Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

You People are Worthless: My 70-Year-Old Fathers Annaysis of Today's Sports Talk Radio

Old people can say the funniest things.  I gotta share this with the world, because to my litte warped mind, this is EXTREAMLY funny.

So last week I'm working on staining my parent's house.  Got 710 ESPN, Seattle on while I'm working.  As you MIGHT remember, that was the week I took off to make house repairs.  Anyway, I think it was a Wednesday and I think it was the "Justin and Gee" show that goes from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the late morning show, and they're talking about the Kam Chancellor holdout.  I'm not really listening to it, my trying to stain the house, but my 70-year-old dad hears what they're talking about and he exclaims:

You people are worthless.

How funny is that?  I didn't provoke him to say that or anything.  It came naturally out his mind.  

For my money this brings up the subject of how radio can string a subject along so far that after a while it gets boring and annyoying to listen to.  I THINK that's where my dad's state of mind was when he listened to Justin and Gee talk about Kam Chancellor's holdout, take calls from listeners and specululate about what it all means.  Worthless!

As I've said before--on this very blog no less--I think sport are basically soap oprahs tailored to the interesterests of men.  Men like the challenge of being pitted against other men and seing who gets bragging rights for coming out on top. Personally, I love watching sports because I love seeing A-MAZING feats of athleticism (shit that I could never do) while in the midst of team sports competion.  I get into sports and talk, but NEVER into fantasy football and stupid shit like that.  I like smarter shit if you know what I mean.

You people are worthless!!

Let the indighnment seep into your consciousness, because at some point EXCESSIVE devotion to a sport that someone esle is playing and not you is taking away from you living your life.  You can be a fan of teams, just know when its time to stop, pull the plug and get on with your life.  Watching Seahawk football is fun, but it shouldn't rule your life.  

Personally I think my favorite person on the sports talk airwaves in Jay Mohr, right now.  He's an actor/comedian who now has a three hour sports talk radio show that's nationally sydicated and I found on 850 a.m. during the weekdays which I listen to on my way to my 2nd shift job.  For the most part Jay Mohr is pretty funny and does a nice job ballancing actual sports talk with the entertainment side of the ledger.  My only gripe against him is that he does WAAAY to much self-promotion of what he's doing on the side with his comedy act and other things that Jay promotes.  Still, he's different enough that I find him interesting: best thing going in sports talk radio right now, if you asked for my vote.  Still love Dave, Danny and Moore on 710 Kiro.  They do the late afternoon shift.  Also really getting into Dave Grosby these days.  At one point, a few years ago when he was at 950, KJR a.m. (710 ESPN's arch rival in the Seattle airwaves) I thought his act had gotten boring and stale.  But now I'm really into most things he has to say.  Dave Grosby has really well-formed opinions, and does a GREAT job of verbally sparing with other people who don't share his opinions.  Anyway, Dave Grosby IS doing a great job now and has reasserted himself as one of the premire sports talk radio guys in the Seattle market.

Best sports talk radio guys in Seattle market:

1. Danny O'Neil: this guy came over from the newspaper reporter side, and is KICKING ASS on his show.  Great facilitator, AND he can chime in with good opinions and zingers.  A smart guy who has learned the art of talking to other people about sports.
2. Jim Moore: best colorfull personality in the Seattle sports talk arena.  Knows how to playoff his affilcation with the Washington State Cougars very well.  Nice wildcard to a traditional sports talk broadcast.
3. Dave Grosby: I love the fact that this guy is willing to put opinions out there, and spar with other people over them.  
4. Bob Rondo, play-by-play announcer for the Univercity of Washington.  Underrated radio guy.  One of the best play-by-play announcers I've ever heard.   He's a homer, but he can still come across as objective too.

Worst guys on radio in the Seattle, sports radio, market:

