The York Town Snuggery

The David Akers Story

2012-01-13T08:31:00.002-05:00

Sometimes you don't know what you've really got until its gone. Great story from Rick Reilly at ESPN.
http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7446366/rick-reilly-david-akers-amazing-year

Finishing the Kitchen

2012-01-12T10:55:00.000-05:00

Sharpening a stick, on both ends...

2012-01-08T22:09:00.001-05:00

Let the haters show their true colors. Here in Steeler country, I can already feel the rumbling in the woods. If Tim Tebow was slightly annoying with his smug Jesus stuff, he is positively unbearable now. Jesus himself is unbearable in many homes tonight!

I haven't looked on Twitter, or talked to a single Pittsburg fan yet this Sunday evening, but I'll be a monkey's uncle if I'm not right. Go Pats! Right?

Fun With Jericho

2011-12-12T14:56:00.000-05:00

Jericho thinks, "Once Mamma and Papa are finished builidng a new kitchen and bathroom, maybe they will have more time to go outside with me!"

Fun with big cousin Erin at Thanksgiving!

FOOD!

Jericho picks a Christmas Tree.

Jericho loves to share her food. Just ask!

Putting It All Together

2011-12-12T14:47:00.000-05:00

Our contractor Nick was faced with a serious challenge piecing new flooring together with the old. This area of the floor is where the basement stairs used to be.

Here is the finished work, with some heavy sanding completed as Steve and I prepare to finish the floor.

A useful trick my father taught me was to number everything that you take apart. When I took out the flooring from this closet turned stairway I did just that, making the process of piecing a portion of it back together a lot easier.

The stained glass windows are in! Pictures of the final product are to come, but here Laura and I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather we had in November to paint outside.

I can't remember if I posted pictures of our two new trees. Thanks to the City of York, York Country Rotary, our neighbors, and the State Conservation.

Politics Indeed

2011-12-08T10:53:00.000-05:00

Even abortion rights advocates agree; this decision was political. Health Secretary Kathleen Sibelius has declared that the morning-after pill will continue to be held behind the counter and available to teenagers 17 and older only, except with parental permission. This contradicts the strong recommendation of the FDA.

This excerpt from the Associated Press on Bloomberg.com

"We are outraged that this administration has let politics trump science," said Kirsten Moore of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, an advocacy group. "There is no rationale for this move."
"What else can this be but politics?" said Cynthia Pearson, executive director of the National Women's Health Network, an advocacy group that supports making Plan B available to all ages. "It's not science. It's not medicine. It's not women's health."

Indeed, FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg made clear in her own statement that the decision is highly unusual. She said her agency's drug-safety experts had carefully considered the question of young girls and that she had agreed that Plan B's age limit should be lifted.

As the primaries heat up in Iowa, the Obama administration cannot afford to follow through with this rule change, despite how desperately they would like to. It is completely naive to assume that the administration did not have anything to do with Sibelius' announcement. It is likewise naive to not assume that if President Obama is re-elected, the rule will be immediately changed. The President has shown no hesitation in using Executive power to advance the pro-abortion agenda.

The morning-after pill works in the same way that most regular birth control pills work, albeit in a more concentrated and sudden way. The drugs are designed to delay ovulation and prevent implantation. In the strictest sense, these drugs may cause the death of a fertilized egg. A website that brings together basic facts about how the morning-after pill works can be found here. Even Planned Parenthood admits that "In theory, this could prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus." Their website goes on to insist that this is not abortion.

We should ask ourselves whether-
1) Disregarding a legitimate definition of human life (conception) is a good principle
(Why is there so little honest debate on this most vital question? We ignore it at our peril.)
1) Undercutting parental control and responsibility is a good principle
(Should we legislate to the lowest common denominator?)
2) Empowering irresponsible behavior is a good principle
(Why do we spend so much time accommodating behavior instead of addressing it head on? Don't we all understand that quitting smoking, a behavior change, is the best way to reduce cancer risk?)
3) Further distancing our children from sound medical advice via a family physician is a good principle

More Fun at Madison

2011-11-22T08:19:00.000-05:00

Here's another picture of the new shower. As you can see, there is a large window on one side of the shower. There are two panes of stained glass that go in that window. Rather than sacrifice the historical character, our contractor buit this all weather window which can be wet on a regular basis but will seal the stained glass.

Fun in the closet!

The time... is now.

The place... your whole house.

The problem... DUST!

An Overdue Update: The "Almost Finished" Bathroom

2011-11-21T20:26:00.001-05:00

Thanks for following along as we continue this long and tortured re-model of the our new old house! The bathroom is fully functioning and almost complete, save some caulking, a switch plate, and the re-installation of the stained glass windows behind the all-weather plexiglass.
It's hard to imagine that the work shown in the pictures below happened in September!

Laura was the sous-chef for the tiling project

while I did the mounting and cutting with the wet saw.

We have successfully fooled almost every new guest

to the bathroom with our vinyl flooring.

A good picture of the tiling going up. These hard plastic spacers were easier to use than the spongy x-shaped type. They had a tendency to fall out repeatedly with the tiniest shift, but were so easy to put back and remove at the end.

The Experience Trap

2011-10-24T23:17:00.002-04:00

The WSJ ran an interesting article today examining the problem U.S. companies are having finding qualified employees for a variety of jobs. The author hones in on what can be described as an "experience gap." Prospective employees are ineligible for open positions because they lack experience, yet no one is willing to hire them and give them that experience. Unpaid internships are fiercely competitive as a result. I have personally been frustrated by the dearth of "entry level positions" in previous job hunts. To a certain extent, this is not a new problem.

A few thoughts:

Notice in the graphic that "drivers" moved up from number 7 in "hardest jobs for U.S. employers to fill" to number 4. Changes in laws about commercial licensing may be the culprit in this case. Anecdotal evidence from here in York, PA suggests that obtaining and maintaining a license for a school bus has become so cumbersome that bus companies are turning away work for lack of drivers.

Similarly, one has to suspect that federal NCLB requirements are behind the sudden appearance of teachers in the top ten list for 2011. While most school systems are cutting jobs and doing more with less, the "highly qualified" designation is now mandatory. As the job of a public school teacher gets more difficult, and pay fails to keep pace, this job will become increasingly difficult to sell.

At the same time, I find the overall premise of the article slightly hard to believe. Are U.S companies really that short-sighted? I tend to think that if it really made economic sense to train the necessary workforce companies would do it. Every employer is going to wish for the ideal candidate, fully trained and ready to work for an entry level wage. If at some point these companies found that robust training programs were worthwhile, I think they would have them up and running in a heartbeat. The truth is, despite complaints, there are plenty of good fish in the sea.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204422404576596630897409182.html

My Cement Sandbox

2011-09-11T23:27:00.001-04:00

This was bathroom demo weekend! We're finally moving full steam ahead on the house.

Our contractor spent all day Friday pulling out plumbing, and my Pop Phil, Mike, and I spent a combined total of 23 man-hours Saturday and Sunday tearing out walls, ceiling, and tiling. For such a small room, look how much trash we made!

But my favorite part of this job was the floors. Underneath the tile was a couple inches of cement backing which pried up fairly easily. Beneath the tile and backing was approximately 6 inches of concrete cinders filling the space in between each floor beam. The cinders had to be smashed and hammered into pieces and then scooped out (a garden hand spade proved the best tool for this!). Notice how the beams have been beveled- from all appearances- by hand.

Meet Cynthia

2011-08-29T20:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday began a whole new era in our family life. We are now parents of a teenager! Cynthia arrived at 7:30 PM Sunday and joins our family for the year through Private School Exchange. Cynthia's hometown is Shenzhen, China. She will be in 11th grade at York Country Day School, where Asa teaches. Anyone who has done an Asia to east coast flight knows that it is a brutal 20 hours, so we thought Cynthia was in pretty good spirits when she arrived!

The NFL Meritocracy

2011-08-26T11:58:00.000-04:00

Is the NFL the "ultimate meritocracy," as Roger Goodell recently claimed? The commissioners comments, reported here on ESPN, were accompanied by a 1 million dollar donation to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation in Washington D.C.

Dr. King's legacy is certainly one to honor, but is the NFL in a position to really do so? Is there a particular hypocrisy being put on display, or has the NFL truly been a friend to the hopes and ideals the MLK gave his life for?

I must admit that I am not a friend of the NFL, although I do enjoy watching football on television. Pofessional football, as with all professional sports in the U.S., has a spotted history in regards to race. But I get the feeling that the NFL prides itself in somehow being above the fray, at least compared to baseball and basketball.

Statistics about the number of young men of all races who squander their minds and talents chasing the fools gold of an NFL career are grim. Statistics about the number of injuries and disappointments among those lucky enough to make it to the NFL at all are grim as well. Is that a meritocracy? Or is the kind of "meritocracy" that Dr. King worked for something a bit different than what Goodell had in mind with his foolish comparison?

I think of my classmate from Northwestern, Jason Wright. A talented football player who, though undrafted, played for nearly a decade in the NFL by espousing hard work, leadership, and right living. The NFL served him well it would seem. But he also did things the right way, not sacrificing NFL dreams for a stellar education. The reality is, and Jason would wholeheartedly agree, is that he was simply blessed. That's not true for everyone of his teamates. For some, the NFL may be yet one more crushing example of why we still need today to embrace the lessons that Dr. King preached when he was still with us.

RB Jason Wright

Jericho Swims the Chesapeake!

2011-08-19T08:52:00.000-04:00

Our amazing 7 month year old justified the overnight shipping on her infant lifejacket a hundred times over by embracing the bay experience fully! She sailed with us from Crab Alley Creek (Kent Island, MD) north to Chesapeake City, MD last week. Go Jericho.

Primer and More

2011-08-08T12:43:00.000-04:00

So, as much as it pains me to admit, we definitely bit off more than we could chew giving ourselves just 4.5 days to scrape, patch, and prime three bedrooms, a long hallway, and a large living room. We worked long days, slowing as we got tired, and missing little Jericho very much.

Thankfully, God provided a handful of wonderful friends to help us along the way. Thank you to Dave and Cyndi Kalinoski, Ben and Bekah Murray, Chris Drinkut, and the Anderson family!
Where was Jericho during all of this madness? With mother Church of course! Thanks mom.

We finished priming 2 of the bedrooms and the hallway, AND the living room is now in full color. Enjoy the pictures.

Demolition Update: Before and Now...and after?

2011-08-01T11:50:00.000-04:00

Demolition Day got us off to a great start with the remodeling of our 1920s Craftsman house in York, PA. But so much has happened since then!

The kitchen walls have gone from yellow faux-brick wall board, to the mounting lathe beneath it, to bare plaster.

We've pealed back the walls around the back stairs in preparation for their removal and expansion of our kitchen.

(These are the basement stairs, in their place will

be the fridge, stove, and countertop.)

The dining room closet is ready to be converted to the new basement stairs.

(We're hoping to recycle the wood flooring we

carefully pulled up in the closet by using it to repair

flooring in a second floor bedroom!)

And most recently, and perhaps most exciting: the kitchen floor has gone from three layers of linoleum (one for every three decades I suppose) to bare wood. Thank to Jon Allen for his assistance in getting the floors to this point!

