It's been a nutso week, but I finally got the pics from Sunday night uploaded (click on the one of Adam and Lauren to see the rest).
It was a fun night, just as Becky (alter-ego = Lauren?) described. Let's do it again sometime!
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Crash! (bang! splatter! ouch!)
Stacey will probably be along soon to give the official update on tonight's Faith and Film, but I thought I'd give the sneak preview.
Attendees: Gad, Gaius, Lauren, Adam, Stacey, da Boyz, and the Cat. And me.
Crash: a good movie that nevertheless didn't really deserve Best Picture. Rather depressing (a F&F first! ... or not ;) ), but also kind of thought-provoking. Less thought-provoking if Gad has been doing the thinking out loud for you all through the movie, but still thought-provoking. :P Still, probably not for the faint of heart, small children, or three-toed sloths.
Brownies: definitely better gooey than cakey, even though our parents seem to prefer the cakey kind. Stacey's are excellent, and the ones with nuts had the perfect gooeyness.
Lessons learned: Don't wear socks in the house. Always ask for the red box when you're looking for ammunition. When buying a white van, check for illegal immigrants in the back. If you're picking up a hitchhiker, turn off your radio first. Racism is complex, and mixed up with class-ism and misplaced trust. And no matter how many f-bombs get dropped, grammatical errors are the things that Lauren gets offended at.
G'night, kids. And get that door fixed.
Attendees: Gad, Gaius, Lauren, Adam, Stacey, da Boyz, and the Cat. And me.
Crash: a good movie that nevertheless didn't really deserve Best Picture. Rather depressing (a F&F first! ... or not ;) ), but also kind of thought-provoking. Less thought-provoking if Gad has been doing the thinking out loud for you all through the movie, but still thought-provoking. :P Still, probably not for the faint of heart, small children, or three-toed sloths.
Brownies: definitely better gooey than cakey, even though our parents seem to prefer the cakey kind. Stacey's are excellent, and the ones with nuts had the perfect gooeyness.
Lessons learned: Don't wear socks in the house. Always ask for the red box when you're looking for ammunition. When buying a white van, check for illegal immigrants in the back. If you're picking up a hitchhiker, turn off your radio first. Racism is complex, and mixed up with class-ism and misplaced trust. And no matter how many f-bombs get dropped, grammatical errors are the things that Lauren gets offended at.
G'night, kids. And get that door fixed.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Genocide in Darfur
This is excerpted from my church newsletter column this week. Please come to the April 6th Evensong if you're able:
One would think that in 2006 genocide would be an atrocity no longer committed. Our world has been through this too many times before, including in recent history – Rwanda, Bosnia, and, of course, the Holocaust (which actually gave rise to the term "genocide," though the reality of genocide seems to have always been with us). We don’t seem to learn from even our most tragic mistakes.
The current situation in Darfur has been referred to as "a humanitarian and human rights tragedy of the first order," and a "calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation, and displacement" (as reported here). These atrocities are happening to Sudanese civilians at the hands of their own government and the Janjaweed militias it sponsors. In the last three years, 400,000 people have died. 3.5 million currently live in hunger and 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes and communities. Every day, over 500 innocent civilians die from violence, malnutrition, and disease. This is a horror of incomprehensible proportions.
Most of us would like to think we could prevent another Holocaust were it to be threatened. The fact is, a holocaust is taking place right now, and the world community hasn’t yet stopped it. It is true that the African Union, the United Nations, and our own government are all giving increasing attention to this crisis; just last week, the House International Relations Committee passed the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which, if passed by the House and the Senate and signed by the President, will authorize additional U.S. aid to the African Union (AU) and will call for a special U.S. envoy to help speed up the Darfur peace process. Already Congress is poised to provide increased funding to the 7,000 AU peacekeepers already in Darfur (currently the only line of defense between millions of civilians and the militia forces who seek to brutalize them).
Why am I writing about this in a church newsletter? I don’t usually talk politics in such a forum; I don’t believe I’m actually talking politics now. I am talking about human life, brutality of unfathomable proportions, and the possibility of even more atrocities if something doesn’t happen to change the reality of the situation. Albert Einstein once said, "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." As Christians, we are called both to look on and to do something. We may feel helpless, confused, horror-stricken, or even apathetic, but our faith calls us beyond that. We must love, we must do justice, we must pursue peace, we must pray, and we must keep hope alive.
