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Ghost Rider #16

I fucking love Jaws. Enough so that I open up this column using a cuss when describing one of my favorite movie franchises. So, when I stumbled upon this issue of Ghost Rider #16 and saw the tease on the cover, I had to check it out. As I write this we are smack dab in the middle of the summer and what goes better with beaches and barbeques than our fear of man eating sharks.  Thanks to novelist Peter Benchley and director Steven Spielberg, Jaws has become a tradition that terrifies and thrills fans all over the world. We’re all residents of Amity Island every July and Captain Quint is one of the most bad ass characters ever captured on celluloid.

Even if you put my affection for the flicks aside and just take this cover at face value,  how the hell does someone with a flaming skull and a motorcycle fight underwater? That in itself makes it goofy enough to garner my attention. Written by Bill Mantlo with art by George Tuska, let’s see if its safe to swim with this story titled “Blood in the Water” from February 1976.

lineJohnny Blaze is fed up with Los Angeles. He has decided to hit the road and head for Mexico. Seems like a popular destination for the superhero set. Upon reaching the border, we discover our neighbors to the south are really only concerned with one thing. Dirty Hippies. That’s right, take your patchouli smelling ass and Grateful Dead records somewhere else pal. What do the customs agents like? Money. Johnny flashes some greenbacks and off to Baja we go.

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“They may hate greasy gringo’s but are suckers for Cherry Garcia

Cruising down the coast, he pines for a simple life and spots a cozy little pad on the shoreline. Looks like quite the tranquil little piece of real estate. Except for a dude hellbent on shooting dolphins from his back porch. While this nutbag tries popping a cap in Flipper’s ass, his daughter intervenes grabbing at his weapon. The stray bullet nails one of the tires on Johnny’s skull cycle, sending him tumbling to the sand. I know every time I fall, my first instinct is to yell “Yahoo” rather than “Wipeout” but different strokes for different folks I suppose.

“Watch the property value plummet before your eyes.”

Johnny is pissed off over taking a digger on the beach and confronts Mr. Jerkpants with the jazzy jaw. Despite being the type of guy who thinks it’s cool to pound on his offspring, he feels guilty about wrecking Johnny’s ride. He offers his shed  for repairs but Blaze is all about the booty and would rather chill in a dune with the man’s daughter.

“Say baby, does your dad shoot at all the hunks possessed by demons or just me?”

Rather than get frisky, she feels the need to give her dad’s origin. You see, Frank Phillips is the Punisher of the Pacific. Frank was hired by the C.I.A. to strap bombs on dolphins and experiment with using them as living torpedoes. Crazy as it sounds, militarizing mammals isn’t just the stuff of comic book fiction.  Obsessed with his work, one day he takes his family out to sea with him. His kid falls in the water and a tragic backstory is born.

“Former Miami Dolphins season ticket holder could stand the losing NO MORE…”

No sooner than we get up to speed on why Frank is stark raving mad, he’s at it again.  This guy is on a mission to eliminate all of dolphin-kind. I’m fond of the next panel, not because I dig murdering harmless animals but rather how dramatic the poor little buggers are as they take hot lead. Seriously, eat your heart out DiCaprio. These dudes deserved an Oscar way before your token victory for The Revenant.

“We would like to thank the Academy and  Mr.Limpett for paving the way.”

You read that narration box correctly, Frank uses a tape recording to lure them in. Had he played his cards right, there are much more beneficial ways to control ocean life with that technology. Just sayin’…

“Hey Namorita, I have a mix tape for you!”

Johnny isn’t pleased all this commotion just put the kibosh on his beach blanket bingo with blondie. So what to do? Take the Skull Cycle, despite a flat tire and ride that sucker right at Frank’s boat. Here’s where his plan gets really special. Hurl your leather clad frame on deck cannon ball style. Pretty slick. I believe he may have created the greatest take down of a gunman in Marvel history.

“As far as dramatic entrances go, ass first is pretty impressive.”

They duke it out as the boat drifts to sea but while the fists fly a rouge wave capsizes the vessel. A flaming skull did little to freak out Frank but he’s amazed that those  finned foes that once felt his wrath are actually pretty friendly. No time for a tickle fest though as we are about to have our main event. That’s right, cue the dah dum’s and close the beaches. Ghosty has noticed a great white forgot his brown bagged lunch at home and needs a snack to hold him over. gr15.1

 “It must suck having no eyelids when swimming in the ocean. SALTY!”

Ghost Rider and Captain Quint actually have some things in common. Sure, they’re both some seriously macho dudes but when it comes to decision making, not so bright. For those who remember the first Jaws film, Quint let his emotions take control and ( 42 year old Spoiler alert ) ends up as shredded wheat. Ghosty’s first inclination is to shoot flames at the shark… underwater. While I commended the insane barrel roll to get on the ship, boiling the shark wouldn’t be my first choice. Serious loss of kudos points there.

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“The look of a man determined to kill a shark or massive cocaine habit? You decide.”

His lone option exhausted, not only has my question been answered on Ghost Rider’s usefulness in water (NONE!) but now I’m not sure about the dolphins anymore. This whole issue I’ve been led to believe they are the victims. Sympathetic to the fact they had been led to slaughter while listening to smooth jams. To that, I now say nay. They are vicious little bastards! Swimming to Ghosty’s aid by ramming themselves into the belly of the beast. I realize they are saving Ghost Riders chaps but man, maybe Frank has been right all along. There is some evil up in those blowholes.

“Aww, he just wanted a S’more. Do you know how hard those are to come by down there?”

That’s pretty much it. The dolphins do all the damage and save the day. A little lackluster in the man v.s. shark department but we got something even better. Frank has realized the error of his ways. The whole time the true enemy came from within. We close on a tender moment, where he apologizes to an entire species. Alright, tender was a poor choice…cheesy, that’s better. We close on a cheesy moment where a crazy old man shouts at a wave. I’m not sure if the dolphins are supposed to be there in synchronized jump or if it’s just symbolic but let’s talk about if you should check this out.

“Believe it or not, this is the least absurd moment in the whole book.”

You may think I’m high on seaweed but I really enjoyed this tale. The pace was excellent and the art was seriously outstanding stuff. Ok, granted It didn’t live up to the hype promised on the cover but not being a Ghost Rider fan, I’m already more interested in his exploits from the 70’s.

You may be asking “Dave, didn’t you just claim the ending was a little dopey”? That I did but I also commonly say, remember the era it was released. You won’t get The Watchmen back in 1976, so enjoy things for what they are. In this case done fairly well.

If you see this one out there in the bins, snag it.

David Schultz is the Creator/Co-Host of the Parlipod Podcast. Give it a listen on Soundcloud or via the GWW Radio Network. If you have a comic you would like to see reviewed on Two Staple Gold or just want to harass Dave, follow @lavahog on Twitter. Unsolicited tip #852 for all the kiddo’s out there, skip high priced variants and go buy some bronze age stuff instead. You’ll thank me later…

By the way, I wouldn’t be much of a Jaws fan If I didn’t leave you with this:

*All images/video clips are rights of their respective owners. Links to external sites  are used solely for informational purposes.


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2008: America Is In Danger / LDS Washington DC Insider

See the original, along with information on how to buy the book, at the Meridian Magazine site at this link.

Thanks much,

Steve St.Clair
Former White House advisor to three U.S. Presidents — George Bush, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford — Stephen Studdert knows Washington as an insider with privileged information, contacts and insight. Unfortunately these days this knowledge is a burden and the normally optimistic Studdert admits that he’s a worried man.

He has written America in Danger — What You Must Know to Protect Yourself to raise a warning voice saying that such a complexity of factors influencing American independence and the economy are upon us that it is difficult for most citizens to gain perspective. However, it is essential to have this understanding to be adequately prepared.

He writes:

Things feel of late like the planet is on a downhill runaway train and picking up speed, growing ever closer to the mountain cliff. The inevitable crash is around the next bend, or the next. There are frightening clouds of instability on the close horizon and they are easily seen by those who look. In many respects we are a nation sinking under its own weight. My restless and nagging fear is that the avalanche may suddenly come crashing down before we get our houses in order.

His intent is not to frighten readers, but help them assess the risks and dangers that exist from following the policies America is currently pursuing. He says, “We need to hear the real facts and the plain truth even if it hurts.”

Studdert lists ten dangers including the triple threat to our global economic dominance posed by China, India and Russia; the time bomb of American debt; our unfunded entitlement programs; radical Islam and terrorism; federal government stupidity; the bursting of the housing bubble; our unquenchable thirst for oil; immigration insanity; pandemic plagues; and America’s failing infrastructure.

Some of these are issues we assume we see, but Studdert connects the dots for readers in a way designed to help us pull our heads out of the sand.

Meridian Magazine recently interviewed Stephen Studdert about the issues he discusses in his book.

Meridian Magazine: You indicate right now that you are very worried about America. Why?

Studdert: I told my wife when I first went to the White House when I was 26-years old, I’ve been exposed to too much information that is just frightening. Sometimes I wish that I hadn’t known it.

However, as I look at the issues facing America, I have never seen a more potentially dangerous time since the Civil War, and what worries me most is that if two or three of these possible dangers hit simultaneously, our ability to respond to is very limited. To me a perfect example right now is that we have a housing/credit crunch with the burst of the housing bubble and foreclosures are already at a historical high. Theoretically to avoid a recession, the government passes a so-called stimulus 160 billion refund to the taxpayers, but it is a refund of taxes never yet collected, so in reality it’s 160 billion more debt on the backs of the American public.

Meridian Magazine: Tell us about the economic threat facing America.

Studdert: For over a century, the United States has been the economic powerhouse of the world. But not much longer. We are not paying enough attention to the triple threat of China, India and Russia that are emerging as global economic powers in their own right.

China is a danger to us in that China, with its 3 billion new capitalists, is consuming an increasing amount of global resources, which is driving the cost and availability up for our country. China today has about a million cars. In 15 years it is estimated they will have 160 million cars. Where’s the fuel for those cars going to come from? India has a billion people, they are surprisingly well educated, and they speak English and so the cost of labor there is a fraction of what it is here. We’re going to see more and more jobs migrate from the United States to India.

Russia’s geopolitical objectives are very counter to ours, and Russia has enormous gas and oil reserves, which are going to make it a new and dangerous power in the world. Each of those three countries has global objectives that do not necessarily align with the objectives of the United States. They are countries with newfound wealth and we are a country of enormous debt.

Meridian Magazine: Talk about the U.S. debt. Is it something to be concerned about or will increased productivity substantially lower it?

Studdert: Our debt is a ticking time bomb. Last year, for example, we Americans, as consumers, spent $20 for every $19 we made. One doesn’t have to be a Ph.D economist to figure out we can’t sustain that for very long. At all levels, the government, corporate and personal level, we have been spending money we don’t have, by financing debt. Who is the largest buyer of our public debt? China. I find the behavior of China curious when looked at from an American perspective, but when looked at from a Chinese perspective, which is thousands of years in the making, it looks very different. They are on a course to restore themselves to what they see as a rightful position of world dominance. We’re going to fund that. We are in the process of indirectly funding it.

David Walker, the comptroller general, says that if the federal government were a private business, it would be declared bankrupt. He also says that if we don’t deal with it now, the only choice in a handful of years will be to cut the federal budget by half or double taxes. Those are draconian measures that would be enormously disruptive to our economy, but he says we have no choice.

I dedicated the book to my children and grandchildren with an apology for the mess we are leaving them. Our children will be the first generation of Americans to enjoy a lesser quality of life because of what we have done.

Meridian Magazine: Most Americans are not aware of the intricacies of our national debt. Why don’t the politicians do anything about it?

Studdert: It is interesting if you watch our electoral behavior, we tend to ask our elected officials what’s in it for me? Federal program after federal program is being funded so that we the voters will keep electing them. It’s self-serving, reckless and ultimately very destructive.

We see politics at its self-serving worst. If we look at the true federal government debt, and we say its 9 trillion dollars, that ignores all of the unfunded federal obligations and entitlement programs, which when you add them together, it is about 77 trillion. A trillion is a thousand billion, and a billion is a thousand million. Think about that.

It troubles me that so many of our public officials at every level — federal, state, and local — are more concerned with their own political preservation than they are the public good. My observation is that in Washington today, the long-term aggregate impact is never assessed. They only look at the immediately, short-term political benefit.

We as citizens look to the government to fund all kinds of things, and the amount of money spent and the influence of special interest groups on public officials is at an unprecedented level. Elected officials who used to be beholden to the public are now so much more beholden to the various special interest groups who fund their re-election campaigns that the whole process has become very distasteful.

Meridian Magazine: You mention that many Americans are losing their pensions because businesses have made promises they can’t fulfill.

Studdert: I talk in the book about the crisis in American pensions. I’m astounded as I talk to people how absolutely uninformed they are on that subject and yet every day that is an issue that worsens. Many pension funds are broke, too. For example, the city of Vacaville, California, is filing bankruptcy, because of their inability to pay police and fire pension obligations. Kentucky has a multi-billion dollar shortfall for state employees’ pensions. With 78 million baby boomers starting this year to retire, that is a problem that is going to accelerate and worsen.

Meridian Magazine: We are all feeling a new crunch at the pump as gasoline prices continue to climb.

Studdert: We are in a very fragile position regarding oil. Today we’re an oil dependent nation and our five biggest oil providers are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela. We have to be insane to have handed our security to those countries. They are not known for long-term stability or for true friendship to the United States.

Look at Nigeria, which has as corrupt a government as there is in the world and is primarily a Muslim country. Iran’s leader is a madman who says Israel should be obliterated from the face of the earth and refers to America as the Great Satan. Saudi Arabia has spent billions over the last twenty years building schools that teach their Wahhabi beliefs and Wahhabism teaches that America should be destroyed.

Meanwhile, we prohibit drilling ANWR in Alaska and prohibit drilling off the coast of Florida, and yet Cuba is drilling 40 miles off the coast of Florida — go figure. I appreciate being sensitive to the environment, which is part of the covenant we as members of the Church mean when we work to be good stewards, but it also means being a wise steward, and we haven’t been very wise of yet.

Meridian Magazine: Are the mortgage failures included in your list of dangerous issues?

Studdert: Most of those are adjustable rate mortgages where the rate resets and the homeowners haven’t the ability to pay the higher price. The market has dropped so much that the owner owes more on the home than it is worth.

People wonder if the housing market will rebound. I am of the opinion that the current problem is not temporary, and we will see it continue to worsen and spread to multiple other fronts as we’ve seen it spread to the bond insurance companies.

Meridian Magazine: Tell us about your concern about terrorist attacks.

Studdert: There are approximately 1 billion Muslim adherents in the world. A small percentage of them, 10% or so, could be categorized as extremists. That is 100 million people who would like to see the United States destroyed because of the values we’ve adopted that they find offensive. I attend on an occasional basis, meetings with those in the intelligence and national security community. They are doing a masterful job of preventing terror attack. People in these agencies are working to the point of exhaustion to protect this country. They need our praise. They need our respect and they deserve it, but they all speak in terms of not if, but when. They speak in terms of the inevitability of a terrorist attack on this country, here at home, be it nuclear, chemical, biological or other kinds of terror.

If the anti-American terror groups don’t have access to nuclear weaponry it is only a question of time when you look at North Korea, Pakistan and Iran.

Just in recent days as we were talking about the terror threat to the United States and what our government has gratefully prevented, a senior official said to me, if the public had any idea what we’ve already prevented, it would scare them to death.

Meridian Magazine: Of all the issues you mention as possible terrorist problems for America, what worries you the most and could cause the most devastation?

Studdert: I suppose the one that concerns me the most would be a terrorist attack where the terrorists used an EMP, an electromagnetic pulse, which we know exists for example in Russia. If one of those were detonated over the continental US at 30 miles up, it would cripple this country instantly in every single measure. What an EMP does is destroy electronics, so instantly power plants, the starter on your car, computer systems, refrigerators — all would be destroyed and the country would collapse. Instantly there wouldn’t be a vehicle in this country that has an electric starter that would run. What would we do for food tomorrow if we haven’t stored it? That is the one that frightens me most. The other problems are sneaking up on us one day at a time. Hopefully, our national defenses could prevent some of the other terrorist possibilities, but we are not equipped to prevent an EMP. The only way we could stop that is through good intelligence. If one explodes, in a matter of milliseconds the damage is done.

Meridian Magazine: Why don’t Americans realize the dangers that we are in?

Studdert: As I watch the so-called news reporting today, the media are not reporting the hard news of fiscal issues or public policy as much as they are such ridiculous issues as steroid use by major league baseball players. The second thing to quote Elder Maxwell is that we’re too often bogged down in the thick of thin things. Because so many of these problems are seemingly over the horizon, we’re busy managing our own lives on a daily basis instead of paying attention to the bigger picture.

