I like these quotes a lot:
"Success is simple. Do what's right, the right way, at the right time."
"An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied. "
"Expecting something for nothing is the most popular form of hope."
"Fear is the lengthened shadow of ignorance."
"Improvement begins with I."
-Arnold H. Glasow
Friday, March 07, 2008
The Romance of Senseless Waste & Tragedy
Spoiler Alert: The potato seeds weren't poisonous
Back in August of last year I mentioned John Krakauer's book Into the Wild and urged you to read it.
"What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992." - from Amazon.com
In a nutshell, Krakauer "saw in the cross-continent wanderings of [Chris] McCandless and his final, tragic Alaska death the footprints of 'the grip the wilderness has on American imagination, the allure high-risk activities hold for young men of a certain mind, the complicated, highly charged bond that exists between fathers and sons.'” - source
Wednesday I watched Sean Penn's film version on DVD.
The film portrayed Chris McCandless as a heroic figure and, according to Wikipedia, "By 2002, the abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail where McCandless camped had become a tourist destination."
But film-making is an art ... and the necromancer's craft, like story-telling and schizophrenia, often has little to do with the thorny issue of Real Life:
"Unlike Krakauer and many readers of his book, who have a largely sympathetic view of McCandless, some Alaskans have negative views of both McCandless and those who romanticize his fate. Because he had no maps, McCandless was unaware that a hand-operated tram crossed the impassible river only 6 miles from the Stampede Trail. There were also cabins stocked with emergency supplies within a few miles of the bus, although they had been vandalized and all the supplies were spoiled, possibly by McCandless himself, as detailed in Lamothe's documentary.
"Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote: 'I am exposed continually to what I will call the ‘McCandless Phenomenon.’ People, nearly always young men, come to Alaska to challenge themselves against an unforgiving wilderness landscape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent […]
"When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn’t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament […] Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide.” [emphasis added]
"Judith Kleinfeld wrote in the Anchorage Daily News that 'many Alaskans react with rage to his stupidity. You'd have to be a complete idiot, they say, to die of starvation in summer 20 miles off the Park's Highway.'" -quoted text passages sourced here
His body was found in his sleeping bag inside the bus, weighing just 67 pounds.
Back in August of last year I mentioned John Krakauer's book Into the Wild and urged you to read it.
"What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992." - from Amazon.com
In a nutshell, Krakauer "saw in the cross-continent wanderings of [Chris] McCandless and his final, tragic Alaska death the footprints of 'the grip the wilderness has on American imagination, the allure high-risk activities hold for young men of a certain mind, the complicated, highly charged bond that exists between fathers and sons.'” - source
Wednesday I watched Sean Penn's film version on DVD.
The film portrayed Chris McCandless as a heroic figure and, according to Wikipedia, "By 2002, the abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail where McCandless camped had become a tourist destination."
But film-making is an art ... and the necromancer's craft, like story-telling and schizophrenia, often has little to do with the thorny issue of Real Life:
"Unlike Krakauer and many readers of his book, who have a largely sympathetic view of McCandless, some Alaskans have negative views of both McCandless and those who romanticize his fate. Because he had no maps, McCandless was unaware that a hand-operated tram crossed the impassible river only 6 miles from the Stampede Trail. There were also cabins stocked with emergency supplies within a few miles of the bus, although they had been vandalized and all the supplies were spoiled, possibly by McCandless himself, as detailed in Lamothe's documentary.
"Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote: 'I am exposed continually to what I will call the ‘McCandless Phenomenon.’ People, nearly always young men, come to Alaska to challenge themselves against an unforgiving wilderness landscape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent […]
"When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn’t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament […] Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide.” [emphasis added]
"Judith Kleinfeld wrote in the Anchorage Daily News that 'many Alaskans react with rage to his stupidity. You'd have to be a complete idiot, they say, to die of starvation in summer 20 miles off the Park's Highway.'" -quoted text passages sourced here
His body was found in his sleeping bag inside the bus, weighing just 67 pounds.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Renouncing Christ
The church we went to when I was a kid had regularly-scheduled annual Revivals.
A Revival meant going to church every night of the week ... and that meant missing just about everything on TV for that week (no VCRs in those days).
But it was usually during Revivals that we heard the most harrowing tales of how others had suffered for Christ. Stories of Christians who'd been persecuted, tortured and murdered rather than renounce their faith in Christ.
Revival messages often left us tearfully challenged, "What would you do? If you had to make the decision, would you deny Christ to save your life? Or would you put yourself aside, and die for him instead?"
Of course none of us hopes to ever be put to such a transcendent test, and merely pondering the possibility of having to make such a choice leaves us feeling queasy.
Shoot, we don't need to be persecuted or confronted to know where we stand ... because we already know how much easier it is to deny Christ than it is to deny ourselves.
Like when facing the choice of denying ourselves, or denying Christ so we can:
- get the raise or promotion we covet
- lie to avoid the consequences of our actions
- church-shop till we find one promising to soothe every need
- pursue a romantic interest or relationship
- seek ambition, wealth, or popularity
- avoid creating friction or inconvenience in our hectic "lifestyles"
"Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'" - John 14:23
"Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" - Luke 9:23
A Revival meant going to church every night of the week ... and that meant missing just about everything on TV for that week (no VCRs in those days).
