Immediate Job Opening! "Campus Life" staff at Coral Gables Sr. High School for Greater Miami Youth for Christ. This is one of the better high schools in the Miami-Dade Public School District. One must raise his or her own support. However, it is just down the street from Granada Presbyterian Church (PCA) which will provide financial and practical support. (I know the minister - a super guy). Granada PC sees the high school as within the orbit of its evangelical responsibilities, so its people are anxious to get a Campus Life ministry started. A local foundation will also help with support for at least the first three years. And the staff person can live at our house until she or he gets oriented (free meals there too). Of course, a love of high schoolers and for the work of the Lord through evangelism and discipleship, together with the appropriate gifts, is a must.
Contact me or the executive director, Andy McDaniel (305) 796-9880.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
God and Getting Fired. Some friends of mine are in a business that suffered from layoffs this past week. "Layoffs" is a nice way of saying that a bunch of people were fired. It conveys the idea that maybe some of those fired will be rehired someday. "Downsizing" is another euphemism. Fortunately, we have institutions like Despair.com to remind us, if in an ironic tone, that life is tough out there. My friends survived the firings, but it upset them. They also don't have the anger that those who were fired have to sustain them. In fact, there may be some guilt instead.
It made me think of the times I had been fired in my life. There was my girl-friend during the late fall of my senior year in college who dumped me. That was a sort of firing. Then the big Atlanta firm that I worked for as a summer clerk while I was in law school: at the end of the summer the hiring partner said that the firm would not be offering me a permanent job when I graduated. That was a sort of firing. Seven years ago, the managing partner of the big firm in which I was a partner walked in one day to tell me that, after 27 years of loyal service, I needed to go.
Of course, those things destroyed me.
As to the girl friend, as a result I became a reclusive bachelor for the rest of my life. After Atlanta, I mainly kept to small towns and less competitive places. After I was fired from Kelley Drye & Warren, I retired from the Bar and became a homeless person.
Tonight I get to give the devotional at the monthly board meeting of Greater Miami Youth for Christ, and I have been thinking about this for some time. Specifically I have been thinking about Acts 15: 36-41, when Paul and Barnabas entered into a "contention that [became] so sharp that they parted from one another" right at the beginning of Paul's second missionary journey. They broke up because Barnabus wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul refused to do so because, on the first missionary journey, John Mark left the two of them not long into that journey. I know that this argument over John Mark must have upset Barnabas and Paul, but can you imagine how John Mark felt? I would say that he was sort of fired. I have chosen this incident for the devotional, because it teaches so much about how enterprises work and how getting fired, as difficult as it is for everyone, is one of the ways God works out his will.
My guess is that Barnabas was a better mentor of leaders than he was a missionary. When Paul first comes to Antioch, Barnabas takes him under his wing and introduces him around and thereafter helps Paul grow into the great leader he became. By the time the first missionary journey is over, the scripture refers to "Paul and Barnabas" and not "Barnabas and Paul" as it referred to them when the journey began.
My guess is that Paul, for the second missionary journey, needed a Silas and not a Barnabas. And that John Mark didn't need a second missionary journey, he needed the close companionship and mentoring of Barnabas.
We know it came out all right for John Mark. In II Timothy 4:11, Paul calls for John Mark to be brought to him "for he is useful to me for ministry". And in Philemon 24, Paul identifies him as one of his "fellow laborers" who is with Paul. He was such a help to Peter that the great man refers to him as "Mark my son" (1 Peter 5:13), and, finally, he was published (the Gospel of Mark).
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose". (Romans 8:28) Even getting fired (or not) works out God's purpose.
"Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Cor. 15:57)
It made me think of the times I had been fired in my life. There was my girl-friend during the late fall of my senior year in college who dumped me. That was a sort of firing. Then the big Atlanta firm that I worked for as a summer clerk while I was in law school: at the end of the summer the hiring partner said that the firm would not be offering me a permanent job when I graduated. That was a sort of firing. Seven years ago, the managing partner of the big firm in which I was a partner walked in one day to tell me that, after 27 years of loyal service, I needed to go.
Of course, those things destroyed me.
As to the girl friend, as a result I became a reclusive bachelor for the rest of my life. After Atlanta, I mainly kept to small towns and less competitive places. After I was fired from Kelley Drye & Warren, I retired from the Bar and became a homeless person.
Tonight I get to give the devotional at the monthly board meeting of Greater Miami Youth for Christ, and I have been thinking about this for some time. Specifically I have been thinking about Acts 15: 36-41, when Paul and Barnabas entered into a "contention that [became] so sharp that they parted from one another" right at the beginning of Paul's second missionary journey. They broke up because Barnabus wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul refused to do so because, on the first missionary journey, John Mark left the two of them not long into that journey. I know that this argument over John Mark must have upset Barnabas and Paul, but can you imagine how John Mark felt? I would say that he was sort of fired. I have chosen this incident for the devotional, because it teaches so much about how enterprises work and how getting fired, as difficult as it is for everyone, is one of the ways God works out his will.
My guess is that Barnabas was a better mentor of leaders than he was a missionary. When Paul first comes to Antioch, Barnabas takes him under his wing and introduces him around and thereafter helps Paul grow into the great leader he became. By the time the first missionary journey is over, the scripture refers to "Paul and Barnabas" and not "Barnabas and Paul" as it referred to them when the journey began.
My guess is that Paul, for the second missionary journey, needed a Silas and not a Barnabas. And that John Mark didn't need a second missionary journey, he needed the close companionship and mentoring of Barnabas.
We know it came out all right for John Mark. In II Timothy 4:11, Paul calls for John Mark to be brought to him "for he is useful to me for ministry". And in Philemon 24, Paul identifies him as one of his "fellow laborers" who is with Paul. He was such a help to Peter that the great man refers to him as "Mark my son" (1 Peter 5:13), and, finally, he was published (the Gospel of Mark).
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose". (Romans 8:28) Even getting fired (or not) works out God's purpose.
"Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Cor. 15:57)
Monday, June 19, 2006
FT on Superman and other Current or Impending Entertainments. First Things has a post on the entertainment world by one Anthony Sacramone. He's got wit! So check out the piece he posted today (June 19) after the post by Fr. Neuhaus on the Episcopal Church's continuing and successful efforts to destroy itself. Here's a quote from Sacramone's post concerning Superman.
"In case you don’t subscribe to Trailers on Demand from your local cable service, another Superman movie is set to be released this summer, for reasons that elude everyone. What’s of passing interest, though, is that some people think Superman is really about Jesus, which would have come as a great surprise to Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, Superman’s creators, both of whom were Jewish. I know there’s a long history of baptizing things not-Christian so that they can be embraced by Christians without fear of apostasy, blasphemy, idolatry, sorcery, and a whole host of other “-y” things. But before this gets completely out of hand: Iphigenia—not Jesus. Neo in The Matrix—not Jesus. Harry Potter—not Jesus. Garfield—not Jesus. Aslan of Narnia . . . All right, you got me on that one. For a fascinating exploration of what some people think they see in works of literature that no one else seems to see, Alan Jacobs has written “The Code Breakers,” an opinion piece that will grace the pages of First Things’ Aug/Sept. issue, available in July. (I’m only telling you now so that those of you deprived of a subscription can break out the chaise longues in front of those Barnes & Noble magazine racks to make sure you’re first in line to grab one. But be nice—no pushing!)"
"In case you don’t subscribe to Trailers on Demand from your local cable service, another Superman movie is set to be released this summer, for reasons that elude everyone. What’s of passing interest, though, is that some people think Superman is really about Jesus, which would have come as a great surprise to Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, Superman’s creators, both of whom were Jewish. I know there’s a long history of baptizing things not-Christian so that they can be embraced by Christians without fear of apostasy, blasphemy, idolatry, sorcery, and a whole host of other “-y” things. But before this gets completely out of hand: Iphigenia—not Jesus. Neo in The Matrix—not Jesus. Harry Potter—not Jesus. Garfield—not Jesus. Aslan of Narnia . . . All right, you got me on that one. For a fascinating exploration of what some people think they see in works of literature that no one else seems to see, Alan Jacobs has written “The Code Breakers,” an opinion piece that will grace the pages of First Things’ Aug/Sept. issue, available in July. (I’m only telling you now so that those of you deprived of a subscription can break out the chaise longues in front of those Barnes & Noble magazine racks to make sure you’re first in line to grab one. But be nice—no pushing!)"
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Mmmm! Good! My theory is that I am "richly blessed" (as they referred to the good life in the Baptist Church of my youth) because I am a pretty weak character and God realizes that there is only so much difficulty that I can take. (This is a sort of contrarian view of the "Wealth and Health" gospel.) Whatever the reason, chief among those blessings is my marvelous wife, and among her many, happy gifts is the gift of cooking. She loves it and she does it so well. (This kitchen project is all about exploiting the poor woman. I am not only of weak character, I am shameless.)
When I was diagosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, now 15 years ago, we moved away from red meat, fat, and the like, and toward a diet with more vegetables and fruits. Carol has developed a great collection of healthy, savory recipes. Mary is following closely in Carol's footsteps, and a year or two ago Mary introduced a recipe for "Warm Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese." Carol fixed it last night, and it was terrific.
A dish with that title will probably not get posted on the NRA site. (Actually, I don't think they have recipes at all. But they should.) It has a sort of effete sound to it, and it does not help that Mary found the recipe on the Whole Foods website. (It's not there anymore, so I had to find the recipe elsewhere.) But it really tastes good, and I would heartily recommend it.
When I was diagosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, now 15 years ago, we moved away from red meat, fat, and the like, and toward a diet with more vegetables and fruits. Carol has developed a great collection of healthy, savory recipes. Mary is following closely in Carol's footsteps, and a year or two ago Mary introduced a recipe for "Warm Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese." Carol fixed it last night, and it was terrific.
A dish with that title will probably not get posted on the NRA site. (Actually, I don't think they have recipes at all. But they should.) It has a sort of effete sound to it, and it does not help that Mary found the recipe on the Whole Foods website. (It's not there anymore, so I had to find the recipe elsewhere.) But it really tastes good, and I would heartily recommend it.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
The Bench is Not that Deep. Van will not be at church tomorrow. Still on vacation. Nor will Donna, the heart and soul of the Praise Team. But with them gone for the second Sunday in a row, I am up there singing away. I have to say that I enjoy it, especially with two professional, studio musicians behind me, Steve Quinzy on the keyboard and Mitch Farber on the guitar, plus my friend Jack on the drums. (He is an amateur, but he is very good.) Last Sunday I sang Chris Rice's Untitled Hymn. I have sung that one before. Tomorrow I will sing Chris Rice's Go Light Your World, a song I mentioned a week or two ago, and which Macon gracefully explicated. It will be the first time I have sung that one. His songs are very singable, and I like the way he performs them.
Tomorrow Austin Carr will preach. I shouldn't say that the bench is not that deep with Austin up there. (I was referring to myself.) Austin is a Florida Bar Board Certified Trial Lawyer, and leads our Friday morning breakfast Bible studies. We have been forever on Job, going on two years. Austin is fascinated with that book. Sometimes I would like to move on. It is trying my patience. (That's a little joke. Let me know if you don't get it.) I'm looking forward to hearing him tomorrow.
Tomorrow Austin Carr will preach. I shouldn't say that the bench is not that deep with Austin up there. (I was referring to myself.) Austin is a Florida Bar Board Certified Trial Lawyer, and leads our Friday morning breakfast Bible studies. We have been forever on Job, going on two years. Austin is fascinated with that book. Sometimes I would like to move on. It is trying my patience. (That's a little joke. Let me know if you don't get it.) I'm looking forward to hearing him tomorrow.
Notes on Saturday.
An SUV instead of a Civic. That's the choice we made in the face of high gasoline prices heading further north; in the face of increasing demand for oil from China and India; in the face of petrodollars being recycled in Saudi Arabia to advance militant Islam; in the face of Florida's main supplier of oil being Venezuela. Why would we do such a thing? Although the need for something suitable to pull our camper motivated us in part, the main thing for me was fear of being in a smaller car in an accident. Just recently we learned of two serious accidents. Carol's aunt survived nearly unscathed an accident that totaled the car Carol's cousin was driving on the highway from Charlotte to Spindale. The car was a Toyota Avalon. The teenage niece of one of our neighbors was in a single car accident, where she hit a tree. It took rescuers 4 hours to get her out of the car. Her legs were terribly broken and she may lose them. With that memory we went to CarMax and came back with a 4Runner.
The 450-Watt Skateboard. I've returned to reading Popular Mechanics after a 45 year hiatus. Its full of interesting applied-science news and features. In an earlier comment, Macon suggested that it was time to attach the Stihl two-cycle engine to the venerable skate board. The power-skateboard people have gone much further than that. This article discusses the "450 Watt Skateboard" pictured below.
