I've said it before and I'll say it again, "You need to see this movie." Take a friend, take an enemy, take your spouse, take yourself, just go see this movie. Find a theater near you.

To my Double Digit Daughter

At 4 months old she traveled the world. At 6 years old she said Yes to Jesus. Now at 10 she's just about an inch away from towering over Mommy.

I love you, Puddn 'N Pie!

. . . but I've got books that need to be bought. I'm making it easier than ever. You can now purchase my first two stories at Amazon.com.

Something Special at Leonard's Inn retails for $7.00. You may purchase it for $6.00 (plus shipping) at Amazon.

Just a Simple Carpenter lists for $10.00 but is being sold for $8.00 (plus shipping).

Both books make excellent Christmas gifts. Buy one for yourself, one for your friend, and then link the purchase info (or this post) to all your friends so they can have a happy Christmas, too.

Now that there is a complete 'Net furor going, I thought I'd toss in my two cents' worth concerning Netflix. We first encountered this movie mogul when friends gave us a "free" one-month subscription as a Christmas gift. We signed on for a month, but decided it wasn't worth the cost of the structured agreement to keep it up, and dropped out. Fast forward three years and two or three packaging structures and throw in streaming as well as DVD rental, and we decide to try 'em again. We liked what we got for about ten bucks a month--movies one at a time (turn around was one day from the warehouse, one day back after viewing), and all the streaming we could stomach (providing of course that they had the license for streaming that particular movie/television program; which two out of three times they did not but we were okay with that because we could put the DVD in our queue for later viewing).

Bombs dropping. Suddenly, we're informed (we did get about a six-week's notice, thanks Netflix guys) that we will have to choose--streaming on demand for a couple of dollars less, DVD rental for a couple of dollars less, or keep both for about half again as much as we're paying. Two things rubbed me the wrong way about the set up: (1) to keep my current status with the company, my out of pocket would increase by about seven dollars (a giant increase, I would have been happy to move from 10 to 12 dollars without too much whining); and (2) there was no (let me say it again with emphasis NO) discount for bundling the products together (thanks again, Netflix guys). And the kicker for me was that there was no explanation apparent anywhere for why they were doing this--it just seemed like a ploy to gouge more money out of the happy customers.

Explanation forthcoming. Finally, we get the explanation for why it all went down (two months after the fact). Well, it seems it's too little and too late. The apology is less than sincere (I got caught so I'm sorry, but I really wouldn't be sorry if it had worked.) The explanation fits Netflix's viewpoint, but it doesn't really address customers' wants.

Having said all of this, I think I just needed the jolt of dissatisfaction to remind me that I waste too much time watching movies and TV anyway. So, good-bye Netflix (not so long or I'll be seeing you, because it's good-bye for good).

I just had to run a quick post because I saw it again! Someone who should have--somewhere along the line--received some sort of education en route to their present condition, and they still cannot spell the word definitely (note: the infraction also occurs with other variations of the word, as in definite, indefinite, and the like).

The culprit here is an abusive 'a'. Yes, 'a' is the first letter of the alphabet, but does that mean that he has any right to shove 'i' around. After all, when 'i' stands alone it is personal, it is capital, it is 'I'. So, get your spelling primer out and remember to take note that definite (and all of it's cohorts) is NOT definate!

Thanks for your support.

P.S. I noticed that my spell-checker understood the correct spelling of the word--why not turn yours on?

I'd like to think that what I write is good worthy of  great literary circles. You know, right up there with C.S. Lewis, Calvin Miller, and Phillip Yancy. It's probably a delusion, but indulge me. I also am aware that even a blind pig finds a nut once in awhile (you may have to ask your friends from Texas about that one). I was scrolling through some past wisdom on Loom & Wheel Words and found this gem originally titled "Always On!" and thought it was worthy of sharing with my audience here. It's not a piece about 9/11, but it might give us some thought on this date that everyone is remembering that tragedy.  So, without further muddying of the waters, I give you "Always On!"

Just click on over to my Lulu store and remember to use the coupon code to save on your purchases.