The Hill, where i like to be

Well, for a Carolina grad, it shouldn't be a surprise to find that one of my new favorite eateries is the Hill Cafe. i got by there the other week and had the best Fried Chicken in my life, as well as the most amazingly seasoned fresh string beans too. Sunday came around and i got Ashley and our other Carolina friend, Kyle, by the place for brunch. Kyle got an amazing veggie-people omelette, Ashley got an all-American spread of the typical breakfast foods, and i got Huevos Racheros (spectacularly good poached eggs over black beans and salsa, all on top of a fried tortilla that was crisp to perfection). It's a corner cafe/bar, narrow and small. The decor is all painted on, but you can't beat a bar with old church pews for booth seating. i give the place 5 stars.

Journal, the paper kind (ooooooooooooooo)

So the major project since i've started working is this 120-page journal. The kids each receive it when they get here and use it to reflect on each day for two weeks. In addition to explanations about the journal itself and how to journal and explanations of the Examen process of prayer/meditation/reflection, there are 6 pages for each day. Each day there is a scripture passage to read and reflect on (most of them are "call" narratives, like Samuel, Moses, the Disciples, etc) and a selection of pictures and quotes. i picked quotes from Billy Graham to Ghandi, from old Swedish sayings to V for Vendetta. The pictures range from Norman Rockwell and Ansel Adams to 3D renderings of Escher drawings. i also was responsible for creating the CD they will be given as food for thought, and the lyrics are a part of the journal, as well as pictures i selected for the bands and to represent parts of the songs. i've been working on it on and off (more on than off) for about 6 weeks, so i'm glad to have it completed. It goes to print and binding today.

For curious minds, i selected these songs for the CD. They all have relevance in today's world for their content as it pertains to being actively participating Christians in a world that is too often full of intolerance and apathy...

I still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2
Big Joe - David M. Bailey
Chico - David M. Bailey
Another Day in Paradise - Phil Collins
The Way It Is - Bruce Hornsby
Dirty Laundry - Don Henley
Jesus Freak - DC Talk
Dare You to Move - Switchfoot (as covered by an UNC acapella group)
Long Long Time - Guy Forsyth
Everybody Hurts - REM
Everybody's Fool - Evanescence
Popular - Nada Surf
Hands - Jewel

On the Road Again

Ashley and i had originally planned to head to NY in late July, but my grandfather's rapidly declining health had us rethinking that plan. We headed up this past Thursday on the 14th after lunch. We drove 540 miles up through DC, Baltimore, Harrisburg PA, and Binghampton before hitting Albany around midnight. Ashley and i visited my grandfather briefly in the hospital. He is going to have to be placed in a hospice care facility, and not be able to go home to be taken care of, much to his growing disappointment. Under his suggestion and that of my gathered family, we made the best of our time there in NY.
We hit a wonderful tiny Italian place on New Scotland Ave, Pasqualle's, for pizza. We went out to Rensellaer to see a few of my father's aunts, whose only flaw is that they have a propensity for calling me Tommy. We stayed the weekend at my Aunt Betty and Uncle Pat's (mom's sister and brother-in-law). i briefly came down with a horrible stomach bug that passed in a day or so, which i probably picked up from the hospital. Ashley and i drove around Albany and the surrounding area and even made it up to Thatcher Park, which was beautiful. We stopped on the way and got wonderful ice cream at Ross's, this little stand with umbrellas and flowers. We got dinner out at another Italian place with Betty and Pat and a tour of the city. We also saw The Painted Veil, which was decent.
Sunday morning, Ashley and i got Brunch with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Gary (dad's sister and brother-in-law) at the 76 Diner. i got one of my favorite treats, their enormous Blueberry muffins. YUM! We then hit the road with my mother's brother to give him a ride down as far as DC and we got back to Richmond around 10:30 last night. It was a bit of a long trip and hard to see my grandfather in such low health and spirits, but i was glad to see him and the family. The weather was beautiful though for all the exploring we did between visits and we'll head back to get to Lake George for a day on the water as soon as we can.

Goin to the Chapel...

Yes, another wedding. Maggie and Erik got married and it all went off with a hitch. Saw TONS of people i hadn't seen in ages and got time with all of them. The ceremony was lovely, Erik was a stud, Maggie looked beautiful, and the squirmy little ring bearer licked Sandy's hand all during the vows (ok, so the 4 year old also licked his tie some too).

Rode down to Charlotte with Sallie late Friday night, which was a blast. Had coffee in the AM with Jess Patchett and we caught up on life for awhile, then headed to the wedding. The wedding was followed by a spectacular reception at A Roof With a View in downtown Charlotte behind Panther Stadium. It was a great place and had a huge balcony on the 5th floor outside the reception hall with a view of the stadium and the skyline. Because both Erik and Maggie grew up at ARPC, it was not your typical his and her wedding. Everyone knew everyone else and it went on for a good 5 hours. i went home and happened to catch Phillip Stafford and Yasmin Farahi in the driveway of his place. i hadn't seen them both in years, only once since high school, and so we caught up for awhile.