(Childrens, I will forgive you for being late with the Father's Day present, provided it is the Raptor 4.0 - plus a box of band-aids.)
Brain Genes. Yesterday's WSJ, on its front page, features a story about a University of Chicago professor of human genetics who has published some papers that suggest that evolution among human beings in the last 100,000 years may have made people from the Middle East and Europe smarter than those who remained in Sub-Sahara Africa. Needless to say, the suggestion generated a good bit of backlash, which the article details. The professor, Bruce Lahn, is a Chinese. The Chinese are not among the groups that Dr. Lahn identifies as being favored genetically. The reaction to his findings is so stiff that he is backing away from this sort of research. But maybe it wasn't really the criticism he received. The last three sentences of the article read as follows:
Dr. Lahn says he once tried testing himself for which type version of the brain genes he has. The experiment's outcome was blurry but "it wasn't looking good", he says. He hasn't tried testing himself again.
An SUV instead of a Civic. That's the choice we made in the face of high gasoline prices heading further north; in the face of increasing demand for oil from China and India; in the face of petrodollars being recycled in Saudi Arabia to advance militant Islam; in the face of Florida's main supplier of oil being Venezuela. Why would we do such a thing? Although the need for something suitable to pull our camper motivated us in part, the main thing for me was fear of being in a smaller car in an accident. Just recently we learned of two serious accidents. Carol's aunt survived nearly unscathed an accident that totaled the car Carol's cousin was driving on the highway from Charlotte to Spindale. The car was a Toyota Avalon. The teenage niece of one of our neighbors was in a single car accident, where she hit a tree. It took rescuers 4 hours to get her out of the car. Her legs were terribly broken and she may lose them. With that memory we went to CarMax and came back with a 4Runner.
The 450-Watt Skateboard. I've returned to reading Popular Mechanics after a 45 year hiatus. Its full of interesting applied-science news and features. In an earlier comment, Macon suggested that it was time to attach the Stihl two-cycle engine to the venerable skate board. The power-skateboard people have gone much further than that. This article discusses the "450 Watt Skateboard" pictured below.
(Childrens, I will forgive you for being late with the Father's Day present, provided it is the Raptor 4.0 - plus a box of band-aids.)
Brain Genes. Yesterday's WSJ, on its front page, features a story about a University of Chicago professor of human genetics who has published some papers that suggest that evolution among human beings in the last 100,000 years may have made people from the Middle East and Europe smarter than those who remained in Sub-Sahara Africa. Needless to say, the suggestion generated a good bit of backlash, which the article details. The professor, Bruce Lahn, is a Chinese. The Chinese are not among the groups that Dr. Lahn identifies as being favored genetically. The reaction to his findings is so stiff that he is backing away from this sort of research. But maybe it wasn't really the criticism he received. The last three sentences of the article read as follows:
Dr. Lahn says he once tried testing himself for which type version of the brain genes he has. The experiment's outcome was blurry but "it wasn't looking good", he says. He hasn't tried testing himself again.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Uh-oh. Kettlebells. Got my copy of Enter the Kettlebell a couple of weeks ago in the mail. Then, earlier this week, the 32kg kettlebell arrived in the mail. I've thumbed through the book, and am thinking it would be good to have a coach for awhile, although the photos of Pavel, the guru and who wrote the book, are pretty clear.
Walter said he would send me a DVD, however. Maybe that will be enough.
At the end of the book are some FAQs.
For example,
Is kettlebell training a fad?
The girya first appeared in a Russion dictionary in 1704(Cherkikh, 1994) Yes, it is a fad. I expect it to go away in the next 300 years.
Once I have put up the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) Rit of Passage numbers, where do I go next.
Get registered to vote and join the Marines; you are a man now.
Will they let a 60 year old man in the Marines? If so, I'm ready.
The kettlebell is very, very heavy. I may order a lighter one to get started.
The whole point of this, I think, is to use your whole body to lift and not to isolate on particular muscle groups. (But, gee, I want to look like a freak of nature.)
Pavel, the Kettlebell guru, is not the only guy who thinks simply lifting a big weight is good for you. So does his friend, Dan John. On Dan's site is a link to The Ten Commandments of Lifting, which is interesting.
I told Walter that we all need to go to one of Pavel's training sessions. Maybe we could make this a two or three day thing: one or two days with Pavel, and the last day with David Allen. If we find some dates, we will let everyone know and the entire Kith & Kin community can gather to do some heavy lifting.
CORRECTION! CORRECTION! Walter called me, deeply concerned. Did I really get a 32kg Kettlebell? That's 70 lbs! No, I didn't get that bell. I made a mistake and got my kg and lbs mixed up (after all, I am a history major). I bought a 16kg bell, and thats about 35lb. No matter, really, its still too heavy. I am going to get the 12kg (26lb) bell. By the way, 16kg is actually 1 "pood". A pood is some sort of ancient Russion measure of weight. The is interesting in that the French call their girly little dogs pood-les, and the Russians measure their manly weights in poods. I think I may be on to something here.
Walter said he would send me a DVD, however. Maybe that will be enough.
At the end of the book are some FAQs.
For example,
Is kettlebell training a fad?
The girya first appeared in a Russion dictionary in 1704(Cherkikh, 1994) Yes, it is a fad. I expect it to go away in the next 300 years.
Once I have put up the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) Rit of Passage numbers, where do I go next.
Get registered to vote and join the Marines; you are a man now.
Will they let a 60 year old man in the Marines? If so, I'm ready.
The kettlebell is very, very heavy. I may order a lighter one to get started.
The whole point of this, I think, is to use your whole body to lift and not to isolate on particular muscle groups. (But, gee, I want to look like a freak of nature.)
Pavel, the Kettlebell guru, is not the only guy who thinks simply lifting a big weight is good for you. So does his friend, Dan John. On Dan's site is a link to The Ten Commandments of Lifting, which is interesting.
I told Walter that we all need to go to one of Pavel's training sessions. Maybe we could make this a two or three day thing: one or two days with Pavel, and the last day with David Allen. If we find some dates, we will let everyone know and the entire Kith & Kin community can gather to do some heavy lifting.
CORRECTION! CORRECTION! Walter called me, deeply concerned. Did I really get a 32kg Kettlebell? That's 70 lbs! No, I didn't get that bell. I made a mistake and got my kg and lbs mixed up (after all, I am a history major). I bought a 16kg bell, and thats about 35lb. No matter, really, its still too heavy. I am going to get the 12kg (26lb) bell. By the way, 16kg is actually 1 "pood". A pood is some sort of ancient Russion measure of weight. The is interesting in that the French call their girly little dogs pood-les, and the Russians measure their manly weights in poods. I think I may be on to something here.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The Greatest Kos Post Ever. The Daily Kos is a left wing blog, much quoted and much reviled in the "conservative blogosphere". This post by someone named "CheChe" is being hailed as perhaps the greatest post ever hoisted in the left-wing media. I have to say that it left me breathless, particularly only a few days before Father's Day. (Thanks to the First Things blog, of all places, for picking it up.)
Monday, June 12, 2006
Following the World Cup. Here.
UPDATE: The US loses to the Czech Republic, 3-0
"The US team displayed several nice combinations in midfield throughout the match, but they struggled to translate them into clear scoring opportunities. Czech Republic, meanwhile, did not create a host of chances but they had the quality to capatilise on the ones they did make for themselves. Things will not get easier for the States, as they will face Italy next in another difficult Group E clash, while the Czechs will play Ghana." -Yahoo sports.
UPDATE: The US loses to the Czech Republic, 3-0
"The US team displayed several nice combinations in midfield throughout the match, but they struggled to translate them into clear scoring opportunities. Czech Republic, meanwhile, did not create a host of chances but they had the quality to capatilise on the ones they did make for themselves. Things will not get easier for the States, as they will face Italy next in another difficult Group E clash, while the Czechs will play Ghana." -Yahoo sports.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
MIA-yo
It's good that as they're spinning "Everday I'm Hustlin'" (censored portion of lyrics below) on the radio these days that Miami Vice (new trailers) is coming soon. We wouldn't want things to get too out of control down there.
It's good that as they're spinning "Everday I'm Hustlin'" (censored portion of lyrics below) on the radio these days that Miami Vice (new trailers) is coming soon. We wouldn't want things to get too out of control down there.
Lot of drug dealin' 'round me goin' down in Dade County
Don't tote no twenty-twos, Magnum cost me twenty-two
Sat it on them twenty-twos, birds go for twenty-two...
I touch work like I'm convertible Burt
I got distribution so I'm convertin' the work
In the M-I-A-YO...
Everyday I'm hustlin'
Ev-everyday I'm hustlin'...
Morning prayer. This morning Van is out of town. Pepe (the Director of Miami Springs Youth Ministries) will preach, and I have the privilege of leading in prayer. The prayer will have two parts. The first part is as follows, and the second part will have our petitions, which I will not reproduce. (I don't like to extemporize in these situations, so I write these kinds of prayers down on the few occasions I accept this sort of duty.)
Heavenly father,
We praise you and lift you up for the God you are not.
That you are not a God who hides the truth, truth which is secret, not connected with any idea of what is right and what is wrong, and accessible only to a selected few who have some special code that the rest of us do not, but who reveals the truth to all of us, reveals it in the manifold splendor and marvel of your creation, whether it is the beauty of a South Florida sky, with its pastels and the endless shapes of clouds, or in how a light emitting diode works on the panel of some kitchen appliance;
Who reveals truth in history, whether the history is of the earth or of a people or of a family or of even one us, as we are privileged to explore that history and to see it working out according to your loving and redemptive purpose;
Who reveals the truth in your Scripture, in the written word of the Bible, words that we can read and understand, words that make light bulbs go off in the best parts of us, words that warn us, words that comfort us and guide us, that show us who you are and who we are;
who finally reveals the truth through the flesh you made of yourself, through your very incarnate person, Jesus Christ, the same as you are, but a man whom we can know, who shows us that you are not only a grand creator, but also a brother to us, a friend;
who gives us a guide along the way of truth, your Holy Spirit, who helps us understand what we find difficult and who helps us express things so deep and profound that, without your Spirit’s guidance, we can only express in groans and sighs.
We praise you that you are not a God who tires of us, some currently preoccupied deity who long ago put together creation like some sort of clock, wound it up, set it working, and then wondered off to other places, leaving us here fatherless, blind, bereft of any purpose other than to wind down and die.
We praise you that you are so near to us, before us and behind us, so intimately involved with us that it is you who sends every electric charge through our hearts that makes them beat, that it is you who decides each time whether even to allow our heart’s next beat;
That you know our rising in the morning and going to bed every night and all points of our day in between; that you refresh us when we sleep and you guard us from moment to moment; that you have a plan for the United States in the Middle East, yes, but you have a plan for each of us as well, whether we acknowledge you or not, a plan to prosper us and not at all to harm us;
That you, even in your intimacy with us, mysteriously make room for the working of our own wills. That you do not run us like robots, but that you will stand by and wait and let us come to you, for you told us that you are like a father who looks down the road each day for the return of a wayward son who went off to join a world without you in it, willing to allow him to make destructive decisions, but always ready to welcome him home, to embrace him, to redeem him, to love him.
We confess that we lose track, sometimes carelessly and sometimes willfully, of who you are and who you are not, with all the attendant consequences of that inattention. Please forgive us.
Thank you for loving us, for forgiving us, and for listening to our prayers, especially as we pray this morning for people who are struggling. We pray for . . .
Heavenly father,
We praise you and lift you up for the God you are not.
That you are not a God who hides the truth, truth which is secret, not connected with any idea of what is right and what is wrong, and accessible only to a selected few who have some special code that the rest of us do not, but who reveals the truth to all of us, reveals it in the manifold splendor and marvel of your creation, whether it is the beauty of a South Florida sky, with its pastels and the endless shapes of clouds, or in how a light emitting diode works on the panel of some kitchen appliance;
Who reveals truth in history, whether the history is of the earth or of a people or of a family or of even one us, as we are privileged to explore that history and to see it working out according to your loving and redemptive purpose;
Who reveals the truth in your Scripture, in the written word of the Bible, words that we can read and understand, words that make light bulbs go off in the best parts of us, words that warn us, words that comfort us and guide us, that show us who you are and who we are;
who finally reveals the truth through the flesh you made of yourself, through your very incarnate person, Jesus Christ, the same as you are, but a man whom we can know, who shows us that you are not only a grand creator, but also a brother to us, a friend;
who gives us a guide along the way of truth, your Holy Spirit, who helps us understand what we find difficult and who helps us express things so deep and profound that, without your Spirit’s guidance, we can only express in groans and sighs.
