Gary Presley

My dad is a WWII Vet... he's still alive today...

2012-02-08T15:29:16.722-06:00

My dad is a WWII Vet... he's still alive today... it is a great honor for those who served... and continue to serve our US Military today. Many give up their tomorrows so we could have our todays. For those who made it through that horrid war... we must do all we can to celebrate each day with have with them...

Let us never forget any of our Vets... PERIOD!!! Keep their memories alive!!!

FunnyFunnyFunny! But you get lots of points for tr...

2012-02-04T18:47:14.929-06:00

FunnyFunnyFunny! But you get lots of points for trying ;)

You couldn't be more right!

2012-01-27T15:12:12.631-06:00

You couldn't be more right!

Loved both of your posts on this topic, but commen...

2012-01-17T18:49:05.795-06:00

Loved both of your posts on this topic, but commenting on this one because I think my point is more relevant here.

I think this issue comes down to what we prioritize: emotional intimacy or physical intimacy. I think more and more our society places physical intimacy first and hopes emotional intimacy will follow. Personally, I think it's important to place emotional intimacy first, even after physical intimacy is added in.

I tear up everytime I watch Charles Scheffel in hi...

2012-01-17T17:17:40.363-06:00

I tear up everytime I watch Charles Scheffel in his interview on WWII.....My dad is still alive at 93.5 yrs; also served in the War....So touching was Charles story, and seeing him walking so fragile at the end was tear jerking! phil brown

Gary, there is so much here that I read it twice a...

2012-01-15T15:30:49.337-06:00

Gary, there is so much here that I read it twice and I still want to reread it. When you write things like this it gives us able-bodied folk a view we wouldn't ordinarily have. There's an essay in every paragraph. Thanks for giving me so much food for thought on this Sunday, my friend.

I don't remember taking the test, and so I too...

2012-01-13T19:29:00.021-06:00

I don't remember taking the test, and so I took it a few minutes ago. It's Introverted (44) Intuitive (25) Feeling (12) Judging (22), which means I should be a shrink or a lawyer or share the passions of John Bradshaw, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, John Calvin, or Nicole Kidman.

Do you know what your Meyers-Briggs personality ty...

2012-01-13T15:11:34.400-06:00

Do you know what your Meyers-Briggs personality type is? I ask because I met a fellow INFP recently and we've discovered that one characteristic of our "type" is that we have trouble choosing absolutes. We don't have favorite colors, songs, movies, etc; everything depends on the situation or the context. We have issues giving yes or no answers to many questions. So this post struck me as very similar! :)

Change the language, change the culture. Choice. D...

2012-01-09T16:33:54.010-06:00

Change the language, change the culture. Choice. Death with Dignity. Client (instead of patient), the list is quite long. And so it continues. I have to wonder if Romans 1:18ff is being fulfilled before our eyes. And then look at 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12. God is not one to be mocked.

Confusion reigns when we call addiction a disease ...

2012-01-05T21:01:20.040-06:00

Confusion reigns when we call addiction a disease of neurochemistry and at the same time criminalize it. I agree with your thoughtful post...

I think the consequences would be different but pe...

2012-01-01T09:22:14.363-06:00

I think the consequences would be different but perhaps less damaging to society than arresting and incarcerating drug users. It would move the problem from the criminal system to the medical system. I agree that drugs would need regulation, and perhaps the first step would be the legalization and regulation of marijuana.

I realize social mores have changed over the last 125 years, but it was only post-Industrial Revolution that drugs began to be criminalized. Many medicines and "tonics" in the late 1800s contained cocaine or morphine derivatives.

I think the parallel with alcohol prohibition, though, is a valid one, and I'm surprised it isn't recognized.

As a corollary to what Will Rogers said, Mark Twai...

2011-12-31T20:33:06.447-06:00

As a corollary to what Will Rogers said, Mark Twain is reputed to have said that everyone is ignorant, just on different subjects. If you are poorly educated, Gary, it doesn't show. Your comments seem wise to me. Imprisoning drug users makes no sense. Perhaps certain drugs could be legalized but tightly regulated. Sin or sickness, an explosion of drug addiction would have major consequences for our society.

Oh, Nikki, don't forget The Talented Mr Rip...

2011-12-31T14:32:30.991-06:00
Oh, Nikki, don't forget The Talented Mr Ripley ...

There is this issue, about which we both speak, but there are many others as well that influence behavior. For example, the influence of advertising on commercial television, or how talk about sexual activities drive the narrative on many shows, or violence.

No matter how a person strives to teach a child more sophisticated values (role models, sex, violence, greed for the material) when the child goes out in the world, he or she mixes with children influenced by these issues -- kids planted for hours upon hours in front of the electronic babysitter and fed junk food.

Try watching some of the earlier Disney classics -...

