Top Ten Reasons Thanksgiving is Better than...

I like Thanksgiving, all of the benefits of a holiday, without the stuffiness of religion getting in the way.  It kind of makes up for all of those fasting holidays, or deprivation promises, or whatever that all of the world's religions make you do for the rest of the year.  I like to call Thanksgiving the "Anti-Fast."  Here are my top 10 reasons why it is better than Christmas, Birthdays, or any other holiday, for that matter.  Now, this does not apply if you happen to have a birthday that falls on Thanksgiving, or have a relative that you feel obligated to get a present for, anyway.

10.  You don't have to get anyone any presents.
 9.   You usually have to fight to cook...meaning that if you play your cards right, you can almost always get someone else to do the cooking for you.
 8.   Because of #10, you never have any disappointed kids/relatives over who got what for whom.
 7.   You get to nap in the afternoon, no one makes fun of you, and you get to eat leftovers for weeks!
 6.   Three football games...ON A THURSDAY!
 5.   Did I mention it is always on THURSDAY?  Day of thew week predictability is the key to a good holiday!
 4.   Did I mention that I had my Bar Mitzvah on Thanksgiving?  You can always hear Torah, somewhere on Thanksgiving, if you so desire.
 3.   No religious significance whatsoever!  Which means no one gets offended when your creepy cousin decides to have a Wiccan prayer circle in the backyard, nor does anyone care if you went to Mass, go to Mass, or even suggest going to the movies.
 2.   There is always a day off to shop following it...not too shabby, a day off of work, completely devoted to doing nothing productive, but to spending the fruits of the past year's labors.
 1.   It's an American Holiday, celebrated by ALL Americans that choose to do it, and no one gets mad if you don't!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

P.S.  I do not claim to have a cousin that claims to be a wiccan, nor do I know anyone that does...and no Wiccans were harmed in the publishing of this Blog...unless you consider the mental stress of possibly being related to me harm.

Army Notre Dame Top Ten

Top Ten Reasons why watching the Army Notre Dame game streaming over the Internet is better than watching it over AFN...

10. You don't have to watch all of those AFN PSA's every commercial break.
 9.  You don't miss any plays because the PSAs go longer than the actual commercial breaks.
 8.  You get to privately shed a tear for your alma mater when they flash back to days of yore.
 7.  You get to watch regular, good old commercials.
 6.  No one gets to watch your mouth water while they play commercials for food that you can't have because they took away your food court - because you are alone in your room.
 5.  You get sympathy from your Internet guy because the game isn't being broadcast live here in Iraq (so he gives you special bandwidth), so at least the commercials come in without interruption.
 4.  You get to keep re-running your streaming program to keep the video link and voice link in synch - keeping you awake at 0330.
 3.  You get to watch Army Football, LIVE!
 2.  You get to have your coffee pot within arms reach while watching the game at 0330 in the morning.
and the number 1 reason why watching the game live over the internet is...
1.  No one will see you cry when Army loses (or wins) to Notre Dame.

BEAT NOTRE DAME - then BEAT NAVY!

I love Iraq (well, their Holidays, anyway)

Less than 30 days until I start my long journey home from Iraq.  We have a slight break in the action while they celebrate the Eid (feast) that celebrates the Hajj.  The Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that is required of all Muslims once in their lifetime.  One of our High-ranking generals actually made the Hajj this year.  A lot of people in the US military call everything here that is run by the locals as "Haji."  Not sure why, since I sense their use of the word is supposed to be derogatory or pejorative.  This is actually a very respected word that has great pride in all people that have made the pilgrimage.  I think that they even add the word to their name once they make the trip.  If anyone has seen pictures of the Hajj, they will know that it is one CROWDED place.

I would like to congratulate the Huntsville "Wild Turkeys" Rugby Club for winning the first Alabama State Rugby Tournament.  And they won it quite easily, too.  I placed an Alabama "Wild Turkey" on my door in their honor.  Also, was happy to watch my Chicago Bears destroy the "Moss-less" Vikings this past weekend.  They FINALLY broadcast one of the Bears' games live on AFN.  They also broadcasted it on Fox Sports, but, of course, the great Satellite Caper of 2010 is a never-ending one - and Fox Sports was completely out on Sunday night.  I had to go to my office to watch the game.

     I am working on putting all of my pictures from this deployment to music, one song at a time.  I have a lot of pictures (over 3000).  So this is going to take some time.  I will make sure that I send a few copies to my parents for distribution.

I have to run for now...more to follow.

Later.