1. Mitch Levy: I think this guy is Jewish, and though I LOVE Jewish people in general, this is one of those annyoing voice Jewish guys.  I can't stand the way he annuciates his words.  Though Mitch's time with Mike Holgren are really great, and some of his interviews are cool, when Mitch is on his own, and I have to listen to his voice in standalone mode, I'm listening to something else.
2. Bob Stelton.  This guy has a nice clear voice, but his opinions are aweful and they he explains them/justifies them is a huge turn-off.  Watching him on camera once he looked sad and out of place: like he's not even comfortable with himself.  It's not like Bob is a boring guy, he just rubs me the wrong way, and I don't enjoy listening to him host or interview other people.
3. Steve Raible.  Awefull play-by-play announcer of Seattle Seahawk football.  Can't stand him, wish they'd fire him and bring in someone like Bob Rondo.  Years ago my mom had a run-in with Steve at his hometown and she said he was a snob when she was demoing products in a grocery store.  That always stuck in my craw the wrong way, because my mother is an absolute angel, and ANYONE who is mean or snobbish to her has something wrong with him, in my opinion.
4. Dave "Softy" Mauller: His stict is like an caffinated chipmunk.  He's a bit Husky honk.  My problem with Dave Mauller is that his fast-talking way is like an over-agressive fan.  For the most part he is devoid of interesting opinions which is his demise.  Dave's only real appeal is that he's like an over-agressive fan and is capable of generating a fervor.
5. Brock Huard.  Nice guy.  Was a Husky quarterback back in the mid 90s.  Does play-by-play on ESNP for some college games.  He's just too vanilla and boring.  Even when he tries to ramp it up and get excited it comes across as false to me.  The crazy thing is, that I LOVE his brother Damon Huard, who does color commentary on the Univercity of Washington broadcast and occassionally does a stint on the radio as well.  Damon Huard was actually in the NFL as a back-up quarterback for a long, long time.  There's just something genuine and good about Damon Huard.  He doesn't try to be something he's not on the airwaves--and it works!

Worthless.  You guys are totally worthless.

No, I don't succumob to the same belief as my dad.  Even the guys I sited as "the worst" I DO listen to regularly--I just don't don't enjoy them very much.  Yes, after a while it does get boring talking about one player's holdout for more money.  BUT watch an NFL game, they are so good these days.  A-MAZING players doing amazing things; for me this spawns an interest to go deeper and spend more time basking in the glow of the NFL and to a lesser degree MLB landscape.  Start talking about soccer, golf, MMA sports, tennis or ANY women sports and I'll tune out quickly.  But the NFL certainly has a place in ol' E.C. Henry's heart, and as such so does sports radio--to a degree.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

P.S. Got the lawn mower shed stained this weekend.  Not a lot of writing in.  Sorry.  Tomorrow I get to read the the contract the company I work at offered the union members I'm a member of.  Hoping for the best.  Not looking forward to the prospect of a strike.

Lots going on in my life right now.  Not bored in the least.

P.S.S. As a footnote Kam Chancellor DID end his holdout and played his first game for the Seahawks earlier today.  We beat the Chicago Bears 26-0, but Kam didn't have a major impact.  Still nice to have him back.  

300th Post: Reflection and a Look Ahead

Wow, I made it to 300!  .300 is a nice batting average in you're a baseball player.  When I think of 300 that's the first association mind mind makes, "Good, major league baseball players hit over .300": Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Edgar Martinez, Dustin Ackley...  Hey, wait a minute, Dustin Ackley, a former player for the Seattle Mariners, never hit .300 over the course of a major league season, BUT he was SUPPOSED to.  When the Mariners drafted him I was very excited thinking he'd turn out to be the next Edgar Martinez, who was a GREAT hitter for the Mariners in the mid-to-late '90s.  

But showing promise and have that promise get fulfilled are two different things.  The Mariners gave Dustin Ackley a very long leash.  He was expected to be a .300 hitter eventually, but he never lived up to his potential, and eventually the Mariners traded him.

Am I like Dustin Ackley?  A pre-pro screenwriter who will just languish in mediocrity forever and never get discovered?  Well, for starters I'm not a mediocre writer, I write very well and am very pleased with EVERY story I've ever written.  In that reguard I'm very much like a proud father: I LOVE my stories and believe in them very much.  Unfortunatley I do not have access to the people who can make my dreams come true.  And so mediocre movies continue to get made, when Hollywood SHOULD be knocking on my door wanting to do the finely crafted stories I've already got ready to roll.

Why bring this up?  Because when I started this, that's why I began.  I was hoping someone influential in Hollywood would come across my blog, find me interesting, and request to read some of my scripts.  

So far that hasn't happened.

But now as I reach this 300th post milestone, I look back and smill at what I've done so far.  Something like 58 posts in an exploring issues in romantic comedy movies.  There's few posts on memorable charcters in movies and TV series, and a lot of my opinions on movie releases that happened during the on-going life span of this blog.  

Overall, I feel good about my posts.  If you read enough of them you'll get to know me.  I try to sprinkle in tid-bits of who and what I am along the way.  And LOVE the chance to TRY to be funny, something that doesn't naturally occur with me.  For a little while took down my "Surf City."  I kinda regret doing that, and will re-post that sometime soon--with a few changes.  

So why go on posting if it's doubtful that will ever translate into a script sale?  Well-p, everyone needs an outlet, and in this blog I get to express to the world my thoughts and opinions.  This world needs Jesus.  I see that truth more and more everyday.  I don't think we were ever intended to live apart from God.  Rahter, I think our "independece" has been granted so that over the course of time we might come to the realization just how bad off we are on our own and how much we need Him.

