...who read blogitch with thanks to the Grace and Truth to You blog of Wade Burleson. It's almost nine minutes long but worth every second.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
I Am Regularly Amazed...
...by the consistent depth and breadth of quality of thought and writing exhibited by Michael Spencer at his blog, internetmonk.com.
Here is a kicker of a paragraph from a recent post.
Remember that Jesus was a teacher, but he never dismissed class. Life was his classroom, because he refused to isolate truth into compartments. He had no intention of producing a disciple who was an expert in theology but useless in a hospital ER. He had no plan to allow the specializations we use to excuse ourselves from what it really means to be a Christian. Carrying the Cross and Washing Feet weren’t talks. They were your life.
Here is a kicker of a paragraph from a recent post.
Remember that Jesus was a teacher, but he never dismissed class. Life was his classroom, because he refused to isolate truth into compartments. He had no intention of producing a disciple who was an expert in theology but useless in a hospital ER. He had no plan to allow the specializations we use to excuse ourselves from what it really means to be a Christian. Carrying the Cross and Washing Feet weren’t talks. They were your life.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Yom Kippur for All: A Writer's Wisdom
Jim Sollich, a writer from Cleveland, Ohio, has an article in today's WaPo entitled A Day to Edit Our Lives. The money exerpt:
Writing is a process of making choices. Thousands of them. The act of writing an opening sentence is the result of more choices than I can count. Every word a character speaks or swallows is a choice. Every action or inaction, more choices. It's so easy to get them wrong. Or at least to see that another choice would have made more sense.
The best writers are usually the best revisers, and they learn to look forward to the process. Revision gives you a chance to get things right. You learn to ask other people for suggestions. Your narrator may be omniscient, but you realize you're not. Suddenly, the writing isn't yours alone anymore. You see that it affects people differently from the way you intended.
On Yom Kippur, we are given the chance to understand that our lives are also not ours alone. Our actions and choices affect others, often in ways that we don't intend. If we cling to our vision of ourselves too fiercely, we blow the chance to gain insight.
Yom Kippur is not a holiday for the young. Judaism requires only adults to fast while they reflect. Nor is it a holiday for the weak of heart. Revising yourself requires you to do something almost psychologically unnatural -- stop narrating the story of your life the way you always have.
The British novelist John Fowles said that people under 40 should not attempt to write novels because they lack the wisdom to do so. I think he may have meant that they lack the ability to revise. Living, like writing, requires no wisdom. Only revising does.
Writing is a process of making choices. Thousands of them. The act of writing an opening sentence is the result of more choices than I can count. Every word a character speaks or swallows is a choice. Every action or inaction, more choices. It's so easy to get them wrong. Or at least to see that another choice would have made more sense.
The best writers are usually the best revisers, and they learn to look forward to the process. Revision gives you a chance to get things right. You learn to ask other people for suggestions. Your narrator may be omniscient, but you realize you're not. Suddenly, the writing isn't yours alone anymore. You see that it affects people differently from the way you intended.
On Yom Kippur, we are given the chance to understand that our lives are also not ours alone. Our actions and choices affect others, often in ways that we don't intend. If we cling to our vision of ourselves too fiercely, we blow the chance to gain insight.
Yom Kippur is not a holiday for the young. Judaism requires only adults to fast while they reflect. Nor is it a holiday for the weak of heart. Revising yourself requires you to do something almost psychologically unnatural -- stop narrating the story of your life the way you always have.
The British novelist John Fowles said that people under 40 should not attempt to write novels because they lack the wisdom to do so. I think he may have meant that they lack the ability to revise. Living, like writing, requires no wisdom. Only revising does.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Vote Today!
The man who bought Barry Bonds' record-setting baseball says he did it for you. Fashion designer Marc Ecko paid $750,000. He wants you to vote by Internet on what to do with the ball. You can send it to the Hall of Fame, or brand it with an asterisk, or put it on a rocket and send it into space.
Vote here today.
Vote here today.
The Angle You Didn't See on the News
Was it how he was saying it...as so many would have you think...or was it WHAT he was saying?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Kidney Stone Dots
* A kidney stone hurts...ALOT!
