Kraken Kronicles

We had a bunch of the neighborhood kids sledding in our front yard today. We had about a foot of snow and it is still snowing outside right now....

Anyway, after a few hours of sledding, we had a hot chocolate party. Here are our four snowbunnies and a few of their friends after a good warm cup of hot chocolate.

The 'Proper' picture:



Pictured:
On the floor: Connor, Timmy, Nicholas
Sitting on the couch: Maddie, Emily, Mary, Margaret, Gracie, Natalie

The 'Act Normal' picture:



Unfortunately, I took the outside pictures with the 35mm camera. I'll post those when I get the film developed-

Labels: Family

This is a Castle Hotel in Oberwesel, Germany. Oberwesel is a small town on the Rhine north of Mainz. We stayed in the suite pictured below for a couple of nights after the Danish wedding. It was Wunderbar!!!







The Delaney's are thinking of staying here while taking Erin to the various Debutant Balls she is attending this summer. Have fun and good luck Erin!!! Hans, Fritz, Klaus, and Fredrich are all looking forward to meeting you.

Labels: Germany, Travel

This is title of an article by Paul Johnson I recently came across. It is a great article focused on the ongoing deterioration of societal values and moral decay we are experiencing in this great country of our. Here is the opening paragraph:

The world we live in is characterised by unchecked and unpunished, widening and deepening evil, manifesting itself in countless ways but in particular by what I call the Seven Deadly Sins of the 21st century. These are: violence and brutality, not just of a physical kind but expressed towards all the finer feelings of virtue, religion, temperance and gentleness, which are mocked and spat upon; grotesque lusts of the flesh, expressed in the endless cult of the body, not just for sexual reasons but for vanity, with luxury dieting, cosmetic surgery and fortunes spent on clothes locked in perpetual struggle with gluttony, pandered to by ‘celebrity chefs’, organic shops and other hypocritical engines of gobbling; lying, now raised by the media, politicians and intellectuals not only to an art but to a science; cowardice, which makes people, especially our rulers, do what they know is wrong for fear of punishment by powerful lobbies; pandering to the lowest instincts of the coarse and uneducated, for financial and political reasons; the systematic punishment of those who show courage and the love of truth; and, finally, the exaltation of blind materialism by new forms of militant atheism which are dehumanising us all.

Here is his ordered listing of The Seven Deadly Sins of the 21st Century

Violence and Brutality

Lusts of the Flesh

Gluttony

Lying

Cowardice

Punishing the honest and courageous

Materialism

Powerful stuff, but I would perhaps change this listing and the order of importance.

When thinking about the constant attacks on the values of a Family and the struggle to teach and impress upon our children the moral and spiritual foundation on which to build a life with purpose and the wisdom to make good choices.

Here is the listing from my perspective as a Father and Husband. While all of these are real issues and present a constant challenge, the order I present here is based mainly on my own experiences in working with my kids.

Materialism -- This is a problem that seems to be getting worse and worse in our culture. The need for more STUFF. I know of people who actually had TWO Christmas trees this year. The constant buying of things and filling the house with this or that. The CLUTTER. It clutters the soul and the mind. The biggest problem is the targeting of kids with the seeds of desire to get things…..must have this! Must have that! This is a constant battle with children; fighting the culture of materialism and always being ready for the next challenge (fancy toys, cell phones, computer games…..).

Violence and Brutality and I would add Lack of Respect -- How do we turn off the constant influx of violence and especially brutal, rude, and unkind behavior that our kids are exposed to EVERY DAY??? True, it is part of life. We have always had violence and brutality in our cultures. The problem is that in many areas it is now OKAY to behave this way!!!. How did this happen? It is never okay to be brutal, rude, or unkind. We must teach our kids to recognize this type of behavior, however subtle, in others and especially in themselves that they may change it and affect change in others. A real challenge, but something we MUST do if we are to raise loving, caring kids who will nurture love and respect in their own children.

Punishing the honest and courageous -- To many young people and children today, there is something absent in our lives as we struggle and grow in our personal character and professional development. Most don’t talk about this missing piece and many don’t even notice. What I am referring to here is the presence and effect of a role model or some might even say a ‘hero’ as an influential force that fosters a strong desire to grow in character and vision. In generations past, heroes were celebrated and younger folks would strive to adopt and emulate the accomplishments, characteristics, and qualities of their heroes. People like Charles Lindbergh, Helen Keller, FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jane Adams, and Neil Armstrong stood as heroes and role models to their generations. Unfortunately, today’s ‘heroes’ are singled out solely on success and sensationalism rather than the qualities that set them apart from the average person. Those who stand firm on their beliefs are often punished by the media or blackballed by politicians and the general culture of materialism. I am not referring to the Al Gore’s or Rep Kucinich’s. While these men certainly stick to their message, they are also ‘darlings’ and ‘revered’ by their well-established support base. And according to what I’ve read, they don’t really practice what they preach. Lead by example! So where are our modern day heroes for young men and women? Heroes for the average person from which to learn how to live a life based on good morals and sound judgment?