We praise you that you are not a God who tires of us, some currently preoccupied deity who long ago put together creation like some sort of clock, wound it up, set it working, and then wondered off to other places, leaving us here fatherless, blind, bereft of any purpose other than to wind down and die.
We praise you that you are so near to us, before us and behind us, so intimately involved with us that it is you who sends every electric charge through our hearts that makes them beat, that it is you who decides each time whether even to allow our heart’s next beat;
That you know our rising in the morning and going to bed every night and all points of our day in between; that you refresh us when we sleep and you guard us from moment to moment; that you have a plan for the United States in the Middle East, yes, but you have a plan for each of us as well, whether we acknowledge you or not, a plan to prosper us and not at all to harm us;
That you, even in your intimacy with us, mysteriously make room for the working of our own wills. That you do not run us like robots, but that you will stand by and wait and let us come to you, for you told us that you are like a father who looks down the road each day for the return of a wayward son who went off to join a world without you in it, willing to allow him to make destructive decisions, but always ready to welcome him home, to embrace him, to redeem him, to love him.
We confess that we lose track, sometimes carelessly and sometimes willfully, of who you are and who you are not, with all the attendant consequences of that inattention. Please forgive us.
Thank you for loving us, for forgiving us, and for listening to our prayers, especially as we pray this morning for people who are struggling. We pray for . . .
Saturday, June 10, 2006
I'm listening to Mary Poplin at veritas.org--the topic is "Mother Theresa: The difference beteween religious work and social work." She has some great things to say about Mother Theresa, whose work was only to serve Jesus, not people--that's the difference between religious work and social work. And it's all about prayer. Poplin speaks of her own experience as a volunteer in Calcutta.
She starts to address more issues related to education in her q and a's... and I look forward to listening to her talk on that subject next.
MORE: I'm listening to the education talk--some really good stuff--probably the most sound and reasonable educational reform ideas that I've heard. A few good bytes:
Regarding the top-performing teachers at schools she studied: the top people on the list have been resisted by their principal; but they're not fighting the particular programs being perscribed by NCLB stuff--they're using it; there is a lot of accountable talk in their classrooms; there is a lot of academic talk; there is not wasted time.
"...we must address social justice and accountability together--they're separated now...Both the left and the right are completely committed to their particular ideologies--behaviorism (the right) and constructivism (the left) must be combined."
The biggest predictor of reading level is how many books have been read to the child when they're young. (Thanks, parents, for reading to us so much.)
"It is not easy to teach children who have missed being read to...or who are growing up in dangerous situations. It can be done, but it takes serious, hard work."
She starts to address more issues related to education in her q and a's... and I look forward to listening to her talk on that subject next.
MORE: I'm listening to the education talk--some really good stuff--probably the most sound and reasonable educational reform ideas that I've heard. A few good bytes:
"How Can Such a Beautiful Woman be so Stupid?" Come on, husbands, you know you that this will pop into your mind from time to time as you deal with a dip in the matrimonial bliss scale.
Carol found some husband/wife jokes that are very good, one of which has an answer to this profound question.
The husband, in a fit of frustration and anger, asks that question of his helpmeet: "How can such a beautiful woman be so stupid?"
She answers: "God made me beautfiful so you would be attracted to me. He made me stupid so I would be attracted to you."
Perfect.
Carol found some husband/wife jokes that are very good, one of which has an answer to this profound question.
The husband, in a fit of frustration and anger, asks that question of his helpmeet: "How can such a beautiful woman be so stupid?"
She answers: "God made me beautfiful so you would be attracted to me. He made me stupid so I would be attracted to you."
Perfect.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Bye-Bye, Bobby. Davidson's president is retiring.
UPDATE: I spoke to Parker Engels of the Davidson development office about this yesterday. (He and I have become friends over the last few years, another dividend of the privilege I have of representing a particular former member of the board of trustees.) He called me to give me a heads-up. He said that Bobby will resign at the end of the next school year, and that will make his stay at Davidson a round ten year term. Parker said that a ten-year term is becoming the standard term for a president of a private college, especially for a president who is coming off a very successful fund-raising campaign, as Bobby surely is. Parker said that this will make room for his successor to ramp up for the next campaign. He also said that Bobby will be much involved next year in guiding the search process for the new president.
As I think about that last point, I note that the board of trustees which will be involved in the search process will be very much Bobby's board. As you may recall, certain board members, incensed by Bobby's watering down of Davidson's Christian commitment (to the extent such a commitment remains - and I believe one does, as weak as it may be), left the board in reaction to those developments. Now they are not there to have a hand in picking a successor.
This reminds me of the orthodox Presbyterians who have left the PCUSA over the past 40 years over doctrinal differences, rather than stay and fight it out. Those people left the rest of us weakened, and it has taken many years for the orthodox Christians who remain to recover that lost influence, as I believe those Christians are doing, despite the headlines to the contrary.
But leaving the board of trustees of Davidson in anger, as those several trustees did a couple of years ago was, at least to me, about as smart as it would be for a US Senator to resign because the majority voted on some profound national issue that was contrary to his own views. It is not easy to get on the board of trustees of Davidson College or any other institution of such influence. Now Bobby's legacy will not only be his watering down of Davidson's "traditions" (I would call it something like "weakening Davidson's soul"), but that legacy may well include his arrangement for a successor who will, clonelike, continue the slow death of Christ's influence on that campus.
UPDATE: I spoke to Parker Engels of the Davidson development office about this yesterday. (He and I have become friends over the last few years, another dividend of the privilege I have of representing a particular former member of the board of trustees.) He called me to give me a heads-up. He said that Bobby will resign at the end of the next school year, and that will make his stay at Davidson a round ten year term. Parker said that a ten-year term is becoming the standard term for a president of a private college, especially for a president who is coming off a very successful fund-raising campaign, as Bobby surely is. Parker said that this will make room for his successor to ramp up for the next campaign. He also said that Bobby will be much involved next year in guiding the search process for the new president.
As I think about that last point, I note that the board of trustees which will be involved in the search process will be very much Bobby's board. As you may recall, certain board members, incensed by Bobby's watering down of Davidson's Christian commitment (to the extent such a commitment remains - and I believe one does, as weak as it may be), left the board in reaction to those developments. Now they are not there to have a hand in picking a successor.
This reminds me of the orthodox Presbyterians who have left the PCUSA over the past 40 years over doctrinal differences, rather than stay and fight it out. Those people left the rest of us weakened, and it has taken many years for the orthodox Christians who remain to recover that lost influence, as I believe those Christians are doing, despite the headlines to the contrary.
But leaving the board of trustees of Davidson in anger, as those several trustees did a couple of years ago was, at least to me, about as smart as it would be for a US Senator to resign because the majority voted on some profound national issue that was contrary to his own views. It is not easy to get on the board of trustees of Davidson College or any other institution of such influence. Now Bobby's legacy will not only be his watering down of Davidson's "traditions" (I would call it something like "weakening Davidson's soul"), but that legacy may well include his arrangement for a successor who will, clonelike, continue the slow death of Christ's influence on that campus.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
A Gift Subscription to World Magazine.
For the person who first identifies in a comment to this post who wrote this:
"I studied the Kuran a great deal. . . . I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as that of Muhammad. So far as I can see, it is the principal cause of the decadence so visible today in the Muslim world and, though less absurd than the polytheism of old, its social and political tendencies are in my opinion more to be feared, and I therefore regard it as a form of decadence rather than a form of progress in relation to paganism itself.”
For the person who first identifies in a comment to this post who wrote this:
"I studied the Kuran a great deal. . . . I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as that of Muhammad. So far as I can see, it is the principal cause of the decadence so visible today in the Muslim world and, though less absurd than the polytheism of old, its social and political tendencies are in my opinion more to be feared, and I therefore regard it as a form of decadence rather than a form of progress in relation to paganism itself.”
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Monday, June 05, 2006
Google vulnerable?
Prof. Reynolds speculates in the affirmative.
Pedant pre-emption: I have absolutely no idea if one can, actually, "speculate in the affirmative," but it sounded good at the time.
Prof. Reynolds speculates in the affirmative.
Pedant pre-emption: I have absolutely no idea if one can, actually, "speculate in the affirmative," but it sounded good at the time.
This Just in from our "Oh for crying out loud! Give me a break!" Department. The Toronto Star reports:
The 17 suspects who were arrested Friday, men and youths alike, were allegedly “motivated by an ideology based on politics, hatred and terrorism, and not on faith,” [Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair] told a gathering of Muslim leaders and concerned community members.
Hat tip to Drudge.
The 17 suspects who were arrested Friday, men and youths alike, were allegedly “motivated by an ideology based on politics, hatred and terrorism, and not on faith,” [Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair] told a gathering of Muslim leaders and concerned community members.
Hat tip to Drudge.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Blogroll Addition
Didja notice that I added ktontheloose over there? What? You don't have K&K set as your HomePage and do all of your intarweb surfing through the lists there on the right?
And you call yourself a lurker. Hmph.
Be that as it may (or June), do check out Katy's blog. She is a friend of Kellsey's (and mine, though I'd say we've only just passed beyond the friend-in-law stage) from waaaay back. Katy's the one who sent Kells the link for the superhero test we all took a while back. Just don't tell her she looks like a softball player, though.
Didja notice that I added ktontheloose over there? What? You don't have K&K set as your HomePage and do all of your intarweb surfing through the lists there on the right?
And you call yourself a lurker. Hmph.
Be that as it may (or June), do check out Katy's blog. She is a friend of Kellsey's (and mine, though I'd say we've only just passed beyond the friend-in-law stage) from waaaay back. Katy's the one who sent Kells the link for the superhero test we all took a while back. Just don't tell her she looks like a softball player, though.
Ahhh, Dave.
Dave Barry reviews the book, Doing Nothing, by Tom Lutz. I'm sure it's a fine book, but I really don't care. All I care is that Dave Barry wrote something. He's funny.
(The link is to the NYT, which requires registration. This is frustrating, but not as frustrating as the fact that the WSJ charges you to view it's content. And not by-the-drink, but they charge an actual subcscription! While the NYT is frustrating, at least there's very little worth reading. Stupid Socialists. The WSJ actually has articles & edtorial pieces that are worth linking to and discussing. Which is why their lack of access is so disappointing. Stupid Capitalists.)
Dave Barry reviews the book, Doing Nothing, by Tom Lutz. I'm sure it's a fine book, but I really don't care. All I care is that Dave Barry wrote something. He's funny.
(The link is to the NYT, which requires registration. This is frustrating, but not as frustrating as the fact that the WSJ charges you to view it's content. And not by-the-drink, but they charge an actual subcscription! While the NYT is frustrating, at least there's very little worth reading. Stupid Socialists. The WSJ actually has articles & edtorial pieces that are worth linking to and discussing. Which is why their lack of access is so disappointing. Stupid Capitalists.)
Good Listening at Veritas.org
I've been holed up a bit this weekend with migraine-related difficulties; yesterday I didn't have much of a headache, but had seriously blurred vision. I couldn't really read or watch anything, so I started to do some listening to online talks at veritas.org. For those who don't know, Veritas is a sort of Christian lecture series that happens at various university campuses around the country. I think Oz Guiness and Ravi Zacharias were instrumental in its founding. Lots of great people take part in this series.
I listened to a talk by Don Miller (well known these days in 20-something circles for the uber post-modern Blue Like Jazz); this was basically the same talk he gave at Davidson last year and which I had already heard a recording of; it's worth listenting too--nothing too deep, but offers good insight into the post-modern condition, I'd say; I'd be interested in what the older generation thought of his musings.)
I listened to a talk by Frederica Matthews-Greene, which was very good, but led to a momentary personal crisis regarding my failure to have gotten married thus far in my life (Frederica promotes getting married as soon as possible--something that I'd happily do if there were an eligible bachelor around; the personal crisis was exacerbated, I'm sure, by the migraine narcotics I was hyped up on).
Then I listened to two slightly longish and slightly rambling talks by Fr. Neuhaus--but really, is there anyone better to listen to ramble? I don't think so. I was happy to reflect, too, that he is not married.
Anyway, if you're planning any summer roadtrips or find yourself unable to see clearly, you should consider downloading some of these lectures. Interesting stuff.
I've been holed up a bit this weekend with migraine-related difficulties; yesterday I didn't have much of a headache, but had seriously blurred vision. I couldn't really read or watch anything, so I started to do some listening to online talks at veritas.org. For those who don't know, Veritas is a sort of Christian lecture series that happens at various university campuses around the country. I think Oz Guiness and Ravi Zacharias were instrumental in its founding. Lots of great people take part in this series.
I listened to a talk by Don Miller (well known these days in 20-something circles for the uber post-modern Blue Like Jazz); this was basically the same talk he gave at Davidson last year and which I had already heard a recording of; it's worth listenting too--nothing too deep, but offers good insight into the post-modern condition, I'd say; I'd be interested in what the older generation thought of his musings.)
