Head Slapper of the Week

For this week's Head Slapper, we head to the arena of politics.  Yes, I know I just turned off at least half the readership.  But bear with me for a few moments, okay?

In this year's Presidential elections, there has been many, me included, that have been very perplexed by the campaign of the GOP nominee, Mitt Romney.  Although I have in the past talked about my myopic opinions about Mitt, many of them perhaps vituperative, the main concerns regarding Mitt can be summed by the Economist:

We're less than two months from the election and most folks don't really know what the GOP candidate really believes about the big issues such as the economy, deficits, defense and foreign policy.  But don't worry, we now know what Mitt really believes on "some" issue:

So apparently we know Mitt is a fan of Snooki, Gene Hackman and Michelle Pieffer.  Since these are some of the few concrete areas we see what Mitt really believes, doesn't that increase one's confidence of his ability to be Commander-in Chief?  

Three and a Half Head Slaps

New Poll

Okay, it's time for a new poll question.   This one is a bit out of the box for some of you. This poll is in regards to an interest of mine, Christian hymns.  Not just the lyrics and music, but the history as well.  Here are the ones I want you to choose from as which hymn is your favorite.

1. Great is Thy Faithfulness:  This hymn was written by Thomas Chisholm.  Chisholm, a man who's health was much of his early adult life and had to struggle to make ends meet,  became a frequent poet.  He wrote over 1200 poems for religious periodicals such as the Sunday School Times and Moody's Monthly. In 1923 he sent several of his poems to WIlliam Runyan, who was affiliated with the Moody Bible Institute and Hope Publishing Company. Runyan set the poem to music, and it was published that same year by Hope Publishing Company and became popular among church groups.^[1] The Biblical lyrics reference Lamentations 3:22 (It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not).

I like this hymn because it exudes hope brought about through the Almighty's goodness and faithfulness.  Morning by morning, new mercies I see….

2. Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty:  I have this piece of hymn art hanging in my condo:

This hymn, written by German-Calvinist Joachim Neander, is just a great hymn of praise.  An energetic German hymn that keeps floating in my head for hours after I hear it.  All Ye who hear, now that His temple draws near….

3. Holy, Holy, Holy: This Reginald Heber hymn is perhaps the strongest emphasis of the Trinity outside of the Scriptures themselves.  Proclaiming the truth of three Persons, equal and eternal, is what this hymn is all about.  God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity…

4. Fairest, Lord Jesus (Beautiful Savior): This is when the Lutheran background in me starts to come out.  Although little is known of this hymn, it's connects to me because it combines both adoration with proclamation.  I enjoy it so much so that I have these three pieces of hymn art hanging in my condo:

I'll give an 'A' grade for eyesight if you can read them all.

5. A Mighty Fortress is Our God:  I will admit this is my personal favorite.  Martin Luther's famous hymn combines the proclamation of Psalm 46 ("God is our refuge and strength") with church militancy (Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also…God's truth abideth still, His Kingdom is forever).  It's tune is famously know in the last movement of Felix Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony.   Yes, I have a piece of hymn art  of this hymn in my condo as well.

So vote folks.  If you have your own selection, please let me know.

Short Takes

It's been a busy couple weeks for me.  Last night I was at work at the Best Buy office until 8 pm working on some additional analysis for a meeting early next week.  I have to say with the news surrounding the company regarding a new CEO, a Frenchman, and the founder of the company trying to take the company private,  working at Best Buy never provides dull moments.  

- I recently learned that St. Olaf's faculty has endorse the opposition to the affirmation of  heterosexual marriage MN constitutional amendment on this fall's ballot.   St. Olaf faculty has joined the likes of General Mills and Augsburg College to oppose the amendment.  My myopic opinion even taking into account my conviction that marriage is between a man and a woman that I don't really understand why businesses or colleges would take any stand on these issues.  It demonstrates a focus of intellectual elitism to me in that it's trying to leverage their reputation into trying to communicate what is best for the rest of us.   Should a few dictate what's just morality or what public health policy should be for the rest of us?  Should the evidence of the deleterious effects of homosexuality in regards to pro-creation and public health not enter this discussion due to an elite few?  I would hope not. Just a myopic opinion.

- Talking about intellectual elitism, the polls have closed and the voters have decided that my personality best fits the Toyota Prius.  So according to my post introducing this poll, I'm both efficient and an intellectual elitist.  Frankly, in my myopic opinion, I don't think I'm either of those things.  Efficiency is something I continue to work on, generally when I do tasks I am quite methodical in completing them, which generally takes quite a bit of time.  Intellectually elite, that is up for debate.  Yes, I do have three post-graduate degrees, but I'm still a son of a cook who has to ask a lot of questions on simple house maintenance projects before completing them.  Okay, I know I drive a Prius, with great satisfaction I admit due to it's high reliability, 10,000 miles between oil changes and fuel efficiency.  But that doesn't necessarily means it's the best fit for my personality in my myopic opinion.

- I recently went to my first Gopher football game as a non-student season ticket holder. The Gophers beat New Hampshire 44-7.  I like attending Gopher football games since the games are outdoors, the atmosphere is generally cordial, the football entertaining and the mini-donuts are nearby.  I look forward to attending more games the rest of this season. I may be Pollyanna, but I am hopeful for this season.

So there we are, another busy, yet uneventful week in the life of Mellow Yellow.

Head Slapper of the Week

It's been a busy week, but I was able to find a head-slapper.  Since coming into the corporate world at Best Buy, I have been told about the company dress code, which rarely has anyone wearing ties.  I always wondered why this is the case.  Well, now I have an idea what that is the case.  There is a product out there called the "PillowTie."  Simply put, it's a tie that converts into an inflatable pillow.

