Desperate times call for desperate measures, and at this time it is only through desperate endeavors that I am able to get the time/energy/web-access necessary to post...as my dusty, dank little blog can attest.
I am not satisfied with this complete lack of activity, and so I am trying to solve the problem...unfortunately without some sort of change in my computer situation, I am not sure how to change the situation...but I am brainstorming...
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
We have an announcement...
Well, now that Aiden is about to turn three, and Sheri's nearing the end of school, we've decided that we are able to allow our family to grow. We have been coming to this decision for the past three months or so...and today seems to have been the big day.
Friends, I'd like to announce that we're going to be having two additions to our family. Pictures to come soon, Reepicheep and Peepiceek are the newest inhabitants of the house. We were initially planning on getting a hampster, then talked about a Guinea Pig, but it finally became clear that rats were the way to go. Not ugly, vicious sewer rats...these are cute, curious, albeit somewhat poopy rats. Seriously, a ton of fun. Sheri and I are acting like new parents again...checking in on them every few minutes. And hopefully, Aiden will get the opportunity to learn how to care for animals.
Fun times with Reep & Peep.
*****************************
Another update..."Peep" is no longer Peep. After some study, we discovered that Rats can actually learn to respond to names. Reep and Peep sound alike. Not good. So now, its Reepicheep and Basil...as in Basil of Bakerstreet. And yes, Lindsay...Ratatouille IS too French...even though I loved the movie. :)
Friends, I'd like to announce that we're going to be having two additions to our family. Pictures to come soon, Reepicheep and Peepiceek are the newest inhabitants of the house. We were initially planning on getting a hampster, then talked about a Guinea Pig, but it finally became clear that rats were the way to go. Not ugly, vicious sewer rats...these are cute, curious, albeit somewhat poopy rats. Seriously, a ton of fun. Sheri and I are acting like new parents again...checking in on them every few minutes. And hopefully, Aiden will get the opportunity to learn how to care for animals.
Fun times with Reep & Peep.
*****************************
Another update..."Peep" is no longer Peep. After some study, we discovered that Rats can actually learn to respond to names. Reep and Peep sound alike. Not good. So now, its Reepicheep and Basil...as in Basil of Bakerstreet. And yes, Lindsay...Ratatouille IS too French...even though I loved the movie. :)
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Update in Brief...
I am working at ECCU. I am working at Starbucks. Sheri's in school. We're busy. We're poor. We're happy. Aiden turns three in 10 days. He's amazing. I have decided what I want to focus on in my MA...if you want to know, e-mail me. Now I get to start studying for the GRE's and applying to schools. Life is good. God is God. I just wish I could blog once and a while...
Dear Blog
I miss you. I miss being able to think and write. Currently, I am working...but you're not forgotten. I'll get back...get back...get back to where you once belonged...
Monday, September 10, 2007
Nostalgia
So I entered the world of Facebook over the weekend.
Its been interesting...I have been made a Zombie by a friend from middle school...I have poked friends that I can poke in real life on a regular basis...who knew that all this and more was just waiting on the interweb...my wife laughs at me, and then performs the obligatory eye-roll-groan and tells me I'd better not spend too much time on this new distraction. As if I spend too much time on this poor blog of mine...
There was a moment, when I was asking everyone I found to confirm me as their friend, that it occurred to me how sad it would be if I was rejected. Who gets rejected by even an acquaintance when they request to be confirmed as your friend on something as trivial as Facebook? This thought urged on a real, albeit momentary, panic...
"I will be the first person everyone denies knowing. My friends have 500 friends...but I am not one of them...*You've been confirmed as X's friend*...YES!!! I have friends!!! I am officially cool--I bet other people had to wait for hours, even days, for their friends to confirm them, but my friends, they accept me instantly, even the ones that haven't seen or talked to me in 7 years...I'm accepted, important...cool."
I need more sleep, obviously.
The other odd thing I experienced was a major wave of nostalgia. I suppose its to be expected...in the last 24 hours I got back in touch, so to speak, with people that knew me when I was 11. They knew me before I was a teenager. I am now 25, have been married for 4 years, and have a son that is about to turn 3. Not only have they known me since before life began, somehow almost none of those people remain near to me...which is, honestly, a difficult thing. One of the greatest blessings of marrying the love of my life is that she "knew me back when..." She remains one of the few touchstones I have to 18 years of life that hold no permanence in this world.
This sounds rather dramatic. Sorry...a friend just gave me a Michael Buble album, with the song "Home" on it...and its probably not helping me avoid the dramatic presently.
So, I was reflecting on my lack of having a home, and started wanting to travel. Which struck me as the oddest of all possible desires when one is wishing for a non-existant home...until it occured to me that this has always been my response when this desire rears up inside me. And I think that the reason this is so has something to do with the ideas Chesterton mentioned in Orthodoxy; the concept of a familiar adventure, the practical romance. See Chesterton identified the need within us to be at once at home and yet to feel the thrill of adventure. Well for me, I think in some ways, the only way I feel at home is when I am moving, traveling, or am somewhere else waiting to get to where I am going. In fact, once I leave, I can begin to miss the place I was, or await the arrival at where I am going...which is as close to being at home as I get, in some ways.
So...now I have to figure out how to travel...preferably to somewhere with good friends...
Its been interesting...I have been made a Zombie by a friend from middle school...I have poked friends that I can poke in real life on a regular basis...who knew that all this and more was just waiting on the interweb...my wife laughs at me, and then performs the obligatory eye-roll-groan and tells me I'd better not spend too much time on this new distraction. As if I spend too much time on this poor blog of mine...
There was a moment, when I was asking everyone I found to confirm me as their friend, that it occurred to me how sad it would be if I was rejected. Who gets rejected by even an acquaintance when they request to be confirmed as your friend on something as trivial as Facebook? This thought urged on a real, albeit momentary, panic...
"I will be the first person everyone denies knowing. My friends have 500 friends...but I am not one of them...*You've been confirmed as X's friend*...YES!!! I have friends!!! I am officially cool--I bet other people had to wait for hours, even days, for their friends to confirm them, but my friends, they accept me instantly, even the ones that haven't seen or talked to me in 7 years...I'm accepted, important...cool."
I need more sleep, obviously.
The other odd thing I experienced was a major wave of nostalgia. I suppose its to be expected...in the last 24 hours I got back in touch, so to speak, with people that knew me when I was 11. They knew me before I was a teenager. I am now 25, have been married for 4 years, and have a son that is about to turn 3. Not only have they known me since before life began, somehow almost none of those people remain near to me...which is, honestly, a difficult thing. One of the greatest blessings of marrying the love of my life is that she "knew me back when..." She remains one of the few touchstones I have to 18 years of life that hold no permanence in this world.
This sounds rather dramatic. Sorry...a friend just gave me a Michael Buble album, with the song "Home" on it...and its probably not helping me avoid the dramatic presently.
So, I was reflecting on my lack of having a home, and started wanting to travel. Which struck me as the oddest of all possible desires when one is wishing for a non-existant home...until it occured to me that this has always been my response when this desire rears up inside me. And I think that the reason this is so has something to do with the ideas Chesterton mentioned in Orthodoxy; the concept of a familiar adventure, the practical romance. See Chesterton identified the need within us to be at once at home and yet to feel the thrill of adventure. Well for me, I think in some ways, the only way I feel at home is when I am moving, traveling, or am somewhere else waiting to get to where I am going. In fact, once I leave, I can begin to miss the place I was, or await the arrival at where I am going...which is as close to being at home as I get, in some ways.
So...now I have to figure out how to travel...preferably to somewhere with good friends...
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Spend a Day in Revolting France...
So someone wants to get people together to simulate the French Revolution. The game takes something like 30 people, and the better part of a day to play.
Here's my only question...why, if you were someone that enjoyed playing games of a complicated nature, involving strategy and even some role playing perhaps...even so...what would entice anyone (and the game creators are included in this) to settle on an all day French Revolution game? I mean, really? Really?
I could understand if you wanted to play a Sinn Fein game (I call Michael Collins!) or a Roman Republic game or a Trojan War, even a Pelloponesian War re-enactment, roleplay game--very cool. But the French Revolution?
Se la vie.
Here's my only question...why, if you were someone that enjoyed playing games of a complicated nature, involving strategy and even some role playing perhaps...even so...what would entice anyone (and the game creators are included in this) to settle on an all day French Revolution game? I mean, really? Really?
I could understand if you wanted to play a Sinn Fein game (I call Michael Collins!) or a Roman Republic game or a Trojan War, even a Pelloponesian War re-enactment, roleplay game--very cool. But the French Revolution?
Se la vie.
Ah, work.
So...I started work today. A 12 hour day for my first day on the lot...my feet are killing me.
There are many things that happened today to make me both laugh and cringe (both mostly on the inside). There was a customer who had a social security card belonging to a deceased person. And there was the fact that my general sales manager mentioned that I was a priority employee who they wanted to see succeed...because I'm white, and I make the third white person working on the lot. That was an experience I didn't think I'd have...ever.
But so far...no cars sold. I know--its only been one day. I'm not discouraged. Tired, but not discouraged. I am learning more about Toyota's than I ever thought possible. It is a comfort to be selling a good product.