I listened to a talk by Frederica Matthews-Greene, which was very good, but led to a momentary personal crisis regarding my failure to have gotten married thus far in my life (Frederica promotes getting married as soon as possible--something that I'd happily do if there were an eligible bachelor around; the personal crisis was exacerbated, I'm sure, by the migraine narcotics I was hyped up on).
Then I listened to two slightly longish and slightly rambling talks by Fr. Neuhaus--but really, is there anyone better to listen to ramble? I don't think so. I was happy to reflect, too, that he is not married.
Anyway, if you're planning any summer roadtrips or find yourself unable to see clearly, you should consider downloading some of these lectures. Interesting stuff.
Inner Gardener Update. This is the second weekend of my getting in touch. More high tech highlights to report.
I discovered a great lawnmower shop on 79th Street near Biscayne Boulevard, Joe Blair Garden Supplies, Inc. Miami folks will recall the location as the heart of what has become "Little Haiti". The Haitians definitely upgraded the neighborhood, in my view at least, when they began moving in 20+ years ago. Before then it had become a prostitute ridden, dangerous place. (When Macon was first born, we bought baby furniture from a store in that district. The store, "Holland's Babyland", had been there for a generation. The proprietor, a stubborn man who was a member of Central Baptist Church, had refused to move out. He was murdered in that store a few years after we shopped with him.)
I found the lawnmower shop on the internet, and I called yesterday morning (a Saturday) to see how late they would be open and to discuss my need for an edger. A lawn edger, in my experience, is a thing almost as big as a lawn mower, with a pretty serious Briggs & Stratton engine and at least three wheels. You walk behind the thing, and its perpendicular blade, spinning like crazy, throws dirt, rocks and grass out in front, about a half a block. It makes a great little ditch next to the sidewalk, giving all sorts of satisfaction that males need.
Anyway, I had not seen one of these things at Home Depot, so I decided to call around and see where I could find one. Dave Blair took my call and said that homeowners were really not buying them anymore, and that they were only being bought when you had miles and miles of sidewalk to edge. Instead, he suggested I look at a two-cycled engine sort of thing that is like a weed-eater, except it has an edger device on the bottom with a single little wheel. Actually, it sounded a little effete to me, but Dave was so thorough and impressive on the phone, that I went up to 79th Street to see the place.
Wow. This place was something. I think every professional yard man in North Dade was in an out of there during my visit. There was not only Dave, but also his sons (who are in the photo on the website) and a bunch of other people who worked there. They had a huge inventory - mainly directed at the pros - and a big maintenance section. Dave is about my age and told me that the shop was on its third generation of family ownership (he was in the second). He went to North Miami High, graduating three years after I graduated from Hialeah. He treated me as if I was the only guy in the store, in between greeting people by name as they walked by. (Note: the "professional yard man" in Dade County tends to be either black or brown. Dave is anglo.)
Dave sold me my edger in two pieces. (Its a Stihl product) The first piece is the engine, the second piece was the attachment for the edger. You can take the edger attachment off and use several other accessories: a weed-eater, a chain saw, a blower. Amazing. (I just got the edger.) But it was a 2 cycle engine. Those things don't have a good history with me. (I can't get the darn things ever to start). Here more progress has obviously been made. Dave put the pieces together for me, added some fuel, took me outside and we cranked it right up.
But would this relatively light contraption still enable me to throw rocks, dirt and grass a half a block or more ahead of me as I walked down the sidewalk? And would we have a nice, deep, black ditch running along the sidewalk? Yes! I am happy to say. Yes!
I discovered a great lawnmower shop on 79th Street near Biscayne Boulevard, Joe Blair Garden Supplies, Inc. Miami folks will recall the location as the heart of what has become "Little Haiti". The Haitians definitely upgraded the neighborhood, in my view at least, when they began moving in 20+ years ago. Before then it had become a prostitute ridden, dangerous place. (When Macon was first born, we bought baby furniture from a store in that district. The store, "Holland's Babyland", had been there for a generation. The proprietor, a stubborn man who was a member of Central Baptist Church, had refused to move out. He was murdered in that store a few years after we shopped with him.)
I found the lawnmower shop on the internet, and I called yesterday morning (a Saturday) to see how late they would be open and to discuss my need for an edger. A lawn edger, in my experience, is a thing almost as big as a lawn mower, with a pretty serious Briggs & Stratton engine and at least three wheels. You walk behind the thing, and its perpendicular blade, spinning like crazy, throws dirt, rocks and grass out in front, about a half a block. It makes a great little ditch next to the sidewalk, giving all sorts of satisfaction that males need.
Anyway, I had not seen one of these things at Home Depot, so I decided to call around and see where I could find one. Dave Blair took my call and said that homeowners were really not buying them anymore, and that they were only being bought when you had miles and miles of sidewalk to edge. Instead, he suggested I look at a two-cycled engine sort of thing that is like a weed-eater, except it has an edger device on the bottom with a single little wheel. Actually, it sounded a little effete to me, but Dave was so thorough and impressive on the phone, that I went up to 79th Street to see the place.
Wow. This place was something. I think every professional yard man in North Dade was in an out of there during my visit. There was not only Dave, but also his sons (who are in the photo on the website) and a bunch of other people who worked there. They had a huge inventory - mainly directed at the pros - and a big maintenance section. Dave is about my age and told me that the shop was on its third generation of family ownership (he was in the second). He went to North Miami High, graduating three years after I graduated from Hialeah. He treated me as if I was the only guy in the store, in between greeting people by name as they walked by. (Note: the "professional yard man" in Dade County tends to be either black or brown. Dave is anglo.)
Dave sold me my edger in two pieces. (Its a Stihl product) The first piece is the engine, the second piece was the attachment for the edger. You can take the edger attachment off and use several other accessories: a weed-eater, a chain saw, a blower. Amazing. (I just got the edger.) But it was a 2 cycle engine. Those things don't have a good history with me. (I can't get the darn things ever to start). Here more progress has obviously been made. Dave put the pieces together for me, added some fuel, took me outside and we cranked it right up.
But would this relatively light contraption still enable me to throw rocks, dirt and grass a half a block or more ahead of me as I walked down the sidewalk? And would we have a nice, deep, black ditch running along the sidewalk? Yes! I am happy to say. Yes!
Paranoia about Christians. The view that Christians somehow seek to impose their values and beliefs on others bewilders me. My answer to the people who hold that view would be, "Why don't you just ignore us. None of us has a gun in his hand. Our dollars are no more valuable than yours. When a Christian votes, it is only counted as one vote. What is, exactly, the problem?"
A light bulb came on as I read Fr. Neuhaus recently over on the FT "blog". He writes:
People ask [Christians, in this particular case Dominican preachers,]“Who are you to impose your truth on me?” In his 1990 encyclical Redemptoris Missio, John Paul responded to that question by saying, “The Church imposes nothing; she only proposes.” But what she proposes is the truth and the truth imposes itself because, as Augustine and Thomas understood, human beings are hardwired for the truth.
A light bulb came on as I read Fr. Neuhaus recently over on the FT "blog". He writes:
People ask [Christians, in this particular case Dominican preachers,]“Who are you to impose your truth on me?” In his 1990 encyclical Redemptoris Missio, John Paul responded to that question by saying, “The Church imposes nothing; she only proposes.” But what she proposes is the truth and the truth imposes itself because, as Augustine and Thomas understood, human beings are hardwired for the truth.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Finally, Ann Althouse Weighs (?) in on the William Jefferson Matter. I've been waiting for that shoe to drop. Maybe someone can tell me how she stands on the matter.
God and Chance. Stephen Barr has a post today on the First Things "blog" regarding the God versus Darwin matter. (I put "blog" in quotes, because the First Things site is pretty clunky. It doesn't have discrete posts to which one can hyperlink. I have been looking around for a wooden door on a local Catholic Church upon which I can nail this complaint.)
Professor Barr's post discusses some problems he has with a Vatican authority's take on evolution and God. The discussion is somewhat beyond me, and maybe one needs to be an insider on this entire subject to keep up these people who write in First Things about first things. I am not such a person. My interest on this subject, I must confess, fades in and out.
But Barr quotes a verse from the Pslams that arrested me:
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. Psalm 16:33.
Here is "chance" intersecting with God. Pretty neat, I think. And this intersection is what Barr is writing about in his post.
Professor Barr's post discusses some problems he has with a Vatican authority's take on evolution and God. The discussion is somewhat beyond me, and maybe one needs to be an insider on this entire subject to keep up these people who write in First Things about first things. I am not such a person. My interest on this subject, I must confess, fades in and out.
But Barr quotes a verse from the Pslams that arrested me:
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. Psalm 16:33.
Here is "chance" intersecting with God. Pretty neat, I think. And this intersection is what Barr is writing about in his post.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Update on Baby Stokes
First, as my friend Lindsay says on her blog: "TMI Warning". If you are unfamiliar with the term "TMI" it means "Too much information". So, if you are squeamish about baby things or the many things that happen to the mommy in the midst of pregnancy, then this post may not be for you.
If you don't mind these things, or if you're just particularly brave, then read on.
I am now about 6 to 6 and 1/2 weeks pregnant. 2 and 1/2 weeks ago I began bleeding. I tried not to get too worried about this as I bled for 4 or 5 weeks in the beginning of my pregnancy with Aidan and he turned out simply perfect. (as you can see in this lovely photo).
I went to my first OB appointment yesterday, and after waiting quite some time I was able to have a sonogram. The good news is that I got to see the baby (ever so teeny tiny at this point...about the size of a small lentil actually), and I got to see the heartbeat. This is wonderful news! Then, I sat down with another doctor who explained to me that while it is very good that I have seen the heartbeat, that because I have been having prolonged vaginal bleeding that "we are not out of the woods yet". So, please pray for the little lentil that he or she will grow healthy and strong and that my body will also be strong and healthy.
The other thing we discussed yesterday with the doctor was whether we would like to attempt a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Ceasarean) or do another planned C-section (Aidan was breech and they were unable to turn him). We learned that only 70% of women actually are able to deliver vaginally successfully after having had a C-section. Which means that 30% of women who try this labor and labor and then have to do a c-section anyway. We also learned that 2% of women who try this have a ruptured uterus and that this can be catastrophic--it is even possible that if you rupture while laboring that they may not be able to get to the baby in time to prevent brain damage or sometimes death. While we know that this only happens 2% of the time, we decided that it just seems to us that while the chances of anything happening are small, if something does happen it is so bad that it is simply not worth the risk for us. So, we will be having another planned c-section, probably sometime around Jan.15th (give or take a few days). So, while the official due date is January 22, 2007, Baby Stokes will probably be arriving sooner. So, mark your calendars! =-)
First, as my friend Lindsay says on her blog: "TMI Warning". If you are unfamiliar with the term "TMI" it means "Too much information". So, if you are squeamish about baby things or the many things that happen to the mommy in the midst of pregnancy, then this post may not be for you.
If you don't mind these things, or if you're just particularly brave, then read on.
I am now about 6 to 6 and 1/2 weeks pregnant. 2 and 1/2 weeks ago I began bleeding. I tried not to get too worried about this as I bled for 4 or 5 weeks in the beginning of my pregnancy with Aidan and he turned out simply perfect. (as you can see in this lovely photo).I went to my first OB appointment yesterday, and after waiting quite some time I was able to have a sonogram. The good news is that I got to see the baby (ever so teeny tiny at this point...about the size of a small lentil actually), and I got to see the heartbeat. This is wonderful news! Then, I sat down with another doctor who explained to me that while it is very good that I have seen the heartbeat, that because I have been having prolonged vaginal bleeding that "we are not out of the woods yet". So, please pray for the little lentil that he or she will grow healthy and strong and that my body will also be strong and healthy.
The other thing we discussed yesterday with the doctor was whether we would like to attempt a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Ceasarean) or do another planned C-section (Aidan was breech and they were unable to turn him). We learned that only 70% of women actually are able to deliver vaginally successfully after having had a C-section. Which means that 30% of women who try this labor and labor and then have to do a c-section anyway. We also learned that 2% of women who try this have a ruptured uterus and that this can be catastrophic--it is even possible that if you rupture while laboring that they may not be able to get to the baby in time to prevent brain damage or sometimes death. While we know that this only happens 2% of the time, we decided that it just seems to us that while the chances of anything happening are small, if something does happen it is so bad that it is simply not worth the risk for us. So, we will be having another planned c-section, probably sometime around Jan.15th (give or take a few days). So, while the official due date is January 22, 2007, Baby Stokes will probably be arriving sooner. So, mark your calendars! =-)
Modern Islam and Women. From the State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for A.D. 2000:
"The testimony of one man equals that of two women . . . Female parties to court proceedings such as divorce and family law cases generally must deputize male relatives to speak on their behalf . . . Women play no formal role in government and politics and are actively discouraged from doing so . . . The government does not keep statistics on spousal abuse or other forms of violence against women, [which] appear to be common problems. Hospital workers report that many women are admitted for treatment of injuries that apparently result from spousal violence . . . Women are not admitted to a hospital for medical treatment without the consent of a male relative. By law and custom, women may not undertake domestic or foreign travel alone . . . In public a woman is expected to wear an abaya (a black garment that covers the entire body) and to cover her head and face? Daughters receive half the inheritance awarded to their brothers? Women must demonstrate legally specified grounds for divorce, but men may divorce without giving cause? If divorced or widowed, a woman may keep her children until the age of 7 for boys, 9 for girls."