Jesus is Lord!  His Father is the Almighty, the Creator of all.  The Holy Spirit is the Third Member of the Holy Trinity.  This is God, Three in one; the sole ambition of life here on Earth is to please Him to the point where He accepts you into Heaven where you can live and be with Him.  Earth is not the end-all.  Rather, it is a proving ground, a place where you prove that you love God, or you reject Him and suffer the consequences.

I am in total shock of how things have change both in this country and in the world abroad. When I grew up homosexual people were shunned, and transgendered people were laughingstocks.  Now, these people are applauded for having the courage to live lifes that are in open defiance to the precepts that the Holy Father laid out in the bible.  

I don't know for sure when the tribulation will begin, but from what I'm seeing, I don't think it's far off.  I'm not as sharp as I used to be concerning God's word for the end times and all the bad stuff that's foretold to happen.  When the mark of the beast becomes a reality, a lotta bad things are going to happen, I know that much.  But in the end, God will show Himself true.  He will set a'right the things which man has set wrong.  God is holy, and God is better than anyone in mankind.  I am convinced that at His heart, God is good.  

Why bring this up?  Because in the future I'm going to post more things about the end times.  My goal in doing that is to educate myself and spur more people to give their heart and minds to Christ.  Jesus is what matters.  He didn't suffer and die on the cross for nothing.  He did so to make a way for all of us to make it back to Heaven and be with God.  You don't have to look for YOUR way to make it to Heaven.  Being a good person is not enough.  Even if you really on your own goodness, how good is that to turn your nose up at the sacrifice that Jesus made on all of our behalf?  You need to honor that which God has done.  God over human achievement.   

Having given my heart to Jesus I find great relief in knowing that at least I did one thing right in life: I chose God's way, redemption through the finshed work that Jesus did on the cross over my own conquests.  All the stories I've written and my lofty ambitions do not hold a candle to me saying, "Yes", to Jesus.  

I love Jesus with all of my heart, and I hope that you do to.    So with the time on Earth perhaps growing to a close, besides trying to be more funnier, I'm also going to try to be more evangellical and spur people to faith in Jesus.  I don't wanna see anybody I know go to hell.  Hell is for people who want and desire to live appart from God.  I NEVER want to be one of those people.  Moreso, hell is for the devil and people who corrupt other people.  Hell is real, and it is to be avoided.  

Don't know if I'll ever get to know success here on Earth.  But I know that Jesus has already won my heart so I have sucess with Him.  If He grants me the luxuary of reaching more milestones, I say, "Thank you, Jesus."  If this world goes to pot, and I never acheive my Earthly dreams, I still say, "Thank you, Jesus."  The truth is I never had to suffer like so many of His disciples and followers have.  If that's to come, I hope I have the strength and fortitude to fight the good fight and do what's right.  Honoring God is what's right.  Life's not so hard when your main ambition in life is just to make God happy.  To put a smile on His face when He looks your way.  

An Oscar is not what I covet the most.  Putting a smile on the Holy Father's face, and hearing Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  is far more important that Earthly treasure.  I love God and hope that through your reading of these posts of mine you too are drawn and inspired to enjoy your own faith walk with Him.

So for 300 and beyond, E.C. Henry says thanks to you all!  Eventhough I don't get a lot of comments, I do get a lot of hits on this blogsite everyday.  Sorry about not posting earlier, my dad's computer went down, we lost internet connection for a couple days, and I had to recofigure the wireless router on my computer.  It's just been a mess since last Friday.  I meant to post more, its just the sudden Internet outage, and my soreness from the staining the house project put a real crimp in that.  

A Working Vaccation for House Repairs

The official "work week" may begin for some on Monday, but as for me that's just the start of 6 days I have off work.  But just because I have the day off that doesn't mean I like have the day off, as tomorrow and on Tuesday I'm renting a 37' boom lift to stain the top of my parent's house (where I currently live).  

My dad let this go, and now the top cedar shakes really looked beached.  The side that faces east has some especially warped boards up high that need to be replaced.  YEARS ago my dad had our house coated with "Cheveron roof oil", and when I insisted that we coat the siding this year he insisted that we use leftover oil from that project done over 20 years ago...

Thankfully, I tested the roof oil a couple days ago and found that this oil's consistency hadn't broke down, so we've still got somewhere between 10-15 gallons of it in one of two 50 gallon drums that were sitting idle in our garage for the past 20 years!  

We live in the sticks and things have a tendancy of doing that.  Use it, or it can get lost or forgotten about and end up lounging around for very long times.