* My insurance company pays for lithotripsy to break up kidney stones 7mm and larger.
* My kidney stone is 6mm. I've gotta pass it as is.
* I have a watermelon I'd like to shove up the nose of the guy at the insurance company. I wonder if he'd like me to break it up into smaller pieces before I begin?
* I'd rather have a kidney stone than hear about OJ's latest caper on the news. Oh goody...I get to do both. Well...at least I can change the channel on OJ.
* My insurance company pays for lithotripsy to break up kidney stones 7mm and larger.
* My kidney stone is 6mm. I've gotta pass it as is.
* I have a watermelon I'd like to shove up the nose of the guy at the insurance company. I wonder if he'd like me to break it up into smaller pieces before I begin?
* I'd rather have a kidney stone than hear about OJ's latest caper on the news. Oh goody...I get to do both. Well...at least I can change the channel on OJ.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Ticked Off
Sometime in the wee hours of Sunday night/Monday morning, somebody with too much time on their hands over a Labor Day weekend wandered through our generally quiet neighborhood and threw a rock through my driver's side car window. They missed their first shot because there's a lovely ding in the door about 2 inches under the window. The second shot shattered the glass and left the rock resting comfortably, an unwitting instrument of stupidity, in the driver's seat along with a zillion little chunklets of safety glass.
Until this morning, I thought I was the only victim. I heard at the corner store this morning that they got a neighbor down the street, as well.
Grrrrrrr.
Until this morning, I thought I was the only victim. I heard at the corner store this morning that they got a neighbor down the street, as well.
Grrrrrrr.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
And Some People Say He's Not Ambitious!
Jim Rutenberg writes in todays NYT about Bush's plans for after he leaves the White House. Make sure you have a steady stomach when you read it. I was especially impressed with these thoughts by our President:
But in an interview with a book author in the Oval Office one day last December, he daydreamed about the next phase of his life, when his time will be his own.
First, Mr. Bush said, “I’ll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol’ coffers.” With assets that have been estimated as high as nearly $21 million, Mr. Bush added, “I don’t know what my dad gets — it’s more than 50-75” thousand dollars a speech, and “Clinton’s making a lot of money.”
Then he said, “We’ll have a nice place in Dallas,” where he will be running what he called “a fantastic Freedom Institute” promoting democracy around the world. But he added, “I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch.”
Then, after reaffirming his role as the exclusive "decider":
“This group-think of ‘we all sat around and decided’ — there’s only one person that can decide, and that’s the president.”
there's this incredible statement:
Mr. Bush acknowledged one major failing of the early occupation of Iraq when he said of disbanding the Saddam Hussein-era military, “The policy was to keep the army intact; didn’t happen.”
But when Mr. Draper pointed out that Mr. Bush’s former Iraq administrator, L. Paul Bremer III, had gone ahead and forced the army’s dissolution and then asked Mr. Bush how he reacted to that, Mr. Bush said, “Yeah, I can’t remember, I’m sure I said, ‘This is the policy, what happened?’ ” But, he added, “Again, Hadley’s got notes on all of this stuff,” referring to Stephen J. Hadley, his national security adviser.
But in an interview with a book author in the Oval Office one day last December, he daydreamed about the next phase of his life, when his time will be his own.
First, Mr. Bush said, “I’ll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol’ coffers.” With assets that have been estimated as high as nearly $21 million, Mr. Bush added, “I don’t know what my dad gets — it’s more than 50-75” thousand dollars a speech, and “Clinton’s making a lot of money.”
Then he said, “We’ll have a nice place in Dallas,” where he will be running what he called “a fantastic Freedom Institute” promoting democracy around the world. But he added, “I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch.”
Then, after reaffirming his role as the exclusive "decider":
“This group-think of ‘we all sat around and decided’ — there’s only one person that can decide, and that’s the president.”
there's this incredible statement:
Mr. Bush acknowledged one major failing of the early occupation of Iraq when he said of disbanding the Saddam Hussein-era military, “The policy was to keep the army intact; didn’t happen.”