As quoted in "Islam and Women: The Christian Science Monitor's Distortion and the Reality" by Serge Trifkovic in Chronicles Magazine. (I am going to try to find the original source, and I will update when I do. Right now, I am reading Trifkovic's The Sword of the Prophet: Islam History, Theology, Impact on the World, a very disturbing book.)
"The testimony of one man equals that of two women . . . Female parties to court proceedings such as divorce and family law cases generally must deputize male relatives to speak on their behalf . . . Women play no formal role in government and politics and are actively discouraged from doing so . . . The government does not keep statistics on spousal abuse or other forms of violence against women, [which] appear to be common problems. Hospital workers report that many women are admitted for treatment of injuries that apparently result from spousal violence . . . Women are not admitted to a hospital for medical treatment without the consent of a male relative. By law and custom, women may not undertake domestic or foreign travel alone . . . In public a woman is expected to wear an abaya (a black garment that covers the entire body) and to cover her head and face? Daughters receive half the inheritance awarded to their brothers? Women must demonstrate legally specified grounds for divorce, but men may divorce without giving cause? If divorced or widowed, a woman may keep her children until the age of 7 for boys, 9 for girls."
As quoted in "Islam and Women: The Christian Science Monitor's Distortion and the Reality" by Serge Trifkovic in Chronicles Magazine. (I am going to try to find the original source, and I will update when I do. Right now, I am reading Trifkovic's The Sword of the Prophet: Islam History, Theology, Impact on the World, a very disturbing book.)
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Whither Gratitude?
Over at Piebald Life Alex, Marshall and I started an irenic discussion on the place of gratitude in the Christian Life as it relates to obedience. I'm posting my response here. Make sure you read his post first, though.
But off the top of my head, it seems to me that the Parable of the Prodigal, the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, and Jesus' interactions with the lepers he healed ("Where are the others?") are some first starts to seeing gratitude playing into obedience in an implicit place in the Scriptures.
We do this kind of hermenutical & theological work all the time when we see the implicit linkages in Scripture and give them names. In fact, this is the work of Theology: to find good words to describe the relationships we're seeing in Scripture. Of course, some words are better than others (which is the whole point of this irenic dialogue), but as a knock-down argument for why we should reject "gratitude," I am less than convinced.
The problem is that those following "the debtor's ethic," and Piper himself, go about the circle of analogical predication the wrong way. They are loading "gratitude" with man-centered value, rather than re-orienting their view of gratitude in light of who God is. Gratitude, I believe, properly construed, is thankfulness and right action. To be thankful without right action is to be, well, ungrateful. (To not be thankful in the first place is also ungrateful, for those playing along at home.) Can we be obedient without gratitude? Of course! And we shoudn't be disobedient simply because we don't feel grateful. But the best is to have obedient action motivated by gratitude (as I have, I hope, robustly defined it).
Those that are thankful and then try to "repay" God are simply doing horrible theology and clearly misunderstand both gratitude and the magnitude of the Father's action in Christ by the Spirit on their behalf.
The point isn't whether a motivator ebbs & flows. Clearly, our actions ought to be based upon, even motivated by, Love, Joy & Peace, yet at the same time we're called to "pursue Love" (I Cor 14:1) while we do other things. What this tells me is that there are proper emotions for motivation (of which I include, gratitude) but that we are to strive for right actions (obedience), even while we pray for the right emotions (motivation). So it seems to me improper to dismiss gratitude as motivatior in part because it's an emotion.
One might say, "but there is a deeper Love, a deeper Joy & Peace than merely 'emotion.'" And I would agree. And we know this because we've gone about the circle of analogical predication the correct way with Love, Joy, & Peace. We ought to do the same with gratitude.
Let me also add that the work God has graciously done for us has only one proper response: worship & obedience.
Worship & obedience are one response. It seems that you do your argument a disservice to talk about Gratitude being a proper motivation for worship, but not obedience. Worship & Obedience are perichoretic, imho. (And, Dude, I love using that word. What a great word.) Worship is a subset of obedience in that it is an act of heart & will as well as being something that is mandatory. Obedience is a subset of worship, in that worship in its fullest sense is a life obediently lived in the Lord. And yet they both are categories in and to themselves. So I'm going with perichoretic: they inhere & cohere together without confusion. And if gratitude is improper for motivating obedience, how is it proper for moviting worship? Alternatively, if it's proper for motivating worship, how can it be improper for motivating obedience?
Finally, after all of this, let me say that I'm not going to die on the theological Hill of Gratitude. After all, it may just not be the best way to talk about what I'm trying to talk about. In fact, in some ways, I am simply using gratitude as a shorthand for "Faith, Hope & Love." That is, to respond greatfully to God necessarily entails a Faithful & Hopeful response of Love towards God, which leads inexorably to obedient action.
And while, perhaps, I won't die on the theological Hill of Faith, Hope & Love, I am willing to be horribly maimed on it.
Other Kith & Kinners (including all you Lurkers out there!) are, as always, welcome to jump in at any time. I would be, er, grateful for your feedback.
Over at Piebald Life Alex, Marshall and I started an irenic discussion on the place of gratitude in the Christian Life as it relates to obedience. I'm posting my response here. Make sure you read his post first, though.
The motivation that is almost universally trotted out as the modus operandi for Christian living, namely gratitude, is almost never used in Scripture. There are literally thousands of verses about obedience, almost none of them explicitly link our obedience with gratitude for what God's done in the past.For the sake of argument (though not because I'm necessarily convinced), I'll go with you on the fact that obedience & gratitude are rarely explicitly linked in the Scriptures.
But off the top of my head, it seems to me that the Parable of the Prodigal, the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, and Jesus' interactions with the lepers he healed ("Where are the others?") are some first starts to seeing gratitude playing into obedience in an implicit place in the Scriptures.
We do this kind of hermenutical & theological work all the time when we see the implicit linkages in Scripture and give them names. In fact, this is the work of Theology: to find good words to describe the relationships we're seeing in Scripture. Of course, some words are better than others (which is the whole point of this irenic dialogue), but as a knock-down argument for why we should reject "gratitude," I am less than convinced.
Motivated to obedience out of gratitude often turns into what Piper calls "the debtor's ethic." . . . What it incorrectly does is frame our response in such a way where we are now charged to attempt to 'pay God back.'This is not a problem with gratitude per se. Piper properly identifies an anathema to the Gospel, but mis-diagnoses the cause.
The problem is that those following "the debtor's ethic," and Piper himself, go about the circle of analogical predication the wrong way. They are loading "gratitude" with man-centered value, rather than re-orienting their view of gratitude in light of who God is. Gratitude, I believe, properly construed, is thankfulness and right action. To be thankful without right action is to be, well, ungrateful. (To not be thankful in the first place is also ungrateful, for those playing along at home.) Can we be obedient without gratitude? Of course! And we shoudn't be disobedient simply because we don't feel grateful. But the best is to have obedient action motivated by gratitude (as I have, I hope, robustly defined it).
Those that are thankful and then try to "repay" God are simply doing horrible theology and clearly misunderstand both gratitude and the magnitude of the Father's action in Christ by the Spirit on their behalf.
Gratitude is an emotion. As such, gratitude ebbs and flows.Love, Joy, Peace - fruits of the Spirit - are also emotions which ebb & flow, yet Paul talks about them as fundamental to our life in Christ.
The point isn't whether a motivator ebbs & flows. Clearly, our actions ought to be based upon, even motivated by, Love, Joy & Peace, yet at the same time we're called to "pursue Love" (I Cor 14:1) while we do other things. What this tells me is that there are proper emotions for motivation (of which I include, gratitude) but that we are to strive for right actions (obedience), even while we pray for the right emotions (motivation). So it seems to me improper to dismiss gratitude as motivatior in part because it's an emotion.
One might say, "but there is a deeper Love, a deeper Joy & Peace than merely 'emotion.'" And I would agree. And we know this because we've gone about the circle of analogical predication the correct way with Love, Joy, & Peace. We ought to do the same with gratitude.
Let me also add that the work God has graciously done for us has only one proper response: worship & obedience.
Worship & obedience are one response. It seems that you do your argument a disservice to talk about Gratitude being a proper motivation for worship, but not obedience. Worship & Obedience are perichoretic, imho. (And, Dude, I love using that word. What a great word.) Worship is a subset of obedience in that it is an act of heart & will as well as being something that is mandatory. Obedience is a subset of worship, in that worship in its fullest sense is a life obediently lived in the Lord. And yet they both are categories in and to themselves. So I'm going with perichoretic: they inhere & cohere together without confusion. And if gratitude is improper for motivating obedience, how is it proper for moviting worship? Alternatively, if it's proper for motivating worship, how can it be improper for motivating obedience?
Finally, after all of this, let me say that I'm not going to die on the theological Hill of Gratitude. After all, it may just not be the best way to talk about what I'm trying to talk about. In fact, in some ways, I am simply using gratitude as a shorthand for "Faith, Hope & Love." That is, to respond greatfully to God necessarily entails a Faithful & Hopeful response of Love towards God, which leads inexorably to obedient action.
And while, perhaps, I won't die on the theological Hill of Faith, Hope & Love, I am willing to be horribly maimed on it.
Other Kith & Kinners (including all you Lurkers out there!) are, as always, welcome to jump in at any time. I would be, er, grateful for your feedback.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
The William Jefferson Case: Reinforcements from the WSJ. In an editorial today, the WSJ sees a serious separation of powers issue. The editors are unimpressed by the argument that because the Justice Department got a District Judge to issue a search warrant there is no Constitutional problem. I didn't know until I read the editorial that the President impounded the siezed documents until the matter cools off some, releasing them in the meanwhile neither to the Justice Department nor to the Speaker. That shows some worthy discretion.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Black Tuesday on a Monday. Today is the anniversary of the fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453. We should get to know that date and that event. We should probably also put it on a par with 9/11.
UPDATE: I suggest that you not only read the post to which I link, but also the interesting comments to the post.
UPDATE: I suggest that you not only read the post to which I link, but also the interesting comments to the post.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
It's a Swamp Out There!
Saw this just off Dove and Hammond this afternoon. I put the empty water bottle next to it for perspective. My guess is that it is heading toward a canal about two blocks further east. I think its a Florida Softshell Turtle, an aquatic turtle.
Saw this just off Dove and Hammond this afternoon. I put the empty water bottle next to it for perspective. My guess is that it is heading toward a canal about two blocks further east. I think its a Florida Softshell Turtle, an aquatic turtle.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Nice points there
Alex has good things to say In Defense of Good Bible Reading.
Update: Because I need to add that Alex is a phenomenal teacher in the Inductive Bible Study approach. Does your church need training in this? You should have Alex come and teach for an extended period of time ('cause there's more to this than an hour long seminar). And you should compensate him well, since I have yet to see any person, book or video teach this stuff as well as he does.
Alex has good things to say In Defense of Good Bible Reading.
Update: Because I need to add that Alex is a phenomenal teacher in the Inductive Bible Study approach. Does your church need training in this? You should have Alex come and teach for an extended period of time ('cause there's more to this than an hour long seminar). And you should compensate him well, since I have yet to see any person, book or video teach this stuff as well as he does.
Productivity? Macon and I were chatting on the phone yesterday about, among other things, productivity. I was bemoaning the fact that at 4 PM every weekday afternoon I "run out of gas", attributing that to being two months away from 60 years old. He expressed some doubt about my explanation, and said he hit a wall about that time as well. We both, it turns out, start our work day at around 8AM.
I was thinking of other things we seem to do in common, and one of them is coffee. Maybe that's part of the problem. I start off with a jolt - a medium size "half-caf" from Starbucks, and then sip half-caf for the rest of the morning. I am not drinking it after the noon hour. (I hate to bring this up on the blog, because Carol thinks that caffeine is generally unhealthy, and would like me to quit. I've tried, but obviously not hard enough.) I think Macon hits the caffeine pretty hard too. I know he starts out at Starbucks in the AM.