The Million Voices for Darfur Campaign is an unprecedented effort to end this genocide (their website asks: "What if instead of mourning a genocide, we could stop one?"). As a part of that effort, the group has declared April 2nd through 9th to be a Week of Prayer and Action for Darfur, and our congregation will be participating. On Thursday, April 6th, as a part of our Lenten Perspectives series on justice and peace, our Evensong Prayer Service will focus on the crisis in Darfur. Together we will reflect on the tragedy there, and on our Christian calling to respond. We will consider concrete actions we can take, and we will take at least one together – because prayer is something concrete. It is something we can do for the people of Darfur. It is something we must do for them. But it is not the only thing. At our Evensong service, we will have opportunity to write postcards to our government asking for action on behalf of the oppressed in Darfur. We will also consider other ways to make a difference together.
As Paul reminded us in his sermon on Sunday, when tragedy happens, God’s heart is the first to break. I believe God is mourning the loss of so many innocent lives, including so many babies and children, in Darfur. As people of faith, we must mourn too. And then we must get up and do something. Please join me in prayer, reflection, action, and hope on Thursday, April 6th.
One would think that in 2006 genocide would be an atrocity no longer committed. Our world has been through this too many times before, including in recent history – Rwanda, Bosnia, and, of course, the Holocaust (which actually gave rise to the term "genocide," though the reality of genocide seems to have always been with us). We don’t seem to learn from even our most tragic mistakes.
The current situation in Darfur has been referred to as "a humanitarian and human rights tragedy of the first order," and a "calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation, and displacement" (as reported here). These atrocities are happening to Sudanese civilians at the hands of their own government and the Janjaweed militias it sponsors. In the last three years, 400,000 people have died. 3.5 million currently live in hunger and 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes and communities. Every day, over 500 innocent civilians die from violence, malnutrition, and disease. This is a horror of incomprehensible proportions.
Most of us would like to think we could prevent another Holocaust were it to be threatened. The fact is, a holocaust is taking place right now, and the world community hasn’t yet stopped it. It is true that the African Union, the United Nations, and our own government are all giving increasing attention to this crisis; just last week, the House International Relations Committee passed the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which, if passed by the House and the Senate and signed by the President, will authorize additional U.S. aid to the African Union (AU) and will call for a special U.S. envoy to help speed up the Darfur peace process. Already Congress is poised to provide increased funding to the 7,000 AU peacekeepers already in Darfur (currently the only line of defense between millions of civilians and the militia forces who seek to brutalize them).
Why am I writing about this in a church newsletter? I don’t usually talk politics in such a forum; I don’t believe I’m actually talking politics now. I am talking about human life, brutality of unfathomable proportions, and the possibility of even more atrocities if something doesn’t happen to change the reality of the situation. Albert Einstein once said, "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." As Christians, we are called both to look on and to do something. We may feel helpless, confused, horror-stricken, or even apathetic, but our faith calls us beyond that. We must love, we must do justice, we must pursue peace, we must pray, and we must keep hope alive.
The Million Voices for Darfur Campaign is an unprecedented effort to end this genocide (their website asks: "What if instead of mourning a genocide, we could stop one?"). As a part of that effort, the group has declared April 2nd through 9th to be a Week of Prayer and Action for Darfur, and our congregation will be participating. On Thursday, April 6th, as a part of our Lenten Perspectives series on justice and peace, our Evensong Prayer Service will focus on the crisis in Darfur. Together we will reflect on the tragedy there, and on our Christian calling to respond. We will consider concrete actions we can take, and we will take at least one together – because prayer is something concrete. It is something we can do for the people of Darfur. It is something we must do for them. But it is not the only thing. At our Evensong service, we will have opportunity to write postcards to our government asking for action on behalf of the oppressed in Darfur. We will also consider other ways to make a difference together.
As Paul reminded us in his sermon on Sunday, when tragedy happens, God’s heart is the first to break. I believe God is mourning the loss of so many innocent lives, including so many babies and children, in Darfur. As people of faith, we must mourn too. And then we must get up and do something. Please join me in prayer, reflection, action, and hope on Thursday, April 6th.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Casseroles, James, Crash, and other musings
So tonight we have some kind of yummy noodle meat casserole with garlic bread, salad, and cookies. Comfort food at its finest. Please come!