I am currently relaxing, waiting for my dinner to finish cooking...watching Envy, a fantastic movie for those of us thinking about money and work a lot. Its not a bad night.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Doooode...I gots a job.
So...it took a Summer to find the right job to fill a very specific need...and the honest truth is, we are sort of jumping and hoping that all it promises it might be it in fact will be...but as of my first interview this morning I was offered a job at the number 1 Toyota dealer in the O.C., and after two more interviews, I decided that that was the position for me.
So...anyone need to buy a car? New or used, I got what you need. The great thing, especially if I can make it work for us, is that I'll be making a living helping people avoid feeling the awful stress of buying a car from someone they fear is only trying to milk them for every cent he can get from them.
My only problem is (and its a silly problem in a way) I have hard time anytime I start doing a job whose overall goal is generally to make a good living. I feel as if my life has lost purpose, as if I have instantly become a suit who is living for the next new thing he can buy. Of course...that's not an accurate summation of the situation. I am providing for my family...and as I said, I can do my job to help others, rather than use them. But every now and then, I have to remind myself of that important reality...because I can lose steam quickly if I forget that a job that earns money isn't a bad thing.
The other problem is...as I will be working weekends (and especially as Labor Day weekend should be a great time to start a career in sales)...I will probably have to miss, if not all, at least large chunks of one of my favorite events of the year...the aforementioned Homer Marathon.
Sigh.
Sometimes being a grown-up isn't as much fun as it sounds. Maybe I can read the Illiad to Aiden...
So...anyone need to buy a car? New or used, I got what you need. The great thing, especially if I can make it work for us, is that I'll be making a living helping people avoid feeling the awful stress of buying a car from someone they fear is only trying to milk them for every cent he can get from them.
My only problem is (and its a silly problem in a way) I have hard time anytime I start doing a job whose overall goal is generally to make a good living. I feel as if my life has lost purpose, as if I have instantly become a suit who is living for the next new thing he can buy. Of course...that's not an accurate summation of the situation. I am providing for my family...and as I said, I can do my job to help others, rather than use them. But every now and then, I have to remind myself of that important reality...because I can lose steam quickly if I forget that a job that earns money isn't a bad thing.
The other problem is...as I will be working weekends (and especially as Labor Day weekend should be a great time to start a career in sales)...I will probably have to miss, if not all, at least large chunks of one of my favorite events of the year...the aforementioned Homer Marathon.
Sigh.
Sometimes being a grown-up isn't as much fun as it sounds. Maybe I can read the Illiad to Aiden...
Monday, August 13, 2007
What a Lovely Wooden Horse--of course I'll sign for it!
Only two weeks left till I get to read the Illiad and the Odyssey at our annual Homer Marathon. Its the best Labor Day party around.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
I Don't Want to be a Millionaire
I have been thinking a lot about finances recently...perhaps the result of having few finances...and I revisited a discussion I had about a year ago with God concerning money.
See, I assured Him that if only He'd bless me with millions of dollars, I would use a large portion of it to honor Him--do mission work, fund ministry, help good people that shouldn't have to worry about money before they do the good things they do. Of course, this is a naive outlook towards money...for a variety of reasons. That discussion concluded with the realization that God has not asked me to come up with the best plan I can think of for how I could do amazing things with resources from Him...but He has asked me to do what I know I should be doing today.
It was a humbling but important reminder of the most basic lessons of the scripture..."He has shown thee, oh man, what is good an what the Lord requires of thee; to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with thy God." To be told that all ambitions, all dreams, all aspirations are in fact not what the Lord has called us to pursue, and to see the simplicity of a righteous life enumerated in plain and obvious terms is both liberating and challenging. The honest truth being...I am so frequently distracted by my desires for more that this simple lesson is completely forgotten.
The most recent discussion on this topic has built on that old lesson. I have frequently heard from men that I respect that they wouldn't want to be millionaires. This has always been hard for me to understand, and the men being good men, I cannot believe this to be false modesty or eccentricity speaking...but I have also not comprehended what it was they found undesireable about having the means to accomplish whatever they could want. The other day, I was having a discussion essentially about that same simple lesson I had been reminded of once again, and my friend and I began to discuss the nature of our desire for certain types of employment and financial security. We speculated on how this desire seems to come almost completely from our desire to have the solution to our financial problems. We want to know that we have a plan to fix the problem, and the means to do so. As we both said the same thing, almost at the same time, we reflected on how that sort of goal revolved around a desire, if not directly, still unquestionably present, to remove ourselves from the constant dependence on the provision of the Lord. We want security so we don't have to ask the Lord to provide what we ourselves cannot.
From this realization, we began discussing the nature of tithing, and how it can be such a challenge to give, especially when you live as we live, where 10% is a sizeable and important chunk of the monthly budget. But we also both noticed how when we were faithful in honoring the Lord with our finances, the freedom we experienced when it came to our budget was amazing. Its an act of commiting our condition to the hands of God, and trusting that He will provide what is needed (if that is not always what we want).
It was at this point that a thought occured to us that surprised and challenged me. The joy of tithing when it is difficult to "justify" doing so is the dependence on the Lord that it inspires--which is exactly the thing we had just acknowledged trying to avoid, in a way, through our quest for security. So, we wondered, how could a millionaire ever appreciate that sort of dependence on the Lord? How could someone like, say, Bill Gates, ever feel the complete and total dependence on the Lord's provision that the widow with the pennies felt when she gave everything she had to honor the Lord in the temple? How can the man with everything feel the same complete need for the sustenance of the Lord? How can someone that has wealth to provide for his grandchildren's grandchildren behave as if every moment of every day, every cent that he owns comes soley from the hand of the Lord?
Its not that I doubt a millionaire could understand that dependence...its just that I suddenly realized for the first time how difficult that must be...since I don't understand that dependence even when I don't have almost any money. To grasp that, when you have almost no needs on a regular basis...that must be nearly impossible.
Hence my conclusion...I don't want to be a millionaire. I don't think I could handle it...I remember when I asked the Lord for money to do all sorts of things, I imagined feeling the freedom of giving so much because I didn't need any more...but that isn't what we are called to offer to the Lord. The first fruits belong to Him--the hardest to give, the best of the season...but the most liberating to offer, because when we offer them, we are free from the burden of trusting in our own means to provide for ourselves.
Regis...you can keep the money...I'm gonna walk.
See, I assured Him that if only He'd bless me with millions of dollars, I would use a large portion of it to honor Him--do mission work, fund ministry, help good people that shouldn't have to worry about money before they do the good things they do. Of course, this is a naive outlook towards money...for a variety of reasons. That discussion concluded with the realization that God has not asked me to come up with the best plan I can think of for how I could do amazing things with resources from Him...but He has asked me to do what I know I should be doing today.
It was a humbling but important reminder of the most basic lessons of the scripture..."He has shown thee, oh man, what is good an what the Lord requires of thee; to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with thy God." To be told that all ambitions, all dreams, all aspirations are in fact not what the Lord has called us to pursue, and to see the simplicity of a righteous life enumerated in plain and obvious terms is both liberating and challenging. The honest truth being...I am so frequently distracted by my desires for more that this simple lesson is completely forgotten.
The most recent discussion on this topic has built on that old lesson. I have frequently heard from men that I respect that they wouldn't want to be millionaires. This has always been hard for me to understand, and the men being good men, I cannot believe this to be false modesty or eccentricity speaking...but I have also not comprehended what it was they found undesireable about having the means to accomplish whatever they could want. The other day, I was having a discussion essentially about that same simple lesson I had been reminded of once again, and my friend and I began to discuss the nature of our desire for certain types of employment and financial security. We speculated on how this desire seems to come almost completely from our desire to have the solution to our financial problems. We want to know that we have a plan to fix the problem, and the means to do so. As we both said the same thing, almost at the same time, we reflected on how that sort of goal revolved around a desire, if not directly, still unquestionably present, to remove ourselves from the constant dependence on the provision of the Lord. We want security so we don't have to ask the Lord to provide what we ourselves cannot.
From this realization, we began discussing the nature of tithing, and how it can be such a challenge to give, especially when you live as we live, where 10% is a sizeable and important chunk of the monthly budget. But we also both noticed how when we were faithful in honoring the Lord with our finances, the freedom we experienced when it came to our budget was amazing. Its an act of commiting our condition to the hands of God, and trusting that He will provide what is needed (if that is not always what we want).
It was at this point that a thought occured to us that surprised and challenged me. The joy of tithing when it is difficult to "justify" doing so is the dependence on the Lord that it inspires--which is exactly the thing we had just acknowledged trying to avoid, in a way, through our quest for security. So, we wondered, how could a millionaire ever appreciate that sort of dependence on the Lord? How could someone like, say, Bill Gates, ever feel the complete and total dependence on the Lord's provision that the widow with the pennies felt when she gave everything she had to honor the Lord in the temple? How can the man with everything feel the same complete need for the sustenance of the Lord? How can someone that has wealth to provide for his grandchildren's grandchildren behave as if every moment of every day, every cent that he owns comes soley from the hand of the Lord?
