December Picture

Water Baby

(Note- these pictures include nude shots of an infant taken in a family context to share with family and all are completely *legal. If such things offend you, or are illegal in your location, please do not view this post. Further legal 'stuff' can be viewed at end of post. These is also a more casual **explanation as well.)

* While the fact this is a family picture should be enough, there are laws protecting the sharing of natural photos and naturism. So I'll state- THIS POST CONTAINS IMAGES OF NUDIST AND NATURIST UNDER THE
NUDIST CULTURE. In compliance with United States Code Title 18,
Part 1, Chapter 110, Section 2256, This xanga site contains
NO PORNOGRAPHY. This is strictly for the artistic
appreciation of the beauty of the human nudist form.

Headshots

From December, 2005. Copyright Patrick Flanagan 2005, all rights reserved. bleh bleh bleh, etc etc etc.

Today's Headlines

I plan to be trying to post more pictures of Conor thanks to popular demand (ie- gravely voice on phone, "Do you know where your wife is? I do... you'd better post more pictures of Conor. Muahahahaaa....")

This just in, George Bush- in an effort to express the importance of the safety of our men in Iraq and help public opinion- has implimented a latest requirement that all helicopters are required to have ejection-enabled seating.

-Patrick

Homeward Bound

The Story of a Loyal Pet

Not that long ago, and not that far away,
Kat and Pat lived together in an apartment. They weren't allowed to have pets
that roamed free- no, only fish or the occasional caged animal. So sad were
they at this, that the good fairy of house pets looked down upon them and was
saddened. So, she granted- unbeknownst to them- a single loyal pet that would
never leave their side, nor be stopped by the ‘evil landlord’ who had forbidden
free roaming pets.

It took her a while to get used to her new
room mates, but before long her night-time running for food and water became
more casual. One day, Kat put upon herself one of her favourite jackets, and
surprised the little creature whilest she was taking her nap in the sleeve. She
scuttled out, along Katrina’s fair arm and chest, causing the dear Lady quite a
fright! Yet this was the start of their relationship with their little pet
mouse.

She was a constant companion, always coming
out to see and visit her caretakers. Used to their smell and presence, she
spent less time hiding and more time out and about than ever. Nary a day passed
when one could not watch television and hear the scuttle of the little mouse
through the kitchen, or see her dart about the livingroom. However, one day,
Pat decided that their little pet had to go. However fond of this little one he
was, the presence of a pet mouse scared Katrina to no end. So, one night, he
set out a special trap- a little plastic box with a simple cracker covered with
peanut butter inside. The next morning, lo and behold! From under the oven,
where the mouse sometimes lurked, a scuttling of grand proportions could be
heard! Pat reached his hand under and took out the box- to find it heavy with
its little burden! The mouse froze- never having been seen so close before. She
was a heart-breaking sight. Unlike the clean, pampered mice of the store with
their fluffy fur and well modelled features, she was a rugged little thing who
had seen a hard life. Her dark fur was less clean and more bristly, and her
face and nose had an angular shape that the wild breeds of mice truly had. Her
eyes were large, night-time pools in her small face. It was not hard to feel
something of an affection for her, small and scared inside a trap of his
design.

So, Pat took the mouse carefully out to his
car after putting on a jacket. She shivered immediately when they went out into
the cool air- such a long time in the warm, pleasant house made it difficult to
be comfortable with the cold! He carefully settled her upon the seat next to him,
and together they drove. They drove for miles- down and down the hill they
lived upon, into the wood nearby, and over bumpy and pitted dirt roads until
they reached a secluded lake that resembled nothing so much as a mountain
retreat even though it was only miles away. There he took her out of the car
and walked a long distance away to stand in the sun next to the lake- a little
ways from an old dock. He knelt down and carefully set the trap on the damp
ground, flipping it briefly to open up the one-way door.

“Goodbye my friend, we’ve enjoyed your
stay- but I’m afraid this is it. I’m glad we got you to go this way- we’d have
hated to hurt you.” The mouse, sniffing and unsure, quickly stepped out of the
trap and looked around. With an air of trouble unease, she looked about and
quickly stepped back inside as though to say, “Oh, I understand, but that’s
quite alright. I’ll stay, thank you. Pleasant field trip though!”