Today, our family took 4, yes, 4 vehicles, to Durham. My parents, Kelley and Brice, and i all went to have brunch with Ashley, her mother and her mother's husband at Elmo's so they could all meet. i think it went well and brunch was good. We took all 3 of our cars and Brice's because Kelley's car had to stay in Durham with her where she is living, Brice had to continue on with his to State, and Dad had to go home. i had to drive my mom to Richmond so she could sleep on the way and continue on her way to NY to see and take care of my grandfather. Ashley followed us up in her car. My mother continued to DC to stay for the night and Ashley and i went out to Bottoms Up for pizza (ricotta cheese and tomato slices on top). Spectacular. She then left to go meet her cousin to get acclimated to where she'll be living nearby in Chesterfield until she finds work and her own place.

All in all, a spectacularly good weekend.

Fuzzy Logic

Anyone who has been reading my blog this year may remember my blog several months back (Nov 2) in which i was horrified and dismayed at my professors for asserting the approximate 100% validity of certain Biblical authorship theories. Why did this bother me? Any time someone claims a theory as fact, you end up with close-mindedness and no room for further scholarship or discussion. It is no more enlightened to be sure exactly 6 people wrote Isaiah than claiming Moses wrote the whole Pentateuch, including his death. What's my point? Someone else is up to the same fuzzy logic, if not worse.

This part has to be prefaced. i do NOT completely disagree with the author of the article i am about to critique. i firmly believe Christ loves everyone and calls us to do the same. My discomfort is with this author using the same practices that white supremacists and slaveholders used for centuries to interpret a biblical passage. It's important that you read this article at some point, but for time's sake, i'll summarize some. The author makes several very uncomfortable conclusions. It's not even the conclusions that bother me, it is how he arrives at them. i'd find the article intriguing and worth thinking on if his conclusions were less along the lines of
"this = that," and more like "this leads one to the likely conclusion that..." The author discusses the Greek terms that are used in the passages that describe the Roman Centurion who comes to Jesus, asking that his slave be healed. The terms, indeed, may bear out that this was the Centurion's homosexual partner. However, not only is it not inescapable conclusion, but you can't draw the next conclusion on top of it, especially if it is not 100%. The next conclusion the author draws is that BECAUSE this is true, Jesus is affirming this type of relationship. However, this is the same argument the Pharisees used against Jesus. Jesus visited the home of Zacheus. Was this because Jesus approved of his lifestyle? No. He visited in hopes of reaching out to Zacheus and that his help and his time and love might change Zacheus. Jesus protected the woman caught in adultery. He did so not because he approved, but that she too deserved love more than judgment, and he told her to go and sin no more. i am not suggesting Jesus was trying to change the Centurion, but even if this was the Centurions homosexual partner (not entirely proved by the word usages), Jesus' healing and help was not conditional any more than his love.
The biggest leap the author makes is that this whole passages clearly illustrates that Jesus was affirming homosexual relationships. The Centurion had a homosexual relationship and healed his partner. Alright. Well, the Centurion had countless slaves. Was Jesus affirming slavery? His male slave he wished healed was likely purchased according to the author of this article. Was Jesus affirming the purchase of marital partners? The Centurion was part of an empire that suppressed the Jews. Was Jesus affirming the position of the Romans over the Jews? or Antisemitism? Making these radically large assumptions about Jesus is no less than what the Pharisees did, and slave holders and supremacists for centuries. When you leave no room for anyone else's interpretation, and when your narrow one, especially, a particularly speculative one is the only one that can be correct, you have become the narrow-minded person you oppose. Is it worth it?

I just ask that you read the Bible closely and draw your own conclusions. Don't let anyone decide for you. Most importantly, no matter what lifestyle Jesus does or doesn't condone in this passage, he did condone loving and healing all those we can. If we spent more time doing just that, these arguments would be far less important.

I walk the Line

Yeah, so as a self-proclaimed middle of the roader, and Libertarian, i thought it would be interesting to take some of the political quizzes available on the internet. The facebook application has a needle like a gas gauge from Liberal to Conservative and Moderate in the middle. My tank is a little more than half full (barely over on the conservative side). i tried taking another one at this site and got this result (picture left), which also may be inaccurate. On the plus side, out of Stalin, Hitler, Thatcher, Friedman, and Ghandi, i am by far, closer to Ghandi. Yay? i'm wondering where i can find a decent political compass tool without the seriously loaded questions and obvious personal political agenda of the person creating it. Any thoughts? In the mean time, i'm going to try to compile a list of what the government should and should not have their fingers in. After all, the founding fathers were the leaders of a people who were under-represented, overtaxed, and worried about protecting their local authority from a government thousands of miles away and unfamiliar with their local needs (sound familiar?). The Constitution and Bill of Rights are about protecting freedoms FROM the government, restraint, rather than allowing the government as much power as possible. The following is not comprehensive, but simply highlights the most pressing needs.