Lying -- This is a no-brainer. Do you want me to trust you? Then don’t lie to me. Pretty straightforward, don’t you think? We’ve already crossed this bridge several times with the two older kids.

Lusts of the Flesh -- I was speaking an Egyptian friend the other day about cultural differences, and one stereotype other cultures have of Americans is being immoral in terms of lust and sexual fidelity. They think the women (and girls) who walk around in short-shorts and with bellys showing don’t own any clothes besides the underwear they have on in public! I will not repeat here what he said of the men (and boys) who lust after these visions of fantasy-come-to-life. My friend had to laugh, but it was sad to us both. What is to blame for this sexualizing of our every waking moment? More importantly, how do we teach our children that the lifestyle glamorizes immoral behavior?


Cowardice -- Don’t be afraid to stand your ground. Don’t be a follower, especially when you know the person you might follow is making a poor choice. This has come up with the older kids as they struggle between ‘gong along with the crowd’ and standing their ground when interacting with school peers. Unfortunately, todays media (news, entertainment, advertising) is all about keeping up with those who have, being ‘cool’ and part of the ‘in’ crowd.

Gluttony -- Not so much a problem here. We are particularly careful about the types of food (no fast food!) and the amount of ‘junk’ our kids are allowed to ingest. I drive by several fast food restaurants after work each day and I am amazed at how BUSY they are.

This qote says:

"Our real journey in life is interior: it is a matter of growth, deepening, and of an ever greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts."

And I hope thinking this way will help give the wisdom to teach and the confidence to challenge our children so they may lead lives of grace and love.

Any comments, views, or suggestions are certainly welcome here!

Labels: Children, Family, Morals

A drunk man who smelled like beer sat down on a subway seat next to a priest. The man's tie was stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket. He opened his newspaper and began reading.

After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked, "Say, Father, what causes arthritis?"
The priest replied,
"My Son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol, contempt for your fellow man, sleeping around with prostitutes and lack of bath."

The drunk muttered in response, "Well, I'll be," then returned to his paper.

The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized.
"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?"

The drunk answered, "I don't have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does."

The Kraken says:

Do Not Meddle in the LifeStyle of the Kraken For You Are Crunchy and Taste Good With Ketchup!!!

From Zorba the Greek:

"Zorba, have you ever been married?"

"Am I not a man? Of course I've been married.
Wife, house, kids, everything....................the Full Catastrophe!!!"


Obviously, Zorba appreciated the richness of his life.

Connor is now getting Boy's Life and the latest issue had an article on Robert Pershing Wadlow (1918-1940). Robert was born with an overactive pituitary that produced way too much growth hormone (nowdays we have medicine for this problem). Connor was fascinated with this really big man and wanted to post it on the website. Here are some pics and a little about his history.

Connor: I think he is really tall. In this picture he is 7ft 4in and only 13 years old!

Connor says: He's only 18 years old in this picture, but is 8ft 4in tall!!! His head is almost touching the ceiling!!! That is his younger bother. He had two sisters and one brother who were all normal height.

Here is his statue located in Alton, Ill. He grew to be 8ft 11.1in by the time he was done growing. He traveled with his Dad as a spokesman for a shoe company. His Dad had the passenger seat removed in the car and Robert sat in the back and stretched out his legs up to the dashboard.

Photos and facts courtesy of Alton Museum of History.

With the new semester fully underway here in U of P (the one on the left hand side of Pennsylvania) I thought i'd drop a line to the Kraken Kronicles and say hello to the Schmidts.

This plan back fired on me as my obsessive compulsiveness took over and I started to play around with the blog's code, so all the words lined up. I also made it so only the most recent three posts are shown (for the benefit of our dial-up users). After the nerd fest, I remembered that my Dad wanted me to post a picture of Erin from one of her marching band competitions.

I believe she's the one with the silly hat. Still waiting on a bit of confirmation on that one.

In other news: Hey look Erin, you're on the internet! :)