Brendan Shea's Blog, page 10
March 22, 2025
A Day at the Mall
We made a trip to the local mall today for errands, lunch and a movie.
While my wife was at an appointment, she suggested I go sit down somewhere, so I trekked to a good seat, and found a nice English breakfast tea with sweetener and milk at Andersen Bakery. The counter dude was nice to ask if I wanted the milk steamed. I thought that would make the brew too hot, but he said customers complained it was too cold otherwise.
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I figured I should go with his advice, so I took a chance and was rewarded. The moment I’d left my wife to her errand I realized how cold I was. The tea was hot, and she took a long while, so I sat at one of the tables in the common area and worked on my writing, games, puzzles, and tried to not stare too much at the beautiful ladies walking past.
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My wife done with her appointment, we headed to the cinema kiosk and purchased our movie tickets. She had asked me what I’d like to see, before we left home. I wanted to avoid the horror flicks, and she wanted to avoid some that I wanted to see, but we agreed on Last Breath, a film about a deep sea diver who encounters peril while trying to service an oil pipeline.
After a bit of window shopping, we headed to lunch and I got Ruby Thai Kitchen. Yelp only gives this eatery three stars, but the food is always good. Maybe it’s that they need to tighten things up: I did find a tiny chunk of bone in my meal. However, the pad Thai is always good, the spicy fish delicious and the eggplant tofu, well-prepared. This time I had steamed veggies rather than tofu, and they were perfectly cooked. All in all, a satisfactory meal, and a rather healthy one.
Pleasantly filled, we went upstairs to the theaters. I got kettle corn and an cookie ice cream sandwich, quite a haul, but we seldom go to the movies, so I allowed myself the splurge. It’s times like these I think of starving people in third world countries and hope I am doing enough for such people.
SPOILER ALERT:
The movie was okay, but I think, like some of my writing, the denouement was too quick. It was like the movie had a beginning and an ending but no middle. If the filmmakers wanted it to adhere to the truth, and there was no ‘middle’ to the story, they probably should have added a scene before the critical event showing an earlier mission that was successful. I am not sure I’ve every seen a major motion picture, or any movie, really, that built up (great) suspense, but went to the finish before building enough tension and lapsing enough time.
It was badly made, almost shockingly bad. But the good thing is the acting and direction were otherwise good, the characters interesting and the story incredible. I’m not sure how they botched it so badly, but this should have been apparent when the film was pre-screened. Maybe at that point the money ran out or the filmmakers didn’t want to pad the story. Either way, I was glad for no smut, no horror and no violence. It was a mall day where I had to guard my eyes more outside the theaters than in it, so I considered the experience a good one.
March 21, 2025
Current Read
Over lunch today, I worked on reading a great book on CKD
Incurable Optimist:Living with Illness & Chronic Hope is a very well written book by author Jennifer Cramer-Miller…
When I am done with the book, I plan to review it here, and on goodreads.
Here is the low protein, low sodium, low sugar, low potassium meal I had for lunch today; I hope I am dieting well for my kidneys’ sake. I’ve learned to make tasty meals that are generally within safe parameters for stage 4 CKD, as far as I am currently aware…
Song of the Week
Favorite Song Of All – Phillips , Craig & Dean
He loves to hear the wind sing as it whistles through the pines and mountain peaks
And He love to hear the raindrops as they splash to the ground in a magic melody
And He smiles in sweet approval as the waves crash through the rocks in their harmonies
All creation joins in unity to sing to Him majestic symphonies
But His favorite song of all
Is the song of the redeemed
When lost sinners now made clean
Lift their voices loud and strong
When those purchased by His blood
Lift to Him a song of love
Nothin’ more He’d rather hear
Nor so pleasin’ to His ear
As His favorite song of all
He loves to hear the angels
As they sing, “Holy, holy is the Lamb” (Holy Holy, Holy is the Lamb)
Heaven’s choirs in harmony lift up praises to the Great I Am (Hallelujah, hallelujah)
But He lifts His hands for silence when the weakest saved by grace begins to sing (Ah Ah Ah)
But His favorite song of all
Is the song of the redeemed
When lost sinners now made clean
Lift their voices loud and strong
When those purchased by His blood
Lift to Him a song of love
Nothin’ more He’d rather hear
Nor so pleasin’ to His ear
As His favorite song of all
It’s not just melodies and harmonies
That capture His attention
It’s not just clever lines and phrases
That cause Him to stop and listen
But when any heart set free,
Washed and bought by Calvary begins to sing
That’s His favorite song of all
Is the song of the redeemed
When lost sinners now made clean
Lift their voices loud and strong
When those purchased by His blood
Lift to Him a song of love
There’s nothin’ more He’d rather hear
Nor so pleasin’ to His ear
As His favorite song of all
Holy, holy, holy is the Lamb
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Holy, holy, holy is the Lamb
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Dan Dean
Favorite Song of All lyrics © Dawn Treader Music
March 20, 2025
Song of the Week – Extra!
Moondust – Terry Black / from “Meatballs” Movie
This is one of my favorite “old” movies; it is not a movie about gratuitous sex; it is about young people finding their way, and finding love and having fun; and I have a special place in my heart for it. I went to a summer camp for years in my youth, as a camper, and later, as an employee, and camps can often be wonderful places; not always, but many of them are great.