Anywho, the plan is to use this boom I rented (for $800) for 2 days to do all the high stuff in our three story house, which is covered by cedar siding.  The knuckle boom is due to be delivered at our house at 9 a.m. tommorrow and the plan is for me to be up on that boom from sun up to sun down staining to little heart's desire.  Hopefully the Lord will perform "the miracle of the barrel", because after that remaining oil runs out it's going cost me $34 a gallon for more.  Not cheap, and when the wood starts drinking in the stain it goes fast.  

Still, I really wanna stain the whole house.  Meant to do this earlier, but MAYBE this is the perfect time to do it because it won't be so hot.  

After the staining project is complete I may or may not do more jobs around the house, depending on the weather, my brother's kids (which I may have to babysit), and my aunt who is currently doing through agressive chemo theropy and radiation treament.  

Hopefully with this time off I'll get a bunch of writing in.  Lots to do on that front.  I'm a long way from having that epic fantasy novel ready to show anybody.  Sorry, wish I had better news to report, but right now I think I suck at being a writer.  Just being honest.  I'm honored to work on this story, but in all honesty I'm not very good.  If I were good I'd be further along.  Writing feature length scripts is child's play conpared to writing a novel.  

But I forge ahead...  Be that triumphantly or not.  This week I really just wanna be a blessing to my parents and show that I'm serious about helping out and make our house a nice place to live.  I already stained a section on the groundlevel and it looks MUCH beter than it did before.  Still, sooo much work needs to get done around the house to make it beter.  A lot of stuff in and arround our house is falling appart and in need of repair.  Thanfully I'm young enough yet that I can venture to take on some of these projects.  My problem is I'm not that handy or knowledgable of a guy.  But I'm willing to work.  Even when quote, unqoute, on vaccation, I'm willing to help and take a break from being a selfish asshole.  

So with the week off you can probably expect more posts.  Hoping to do at least three more between now and next Monday night.  

This is my 299th post.  My next post will be my 300th, so I'll probably do celelbration/recap post next.  Recap with more of an eye to the furure, than a look back at the past, 'cuz that's just the way I roll.

Anyway, thanks for continueing to tune it.  

Love, 

E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

E.C.'s 2015 NFL Predictions

Last year I got it right. I picked the Seattle Seahwks and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.  I picked Seattle to win, which I got wrong--but at least I got the two partisipants right.

Who cares, right?  I don't put a lot of credance into predictions.  So why make them then? Well, it is kinda fun to do.  I'm already $10 in the hole to my dad, as after the 2015 Super Bowl I told him that Marshawn Lynch wouldn't be on the Seahawks regular season, opening day roster, but he is.  I THOUGHT the Seahawks would trade him away.  Glad they didn't because unless Marshawn has a HUGE dropoff in production, he's head and shoulders above the back-ups below him.  

So what do I think/predict will hapen in the 2015 NFL season.  Lemme start off with a Payton Manning.  This is it for him.  His last season in the NFL.  He's either getting carted off with a career ending injury, or by the end of the season he's ridding the pine as Brock Osweiller takes the reins of the Broncos offense.  Personally, I don't wish harm to best Payton Manning.  He's been a GREAT embassador for the game, and an icon eversince he left college.  But his time is over.  In all honest he should have hung up his kleats when he had that NECK surgury.  But some guys just can't say no to the money.  For my $$ I think Payton has been recklessly gambling with his own life and well being, BUT it's his life, he's gotta live it how he so choses.  But this will be his last year playing quarterback in the NFL.  

I predict that the biggest suprise team in 2015 is going to be the Kansas City Chiefs.  I think this is the year of Alex Smith redemption, and he's going to take them to the Superbowl.  

So where does my beloved Seattle Seahawks fall into the picture>  Well, from what I saw in the preseason the Seahawks have two new studs to stike fear into the heart of their opponents: punt and kickoff returner, Tyler Lockette, and deffensive end, Frank Clark from the Univercity of Michigan.  Last year I went absolutely sideways on the Seahawks punt returns from Bryan Walters.  In a whole YEAR of returning punts he had a long of like 18 yards--once, and most of the time it was fair catch after fair catch.  Basically a give-up play.  That's not going to be the case in 2015, and for that I'm really pumped.  In limited preseason action Tyler Lockette score 3 touchdowns: two on returns and one on a pass rececption.  

So why not pick the Seahawks for a return trip to the Super Bowl for a third year in a row?  Well, for starters they have done nothing to improve a mediocre at best offensive line.  They lost two starters from last year: Max Unger and James Carpenter--and replaced them with linemen that were worse than both of these guys, in my opinion.  Seattle drafted some linemen in the really late rounds, but from all pre-season impressions these guys SUCK too, and more of a continuation of the problem than an actual solution.

Our lack of thump on the line may have been a key contributing factor which got Darrell Bevel NOT to run Marshawn Lynch for the gamewinning touchdown in last year's Super Bowl.

