on coffee

book review: the faith of leap

2012-01-26T20:20:00.003-05:00

title: the faith of leap
author: michael frost, alan hirsch
publisher: baker books
date: 2011

The books that Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost have written, both individually and together, are important books for understanding "missional". This book, “The Faith of Leap“ presents a theology of risk, adventure and courage that challenges the reader to step boldly into participating in God’s mission.

The promo on the back cover says:
"So much of our lives is caught up in the development and maintenance of security and control. But as Helen Keller observed, "Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." And when our only experience of Christianity is safe and controlled, we miss the simple fact that faith involves risk."

Hirsch and Frost have a way of bringing together their research and observations from a wide range of disciplines and examine it through a theological/biblical lens. Each chapter in this book is a mixtture of illustration, insight and encouragement to engage in mission, to move from self-concern to other-concern, from holy huddle to venturing out into God’s world.

The books is a reminder that faith always involves risk. To explore this, Hirsch and Frost unpack the issue of developing “communitas” rather than simply “community.” They look at overcoming “risk aversion” and the dangers of individualism in risk taking, and the damage caused by our pursuit of safety and security. They provide practical insight for a church to move from complacency to developing a sense of urgency for God’s mission.

There is also a helpful discussion in one of the final chapters entitled “Missional Catalysis” in which Hirsch and Frost illustrate the need to understand mission as the organizing, catalyzing and even revitalizing principle of the church. There is much in each of the seven chapters to encourage the reader to understand risk and adventure as an indispensible component of a life with Jesus. You will certainly not be disappointed with this excellent addition to the missional church conversation.

"This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group."

banjo - ukulele - maple syrup

2012-01-16T19:20:00.000-05:00

Spring must be on the way. Here's a song that features James Hill of mighty uke playing banjo, ukulele, fiddle, banging a drum, singing and making maple syrup. How many other maple syrup songs do you know of?

Here's his single "Hand Over My Heart." via boing boing

rolling stones - prodigal son

2012-01-16T14:52:00.000-05:00

I never knew until last night that The Rolling Stones did a cover of this song - "Prodigal Son." Rev. Robert Wilkins original, written in the 1920's, was called "That's No Way To Get Along." it was released in 1968 on the album "Beggars Banquet."

Who knew the Stones sung some
Gospel Blues?

Rolling Stones

Robert Wilkins - Newport Folk Festival

Lyrics

Well a poor boy took his father's bread and started down the road
Started down the road
Took all he had and started down the road
Going out in this world, where God only knows
And that'll be the way to get along

Well poor boy spent all he had, famine come in the land
Famine come in the land
Spent all he had and famine come in the land
Said, "I believe I'll go and hire me to some man"
And that'll be the way I'll get along

Well, man said, "I'll give you a job for to feed my swine
For to feed my swine
I'll give you a job for to feed my swine"
Boy stood there and hung his head and cried
`Cause that is no way to get along

Said, "I believe I'll ride, believe I'll go back home
Believe I'll go back home
Believe I'll ride, believe I'll go back home
Or down the road as far as I can go"
And that'll be the way to get along

Well, father said, "See my son coming after me
Coming home to me"
Father ran and fell down on his knees
Said, "Sing and praise, Lord have mercy on me"
Mercy

Oh poor boy stood there, hung his head and cried
Hung his head and cried
Poor boy stood and hung his head and cried
Said, "Father will you look on me as a child?"
Yeah

Well father said, "Eldest son, kill the fatted calf,
Call the family round
Kill that calf and call the family round
My son was lost but now he is found
'Cause that's the way for us to get along"Hey

abraham,martin and john

2012-01-16T14:49:00.000-05:00

On this Martin Luther King Jr Day in the States, here is Abraham, Martin and John sung by Dion, composed by Dick Holler in 1968

Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he’s gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he’s gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he’s gone.

Didn’t you love the things that they stood for?
Didn’t they try to find some good for you and me?
And we’ll be free
Some day soon, and it’s a-gonna be one day...

Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
I thought I saw him walkin’ up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.

Tebow 3:16

2012-01-09T16:27:00.003-05:00

On of the top trending searches right now, is "John 3:16". This is in reference to Tim Tebow's football stats on Sunday night where he threw for a career high 316 yards, leading the Denvor Broncos to an overtime win over the Steelers.

Tebow is the quarterback for Denver and an outspoken Christian whose favorite verse is John 3:16. He was told, when he became a pro that he couldn't put John 3:16 on his uniform as he did in college. So now, in his first playoff game, some are saying God Himself provided the verse!

And while I suppose it is a cool coincidence that Tebow threw 316 yards, I am pretty sure it has little to do with Jesus. It has more to do with his discipline and skill as a player and the skill of his receivers.

But the way some Christians are talking about this, you would think Tebow was the 2nd coming. I don't think God has anything against football - I think he enjoys anything where people do their best, but I suspect that God is not interested in manipulating [because that's what it would have to be] a NFL game so that one quarterback throws a magical 316 yards.

I'm not dissing Tebow, I'm not minimizing a really good game. But let's get real. There are a lot of things a lot more important, there are a lot of signs and pointers that are a lot more clear than a football game.

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.
Micah 6:8 The Message

out of control disciple

2011-12-31T22:12:00.000-05:00

A Magna Carta of Trust by an Out-of-Control Disciple from Leonard Sweet’s Soul Cafe (March 1996 Vol. 2, No. 1)

I am part of the Church of the Out-of-Control. I once was a control junkie, but now am an Out-of-Control Disciple. I’ve given up my control to God. I trust and obey the Spirit. I’ve jumped off the fence, I’ve stepped over the line, I’ve pulled out all the stops, I’m holding nothing back. There’s no turning back, looking around, slowing down, backing away, letting up, or shutting up. It’s life Against the Odds, Outside the Box, Over the Wall, the game of life played Without Goal Lines other than “Thy Will Be Done…”

I’m done lapdogging for the topdogs, the wonderdogs, the overdogs, or even the underdogs. I’m done playing According to the Rules, whether it’s Robert’s Rules of Order or Miss Manner’s Rules of Etiquette or Martha Stewart’s Rules of Living or Louis Farrakhan’s Rules of America’s Least Wanted or Merril Lynch’s Money-minding/Bottom-lining/Ladder-climbing Rules of America’s Most Wanted.

I am not here to please the dominant culture or to serve any all-show/no-go bureaucracies. I live to please my Lord and Savior. My spiritual taste-buds have graduated from fizz and froth to Fire and Ice.

Sometimes I’m called to sharpen the cutting edge, and sometimes to blunt the cutting edge. Don’t give me that old-time religion. Don’t give me that new-time religion. Give me that all-time religion that’s as hard as rock and as soft as snow.

I’ve stopped trying to make life work, and started trying to make life sing. I’m finished with second-hand sensations, third-rate dreams, low-risk high-rise trades and goose-stepping, flag-waving crusades. I no longer live by and for anything but everything God-breathed, Christ-centered, and Spirit-driven.

I can’t be bought by any personalities or perks, positions or prizes. I won’t give up, though I will give in… to openness of mind, humbleness of heart, and generosity of spirit. When short-handed and hard-pressed, I will never again hang in there. I will stand in there, I will run in there, I will pray in there, I will sacrifice in there, I will endure in there– in fact I will do everything in there but hang. My face is upward, my feet are forward, my eyes are focused, my way is cloudy, my knees are worn, my seat uncreased, my heart burdened, my spirit light, my road narrow, my mission wide.

I won’t be seduced by popularity, traduced by criticism, by hypocrisy, or trivialized by mediocrity. I am organized religion’s best friend, and worst nightmare. I won’t back down, slow down, shut down, or let down until I’m preached out, teached out, healed out or hauled out of God’s mission in the world entrusted to members of the Church of the Out-of-Control… to unbind the confined, whether they’re the downtrodden or the upscale, the overlooked or the underrepresented.

My fundamental identity is as a disciple of Jesus–but even more, as a disciple of Jesus who lives in Christ, who doesn’t walk through history simply “in his steps,” but seeks to travel more deeply IN HIS SPIRIT.

Until he comes again or calls me home, you can find me filling not killing time so that one day he will pick me out in the lineup of the ages as one of his own. And then… it will be worth it all… to hear these words, the most precious words I can ever hear:

“Well done, thou good and faithful… Out-of-Control Disciple.”

The Queen's Message

2011-12-25T17:28:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!
One of our family Christmas traditions, growing up at home, was listening to the Queen's Christmas Day Message. That tradition has waned over the years. But this year, a tweet from Bill Kinnon prompted me to listen:

"The Queen's speech brought tears to the Kinnons today. She preached Jesus, the Saviour!"

This year's message [see the video below] is a clear explanation of the gospel as the true meaning of Christmas and of her faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and her King. Here’s what she said...

"Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: ‘Fear not’, they urged, ‘we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.‘For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.’Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed.God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love.In the last verse of this beautiful carol, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, there’s a prayer:
O Holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us we pray.
Cast out our sin
And enter in.
Be born in us today.
It is my prayer that on this Christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord.I wish you all a very happy Christmas."

The Queen, as she approaches the 60th anniversary of her reign, is still a great communicator. She certainly understands the importance, and the heart of the message of Christmas.

Father Christmas & Rebel Jesus

2011-12-25T14:57:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple of different Christmas songs that have been running through my mental play list. Yes, I know the lyrics are not the full story, the full gospel, but they both pick up some important elements of the living out of a kingdom life.

First up is:I Believe in Father Christmas
While U2 made the song well known, it was written by Greg Lake [of King Crimson & Emerson, Lake & Palmer]. When U2 did it, they made a minor but significant change to the lyrics. In the second verse:

They sold me a dream of Christmas,
They sold me a silent night,
And they told me a fairy story,
'Till I believed in the Israelite.

Becomes:

But I believed in the Israelite.

It may seem minor, but it's significant declaration.

They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on Earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin birth
I remember one Christmas morning
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas Tree smell
and eyes full of tinsel and fire

They sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a Silent Night
And they told me a fairy story
'Till [But] I believed in the Israelite
And I believed in Father Christmas
And I looked to the sky with excited eyes
'Till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise

I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave New Year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on Earth
Hallelujah Noel be it Heaven or Hell
The Christmas we get we deserve

Greg Lake

U2

The other song is a Jackson Browne song - The Rebel Jesus, [It was also done by the Chieftains.] There are some powerful lyrics here.

messing up the Gospel

2011-12-24T15:10:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year where we mess up the Gospel.
I mean it.
We mess up the Gospel, because we confuse the Gospel with sentimental mush.
And no, I am not the Grinch.
We mess up the gospel, because:

we sing songs that sentimentalize the birth of Jesus;
we focus a lot on gifts - both the giving & the receiving;
we spend a fortune on decorations;
we eat too much of the wrong types of food;
we try to pretend that family relationships are fine;
we volunteer at soup kitchens, because it makes us feel good;
we put on Christmas Cantatas & programmes, thinking this is evangelism;
we... [you can add in your item]

We do all this stuff & we mess up the Gospel.
You see Jesus was born to mess with religious life, to mess with the messes that fill our lives.
The birth of Jesus was just the beginning (actually it comes somewhere in the middle of the story... but I don't have space to tell that whole story).
John the baptist quoted the prophet Isaiah about a bulldozer movement:

Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight the rough ways smooth.
And all mankind will see God's salvation.

Luke 3:4-6 quoting Isaiah 40:3-5 NIV

Jesus announced that his ministry was kingdom ministry, expressed most concisely in the words of the prophet Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Luke 4:18-19 quoting Isaiah 61:1-2 NIV

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God has to do with a lot more than what we often focus on around Christmas or even Advent. Or can I say it without being accused of heresy, than Lent and Good Friday and Easter. I don't minimize, in any way, the reality or the importance of these events for understanding the Incarnation. But the Gospel of the Kingdom of God that Jesus came proclaiming, announcing, demonstrating, and establishing is so much bigger than we often think.

Jesus calls us to be the people of God,
partnering with him
in his redemptive mission,
in the world.

