Bag 'er and Tag 'er

New duffel. i'll let the pictures do the talking...

"Be nice to me, i Tried to give Blood today"

Yes, tried. i haven't been able to give since HS because of various meds and trips and such. Being type O, it's important, as it is for all of us. i went over and it started out badly. The poor woman pricked my finger off to the side and when she bandaged it, put the sticky part on the cut, so a few minutes later we looked down to see i had bled all over my hand and the table. Ooops.
While this was going on, the nurse came over and asked if i wanted to try some machine that takes your blood out, centrifuges it and removes the red blood cells, and puts it back in the same arm so they can get a full pint from just one person, rather than having to combine it with someone else's later to get a full pint of RBC's. Well, i tried. She was all excited about my good veins and proceeded to stick me fine but fish the needle around a lot before she got it going and then turned the machine on. i was lightheaded and wonky in minutes and had to stop. Not trying that one again. So i missed most of my History section with all that jazz and have to go again today. Fun times with the VA Blood Donation services.

Taking a Walk

Read this first. Trust me, will help you a lot before you read my entry.

It details the younger Falwell's call for people to step from behind the pulpit and go preach the Gospel at folks and tell them what is right and wrong.

i wish someone would step from the pulpit and have a news conference announcing that they were demanding other religious leaders to follow them into the streets to feed the homeless, care for the sick and visit the prisons and live out the gospel as opposed to preaching it.

The sentiment isn't wrong, but people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. In less than 300 years, Christianity grew from maybe 1,000 jews to 6 million strong in the Roman empire. Not by preaching, but by caring for widows and orphans and healing the sick and lame.

Francis of Assisi spoke my favorite quote ever. "Everywhere you go, preach the gospel...
...but only when necessary, use words."

This is Falwell's commission, Christ's own great commission was not "go and tell people what is wrong and right" (although it was implied in the code he lived by), it was "go tell the good news, the good news that i have lived and died so your sins are forgiven."

That's beautiful, not antagonizing or presumptuous.

Nearly every denomination of Christianity is shrinking in the "1st world" and growing in the "3rd world." Makes you wonder why, and i think the answer is true Christian community and the care of God's people, rather than words, pulpits, and so forth.

Some days, i dunno if i am up to that kind of call, or if i'll be able to inspire that in my youth or congregants. i sure hope so.

This just in...

You cannot be stealthy in a bright lime green Dodge Stealth at 65 in a 35 on Chamberlayne Ave at rush hour. You only make it 2 or 3 lights before screeching to a halt.

Goin to the Chapel (Hill)...

Well, it was a weekend of surprises. i'm not posting this immediately, so it will seem like old news to most of you reading it.

After weeks of planning, Ashley and i took the trip to Chapel Hill this past weekend (Aug 17,18,19) to "see Barnes" and "have dinner with the Wards." My original plan was that our excuse to go down that weekend was to help Kelley move in, so i had to rearrange a little, but nothing too big. i called Ashley's pastor weeks ago, Dave Ward for he and his wife, Angie, to invite us for dinner to give us legitimate dinner plans for Saturday night.

Friday night, we arrived in Chapel Hill and made it to Linda's for cheesy fries and drinks with my college friends, Melissa and Jen. It was pretty late when we left.

Saturday, we met my college roomie, Barnes, for lunch at Kurama, the Japanese hibachi place he used to work at. It was great.

Saturday evening, we headed to the Wards for dinner. When we were in the car, i got a call from Angie. She said she was sorry but they couldn't do dinner because they were at the ER with their son who had broken his arm next door. She apologized profusely and recommended that because the weather was so nice, that we should walk around campus. It was actually Kelley with a pre-written script. Ashley was fairly convinced. We had already talked about going to Franklin Street to go check on some possible reception locations and it was beautiful out, so we went over to campus.

We were strolling through the upper quad and talking about memories from college and when we first/last strolled through the quad together. The quad was full of new students back for the start of school and some folks playing frisbee. As we walked by Davie Polar a girl came up to us with her camera and notebook and asked to take our picture for her magazine article. She said she worked for the Blue and White and needed a picture of someone on the bench. (For those readers who don't know the history of the Davie Poplar Bench, the legend is that those who kiss on the bench will be destined to marry one another) Actually, the girl was my PCM friend, Anna, who i had asked to step in and get us to the bench and keep it clear of other lovebirds. So we sat down and she took a few pictures. She took our names in her notebook and that with the other notes she had convinced Ashley that it was legit.

