A solution to marriage? Just maybe.

I was reading the other day at how so many people are divided over the concept of same sex marriage. While I'm not going to go out and get a boyfriend, I have known and have been friends with a few people over the years who were drawn to partners of the same sex.

Marriage predates reliable recorded history and has been part of the church since the beginning of recorded history. This is one of the points that some have when opposing same sex marriage. They think marriage is and should only be reserved for the union between a man and a woman. Which I am fine with but many same sex couples are opposed to being merely recognized as 'civil unions'.

The daughter of the republican presidential nominee from the campaign in 2008, Meghan McCain, has been very outspoken about and trying to rally support for same sex marriage within the Republican party. However, in my opinion there are many more pressing issues than that to be more concerned about. So I submit my idea to the web via my blog for the consideration of anyone who wishes to read it.

The founding fathers very clearly wanted a nation that would take in and embrace people of all religions. But they also used religious underpinnings when founding this nation that we call the United States of America. However, since that time we have had a great movement to separate Church and State. The merits and results of which can be hotly debated on both sides as to the affect it has had on this country.

Since the nation was founded, marriages have been recognized by the church and the state. When you decide to marry your loved one, you have to go to the court house and apply for a marriage certificate, yada yada yada. But since marriage is very much a religious union between two people and we want to separate Church and State, they why don't we rename the entire institution where it applies to the State as being a Civil Union.

Let this sink in. When you go to the court house, you apply for a Civil Union Certificate. Now if you want to have your 'Civil Union' recognized by the Church, you would then plan to have a Marriage ceremony, which is where the Church recognizes and blesses your 'Civil Union' in the eyes of your Church to be a Marriage.

Another pause to let this sink in as well.

This continues with the whole thing of separation of church and state as well as opening up for the potential embrace of Same-Sex Civil Unions, because everyone is joined in Civil Union according to the State and only the Church can recognize a Union as being a Marriage.

Not only does this help with the whole same-sex marriage/civil union thing but it also protects the sancity of marriage for the church. But it does more than that. The terms divorce and annulment are many times used interchangably by the different states in the union. Some recognize the dissolution of a marriage as a divorce while others recognize it as an annulment.

However, an annulment is another church term. An annulment means that a marriage is consider null and void and it works retroactively. Meaning that the marriage never existed which, in the case of Catholics for example, allows them to be remarried. Since marriage in their eyes and in the eyes of most churches is a lifelong contract between two willing parties that is ratified by Devine sanction. Which means that a valid ceremony/contract must be performed and that both parties must enter into it willingly. If any of these conditions lack, then the marriage is not contracted, Divine sanction is not obtained, and there is, in the eyes of the church, no marriage.

Thus a divorce would be what you had to do in order to dissolve your union in the eyes of the state. Then in the case of a church santioned marriage, you would need to seek to have it annulled in the eyes of the church in order for it to no longer be a valid marriage.

So in summary, Civil Union would be what the State and Federal levels of the government would recognize along with the dissolution of such being a Divorce. The church would recognize Marriages however the church sees fit (be in allowing same-sex marriages or not) as well as a Marriage being considered null and void being called an Annulment.

This will make thing easier and it will also appease both sides of the argument about same-sex marriage/civil unions.

QED.

Musical Interests and Collective Soul

I owe my love and fascination with music to three bands, Collective Soul, Better Than Ezra and Train. But truly a concert back in the summer of 1999 was really what cemented my love of music.

If you have not heard of the band Collective Soul, where were you in the 90's? They had hits like 'Shine', 'Simple', 'The World I Know' and 'December' which surely everyone has heard once if not multiple times. All of these songs were on my "must listen to" list at the time (AKA my personal mix tape).

Fast forward to 1999 and their new album Dosage and the first single 'Heavy'. Another one of those songs that immediately went onto my 'lastest favorites' list and what had evolved to my mix CD.

In 1999 there was a radio station in Birmingham, Alabama simply known as The X. It was 107.7 WRAX or The X. A great radio station that had a history of great music. In the 90's this station and the Birmingham area introduced the masses to many bands that went big, those bands remember and thank The X and Birmingham for bringing them to the forefront of music.

A friend and I get tickets to a music 'festival' of sorts on the southern side of Birmingham at Oak Mountain Amphitheater called 'X Fest'. Many bands played there but the three that stood out the most was Marvelous 3, My Friend Steve, Train and obviously Collective Soul.

My friend and I arrive and listen to some of the bands like My Friend Steve comes on and plays the song I know most by them 'All In All' and Marvelous 3 with their hit at time 'Freak of the Week'.

Around this time Train was getting lots of airtime in Birmingham with their song 'Meet Virginia' which had been playing for months but was only just now catching on nationally. So they were the last band on before the headliner Collective Soul. They were playing all of their songs from the album and I remember being enthralled by their music and Pat Monahan's bongo solo.

They ended their set and the stage was reset for CS to come on. I don't remember the set list or order of songs, but I remember being awed so much by their performance and the finale of 'Heavy' that I decided to that, even if I never become a music star or anything like that, I still want to learn to play.

