Name Dropping: Kristin Rudrud

This will not be quite as cool - well it might be - but I recently music directed Little Shop of Horrors at the Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre, and one of the many that showed up for auditions was none other then Fargo's own Kristin Rudrud.

Kristin Rudrud is best known for her role as Jean Lundegaard - William H. Macys wife - in the movie Fargo.

Click here to view her performing resume'.

Name Dropping: Becky Gulsvig

After last weeks name dropping of Rich Sommer - and his crazy success on Mad Men and guest starring on The Office - I thought I could do some more. Everyone can use a little more attention of their achievements.

Becky Gulsvig.

Becky is a good friend of my wife's. They went to school together and have done a number of shows together. I have had the pleasure of meeting Becky and getting to know her and her husband over the last couple years.

Anywho, Becky plays Elle in the national touring company of Legally Blonde: The Musical. Look here to find more info about the show and the tour.

Becky has also played Amber VonTussle in Hairspray, and was Leilani and the Elle understudy in Legally Blonde: The Musical on Broadway.

For the latest info, check out Becky's Website. She has a blog that keeps her fans up to speed on the progress on the tour.

Paul Newman

Last night Paul Newman past away age the age of 83 after being diagnosed with cancer. Newman was known best for his work in classic movies like; "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", "Cool Hand Luke", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "The Sting", and his Oscar winning performance in "The Color of Money".

Yet, there are two aspect of his life that set Newman apart from the majority of movie stars.
1. His Marriage to actress Joanne Woodard. They had been married since 1958 and had three daughters together.
2. Newman's Owe. All the revenue (reported over $220 Million) from his product line has gone straight to charity, including his own Hole in the Wall Gang camp for seriously ill children.

Here is the statement from the Hole in the Wall Gang website.
Here is an article written by Richard T. Jameson for MSN,

Katie Couric Interviews Vice President Candidates

Here is the link for the Sarah Palin interview.
Here is the link for the Joe Biden interview.

You can read the transcripts at http://www.cbs.com/.

Jon Stewart Hits Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, and Dick Morris on Sarah Palin Hypocrisy

When I first saw this clip, my jaw hit the floor. This is an article about the clip from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but the video is what you need to watch.

Makes me sad and happy at the same time.

Presidential Candidates Stances on Education

In the October 2008 issue of America Teacher, they had a breakdown of the stances that the two Presidential Candidates have on eduction issues.

As I have felt in past elections, this issue is extremely important. Along with; the economy, international relations, the war in Iraq, education must be a topic at the debates and through the rest of campaigns.

I was unable to find a link or graphic to show, so this the same content from the Oct. 2008 issue of American Teacher. All of the content and info are the same, I only changed the format.

John McCain: "Under my reforms, we will put money and the responsibilities where they belong - in the office of the school principal."
New York Daily News - 8/4/08

Barak Obama: "I oppose using public money for private school vouchers. We need to focus on fixing and improving our public schools, not throwing our hands up and walking away from them."
Speech at AFT Convention - 7/13/08

Issues

No Child Left Behind
Obama: Will reform NCLB. Believes "NCLB has done more to stigmatize and demoralize out students and teachers in struggling schools than it has to marshal the talent and the determination and the resources to turn then around."
Speech in Manchester, NH - 11/22/07

Supports full funding. Supports reforming and fully funding NCLB and ensuring that teachers are not forced to teach to the test.
www.barakobama.com

McCain: Supports NCLB as a "good start." Believes that the threat of tough sanctions gives schools and educators a big incentive to succeed.
Wall Street Journal - 5/29/08

Opposes full funding. Opposed multiple efforts to fully fund NCLB and provide schools, educators, and students the resources they need to succeed. Vote 35 - 3/10/04; Vote 60 - 3/09/03; Vote 5 - 1/16/03; Vote 192 - 6/17/01


Private School Vouchers
Obama: Opposes private school vouchers. Opposes using public money for private school vouchers.
Speech to AFT convention - 7/13/08; Education Week - 2/20/08; AFT 2008 Presidential Candidate Questionnaire