What happened at 9/11 came a as complete surprise to all of us. As tragic as it was, it was limited just to one city. We could learn from that or from Katrina how without warning, devastating things can occur. What would happen if China — who is the largest holder of U.S. treasury debt — were to say, “We’re not going to hold this anymore. Or we’re going to sell all of these debts at a discounted price. It would have an emormous destabilizing force on our country and we would not have even seen it coming.

Meridian Magazine: What can any of us do about this personally? It all seems a bit overwhelming.

Studdert: We ought to feel an urgency, but not a panic. It is interesting, if we listen to the words of President. Hinckley and others of the General Authorities over the past years, how many times have they kindly, but firmly said to us, get your houses in order? And while you and I can’t on our own fix the nation, we can certainly take care of our lives and our own houses and our own families.

We have to be serious about getting out of debt individually and as families. We ought to be serious about not taking on more debt. We ought to be serious about living within our means. We ought to be serious about higher education for the best employment we can qualify for, and we ought to be serious about things like food storage and family preparation.

I had a son who worked in a car dealership in a community that was overwhelmingly LDS. Our son observed that an extraordinary number of people bought cars that were bigger and more costly than they could possibly afford, but because financing was so readily available, they splurged. We don’t need that big house. We don’t need that SUV. We need to be safe and secure first. The savings rate in the U.S. is a negative number. In China the average person saves 30%. Just that number alone speaks volumes about where our two countries are going.

It is interesting the brethren have told us for decades that our personal food storage ought to include wheat and the scriptures talk about wheat for man. Last week wheat futures closed at $22 per bushel and wheat supplies in the U.S. are at an all-time low. If you talk about a perfect storm for trouble, there it is.

Elder Oaks gave a talk about good, better, best and said we need to make choices between good, better and best. We need to make our lives more simplified and less harried, so we can focus on weightier matters without all the bombarding confusions of the world.

Meridian Magazine: Beyond helping our own families, what can we do for the future of America?

Studdert: I love the United States of America, and I am deeply concerned about the future. Unfortunately today we’re more concerned with political correctness than we are political courage. I wish we could change the definition of P.C. to be political courage. To make political decisions that are right for the country may mean the decisions are unpopular, and most politicians today don’t want to make unpopular decisions.

In addition, today there is a poison of politics. The personal costs of running for public office and serving in public office are very dear because that vitriolic tone has made the notion of being involved in public service less appealing to more and more people. One example comes to mind during the administration of the former George Bush when the number two position at the state department became available. The position was quietly offered to 59 people before someone would accept the appointment because of the cost, the stress, the drain and the innuendo and the attack. Not one of those 59 wanted to expose themselves to that.

I’m of the view that America was created, as the founders said, under the hand of providence and it had and has divine purposes. For 200-plus years, America has been the light of the world and the envy and desire of most of the world. You go to any country in the world, and there are lines at the U.S. embassy to get visas to come here. There are not lines at other embassies, but because of our reckless spending and self-serving public policy we are dooming ourselves

I for years I’ve pondered a phrase in my patriarchal blessing about being my brother’s keeper. I think that includes to alert your brethren to danger and for me that was a driving force in writing this book. The second driving force is my love of the United States of America because it is still the best system in the world.

Great civilizations in history have failed when they didn’t follow the words of the Lord and the words of the prophet, and I pray such is not the course we’re going to choose.

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Category Archives: Joan of Arc

If you can’t trust Dr. Z., who can you trust?

Dr. Z’s Leadership Institute is under attack! Yes, we have reason to believe the Burgundians are ready to turn us over to the authorities just like they did to Joan of Arc so many years ago.

The Burgundian menace rivals the drama of the Da Vinci Code when the lead character voiced the top movie action line of all time: I’ve got to get to a library, fast.

People have begun to ask: Is Dr. Z. a real doctor? Where was he educated? Are his credentials authentic?

To nip this in the bud, Dr Z. has included a copy of his diploma in this article. Oh sure, some of you will read it closely and note that it says:

This certifies that Dr. Z is a member in good standing in the WD-40 Fan Club and, as such, is entitled to sprary WD-40 wherever and whenever it may be needed, and to wear blue and yellow on consecutive days of the week.

Let’s not quibble about this minor point. It is just like a diploma and if the doubt continues to spread about Dr. Z’s credentials he may be forced to spray WD-40 right at the Burgundian menace.

Dr. Z will readily admit that this diploma might not have the same prestige as a Ph.D. from Harvard but don’t you just love the color and when you think of it really, what is more useful – a Ph.D. or WD-40? By the way WD stands for Wit Doctor. So there.

But enough about us as the Burgundians are trying to make us forget about the important contributions of the institute to leadership in the year 2007 and beyond.

Dr. Z’s Leadership Point: It is always good to have an enemy when you are a leader because it helps to define you. When things get drab, slow, or indifferent — rally your troops with the need to battle the enemies in the boardroom, the cubicle, by the water cooler, and at the photocopy machine. Stand on your desk and bellow:

We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. We shall never surrender and even if, which I do not for the moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, will carry on the struggle until in God’s good time the New World with all its power and might, sets forth to the liberation and rescue of the Old.

Choose your enemies well and please leave the Burgundians to Dr. Z. and Joan of Arc!

Also, notice with all this talk of the enemy you have forgotten the whole issue of whether Dr. Z. is a real doctor and in future articles we can return back to the important purpose of the institute — creating leaders who can think outside of the cubicle!

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Filed under Burgundian, humor, Joan of Arc, leadership, leadership diploma, leadership humor, leadership institute, The Secret, WD-40

Hats off to the Premier of Dr. Z’s Amazing Leadership Institute

Hang on to your hat!

Okay perhaps you are not Mr. Frumble who was always having his hat blow away in Richard Scarry books – but hang on to your hat anyway because you are in for a leadership ride like no other. This is no Segway to leadership this is the full wheel deal.

The picture for this post is from Flickr’s pool of creative commons’ hat pictures. It included the caption:

Who Needs “Leadership Challenge” When you have deadly colorful Samurai hat! Yarrrr.”

Dr. Z is up to the challenge — are you?

It is not a coincidence that this blog started on May 30th.

[Okay it is a coincidence — I wanted to start sooner but I followed Stephen Covey’s idea of first things first and rolled $26.00 in loose change, took it to the bank, and forgot about this exciting leadership blog for a week.]

But I am sure May 30th is significant if you’ll just give me a moment to look up this date in history I will be right back to tell you why this launch date is so significant.

Okay here it is:

May 30, 1431: After being captured by Burgundian troops and then handed over to English troops, French military leader Joan of Arc is burned as a heretic in Rouen, France.

So you see Dr. Z, like Joan of Arc is a leader. It may be 576 years after Joan was burned but feel the heat of Dr. Z the modern day fearless leadership heretic. The only thing that Dr. Z fears is Burgundian troops!

Be prepared for the full impact of Dr. Z’s LEADERSHIP LESSENS with ideas you can use to cruise right into six figure leadership.

Picture Credit: Leadership Challenge by .

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Filed under Burgundian, humor, Joan of Arc, leadership


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Posted by: Anna | November 19, 2009

Lions and Tigers and the H1N1 virus. Oh my!

A few weeks ago my son was struck with the Strep and the Flu. Gasp! The Swine Flu!  I hate calling it that, the H1N1.

Now, I never said anything to people because we, Joe and I, didn’t think it was that much of a big deal.  And neither did his doctor, whom I adore by the way. He always tells me that Joey is the cutest kid he has ever seen but I’m sure he tells everyone that.  But when he says it I totally believe him and agree with him!

Joey has asthma.  Joey hates vegetables.  I have to be very creative when it comes to cooking and making sure he does not eat dairy or eggs and has vitamins to supplement what he lacks in food.  I don’t deprive my son of anything but I do limit what he eats.  If he wants ice cream, then he CAN have ice cream.  It’s not like an everyday thing.  I have gotten good, not pretty good, just good at hiding vegetables in soups or sauces.  My kid eats like a piggy.  A piggy with manners. ( And he is so cute because while I am cooking he will run in the kitchen and say, “Mummy, thank you!” And once I serve him and sit down to eat with him he says again, “Mummy, thank you!” Joey is just so polite!”) But I digress.

