new space

I'm not sure I can sell our leadership on any of these ideas... but... hey, it's worth a try

seeeeeriously cool workspaces
pimp your office

or how's this for some ideas for our sound booth
This would be great:LED-lit floor.

Seriously, we have a great team, with some great ideas

auto industry

The auto industry has the hands [no... make that their biggest trucks] our asking for money to stay alive. Save us from our own incompetence. I may be overly cynical, but why should we be pouring $billions in so-called loans without any firm repayment plans? Try that with your local bank!
Why should we be pouring $billions into an industry that has fought hard to avoid requirements to increase gas mileage?
engadget has this article on $25billion for electric vehicles, that is tied up on red tape... I wonder how much of the red tape is because of the abuses of the auto industry in the past & government is paranoid about current / future abuse?

Just some thoughts on a messy situation.

quote

len sweet posts this great quote via twitter

"People are worth more than the worst act of their life."

Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking,

on the worth of every humanbeing

Lenten Reflection

Over at occweb.blogspot.com I will be posting some readings and reflection questions for Lent.
Feel free to join in.

another sign of spring

Here's another sure sign of Spring... The Florida Grapefruit League season starts today... it's not a happy time this year... I have no hope that the Jays will even come close to being competitive.
On the other hand, tonight, Montreal Impact plays the first quarterfinal series game of the CONCACAF Champions League against Mexican club Santos Laguna, @ Olympic Stadium. This should be a good game. The Impact have played some great football leading up to this point.

Magnificent

I was born
I was born to sing for you
I didn’t have a choice but to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise…

Only love, only love can leave such a mark
But only love, only love can heal such a scar

Justified till we die, you and I will magnify
The Magnificent

Magnificent from U2's new album No Line On The Horizon
via @U2

random 84

chinese bluegrass
"Chinese bluegrass" performed by Mei Han's Red Chamber 紅庭 with John Reischman and the Jaybirds. The instruments include an iluqin, mandolin, bass, pipa, guitar, sanxian, banjo, and ruan. The song is "Katy Hill."

I told you my musical tastes are eclectic.
via boing boing



new simpson's HD title


lost generation?


$7000 suit
I don't wear any of these. In fact, I don't remember the last time I wore a suit. But in case you need a $7000 suit... and that's for an off the rack suit. If you need a $7000 suit... you have some serious self-esteem issues.
tetris
this guy must be the best tetris player in the world: link

colour schemes
If you are looking for a colour scheme for your web site, you might want to check out the on-line colorschemedesigner.com

stevie wonder drum solos



lightning from space

via alea iacta est

Canadian season of spring begins...

U2 - Breathe

from France... off the new album: No Line On The Horizon



via waving or drowning

dance your PhD thesis

boing boing points to this interesting site: The 2009 AAAS/Science Dance Contest.
I'm not sure if I'm intriqued by the idea, or be horrified if I was a PhD candidate & had to dance my thesis?

saturday afternoon cohen

There is something about the soothing roughness of Cohen's voice.
You have to appreciate the lasting impact of someone who was writing poetry in the 1950's, recording music in the 60s's and still touring in 2009.
And all that on a 5 note range [actually I don't know how wide his range is, but it's not very much]
Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's from Montreal.

I love these lines from Anthem

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

We asked for signs
the signs were sent:
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
of every government --
signs for all to see.

I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
a thundercloud
and they're going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring ...

You can add up the parts
but you won't have the sum
You can strike up the march,
there is no drum
Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.

birthing a new SS class

My buddy over at walking church who has as weird a sense of humour as I do, sent me this video:

NeoReformed

Scot McKnight [who I resonate with in terms of his approach] in a recent post addresses the rise of what he calls the NeoReformed. He writes:

I have never had any problems with the variety of theologies at work in the big tent of evangelicalism. Calvinists are not only among us, they have important elements to bring to the table. I've sat on the essence of this post for months, but I think it is time for us to make it public. I do so with a certain degree of sadness, but feel compelled to call us to a unity that is presently threatened.

The evangelical tent is big enough to welcome to the table Calvinists and Arminians, anabaptists and charismatics, and I love it when Catholics and the Orthodox join us. This is not a personal battle for me with Calvinists; it's a particular kind of divisive Calvinist that I have in view.

