Christmas is my favorite time of the year. For me, "Christmas" usually starts shortly after Thanksgiving. It's the time of year when all the Christmas events start occuring. Our pastor, always a stickler for details and, truth-be-told, a spoil-the-fun kind of guy at this time of year, calls this "Advent" -- and while the pedant in me acknowledges it, the real me says "fiddlesticks and away with your 'waiting for the Master's return' doomsday attitude -- give me Carols and Treats and Gifts and Trees and Lights and Family and Friends and Concerts!"

And then, by the 21st, I'm ready to head into the quiet part of Christmas. My family, a few close friends. Concerts complete. Anticipation of the joy of giving, and receiving.

We're almost there.

Oh, Angelfire has given us a cute new tool - an easy-to-use photo album builder. I've tried one simple album so far.
The link is https://www.angelfire.com/mn/stevewill/album1/ and I plan to put more together soon. I've even removed the Norway trip (of 1997) to make room. That's how serious I am!

Time! I want more of it! Why do I need sleep?

OK, that title suggests I'm going to get very serious. That's a little misleading. A little.

I am, once again, addicted to "Heroes of Might and Magic III" (hereafter referred to as HoMM3). For anyone who doesn't know, it's a computer game. In particular, it is a turn-based strategy game within a fantasy milieu.

Now, for me, HoMM3 is pretty much the ultimate computer game. I have many other computer games, and of those, I have enjoyed most of them. I can go back to "Diablo II" and play for quite a while, enjoying myself immensely. Same thing for the versions of "Magic: the Gathering" I've played, and several others.

But HoMM3 is special. When I start playing that again, I am as hooked on the game as when I first played it. It becomes pretty much the only game I want to play. It is so excellent, that it makes any other computer game simply a diversion.

And this is where the title of today's blog entry comes in.

I have had very little temptation to buy a new computer game in several years. When, the HoMM3 follow on - "Heroes of Might and Magic IV" - became available, I bought it right away. It was OK, but it did not live up to HoMM3. I doubt I will ever play it again.

Similarly, I have very little motivation to plunk $50 down to try any other computer game, especially a turn-based strategy game. Oh, I'm pretty sure that "Civilization 3" would be about as good. And I may try it. But the point is this: when HoMM3 (with its very important "Armageddon's Blade" expansion) came into my life, the amount of money I would subsequently spend on computer games dropped significantly. The authors of HoMM3 essentially made something which is so good (to me) that the rest of the industry was harmed by its existence.

I suspect that one of the causes of the decline in the computer game market was exactly this: there are so many truly excellent games, and they continue to enthrall us, that it's tough to compete with the existing products. I'm sure "they" will keep trying to make something better. And I do hope they succeed.

But hey, what do I care? I have my HoMM3. And, if I ever want to get hooked on something else, I'm told "Civ3" and a few other games will keep me happy forever.

It's a great problem to have.

Last night I had the opportunity to be exceptionally proud of my children again.

Our 10th annual Christmas Carol service was held last night, and we, the Grace Lutheran Church choir, did two pieces. The first was "Hope for Resolution." I've written about this piece of music before, but last night was the first chance to perform it for a large audience. My daughter Leah was one of eight or ten children who sang as the children's choir for that song. She, being one of the oldest, was a strong, beautiful voice -- holding long notes and helping the group stay in tune. She looked beautiful, and sounded even better.

Our second piece was an a cappella version of "Mary Had a Baby" with a soprano solo at the beginning. My daughter Sarah sang the solo, and was just plain outstanding. There she was, at all of her 5-feet-2-inches, in her Extra-Small polo shirt which is still too big for her, filling the huge sanctuary with her even bigger voice. Shivers. It gave people shivers. Wow.

Afterwards, I don't think I could have stopped smiling if you paid me.

Parenting has provided me a valuable lesson. I have been proud of many things which I have done in my life. The kind of pride I feel when I accomplish something is a selfish pride. It's not as if I'm boasting or showing off, but when I accomplish something, it tends to feel like I won something. As if I had been in a competition, and I bested my opponent.

Fatherly pride is quite different. My heart feels like it is swelling with appreciation and love. I am so happy for my child, rather than being happy with myself.

Each of my children has provided me many chances to have this kind of fulfilling pride wash over me. It is a gift, from them, to me - and I don't think they even realize it.

After the concert was over, as I was walking to get our coats, one of the members of our choir stopped me on the stairs. Wilbur is, oh, perhaps 65. He and his family are some of the very nicest people in our congregation. He just had to tell me how much he thought of our family, our children, and how we raised them. This meant a great deal to me, and I started realizing something: I could have reacted with the kind of personal pride I discussed first. But I didn't. Instead, that fatherly pride poured out. "Thanks," I told him. "They are great kids. I'm so proud of them."

And I am.

"Hmmmmm," thought I, "perhaps this is worth the effort I have sporadically applied to it."

One of the things which this Angelfire-based blog lacks is a way to track "hits." Someday, I will look more carefully at the options - perhaps by paying a small fee I would get the tracking ability, and perhaps even a way to "advertise" my blog.

You see, when I go to my "blog builder" homepage, there are a dozen or more "Recently updated" blogs linked at the bottom of the page. I have never seen mine there, but I have seen a few specific blogs listed on several different occasions. This leads me to think that Lycos allows one to pay for the privilege of having one's blog show up there.

Somehow, I think I would be more motivated to write blog entries if I thought they were being read more widely.

Which is not to say that I don't appreciate the fact that some people are already reading it. I do appreciate it and, to those who are, I apologize for being so quiet lately.

And now, time to get on with the rest of my Friday!