Unpacking that, living that out is a full time job of listening to the Spirit and being obedient. That's a lot more and a lot more challenging and fulfilling than some of our Christmas stuff.

incarnational hurricane

2011-12-24T14:14:00.000-05:00

Christmas is an easy time for Christians to get sentimental and schmaltzy, so in the interest of remembering how radically earth-shattering this event was, here are some thoughts on the Incarnation of Christ from N.T. Wright:

How can you cope with the end of a world and the beginning of another one? How can you put an earthquake into a test-tube, or the sea into a bottle? How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that the fire has become flesh, that life itself came to life and walked in our midst? Christianity either means that, or it means nothing. It is either the more devastating disclosure of the deepest reality in the world, or it’s a sham, a nonsense, a bit of deceitful play-acting. Most of us, unable to cope with saying either of those things, condemn ourselves to live in the shallow world in between... ~N.T. Wright, For All God's Worth

Thanks to ben sternke for the links

random 143

2011-12-23T20:23:00.000-05:00

this guy balances stuff
pretty amazing

crazy mountain trail riding
via kottke.org

manhole covers

a collection of manhole covers at weburbanist.com

map of paris
this is a neat zoomable map of paris in 1550
via www.retronaut.co

concrete buffer gone wild

women in the blue bra and Christmas

2011-12-22T17:49:00.000-05:00

This is the world into which Jesus came and still comes today.

For the yoke of their burden,and the bar across their shoulders,the rod of their oppressor,you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For all the boots of the tramping warriorsand all the garments rolled in bloodshall be burned as fuel for the fire.

For a child has been born for us,a son given to us.
~Isaiah 9:5-6

Celebrating Christmas is not an option. Look at the picture. Maybe we just don’t get it. The picture shows a veiled young woman being dragged and beaten by Egyptian military during a protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square earlier this month. We have to celebrate Christmas every year. Christmas, the nativity, the incarnation reminds us that...

The Word became flesh and blood, moved into the neighborhood.
~John 1:14

Maybe if we continue to show up at the nativity scenes of our lives and world, one year it will sink in and we will get it. Then maybe we will know and behave as if the child really is...

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

~Isaiah 9:6

picture from www.npr.org

book review: Without A Vision My People Prosper

2011-12-17T11:02:00.000-05:00

title: without a vision my people prosper
author: david hayward
publisher: nakedpastor
date: 2011

I've been a fan of David Hayward's work for some time - I have one of his drawings in my office; his "Naked Pastor" cartoons are usually thoughtful, provocative, and challenging.

This book is a collection of his blog posts, ordered chronologically, that takes us through some of his thoughts, discussions, musings, essays, arguments and questions on the theme of vision.

There will be lots of christians and more specifically lots of church leaders [because we are, after all, a different breed :-)] that will not like this book, because it asks more questions [and dangerous questions at that] than it gives answers.

David's main theme in "Without A Vision My People Prosper" is that creating detailed vision plans for churches is counterproductive to the church's real mission. There are some excellent posts, but there is also a sense as David writes in the introduction:

"So what we have here is like a quilt. My hope is that, no matter how crazy this quilt is, the pieces still somehow sew together to make a completed whole. Even though no single post will drive home my point, I certainly trust that the entire collection will."

David's book is an important counter to the excess emphasis placed on "vision statements" which have shaped much of the modern church, into something other than the life of the people of God envisioned [can I use that word here? :-)] in the New Testament. In a sense I think we chase vision statements because we don't like the type of community that the Bible describes.

I would recommended "Without A Vision My People Prosper" to church leaders who are passionate about real community.

I am a Follower (2)

2011-12-14T09:45:00.001-05:00

I recently posted a review of I Am A Follower by Len Sweet. I didn't want to put it in the review, but I couldn't miss a change to post this video: I Will Follow Him from Sister Act

book review: I Am A Follower

2011-12-10T17:56:00.000-05:00

title: I am a Follower: the Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus
author: leonard sweet
publisher: thomas nelson
date: 2011

Len Sweet has another book out. I confess I am a fan of his books. This one is entitled "I Am a Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus." Whether you agree with Sweet or not, he always pushes you to think fresh. In this book, Sweet adresses the cult of leadership in our culture, especially our western church culture. I think this is a much needed corrective to the over emphasis on leadership styles and techniques and strength training that some of us are bombarded with.

Sweet reminds us that Jesus said "'Follow me. Not my teachings. Me. And not 'listen to me,' but 'follow me.'"

Sweet keeps bring the conversation back to following: "To follow Jesus is to receive the gift of grace and to love Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul and strength so that Jesus can live his resurrection way, truth and life in and through us."

He uses the summary:
To follow Jesus is to be in the right mission - the way: missional living. [belonging]
To follow Jesus is to be in the right relationship - the truth: relational living. [believing]
To follow Jesus is to be in the right future - the life: incarnational living. [behaving]

There is so much in this book to reflect on. But having said that, if you are looking for detailed steps, you won't find it; if you are looking for "how-to's", you won't find the typical approach here; if you are looking for a systematic theology of followership, you won't find it; but if you tired of the common individualistic approach to leadership, then Sweet invites you to the dance of following Jesus, of following in solidarity with other followers.

And that's the focus. As Sweet writes: "Following Jesus is just that, it is following him. The destination is not the foremost issue... The focus, the goal, and the reward lie not just in the following but in whom we are following. The essence of following is the journey itself - being with Jesus."

And that following is a life of joy because if Christ is "'in [us], the hope of glory, then life means hanging out with the glory of it all."

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

book review:

2011-12-06T15:10:00.001-05:00

title: Proverbs Reconstructed
author: Gus Dallas
publisher: Thomas Nelson
date:2011

The book of Proverbs has often been a place to which people go to for wisdom - it is after all, part of the wisdom literature. While the intent of Proverbs is not to be a reference file on particular issues, some want it to be.That's what Gus Dallas has done with "Proverbs Reconstructed". He has categorized the proverbs so that they are easily found under key words, used in the New King James Version.

While some may find this helpful, anyone with access to the internet or decent Bible software will find not this a helpful resource.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review.

Advent Credo

2011-12-05T15:15:00.001-05:00

I came across this Credo for Advent via interrupting the silence. Well, worth reflecting on.

Advent Credo of Daniel Berrigan

It is not true that creation and the human family are doomed to destruction and loss— This is true: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life;

It is not true that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination, hunger and poverty, death and destruction— This is true: I have come that they may have life, and that abundantly.

It is not true that violence and hatred should have the last word, and that war and destruction rule forever— This is true: Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, his name shall be called wonderful councilor, mighty God, the Everlasting, the Prince of peace.

It is not true that we are simply victims of the powers of evil who seek to rule the world—This is true: To me is given authority in heaven and on earth, and lo I am with you, even until the end of the world.

It is not true that we have to wait for those who are specially gifted, who are the prophets of the Church before we can be peacemakers—This is true: I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions and your old men shall have dreams.

It is not true that our hopes for liberation of humankind, of justice, of human dignity of peace are not meant for this earth and for this history—This is true: The hour comes, and it is now, that the true worshipers shall worship God in spirit and in truth.

So let us enter Advent in hope, even hope against hope. Let us see visions of love and peace and justice. Let us affirm with humility, with joy, with faith, with courage: Jesus Christ—the life of the world.

Daniel Berrigan, "Testimony: The Word Made Flesh" (Orbis Books, 2004).

book review: close enough to hear God breathe

2011-12-01T20:25:00.001-05:00

title: close enough to hear God breathe
author: greg paul
publisher: thomas nelson
year: 2011

I was first introduced to Greg Paul through his book “God In The Alley.” Greg is a pastor at Sanctuary, in Toronto, a community that loves and includes the least of these.

Greg is a story teller. In "Close Enough To Hear God Breathe" Greg tells stories about God, about family, about people who live at street level, about love and brokenness. He tells stories from his life and ministry. In this book he paints a picture of God as father, and us as his children. He develops this theme by telling stories about his family and other relationships with others to show what it means to be in relationship with God and feel his love. He gently draws into understanding God as Father and not as judge. He makes the connection between his relationships and God’s relationship with humanity. He does an excellent job of keeping his “little” story, as he calls his life, in perspective with the great divine story that is God and man striving together.

"Close Enough to Hear God Breathe" is about more than life with the poor in the city. It draws us into intimacy with God, into that close place that sounds like a soft puff of air, an almost inaudible exhale or a quiet heartbeat deep in the chest cavity your head is resting on.

His stories are rooted in the theological story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation, not in an abstract or academic sense but from the perspective of what God’s desire to be close to us means in a world that is broken.

Here's a couple of excerpts:
"The Fall, and my own willful disobedience, has broken the image of my Father in me, like a mirror shattered into a thousand shards. Yet each jagged piece still in some small way reflects an aspect of his being, and he will not dispose of it. The Fall is not the utter ruin of my relationship with him, but the proof of its ultimate inviolability. He is not sweeping those shards into a duty pile to be thrown into the trash, cursing the inconvenience. He is gathering them, every sparkling sliver. Assembling them into a new mosaic of his identity uniquely reflected in mine."

“Two things are necessary for me to be able to hear someone breathing: I must be quiet and I must be close. Paul is telling me that when I learn to hear God breathing in Scripture, it will be rest to my soul. Not merely an academic exercise or a dogmatic wrangle. And I will know that God is very near, perhaps particularly when I’m stumped by a mystery I cannot penetrate. Amazingly, I find that when I listen carefully enough to the sound of that breathing in Scripture, it echoes also through the stories of my own life.”

"Close Enough to Hear God Breathe: The Great Story of Divine Intimacy" is not a how to book on how to have divine intimacy, it's the story of Greg's journey into intimacy with God along with some of the people who make up the Sanctuary community.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Thomas Nelson".

maps

2011-11-18T20:03:00.001-05:00

Here are a couple of interesting maps I found recently.

http://www.floodmap.net/ plug in your location & the amount you project water to rise & it will show you were the flooding will occur

timemap is Netherlands specific. It shows how far you can travel in a certain amount of time. The site http://www.timemaps.nl/ can be explored - very well done.

occupy movement

2011-11-18T17:42:00.001-05:00

Does anyone else think that the occupy movement has lost it's way?

It seems to me, in the Canadian context at least, occupy has become more about the legal battle over setting up tents and illegal public camping than it does about the original focus of the movement.
If occupy needs tents to make it's statement, it seems to me that it isn't making much of a statement.

What do you think?

stuff

2011-11-17T21:52:00.000-05:00

This Norton commercial is one of the worst commercials ever. I'm sure it's supposed to be a play on George Carlin's "stuff" but it's the exact opposite of what Carlin is saying.

You are the things you own.
Your identity is the stuff you have.
Your worth is what you own.

It ends with these lines:

what are you without your stuff

who are without your stuff

So here is the classic George Carlin "stuff"

book review: going deep

2011-11-17T09:23:00.001-05:00

title: going deep: becoming a person of influence
author: gordon macdonald
publisher: thomas nelson
date: 2011

The frontpiece of "Going Deep" is a quote from Richard Foster: "The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."

In "Going Deep" Gordon MacDonald revisits the fictional congregation from his book, "Who Stole My Church". While I have read some of MacDonld's other books, I have not read that book. The description is intriguing: "The future of the Christian faith will not be determined by the number of people who fill the pews but by the spiritual depth of those people."

The basic story line is that of a pastor who is drawing close to retirement who is challenged to consider what his legacy will be in terms of leaving the church healthy and in a position to experience long-term health and growth. Based on his interaction with several people, MacDonald, begins to develop what is known as the "big idea" at first and which later becomes known as CDP, "Cultivating Deep People." What is the "big idea" or CDP? Basically it is a year-long small group mentoring program.

The book's concept is good: write a story rather than an academic book to describe cultivating people of depth. However, I found the plot line to be very slow in developing. And the "big idea" is not really all that big - small group ministry has always been at the forefront of deep churches.

Another aspect I struggled with in the book is that MacDonald's narrative is too perfect. I have never been in a situation where everything falls into place as neatly as it does here, even the conflict gets neatly resolved. That does not resonnate with me. This is not how real people, real ministry and real life works. This book could have been much stronger and would have moved along at a faster pace if some more realistic pushback was in the plot.

In summary: it's OK, but not highly recommended.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

random 142

2011-11-14T17:24:00.001-05:00

a selection of purely random stuff

snowglobes
there is a museum, of pretty much everything
museum of the modern snowglobe

11 sounds your kids may have never heard
check out the article at www.mentalfloss.com

close call

via tankers almost swap paint & jalopnik.com

watch a Volvo wagon blow the doors off a Ferrari 458 Italia

via jalopnik.com

political ads
at least he's honest

via i-dont-like-political-ads-but-this-one-is-great.html

skatepark

via sensational-skate-park-urban-climbing-wall-in-spain/

let the earth bear witness

2011-11-11T07:05:00.001-05:00

On this remembrance day, a day when we remember the sacrifice made by many for freedom, we remember that the fight for freedom still goes on. I think this is an appropriate song for today.

