don't miss it
“Men vs. Wild”
Tuesday, 10 p.m. on Discovery
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=453WwRG265I&hl=en&fs=1&w=560&h=340]
“Men vs. Wild”
Tuesday, 10 p.m. on Discovery
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=453WwRG265I&hl=en&fs=1&w=560&h=340]
Family axes wedding plans, Egyptian cuts off penis
By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, May 31, 2009
(05-31) 14:48 PDT CAIRO, Egypt (AP) –
A 25-year-old Egyptian man cut off his own penis to spite his family after he was refused permission to marry a girl from a lower class family, police reported Sunday.
After unsuccessfully petitioning his father for two years to marry the girl, the man heated up a knife and sliced off his reproductive organ, said a police official.
The young man came from a prominent family in the southern Egyptian province of Qena, one of Egypt’s poorest and most conservative areas that is also home to the famed ancient Egyptian ruins of Luxor.
The man was rushed to the hospital but doctors were unable to reattach the severed member, the official added citing the police report filed after the incident.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the press, added that the man was still recovering in the hospital.
Traditionally, marriages in these conservative part of southern Egypt are between similar social classes and often within the same extended families — and are rarely for love.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/31/international/i135406D17.DTL
“A good sermon is one side of a passionate conversation. It has to be heard in that way. There are three parties to it, of course, but so are there even to the most private thought–the self that yields the thought, the self that acknowledges and in some way responds to the thought, and the Lord. That is a remarkable thing to consider.”
- The narrator (Rev. John Ames) in Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
I don’t think I can name a single individual player in NCAA Division I college softball, but I still manage to spend hours upon hours every year watching the women’s college world series. Watching my fourth game of the day right now. I love this game.
Sydney and I sang this song, radio blaring, on the way to the park. Lyrics way ahead of their time, dude.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyCCTgk0Y60&hl=en&fs=1&w=425&h=344]
(and indirectly, of a major in Humanities).
19 May 2009 10:03 am
In Defense of the Liberal Arts
By Lane Wallace
We’re entering commencement time, which means all kinds of notable people (the President and First Lady included) will be giving well-crafted speeches about the importance of education and a college degree. But is one kind of degree better than another? Much has been said about the importance of science and technology degrees in terms of keeping the U.S. competitive with the rest of the world. And as the economy has worsened, and fears of joblessness have risen, the voices advocating pursuit of more “practical” degrees have grown in both number and volume.
A recent New York Times article noted that Humanities now account for only 8% of all college degrees, and that proponents are having to work harder than ever to justify the worth of a humanities, or liberal arts, course of study. The article quotes Anthony T. Kronman, a Yale law professor, as saying, reluctantly, that the essence of a humanities education may become “a great luxury that many cannot afford.”
I passionately disagree.
(Full disclosure: I graduated from an Ivy League university with a liberal arts degree in Semiotics, which most people would consider a highly frivolous subject. Although I have to say, the degree did turn out to be useful in getting me job interviews in all kinds of fields, simply because nobody knew what the word meant.)
However. Three points worth considering in the debate:
First … I figured out the true value of a college degree not in the lofty halls of Brown University, but in a corrugated cardboard factory in New Zealand. I’d taken a “leave of absence” as they call it, after my sophomore year, to figure out if I really wanted to pay all that money learn things that seemed, well … a tad non-essential, at best. I packed a backpack and took off for the romantic frontier-land of New Zealand with nothing but $500 and a working visa in my pocket. The six months I spent there were a far cry from what I thought the adventure would be, but it was educational. Culminating in my job at the cardboard factory–where I was surrounded by people who hated their jobs but had no other viable option.
In a flash, I grasped the true value of a college degree. It didn’t matter what I majored in. It didn’t even matter all that much what my grades were. What mattered was that I got that rectangular piece of paper that said, “Lane Wallace never has to work in a corrugated cardboard factory again.” A piece of paper that was proof to any potential future employer that I could stick with a project and complete it successfully, even if parts of it weren’t all that much fun. A piece of paper that said I had learned how to process an overload of information, prioritize, sort through it intelligently, and distill all that into a coherent end product … all while coping with stress and deadlines without imploding.