So you can really say that concert by Collective Soul back in 1999 was what set me on my path to learn and play music. To this day, Collective Soul and Better Than Ezra continue to inspire my interest in music.

Here are some links that might interest you:

Collective Soul's Website

Collective Soul's Twitter

Collective Soul's 2009 Tour

Better Than Ezra's Website

Better Than Ezra's Twitter

Better Than Ezra's 2009 Tour

Dusting off the ole blog

Sorry its been a while since my last post but things happen and things get neglected. Matt and myself launched at fan site/blog for USA sports based around the new Jaguar logo. So if you haven't heard or seen it, visit ThunderJags and give us some feedback. Oh and click an ad or two if you like it.

I'm still slowly organizing and putting stuff away in the new place. I've been working around the latest roommate, who still has a huge amount of crap in the game(?) room. I mean really, how many guys has THAT many clothes and shoes?!? He would seriously rival many women I know in both of those departments. In addition to that he has started smoking, at least its outside.

I am considering joining the Jaguar Football Support Club, if anyone is interested in going in with me for now. We can get good priority seating, but I want to know who wants to go in and/or possibly going to games so I can see how many tickets are needed. So send me an email and let me know if you're interested in season tickets or just going to take in a game.

Hopefully I won't take so long between posts next time since I have some things floating around in my mind to blog about.

Rally for the Republic Speeches

Here are the speeches from Jessie Ventura and Ron Paul at the Rally for the Republic. I wanted to have them all in one place so here it goes.

First up, Jessie Ventura:

Jessie Ventura Part 1


Jessie Ventura Part 2


Jessie Ventura Part 2

---

Barry Goldwater Jr. Introducing Ron Paul

---

Now, Dr. Ron Paul:

Ron Paul Part 1


Ron Paul Part 2


Ron Paul Part 3


Ron Paul Part 4


Ron Paul Part 5



Ron Paul Part 6


Ron Paul Part 7


Ron Paul Part 8


Ron Paul Part 9

---

Ron Paul on Glenn Beck September 3, 2008

Week 1 College Football Results 2008

Last weekend marked the beginning of the College Football season. Alabama worked out a high profile game to begin the season. The match-up was to be at a neutral site between two teams in two conferences that do not meet on a regular basis. Thus a game was scheduled at the Georgia Dome between Alabama and Clemson.

Recently the season was expanded from 11 games to 12. However, SEC teams have to play 8 conference games. The conference has 12 teams broken down into 2 divisions, Eastern and Western. Each division has 6 teams. So, each team much play the 5 teams from their division. In Alabama's case it is Arkansas, Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State, and Auburn. Which leaves 3 more SEC games to be filled. One is reserved for a teams 'rival' in the other division, for Alabama this game is Tennessee. The two other games are rotated through the remainder of the Eastern division teams, where they are on the schedule for two seasons where each team will have an away game and a home game against that opponent. This season Alabama plays at Georgia and hosts Kentucky.

So that is the 8 game SEC schedule for Alabama. Now that leaves 4 non-conference games that have to be scheduled. Most teams pick 'cream puffs' as they are called. These are teams that are willing to play a big school at that big school because they stand to get a sizable chunk of change. Each team has them. Alabama plays two Sun Belt Conference teams in Western Kentucky (South Alabama's rival basketball school) and Arkansas State. Tulane was picked up as a third, which is not surprising because Alabama has played them several times in the recent past. Some teams have even played teams from a lower division. Last season Michigan was upset by Appalachian State in Michigan. Appalachian State is from the next lower division, what used to be called Division II ( I think they are now called 'Football Bowl Subdivision' while the old Division I is now known as 'Bowl Championship Series').

Now we come back to the final, or in all actuality the first, non-conference spot. Occasionally you get teams schedule a strong non-conference team to help give them a better strength of schedule ranking. In Alabama's case, or more like in Saban's case, it also serves in another capacity. A key recruiting tool.

While the signing season just ended what seemed like a couple months ago, recruiting is a year-round thing. Coaches want to get the best players for their system at positions that need filling. Thus this game served to showcase Alabama's talent, hard work and their overall program on the national stage. What a huge recruiting tool.

There were a fair share of 'cream puff' games going on this past weekend. Its not unheard of for one of those 'cream puffs' to come back and bit you in the rear. Just ask Michigan last year, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and somewhat Tennessee this week. Sometimes the case may be that you just don't look too good against these 'cream puffs'. Take Georgia for instance. They were ranked #1 coming into the season and have one of the best teams in the nation. However, their performance against Georgia Southern was lack luster thus they fell to #2.

Analysis of the game had Clemson being the top team in the ACC this season coming in to play the 5th or 6th best team in the SEC. Clemson has alot of speed on its side and what are considered the best running back tandem in the NCAA.

I think this quote summed up the game pretty well: "Alabama came ready for a fist fight, Clemson came ready for the High School dance." Which was true. Alabama did a great job containing the Clemson speed except for one play (opening kickoff after halftime ran back for a touchdown). The running back tandem of 'Thunder and Lightning' were held to 0 (zero, nada, nothing) yards rushing.