The music is by Mike Scott of The Waterboys. The words are by William Butler Yeats (and George Moore).

A song from the play Cathleen ni Houlihan (1902), sung by the Poor Old Woman:

They shall be remembered for ever,They shall be alive for ever,They shall be speaking for ever,The people shall hear them for ever.

From "The Blood Bond," a song from the play (1901), by Yeats and Moore, lines sung by Diarmuid:

Let the sea bear witness,Let the wind bear witness,Let the earth bear witness,Let the fire bear witness,Let the dew bear witness,Let the stars bear witness!

[Texts from William Butler Yeats, The Poems, ed. Richard J. Finneran (New York: Macmillan, 1983), 537, 538.]

book review: radical together

2011-11-09T17:34:00.000-05:00

title: radical together

author: david platt

publisher: multnomah

date: 2011

"Radical Together" is David Platt’s followup to his book "Radical". "Radical Together" balances some of the things in "Radical" with a stronger call to experience God's love, joy and grace - especially in the context of community.

Having read "Radical" I was glad for this follow up book. I don't believe we can be radical without considering what it means to be radical together. And so in "Radical Together" Platt calls followers of Jesus to collectively: savor God’s Word, appreciate God’s leaders, work for God’s glory, pray for the nations and to progressively enjoy the exaltation of God.

Platt rightly confronts the tendency of churches to become immersed in activities planned for church members & asks why there is a dichotomy between local ministry and global missions. Platt reminds us that we called not only to love our city and invade our culture with the gospel; we are also called to leave our cities to infiltrate every culture with the gospel.

If you have read "Radical", you need to read "Radical Together" with others in community. The included discussio guide is a handy tool to kick start the discussion.

I am a firm believer that theology and theological reflection is best done in community. It's in community that the spirit of individualism which refuses to submit to another is linked to the collaborative learning in relationship where we challenge each other to faithfulness to living out the Word of God in our particular contexts.

book review: road to missional

2011-11-07T09:07:00.002-05:00

title: the road to missional: journey to the center of the church
author: michael frost
publisher: baker books
date: 2011

"Missional" is one of the current buzz words in many circles. But many churches misunderstand the concept, thinking of "missional" as simply being an add-on to church-as-usual. And so what is really a paradigm shift, often gets reduced or domesticated to simply another modern church growth tool. Michael Frost, in his latest book "The Road to Missional", "reestablishes the ground rules, redefines the terms accurately, and insists that the true prophetic essence of 'being missional' comes through undiluted." [back cover]

Frost is concerned that "being missional [has become for many] more a state of mind than it is a whole new paradigm" [17]. I think Frost is right when he suggests that for many missional is a shift in language only and becomes a synonym for evangelism.

As one of the first users of the term, Frost wants more than words. For the church be missional, it has to be more than “just another way of saying get-out-there-and-invite-your-unsaved-friends-to-church, which it is definitely not.” This traditional paradigm for the church’s role in the world places the impetus on us. Frost clarifies the alternative: the church is missional only in its relation to God. Mission, then, must start with the Missio Dei - “the reign of God.”

When the church is about us, mission can turn into simply a sales pitch in the competing marketing of anything and everything. Frost labels this the “market-shaped church,” where evangelism - sharing the good news of Jesus Christ - measures itself in terms of efficiency and initial impact, instead of acknowledging the “slow” work of alerting people to God’s work in the work. The chapter “slow evangelism” is an incisive challenge we would do well to hear (and respond!).

For the church to be truly missional, Christians must give up control, being reminded of the mandate to follow the way of Jesus as Lord and not just Savior. Mission is about “participating” with God, not being gods ourselves. Instead of complex strategies to reach people, the church is with people in their day-to-lives.

"The Road to Missional" is the best summary of the missional church I’ve read. It’s accessible and readable, but without compromising a rich theological and conceptual foundation. Frost, himself writes with integrity. He’s personally wrestled through the subject matter himself.

If you want to understand missional, incarnational, and shalom, in the context of being God's peaple I would highlyt recommend this is the place to begin. Frost brings clarification and inspiration on a topic so many confuse, abuse, or simply ignore.

Frost’s main point in "The Road to Missional" is simply this – becoming missional is not about making congregations more appealing for a new generation; rather, becoming missional is about equipping and releasing people to be the church in their neighborhoods, regardless of what style of worship they prefer of the size of the congregation. Becoming missional is all about tapping into the missio Dei in order to be a foretaste of the reign of God in Christ. This is rooted in the cross and God's shalom. And do, becoming missional is not simply a matter of language or programming – it is a never ending process and a “calls it followers to the disciplines of sacrifice, service, love, and grace; and a mission that delights in beauty, flavor, joy, and friendship" [146].

"Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Thomas Nelson".

Toronto - what are you doing?

2011-11-03T22:00:00.000-04:00

www.blogto.com/ has a post about how:

the public works and infrastructure committee voted in favour of a by-law that would make it illegal for cyclists to park their bikes at anything other than an official City bike post or designated bike rack.

Background information seems to suggest that the reason behind the motion is to protect young trees from careless cyclists who lock their bikes to them - I can understand that - but the motion goes much further.Just one more sign that Toronto doesn't like bikes.

Toronto also doesn't like homeless people. http://torontoist.com/ has a post on a proposed by-law which states:

“No person shall, without approval of the general manager, camp, dwell or lodge on a street.”

The city is creating a solution that is not really a solution.

book review: irresistible church

2011-10-31T08:49:00.000-04:00

title: the irrestitable church: 12 traits of a church heaven applauds
author: wayne cordeiro
publisher: bethany house
date: 2011

Wayne Cordeiro is a mega-church pastor in Hawaii. This book lists what he calls "12 traits of a church that heaven applauds."

I approach books like this with skepticism. I find that books based on a list (7 habits..., 5 steps..., 9 principles... and the like) to be not only very formulaic, but rather simplistic. They tend to take something that worked in one context and imply that this will work everywhere.

So why then read this book? I've heard Wayne Cordeiro speak and read a couple of his earlier books and quite enjoyed them.

Cordeiro makes the point that this is book is about "becoming a church that irresistible to heaven" rather than people. And so for Cordeiro an irresistible church: Hungers for the presence of God, remembers who she is, lives heart first, practices gratefulness, promotes healthy relationships, is always learning, promotes spiritual self-feeding, connects everything to a soul, chooses to love, takes risks, humbles itself, and has a plan.

The book is okay. It is a quick read; lots of stories and illustrations; sometimes the Bible used more as proof-text than shedding light; brief teaching on the selected theme. It's a very much a book that reflects some of the priorities of conservative North American evangelical church culture.

If you are fan of John Maxwell and Rick Warren writings, i.e. you like lots of stories and bullet points, you will enjoy it. But may I suggest that there are some better books that will stretch you.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

random 141

2011-10-25T21:18:00.001-04:00

really random stuff
who knew this existed:

[a] site is for independent fundamental Baptist King-James-Bible-believing Christians who would like a husband or wife, but haven't found the right person in their local church and hence wish to connect with singles from other likeminded churches.

king james bible singles

10 years of fires

via wired.com

timelapse toronto

vimeo link

birthday box

via www.fitzsu.com/

volvo
The volvo 1800es is one of the nicest volvos. This one has only 90 miles on it... asking around $90,000

Just for interest sake... I did a quick search... there's a very similar 1973 1800es with 119,000 km on it for $2,500 here in Ontario... tempting

drag week 2011
Now these are real street legal cars: they race on 5 tracks over 5 days, with 1000 miles of road driving during the week: drag week 2011

bicycles, cars & the law

2011-10-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

therecord.blogs.com/take_the_lane/

The driver in the fatal "dooring" of Ottawa cyclist Danielle Nacu has been charged with a Highway Traffic Act offence that carries a fine of $110, the same as the fine for not having a bell on your bike.

Canadian Press reports that Kathy Chow, 41, of Ottawa has been charged under the HTA with opening a door improperly. Assuming she pleads guilty, her deadly mistake will cost her $110.

I shake my head. This is just one of several shake your head at the police and/or court decision involving cyclists.

Just a reminder to all my fellow cyclists... ride carefully, keep your eyes & your options open.

book review: christian zombies killer's handbook

2011-10-24T21:52:00.000-04:00

title: The Christian Zombie Killer's Handbook: Slaying the Living Dead Within
author: Jeff Kinley
publisher: Thomas Nelson
year: 2011

Zombies are big. I’m not really into Zombies, although I know people who are. So when I had the opportunity to review this book, I took the bait. It actually turned out to be not too bad a book. (If I’d have had to pay for it, I would have been able to resist, but since Thomas Nelson Publishers was offering an eCopy for free in exchange for this review...)

In summary the story is about a virus that makes flesh-eating zombies from everyday men and women. Kinley uses zombies as a metaphor to describe the decaying spirituality of men and women since the beginning of time.

The book's sections on the problem of sin and it's salvation are interspersed with a fictional story about a protagonist named Ben. Ben (and his friends) are dealing with a plague of zombies. Author Jeff Kinley alternates chapters between the on-going fictional Zombie story analogy and some good solid biblical instruction. Don't get caught up in whether zombies really exist or what they are like. But the analogy is interesting and the teaching was right on target—clearly stated, easy to follow and understand. If Kinley’s goal was to present this message to an audience of people who might not otherwise be interested in learning about sin and what the Bible has to say about conquering it, then he found an interesting way to reach that goal. One of the negative things about a book like this is that there are times when it feels like I was reading two books at the same time.

But aside from that back and forth, which some may find a distraction, Kinley does a good job addressing the problem of sin. I like his description of awareness of the devil as detecting "An invisible stench in the space we occupy."

The main focus of the book is dealing with your inner zombie.

All-in-all it is an interesting read, not one that I’d normally read but interesting none the less. I’d recommend this book only if your already interested in zombies, and more particularly if your interested in eradicating that smudged part of your spirit that was tainted the day Adam fell.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

book review: God Without Religion

2011-10-24T17:56:00.000-04:00

Title: God Without Religion: Can it really be this simple?
Author: Andrew Farley
Publisher: Baker Books
Date: 2011

"In God Without Religion" Andrew Farley invites the reader to step away from religion and enjoy the life of grace-filled freedom that God intends. At first glance, this is a very easy read. But as you get into it, you realize that this book is packed with sound theology and solid exegesis of scriptures that addresses many of the erroneous interpretations that have become commonplace in Christianity.

As Farley sees it, and I think he is right, many Christians are trying to live a mixture of two different covenants — the Old Testament law and New Testament grace - which go together like oil and water. In reality, as followers of Jesus, we are called to live only under the covenant of grace in and through Jesus Christ.

Farley takes issue with many of the practices that have become commonplace in modern Christianity such as tithing and following the Ten Commandments (of which he says in reality most folks only follow 9 because we don’t really keep a biblical Sabbath). Our tendency is to fall back on the law because we don’t fully trust ourselves to the grace of Christ to lead us into freedom and thus we end up with something far less satisfying than what God has for us namely a rules based religion instead of a grace-empowered relationship with Christ.

Farley rightly argues that the problem with religion is that it comes naturally to us. Instead of trusting in and relying on our heavenly Father, we lean on our religious instincts. Instead of walking by the spirit, we rely on our own judgment and willpower.

Farley says that four out of five Christians define spiritual health in terms of “trying hard to follow the rules in the Bible.” The punch-line of this book is that Christians should have no spiritual relationship with the 10 commandments or indeed any rules or regulations. Try to keep the rules and you’ll end up disillusioned and burned out.

Farley’s looks at Romans 5-7 as essential for understanding our new life in Christ. Like Paul, in Romans 7, many Christians find themselves struggling with sin and feeling wretched because of it. Farley argues that sin is what happens when we try to please God by keeping the rules. God introduced the law so that we might recognize the presence of sin. Sin thrives under law so the moment you start trying to live by law-based religion, sin is inflamed (Rms 5:20). You know what happens next: You fail, you repent, and you resolve to do better next time. In other words, you make a law for yourself that declares, “I must do better.” By the strength of your resolve you succeed for a time but eventually you fail again. Sin wins and back to square one you go. This ceaseless cycle of performance, failure and repentance is a surefire sign that you’re living under the curse of religion.

