July 28, 2005 at 06:11 am
Mentioned in the New York Times?!
No way! Er, I mean, yes way!
You can read it here (free registration/login required) — in the first two paragraphs, no less.
So, if you’re coming here from that nice little New York Times Science article… Welcome!
July 26, 2005 at 12:14 pm
A few of my favorite things (about our trip to California)...
Fun times in pictures and prose (July 17, 2005 to July 24, 2005)...
July 26, 2005 at 09:54 am
Discovery launch...
I just watched the successful launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, live on the NASA website.
Wow.
God, please preserve these seven astronauts.
July 25, 2005 at 10:15 pm
Oh, yeah (again)...
We arrived home from the Bay Area yesterday evening, completely exhausted (but in a good way). We had a great time with my family in the Arroyo Grande / Pismo Beach area for five days and then drove up for some time alone (three days) in San Francisco and Berkeley.
There were many highlights from the week and rather than do what I did two years ago, I thought I’d post some photos of the fun times. But, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow, because it’s, well…bedtime.
Until then, you can view some of the photos I posted at Flickr, starting here (and ending with the photo entitled, “Flying”).
July 16, 2005 at 6:21 pm
Oh, yeah...
We’re in California for a week — just got here, in fact.
The weather’s great. See y’all in a week.
July 15, 2005 at 11:33 am
More on extremists...
Richard White wrote an insightful (short) piece that explains extremists in another light here.
(Link via Maggi.)
July 14, 2005 at 11:52 am
The National Museum of Worship...
I had a dream a few nights ago about being in the “National Museum of Worship.” It was pretty funny. I was there with my wife and a few other friends.
The museum was huge — think LACMA or MOMA or something. The floors were made of reflective marble and the ceilings were highly vaulted and decorative. There were padded benches that ran down the length of every hallway. There was even a food court near the entrance.
July 14, 2005 at 10:07 am
Daily Dose of Heresy #4 (Our "Fruit")...
Matthew 7:15-20 (NKJ):
In this passage from Matthew, Jesus places much emphasis on the “fruit” (or actions) of others. But, was Jesus referring to everyone or just believers? True, Jesus points out “false prophets” as those whom we should look out for. But does Jesus mean to say that we should watch out for “unbelievers”? I don’t think so. What if these false prophets (although admittedly bearing “bad fruit”) are still, in fact, believers of Christ?“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
July 14, 2005 at 08:34 am
Classisying Al Qaeda as a cult...
This morning, I was thinking about all of the persecution that Muslims have to endure because of the actions of Al Qaeda. Because of one (widespread) militant group, people around the world are treated as if they are terrorists, even when they’re not. If we are to speak of “justice” in the world, maybe this is one place where we can all start.
As Christians, we endure relatively little persecution these days. Most of the world accepts the Christian faith, and where organized religion is not yet “allowed,” torture and death — let alone simple prejudice — rarely occur to those who call themselves Christians. And when a radical religious group with any sort of “Christian” ties does something drastic (think Jim Jones, Christian Identity, Branch Davidians, etc.), it, even more rarely, affects Christianity as a whole.
Muslims, on the other hand, don’t have it so easy. Even here in America people do “double-takes” when a head-covered Muslim family walks by. People openly talk about their hatred of “Iraq” and the terror that they wage on the world. What’s worse, when a terrorist-based tragedy occurs (as in the recent case of the London Bombings), Muslims are all but shunned from society.
So, what’s the difference?
July 11, 2005 at 9:32 pm
"The Emerging Church, Part One" (PBS Special)...
Everyone and his brother is linking to the new “Emerging Church” cover story on the PBS show Religion & Ethics, so I thought I should too. No, actually, it is a pretty good piece that warrants your time — all who were interviewed did a very fine job (yeah, even ol’ D.A. Carson). The information provided was a bit superficial, but what can you do with fifteen minutes? I’m hoping that the second part fleshes a few more ideas out.
One cool thing was that the Emergent Village logo I designed was shown for a second or two. That’s pretty fun. (Yeah, that’s a PeeCee screen grab — don’t hate me, ok?)
It amazes me how much this movement has grown, even over the last year. It’s definitely time to stop calling this a “conversation.”
For a good synopses of the show and some of his own thoughts, check out Will Samson’s post.
July 11, 2005 at 8:27 pm
Indy...
I forgot to mention that we may have found a dog this weekend. We’ve been looking since Thanksgiving, but kind of got side-tracked, along the way, by life, etc.
Meet Indy (short for Indigo). She’s a Black Lab mix, who is just about two-years old.
We’ll know for sure when we get back from our trip to California next week.
July 11, 2005 at 1:16 pm
My "Blogger Code"...
My blogger code: B9 d++ t+ k+ s u f i o x— e l c— (decode it!)
(Link via Suw.)
July 11, 2005 at 1:03 pm
Yummy...
I just thought I’d take a moment to tell you all how impressed I am with the microwavability of the Marie Callender’s turkey pot pie.
July 11, 2005 at 12:44 pm
The Canon vs. Sola Scriptura...
Some good thoughts by Steve Jones today:
Such “God’s word vs. man’s word” statements, however, give an impression that the 66 books of the Bible came together in a single volume and descended from heaven flanked by seraphim. But as we all know, humans — the species that the inerrantist says he does not trust for any guidance into truth — compiled the books, debated their merits and voted on which should be canonical. There’s no escaping the human element.Read the rest here.
July 08, 2005 at 08:27 am
What better way to fight London Terror than with British theatre?
A bunch of us got together for Shakespeare in the Park last night. The presentation this year is Much Ado About Nothing, which is a wonderful, light-hearted love story, chock full of humorous moments, that is easy enough to follow even for the most under-prepared Shakespeare novice.