Ashley stood up to go and saw that i was lingering and asked what i was thinking. i told her what i had planned to say and got down on one knee to give her the ring. That's when the "frisbee" players came over. They were the half dozen Achordants that my college roomie, Barnes, was able to recruit from his days in the group, with Barnes singing lead solo. They sang Stand by Me while i proposed and slipped the ring on.









She was thrilled and actually said yes. We called my folks and then hers and a few friends and took off for 411 West. We called a bunch of relatives and swung by the Wards to have dessert and then a party that Jenny Hodge and Rob Patchett were hosting. We even got by Linda's again to see Jess Patchet and Page Mowery before we called it a night.

Sunday morning we got to the Chapel Hill Bible Church and then to Brunch with the Trumbulls at Elmo's in Durham. We shot back to Richmond to move Ashley out of her storage space and into her new house on Hill Monument, about a mile from Union. We got to the U-haul at 4pm (they close at 5) and got out 10' 24-hr rental truck. We stayed a bit past closing and between me and Ashley and Kyle, got about 70% of her stuff into the truck and over to her house.

The plan was for me to take the truck with my buddy Charles and get the rest of her stuff over to her house, unloaded and the truck back to the U-haul by 4. We went over at 9am to discover that they had no power and couldn't open the storage rooms. They didn't get power back until 2pm and Charles and i had to run up to her 4th floor storage space in this warehouse, load all of her remaining things onto pallets and down to the truck, unload them at her house, gas the truck back up and get it over to U-Haul by 4. We barely made it. The upswing... she's ALL moved in to this great house. Pictures to come.

PostSecret Video

PostSecret now has a video on YouTube, officially by the guy who started it. If you've never been to the link on my blog for PostSecret, it's definitely an experience.









Oh, and supposedly, this is me...

Your Score: Ceiling Cat

45% Affectionate, 33% Excitable, 40% Hungry

You are a master of stealth. They never see you coming. But you always see them coming. HEY-O!

Grand Central

Well, one of the reasons i moved to Richmond for seminary was that i knew i wouldn't be far from relatives like my sister in Chapel Hill and Uncle in DC. While i haven't seen much of my uncle, and Kelley is moving back to Concord, i have become a stop off point for my Dad's side of the family. i lived in Chapel Hill for 4 years of college, about half an hour from my Aunt Judy and Uncle Paul and 15 minutes from my cousin Josee, but we all stayed so busy that i never saw them. Now that i am all the way up in Richmond though, this week, i had my second visit in 6 months from my aunt and uncle, as well as a visit from Josee. Always good to see family and have visitors and Ashley and i both like to see ours. Now that cousin Jackie is living in the DC area, we may get visits from time to time for lunches and dinners, which is great. It's also a stop off for my folks on the way north to NY, and hopefully a stop for those NY relatives headed south. We got Josee and her little one, Danny over to La Casita last Wednesday and Judy and Paul over to Strawberry Street Cafe for Sunday lunch/brunch. For those of you non-Richmonders, it's famous for its bath tub salad bar.

ANYthing is BEYOND Infinity

The razor that is. It's no good. DO NOT buy an Infinity razor. You will be majorly disappointed if you use any other straight razor than a Bic disposable. And to be honest, even a Bic is better.

Why? This razor has 2 blades of titantium that are supposed to last a life time. That's all well and good, but the design is horrible. First of all, i hadn't realized it, but there's very little difference between 3 and 4 or 5 blades, but anything more than 2 does in fact help.

Far more importantly however, a razor head that is flexible is incredibly superior around the contours of your face (or head or whatever you shave, i don't wanna know).

Yet, even if you do manage to navigate those contours fairly well, the Infinity razor doesn't even have a straight handle. It's curved, so those contours, like under your chin line, etc, are even harder to get to because you can only angle the head in so far.

Save your money, don't buy one.

The plus side? Free kitchen knives that can cut through aluminum cans!

World of trouble, world of Chocolate...

The first version of this entry was deleted (please feel with me my giant ball of frustration)

Ashley and i did the half day thing for work on Friday so we could take off for Pennsylvania. We had been invited (here, the word 'invited' means most nearly: she and i both took the place of her half brother who also was not technically invited in going) to her second cousin's wedding in Hershey. i got to meet her father's side of the family (her father and 4 of his 5 sibblings, their kids and spouses and her grandfather). They were all terrifically nice people and a real collection of characters (you can laugh now if you've ever met my family).

