The Dutch look quite spic and span in their World Cup efforts. That is all i have to say.
6/29/10
Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond
The Dutch look quite spic and span in their World Cup efforts. That is all i have to say.
6/22/10
"my patronus"
the poet grasps the sieve,
through vapor does he weave,
hoping for Truth
to cleave
and taken by light,
yes, God is there in the night,
a muse of Hope.
he writes:
poured out,
and filled;
healed,
and broken;
blinded by the Grace that i see;
i may chase the night;
but swifter is the flight
of the Love that chases after me.
i finished Harry Potter. And yes, a "patronus" is a reference to that series, but you might be interested to know that it actually is much older than Harry Potter, and originated in ancient Rome. i refuse to explain it here, because i believe there is some value in looking up information for yourself.
through vapor does he weave,
hoping for Truth
to cleave
and taken by light,
yes, God is there in the night,
a muse of Hope.
he writes:
poured out,
and filled;
healed,
and broken;
blinded by the Grace that i see;
i may chase the night;
but swifter is the flight
of the Love that chases after me.
i finished Harry Potter. And yes, a "patronus" is a reference to that series, but you might be interested to know that it actually is much older than Harry Potter, and originated in ancient Rome. i refuse to explain it here, because i believe there is some value in looking up information for yourself.
6/17/10
Why would anyone go to college to receive an education?
The following is an Associate Press piece i saw on ESPN.com that concerns the NCAA and its incredible hypocrisy. Something needs to be done.
A panel of college sports reformers wants to limit participation in NCAA championships to schools where at least 50 percent of the team's athletes are on track to graduate.
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics says runaway spending in college sports and a lack of attention to classroom performance "threaten(s) the very integrity of higher education."
A report released Thursday in Washington calls for a range of financial and academic reforms. The tougher graduation goals repeat a recommendation made by the group nearly a decade ago.
The Knight panel also wants NCAA schools to publicly share more of their financial data on athletics spending while setting aside at least 20 percent of the money received from TV contracts and postseason football appearances for academic use.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
6/14/10
set free, for freedom. why bondage seek?
i think that an update is due in regard to my summer reading list: i am roughly 18% done with the seventh and final Harry Potter book. Stellar books, they are.
In other, bigger news, a gorilla was very nearly successful in his attempt to escape from the North Carolina zoo. Now, i have seen that same gorilla a number of times throughout my years in this great state (i mean to say not that i've seen him wandering about, but rather that i have visited his unnatural habit on several occasions), and i must say that i felt quite proud of Gordy. i don't know if that's his name, but it seems fitting to me as i write this. In all seriousness though, who could really be upset or angry with Gordy over his desire to get out? i think any animal would have done the same thing if the opportunity presented itself. If you get a chance to look at the video of his attempt, i would encourage you to do so, for it seems that for a moment he could have just hoisted himself over the barrier and entered into a whole new world. Not Aladdin, just a figure of speech. i should like to give you my thoughts as to what his thoughts were at that pivotal moment:
"Okay, so i've come this far--what, with carrying that stupid log over here and propping it up against the wall, then climbing that precarious thing--and yeah, i could just pull myself over, but that baby in the stroller doesn't look a whole lot better than i did when i was a little tyke, so i see no real benefits in the beauty department. And i just don't know if i could stand being stared at all the time. i really have no idea how humans function, because it seems to me all they know how to do is stare. And Darwin's idea of 'fit' must have been incredibly different than mine, because they are, as a rule, fat. And this business of botching up an ocean with oil holds no comfort. No, i think i will stay here, for here at least i am guaranteed a square meal a day, and here i have no predators. And above all, i have a feeling that i would cease to be such an attraction after a few days in their world, for they are always wanting something they can control and only benefit from without giving to. Yes, the zoo is where i belong."
Inevitably some will tell me that gorillas lack the cognitive ability to think such things. Listen carefully: i. know.
The point is that we as humans, although loved by God above everything else He created, still stand to learn some valuable lessons from the animal kingdom. Of course i don't know what was happening inside that Gorilla, but it seems to me as if there was a choice to be made between the "free world" and his prison of a habitat, and he didn't chose "freedom." Maybe i'm just weird. i mean, i am weird. But that's what i thought when i saw Gordy.
and on a completely unrelated and yet merited note, i have got to say that the woman in the picture above makes me a much better man than i would otherwise be. She is quite literally a Godsend.