I also realized that I’d do far better at all that if I studied what I was most passionate about learning, practicality be damned. Hence my switch to Semiotics (which, for anyone wondering, is a four-dollar word for communication). If you want to be an engineer or physicist, you’d better major in the subject. But only if that’s what you truly want to study and do. Pro forma dedication is discernible from 100 paces away.
Second … In an increasingly global economy and world, more than just technical skill is required. Far more challenging is the ability to work with a multitude of viewpoints and cultures. And the liberal arts are particularly good at teaching how different arguments on the same point can be equally valid, depending on what presumptions or values you bring to the subject. The liberal arts canvas is painted not in reassuring black-and-white tones, but in maddening shades of gray.
What’s the “right” solution to the conflict in Sudan? What was Shakespeare’s most important work and why? Was John Locke right in his arguments about personal property? Get comfortable with the ambiguities inherent in a liberal arts education, and you’re far better equipped to face the ambiguities and differing viewpoints in a complex, global world. (The late David Foster Wallace expanded on this point in his acclaimed 2005 Kenyon College commencement address, which, if you missed it at the time, is worth taking the time to read.)
Third … Yes, the U.S. needs technical expertise to keep pace, economically and technologically. But we also need innovators and entrepreneurs creating break-through concepts and businesses. And while knowledge in an area is important, I’d argue that the most important trait a pioneering entrepreneur needs is the confidence to buck convention; to believe he or she is right, despite what all the experts say.
Last year, I interviewed Alan Klapmeier, founder and CEO of the Cirrus Design Corporation, which revolutionized the piston-airplane manufacturing industry with its composite Cirrus aircraft (discussed at length by James Fallows both here at The Atlantic, and in his book Free Flight. I asked Klapmeier what gave him the idea, back in the mid-1980s, that he could take on an industry as conservative and entrenched as general aviation. His answer:
“I think it was my college education. I went to Ripon College, which was a liberal arts school. And that kind of school teaches you how to think for yourself. My professors didn’t tell you you were wrong. They convinced you you were wrong. And if they couldn’t, you might end up changing their minds on something. Figuring out for yourself what right and wrong is builds a huge bit of confidence. The kind that makes you think maybe we can take on an industry.”
Worth thinking about.
“Papa, look, there’s a robin-bird over there.” (Sydney, age 2 years, 11 months, 362 days)
As a deer strolls out of the woods and onto the path thirty yards ahead of us, Sydney, riding on my shoulders says, “Papa, look at that moose.”
What if we were to frame this not in terms of needs but relevance? Many Christians hope to speak to generation X or Y or postmoderns, or some subgroup, like cowboys or bikers—people for whom the typical church seems irrelevant.
When you start tailoring the gospel to the culture, whether it’s a youth culture, a generation culture or any other kind of culture, you have taken the guts out of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not the kingdom of this world. It’s a different kingdom.
My son Eric organized a new church six years ago. The Presbyterians have kind of a boot camp for new church pastors where you learn what you’re supposed to do. So Eric went. One of the teachers there said he shouldn’t put on a robe and a stole: “You get out there and you meet this generation where they are.”
Eric, being a good student and wanting to please his peers, didn’t wear a robe. His church started meeting in a high-school auditorium. He started out by wearing a business suit every Sunday. But when the first Sunday of Advent rolled around, and they were going to have Communion, he told me, “Dad, I just couldn’t do it. So I put my robe on.”
Their neighbors, Joel and his wife, attended his church. Joel was the stereotype of the person the new church development was designed for—suburban, middle management, never been to church, totally secular. Eric figured he was coming because they were neighbors, or because he liked him. After that Advent service, he asked Joel what he thought of his wearing a robe.
He said, “It made an impression. My wife and I talked about it. I think what we’re really looking for is sacred space. We both think we found it.”
I think relevance is a crock. I don’t think people care a whole lot about what kind of music you have or how you shape the service. They want a place where God is taken seriously, where they’re taken seriously, where there is no manipulation of their emotions or their consumer needs.
Why did we get captured by this advertising, publicity mindset? I think it’s destroying our church.
But someone else might walk into Eric’s church, see him with his robe, and walk out, thinking the whole place was too religious, too churchy.