Pat, while amused, would not be swayed, and
remained. She stepped out again and stood there for a time- and then proceeded
to run to his familiar scent, hiding from the sun under his squatting figure
and next to his shoe. Truly, this was a strange sight! Finally, though, she ran
off to hide- she had found a home, and lost it. Patrick sadly walked back to
his car- after carefully shaking out and checking his jacket and clothes to be
sure he carried no stow-away. He drove the long drive back home, alone this
time.

A Time Later

Weeks later, while in the kitchen, Patrick
decided that the un-touched mousetraps still in the house- safe ones like
before, of course- proved that there were no more mice. They had seen none,
heard none- the house was clear. So Pat took the traps up and cleaned them,
saving them for future need. Days later, however, while in the kitchen at
night, what a start he had when suddenly a little shape ran through the
kitchen! A mouse! Surely another one must have taken up residence! He set down
the traps with new bait.

Yet the mouse was not fooled. It avoided
the traps, even though they be set in her favourite haunts. How could this
mouse be fooled for so long, while the other stepped into it within a day?

But soon they realised that truly the
pet-fairy had known what she was doing when instilling loyalty into their new
pet mouse. For surely, despite the miles of rough terrain- a dangerous
university campus in-between full of stray cats and hundreds of people- the
mouse had taken the long, rugged, dangerous trek… homeward bound! After weeks
of travelling, she had finally made it back to her warm, safe home full of food
and her friends. She would be more cautious now, of course- she did not want to
be taken away yet a second time- yet she was content.

Says the moral of the story- if you are
going to trap a mouse and not kill it, one had best drive a very, very long way
away. That, or find a nice warm house to set it next to so it will go there
instead of coming back!

-Patrick

Virus- Stay Safe

I do not really watch the news, or TV, so it was through Kat that I found out about a recent threat that according to her Microsoft considers one of (if not the worst threat ever to Windows computers) the worst. I was extra careful- which is not that much, as I'm usually pretty safe about it- with any email I received, deleting any and all I did not recognise and refusing to check any I was not rather sure were safe. Hotmail protects rather well, and Outlook (the full version) is set not to open ANY of them unless I specifically do so.

So, here is some advice to keep safe right now.

Do This if you have not done so yet

There is a reasonable chance that at least one of those reading this with Windows XP (this might apply to other versions as well- so take the precaution) who has not done this yet. So, if you have not updated windows with a security update in the last DAY then do so now. If you do not know how, follow this-

Restart your computer. Look at the task bar in the lower right-hand corner where the icons appear. If you see a caution sign icon, then click it and proceed to install all security updates, then restart your computer immediately.

If nothing appears, and you have not yet installed the update, then go to www.windowsupdate.com to be sure you have the latest critical updates. This will insure you are at least relatively safe from the latest threat.

One last thing- I added this post just for your protection. So... remember, I just recently put up my own personal post below this one, so don't skip it just because this is the latest. Be kind, rewind, read the post below this, 'n all that jazz.

-Patrick

Everyone needs some Nettaquette

Actually, this post is not going to be about any official sort of net manners, or such. I'm was just checking my hotmail for the fifth time in several days to see if someone had emailed me back and began to ponder on how certain people have a tendency to act differently on the net.

Yes, you probably know- or ARE- one of those certain people. You have people who are comfortable online and use their email fairly regularly. Then you have these people- 'casual net users', some of them perhaps only use the net when they have to- others, use the net as a means (and may even use it very well) but don't really have the style of it down. The result?

Well, I check my email more than I check my phone messages. I won't check my voicemail for days- but I'll check my email several times a day. As you know, lots of people tend to be- and assume- the opposite, so they'll give me a voicemail (when they have my email) and wonder why they never hear back? I actually find it MORE time consuming to check my voicemail- but truth is, I'm just out of the habbit and forget, when email is easily at my fingertips. Perhaps these casual users have the same excuse.