You should read the whole article to catch the distinction the McKnight makes re the "village green" and the church. McKnight then says:

Instead, they [the NeoReformed] want to build a gate at the gate-less village green and require Reformed confessions and credentials to enter onto the village green. Put differently, they think the only legitimate and the only faithful evangelicals are Reformed. Really Reformed. In other words, they are "confessing" evangelicals. The only true evangelical is a Reformed evangelical.

McKnight, then concludes with a quote with a letter from a Reformed friend of his.

The problem, as I see it is these, whom you are calling neoreformed, are to me simply the old fundamentalists in nicer clothes with better vocabularies. They are just as mean-spirited, just as graceless, and just as exclusive.

My 2 cents:
Labelling is always dangerous. Because like it or not, we tend to paint with a broad brush, that tars some with the label when they don't deserve it. On the other hand, I agree with McKnight that there is part of the current Reformed movement, is indeed NeoReformed, that is, it is different than historical Reformed theology.

My sense is, NeoReformed is a narrowing of the gate - to a narrower dimension than is biblical. And whenever that happens, we do away with grace.

Dwight Schrute & Religious Freedom

The title may seem like an odd combination, but yes, Dwight Schrute [Rainn Wilson], of The Office writes a serious op-ed piece for CNN.com that states:

Dear readers of CNN, I assure you that what I'm writing about is no joking matter or some hoax perpetrated by a paper-sellin', bear-fearin', Battlestar-Galactica obsessed beet farmer.

Wilson is a practicing Baha'i. He goes on to say:

You see there's a 'trial' going on very soon for seven Baha'i national leaders in Iran.

They've been accused of all manner of things including being "spies for Israel," "insulting religious sanctities" and "propaganda against the Islamic Republic."

They've been held for a year in Evin Prison in Tehran without any access to their lawyer (the Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi) and with zero evidence of any of these charges.

When a similar thing happened in 1980, the national leadership of the Iranian Baha'i community disappeared. And this was repeated again in 1981.

In fact, since 1979, more than 200 Baha'is have been killed, holy places and cemeteries desecrated, homes burned, civil rights taken away and secret lists compiled of Baha'is (and even Muslims who associate with them) by government agencies.

He concludes by saying:

There is a resolution on the situation of the Baha'is in Iran being sent to Congress. Please ask your representatives to support it. And ask them to speak out about this terrible situation.

Thanks for reading. Now back to bears, paper and beets!

quote

Even after all this time
the sun never says
to the earth,
"you owe me."
Look what happens
to a love like that,
it lights up the whole
sky.

- Hafiz (early 1300s, Persian, I think)

via jonny baker

things that happen on LOST

via graph jam

internet overdose song

questions

Reggie McNeal's 2003 book, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church, addresses the still timely issue of asking the right questions:

1. The collapse of the church culture.

• Wrong question: How do we do church better?
• Tough question: How do we deconvert from Churchianity to Christianity?
  

2. The shift from church growth to kingdom growth.

• Wrong question: How do we grow this church?
• Tough question: How do we transform our community?
  

3. A new reformation: Releasing God's people.

• Wrong question: How do we turn members into ministers?
• Tough question: How do we turn members into missionaries?
  

4. The return to spiritual formation.

• Wrong question: How do we develop church members?
• Tough question: How do we develop followers of Jesus?
  

5. The shift from planning to preparation.

• Wrong question: How do we plan for the future?
• Tough question: How do we prepare for the future?
  

6. The rise of apostolic leadership.

• Wrong question: How do we develop leaders for church work?
• Tough question: How do we develop leaders for the Christian movement?

slam dunk

I didn't watch the NBA Slam Dunk, but Nate Robinson won for the 2nd time. Here's a video of the top 10 winners.
#10 on the list is Nate Robinson's first win in 2006
#4 on the list is Spudd Webb

Spudd is the 3rd shortest person ever to play in the NBA - he's only 5'6"
Spudd also coached Nate when he won in 2006 - Nate is 5'9"
Spudd & Nate are the only players under 6' to win the Slam Dunk Contest.

twitter friends

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