Moondust – Terry Black / from “Meatballs” Movie
Let’s say it was the moondust
That drifted down from heaven
To fall upon your shoulders
And nestle in your eyes
Let’s say it was the moondust
With all it’s ancient powers
Much more than any mortal
Ever could devise
And it made me love you
And it made me never want to go away
And it made me helpless
And it made me always want to stay that way
Let’s say it was the moondust
That hides behind the moonlight
That fell and set us free
With its moondust melody
And it made me love you
And it made me never want to go away
And it made me helpless
And it made me always want to stay that way
Let’s say it was the moondust
That hides behind the moonlight
That fell and set us free
With its moondust melody
And set us free
With its moondust melody
Terry Black Lyrics
March 19, 2025
Fun in Tahoe
A post I somehow forgot to publish last month!
Previously, I posted a philosophical piece on my blog, but now, I wanted to back-fill with a few light entertainments to boot…here is one of them:
One fun place in South Lake Tahoe is Fire & Ice…
You grab a pair of plastic gloves, pick up a stainless steel bowl, and add items such as pasta/rice/etc…
Then you add meats and veggies, and finally, select a ramaken of one of the delicious sauces.
Heading to the grill, the chef takes your bowl, tosses on the steel plated grill, and stirs the dish, adding sauce and cutting up items to be bite-sized and to cook correctly.
As things got busy, with the chefs juggling plates, ramaken and bowls, the choreography of the grill gets pretty exciting…here, they were just opening for the day…
Then he plates your dish, you head to your table and enjoy.
The food is really good, and there is also a basic salad bar for cool temperature foods to enjoy before, during or after your hot plate.
You can go back for as many bowls and salads as you want, the pace of the meal can be slow (ours was nice and slow; we weren’t in a hurry, as tired from our drive, and acclimating to the altitude) or relatively quick.
The general salad ingredients…
Here is a photo of my second “bowl”:
I stayed with veggies and pasta, and veggies and rice with meatballs, but they had ribs, sausages, shrimp, and more…
I think we paid about $20 per person for lunch, plus drinks and tip; a great bargain for a sandwich, let alone a dining great experience.
The atmosphere is very casual, but Fire & Ice is a lot of fun!
March 17, 2025
A verse for you
Psalms 27:4 NIV
[4] One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
Verse delivery and image courtesy of YouVersion
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When I was a teenager and twenty-something, and not a Christian, my virginity was considered a liability.
I wasn’t the only one who felt that way; many people look down on themselves and others in that category, but it seems to me that there is value to virginity and abstinence.
As a married man, I have experienced sex in marriage and outside of marriage, and for me personally, sex in marriage has been far better.
Sex is better in marriage, but also, you don’t have to worry about getting diseases. And being committed to the person you are intimate with brings more rewards than if otherwise.
When I was single and having sex, I had intimacy issues, health issues, mental issues and work and personal issues.
Once I was married, the sex was satisfying, there was no guilt, I did not feel dirty, I did not worry about getting my partner pregnant; that was mostly the idea!
So if you still have your virginity, and some of you might, don’t be in a hurry to lose it, and if you don’t have it, and aren’t married, virginity is like a stock, if it went down with a mistake, it can still increase in value with careful future planning.
Don’t get me wrong, the drive for sex can be strong, and the way the internet and the media is today, being chaste is tough, and I’m not trying to make light of that, but discipline in this area can be rewarding.
So I may seem like a moralist, a prude or a judgmental person, but all I’m saying is: value where you are, and work to get where you want to be, and if you are single or a virgin, don’t think like the world does; virginity is an asset, and you’ll probably have a better life if you protect and value it.
When you do find the right one, you’ll probably have a better life with them as a result.
-IMHO, the blogger.
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A Verse for You
How to go from bondage to freedom!
Acts 4:10 – New International Version10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Song of the Week
It’s true that I have spiritual struggles. Here’s a song I like to listen to that tells of God’s goodness, and is an encouragement:
Just Reach Out – Petra
Sometimes the night seems to go on for days
When it’s hard to see the light through the darkness and haze
While the world around you makes you feel out of place
And the burdens that you carry are just too hard to face
Just reach out and he’ll reach in
Take your broken heart and make it whole again
It don’t matter who you are or where you’ve been
Just reach out and he’ll reach in
Standin’ in a crowd but still all alone
Cryin’ out for answers that nobody knows
Everybody’s busy lookin’ out for themselves
Is there anyone who really cares about anyone else?
Just reach out and he’ll reach in
Take your broken heart and make it whole again
It don’t matter who you are or where you’ve been
Just reach out and he’ll reach in
You say you’ve walked ten thousand steps away
But did you know that it’s only one step back?
Because the one who hears you when you pray
Is the one who’s there beside you and he’ll never walk away
Just reach out and he’ll reach in
Take your broken heart and make it whole again
It don’t matter who you are or where you’ve been
Just reach out and he’ll reach in
Just reach out and he’ll reach in
Take your broken heart and make it whole again
It don’t matter who you are or where you’ve been
Just reach out and he’ll reach in
Reach out your way
Reach out your way
Reach out your way
Reach out your way
You know I love you
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John Schlitt / Rich Gootee
Just Reach Out lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc
