Wednesday Words of Wisdom: Science vs. Religion

“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
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This afternoon, I went to the movies with some friends to see “Philomena.” It was based on the 2009 investigative book by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee. My son Joe had seen it and gave it the “Mom movie” stamp of approval. He knows what I like. No violence, cussin’, gratuitous sex or Three Stooges slap-stick stupidity. It was a lovely movie.

The movie got me to thinking about the enormous part that religion can play in our lives. We were raised Catholic, as my parents and their parents were, and as my children were. That was our foundation. Some people were raised without any religious beliefs and take a more scientific approach to life, but they are still good people. Religion doesn’t define a person’s heart, the goodness of their heart defines that person.

Without giving away the plot of the movie, (just in case you didn’t see it yet) the Catholic Church sometimes gets a bad rap for many of its present practices and of those from days gone by, but religion gives us that foundation to build on. It’s up to us to complete the house. (Wow! I’m coming up with some deep metaphors.) There are good and bad people in every society or religious background. You can’t make blanket generalizations, but many people do.

I found the movie thought provoking and entertaining. The character of Philomena never lost her faith, even after suffering untold hardships. Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts on the movie and my faith. The movie made me laugh, cry and contemplate life. If you saw it too, feel free to share your thoughts. I know you’re never suppose to discuss religion or politics, but this is more like discussing good movies.

Science vs Religion…the two are not rivals.

Friday Friends: Back in the Saddle

Trying to get back to my old routine. I went and visited my senior art friends at Towne Creek today. I wanted to celebrate Miss Marie’s birthday, as last week I was just getting home from the hospital. She was very pleased and we had a nice celebration. Krys brought all kinds of food and treats, Karen brought pizza, and I brought a cake. Miss Marie loved the hand-painted vase and dozen roses I gave her. A good time was had by all.

Then when I got home, my husband and I had pizza and watched “Hidalgo.” Cool movie. So, back in the saddle is a good theme for the day.

Theme Song Thursday: To Boldly Go…

I confess, I am a “Star Trek” fan. Not one of those dress up with pointy ears kinda fans, but I admire the lessons the series can teach us. But mostly, “To boldly go where no man has gone before.”

(Sharing a blog about what Star Trek can teach us)
David BorgenichtPresident, Quirk Books
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7 Life Lessons You Can Learn From ‘Star Trek’
Posted: 11/29/11 08:01 AM ET

The best way to travel is to boldly go where no one has gone before. This is true for vacations, for self-exploration, for life itself. If you want your days filled with adventure, laughter, love, learning and the occasional mind-meld, follow this route.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few–or the one. Sometimes you must make great sacrifices for the greater good. And, like the Genesis device, it will all come back around.

Expressing your emotions is a healthy thing. Sure, McCoy seemed angry all the time when exclaiming, “Dammit, Jim! I’m a doctor not a mechanic/bricklayer/soothsayer,” but he knew that by expressing his anger and frustration it wouldn’t get the best of him and he could then perform at his peak capacity.

When estimating how long a job will take, overestimate–and when you do better your captain will always be impressed. Replace the word “captain” with “teacher” or “mom/dad” and you’ll see what I mean. Sure, Mr. Scott might have been telling the truth–maybe it would take six hours to get the warp engines back online in the heat of the battle. Or maybe he was padding things so he looked good. Either way, when the engines did come back on line, everyone was happy.

Wearing red makes you a target. This is true of cars, dresses and, most especially, shirts. Red gets you noticed–which is good if you want to be noticed, bad if you don’t want to end up vaporized.

When you don’t know what to say, pause. It will give you the time to figure it out. Or at the very least, you’ll sound like you’re being thoughtful. “But….Spock…..why?”

The most powerful force in the universe is friendship. It’s more powerful than phasers, photon torpedos, even more powerful than the force itself. With friends, you can accomplish any task, escape any perilous situation, defeat any enemy–and you get to laugh together when it’s all over.

Saturday: Sittin’ Around With the Duke (John Wayne Marathon)

Woo-Hoo! I’ve posted 200 consecutive posts! I was excited when I made it up to 100, now 200 posts and 5,287 total views! I haven’t run out of things to say, mostly because I’m a blabber mouth, and life always has its adventures.

Today was just sittin’ around and recuperating. Thank goodness for a John Wayne marathon on TV. The Duke kept me entertained most the entire day.

Have a good day, “Pilgrim.”

Monday Montage with a Touch of Rain

Most people are disappointed when they look outside and see the rain. Not here in North Texas. The lawns, flowers and fields are pretty darn dry. We are also in water restrictions here in McKinney, limited to once a week. That doesn’t really help much. So, today, I’m very grateful for the gentle and-and-off showers, but I’d be much happier with a good old fashioned downpour.

A picture says a thousand words, so here’s a few thousand words in today’s montage.

My poor thirsty rose bush.

Saturday at the Movies: The Lone Ranger

Call me old fashioned. Many people have. I saw the new “The Lone Ranger” movie today, and was somewhat entertained. Just somewhat. There was some pretty good camera work and special effects, a few corny lines, but I don’t think anything can compare to the old original black-and-white version. They were simple honest episodes with a moral message. This latest remake consists of a lot of flash and action. I’m still trying to retrieve the moral. But, I’m glad I went to see it. There isn’t much worth seeing at the movies lately.

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t seen the movie yet, or even if you have, something to arm yourself for the very end. The Lone Ranger asks his Indian companion, “Do you know what Tonto means in Spanish?” My husband didn’t get it, and I think I was only one of a handful in the audience that did. Look it up.

It would be great to have some of these old classics back on television for the younger generation. Our kids are watching some weird and whacky programs nowadays. I vote we bring back “The Lone Ranger”, “Zorro”, “The Andy Griffith Show”, and all those fun episodes on the regular stations. Yeah, right. That’s not happening. This old fashioned gal can only dream.