The Swine Flu.  Joey has a little cousin that he adores to play with.  When they hang out they share almost everything, including germs.  So after finding out that his cousin was sick with the Flu, H1N1 virus, it so happened Joey didn’t feel well the evening after.  Joey didn’t have a fever but he was complaining that his throat hurt.  I was sick as well.  We both went to see the doctor.  I went to a woman, a D.O or M.D and that lady insisted, I mean almost politely badgered me into getting the flu shot!  I positively told her ten times or so, No thank you! “ But your son, he can get the flu. And its sooooooo dangerous”. Wow, that’s how they get people. I just don’t want the shot, thanks Dr. ( I ended up having a viral infection God knows where, I was good after two days, thank you very much.)

We then see the pediatrician, and I can totally tell he was super busy, but as soon as he walks in the room, it’s like we are the only ones there. Awesome!  Joey was tested for the Flu and Strep. Both came back positive.  OH MY GOD!  And I asked, oh so sheepishly, what kind of flu? His response, “The only flu going around is the H1N1.” Yikes!  Red lights flashing in my head!  I wanted to call all of my naturopathic doctor friends but I felt that they needed a break from all my badgering and questions I text them so late at night.

I was given prescriptions for both Strep and the Flu, the H1N1 virus!  And I was prepared for the worse.  After all, Joey’s little cousin was hit with it hard. Poor baby, fever and more high fevers for him.  Joey on the other had been sick, but fine!  He was a kid people!  We cuddled and did the asthma treatments, he had a serious wheeze, but after a few days, he was back to Joey.  And no one knew, no one freaked out and no one got the H1N1 virus from Joey.

This makes me so very happy because I keep hearing mom’s say, “You know what I heard?  My mail man’s friend’s sister’s cousin’s twelve year old son got the swine flu and died!” And everyone else is going, “OMG, why? How?”  “Because he had ASTHMA!!!”

Bullshit. Now I’m not saying that didn’t happen. But people are so terrified.  Let’s see, yes, complications can arise.  But people can die from anything, God forbid.  I’m serious, God forbid.

And because I didn’t want to freak anyone out, guess what, Joey had the H1N1 flu virus and strep and he is fine.  No one got sick!  Wait, except little Ezekiel whom they share toys and flu with.

Moral of the story? Wash your hands and don’t leave the house! Wait, no.  Wash your hands and be happy and positive.

  1. I totally relate to your story! When we were all hit with the Swine Flu, I didn’t want to tell anyone, for fear that no one would ever want to play with us again or come to M’s b’day party (3 weeks down the line). Seriously! But we’re all better now!

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Stephen Wu

Stephen Wu

Stephen Wu is of counsel with Silicon Valley Law Group. He advises clients on information governance matters, focusing on information security, privacy, mobile computing, ediscovery preparedness, records management, and computer-related investigations.

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text:
Reasons to get out of bed…

I am an absolute master of saying the wrong thing in any situation! In case you’re like me, I thought I would share with you my favorite compliments as well as things you might want to avoid saying to a pregnant lady.

Things I loved to hear:

“You don’t even look pregnant from the back!”

“You’re all baby!” (in the context that said pregnant lady doesn’t look like she’s gained weight anywhere besides the belly)

Anything that made me feel pretty!

Thing I know some women love to hear but I wasn’t super keen on:

“You’re glowing!” (I know it’s meant as a compliment, but my crazy self always heard that as “Wow… you’re sweaty!” And I know no one means it that way, but I was always sweating uncontrollably when they said it to me.)

Things I would suggest avoiding:

Anything along the lines of “you’re so/really/too small!” or “you’re so/really/too large!” (I’ve found as a pregnant lady, that I’m already a little insecure about the way my body looks – especially in the beginning when I didn’t look super pregnant but more like I ate too many muffins that day – so calling it out in that way made me awkward like a teenager. Also, when you decide I’m too big or too small it makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong. No woman wants to feel like she’s doing wrong by her baby. Instead, go with one of the above, or just tell her she looks lovely.)

“Wow, you still haven’t had that baby yet!?” (No I haven’t, and what’s wrong with that!? Instead, ask again when she’s due – in a nice, supportive way, not a judgemental way – or ask how she’s feeling.)

“Are you ready?” (I personally didn’t know what this one meant but EVERYONE asked it! I wasn’t sure if they meant “have you set everything up for this baby?” or “I bet you can’t wait to get that thing out of your body!” It usually sounded like the latter, which was then awkward because I’m not one of those women in a lot of pain and wanting the escape. Also… I’m not one of those women who has anything set up… the nursery is still filled with unpacked boxes from our move. Again, with this one, I would recommend asking how she’s feeling or if you want to know about a nursery, ask about it.)

Random thoughts:

I noticed a specific trend on Facebook that I thought I would share. Whenever I post something on Facebook about being pregnant, I get two types of responses.

First for reference, this is the type of stuff I post on Facebook (and the frequency):

Facebook Status

Now, the types of responses:

From people my own age, I get things like:

  • “But you look great!” (from someone who saw me the day before)
  • “Your baby is holding out for Arrested Development!”
  • “That little bun just wants to fully bake!”
  • “Where are pictures? We want to see how cute you look!”
  • “My birthday is 3 days away, hold on for then, it’s a great birthday!”

I liked all of these!

From people in my parents’ generation, I get one of three things:

  • I either get them trying to educate me on very basic things (“Due dates are only guesses, not guarantees!” No kidding…)
  • Trying to give me tips on how to induce (which leads them all to fight with each other on my status about whether or not Mexican food works… considering I’ve had Mexican twice this week because I love it, I don’t think it works, but whatever. Also, I’m in no rush to induce myself yet. So they are offering advice I don’t need yet. When I have a Facebook post asking for induction ideas, I will welcome these comments.)
  • Telling me all about their pregnancy like mine will somehow replicate it. If they want to share stories, that’s totally fine by me. I actually like hearing birth stories. I’m just not a huge fan of how theirs are coming across as “so you’ll be like this, too.” I feel like birth stories should be prefaced as “this is how it happened for me” not “this is how it happens for everyone.” Because really, everyone’s seem to be different! I don’t think I’m explaining it well, but I’ve gotten a lot of “I was late!” “I was late and miserable! I bet you are too!” “I cried every day I was late. And then my baby was huge and labor was terrible!” “You look like me.” (Umm…how so? We’re not related.)

I think there is this stereotype going around that pregnancy is miserable, so it’s ok to tell a woman how miserable she must be. I would instead recommending asking.

And really, the best thing you can say to a pregnant lady is an honest compliment.

Good luck!

Any other suggestions on nice things to say to pregnant ladies from anyone who is/has been pregnant? Do you think I got any of these wrong/you felt differently?

Comments on: "Nice (and not so nice) Things to Say to Preggos" (2)

  1. I love this! I always worry about saying the wrong thing. 🙂
    Your glowing = sweaty comment made me laugh. I’ve NEVER EVER thought sweaty when I said someone glowed. lol

  2. Well, I do think you look great. And I’m hoping the baby decides to arrive before I do.

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text:
Dying is so much more than “a medical event”.

Dying is a life event that we all will experience at some time. Each death is as unique as each birth. For all involved, it is a time for exchanging love, for reconciliations, and for transformation. The dying person’s loved ones can become compassionate companions during the experience and can help the dying person through this remarkable journey.

In the last month I have experienced the deaths of two loved ones. One suffered a brain aneurism and was placed on life support for several days while family struggled with organ donation protocol and “making sure” there was no hope for recovery. This “making sure” consisted of very long days, nights, lots of medical intervention, tests and finally the organ donation team being called in. This was an incredible time for me. I, of course, had lots of questions and concerns that never were addressed adequately enough in my mind. After all was said and done I had struggled with “What was really going on in the ICU? What does donating your organs mean?” I once again updated my last wishes after thoroughly examining this situation, learning more about what I do and do not want should this become my demise.

Also, my sweet client passed away this last week. He was an 88-year old man living in a “memory care” facility that I soon labeled “the little shop of horrors”. For the several months I observed the goings on in this “skilled living community”. I felt helpless to intervene and became scared to death should I ever find myself placed in one. Reiterating again to my husband and children “Never ever do this to me or put me in a place like this”, and again promising, “Don’t worry mom, we won’t”. I’m still haunted by the imagery. Don’t get me wrong, I am not naive about these places and have volunteered in many over the years, but what in the world are we doing with our elderly? Who is really in charge of what goes on in these places? To be fair, I was only present during dinner hour, but some of what I saw and experienced was unacceptable.  Each time I saw a family leaving behind their loved one I wanted to cry out, “You really don’t want to leave them here”. Call me sensitive? I was beginning to believe I was the only one that still was.

