Watching Duran Duran on TV sing "Hungry Like The Wolf" in concert on TV. The performance was in 2000 from London's Wembley Arena. They were one of the biggest acts on the planet in my youth (which was the 1980's). Oh my gosh where has time gone. Seriously!

Former First Lady Betty Ford passed away on Friday July 8, 2011. She grew up in Michigan, became a dancer and later married a lawyer named Gerald Ford. He went on to be President after Nixon resigned. In her life she dealt with addictions to alcohol and pills. She got help and founded the Betty Ford Center that made it possible for others to get help. She made it OK for folks to admit when they were in need of assistance to deal with their faults and to get a new lease on life. I salute Betty Ford for helping many people take back their lives.

Weekends are awesome! Its always good to have a couple days off even after a short week. Our Saturday's start with a wakeup call from Cody our boy dog. He always has a warm smile and loving attitude when he comes to our bedside...well really he's hungry and wants us to get out of bed to feed him. He has no sense of weekends. Today we are doing some things around the house and chilling out. Tonight we are going to see Laura's brother Phil in a production called "I'm Getting Murdered In The Morning" at the Colonnade Centre in Ringgold, GA. Its a dinner theatre production. It will be a fun evening I predict. Tomorrow will be busy too but that's another daily blog.

Laura made a great home made bolognese sauce tonight for dinner. It was served over some angel hair pasta. This was her first attempt and a pretty good one. We also had some garlic bread. Its been a part of tonight's sci-fi night on TV. It started with Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, Doctor Who and then Torchwood as the grand finale. I truly enjoy evenings like this.

Thank you to every astronaut, crew and NASA team for 30 great years of space adventures. These events will be missed. Godspeed Space Shuttle fleet.

Today was a good day overall. Work remains a challenge post-holiday. America is still buzzing over the Casey Anthony verdict. We went to a cookout at church that was good as usual. Tonight is the season debut of Big Brother. I am ready for the weekend for some fun...but its going to be busy. Here's to the rest of the day.

America's Summer distraction is back tonight as Big Brother makes its season debut. The shows host Julie Chen will welcome 13 houseguests into the house who will form alliances, showmances and sometimes bromances. Heated arguments and competitions fuel the fire of this always interesting show. As always there are twists and you should always expect the unexpected. It starts at 9:00 tonight on CBS-TV (WDEF in Chattanooga).

Our Bible Studies at White Oak UMC often go topical. It's good to examine contemporary issues from a Biblical point of view. Tonight we talked torture. Some think its necessary to get info and intel that will save lives. While others have an opinion that it is inhumane and cruel and does not provide the right information.

Personally I am not sure what to think. I agree its something that dehumanizes and impacts both the torturer and the tortured. Basic human dignity must be preserved. As Christ was beaten and crucified its a reminder of how mean and cruel people are and that torture is never right. America should never be about torture, we are better than that.

I admit I didn't watch any of the Casey Anthony trial. I know that her daughter Caylee Anthony's death came way too soon. But as Scott Pelly said tonight on the CBS Evening News 300 kids under age 2 are murdered by their parents each year. I ask where is the outrage for them. Some of these kids are minorities who rarely get a notice in the papers let alone wall to wall coverage on the cable outlets. If we are going to be angry about this verdict we should be angry about those kids who have been ignored by media and most of us each day.

Casey Anthony was judged by a jury of her peers, given due process and reasonable doubt exercised. Her guilt or innocence will be debated for weeks. So when we wonder about the justice of the whole thing we need to be reminded that each night as she sleeps and each day as she wakes Casey will have to bear the loss of her girl each day.

Pops on the River is Chattanooga's Independence Day celebration. The Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra performs patriotic and American standards. Its a great celebration down by the Tennessee River. Kayoko Dan is the new conductor of the orchestra and this was her coming out party. I am blessed to live in a city with a great cultural and artistic life. It was a great time.