Alabama won the game 34-10 on the shoulders of some veterans and freshmen alike. Jim McElwain has done a great job simplifying the offense and using the run to open up the passing game. He found a game plan that chewed up time off of the clock and gave everyone lots of confidence. Clemson only held the ball for a little over 18 minutes of the game. Its hard to keep up or come back from a big deficit if you cannot hold onto the ball.

It must be stressed: This is just one game. There are 11 more games to come in the season and each game must be taken serious. One game is not an indication of how good the team is or how good they will be down the stretch. Tough games are yet to come at Georgia, at Tennessee, at LSU and at home against Auburn. But what you can take away from this game is that the team as a whole has improved, have worked hard and want to win. With this young talent, Alabama could be quite formidable in the next couple seasons.

After the win, Alabama moved up in the AP Poll. Previously 24th they are now 13 while Clemson fell from 9th to just outside of the top 25. In the coaches poll Alabama moved up to 17 while Clemson fell to 22.

NCAA Polls

Jerry Reed (AKA The Snowman) dies at 71

Jerry Reed, a very gifted actor and musician, passed away yesterday from complications from emphysema. Jerry had several hits which included "Amos Moses", "When you're hot, you're hot", "East bound and down", "The Bird", and "She got the goldmine (I got the shaft)" in the 70s and early 80s.

Probably most notably he was in a few movies in the mid-70s with Burt Reynolds. You may remember him as 'The Snowman' driving the tractor trailer in the timeless movie "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Smokey and the Bandit 2". He played the Bandit in the little known sequel "Smokey and the Bandit 3". Instead of playing a 'good ole boy' he played a ornery heavy in "Gator" which was directed by Burt. Later in 1998 he played a hateful opposing coach in "The Waterboy" with Adam Sandler.

It was Reed and Kris Kristofferson who lead the way for Nashville musicians to make their way into films. With people like Dolly Pardon, Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers following their lead.

His interest in music began at 8 in Atlanta when his mother got him a $2 guitar and taught him how to play a G chord. He later dropped out of school to tour. Then at 17 he signed his first recording contract. At first he established himself as a songwriter for artists like Elvis Presley ("U.S. Male", "Guitar Man"), Johnny Cash ("A Thing Called Love"), Brenda Lee, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and the Oak Ridge Boys.

Reed and Chet Atkins won a grammy for a collaboration "Me and Jerry" in 1970, then in 1971 Jerry won a grammy for "When you're hot, you're hot", and in 1992 Atkins and Reed won another grammy for "Sneakin' Around".

Reed performed on the road into the late 90s doing about 80 shows a year. "When people ask me what my motivation is, I have a simple answer: Money."

In June of 1999 Reed had a quadruple bypass.

I enjoyed some of his music and especially his work in the first two "Smokey and the Bandit" movies (never saw the third one).

Here are two of my favorite songs by him, the first is probably the best know by anyone who has gone through a divorce. The second is a favorite from the "Smokey and the Bandit" soundtrack.


Video 1 Youtube link here.


Video 2 Youtube link here.

Hurricane Gustav blows on through

Gustav reared its head yesterday here on the gulf coast. Louisiana took the full force of its landing but Alabama was on the far eastern edges. While we didn't get the sustained winds of 100+ MPH, we did get some tropical storm force winds and higher gusts, plenty of rain, and our share of tornado warnings.

At my previous place of residence, whenever it came a normal Mobile rain, it would form a rather large puddle of water in the back yard that I affectionately dubbed "Lake Ponchakacey". So I was eager to see how my new place would fare with a tropical system. My new definition of flooding was a puddle near the back patio that might, just might get both of your shoes wet at the same time. It will not completely cover your shoes but would be enough to seep in and get them nice and wet.

Now I have a few limbs down in the yard, like most everyone else in the area, that I must clean up.

New Orleans fared pretty well this time around. The new levees held strong even though they did have plenty of over-topping at the Industrial Canal as shown on several news reports. But they did not fail and New Orleans has been spared again. But it was clearly shown that the residents of New Orleans took this storm serious and evacuated and that New Orleans is truly screwed if a strong hurricane hits them just right.

Louisiana is starting to access damage and cleaning up. But eyes are again on the tropics with Hanna threatening Florida and the rest of the east coast. Ike is heading towards a date with Cuba and possibly the Gulf of Mexico. Ike really scares me, because kicked helped to kick the nazi's rear end, so I'm sure he's probably pissed at the course America has taken in the last few years. Then behind Ike there is another tropical depression which would be named Josephine if it were to develop further.

Its like a transatlantic storm super highway out there.

South Alabama Thundercats?

Jaguar goes RARRRR!!!!!!!

South Alabama unveiled its new sports logo today and as you can tell from the title, it looks very, very reminiscent of the Thundercats logo. So come out and support your South Alabama Fighting Thundercats next fall on the gridiron!

A case of 'maybe you should look closer at the details'

I was just browsing around and came across this site. As a curiosity I glanced down to see what was supposedly open on this supposed computer. Then I completely lost it when I noticed of the IE windows open in the task bar of this computer in the image. I took a screen shot so I could post it for posterity.

Feel free to visit this site while you can to see it for yourself.
http://www.orangelabel.com/icons.htm