"Productivity" has been a topic we've discussed on this blog before. It's a popular subject all over the blogoshere. I did a google search on "productivity blogs", and there are over 2000 of them. One of them connected me with a recent Washington Post article that names some of the productivity blogs that the writer of the article likes.
One of my problems is that my day fills up with appointments and specific tasks. There is little time for list making, drawer emptying, all the things that David Allen says one should be doing. (Its interesting that the first sentence of this paragraph blames the problem on "my day", i.e. it's "my day" that fills up and it's not I who fills the day up, either deliberately or permissively. Ah, human nature!)
Maybe this weekend I can try to turn this around again. No caffeine, time in the office making lists and emptying drawers, just a few other time commitments. There is always hope.
I was thinking of other things we seem to do in common, and one of them is coffee. Maybe that's part of the problem. I start off with a jolt - a medium size "half-caf" from Starbucks, and then sip half-caf for the rest of the morning. I am not drinking it after the noon hour. (I hate to bring this up on the blog, because Carol thinks that caffeine is generally unhealthy, and would like me to quit. I've tried, but obviously not hard enough.) I think Macon hits the caffeine pretty hard too. I know he starts out at Starbucks in the AM.
"Productivity" has been a topic we've discussed on this blog before. It's a popular subject all over the blogoshere. I did a google search on "productivity blogs", and there are over 2000 of them. One of them connected me with a recent Washington Post article that names some of the productivity blogs that the writer of the article likes.
One of my problems is that my day fills up with appointments and specific tasks. There is little time for list making, drawer emptying, all the things that David Allen says one should be doing. (Its interesting that the first sentence of this paragraph blames the problem on "my day", i.e. it's "my day" that fills up and it's not I who fills the day up, either deliberately or permissively. Ah, human nature!)
Maybe this weekend I can try to turn this around again. No caffeine, time in the office making lists and emptying drawers, just a few other time commitments. There is always hope.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
William Jefferson. This matter of the FBI raiding the office of Congressman William Jefferson is fascinating from many perspectives, including, of course, constitutional and political perspectives. I went to a luncheon two years ago at which the Congressman discussed the estate tax. It was the first time I had seen him personally. He was a very, very impressive man. I am disappointed to see that he is under investigation.
On the political/constitutional side, I am appalled at the FBI going into the Congressman's Congressional office. What if some Congressional police-force had gone into the Oval Office during the Clinton administration to investigate Lewinsky? Or now, to investigate the run-up to the Iraqi war? The difference is that Congress has no police force and the Executive does. So, I guess, the difference depends on who has the guns. This is simply appalling. I am about to be pushed over the edge by the incompetence (or maybe its arrogance) of the Bush administration.
UPDATE: On the other hand, Instapundit would disagree with my position and is appalled at the corruption in Congress.
On the political/constitutional side, I am appalled at the FBI going into the Congressman's Congressional office. What if some Congressional police-force had gone into the Oval Office during the Clinton administration to investigate Lewinsky? Or now, to investigate the run-up to the Iraqi war? The difference is that Congress has no police force and the Executive does. So, I guess, the difference depends on who has the guns. This is simply appalling. I am about to be pushed over the edge by the incompetence (or maybe its arrogance) of the Bush administration.
UPDATE: On the other hand, Instapundit would disagree with my position and is appalled at the corruption in Congress.
Drum Roll, please
Well, kith and kin, we thought it was time to make it official that we may be needing these little items come Jan. 21, 2007 (give or take a few days).
in case you need things spelled out more clearly: Aidan is going to be a big brother! We will let you know when we know if it's a boy or a girl...and then we'll let you know when we know if that changes (e.g., when we found out 10 days before Aidan was born that he was a he and not a she as we had been expecting!)
Well, kith and kin, we thought it was time to make it official that we may be needing these little items come Jan. 21, 2007 (give or take a few days).
in case you need things spelled out more clearly: Aidan is going to be a big brother! We will let you know when we know if it's a boy or a girl...and then we'll let you know when we know if that changes (e.g., when we found out 10 days before Aidan was born that he was a he and not a she as we had been expecting!)
"My Ukrainian Diary". Janna Welch, my partner Jane's niece, is in Kiev on a two month mission trip. Janna has created a blog to narrate her experience over there, and it looks good.
Home Defense Report. Two things are interesting about this article in the Miami Herald. One is the event itself - note how the shooter's recollection of the effectiveness of his shooting differs from the actual effectiveness of his shooting. I understand that this is not unusal in such a stressful situation. When the shooter states that the gun in his right hand "jammed", my bet is that he had simply emptied the gun at the intruder and it would not shoot anymore.
The second interesting thing is that the Miami Herald, which is dead-set against people owning guns, would print the article.
The second interesting thing is that the Miami Herald, which is dead-set against people owning guns, would print the article.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
"24" Over for the Season. At Last. "24" closed out the season with 2 episodes last night. It has been a long time since Carol and I have been involved with a television show. A long time. (I think it was the Forsythe Saga in the early '70s). Most of those Monday night sessions, I have been glued to the screen. Carol, however, is in and mostly out of the den, because it is just too stressful for her. She reports in during the commercials and I bring her up to date.
I have to say that it was clever how Logan is tricked into spilling the beans. But we never thought he was too smart anyway. His character was so well done, smarmy, oily, give that guy an Emmy. Sutherland, I'm sorry, he's a pretty wooden guy, and it is beyond me why he is such a successful actor. But a good shot.
It will be fine to wait till next year to see what happens. I am hoping they will bring back that lovely woman with whom the Sutherland character had breakfast at the beginning of the season.
I have to say that it was clever how Logan is tricked into spilling the beans. But we never thought he was too smart anyway. His character was so well done, smarmy, oily, give that guy an Emmy. Sutherland, I'm sorry, he's a pretty wooden guy, and it is beyond me why he is such a successful actor. But a good shot.
It will be fine to wait till next year to see what happens. I am hoping they will bring back that lovely woman with whom the Sutherland character had breakfast at the beginning of the season.
Monday, May 22, 2006
"When Islam Breaks Down". Dalrymple's essay on Islam. Published in City Journal, David Brooks of the New York Times said this was the best journal article of 2004.
Dalrymple in (and on) Africa. I finished Our Culture, What's Left of It, this morning. The last essay addresses Africa. In introducing it, he writes:
I worked and traveled a great deal in Africa and couldn’t help but reflect upon such matters as the clash of cultures, the legacy of colonialism, and the practical effects of good intentions unadulterated by any grasp of reality.
The essay is entitled "After Empire" and can be found here. (My admiration for Dalrymple remains great, even if, in some quarters, his views on tattoos are questioned, and I would recommend the book.)
I worked and traveled a great deal in Africa and couldn’t help but reflect upon such matters as the clash of cultures, the legacy of colonialism, and the practical effects of good intentions unadulterated by any grasp of reality.
The essay is entitled "After Empire" and can be found here. (My admiration for Dalrymple remains great, even if, in some quarters, his views on tattoos are questioned, and I would recommend the book.)
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Benedict XVI on Intelligent Design. I'm buried in the June/July issue of First Things, which came in the mail yesterday. (It seems like I only just finished reading all of the May issue. With the current issue covering two months, I may be able to go back and catch up on some earlier issues.)
Pope Benedict, according to Neuhaus, said the following about Intelligent Design at the recent World Youth Day:
"The great Galileo said that God wrote the book of nature in the form of mathematical language. He was convinced that God gave us two books: that of Sacred Scripture, and that of nature. And the language of nature – this was his conviction – is mathematics, which is therefore a language of God, of the Creator.
"Let us reflect now on what mathematics is. In itself it is an abstract system, an invention of the human spirit, and as such in its purity it does not really exist. It is always realized approximately, but – as such – it is an intellectual system, a great, brilliant invention of the human spirit. The surprising thing is that this invention of our human mind is truly the key for understanding nature, that nature is really structured in a mathematical way, and that our mathematics, which our spirit invented, really is the instrument for being able to work with nature, to put it at our service through technology.
"It seems an almost incredible thing to me that an invention of the human intellect and the structure of the universe coincide: the mathematics we invented really gives us access to the nature of the universe and permits us to use it. [...] I think that this intersection between what we have thought up and how nature unfolds and behaves is an enigma and a great challenge, because we see that, in the end, there is one logic that links these two: our reason could not discover the other if there were not an identical logic at the source of both.
"In this sense, it seems to me that mathematics – in which God as such does not appear – shows us the intelligent structure of the of the universe. Now there are also theories of chaos, but these are limited, because if chaos had the upper hand, all technology would become impossible. Technology is trustworthy only because our mathematics is trustworthy. Our science, which ultimately makes it possible to work with the energies of nature, presupposes the trustworthy, intelligent structure of matter, [...] the “design” of creation.
"To come to the definitive question, I would say: either God exists or he doesn’t. There are only two options. Either one recognizes the priority of reason, of the creative Reason that stands at the beginning of everything and is the origin of everything – the priority of reason is also the priority of freedom – or one upholds the priority of the irrational, according to which everything in our world and in our lives is only an accident, marginal, an irrational product, and even reason would be a product of irrationality. In the end, one cannot “prove” either of these views, but Christianity’s great choice is the choice of reason and the priority of reason. This seems like an excellent choice to me, demonstrating how a great Intelligence, to which we can entrust ourselves, stands behind everything.
"But to me, it seems that the real problem for the faith today is the evil in the world: one asks oneself how this is compatible with this rationality of the Creator. And here we really need that God who became flesh and who shows us how he is not only a mathematical logic, but that this primordial reason is also love. If we look at the great options, the Christian option is the more rational and human one even today. For this reason, we can confidently elaborate a philosophy, a vision of the world that is based on this priority of reason, on this trust that the creative Reason is love, and that this love is God."
__________
Pope Benedict, according to Neuhaus, said the following about Intelligent Design at the recent World Youth Day:
"The great Galileo said that God wrote the book of nature in the form of mathematical language. He was convinced that God gave us two books: that of Sacred Scripture, and that of nature. And the language of nature – this was his conviction – is mathematics, which is therefore a language of God, of the Creator.
"Let us reflect now on what mathematics is. In itself it is an abstract system, an invention of the human spirit, and as such in its purity it does not really exist. It is always realized approximately, but – as such – it is an intellectual system, a great, brilliant invention of the human spirit. The surprising thing is that this invention of our human mind is truly the key for understanding nature, that nature is really structured in a mathematical way, and that our mathematics, which our spirit invented, really is the instrument for being able to work with nature, to put it at our service through technology.
"It seems an almost incredible thing to me that an invention of the human intellect and the structure of the universe coincide: the mathematics we invented really gives us access to the nature of the universe and permits us to use it. [...] I think that this intersection between what we have thought up and how nature unfolds and behaves is an enigma and a great challenge, because we see that, in the end, there is one logic that links these two: our reason could not discover the other if there were not an identical logic at the source of both.
"In this sense, it seems to me that mathematics – in which God as such does not appear – shows us the intelligent structure of the of the universe. Now there are also theories of chaos, but these are limited, because if chaos had the upper hand, all technology would become impossible. Technology is trustworthy only because our mathematics is trustworthy. Our science, which ultimately makes it possible to work with the energies of nature, presupposes the trustworthy, intelligent structure of matter, [...] the “design” of creation.
"To come to the definitive question, I would say: either God exists or he doesn’t. There are only two options. Either one recognizes the priority of reason, of the creative Reason that stands at the beginning of everything and is the origin of everything – the priority of reason is also the priority of freedom – or one upholds the priority of the irrational, according to which everything in our world and in our lives is only an accident, marginal, an irrational product, and even reason would be a product of irrationality. In the end, one cannot “prove” either of these views, but Christianity’s great choice is the choice of reason and the priority of reason. This seems like an excellent choice to me, demonstrating how a great Intelligence, to which we can entrust ourselves, stands behind everything.
"But to me, it seems that the real problem for the faith today is the evil in the world: one asks oneself how this is compatible with this rationality of the Creator. And here we really need that God who became flesh and who shows us how he is not only a mathematical logic, but that this primordial reason is also love. If we look at the great options, the Christian option is the more rational and human one even today. For this reason, we can confidently elaborate a philosophy, a vision of the world that is based on this priority of reason, on this trust that the creative Reason is love, and that this love is God."
__________
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Thursday, May 18, 2006
"Inarticulate sub-demotic vulgarity". Dalrymple on tattoos.
UPDATE: Dalrymple's remarks on tattooing are in the context of a book review. The hilarious thing is that the book, Bodies of Inscription, which he describes as "a superficial examination of a social phenomenon of considerable cultural significance", is published by Duke University Press.
UPDATE: Dalrymple's remarks on tattooing are in the context of a book review. The hilarious thing is that the book, Bodies of Inscription, which he describes as "a superficial examination of a social phenomenon of considerable cultural significance", is published by Duke University Press.