If not for this man’s daughter’s constant vigilance regarding his care, he was ignored and forgotten, probably because his ability to communicate was very limited and frankly he didn’t complain…he didn’t need much interaction with the overworked and underpaid caregivers. It was too easy to tuck him in a corner somewhere. I listened on a regular basis to some very unhappy “Please get me out of here. I just want to go home!” Most of the residents seemed unheard even with the smallest request and truly felt forgotten by family and friends.

I was not present when my client took his last breath. I was there just a few days before, watching his daughter’s vane attempts to communicate with the powers that be. Just to get answers, help with simple things like turning him or removing mucus from his throat, anything to make her father comfortable. The effort it took her was shocking.  Suddenly it seemed he became an untouchable. Most just stared at him, shaking their heads it is as if the staff became zombies. There was one caregiver on staff that showed us how to keep his lips moist in attempt to keep him hydrated. Wasn’t this what the nurse on staff was there for? The first hospice that showed up was there to bathe him. I asked her how she was going to do this with him curled in a fetal position and in pain. Was she aware of the changes being made regarding his care in general? She said no and that she would be back. She didn’t return. Another hospice representative came to determine if he qualified for 24-hour care. She said she would be back tomorrow. Really? Hospice totally failed this man and his family in my eyes. The period of waiting for intervention and help from hospice took too long. If it were me, way too long. The lines of communication were broken. Hello! Anyone else see how crazy this is?

As I write this blog, I’m reminded of how pitiful the care is for the elderly population in our country. The last stage of our lives should be one filled with dignity, respect and honor. Nothing less accepted. I am certain that only by establishing control through written directives, planning ahead and making your wishes known can you be assured that you will experience a peaceful ending to your last chapters and perhaps in your active dying process. As my client slowly became incapacitated, he could not longer express what he was wanting or needing. He was at the mercy of “the system”. I’m struggling to understand it all. What I can do to make a difference? Can I? Will it ever change? I am on a quest to find a facility that runs well. Is there such a thing? Something is missing, a link in the chain. This is part of my calling and desire to advocate on the behalf of the dying and their loved ones. End of life guides are needed to assist and support hospice and any others that may be part of a dying persons team. This should be made available to all of us.  Working to fill in the gaps that can no doubt happen.

I will close with an excerpt from the book written by Daniel R. Tobin, M.D.  “The process of peaceful dying begins with your decision to take responsibility for your care and for how the rest of your life will play out. You can start to master your fears and your sense of powerlessness by insisting that all important decisions governing the rest of your life be made by you. Everyone dies, but your dying process is unique to you.  You have your own physical, psychological, and spiritual needs. Only you can determine what will provide you with peace of mind.You not only have that right, but you must also take responsibility for creating the events of your dying.”

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text:
Monday, December 20, 2010

First Sale on Etsy!

Dear friends,

What an exciting week for Letter Parade etsy shop which I opened with just three 'thank you' cards last Monday, December 13th. As a certified Etsyholic, it is not a surprise that a new seller would not make a sale in months as I've read in a lot of Etsy featured stories so I didn't think I'd make mine right away! And there I go pouring more time into adding more stuff to my shop, the printing, the packaging, the styling and product shots plus editing.... there is always something to do and learn or read about other sellers' mistakes to avoid. It can get overwhelming. The rewarding part was being featured in a treasury on my first day of opening! Then I got invited in a BNR circle that I can't even properly explain what the whole deal is about. Basically, it's a large circle of Etsy sellers who come together online for a set time, like last night we did a three to five hour BNR. A couple of newbies who never had a sale (like me) were included and we took a spot with one product on the board. One seller has to buy one item from our shop to kick me out of the board/spot so she can have a product featured there instead allowing her to promote her products and shop more until another seller takes her spot. I don't know who thought of this but it's pretty darn clever! I was invited by the curator of that BNR herself, seller MyWaterColorDReams. It was there that I made my first sale, a set of two of these to seller FlirtySanchezProject:

Being in a BNR like all teams and circles has its own perks, like learning new stuff from other members I would've never discovered on my own. Maybe if I read a ton of Etsy blogs but still, inside tips and tricks are something you can only get from the streets. The downside to a BNR is having to spend and buy off another seller's item just to get a spot. Of course, for my first I never got to do this because I got my hands tied up with excitement for my first sale and opening accounts to payment tools that sellers preferred to use that I only heard about last night. But of course, you pay for good advertising, right? So if you pay to be advertised and still get something awesome and handmade out of it, I think that's a pretty damn good deal! So starts my BNR addiction and there's one in just a few hours today, yay!

Oh, and another exciting thing when I woke up this morning, my pink roses 'thank you' card got featured in another treasury again! This time the treasury is called 'Innocence' put together by seller WaterlilyJewels.

So really quick, here are the newly added products at the shop:

Etched Flower Series note cards

 Bon Voyage French Note Card
 La Vie Est Belle Note Cards

 Paris Thank You Card

Bonjour French Note Card
Mime Valentine's Card

 These are now available at my shop. And as an exclusive treat to you my friends here at blogspot, I offer a 10% code "LParadeFRNDS10" (apply during check out) until December 31st, 2010, Friday 6:00 PM PST. Thank you for another wonderful year!

Happy writing!

Cindy Gonzales-Kujat

Monday, December 13, 2010

Letter Parade Opens Shop on Etsy!!

Hi friends!

I'm happy to announce that the Letter Parade online shop is finally open! You can visit it here. After unsuccessfully running GKkards with poor product shots that didn't do justice and just wasted posting fees, I vowed to do things differently with Letter Parade. It seems like with the coming new year, it's just a perfect timing to get this thing up and running!

So today, with a borrowed pro camera, I tried my hand on product styling using my "flower series" thank you cards and came up with these:

I must be doing things right that in just a few hours after uploading these and more photos to my online shop, another member featured one of my 'thank you' cards in her treasury! Thank you DoodleBugFramesEtc !

So come check out the shop! I will be filling it with more products and yes it's going to be all about letters, stationery, paper goods, postcards, etc. to get you corresponding in style!

And maybe you have some ideas on designs that you'd like me to create for you? I can do that, too!

Happy writing and browsing/shopping!

Cindy Gonzales-Kujat

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Happy Holidays!

Oh wow! 2010 felt like it took only a month and now we're gearing up for 2011! I hope your year has been better than the last and that next year will top it all off in terms of life, health, career, friendships... all the goodness that everyone deserves!

I will remember 2010 as the year that made me grow a stronger and better person whom I hoped to become some years back. Hooray for continuous growth! And the biggest highlight of the year is no doubt Dan's accident resulting to severe head trauma last October 9, it seems such a long time ago now and I'm happy that he's back to his old outgoing, funny, talented, active self. Read more about his accident here and check out the website, too! With caring and loving families, amazing friends and thoughtful, generous strangers coming forward and helping us in such a trying time of our lives, we have never felt more blessed! And these are all part of the many reasons why this Holiday season will be celebrated with much gusto!

Letter-wise, I also found many awesome pen friends around the world along with the (albeit late) discovery of adding more colors to my 2010!

Not too sound too fruity, I definitely had some low times this year, too but why look back to this year and count the bad apples when you have the good ones that should be carried over to the new year? Besides, it can't hurt to be optimistic, right?

Of course, another exciting thing that I always look forward to with glee is designing our own Christmas greeting card. This time, to save on postage, postcard version will also be sent out to everyone on our list who have stayed and/or managed to touch our hearts in surprising ways!

Lastly, for 2011, write more letters! Listen to music twice as much as you ever did your entire life! Make more time for somebody dear to you! Be more creative and do what you do passionately and I guarantee it will make you sleep better at night!

Happy writing!

Cindy Gonzales-Kujat

Mail News Scoop

As if current USPS problems aren't enough, it only seems to be getting worse. I mean, seriously, USPS has had 640 health and safety violations in the past five years and have recently been fined $220,000 for unsafe conditions specifically at the Los Angeles area. No wonder their plea to increase postage fee for January 2011 was denied!

Again and again, USPS scream for new management and total overhaul of its system is getting louder by the year. I would love to hear something positive for once.

Just thought it would be appropriate to rant about it here.


text:
Sunday, February 18, 2007

Chocolate Mousse

This is a very quick and easy recipe, and to my mind the best tasting ever.

1. Melt together over low heat, or in a double boiler, 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate and 2 T. water. Let cool.