The way to break the cycle is to reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God (Rms 6:11). You are not handicapped by a sinful heart and you don’t have a sinful nature. What do you have is an old way of thinking that needs to change. You need to renew your mind and start agreeing with what God says about you. He says you are a new creation with new appetites and desires. If you stop and think about it, you will find that sinning is actually something that you don’t want to do. As Farley says, this is significant:

“Now, I know what you’ve heard: sin is the stuff we want to do but aren’t supposed to do. What I’m saying is, that’s wrong. Sin is totally incompatible with who we are, and it’s the last thing we want to do… For the rest of our lives, we’ll continue to prove our new birth, one way or another. We’ll prove it by expressing Christ and being fulfilled, or by sinning and being miserable. Either way, we prove our true identity.” (pp.165-6)

Farley covers a lot of ground in this book, but his main emphasis is on works versus grace. He lays down a solid foundation on the difference between living under law-based religion and living free under grace.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

storytelling

2011-10-24T16:50:00.003-04:00

There are a number of wonderful storytellers that I turn to for inspiration and enjoyment.

Garrison Kellior & the prairie home companion is simply wonderful.
Here in Canada we have Stuart McLean & the vinyl cafe
Recently, I've been reading Richard Wagamese, a powerful first nations storyteller. His books like Ragged Company and A Quality of Light capture the angst of first nations life in Canada.
Here is a video of his storytelling

post it notes

2011-10-24T09:49:00.000-04:00

Mag Ruffman (the Tool Girl) links to these post-it-watches. Handy for all those times when you need to jot a quick note & not lose it.

random 140

2011-10-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

common errors in english usage
interesting list... check it out... common english errors

delorean is back
there is an all electric delorean almost ready to go

busking
turbo street funk

clock
this looks interesting: the last clock

magnetic type
Magnet Iron Filing Type

amazon rainforest
here are some amazon rainforest pics

book review: sacrilege

2011-10-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

title: Sacrilege: finding life in the unorthodox ways of Jesus
author: Hugh Halter
publisher: baker books

date: 2011

Some people won't like this book. If you like religion; if you like things nice and neat and tidy; if you like things to remain the same; if you want to be comfortable. But if you want to be real; if your life is lived in the middle of complications; if you want to live with Jesus - then this is a good book to read.

This is a book which encourages us to reexamine Jesus and ourselves. Jesus is shown to be the untamed Lord that He really is. Hugh insists that we take steps outside the confines of the pages of the book, to interact with God and others as we begin and continue to learn to be be apprentices of Jesus.

Halter's book will be a challenge for anyone who bought into a church sized gospel, rather than the gospel of the kingdom of God.

I like how Halter defines the Ministry of Reconciliation. He writes: "Because I kicked down the barriers for you, I want you to kick down any barriers you find that keep people at arm's length from my love and acceptance... That's revolutionary. That's sacrilegious." [158] But sadly, too often, the church builds barriers.

Near the end of the book, Halter tackles communion and the walls that get built around this celebration. We build walls to keep people away from the table and remove as much joy as possible. What a travesty! I am with Halter here. Communion is not a reward for "holy" living. We so easily forget that Jesus served Judas and Peter the bread and the cup. We don't need to protect God from people who misuse the Bread & the Cup - "He's a big boy!" [166]

One of the other sacred cows Halter tears down is the idea of "holy ground" in church buildings. He writes: "Sacred space is where light breaks into darkness." [202] He needs to cue Leonard Cohen's The Anthem here: "There is a crack in everything That's how the light gets in."

Sacrilege is an excellent read. Hugh Halter keeps bringing us back to the real God of the Bible - not the churchified one.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

prayer questions

2011-10-15T15:57:00.001-04:00

At the 24-7 Prayer Canada "Rejuvenate" Conference the following questions were raised.

Is prayer an escape from actually taking responsibility in this world and in our cities? Why or why not?
Should we focus more on praying with "the saints" (the church), or praying with those outside the church? Why? And how does this affect the way that we pray?
What are the obstacles to prayer in your own life, in your church, and as a city/national movement? What is the purpose of prayer in your life, in your church, in the city/national movement?

Good questions aren't they? How do you respond?

random 139

2011-10-14T19:04:00.001-04:00

everything is a remix
how a film is influenced by other films?

Everything Is A Remix: THE MATRIX from robgwilson.com on Vimeo.

world's ugliest hotel
or the hotel-of-doom will reopen next year North-Koreas-Hotel-of-Doom-to-open-24-years-after-construction

ampersand
&
visual guide to the ampersand

toilets
a collection of toilet signs... I told you this was a random post :-)
go-where-sex-gender-and-toilets

corn maze
now this is either some corn maze or some really lost people

Lost-in-maize-Man-calls-911

cheese or font
how well do you know your cheese & fonts... do you know which is which

http://cheeseorfont.com/

bob dylan

2011-10-14T08:15:00.002-04:00

I took a copy of RollingStone out of the library the other day - the bob dylan issue. Here is one his classics... every line is like the beginning of a new song.

book review: with

2011-09-26T21:14:00.001-04:00

Title: With
Author: Skye Jethani
Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Date: 2011

In the first part of the book Jethani describes four common postures toward God:
Life FROM God: People want God's blessings and gifts minus the interest in God himself.
Life OVER God: People seek to discern proven principles and formulas for how God works. These principles and formulas can then be mastered to produce maximum benefit.
Life FOR God: People are concerned with how best to serve God. God is often thought to require heroic acts of self-sacrifice and service in order to achieve significance and approval.
Life UNDER God: People see God in terms of cause and effect. Obedience = blessing; disobedience = punishment. Proper moral behaviour is here thought to be the key to properly understanding and relating to God.

Jethani argues that in each of these four postures, the desire for God Himself is substituted for some lesser thing: i.e. blessings, princples, mission, or morality. And while none of these "are harmful or destructive in and of themselves" each takes the place of knowing God. Each of the four approaches represents an attempt to figure out how God works, what God wants, and how best to respond. And so Jethani says "fear and control are the basis for all human religion."

The second half of the book is a description of Life WITH God.

"The LIFE WITH GOD posture is predicated on the view that relationship is at the core of the cosmos: God the Father with God the Son with God the Holy Spirit. And so we should not be surprised to discover that when God desired to restore his broken relationship with people, he sent his Son to dwell with us. His plan to restore his creation was not to send a list of rules and rituals to follow (LIFE UNDER GOD), nor was it the implementation of useful principles (LIFE OVER GOD). He did not send a genie to grant us our desires (LIFE FROM GOD), nor did he give us a task to accomplish (LIFE FOR GOD). Instead, God himself came to be with us - to walk with us once again as he had done in Eden in the beginning."

Jethani say that LIFE WITH GOD means treasuring God above all else. But that is only part of the picture: we also need to be united with God and experience God. In this second half, Jethani writes about Life With Faith, Life With Hope, and Life With Love.

There are also two helpful appendices:
Appendix A: Communing With God, which is a look at some spiritual practices.
Appendix B: Discussing With Others, discussion questions for each chapter.

In summary, Jethani argues, living WITH God (as opposed to UNDER, OVER, FROM, or FOR God) is based upon the conviction that the qualities upon which the latter are predicated are temporary and will not endure. In God's new world, human beings will not constantly seek to manage, control, and manipulate relationships (with God or anyone else) in order to deal with the fear, uncertainty, and threat that dominate our current experience. In the new creation, God will be all in all, and love, not fear, will be the ultimate reality with which we have to deal. This is a powerful hope and one that we can anticipate and live into, as we strive to continually reimagine how we relate to God in the present. "Rather than stumbling in the darkness between forms of religion that are each under a variation of fear and control (LIFE UNDER, OVER, FROM, and FOR GOD), through Christ the lights are turned on and our attention is drawn to an entirely different vision - LIFE WITH GOD."

In short, "WITH" is an easy read, it is not an academic book, but it is an important reminder of what God invites us into, in an environment that often settles for far less than what is offered.

I received the book With free from Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program for my review. I was not paid to write this review.

Orillia - MURF

2011-09-19T14:22:00.001-04:00

The biggest news item for this week is the debate in the UN over granting Palestine statehood.
That is unless you live in Orillia.
Tonight (Monday) there is to be a vote in Council to take the 255 West St S,off the list of options for a recreation site.
While I am not sure it is the best site, largely because of clean up costs, to remove it from the list of possible sites (currently there are no other sites on the list!) is poor planning.

orillia - bicycle rally

2011-09-10T19:30:00.001-04:00

The fourth annual Orillia Bicycle Rally will be held on Wednesday Sept. 14. It leaves from the Couchiching Beach parking lot @ 6:00pm. It's a casual 10k ride [not a race] through the north part of Orillia. If you are a cyclist or interested in furthering cycling in Orillia come on out.

There is now a local Share the Road team, which has placed "Share the Road" signs at the major entrances to the city.

In addition Orillia also has an Active Transportation Plan which will be presented to council this fall. It will take several years to phase in the plan (if it is approved), but it is a start - thanks to those who have put a lot of hard work into preparing the plan.

I rode 2 years ago... last year I had a messed up shoulder... I plan on riding this coming Wednesday.

From This Valley

2011-08-31T16:37:00.002-04:00

The Civil Wars have an amazing blend of voices... enjoy

Oh, the desert dreams of a river
that will run down to the sea
like my heart longs for an ocean
to wash down over me.

Oh, won't you take me from this valley
to that mountain high above?
I will pray, pray, pray
until I see your smiling face.
I will pray, pray, pray
to the one I love.

Oh, the outcast dreams of acceptance,
just to find pure love's embrace
like an orphan longs for his mother.
May you hold me in your grace.

Won't you take me from this valley
to that mountain high above?
I will pray, pray, pray
until I see your smiling face.
I will pray, pray, pray
to the one I love.

Oh, the caged bird dreams of a strong wind
that will flow 'neath her wings.
Like a voice longs for a melody,
oh, Jesus carry me.

Won't you take me from this valley
to that mountain high above?
I will pray, pray, pray
until I see your smiling face.
I will pray, pray, pray
to the one I love.

I will pray, pray, pray
until I see your smiling face.
I will pray, pray, pray
to the one I love.

book review: The Sacred Journey

2011-08-25T21:50:00.000-04:00

Title: The Sacred Journey
Author: Charles Foster
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, 2010

The Sacred Journey is an interesting book. After reading the book and starting to write this review, I read some other reviews: some people loved it, others hated it. Phyllis Tickle, the General Editor of this Ancient Practices Series, writes in the Foreword: "Every one of you who reads this book will find at least one thing you totally disagree with and a whole handful of those you want to question. Please do so." [xii] Unfortunatly, some people go looking for a bunch of things they don't like.

Some reviewers seem to freak out anytime an author quotes a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or other non-Christian source. They seem to believe that if someone from a different background supports something, it must be wrong. Related to this, is if every paragraph is not backed up by a biblical reference, there is something suspect with the author's theology.

A theology of pilgrimage does not mean, as some of Foster's critics seem to think, that one must become a wanderer, a Bedouin, or take on a nomadic lifestyle.

Foster begins with the tendency of mankind, from the beginning, to wander: from early man; to Abraham; to religious pilgrimages; to God's call of the Jewish people to be "a pilgrim people"; to the simple call of Jesus to "follow me." Foster reminds us that for Christians "the journey" matters. It's not just about "arrival", about the end.

One of the things that struck me in Foster's book is his emphasis on "Pilgrimage, done properly as one of the best-known antidotes to gnosticism" [19]. This, I believe, is a needed reminder in our day of being tempted to either merge or separate the sacred and the spiritual. At times Foster reminds me of Eugene Peterson, who taught that spirituality is not primarily other worldly. The gospel is "the terrifyingly simple" [24] kingdom of God proclaimed and demonstrated as we follow Jesus, as we "go for a walk with Jesus" [28].

Foster, in The Sacred Journey, points out the important difference between tourism (placing checkmarks beside the names of rivers and lakes) and real pilgrimage. Having said this, The Sacred Journey is not a systematic, carefully reasoned theological argument for the role of pilgrimage in the life of the Christian, it is more an exploration of God and humanity, written in the context of Foster's pilgrimage, his actual walking.

