I think this pretty well sums it up:

If you care to see what we’re looking like these days, I just got a ton of photos back from the photographer.

Slideshow here.

Oh, and my wtfwjd? sticker arrived! Now, am I *really* going to put it on my car? Hmmmm…

Paul Krugman wrote the editorial French Family Values for today’s New York Times, and I think he gets it right.

He starts out with this:

Americans tend to believe that we do everything better than anyone else. That belief makes it hard for us to learn from others.

Wow. Those two sentences sum up so much of what I believe is going wrong in the US. There’s such a level of hubris and such a strong belief that there’s nothing else that “we” (Americans) need to learn.

Something I often say is that when I stop learning, I’m dead. ‘Nuff said. More from the article:

First things first: given all the bad-mouthing the French receive, you may be surprised that I describe their society as “productive.” Yet according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, productivity in France - G.D.P. per hour worked - is actually a bit higher than in the United States.

This is an interesting statistic — one that we often neglect in the U.S., I think. It’s really a more accurate view of productivity to look at production per work hour rather than production per employee, don’t you think? Seriously, how productive *is* a society if its members have to work 50, 60, or more hours per week to achieve that production? Beyond that, is that level of production sustainable?

The editorial continues to talk about how the French working less is indicative of a choice of the people to spend more time with their families. Whether this is true or not, it certainly gives an accurate reflection of my reluctance to ever reenter the “real” business world.

For all our country’s talk of family values, we as a society certainly don’t act like we value our families, do we?

I love NPR; I even describe myself (regularly) as an “NPR-junkie.” When people attack NPR as delivering news with a liberal bias, I defend it. No, no, I say; while many of the contributors may be biased, the actual reporting seems to me to be more balanced than much that’s out there (not that this says much, but still).

Two stories I’ve heard on Weekend Edition recently (one yesterday, one just now) frustrate me.

First: Alabama Billboard Message Changes
Go to Church or the Devil Will Get You!
This one didn’t really frustrate me, per se, as much as it had me rolling my eyes at the brand of Christianity with which I grew up. When the story started, I had hopes that the billboard (photo on the npr story page) was a joke — then I remembered that this was the *South* — a joke was hardly likely. This whole message of fear really bothers me. Is “the Devil” really that strong that if I don’t do everything “just right” that he can “get me?” I don’t think so.

The second story is the one that now has me irritated with my beloved NPR.

Kenyan Pastor a Face of Christianity in Africa

Weekend Edition - Sunday, July 24, 2005 · Christianity is on the rise in Africa, with more than 400 million adherents. Much of the growth has been in unaffiliated churches. At the Neno Evangelism Center in Nairobi, Pastor James Ng’ang’a preaches to overflow crowds.

This sounds good, right? OMG, I wanted to beat my head into a wall listening to this story. Why do crowds pack Ng’ang’a’s church? Not because of a message of deliverance. Not because they want to learn to be better people. Heavens, no. The good Pastor spends time bragging about the vehicle he drives — worth about $300,000 — and scattering small (think pennies) bills of currency among the attendees. At some point in the service, he dons a white coat and becomes the “healer pastor” — claiming to fix all that ails those who are faithful.

But wait? Why am I irritated at NPR? Why not irritated at the pastor and the idiot with the billboard? Well, I *am* annoyed at those sorts. My beef with NPR is this: must you portray all Christians as being complete and utter idiots? I realize that “Christian strives to lead a Christ-like Existence” isn’t much of an exciting news story, but c’mon…

On a related note, the same site with the window sticker (which I ordered, by the way…we’ll see if I actually have the moxie to put it on the car) had magnets and buttons saying this:

He died to take away your sins, not your mind.

Amen.

I’m a Ravenclaw!

I live in Colorado Springs, proud home of Focus on the Family. Think I’d get keyed if I put this on my Jeep’s back window?

click here to shop — hat tip to NinjaNun

I am *so* tempted.

I didn’t write anything about it, but last weekend at the birthday shindig at my parents’ place, I really should have requested that the TV be turned off. It was mercifully silenced once dinnertime arrived, but until then, I allowed myself to be subjected to a good hour or two of hateful screaming and whining about how liberals are ruining America. Ah, FOXNews. My family watches it religiously, and I mean no joke in my choice of adverb. YUCK.

On that note, Adam Felber does a bang-up satire about the President’s new nominee to the Supreme Court. Read. Laugh. Cry. Gnash your teeth as you admit how close to reality satire can be.

Survey Reveals That Teens Would Rather Be Cool Than Smart

An overwhelming majority of teens surveyed (67%) considers being called “cool” a more flattering compliment than “smart.” In addition, teen guys who responded to the survey would rather be named “life of the party” than “valedictorian” (58% vs. 27%). In fact, a higher percentage of respondents say they will spend more time getting ready for a party than studying the night before a test. Of those surveyed, 73% will devote at least a half-hour to primp for a night on the town, while only 42% will study for more than a half-hour the night before a test. If students aren’t devoting enough time to studying, there are some new high-tech ways to cheat. According to 25% of respondents, text messaging is a popular way to cheat on a test.

Well…DUH.

It’s sad, but true that one of the most important things to a teenager is simply fitting in. As someone who never quite did, but was the valedictorian, I’ll confirm that I would have rathered been the life of the party (as long as they weren’t drinking, anyway — I was an unsufferable goody-goody in high school).

Thank god I got past that whole crippling religion thing. Pass me a beer, would ya?

From Motherhood is Not for Wimps:

“Jaelyn,” I said. “Did you hit Mary?”

She kept singing. I tapped my foot and looked at her.

“Noooo …” she finally sang. I raised an eyebrow.

“She hit me first!”

“Jaelyn.”

“WELL SHE WAS THINKING ABOUT IT!!” I would have laughed, but the notion of myself giggling naked in hotpants was enough to sober me right up.

“Congratulations,” I said instead, “you’ve mastered US foreign policy.”