2. Separate 4 eggs.

3. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (I use the KitchenAid), add 1/3 cup sugar and continue beating.

4. Whisk chocolate and egg yolks together. Add 1/2 t. vanilla.

5. Stir a little of the egg whites mixture into the chocolate mixture, and then fold that into the egg white mixture.

Spoon into 8 custard cups, and refrigerate. Add a dollop (or more) of fresh whipped cream to each cup. In the last few years, I learned the best way to make whipped cream is in the blender. Put in the heavy cream and a bit of honey (or sugar). Turn the blender on low, and blend for less than a minute. Keep checking that it doesn't over-blend.

1 comment:

  1. Oh, yum!!!! I love chocolate mousse and never understood when someone said it was too rich and they couldn't finish. Hand it over! I'll eat it. :) This is definitely a recipe I'll try this week.

I'll answer your comments as soon as I possibly can. Please do come back if you've asked a question.
Also, you may comment on any post, no matter how old, and I will see it.


text:
Manipulating Emotions

Dear Reader,

In preparation for the upcoming Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival, I began reading through the section of Charlotte’s third book entitled “We are educated by our intimacies.” I didn’t get very far, however, before I was stopped in my tracks by this passage:

“I need not again insist upon the nature of our educational tools. We know well that “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” In other words, we know that parents and teachers should know how to make sensible use of a child’s circumstances (atmosphere) to forward his sound education; should train him in the discipline of the habits of the good life; and should nourish his life with ideas, the food upon which personality waxes strong.

These three we believe to be the only instruments of which we may make lawful use in the upbringing of children; and any short cut we take by trading on their sensibilities, emotions, desires, passions, will bring us and our children to grief. The reason is plain; habits, ideas, and circumstances are external, and we may all help each other to get the best that is to be had of these; but we may not meddle directly with the personality of child or man. We may not work upon his vanity, his fears, his love, his emulation, or any thing that is his by very right, anything that goes to make him a person.” (pp. 182-83; emphasis mine)

I don’t know about you, but I find this passage very convicting. We live in a culture in which trying to influence others through their emotions and appetites is common practice. Think of advertisements and just how often we are exposed to them. Think of the stereotype of the mother laying a guilt trip on her child. I am showing my own bias here — but think also of so many churches in which the emotions are manipulated through music, performance, dramatics.

There are a few things going on here, I think. One is that we have accepted as truth that it is okay to be ruled by our emotions. Feeling something makes it right. If I do not love my spouse, it is okay to leave him or her lest I not be true to myself. And once we accept that emotions legitimate action, it make sense to control others through their emotions.

Now I don’t want to go to far and discount emotions altogether. Though it does at time seem to me as if they are the most fallen aspect of our human nature, they are none the less God-given and can guide us rightly if they are used rightly. It is a mistake too to ignore feelings altogether and to rely only on intellect, on what we can reason out. We become very cold, dry people if we do this. And there is a place too, both in religion and parenting, for an appeal to the emotions. But I think we must distinguish this — the appeal to the emotions– from manipulating emotions. The difference may be subtle but I think it lies in how we address our fellow man. If we seek only an emotional response, we manipulate. If, on the other hand, we combine the emotional aspect with the intellect, we create a more balanced approach. The former seeks to change people without regard for that they really think. The latter seeks to influence but not at the expense of the other person’s own opinions. It may use emotion but it seeks to convince, not to force.

So how does this affect what we actually do as parents? I am only beginning to think about this myself, but here are some preliminary ideas I have had:

  • We must be honest with our children. It is amazing how many times parents aren’t. These are often little lies along the lines of “no, I don’t have to money to buy you that toy today.” They are designed to prevent argument from the child and ensure their cooperation. But they are lies nonetheless. They don’t give the child credit for being able to understand more complex reasoning. And, of course, they ultimately destroy the parent-child relationship.

I know a mom who told her child they could not legally ride in the front seat of the car till age 12. This is not true in this state. It might be a wise decision, but it is not a law. I am sure the mom thought that by saying it was, that she was avoiding any argument, any efforts to convince her to change her mind. But she was also not allowing the child the opportunity both to understand the mother’s thinking and to perhaps try to use her  own.

  • Don’t lay guilt trips on your children. This is a tough one. When our child sins, it is very tempting to make sure they feel the full extent of what they have done. After all, they must be aware of their guilt in order to repent, right? I am not saying we should not point out sin. We should. But there is a difference between pointing out and driving home that point. I myself have done this far too often.
  • Be very careful with rewards and punishments. Use them sparingly. After all, our goal is not to get our child to do good for the sake of a candy but to do good for its own sake.
  • Don’t try to frighten them into good behavior. Making them aware of natural consequences is okay, as in “you can’t run into the street; you might get hit by a car” or even “if you don’t clean your room, you cannot go to your friend’s house.” But we should not use fear to control our children’s behavior.
  • Be careful of excessive or false praise. Your child is likely not the prettiest or smartest that ever was; don’t tell the they are. And when they fail, you can be compassionate without  lying to them. They need to go through failure too.

So why do we do these things? Why do we seek to manipulate our children? Often there is the underlying belief that they are ours to be manipulated. We care very much about how they turn out, rightly so, but we forget that they are their own people, made in the image of God, and that they are not ultimately ours to control or shape. I think we also on some level lack the faith that God is in charge of them and that He is shaping them as He will. We take too much of a burden our ourselves and forget that this is the work of the Holy Spirit. We either don’t trust that He is working in them or we don’t think He is doing it the right way. I have said this before, but it bears repeating — I think a lot of what the Charlotte Mason approach calls us to is letting go, not seeking to control every aspect of our children’s development but trusting that there is Someone greater who is working in them.

2 responses to this post.

  1. Posted by nellekeplouffe on August 10, 2014 at 3:00 pm

    Good thoughts. I especially appreciated your last point about the Holy Spirit’s work.

  2. […] start with two posts from Letters from Nebby, first, we need to avoid emotional manipulation. This is a huge issue for our culture, not just children but adults are subject to […]

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text:
The Fear of the Lord is a Treasure

By: Billy Marsh | November 25, 2008

"The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure."

~ Isaiah 33:5-6 ~

During my time with the Lord the other morning, this verse struck me as a unique way of speaking of making God one’s treasure. So I did a quick search and found that this is the only verse in the Bible (as far as I can tell) where the fear of the Lord is explicitly said to be the "treasure" of God’s people. To me that is an interesting notion. How does fear become a treasure? Why does Zion see the fear of the Lord to be of such worth?

This verse will obviously be better understood in the context of the whole of Chapter 33, where Zion is crying out for the grace and mercy of God as they await his salvation and their restoration. I encourage you to go back and read the surrounding chapters to develop a fuller understanding of this passage’s setting. Nevertheless, simply by focusing in on 33:5-6, we have plenty of material to mine.

Zion finds its true identity in the Lord. He is its true king. For when he is exalted, and reigns on high, then the welfare of God’s people will be as he intends it to be. This is why the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure. The people recognize their total helplessness and hopelessness apart from the gracious favor and eternal salvation of the One, True God and King. In this case, "the fear of the Lord" takes into account the authority of God’s justice, his indisputable righteousness, and the power of his might to secure their livelihood. For all of the hardships, trials, tribulations, and suffering, Zion knows that without becoming a city where God reigns supreme, they have no guarantee of surviving in this world. Thus, they affirm the absolute sovereignty and supremacy of Yahweh. Only he can be, as the text above asserts, "the stability of your times."

There can be no amount of economic wealth, social status, international fame, or territorial dominion that can compare to the ultimate treasure of the fear of the Lord. In keeping with other familiar passages of Scripture, the city who has found their relationship with God to be the highest of riches, has truly embarked upon the beginning of wisdom (cf. Proverbs 1:7). But, as in other places, the fear of the Lord is more than being afraid, though not exclusive to it. The fear of the Lord is the culmination of the knowledge of God. Look at what happens when the Lord is exalted on high! His identity is supremely manifested in abundance. When God is lifted up in the city of Zion, the people see him for who he is without any distraction or distortion, and therefore, the city becomes a place filled with the glory of God. His justice and righteousness flow freely; he brings unremovable security to their foundations; and he pours forth from the inexhaustible well of his Spirit salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Therefore, for Zion to find its true place as a city, it must not find satisfaction and contentment in the same way as other nations do such as Babylon and Assyria. Instead, God must be both their king and their treasure. However, in order for this to happen, they must first know him so that they are able to recognize and glorify him for who he truly is. The state of being that will permit them to do so must be the fear of the Lord, since it is the only adequate response to the revelation of the all-glorious God.

