Tom Waits for No Man

The weekend is becoming a little more complicated. Your borhter and Andrea are here in Asheville today, and everybody is coming to our house Saturday for lunch. Actually, we're going out, and that causes two hiccups. First, Your Sis and I talked about taking Penn and Andrea to the local seafood place. But, now that will include everyone, including my parents. But my mom can't eat seafood. It's deathly bad. I called the restaurant and they assured me they clean each piece of cookery between prepared meals. If that's the be belived, we have the second concern: Your dad and soy. The fish place says they use canola oil, but that doesn't cover the use of soy in individual dishes or salad oils. My suggestion is that we go to Jason's. We know everyone can find something there to eat.

We haven't done anything with our garden in a while, and it was overgrown with weeds that towers over me. I thought about wacking everyhing down after work yesterday. I got home to find that Heidi had cleared it all away with power tools. That's so hot. We have a little work to do in cleaning up the place before tomorrow, but it won't take long.

I heard on the radio today that Tom Waits is playing Asheville in August. This is as unlikely an event as finding the planet Saturn in your fridge. We are going. It might be a small mob of us, but I don't think Your Sis will come. She doesn't know the man's work.

Moving Picture of the Day

"Rapper's Delight."

In the news
National Geographic is reporting on the effort to identify the remains of Noah's Ark. One group claims a mountain rock outcropping is made of petrified wood. Others say the rock is normal sedimentary material. The debate is really about science vs. Creation. If this is Noah's Ark, and it can be cardbon-dated to a few thousand years ago, its small size will suggest post-flood animal life had to be the work of God. A big boat on the mountain would be enough for some to prove that Genesis stories are historical documents and not myths. Finding a big boat on a mountain doesn't mean it's related to Noah. I've heard of this effort since I was very young. It popped up in tabloids and on "In Search Of." This is similar to the to-do over the Shroud of Turin. Even if the shroud is 2,000 years old, and even if it is the burial cloth of a crucified man, that still doesn't mean it was used on Jesus. If their faith is really faith, the existence of artifacts or their absence shouldn't in any way affect their belief. Faith is distinct from knowledge. These efforts are undertaken to convert the heathens, and to them I ask that they just hand over my financial share of all their efforts. If this is done on my behalf, I'd rather they buy me a CD, not a rotten pontoon in avalanche territory.