Yes, men no longer need to fear that long court hearing or that business meeting will send them fighting narcolepsy.  If the urge comes, one needs only to activate the pillow tie's bladder:

It is what it is.  Three Head Slaps.

Head Slapper (of the Week?)

I know, I know.  I didn't promptly supply a Head Slapper last week.  It's been a busy week for me at work (Best Buy and the Golden Inn) and much travel between parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.  So I had to do a little research for this week's Head Slapper, which explains the analytical bent of it.

As an analyst with a consultant background (no, Mitt Romney has not called for my advice), I always found data factoids somewhat interesting.  However, I find some information from Nielsen Corp., a standard-bearer in media research, found that the average interviewer watches 114.1 hours  of video (TVs and computers are included) per month (or more than 5 hrs/day).   That's a lot of time stimulating one's mind with various forms of entertainment, much of it praising the worst of civil society in my myopic opinion.  That's five hours a day they could spend doing something either to help someone else or their own health in many cases.  The striking part of this stat is that the number of hours of video watch per month has actually decreased from 115.9 hours/month. 

I just can't fathom watching that much video, especially with my short attention span when it comes to media consumption.  Perhaps folks may just do this one day with all this video consumption if they haven't already:

It is what it is. A mind-numbing reality.  Three Head Slaps.

A Grand Occasion

I'm probably on my return from Ann Arbor, Michigan to attend a good friend’s wedding Friday evening.  I don’t attend weddings often for I generally think these types of celebrations tend to get a bit over the top, especially when the adult beverages are involved, but I really looked forward to attending this wedding due to the folks I know in it, and the relationships I have with their families.

I do have to say that my travels to Ann Arbor were both cost-effective, but also arduous.   It started at 10 pm Wednesday night when I walked from Straitgate Church to the Metrodome, a good 20 block walk in the middle of the night.  Then I completed an 8-hour overnight bus trip from Minneapolis to Chicago, where apparently every passenger had two seats for themselves except me.  To say the least, the night wasn’t as restful as I was hoping.  I completed the trip with a 4.5 hour train ride from Chicago to Ann Arbor, which was needed since I was able to get much more leg room that these trains provide.

Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University

Union Station

Amtrak seat view

Once I arrived in Ann Arbor on Thursday afternoon.  I made my way from the train station to Zingerman's deli and had a sandwich that certainly haven't meant my dietary restrictions the past six months.  I then made my way to the Michigan Union to eat my sandwich and run some errands via my computer.  At around 5 pm, I went and visited the Ross School of Business to see where I could have attended if I was more serious about attending a full-time MBA program (I earned my MBA through a part-time program).  I have to say, I did miss out on a few things building-wise.

Michigan Union

Ross School of Business

A view above the Atrium - Ross School of Business

Auditorium - Ross School of Business

The wedding itself?  It was a well-run programs with great music and great testimony.  I didn't take pictures of that, but I'm sure that other blogs will have pictures in the coming week or so.  (Yes, I'm a free-rider).

I have to say that I’m sincerely glad that I’m not part of the wedding in any way since every time that I do so it usually doesn’t end well.  There are two times when I was part of a wedding program.  The last time was as an usher during a hot July day.  I have to say I both nearly fainted due to the heat and I also missed my cue in rolling out the red carpet before the bride.  Obviously, that didn’t reflect well on me. 

The first time, however, was quite a telling story.  As a young lad I was a ring bearer for a wedding.  All I needed to do is the carry the rings down the aisle.  Well, I don’t recall every moment of this event, but I’ve been reminded about the details multiple times.  When I walked down the aisle with the rings, I made it halfway down the aisle when I suddenly threw the rings up in the air and ran out of the church screaming and crying.  While the crowd was a bit stunned, my father was apparently laughing quite loudly.   Perhaps I’ve been afraid of commitment ever since, who knows?

However, I’m sincerely glad to have been in Ann Arbor these days to attend this event.  I am fully confident that the Almighty caused these two folks to have this day and that’s news that I’m utterly glad to know.  I'm also glad that all the parents were able to physically witness this event.  What a great blessing indeed! 

New Poll

The poll has closed and the votes have clearly stated what the name of my autobiography should be:  The Wong Way.  I don't know what to make of the electorate's decision.  Does it mean that I do things in my own way and that's laudable?  Does it mean I've continued to be a bumbler all my life in how I conduct myself?  Or is it a mix of the two extremes?  I've also acknowledge that I have heard of other titles that I should have considered such as "I was Wong" (I think I'm still Wong).    Whatever the rationale,  I thank you all for your consideration.  You voted as you voted and I assume you mean what you voted.  It is what it is.

So on to the new poll.  The question is simple, yet the means are unique for this blog.

Question:  If you had to match my personality with an automobile, what would it be?

I thought of a small, but broad, range of choices:

Answer #1: Hummer H2;  this gas-guzzler symbolizes aggressiveness, vanity and narcissism.

Answer #2: Bentley; this very expensive vehicle ($300K plus each) symbolizes one that is ostentatious about affluence.

Answer #3: Honda Civic; this sedan symbolizes those who emphasize frugal practicality and intelligence that is simply focused on getting the job done without fame.

Answer #4: Toyota Prius; this gas efficient hybrid symbolizes intellectual elitism but also is commitment to long-term consistency.

Answer #5: Dodge Caravan; a cargo vehicle symbolizes lack of "coolness" and a commitment to others.

So there are your options.  Please vote now.