FEDERAL Government should be allowed [limited] access in the following areas:
Interstate road systems
A standing Army (and navy, marines, air force, etc)
Mail Delivery
Environmental Protection and Parks

STATE/Local Government should be allowed [limited] access in the following areas:
Police and Law Enforcement (Including Criminal and Civil Courts)
Primary and Secondary Education
Gun Laws
Marriage Laws

Stringent Limits placed on:
Domestic Surveillance (There must be oversight)
Hiring and Firing Practices (The Constitution already provides for the protection of all persons of any Gender, Race, or Creed to be given equal opportunity, but does not grant equal access, much less over representation. Gender, race, and creed should not be allowed consideration for hiring, firing, or acceptance into any school or program and should not be valid application questions under this statute. Organizations should be held to this in all ways and any preference given to any person for these reasons should be prosecuted as unlawful and unconstitutional)
Classified information (Such information must be overseen and labeled for declassification within a reasonable time, 20 years at the longest)

No level of Government should be allowed to regulate or fund:
Charitable Organizations
Campaign Finances

At all levels, additional tax levies should be brought to referendum for a direct vote. "Temporary taxes" must have time tables attached for when they will be no longer legal.

Andrew Shepherd, the Democratic president in The American President, said it best, "America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad."
He goes on to say, "it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say 'You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.'"

So decide if this country really matters to you at all and if the freedom you enjoy is bought by your daily citizenship, some one else's citizenship with a viewpoint you oppose, a soldier fighting in a country that you oppose him being in, but didn't vote in the last election? If you read this far, you must care about this country. Go do something about it.

Do you do you want my face?

http://www.myheritage.com

Move Along

Ah, and now for the weekend update...

Friday, i took off work early to ride the ever dependably late Amtrak (avoid it at all cost). It was only about 2 and a half hours late into Durham and Ashley scooped me up there. We spent the evening packing.
Saturday, we packed some, then had lunch with my college roomie, Barnes. We grabbed some Asia Cafe and sat in the quad at UNC and her dog, Eli, almost behaved for the most part. We also stopped by PCM and played pool. We spent Saturday evening packing more and then Rob and Katherine came over (Rob is Ashley's friend through his band and Katherine is my college friend) so we had a fun visit. Then we packed more.
Sunday, we packed the kitchen, picked up the U-Haul 14-ft truck and headed to a cookout. We bribed a boy there with pizza and Gary came for a few minutes to help us load the truck. Between loading and removing the washer from the wall, it took us a mere 6 and a half hours to load the truck and head off to Richmond at 9:20 PM and arrive at 12:15 at night.
Monday we got up early to unpack the U-Haul and put all her belongings in storage. Kyle helped us and we all had lunch with my college friend Melissa at Stir Crazy as she passed through from Maryland. We finished unloading and had a phenomenal Sicilian at Mary Angelo's on Cary St. Ashley and i crashed and watched Grosse Pointe Blank.

In other news, i not only get to go to Triennium this year, i get to be a SMALL GROUP LEADER!!! i fly up a day early and come back a day later and stay with all the national and international leaders. i'm completely stoked. i also redesigned the PBB symbol and designed new t-shirts for this year. i'm starting into the Journal that will be used when the kids get here and got the Google group running.

On the horizon... possible Ashley visit this weekend and a YoCo party.

June 8- Riding with Sallie down to Charlotte!!!! for Maggie and Erik's wedding!!!
June 9- Wedding and Charlotte Knight's game with Amanda
June 10- My family meets Ashley's Family
End of June- Up to Hershey to meet Ashley's extended fam

Social-conscious

Ok, so something's really been bothering me. There's a T-mobile commercial where these teenagers all text each other on their "sidekick" mobile devices and converge on this downtown building. Some are on the 2nd floor, some on the 1st. Someone texts "now" to everyone and they run for the escalator and when they meet at halfway, they all silly-string one another and all the other people who are unfortunate enough to be on the escalator and make a run for it, out running the armed security guard. This hopefully, is what one does with a T-mobile "sidekick," silly-string, and no role model. Most importantly, the missing ingredient is some sort of social-conscious of the world around them. Not of their actions and the repercussions for themselves (doubtful that got a lot of thought) but for others. No, i'm not even hugely concerned with the people who got innocently silly-stringed, but they are part of it. Some poor janitor is gonna have to clean stair after stair of hardened silly string between all those stairs on the moving escalator that are going to gum it up. Someone who already likely works 12 hours a day at this job and probably holds another job too. Someone who has a wife who works two jobs and two kids who just want enough money to buy lunch at school occasionally, not even a cell phone or a "sidekick." According to the US Census, 70% of all economic activity in the US is service work. Does this thought enter the mind of the advertising agent making six figures a year? The typical employee at a T-Mobile store? Catherine Zeta-Jones, their spokeswoman? The typical teenager watching this? Yours? How many times did i have to see it before it occurred to me? i've worked service industry jobs and worked along side folks in the service industry. i've seen a woman have to spend hours scraping the gum off the bottoms of furniture in a college student union because countless students at a liberal arts college don't think about who cleans it. i've seen a man spend hours scrubbing a sink that someone poured black paint down to avoid finding a safe place to dump it. How hard do we make the lives of others in our own daily routine? recreation? How disgusting or gross are the tasks we set before others by our lack of forethought? How would we live if those thoughts came before all else?