Its not that I doubt a millionaire could understand that dependence...its just that I suddenly realized for the first time how difficult that must be...since I don't understand that dependence even when I don't have almost any money. To grasp that, when you have almost no needs on a regular basis...that must be nearly impossible.
Hence my conclusion...I don't want to be a millionaire. I don't think I could handle it...I remember when I asked the Lord for money to do all sorts of things, I imagined feeling the freedom of giving so much because I didn't need any more...but that isn't what we are called to offer to the Lord. The first fruits belong to Him--the hardest to give, the best of the season...but the most liberating to offer, because when we offer them, we are free from the burden of trusting in our own means to provide for ourselves.
Regis...you can keep the money...I'm gonna walk.
Friday, August 10, 2007
With Screwtape in Mind
Puck had an appropriate response to Christians getting uppity about Harry Potter. I found this and thought of her and our shared frustration at the ridiculous idea of insisting the Harry Potter is an instrument of the occult. Enjoy.
Hallows, not Horcruxes
Reader beware...there will be spoilers ahead. If you haven't finished reading The Deathly Hallows, and you don't want to know more than you already do, stop reading.
Ye have been warned.
To begin with, HP:TDH was, in my opinion, excellent. Its taken me about three weeks to process my thoughts on this final book...but that's the first thought I had when I finished, and it remains my opinion even now.
There are so many themes in this story. Rowling truly outdid herself in this final addition. The book deals with the coming of age of childhood heroes; the importance of friendship; the nature of family; the nature of power; the reality of war, the painful truth of resisting evil, and beyond all the others I haven't listed...of course...it deals with death. Death...its place in our society's consciousness, whether or not it is a thing to be feared, and ultimately what death actually is.
Throughout the first six books, almost from page one of book one, fans of Rowling have been obsessed with Harry surviving the inevitable final confrontation with Voldemort. He who must not be named posed threat after threat, and by the 4th book (if we don't count the death's that started it all, James and Lily Potter), each victory came at a price, and each price was successively more costly...first Cedric, then Sirius, and finally Dumbledore. By the time we reached the 7th book, we were gripping ourselves for the final blow, wondering who would make it...afraid to ask, almost afraid to read, lest more beloved characters fall to the lethal pen strokes that had already taken beloved heroes from us.
And, of course, we were not disappointed. Death was waiting, in abundance, in the Deathly Hallows. Kicking us off with Hedwig, we soon suffered the loss of, among others, Madeye, Dobby, Ted Tonks, Lupin, Tonks herself, Snape, Colin Creevey, even Fred Weasley...until the time came, and Harry himself had to die.
It was brilliantly done.
Because, when that final cataclysmic moment came, Harry didn't fight desperately; he didn't beg pathetically; he didn't even stand defiantly and challenge Voldemort with his dying breath. No...he just walked out to meet his enemy and died, turning his thoughts to his love before the final moment came.
It was poignant and simple. I would guess it was generally unexpected too...the best I can claim is that I suspected that something essential about Harry would have to change if he was going to defeat Voldemort. I did not go so far as to guess that his death was the answer...I had suspicions, but not an actualized guess.
But of course death was the answer for Harry, as it usually is in this life. Rather than pursuing power to master death and defeat an enemy, Harry sought to destroy the enchantments of death that Voldemort used to cheat death, and ultimately accepted death himself. And by dying willingly, Harry saved not only his own life, but effectively secured the lives of those he loved and sacrificed himself to spare.
Life coming from death…and without death, that life could not exist…but after that death, life will be better; stronger; more beautiful and full than life before it ever was. A more profoundly Christian message is difficult to find.
This message is remarkable, and one can only wonder what it will do to this generation. One expects these sorts of stories from the men that manned the trenches in WWI, who encouraged the people through WWII…what do we do with this message from a woman that has lived most of her life in a time without a drastic struggle, who speaks it at a time when we would rather look the other way than acknowledge the challenges that face us?
But this ending should not have been surprising coming from Rowling. From the beginning, she had been telling us that Death was not the enemy we assume it to be. In Book 1, Dumbledore tells an incredulous Harry that though Nicholas Flamel and his wife will die as a result of no longer having the Elixir of Life, death is not the worst end to a well ordered life; rather, it’s the beginning of something new. This message is repeated over and over again in the books…but as a testament to her skill, the final solution being Harry’s accepted death still manages to surprise. And the power of the message still manages to challenge us. If we would hold our lives loosely (not cheaply, but loosely) what might our world look like?
All in all…it was wonderful. The bottom line is…this book should be read. I think it will be read a hundred years from now…making it a classic. Maybe I’m too caught in the fanboy spirit to see the faults…but I think this book (this series actually) deals with too much truth in too beautiful a manner to pass out of reckoning or to be passed over as trite.
Sigh. My only problem now is…the story is over. Harry…we’ll miss you. Thanks for the years of waiting and the hours of reading.
Ye have been warned.
To begin with, HP:TDH was, in my opinion, excellent. Its taken me about three weeks to process my thoughts on this final book...but that's the first thought I had when I finished, and it remains my opinion even now.
There are so many themes in this story. Rowling truly outdid herself in this final addition. The book deals with the coming of age of childhood heroes; the importance of friendship; the nature of family; the nature of power; the reality of war, the painful truth of resisting evil, and beyond all the others I haven't listed...of course...it deals with death. Death...its place in our society's consciousness, whether or not it is a thing to be feared, and ultimately what death actually is.
Throughout the first six books, almost from page one of book one, fans of Rowling have been obsessed with Harry surviving the inevitable final confrontation with Voldemort. He who must not be named posed threat after threat, and by the 4th book (if we don't count the death's that started it all, James and Lily Potter), each victory came at a price, and each price was successively more costly...first Cedric, then Sirius, and finally Dumbledore. By the time we reached the 7th book, we were gripping ourselves for the final blow, wondering who would make it...afraid to ask, almost afraid to read, lest more beloved characters fall to the lethal pen strokes that had already taken beloved heroes from us.
And, of course, we were not disappointed. Death was waiting, in abundance, in the Deathly Hallows. Kicking us off with Hedwig, we soon suffered the loss of, among others, Madeye, Dobby, Ted Tonks, Lupin, Tonks herself, Snape, Colin Creevey, even Fred Weasley...until the time came, and Harry himself had to die.
It was brilliantly done.
Because, when that final cataclysmic moment came, Harry didn't fight desperately; he didn't beg pathetically; he didn't even stand defiantly and challenge Voldemort with his dying breath. No...he just walked out to meet his enemy and died, turning his thoughts to his love before the final moment came.
It was poignant and simple. I would guess it was generally unexpected too...the best I can claim is that I suspected that something essential about Harry would have to change if he was going to defeat Voldemort. I did not go so far as to guess that his death was the answer...I had suspicions, but not an actualized guess.
But of course death was the answer for Harry, as it usually is in this life. Rather than pursuing power to master death and defeat an enemy, Harry sought to destroy the enchantments of death that Voldemort used to cheat death, and ultimately accepted death himself. And by dying willingly, Harry saved not only his own life, but effectively secured the lives of those he loved and sacrificed himself to spare.
Life coming from death…and without death, that life could not exist…but after that death, life will be better; stronger; more beautiful and full than life before it ever was. A more profoundly Christian message is difficult to find.
This message is remarkable, and one can only wonder what it will do to this generation. One expects these sorts of stories from the men that manned the trenches in WWI, who encouraged the people through WWII…what do we do with this message from a woman that has lived most of her life in a time without a drastic struggle, who speaks it at a time when we would rather look the other way than acknowledge the challenges that face us?
But this ending should not have been surprising coming from Rowling. From the beginning, she had been telling us that Death was not the enemy we assume it to be. In Book 1, Dumbledore tells an incredulous Harry that though Nicholas Flamel and his wife will die as a result of no longer having the Elixir of Life, death is not the worst end to a well ordered life; rather, it’s the beginning of something new. This message is repeated over and over again in the books…but as a testament to her skill, the final solution being Harry’s accepted death still manages to surprise. And the power of the message still manages to challenge us. If we would hold our lives loosely (not cheaply, but loosely) what might our world look like?
All in all…it was wonderful. The bottom line is…this book should be read. I think it will be read a hundred years from now…making it a classic. Maybe I’m too caught in the fanboy spirit to see the faults…but I think this book (this series actually) deals with too much truth in too beautiful a manner to pass out of reckoning or to be passed over as trite.
Sigh. My only problem now is…the story is over. Harry…we’ll miss you. Thanks for the years of waiting and the hours of reading.
Personal Growth
Roughly 10 years ago I was certain that nothing could convince me that mushrooms were worth eating. They are, after all, literally just fungi. Who eats mold? Don't talk to me about cheese--you all know what I mean. Mushrooms are fungi in its unrefined state. Why eat that?
Well...about three weeks ago we watched Ratatouille, and I became inspired to try new foods. So we went out, and I ordered a pasta with mushrooms.
It was delicious...especially the mushrooms. I enjoyed it so much, I went to the store and purchased some large portobellos for my own cooking experiments. But I haven't gotten around to it, and they've been in the fridge for about a week now. I looked them over, and they seem to be alright, and I'll probably use them today...but the thought occurred to me; how can you tell if a mushroom is bad? Most things grow mold when they go bad...do mushrooms grow mold? Is a fungus covered in fungus unacceptable? What makes that unappetizing, when one is already consuming glorified mold? Ultimately, it makes me question the whole thing...except they were so tasty...
