The Ann Lynn EP "Cowards All The Rage" is now available for download on iTunes. Check it out here. You can download the full album or individual songs. You can still purchase some exclusive downloads here as well. If you haven't had a chance to listen to this yet, I highly recommend it. Not only are you helping Phil and I out, you're also supporting a great band and this website as well.

Two weeks from today I am going under the knife to have ACL reconstruction surgery. Our reader(s) might remember I tore my right ACL playing basketball last month. I feel I must mention that it was torn while playing basketball and at the same time be thankful that it didn't happen stepping off the curb at Krispy Kreme, which would just be embarrassing. Before Kelly and I left for New Mexico two weeks ago, there was more damage done to the knee, and this time from packing clothes. I turned about 20º to my right, heard a loud pop, felt my knee fall apart, and I fell to the floor. Kelly heard the pop from the bowels of our walk-in closet and ran to my aid. The therapist wasn't sure what happened, but when the surgeon sticks his arthroscopic camera in he will do some "knee spelunking" to check things out. After the surgery, I was told I'll get a black envelope with images from the arthroscopy. I'm not sure why a black envelope, but the therapist was sure to let me know the color.

There are actually several methods to reconstruct a torn ACL. In my case, the surgeon will remove part of my hamstring and an abductor tendon from the back of my thigh, drill two holes in my bones, and wrap the tendons around two screws to make a new six-stranded fake ACL (SFACL). I found an animation of the procedure here if you are really interested and haven't stopped reading this entry by now. Just click that you agree, then "knee", and the "ACL Reconstruction with Hamstring." I just wonder how exactly that huge drill in the cartoon will fit in a small hole in my leg. At least I hope it's small.

And on second thought, a knee injury from packing clothes doesn't sound very tough. Tell everyone you know it happened while I was fending off a grizzly from eating a small child and her puppy.

It was fun to have a visit today from the Aharonian family! I haven't seen them since the Lucus wedding, which was almost 4 years ago. We had fun hanging out with Jonathan and Kevin in the little time we had, and just a couple of photos (Max was a charmer!):

There's a great editorial from Jim Wallis in the latest Sojourners newsletter:

The Body of Christ in Lebanon

"Let me first say that I affirm Israel's existence and its right to live in peace and security. Let me also say that I believe Hezbollah has provoked this current crisis. Since the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah has built a stockpile of thousands of rockets, continued attacks on Israel, and then, recently, kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. So we start by condemning kidnapping and Hezbollah's attacks on Israeli civilians."
...
"Hezbollah's rocket attacks into northern Israel have killed 19 civilians and injured hundreds more. But the disproportionate Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, with their horrible death toll among civilians with nothing to do with Hezbollah must also be condemned. The latest estimate is more than 400 Lebanese civilians killed, with the needless destruction of the country's infrastructure, which took 15 years to rebuild after the devastating civil war. Israel has gone after Hezbollah, but is destroying Lebanon and, don't forget, its fledgling democracy. And let there be no double standards when it comes to how we label "terrorist" acts. When a nation state, such as Israel, carries out military policies which it knows will kill many civilians, including the use of cluster bombs, and deliberately targets civilian infrastructures and areas, does not the label also apply?"

[emphasis mine]

I've had enough of people who are quick to condemn Muslim terrorists, but turn a blind eye when our allies do the same thing. Murder is murder, and no amount of talk about "strategic strikes" and "collateral damage" can change reality.