DUCKPIN!

Ok, Lord Nelson, my buddy here at Union got me and Marc and Jen out to our first experience with Duckpin Bowling. It's outrageously fun. The alley is the same size, everything is the same as regular bowling, except....
the pins are half size
and the balls are a little bigger than a softball (all of the same weight, no holes)
So the pins are way harder to knock down because there is way less overlap with them spread out the same as regular pins and you get 3 chances per frame, not 2 like in regular bowling
But it's so hard to get a strike or spare that nobody gets a very high score, even if you're good. You can hit them right on the center and you'll knock the two middle ones out and that's it. It's hard, but so fun. The crowd was interesting, emo kids with lots of tattoos. It was like a benfold's after party in the boonies.
And the two guys running it, one looked like Tom Petty, and the other guy was ringing me up and saw my UNC Wachovia card. He goes, "hey Larry, this guy's got the right card!" "Larry" graduated in 73 from UNC and the guy ringing me up is from "near chapel hill" and his wife works in ortho at UNC hospitol. i asked where near ch and he says "little town called Burlington." i told him i worked there one summer for church. So he says "which church?" i told him and he said, "yeah, there off 49?" "Yes sir." "My parents got married there."

Small small world.

Emo-tional

Not a lot in the news i felt like reporting on, but i just came across a youtube video worth pointing out. It's a satirical, although mostly accurate explanation of exactly "what emo is." It is about 20 minutes long and it does have some language in a couple spots, but it's worth a look if you've ever tried to explain this to anyone, or yourself.

Don't forget, Smallville Season Finale tonight.

Mother Earth, the neglected mother of the Week

Yes, Sunday was Mother's Day, and how many of you thought about Mother Earth? i know, i know, there are those of you offended by the use of that name or term (can it for the moment because i am defending the Earth and therefore, God's creation, so keep your semantics to yourself).
How big is your own ecological footprint? Do you know? It's a term used a lot now, and it's highly important. There's all sorts of easy ways to reduce it, so let's try it together, shall we?

Things i do well already (if i can do it, you totally can):
Recycle all papers you clear out when cleaning up (including newsletters, newspaper, etc)
Recycle all cardboard (cereal boxes, pasta boxes, etc)
Instead of throwing out or hording greeting cards for years, recycle them, PLEASE!
Wash out and recycle cans and bottles
*if you really feel your tap water is not sufficient, buy a Britta filter or jug and reuse bottles you can wash yourself. Stop buying bottles water by the case every week. That's extra packaging you are less likely to recycle and the delivery cost in resources and money is a huge factor in your ecological footprint
Buy fewer hair, cosmetic, and cleaning products and when possible, buy the refills
*ps: you can recycle your toilet paper tube, i know, more steps to the bin than to the trash beside you, suck it up
Carpool as much as possible

Things i don't do so well (let's all try):
Turn off lights when you leave a room
Turn off computer monitors when you aren't using them
On cool nights, open a window and turn off your A/C
Take the stairs more often
ONLY PUT AS MUCH FOOD ON YOUR PLATE AS YOU WILL EAT, you can always go back for more. Seriously, wasting food is a huge contributing factor. More food must be grown, shipped and disposed of when you waste or don't eat what you take.

Go to green.yahoo.com to learn what else you can do and make your own plan for how to make your life greener.

Wanna help stop hunger? Do you go to the grocery store once a week or more? Have 30 or 40 cents extra in your budget? Really think about that before you answer, it's yes, i promise) Buy an extra can or two of vegetables, pasta, etc, every time you hit the grocery store. Keep them on another shelf at home and take them to church with you on Sunday or the food bank once every month or so. If half the members of your average church (20 families or more) did that, they would take in 320 cans per month at the very least, or more than 36,000 per year. There are more than 100 Presbyterian churches alone in the Charlotte area. That would be 3,600,000 cans per year from only the Presbyterian churches in Charlotte. Are we getting the idea?

Merrily we Roll Along

i think my new practice is going to be to write fairly often and just add news stories and thoughts as they come to me to the same entry if they occur on the same day so i don't forget what i was gonna jot down. So if entries change all day long, don't be surprised (as if you check).

So to start with, today my favorite song is I No Longer Hate California, which you can find on CD Baby and listen to about half of it. It's a rockin' fun tune, so jump on it.