Saturday, July 21, 2007
To Read or Not to Read: My Question
So, I have the book.
And now I have a dilemma. See, though we had planned to read the first 6 in advance...we haven't. So now we have 7th and final installment, and I cannot decide if I want to indulge my curiosity and satisfy my need to know...or if I want to savor the last time I can read the story from beginning to end without knowing the end until I reach it.
What to do...what to do...sigh...
And now I have a dilemma. See, though we had planned to read the first 6 in advance...we haven't. So now we have 7th and final installment, and I cannot decide if I want to indulge my curiosity and satisfy my need to know...or if I want to savor the last time I can read the story from beginning to end without knowing the end until I reach it.
What to do...what to do...sigh...
Monday, July 16, 2007
A Complete Mystery
One of the first things they tell you as you become an adult and assume the responsibility of things like paying for gas is that you should always look for the cheapest gas around, because those nickles and dimes add up. And, of course with gas prices being what they are, there's very rarely s need to convince people to search out cheap gas.
Which is why the Shell gas station on the corner of La Mirada and Imperial is truly a mystery to me. You see, while Sam's Club prices are currently roughly $2.92/gl, and ARCO is $2.89/gl, and even the Chevron down the street is $2.99/gl, the Shell gas station on the corner of La Mirada and Imperial is a lonely courageous soul. Rather than offering competitive prices to challenge the other stations (or even to be comparable to the station across the street) the Shell at that corner offers gas at generally no less than $.30 more than the most expensive competitors. I believe the last listed price I saw was something like $3.37/gl. I think this might be the station that inflates the national average gas price.
The oddest thing is that I actually see people getting gas there...I think I might even have gotten gas there once. I just don't get it; how could any manager think this is a good idea? Whatever the reasons, I salute the brave gesture flying in the face of the free market. You go, Shell of La Mirada & Imperial; overcharge for your wares at such a ridiculous rate that it baffles the mind why anyone offers you any business.
Perhaps they're a front for the La Mirada Mafia...
Which is why the Shell gas station on the corner of La Mirada and Imperial is truly a mystery to me. You see, while Sam's Club prices are currently roughly $2.92/gl, and ARCO is $2.89/gl, and even the Chevron down the street is $2.99/gl, the Shell gas station on the corner of La Mirada and Imperial is a lonely courageous soul. Rather than offering competitive prices to challenge the other stations (or even to be comparable to the station across the street) the Shell at that corner offers gas at generally no less than $.30 more than the most expensive competitors. I believe the last listed price I saw was something like $3.37/gl. I think this might be the station that inflates the national average gas price.
The oddest thing is that I actually see people getting gas there...I think I might even have gotten gas there once. I just don't get it; how could any manager think this is a good idea? Whatever the reasons, I salute the brave gesture flying in the face of the free market. You go, Shell of La Mirada & Imperial; overcharge for your wares at such a ridiculous rate that it baffles the mind why anyone offers you any business.
Perhaps they're a front for the La Mirada Mafia...
No robe for you!
I used to have a robe. It was heavy terry-clothe. Navy Blue. Warm. Even though holes tore open under the arms, it was still my robe. Comfy. Large. I liked my robe. I wore it frequently.
Then we reorganized our apartment. Threw out a ton of stuff that we no longer used or needed. Moved furniture, painted, cleaned, etc.
My wife decided that my robe was no longer worth keeping. I found it in the pile of stuff going away. I asked her why, and she said that with the holes, it was no longer worthy of remaining my robe. She promised to replace it. I tried to challenge her logic, suggesting that since I did actually use my robe, we should keep it until we replaced it. She, of course, prevailed.
Of course...we're broke...and robes cost money. And you know the old saying--a robe on the hook is worth two in the store.
Now I own no robe. I miss my robe. Sigh.
Then we reorganized our apartment. Threw out a ton of stuff that we no longer used or needed. Moved furniture, painted, cleaned, etc.
My wife decided that my robe was no longer worth keeping. I found it in the pile of stuff going away. I asked her why, and she said that with the holes, it was no longer worthy of remaining my robe. She promised to replace it. I tried to challenge her logic, suggesting that since I did actually use my robe, we should keep it until we replaced it. She, of course, prevailed.
Of course...we're broke...and robes cost money. And you know the old saying--a robe on the hook is worth two in the store.
Now I own no robe. I miss my robe. Sigh.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Culture-War Fatigue, or a Political Zoo, pt 2
Warning...serious politcal rant forthcoming...the dis-interested need not read on...
Let me begin by saying...I do not want our nation to suffer another attack.
Its important that I say that, because I am going to come dangerously close to suggesting otherwise as a result of my general frustration with our nation.
I am so exhausted by the state of dazed boredom that captivates our collective national conscience in the face of actual war. I am not entirely sure what to attribute it to...whether it's the information age, which moves so rapidly that a national tragedy is now either forgotten completely or is referred to as a conspiracy or a political lightening rod, or if its the nature of the enemy we face, radicals willing to fight to the death and sacrifice without personal regard, whom Americans and Westerners in general no longer understand.
Perhaps its our perpetual prosperity that is killing us from within; in spite of a national disaster and the longest sustained troop deployment in 30 years, there has been zero impact on the personal life of citizens in our nation.
Regardless of the why, the fact remains; we don't think of ourselves as being at war...having forgotten the last successful strike on our own shores, we have become convinced that the actions we are currently involved in are unrelated in the slightest to preventing future tragedies. Instead of insisting on victory, we are demanding that our "sacrifices" end before the job is done.
Instead of a government that leads us, that communicates clearly and lays out a unified plan to secure our nation, we have politicians that take every opportunity to strike at our confidence in the government as a whole by attacking each other constantly. This applies to both sides...though the radicals on the left take special pleasure in filling their attacks with venom, making reconciliation impossible. One half of this country is being conditioned to hate the other half; the left suspects the conservative Christian population of being of the same ilk (meaning religious absolutists) as those who attacked on 9/11, the Jihad extremists.
It's madness.
In the midst of all of this, during a time when the multitude of enemies that have designs against us have little or no problem working together, we divisively draw further apart. We are engaged abroad while we ignore our own freaking borders. And when Michael Chertoff, our Homeland Security Secretary, tells us that our intelligence points to a real problem, and his response is to worry that an attack is actually imminent, we mock him and criticize him, and spread suspicions that it's a scare tactic...revealing once again our complete lack of recall. The President has been roundly criticized for years now because nobody said anything about the possibility that an attack was imminent in 2001.
I am tired of trying to defend the need to take this seriously. I almost want to allow the Liberals their chance to have their way. Forget Hillary or Obama--get Dennis Kucinich and Cindy Sheehan into the White House. Turn over the Congress. The Republicans aren't leading anyways, might as well get their worthless suits out and let the surrender monkeys have their go. Let them bring our troops home tomorrow. And ultimately...let our enemies come to burn our cities. I am tired of having to urge our own people to try and prevent it. Civilizations that whore themselves out to their enemies and citizens of other nations don't last. We shouldn't have to convince our populace to fight for its survival...so maybe its time to let it die a little.
As a student of history, I can tell you its not uncommon. This Republic won't last another generation--that I predict in complete seriousness. Our nation of the last 200 years is dead, and is about to disappear entirely. The world has changed in the last 50 years, and in the meantime a way of life ended...and what will take its place is still to be decided.
In the past, the evolution of the American nation has involved a metamorphosis that promised the hope of a brighter tomorrow at the cost of a potentially more comfortable today. We evolved from a collection of colonies to a unified nation. We changed from powerful individual states to states contributing to a powerful federal government, capable of mobilizing into an amazing machine. We morphed from an open, lawless frontier into centralized, civilized city life that could prosper and create a powerhouse to challenge the ancient power of the old world. We adapted from the protection of isolation to become the greatest ally to free people on earth. We lead the globe in just about every industrial field and medicine, have the most advanced military, put a man on the moon, and could feed the world with relative ease from our abundance.
At every turn we have faced the choice of comfort, ease and popularity, or the challenge of leading towards a better world, through difficult but necessary sacrifice. Today is no different...only the stakes are our national security, possibly our general way of life, and the future. If I sound a little dramatic...good. Its my son's future. And I am exasperated that I live in an age within easy memory of WWII where the majority of our leadership and press spend all of their time trying to convince our population that we need not believe we're really at war.
But we are actually at war. And I almost wish something would happen to remind us of that inescapable fact. Its a war I doubt we can "win" in the conventional sense. Our enemy doesn't consider death a defeat. The best we can do is endure...but we hate enduring.
I really am tired of the news. I really do almost think we need to bleed to remind us of the danger that wants to hurt us. It just seems wrong to accept such a fate. What do you do when your nation no longer cares to defend itself? To whom do you turn when the majority of the leadership denies the need for action and ignores the reality of our enemies and vulnerabilities, both foreign and domestic? It's too much. Is this what it felt like to live 1600 years ago in Italy? I wonder...
Well...that's done. I warned you I was going to rant...
Let me begin by saying...I do not want our nation to suffer another attack.