Foster roots pilgrimage in theology and history, while sharing stories of travelers today. Foster describes the the smells, sounds, and discomfort that go with sustained, walking and encountering fellow travellors in all their varieties. Jesus spent more time and seemed more comfortable with the unwashed, smelly, odd-acting, people on the edge of mainstream society, than he did with those closer to the centre of society.

Foster also points us to the liminal, the "thin places" [chapter 7]. The journey is "where the Beloved is" [124]. Foster, points out the importance of place, not only "thin places" but to our being "born... into... a specific place" [129]. And yet, at the same time, "If you go headlong for the center, ignoring the journey there and the margin lands you go through on the way, you will certainly miss the center" [134].

Life at the edges, in the“thin places” where we are closer to God encounters, requires that we travel light. Most of us immediately recoil at the idea of leaving behind all our “stuff”, but that is exactly what the pilgrim is asked to do. This is minimalism at its core. And it hits to the heart of kingdom living. We set aside "stuff" for something greater - everything we have in Christ.

Foster points out, that on the road, “Not everyone finds what he is looking for, but everyone finds something that he didn’t have before and that he needs and wants.” It’s the journey and those we meet that is important, not the destination.

There are some things is life that are so important, so necessary, that we leave everything else behind and follow hard after this one thing, this one person.

I imagine that many readers will expect "The Sacred Journey" to be about the metaphorical pilgrimage, not the literal journey. But Foster writes with such great passion, that even if one doesn't leave on a pilgrimage, it will certainly case one to reflect on our journey through life a little differently. Learning to spend time with others on the journey, giving attention and devotion to the Father and the world that he has given us.

A complementary copy of this book was provided for review through Thomas Nelson’s Booksneeze Program

book review: Metrospiritual

2011-08-25T20:16:00.000-04:00

Metrospiritual: the geography of church planting

Sean Benesh
Resource Publications: 2011

Sean Benesh has written a much needed book on "the geography of church planting". While much of what Sean writes is focused on the USA, he is currently planting the Ion Community in Vancouver BC. I resonate with this, having lived in Richmond, BC, while doing a ThM at Regent College. I have also lived in Monteal, QC and the GTA.

Sean draws on statistics and surveys to provide the background for this book. However, he doesn't leave us with dry numbers. These are only the backdrop out of which Sean asks the important questions. I think Sean is on the right track as he interacts with Richard Florida's concept of the "Creative Class" and asks the question "are new churches engaged in community transformation" (xxii)? He continually emphasizes that this holistic transformation of individuals and neighbourhoods is a meaure of kingdom impact.

Sean pushes church planters (or potential church planters) to ask why they are planning on planting a church; are they understanding the "theology of the city, and, "the missional thrust of church planting, and the church as God's agent for social transformation" (27).

One of the things I appreciate about Sean's perspective is "if we start with the city we will still get the suburbs... if we start in the suburbs it does not mean we will get the city" (80). Sean clearly recognizes the tensions in deciding where to plant a church, but calls church planters to view the city in a holistic fashion with the eyes of community transformation.

Metrospiritual is a worthwhile read, not only for church planters and potential church planters, but for anyone ministering in the city. Sean points us to an unrban centric faith that embraces the city.

stop action photography

2011-08-12T22:24:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple of very well done animations. Amazingly, these stop action films were shot on a camera phone - a Noikia N8First up is "Dot" - the world's smallest stop-action animationTo follow that, we have "Gulp" - the world's largest stop-action animation

Gulp. The world's largest stop-motion animation shot on a Nokia N8. from Nokia HD on Vimeo.

Here's the details on the making of the filmsDotGulp

Gulp. The making of. from Nokia HD on Vimeo.

happy birthday Marshall McLuhan

2011-07-21T05:00:00.000-04:00

Marshall McLuhan was born 100 years today.Everything from lecture series to walking tours, many articles & retrospectives, special edition books are out.

One of the phrases that McLuhan was known for was "The medium is the message." When the book by the same name came out, there was a misprint in the title: "The medium is the massage." McLuhan insisted on keeping that, seeing it add yet another layer to his thinking.

Some more of his sayings or McLuhanisms:

Canada is the only country in the world that knows how to live without an identity.
Art is anything you can get away with.
Affluence creates poverty.
Tomorrow is our permanent address.
If it works, it's obsolete.
Ads are the cave art of the Twentieth century

At the peak of his popularity in the late 60's and early 70's he was quoted everywhere, interviewed by many magazines including the Playboy essay. McLuhan became less popular by the late 90's and the first part of the this century, but there is an increasing recognition that this man has shaped, or at the very least, marked out for us the factors that shape our thinking in our world.

Happy Birthday, Marshall.

Here's a clip of McLuhan on the World as a Global Village

Then, of course, there is the classic McLuhan in Annie Hall

links

http://marshallmcluhan.com/
http://www.marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/ [video of McLuhan on many subjects]

walking tour [Toronto walking tour with Nora Young & Marshall McLuhan]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
http://www.mcluhan.net/festival-2011

Douglas Coupland's biography on Marshall McLuhan [Amazon.ca]

God of the Ages

2011-07-13T20:46:00.000-04:00

I heard the song "Morning Has Broken" today.

The most well known version is Cat Stevens of course.

But there is another song written to the same tune, it's a Gaelic tune: BUNESSAN.

The words were authored by the Canadian hymn-writer, Margaret Clarkson. I had the privilege of sitting with her in Ian Rennie's Church History class at OTS [Ontario Theological Seminary - now Tyndale]. It was great having her in the class & introducing us to music from different periods of church history. She is the reason for some of my enjoyment of plainsong and Gregorian Chant.

The hymn that she wrote to go with this tune, captures the nature of our God as both transcendent and imminent:

God of the ages, history’s Maker,
planning our pathway, holding us fast,
shaping in mercy all that concerns us:
Father, we praise you, Lord of the past.

God of this morning, gladly your children
worship before you, trustingly bow;
teach us to know you always among us,
quietly sovereign, Lord of our now.

God of tomorrow, strong overcomer,
princes of darkness own your command:
what then can harm us? We are your people,
now and forever kept by your hand.

Lord of past ages, Lord of this morning,
Lord of the future, help us, we pray:
teach us to trust you, love and obey you,
crown you each moment Lord of today!

Text by Margaret Clarkson, 1915-2008
Words © 1982 Hope Publishing Company

Harry Belafonte

2011-07-11T18:27:00.000-04:00

The May 2011 issue of Zoomer [my parents get it & pass it on to me] has a great article on Harry Belafonte.

Belafonte started his career in music as a club singer in New York, to pay for his acting classes. The first time he appeared in front of an audience he was backed by the Charlie Parker band, which included Charlie Parker himself, Max Roach, and Miles Davis - not a bad back up band for a new comer!

His first widely–released single, which went on to become his "signature" song with audience participation in virtually all his live performances, was "Matilda", [originally written by King Radio from Trinidad]. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) became the first LP to sell over 1 million copies.

Here's his 1st appearance on Sesame Street back in 1978 with the classic "Day-O"

Turn the World Around
Harry Belofonte sang this song at Jim Henson's funeral. The african puppets where made specially for the song.

The classic Belafonte & Animal drum duet

Belafonte's political beliefs were greatly inspired by Paul Robeson, the singer and activist who mentored him. Belafonte's success did not protect him from racial discrimination, and so Belafonte refused to perform in the American South from 1954 until 1961.

Belafonte supported the Civil Rights Movement of the '50s and was one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants. He provided for King's family, since King made only $8,000 a year as a preacher. Belafonte bailed King out of the Birmingham City Jail and raised thousands of dollars to release other civil rights protesters. And like many civil rights activists, Belafonte was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.

Hans Rosling and the magic washing machine

2011-07-09T09:22:00.000-04:00

Hans Rosling has some great ways of expressing the realities of our world. Here is one of his recent TEDS talks

"What was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution? Hans Rosling makes the case for the washing machine. With newly designed graphics from Gapminder, Rosling shows us the magic that pops up when economic growth and electricity turn a boring wash day into an intellectual day of reading."

via the kruse kronicle

random 138

2011-07-09T08:37:00.002-04:00

cymbal strike
Who knew there was so much flex in a cymbal. This is shot at 1000 frames/sec.

link: http://kottke.org/11/06/slo-mo-cymbal-strike

duncan

Thanks to www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/ for those bit of good news

Paul Simon, during his Toronto show on May 7, made Rayna Ford's dream come true. Ford, a fan from Newfoundland, called out for Simon to play "Duncan," and said something to the effect that she learned to play guitar on the song. In a moment of astonishment and disbelief, Paul Simon invited her on stage, handed her a guitar and asked her to play it for the crowd. When she strapped on the guitar, the audience went crazy. In a few strums, the band played along, tears ran down Rayna Ford's cheeks and Simon stood by her side in smiles.

It was an absolute moment of sobbing joy for Ford and for the crowd. It was a moment so beautiful, so human, it could almost be a story in a Paul Simon song. Excuse me while I wipe my own tears. Go Rayna and all the Raynas out there with dreams. As the song says:

Oh, oh, what a night
Oh, what a garden of delight
Even now that sweet memory lingers
I was playing my guitar
Lying underneath the stars
Just thanking the Lord
For my fingers,
For my fingers

gershwin playing "rhapsody in blue"

the blue town of Maroc
I have some great memories of spending a few day here back in 1978. This town up in the Reef Mountains has many of it's buildings "blue-washed". I should dig out some of my slides.

wonderaday.com

maps
It's been a while since I have posted any maps. Here are some nice old school maps

geological investigation of the alluvial valley of the lower Mississippi

book review: at home

2011-06-20T20:31:00.000-04:00

Title: At Home: A Short History of Private Life
Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Random House, 2010

I just finished reading Bill Bryson's recent book "At Home: A Short History of Private Life." It's a book that takes us on an excursion into the history behind the place we call home.

"Houses aren't refuges from history. They are where history ends up."

Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped.
One day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found them in his home, and so Bryson takes us on a journey through his house, going from room to room to "write a history of the world without leaving home."
So the bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on throughout the house, showing the interconnectedness of the world and private life.
Bryson writes well. And while there is a lot of information in this 452-page book , it doesn't lag. If you are interested in history, in understanding our world, this is good book to read.
One thing that would make this book even better is an online version that would take us to some links to explore people and images and concepts that Bryson begins to explore.

varsity stadium

2011-06-01T22:09:00.000-04:00

This Sunday I am planning on running in the Ontario Master Championship. I will be running the 5000m (5K). I have not run a race on a track since sometime in the late 70's. 5K on the track (12.5 laps) is going to be interesting for someone who is used to running on the road / trails.

The last time I ran a race at Varsity Stadium was in the early 70's. It was an all comers meet. I was entered in the 1 mile. As I was warming up, I discover that Bruce Kidd had entered the race and was going to attempt to break 4 minutes for the mile.

I ended up leading the pack through the first lap in less than 60sec; 1/2 mile in under 2min; 3/4 mile at just under 3min. At that point, I began to fade, I was way out of my league. About 350m to go, Bruce took off. He finished in under 4min. A couple of other guys passed me & I finished in 4th with a time of 4:10 - which ended up being my best mile time ever.

At that Varsity had a cinder track, now there is this high tech blue track.

new computer / shoes

2011-05-17T21:37:00.000-04:00

I went to Barrie yesterday to buy Janice a new computer and look at some computer equipment for the church - I came back with a new pair of running shoes for myself. Just for the record, Janice wasn't too upset.

My last 2 pairs of shoes have been Saucony Guide 2s [the top shoe, the one with blue trim]. The new pair are Saucony Ride 3s [the ones with the green trim]. The reason for the switch is because the way my feet pronate has changed. As I am sure you are aware "pronation is a rotational movement of the forearm at the radioulnar joint, or of the foot at the subtalar and talocalcaneonavicular joints." :-) wikipedia.

The staff at the running room in Barrie figure that with the miles I have been putting on [close to 40K/week], I have gone from being a mild pronator to having a neutral pronation in my stride.

By the way, if you buy your running shoes off the rack, do yourself a big favour and get yourself to a decent running store and have them check you out. Staff at Barrie, looked at my old shoes, had me try on several brands and watched carefully as a ran up and down the aisle.