Sure, we added Jimmy Gramm in the off-season, a proven reliable targer for Drew Brese in New Orleans, but I'm hearing this guy isn't much of a blocker.  Sure a Pro-Bowl quality tight end will help, but its third and forth and one, you need that push from the line that can help your running back out a little.  Trust me, the Seattle Seahawks don't have that kind of line.  We don't have the proverbail "horses" that can control the line of scrimage.  So guess what, I'm looking at another year where Marshawn is taking his first hit three yards behind the line of scrimage.  Russell BETER be able to run and improvise, because this TOTAL SHIT offensive line is going to have him running for his life.  

In the end I think it's the Seahawks offensive line that is going to doom this team.  The only other real worry I have about this team is the health of some of our star players: Earl Thomas coming off an an injury, Richard Sherman coming off his injury and continueing to be able to deliver the shutdown corner excellence that has for the past two years.  Also Kam Chancellor is a big wildcard.  He got his money and big contract, but was STILL unsatified and holding out for more.  Love Kam as a player, but I worry about his durabilty to last the whole year even if he ever comes back.  

I predict the Seattle Seahawks will make the playoffs, but whether they are at home or on the road will lose their first playoff game.  I predict that will be to Detroit.  Detroit comes to Century Link and upsets the Seahawks: 26-22.  

Ohter odds and ends NFL related.  Tom Brady NEVER should have been suspended by Roger Giddell in the first place concernting deflate-gate.  It feels like the NFL is making up the rules on the fly.  Where were the refs concernting the inflation of the balls?  Don't they check that BEFORE the game begins?  If not, they should.  I thought both quarterbacks and place kickers had been tampering with the ball for YEARS.  I thought this was an accepted practice.  Anyway, Tom Brady got hosed by the NFL.  Not a huge Brady fan, but fair is fair, and from my way of thinking the NFL was not fair with Tom.  Nor was the NFL fair to either Aidran Peterson or Ray Rice.  Both of their error occured during thier priviate life.  What the fuck is NFL doing monkeying arround in their private affairs.  Neither of these indiscreions occurred in or arround an NFL game or practice so where does the NFL get off punishing these guys?!  Love the NFL.  Don't love how they overstep their lawful bounds.  

2015 NFL Season Playoff predictions:

Opening round: N.Y. Giants at Atlanta Falcons: 39-35, Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks: 26-22, Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts: 45-27, Tennesse Titans at San Deigo Chargers: 10-27

Divisional Round: N.Y. Giants at Dallas Cowboys: 33-27 O.T., Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers: 14-30, Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs: 13-29, San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots: 20-12.

NFC Championship: N.Y. Giants at Green Bay Packers: 11-19.  AFC Championship: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs: 7-13.  

2016 Superbowl: Kansas City Chiefs v.s. Green Bay Packers: 6-45

Overall, start of the season thoughts: I'm amazed at how close the talent is.  There are so many teams that are on the cusp of being good: Miami Arizona, Cincinatti, Buffalo, San Diego, Houston.  Their are only a couple of teams that have no chance: Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Most crazy team to watch in 2015: the Philedelfia Eagles.  Head coach Chip Kelly let so many of his top offensive talent go and brought in an injury prone quarterback such as Sam Bradford was during his tenure in St. Louis turned out to be.

Players I'm most excited to watch:

1. Aarron Rodgers.  Best quarterback in football at the start of the year.
2. Marshawn Lynch.  Unpredictable.  Fun to watch.  Never quite sure what to make of this guy.
3. Russell Wilson.  Magic.  When you watch a Russell Wilson regular season game you have a sence that the game may come down to the wire, and if it does that THIS guy is more than capable of doing something fantastic.
4. Tyler Lockette.  Will the pre-season tease continue into the regular season, because if it does, lookout!  This guy is electric.
5. Phillip Rivers.  Tough.  I love watching Phillip Rivers quarterback the San Diego Chargers.
6. J.J. Watts.  Hyped player that I haven't seen a lot of.  Wanna see if he's as good as all the acalades other people heep on him.  
7. Odel Beckham.  Hype player.  Currious is his sophmore year is as electric as some of the moments he had in 2014.
8.  Percy Harvin (to see if he like falls off the cliff after the Seahawks had such high hopes for him as little as a year ago)
9. Kam Newton.  Just look at this guy and it's like WOW, their is no other quarterback like him.  Wonder if this is the year he puts it together and truely makes Carolina beter.  