Fr. Neuhaus posts. The May 17, 2006, First Things blog has a post by the great man, one on the immigration issue (he liked the President's speech, but doubts that there is a "comprehensive" immigration policy within sight and sees the enforcement of our laws as of profound importance) and the other on the Liturgy of the Hours for priests and other faithful.
The Liturgy of the Hours is what non-Catholics would call "daily devotionals". Fr. Neuhaus believes that, because the use of this liturgy is obligatory among priests, priests pray more than Protestant ministers.
Fr. Neuhaus identifies a version of this liturgy that is accessible to laymen, a monthly periodical called The Magnificat. One may request a sample copy, and I did. You can also look at a pdf that gives the readings for a particular day.
The Liturgy of the Hours is what non-Catholics would call "daily devotionals". Fr. Neuhaus believes that, because the use of this liturgy is obligatory among priests, priests pray more than Protestant ministers.
Fr. Neuhaus identifies a version of this liturgy that is accessible to laymen, a monthly periodical called The Magnificat. One may request a sample copy, and I did. You can also look at a pdf that gives the readings for a particular day.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Immigration. Sean has a heavy post on the immigration issue, linking to Zenpundit.
The WSJ, which is pro-immigration, had a poem on the issue by Ray Bradbury, of all people, that you can read here.
I think the President's approach is a good one. I also believe (and I know that this will get some criticism) that Mexicans are a special category of people in the immigration debate for reasons that I won't describe in this post.
The WSJ, which is pro-immigration, had a poem on the issue by Ray Bradbury, of all people, that you can read here.
I think the President's approach is a good one. I also believe (and I know that this will get some criticism) that Mexicans are a special category of people in the immigration debate for reasons that I won't describe in this post.
"Building the City of God, One Home at a Time". The catch phrase of Habitat for Humanity of Miami-Dade, on whose board my partner, Juan Antunez, sits. What a great motto! Unless, of course, the unwashed confuse it with the movie rather than the book.
(The fact that the populace might be confused lends some support to the idea that "The Da Vinci Code" is not mere fiction that we, the Christian elite, can easily dismiss, but a force for confusion and, finally, evil.)
(The fact that the populace might be confused lends some support to the idea that "The Da Vinci Code" is not mere fiction that we, the Christian elite, can easily dismiss, but a force for confusion and, finally, evil.)
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
How Does Your Garden Grow? We have been having our yard "done" by a particular family for at least 30 years, off and on. They are the Everetts, and they also "did" my parents yard. We have seen at least three generations go by. I think its the third actually doing most of the work right now, with a second generation person or two doing the supervising. The adults have other jobs and its a part-time thing. I think the Everetts used their yard business not only as a means for extra income to their big family, but also as a way to teach the younger generations about work, doing a good job, being faithful They cut everybody's yard in the Springs, I think. They are a fine family. About a year ago several of them visited my mother at Epworth.
They do an "all right" job. Not the way I would do it. Lately they have been coming on Friday, when Carol and I are still at work, rather than on Saturday. On Saturday, I could talk to them easily, but now its an effort to hunt them down on Saturday. (Often we go weeks without seeing them, and then I finally hunt them down to give them a check for all the times they have done the job. They know I will catch up with them.) They literally skin the yard, and over the years I have asked them to cut the grass higher, and that works for awhile, and then they are back to skinning it. They are really dangerous with a weed eater. "Yard work" doesn't have to be perfect, as I used to tell my sons, which is advice they took to heart big time. On the other hand, there is a threshold below which it hurts me to see the quality fall. It hurts me to see our skinned lawn.
So I proposed to Carol that I do the yard work for awhile. This time she did not object, as she usually, sensibly does. I think our skinned lawn is hurting her too. So she does not object to my getting back in touch with my inner gardener, and we went to Home Depot and bought a lawnmower and a weed-eater, after consulting Consumer Reports.
As with Ham Radio after years of absence, I found that lawntool technology has advanced since the last time I was in the gardening business. The main lawnmower advance is an electric starter. This is a great thing, and removes an impediment to Carol getting in touch with her inner gardener, she promises.
Our lawn is at a sort of nadir. Not only has it been skinned within an inch of its life, the workers who are building the addition on the back of our house have destroyed our sprinkler system. So whatever the Everetts have left of our lawn has been drying up and only weeds are surviving. Its a terrible thing to see. (Coincident with our visit to Home Depot, however, the spring dry season appears to have broken; we got a huge thunderstorm yesterday and there is more rain to come.)
CT has a review of a book that offers a sort of theology of gardening. Maybe mowing the lawn has a sort of spiritual aspect to it. It would not surprise me. (Mike Maris probably has an opinion in this respect.) I've always enjoyed cutting the grass and anything else vegetative and alive within reaching distance of an ax, saw, machete, or hedge clippers.
As to the Everetts, I will keep close watch on how much I will have spent in re-equipping the tool inventory. When I've gone enough weeks without paying the Everetts to make up for what I have invested, I will look at the question again. As in years past when I tired of my inner lawn worker, I may hire them again and give them all the lawn tools I collected and feel really good about cleaning out space in the garage, as I get in touch with my inner garage cleaner.
They do an "all right" job. Not the way I would do it. Lately they have been coming on Friday, when Carol and I are still at work, rather than on Saturday. On Saturday, I could talk to them easily, but now its an effort to hunt them down on Saturday. (Often we go weeks without seeing them, and then I finally hunt them down to give them a check for all the times they have done the job. They know I will catch up with them.) They literally skin the yard, and over the years I have asked them to cut the grass higher, and that works for awhile, and then they are back to skinning it. They are really dangerous with a weed eater. "Yard work" doesn't have to be perfect, as I used to tell my sons, which is advice they took to heart big time. On the other hand, there is a threshold below which it hurts me to see the quality fall. It hurts me to see our skinned lawn.
So I proposed to Carol that I do the yard work for awhile. This time she did not object, as she usually, sensibly does. I think our skinned lawn is hurting her too. So she does not object to my getting back in touch with my inner gardener, and we went to Home Depot and bought a lawnmower and a weed-eater, after consulting Consumer Reports.
As with Ham Radio after years of absence, I found that lawntool technology has advanced since the last time I was in the gardening business. The main lawnmower advance is an electric starter. This is a great thing, and removes an impediment to Carol getting in touch with her inner gardener, she promises.
Our lawn is at a sort of nadir. Not only has it been skinned within an inch of its life, the workers who are building the addition on the back of our house have destroyed our sprinkler system. So whatever the Everetts have left of our lawn has been drying up and only weeds are surviving. Its a terrible thing to see. (Coincident with our visit to Home Depot, however, the spring dry season appears to have broken; we got a huge thunderstorm yesterday and there is more rain to come.)
CT has a review of a book that offers a sort of theology of gardening. Maybe mowing the lawn has a sort of spiritual aspect to it. It would not surprise me. (Mike Maris probably has an opinion in this respect.) I've always enjoyed cutting the grass and anything else vegetative and alive within reaching distance of an ax, saw, machete, or hedge clippers.
As to the Everetts, I will keep close watch on how much I will have spent in re-equipping the tool inventory. When I've gone enough weeks without paying the Everetts to make up for what I have invested, I will look at the question again. As in years past when I tired of my inner lawn worker, I may hire them again and give them all the lawn tools I collected and feel really good about cleaning out space in the garage, as I get in touch with my inner garage cleaner.
Austin Trail Running
Come on out and run with me! We'll do the "Hill of Life" together.
Come on out and run with me! We'll do the "Hill of Life" together.
I found the hill — located at the end of Scottish Woods Trail off of Loop 360, just north of Rudy's Bar-B-Q — to be everything everyone said it would be. It's a kind of post-apocalyptic, tortured trail road, with old asphalt peaking up. And lots of loose gravel, ranging from small pebbles to little boulders. It's fully half a mile long and takes six minutes to ascend. And if you're not focused, you will fall, simple as that.From a trail running article in the Austin American-Statesman.
"I run the greenbelt two or three days a week, and every run is different. . . . I even know how close I am to a taco shop, and I'll bring my cell phone and order a breakfast taco on my long runs," he said.
That's the amazing thing about the greenbelt runs. You're in the middle of one of the nation's larger cities, but it sure doesn't feel like it.
Dalrymple Rules. I am three-fourths through Theodore Dalrymple's Our Culture, What's Left of It. This book and his earlier Life at the Bottom are two of the most fascinating books I have read in my life. (You can get both these books together from Amazon at a great price.) As I have mentioned before, Dalrymple is a social critic of astonishing breadth. He is only a few years younger than I, so his intellectual history parallels mine, although I would not begin to compare myself to his intellect and insight.
He quotes Edmund Burke in the chapter "All Sex, All the Time":
"[I]t is ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds cannot be free."
He calls this statement of Burke's a "lapidary warning". I had to look the adjective up. I thought I knew what it meant, but had never seen it in this context. It is an example of Dalrymple's use of words that leaves me shaking my head in wonder.
UPDATE: A "lapidary warning" is a warning of such importance that it is worthy of being engraved on a monument.
He quotes Edmund Burke in the chapter "All Sex, All the Time":
"[I]t is ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds cannot be free."
He calls this statement of Burke's a "lapidary warning". I had to look the adjective up. I thought I knew what it meant, but had never seen it in this context. It is an example of Dalrymple's use of words that leaves me shaking my head in wonder.
UPDATE: A "lapidary warning" is a warning of such importance that it is worthy of being engraved on a monument.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Your results:
You are Obi-Wan Kenobi
(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)
Click here to take the "Which Star Wars character am I?" quiz...
You know, if I just spent more time on my hair, I might have had a better shot at being Princess Leia...I always wanted to be Princess Leia...and I NEVER wanted to be Padme...how on earth could she ever have fallen in love with Anakin?! He was SUCH an immature whiner!
Thanks to Sean for posting this quiz on his site
You are Obi-Wan Kenobi
| You are civilized, calm, and have a good sense of humor, even when those around you don't. You can hold your own in a fight, but prefer it when things don't get too exciting.  |
(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)
Click here to take the "Which Star Wars character am I?" quiz...
You know, if I just spent more time on my hair, I might have had a better shot at being Princess Leia...I always wanted to be Princess Leia...and I NEVER wanted to be Padme...how on earth could she ever have fallen in love with Anakin?! He was SUCH an immature whiner!
Thanks to Sean for posting this quiz on his site
Repeal the Estate Tax? Over on Juan's blog, which, by the way, has been enormously successful, he has this post on the matter of repealing the estate tax.
In that post, Juan links to the website of an organization called "Responsible Wealth". As to the estate tax, the article to which Juan links quotes a former IRS chief bureaucrat as follows:
The estate tax has been with us for 90 years, brings in fairly large amounts of revenue at fairly low cost, and affects less than one-third of one percent of the population," said Sheldon Cohen, tax attorney and former Commissioner of the IRS. "Why would we change this?"
I am particularly disturbed by the third rationale. "[The estate tax] affects less than one-third of one percent of the population". I'm thinking about taxing blue-eyed Presbyterians, evangelicals but in the PCUSA, males between the ages of 59 and 61. They don't make up a very large part of the population either. Let's get 'em!
Here's a rationale for getting rid of the estate tax: The money collected on the tax goes to the federal government and bureaucrats like Sheldon Cohen.
In that post, Juan links to the website of an organization called "Responsible Wealth". As to the estate tax, the article to which Juan links quotes a former IRS chief bureaucrat as follows:
The estate tax has been with us for 90 years, brings in fairly large amounts of revenue at fairly low cost, and affects less than one-third of one percent of the population," said Sheldon Cohen, tax attorney and former Commissioner of the IRS. "Why would we change this?"
I am particularly disturbed by the third rationale. "[The estate tax] affects less than one-third of one percent of the population". I'm thinking about taxing blue-eyed Presbyterians, evangelicals but in the PCUSA, males between the ages of 59 and 61. They don't make up a very large part of the population either. Let's get 'em!
Here's a rationale for getting rid of the estate tax: The money collected on the tax goes to the federal government and bureaucrats like Sheldon Cohen.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Dog Wags Tail or Yuppies Uber Alles. The WSJ reports that Proctor & Gamble is coming out with a coffee that is "both gentle on stomachs and packs the same taste and caffeine punch as its regular brew." If you know a Yuppie coffee-drinker, then maybe you have heard the complaint that coffee upsets the stomach.
But Yuppies are tough. "Consumers told us 'If I have to choose between taste and discomfort, I'll power through the pain'," a P&G spokesman reports. Yeah, Man.
I'm not sure I like this quote, however: "The key is to accentuate the positive in lives at that age". And what "age" is that, you twerp?
But Yuppies are tough. "Consumers told us 'If I have to choose between taste and discomfort, I'll power through the pain'," a P&G spokesman reports. Yeah, Man.