As a result of the questions i just read in Contemplative Youth Ministry, i'm making an indirectly related resolution. The book focuses on how to be truly present with youth in ministry. These questions focus on how you as an adult have changed as you've grown:

Where in your life did you stop singing?
Where in your life did you stop dancing?
Where in your life did you stop telling stories?
Where in your life did you stop listening to silence?
-Angeles Arrien

I'm painfully aware of my addiction to TV and the stories and comedy from them that apply to real life. When working with youth, these can be most relevant, but my resolution is to rely more heavily on stories from my own life, especially with those my own age. This effort is to help in the lost art of story telling, as well as an effort to truly listen more.


13:48- Just found out Jerry Falwell was found dead in his office at Liberty.

CONGRATS!!!

Yes, first off, congrats to the graduating class of 2007 of the University of NC at Chapel Hill. i really am proud. Some of you are even all grown up now ;-)

My mom and sister came through on Thursday afternoon to say hello and go to dinner. They got to see my office and meet my boss and Carson and some of my hippie friends.

i found out that my friend Susan and her husband Dan were headed down for the graduation because Dan's sister was a college buddy of mine graduating this year. So i hitched a ride down to the hill to see Ashley folks for a day or so. Got to the Law Graduation to see Ashley's mother's husband graduate and it was very nice, as well as see her mother on mothers day. i called my mother in NY and then all my other mothers here and there and everywhere.

Also made it back to Chapel Hill Bible Church for the first time in maybe 5 years. Was a very nice service. The music was all led by a dude who looks just like, and acted much like, Eddie Izzard (non-drag) and was very good. Ashley's former pastor gave the message and it was very good as well. It's worth mentioning because i've had friends recently, more than a few struggling with an issue he touched on. He talked about how many of us wait for God to love us or God to use us or God to really move in our lives in some big obvious way, and then when God uses us or God loves us through other people we figure "well, that's God's Plan B." And he's right, it's not plan B, that's God's plan A, and it's a good plan! Thought i should bring it up.


So i've rethought being shot into space after what happened to poor Scotty...

Graced with His presents

So, i had an interesting conversation with one of my best friends today and she asked me, 'what is grace?' Well, i've given this quite a bit of thought during many long dry Presbyterian services. The conclusion i've arrived at requires defining 3 terms together...

Justice is getting what you deserve
Mercy is not getting what you deserve
and Grace is getting what you don't deserve (as is injustice on the flipside, but stay with me)

Have you read or seen some version of Les Miserables? If not, please take this moment to go here because frankly, you need to know something about it now and the next time it comes up in conversation or you need to impress a girl (if you watched Star Trek: DS9, you'd know all about it).


Justice would be throwing the main character (Jean Valjean) back into prison for stealing candlesticks from the priest.
Mercy would be letting him off with a week's worth of community service at the abbey.
Grace, the whole point of the story (same as the Bible), is giving those candlesticks to Jean. It's a gift he does not expect or deserve. He actually deserves punishment. But that gift is the price paid to save and redeem him. It's a gift given to give him a new life, which is all the priest wants for him, a life he didn't know he could have.

Planet Watch

That's right, i'm keeping tabs on our exploration of and colonization of the New Earth planet (Gleise 581c). If Steve Colbert is right, it'll be the US populating it soon.

Article on BIGFib.com Pay special attention to the Daedalus
















Books to read this summer:
Death by Black Hole
The Black Swan

I'm a hard workin' dog

Yes, started work for PBB yesterday. Love my new office. i'm diggin' bein' next door to all the big wig intellects and my spacious work place. Joy, my supervisor, has me doing all the leg work for applications and teacher packets and going through applications of the kids who will come in July to write cover letters that summarize what they say about themselves, and what their recommendations had to say about them as well. i love working. Seriously stoked about the summer and about Triennium.
Ashley is continuing to search for places here in Richmond while job hunting. We had a great weekend after her interviews at Carmax. Ashley, Kyle, and i went down to VA Beach Friday night and crashed with their friend Jason who is in the Navy. We spent the next day at the beach and boardwalk, where there was a massively awesome car show on the boardwalk itself. i saw a '56 Chevy and got to talk to the owner who said i "got the prize" for asking and knowing that the gas cap was hidden behind the driver's-side tail light.



























Saturday night, Ashley and i made it to Spiderman 3. Gotta say it was good, but too long. More of it should have ended up on the cutting room floor. Some scenes were entirely superfluous and it ran too long. Special effects and story were top notch for a superhero flick.









Oh, best preview by far... The Bourne Ultimatum
Second Best was Harry Potter, looks rockin'

Street Cred

Great episode of the Daily Show (something rare these days post Steve Colbert and most of their finest reporters leaving)....

A recent 60 Minutes interview with a leading rap artist (who, is hardly important) featured him saying he wouldn't "snitch" on a guy next door on his street even if he knew he was a serial killer. Yikes. So this is what one of the new anchors on the Daily Show had to say on this phenomenon...