But anyway, the fact is, you send an email as a form of communication- say, instead of a phone call or in place of since you do not have their phone number. Then you wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, you give up, and write again to check- thinking perhaps it didn't get through. Then you get an email saying "hey, srry I didn't respond before. I don't check my email much ((or something like that)). I don't have time to talk much now, but thnks for writing. I'll write more later."

And guess what?

.... they never do.

AAAAAAAAAAH!

Now THAT is bad net-manners, is it not? Someone leaves a phone message, and even CHECKS on it... it's obviously a shove-off message if you do that. But on email, people don't think of it that way if they're not used to the net. Hmmm.

What do you think about net-manners?

Are there any difficulties you've had with people who view the net differently than they do "real life"? Any fun, or irritating, stories to share? Any areas you wish people would shape up, or perhaps if you could write a list of "net manners" you would add a few things to it yourself? Please share!

Note- Just so nobody gets the creepy crawlies, or such... I'm not referring to any one particular case here. Rather a general conception. I can't think of anyone who even reads this that such would apply to- and even the person who brought this to mind didn't do anything negative, they just reminded me of the general idea. It's not the end of the world that somebody doesn't check email daily or have gobs of time to write back replies. I'm also very direct, so I'll tell someone if I am concerned. All this just to avoid the feeling I get sometimes when I read a slight rant- "I wonder if I did something?". Nope, you didn't. Now go dunk your head in a bowl of fruit punch and relax.

I read an entry on ThePureRugged's site and felt compelled to leave a lengthy comment that I ended up enjoying quite a bit. I thought I had some interesting ideas and decided to, in addition, share it here as an entry. The fellow who writes this is or was a member of my youth group at the Chinese Christian church we served in, and a neat guy too!

You have an eloquent way of spilling out emotions into imagery, and
conveying that imagery in the eloquence of words that I admire. I find
I really appreciate what you say- the visualization of a 'scene' to
express feelings- because I do much the same thing at times, and was
not aware of anyone else who did. Do you ever listen to a good song,
and find yourself mentally creating a 'music video' to it- a collage of
imagery, scenes, and colours to fit it? I did that once to a Christian
song- and then saw the video they'd actually made for it, and thought
it was a far, far cry from professional. Maybe mine wasn't a
masterpiece- and after all, in your head you can do a lot more a lot
faster- but it was more stylish. I find myself dissapointed at how too
many Christian artists settle for less than a professional secular
group.

They say visualization is a powerful thing, a driving
force in how we express ourselves and perform. In speach class, one
thing they clearly reminded us of regularly is that visualization of
your speach is one of the keys to a good speach. If you visualise
yourself speaking, and doing it the way you desire to do it, you will
actually do it better. I've actually never video-taped myself, but I'd
like to one day try combining those two things- video myself and see
how I actually look, then mold that image in my mind into how I want to
look (realistically, of course). Also, in acting, if you visualise
yourself as a certain person- even if they look nothing like you- it
enables you to come across differently.

For example, I sometimes
for fun like to practice acting a part. Roleplaying, really, since
roleplaying is basically a combination of acting and writing (acting,
which I love- writing, which I love but I also can say I honestly excel
at). It's easy to practice, as you are basically playing out a part-
and if you go out where nobody is likely to know you, they'll have no
real idea that you are not acting like you normally act. So more
recently I went to blockbuster, and I did a simple exercise. I decided
the character I wanted to play was a little like one of the ways Ewan
Mcgreggor (not sure SP- you know, Obe-wan in his young form) likes to
play his characters. A flashing, engaging smile and easy-going
manner... a natural flirt, but with a smoothness that belies the
intent. Casual, engaging conversation with an almost flippant air- like
a juggler tossing balls and making it look incredibly easy, making the
observer forget that it is even an effort until after they finish and
the person realises what a feat it was he just watched when he tries to
juggle himself and cannot even handle one ball.

So I walked in,
visualising myself in that role- Ewan of course being the image- and I
was amazed at how it played out. I talked to someone while looking for
a movie, carried on a light conversation as I checked out. It was all
completely in character, and the people actually reacted to me with a
dramatic difference. Also, I was able to make comments and take chances
I wouldn't normally make because- by putting the character between
myself and them- I was seperating myself from the usual shyness or fear
of negative reactions. I was playing a part- and they were reacting to
the part, not my personality. If they reacted well, it wasn't "me" they
reacted well to, it was the character. If they reacted poorly, it
wasn't me they disliked- but my character.