(While we sanded a lot of lines, stains, and old adhesive off the floors,

another mystery line appeared. It appears to be some sort of cut made when

installing previous flooring but even more interestingly, it seems to have dyed the

wood around it!)

We can't wait for the final product. Then we'll have true before and after photos!

The "Scream" Shower

2011-08-01T09:40:00.000-04:00

An update on the progress at Madison Avenue is long overdue! It's hard to imagine that we've only been in our new house for three weeks... or that we'll ever have a real kitchen. This weekend we made a huge stride forward with the successful sanding of the kitchen floor. More on that in a bit.

First, in the week after "demo" day, I tackled the scary basement apartment shower room. When we first opened the door, the pervading odor of mold was sickening. We assumed moisture over time, a leaky shower head, and the general dampness of the basement had led to the mold. Once I removed the linoleum flooring, it became obvious that the wall board was completely rotten on the bottom. There was also a nasty patch of black mold behind the radiator.

As scary as it looks, we haven't ripped out the actual shower, made of cinderblock and tile. We think it might be useful in the future at some point.

But only with some more standard plumbing change (yes, the scary little hole in the side of shower wall is the drain into an open basement floor drain on the other side of the wall!).

"Walker's Vindication"

2011-07-26T14:41:00.002-04:00

Is this what happens when school districts aren't beholden to unions?
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/walker-s-vindication_577310.html?nopager=1

Clear Thinking on a Tough Issue

2011-07-01T19:32:00.001-04:00

Al Mohler Jr., President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was given a short column in the WSJ today. I believe he strikes the right note in the issue of the church and homosexuality.
Mohler's closing sentence is worth sober consideration. "We are about to find out just how much we believe the Gospel we so eagerly preach." Many of my generation, myself included, feel caught in the rhetoric. Is it our own understanding of the Gospel that we need to be considering? We instinctively feel that the the Good News is not just for the straight. We want to make it OK because it sounds terrible to condemn someone for who they are. And yet are we forgetting that there is "therefore no condemnation under the law"? There is an answer. It's the same answer for us as for anyone, gay or straight. It teaches us to "say no to unrighteousness." We accommodate our own sins so thoroughly, its hard to draw what feels like an imaginary line in the sand. Fortunately, we don't have to. God already did (in His word), and made a way for us to hold to it (on the Cross).
Standing strong on a social issue may be as much a vital need for our own sanctification, as a concern of the Church as whole. The impact on our society, while incredibly important, is a distant third.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304584004576416284144069702.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Poetry

2011-06-30T18:13:00.000-04:00

Home Improvement

An army of lawn tractors
standing at attention
under garish parking lot lights
silently plot their escape.

The Empty Pool

The water sits heavy in the pool
The thick air pressing its weight downward
The liquid glass pushing back to meet it.
Soon, all the ripples are gone.
Any trace lost
Of the nymphs and dragons that once played here.

Demo Day at Madison Avenue

2011-06-28T21:53:00.000-04:00

We've begun work on our new house- which means making a bigger mess before things get better!

We started with the kitchen, which will be expanded by moving the basement stairs and eliminating the back stairs. The wall you see in the first picture will be going away forever along with the extra exterior door. A lazy-susan and cabinets will be there instead!

The lathe strips were actually mounting strips for imitation brick paneling. Yuck.

Here's where the basement stairs will now be (thanks Philista!). While we are sad to lose this lovely dining room closet, we will be really grateful for the additional square feet in the kitchen.

We took up nasty 1970s carpet in the basement bedrooms and found wonderful concrete flooring. Very happy to see their excellent condition.

A bunch of us worked on sprucing up the exterior, edging and trimming (thanks Emily!):

BUT that's not all... More to come, including a very creep "scream" basement shower.

How to Survive the Age of Distraction

2011-06-25T12:27:00.005-04:00

Couldn't help being intrigued by the title of this article in the London Independent.

Particularly quotable:

"TS Eliot called books 'the still point of the turning world.' He was right. It turns out, in the age of super-speed broadband, we need dead trees to have fully living minds."

Enjoy!

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-how-to-survive-the-age-of-distraction-2301851.html

Champion the People, get elected?

2011-05-09T13:55:00.001-04:00

Krugman is not always the best guy to be listening to out there, but I think he presents a compelling narrative in his opinion piece in the NY Times today, "The Unwisdom of the Elites." Wannabe Republican primary candidates who pick up this theme may find success, but perhaps I am looking ahead to the general elections prematurely. The "elite" label is one that sticks pretty well to President Obama and you don't get elected chiding the American people and asking them to make sacrifices for what may feel like to them the greed of the top dogs. On the flip side, I can't help but think that corporations are very much ready to throw their significant weight behind a candidate who is going to be behind them once again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/opinion/09krugman.html

The Next Wisconsin?

2011-04-30T21:34:00.002-04:00

The fight over Boeing's relocation to South Carolina has strains of the Wiconsin collective bargaining battle.
http://detnews.com/article/20110429/OPINION01/104290331/1008/opinion01/Editorial--Rein-in-the-NLRB

Could a want-to-be 2012 primary candidate turn this into a touchstone issue, bend the results of WI recall votes, and run their way into office?

Will a successful candidate need to embrace the non-establishment agenda being set by the House of Representatives?

The Eye of History

2011-04-11T13:42:00.000-04:00

There are periods in the history of nations when statesmen can make themselves names for posterity; but such occasions are never improved by cowards. In the acquisition of true fame courage is just as necessary in the civilian as in the military hero. In the Reformation there were men engaged as able and perhaps more learned than Martin Luther. Melancthon and others were ripe scholars and sincere reformers, but none of them had his courage. He alone was willing to go where duty called though" devils were as thick as the tiles on the houses." And Luther is the great luminary of the Reformation, around whom the others revolve as satellites and shine by his light. We may not aspire to fame. But great events fix the eye of history on small objects and magnify their meanness. Let us at least escape that condition.
-Thaddeus Stevens, 1867

Immature Humor Day

2011-03-25T22:54:00.001-04:00

There is an amazing amount of very immature and occasionally hilarious content on youtube today. Here are a few of my "favorites". Enjoy!

The Annoying Orange

History Today

Badger, Badger, Badger

The Dead Milkmen- The Thing That Only Eats Hippies

Heavy Metal Sheep

3/23 Poetry Wednesday- It's never too late!

2011-03-23T20:53:00.000-04:00

The lamb, caught in the thicket

There is nothing about it that is
Fair
Simple
Or right
(But I'd rather be dead
Then the arbiter of this life).

Nothing Gold Can Stay

by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII

by William Shakespeare

Lord Amiens, a musician, sings before Duke Senior's company
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That does not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Heigh ho! Sing...

Good Mothers Unite!

2011-03-21T20:08:00.001-04:00

Amy Chua has sparked a national conversation on parenting and now the nation collectively holds its breath to find out if her barbaric\savvy parenting "worked" or not; will Sophia be welcome by the Ivy elites?

As a teacher in an independent school, the article resonated strongly with me. Faculty here stresses over and over that students should takes risks, be willing to fail, and work for something bigger and more worthwhile than a grade. At the same time, parents want to know: Will I get my money's worth from your school? Will you get my child success?

Is Flanagan's dichotomy between achievment and learning a fair one? It is certainly a tension that plays out every day all over America.

Read more at The Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/04/the-ivy-delusion/8397/#

A Typical Situation

2011-03-20T19:50:00.001-04:00

On Sunday, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who a week ago led the call for military action, criticized the withering airstrikes on Kadafi's forces. "What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians."

Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-arabs-20110321,0,4707165.story

What you want isn't what you wanted last week?

What you want is for someone else to do the dirty work?

What you want is warfare without casualties?

What you want is western support while trashing the west to your own people?

We are all so terribly confused.

I do mean all of us.

Poetry Wednesday

2011-02-15T23:43:00.001-05:00

By A. Church

Now that I see you
(In a round about way)
Tell me your secrets
And who you will be

---

Wallow in this muddy way
For He will do it
Pigs and pigeons
Find surprising cleanliness
By rolling in the dirt.

---

Frederick Douglass

by Robert Hayden

When it is finally ours, this freedom, this liberty, this beautiful

and terrible thing, needful to man as air,

usable as earth; when it belongs at last to all,

when it is truly instinct, brain matter, diastole, systole,

reflex action; when it is finally won; when it is more

than the gaudy mumbo jumbo of politicians:

this man, this Douglass, this former slave, this Negro

beaten to his knees, exiled, visioning a world

where none is lonely, none hunted, alien,

this man, superb in love and logic, this man

shall be remembered. Oh, not with statues' rhetoric,

not with legends and poems and wreaths of bronze alone,

but with the lives grown out of his life, the lives

fleshing his dream of the beautiful, needful thing.

A Post-Mubarak Egypt

2011-02-11T22:30:00.002-05:00

This is no time for glib celebrations. While a majority of democracy loving Americans have stood on the sidelines cheering the past two weeks, the hard work is just begun. The way forward remains tenuous and will involve a tight-rope walk for all parties involved.
Interestingly, jumping on the opposition bandwagon makes for some interesting bed-fellows. A post-Mubarak Egypt has to appear as a glowing golden opportunity for the Mideast's aggressive Islamic fundamentalists. There are doubtless many in Iran who are salivating this very night over yet another power vacuum to exploit and co-opt.
Egypt currently rests in the hands of the military. In fact, the military has been lurking in the background of the opposition protests all along. To imagine that the protests would have been anything but thoroughly squashed without significant consensus in the military that Mubarak was no longer wanted is naive. At the risk of discounting the awesome ground swell of popular opinion and the power of protest, this saga has come with strings attached.
The military is in large part funded by the U.S. In return, Egypt has served as a bulwark against Islamic fundamentalism. This bodes well for productive U.S. involvement in shaping a transition government that will honor the overarching demands of the protest. This involvement, contrary to common critique, is not simply self-interested meddling. It is much more. It is not only essential to maintaining a relatively safe and free America; it is essential to a safe and free world.

Poetry Wednesday

2011-02-09T16:49:00.000-05:00

One of the wonderful things about being a teacher is that you are paid, in part, to learn. Much of this learning comes via discovery and exploration during lesson planning. I bring you then poetry Wednesday, the result of a rabbit trail adventure for the benefit of my 6th and 7th grade English students:
The first poem, by Galway Kinnell, is really one of the more incredible poems I have read in a while. "William Goode," by Edgar Lee Masters, expresses what I have felt in various ways for some time now. Yet Grace paints strangely linear lines among the zig-zags of our striving. Finally, "After making love we hear footsteps" surely will resonate with any new (or old) parents.

First Song

by Galway Kinnell

Then it was dusk in Illinois, the small boy
After an afternoon of carting dung
Hung on the rail fence, a sapped thing
Weary to crying. Dark was growing tall
And he began to hear the pond frogs all
Calling on his ear with what seemed their joy.

Soon their sound was pleasant for a boy
Listening in the smoky dusk and the nightfall
Of Illinois, and from the fields two small
Boys came bearing cornstalk violins
And they rubbed the cornstalk bows with resins
And the three sat there scraping of their joy.

It was now fine music the frogs and the boys
Did in the towering Illinois twilight make
And into dark in spite of a shoulder's ache
A boy's hunched body loved out of a stalk
The first song of his happiness, and the song woke
His heart to the darkness and into the sadness of joy.

