_main

Drudge Report

http://drudgereport.com/

The Blaze

http://www.theblaze.com/

Breitbart

http://www.theblaze.com/

Glenn Beck – Radio, TV and Internet

http://www.glennbeck.com/

Rush Limbaugh – Radio

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/

Michael Medved - Radio

http://www.michaelmedved.com/

Dennis Prager - Radio

http://www.dennisprager.com/

 

Making Your Presidential Choice

If you go to the site identified at the bottom of the post and answer the questions your answers will tell you who you most like in the next Presidential election.

I think you will find that you already know who you are going to vote for. But it is interesting to go through the process due to the categories it identifies based on your answers. I think it is worth the time.

I have listed the questions below. You will have to go to the site to record your answers and then check the the answer. See the link below.

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Where do you side on social issues?

What is your stance on abortion?

Should gay marriage be allowed in the U.S.?

Should the federal government allow the death penalty?

 

Where do you side on environmental issues?

Is Global Warming a threat to the environment?

Should we expand our offshore oil drilling?

Should U.S. National Parks and Forests continue to be preserved and protected by the federal government?

Where do you side on economic issues?

Should the government raise the federal minimum wage?

Should Congress raise the debt ceiling?

Should the U.S. have bailed out the major banks during the financial crisis of 2008?

 

Where do you side on domestic policy issues?

Do you support increased gun control?

Do you support the Patriot act?

Should the federal government regulate the internet to deter online piracy?

 

Where do you side on healthcare issues?

Should marijuana be legalized in the U.S.?

Do you support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)?

Should we expand or dismantle our Medicare program?

 

Where do you side on foreign policy issues?

Should the U.S. intervene in the affairs of other countries?

Should the U.S. end the war in Afghanistan?

Should the U.S. maintain a presence at the United Nations?

 

Where do you side on immigration issues?

Should children of illegal immigrants be granted citizenship?

Should illegal immigrants be given access to government-subsidized healthcare?

Should illegal immigrants working in the U.S. be granted temporary amnesty?

 

Where do you side on science issues?

Do you believe the theory of Evolution?

Should the federal government fund stem cell research?

Should the United States increase our space exploration efforts and budget?

The above questions were selected because they give a broad sample of the most divisive issues being discussed in the 2012 Presidential Race. Some issues have been left out because a majority of the candidates have yet to take a position on them. As the race progresses and more issues are discussed we will add more questions accordingly.

http://www.isidewith.com/presidential-election-quiz