I went for a run today in the new shoes. They felt wonderful. No breaking in time needed. They are a few ounces lighter and very comfortable. Maybe this will mean some better times. I have a couple of 5K's coming up in the next few weeks, before starting to train for a 10K and a 1/2 marathon.

quote

2011-05-10T21:49:00.000-04:00

You gotta love an author who refers to God as a hippie:

Most of the learning is done, and most of the encounters occur on the margins; in the outskirts; in the dowdy forgotten provinces. And that, in Scripture and in life is where our hippie, non-mainstream, iconoclastic God is to be found. Don't look for him in constitutions or palaces, he loathes them. Look for him at the edge of the town, at the end of the days, at the center of a party so far off-center that your mother would be appalled.

Charles Foster, The Sacred Journey, p150)

easter in Beiruit

2011-04-29T20:02:00.000-04:00

It is often it is easy for western Christians to forget that there is a vibrant Christianity in the east. We sometimes act like there are no Christians living in the Middle East. The below video should help to remove our myopia

The video is from this past Sunday, recorded in a mall in Beirut Lebanon. It is a group of people declaring the resurrection, in Arabic of course. The lyrics are: "Jesus is risen from the dead, defeating death by death and giving life to those in the grave." Take THAT Easter Bunny.

via: John Byron

random 137

2011-04-28T21:57:00.000-04:00

wooden bike

A bicycle made entirely of wood, created by a pair of British designers, is aiming for a top speed of 31-mph.
article

symmetry

interesting video

developing trays

Back in the day when cameras used film, some of us developed our own film and printed our our pictures.
John Cyr has spent the past year visiting darkrooms of notable black and white photographers in order to photograph their developer trays.
pdnphotooftheday.com

garage door

This apartment building in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco has recently been remodeled to include four precious car parking spaces while maintaining the historical Victorian facade.
jalopnik.com/

library

Beautiful pics of the 868 year old strahov monastery library in Prague.

view of the world from the top of everest

On May 24, 1989 the Australian photographer and mountaineer Roderick Mackenzie reached the summit. He was the 271st since 1953.
Here is the panorama view from the top of the world.

bar code movies
moviebarcode reduces movies to a single bar code

The technically minded, you can run an .avi file through a python script and create your own moviebarcode.

For the rest of follow the link above to check out some examples

run the the diamond

2011-04-25T16:00:00.000-04:00

My body doesn't seem to like morning races. I have run 5 races since Thanksgiving: 2 were morning races, 1 in the afternoon & 2 evening races. In both morning races I have had a side stitch or cramp.

On Saturday (23 April) I ran the Uxbridge - Run for the Diamond. I should have been able to run sub 23min, even in the cold, damp conditions. But I was more than 3min off that pace, finishing a disappointing (for me) 33rd. Here's a photo showing the strain on my face. I went through the first 2k on pace (4.5min/km), but then just before 3k started to cramp.

Incidently, it was a well organizied race... around 1000 people in total for the various events - great job!

I went for an easy run today (Monday) - just under 8.5k & it was a faster pace than the weekend 5k.

I think I need to start running in the morning, to get my body used to morning races (since that's when the majority of races are.

book review: the invitation

2011-04-25T09:34:00.001-04:00

Greg Sidders. The Invitation: The Not-So-Simple Truth About Following Jesus. Revell, 2011.

'"Follow me." It's not a command you can obey sitting down.'

That's how Greg Sidders begins The Invitation. From there Sidders keeps calling his readers to the journey of being a disciple. And as Sidders points out, while many set out on the journey, the simple invitation to "Follow me" becomes one that we find difficult to follow.

The Invitation, is a book that invites readers to explore the implications of obedience to this command. He explores what Jesus is calling us to, what discipleship is, and why it is more than worth giving up everything to follow Jesus.

There is a study guide in the back to assit the reader with applying the truths to their life. In some senses The Invitation is a simple Christian living book, full of personal stories, some familiar illustrations, looking at the gospel texts and showing how this might apply. But that simpleness and Sidders honesty combine to make this an excellent introduction to being a disciple - a follower of Jesus.

In summary I would recommend The Invitation.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

prisons in canada - mental health issues

2011-04-02T10:08:00.000-04:00

WINNIPEG — The numbers of people with serious mental disorders in Canada's prisons and jails are "higher than they've ever been" and they continue to rise, an Ontario forensic psychiatrist says.
Dr. John Bradford told a national mental health conference in Winnipeg on Wednesday that the problem is not our country's alone — it exists in the United States and around the world.
In North America, the problem has been exacerbated by a trend since 1960 to close down institutions for the mentally ill and treat people in the community. With the advent of certain drugs, that's proved successful for many people, while others have fallen through the cracks, winding up homeless and incarcerated in correctional facilities. globalwinnipeg.com

What has happened is provincial facilities for mentally ill people have been closed and the responsibility for treatment has been downloaded to municipalities. However, this has happened without the full funding necessary to do this. There has also been a faulty assumption that people with mental health issues are able to care for themselves in the community. Yes some are; and others can with extra support; but many cannot.

The problem is, it is very easy to forget about or push aside people with mental health issues. They get marginalized, ignored as much as possible.

I have not done the reseach to check the numbers, but I would suspect that there is a fairly high degree of addictions among people with mental health issues.

The above article, points out that the St. Lawrence Correctional Treatment Centre in Brockville, Ont., near Ottawa, established in 2003, is a 100-bed psychiatric hospital for persons with serious mental disorders who are serving provincial jail sentences. It is for men only. "No such facility exists for women in Ontario. And no such facility exists for men or women in other provinces."

The globe and mail, a couple of years ago, ran a series of articles under the heading "breakdown" on mental health issues in Canada. Check it out for more information on mental health issues.

A report issued in September 2010 by the Office of the Correctional Investigator says:

“The needs of mentally ill offenders in custody exceed the current capacity of the Correctional Service of Canada...
Canadian penitentiaries are becoming the largest psychiatric facilities in the country.” CBC

Among the recommendations, are that the correctional service should:

Fund implementation of its mental health strategy, with a particular focus on intermediate care.
Develop mental health service delivery partnerships with the provinces and territories.
Enhance its support of the development of a national strategy for corrections and mental health, with a focus on care guidelines.

There are no simple answers. But doing what we have done as a province and country for the last 40 years is not the answer. Nor is condemning those who work in the prison system or mental health field. Sadly, in both fields there are people who have taken advantage of others; but there are also many who work hard and carefully.

Changing systems is never easy. And sadly, it is sometimes the church and christians who are slow to recognize this. In reality, we should be at the forefront of praying for and working for real change, not simply bandaid solutions. This is at both the systemic level and the individual level - getting to know the people in our neighbourhoods and ministering to them.

[part of a series of election 2011 reflections]

random 136

2011-03-19T21:28:00.000-04:00

Yonge St

stop-motion video of a trek from Aurora to downtown Toronto

via James Bow

the kings speech

No, not the movie, the original speech. King George VI opens an exhibition in Scotland - this shows the King (formerly the Duke of York) stuttering and stammering very badly at an Empire Exhibition at Ibrox Park, Glasgow, Scotland.
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disappearing languages

Every 14 days a language dies. By 2100, more than half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken on Earth—many of them not yet recorded—may disappear.National Geographic has a good article and map on this.

100 years of history in 2 minutes

center of attention
a collection of record centres at center of attention

orillia

2011-02-22T18:58:00.000-05:00

Gordon Lightfoot's song "Orillia", was on my mp3 player on my run today:

along with Murray McLauchlan's "Try Walking"

cassettes, cds & 8-tracks

2011-02-13T20:55:00.000-05:00

The ny times reports that the last new car to be equipped with a cassette deck is the 2010 Lexus SC 430.

How long before CDs disappear from the dashboard?

And for those of you who can remember these things how about the eight track museum? I confess to remembering 8 tracks, but I never had a vehicle with one.

running and cars rant

2011-02-12T19:42:00.000-05:00

I used to think that cyclists had to watch out for cars. They do... but so do runners.

I run wearing a bright neon orange jacket... you can't miss me with that and long hair. At least I thought you couldn't miss me.

Twice this week, someone pulled into a driveway right in front of me, blocking my path.

Then today, I was running at the very edge of the road, facing traffic, when a older lady, talking on a cell phone, drifted within easy "bang my fist on her fender" distance.

Come on people, get off the cell phone, open your eyes, if you can't see me, you shouldn't be driving.

electric bike

2011-02-11T19:21:00.000-05:00

The yike bike is a folding, electric bike with a top speed of 40mph. It can only go about 6miles on a 40min charge. It's expensive - $3600US but looks neat.

You can read about it at www.wired.com

Or check out the yike bike site.

book review: the last lecture

2011-02-11T17:43:00.000-05:00

The Last Lecture: Randy Pausch is the book version of the lecture that Randy Pausch gave after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. But it's not a sad book, it's a book about living, about seizing the moment, because "time is all you have... and you may find one day that you have less than you think."

The Last Lecture won't take you long to read, but it may change how you view life, for yourself or someone close to you.

There are also additional notes online at thelastlecture.com

You can watch The Last Lecture here:

at the still point

2011-02-11T09:34:00.000-05:00

At the still point of the turning world

Neither flesh nor fleshless;

Neither from nor towards;

at the still point, there the dance is,

But neither arrest nor movement.

And do not call it fixity,

Where past and future are gathered.

Neither movement from nor towards,

Neither ascent nor decline.

Except for the point, the still point,

There would be no dance

And there is only the dance.

T.S. Eliot, "Four Quartets"

book review: plan B

2011-02-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

Title: Plan B: what do youo do when God doesn't show up the way you thought he would?
Author: Pete Wilson, lead pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville Tennessee
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, 2009

Pete Wilson in this book, tackles one of the toughest questions we face in life: "What do you do when God doesn't show up the way you thought He would?"

Pete handles the discussion of this subject in an honest and personal way. Rather than offering a "paint by numbers", or "easy believism" approach to overcoming adversity, Pete candidly shares some of his own "Plan B" experiences as well as the doubts and desperation he felt in the midst of them.

This is one of the books, that has lots of "sound bites" or at least the written version of them. Here are some that stuck out to me.

We get ourselves into all kinds of trouble when we assume God must think and feel as we do
...deep hurt and shattered dreams have a way of blinding us to the character and beauty of God.
Every one of us faces a barrier that is keeping us from the life God has for us
...it's as much about the person we're becoming as it is about where we're going.
[The cross is] the place where the pain of "you will have trouble" meets the triumph of "I have defeated the world."
You've got to stop looking at your shattered dreams and your unmet expectations as something God is doing to you... He might be doing something in you.
When you are in a Plan B, you need community more than ever. And yet, because of the pain that comes along with a Plan B, it's easy to miss the God-given gift of community.
One of the things I believe God is teaching me in my life these days is that at times we want our dreams more than we want God. We want what God does for us instead of just God.
And I think for those of us in the midst of a Plan B we'll discover that one of our idols all along has been a picture of the way life should be be. Our idol was an expectation or a dream.
It's possible, in other words, that part of the reason you feel so shattered and so broken in the midst of your Plan B situations is that you gave your love and devotion to your plans and dreams instead of God.

If you are looking for a deep, abstract, theological treatse on the subject, this is not the book for you. But if you or someone you know has had dreams shattered, experienced deep disappointment, this may be the book for you.

Pete writes out of the combination of experience and a pastor's heart. It would have been easy to write a book that described 10 steps toward victory, overcoming, or finding the perfect will of God for life. Instead, Plan B, discusses how to keep living, how to keep breathing, how to have hope when life simply hasn't turned out. He writes: "When people ask me how they can know God's will for their lives, I tell them the best first step is to know God. Beyond that, I really don't have any steps."

My main criticism of the book, is that while I appreciate how Pete approached the subject, there are places where I felt he could of moved into a push to move beyond self and come alongside the other in the midst of their brokenness and suffering, a push that the church today so desperately and constantly needs. But that may be more a statement of where I am at in my journey to reshape ministry focus.

The book includes some good questions at the back for small group discussion or further personal reflection.