Hear the poet read his poem http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2003/08/15

A masterful song by Andrew Bird using Kinnell's words:

William Goode

by Edgar Lee Masters

To all in the village I seemed, no doubt,

To go this way and that way, aimlessly.

But here by the river you can see at twilight

The soft-winged bats fly zig-zag here and there --

They must fly so to catch their food.

And if you have ever lost your way at night,

In the deep wood near Miller's Ford,

And dodged this way and now that,

Wherever the light of the Milky Way shone through,

Trying to find the path,

You should understand I sought the way

With earnest zeal, and all my wanderings
Were wanderings in the quest.

After making love we hear footsteps

by Galway Kinnell

For I can snore like a bullhorn

or play loud music

or sit up talking with any reasonably sober Irishman

and Fergus will only sink deeper

into his dreamless sleep, which goes by all in one flash,

but let there be that heavy breathing

or a stifled come-cry anywhere in the house

and he will wrench himself awake

and make for it on the run—as now, we lie together,

after making love, quiet, touching along the length of our bodies,

familiar touch of the long-married,

and he appears—in his baseball pajamas, it happens,

the neck opening so small he has to screw them on—

and flops down between us and hugs us and snuggles himself to sleep,

his face gleaming with satisfaction at being this very child.

In the half darkness we look at each other

and smile

and touch arms across this little, startlingly muscled body—

this one whom habit of memory propels to the ground of his making,
sleeper only the mortal sounds can sing awake,
this blessing love gives again into our arms.

On Denominations

2011-02-04T15:59:00.002-05:00

"If denominationalism simply denotes a "brand" vying for market share, then let denominationalism fall. But many of us believe denominations can represent fidelity to living traditions of local congregations that care about what Jesus cared about—personal conversion, discipleship, mission and community. Perhaps the denominational era has just begun."
Russell Moore, Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703437304576120690548462776.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

In response to "Denominations" Ned Bananachex tried to post the following:

Presumably denominations have at least this one great and needful ability- to police their members. Reformed folk in particular are groaning under the pernicious influence of Mr. Howard Camping and independent radio "minister" who appears to answer to absolutely no one as he spews his heretical teachings over the radio airwaves.(The church age is over, leave your church, Jesus will return on May 21st...and tis time I mean it!) I may chaff under the authority of my conservative denomination from time to time, but if I tried a stunt like Mr. Camping's I'd be brought up on charges, out of my pulpit and stripped of my ministerial credentials faster than you could say "Servitus". That's a good thing.

Greetings and blessings to all.

What's in a name?

2011-02-02T13:56:00.002-05:00

As I have been fielding the inevitable "Why Jericho?" question frequently in the past week, I have had plenty of occasion to ask myself that very question.

Laura and I wanted our daughter's name to serve as a reminder and testimony to her heritage in the kingdom of God. Jacob was given a new name, after wrestling with God, and many of the disciples were re-named by Christ. The power and importance of names is muted in American culture but is a long tradition that should be reclaimed by the Christian church. My name, Asahel, roughly means "God works" or "God is able." My Christian testimony certainly is a story of the faithful fulfillment of that name. Interestingly, Jericho is not originally a Hebrew name and has an ambiguous meaning in Hebrew. In Arabic, it means "fragrant". The richness of Jericho's place in history, however, is strong.

The Battle of Jericho found in the book of Joshua is a story of God's grace to his people. We are reminded that "it's not by the sword, that we'll win the land," but that "in God we trust."

In the New Testament, Jericho is mentioned in the parable of the good Samaritan. Keith Green powerfully presents the parable in song (see embedded video). Laura and I (Laura especially) have a strong interest and heart for the Middle East. If only the truth of this parable would be realized in the political realities of the present. Strangers and neighbors seems to be the crux of our world's turmoil. From immigration, to political rhetoric, race, and terrorism many are left on the road to Jericho while we squabble in fear and idolatry.

We have an earthly heritage as well, and we ought to recognize and honor that heritage. Laura and I chose the middle name "Faye" in honor of Laura's mother, Loretta Faye Helmuth. Faye is in turn also a tribute to Jericho's great-grandmother who had the middle name May and gave all of her children rhyming middle names. Jericho's 9 month year old cousin is named Rachel Mae Loker.

Jericho Faye Church

Our family's vision verse is Isaiah 58. "If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness...Those from among you shall build the old waste places, You shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In."

May Jericho rise and fall in the will of God. May she be strong but meek before her maker. As Rahab served God, may Christ serve Jericho and be the savior of her city. Though ruinous in sin, may the walls of this family be rebuilt and all of us made new. Indeed, let the trumpets sound!

Bush and the Middle East

2011-02-01T11:03:00.005-05:00

Former President Bush's legacy in Middle East foreign policy has suddenly been resurrected in past few weeks.

UC Ervine Professor Mark LeVine tears into President Obama's cautious response to the Egyptian protests and then holds up President Bush in contrast:

"It's incredible, really. The president of the United States can't bring himself to talk about democracy in the Middle East. He can dance around it, use euphemisms, throw out words like "freedom" and "tolerance" and "non-violent" and especially "reform," but he can't say the one word that really matters: democracy....

...the fact that in the midst of intensifying protests senior officials feel they can spin the events away from openly calling for a real democratic transition now reveals either incredible ignorance, arrogance, or both.
Yet this is precisely an either/or moment. Much as former US president Bush declared in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, we can either be "with or against" the Egyptian people. Refusing to take sides is in fact taking sides -the wrong side."
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/01/201112811331582261.html

Elliot Abrams sees the Bush Middle East agenda as suddenly prescient, chiding President Obama for his disbelief and quoting President Bush at length:

"All these developments [in Lebanon, Tunisia, and Egypt] seem to come as a surprise to the Obama administration, which dismissed Bush's "freedom agenda" as overly ideological and meant essentially to defend the invasion of Iraq. But as Bush's support for the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon and for a democratic Palestinian state showed, he was defending self-government, not the use of force. Consider what Bush said in that 2003 speech, which marked the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, an institution established by President Ronald Reagan precisely to support the expansion of freedom."
"Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe - because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty," Bush said. "As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment and violence ready for export."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/28/AR2011012803144.html

When did President Bush become an Arabist and President Obama beholden to the cronyism of corrupt but pro-western despots ? Some sort of shift is afoot.

You learn something new...

2011-01-30T22:15:00.003-05:00

Maybe I am just ignorant, but I learned today for the first time that the White House is giving out an increasing number of waivers (733 so far) excusing corporations and even entire states from the first wave of healthcare reform changes. If this is new news to you, look it up. Here's one place to start:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/28/tawdry-details-of-obamacare-420960137/

What appears to be happening is that the White House is quitely trying to enforce phase one of healthcare reform without sparking any larger call for repeal. There is undoubtedly an economic motivation behind the waivers as well. For example, Darden Restaurants (parent company of Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Smoky Bones) secured a waiver putting off a loss of health coverage for its thousands of employees. While many individuals will not feel the immediate effects of the reform besides being able to add their 25 year olds back on to their health plans, businesses are already facing the costs. Giving the WH the benefit of the doubt, I wonder if there is also a timing issue. Is it that in some situations enforcement may cause massive losses of employer-paid health care coverage without currently providing an affordable\pratical alternative at the moment? From the cynical (realistic?) perspective, this is a handout to those who wield enough influence\campaign cash to buy-out of the costly reform. That wouldn't surprise me because President Obama was fairly transparent with his attitude that his reform would be costly to many people and that they should just suck it up.

Pressing the Lines

2011-01-29T09:16:00.002-05:00

It was with some consternation last year that many Baltimore residents watched the city council vote to require crisis pregnancy centers to post signs indicating that they would not advise or assist in abortions. The patent violation of the 1st amendment rights of this ordinance was recognized by the U.S. District Court and was struck down this week. It will not be a surprise if the Mayor, who strongly supported this ordinance, appeals. Pro-lifers should be encouraged by the appeal, because it is a law that will not likely hold up. The higher the case goes, the greater precedence will be set against these sort of persecutions.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-01-29/news/bs-md-co-archdiocese-upheld-20110128_1_pregnancy-centers-abortions-or-birth-control-ordinance
The ruling may also have a positive impact on efforts in Washington State to prevent a similar anti-pregnancy care center bill from being voted into law. The bill in Washington not only requires a 30 pt. font disclaimer in several languages to be posted prominently, it also appear to broaden the liability of the centers making them more vulnerable to lawsuits.

http://www.lifenews.com/2011/01/28/washington-senate-to-hear-anti-pregnancy-center-bill-wed/

Urinals and Children's Poetry

2011-01-15T17:20:00.004-05:00

The most random and interesting topics come up at the office urinals. This is probably something women would never understand. But on a recent afternoon, a big-shot senior partner at my firm asked the following quite natural bathroom-time question: "Zardowally, do you read poetry to your children?" Needless to say, I was unprepared for this question. But it got me thinking whether poetry does deserve a more prominent place in the rearing and education of our youngsters.

Celebrated children's books today seem to be strictly prose, though many of the classics have a poetic element. I think of "Where the Wild Things Are." There is the Mother Goose stuff, but my kiddos seem genuinely baffled by topics and scenarios that are just too out-of-date. Doctor Seuss is good, if you can handle the weirdness. As a result of the limited poetry to which young children are exposed, their first experience is probably in the school setting where they are required to read and memorize poems without the chance to just enjoy them. I have to believe that young children would love and benefit from a bit more poetry--just as they love to sing and repeat nonsensical phrases they find amusing.

It might also be good for their souls. I think of C.S. Lewis's, "Surprised by Joy," in which he credits the "stabs of joy" he experienced reading poetry as a young boy as a haunting influence that eventually led him to find true and lasting joy in the Christian faith.

I would be curious for Snuggery readers' thoughts and recommendations.

The Great Backpedal

2011-01-15T16:43:00.002-05:00

With President Obama's eloquent speech at the Tucson shooting memorial, the country has suddenly put a break to the hysterical witch hunt against political rhetoric on the right and is desperately backpedaling with all sorts of reasonable sounding op-eds and editorial pieces. The moralizing continues in subtle ways (Krugman in the NYT), but the partisan politics-Loughner connection is dead. We've moved on to the state of our public mental health services and gun control. For a review of how it all came to be, see the following article in The New Republic.

http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/81485/how-the-media-botched-the-arizona-shooting

Interestingly, the whole blame-the-tea-party anthem began with a particularly partisan Sheriff who took it upon himself to interpret the motives of the massacre without a shred of evidence. Frank leaves this part out. In trying to sound reasonable Frank (http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/81485/how-the-media-botched-the-arizona-shooting) avoids pointing any real fingers for this circus act, but I will.

Did you notice how desperately the media was trying to set up the new conservative majority as obstructionist partisans in the past two weeks? Did you notice how they waxed eloquent about the recent lame-duck session as if it was some sort of paradigm for the future? They are already preparing their "I told you so" speeches for when the new democratically elected Congress actually legislates its campaign platform.

People are both angry and desperate over the tea-party insurgence and what better way than to blame conservatives for the Tucson shootings. The media jumped on this news"story" with complete and utter abandon. When someone pointed out that Sarah Palin had put a bulls eye on Congresswoman Giffords during the last election cycle, it was just too good of a story to be true. It was.