Its important that I say that, because I am going to come dangerously close to suggesting otherwise as a result of my general frustration with our nation.
I am so exhausted by the state of dazed boredom that captivates our collective national conscience in the face of actual war. I am not entirely sure what to attribute it to...whether it's the information age, which moves so rapidly that a national tragedy is now either forgotten completely or is referred to as a conspiracy or a political lightening rod, or if its the nature of the enemy we face, radicals willing to fight to the death and sacrifice without personal regard, whom Americans and Westerners in general no longer understand.
Perhaps its our perpetual prosperity that is killing us from within; in spite of a national disaster and the longest sustained troop deployment in 30 years, there has been zero impact on the personal life of citizens in our nation.
Regardless of the why, the fact remains; we don't think of ourselves as being at war...having forgotten the last successful strike on our own shores, we have become convinced that the actions we are currently involved in are unrelated in the slightest to preventing future tragedies. Instead of insisting on victory, we are demanding that our "sacrifices" end before the job is done.
Instead of a government that leads us, that communicates clearly and lays out a unified plan to secure our nation, we have politicians that take every opportunity to strike at our confidence in the government as a whole by attacking each other constantly. This applies to both sides...though the radicals on the left take special pleasure in filling their attacks with venom, making reconciliation impossible. One half of this country is being conditioned to hate the other half; the left suspects the conservative Christian population of being of the same ilk (meaning religious absolutists) as those who attacked on 9/11, the Jihad extremists.
It's madness.
In the midst of all of this, during a time when the multitude of enemies that have designs against us have little or no problem working together, we divisively draw further apart. We are engaged abroad while we ignore our own freaking borders. And when Michael Chertoff, our Homeland Security Secretary, tells us that our intelligence points to a real problem, and his response is to worry that an attack is actually imminent, we mock him and criticize him, and spread suspicions that it's a scare tactic...revealing once again our complete lack of recall. The President has been roundly criticized for years now because nobody said anything about the possibility that an attack was imminent in 2001.
I am tired of trying to defend the need to take this seriously. I almost want to allow the Liberals their chance to have their way. Forget Hillary or Obama--get Dennis Kucinich and Cindy Sheehan into the White House. Turn over the Congress. The Republicans aren't leading anyways, might as well get their worthless suits out and let the surrender monkeys have their go. Let them bring our troops home tomorrow. And ultimately...let our enemies come to burn our cities. I am tired of having to urge our own people to try and prevent it. Civilizations that whore themselves out to their enemies and citizens of other nations don't last. We shouldn't have to convince our populace to fight for its survival...so maybe its time to let it die a little.
As a student of history, I can tell you its not uncommon. This Republic won't last another generation--that I predict in complete seriousness. Our nation of the last 200 years is dead, and is about to disappear entirely. The world has changed in the last 50 years, and in the meantime a way of life ended...and what will take its place is still to be decided.
In the past, the evolution of the American nation has involved a metamorphosis that promised the hope of a brighter tomorrow at the cost of a potentially more comfortable today. We evolved from a collection of colonies to a unified nation. We changed from powerful individual states to states contributing to a powerful federal government, capable of mobilizing into an amazing machine. We morphed from an open, lawless frontier into centralized, civilized city life that could prosper and create a powerhouse to challenge the ancient power of the old world. We adapted from the protection of isolation to become the greatest ally to free people on earth. We lead the globe in just about every industrial field and medicine, have the most advanced military, put a man on the moon, and could feed the world with relative ease from our abundance.
At every turn we have faced the choice of comfort, ease and popularity, or the challenge of leading towards a better world, through difficult but necessary sacrifice. Today is no different...only the stakes are our national security, possibly our general way of life, and the future. If I sound a little dramatic...good. Its my son's future. And I am exasperated that I live in an age within easy memory of WWII where the majority of our leadership and press spend all of their time trying to convince our population that we need not believe we're really at war.
But we are actually at war. And I almost wish something would happen to remind us of that inescapable fact. Its a war I doubt we can "win" in the conventional sense. Our enemy doesn't consider death a defeat. The best we can do is endure...but we hate enduring.
I really am tired of the news. I really do almost think we need to bleed to remind us of the danger that wants to hurt us. It just seems wrong to accept such a fate. What do you do when your nation no longer cares to defend itself? To whom do you turn when the majority of the leadership denies the need for action and ignores the reality of our enemies and vulnerabilities, both foreign and domestic? It's too much. Is this what it felt like to live 1600 years ago in Italy? I wonder...
Well...that's done. I warned you I was going to rant...
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Its a Wonder-full World
So, apparently the Seven Wonders of the World have been updated.
I have two responses to this news...and actually one response to something from the story.
First on the story: this line, "However, Paris-based UNESCO distanced itself from the seven wonders ballot, saying it reflected only the opinion of those who voted," made me laugh. That UNESCO organization is truly a brain trust. So, get this, only those who voted were represented by the vote. It takes some time and an official title to figure that one out...I might not have understood if I didn't have a Paris based branch of the UN to tell me that voting only represents those that vote. Of course they're based in France. Where else could they be based? Center of redundant snottiness. ANYWAYS...
Now, as to the actual story...first, I think this is kinda cool. I am all for taking pride in the wonders around us, and investing in making things of majesty and wonder. But this ultimately leads me to my next response, which is...
Disappointment. Not in the list itself, but in what it reveals about us. Its no secret really...all you have to do is visit Tomorrow Land in Disneyland to see just how much we've dropped the ball. You see, the list reveals that we have accomplished nothing that competes with the Pyramid of Gaza or the Great Wall of China, both thousands of years old. Granted, those are pretty awesome, and they have always been on my list of things to see before I die...but as with Tomorrow Land in the Magical Kingdom, so in real life; we have failed to continue to reach for new challenges to make this new world as majestic and profoundly challenging to the future as those who came before us managed to do with their "now" back then. Where are the modern monuments that will challenge generations to come to consider who and what we are?
Its hard to be an Evangelical Protestant Christian and advocate building monuments; we tend to think that building to last, and more importantly building to inspire and awe is lower on the priorities...but I have been convinced that for a thing to be true and good, it should also be beautiful. Our churches fail in that respect all too often. It also reveals a lack of ambition, which we as Christians should be terrified by. Tomorrow should be the horizon of unending possibility, and that means today should challenge us to make a mark to echo into tomorrow. Everything we possess today comes from those men that strove mightily yesterday for their tomorrow. We are leaving no challenge to those that come after us, no monument to the things we hold precious to remind tomorrow that there are things greater than ourselves, things worth pouring our lives into without looking back.
Ultimately, my response is that this list should challenge us, to leave our mark on this earth about those things that matter to us. And also...I want to go travel and see the new list...
I have two responses to this news...and actually one response to something from the story.
First on the story: this line, "However, Paris-based UNESCO distanced itself from the seven wonders ballot, saying it reflected only the opinion of those who voted," made me laugh. That UNESCO organization is truly a brain trust. So, get this, only those who voted were represented by the vote. It takes some time and an official title to figure that one out...I might not have understood if I didn't have a Paris based branch of the UN to tell me that voting only represents those that vote. Of course they're based in France. Where else could they be based? Center of redundant snottiness. ANYWAYS...
Now, as to the actual story...first, I think this is kinda cool. I am all for taking pride in the wonders around us, and investing in making things of majesty and wonder. But this ultimately leads me to my next response, which is...
Disappointment. Not in the list itself, but in what it reveals about us. Its no secret really...all you have to do is visit Tomorrow Land in Disneyland to see just how much we've dropped the ball. You see, the list reveals that we have accomplished nothing that competes with the Pyramid of Gaza or the Great Wall of China, both thousands of years old. Granted, those are pretty awesome, and they have always been on my list of things to see before I die...but as with Tomorrow Land in the Magical Kingdom, so in real life; we have failed to continue to reach for new challenges to make this new world as majestic and profoundly challenging to the future as those who came before us managed to do with their "now" back then. Where are the modern monuments that will challenge generations to come to consider who and what we are?
Its hard to be an Evangelical Protestant Christian and advocate building monuments; we tend to think that building to last, and more importantly building to inspire and awe is lower on the priorities...but I have been convinced that for a thing to be true and good, it should also be beautiful. Our churches fail in that respect all too often. It also reveals a lack of ambition, which we as Christians should be terrified by. Tomorrow should be the horizon of unending possibility, and that means today should challenge us to make a mark to echo into tomorrow. Everything we possess today comes from those men that strove mightily yesterday for their tomorrow. We are leaving no challenge to those that come after us, no monument to the things we hold precious to remind tomorrow that there are things greater than ourselves, things worth pouring our lives into without looking back.
Ultimately, my response is that this list should challenge us, to leave our mark on this earth about those things that matter to us. And also...I want to go travel and see the new list...
Saturday, June 30, 2007
A Political Zoo, Pt 1
I have been deliberately keeping a neutral (i.e. non-vocal) position on the goings-ons of late in D.C. and around the country. Honestly, the matter of amnesty is a hot topic, and I need a job...and I have been thinking that perhaps the better side of wisdom would suggest that I not share my views with the world on a hot topic, while looking for work.
But my blog isn't that popular.