July 07, 2005 at 12:52 pm
7/7 London Bombing photographs...
Technology still amazes me.
Here is a “photo pool” at Flickr that contains stills and screen captures from London newscasts as well as up-to-the-minute photographs of the London Bombing aftermath, all taken by regular people like you and me.
As of this point, there are 192 200 members of this group already.
Update: London Bombing information in real-time at Wikinews. There’s also an article about it at Wikipedia, lot’s of info coming in by the second at Metafilter, and up-to-date news at Ananova. (Thanks, Wheat!)
July 07, 2005 at 11:09 am
Bus stop fun...
I haven’t written about my adventures on the Kansas City Metro in a little while, so I thought I’d share something with you all today…
So, yesterday, I was standing at the infamous corner of 39th & Broadway, waiting for my bus to arrive. A few minutes into my wait, I eye a man making his way across the street — when you get used to living in the city, most of the time it’s pretty easy to tell when a total stranger has locked-in on you and is approaching for a reason that requires your attention.
The man stopped beside me and said, “Hey. You know what the City Union Mission is?”
I didn’t quite understand him the first time, so after repeating what I thought he said, he continued…
“Yeah, you know. The City Union Mission. You got any change, man? I don’t got enough to get down there. Can you help me out, man?” At which time, the man proceeded to show me about thirty-five cents in loose change in the palm of his hand.
I told him that I didn’t have any extra money. All I had was a transfer slip for the next bus.
Quickly he asked, “Well, can I have your transfer then?”
I responded, “No! I have to use it to get home.” I looked at him like he was crazy.
Almost as quickly he continued, “All right, man. Hey, you got a smoke? Come on, sell me a smoke.”
Huh?!
Did this man not just need money to get a bus ride? And now he wants to buy a cigarette from me? (Of course, since I don’t smoke, I couldn’t help him out in that regard either).
After he figured out that I was of no use to him, the man proceeded to ask everyone at the bus stop if he could buy a cigarette off of them. No one could oblige, so he headed off down 39th Street.
Not the best way to get to City Union Mission, in my opinion.
If you are new to my Weblog and would like to read some other humorous outtakes of bus life in the city, click here.
July 07, 2005 at 07:21 am
"Evil in their hearts..."
Evil in their hearts…Those are George W. Bush’s words from a speech concerning the terror-linked bombings in London this morning, not mine. Bush also promised that “we” would continue to:
...spread an ideology hope of and compassion that will overwhelm their idology of hate.Tony Blair has stated:
Whatever they do it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and other civilized nations throughout the world.For some reason, I tend to enjoy listening to Tony Blair more than I do Bush. Maybe it’s the difference in accents, or just maybe it’s just my own biases. For some reason he just sounds so much more inherently compassionate than Bush does. I don’t know…
In any case, pray for those who have been injured in London this morning, as well as those who have lost loved ones in the blasts. This is a truly horrible way to start the day.
Update: I got the photo shown here from MSNBC.com... Here are a bunch of photos taken by other citizens at Flickr.
July 06, 2005 at 10:20 am
In the Viewfinder...
I finally got a chance to reshoot the sunset over the city sequence (sorry, no film to show you this time)... It turned out great (although very different due to a cloud that decided to hover in behind the skyline).
This photograph is pretty humorous to me — classic art school juxtaposition.
I completely failed in making a meeting that I scheduled for this film last night — no excuses are good enough. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like this before and I feel awful. Hopefully, my “crew” will forgive me and agree to meet again next week.
July 06, 2005 at 05:55 am
My heart, one year later...
It has been one year since my heart attack. Yesterday, I went in for the 1-year checkup with my cardiologist… This wasn’t quite the anniversary that I had expected (not that I was actually expecting anything). Don’t worry… Everything is ok. It’s just that, after one year, it seems like I should have a diagnosis of why my heart attack happened, doesn’t it? Well, I don’t. And my appointment yesterday didn’t bring me any closer to one.
July 05, 2005 at 1:18 pm
"12 Tension Points in the Emerging Church," by Andrew Jones
The “TallSkinnyKiwi,” Andrew Jones, has just written a great overview of some of the “new directions” emerging churches are attempting to take (in his opinion, they are tension points between emerging and traditional churches). Many of these “tension points” are what pulled us towards our current community.
Here’s one of Jones’ “baker’s dozen”:
11. Western and GlobalRead the rest here.
Our global world is impacted by voices from all over the world. Theologians, missionaries and teachers, especially those from Africa, Asia and Latin America, are often suspect under a highly western-dominated educational system. I see this tension point as being one that is only just beginning – much of our future debates will find their root in the clash between west and east.
July 05, 2005 at 11:57 am
Mortality, part 6
July 04, 2005 at 5:08 pm
Happy 4th!
I couldn’t let today go by without wishing all of you a happy Independence Day. So…
Happy Independence Day!
And for all of my international friends… Well, you’re 4th of July should be a happy one too.
Now, we’re off to see the Royals lose (well, probably) and watch some fireworks (weather allowing).
July 04, 2005 at 08:26 am
Stickin' it to the man (and Tom Cruise)...
Last night, Julianna and I decided to pull another sneaky double-feature at the movies. This was the second time we had done this as a couple. It was not a difficult task — the second movie was due to begin just shortly after getting out of our paid-for flick. But here’s where it gets a little weird…
July 01, 2005 at 07:49 am
Either rainy or busy...
Looks like I won’t get to reshoot this anytime soon due to poor weather and/or prior arrangements. Bummer.
Looking forward to some good “random people” scenes tonight at First Friday.
“London Calling“ just came on the radio. Awesome. I don’t listen to the radio very often at work, but right now, I’m glad I’m listening.