Boys Adrift?

2011-01-06T14:29:00.000-05:00

Tim Challies, summarizing, the Leonard Sax book, Boys Adrift. I haven't read the book, but I can only say that this rings so incredibly true, it's hardly worth debating.

"Schools, he says, have begun to focus on academics at too early an age, leaving boys hating education from their earliest days. Programs that focus more on fun and less on academics up to age seven or eight would reap educational dividends. Important also is the distinction between learning as merely collecting facts and learning as experience. Regarding video games he believes that boys today are dedicating far too much time to this form of entertainment. As boys play these games they gain false perceptions of power and inadvertently remove themselves from reality until eventually they prefer the world of video games over the real world. ADHD is vastly over-diagnosed and huge numbers of boys are given medications they simply do not need. These medications have been proven to change the way boys develop and do far more than simply calm down hyperactive children. Endocrine disruptors, and especially artificial estrogens found in plastic bottles and other similar products, are delaying boys' development (while accelerating girls' development) and contributing to many associated problems. And finally, boys are suffering from a distinct lack of good and manly role models, both in their homes and in their communities."

Course Correction?

2010-12-21T13:33:00.002-05:00

There appears to be a growing consensus that online dating tools are coming up short in the the one area that matters most: true love. While certainly many people are currently enjoying wonderful relationships consummated initially via the Internet, the mystique of love remains. Isn't true love supposed to transcend personality differences making the impossible impossible? After completing a lengthy questionnaire gauging your tolerance for disco music and dirty laundry, the web services set you up with any number of people who you could get along with just fine. And, as it turns out, they're all looking for a significant relationship! It's just too easy.

World Magazine recently featured the issue of Christian vocation and calling. "Serving a Higher Purpose" reviewed some common ground in reformed Presbyterian circles while offering fresh commentary on one of the more angst ridden issues in my life and many others. (See http://www.worldmag.com/archives/2010-12-04)

The classic reformation inspired understanding of calling is that God is glorified through our vocations, not in spite of them. We are called to use our gifts in the world to their greatest potential. The baker, plumber, and street sweeper can all be honoring to God by performing the duties of their vocation to the fullest.

In the reformed Christian family, children are thus taught to explore their gifts and then make a judgment on vocation based on these gifts and their passions and interests. Unfortunately, ones God-given gifts are not always obvious. Once discovered, it isn't always apparent how they match up with current employment options and jobs. Of course, a thoroughly rounded education and incredible exposure to the world via good books, travel, media, and the Internet have expanded interests exponentially. In the midst of what becomes a quagmire of self-searching various career guides and life path programs have popped up touting clear headed answers on what you would be best at.

I'd like to propose that our current concept of vocation has been corrupted by individualism. Vocation is used as an excuse to pursue personal interests rather than the needs of the family, church, or society. With such a wide menu of vocational offerings, there is a respectable job for every Christian vice.

What if Christians are supposed to be pursuing "high impact" vocations? We should stop fooling ourselves that being a great IT Helpdesk agent is the same as being a great medical researcher.

What if vocation is not about me, but about what the world needs and what God wants for the world? Yes, we do all need good plumbers in our lives. But they don't need to be Christians.

What if vocation is not what comes most easily, but what may be actually quite hard? We should stop trolling the waters for a job that is "the right fit" and admit to ourselves what every Olympic athlete knows: you become great by working hard, by practicing.

Our "personality profiles" and "career maps" have become sacrosanct. But I suspect that there are many of you that deep inside know that "serving a higher purpose" is much more meaningful than a 40 question questionnaire and a job that is nominally challenging, a little bit interesting, and pays the bills.

An Interesting Map

2010-12-21T12:30:00.001-05:00

The northeast will shed congressional seat while the South and Southwest pick up seats in 2011, based on the U.S. Census data recorded this year. The political implications are interesting. While the south is a stronger Republican region, it is likely that a good portion of that population growth is due to immigration (hispanics). The hispanic vote trends Democrat, although by no means a lock.

More generally, I am under the impression that regional differences are the single most overlooked and important factor in U.S. politics.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/MetroPhotos12/10/US_Census_122110.jpg

Assange and WikiLeaks

2010-11-30T12:22:00.001-05:00

It has not been immediately obvious to me what the proper reaction ot WikiLeaks continued bombardment of the U.S. State Department. Nor is it apparent to me how to feel about Assange and the organization itself. Chime in with your thoughts.

For starters, here's an interview with Assange just published in Forbes. The interview is sure to get a lot of press since Assange claims to be preparing for a major "megaleak" on a "major U.S. Bank." I wonder how the markets will respond?

http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/11/29/an-interview-with-wikileaks-julian-assange/

But echoing my own dubious attitude, here's what Assange had to say to one of Greenberg's questions:

Greenberg: What do you want to be the result of this release?

Assange: [Pauses] I'm not sure.

Cam Newton

2010-11-09T10:53:00.001-05:00

I'm monitoring the increasing controversy over Cam Newton, star quarterback from Auburn

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5783051

The outlook is not good. Even if he didn't receive any money for committing, he is the kind of kid that would. That's the real problem. Add purchase of a stolen computer, and mutliple cheating offenses...

The macro problem is that if he keeps throwing touchdowns while denying everything and getting pat on the back by Coach "He's a Great Kid," he'll just skate on by.

Bench him. Expel him. Make him get a real education.

Or here's a genius idea: Send him over to Northwestern, bench him for the last years of his elgibility, and see if anyone actually notices when he squeezes behind a desk at 8:15 for his 8 o'clock lecture.

It comes with the territory, Mr. President

2010-11-07T13:37:00.000-05:00

Prio to the 2010 elections last week President Obama said:

"Lately I feel like somebody made a big mess and I've got my mop and I'm mopping the floor and the folks who made the mess are there (saying) 'you're not mopping fast enough. You're not mopping the right way. It's a socialist mop.'" http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE59Q05Z20091027

Does the President actually expect anyone to feel sorry for him? Yes, Mr. President. Many Americans do think you are mopping the wrong way. And unless you are prepared to write them off as ignorant hicks from the backwoods, you might as well give them a listen. Pardon me if I sound too harsh. I truly have an incredible amount of respect for anyone bright enough and tough enough to serve as the U.S. President. But all the credit, and all the blame, just comes with the territory.

The same goes for any incumbent who lost, or nearly lost, last Tuesday. One always hopes that a stellar record of service to the American people will prevail over the proverbial shifting sand of public sentiment. Yet there is something to be celebrated here, and I do think Obama recognized this in his post election comments. The genius of American democracy is that power is not necessarily settled in the hands of one faction or even just a few. Every two to four years, the American people have the opportunity to sweep a whole new slate of their fellow citizens into a position of authority. An election that brought scores of new faces (and thus new ideas) into public service should be celebrated.

It's just a little less of a bitter pill to swallow when it's the other guys getting dusted.

Shifting Sand

2010-11-01T21:19:00.002-04:00

Prediction: The GOP will gain control of the House of Representatives handily tomorrow but fall 3 seats short in the Senate. Congressman Reid will lose his seat.

There will be an unprecedented level of compromise over the next two years, even if it is downplayed or ignored in the media. Republicans, afraid of truly earning the "obstructionist" label, will have to pick their battles wisely. Democrats, relieved to still hold on to the Senate and in an effort to stop the bleeding, will likewise be willing to negotiate modest compromises. Without significant improvement in the U.S. economy, or a positive reason to rally voter turnout, President Obama will not be re-elected.

Assertion: If there ever was any doubt that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are anything but liberal comedians, I felt like the recent "Rally" tore that cover off completely. The rally was clearly held in reaction to conservative groundswell and attended by an unabashedly liberal audience. Maybe my problem is that I just don't think either of them are that funny (And that, yet more proof perhaps, that they are liberal!).

Interesting: Today I used "Project Vote Smart's" EasyVote web tool to gauge who I would vote for if I had happened to have moved and registered in PA in time. Try it here: http://www.votesmart.org/voteeasy/#
The tool displays the candidates for federal office and a menu of issue questions above. As you work your way through the questions, the tool gives you a "% similar" for each candidate in real time, adjusting up and down as you complete the survey. I found with the candidates in front of me, I began with something of a bias in regards to who I thought I should be voting for. But when I concentrated on answering each question, however un-nuanced, exactly the way in which I generally think about them, the % match between candidates was surprisingly similar, no more a 10% spread between the front-runners.

Bistro 19 gets the Church Family Treatment

2010-11-01T17:16:00.001-04:00

I have a slight aversion to all restaurants named "Bistro x," so we passed over this restaurant once before. This time it was the low-lit bar and warm oak through the stained glass window above the door that caught my eye and convinced me to stop. What we were looking for was just that- warm, cozy, comfort food.

We were seated by an over-enthusiastic bar tender- maybe it was just my mood -in the restaurant seating, a brighter lit and less defined space adjacent to the bar. Less coziness, still plenty of bar noise. "Oh s***!" the friendly Steeler's fans yelled to the roar of the telvised crowd. My wife like the tree branches painted on the walls and unique table centerpieces. The meatloaf with blackberry gravy grabbed me and I didn't equivocate. My wife found a ham and brie pannini. But first we had to try the egg-roll cheese steak from the appetizer menu.

The food was served quickly. The excellent cheese steak was enough to serve as a meal. The entrees were delicious and heavy. For an awkward, spur of the moment, Sunday dinner, the Bistro 19 turned out to be a decent choice. Recommended.

Rethinking an American Obsession

2010-10-31T18:19:00.001-04:00

Lately I have increasingly questioned my love, or even interest, in professional football. I rarely go out of my way to watch a particular game, but I will monitor records, watch replays, and generally cheer for the Eagles and Ravens.

But lurking in the back of my mind is the knowledge that the NFl is branded and marketed sport with few heroes and a nasty, dirty, backside. Here's fuel to that fire- an article from ESPN.com, which interestingly, probably makes most of it's money from the NFL.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=bryant/101027

You need some Identity help buddy...

2010-09-29T15:29:00.000-04:00

This past week I witnessed an interesting trend that I thought deserved some thought. At my college fellowship our campus minister started in on a series on Christian Identity based on passages from the book of John. Then at the church I attended on Sunday I was surprised to hear the pastor announce his new sermon series entitled: "I Am: Finding your identity in God." This was an interesting coincidence but it didn't turn into a trend until I talked to a friend of mine that afternoon over lunch and learned that he had also received a sermon on "Finding your Identity" at the church he had attended!

Apparently, pastors throughout the area have decided this fall is a season of identity crisis. Well, I hear you Reverends, I'll be working on it!

You be the Judge: Gluten Free Frozen Pizza v. Digiorno's

2010-09-27T14:18:00.000-04:00

After a long week of work and a successful but exhausting trip to the grocery store on Friday, we were obliged to go with frozen pizza for dinner. My pizza is on the left (gluten free BBQ chicken pizza from Glutino), and Laura's on the right (supreme from Digiorno). They cost roughly the same amount of money.

You be the judge!