It was quite fun,
actually, and a good experience. I remember once I did something
similar when I was courting (dating) my wife Katrina... I played a
character that used different mannerisms, a few different words... and
after a while she was smiling a lot, but a littled weirded out by the
fact that she didn't expect the differences. I think the exercises
teach, as well as some acting, a way of observing who we are and even
making real changes. I can put on any character I want- but if I like
aspects of it, I can try to affect changes in my own demeanor as well.

Sorry for the looong comment. You just got me thinking.

-Patrick

How is FUN spelled?

Katrina turns to ETV- South Carolina's public television station- today, to a kid's program. I was nearby when the program changed a little and almost knocked me off my feet.

Oh, and for reference- this makes this even funnier- the show's name is a children's show called "Read between the lines". So, let's listen to this skit and do exactly what they say to do.

Now, let's go talk to Dr. Ruth.

(the puppet, spongey letters U and N are sitting, slightly slumped over, on a table next to Dr. Ruth sitting in her comfy chair who speaks with her German accent)

"Hello children. Zeese are zee letters U und F. Hello letters. How are yoo today?"
"Well, we're not feeling too good. We're, like, really bored and saad."
"Vell, I know exactly vat you need den! Do you know vut dat eez?"
"No Dr. Ruth, what is it?!"

"Vell, you need to meet zee letter F!"
(the letter F comes in to 'stand' infront of U and N)

"Vat does dat spell?"
"FUN!!"
(the letters begin to bounce and wiggle happily)

"Now, remember, kids- don't forgeet to hav FUN!"

(note- for those who just don't get this, Dr. Ruth is a VERY famous doctor- in particular, she is a sex therapist known for her teaching about sex. Also, I may not have the skit word-for-word, but it's close enough- and accurate to what they were saying. I laughed LONG and hard, then called my Mom, and she laughed long and hard with me.)

Family Ties

King Kong

The last time I was with the kids was
Friday night. What an incredible time! We went to see King Kong- which I had
seen (of course I’d seen it! By Thor’s Hammer, I snuck off to see it and ended
up getting my picture in The State paper next to my short review of it. So much
for “sneaking” and a really bad hair day without a shave OR shower) already.
All the kids loved it, but Abby- the youngest- is a very passionate
animal lover. She was in tears at the end, and told her Dad “I hated the
ending! If you EVER buy that movie I will kill you!” While that comment was
cute, I came up and gave her a hug. Yet however much I wanted to comfort her,
she only wanted her Mom at that time.

We gave big hugs- I almost missed Ashley
and Jay, but I remembered them before they scuttled off in the mini-van. I
ended up giving several hugs, and Stacey (my Sister in-law of course) and Abby
ended up getting two hugs, and a kiss each (cheek, of course!). Despite the
fact I knew I would miss them so much, parting was so much easier this
time. Something about seeing them twice a year made it so much easier to do.
Also, being able to call them whenever I want makes it easier as well. I
realised, when talking to Michael on the phone while he was only thirty minutes
away that it was just like talking to him when he was ten hours away. Since
Vonage makes it free no matter how long I talk (well, it costs only $29 a month
flat rate) I can contact Michael anytime. So, we may be far, yet we are not so
far.

Almost like a child

Sitting next to Amber during the movie, she
leaned on me and I realised something that I would call unique and profound.
While I did not remember as clearly the baby stage of all the other children, I
remembered hers with vivid acuity. The reason, obviously, is because hers stood
out. She had a cleft palette to the extent that her nose was just a nub on the
side and I was able to see completely into her sinus cavity. At first, it was a
little scary. You had to be very careful and keep watch, to help her avoid
choking on her own fluids. Also, they would freely leak out- so messes were
easily possible. She kept making odd noises, and she looked very unusual. Yet
she was still a normal, mentally sound baby as far as we all knew.