Most overrated/trusted players:

• David Carr, Oakland's starting quarterback at the start of the year.  This guy is NOT a francise quarterback.  I think Oakland is waisting their time with him.  
• Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears starting quarterback.  Lacks the leadership skills and charisma.
• Jameis Winston, I think this guy is going to turn out to be a bust.  
• Charlie Whitehurst, back-up quarterback in Tenenesse?  This guy SUCKS.  How is STILL in the NFL is beyond me.  
• Kolin Kapernick, San Fransisco 49ers starting quarterback.  His team has just taken too many roster hits, as such I think this year Kolin is going to have a hard time putting up respectable stats and keeping his team in playoff contention.
• Andy Dalton.  Has the biggest monkey on his back of ANYONE in the NFL: this guy can't win OR play well once the playoffs start.

In conclusuion, I still love the NFL.  But I'm not as jacked up about the upcoming season as I have been in past years.  I think the excessive money is slowly dooming the overall product and heath of the game.  Personally I don't thing any one NFL player is worth over a million dollars a year. That includes Aarron Rodgers, who despite his poor sportsman attitude following the NFC Championship Game agaist the Seahawks is still my favorite player to watch.  You can count on me watching a lot of NFL action this year, but in my heart I sence something is wrong.  Wrong with our society as a whole, and some aspects of that wrongness have crept into this beloved sport.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Changing Weather

Gone is the epic Seattle summer of 2015.  BEAUTIFUL sunny days and hot.  In is the clouds and rain that the local Seattle area is known for.  But hey!  We had a good run!  Longest stretch of nice weather that I can ever remember having.

Change is coming.  No.  Change is here.  In more ways than one.

Biggest change, o, about a month ago my aunt was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.  She's the 66 year-old faternal twin to my mom.  And she's a TOTAL SAINT!  Doesn't deserve this diagnois.  Doesn't deserve to be sick at all.  If I told you all things she's done for other people, your head would spin.  She is the most selfless person I 've ever met.  She has given up her one and only car to my sister-in-law so she can get back-and-forth from work.  Sure Denny is retired now.  But still.  Giving up you car so someone else can help support their family is huge.  

My mother's other sister, Annette and her son: Jeff; who Denny was very close to a long time we were all kids JUST came over to spend the weekend with Denny.  Should be a good family bonding time.  The kind of stuff I'm not real good at, that's why I'm down in my room right now, while their all upstairs talking.  BUT I took this weekend off so we'll see what happens.  Denny doesn't like to do a lot of things, even when she was healthy it was like twisting her arm to even get her to go out to eat.  

I love my aunt dearly, but over the last coulple of months I've kind of been ignoring her.  We're just very different.  She's a MUCH better than I am.  Thank God for that.  I'm one to compare myself to other people.  But I'm really not into the church these days.  Neither is my aunt, really.  But she lives the life and is totally pure.  Which is something that I'm definatley not.  I love Jesus with all my heart, but there's something missing.  Been missing for a long, long time, and I don't know at this point in my life if I'll ever be as alive for Christ as I was when I was in my 20s...  But I digress, THAT weather in my heart has not changed for quite a while, but I wish it would.  

The work front is a trip.  I thought I'd be out of the job I'm currenlty in over two years ago.  But it keeps continueing...  For how long?  Don't know.  Felt I've been on borrowed time for a long time.  Have just about no passion for the job.  Sure, I'm a professional and WANT to do good work.  But I really don't care at all for the people I work with on a day-to-day basis.  They're far from the worst people I've worked with, but I don't look forward to meeting up with them each day either.  The pay is nice, the work environement and the people are not.  BUT on that front our union contract is about to expire, and things look weird.  We JUST had a strike vote.  Don't know how that turned out yet.  My job is up for review, due at the end of October, so that process should be interesting.  Everyday at work I just kinda go through the motions.  It's a job, a way to pay for things, nothing else.  Not a passion of mine that's for sure.

The day job: more weather that could be changing soon.

Okay, so the day job pretty much sucks.  How's the writing life going?  Well-p, I'm still slugging it out day after day trying to improve the prolog and chapter 1 of the epic fantasy novel I'm working on.  Both are progressively getting beter, but the sledding is slow.  I no longer think of myself as a "great writer".  Rather, I'm kind of pissed off with myself.  A "great writer" would have settled on his or her words much faster than I have.  I guess I have high standandards, but very low overall productivity.  That translates into a bad writer.  And that's what I am, a below average writer.  

Can that weather change?  Yes, I guess.  I mean at least that's something that's in my control.  My problem is I'm a dipshit.  Being a dipshit complicates things.  Take things that should be easy and put them in the hands of someone who in inept and you've got all kinds of prolems.  Such is the case with me.  Exibit one: the 46-year-old dipshit--who still lives at home!!  What a fuck-up.  I need no further introduction.