And anyone that wouldn't hire me for my opinions is probably someone I would rather not work for...my opinions aren't too radical...
So, here it goes; to begin with...I cannot believe the complete imbecilic behavior of the so-called leaders of the Republican party in D.C., the President himself included.
Honestly...I don't understand this. Liberals might laugh at my confusion...you see, I do believe we're at war, and generally I do believe we should have attacked Iraq, and that we are currently doing the only thing we can do given the situation that confronts us. In otherwords, I believe that the Republican leadership, and especially the President, have the nation's welfare in mind with regard to our international policy in the Middle East. In fact, Bush's low poll rating is almost enough to confirm his good intentions--what politician would adopt such a self-destructive stance if he were not convinced that the stance were more important than the political goldmine of popular opinion?
Which is why I am profoundly confused by their enormous inability to deal with a very real, very close threat to national security and the general welfare of the United States, namely the problem of millions of illegal immigrants currently taxing the system supported by legal residents of America, and the essentially unrestricted passage of millions more over our "borders". How can they allow this to stand? How can we not even call for basic enforcement of the laws that exist currently?
These are the questions that plague me as I listen to the "debate"...but above it all, I wonder HOW can Republican leadership, and particularly the PRESIDENT support rewarding lawbreakers with the object of their crime?
I am in awe.
And that sense of awe has only deepened as I have seen these leaders hold to this ridiculous position when the majority of every political demographic thinks this is a bad idea. Politicians aren't even behaving like regular, spineless politicians with regard to this issue. For some reason, this incredibly bad idea is one that the President and the Republican leadership is willing to alienate the little support they still have over.
Insanity.
Fortunately, the people managed to be heard...which is important, especially in a Democratic Republic. Now, I am just in shock that this bad idea was ever a viable option for Republicans, preaching security and Conservative values. We need to gut the leadership and start over...but more on that later.
But my blog isn't that popular.
And anyone that wouldn't hire me for my opinions is probably someone I would rather not work for...my opinions aren't too radical...
So, here it goes; to begin with...I cannot believe the complete imbecilic behavior of the so-called leaders of the Republican party in D.C., the President himself included.
Honestly...I don't understand this. Liberals might laugh at my confusion...you see, I do believe we're at war, and generally I do believe we should have attacked Iraq, and that we are currently doing the only thing we can do given the situation that confronts us. In otherwords, I believe that the Republican leadership, and especially the President, have the nation's welfare in mind with regard to our international policy in the Middle East. In fact, Bush's low poll rating is almost enough to confirm his good intentions--what politician would adopt such a self-destructive stance if he were not convinced that the stance were more important than the political goldmine of popular opinion?
Which is why I am profoundly confused by their enormous inability to deal with a very real, very close threat to national security and the general welfare of the United States, namely the problem of millions of illegal immigrants currently taxing the system supported by legal residents of America, and the essentially unrestricted passage of millions more over our "borders". How can they allow this to stand? How can we not even call for basic enforcement of the laws that exist currently?
These are the questions that plague me as I listen to the "debate"...but above it all, I wonder HOW can Republican leadership, and particularly the PRESIDENT support rewarding lawbreakers with the object of their crime?
I am in awe.
And that sense of awe has only deepened as I have seen these leaders hold to this ridiculous position when the majority of every political demographic thinks this is a bad idea. Politicians aren't even behaving like regular, spineless politicians with regard to this issue. For some reason, this incredibly bad idea is one that the President and the Republican leadership is willing to alienate the little support they still have over.
Insanity.
Fortunately, the people managed to be heard...which is important, especially in a Democratic Republic. Now, I am just in shock that this bad idea was ever a viable option for Republicans, preaching security and Conservative values. We need to gut the leadership and start over...but more on that later.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
My friend Phil
Phil Wright is a man of the highest order. He's been my friend from childhood...which is saying something, since we haven't lived near one another since I was 11. That didn't prevent him from flying across the country to be at my wedding nearly 10 years later. I could say many things about why he's a great guy--reasons you should all try to move to Virginia and get to know him better...though that might be creepy...so nevermind that...
But right now, I want to highlight the latest reason for thinking highly of Phil; he's currently using his much deserved Summer break doing ministry in Argentina. And you can read about it here.
Phil...our prayers are with you. Thanks for being the man you are.
But right now, I want to highlight the latest reason for thinking highly of Phil; he's currently using his much deserved Summer break doing ministry in Argentina. And you can read about it here.
Phil...our prayers are with you. Thanks for being the man you are.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The Time of His Life
Last night my son was treated to a trip to Disneyland. Sheri & I were unfortunately unable to take him, but his babysitter took him for the evening. When we got home, they were back, safe and sound (thank goodness; I had to give my first "If anything happens to him, I'll kill you" speech to the driver and even to our sweet babysitter) and the boy had, of course, gone straight to bed after watching a parade, riding Winnie-the-Pooh, Smallworld, and Buzz Lightyear, and I believe even getting to see some fireworks.
Well, this morning, we woke up early to take Sheri to work and Aiden was still very tired as he pry-ed his eyes open...but the first words he said were "POOH! AGAIN! POOOH!!!"
I told Sheri that likely the worst thing that might come from letting him go last night would be that he would want to go again and we would be unable to accommodate him because we no longer have passes.
I was, as usual, completely correct.
Well, this morning, we woke up early to take Sheri to work and Aiden was still very tired as he pry-ed his eyes open...but the first words he said were "POOH! AGAIN! POOOH!!!"
I told Sheri that likely the worst thing that might come from letting him go last night would be that he would want to go again and we would be unable to accommodate him because we no longer have passes.
I was, as usual, completely correct.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Welcome to the New Isle
I promised a while back that I would be updating my look here at the Isle (its been that gray/red template for a long time) but of course, almost immediately I became so busy that it was essentially impossible to do all that I wanted--updating your blog means losing all the cool stuff you put on it if you don't take the time to transfer it over.
Well, today I had the time (Sheri was catching up on sleep before we leave for the aquarium), so I have done as I promised. Welcome to the newly updated, refreshingly new Isle. Hope you like.
Well, today I had the time (Sheri was catching up on sleep before we leave for the aquarium), so I have done as I promised. Welcome to the newly updated, refreshingly new Isle. Hope you like.
I need a tropical vacation!
We're taking Aiden to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific today. He loves to stare at the fish, the seals, the turtles, the "SHARK!", etc. I enjoy myself too--I have always loved aquariums; especially the shark exhibits. We travelled to Monterrey Bay when Aiden was about 5 or 6 months old because they had managed to keep a Great White in their tank for about a year (its gone now). It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen--that shark is literally built for killing. There were other sharks in the tank, lemon sharks, hammerheads, etc., but the White was unlike an of the others. Where they were formed with graceful curves and delicate arcs, the White was sturdy and streamlined; like a stealth bomber in the water, designed for one thing: speedy killing. It was amazing. But I digress...
We're taking Aiden to the aquarium. And apart from the pleasure of seeing the wonders of the ocean in safety and convenience, there is one other sensation I always have when we visit the aquarium; namely, a certain amount of discontent and a longing to travel.
You see, every year about this time, the fact that I have lived nearly half my life in the tropics flares up with the regularity of a California wildfire. And I miss the tropics; I miss the rain, the smell of the earth, the warm oceans...I miss a lot of things. And when we visit the aquarium in Long Beach, oddly I get transferred out of the industrial city, back to a tower on a building that overlooked a lake named Calirya. From the tower, uncreatively referred to as the Crow's Nest, you could see all the outlining valleys, the enormous green hill behind the building, where caribou (Philippine oxen) would be grazing.
Sunsets from the Crow's Nest were pretty much the best in the world.
I miss the tropics...I'm glad we're going to the aquarium today.
We're taking Aiden to the aquarium. And apart from the pleasure of seeing the wonders of the ocean in safety and convenience, there is one other sensation I always have when we visit the aquarium; namely, a certain amount of discontent and a longing to travel.
You see, every year about this time, the fact that I have lived nearly half my life in the tropics flares up with the regularity of a California wildfire. And I miss the tropics; I miss the rain, the smell of the earth, the warm oceans...I miss a lot of things. And when we visit the aquarium in Long Beach, oddly I get transferred out of the industrial city, back to a tower on a building that overlooked a lake named Calirya. From the tower, uncreatively referred to as the Crow's Nest, you could see all the outlining valleys, the enormous green hill behind the building, where caribou (Philippine oxen) would be grazing.
Sunsets from the Crow's Nest were pretty much the best in the world.
I miss the tropics...I'm glad we're going to the aquarium today.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
What's Super about Superman?
Since I have invested in the comic books, I figure to justify them I should offer reflections inspired by this enjoyable study.
Superman, it seems, cannot really suffer a loss or even face a challenge too great for him to overcome. Apart from his attachment to Lois and his vulnerability to Kryptonite, there is basically nothing greater than Krypton's last son.
So, why do we care about his struggles? We would get tired of watching a cheater win--if there's no challenge then where's the conflict that makes success amazing? We wouldn't find it amazing if there was a man who devoted his life to saving ants. So why is Superman amazing?