McCain: Supports private school vouchers. Supports expansion of private school vouchers and has repeatedly voted to set aside public tax dollars for vouchers.
Des Monies Register, editorial board, 10/24/07; Vote 170 - 6/12/2001; Vote 260 - 9/30/97; Vote 89 - 6/23/97

Head Start
Obama: Supports expansion of Head Start. Supports increased funding for and expansion of Head Start and Early Head Start, and proposes Early Learning Challenge Grants to help states move toward voluntary, universal preschool.
AFT 2008 Presidential Candidate Questionnaire; www.barakobama.com

McCain: Opposed increased funds for Head Start. Voted against increased funds for Head Start.
Vote 333 - 9/9/03


School Construction
Obama: Supports Additional funds for school renovation. Supports additional funding for capital improvements to schools to modernize their infrastructure.
AFT 2008 Presidential Candidate Questionnaire

McCain: Opposes expansions of school renovation programs. Opposed funding tax incentives and other programs for school construction and renovation.
Vote 108 - 5/16/01; Vote 242 - 7/30/99


You can find more about the candidates platforms at;
http://www.johnmccain.com/
http://www.barakobama.com/

This website is a quick way to see how you match-up with the candidates and also as info on specific issues - www.votechooser.com.

Name Dropping: Rich Sommer

Congrats to Rich Sommer. Rich plays Harry Crane on AMC's Mad Men, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.

I went to college with Rich at Concordia and we sang in choir together and may have done one directing scene together our freshmen year.

He will also be guest-starring on the season premiere of The Office on NBC Sept. 25th.







http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen
http://richsommer.com/

Tonight

So, here in Fargo, ND we rarely get big bands to come and play. In the last view years, it has become easier to seen very popular acts. Kayne West is coming, Garth Brooks has been a handful of times, and Aerosmith has made a stop. But in the grand picture of things, we don't get to see a lot of "famous people". President Bush was here a couple years and one of his town hall meetings. Tonight, we have the chance to not only see and hear one historic presidential candidate, but two. Both Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton we have a chance to hear them both speak to a very large crowd at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, ND tonight. It will be interesting to see how the speak to this crowd. I am not sure what to expect, but I do have a feeling they will both touch on the 40Th Aniv. of Dr. Martin Luther Kings death.

I will give you details soon. Take care, safe travel.

Clooney Puts Pressure on Olympic Sponsor

Tuesday March 11 8:35 AM ET
LONDON (AP)

Hollywood star George Clooney has put pressure on an Olympic sponsor to speak out over China's foreign policy in Sudan.
Clooney promotes Omega Watches one of the worldwide Olympic partners for the Beijing games.
"I have talked with Omega (about China) for over a year and will continue to talk to Omega," Clooney was quoted as saying on the BBC Web site on Tuesday. "I have and will go to the places I and China do business and ask for help."
Clooney has publicly spoken several times about the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million people displaced in three years of fighting between African rebels and government troops allied with Arab militia known as janjaweed.
China is a major trading partner with Sudan, and Beijing has resisted United Nations attempts to force Sudan to accept U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur.
The push to link the Beijing Games to the Darfur crisis gained wide attention last month when Hollywood director Steven Spielberg said he could not in good conscience serve as an artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies.
"I have and will continue to ask China to use its considerable leverage with the government of Sudan."
Omega has been the official timekeeper for the Olympics since 1932 including the boycotted games in 1980 and 1984. Swatch Group chief executive Nick Hayek, whose company owns Omega, said executives had discussed the issue with Clooney.
"We have full respect for his strong engagement in the fight for the good cause and share his opinion, especially concerning Darfur, and we are proud to work with a person who has such high ethical views," Hayek was quoted as telling the BBC.
"It is our policy not to get involved in politics," he was quoted as saying, because it would not serve the cause of sport, which he called one of the noblest human endeavors "for creating understanding and peace all over the world."
Hayek said Omega would speak out on China's association with Sudan, but directly with high-level contacts rather than publicly.
"Of course, it is a continuous process but we do it the Swiss way of 'little strokes fell great oaks,'" Hayek said.

Thoughts on a warm day in March

Some days are a little slower than others. Some weeks, even slower. So I have been focusing on the summer, and for my family, it is a very important one.