Would I like to change the weather of my own heart?  Yeah, sure, sounds grrrreeeatte, only problem is I never seam to get any better.  Alway alone.  Never have any friends, which just kills me on the girlfrined front.  I have recently come to the way of thinking that is a biggie in romance: hanging out with buddies lifts your perspective in the minds of potential mates.

I do a lot of thinking about that, about where I went so wrong.  I guess I can blame my parents for most of that.  WAAYYY back when I was in 6th grade my dad bought a five acre plot in a very rural area.  That made it hard for me to get out and make friends and the ones I did make where a bunch of dicks.  It took me years to discern how bad of friends they truely were.  The fact that I haven't really spoken to any of 'em in 25+ years kinda shows how bad our "friendship" really was.  So how much of that was on me?  I dunnknow, propable a sizeable share.  But aren't "friends" supposed to help you?  Mine didn't.  Yeah, that gave me SOME memories.  But the guys who should have been lasting friends didn't end up being that way to a guy who need a good solid friend the most.

Yeah, in retrospect, I wish my dad had bought property somewhere else that would have exposed me to a higher grade of people and potential friends.  But, in life we don't et to pick and chose other people's descions.  It's just my dad's decision had some big ramifcations on my social development or lack thereof.  

Is it fair to blame him for all my woes?  No, at some point I gotta take some responsibility for my actions.  It's just once you start NOT making friends, it just kinda snowballs and then you're in a world of hurt that's not so easy to get out of.  I just think I needed a better enviroment that the rural one I was forced to grow up in.  Yeah, it contributed greatly to me being the writer I am now, but I would trade that away if that resulted in a better yeild of friends.  

So will that weather ever change?  My social weather, that is.  Boy do I ever wish it would. Thought it would change when I graduated high school and went on to community college. It didn't.  Thought it would change when I moved to Boise, Idaho for a high tech job.  It didn't.  Thought it might changed when I hit my 30s.  No change.  I guess the only time in my life when I was close to being happy with my social life came when I was active in church.  

But now I have a very jadded view about most formal churches.  Love the Lord, just not the people running the show.  And I've felt that way for a long time know.  And it's like I fear even getting to know these people because when I do, I'll just be disappointed.  

A lot of my own personal weather needs to change.  But I just know exactly what to do about that.  When you hit you're mid-40s your supposed to be raising a family of your own with teenagers about to graduate high school right?  Assuming you married early in your 20s.  Not the case here.  For the most part eveywhere I go I just feel out of place.  

I'm like a drifting cloud that just can't seem to find its home, the place it belongs, the place it is most content.  

So don't ever think that I think I'm beter than you.  I'm really not.  I've really got a lot a major hang-ups I've never gotten over, so chances are highly in your favor that you're better off than me.  And that's a good thing.  I don't want anybody to be as fucked-up as I am.  

Don't know if anyone will miss E.C. Henry's Surf City: links to sites that I frequent.  I took it down because I didn't think anybody was acessing it or cared about it.  I still plan on visiting some of those sites and have links off in "My Favorites" which can get me to any of those places any time I wanna go there.  In the future I'm really seriously thinking about posting another side-bar link featuring pictures of me, my family, and surroundings.

But if you wan't those links back shoot me an e-mail, and I'll probably re-post them.

Weather's changing, changing indeed.  Next weekend the NFL regular season kicks off in earnest.  And my next post will probably be something on that.  

Talk to ya soon!  Thanks for visiting my personal blog post and putting up with me.

Sincerly,

E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Zombies: a Devilish Basterdization of the Christian Resurection

What happens to you when you die?  Does your life end, or does it go on?  And if it goes on what does it go on to become?

Well, being a born-again Christian I hold to the belief, that, yes, our spirit goes on.  Our mortal body decays, BUT when we die our spirit separates from our body.  We inherrit a  new spirtual, perfected body that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us.  If we gained His favor we take this body with us and go on the Heaven.  But if we did gain his favor we STILL take our perfected spiritual body, only we go on to hell a place of toment.

THIS is a Godly way of viewing the afterlife.  A perfected, body.  Gone is the physical body.  You're free from its limitations, and now you get to enjoy the freedom a spritually perfected body.

So how do "zombies" fit in to the Christian outlook?  They don't.  BUT they do attempt to provide a worldview of the afterlife--albeit a completley horrific one.

Why bring this up?  Why be a killjoy?  Heck, some people actually even LIKE "zombie" movies.  AMC's "The Walking Dead" is a popular series, and now it even has a spinoff series, "Fear the Walking Dead". 

For the past two weeks I have actually watched the first two episodes in this series, "Fear the Walking Dead" and have been pleantly surprised by how strong its batch of characters are, and it's initial set-up for later episodes.  NEVER really like "The Walking Dead", didn't like the survialist characters, and the undead usally bored the shit out of me.    BUT as I was watching and kind of enjoying "Fear the Walking Dead" I kept having the nagging feeling that the whole "zombie" thing is just worng.  