The Limitations of Reason

2010-09-27T13:59:00.001-04:00

"[Reason] soon learned from experience that reality refuses to provide what is expected of it. Reason alone cannot provide an interpretation of the world that assigns a course of ethical action for man." -Albert Schweitzer

Burned Out

2010-08-24T21:45:00.002-04:00

The following short non-fiction piece appeared in The Urbanite July 2010 edition. Many thanks to the Keim family, for their friendship and hospitality throughout my childhood. Only as an adult have a truly gained an understanding of the immense heart and courage it took for them to live and grow a family in the place they did- and the wonderful blessings that can come from it.

http://www.urbanitebaltimore.com/baltimore/burned-out/Content?oid=1266392

---

Visiting my friend Tyler and his family in South Philly was an adventure for me, being young, naïve, and thoroughly suburban. On the drive there, I stayed glued to the windows. The homeless, the hookers, and the glassstrewn parking lots glittering under the streetlights were a mysterious carnival; the city lights above and beyond danced. I wondered what secrets were hiding behind the boarded-up windows.

Tyler's parents were the hipster types, so we kids ran wild. We stampeded from room to room, firing rubber bands at each other and barricading the doors against Tyler's sister. From his bedroom window Tyler pointed out the rooftop where a woman sunbathed topless. Below us, the alley provided ample targets for his wrist rocket. Sirens wailed, and I thought they must be coming for us, but he just laughed.

"The house two doors down caught fire," Tyler informed me, "and the guy died. Want to see it?" His dad led the way into the burnedout house. The fire chief, they said, had found the asphyxiated violinist with the stub of a cigarette still in his hand. Within hours after the last fire truck had left, scavengers ransacked the house for anything of worth. Tyler's dad finally boarded up the house, giving what dignity he could to his deceased neighbor.

I kept thinking about the elderly musician asleep on the couch as flames engulfed the pile of newspapers at his feet. An old upright piano stood blackened in one corner of the room. There were piles of sheet music, smoky but otherwise preserved. Tyler was getting bored. I shook off the sordid feeling that clung to me like soot, and we rushed off to shoot marbles at the alley cats.

—Asa Church is currently sailing on the Chesapeake. He teaches eighth grade but dreams in poetry and prose.

Terabithia

2010-06-02T13:04:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking about what "Terabithia" means and its significance, not just in the book by Katherine Paterson, but more broadly in life. In the meantime, a meaningful quote:

"It ain't beautiful," May Belle broke in. "It's scary. Nailing holes right through somebody's hand."

"May Belle's right." Jess reach down in to the deepest pit of his mind. "It's becaue we're all vile sinner God made Jesus die."

"Do you think that' true?"

He was shocked. "It's in the Bible, Leslie."

She looked at him as if she were going to argue, then seemed to changer her mind. "It's crazy, isn't it?" She shook her head. "You have to believe it, but you hate it. I don't have to believe it, and I think it's beautiful." She shook her head again. "It's crazy."

In Spiritual Depression, Loyd-Jones writes about the dismal attitude of many Christians. Here, as the character Leslie describes it, I'm not sure which is worse. The passage says more about human nature I think than it does about the nature of faith. There are many people, perhaps in this country many more people, who stand in Leslie's position, on the outside looking in at a beautiful story or set of teachings rather than under the compulsion of cultural religion. But who can stand both in the beauty and the fear of this story, a God made sacrifice?

Later in the story, after the tragic death of Leslie, Jess discusses the loss with her father:

Finally his father said, "Hell, ain't it?" It was the kind of thing Jess could hear his father saying to another man. He found it strangely comforting, and it made him bold.

"Do you believe people go to hell, really go to hell, I mean?"

"You ain't worrying about Leslie Burke?"

It did seem peculiar, but still- "Well, May Belle said..."

"May Belle? May Belle ain't God."

"Yeah, but how do you know what God does?"

"Lord, boy, don't be a fool. God ain't gonna send any little girls to hell."

Would he? It does indeed seem rather foolish to think so. The power of literature is that it can take something that may have thus far been an abstract issue in life and make it a bit real, even if only to the imagination.

Jess doesn't take any chances, at any rate. Maybe that's what the bridge is all about. A bridge to Terabithia -salvation wrought with human hands.

Fact or Fiction

2010-06-01T19:04:00.003-04:00

It was only the second day into our trip and we didn’t have the battle scars to prove much of anything. Just three scrawny kids, obviously brothers, riding bikes rescued from Goodwill. Of course people wouldn’t believe us.

We fell asleep to the patter of rain which had mercifully held off long enough for us to discover that our untested camp stove didn’t work. We got dinner at the gas station instead and then headed back down the road and into some woods where our tent was. Three teenage boys in a two person dome tent would take some getting used to, but for the moment, we were sufficiently exhausted.

When we got back to the gas station the next morning one brother started doing Tai Chi in the middle of the parking lot while the other washed up in the bathroom around the back of the snack shop. I ate two Hostess fruit pies, staving off any chance of a caloric deficit with breakfast alone.

That’s when we got that question for the first time, “You guys are biking where?” We explained that we had started in Atlantic City, NJ – yesterday actually –but we were headed to the Pacific Ocean. Maybe our own incredulity was what inspired a lack of confidence. But it had to have been our otherwise absolute appearance of earnestness that made up their minds. “You are definitely smoking something. Well, good luck!”

Journalistic Restraint

2010-06-01T12:39:00.004-04:00

Bonnie Berkowitz writes in the Washington Post "In Louisiana, damage from the oil spill can be deceiving" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/31/AR2010053103113.html

In the article, Berkowitz describes how at first glance, the Louisiana coast doesn't appear all that damaged. The oil is not obviously devastating, but perniciously present -everywhere. The slow choke will be much more terrible than the flash of flames that began it all.

As I read, I was refreshed to be reading an honest REPORT of someone's experience rather than a sensational GLOSS. This is journalistic restraint. As a journalist, it is so tempting to tell a story with the way you want your reader to think of it at the forefront. Because you think the oil spill is a tragedy, you want to make it seem as tragic as possible. Because you think people should be outraged, you are tempted to report only the outrageous. It is a subtle form of professional arrogance that perpetuates this idea that the reader needs to be schooled in what to think rather than simply given the facts to think about.

The Gulf oil spill is indeed a tragedy. It needs no gloss.

The sorry "end" to the Floyd Landis case

2010-05-20T13:38:00.001-04:00

It's once again a sad reminder of how the mighty fall, and so terribly. Floyd Landis, one time winner of the Tour de France, after being stripped of his medal, launching a widely publicized legal defense fund, publishing a book to argue his innocence, losing his appeal, and then being served a warrant for computer hacking (I'm sure I missed something)- is now admitting publicly and in detail that he has used performance enhancing drugs through much of his career, including the Tour. But he is not stopping there.

He has volunteered full cooperation in the investigation of nearly every big name biker that he rode with. He is accusing Lance, Levi, Hincapie, and others of blatant drug use including one instance in which a team bus pulled to the side of the road on a remote mountain road and feigned engine trouble while the whole team received blood transfusions.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=5203604

I want to view Flandis' full disclosure as an attempt at doing good for the sport. Someone and something needs to give. But he needs to understand it cannot be him. There is so little sympathy for him from any corner that reactions will be sufficient to render doing anything about it impossible. Far more powerful would have been an honest and contrite admission of guilt, without any back door excuses, to burn the conscience of the collective sport.

This news hits an additional nerve because of my wife, who is Mennonite. Landis' family are Mennonites and many people in this tight knit community were still arguing for his innocence.

Interstate squabbles make for entertaining politics

2010-05-19T19:43:00.001-04:00

Arizona is now threatening to cut off or complicate electricity flow to California in response to tourism boycott. I love state politics like this! It feels old school and simple and out in the open. Reminds me of militia led border skirmishes between Michigan and Ohio (the Toledo War).

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15119910

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7742456/Arizona-threatens-to-cut-off-LA-electricity-supply.html

Does this sound like your church?

2010-05-18T21:01:00.001-04:00

If it does...

http://vimeo.com/11501569

...I'm not sure what to tell you.

Confessional

2010-05-17T18:28:00.000-04:00

Something must be terribly off balance or wrong if your work is becoming increasingly a source of guilt in your life, the place where dirty secrets pile up and you are glad no one else is watching. In the profession of teaching, I think it may be a game ender.
Would you believe that I yell at my kids? Even worse, argue with them? Would you believe that I even sometimes goad them, taunt them, make fun of them in front of their classmates and intentionally try to shame them? (sometimes a sense of shame would be a relief) I do all these things. And that is an area of repentance since what my students need most of all, and admittedly it is the hardest thing to give, is love.
I teach 8th grade students in an inner city school. For some people, that is a pardon more than sufficient for all of my sins. I'm not sure I agree or am willing to let myself off the hook. But then that's not what worries me the most. Because ultimately all of it probablydamages me more than any of my tough skinned students. They do care -that's a lesson I had to learn -but not nearly as much as me. I'll beat myself up at letting them beat me up, then say things I regret and beat myself up some more. Most of all, I'll just feel angry and ugly inside. This can no longer be.

The Heavy Lifting: Are state governors doing the dirty work when Congress has failed?

2010-05-14T17:00:00.003-04:00

Across the country, state governors are facing the reality of more than just slightly unbalanced budgets. For example, in NJ, the state deficit is approximately 1\3 of the entire budget. See the following article.

http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/ab-stoddard/97603-nj-gov-sets-tone-for-us

I can't deny that I am harboring a small bit of NJ pride over Governor Christie's very bold and seemingly integrity driven stand. Check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O70vGKpX-2Y&feature=player_embedded#!
Even as a teacher, I am unsympathetic to the mostly Union led outcry over salary freezes in education.

Most states avoided severe cuts in services last year because of enormous federal payouts. This year, there's no escaping it. Another headline from the LA Times reads, "Schwarzenegger unveils austere budget plan."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/la-me-state-budget-20100515,0,7750555.story

Unlike NJ, California is laying off Education funds, although teachers and administrators are still crying foul. If "audacity" was the rallying cry of 2009, surely 2010 will be something a little less, well, audacious.

Middle School

2010-05-08T00:32:00.001-04:00

For Jim Pickard

Life is like a catapult

Launching kids into the world

Marshmallows (in winter)

And water balloons (in spring)

Don't kid yourself that summer

Is but a temporary thing.

Life is like a transformer

Making us into adults

There's magic still (in sixth)

And the seventh inning stretch

Please believe me 8th graders

These years you won't regret.

---

Emotional?

2010-04-28T21:12:00.001-04:00

"Abortion provider says complying with new Okla.ultrasound law leaves some patients emotional"

This the headline of a short article. Who would have thought? http://inform.com/united-states/clinic-new-okla-abortion-law-hard-patients-918833a

Flecks and Bits

2010-04-25T16:30:00.001-04:00

I have tried

To turn the word you

Into a we

To remind you that the world alone

Is merely the arm's length

Between you

And me

Last night in my dreams

I dreamed in pieces

Life and each piece like bits and flecks

Broke off and floated away.

This morning when I woke up

I lay in bed to slowly reclaim

All the dreams that were merely lies

And those that were meant to stay.

The Man in the Hearse

2010-04-18T20:36:00.001-04:00

They parked a U-Haul
At the back of the church
Holding the weight of the world
And it's curse
And all of the problems
And all of the hurt
That couldn't be made new
By the man in the hearse.