I remember holding her in my arms, and
praying that God would not let anything happen to her. I prayed that God would
let her live and grow up, and I felt that feeling so strongly. Yet here I was,
next to my fourteen year old niece- who will turn fifteen this year. While you
can still see marks of her past, she is healing- and her mind and soul are
whole and sound. Here she was, alive and next to me- the baby I had held in my
arms from birth. I felt this new surge of love and compassion I do not think I
had ever felt. I can only compare it to what I think I will feel if God blesses
me with a daughter and I get to see her grow up. Never in my life have I been
able to see children grow up like I have Jay’s, so I realised what an
incredible thing this was. I’m not that old myself, so it is a new and strange
thing to realise I have seen someone else grow up. It is a shocking thing, as
well, to realise that Ashley- who I do remember seeing before she was one year
old- will be seventeen early this year and will be going to college soon!
COLLEGE, which I am still finishing with myself! How amazing is that? It is
hard to believe. I held her in my arms as a baby, and now she is going to go to
college while I am still finishing undergraduate studies.

She has a strong desire to try going to
college here in South Carolina. While Colleen doesn’t feel that would be a good
choice- with great college options in Penn. State- it would be very neat to
have her living around here.

Happy New Year!

I do not really do much in the way of New
Year activities or resolutions, however it was a joy to get to spend a little
of New Year’s Eve at an Italian restaurant with my family- all of my most
immediate family (I say most, since my half-brothers and kids were not there).

A Special Guide

I am so incredibly excited! In the
Christian walk, it is vital that I seek out three kinds of relationships.

1)      A mentor: Someone who is ‘where I hope to one day be’ as a believer
in Jesus Christ. Now, that doesn’t mean there are not plenty of other people I
respect, it just means this is one such a person who is willing to guide me and
disciple me to grow in my walk with Jesus. My first real mentor was Cliff
White, my Ben Lippen math teacher who has changed my life in a wonderful way.

2)      A peer accountability partner: Someone who is close to where I am
spiritually, more of a ‘friend sort’. We are to hold each other accountable to
growth, and with such a partner it means that I won’t just wander off from my
standards- that I commit to share with them where I am at and be honest when I
fall, and they do the same so that we both feel equal. This keeps us from
making mistakes and compromises.

3)      Someone to mentor: No matter how young in Christ a Christian is,
there is always someone else where we used to be or else who is not yet a Christian
that we can disciple. By younger, I do not mean younger in age (though they
often can be)- but just in spiritual growth. We are told by God’s word to have
someone like this in our lives that we can share our experiences with and
guide. Right now, in my life, this is turning out to be Michael- by mutual
choice. He’s a mature young man whose has similarities to where I have been,
and we both really enjoy each other’s company. So it just works out well.

Well, I have been encouraging Katrina for a
long time to find a mentor in her life. Earlier during Jay’s visit, he shared
how they had an older couple that were neighbours and very conservative
Christians. Jay encouraged Stacey to pursue her as a mentor- and years later,
without Jay even know, Stacey made some choices that her mentor rebuked her
for… and it not only helped their marriage, but may have saved it (though we’ll
never know for sure, fortunately). So his encouragement of her indirectly had a
profound effect.

Well, I was amazed when Katrina informed
me, after I came back from my last event with Jay’s family, that she was going
to call Stacey that evening and ask her to consider being her mentor. Wow! I
realised when she said this that right now, at this point, there was nobody in
the world that I could imagine being a better mentor for Katrina- even if she
did live a distance away. She may be family, but her being a sister in-law
through me made that less of an issue… also, of our family, she is probably one
of the most grounded. She and Katrina bonded a while ago- Katrina gives her the
boost and encouragement she needs, and she loves Katrina deeply and wanted to
come down this Christmas to see her and the baby even if her family did not.
They both relate so well!

Katrina asked her, and while Stacey was at
first concerned that she would be able to give Katrina enough time, once that
was dealt with Stacey was delighted. They would write letters and talk on the
phone, and of course get to meet up at least once a year. This is wonderful-
because I have to say, while I respect all of Jay’s family, the one I
personally respect the most (as far as their beliefs
go) is Stacey. She is a mature woman, and I’m honoured to know she will be able
to help our family grow closer to Jesus and to dedicate our lives to His
service.

-Patrick