But when Mr. Draper pointed out that Mr. Bush’s former Iraq administrator, L. Paul Bremer III, had gone ahead and forced the army’s dissolution and then asked Mr. Bush how he reacted to that, Mr. Bush said, “Yeah, I can’t remember, I’m sure I said, ‘This is the policy, what happened?’ ” But, he added, “Again, Hadley’s got notes on all of this stuff,” referring to Stephen J. Hadley, his national security adviser.
An Insightful Comparison
Former Senator Jean Carnahan of Missouri compares how Larry Craig and Mother Teresa handled inner conflict in Words for Lusty Larry.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Larry Craig's Career Ending Sins
Poor Larry Craig is being tossed under the bus by the Republicans for coming on to a man in an airport bathroom. The man turned out to be a vice cop so "the deed" was nipped in the bud by the flash of a badge. Initially stripped of his committee assignments by Senate Republican leadership, pressure from multiple points in the party is leading to Craig's resignation expected later today.
David Vitter, senator from Louisiana, copped to solicitating prostitutes when it was inevitable that the DC Madam's phone records were about to be released. Vitter retains his committee assignments and faced no pressure to resign.
Two Republican senators caught soliciting sex. One is run out on a rail while the other continues in the Senate. What are the differences?
Talking heads on the news enjoy focusing on the fact that one senator was after another man while the other senator actually got another woman. Homosexual deviance vs. heterosexual deviance.
Craig and Vitter handled their approaching tsunamis very differently. Vitter, when he knew his activity was about to become public, went immediately to Senate Republican leaders to inform them and ask for their advice on facing the storm. They had opportunity to plan and coordinate a response to the storm and its aftermath. Craig, on the other hand, informed no one of what was going on and leadership was caught totally off guard. Nobody likes to be blindsided, especially party leaders in the Senate. Caught flatfooted, McConnell et. al. had no time to prepare for the wave of controversy.
Craig's first career ending sin: hiding from Senate party leadership.
My question is, would the party be so quick to run a senator out of office for homosexual deviance if the governor of his or her state were a Democrat? See, Idaho has a Republican governor which guarantees a Republican replacement and maintains the current balance of parties in the Senate. Louisiana, on the other hand, has a Democrat governor. If Vitter left the Senate, a Democrat would almost certainly be named to replace him for the remainder of his term and the current balance of power in the Senate would be upset.
Craig's second career ending sin: hailing from a state with a Republican governor.
The first sin, in and of itself is not necessarily fatal. The second, however, when taken in full context, is the ultimate killer of Larry Craig's senate career.
David Vitter, senator from Louisiana, copped to solicitating prostitutes when it was inevitable that the DC Madam's phone records were about to be released. Vitter retains his committee assignments and faced no pressure to resign.
Two Republican senators caught soliciting sex. One is run out on a rail while the other continues in the Senate. What are the differences?
Talking heads on the news enjoy focusing on the fact that one senator was after another man while the other senator actually got another woman. Homosexual deviance vs. heterosexual deviance.
Craig and Vitter handled their approaching tsunamis very differently. Vitter, when he knew his activity was about to become public, went immediately to Senate Republican leaders to inform them and ask for their advice on facing the storm. They had opportunity to plan and coordinate a response to the storm and its aftermath. Craig, on the other hand, informed no one of what was going on and leadership was caught totally off guard. Nobody likes to be blindsided, especially party leaders in the Senate. Caught flatfooted, McConnell et. al. had no time to prepare for the wave of controversy.
Craig's first career ending sin: hiding from Senate party leadership.
My question is, would the party be so quick to run a senator out of office for homosexual deviance if the governor of his or her state were a Democrat? See, Idaho has a Republican governor which guarantees a Republican replacement and maintains the current balance of parties in the Senate. Louisiana, on the other hand, has a Democrat governor. If Vitter left the Senate, a Democrat would almost certainly be named to replace him for the remainder of his term and the current balance of power in the Senate would be upset.
Craig's second career ending sin: hailing from a state with a Republican governor.
The first sin, in and of itself is not necessarily fatal. The second, however, when taken in full context, is the ultimate killer of Larry Craig's senate career.
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