So why are they going if it’s not going to be religious? What do they go to church for?
Of course, there’s another aspect to this. If you’re going to a church where everybody’s playing a religious role, that’s going to be off putting. But that performance mentality, role mentality can be seen in the cowboy church or whatever—everybody is performing a role there, too.
But we’re involved with something that has a huge mystery to it. Are we going to wipe out all the mystery so we can be in control of it? Isn’t reverence at the very heart of the worship of God?
And if we present a rendition of the faith in which all the mystery is removed, and there’s no reverence, how are people ever going to know there’s something more than just their own emotions, their own needs? There’s something a lot bigger than my needs that’s going on. How do I ever get to that if the church service and worship program is all centered on my needs?
Some people would argue that it’s important to have a worship service in which people feel comfortable so they can hear the gospel.
I think they’re wrong. Take the story I told you about this family in front of us on Sunday. Nobody was comfortable. The whole church was miserable.
And yet, they might have experienced more gospel in going up and putting their arms around that poor mother, who was embarrassed to death.
(For full interview, see http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/march/26.42.html)
Why do I always feel guilty when I’m asked that question? I don’t have any big plans. I’m not writing a book. I’m not teaching summer school. I’m not traveling Europe for six weeks. I’m playing softball. I workout every day. I read novels. I root, root, root for the Cubbies. Is there something else I should be doing?
Today, as I type this, Sydney eases into her morning by watching a cartoon on the Disney channel. Morgan sleeps on the floor in the living room. The birds sing joyfully outside under the bright morning sky. It’s cold out. I recline on a love seat and type words that maybe ten people will read–more than usually read the crap I write.
People who ask me this question typically think of work as something you go to 8 to 5 every day, and then you come home and forget about it. For the next three months or so, I get up, stretch, read the newspaper, shower, read the bible, play with Morgan and Sydney, eat, workout, scribble thoughts in a mead composition notebook, shoot hoops in the driveway, read 19th century European masterpieces, weed whack the lawn, check the vegetables growing in the garden, walk down the street with “mama”, Syd, and Morgan to look at frogs and turtles in the pond, clean out my closet, reorganize my office, and so on and so forth.
Sometimes at night Sydney asks for some dancing music, and I turn it up loud and we dance.
Why should anyone feel guilty about this?
Life is the tree of art. Death is the science of trees.
Life is the death of trees. Science is the art of trees.
Tree is the death of life. Art is the tree of science.
and so on…
“Art is the tree of life. Science is the tree of death."
-William Blake
When Jesus made me Kosher
When I drank the sweet new wine
I felt like a new creature
Really felt like one fine swine
Stark, cold, wet reality
Came and nearly quenced my fire
`Til I heard God speak to me
I was right back in the mire
Chorus:
You´d have to see it to believe it, still God´s Word is true
Swine flew, swine flew
It gives grace a whole new meaning in a sky of blue
Swine flew, swine flew
He said “I haven´t left you,
Hang tight and hope in Me,
I´ll reinvigorate you
Give you strenght and energy”
Up on my feet and moving
Got a strange new runner´s high
See me sprouting eagle´s wings
This pig is gonna fly
You´d have to see it to believe it, still God´s Word is true
Swine flew, swine flew
It gives grace a whole new meaning in a sky of blue
Swine flew, swine flew
Slipped the surely bonds of Earth, in a way few do
Swine flew, swine flew
You can join me in the air, or just sit and stew
Swine flew, swine flew
Swine flew, swine flew, swine flewswine flewswineflewswineflew…
(Look, up in the sky!!! It´s a bird?! It´s a plane?! It´s Superman!
No man, it´s not Superman. It´s ONE BAD PIG!)
Swine flew
Music from the bathtub…
“yes, Jesus loves me… the Bible tells me so”
and…
“Jesus loves the little children…"
“Jingle bells, jingle bells, …” (my favorite part of this is the “HEY”)
And the angels must be singing along.
“After all manner of professors have done their best for us, the place we are to get knowledge is in books. The true university of these days is a collection of books."
-Albert Camus
This is a good week. A slim chance of snow this week, certainly the last of the season. Good chance of the first 80 degree temp of the year. Gotta love April in Northern Indiana.