John Calvin, in his Commentary on Isaiah: 33-66, reflects on this passage stating:

"The fear of the Lord" is therefore called a "treasure," without which all prosperity is miserable; and this shews more fully the scope of the passage, that the full perfection of a happy life consists in the knowledge of God, which we obtain by faith.

They who are destitute of "the fear of the Lord" are pronounced by him to be miserable and ruined; and, on the other hand, they who "fear the Lord" are declared to be very happy, even though in other respects they be reckoned in the judgment of me to be very miserable (18).

This is the hard part. Our treasure, as the people of God, is rarely, if ever, looked upon by the world as something of any value. The Bible says, however, that what the world despises is for Christians the greatest treasure. Yet in this paradoxical relationship between God and the world, in obedience to His Word, we can find true joy, happiness, and satisfaction. All the while, the rest of the world remains conflicted and discontent, warring and raging in order to find pleasure which will always leave them empty and wanting. Only a true knowledge of God that is both propositional and personal will afford the city of God a secure future and everlasting joy. The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure because it is the fruit and a demonstration of a people who truly know the living God, and ultimately, treasure him above and beyond all else.

Perhaps you are aware of a void in your life and all of your pursuits and successes have left you unfulfilled. Perhaps as a Christian, you have tried to seek meaning and purpose in places and people other than the God revealed in Scripture. I say to you today, look to his Word and see him as he is in reality. Behold, this is your God! Do you have the fear of the Lord? If not, do you know him in the manner of his exaltation? If so, is the fear of the Lord your treasure? Oh how wonderful it is not only that God has made himself known to us, but also that we can delight in his glory, now and forevermore.

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Review, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #16 (Welcome to the Team, part 1)

12 12 2012

Writer: Andrew Chambliss
Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Inker: Dexter Vines
Colorist: Michelle Madsen
Cover Artist: Phil Noto

Publication Date: December 12, 2012
Format: FC, 32 Pages
Price: $2.99

I am going to start with a quick recap of what has happened so far before going to the review itself. Buffy throws a party. Andrew roofies her. Transfers her mind into to a robot. Buffy meets Dowling (SFPD detective), Koh (imprisoned demon who escaped and owes Buffy a debt) Severin (human with the powers of a Siphon). Severin betrays Buffy, out of the picture for the moment. Willow leaves the comic. Buffy thinks she’s pregnant. It’s a robot miss-functioning. Spike admits he’s still in love with her. Simone is back. Buffy gets back her body. No idea what has happened to the robot and the AI. Simone is out of the picture for the moment. Spike leaves the comic. Buffy accepts a job offer as a bodyguard from Kennedy. Protects a rich guy from W&H, Koh betrays Buffy, Buffy gets paid well for the job well done but goes back to slaying. We meet Billy. A 16 years old wanna.be.called.slayer gay. No superpowers. Was bullied a lot. Moved to SF with his boyfriend, Devon.the.wannabe.watcher.

Now, lets go back to the review.

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So, this issue is the beginning of a new arc called “Welcome to the Team”. And almost right from the beginning it welcomes Billy and Dowling to the Scoobie Team. Because yes, those 2 people are now Buffy’s team. Not only helping her while she’s patrolling, but also doing research and reading. Something that Buffy has always had problems with. Besides, she’s inherited a Vampyr Book from Giles that she still hasn’t bothered to check it. Besides that one time that she managed to read a couple of pages before falling asleep on it.

And what has the ex-Scoobie team been doing so far?
Willow is in her Wonderland dimension. She managed to get a quick look of what was going on with her friends back on Earth in her #2 last week, before the portal closed for good.
Spike is at the Easter Island, somewhere in the Pacific. Does he even count as an ex-Scoobie? Some people will say yes, some won’t. It’s up to you, but I’m mentioning him.
As for Dawn and Xander? They are living their normal life, away from slaying, as a couple. And they are totally in love. But everything comes with a price in the Whedonverse, we all know that. And it seems that the couple won’t stay happy for long. There is something wrong. I won’t spoil it, but whoever read Willow’s #2 knows that there is something going on. But it’s way more serious than what I thought last week. And we even learn that Dawn is allergic to peanut butter, lets hope that nobody will forget that. But wasn’t Dawn making peanut-butter-and-banana quesadillas back in Wrecked, S6? Or eating salami with peanut butter in Tough Love, S5?

Anyway, lets continue. Season 4 is back again, only this time the match-maker is not Willow, but Dawn and Xander. Why can’t Buffy just for once decide what is best for her, without having other people pointing it to her? Lets hope that this time Riley, sorry I meant Dowling, won’t get bitten by a prostitute vampire. Or any kind of vampire.

And I promise, I won’t read any more advanced reviews by people who haven’t been following the story. I’ll spoil it, since it has already been spoiled by the editor in his latest Q&A. Buffy is not living with Xander and Dawn. She is back with her roommates. And that “friend of Dawn’s who is just innocently digging around Buffy’s clothes searching for something to wear for a night out clubbing” is actually her roommate, Anaheed. God, if I was offered the privilege of having advanced issues for reviews days before, I would make sure to read all of the past issues, no matter how many they would be. So no more reading reviews from that site for me. It’s not worth it.

Back to the issue, as Buffy and her Scoobie team 2 go to fight the zompires. Good team, working all together, but there is someone out there who has new plans for Buffy. And for which fight is more important to deal with first. We’ve seen the future covers, we’ve read the upcoming solicitations, Illyria is back! And all powered up like she used to before the Mutari Generator was used on her. I think that she got all her powers back in Hell-A, but she was stripped again after time reversion by Wolfram & Hart. Well, she’s all back again. I don’t know if it’s a mistake or a retcon or it has to do with the broken Seed. But what I do know, is that Illyria can go all Charmed Piper with the ability now of Molecular Immobilization. Could she do that before? I don’t think so.

Anyway, it was a good issue. A big improvement from the last five ones. Dawn and Xander were back, I enjoyed that, I have missed them a lot. Buffy is back, and her story seems to be back on track to get our interest going. And believe me, there are much more going on in this issue than what I’ve spoiled. But I don’t want to say more and spoil all the surprise. I still don’t care about Billy. And this issue didn’t make me like him any much more. Illyria is in the game so I’m looking forward to the next issue. I don’t want to comment on the art, since I’m not a fan of this particular style. I will only comment on the story, and I am glad that Buffy is back on action. And it was the first time ever since #10 that I want to read NOW what’s coming up next. Not because of Dowling, certainly not because of Billy. Or of characters like Kennedy or Andrew or Theo. But because of Buffy, because of Dawn, because of Xander, because of Illyria.

19 responses

12 12 2012

Nice review! I’ve just read the issue and loved it! And I do agree with you – the issue is a big improvement after Billy’s two issue disappointment arc. And I still don’t like Billy, btw, I’d wish him to being bitten and to turn into a zompire instead Dowling. I’m 100% Spuffy fan, but I like Dowling – I’m sure Buffy is having only friendly feelings to him, so does and Dowling to her. I think him, Buffy and Spike would make a really good team. I miss Spike around Buffy. I miss and Willow! I hope they will join the team soon! I’m not a fan of Xander, but it would be better Xander to join the night patrol with Buffy than Billy.
I absolutely LOVED Illyria’s appearance in the end! She is one of my most favorite characters and I can’t wait for the next issue!
p.s. The art was the only one thing that I really disliked in this issue…

12 12 2012

Thanks, Veiriti.
I won’t start commenting on the art…I promise I won’t comment on the art..I promise I won’t….please, don’t let me start talking about that “art”.

14 12 2012

Don’t make such promises! LOL I’d like to see your art analysis and for the next issue! 😀

12 12 2012

I wasn’t keen on the issue, it was still better than the last arc sure, but I found it disappointing and the art this time was truly terrible. Dowling was so inconsistent and Buffy looked plain ugly at times.

I also still don’t care about Billy and I hope at some point we get some explanation as to how and why he ended up in SF. Have to say that I really loved that they linked with Willow2.

