Double Standards?

The following is an excerpt from a NYT article.

Mr. Awlaki, an American citizen born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, wrote on Monday on his English-language website that Mr. Hasan was “a hero.” The cleric said, “He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people.”

He added, “The only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.”

"...contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people..."

Last I heard, it seems that Muslims like this Awlaki don't really care who they fight against and kill with their terror tactics. Millitary, civilian, man, woman, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, or P.A.G.A.N. They all blow up really nicely with a properly placed car or suicide bomb. But, he can hide behind his rhetoric and his interpretation of the Qur'an.

I don't think Nidal Hasan knew or cared if any of his victims were going to be Muslim when he opened fire. Mr. Awlaki, I hope those virgins that you think you are promised upon your entrance to heaven are all horny teenage boys and you get ass-raped for eternity while Muhammad and Allah look on and laugh at your misguided arrogance and cowardice.

Idiot.

Hello Again...Again

Hello, everyone, or anyone who is still out there in blogland. Just a quick little update before the Easter holiday. So much has happened over the last few months of relative inactivity online. My special needs hockey team is gearing up for a tournament in Toronto the weekend after Easter. We have our last team practice tonight. Then they are off to the tournament next weekend. The following weekend we have a coaches vs. players game. I don't get to go to the tournament this year. I joined the team too late and don't have the funds to make the trip. Next year the tournament is in the Washington D.C. area. I will do everything in my power to make that one. I have a couple of aunts that live out there and would love to add to the trip by visiting my family. Plus, at that point I will have two seasons of coaching these kids and just won't want to miss it.

My baby brother's wife has received her visa and is in country now. I got to watch them have their legal ceremony about a month ago. She is a bueatiful, sweet young woman and they seem very happy together. I also got to meet her parents. Her family are missionaries in Honduras and are originally from Guatamala. It was fun meeting her folks. Her father speaks almost no english and her mother teaches english (as she told me, "all of my children speak english pretty well, my husband never really learned because he's sleeping with the teacher."). They are good people. This weekend I get to spend some time with the newlyweds and my other little brother and his two children, who I cannot wait to see again.

On the relationship front, everything is still going great. I can't believe how easy it has been up to this point. But, again, I still remain cautiously optimistic. I just don't know if I am ready for my heart to take another beating yet. So, I am still keeping a bit of distance for a while longer. I hope everyone has a great Easter, or Passover, or just a good weekend if you don't pratice either of those religions. Hasta Luego.

I'm Back...Sorta

Vacations went very well. I got to visit the old stomping grounds outside of Philly for a few days. I hung out with some old friends and made some new ones. Then I went to Park City, Utah for skiing. I hung out with an old friend and made a few new ones there, also. Park City was fun. Who knew that the Mormons could make such good beer? There was a brew pub at the top of Main Street in town, Wasatch Brew Pub. They had a really, really, really good double bock and a very good winterfest. I would suggest that if anyone ever visits and likes their beer, to give them a visit.

The skiing was rather uneventful. We didn't get any snow, one of the days (when it was dumping several feet of snow across most of the rest of the United States) it was 60 degrees F near the top of the ski mountain. I fell in love with Alta Ski Resort. If their had been any fresh snow at all, there would have been so much fun terrain to get in trouble on. As it was we got ourselves down into a bowl that funneled us into a chute...very fun, but very challenging with only packed conditions.

Since I've been back, I have finally caught up on my work. I have also started a new relationship. We are in the really great stage. Getting to know one another always wanting to talk to each other. Finding excuses to see each other as often as possible. I'm cautiously optimistic about this one. But, I've been here before...However, I am spending quite a bit of my spare time talking to or hanging out with this woman, so my blogging time has been cut quite significantly.

I hope everything is going well with everyone else, if of course anyone is still reading this.

One Last Trip

I'm on my way out to Park City for a week. Then it's back to real life for quite a while I think.

Ahhhhh

That was fun. What a great weekend. Started out right off the plane, when we headed over to my favorite Philly cheesesteak joint, Tony Luke's. Then we headed up to the area I would be staying in/had lived in previously. On our way to my friend's house we drove through the little town that I used to live in. I tell ya, I missed the boat on this one. After I moved away it turned into the trendy town for twenty-somethings to hang out in. Lots of new bars and a brewery.

When I got up Friday morning, I talked to my friend's wife and daughter for a bit then headed out to a brewery tour of the oldest brewery in America and one of my personal favorite beers, Yuengling, with my friend Mark. First, let me thank Dr. Mark for driving and all of the costs incurred. Brother, that is why I bought that case of beer...and I can tell you that the Ichor and Rasberry were great, I wasn't really into the Saison. Save a bottle of the Icarus for the next visit, or you trip down here. The rest is yours. Next, let me say, I missed my friend Yuengling. What a great beer. We don't get it in St. Louis. Plus at the end of the tour, they had a bock beer that was soooooooo yummy. I hope they mass produce it after their limited run. It was awesome, but if it is a one time thing, I will never get it again.

After the tour, we headed back to the convention center where all types of drinking, socializing and related hilarity ensued. I remember a lot of it, but I was very, very drunk for some of it and my retelling would not do it justice. Suffice it to say it was a great weekend. Reconnected with some old friends and made some more new ones.

This week it is back to work with a ton of stuff to do before Friday. Because after that I will not be back to work for a week and a half. My ski trip to Utah starts next Wednesday.

Just A Few More Hours...

...And I will be on a flight to Philadelphia. I've been promised a trip to Tony Luke's to get my favorite cheesesteak once I deplane...

...Lots of drinking with Scottish and Irish folks to follow...

...Recover on the flight back home...

...I'll write about it sometime next week.

Yet Another Hockey Post

Last night, I played hockey in my rec-league. One of my friends, who I have known for a little over a year, came out to watch. In real life, I am a mild-mannered...no, I am a nice-fun-laid-back-nothing-needs-to-be-taken-too-seriously sort of guy. Mild-mannered isn't really accurate. This is all my poor friend Mandy had ever seen of me.

I tell stories every now and again about losing my temper while playing hockey. Just the general stuff, trash talking opponents, getting rough and even an occasional "fight" (not a traditional fight, there are rarely more than one or two punches thrown in these things). She kept telling me that she couldn't see me being like that. Last night, she saw it come out full force. I'm a smart ass most of the time, anyway. When I get angry, I'm downright ignorant. I must've said a few things while yelling at some other players that were pretty funny. When I got back to the locker room after the game, I had a text message on my phone. "I love angry Larry! It's so funny!" I had to laugh. She sent it to me while I was seated in the penalty box.