Paul left for England in the wee hours of this morning, so I'm doing the solo thing for the next several days, including, of course, tonight. We'll take a look at one of my very favorite books - James! We'll talk about faith in action, the importance of words, and how to handle wealth.
Then this Sunday is Faith-and-Film at the Duke home. We'll watch Crash, have discussions, and of course eat till we can't eat any more.
Random discovery: If you go to MSN Search and type in "earth work calculations," my knitting blog will be the 10th site listed. How crazy is that?!?
Hope to see you tonight!
Paul left for England in the wee hours of this morning, so I'm doing the solo thing for the next several days, including, of course, tonight. We'll take a look at one of my very favorite books - James! We'll talk about faith in action, the importance of words, and how to handle wealth.
Then this Sunday is Faith-and-Film at the Duke home. We'll watch Crash, have discussions, and of course eat till we can't eat any more.
Random discovery: If you go to MSN Search and type in "earth work calculations," my knitting blog will be the 10th site listed. How crazy is that?!?
Hope to see you tonight!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Which theologian are you?
More quiz fun.....
 | You scored as John Calvin. Much of what is now called Calvinism had more to do with his followers than Calvin himself, and so you may or may not be committed to TULIP, though God's sovereignty is all important.
Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com |
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Psst.... Look over there
(at the sidebar)
I've posted links to member blogs. I love all your sites! (check out Lauren's delightful musings, Becky's recipe for thriftiness, and Gad's awesome pics from Brazil) If you are listed over there and don't want to be, drop me a note and I'll delete pronto. If you have a blog and want to be listed, let me know and I'll include it.
REMINDER: If you want to help out with the rotating shelter next week, there are still slots left. Please let me know.
And lest you think I'm not spending time searching for fun quizzes for Becky and Lauren G. and me to take, check out the Political Compass . It goes beyond the tired left-right continuum and will plot your spot on a quadrant that takes into account your economic and social values. It located me in almost the dead center of the lower left quadrant, which puts me firmly in the category of the libertarian left. I'm pretty much precisely where they locate the Dalai Lama. I don't mind if you address me as Her Holiness. How 'bout the rest of you? Where do you score? Becky? Lauren? (Maybe this one will even draw out the likes of Dave Moehring....)
I've posted links to member blogs. I love all your sites! (check out Lauren's delightful musings, Becky's recipe for thriftiness, and Gad's awesome pics from Brazil) If you are listed over there and don't want to be, drop me a note and I'll delete pronto. If you have a blog and want to be listed, let me know and I'll include it.
REMINDER: If you want to help out with the rotating shelter next week, there are still slots left. Please let me know.
And lest you think I'm not spending time searching for fun quizzes for Becky and Lauren G. and me to take, check out the Political Compass . It goes beyond the tired left-right continuum and will plot your spot on a quadrant that takes into account your economic and social values. It located me in almost the dead center of the lower left quadrant, which puts me firmly in the category of the libertarian left. I'm pretty much precisely where they locate the Dalai Lama. I don't mind if you address me as Her Holiness. How 'bout the rest of you? Where do you score? Becky? Lauren? (Maybe this one will even draw out the likes of Dave Moehring....)
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Googled your own name recently?
So this was a topic of conversation at dinner last night. Which is how the "Unfortunately Gad" post came to be. It's a silly little game you can play - googling the phrase "unfortunately (your name here)" and seeing what comes up. For instance, when I google "Unfortunately Stacey" I get interesting little bits of sentences like:
- Unfortunately Stacey thought nothing of hanging her wedding dress from one of the ceiling sprinklers in her bridal suite and this caused large amounts of ...
- Went to Scorpion King tonight, unfortunately Stacey got Violently ill during the movie and we had to leave after about 45 minutes. ...
- Unfortunately, Stacey seems to have it less so together when guys are concerned. The last guy she met and fell in love with was 6 years her junior. ...
Things like that. Anyway, Gad claimed his name doesn't come up when Googled, so I did the little "unfortunately Gad" post to prove him wrong. Thing is, this morning, I did Google "Gad Lim" - and got several hits, including a letter to a newspaper editor from October 2003, answers to an interview with young Filipino fiction writers, and a sermon listing at First Baptist Church from October 2005. So there!