A New Narrator in Town
I was certain of one thing, and this one thing gave life its meaning. I was no character in someone else's story. I was free.
The giant eraser appeared, hovering over my backyard, and I began to lose faith. When a massive thumb and index finger blocked the sun, I …
He changed his mind.
… the Cubs win 2/3 of their games all year long, they should be ok. In fact–while I’m no mathematical wizard–I think it would be all but impossible for them not to win the world series if they did this.
Then again, they are the Cubs, and if the season ended today, they wouldn’t even be in the playoffs.
p.s. If Soriano continues this pace, he will hit 108 homers this year.
A more prolific blogger would have far more than a mere 95 blog posts by now. What seems to be my trouble?
Not much to say.
Here’s everything that comes to mind in the next five minutes. Buckle your safety belts, kids…
1. The Master’s golf tournament is a little bit full of itself.
2. As much as I love watching major league baseball on tv, sometimes, I must confess, I watch women’s college softball instead simply because I enjoy seeing slap-hitting by lightning fast left handed batters, and because I want to keep learning how to do that better than I have.
3. I rolled my lawn the other day, but I’m not sure if that really does anything of any great value.
4. We went to an easter egg hunt, puppet show, and mini-petting zoo today at church. Sydney said she liked petting the bunnies, goats, and ducks best of all.
5. Four weeks until my first fastpitch softball tournament.
6. We bought a new washer and dryer. Yikes.
7. A whole bunch of people from my mom’s church came to her house yesterday and did a ton of work in the yard. They got more done in half a day than we could have in a summer worth of weekends.
8. I gotta get me one them tomato trees.
9. The Cubs are 2-2, but could just as easily be 4-0.
10. Tonight we’re going to cook hot dogs and marshmallows over a bonfire at my mom’s house.
11. I like “Forensic Files” on TruTV.
12. I plugged in the sprinkler system the other day. Apparantly it remembered the program I had set up last year, because when I woke up this morning, my lawn was being watered. It was cold enough that some of the water froze on the blades of grass. I didn’t really mean to start watering the lawn yet, but I just left it go.
13. I’m glad Bishop D’Arcy told people not to demonstrate.
14. Randall Terry strikes me as a complete lunatic. So do the following: Rush Limbaugh, Keith Olbermann, most university professors, Bill Maher, Laura Schessinger, Sean Hannity, and that dude from Roseland.
15. We got bomb pops from the ice cream man the other day. Summer’s coming.
16. I can’t see a single cloud today.
17. I take glucosomine. Apparantly this stuff is good for your joints. My joints hurt less since I’ve been taking it.
18. The barber uses a #4 and a #2 clipper guide when he cuts my hair.
19. Sydney is talking about the ice cream man and elephants. In fact, she just said that he’s a dinasaur elephant. I don’t know why.
20. Maybe post #96 will be more interesting than this one.
21. Maybe not.
Possible readings:
1. A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines
2. Where I’m Calling From: Selected Stories by Raymond Carver
3. Home by Marilynne Robinson
4. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
5. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Anyone interested?
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."
Today is a day of hope for Cub fans everywhere—thinking this, at last, is the year.
Of course it may not be, but you can't tell us that today. All we cling to this day is the dream that what lies ahead are the one hundred sixty-two opportunities, one hundred sixty-two days of hope—of hope that one hundred years of failure can be redeemed, day by day, inning by inning.
Best of all, for me, it starts six (and I hope seven) months of singing these words--"so it's root, root, root for the CUBBIES. If they don't win it's a shame"—every day, with the sweetest little blond Cub fan that ever graced the earth.
One day last fall, after the season had ended, as we lay in bed flipping channels, she said, "Papa, I wanna watch baseball." I almost cried, and thought to myself, "next year, baby; next year."
I went to Bethel’s track meet at Goshen today. These have nothing to do with the individual people who compete in these events; these are just the events I like watching the most.
5. Hammer (weight, for girls) throw
4. Pole Vault
3. 400 hurdles
2. Any relay event
1. 800 meter run
By the way, we have an unbelievably great men and women’s track program.