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Blog Entry 79 of 83 Jan24-07TRN MWilson YourHub.com column
This column is published each Wednesday in the YourHub.com section of the Wichita Falls Times Record News, written by Senior Copy Editor and YourHub.com Editorial Administrator Mark Wilson.

YourHub column: Up around the Bend
Contributed by: YourHub.com   on 12/11/2008

Attention, YourHub.com: Jim Miller is at your service.

Miller, who works at River Bend Nature Center, has posted no fewer than 75 items on the Wichita Falls category of YourHub.com, including 68 blogs, since registering Sept. 26, 2006.

Miller is one of six on the nature center's paid staff and loves it to death.

"The last time I felt this way about a job was when I was a rookie in the newsroom at the newspaper," said Miller, who said he performs a multitude of duties. "Like most nonprofits, you do what needs to be done."

That ranges from working with the center's education program, overseeing maintenance, serving as a field guide and leading tours.

Miller noted that work on the Bryant Edwards Learning Center, the final phase of River Bend's major construction projects, had been completed and the building opened in October.

"(Some) people thought we were closed," Miller said, noting that River Bend's Conservatory is now open seven days a week. "We're still the best-kept secret in Wichita Falls."

Miller said he was on hand Dec. 2 in the Wichita Falls City Council chambers supporting co-workers Heather Vasquez and Samantha McMahen as they presented a case for the city to implement a curbside recycling program. Miller had posted an item Nov. 30 on YourHub, letting everyone know about the effort.

"It went very well," Miller said of the presentation, which was not associated with River Bend. "We were able to point out our gratitude for what the city does, but we would like to see more - a full-blown curbside recycling program.

"It's extremely cost-effective and, in fact, it will pay for itself and make money," he said. "They were very receptive. It didn't hurt that we were able to pack the room."

Miller said that the recycling program in place at Sheppard Air Force Base has returned an extremely nice net profit.

"The city should realize approximately $200,000 a year," Miller said.

Miller said of YourHub, "It's an excellent outlet. I still believe it's a very, very worthwhile community service.

"It's fun, and I enjoy reading the other contributors. I would like to see some new blood and new topics."

Miller also recently made a case for becoming both the honorary bouncer and chief astronomer for YourHub.com.

Nancy Dickerson, who posted the first of her 20 blogs Oct. 16, was the victim of what some might consider a rude amateur-hour blog critic who has been taking random cheap shots belittling views of some people on the site who dare to use their freedom of speech to mention faith, religion or God.

"Nancy Dickerson is doing a fantastic job," Miller said of her contributions.

After seeing the comments criticizing one of Dickerson's recent entries, Miller responded to the critic by writing, "Your off-topic, right-field rants ... are the same as butting in on a conversation. They are just plain rude, crude and socially unattractive."

Miller told me that he encourages the local blog critic to "post on his own, so we can continue to ignore him."

Miller's Nov. 29 post, "Do you see what I see?", informed readers of nature's latest exciting "planetarium" show -- when Venus, Jupiter and the crescent moon were to be in close proximity -- along with the "earthshine" effect of the sun's light reflecting off our planet to the obscured (otherwise dark) portion of the moon and back.

Miller closed the post by writing that such facts were for textbooks, but added, "What I see (Dec. 1) and every night is an awesome celestial dance testifying to something greater than you and I."

Column written by Mark Wilson, originally published Dec. 10, 2008, in the Wichita Falls Times Record News.




