Christmas at Singsaas

I'm posting these photos of my church from Christmas, partly because some of my international friends don't see a white, beautiful, classic Christmas... enjoy!

Iowa, Part 2: Hello Ron Paul!

I made my second trip to Iowa yesterday (Dec. 29) with my family. We headed straight south to two towns, Rock Rapids and Sioux Center.

We were fresh on Mitt Romney's trail, who had been in Rock Rapids one day earlier. We asked a couple of people if they had seen him or heard that he was in town- but they hadn't. Iowa seems saturated with all things political now. Plastic politicians like Romney are just starting to blend into the Iowan backdrop.

I got really excited in Sioux Center, because we saw FOUR Ron Paul yard signs on lawns. That's more than any other candidate had in that town. We left literature in their doors- I'm sure they were pleasantly surprised to come back and see that the revolution had been through!

All in all, we distributed maybe 600 slim jims... We talked to a number of people, many of whom hadn't heard of Ron Paul. Now they have.

Go-go Gershwin

This recording of "It Ain't Necessarily So" is amazing. Listen closely starting at 1:40.

You ought to give Iowa a try..

Five degrees, the high of the day.

Today, I went to Clear Lake and Mason City Iowa, to spread the gospel of Ron Paul. I went with another fellow-RP supporter from Minnesota, and we left bright (dark) and early, at 5:20 am (see below.)

The day was chilly (5 degrees) so being out all day wasn't a healthy option. However, the two of us dropped a total of 500 "slim jims" (information pamphlets) - 380 door-to-door and 120 in parking lots.

Our observations in these two towns is that Hillary owns them. We saw several Hillary signs, a few Obama signs and a couple of very large Romney signs (I wonder how much he paid for those?)

We talked to one seemingly informed Iowan, and he is confident that Edwards will win the state. Apparently Edwards' Iowa campaign is extremely well-run and efficient. Actually, going door to door, I noticed one Edwards info sheet in a door, plus 2 mailings (in OPEN mailboxes.. I did NOT open them!!) sent from his campaign.

The discouraging thing is that we didn't see any Ron Paul signs, and from the reactions of people we met, these cities have not been hit by the rEVOLution.

I'll leave you with this recent quote from News Long Island:

"No longer can it be said that Ron Paul is running for President. Amazingly enough, his candidacy has been hijacked, and it appears now that the people are running for President. . . through Ron Paul!"

I haven't seen that hour for years.

Slim jimmin, or Ron Paul-ing?

Slim Jim and Hillary

Amo el tango...

I'm obsessed with this video on YouTube.

First, I love Gotan Project, who's taken tango music to great places, combining great tango melodies with electronica. I also love the tango dance, and this video captures the Argentine version wonderfully.
Enjoy!

One thing I really, truly hate

If there is one thing I just honestly hate doing, it's hand writing. I would take typing for 8 hours versus writing for 2 hours ANY day. It makes my hands hurt. I unconsciously grit my teeth when I'm doing it. My whole arm and wrist tightens up. My writing is horrible. No one can read my writing. It takes a long time. Etc., Etc., Etc.,

But guess what I'm doing, and will be doing for the next few days? HAND-writing long letters. 40, to be exact. Each one takes about 10 minutes.

Why, you ask?

I'm writing individual letters to Iowans, urging them to support Ron Paul for president. Hand-writing individual letters.

With the Iowa caucuses coming up on January 3, there is no time to waste. The Ron Paul grassroots effort is majorly stepping up their efforts, and included is writing 700,000 individual letters to "undecided" or "no party" Iowans. I'm only doing 40, but there are people who have signed up for 500 of these letters.

The idea is that a hand-written letter is very personal in this day of everything electronic, and if we can reach 700,000 Iowans with a personal letter, they'll at least read it and consider what it's saying.

I should get going now... 3 down, 37 to go!

Politics? I've almost had enough!

As many of you know, this is the first time in my life I've been interested or involved in politics. I've voted in the past, but have never found a politician that I have been inspired to support.

But getting into politics a little bit, I'm finding myself getting very annoyed by a few things that keep happening:

1: Polarization. I hate how there's no in-between in politics. According to conservatives and liberals, there are only two choices in politics: Conservative or liberal. What? To what degree does this make sense? I was listening to Sean Hannity on the radio today, and before taking each call, he started with a "And now we have Ben, a liberal, on the line." I would classify myself as neither conservative or liberal. Is that not ok?