You get street cred for not snitchin'
You write rap songs about it
You can trade that street cred... for real cred
You use that cred and move away... from that street
'cause if it's the kinda street you get cred by not talkin' to the cops... that's a scary street



In other news, scientists did find a planet that could support life! Kind of exciting. It's in this sorta "Cinderella zone" of distance from its own sun that means it could have water in a liquid state. Unfortunately, it would take our current fastest ships 400,000 years to get there. Even at the speed of light, it would take 20 years.

Layman's Fun Article

Worth Your Time, a Penny for My Thoughts

My girlfriend located a news article i felt was worth passing along. It's not just the intrinsic entertainment value or the "aww" factor that is worth noting. i actually found the responses to be the really thought-provoking portion.

Kitties v. Puppies




















The gist is that a CA school has created freeware to defeat spam. You know those sites where you log in and it asks you to identify the weird twisted letters and numbers to prove you're a human and not spam? Well, that's not good enough these days. So this software displays a series of photos and asks you to say if it's a cat or a dog. Get them all right? You are a human! So what's the big deal? Will this be helpful? What will this lead to? Well, these comments were what caught my eye...

"I think it is pretty cool, but how long will it take for hackers to come up with cat-recognition software?"

"Maybe this type of security 'arms race' will leads to fundamental advances in artificial intelligence. Visual recognition of objects is a big problem in that field."



ALSO: Going to TRIENNIUM!!!!

Just for Fun

So this blog is entirely too serious for its own good. Here's some humor for those of you who visit. So take a break...

This commercial will have you laughing so hard you'll wet your pants...
bathroom etiquette

G Dubyah impersonator for those of you who don't know...
Steve Bridges

i'll add some Political Speeches from youtube later as the ones by almost every candidate are hilarious. Does anyone take them seriously? Geez. i dunno which is scarier: Hillary Clinton speaking or Hillary Clinton in her youtube video faking womanly and sweet and nice. Yikes!

hillary


Ok, seriously, go be good citizens and pick a better candidate than Kerry or Bush or Edwards or God forbid, Hillary. Where or where is C Powell? Are there any non-scary thirds or moderates to be found?

my women's lib theology youtube of the day...
7up

Go YoCo

Amazingly good retreat with my Youth Council kids this weekend. Was a rough week after the VT shootings for everyone, but the Keynoter, Todd, the youth director from Salisbury Pres, did a great weekend on popularity and Christian sensitivity with the middle schoolers. Trip was there with Ginger to lead a Barn Dance and the kids all had fun. i love those kids and i'm sorry to see the seniors all leaving, but happy that they're all going to good schools. i'm probably going to apply for the co-ordinator position next year to help the Exec Council and do all the major leg work. Will be a big commitment, but i am super committed to these kids.
Also, Sunday night, did my lesson i planned weeks ago for the Sr High youth at Three Chopt Pres (TCPC). i was exhausted, but it went well. It was far more relevant than i realized it would be after this past week. We discussed stereotypes and jokes and how we respond to ignorance and hate as Christians in a way that prevents people from feeling as isolated as many did this past week. i look forward to going back there.
i also got my forms turned in for my directed study this summer with Project Burning Bush (PBB) and got my office for the summer. i'm trying not to get a big head, but i'm next door to Paul Galbreth (legend in homiletics of any denom) and Katie Canon (legendary in African American studies, Women and Liberation Theology, and ethics).
Huge sidenote: may be getting to go to Triennium (PYT) on the the PBB dime in July! Wow!

Discerned

After much prayer and discernment and deeply meaningful conversations with my closest friends, confidants, family, spiritual advisers and loved ones, i have decided not to accept the offered position to N Ireland. i will be staying in school and finishing my degree and doing mission work at a later date. If you wanna ask me more about it, feel free. i mailed in the letter officially this afternoon at 3:15pm EST. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Traveling Update

It's been awhile, so read the parts that interest you...

Easter Weekend
i got some sleep and we had not only a great worship service at church, but 20 of us still here at school shared a wonderful ham and chicken dinner hosted by my campus mommy, Deb. We all pitched in with sides and dyed eggs.
2 days later
i came down with what i must assume was food poisoning from Wendy's and was ill for a few days and missed some class. i had a fever and all sorts of symptoms i will not share.

YAV Discernment weekend
Without being fully well, Tom took me to the airport Thursday morning for what was supposed to be an 11am flight out of Richmond, bound for a layover in Cincinnati and on to Louisville. Well, with the weather all through the Midwest and NE, all was delayed. i left finally at noon and we didn't make it half way when we had "engine trouble" (nothing to worry about said the captain as our engines sputtered and we dropped a few feet) so we headed back to Richmond to take the next flight. That flight finally left at 2:10pm. i did, however, meet fun people. i met a 1951 UNC alumni who is a published author and Historian, Rodney Taylor, on Jamestown. He had amazing stories to tell. i also met a English Prof from Bill and Mary and a nice woman headed to Maine. The woman headed to Maine was married to a man who usually flies her there himself since they own this tiny prop plane, and she knew a lot about our aircraft and flying. i arrived later than i expected in Louisville, but had a nice welcome from the YAV girls, one of whom i already recognized from her blog pictures of N Ireland, which was fortunate because they had no idea what i looked like.
The retreat was amazing. Everyone was great and i had incredible conversations about mission and family and friends and church and relationships and seminary. i got almost no sleep, but the worship services and small group devotional time was well worth it. i interviewed with Kenya and N Ireland. Both went well and i decided i definitely wasn't interested in Kenya because i wanted to definitely work with youth.
i got to see a few people i didn't expect to, and several i already knew or had spoken to before. Craig Hay, a former PCMer was there, and so was Sam Sale, a current PCMer and good friend from UNC.






