But it was usually during Revivals that we heard the most harrowing tales of how others had suffered for Christ. Stories of Christians who'd been persecuted, tortured and murdered rather than renounce their faith in Christ.
Revival messages often left us tearfully challenged, "What would you do? If you had to make the decision, would you deny Christ to save your life? Or would you put yourself aside, and die for him instead?"
Of course none of us hopes to ever be put to such a transcendent test, and merely pondering the possibility of having to make such a choice leaves us feeling queasy.
Shoot, we don't need to be persecuted or confronted to know where we stand ... because we already know how much easier it is to deny Christ than it is to deny ourselves.
Like when facing the choice of denying ourselves, or denying Christ so we can:
- get the raise or promotion we covet
- lie to avoid the consequences of our actions
- church-shop till we find one promising to soothe every need
- pursue a romantic interest or relationship
- seek ambition, wealth, or popularity
- avoid creating friction or inconvenience in our hectic "lifestyles"
"Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'" - John 14:23
"Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" - Luke 9:23
Monday, March 03, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Marina City, after hours
Got up at 4 AM this morning to snap a photo of what Marina City looks like in the middle of the night. Amazing really, when ya stop to think about it.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Buried in Religion - or resurrected with Christ?
We don't worship a God whom we created in OUR IMAGE. We don't serve a God who says MAYBE or IF YOU'D RATHER. And we can't live hoping a DEAD IDOL will fix what's broken inside us.
We worship the God who says, I AM.
We serve the God who says, I DO NOT CHANGE.
We live because CHRIST IS ALIVE within us.
We worship the God who says, I AM.
We serve the God who says, I DO NOT CHANGE.
We live because CHRIST IS ALIVE within us.
Finally, a connection
-Whichever way the wind blows, there goes my wireless connection.
Haven't been able to log-on till now; I thought it must be the Flu, or something to do with BassMasters. Either way, the iPhone is already Absolete (my word coinage, meaning "absolutely obsolete"). Check out the HAMBURGER PHONE instead ... and make mine medium-rare:
Haven't been able to log-on till now; I thought it must be the Flu, or something to do with BassMasters. Either way, the iPhone is already Absolete (my word coinage, meaning "absolutely obsolete"). Check out the HAMBURGER PHONE instead ... and make mine medium-rare:
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
It's been going around
Scientists didn't get the vaccine right this year, and lots of folks been succumbing to "A mild case of Flu."
So why isn't "a mild case of Flu" called "Having the Mu"?
So why isn't "a mild case of Flu" called "Having the Mu"?
Whatever happened to that crotchety old guy?
When I was a kid I used to cringe every time I heard the name Paul. Seems like he spent most of the New Testament sailing around the Med & writing scolding letters to churches. He called believers "Brothers," but Paul didn't sound like the kind of relative you hoped would make a surprise appearance at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
At least, that was my old impression.
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." -Roman 12:9-10
"The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." - Romans 13:12
"Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." -Romans 13:10
"What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?" - 1 Corinthians 4:21
"I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." -1 Corinthians 2:3-5
At least, that was my old impression.
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." -Roman 12:9-10
"The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." - Romans 13:12
"Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." -Romans 13:10
"What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?" - 1 Corinthians 4:21
"I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." -1 Corinthians 2:3-5
Monday, February 25, 2008
Outta the Water, outta the Oscars too
I feel so left outta Hollywood. Like I found out this morning the Academy Awards were last night, and didn't even know it. To make matters worse, reading through the nominees, I realized I haven't seen a single one.
Blame it on sheer exhaustion following 3 days of nail-biting tension during The 2008 BassMaster Classic. Yeah, that sounds as good as anything else.
ps. My guy didn't win the Classic, either.
Blame it on sheer exhaustion following 3 days of nail-biting tension during The 2008 BassMaster Classic. Yeah, that sounds as good as anything else.
ps. My guy didn't win the Classic, either.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Notes from the BassMaster Parking Lot
Two things I notice while watching Marina City host 25,000 enthusiastic bass-fishing fans for the Classic this weekend:
1) Drivers unfamiliar with the marina tend to pull in and abruptly Slam On The Brakes ... as if trying to fathom how a massive lake magically appeared in their windshield. An urgent case of STOP is likely to happen anywhere that suits them, but especially when there's 10 vehicles stacked up waiting to get around.
Hint: parking spaces are for stopping. Lanes are for moving. Please.
2) Folks piloting huge SUV's and trucks with 60" tires, quad-shocks on each wheel, 16" lift kits, with off-roading decals and header pipes will pull into Marina City with all the thunder of Thor commandeering Valhalla ... but then slam on the brakes to creep over speed bumps at a snails' pace ... more slowly than I can crawl through calculus equations in my head (and I never took calculus).
I mean if you wanna see the sights, then pull outta the way of folks who know where they're going.
And don't be scared of hitting speed bumps if you're qualified to drive a Big Rig.
