'The Passion' Moves Man to Confess Murder

In an article on Yahoo (click here) a man describes how he had murdered a woman who was pregnant with his child. He staged it to look like the woman hung herself. The authorities were convinced it was a suicide.

This man had seen 'The Passion', the movie that portrays the last hours of Christ. It was through watching this film and talking to a friend that he felt remorse and confessed his guilt to the authorities.

There has been alot of controversy about this film. One of the greatest complaints from critics was the films graphic violence. It just goes to show you that the critics don't always understand the truth when they see it. Christ has always been a stumbling block for those who don't understand. Even at the end of his crucifixion, Christ said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." And today they still don't. Instead of the predictions of violence, it provoked a man to admit murder even when he had already gotten away with it. Proof is in the pudding or shall I say in the Crucifixion of Christ.

My Art Pursuits

I have been pursing my art more heavily lately. I went out and bought a new eisel, canvases to paint on, brushes, oil paint, etc. I have already in the passed two weeks painted two paintings. One is abstract (a bit of an experiment) and the other an impressionistic painting of three palm trees.

I have been looking at artists who use eBay to sell their art. It seems to really work for most of them. I am surprised at the response these artists are getting to their art. As a result I have put up my own eBay store called Stare Studios. I hope that within the next month that I will be able to put some art up there. I want to have a half a dozen pieces done before I put them up. This is all one big experiment. I am trying to stay focused even when I am not sure what will come of it.

I have been looking for inspiration for my art. I visited an artist I heard about in the area, Charlie Velek. He is an older gentleman who paints in oils, acrylic and watercolors. He purchases photographs from a local guy who loves to go out into natural Florida and snap shots of wildlife and landscapes. His photography is awesome. I now have his contact info. I am planning on calling him today and finding a time I can meet him and possibly purchase some pics for source material to create my art from. We'll see how it goes.

Anika Taking a Bath [flash movie]

Use the controls on the bottom left corner. I made this video with my new Kodak DX4530. I then put the video in Flash.

The Three of Us

Here is me and my children, Lucas and Anika. Becky (my wife) was taking the picture.

Spain Terrorized--America Betrayed

It is sad that there are those in this world that feel they must terrorize through brutal mass murder, like the train bombings in Madrid, Spain. I have never seen a terrorist group ever accomplish their goal of changing a country's heart towards their cause. They always remain nomadic and outnumbered. They never succeed in converting the masses. They are not defending their beliefs but instead are promoting the urgent need to get rid of them.

When I heard about the train bombings I was enraged. I mourned in my heart for the Spanish people. I pray for the victims and that those who committed this crime will be quickly found and punished to the full extent. No mercy! They did not choose that for the victims of their crimes. These terrorists are cowards. But my saddened heart unexpectedly turned to anger towards the Spanish.

The bombings "coincidentally" happened just before major elections. The Popular Party, which has supported America and the war in Iraq, was the hopeful winner of the elections. But because of the bombings the Spaniards reacted selfishly and voted in the Socialist Party which has been bitterly against America's decision to go into Iraq, unseating the Bath Party and Saddam. The new Prime Minister with the people's blessing is going to remove all Spanish troops from Iraq. The people of Spain have acted in a very rash and illogical manner, betraying their loyalty to America.

The next time Europe needs our help we ought not come to their aid, but we will. Why? Because we stand by our allies even when they have slapped us in the face. We are not imperialists. We love peace and freedom and we believe that sometimes it is necessary to use force to defend those ideals.

Marking the anniversary of the start of the Irag War, President Bush said, "There can be no separate peace with the terrorist enemy...Any sign of weakness or retreat simply validates terrorist violence and invites more violence for all nations."

When will the Europeans have the balls and the moral courage to fight tyranny instead of giving it a birth place?

Thief!

Well, last night before I came home from work I get a call from Phillip. His wife (Tina) had spent the day with my wife (Becky). Tina had left her Louis Vuitton (fake) purse in her car with the doors unlocked. In the afternoon Tina went to get her purse and it was gone. Someone had stolen it right out of my driveway when people were home. In fact the purse was stolen sometime in the morning in broad daylight. With no doubt this ticks me off. I will deal with this in my neighborhood. No man should take what is not his and he should pay for his crime. Nobody is going to steal from my driveway and get away with it. They robbed the wrong families.

So, anyway the cop came to the house and took down the necessary information. Phillip went to the different stores where the thief used Tina's debit/credit card. One of the places they used the card was a car shop where you can get those big fancy stereos for your suped up getto car. The owner Angelo was very helpful. He even showed Phillip the tapes from his surveillance camera. The camera showed a black male, white female and white Buick with fancy rims.

Into the late evening Phillip and Angelo went looking for the car near my neighborhood and other probable places. No luck. But the next morning Phillip and Tina were driving in separate cars (to be continued...)

We Are So Proud of Anika!

Anika is finally learning how to drink from a cup. We are so proud of her! Check out her amazing drinking skills.

IM Conversation: I Love My Dog

Becky IM-ed me about our new dog Sam (Samwise). Here is our short conversation:

-------------------

Becky: I had quite gotten used to not having to put a dog in a cage.

Brett: Yep, but he will be a good dog and alot of fun.

Becky: Yeah, Luke was huggin on him and saying, "He's my dog, he takes care of me, i pet him, i love him"

Brett: That's where it is at.

Wireless

We are now wireless! It is very exciting. Becky is able to now sit anywhere in the house and surf the net. This makes it so much nicer for her. She is now able to pay bills online, check email, etc without having to go out into my messy den. It also makes it easier for her to do her online transactions and be where the kids are playing. Here is part of an email she sent me expressing her new found joy in the wireless revolution:

"So, guess what I'm doing? Sittin' outside with my kids watchin the dogs play and catchin up on a few e-mails! I think the internet connection is a little slower because of the distance to the router, but that's ok. Phil, what a goof ball. What else am I going to find on my computer that he messed with? He set the autocorrect option so that every time I typed "the" it replaced it with "Phillip Rules". Just wait until I get my hands on his computer!"

The Arrival of Samwise

On February 29 (Sunday) Me and my wife and children were getting into our mini-van to go to church. I then spotted a puppy running around in the neighbor's lawn. I would have ignored the animal because I see dogs all the time wandering the neighborhood but this was a puppy. Nobody let's a puppy out on its own.

I knelt down and called the mostly black puppy. It hesitated but started to come over to me. It then saw Becky and headed immediately over to her. We put the puppy in our fenced backyard and went to church. We came back from church and the puppy was gone. It didn't take long to find it. Our other neighbor took the dog in when it had Houdini-ed out of the backyard. We took the dog back because they didn't intend on taking care of it.

At the first of the week we immediately called the Humane Society, Animal Control and Florida Today Newspaper and reported that we found a lost puppy. Well, it has been over a week since then. We received two calls about the puppy from signs we had put up around the neighborhood. One caller was looking for a cocker spaniel but the puppy is part pit bull. The other call made me mad. Becky had received the call. The lady said she lost a puppy and that it was hers. Becky asked for a description. The lady hesitated and said the puppy she lost was brown. BUZZZ! Wrong answer! The lady then didn't know what to say and then told us that if we didn't want the puppy that she would take it. Thank you but no thank you lady!

A couple of days ago one of our neighbors several houses down knocked on our door. He said the puppy was his but it had got loose. He saw us with the dog but didn't know if he should come talk to us. His landlord found out he had dogs in the house and told him that he had to get rid of the dogs. He told us we could have the dog. Now we are the proud owners of a little black dog that is quickly getting bigger everyday. Click on the thumbnail picture below to see a larger picture of the new addition to our family.