In other, bigger news, a gorilla was very nearly successful in his attempt to escape from the North Carolina zoo. Now, i have seen that same gorilla a number of times throughout my years in this great state (i mean to say not that i've seen him wandering about, but rather that i have visited his unnatural habit on several occasions), and i must say that i felt quite proud of Gordy. i don't know if that's his name, but it seems fitting to me as i write this. In all seriousness though, who could really be upset or angry with Gordy over his desire to get out? i think any animal would have done the same thing if the opportunity presented itself. If you get a chance to look at the video of his attempt, i would encourage you to do so, for it seems that for a moment he could have just hoisted himself over the barrier and entered into a whole new world. Not Aladdin, just a figure of speech. i should like to give you my thoughts as to what his thoughts were at that pivotal moment:
"Okay, so i've come this far--what, with carrying that stupid log over here and propping it up against the wall, then climbing that precarious thing--and yeah, i could just pull myself over, but that baby in the stroller doesn't look a whole lot better than i did when i was a little tyke, so i see no real benefits in the beauty department. And i just don't know if i could stand being stared at all the time. i really have no idea how humans function, because it seems to me all they know how to do is stare. And Darwin's idea of 'fit' must have been incredibly different than mine, because they are, as a rule, fat. And this business of botching up an ocean with oil holds no comfort. No, i think i will stay here, for here at least i am guaranteed a square meal a day, and here i have no predators. And above all, i have a feeling that i would cease to be such an attraction after a few days in their world, for they are always wanting something they can control and only benefit from without giving to. Yes, the zoo is where i belong."
Inevitably some will tell me that gorillas lack the cognitive ability to think such things. Listen carefully: i. know.
The point is that we as humans, although loved by God above everything else He created, still stand to learn some valuable lessons from the animal kingdom. Of course i don't know what was happening inside that Gorilla, but it seems to me as if there was a choice to be made between the "free world" and his prison of a habitat, and he didn't chose "freedom." Maybe i'm just weird. i mean, i am weird. But that's what i thought when i saw Gordy.
and on a completely unrelated and yet merited note, i have got to say that the woman in the picture above makes me a much better man than i would otherwise be. She is quite literally a Godsend.
gol
The World Cup decreases global productivity. i'm pretty sure that means it's the most important event in sports. But i could be wrong. But i'm not.
http://money.cnn.com/video/fortune/2010/06/11/f_sl_world_cup_business.fortune
http://money.cnn.com/video/fortune/2010/06/11/f_sl_world_cup_business.fortune
6/6/10
after all these hands have wrought, He forgives.
The simplicity of today being all we have, combined with the peace in knowing that God has a plan for our future and forgiveness for our past, is astounding. The crux of living the life of servants who are training to reign someday lies, i think, in the intersection of those three dimensions. To realize the depths of despair from which we have been rescued; to be all here now, genuinely seeking to give up self for the leading of the Spirit within; and to live in an expectant hope that God's Big Picture is exceedingly and perfectly beyond what we could ask or imagine.
6/3/10
inexplicable.
Isn't it something to think that billions upon billions of people have lived on this relatively small planet and realize that you are absolutely and undeniably unique? i mean, really, that is crazy, because what that means is that you and i as individuals have opportunities to change this world in a way that no one else has before, and no one ever will in the future. And i'm not talking about being that person who invents the replacement for gasoline, so we don't have to rely on things such as oil that like to spill and ruin huge swaths of ocean; and i'm not talking about being that person who is able to unite political parties and enact real change in our society with your astounding diplomacy; and i certainly am not referring to that person who can eat more calories than you use and still lose weight. No, i'm simply speaking of being you.
There is a reason why God is in the business of creating us as perfectly different people, just as there is a reason why God has done everything. The fact that He would extend His marvelous grace to every one is a testimony to the fact He loves each of us dearly and individually. He loves us not for who we compare ourselves to, and not for who we wish we could be, and not for who we wish we wouldn't be, but for who we are. Make no mistake about it, we don't deserve a single bit of His love. There is nothing that any of us have done that would merit God's mercy and grace on our behalf. And there never will be anything we could do to deserve it. But in that is the very greatest paradox that has ever existed and which will stretch on into eternity.
There is a reason why God is in the business of creating us as perfectly different people, just as there is a reason why God has done everything. The fact that He would extend His marvelous grace to every one is a testimony to the fact He loves each of us dearly and individually. He loves us not for who we compare ourselves to, and not for who we wish we could be, and not for who we wish we wouldn't be, but for who we are. Make no mistake about it, we don't deserve a single bit of His love. There is nothing that any of us have done that would merit God's mercy and grace on our behalf. And there never will be anything we could do to deserve it. But in that is the very greatest paradox that has ever existed and which will stretch on into eternity.
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