During the service
They sang his praise
How he gave up belongings
And his space
Called everything nothing
Only to exchange
For water and bread
His mountain of simple ways.

Of our own...

2010-04-15T13:01:00.003-04:00

A U.S. adoptive mother, unable to deal with her adopted son, abandoned the 7 year old on a Russian bound plane. Russian officials are understandably outraged and it is a particularly unflattering thing for the United States to be getting press coverage over it. At the same time, it really isn't any more accurate to conflate the irresponsibility of a mother with the ineptitude of all American adoptive parents any more than it is to mistake one's own son as a representative of Russia that can be packed up and sent back to where he came from.

While Russia's suspension of U.S. bound adoptions in response may be a more political move along the lines of similar posturing in China, it should revive in us a passion for adoption of American children by Americans. Legal red tape needs to be cleared, the rights of adoptive parents protected, and the overall cost and time of adoption reduced. The average cost of adoption through, for example, Catholic Charities is $20,500 according to their website. It may not be true, but my understanding has long been that American couples adopt overseas at a much higher rate than they otherwise would because of the difficulty in adopting an American born child.

4\19 I want to add that this is not so much a matter of an America first argument, or even a take care of our own thing. Instead it is a matter of common sense. Why go overseas when there are so many children who need homes right here in front of us? Save on airfare and avoid international law issues. I can think of some other reasons, legitimate or not, why Americans might prefer foreign adoption. 1) Perhaps there is a quiet fear of having to face birth parents later in life, a complication that while embraced by some, is incredibly intimidating to others. Foreign adoption, you would think, reduces this risk. 2) Foreign adoption leaves adoptive parents with the warm feeling of giving a home to a foreign child who might otherwise live in squalor while being choosy about physical ailments and disabilities. One of the cases in this story from CNN is a direct counter to this though.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/13/russian.adoption.families/index.html
3) Many of the children available for adoption or in need of adoption here in the United States are African American living in poverty. A majority of adoptive parents in the United States are Caucasian and upper middle class. (by my estimate)

"Recess"

2010-04-14T23:27:00.001-04:00

Four young brown birds preening around a park bench

Picking through polyester strands of fake hair

And chattering about love and common sense

How she said what he said was way

Out of line.

Rising

2010-03-13T13:31:00.001-05:00

Is the increasing violence between Muslims and Christians throughout the world but particularly in Africa and south east Asia a symptom of surging growth in Christianity? I have seen suggestions of this by more than a few people. Christianity, according to this article in The American Conservative, has grown from an insignificant minority at 5-10% to an impressive 45% in some places.

1.3 Billion Dollars Worth of Illegal Immigration

2010-03-10T12:24:00.001-05:00

Have illegal aliens contributed 1.3 Billion dollars to the IRS? It would be interesting to know if the comments of readers to this article are on the right track.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/03/09/old.tax.refunds/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

The 295 Sequel Continues!

2010-03-09T21:57:00.001-05:00

"On the Strange Things That Happen When you Drive 295 Too Much" Sequel

-By the Matriarch

Route 295 in New Jersey particularly north of the North-South Freeway has long been legendary in the Church household, even more so now with the construction between exits 28 and 32- we have dubbed it the "13th" Wonder of the Modern World.
Who of you haven't been driving south near Woodcrest Station when invisible ropes pull you into a lane that you have no intention of entering. "Keturah, what are you doing.?! Stay in your lane." Only to find the very same thing happening to me the next day at the same spot. Freaky!!
The other day returning from the infamous "Springdale Road" what should appear directly ahead but a miniature man filling potholes with black grit- you know the stuff that lasts the maximum of 12 hours. Whew, swerve a little to the right and I just miss him.
My favorite game along 295 is "chicken". You know when you merge into 65 mph traffic (wait I thought the speed limit was 45 mph in construction zones) from a dead stop- how long is the line behind me??? Or when you are in the lane being merged into- do I slow down, speed up, or close my eyes? My favorite tactic is to shout aloud, "Don't you dare go now" as I pass. The other night it didn't work. Keturah and I were on the way to Medford Lakes in the pouring rain. She was having a pleasant conversation with a nameless college admissions' counselor (power of cellular) concerning a favorite archaic college tradition much loved by the alumni as we approached a car getting ready to merge and I yelled "Don't you dare" and he did. No chance to stop in the squeaky Chevy, no idea what is on my left. GAS It YOU GEEZER!!!! Not a chance! Sure collision!? Now this is one of the mysterious properties of 295- the expected never happens. I honk (weakly). Well at least he ought to know that he should have been rear ended. Keturah to the admissions' counselor, "My mom just almost ploughed into another car." Mom yells, "No, he almost side swiped me." Admissions' counselor doesn't miss a beat in his dramatic tradition description. "Oh rats, maybe my headlights aren't working and he didn't see me. Exiting at Route 70, "No, headlights are on." OK, what is the story? Phantom car? Your guess is as good as mine. Praise on the refrigerator, "avoided an unavoidable car accident.
Last Friday night goes to the top of my list of 295 experiences. Yes, the night of the Salao tournament. Not up for 3 hours of sitting on the bleachers waiting game after game, I opt for a period drama in the comfort of home and at 1:30 AM head out to catch the last couple of games. 295?? Tempted to do the roundabout Haddonfield way, but take courage and 295 it. Too many potholes, so I take the express cattle shoot. I always wonder what happens if you break down in this lane-nowhere to go. Lots of trucks heading south to the left- can't they dim their headlights- police action on the right and no you won't believe this one, I hardly did, a horse galloping along the median toward me. I try to slow the car as he moves toward my lane. I check my rearview to be sure no one is following closely. As I return my gaze ahead, something flies toward my windshield and hits it with a thud. I am so surprised I almost duck, but thankfully I keep my nerve and stay on the road shaking in disbelief. After that I have no more "visions" of galloping horses the rest of the way to Bethel. As I get off the highway, I seriously doubt that anything really happened and am convinced that I am really too old for these late night excursions. Upon arriving at the tournament, all is forgotten as audible cheering from the gym changes 2 AM gloom to mid-day clarity.
Next morning, of course, I think it must have been a dream. Upon jumping in the car to deliver some forgotten basketball shoes, I see a substance streaked on the windshield in front of the passenger seat. Investigating, I wipe a sticky pumpkin smelling substance on my hand. What can this be? In a hurry though, so I wipe the pulpy stuff from my hand and mind and am convinced that it must have nothing do to with any incident last night.
Today 295 again, traveling south and there it is again that infamous streak of green spray paint that I see every time I am heading south just north of Haddonfield – Berlin Road exit. But this time not far from it, I also see what looks like a squished orange pumpkin plastered along the shoulder. 295 legends live on!

Please Advise: Extortion

2010-03-09T17:33:00.001-05:00

I have to plead ignorance on this one. What exactly is so bad about extortion? Maybe I can answer my own question. For example, a greedy domestic of the Travolta family tried to blackmail them with "evidence" that they mistreated their son. Problem: it was a lie, and a particularly egregious one given that Jett Travolta died tragically from symptoms of a longstanding health issue. So extortion, when it seeks to ruin the the good names of hurting people out of greed, is really a bad thing.
But then is it always so?
Example two: David Letterman is off the hook after sleeping around with co-workers because the jealous boyfriend was stupid\insincere enough to ask for money for his silence. But what if the guy had simply spread the news? The difference in this case is that it was true. I hardly feel like 6 months of jail, 4.5 years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service is fair given the situation.
Read more about it here
Granted, I don't know what all was in the blackmail letter, but I get the moral of the lesson:

Call the bluff, laugh off your slimy behavior, and if your funny, and you have money, you've got it made honey!

Choose Civility Spoofs by Pumthuggee

2010-03-09T12:55:00.002-05:00

A hilarious set of spoofs on Howard County's "Choose Civility" campaign from my friend Jon Barnes:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pumthuggee/4420315678/

Teacher Gossip

2010-03-04T17:11:00.002-05:00

Until I began working as a teacher's aid at an elementary school I had no idea of the similarities between teachers and students. Apparently, the age old practice of discussing good and bad teachers with fellow students is something teachers also indulge in. My lunch breaks generally consist of listening to different teachers discuss how ridiculous their students are. The most common topic is discussing just how many students a teacher has that really should be in some special program and need to be diagnosed.

In fact, the amount of gossip that passes between teachers on an average school day could certainly rival that of any group of chatty high-schoolers.

Re-thinking already?

2010-03-04T11:46:00.001-05:00

Maybe "already" is the wrong word. It has been, after all, almost two decades or more since America's tepid voyage into standards based accountability gained traction.

So it's not surprising that some people are re-thinking their enthusiasm. Diane Ravitch is one of them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/education/03ravitch.html?em

After three years of teaching in Baltimore City Public Schools (at both a public middle school and a public charter elementary\middle school) I have a a certain sympathy for Ravitch's about face. The Maryland State Assessment, and linking the future of a school's existence to their results on the test, has led to a paucity of imagination in curriculum. Middle school instruction in low performing schools has literally been reduced to the teaching of isolated skills. This, I hope is obvious to see, is indeed a tragedy and even an outrage. Does that mean standards based accountability is the real problem? I think you have to look further and deeper. We should not expect a simple conclusion.

I just hope that Ravitch doesn't give up the ghost entirely. Unions, and the public school bureaucracy continues to cripple the education system more than any other curriculum or standardized test.

Gleanings

2010-03-03T18:23:00.001-05:00

An interesting article about the possible effects of 80% of job losses being for men.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/234248

I feel fortunate to have passed into an ostensibly more mature stage in my life with marriage, and hopefully before long, kids. In fact, at 25, I feel very behind. Life is too short to squander on years of drunken nights that all blend into one. And fortunately, there are others who agree with me in asserting that exotic travel with small children is not such a bad idea after all (see the latest edition of the Atlantic).

On an entirely different matter, I read something interesting while teaching my 8th graders today (!). According to our MSA Finish Line books, "Many farmers [in Pennsylvania] practice traditional methods, using only the natural fertilizer from there cattle. Their picture-postcard farms are more productive than many larger agricultural operations that depend on chemical fertilizer. The trouble is that the manure runs off into the streams. They in turn flow into the Susquehanna River. And the Susquehanna provides half the fresh water for the Chesapeake Bay."

I guess I just thought the giant industrial chemical farms were the bad guys?

An interesting wrinkle

2010-02-22T20:03:00.001-05:00

I have been watching the latest tea-party machinations with growing interest. Glenn Greenwald writes an interesting piece at Salon.com

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/02/21/libertarianism/index.html

I finished the article feeling a bit confused. Is Palin not a darling of the tea-party movement? She has been embraced but only for the exposure and recognition, as Greenwald suggests?

Suddenly Paul is gunning for another run at being President and it's only February 2010. I wonder by the time mid-term elections roll around how the scenery will look. The tea-party has already proved a surprise.

Bzzzz. It's your friend from Missouri, who you met in college, and lives in your city now!