You may think I don't have enough to do, if I'm googling your names. The truth is I have so much to do I can hardly bear it. So I take refuge in hanging out online, writing to you guys, and taking quizzes with Becky. ;)
p.s. if you haven't taken the denomination quiz yet, try it - it's fun. Becky is supposedly a Seventh Day Adventist and I'm an Episcopalian. What about the rest of you?
- Unfortunately Stacey thought nothing of hanging her wedding dress from one of the ceiling sprinklers in her bridal suite and this caused large amounts of ...
- Went to Scorpion King tonight, unfortunately Stacey got Violently ill during the movie and we had to leave after about 45 minutes. ...
- Unfortunately, Stacey seems to have it less so together when guys are concerned. The last guy she met and fell in love with was 6 years her junior. ...
Things like that. Anyway, Gad claimed his name doesn't come up when Googled, so I did the little "unfortunately Gad" post to prove him wrong. Thing is, this morning, I did Google "Gad Lim" - and got several hits, including a letter to a newspaper editor from October 2003, answers to an interview with young Filipino fiction writers, and a sermon listing at First Baptist Church from October 2005. So there!
You may think I don't have enough to do, if I'm googling your names. The truth is I have so much to do I can hardly bear it. So I take refuge in hanging out online, writing to you guys, and taking quizzes with Becky. ;)
p.s. if you haven't taken the denomination quiz yet, try it - it's fun. Becky is supposedly a Seventh Day Adventist and I'm an Episcopalian. What about the rest of you?
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Unfortunately Gad....
... just walked in and discovered the little trick I was trying to play.
[Sorry for the inside joke. Those of you who are at The Gathering right now get it. Those of you who aren't - we miss you!]
[Sorry for the inside joke. Those of you who are at The Gathering right now get it. Those of you who aren't - we miss you!]
What denomination are you?
My random musings only generated one comment besides my own (thanks, Becky!). So here's a quiz:
Christian Denomination Selector. How do you rank?
According to the quiz, I should be Episcopalian. But you already knew that, didn't you? My #2 best fit was Methodist, # 3 was Seventh Day Adventist (wha?) and #4 was Liberal Quakerism. American Baptist wasn't an option. I am least like a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon. No big surprises here, but it was kind of fun....
Christian Denomination Selector. How do you rank?
According to the quiz, I should be Episcopalian. But you already knew that, didn't you? My #2 best fit was Methodist, # 3 was Seventh Day Adventist (wha?) and #4 was Liberal Quakerism. American Baptist wasn't an option. I am least like a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon. No big surprises here, but it was kind of fun....
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Greetings and random musings
Dear all, welcome back from spring break. I hope you all had a happy, restful, safe holiday. It was nice to see some of you at the Ash Wednesday service last week!
I'm sorry to have failed to update this place in almost two weeks. I have these dreams of writing these really thought-provoking posts that people come out of the woodwork to comment on. But I can't usually muster that, so I end up posting Muppets quizzes instead. I'd still love for some of the rest of you to make blog posts here as well. [Gad, Becky, Adam, Dave - this means you! - and anyone else who wishes to respond to the evite....]
At any rate, today I don't have any major topic or quote to bring before you (or even a silly quiz). So I'm just going to write random things.
Random Thing #1 - It is astonishing to me how much of a difference the immiment arrival of spring has made on my psyche. I love that the sun comes up earlier, stays up later, and seems to shine brighter during the day, and the effect of all this light seems to make my heart a little lighter. I find myself almost surprised that the weather is making its usual journey back towards springtime. Surprised, and delighted.
Random Thing #2 - I finally finished Paul's sweater. Wheeeee! You can read about it on my personal blog .
Random Thing #3 - If you lug a heavy bag of books that you paid approximately $200 for when they were new and which are still in excellent condition to Dawn Treader (used bookstore), they may buy one of them from you for a dollar. Or you can get store credit of $1.50. Then you can lug the rest of the heavy bag of books back home. It's really great fun. And not embarrassing at all.
Random Thing #4 - Evensong prayer service. Again. But you're not responsible for it this time (though Becky, if you're willing and available, I'd love for you to play the piano). Twice during Lent, as a part of FBCA2's Perspectives series, I am going to be coordinating Evensong services. They'll be at 6:30 on Thursday, March 16th and 30th. Come if you can.