2: Nobody wins. You could go around and around and around some issues, but there'll never be a winner. I tend to like the black and white, obvious choice in things. Maybe that's why I like computer things: HTML, search engine optimization, etc. These things only work if they're coded correctly, and when they are, they work, and they "win."

Ok. Maybe this is all sparked because I listened to two Neo-Con talk shows today (Sean Hannity and Jason Lewis (from MN)) I think the only reason talk shows like these survive is because there's enough passionate, pissed-off people listening to them just to hear what they'll say next. They're outspoken and one-sided and will never think outside of their polarized boxes.

Ugh!

Why is sushi an American subculture?

It's funny to me that there's so much hoopla associated with sushi. For some, sushi gives a sense of self ("Hi, I'm Ryan. I like traveling, reading, learning new languages and sushi.") For others, the thought that someone (gasp!) might not like sushi definitely indicates that they're not cultured, socialized, hip or worldly (nor never will be.)

There are books about sushi; online Meetup groups about sushi; YouTube videos on how to eat sushi. Sushi served on naked women's bodies. What's next? Sushi wars?

The Japanese are actually much more relaxed about sushi than we are. They eat it from the supermarket. They laugh that we put mayonnaise, cream cheese and avocado in our sushi. They're much more into noodles right now (Udon, Soba, etc.) Although they drink Sake with sushi, it's typically associated with old men. Yes, ladies and gents, sake is an old man's drink. Shochu is much hotter right now.. all the young Japanese are drinking it.

So next time you get asked whether you like sushi, have eaten sushi, or want to start a relationship with sushi, remember that it's just sushi.

Where did fall go?

Why is it, the most beautiful times in Minnesota (fall and spring) go by so fast? I don't have to point out that winter drags on and on and on... but beautiful fall slips through your fingers.
Now it's November and the cold is JUST starting.
By the way, November is the month with the most cloudy days.
Here are a few pretty fall pictures from Hendricks.

Baby Showers ! ! !

Baby showers are fun! Armed with fresh and fun ideas, great party favors and some great music, anyone can throw an awesome pre or post-baby bash. Check out these links:

YeahBaby- Tons of totally free baby shower theme and game ideas


Oriental Trading - Great party supplies for a variety of parties and budgets

Recalled Food

I am stunned at the amount of recent food recalls... Is it just me, or are these recalls becoming more and more common? Maybe it's just that I'm noticing it more than before...
Anyway, here's a little list of recent recalls

• 1 million pounds of beef - Cargill, November, 2007
  
• Pizza containing pepperoni - General Mills, November, 2007
  
• Pot Pies - ConAgra, October, 2007
  
• Peanut Butter - ConAgra, March, 2007
  
• Spinach - Metz Fresh, August, 2006
  

And these are just the ones that come to my mind...

David Letterman endorses Ron Paul

Here's a clip from 1987 or 1988 from The David Letterman Show.

Ron Paul on Jay Leno

This was hands-down Ron Paul's greatest recent television interview. Jay Leno was awesome- He just let Ron Paul speak, something that doesn't happen in the debates. Leno asked great questions, allowing Dr. Paul to highlight his foreign policy, income tax and limited government stances.

My two favorite quotes of the night?

1. "I have shortcomings, but the message has no shortcomings. It's all about "liberty."
2. "There's probably a risk I could win"

Who is Ron Paul? Where have you been?!

I think Bill Maher said it best, when interviewing Ron Paul said, "If America were a smarter country, wouldn't you be leading in the polls?"

I do think it's a little bit more than that:
1: If the American media were unbiased, wouldn't Ron Paul be leading in the polls?
2: If more Americans actually researched presidential candidates, wouldn't Ron Paul be leading in the polls?

People just don't know what to do when faced with the possibility of supporting an honest candidate. They first doubt it, and then deny it. (1: "I don't trust any politician!" 2: "I don't believe that he's honest- it's impossible")

Well folks, it's true: He is honest, and he's been saying the same constitutional-loving, small-government, non-interventionist stuff for the last 2 decades. Believe it!