I recently wrote a post about “Fox Faith”. I didn’t really state an opinion for or against. I just expressed my skepticism and left it at that.

RealLivePreacher, on the other hand, pulled no punches. I like, RLP, but in the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I don’t always agree with him. He’s leads what I would refer to as a “hippy church” down near San Antonio. He’s got a pretty liberal, isolationist stance (speaking of Christianity, not politics). I like his style, but don’t always agree with his doctrine. With that said, take a look at his opinion of Fox Faith.

Speaking of deli meats, here is this week’s WBQotW

I love animals. They’re delicious.

In the last couple of months, I’ve developed a new love affair. Don’t worry. It’s nothing that will threaten my marriage. I have discovered that I love a good deli sandwich.

It all started when a coworker, Bob the Cisco Ninja, invited me to lunch at one of his favorite places (he has many “favorite” places). It’s called “Weinberger’s Deli”. I was only able to find one good reference on the web, and it’s a review in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram. Weinberger’s is a Chicago style deli, with a real “mom and pop” feel. It’s really small, smells kinda funky, and the same people are always behind the counter, night and day. Oh, and by the way, their food rocks.

I have a to-go menu next to my phone and I’ve been systematically going through it, trying everything and, so far, everything is good. Here is a transcription of some menu items and my hand written notes next to them.

The Brat (Wisconsin Veal Brat, Brown Mustard and Grilled Onions or Kraut or both) “Good”
Da Beef (Italian Beef on Gonnella Bread, dipped in Au jus and served with either Green Peppers and Onions or the traditional way with Giardinerra) “Really Good, but hard to eat and Giardinerra peppers burn my tummy”
Totally Wicked Sandwich (Served on a toasted Kummelwick Bun, Hot Roast Beef or Hot Smoked Turkey Breast, covered in real Horseradish, Mayo, Sweet Onion and sliced Kosher Pickles.) “Awesome”
Texyorker (Hot Pastrami, melted Cheddar Cheese, BBQ Sauce, Sweet Onion on a Poppy Seed Roll) “HECK YA!”

A couple things to note about Weinberger’s: If you sit in the tiny dining area to eat, 1) you’ll have a constant line of patrons squeezing by your chair to place their order and 2) for the rest of the day your clothes and hair will smell like the smoke from a well seasoned grill.

Having discovered that deli’s are good, one night Tammy met me at the office and we went looking for somewhere new to eat. I saw McAlister’s Deli and thought we should try it out. It was great!

McAlister’s is the polar opposite of Weinberger’s. McAlister’s is a national chain and feels like one. Big dining areas, clean and bright, staffed by the latest crop of the high school work force. Still, their menu is diverse and, try as I might, I can’t find anything bad on it. They’re signature item is Southern style sweet tea. *moan* It is so good I can’t even express it.

Every time I go into McAlister’s I see several people staring agape at the huge menu (drawn on chalk boards to look more deli-ish) displaying to all the fact that they’re first timers. Several times I’ve offered these first timers advice, since I’m about half way through the menu now and can speak with some authority. That’s partially why I decided to do this post. To share the knowledge.

Taco Salad (Fresh greens, chili, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, jalapeños and black olives on a bed of warm tortilla chips) “Yum!”
The Reuben (Piles of thin-sliced corned beef topped with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing on rye) “Pretty Good”
The Patriot (Smoked Turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, Swiss cheese on Wheatberry bread with Orange Cranberry Sauce) “Sounds weird, tastes great!”
Muffuletta (New Orleans style muffuletta bread, ham, Genoa salami, olive salad and provolone cheese) “Not bad”
Delta Delight (Roast beef, ham, provolone cheese and sliced jalapeños and BBQ sauce on a 6″ hoagie) “HECK YA!”
The Big Nasty (Roast beef served open-faced on a toasted 12″ hoagie covered in McAlister’s “Come-Back” Gravy, topped with cheddar and Swiss cheese and green onions) “Whoa! VERY Yum, but big enough for three meals”

They also have a wide selection of baked potatoes (that I’ve seen on other people’s plates and they’re roughly the size of regulation footballs) but I’ve been avoiding those for the sake of my girlish figure. In the near future, I’d like to analyze my favorite deli delights in terms of nutritional concerns. I’m sure that these slices of heaven are laced with nutrition from hell.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, my tummy is rumbling and my mouth is watering. I got to get out of here before I start chewing on my keyboard.

I like George W. Bush. Hate me if you want. I don’t care. That’s the very reason I like him. I like a guy who makes a stand and sticks to it, even when people start throwing tomatoes at him because of it.

It’s called integrity and conviction. I believe what I believe, I know why I believe it, and unless you can show me overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I’m not moving from my position. I live my life that way, and so does Gee Dub.

As a stark counter-point, I offer the good Senator John McCain, captain of the U.S.S. Rino (Republicans In Name Only). Yes, he was a POW in ‘Nam. Kudos and all due respect. But that doesn’t excuse limp-wristed, liberal-minded kowtowing. (See also John Kerry, et al.)