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Showing 1-10 of 15 comments
Submitted By: Jim Miller
posted on 12/13/2008 @ 10:59:51 AM
Rated Blog Entry
Gee, Mark, as one of your LACKIES I suppose I have NO CHOICE but to grant you Five Stars! Seriously, though, I appreciate the plug for River Bend and for all the support The Paper lends to our organization.
Submitted By: Mark Clopton
posted on 12/12/2008 @ 5:57:54 PM
(Not Rated)
Sunday School, after does not allow anyone who may not buy the "whole nine yards" of "popular," or this kind of "certainty." Yes, I, as one who does not AM supposed to apologize for "thinking" and danged sure "expressing" any current ideology, be it some far right evangelical type or any other type. Both the far left, and the far right hate me perhaps equally. :) Perhaps I am indeed upon a correct path. To "heck" with them both. Neither of those two fronts of "American" ideology can make any form of argument. They both "live" upon some form of ad hom, ad baculum, or ad populum argument. Awesome, sound bites of any of those various "popular" appeals only show an utter intellectual bankruptcy. This is not "my" fault, but only arises FROM the "answers" put by those various forms of political, and religious "certainty" that we are all too aware of of on any given day.
Submitted By: Mark Clopton
posted on 12/12/2008 @ 4:03:34 PM
(Not Rated)
I "must" frankly despise any from of "Taliban" be it a Islamic sort, or some common evangelical "Christian" one. I'm sorry if my views run counter to YOUR particular "beliefs" even those held from your childhood when mother, father, grandmothers, grandfathers were fine persons who you love. Human, and paternal, or maternal love does not per se "establish" any "belief" beyond question, or even a rather common religious doubt. Yet I must "apologize" for expressing any line of any doubt of this kind of unjustifiable "belief." I get it.
Submitted By: Mark Clopton
posted on 12/12/2008 @ 3:58:04 PM
(Not Rated)
Now there can "be" no doubt in our current certainties of some type of other. They are told by our "popular" culture that to be indisposed of some "leap" or not is to be in some kind of intellectual, religious, or ideological abyss. Those who fail to take some kind of "leap" are frankly told along a thousand points their "doubt" is to render them defunct of morality or ethics, or any kind of humanity. I must OBJECT. I do not do so upon "faith." Mark Twain, one of our foremost American literary minds, once wrote, "Faith is believing what we know ain't' so." Well okay "faith" might well come down to that kind of on the ground fact. Who among any faith can show any kind of certainty derived from our common Nature? Mr. Wilson, you certainly cannot do so, nor can your assortments of various and contradictory "preachers" who are put before OUR PUBLIC to be spokesmen for any unseen reality.
Submitted By: Mark Clopton
posted on 12/12/2008 @ 3:53:18 PM
(Not Rated)
I'm very sorry, but "gee wiz" if your particular "views" are in fact final, or ultimate "reality" then why does not EVERY evangelical Christian HERE line up to give you a high five, some five stars? For most evangelical Christians I know of, be they literalists, or moderates, or liberal, and they do in FACT realize a "leap" of "faith" has nothing to do with logic. For most Christians, a leap of faith is to be taken into the "unknown." It is a leap even perhaps despite "any" evidence to the contrary. Each man and woman are ultimately to take that leap, or not, according to what they perhaps "must" do, or chose to do. It seems no man or woman is to be given allowance of any doubt of this kind of necessity, in our present, historical, socio/political context.
Submitted By: Mark Clopton
posted on 12/12/2008 @ 3:47:10 PM
(Not Rated)
Mark Wilson, WAIT, does your "entry" here really still lack a 5 STAR rating? While most of my Christian, even evangelical friends do disagree with me on this question of "god," then why are they so not inclined to give YOU a "5 Star" rating? What, do my evangelical friends actually see how stupid, and unfair this cowardly diatribe (your current one) is?
Submitted By: Mark Clopton
posted on 12/12/2008 @ 3:28:25 PM
(Not Rated)
No, my musical friend your views are are not a wide concern, despite the "picture" you paint of yourself with regards to some ditty on "popular" music, but you do rather seems to be just one from of all too common far right, evangelical bigot.
Submitted By: Mark Clopton
posted on 12/12/2008 @ 3:26:28 PM
(Not Rated)
Mr. Wilson, if anyone were to look at what you do, say, or promote, it is rather clear that you hold a conception of American public speech, and conception of OUR PUBLIC that only falls inside some "safe" and far right, evangelical hypocrisy.
Submitted By: Mark Clopton
posted on 12/12/2008 @ 3:22:11 PM
(Not Rated)
I frankly do not care what you may or may not believe. You are quiet involved in the "devil's music" and apparently listen to it and think it has some relevance, but surely to adopt an utter "intellectual" divide for an interest in popular music on the one hand had be some kind of hard-core, Christian "believer" on the other only shows an utter hypocrisy.
Submitted By: Mark Clopton
posted on 12/12/2008 @ 3:18:58 PM
(Not Rated)
Yeup, I do realize my points of view can be simply "hidden" from this so-called "public." You, after all have the power to simply make my words, thoughts, feelings put to "our public" to go away, to be seen by me, but NOT by any others. Perhaps an open opportunity for the "public" is not exactly what you desire? Why play games with "technology" that jettisons thoughts from the "public" which may run counter to your own? Mark, are you some First Baptist Church boy, or what exactly is your deal here? Come on, be honest, have the guts to "say" exactly that which you seem to put forth as some alleged, absolute fact.
Showing 1-10 of 15 comments
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