A complementary copy of this book was provided for review
through Thomas Nelson’s Booksneeze Program

death in Orillia

2011-02-10T10:15:00.000-05:00

Police are investigating the death of the 45-year-old man whose body was discovered Wednesday morning lying in the snow behind a home near Couchiching Beach Park. Orillia OPP haven't said whether there was foul play involved, but the person who found the body didn't see any signs. This could be another sign that homelessness and poverty is a bigger issue in Orillia than many care to acknowledge. article: orillia packet

In other deaths:
Jordan Morrison, the young autistic man from Barrie who was killed at a resort near Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, was an uncle of a family connected to an OCC family. article: orillia packet

Kimberley Blackwell who was shot and killed in Costa Rica last week is the brother of an Orillian man. article: orillia packet

These last two deaths are reminders that all roads lead to Orillia; but more than that, how interconnected our lives are, how fragile life is and no matter where we go and what we are doing [vacationing: Jordan Morrison; developing a self-sustainable co-operative organic chocolate business: Samaritan Xocolata, employing local women and families] there are dangers.

I invite you to pray for the families.

finding forgiveness

2011-02-07T16:37:00.000-05:00

This clip from ER raisesan excellent question about being direct. All too often, we are wimpy about being direct about the gospel and forgiveness. What do you think of the clip?

random 135

2011-02-04T22:41:00.001-05:00

Darth Vader VW commercial

pocket card light

The Pocket Card LED Light is the same size as credit card and requires no batteries or wires. The interior piece has an LED light bulb, when you need to illuminate, you just flip it up and the light turns on. - kind of neat

via incredible things

brickify

turn any picture into a lego structure... it will even give you the info you need to build it

brickify

one year canadian
Darren is living Canadian.
For 12 months, I will only buy Canadian products, eat Canadian food and consume Canadian media.
link: one year canadian

Let Your Light Shine On Me

2011-02-01T18:15:00.000-05:00

One of the songs that was played and sung at The Urban Forum was the classic Blind Willie Johnson song - "Let Your Light From The Lighthouse Shine On Me." It has stuck with me... It's one of those songs I just can't shake, not that I want to. So here are multiple versions:

Here's the Blind Willie Johnson version from 1929

I was trying to figure out where I had heard the song before... one of those places was the movie: The Ladykillers (2004). Here are The Venice Four:

Another place was the movie: Prairie Home Companion (2006): Garrison Keillor, Robin & Linda Williams, Prudence Johnson

For a livelier version, here's Rich Hallett, Hank Roberts, Steve Selin, Bill King, & Ben Gould

Or the Travelers Three from Hootenanny 1963

How about a gospel choir version:

book review: seeds of turmoil

2011-01-17T11:25:00.001-05:00

Title: Seeds of Turmoil: The Biblical Roots of the Inevitable Crisis in the Middle East
Author: Bryant Wright
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (2010)

Almost every day there is a new story about the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. Despite countless attempts to forge a lasting peace, there is none to be found. Temporary cease-fires give way to full-scale conflict. Suicide bombers wreak havoc throughout the region. Iran’s president has stated his desire to wipe Israel off the map. It seems like no matter what action is taken, no matter who is involved in peace talks, it just keeps going.

Bryant Wright traces the current conflict in the Middle East back long before the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. He says it originated when Abraham sinned, distorting God's promise that he and his heirs would make a great nation and inherit the land now called The Holy Land.

In part one of Seeds of Turmoil (which is the bulk of the text), Wright walks his readers through the biblical story of the birth of Abraham’s children, Isaac and Ishmael, and of the rivalry between his grandchildren, Jacob and Esau, explaining how the prophecies made about each are still coming to bear in our present age.

One criticism I would have, is that much of the book reads like a sermon transcript. Some of the phrasing and repetition which are helpful in spoken word, is not as helpful in print. But granted, the repetition is important in stressing that today's ongoing conflict is rooted in the conflict between two brothers.

Wright's emphasis on the biblical roots stresses the seriousness of sin: Abraham's adultery and Jacob's identify theft have consequences that are felt to the present day.

Wright presents a compelling argument that traces the the current crises in the Middle East back to Abraham of the Old Testament. From Abraham and Sarah's sin, that was meant to "help God" by allowing Sarah's servant, Hagar, to bear Abraham's first son to the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that Sarah will bear him a son: Ishmael and Isaac; Jacob and Esau; the "birth" of the chosen people, Israel; Israel's struggles and becoming a nation; Israel's loss of its nation (and the Jews being scattered among other nations); Israel's becoming of a nation again in 1948; Israel's wars with the Muslim nations since 1948; coupled with the explanations of the beginning and rise of Christianity and Islam.

The author makes a very insightful and compelling biblical and historical account for the current Middle Eastern Crises. The book is not about bible prophesy, though some is cited.

In the much shorter second part, Wright looks at the political and historical events from Muslim, Jewish and Christian perspectives.

In this section, Wright doesn’t shy away from saying very hard things about the Muslim religion, even while seeking to keep his tone respectful. I don’t find that Wright comes across anti-Islam, so much as pro-Israel (which to some might be the same thing, but there is a distinction). And this he is, almost to a fault.

One of the greatest difficulties for many Christians today is how to support the nation of Israel. Does it deserve unquestioning support from followers of Jesus, or is it more the same sort of support we would seek to provide to any nation - that through our prayer, through proclamation of the gospel and seeking the good of the lands we inhabit, many would turn away from sin and worship Christ.

While Wright does state that it’s only when Christ returns that there will be lasting peace in the Middle East (and all nations for that matter), I think he gets a bit muddy in his view of the modern nation.

I was surprised to find that Wright fails to deal with the passges on Israel in the book of Romans, I was expecting more on this.

Overall, Seeds of Turmoil is an engaging and provocative primer on the biblical roots of the current turmoil in the Middle East—one that I believe will help many as they seek to understand the climate and pray for God’s peace to reign.

Wright maintains a clear, informative explanation of the spiritual cause of the conflict in the middle east that remains as free from political argument as possible given the subject. While you may not agree with Wright's perspective of the conflict or in his understanding of Islam and its people, he keeps his arguments highly Biblical. All of Wright's points come from Biblical interpretation. That interpretation may not be flawless, but the book's message is derived from a scriptural understanding and an expository root rather than a political agenda that twists scripture to meet its world-view. This makes it a worthy book to review for this blog and Wright's work progresses very much like a Bible study (in fact the book includes study materials in the back) or a holistic reading of scripture with Israel and its neighbors at the center of the focus.

Seeds of Turmoil is not an academic book, but it is a good starting point for understanding the spiritual seeds of the Middle East conflict.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

book review: out live your life

2011-01-17T10:07:00.000-05:00

Out Live Your Life

Max Lucado

Thomas Nelson, 2010

In his latest book, Outlive Your Life, best-selling author Max Lucado reminds us that God has always used normal, everyday people to change the world. The disciples were ordinary people, working regular jobs, living normal lives. But they answered the call to follow Jesus and ultimately changed the world. God is still looking for regular folks-soccer moms, blue-collar workers, students-anyone who is willing to answer God's call to make an extraordinary difference.

As a side note: Lucado is taking his own message to heart;
100% of the author's royalties from Outlive Your Life products are going to benefit children and families through World Vision.

I have never been a real big fan of Max Lucado, some of his work has sounded a little simplistic to me, although his children's book You Are Special is wonderful!

In Out Live Your Life, Lucado approaches the topic of "You were made to make a difference." He does this by taking a look at several of the stories in the opening chapters of the book of Acts.

Lucado challenges North American sheltered life. He talks about our systems of keeping the world out. Lucado points out that true hospitality is about opening your home to others. The bottom line is that all the stuff that we think we care about really does not matter. We should instead focus our attention on the things that will “outlive our life.”

Out Live Your Life is very easy to read. Lucado does what it does in most of his books - he tells interesting stories that reinforce his point of each chapter. While the book keeps you captivated and reading, it leaves you with a sense of there is more to be said. This is where the back section of the book comes in. I can see using the discussion questions and action items as a starting point for a good group study.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

comedy

2011-01-15T14:53:00.000-05:00

If reading makes you smarter, why do books have the title at the top of every page:

via michael hyatt

Here is Larry Griswalk and his physical comedy

& then one of my favourites: Tim Conway destroying his castmates during a "Mama's Family" sketch on the "Carol Burnett Show"!

toronto puns

2011-01-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

the torontoist is running a series of photos on punny names of stores in Toronto:

2009 list

north

west

east

downtown north

downtown south

book review: arrival city

2011-01-15T11:20:00.000-05:00

Arrival City: The Final Migration and our Next World
Doug Saunders
2010

Doug Saunders, the European Bureau Chief for the Globe and Mail has written a very interesting book on migration. He looks at "Arrival Cities" across the globe: sometimes the migration is within a country, sometimes across the world. He says that "a third of the world's population is on the move this century, from village to city..." [21]. This is a huge transistion for our world. "In 1950, 309 million people in the developing world lived in cities; by 2030, 3.9 billion will. As of 2008, exactly half the world's 6.7 billion people lived in villages..." [21].

"Each month, there are five million new city-dwellers created through migration or birth in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Between 2000 and 2030, the urban population of Asia and Africa will double, adding as many city-dwellers in one generation as these continents have accumulated during their entire histories. By the end of 2025, 60 per cent of the world will live in cities..." [22].

Saunders, in contrast to many books on urbanization, paints an optimistic narrative about the future. While he is realistic about the difficulties of migrating to what he calls "Arrival Cities", at the same time he sees these communities as a bubbling soup from which new opportunities are born. Like Jane Jacobs's The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Saunders is optimistic about cities and human aspiration in the midst of overcrowded buildings and unplanned urban jungles. He argues that "high-intensity" living – overcrowding, in the words of most planners – is one of the keys to success in arrival cities.

In fact, he argues that what we often see as perpetual slums are not that at all; rather, they are places where people are continually moving through the neighbourhood. He tells this story over and over again in different places.

Of particular interest to us close to Toronto, is his look at Thorncliffe Park, which while being one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Toronto, can also be viewed as "a successful antechamber to urban life" [314]. One of the paradoxes of arrival cities, is "the more successful they are, the higher their apparent poverty rate.... the neighbourhood will be continually refilled with new migrants from poor rural regions. It appears unchangingly poor and segregated only if you fail to observe the trajectory of each resident." [315]

Saunders calls the current people migration the most decisive social and cultural change since the Enlightenment and its legacies, including the French and Industrial revolutions. His argument is difficult to deny. The current urban migration is not just massive; it is, he argues, one-way, fast and final.

In all, if you are interested in the city, in our world, it is a book well worth taking a look at.

where's the justice?

2011-01-04T21:33:00.000-05:00

Bill Bean has an article on his blog about Tiberiu David who was killed while riding his bicycle in a designated bicycle lane in broad daylight on University Avenue in Waterloo - 4 months ago. The motorist in the case, 24-year-old Matthew Waltenberry of Kitchener, has been charged with careless driving, driving with a suspended licence and possessing a driver's licence while prohibited.

The Record has the story here.

Bean goes on to say:

None of the charges are Criminal Code offences, so while it is possible that a convicted person could see some jail time, it is more than likely that a conviction will result in a fine.

And his licence will be suspended. At least that'll help keep him off the road.

Oh, wait a minute...

CEO income

2011-01-04T21:16:00.000-05:00

There has to be something wrong with this:

Early Monday afternoon, just past midway through the first working day of the year, corporate Canada's top 100 chief executive officers had already made what it takes the average Canadian the entire year to earn. According to the Ottawa-based Canadian Centre on Policy Alternatives (CCPA), the nation's top 100 CEOs earned an average of $6,643,895 in 2009 while the average Canadian pulled in about $42,988.

This is alarming for a number of reasons. It is a relatively new phenomenon -- an "extraordinary explosion" of CEO income, according the report published by the Centre. Just 15 years ago, the top 50 CEOs in the country earned an average of $2.6 million. At the time they were making 85 times more than the average Canadian. Today, they are making 155 times more than the average Canadian. And the gap between the rich and poor is again growing.

O Holy Night - Matt Anderson

2010-12-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

Matt Andersen [probably my favourite performer at this years Mariposa Folk Festival] sings O Holy Night on the Vinyl Cafe Christmas Tour 2009.

bonus - Go Tell It On The Mountain
with Jill Barber from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa

50 christmas movie spoilers

2010-12-24T16:02:00.002-05:00

12 days of Christmas - straight no chaser

2010-12-24T15:57:00.002-05:00

a version of the song you can enjoy

stephen cobert on Jesus and the poor

2010-12-24T15:27:00.000-05:00

“The Bible contains more than 300 verses on the poor, social justice, and God’s deep concern for both.”