1) Drivers unfamiliar with the marina tend to pull in and abruptly Slam On The Brakes ... as if trying to fathom how a massive lake magically appeared in their windshield. An urgent case of STOP is likely to happen anywhere that suits them, but especially when there's 10 vehicles stacked up waiting to get around.
Hint: parking spaces are for stopping. Lanes are for moving. Please.
2) Folks piloting huge SUV's and trucks with 60" tires, quad-shocks on each wheel, 16" lift kits, with off-roading decals and header pipes will pull into Marina City with all the thunder of Thor commandeering Valhalla ... but then slam on the brakes to creep over speed bumps at a snails' pace ... more slowly than I can crawl through calculus equations in my head (and I never took calculus).
I mean if you wanna see the sights, then pull outta the way of folks who know where they're going.
And don't be scared of hitting speed bumps if you're qualified to drive a Big Rig.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Who ya gonna campaign for in November?
-from "Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee"
"The two fastest-growing church bodies in the United States and Canada, according to a newly published report, are ones whose beliefs are known to conflict with traditional Christian teaching.
"The two fastest-growing church bodies in the United States and Canada, according to a newly published report, are ones whose beliefs are known to conflict with traditional Christian teaching.
"Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, regarded by many Christians as cults, reported the largest membership increases in a year, according to the National Council of Churches’ 2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches." - read more here
Acts of Worship, Patterns of the World, Reaching the World
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. - Romans 12:1-2
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"These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
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"These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." -Mark 16:13-15
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The MegaMellow Message?
Yesterday on the FM I heard a radio preacher, I can't remember his name, suggest something like, "It makes you wonder how the message is being mellowed in megachurches to attract such big numbers."
Diggity diggity then, radio dog: did ya forget that no church ever started out being a megachurch?
Why is it so tempting, and so easy, for "traditional" churches to assume that "megachurches" must be "mellowing down the message" ... assuming a priori that otherwise, megachurches wouldn't reach so many people for Christ? Why do critics keep trying to limit God and squeeze him down to fit their convenient little church-in-a-box?
A church that's not adding seats is a church that's stopped reaching people for Christ. Period.
This question could be posed instead: "It makes you wonder why traditional Me-First churches are alienating people from God by keeping the Gospel of Jesus Christ all to themselves."
So what's the biggest difference between a scripturally-based "megachurch" and the scripturally-based church down the street?
A megachurch has more seats.
Diggity diggity then, radio dog: did ya forget that no church ever started out being a megachurch?
Why is it so tempting, and so easy, for "traditional" churches to assume that "megachurches" must be "mellowing down the message" ... assuming a priori that otherwise, megachurches wouldn't reach so many people for Christ? Why do critics keep trying to limit God and squeeze him down to fit their convenient little church-in-a-box?
A church that's not adding seats is a church that's stopped reaching people for Christ. Period.
This question could be posed instead: "It makes you wonder why traditional Me-First churches are alienating people from God by keeping the Gospel of Jesus Christ all to themselves."
So what's the biggest difference between a scripturally-based "megachurch" and the scripturally-based church down the street?
A megachurch has more seats.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
ChurchMaster Classic
-humor
This weekend Marina City is hosting the acclaimed BassMasters Classic fishing tournament; you can catch live coverage on ESPN.
Having spent a considerable amount of my life knowing what fish look like (and which side of a boat floats), I consider myself something of an expert when it comes to offering suggestions, advice and opinions about fishing.
So this morning I trotted down to the marina office and jumped right in with some helpful suggestions and criticism about how to run a fishing tournament ... just like we did at my old marina.
-We need a dress code. Something about anglers wearing outfits color-coordinated with their bass boats scares me
-Engines are too loud. Turn 'em down and be respectful of those of us trying to sleep!
-Too many contestants. I like a more personal tournament, where all the contestants know my name
-I don't want people from Georgia riding around on my lake. (They're my relatives, after all)
You can imagination the enthusiastic suggestions I received in turn ...
(Please send cash in lieu of flowers to facilitate my speedy and complete bodily recovery.)
Roll bass, roll tide.
:-)
This weekend Marina City is hosting the acclaimed BassMasters Classic fishing tournament; you can catch live coverage on ESPN.
Having spent a considerable amount of my life knowing what fish look like (and which side of a boat floats), I consider myself something of an expert when it comes to offering suggestions, advice and opinions about fishing.
So this morning I trotted down to the marina office and jumped right in with some helpful suggestions and criticism about how to run a fishing tournament ... just like we did at my old marina.
-We need a dress code. Something about anglers wearing outfits color-coordinated with their bass boats scares me
-Engines are too loud. Turn 'em down and be respectful of those of us trying to sleep!
-Too many contestants. I like a more personal tournament, where all the contestants know my name
-I don't want people from Georgia riding around on my lake. (They're my relatives, after all)
You can imagination the enthusiastic suggestions I received in turn ...
(Please send cash in lieu of flowers to facilitate my speedy and complete bodily recovery.)
Roll bass, roll tide.
:-)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Vantage Point
People been asking me, "So where's the best place to 'catch' all the action at this weekend's Bassmaster Classic?"
I'd have to say a firm answer is still up in the air.
I'd have to say a firm answer is still up in the air.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
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