Surly at least one answer has to be that Superman is amazing, not because of his abilities, but because he wants to inspire us to be better than we are, and that cannot be brought about because of his powers. If there is anything history teaches us, its that power doesn't equal reform. No, that comes only through personal choice, and those choices are dependent on each individual's decision to want to be better than they are.
So, to be a super-human--an alien actually--with powers that could easily rule the world, and instead of devoting your time to the gathering of more power, to choose to be an example of what good could exist if people would choose to live differently (one might even say, to adopt a lifestyle alien to humanity...hmm, there's a concept); surely that's amazing. Ultimately, Superman's message is that there is a personal choice to be made, and if we want to, we could actually choose to embrace goodness and truth and beauty, to the betterment of all men, and most certainly to the betterment of ourselves.
Something interesting about this idea is that, since Superman was, in fact, created by men, Superman tells us something about ourselves. In Kill Bill 2, Bill offers the Bride this insight; that Superman's critque of humanity is his alter-ego, Clark Kent, who is "mild mannered" and rather weak and pathetic. This might have merit...though there are arguments for the virtues of Clark Kent; Clark plays by the rules, is a good, kind, polite man who does what he can within the realm of his abilities.
Still, if the created persona suggests more about the creator than the creation (which seems likely) then our hero, Superman, suggests that we believe that the greatest being we might ever meet could not save us unless we choose to change the lives we lead. Of course this doesn't mean that we can "save ourselves"; we still need Superman to show us the way. But even the Man of Steel cannot solve the problems of humanity--at least, not without destroying the freedom of humanity; the best he can do is show us the need we have for the kind of self-lessness that he exhibits through his service to underserving humanity. It remains for us to choose to respond in kind, instead of always waiting, hoping to look up in the sky, and see...
Superman!
Superman, it seems, cannot really suffer a loss or even face a challenge too great for him to overcome. Apart from his attachment to Lois and his vulnerability to Kryptonite, there is basically nothing greater than Krypton's last son.
So, why do we care about his struggles? We would get tired of watching a cheater win--if there's no challenge then where's the conflict that makes success amazing? We wouldn't find it amazing if there was a man who devoted his life to saving ants. So why is Superman amazing?
Surly at least one answer has to be that Superman is amazing, not because of his abilities, but because he wants to inspire us to be better than we are, and that cannot be brought about because of his powers. If there is anything history teaches us, its that power doesn't equal reform. No, that comes only through personal choice, and those choices are dependent on each individual's decision to want to be better than they are.
So, to be a super-human--an alien actually--with powers that could easily rule the world, and instead of devoting your time to the gathering of more power, to choose to be an example of what good could exist if people would choose to live differently (one might even say, to adopt a lifestyle alien to humanity...hmm, there's a concept); surely that's amazing. Ultimately, Superman's message is that there is a personal choice to be made, and if we want to, we could actually choose to embrace goodness and truth and beauty, to the betterment of all men, and most certainly to the betterment of ourselves.
Something interesting about this idea is that, since Superman was, in fact, created by men, Superman tells us something about ourselves. In Kill Bill 2, Bill offers the Bride this insight; that Superman's critque of humanity is his alter-ego, Clark Kent, who is "mild mannered" and rather weak and pathetic. This might have merit...though there are arguments for the virtues of Clark Kent; Clark plays by the rules, is a good, kind, polite man who does what he can within the realm of his abilities.
Still, if the created persona suggests more about the creator than the creation (which seems likely) then our hero, Superman, suggests that we believe that the greatest being we might ever meet could not save us unless we choose to change the lives we lead. Of course this doesn't mean that we can "save ourselves"; we still need Superman to show us the way. But even the Man of Steel cannot solve the problems of humanity--at least, not without destroying the freedom of humanity; the best he can do is show us the need we have for the kind of self-lessness that he exhibits through his service to underserving humanity. It remains for us to choose to respond in kind, instead of always waiting, hoping to look up in the sky, and see...
Superman!
Barnes & Noble
One of the gifts from my classes this past year were gift cards to Barnes & Noble, a fantastic gift for the teacher of your "read'n & book stuff" class. Combined with the 20% discount card I had for being an educator, I had somewhere around $65 free dollars to spend on one of the things I can never have enough of.
It was truly fortuitous, because I had just been deciding that the next time I get to splurge in a book store, I would be investing in a genre severely lacking on my personal bookshelves: Comic Books/Graphic Novels.
Sheri & I have been making our way through Smallville (we're now in season 5...still enjoying ourselves, though there are some roll your eyes moments), and I got to sit in on the Heroes & Saviors meta-Torrey last semester at Biola. The result of all of this is that I am on a serious Super-hero kick, and at a certain point you can only go for so long like that before you need to invest in the medium of Super-heroes; namely, comic books.
So here is my current library, including acquisitions both new and old (the only one missing is my copy of The Long Halloween, which was the casualty of theft-I lent it to a co-worker who had his car stolen, and I didn't have the heart to make him replace it...although sometimes I wish I did, cause its $20...oh well).
Kingdom Come, Mark Waid & Alex Ross
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller, Klaus Janson & Lynn Varley
World Without a Superman, Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonsen, Roger Stern, (among others)
The Death of Superman, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonsen, Roger Stern, Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummet, (among others)
Superman For Tomorrow, Volumes 1&2, Brian Azzarello, Jim Lee, Scott Williams
Superman/Batman: Supergirl, Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner, Peter Streigerwald
Superman/Batman: Absolute Power, Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino
Superman Birthright: The Origin of the Man of Steel, Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan
On my list of things still waiting to get, or replace as the case may be, are the Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale and Bob Kane Batman series, The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, & Catwoman: When in Rome.
Needless to say...I am one happy summer-free teacher.
It was truly fortuitous, because I had just been deciding that the next time I get to splurge in a book store, I would be investing in a genre severely lacking on my personal bookshelves: Comic Books/Graphic Novels.
Sheri & I have been making our way through Smallville (we're now in season 5...still enjoying ourselves, though there are some roll your eyes moments), and I got to sit in on the Heroes & Saviors meta-Torrey last semester at Biola. The result of all of this is that I am on a serious Super-hero kick, and at a certain point you can only go for so long like that before you need to invest in the medium of Super-heroes; namely, comic books.
So here is my current library, including acquisitions both new and old (the only one missing is my copy of The Long Halloween, which was the casualty of theft-I lent it to a co-worker who had his car stolen, and I didn't have the heart to make him replace it...although sometimes I wish I did, cause its $20...oh well).
Kingdom Come, Mark Waid & Alex Ross
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller, Klaus Janson & Lynn Varley
World Without a Superman, Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonsen, Roger Stern, (among others)
The Death of Superman, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonsen, Roger Stern, Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummet, (among others)
Superman For Tomorrow, Volumes 1&2, Brian Azzarello, Jim Lee, Scott Williams
Superman/Batman: Supergirl, Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner, Peter Streigerwald
Superman/Batman: Absolute Power, Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino
Superman Birthright: The Origin of the Man of Steel, Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan
On my list of things still waiting to get, or replace as the case may be, are the Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale and Bob Kane Batman series, The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, & Catwoman: When in Rome.
Needless to say...I am one happy summer-free teacher.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
"My time flies...
...but we'll fly farther"
We woke up early, and went with some friends and my grandparents to the church, where we had communion. We went to breakfast afterwards...and then went our separate ways. We got dressed, met back up & took some pictures, re-entered the church and said some things. We left the church and had a party under the stars, with Chinese lanterns shining golden in the now dark night sky. We left the party, drove to a hotel and fell asleep very different from the way we'd woken up.
Four years ago today, we were married.
It was a great day.
We woke up early, and went with some friends and my grandparents to the church, where we had communion. We went to breakfast afterwards...and then went our separate ways. We got dressed, met back up & took some pictures, re-entered the church and said some things. We left the church and had a party under the stars, with Chinese lanterns shining golden in the now dark night sky. We left the party, drove to a hotel and fell asleep very different from the way we'd woken up.
Four years ago today, we were married.
It was a great day.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Circulating at Work
The Great Minimum
by G.K. Chesterton
It is something to have wept as we have wept,
It is something to have done as we have done,
It is something to have watched when all men slept,
And seen the stars which never see the sun.
It is something to have smelt the mystic rose,
Although it break and leave the thorny rods,
It is something to have hungered once as those
Must hunger who have ate the bread of gods.
To have seen you and your unforgotten face,
Brave as a blast of trumpets for the fray,
Pure as white lilies in a watery space,
It were something, though you went from me today.
To have known the things that from the weak are furled,
Perilous ancient passions, strange and high;
It is something to be wiser than the world,
It is something to be older than the sky.
In a time of sceptic moths and cynic rusts,
And fattened lives that of their sweetness tire
In a world of flying loves and fading lusts,
It is something to be sure of a desire.
Lo, blessed are our ears for they have heard;
Yea, blessed are our eyes for they have seen:
Let the thunder break on man and beast and bird
And the lightning. It is something to have been.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Poetry
The thing about poetry is...especially when you're young and trying it out for the first time...its actually somewhat subjective.
Oh, I know that there are poet friends that would beg to differ with me...but from this amateur, its the honest truth.
Well, one of the assignment options for the T.S. Eliot reading in my class was to write a poem. Pass or fail, based essentially on whether or not there's blood on the page, so to speak.