With the departure of John Ashcroft as Attorney General of these Divide States of America, I thought this quote appropriate:

"Those who would give up essential liberty for temporary safety deserve neither."

Benjamin Franklin

Franklin may not have been the founding father of the Democratic party, or of liberalism in US politics, or of the ACLU, but the man understood what our forefathers were fighting for, and against.

I have another quote, which we ought to contemplate as we see the over-reaction to terror and the recent fear tactics foist upon us by the recent elections:

"The psychic task which a person can and must set for himself is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity."

Erich Fromm

The ideas in these two quotes complement one another so perfectly, that I will comment no further. Just read them again. And again. And then decide for yourself what role the government has, and what role you have, in guaranteeing your rights and your security.

Today, I am listening to music again. And as I once again feel my soul overflow when listening to ?Hope For Resolution? and ?Agnus Dei? I am reminded of this quote:

?(Music) is no invention of ours: it is a gift of God."

Martin Luther

Like so many of God?s gifts, we can use it well, or poorly ? for good, or for evil, or for nothing at all.

There is no proving God. Faith is required. Of this I am convinced. It is a core of my belief system.

Yet, it seems to me that the Spirit touches humanity, reaches into the hearts of individual men, women and children, in many ways. One of the most powerful of these ways is through music.

I am convinced that I could give an impassioned sermon, or attempt via a reasoned argument, to convince an unbeliever of the existence of God and the true blessing of salvation, and I would never have the success which could come from that same person hearing these powerful pieces of music.

A gift of God, indeed.

What was "W"'s Grade Point Average in college?

Oh, but that's not something we consider when deciding on the qualifications to lead our country.

Has he ever done anything wrong?

Well, has he ever admitted to doing anything wrong?

Do you ever wonder what sort of thing they would dig up on you if you ever chose to run for President?

Do you ever wonder what things we never hear about the candidates because, despite how damaging they would be, they are "off limits" by some gentleman's agreement? And, by the way, they probably should be, but since we made a big deal about a President and an intern....

One problem for most of us is we don't really want to be President. We want to be Emporer.

Another problem is that we have something in our past we'd rather not go digging up, thank you very much.

Maybe I should start grooming one of my children for the job. Oh, they would probably be more conservative than I would be, but at least I know they are moral, compassionate, conscientious people.

Sigh.

I think Mike is right. Let's just forget politics for a while.

Pondering life as a cat ? especially our cat Dancer.

Reasons to envy a cat

1. Primary activity: napping
   
2. Primary location for napping: the most comfortable chair in the house
   
3. Secondary location for napping: a warm spot in the sun
   
4. Being fickle, tempermental and aloof is expected. Hence, any affection you show is greatly appreciated.
   
5. Whenever you feel like it, you can be cuddled and petted.
   

Reasons to not envy a cat

1. Lights go on and off, and you have no idea why, or how it happens.
   
2. Unmanageable fear of vacuum cleaners and other appliances.
   
3. Hairballs.
   
4. The means by which all that hair got inside you in the first place. (You licked what?)
   
5. "This is Bob Barker, reminding you to spay and neuter your pets."
   

"The cat could very well be man's best friend but would never stoop to admitting it."

Doug Larson

I was just listening to some music. One of the lines from the lyric was ?There but for the grace of you go I.? (The ?you? in the line referred to a lover, not God.) The fact that I knew the referenced saying brought to mind how much I appreciate the background I have. Early in my life, I read ? considerably more than I do these days. And, of course, I went to a liberal arts college where, despite my technical majors of study, I was ?forced? to read and write, often and well.

Just a couple of days ago, my sons were in the car. The freshman at Luther was mentioning to the junior at Luther that he was reading ?Sundiata? and was actually enjoying it. The junior agreed it was a good book. I smiled, and told them how glad I was that they were getting a liberal arts education.

Truthfully, I can?t remember ?Sundiata.? I remember that I read it, as they are reading it, for Paideia ? the freshman English/History course at Luther ? but I can?t recall the plot. Still, it?s in my mind somewhere. I suspect I would recollect something if I asked the guys to remind me. And, you never know, something might trigger me to remember a piece of it.

This is what education ? all education ? used to be about. The wealthy sent their children to schools, or hired teachers, to expose them to all kinds of art, science, music, literature. The point was to help them develop a full life, where ideas could be connected and used, and more ideas could grow from the synthesis.

When the United States began to prosper, we created schools for the public with the idea of passing this sort of knowledge to all children, not just the children of the wealthy. What followed was the best educated, most fully actualized generation in history ? at least, that is my contention.

Public education is no longer able to do this. In my own community, which has highly regarded public schools, the high schools are looking at implementing a schedule which would make it impossible for a student to take choir or any other music year-round, and still get the ?core requirements? satisfied. Why is this even being discussed? Budgets, of course. Somehow, a complete, well rounded education has become a ?luxury? ? its value forgotten, or ignored, by people who think high school should only teach enough to get kids into college or the work force.

Oh, my kids will get the education I can afford. I don?t worry for them. It is the rest of the kids, and the kids who will be growing up with my eventual grandchildren, who will pay for the shortsightedness of our current anti-tax culture.

Over the past week, many more Kerry/Edwards signs are appearing in Rochester, a Republican stronghold in Democratic Minnesota.

In 8th grade voting at the typically-very-conservative Rochester Central Lutheran School, John Kerry actually got 10 votes, out of about 50 students. In past elections, the percentage voting Democratic was more like 4%, rather than 20%.

John Kerry hisownself is speaking at a rally in Rochester today. I guess, as Bush is reaching out to "conservative Democrats," Kerry is stumping for Republicans who want a change.

Dare I hope?