McCain made his big announcement (He’s running for president… duh.) on David Letterman. (Seriously? That’s your target audience, John?) While there, bowing to Dave’s liberal slant, McCain said that the lives lost in Iraq were a waste. That’s a big no-no. And the Dems called him on it. So, less than 24 hours later, he apologized for the comment. See what I mean? I want a president who says what he means and means what he says (even if he has to invent a few words to do it). Strategery!!

In the service of bloggers everywhere, I am coining a new phrase to describe the comment-apology method used by so many politicians to placate both sides of an argument. The term is “Donkey Dance”. The next time you see someone passionately apologizing for their previous passionate statements, just mentally dub in the sound of an ass baying. “Heehaw heehaw!”

What’s most humorous about McCain’s donkey dance is that it was in direct response to the Democrats who’s only reason for inviting him to the dance was that Obama was forced to do the donkey dance for a similar comment. Are you kidding me?!

“We think Sen. McCain should apologize immediately,” said Karen Finney, communications director for the Democratic National Committee. “Sen. Obama apologized. He immediately saw his error,” she said.

So not only did McCain join the dance, the primary reason for it was to appease the democrats who *love* to do the donkey dance, but don’t like to dance alone. Give me a break.

Kevin Russell, a 21-year-old resident of Hobart, Indiana, was arrested and charged with check fraud after trying to cash a check at a Chase Bank branch. The check was made out for $50,000 and signed by “King Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Servant”. The check had no imprint (the numbers across the bottom of checks used to identify the bank account) implying that it was a sample check, possibly stolen.

Russell will spend some time in Lake County Jail awaiting trial. He’d be out on bail by now, but apparently, the bondsman wouldn’t take a check.

Original AP article

[Updated. WW Points added below.]

I’ve had this idea on the back burner for a couple of years now: A topic in which I share some nutritional wisdom. Now considering my current gravitationally challenged state, I might not seem like the right person to be doling out advice on food, but that’s the great thing about the blogosphere. I don’t have to be wise in order to post wisdom! I can just post other people’s wisdom and offer it as a service by lumping it all into one place. (Drudge doesn’t write the news, he just collects links to all the good stories.)

I wanted to start off by setting up some standard metrics so I can compare apples to oranges and still make sense. (See? Using a food based metaphor in my nutrition topic! Huh? Who’s got blog mojo now?)

Sugar

Recommended daily allowance: 8 teaspoons (32 grams)
Approximately eight sugar packets.

Salt

Recommended daily allowance: 1 teaspoon (2.4 grams of sodium)
Approximately four salt packets.

Fat

Recommended daily allowance: 65 grams
Approximately six pats of butter.

WeightWatchers Points

At 240 pounds, I’m allowed 28 points a day to lose weight. If you weigh less, you get fewer points. (At 150 pounds, you only get 20.) If you’re trying to maintain your weight, you get a bit more. It’s important to note that WW points don’t take into account the quality of the carbs you eat. They’re only concerned with total calories and fat. Cherios (made with whole grains and a very little sugar) has the same point value as Fruit Loops and Frosted Flakes!

I’m probably not going to chart out protein, nutrients or vitamins, because those are pretty much all the “good” things that you seldom have to worry about getting too much of. Sugar, salt and fat are the three things that give flavor to most of our food and thus are the three things most of us get too much of.

Now that I have some cute little icons with which to express the unhealthiness of the things we eat, I hope to do a lot of posts on the topic. But for now, I’ve spent all the free time I have just creating the images and posting them. Back to work! *Cracks whip*

I got an email today alerting me to the release of a new “family friendly” movie coming out this week called, “The Ultimate Gift”. In perusing the website I noticed the link to “Fox Faith Movies”. And me thinks, “Wha? Faith? Movies? Is this Godlywood!?”

Sure enough, Fox has launched a “Christian” distribution branch and has a pretty nice site that highlight lots of “faith-based” movies.

You may notice I’ve used an unusually large amount of “quotation marks” in this post. That’s be cause I’m always a little “cautious” when it comes to “Hollywood” taking on the “Christian” moniker. That, and I’ve always enjoyed making “quoty fingers” when I talk.

They say bad habits are hard to break, but for me, it’s harder to make good ones.

I’m doing pretty good on my commitment to memorize a verse a week. I must admit, I am a week behind, but the good news is that I had already memorized this week’s verse a few years ago.

Eph. 2:8-9 (From memory, I swear!) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not of yourself, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one may boast.”

But last weeks verse is still not tucked into my memory yet.

Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

I haven’t figured out a good way to review all the previous verses each week to make sure they stay fresh in my mind. I wrote the references on my wall calendar, but that’s only good for the current month.

Now, if I could just get my body working as hard as my brain, I’ll be ship shape in no time.

This simple wisdom found me on the inkernets today.

“She told me we couldn’t afford beer anymore.

Then I found out she spent $65 on makeup.

I asked why I had to give up stuff and she didn’t.

She said she needed the makeup to look pretty for me.

I told her that’s what the beer was for.

I don’t think she’s coming back.”

It’s always fun to see reality trump philosophy.

You can’t buy happiness, but you can pay to have the people who irritate you whacked.

OBTW, apparently a bunch of people in the movie business got together last night to take turns stroking each other’s egos. But I was too busy watching Dirty Jobs and Dogfights to care.