I'm not sure I like this quote, however: "The key is to accentuate the positive in lives at that age". And what "age" is that, you twerp?
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Manipulating the Flag. The 2005 Ford Mustang is comprised 65% of US and Canadian parts; the 2005 Toyota Sienna SLE 90% and assembled in Indiana, according to Thursday's WSJ. "There's more than a little irony in this, considering Ford has launched a campaign to regain its footing with an appeal to patriotism (catch-phrase: "Red, White & Bold")."
Welcome Home, Walter and Morgan! I talked to them last night as they were laying over for three hours at the Denver Airport, waiting for the flight back to Austin. (Thank you, Lord, for bringing them back safely from K'stan.)
Walter and Morgan, we look forward to some posts in the future about your trip.
Walter and Morgan, we look forward to some posts in the future about your trip.
Emergency Radio Update. A while ago, I posted on a small radio that I purchased at Radio Shack that has an internal battery that one keeps charged with a crank on the side. The radio, the Grundig FR200, also has AM-FM and short-wave reception and a small light. It has served us well through two hurricane seasons.
The Grundig name is a venerable one in the history of short-wave radio, but that name, insofar as it applies to short-wave radios, is apparently licensed to or owned by Eton Corporation. (There continues to be a Grundig Corporation, a German company. It continues to produce certain consumer electronic devices, but not these radios. Grundig has a proud history of innovation.)
Eton now has a new model , the "American Red Cross FR400", that looks even better. It is, however, $60, one-third more expensive than the Grundig FR200 (which is still sold and still $40). The FR400 does not have the short-wave bands, but it does have some additional attractive features that the cheaper model lacks: it is water resistant, has a cell phone charger, comes with an AC adapter, and has a selector for the NOAA weather channels and certain of the TV channels. It also has a siren, so they are obviously including within their sales targets 9 year old boys (and 60 year old men).
The Grundig name is a venerable one in the history of short-wave radio, but that name, insofar as it applies to short-wave radios, is apparently licensed to or owned by Eton Corporation. (There continues to be a Grundig Corporation, a German company. It continues to produce certain consumer electronic devices, but not these radios. Grundig has a proud history of innovation.)
Eton now has a new model , the "American Red Cross FR400", that looks even better. It is, however, $60, one-third more expensive than the Grundig FR200 (which is still sold and still $40). The FR400 does not have the short-wave bands, but it does have some additional attractive features that the cheaper model lacks: it is water resistant, has a cell phone charger, comes with an AC adapter, and has a selector for the NOAA weather channels and certain of the TV channels. It also has a siren, so they are obviously including within their sales targets 9 year old boys (and 60 year old men).
Friday, May 12, 2006
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Probably because I don't prefer capes:
Your results:
You are Iron Man
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test
Update for the uninformed: Everything you need to know about Iron Man (via Wikipedia).
Your results:
You are Iron Man
| Inventor. Businessman. Genius. |
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test
Update for the uninformed: Everything you need to know about Iron Man (via Wikipedia).
Green Lantern? How dull!!
Your results:
You are Green Lantern
Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...
Your results:
You are Green Lantern
| Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.  |
Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...
Because Everyone Wants to Be a Superhero:
You are Superman
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test
As you can see, it turns out that I am Superman, but Wonder Woman was my close second. I think the answer that put me over the top for Superman was that I like to wear capes (especially Pashminas...for those of you who have no idea what that is, a Pashmina is a cashmere shawl/scarf/cape-of-sorts that you can wrap around you...oh, so soft and in such delectable colors!)
Which Superhero are you?
(this link was brought to you by my friend Katy, who turns out to be Spiderman)
You are Superman
| You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.  |
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test
As you can see, it turns out that I am Superman, but Wonder Woman was my close second. I think the answer that put me over the top for Superman was that I like to wear capes (especially Pashminas...for those of you who have no idea what that is, a Pashmina is a cashmere shawl/scarf/cape-of-sorts that you can wrap around you...oh, so soft and in such delectable colors!)
Which Superhero are you?
(this link was brought to you by my friend Katy, who turns out to be Spiderman)
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Mr. Davidson Training Update
Did I mention that at the last Mr. Davidson competition I couldn't complete the mile run? It's true. Not only that, but I about threw up after staggering off the track. (Had Walter been in my place, I have no doubt that he would have, in fact, thrown up and then promptly started running again. This is just another one of the interesting ways that he and I are different.)
So this time around, I'm going to be ready. For one thing, this time I'm actually going to eat breakfast before the competition. (It's the most important meal of the day! And by important, I mean first.) For another, I'm going to be in super-duper running shape. So, for example, I've been more-or-less keeping up with my running these days. Yesterday I had singular (for me) experience: at about mile 2.5 of a 4 mile run, all of a sudden I had the urge to run faster. Normally, I run pretty within myself and don't really "push it." I figure I'm out running: that's "pushing it" enough. Besides, I generally have a strong desire to "finish" my runs by running all the way back to where I started. I'm always careful to reserve enough energy to do so.
But yesterday it was as if my legs were trying to get free and so I lenghened my stride and picked up the pace. It was really wonderful, and I had a two thoughts at once: "Woah, this is so fun!" and "Woah, this is so bizarre, I can't believe I'm actually willfully running faster." Sure enough, I ran out of gas fairly quickly and had to walk several blocks before getting back to the start, but it didn't matter yesterday. It was a kind of Chariots of Fire Moment.
The other thing I'm doing is kettlebells. That's right, comrade, I've drunk the kool-aid and am now throwing these things around with Walter. And people? It's awesome. I am going to totally rock these events by the time they roll around. Ya hear me Davidson Peeps? I'm bringin' it!
Did I mention that at the last Mr. Davidson competition I couldn't complete the mile run? It's true. Not only that, but I about threw up after staggering off the track. (Had Walter been in my place, I have no doubt that he would have, in fact, thrown up and then promptly started running again. This is just another one of the interesting ways that he and I are different.)
So this time around, I'm going to be ready. For one thing, this time I'm actually going to eat breakfast before the competition. (It's the most important meal of the day! And by important, I mean first.) For another, I'm going to be in super-duper running shape. So, for example, I've been more-or-less keeping up with my running these days. Yesterday I had singular (for me) experience: at about mile 2.5 of a 4 mile run, all of a sudden I had the urge to run faster. Normally, I run pretty within myself and don't really "push it." I figure I'm out running: that's "pushing it" enough. Besides, I generally have a strong desire to "finish" my runs by running all the way back to where I started. I'm always careful to reserve enough energy to do so.
But yesterday it was as if my legs were trying to get free and so I lenghened my stride and picked up the pace. It was really wonderful, and I had a two thoughts at once: "Woah, this is so fun!" and "Woah, this is so bizarre, I can't believe I'm actually willfully running faster." Sure enough, I ran out of gas fairly quickly and had to walk several blocks before getting back to the start, but it didn't matter yesterday. It was a kind of Chariots of Fire Moment.
The other thing I'm doing is kettlebells. That's right, comrade, I've drunk the kool-aid and am now throwing these things around with Walter. And people? It's awesome. I am going to totally rock these events by the time they roll around. Ya hear me Davidson Peeps? I'm bringin' it!
Monday, May 08, 2006
Lindsay's Baby!
Stokes Kith, Lindsay Crawford, of the blog Crawford House, had James Thomas Crawford on Sunday. He was 11 days early. Yowza! Birth details here, pictures here.
Congratulations Lindsay!
Stokes Kith, Lindsay Crawford, of the blog Crawford House, had James Thomas Crawford on Sunday. He was 11 days early. Yowza! Birth details here, pictures here.
Congratulations Lindsay!
Field Trip!
I'm guest-blogging for Alex Kirk at Piebald Life. He's off at IV Chapter Camp, and gave the keys to his blog for me so I can, you know, feed the cat, bring in the paper & the mail, and throw wild parties in an 80s Teen Movie kind of way.
For Piebald Lifers who find there way over here, here's a picture of Aidan and me.
I'm guest-blogging for Alex Kirk at Piebald Life. He's off at IV Chapter Camp, and gave the keys to his blog for me so I can, you know, feed the cat, bring in the paper & the mail, and throw wild parties in an 80s Teen Movie kind of way.
For Piebald Lifers who find there way over here, here's a picture of Aidan and me.
Friday, May 05, 2006
An O'Hare Thank You. Carol and I are in Chicago this weekend for my (actually, our) 35th UC Law School reunion. Macon put together a dvd in which he took pictures from our Class of '71 yearbook and combined them with comtemporary jpegs some of my classmates sent me of their families. We'll show that tomorrow night at a dinner.
As we came down the esclator at O'Hare to the baggage pick-up level, there was a soldier ahead of us in his desert fatigues and back-pack. At the foot of the escalator were several people waiting for arriving passengers. Among those waiting people were two male limo drivers with those little signs that have hadwritten someone's name. As the soldier walked passed them, they each said "Thank you".
Me too.
As we came down the esclator at O'Hare to the baggage pick-up level, there was a soldier ahead of us in his desert fatigues and back-pack. At the foot of the escalator were several people waiting for arriving passengers. Among those waiting people were two male limo drivers with those little signs that have hadwritten someone's name. As the soldier walked passed them, they each said "Thank you".
Me too.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Store Wars.
Click here to watch Obi Wan Canoli, Cuke Skywalker, and Ham Solo battle Lord Tader over the ways of The Farm. This spoof is intended to instruct on the merits of organic foods, but it is simply hilarious. Enjoy.
Click here to watch Obi Wan Canoli, Cuke Skywalker, and Ham Solo battle Lord Tader over the ways of The Farm. This spoof is intended to instruct on the merits of organic foods, but it is simply hilarious. Enjoy.
It's up! In a fit of productive procrastinating from grading papers, I have started the Kenya-bound blog. The title was the first thing that came to mind, and I would appreciate any suggestions from the audience about a better name. Enjoy.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
May Day in Miami. It was quiet in Downtown Miami yesterday, and less traffic. My cousin Ken is in town on a business trip, and he, Carol, and I went to Havana Harry's last night in the Gables. The food was OK, but the service was terrible, and we speculated that the restaurant was having personnel problems related to the "boycott". Gloria Estefan, we understand, closed her Miami restaurants, showing solidarity with the Movement. This seems a little precious to me, as if people in Miami are xenophobic and need to be taught something. I thought all of the people who need to be taught something left during the 1970s and 1980s.
On NPR this morning I heard interviews with growers in California, and they expressed support for the Movement. Well of course they do.
A connected event that no one in the media seems to be connecting is the WTO's Doha talks, which, according to an opinion piece yesterday in the WSJ, missed another deadline recently. Those talks are largely about lifting agricultural trade barriers and eliminating farm subsidies. "The World Bank estimates that full liberalization would boost the incomes of developing countries, which comprise two-thirds of the WTO membership, by up to $259 billion by 2015."
So, let's see. The US puts up agricultural trade barriers and subsidizes farming so that developing countries suffer in the one area in which they might otherwise compete with us. That makes people in those countries want to go somewhere else to improve economically, maybe to the US, legally or illegally. We are then called upon to liberalize our immigration laws and continue our lax enforcement, so that the protected industries can get cheap labor. This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Sorry, Gloria.
(In fairness to the US, let me note that we seem to be on the side of the angels in the Doha talks, but why can't we just liberalize our agricultural policy unilaterally?)
On NPR this morning I heard interviews with growers in California, and they expressed support for the Movement. Well of course they do.
A connected event that no one in the media seems to be connecting is the WTO's Doha talks, which, according to an opinion piece yesterday in the WSJ, missed another deadline recently. Those talks are largely about lifting agricultural trade barriers and eliminating farm subsidies. "The World Bank estimates that full liberalization would boost the incomes of developing countries, which comprise two-thirds of the WTO membership, by up to $259 billion by 2015."
So, let's see. The US puts up agricultural trade barriers and subsidizes farming so that developing countries suffer in the one area in which they might otherwise compete with us. That makes people in those countries want to go somewhere else to improve economically, maybe to the US, legally or illegally. We are then called upon to liberalize our immigration laws and continue our lax enforcement, so that the protected industries can get cheap labor. This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Sorry, Gloria.
(In fairness to the US, let me note that we seem to be on the side of the angels in the Doha talks, but why can't we just liberalize our agricultural policy unilaterally?)
The origins of cup stacking. According to the wiki, it began in So. Cal. in the early 80's. As I recall, we were already doing it at 1190 Dove Ave. in So. Fla. at that time. Wherever, whenever the origins, the payoff of the sport has been clearly evidenced in the life of those involved: "Proponents of the sport say participants learn teamwork, cooperation, ambidexterity, and hand-eye coordination." (I've been typing this post using both my left and right hands!) M & K: have you provided any cups for Aidan to start stacking? It's never too early.
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