Random Thing #5 - Did you see that Crash won Best Picture? It's still on our F&F list, and now I'm thinking maybe this month....
Random Thing #6 - Have you been looking for a way to volunteer your time to a worthy cause? If so, then there's a great opportunity right here at FBCA2 later this month. The week of March 20th, we will be hosting the "Extended Shelter." This is the overflow from the local shelters that there isn't room for. We need 2 or 3 people each night from 8:00 till 7:00 the next morning. Volunteers sleep in shifts and otherwise are just available (you can read, knit, or just hang out) to sign people in and out and to be of any other assistance. The following slots are still available:
Monday, March 20 - 3 slots
Tuesday, March 21 - 2
Wed, Mar 22 - 3
Th, Mar 23 - 1
Fri, Mar 24 - 1
Sat, Mar 25 - 1
Sun, Mar 26 - 3
Let me know if you're interested and I'll get you signed up!
Random Thing #7 - We've been linked! Is it one of you? Someone out there in blogland has included us in their list of sidebar links. We are in such illustrious company as the Boar's Head Tavern, Homestarrunner, What's for Dinner?, NoNoWriMo, and - my personal favorite (which I visit nearly every day) - You Knit What? How cool is that?!? [Becky, is it you? Emily?!?]
Enjoy the beauty of the day, folks. And don't leave me hangin' out here in cyberspace all by my lonesome.
I'm sorry to have failed to update this place in almost two weeks. I have these dreams of writing these really thought-provoking posts that people come out of the woodwork to comment on. But I can't usually muster that, so I end up posting Muppets quizzes instead. I'd still love for some of the rest of you to make blog posts here as well. [Gad, Becky, Adam, Dave - this means you! - and anyone else who wishes to respond to the evite....]
At any rate, today I don't have any major topic or quote to bring before you (or even a silly quiz). So I'm just going to write random things.
Random Thing #1 - It is astonishing to me how much of a difference the immiment arrival of spring has made on my psyche. I love that the sun comes up earlier, stays up later, and seems to shine brighter during the day, and the effect of all this light seems to make my heart a little lighter. I find myself almost surprised that the weather is making its usual journey back towards springtime. Surprised, and delighted.
Random Thing #2 - I finally finished Paul's sweater. Wheeeee! You can read about it on my personal blog .
Random Thing #3 - If you lug a heavy bag of books that you paid approximately $200 for when they were new and which are still in excellent condition to Dawn Treader (used bookstore), they may buy one of them from you for a dollar. Or you can get store credit of $1.50. Then you can lug the rest of the heavy bag of books back home. It's really great fun. And not embarrassing at all.
Random Thing #4 - Evensong prayer service. Again. But you're not responsible for it this time (though Becky, if you're willing and available, I'd love for you to play the piano). Twice during Lent, as a part of FBCA2's Perspectives series, I am going to be coordinating Evensong services. They'll be at 6:30 on Thursday, March 16th and 30th. Come if you can.
Random Thing #5 - Did you see that Crash won Best Picture? It's still on our F&F list, and now I'm thinking maybe this month....
Random Thing #6 - Have you been looking for a way to volunteer your time to a worthy cause? If so, then there's a great opportunity right here at FBCA2 later this month. The week of March 20th, we will be hosting the "Extended Shelter." This is the overflow from the local shelters that there isn't room for. We need 2 or 3 people each night from 8:00 till 7:00 the next morning. Volunteers sleep in shifts and otherwise are just available (you can read, knit, or just hang out) to sign people in and out and to be of any other assistance. The following slots are still available:
Monday, March 20 - 3 slots
Tuesday, March 21 - 2
Wed, Mar 22 - 3
Th, Mar 23 - 1
Fri, Mar 24 - 1
Sat, Mar 25 - 1
Sun, Mar 26 - 3
Let me know if you're interested and I'll get you signed up!
Random Thing #7 - We've been linked! Is it one of you? Someone out there in blogland has included us in their list of sidebar links. We are in such illustrious company as the Boar's Head Tavern, Homestarrunner, What's for Dinner?, NoNoWriMo, and - my personal favorite (which I visit nearly every day) - You Knit What? How cool is that?!? [Becky, is it you? Emily?!?]
Enjoy the beauty of the day, folks. And don't leave me hangin' out here in cyberspace all by my lonesome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)