As might be expected, many opted for this option, and that's fine. I have been reading their art...and its made me smile more than once...and its been interesting to gain (perhaps) a little more insight into their lives...
But I have to wonder, as it really is why I allowed them to experiment in poetry; did they actually reflect on these experiences with the eye of an artist, or are they just getting an easy "a"? It might be easy to imitate art--certainly if you're not really expected to be good at it...but I wonder how many of them took the opportunity to let their souls grow a bit more by addressing something with their emotions, and not just their reason. I won't lose much sleep over it, of course (I get little enough of that as it is)...but I do hope that they might have touched something beautiful in the process of producing something intended to be artful.
Getting them to grasp the vibrant possibilities that exist when beauty is present is difficult--I try to get around that by taking them out of their comfort zone...into the outdoors...today we had class in a playground, and I was in an olive tree...that was fun. If it wouldn't be too distracting, I'd have music playing the whole class period, and hope that perhaps in the right moment, the right notes and the right words would connect and send their souls into the clouds, if only for a moment...maybe for Lord of the Rings...
Oh, I know that there are poet friends that would beg to differ with me...but from this amateur, its the honest truth.
Well, one of the assignment options for the T.S. Eliot reading in my class was to write a poem. Pass or fail, based essentially on whether or not there's blood on the page, so to speak.
As might be expected, many opted for this option, and that's fine. I have been reading their art...and its made me smile more than once...and its been interesting to gain (perhaps) a little more insight into their lives...
But I have to wonder, as it really is why I allowed them to experiment in poetry; did they actually reflect on these experiences with the eye of an artist, or are they just getting an easy "a"? It might be easy to imitate art--certainly if you're not really expected to be good at it...but I wonder how many of them took the opportunity to let their souls grow a bit more by addressing something with their emotions, and not just their reason. I won't lose much sleep over it, of course (I get little enough of that as it is)...but I do hope that they might have touched something beautiful in the process of producing something intended to be artful.
Getting them to grasp the vibrant possibilities that exist when beauty is present is difficult--I try to get around that by taking them out of their comfort zone...into the outdoors...today we had class in a playground, and I was in an olive tree...that was fun. If it wouldn't be too distracting, I'd have music playing the whole class period, and hope that perhaps in the right moment, the right notes and the right words would connect and send their souls into the clouds, if only for a moment...maybe for Lord of the Rings...
What I'm listening too...
Artist: WRECKLESS ERIC
Song: Whole Wide World
When I was a young boy
My mama said to me
There's only one girl in the world for you
And she probably lives in Tahiti
I'd go the whole wide world
I'd go the whole wide world
Just to find her
Or maybe she's in the Bahamas
Where the Carribean sea is blue
Weeping in a tropical moonlit night
Because nobody's told her 'bout you
I'd go the whole wide world
I'd go the whole wide world
Just to find her
I'd go the whole wide world
I'd go the whole wide world
Find out where they hide her
Why am I hanging around in the rain out here
Trying to pick up a girl
Why are my eyes filling up with these lonely tears
When there're girls all over the world
Is she lying on a tropical beach somewhere
Underneath the tropical sun
Pining away in a heatwave there
Hoping that I won't be long
I should be lying on that sun-soaked beach with her
Caressing her warm brown skin
And then in a year or maybe not quite
We'll be sharing the same next of kin
I'd go the whole wide world
I'd go the whole wide world
Just to find her
I'd go the whole wide world
I'd go the whole wide world
Find out where they hide her
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Coming Soon!
A new look, a review of 300 and the lessons that both the movie and the history throw into the limelight, thoughts on the already dismally depressing Presidential campaign, and assorted thoughts on the political world, TV, heroes, and books.
So stay tuned...next week is gonna be a good one...
Just need to grade term papers and then its home free. I know I've been promising for a while now...but seriously...there'll be Superman posts, Shakespeare posts, Frank Miller/movie posts...I'm finally able to write again!
So stay tuned...next week is gonna be a good one...
Just need to grade term papers and then its home free. I know I've been promising for a while now...but seriously...there'll be Superman posts, Shakespeare posts, Frank Miller/movie posts...I'm finally able to write again!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Somewhere Out There...
On the other sides of a thousand pages of reading and 200 pages of grading, after the wife earns her well deserved degree and the son gets through the perils and travails of being two, and this kid finds another job or two tow make ends meet for another summer and two semesters...
I have a blog.
It seems odd to say that this is a priority of sorts...but it is. Not for my readership...which, if they are faithful are faithful thanks to posting notification technology...but in a way because I have very few other options for composing & articulating thoughts. The chance to do so is, as a result, coveted.
The irony is that when I finally get to sit down and type, the discussions I have been conducting in my head until now seem either out-of-date, or awkwardly large for a simple blog.
Oh well.
I have a blog.
It seems odd to say that this is a priority of sorts...but it is. Not for my readership...which, if they are faithful are faithful thanks to posting notification technology...but in a way because I have very few other options for composing & articulating thoughts. The chance to do so is, as a result, coveted.
The irony is that when I finally get to sit down and type, the discussions I have been conducting in my head until now seem either out-of-date, or awkwardly large for a simple blog.
Oh well.
Monday, February 05, 2007
The Daily Grind
Its been...just over a month since I last shook the dust from my key-board (metaphorically speaking...I normally end up blogging on computer's other than my own, and they are rarely dusty). Fear not, dauntless and desperate readers; I live still. Though I may not have written very much recently, I have, rest assured, been thinking about several weighty matters about which any number of blog posts could have been written.
And yet...I cannot think of any of them presently.
This is the problem. I have had...constipation of the mind of late. I think it stems from stress...but I have been slipping into a depressed state of silence that threatens to dry out my ability to discuss...anything. Its a dryness that recalls the sort of low that we would normally associate with the poetic "Dark Night." Its hardly so dramatic...I am just feeling discouraged. I went to Disneyland the other day...and felt simultaneously hopeful that the various rides and lands might suddenly actually become real, and deeply sad that they didn't. It was the most pleasant and depressing time I have had at the Magical Kingdom in a long time. Perhaps it was because it was just me and the wife...
But this is symptomatic of a larger problem. I have the bug of discontentment once again. Its a frustrating vice to deal with...there are always good reasons for being dissatisfied with yourself, your situation, etc...but there are very few justification for dwelling on those short-comings...and rarely does any progress occur as a result. There's a fine line between allowing your dreams of tomorrow to inspire you to action and residing in those dreams rather than facing the real live day.
So, I am trying to find purpose in the daily grind. I am trying to remember the meaning of peace and joy in everyday life. Jesus' life and ministry seem amazing and exotic when we read about them...but he was ministering to his home. He showed His own family and His own people what the kingdom of God means...and the incredible nature of His life was encapsulated in the confines of daily routine. Being honest, I don't understand how one can find satisfaction in that...while dreaming of everything that's not like our home, our life, our daily grind...but I suspect that the key to happiness and a healthy relationship with God lies in part in that secret satisfaction.
And yet...I cannot think of any of them presently.
This is the problem. I have had...constipation of the mind of late. I think it stems from stress...but I have been slipping into a depressed state of silence that threatens to dry out my ability to discuss...anything. Its a dryness that recalls the sort of low that we would normally associate with the poetic "Dark Night." Its hardly so dramatic...I am just feeling discouraged. I went to Disneyland the other day...and felt simultaneously hopeful that the various rides and lands might suddenly actually become real, and deeply sad that they didn't. It was the most pleasant and depressing time I have had at the Magical Kingdom in a long time. Perhaps it was because it was just me and the wife...
But this is symptomatic of a larger problem. I have the bug of discontentment once again. Its a frustrating vice to deal with...there are always good reasons for being dissatisfied with yourself, your situation, etc...but there are very few justification for dwelling on those short-comings...and rarely does any progress occur as a result. There's a fine line between allowing your dreams of tomorrow to inspire you to action and residing in those dreams rather than facing the real live day.
So, I am trying to find purpose in the daily grind. I am trying to remember the meaning of peace and joy in everyday life. Jesus' life and ministry seem amazing and exotic when we read about them...but he was ministering to his home. He showed His own family and His own people what the kingdom of God means...and the incredible nature of His life was encapsulated in the confines of daily routine. Being honest, I don't understand how one can find satisfaction in that...while dreaming of everything that's not like our home, our life, our daily grind...but I suspect that the key to happiness and a healthy relationship with God lies in part in that secret satisfaction.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Ode to the Gym
Oh thou gym,
This is your hymn.
To thee we go,
For we would know--
The joy of pain,
Through which we gain
Agony! Exhaustion!
Perhaps satisfaction?
We shall see...
It may be...
But for now,
I wonder how--
Have I done harm,
When I can't lift my arms?
Fin
Well, if I were a better poet, people might miss me when I was at the gym...as it is...not so much.
This is your hymn.
To thee we go,
For we would know--
The joy of pain,
Through which we gain
Agony! Exhaustion!
Perhaps satisfaction?
We shall see...
It may be...
But for now,
I wonder how--
Have I done harm,
When I can't lift my arms?
Fin
Well, if I were a better poet, people might miss me when I was at the gym...as it is...not so much.
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