Also was a girl who had been to our WTI a few weekends ago who will be going to N Ireland for sure. My roomie was a funky Canadian kid who had grown up in Philly and we had some good convos too.




i was offered a placement for N Ireland and i have a few days to think about it and i'll let you all know when i decide, but school is going well and as is my current relationship. With a great summer job coming up and the possibility to work with Youth Council again and overseas youth work still my strong passion for post graduation... even if i don't go now, i likely will in the near future.

i was delayed getting back from the trip, but not terribly so. i had a 4.5 hour layover in Cincinatti as it turned out from 4pm to 8:30pm. Having apparently overdrafted my account this past week, and only a dollar in the wallet and a quarter in my pocket (i took all my change out to avoid metal detector hassles), i made my way to McDonald's. i saw that a medium fry was 1.80 and inquired about the small fry... $1.22... SUCCESS! So i ate and waited on the plane. Met more cool people there and on the plane, and had a turbulent ride back to Richmond. Tom picked me up and Jen stuck my pizza in the oven before i returned. They both get mad extra credit for that.


Today in Richmond and in life
The wind has been blowing since yesterday at upwards of 40 to 50 mph. It has done it's damage beyond tree limbs. Seminary Ave that is right out my dorm window is lined with 100 foot oak trees. The wind took one down, tearing up the sidewalk with the root ball, and blocking the entire road and into the next yard across the street. Until they clear it, there will be no through traffic.














Also, this is the day of the VA Tech shootings. As of the last time i saw the news, 32 are dead and dozens wounded. They keep playing the tape of the student who videoed it. You can't see much, but you can hear the gunfire. It's surreal. i know i have a few friends in grad school there maybe and at least one former youth kid there. i'm afraid to check on them and deeply saddened for the families and friends.

Wastin Time

In wasting time this week between activities, or in realizing how much of my time is wasted by others or activities i don't wanna do, i started another song list. As with all of my others, this will become a CD or playlist for the MP3 player, so i'd love YOUR help. Send me suggestions to add...

Time (songs about time)

Ben Folds- It's Been Too Late
Long long long long time
Hootie- Time
Stones- Time is on my side
Righteous Bros- Unchained Melody



Hard out Here for a Musician

Jackson Brown- The Load Out
Billy Joel- The Entertainer
Ben Folds- One Down
Bob Seger- Turn the Page
Willie Nelson- I Always Go the Other Way
Foreigner- Faithfully

Social Commentary

This morning, i had a very irate woman call the library to protest her extremely large fine (largest i've ever heard of). Now, it's not new for me to field horribly angry or confused people. i'm used to it. However, these are typically neighborhood folks, and not those seeking divinity degrees. She was upset because this huge fine was going to keep her from graduating. Now, i did want to tell her that she wouldn't have a fine over one hundred dollars (the largest fine i'd ever previously seen was 34) if she knew how to return books. But even more so, i wanted to stop being polite and helpful and tell her that assholes shouldn't get divinity degrees even if they are paid up at the library. In my book, a pastor who can't be kind to minimum wage employees or anyone bending over backwards to help such a pain is in the wrong field of work.
Then a little while later, a woman comes in talking loudly on her cell phone. First off, this is a library. EVERYone knows you don't get to be loud in a library, period. Second, she passed our big no cell phone signs. Okay, no common sense, no reading skills. Why is she in our library? Poor Rachel, our meek little library assistant went over to ask her to just step out in the atrium and she blew up and actually gave her the "talk to the hand." Good grief, the woman was late 30's. Rachel, our poor missionary child, was shocked.
Turns out, this was the same woman from the phone. She proceeded to yell at Rachel about her fees and how it wasn't gonna stop her from graduating and that some "dude with an African name" had checked all her books in and just because they were late doesn't mean she didn't pay all her fines, blah blah blah. It was horrible. I hope her mother is sorely embarassed by this horrendous human being this woman has become. i was embarassed to be a divinity student. i was embarassed to be a Christian. i was embarassed for her and everyone else. I deeply hope that no one ever has her as a pastor. Most of all, i hope that i personally never give such a bad name to my own school and my profession, let alone my faith and calling. That's my prayer and thought for the day. Lord willing, i'll make it.