Jesus was born poor.
Jesus lived poor.
Jesus commanded us to help the poor.
Jesus modeled how to help the poor.
Jesus spent much of his time with the poor.

Maybe Colbert has a point..

What do you think??

non traditional christmas songs

2010-12-23T10:28:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my favourite non-traditional Christmas songs
by, in order, Randy Stonehill, U2 / Emmerson, Lake & Palmer, & The Pogues & Kristy McColl
The lyrics are listed below the songs

CHRISTMAS AT DENNY'S
I can't find a YouTube version of Randy Stonehill singing this

I Believe in Father Christmas
This U2 cover of “I Believe in Father Christmas” was orignially written by Greg Lake of “Emerson, Lake and Palmer” fame. I like the minor, but significant, change in lyrics. What was originally:

“They sold me a dream of Christmas, They sold me a silent night, They told me a fairy story, Till I believed in the Israelite.”

Becomes;

“But I believed in the Israelite.”

Fairytale of New York

CHRISTMAS AT DENNY'S®
They got Christmas Muzak®
Piped in through the ceiling
And the refills of coffee
Are always for free
And the waitress on graveyard
And the surly night manager
Are wishing that all of us losers would leave

There’s a star on the sign
At the Texaco® Station
Like the star long ago
On that midnight clear
As I look all around
At these cold, empty faces
I doubt that you'd find many wise men here

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night - Holy Night
When things were alright
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only
But somewhere down the road
I gave up that fight
Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

Once I had a home
And a wife and a daughter
Had a company job
Earning middle-class pay
Then Lisa got killed
By a car near the schoolyard
And my wife started drinking
Just to get through each day
I will never forget
That little red wagon
Turning to rust
All alone in the rain
One morning I flagged down
A truck on the highway
I just couldn't bear
To go back there again

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night - Holy night
When things were alright
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only
Well, it's not just the blind man
Who loses his sight
Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

They say
Life's made of cruel circumstance
Fate plays the tune and we dance
Dance til we drop
In the dust and we're gone
And the world just goes on

The cop at the counter
He's the guardian angel
He watches these orphans
Through dark mirrored shades
And the register rings
Like a bell sadly tolling
For the fools we've become
And the price that we paid
Oh when I was a boy
I believed in Christmas
Miracle season
To make a new start
I don't need no miracle
Sweet baby Jesus
Just help me find
Some kind of hope in my heart

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night - Holy night
When things were alright
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only
But I'll still be here
At the morning's first light
Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight
Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

Written By Randy Stonehill
© 1989 Stonehillian Music/Word Music
(a division of Word, Inc.)/ASCAP

I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS
They said there'll be snow at christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin's birth
I remember one christmas morning
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire

They sold me a dream of christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
'till I believed in the israelite
And I believed in father christmas
And I looked at the sky with excited eyes
'till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise

I wish you a hopeful christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there'll be snow at christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
Hallelujah noel be it heaven or hell
The christmas you get you deserve

FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK
It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me, won't see another one
And then he sang a song
The Rare Old Mountain Dew
I turned my face away
And dreamed about you

Got on a lucky one
Came in eighteen to one
I've got a feeling
This year's for me and you
So happy Christmas
I love you baby
I can see a better time
When all our dreams come true

They've got cars big as bars
They've got rivers of gold
But the wind goes right through you
It's no place for the old
When you first took my hand
On a cold Christmas Eve
You promised me
Broadway was waiting for me

You were handsome
You were pretty
Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging,
All the drunks they were singing
We kissed on a corner
Then danced through the night

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing "Galway Bay"
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day

You're a bum
You're a punk
You're an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God it's our last

I could have been someone
Well so could anyone
You took my dreams from me
When I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can't make it all alone
I've built my dreams around you

copyright 1988 Shane MacGowan & Jem Finer

irrational season

2010-12-19T07:56:00.002-05:00

this is the irrational season
when love blooms bright and wild
had Mary been filled with reason
there'd have been no room for the child
Madeleine L'Engle

leaving room for God

2010-12-19T06:09:00.001-05:00

skye jethani posts this prayer that is attributed to Oscar Romero, archbishop of El Salvador. He was assassinated in 1980 while saying the mass in San Salvador.)

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,

it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction

of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying

that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the church’s mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted,

knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation

in realizing that. This enables us to do something,

and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,

but it is a beginning, a step along the way,

an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference

between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen.

random 134

2010-12-13T11:28:00.000-05:00

for the person who has more $ than sense

neiman marcus has a 6.6 foot high by 5.25 foot wide by 4.1 foot deep, gingerbread house made of 381 lbs. of gourmet gingerbread and 517 lbs. of royal icing... it's only $15,000!

reason not to excessively clean
An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.
via: allan bevere

spinal tap is rated out of "11"

2011 colour of the year

who decides these things? how? why?
link: pantone

copywriter fail

Remanufactured HP 300 - (CC640EE) Black

Remanufactured HP 300. Contains 8ml of high quality pigment ink and will print 380 ... Do you know what? I really can't be bothered with writing these description anymore, it's a printer cartridge! What am I supposed to write really??? It's a cartridge that prints ink on to paper, you could print some work stuff or a colouring in page for the kids that they'll half do and then leave laying around on the floor or a poster of the horrible Jonas Bothers for your teen daughter hoping that she might stop listening to there pathetic attempt of music so much. There good quality cartridges I'll admit that, every time I've sneakily took some home with me they've worked perfectly, but the thing that's doing my head in now is writing about them day in and day out with the boss giving me an impossible deadline to finish them all by which means I can't even sit at my desk pretending to work like I know most people do in this place. My advice to you is if you've got to this page then you probably need a cartridge, or you have a weird fetish for ink cartridges, either way it's a ink cartridge, it works perfectly, so if you want one buy one, if you don't then why havn't you left this page allready?

Signed: The guy who writes the boring everyday mundane descriptions about printer cartridges everyday.

Source: /www.inkcartridges.uk.com/

corrections
nakedpastor has a great sense of humour

boat jump

I think these guys have seen this clip from Live & Let Die too many times

via jalopnik.com

Happy 90th Birthday Dave Brubeck

2010-12-08T12:42:00.000-05:00

David Warren Brubeck was born on December 6, 1920.
His recordings and honours are too many to list here, check out the lists at
wikipedia

Here is one of his classics - The Dave Brubeck Quartet with Take Five from 1961 Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Joe Morello and Gene Wright

GM ad

2010-11-27T11:07:00.000-05:00

This is a good ad

GM's ad that ran yesterday thanking American taxpayers was exactly how you do a touching corporate commercial. No folksy-sounding CEO making ridiculous claims they've paid back taxpayers. No images of the Chevy Volt and trees. Just "Animal House" and Popeye.

The ad, entitled "Comeback," is a 60 second commercial with no voiceover, featuring back to back serious and comic images of failure on screen followed by images of recovery, or comeback. The ad closes with the words: "We all fall down. Thank you for helping us get back up."

via jalopnik

waiting - Henri Nouwen

2010-11-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

“Waiting is essential to the spiritual life. But waiting as a disciple of Jesus is not an empty waiting. It is a waiting with a promise in our hearts that makes already present what we are waiting for. We wait during Advent for the birth of Jesus. We wait after Easter for the coming of the Spirit, and after the ascension of Jesus we wait for his coming again in glory. We are always waiting, but it is a waiting in the conviction that we have already seen God’s footsteps.

Waiting for God is an active, alert – yes, joyful – waiting. As we wait we remember him for whom we are waiting, and as we remember him we create a community ready to welcome him when he comes.”

Henri Nouwen

Roll Away Your Stone

2010-11-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

This was one of the songs on my run today... Mumford & Sons "Roll Away Your Stone."

I like these lines in particular:
The darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I seek
It seems as if all my bridges have been burned,
You say that’s exactly how this grace thing works
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive at the restart

Roll Away Your Stone

Roll away your stone, I’ll roll away mine
Together we can see what we can find
Don’t leave me alone at this time,
For I am afraid of what I will discover inside
You told me that I would find a home,
Within the fragile substance of my soul
And I have filled this void with things unreal,
And all the while my character it steals
The darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I seek
It seems as if all my bridges have been burned,
You say that’s exactly how this grace thing works
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive at the restart
The darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I seek
The darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I seek
The darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I seek
Stars hide your fires,
And these here are my desires
And I will give them up to you this time around
And so, I’ll be found with my steak stuck in this ground
Marking its territory of this newly impassioned soul
But you, you’ve come too far this time
You have neither reason nor rhyme
With which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine

Alice's Restaurant

2010-11-25T17:29:00.000-05:00

Can it really be American Thanksgiving without Arlo Guthrie & Alice's Restaurant?

history of europe in 5 min

2010-11-16T08:48:00.000-05:00

10 centuries of European history in a 5 minute video illustrating the political metamorphosis of the continent over a thousand years.

via holy kaw

change

2010-11-09T10:38:00.000-05:00

Seth Goodin has a great post on change:

Change and its constituents (there are two, and both are a problem)

People who fear they will be hurt by a change speak up immediately, loudly and without regard for the odds or reality.
People who will benefit from a change don't believe it (until it happens), so they sit quietly.

And that's why change in an organization is difficult.

thunderstruck

2010-11-03T18:22:00.000-04:00

AC/DC's Thunderstuck on the bagpipes - played by Gordon Duncan
Who would of imagined?

Here's the AC/DC version

community - Bonhoeffer

2010-11-01T09:31:00.000-04:00

"Christian community is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (1978), 18.

time travel

2010-10-26T10:58:00.000-04:00

Today – October 26th – marks 25 years [in case you are not feeling old enough] since Marty McFly took off from the town square for his blast to the past.

regent college & pink cadillac

2010-10-22T16:51:00.000-04:00

I was listening to some mp3s of chapels at regent college while I was running today. I was reflecting on the things that were being said - having a great time - & then - up came Bruce Springsteen's Pink Cadillac. It's a reflection on musical temptation.

I couldn't find a real good YouTube version to match the version I was listening to. The one that came up on my mp3 player (a Creative Zen Stone - in case you are interested) had a nice quick beat... made the last 2k very quick.

You may think I'm foolish
For the foolish things I do...

Well now way back in the Bible
Temptations always come along
There's always somebody tempting
Somebody into doing something they know is wrong
Well they tempt you, man, with silver
And they tempt you, sir, with gold
And they tempt you with the pleasures
That the flesh does surely hold
They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple
But man I ain't going for that
I know it was her pink Cadillac

For Lennon's 70th

2010-10-09T19:41:00.000-04:00

BUT WHAT JOHN IF
(For Lennon's 70th Birthday)

Imagine there’s no heaven
But what John if there is
A putting right of every wrong
Not some ethereal bliss
What if swords turned into ploughshares
And people loved their neighbour
What if everyone had their own vine
To shelter from satisfied labour

Imagine there’s no heaven
But what John if there could be
A tangible hope of somewhere better
Not a pie in the sky it should be
What if prisoners were released
And the blind recovered their seeing
Every human was given a place
Found fulfilment of their inner being

You may say that I’m a dreamer
And I’m not the only one
I dream the will of heaven
On earth be done
And in order to be that dreamer
I’ve got to exercise imagination
To pump the vision we all need
To transform individuals and nations.

via steve stockman

random 133

2010-10-08T20:18:00.000-04:00

secretariat

The movie Secretariat opens today, but no matter how good the movie is, Secretariat the horse was far better. Here's his famous victory in the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths.

the real milkshake

graphic design blog

mount washington

here's a view of the record climb of mount washington 7.6miles in just over 6minutes. The top part of the road is scary, foggy, very narrow, tight turns, no guardrails and sheer drops.

8 cities that may not make it

web urbanist has a photo easy on 8 cities it suggest may not make it. Check out the link for pictures of: Detroit, Michigan; St. Louis, Missouri; Youngstown, Ohio; Wittenberge, Germany; Ivanovo, Russia; Kashgar, China; and Venice, Italy.

neil young - hitchhiker

The latest sans-color clip from Young’s record, Le Noise, that comes out September 28.

horse race

listen to the call of this race

centipede & bat

Watch as a foot-long centipede catches and eats a bat.