The wedding was lovely, and the groom even knew who we were once Ashley explained why were sitting in the place of honor in the church (here, the words 'place of honor' most nearly mean the second row pew in front of everyone else whom the groom or bride might have recognized or even invited). We much enjoyed the ceremony and the reception. It was an excellent chance not only to dance, but to get to know Ashley's family since no one really knew the bride or groom or any of the other guests very well. i spent my time getting to know her family and Ashley got to tell the story of how we met a few times over.

We also managed to make it to the Hershey park and Chocolate World and all that jazz. We bought boatloads of the stuff and sampled some and took the historical trolley tour. Ashley's 17-yr old cousin Brydon is one of the trolley tour guides and part of his gig is to jump off the trolley now and then, run around back and change into a different costume (and voice) in order to portray different characters that are discussed on the tour. The kids love it, and the adults pretend not to be equally as entertained.

Ashley's father gave her a beautiful cedar chest he's been working on for months and i'll post pictures soon.

A tribute

This is simply my grandfather's obit

PYT 2007

Yes, Presbyterian Youth Triennium 2007 was a blast!!! i finally have some time to write about it.

Ashley dropped me at the Airport at 5AM Monday morning and i flew into Cincinnati and then Indianapolis by lunch time. It was a quick one hour bus trip with half the other small group leaders to West Lafayette, Purdue University. i ended up sitting with a kid about a year older than me, Jonathan Crooms, who was a Davidson grad and knew a lot of high school crowd who went there. He's currently working as a delegate of the PC(USA) to the UN. We got to talking about sports and the man in front of us turned around, Jay Smith, and asks "are we hating on Duke?" and we told him we were. So he joined us. Turns out, Jay is a pastor at a church in Concord, and it further turned out that he and his family live about 5 houses from my folks and his wife works at the same YMCA that i did. Training was interminably long, but i met some amazing folks, including my own small group leader from Canada in 2001 (who incidentally speaks like Kermit). He was beaming with pride that i was now a small group leader and my friend Cass from that group is now married. i also spent much of the week with Brian Maher, my old youth leader bud from PYC days in Charlotte. That was one of my huge highlights. We're trouble together.

Worship was great music-wise. Corey, who lead our discernment weekend for YAV back in April was there to drum and piano-fy. The lead guitarist looked like Martha Stewart, and the bass player was named Critter (real name). They all also lived on my hall, as well as famed Steve Price, the energizer king. My roommate was the snoring champion of West Texas and my suitemates were a 60-yr old Biker/Pastor with handlebar mustache and leather vest named AD who rides with Soldiers of Christ and an African American gentlemen from the Cumberland Presbyterian in Texas. They were both spectacularly cool and insightful.

i was not impressed with the drama at worship. It consisted of what everyone came to call the "French Tellitubbies" because they were some kind of raggamuffin squad of gibberish french vaudeville characatures. That being said, the best worship service by far was on Friday night outside. There was no drama, just music and a sermon, which was delivered by Mark Yacconelli!!! i was stoked because i'm in the middle of his Contemplative Youth Ministry book and it's phenomenal. He was an INCREDIBLE speaker and story teller. i was blown away and so were the kids.

My small group absolutely rocked. i had 14 youth and 3 adults. The kids were great and talkative and enthusiastic. i had to retailor most of the leader guide for more activity and less pointless Q & A. It's rare to have such an energetic group or one that bonds so well. They were a blessing. Of my adults, one woman was from Kansas, a town of 1,300 and the two men were from Texas. One of those men, Harry Abercrombie, is the older brother of Dave Abercrombie who helped lead this year's Charlotte delegation and led mine 6 years ago. In fact, Harry got up to tell my group that when he came six years before, "some kid stuck my glasses up his nose... and that kid is now your small group leader." That went over great. Yay teenagers. i'm not really old yet, nor do i plan to ever get old (i know, some of you are out there plotting for the same), but it was a weird feeling this trip to see the younger siblings of younger siblings of people i know. Lauren Patchett was there, and so was one of the Sult girls and Carlie Abercrombie's little sis, Aly. The small group leader next door to me was neighbors with the Wilson (Frank Wilson was one of my best college friends) family of Elizabeth City, NC.

i spent the little free time i had working the Project Burning Bush booth. One of this year's kids, Meg, was there, and one of last year's, Cindy. A few other Alums came by too. i spent all my time giving kids from all over the continent info on PBB and getting them hooked. We gave out over 500 fliers to interested youth and adults.