1. My sister-in-law Jeanne is getting married to a great guy Kevin.

2. My brother Matthew is getting married to a great gal named Anna.

Isaiah, Katie and I are in both weddings. Here is the Line-up for each wedding:

Jeanne and Kevin's:

Isaiah - Ring Bearer

Katie - Matron of Honor/singing

Daniel - Usher/singing

Matthew and Anna's:

Isaiah - Ring Bearer

Katie - Bridesmaid

Daniel - Best Man

3. Isaiah turns 2 years old on August 12Th.

4. Katie turns 27 on June 5Th

5. I turn 30 on June 1st

I am sure there will be many things that pop in between all those events. So, I have started on my best man speech. What are the important things to "pass-on" to my brother that I can share in front of all our family and friends in 5-10 min? While I am not going to give that away, it has started my thinking about some of the events/people around me and what I would say to them about the adventure/path they are on. So I have decided to make a list of "Daniel Wisdom" that is good for everyone. So here it goes. Some will be blanket statements, others will be very specific.

1. To get respect, you first have to give it. It is truly earned and never should be expected.

2. Don't watch LOST before you go to bed. Your mind will never stop and then you can't fall asleep!

3. Hilary Clinton - don't run a dirty campaign. I am tired of this. And I don't want to see you fall into the trap. I fear it is too late.

4. To every musician out there. Play more!

5. There are many ways to say no and still be nice.

6. It's still NOT OK to wear all denim!

7. "March Madness" is a mental illness and you should be able to stay home because of it.

OK, there was not much Wisdom in there, but I needed to say it. Please check-out http://www.sojo.net/ it is a great website/blog about being a Christian in this world.[Photo]

Was Jesus a Politician? (by Jim Wallis)

Last Friday I was in Santa Barbara, California, to speak at Westmont College - where even on a Friday evening, the gymnasium was packed with students. Before that event I did an interview with The Santa Barbara Independent, a local weekly newspaper, which they titled The Next Great Awakening? One of the questions the reporter asked was, "Do you think Jesus was a politician?" Here is my answer:

Of course not. But he had a vision of the Kingdom of God which was spiritual, personal, relational, social, economic, and yes, political - because it talked about allegiances and loyalties and authority, and if Jesus was Lord, Caesar was not. His confrontation that he provoked in Jerusalem was with the religious and the political leaders. They saw him as a political threat. If they saw him just as a private pietist, why would they worry? [If he was] helping people get their lives together, helping their marriages, making them better parents and make them go to less Roman orgies and drunken parties, why would that have been a threat to the ruling powers? They regarded him as a threat. I remember I was at Wheaton College once and I asked this class, "Why was Jesus killed?" and they had no idea. They just couldn't comprehend the question. And then one young student said, "Well, to save us from our sins." And I said, "So you think Pontius Pilate was sitting there thinking, 'How am I going to save these American evangelicals from their sins? I'm gonna kill this guy and that will do it.'" Albeit that our theological understanding of the cross and our redemption — I'm orthodox on all those questions, but he was killed because he was seen as a threat to the rulers both religious and political. In the book I talk about how Jesus confronted the major political options of his day. All four of them were there, they're always there: One was collaborationist, one was pietist, one was withdrawn — you know, the kind of counter culture — and one was political insurrection, or revolutionary violence. He confronted them all, he rejected them all. There was a fifth option called the Kingdom of God, and that's our option.

Quick Check

This link www.votechooser.com is a quick and easy way to see how your feelings on certain issues match-up with the remaining Presidental Canidties. Have Fun.

Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servants (by Jim Wallis)

I found this on the Author of God's Politics web-site: http://www.sojo.net
A site that stands in the middle of politics and on the foundation of God.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008
John Edwards ended his campaign this afternoon at the same place he started it and with the same theme—ending poverty as a moral imperative. In the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Edwards said that he was stepping aside in this presidential campaign, but that he would now continue his life-long work for economic justice. Before announcing his decision, he called both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to ask for a pledge to make ending poverty central to their campaigns for president and to their presidencies if they are elected.
John Edwards has changed the shape and the agenda of this campaign. He has put the needs of the poor and working families on the political agenda for the first time in many years. His clear and consistent voice has made sure that universal health care, fundamental issues of economic inequality, and the plight of so many Americans who are barely getting by would be on the front burner of this election campaign. John Edwards has championed the poor more than any white presidential candidate since Robert Kennedy did many decades ago. His campaign may be ending today, but he has already shaped the priorities of this election year in a decisive way.
Again today, he reminded us that "we have a moral responsibility to each other," as his valiant wife Elizabeth could be seen wiping a tear from her eyes. Because, he said, "But for the grace of God, there goes us." He called for an end to government "walking away" from poor and working people. Nobody has spoken of the 37 million Americans who wake up every morning in poverty more than John Edwards.
As he was on his way to give the announcement to withdraw from the presidential race, he stopped to talk to some homeless people under a bridge. One woman said, "Promise me you won't forget us." Edwards promised that he wouldn't. I believe him. I have admired John Edwards greatly - especially among the presidential candidates in recent years - and today I was so proud of him once again.
He closed by saying, "This son of a mill worker's gonna be just fine. Our job now is to make certain that America will be fine … it's time for all of us, all of us together, to make the two Americas one." And today he made a commitment for his party (to which he is now likely to continually hold them to account): "We will never forget you. We will fight for you. We will stand up for you." He said to all of those he had heard in the past several days asking him to speak for them, "I want you to know that you almost changed my mind."
The Bible says that a nation will be judged, more than anything else, by how it treats its poorest and most vulnerable. And seldom do we see a political candidate who sounds like a biblical prophet. So I just want to say thank you to John and Elizabeth Edwards. You may not become president this time, but you have been a prophet to the nation and will continue to be. As you said in your closing remarks, your presidential campaign may be over, but it's time to get to work. And I know we will be working together. God bless you both.

I Have a Dream

Address at March on Washington August 28, 1963

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Happy New Year

Almost 10 days into '08 and what I year it has been. Politics and the NFL heating, Brittany boiling over, College Basketball picking up stem, and college Football cooling off. There is still hope for the Vikings...oh crap.
I will say that this years College Basketball has been one of the best so far, and conference play just started. I find myself pulling for teams all over the place, depending on Conference and location. Always love Duke, always like Michigan State, Kansas, and love watching Memphis. I alwasy route for the Gophers, pull for the Big Ten when the play teams from other conferences. Always dislike UNC. No matter what. Sorry. It's like the Yankees/Cowboys for me. I JUST CAN'T DO IT! Watch-out for Butler!

Here is a happy article i found on Yahoo.com.
France is health care leader, US comes dead last
Tue Jan 8, 4:45 PM ET
France is tops, and the United States dead last, in providing timely and effective health care to its citizens, according to a survey Tuesday of preventable deaths in 19 industrialized countries.
The study by the Commonwealth Fund and published in the January/February issue of the journal Health Affairs measured developed countries' effectiveness at providing timely and effective health care.
The study, entitled "Measuring the Health of Nations: Updating an Earlier Analysis," was written by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It looked at death rates in subjects younger than 75 that could have been prevented by timely and effective medical care.
The researchers found that while most countries surveyed saw preventable deaths decline by an average of 16 percent, the United States saw only a four percent dip.
The non-profit Commonwealth Fund, which financed the study, expressed alarm at the findings.
"It is startling to see the US falling even farther behind on this crucial indicator of health system performance," said Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen, who noted that "other countries are reducing these preventable deaths more rapidly, yet spending far less."
The 19 countries, in order of best to worst, were: France, Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Some countries showed dramatic improvement in the periods studied -- 1997 and 1998 and again between 2002 and 2003 -- outpacing the United States, which showed only slight improvement.
White the United States ranked 15th of 19 between 1997-98, by 2002-03 it had fallen to last place.
"It is notable that all countries have improved substantially except the US," said Ellen Nolte, lead author of the study.
Had the United States performed as well as any of the top three industrialized countries, there would have been 101,000 fewer deaths per year, the researchers said.
I don't have a lot to say after that....how do we not need a change!

OK, here is something fun. I have been a fan of David Phelps for a long time and I have been a fan of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. SO here is a win win for me.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: January 13Th - David Phelps will be preforming on the show.