Today is Good Friday. Today marks the anniversary of the day some 2,000 years ago when we all were saved. Jesus survived what none of us could and when he had done what was needed to do to cleanse the world he said “It is finished.” Meaning it has been accomplished. The feat that needed to be overcome to make up for all the bad that has ever and will ever be done by us. Just think how much that takes when you lump everyone from day one to the last day—all our sins big and small. It stinks. It looked so bad that for a moment God could not bear to look at his son.
Thank you Jesus! What a great gift you have given us. I accept your gift with love and thanks and hope that others will accept it as well.
I was thinking before I started to write this about how Jesus does answer our prayers—sometimes it just takes awhile. I say that because I have these awful neighbors. These people are the ones that used to throw trash on some of our lawns, write nasty notes, make up new rules for everyone, take three parking spaces in front of our houses, and generally complain about everything. Well today there is a for sale sign in front of their house. Thank you Jesus.
Now that was meant as a joke but in all seriousness, when put in context of the events of the cross I think I will ask Jesus for his grace and mercy (once again) and be grateful for all the wonderful things in this world—even the not-so-nice neighbors. Things could always be worse.
Have a blessed Good Friday and a wonderful resurrection day—Easter!
And if you have any fun egg hunt photos, let’s see them. We can rejoice in many ways this weekend.
The dreaded April 15 day is here again. A day most Americans dislike because basically we have to give three months (give or take) of our hard earned wages to the elitist game-playing politicians who then spend at least a third of it on nothing. I say nothing because all of it gets used up paying for bureaucratic waste.
I try not to give the government any money in advance because it’s mine and I could be earning interest on that (which would be taxed so why bother) but I have to admit, it makes the whole season easier to swallow when I get a refund. I feel like it’s play money. And this year I’m going to use it to play in Norway and Iceland with friends. (Pause for a little dance here.)
This year we actually get a few days break. As you may or may not know, the District of Columbia celebrates Emancipation Day on April 16. (This is the same city that’s currently being held hostage and used in the political warfare of our representatives—who supposedly all look after the interests of the citizens living in said city.) Poor Washingtonians. Taxation without representation. The very thing we started the Revolutionary War over—being overly taxed. And without representation. Why Congress cannot see the irony in all of this is beyond me. And by the way, I think Emancipation Day should be celebrated everywhere with big parades every year. What a great thing to celebrate. Freedom for a group of Americans who had been oppressed for more than 200 years. The only reason most of us know about it is because of tax day.
Okay, well the only thing beyond whining about it is to joke about it. So I found some funny things on the Internet to get us through this day.
Monty Python: Politician #1“Gentlemen, we have to find something new to tax.”
Politician #2: “I would tax foreigners living abroad.”
Jimmy Kimmel calls an Indian call center and they tell him this joke: “What do Tiger Woods and a fishing boat captain have in common on tax day? They both want to know if their crabs are deductable.”
And of course Dilbert:
This guy, Tim Hawkins, is a very funny comedian. You should check out his other videos—good stuff!
People can be smart, kind, generous, supportive, and make you laugh. They can also be really gullible, inattentive, impatient, and insecure. I have those last few traits for sure and I tend to get very frustrated with those who share those traits with me. Hypocrite? Yup. Realist? Yup. Dreamer? Yup. Critic? Yup. Destroyer of nations? Nope—but the cat in the photo below could eat his way through Europe.
Speaking of the cat photo, aside from making me LOL it made me think about my profession (marketing) and how we use imagery and words to persuade. I don’t lie. Let’s just get that out there. I refuse to use tactics that are unethical and I do not help sell products or services that would go against my principles. But…it is my job to get through the clutter so that you, my dear, wonderful, modern and hip consumer, will see the value in what I’m offering. Sometimes that means cutting out the fat. Sometimes that means pricing something a certain way to position the brand at a certain level in the consumer’s mind. And sometimes it means putting a pretty label on it.
Yesterday my creative group at work took a break and played “guess the better wine.” Now wine of course is subjective—what some call “feet-like tasting swill” others call “late-night after-the-beer-is-gone nightcap.” We basically covered up the bottles and tasted wines to see which ones we liked better. Not surprisingly I picked all the more expensive ones. And by expensive I mean like $10 (vs. the Trader Joe two-buck-chuck options). What can I say? I appreciate a good product. But given a real test, who would say how much the brand and price would influence the perceived taste? Guess that’s a test for another day.
Oh and FYI, if you didn’t scan the QR code on my last post you may not be aware that the whole getting another puppy thing was an April fool’s joke. I must be really good because if you really believed that I could handle a Grendel mini-me along with the critters I have, then you must think I’m nuts. Hmmm. What does that say about me? More importantly what does getting fooled say about you? Just a suggestion–research a little more closely before making assumptions. Especially when media outlets report that the army is changing its headgear to Stetson hats. Unbelievable. hee-hee.
From the Observation Deck 