Well, I bring this up because I believe zombies and after-theology they inherently implore are a devilsh bastardizaion of the reserection.

What re-aminates people that have died to become mean-sprited canibals?  Sure isn't a loving Holy Father I'll tell you that!  My God is great God of beauty.  He is God of the living and not of the dead.

So what's with all these "zombie" series and movies?  Sure, I get the attraction factor of these movies.  It's the thrill element.  The thrill of being chanced and facing death.  Horror of all kinds have that as their main source of attraction.  

As for me, I've ALWAYS had a weird kind of interest in post-apaclyptic movies and books.  Remember one of my favorite movies of all-time is "Planet of the Apes" (1968).  Now talking apes aren't nearly as abomimdable as re-antimated, crazed cranibals, but the whole talking ape thing clearly is a pro-evolution, anti-creationism themed movie. Hence, it's more anti God rathter than pro God.  And back when I was a young teenager I was very worried about nuclear war and what would happen after that.  "The Day After" TV series freaked the shit of me.  Then of cource there's "The Road Warrior" another guilty pleasure of mine.  

I thought you were Christian, E.C.?  

I am.  I just also have a bend towards kinda dark material.  Gotta watch that.  Because some of that dark material is definately anti-God theology and that SHIT does sit well with me.  

Let's get back to the whole "zombie" thing, and what's so wrong with that.  The real harm with these shows is that they sow the seeds that death and ressurection are to be feared, when in fact that was God's plan all along.  Live your life, make a choice and prove yourself to be lovers of God or not.  The whole zombie thing makes you want to cling on to this life more than God intended you to do.  

What animates people to become zombies?  You should ask yourself that question.  Sure isn't a loving God.  Rather, it is some demonic thing.  Which leads to the initial kernal that got me thinking on issue.  The crux of this post came from a comment I read off a thread on a Scriptshadow post that gave a review of the AMC's pilot for its new series "Fear the Walking Dead" where a commenter said that the creators of both "The Walking Dead" (on AMC, 2010 - present) and "Fear the Walking Dead" (on AMC, 2015 - present) would never give an explaination of how the zombies came to be in the first place.  And why wouldn't they?  Because clearly this is the realm of the demonic; people being born again into a utter corrupt state where the stagger about and try to bite and eat other people.  

Okay, so I'm a bible-believing Christian AND I've seen a lot of zombie movies, does that make me a bad person?  Sure doesn't help me make that case that I'm not!  But in watching these movies and knowing the truth about God, I start to understand that there really a war for our souls out there.  There is a movement that seeks to takes something beautiful and make it vile and ugly.  I'll take the truth of the Christian ressurection over the sick falseness of zombies any day of the week and twice on Sunday!  

The truly harmfull thing about the zombie thing is a false seeds those shows subliminally plant in the hearts and minds of those who don't know God: the afterlife is ugly and should be avoided at all costs, their is no God active in this world and you're on your own.  

We were never meant to be on our own.  Life is better when God is part of your life.  Thank you, Jesus, for the truth.  He is the way, the truth and life.  Their are sections in the gospel where Jesus does indeed talk about His blood being true drink, and his flesh being true food.  The complete IDIOT, who is unreasoning and has bend to justify demonic things, MAY try to make an offhanded comment about this and zombies.  Don't be that fool.  Realize that when your dealing with Jesus you are dealing with One of the Three members of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  What Jesus is really saying in claiming His blood is true drink, and His body is true food is that He is all you need to survive.  He is God.  He is Spirit.  And He can do things that we in the flesh have a hard time comprehending.  

Zombieness in totally ungodly, a bastardization from the devil.  Don't let it's sublimal message stop you from serving a loving God.  

The whole zombie thing is gross.  A perverse form of entertainment that can only exist in world where God has left the scene.  

I'm glad I know enough about it to see how perverse zombie theolory is.  Of course the creators of "The Walking Dead" and its spinoff don't want to explain how the undead became that way, because in doing so they would have to explain the afterlife and what spark re-annimates people.  The whole zombie thing is a corruption of God's view of the ressurection.  

You can be a good or bad person, but don't fear the afterlife.  There is a God in Heaven and He is a good God.  A God that already has disclosed to us how this world will end.  Don't believe me, read the Christian book of "Revelation".  

Anyway, I love God and I hope you do to.  It might be fun every once in a while to get a "thrill" from the shows you watch.  But beware, don't let dark fiction get a hold of you.  Instead, read the bible and let God start a work in you so that you can discern good theology from bad theology.  And ALL ZOMBIE theology is BAD theology.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA