Heather - Field of Play

Heather - Field of Play, a photo by jfinite on Flickr.

End of fall shoot with Heather...

Marrah - The Power Within

Marrah - The Power Within, a photo by jfinite on Flickr.

Had a wonderful maternity shoot with Marrah this Sunday!

Kids say the darndest things...episode 4

Overheard as my daughter is talking to my wife on the phone...
"Mommy I want to be a teacher when I grow up."
"That's great sweetie."
"But do they have to call me Ms. Bonaparte??"

Kids say the darndest things...episode 3

So my girls were watching a Spanish language DVD, and they were talking about step-mothers. I had to explain to them what step-parents were, and of course, we went over divorce as well. Basically, I said that sometimes mommies and daddies don't want to live together any more. And my eldest thought for a moment and solemnly said, "Well I hope you and mommy don't get divorced." I said I didn't think that would ever happen, we love each other very much. :)

What was the sacrifice?

If Jesus was the son of god before, during and after his execution, what, exactly, did he sacrifice by 'dying'?

Moderately religious?

I saw that phrase again today, moderately religious. I wonder what that means.


'Yeah, I believe in Jesus 'n Stuff™, but I only pay attention to him on Sundays and holidays.'


'Sure, the salvation of my eternal soul rests on the decisions I make in this fragile mortal life, but I don't like to make a big deal about it.'


'Well, I could be tortured forever in unfathomable agony if I do this, but those 8 seconds of pleasure will be well worth it.'


So, do the fanatics have it right? Because they seem to be the only ones who come close to truly understanding the choices and tasks that theists are charged with making and performing. I submit that if I believed that there were such a thing as an eternal soul or endless, excruciating pain, I would be doing everything I could to become saved, escape hell, etc. It wouldn't just be an important thing to do, another chore to check off my list. It wouldn't be the most important thing to do in life. It would be the ONLY thing to do. But that's just me...

SC Aquarium!

Went to Charleston to see Dad and Mom Joan on Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately Kia had to work, so threw the kids in the car and we drove down the road. We stayed an extra day and on Tuesday we went to the SC Aquarium. We all had a blast!

Happy Birthday Stevie

AKA Stefon, AKA my one and only big brother. Hope things are going a bit better for you than they have in the recent past. Wish you would give us a call so we could talk to you and know you're ok.

Osama bin Laden dead

So Osama bin Laden was reportedly killed in a firefight when US troops raided a mansion hideout last week. First there was impromptu celebration and cheering (which still doesn't seem quite right to me), then there was the inevitable political analysis about how it would affect President Obama's ratings, and now we have the cover stories and posts about how Osama is undoubtedly in hell at the moment.

I truly don't understand religious people. If Osama is in hell, is Truman there as well for dropping bombs on Japan? How about Valhalla, maybe he's there? Or maybe he's in Muslim heaven? The simple fact is that there's absolutely no reason to believe that Osama is anywhere other than the watery grave where he was buried at sea.

The End is Nigh!

Well they're at it again. Harold Camping and company at Family Radio Network are predicting the end of the world on May 21, 2011, around 6pm. They say about 2% of the population will be raptured, while the rest will go straight to the hot place. Harold had the wrong date before, when he predicted the end of the world, but he's had a lot more time to study the bible and now he's REALLY sure. I wonder if Family Radio will give away their $120M to help feed and protect the poor, like maybe Jesus would do? Nahhhhhh.




Will let ya know how it turns out on May 22. If you don't hear from me, then I guess his math was right.

Kids say the darndest things...episode 2

So I'm playing the go fast game with the kids in the van...you know, where you punch the accelerator for a second so the engine revs, and the kids shriek with joy and say 'too fast, daddy!'. Well, we enjoyed a few rounds of this on the way home, and as I pull into the driveway, I give it a little kick going into the garage. Four year old: 'Don't go fast in the garage, daddy, or you will go through the wall!'. Six year old chimes in: 'Yeah, and that will cost a lottttt of money to fix!'. Ah, they're learning so quickly...:)

Kids say the darndest things...episode 1

My six year old daughter after coming in from school and setting her bookbag down: "Daddy, are you going to die when you get old? I don't want you to die because I will miss you."

Talk about heartbreaking. She said this with much emotion and sincerity. As I went about making her snack, I told her that people have to die in order to make room for new people. If people didn't die, there'd be a hundred  billion-jillion people on Earth, and there'd be 100 people in every house. Her eyes got wide as she declared, "That's too many people!". I agreed, and we both shared how it's very sad when people die that we love, but then we get new people to love as well, like her future children. She reiterated to me how she plans on having four kids and she's going to live in a pink house with Bryce C (her future husband, now in kindergarten). I said that sounded great, and she went to watch her tv shows with a smile.

Pray for earthquake victims?

A few days ago, a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, possibly the strongest one they've ever experienced. The death toll is in the thousands and rising, along with so many displaced and injured people who no longer have homes.

Lots of people around the world are praying for the people of Japan. I have to ask, aren't you praying to the same omnimax creature that designed, planned and executed this natural disaster? And what would you be praying for? For it to go back in time and magically save all those people? For the people who died to go to heaven and not to hell?

A response to the open letter from Rabbi Adam Jacobs

This is a response to the letter in the link below:
Open Letter from Rabbi Jacobs to Atheists

1. Am I wrong, or did the rabbi spend the first half of his letter telling us how there are no true atheists, then starts the second half by saying that he's spent a sizable portion of his life as an atheist??? WTF? Having been so studied in the fields of belief and atheism, surely the author knows that an insignificant number of people would define atheism as he has. That can't have escaped his attention. Every atheist that I know of understands that a-theism means lack of BELIEF in god. This is still not clear to the rabbi after all that study? Jeez.
2. Appeals to authorities dismissed. What do I care if Antony Flew wishes to now call himself some kind of deist. Has absolutely no bearing on whether or not a god exists. Same could be said for Dawkins and Hawking...they don't know either.
3. I'm going to assume that you live in the US, and as such, you must either be pretending or seriously, seriously obtuse not to recognize the powerful influence that religion and those who claim to know/speak for/love/be on a mission for god have on social and political matters affecting ALL citizens.
4. Hitler, Stalin, etc. This AGAIN!!?? Are we pretending that those loathsome individuals were responsible for the deaths of millions of people? Are we going to pretend that the vast majority of those doing the actual killing were believers of one stripe or another? Puh-leeze.
5. 'The faith to which I ascribe has brought substantial light and unique meaning to the world.' Like what? Fear of hell? Body issues and being ashamed to be human? What has the faith to which you ascribe brought to the world that could not have been done through reasoned discourse, education, freedom of thought/action, etc.? My answer: nothing. On the contrary, I'd argue that we are worse off rather than having been bettered by faith.
6. "...you ask us to accept that it's the result of undetectable organizational forces..." NO! What most atheists reject is the supposition that there is some ultimate Truth out there that you and people like you have discovered. Instead of saying, 'I don't know, let's work together to grow, learn, and discover things about the universe', you say 'I have the Truth, and not only is it true for me, it is true for EVERYONE.' That certainty, that unmovable position, that FAITH that you have, is the single biggest objection that most atheists would probably have against the idea of faith. I think that the religious need to learn those three powerful words...'I don't know!'.

Happy Birthday Kia!

Well, my lovely lady turned 38, so we decided to mark the day with a photoshoot for her! We headed out to the park after a quick trip to the 'Boutique' to pick up a few accessories. She did a great job, and looked absolutely beautiful! Bravo, Mrs. Bonaparte! Here are a few results:

Happy Birthday Lena!

My daughter Selena's 4th birthday came in the middle of the week, so the following Saturday we had a blowout bash at the house. Thanks to all of her friends from the neighborhood and daycare for coming out and celebrating with us! We had hotdogs, chips, cupcakes and ice cream, and of course, lots of games and fun! And special thanks to her grandparents, Nina and Pop-pop, for spending a full week here in Charlotte to hang out and celebrate as well. It was really awesome of them to make that time!

A Convenient Lie?

So I'm watching Monsters vs. Aliens the other day with the kids, and at a pivotal point near the end of the movie, a few of the main characters are trapped and their deaths are imminent. Two of the characters say their last heartfelt words to each other, "It's been an honor to know you" style. Another of the characters, who is literally a brainless amorphous blob, says to the others, "I'll see you two tomorrow." The other two say, with complete false sincerity, "That's right, Bob, and we'll have cake and ice cream." Bob brings his hands to his 'face' in absolute glee and says "Cake and ice cream!? It's gonna be the best day ever!"

This scene (like all the others) is played for laughs, as we, the audience, are in on the fact that the doomed players are simply consoling the blob in the face of their impending deaths. But I couldn't help thinking of the parallels between the movie scene and the many times I've seen/heard the religious say something along the same lines when people are dealing with grief, pain and anguish.

"It's alright, he's in heaven/with his Father/in a better place now."

Is a convenient lie better than a painful truth under those circumstances? Is it even a lie if it is believed by the one telling it?

I haz a blog?

Hey, I have this space, might as well use it! Only 4.5 years since the last post, hey, whaddya want, like timely updates or something? Anyways, I'll try to fill this space with some ramblings and see what happens. Only good can come from that, right?