2010-02-09T16:32:00.001-05:00

Has the universal use of cell phones made area codes more or less relevant? There was a day when people identified with particular area codes, perhaps more distinctly in urban and ultra-rural areas of the country. Are codes have been used to identify location and distance, signifying that a person belongs elsewhere. Sometime in grade school I distinctly remember the addition of a new area code in southern NJ. Suddenly I had to dial an area code to call my best friend. More recently, my wife only reluctantly changed her phone number from her hometown of Harrisonburg, VA to Baltimore with more than a tinge of nostalgia.

Because we all have cell phones now, and everyone's number programmed into our contacts, it hardly matters what number someone has. It isn't so strange to not know the number of someone in your family, including your spouse. In this way, area codes are increasingly irrelevant and we move closer and closer to simply a 10-digit phone number that has no geographical significance.

Then, a number pops up on your cell phone and you wonder "3-1-4 Who do I know from that area code? What area code is it." A quick Google search and suddenly you are reminded that you dear friend is originally from Missouri. Roots. Connections. We are not entirely done with our old ways. Just re-discovering them.

A Love Note to Baltimore

2010-02-05T08:19:00.003-05:00

Baltimore, I love you this winter. You are actually more than just a drab, sometimes chilly place. You are at the center of big snow. Even now your inhabitants are scurrying for cover like the roaches that infest your 40% vacant housing. I actually enjoyed the camaraderie of standing in line for 45 minutes at the Mondawmin Shoppers last night. And now the street is actually quiet. It will be a good 24 hours of quiet from what the forecast is saying. Quiet and beauty, a white robe over a soiled and naked body. Once the snow stops there will be employment for all- every last hustling dreamers I probably won't have to shovel one bit but by the time I get outside, there will be a fight about who shoveled my ten feet of sidewalk and thus deserves five dollars. Drinks for all at the Two-Spot, on me!

Days of Regret and other recent poems...

2010-01-30T10:31:00.006-05:00

These are the days of regret

The already here but not yet

When the sun has not even set

And there is work to be done.

These days slip into those days

The gloss of time is kind

Surprised by the peace and acceptance

The place of eternity finds.

---

This morning there was arctic ice

Floating in the sky

Bits and flecks and windblown drifts

Stretched from mile to miles

---

The tiny babe is stuck in his cradle

We won't let him out

Since he is so meek and mild

He's sure not to shout

Let wise men worship

And skeptics doubt

There's no reason to worry

Or be down in the mouth

Just a baby

In a manger.

---

I bought Christmas

I found it on sale

For the economic uplift

Keeping bankers from jail.

Howard Zinn, at 87

2010-01-28T12:41:00.001-05:00

Zinn wrote honestly in his autobiography, "I would try to be fair to other points of view, but I wanted more than 'objectivity'" The "more" that Zinn referenced is a revisionist history that elevated the American people, those on the left that is, over the realities of commonly accepted history. Certainly we can benefit immensely from understanding the power of dissent. It is also interesting to read history written from an alternative point of view. Controversial in its time, when I reached the University in 2003, "A People's History of the United States" was still appearing in classrooms, not as a primary textbook but as a source worth referencing.

Politics of Contempt

2010-01-27T11:28:00.001-05:00

Here's more of what I was saying (sort of)

If we could just get our message across...

2010-01-26T17:30:00.002-05:00

Ruben Navarette Jr. writes that "what we have here is not a failure to communicate."
I have noticed that a lot of politicians operate under the premise that if the "message" is properly communicated the poor huddled masses will see the light and wisdom of their agenda. On second thought, maybe this is not so much a feature of politicians but academic elites. This type of person possesses a keen sense of their own abilities and the rightness of their opinion coupled with a low regard for the average and less educated American. But ironically, they demonstrate a naive sense of human goodness and moral spirit. Can I be so bold as to suggest that in some ways I am describing "gentry liberalism"?
I have always held the strong suspicion that no matter how much we "communicate" there will be significant disagreements and a general breakdown between idealist notions and the day to day demands of regular people. Surely there is a relationship between this conservative viewpoint and my own Calvinistic convictions of an all pervasive human depravity. A world of good can be done by just talking, by genuine communication. Dialogue can lead to empathy, empathy to understanding, and understanding to compromise. But only sometimes. And if people don't seem to like your message, maybe they just don't like it.

Avatar

2010-01-23T22:22:00.002-05:00

I enjoyed the blockbuster Avatar immensely tonight. The computer graphics and 3D effects are clearly without parallel and set a new bar. My wife astutely pointed out that the use of 3D is very tasteful, unlike many previous movies. Instead of gimmicky "jump out of your seat" moments that make the 3D obtrusive, the movie was content to let the effects highlight the amazing "natural" scenery of the movie.

Regarding plot, my wife and I agreed that there isn't anything particularly earth shattering about the plot, story, or message. The movie plays on all sorts of trendy spheres of debate including the environment, native relations, the military, and corporate greed. All of this adds up to a tired but effective manipulation of western white guilt. With so many allusions in a number of directions, there is no surprise that practically everyone has something to be concerned or offended about.

As a Christian, I might have taken greater offense at the pantheistic mother earth worship in the movie if it wasn't all set in a glow in the dark fairy land with blue cats (nice tails!) and oily jungle hyenas. Final call- lighten up, it's a FLICK, and a damn good one at that.

Highly recommended.

Someone said it...

2010-01-20T21:24:00.002-05:00

The Times Online has flipped the coin and is now allowing this traitor to talk- because it makes for compelling reading- and it got my attention:

Patrick Muirhead is now fleeing "a lifestyle, reinforced by a social milieu of flamboyant media gays. At the BBC, where I worked for seven years, homosexuality was very nearly compulsory."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/men/article6990013.ece

Joining the Mob

2010-01-20T21:09:00.001-05:00

With the hope of challenging the label:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/arts/18liberal.html

On the strange things that happen when you drive 295 too much.

2010-01-16T01:42:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends,

I have recently gone through the greatest trauma of my life.

Who would have thought that the miles between exit 36b on 295 and exit 26 could contain such a strange destiny as I made my way home one late night.

What you are about to hear is a true story. Please do not be deceived by the strangeness of this adventure. I would have trouble believing it myself if the handcuff marks upon my wrists didn’t force me to believe the dreamlike events of last night.

So here goes…

I left Maranatha in the darkening gloom with never a thought that this drive would be any different from any other. And besides accidentally getting on to the ramp for 295 north and having to back out of it while hoping I wouldn't get rear-ended....nothing strange happened for quite a while.

So I was driving along pretty normally at a pretty speed of 90 mph listening to the sounds of Q102 and musing on many wondrous things, when this car in front of me, who I'd been quickly approaching but still had some distance on me does something that cars are not supposed to do...

It was one of those real old minvans...(you know the boxy hippy ones???)

So...ok hold on to your seats people...

He slows down and TURNS his FLIPPIN van sideways in the middle of the stinking HIGHWAY!!!! I repeat!!!! He turned his van sideways and just STOPPED, BLOCKING the WHOLE highway!!!!

yeah!! thats what I thought....heck I was so surprised I almost forgot to hit the brake!! Like what the FLIP is going on??? what is this? a bus stop???

As you may well imagine I was pretty confused and quite at a loss at what to do....As I slowly gazed at the unfolding scene, my mouth frozen in the actions of singing "So what, I'm still a rockstar....."

It was like...gosh, I was just waiting to wake up and figure what I'd crashed into!!!!

Well...I've had a lot of time to think over what happened in the next minutes or so....and having to explain the story multiple times while under custody has definitely forced me to get my facts right....

So I managed to narrow down the facts of what happened to a couple points...

1. Minivan pulls sideways blocking highway.

2. Old geezer (one of those skinny but spry looking ones...) with big white mustache gets out sets flares at strategic spots around van.

3. Pulls several potted shrubs and small trees out of van and places them around van.

ok...

this is the part that really made my mouth drop...like no lie....the radio went OFF at this point...

So the dude pulls a can of SPRAY paint out of his van and begins to paint on the side of his minvan in lurid Green letters:

ready...

STOP DRIVING SAVE THE TREES

can somebody smack me????

As I stared at the words staring back at me, even the increasing shouts, screams, honks, and other assorted vocal expressions of anger that came from all the cars behind me slowly receded into a mixed hodgepodge of incredulity....

A freaking tree-hugger??? What is this California??? I'm in NEW JERSEY for heaven's sake!!!!! What is this ol’ dude doing here???

whoooooooooooooooooooo

thats all I'm saying kids...

The next part of the story gets bit blurry for me, but here goes...

Well, you can guess the crowd wasn't exactly as content to stare in wonderment as I was, so I was soon awakened from my reverie by an approaching mob of people with obvious violent intent to remove the old man and his van.

Now I have never been a hero or anything but I've never enjoyed watching an unfair fight....

Anyway...somehow I found myself approaching the old geezer (who had succeeded in painting a large portion of himself green by this time) with some vague thought of mediating the impending argument...

The thing is, the dude wasn't the old hippie I had thought he was...

So he reaches into the back of his van and pulls out a pistol (one of those old looking revolver kinds?) and a shotgun.

HEre's the part you're going to have to bear with me on...

its kind of hard to explain....

So...well he chucks the pistol to me right? and says something...like I dunno....all I could think of at that point while I stared at the loaded pistol chilling in my unresisting hands was the same song over and over again "SO What, I'm still a Rockstar!" again and again.... I raised my eyes to see rows of patrol cars pull up and surround us....

I mean...I've never thought too much about being a rebel, breaking the LAW......OUTLAWRY.....but what was I doing??

You may be thinking right now, "Aijalon you are a stupidhead!" but please understand, when in your a crazy situation like that....and its happening a lot faster...your mind just refuses to put your priorities in the right order...and you just can't reason correctly.... I dunno.

All I know is, when the old treehugger growled with a seasoned old chuckle, "You best get behind the van door for cover."

Something inside of me kind of went "I WANT OUT OF THIS SITUATION!!"

NExt thing I know I chuck the gun and jump on the ground yelling (the cops claimed that I was screaming in a very high pitched tone, but I don't think they liked me so don't believe that) "I DIDN'T DO IT" (again here the accounts vary...the police officer at the station insisted that I screamed "HE MADE ME DO IT!" but again...lies.)

Well..the rest of the story is history...

And while my upcoming court date sheds some gloom on the situation...the fact that I now have a story that will live to be told around my children's children's tables and doubtless be retold until it echoes in the halls of tall taledom brings me great satisfaction.

Whatever happens I know I will never forget the sight of that old man, covered in green spray-paint, being dragged away by two cops screaming at me, "THE TREES ARE ASHAMED OF YOU!!!!!!!!"

Perhaps his bony accusing finger will inspire me to an insanity like his one day......

Alvin, the Hamster

2010-01-09T13:07:00.006-05:00

Much to my chagrin, Laura volunteered to adopt a hamster for her classroom right before Christmas. I could only imagine the cleaning, smells, and general inconvenience of being responsible for a rodent. Bringing it home on weekends and during breaks just didn't seem appealing.

Now that "Alvin" -as her students have named him- has arrived, I have warmed up a bit to the little guy. He's kind of cute. And he came with a palace of a place to live.

Today we made our first PetSmart run to get a smaller weekend carrier and the exercise "pure entertainment for the human captors" ball.

Eve cheers the ratters on!

2009-12-25T22:49:00.002-05:00

While I have a certain amount of misgiving into turning my all too cute nieces and nephews into parrots- they are quite good at it- it does make for some prime time entertainment. And given that Eve has learned this phrase not simply from parental prompting but real live experience, I post it.