ALSO! When i was manning the booth, i discovered David Lamotte was gonna be playing for an hour or so after the international folks and my booth was in prime location. He and i got to talk for a bit and catch up because it had been probably a year or two since we last spoke. He said married life was treating him well. He played spectacularly as usual and then told us all that he is only touring for another 11 months before retiring. i'm sorry if this is the first place you see this news. He's been playing for 17 years and is ready to spend some time with his wife and his house in Montreat and do some traveling. David, i wish you well and God's peace. He signed the headband of my cowboy hat i wore all week and put a peace sign and exclamation point. He winked at me and said, "so you'll always have peace on your mind."

i may think of more later, but it was a spectacular time. God bless and hope to all.

Travelin Man

More on PYT 2007 later. Too much to tell to get in and i'll soon forget my Sunday travels.

i arrived at Indianapolis International after an hour bus ride with my Canadian small group leader
from 6 years ago. i spent about an hour chatting with a man who turned out to be the CPM liason for my suitemate Tom. i boarded a plane and ended up next to a Russian Orthodox priest and his wife and we had an amazing conversation for a few hours about faith and church and youth and places and travel.

There were about a dozen PYTers on the plane with us and when we arrived in Detroit, the student behind us knew Father Greggory from Perdue and so we got to talking and realized she was headed to Richmond too for her internship with horsies. We went to find a place to eat before our next flight and when we got to a place met a man from Nigeria, whom we both invited to join us for dinner. He told us he worked for Total Oil out of France and sold cars on the side. When he learned i was studying to be a pastor he totally lit up and told us he's also a full-time pastor of a church back home in Nigeria. So the three of us delved into Coney Island food, Milkshakes, and faith sharing. It was beautiful. He insisted on paying for our dinners and we talked for nearly 2 hours. Then we went our separate ways.

On the next flight i met 2 folks who work for the YMCA here in Richmond, a young couple and a man named Jeff Tuttle (yes, like MASH) who is a Country music singer out of Nashville. All in all, an exciting trip.

Move along

My grandfather surrendered in his long battle with cancer this past thursday night. He'd fought the good fight for many years and we got many more years with him than the doctors ever promised. Tomorrow is promised to no one, but he demanded as many as he could have to see us grandchildren grow and to pass on his advice and to take care of us. Born in 1922, his was a generation that saw this country at war more times than any other generation before. He was not only one of the few to finish grade school and high school, but managed to get through college and send his son and 3 daughters at a time when even that was rare. His marriage, mixed (between himself, a Protestant and my grandmother, a Catholic) was one of the many social and religious barriers he broke. He was a man of principal and great faith in his loving God. Years of attendance at his wife's Catholic church and arguments with several priests earned him the right to take communion there despite not converting and the respect of the priest who presided over his funeral. Years of dedication to his work on the railroad and to every person whom he ever worked with or lived near brought dozens of neighbors and coworkers, golf buddies and bowling league partners out to his wake and funeral. Almost all of them said that not only was he a good man, but "he had time for me." He was a man who did everything, and still made time for every person in his life. He raised a family that loved him and were ever present and went on to do things he was proud of. He raised a daughter who became a nurse and raised 5 children, while living out her faith in very real ways that showed her love for her family and the world. He raised one daughter who has served the public in NY government for more than a quarter of a decade, much of which was in the nutrition office, choosing and providing healthy meals for all children. He raised my mother who became a teacher and librarian, while earning a graduate degree and who raised 2 kids. He raised a son who served more than 2 decades in the Coast Guard, and the private sector where he more or less wrote the book on environmental disaster response and prevention, and moved on to work for the Department of Homeland Security and write the books on how better to respond to hurricanes and natural disasters. In so doing all of this, my grandfather raised 7 grandchildren who are all in or headed for college and met two of his future in-laws before passing. He is a man who not only worked hard to provide and to thank God for his blessings, but made time for the people in his life and to be a blessing to them. He selected I Corinthians 13 to be read at his service, and i read it knowing that he embodied what was within the text. He had great faith, much hope, and deep love, and he made time to let that love be shown in very real ways. May i be so blessed to live a life so full of all these things.

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'