I have to say I think we are supposed to read Buffy as wanting Dowling to be interested to be honest Veiriti. It was all a bit hit and miss and the writing wasn’t great. She didn’t look convinced when originally talking to Xander and Dawn about whether or not she was happy. But then she looked distinctly unhappy when he said it was a terrible rumour and she seemed low as she picked at her stake saying ‘Oh. Good. So we’re clear. We’re not dating’. So I think they will start seeing each other when she gets back, or at least they are intending to at this point. I have massive issues with Dowling saying he usually has breakfast with the girls he dates. It is undoubtedly a joke but it puts the question of sex there before they have even gone out anywhere together. Whilst I am sure it was just a bad writing set up to him asking her out for breakfast it really made me dislike him unfortunately.

Dawn’s illness is odd, her change in tastes of food being discussed as if it had always been that way, because I’m pretty sure, without having checked, you’re right and Dawn was a peanut butter fan in the show. I was a bit disappointed with how little we saw of Xander/Dawn.

I wasn’t delighted either about Buffy actually being back with Anaheed and Tumble because I didn’t take to them particularly before. This could change, I was suspicious of what Anaheed was looking for so maybe they will get interesting. Again, got to agree that it is ridiculous that the advanced review got wrong who Buffy was living with, particularly when she even says it out loud in the issue.

The teleportation to Illyria was exactly what I was expecting. I’m looking forward to the Illyria/Koh/Severin stuff, but then I was looking forward to this and it was a let down.

12 12 2012

I am annoyed with that Duffy ship (LoL, my work is done here, I’ve named the Dowling/Buffy relationship!) because we haven’t witnessed it building up. How am I supposed to get to know those two and like them together when they just serve them on my plate demanding of me to accept them? The way they have demanded of me to accept Billy is great, Billy is part of the team now?

12 12 2012

There is no a Duffy ship (LOOL)! Dowling is mostly her co-worker and friend. He is not her Riley 2, his feelings to her are only friendly. Besides he probably is a goner. I think that bite will infect him. I hope someone to bite and Billy! Please, let some zompire to bite Billy!!!!

12 12 2012

Interesting issue. After two boring issues we’ve got a really interesting story with a lot of unanswered questions.

Who is that zompire that Buffy seemed to recognize? Simone? Kennedy?

Are all the other people’s memories about Dawn fading away, as she becomes less and less real?

The synchronization with “Willow #2” is flawless. Good job!

And, finally, Illyria!!!!

12 12 2012

The hair is different color and not short, so it is not Simone. It’d better be Kennedy, not because I want her to die, but because I want that zompire to be someone I knew, just like Buffy, and not just some random slayer that I don’t care whether she lives or not.

12 12 2012

I’m so with you on that other site’s advance review clearly indicating they don’t really keep up with the series. Grrrrrr.

I FORGOT about the peanut butter cooking fiascos. I presumed it was Buffy forgetting – I’ve been reading with the impression that the pre-Key-to-Dawn transformation memories were gone (like Connor’s family lost theirs). But we did see her with peanut butter so … hmmm.

Of course we also had Jane Epenson let a zompire in without an invitation in the Billy issue. So it could be error or it could be a plot point. Based on the letters, I think we don’t get back to Xander and Dawn until Issue #19 or #20. Buffy is off finding out what a mess she made (I presume) with Ilyria and Koh. Then there’s a Severin issue. So, the “slow boil” is going to continue to cook in the background. I’m more worried about Dawn now than Xander’s depression.

I think Billy as a character is okay (and I was happy he read the VAMPYR book), but his introduction was SOOOO PSA and he’s no substitute for Xander and Dawn.

Nice review.

12 12 2012

Thanks! 🙂

That reviewer not only hasn’t read any issue that hasn’t been sent to him to review, but also hasn’t even payed attention to this issue. Why would Buffy give a check to a Dawn’s friend to cover the rent of 6 months? Unless that friend is living with Buffy and she is her roommate, not Dawn’s friend.

Based on the letter column, I think that Scott Allie said that we’ll get all the answers about Xander in this arc, which ends in #19, and there will be some more in #20.

The reason why I hate Bily so much is because they want me to like him. They didn’t MAKE me like him through the story, but they served him to me and they ASKED me to like him. Thanks but no thanks, I will only like him when the story makes me like him.

12 12 2012

Now that the issue is out and others have read itI will comment on it better.
First the art, please, CHANGE THAT ARTIST. Everyone looks like 12 years old, Jeanty even managed to make Illyria look like she’s 12. Everyone but Billy, who amazingly looks like his age.

We have spent 3 issues in a story about W&H which could have been told in 1, and 2 issues on a background story about Billy. And now we are just supposed to accept that at sometime Buffy met Billy, got to know him, trusted him enough to let him sleep in her room, talked to and gained the trust of his grandmother, spent nights patrolling with Dowling and going from ‘sb I know and met a couple of nights’ to ‘sb I meet with every night and it seems like dating’. I really don’t know who to blame here.

That zompire’d better be somebody we know and not just a random slayer without any background story again. I don’t want it to be Kennedy, I don’t like her character but I don’t hate her that much to have her dead. But still I hope it is her and not just a random slayer that I won’t care that she has died and has become a zompire.

Illyria’s new Charmed power. They’d better explain this. I’ll be totally harsh if they won’t. And especially why doesn’t she go all BOOM! like she was supposed to in Time Bomb, when Wesley stripped off her powers.

I am sure that Anaheed wasn’t looking for something to wear. I guess will find out about that in a future issue.

Dawn’s allergy to peanut. Again no background story, they’d better explain this in one of the upcoming issues.

So we even learn that Buffy doesn’t reply to Spike’s texts. Since we haven’t seen him texting her in his mini, but only checking on his bars, I guess that should synchronize with his #5 that was supposed to come out next week, before getting a new release date. So Spike will text Buffy in his final issue but Buffy won’t answer back. What a b1tch! Why do they make Buffy look so bad? Unless it is again a background story that we haven’t read and we’re now supposed to take their words on it, that at some point Spike was texting Buffy and she wasn’t answering back.

The issue was indeed an improvement, as I said, compared to the previous 5 ones, but I can’t say that it was as good as A&F’s 2 last issues, or Spike’s mini, or Willow’s mini. The writing is much better there than in the Buffy title.

12 12 2012

Veiriti, I really think because of Buffy’s goofy grin when talking about X/D thinking they are dating and then her dejected response to his reply we are supposed to think she wants to date him. The writing around those scenes is so jumbled up but the art implies she felt disappointed when it seemed he wasn’t interested.

12 12 2012

Well, it wasn’t serious, I believe! Anyway – I think the guy will turn into a zompire in the next issue and probably Buffy will be forced to stake him. I would sorry for Dowling… I like him.

12 12 2012

The writing was so clunky around those scenes I would have taken it all for friendly banter if it hadn’t have been for Buffy’s expressions. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if Dowling gets zomp’d or killed. I thought he looked interesting at first and then he went all squeal-y when Cheung was attacked and I thought he was pretty boring after that, still preferred him to Billy tho!!

12 12 2012

What just keeps on striking me is that they rounded the whole season into Buffy wants normal, Buffy needs normal, Buffy has a crappy life and no money, and the minute she finds a job and gets a nice paycheck out of it, she’s all about only slaying and watching TV on her free time.
So for how long is this paycheck going to last? 1 month? 6 months? A year? Eventually she’ll run out and discover that she’s back to point zero.

Since she was teleported in LA, there is no way that they’re going to develop this scenario in this arc, leaving the last arc of the season with dealing with the bring back magic stuff, dealing with Simone, so at the end of the season Buffy will be where she’s started. Maybe have some more from that check, that will end up soon.

I am not saying that they can’t just out of the blue have Buffy getting a job somewhere, it’s just that it will be underdeveloped or background story. They have really done a lousy job programming the season, and the Billy arc was totally unnecessary and shouldn’t have existed in the main book. Also the pregnancy arc. And the robot thing. And the Internet guy, that story could have been told in an issue, not 3, the action was minimum and the character development was zero, having Buffy realizing that she’s THE slayer, something that she had realized at the end of Season 8.

Too bad, my favorite book getting this treatment, while A&F and the miniseries are doing so much better than this.

12 12 2012

BtVS is weak, no doubt. I’m just hoping the final arc will pull a bit of continuity through it that will make me happier in hindsight. The Spike mini has been the highlight of the season so far for me (no great surprise there!!) but I would still prefer him back in the main book.

12 12 2012

I’m losing my faith in the main title. I give it up to the end of this arc, if it doesn’t I prove by then, it never will. At least not in this season.

12 12 2012

I’m so childishly pleased sometimes, I love the way the dates show alongside the comments here!! 🙂

12 12 2012

Haha, that was my choice :p

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