2011-12-28T21:23:03.433-06:00
Try watching some of the earlier Disney classics - Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, etc. They're all based around the idea of needing a man to come to one's rescue. I never considered myself a femenist, but I think having children changes your view quite a bit. As an adult, you think, "Whatever, it's just one movie, it's no big deal." But then you see your little one, eyes wide, drinking up every moment of some silly cartoon, and you start wondering what impressions are forming on his/her little blank slate of consciousness. I find I'm not only more femenist (I don't want my son thinking of girls as "lesser" or "weaker" any more than I'd want my daughter to feel this way) but also much more race-conscious. The horrific amount of whitewashing that goes on in children's literature and programming now jumps out at me wherever I look. (For instance, my absurd search for a racially accurate Christmas story!) Given that we live in a racially diverse community, this has become especially important to me, as a parent.

I did, however, have a good laugh at your last line - Ripley is high on our list of potential "girl names!" In large part because strong female lead characters do not exist in classical literature.

I am sadened to hear that Mr. Scheffel has passed ...

2011-12-22T19:20:10.129-06:00
I am sadened to hear that Mr. Scheffel has passed away. I am in great debt to him for the many sacrifices that he made for me and every other american during his lifetime. I feel as though I knew him from watching him on WWII in HD. I had a grandfather who served in the navy during the war and heard many of his experiences as he served in the pacific on the USS Henry D. Wiley DM29 I was so proud of his service. Thank you for your efforts to share in Charlie's life and sharing him with of americans. The world will certainly Charlie and the millions of great americans who have servied this counrty in wartime. Thanks againg for sharing your stories about Charles Scheffel.
Rile Taylor, Griffin, Georgia USA

Isn't such "free" entertainment fun?...

2011-12-21T17:19:31.631-06:00
Isn't such "free" entertainment fun?

The character of Jerry on Boston Legal had Asperge...

2011-12-19T17:13:51.545-06:00
The character of Jerry on Boston Legal had Asperger; it was mentioned in the scripts and his character was definitely played to be comedic.

Interesting idea. I love Big Bang Theory, watch t...

2011-12-19T12:02:08.204-06:00
Interesting idea. I love Big Bang Theory, watch the reruns as well as the latest episodes. Sheldon's character is somewhat sweet, somewhat goofy and I think he has become a well rounded character.

Deathmobiles are repulsive. If people decide to ki...

2011-12-07T20:10:33.785-06:00
Deathmobiles are repulsive. If people decide to kill themselves, one could make an argument in its favor. I don't know quite how I feel about it. But in principle I don't think people should be allowed to help them. No doubt there could be exceptional circumstances, but they should be compelling.

I think you made the point most eloquently in your...

2011-12-07T15:56:24.010-06:00
I think you made the point most eloquently in your book when you pointed out that a "normal," healthy individual who wants to commit suicide is seen as mentally ill, while someone with a medical problem or disability is just taking the logical course of action. Sick.

These debates often remind me of the movie Million Dollar Baby. The film caused quite a stir and was accused of promoting assisted suicide. I disagreed - I thought it painted a very accurate portrait of what suicide ought to be: a very, very difficult, morally ambiguous decision. I won't stand in the way of anyone's right to kill themselves - but suicide should never be easy.

Two sides of the same coin, perhaps, but if you as...

2011-12-05T12:21:42.414-06:00
Two sides of the same coin, perhaps, but if you ask me to choose, I choose "acceptance."

Gary, here's what Cyril Connolly says in THE U...

2011-12-02T16:51:22.428-06:00
Gary, here's what Cyril Connolly says in THE UNQUIET GRAVE:

There are but two ways to be a good writer (and no other kind is worth the being): one way is, like Homer, Shakespeare or Goethe, to accept life completely, the other (Pascal's, Proust's...Baudelaire's), is to refuse ever to lose sight of its horror.

Barry

I notice they skipped over Nixon, a man who is sti...

2011-11-26T11:17:53.476-06:00
I notice they skipped over Nixon, a man who is still widely in disrepute. However, he was a president of great consequence: he enforced desegregation, established the EPA, opened relations with China, promoted detente and a missile treaty with the USSR, and eventually withdrew troops from Vietnam. I never voted for him because of his massive character flaws, but no one can say he wasn't important. Perhaps one day there will be a carrier named the U.S.S. Nixon. I wouldn't object.

Aaaaaagh! I would have gone ballistic. Kudos to yo...

2011-11-17T15:56:27.305-06:00
Aaaaaagh! I would have gone ballistic. Kudos to you for keeping your cool. I've actually emailed websites before to notify them about punctuation errors.

During the year I spent in China, where you can't really blame anyone for getting the English wrong, it was like a game to spot the worst examples of Chingrish.

Ha! Nice! I love your reasons. I've thought no...

2011-11-14T17:02:20.695-06:00
Ha! Nice! I love your reasons. I've thought now and again about getting one but always felt like it should mean something... and so far I haven't found anything significant enough to put on my body! I mean I could get my kid's face stamped on my arm, but that's just creepy...