Tools of Battle

2009-12-21T11:09:00.002-05:00

From Zardowally on Ratting

2009-12-21T10:53:00.003-05:00

Zardowally writes (re-posted from comments):

"A few observations from the mouse-hunting battlefields in Philadelphia
1) Don't give up. It is when you have just about given up, but don't, that you will snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
2) On a similar note, there is a psychological element to this business. You will never catch them all--instead, you must break the spirit of your fury foes. They must conclude: "The losses, the travails, the discouragements, are not worth the warmth, foodstuffs and other comforts of this gentle home. We must retreat."
3) Children make this tougher--your tykes will leave a literal smorgasbord of dainty morsels spread around the house.
4) Children also add something primal to the battle. These googly-eyed ghouls compete for your children's food, they manouver without shame among their toys.
5) Kids can also provide just the encouragment you need to stay the course--when my 2-year old spots me trap-setting, she slaps her hands together in dramatic fashion and exclaims excitedly "All done mouse!"

Things Learned While Ratting

2009-12-13T00:09:00.001-05:00

In my three years of Baltimore life, I have dealt with more mice than I can count, and more rats than I care to remember. Today I scored a major victory killing one rat and identifying and plugging the hole of another rat. Between my own efforts, trial and error, and occasional illumination by various friendly Western pest techs, I have learned at least a little bit about the art of ratting.

1) Just because you have mice, doesn't mean you won't get a rat. The mice will just disappear while the rat is around.

2) Rats have selective tastes. They found our chocolate vitamin chews, passing over crackers, dried fruit, candy, and nuts.

3) They like to eat in a comfortable place. Thus, they moved all (meaning 20-30 foil wrapped vitamins) of the calcium chews from one drawer to the other, which was padded with dish clothes, before dining.

4) They are not that smart, and will get caught in a snap trap.

5) Rats will scavenge their own kind.

6) Some rats look cute and fuzzy. The ones with the black and greasy tails are the worst.

7) If you think you have a rat, it sounds like you have a rat...then you do. Don't be in denial.

What do you know about ratting? Maybe I'll start a website dedicated to supporting all those domestic heroes out there, de-ratting their homes when all others have failed, when the "we are moving" ax is just about to fall (married men know what I am saying). Comrade, I salute you.

For My Brother, The Butterfly Collector

2009-12-12T17:44:00.003-05:00

A song that is probably less applicable than is immediately apparent:

Fallen (Continued)

2009-12-08T21:29:00.002-05:00

Rick Reilly has had front page commentary on ESPN.com all week with the headline "Tiger Will Be a Better Man." I would like to respectfully disagree. While I think humility and honesty in his marriage and public life are positive things at this point, Proverbs says that a "harlot" reduces a man to "a crust of bread." This is hardly something that can be taken back.

It is interesting to me, given the principles of Proverbs, that in the midst of a stunning public career, Mr. Woods has been so backwards in his private life. Things don't always work themselves out in reality in the way that we would think they should. David, living at ease and safety in a time of war, fell into adultery. So it would be less surprising that a man, laid up with a bum knee and time on his hands might similarly transgress. But it is apparent that Tiger has long been a dabbler among assorted women. Win a major event, stop off at the hotel, then fly home?

I get the feeling that everyone is embarrassed for Tiger. Talk about the rapacious gossip media that has scrounged all this up. Talk up the pressures and temptations of fame. But the reality is of a grown married man who has slept around for years behind his now humiliated wife's back.

I have been a fan of Tiger Woods for a while now. And it is upsetting to have another athlete-hero disappoint in this way. Lance Armstrong followed a similar path. Maybe I should not be surprised. With my own failings before me, I can only be saddened.

I'm signing out on this news topic. I won't read anything more about it and hope that Tiger will find a way to be a father and husband who no longer needs to lie and deceive. I hope he will be the better for it, for his own sake. We can be restored, public image be damned, by a higher source and power whose judgment knows no abating, and whose mercy has no end.

FALLEN

2009-12-02T13:17:00.001-05:00

I have been watching developments regarding Tiger Woods' car accident last week pretty closely, but the news has developed slowly, often beginning as rumors covered by disreputable sources. I don't know that we've heard the last of it, and I want to wait and comment further as things are clarified. For now, a few questions:

Was the media absolutely naive or absolutely complicit in propounding what now appears to be the daft notion that this was anything but an issue of a domestic dispute over infidelity?

Tiger Woods, although he has long refused to cast himself as such, seems to be considered a model black athlete.

Will race play a role in the way his apparent "transgressions" (his words) are handled?

Does Woods have a "right to privacy" on this? He is not an elected official, but he is a public persona.

Daydreams

2009-12-02T00:43:00.002-05:00

Red berries go rapping on my window.

Scarlet beads are pinging on the glass:

Ringing little notes of their derision,

Suggesting I get back to books and work.

Manhattan Declaration

2009-12-01T19:31:00.001-05:00

Christian Evangelicals have issued a statement calling Christian leaders in the U.S. to hold the line on the "foundational" issues of marriage, abortion, and religious freedom in the face of "growing political pressure." The Manhattan Declaration, as it is being called, is being promoted by Chuck Colson and Professor Robert George (Princeton). The statement is given brief coverage in the November issue of Christianity Today. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/novemberweb-only/146-52.0.html

At the end of the CT article, there is an interesting aside regarding Catholic Bishop's recent attempts to re-focus the institution of marriage on the church. If gay-rights advocates have indeed won the "civil marriage is a civil right" debate, the American church is already thinking ahead. Marriage is more than tax returns and health care benefits. Interestingly, there's nothing new about this move. Christianity has always had a certain flexibility in its "in but not of" this world tension.

On Tuesday, U.S. Catholic Bishops announced a new document emphasizing that marriage is an institution that can't be defined by the state. Catholic leaders wanted to focus their message on marriage, explaining it as a natural partnership that existed before the Bible was written, George said. "For the first time in history, we're talking about redefining marriage," he said. "So the bishops now in this new challenge are making the point that marriage is not something the state creates. Not only does marriage predate the state, marriage predates the church."

Yachtsmen Held

2009-12-01T11:45:00.003-05:00

Released!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/world/middleeast/03sailors.html

Negative News- Inquiry Advancing
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6940058.ece

Staying tuned regarding news of detained yachtsmen from Kingdom of Bahrain. The detained sailors are for the most part in their twenties. The BBC is reporting that they were able to call home on a cell phone this week. Iran is doing its usual grandstanding. The saving grace for the sailors is that Iran is so concerned over its international image it will actually go out of its way to treat them well. Take a look at pictures of the British Navy from a couple of years ago, dressed up in suits, and formally thanking Iran's dictator for their release.

Eicher on the state of News Media

2009-11-20T17:42:00.001-05:00

"Major news organizations relied on advertisers—rather than readers, listeners, or viewers—to fund operations. Using lowest-common-denominator content, they attracted mass audiences, sold them to advertisers, and severed the relationship between journalism and the people. The ad revenue model of financing news-gathering has crumbled and may not recover. Up against (1) an ailing economy, (2) a revolution of new technologies, and (3) a widespread public perception that their products lack journalistic integrity, elite news executives find themselves with little audience loyalty. This may help explain a movement among some industry insiders—as well as liberal activists—to push for taxpayer funding of newsrooms. It will likely come in the form of an expansion of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. One proponent, former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr., recommends Congress rename CPB the Corporation for Public Media, and fund it more lavishly." World, Nikolas Eicher

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16062

News and Commentary

2009-11-20T15:12:00.001-05:00

"...reporting seems to be merging with commentary just as surely as news is merging with entertainment." -S. Robert Lichter, Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/14/fox-news-barack-obama-media-opinions-contributors-s-robert-lichter.html

Lichter gives some interesting reporting and analysis to CMPA's data on the coverage of President Obama, Senator McCain, and Presidents past. More interestingly, he notes something that has also not escaped the notice of World's Marvin Olasky. Reporting is giving way to editorials and critique. Interestingly, World magazine does an incredible amount of commentating, even within the body text of many of its "news" articles. I have felt slightly uneasy for some time now about the magazine's claim to journalistic excellence when it doesn't always feel very journalistic (besides the few incredibly good featured articles with each bi-weekly edition). As the magazine hopes to grow as a reader-directed news source, bucking the norm and direction of news media, they should expand their original reporting and preserve the art of journalism for the purpose of "knowing." Mortimer Adler would whole-heartedly agree.

"The worse the terrorist, the more rights he has?"

2009-11-17T18:35:00.002-05:00

This from William McGurn, WSJ...

When it comes to terrorists, you would think that an al Qaeda operative who targets an American mom sitting in her office or a child on a flight back home is many degrees worse than a Taliban soldier picked up after a firefight with U.S. Army troops.

Your instinct would be correct, because at the heart of terrorism is the monstrous idea that the former is as legitimate a target as the latter. Unfortunately, by dispatching Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other al Qaeda leaders to federal criminal court for trial, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will be undermining this distinction. And the perverse message that decision will send to terrorists all over this dangerous world is this: If you kill civilians on American soil you will have greater protections than if you attack our military overseas.

"A fundamental purpose of rules such as the Geneva Conventions is to give those at war an incentive for more civilized behavior—and not targeting civilians is arguably the most sacred of these principles," says William Burck, a former federal prosecutor and Bush White House lawyer who dealt with national security issues. "It demolishes this principle to give Khalid Sheikh Mohammed even more legal protections than the Geneva Conventions provide a uniformed soldier fighting in a recognized war zone."

We don't often speak of incentives in war. That's a loss, because the whole idea of, say, Geneva rights is based on the idea of providing combatants with incentives to do things that help limit the bloodiness of battle. These include wearing a uniform, carrying arms openly, not targeting civilians, and so on.

Associated Press, Attorney General Eric Holder

The Sword for Battle

2009-11-17T18:32:00.001-05:00

A review of news coverage for the past several years reveals the following:
(1) Military chaplains are needed more than ever, and (2) the chaplaincy, or more accurately evangelical chaplains, are increasingly under fire for practicing and providing witness to their faith. What I do not know is if there are no enough chaplains because there are less or just more need, whether chaplains are quitting because of pressure, and whether evangelical chaplains have actually gotten more outspoken bringing the additional attention.

Regardless, this seems to be a terrible time for there to be a lack of chaplains, regardless of denomination or sect. In general, I tend to think that people benefit by talking about the spiritual dimension of their lives, even if mistaken. Ministers tend to be good, if not excellent, counselors merely by rote practice and experience. Surely someone will disagree with me. But let's leave it at this- talking to someone is good.

"The U.S. Army reported Tuesday that the number of suicides among soldiers this year has already equaled the number for all of last year, and so will rise for the fifth consecutive year, in spite of a major effort to combat the trend. The Army's number two officer says he is significantly short of the type of professionals who could help reverse the trend."

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-11-17-voa36.cfm

Those Speedy Hybrids

2009-11-16T18:28:00.001-05:00

"The three freshmen were arrested shortly afterward with companion Marie Montmarquet, 22, also a UT student. She allegedly drove their getaway Toyota Prius in which police found a pellet gun and hooded jackets."