Overdue Ooopdate

Tues night- got massive uncontrollable cold chills and a constant excruciating stabbing pain in my right ear and side of my head that radiated down the whole right side of my body every few minutes.
We morning- still going on, called around, and Loren Tate got me to the doc. He diagnosed me with some sort of ear infection and gave me two perscrips. He didn't explain either. i called our family friend Doctor Jimmy in Charlotte and he walked me through it.
The pain and chills went away, but both meds gave me horrible side effects. One was simply a decongestant, so when Doc Jim (no relation to Dr Jimmy) from my Theo class stopped by, he told me to stop taking it and stick with the anti-biotic. My sister Kelley gave me all her nursing/vomiting dietary advice, and a few of my hall friends took care of me for a few days. Jen ran to the store for Gatorade and bananas and such. Tom made me some rice, etc. With my raging high metabolism, i was laid low by lack of any food for a few days and losing much of it, so i did not make it to class or work for 2 or 3 days and laid in bed sleeping for 3-4 stretches, dearly wishing that i could.
Ashley got in Friday night after a terrible ordeal transporting a mama doggie and her 6 puppies from CH to Richmond with no leashes. FUN! She took care of me and got me to the grocery store and a few restaurants to start me back to real food like mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs and biscuits. A later blog on her failed April Fool's prank... gotta love the attempt.
Current status: able to hold down a spoon full of queso on saltines after a pot pie. Might be lookin up...

WTI?

We had our Weekend to Inquire this weekend and all of the prospective students came. Saw one of my buds from state that was my small group leader a few years ago at a PCM retreat and she's looking at seminary. There was a kid here from College Station, TX too who is applying to YAV and wants to go to N Ireland. Speaking of which, i have news.
Anyways. The David Bailey concert was great. i got to hear him warm up and help set up. Saw him do his set list. He sits on the floor with his coffee and makes a pile of "no" songs, "maybe" songs, and "yes" songs. He was sorting and he put one of my favs in the "maybe" pile and i said "oh, i love that one." He just smiled, and moved it to the "yes" pile and went on. He seemd exhausted and in declining health, but still put on a good show. i manned his CD table after so he could sign CD's and talk to folk and he cam over afterwards. He asked what i didn't have and i said we sold out of his double live album. He said, "no, what don't you have?" And i said i didn't have any of the ones left and he picked up his new CD and handed it to me. He had some great stories and it was a fun time.














The news... i do have my travel itinerary for heading to Louisville on April 12-15 for interviews for YAV.

Unoriginal Me

So for a few weeks i've been mulling over song lyrics. i love really good lyrics that strike a chord with the soul or the funny bone and some simultaneously. i've been thinking i'd like to arrange, not write, a song with nothing but the really good lines from songs i love. i've slowly been collecting some and i plan to put them together in such a way that they rhyme and form a coherent, even if only silly, song. Will hear from Louisville soon about travel out for interviews.

Spring Flinging About

i left immediately after class on friday and headed to CH. i got into town and helped Kelley load up the car. She dropped me at PCM, where Ashley picked me up shortly after. We did dinner at the Rat and then went to her friend Gary's guitar coffee house gig in Durham. Saturday, we left for Concord and had dinner with my folks and my sis. She got the full Concord tour and on Sunday got to meet the glorious members of ARPC. Most of my congregation was fascinated by my blue mohawk, but not so much surprised. My parents pretty much hated it and were throughly embarrassed. We left Sunday after the UNC victory and spent Sunday night, Mon, and Tues in CH because Ashley had to work. i got some reading done, got her tires mounted on her car, and grabbed lunch with Megan. i also got to see where Ashley works and meet some of her co-workers. All nice folks. After running dozens of errands, we left Wed afternoon for Ocean Isle and spent the next few days at her family's condo with her mother and brother and dogs. We did some beach walking and lots of NCAA basketball watching and much cooking. Ashley Newton dropped by for a brief, but wonderful visit on Thursday. We left Fri afternoon and drove the 6 hours up to Richmond. We spent St Patty's day watching Irish movies and then a brief visit to the lame excuse for a festival downtown. Then we watched the UNC victory over MSU here with Kyle after going to Sticky Rice. Church tomorrow and Youth. At some point i still have a Theo paper to write.

And now for something completely different

Yes, in fact, i am rarely gushy or mushy on my away messages or blog or anything, so feel free to stop reading. i have a lot of weird zaney and just plain disturbingly odd friends whom i dearly love, and allot me to be fairly odd. Last week i told one of these zaney friends how much i really wanted to have _____ years later. Now, it's highly unimportant what it was, but they just gave me a weird look and said, um, ok, sure. Well my wonderful girlfriend, of her own accord, suggested that very thing today. And on a day when i was feeling rather unappreciated by some local "friends," it was a wonderfully nice surprise. So my thought for today is that every once in awhile, some part of you can be totally illuminated when you friends or those whom you love step in and don't just let you be yourself or unique, but appreciate that fully. Good on that.