Okay, I realize that it might not be an easy sell. And perhaps it's not exactly what needs to happen. But we do need some out of the box thinking to deal with these issues in a humane and fair way.
Tuesday, August 31
My solution to the border problem
Okay, I realize that it might not be an easy sell. And perhaps it's not exactly what needs to happen. But we do need some out of the box thinking to deal with these issues in a humane and fair way.
Random
✽ Russell Moore on the confusion in American evangelicalism --
✽ Sign of the times -- spotted on a clothing label at Walmart -- Hecho en India
✽ I want to continue plugging my new Sweeplee.com blog -- a kind of clearinghouse for online promotions and games that are fun to play. There are thousands of online drawings and sweepstakes but only a few of them have anything to them beyond filling out a form. These promotions exhibit creativity above and beyond. There is some fun involved beyond winning stuff.
✽ The Facebook advertising people tell us that there are 1.4 million adults living within 10 miles of Laveen. It's not exactly rural here anymore. Still it doesn't feel THAT crowded.
✽ The lingering memory of Japanese colonization and oppression of Korea -- 100 years later. ~ Global Post
✽ If we really want to change North Korea we'll need to come up with some radical acts of kindness that don't jeopardize face. ~ The latest floundering reported by the BBC
✽ Perhaps something like this? ~ BBC
✽ I'm liking being able to make free phone calls right out of Google Chat.
✽ I'm thinking that I'm going to be liking Gmail's new Priority Inbox ~ Lifehacker
✽ I received a freebie copy of the Common English Bible New Testament in the mail today. When I first heard about it I thought that it was going to be in "common English" -- that is, in the simple English that is commonly spoken throughout the world -- transcending American and British idioms -- and default lingua for English as Second Language speakers. However, that's not what it is. It is, though, a fine and readable dynamic equivalence translation. The CEB is sponsored by several of the American mainline denominations and the translators represent several traditions.
✽ Dear John Huppenthal: I know that you have to contact a lot of people in a short period of time if you're going to get elected. But I think that you should know that I do not vote for anyone who uses a phone machine to call my cell phone. It's nothing personal. I just think that candidates who use phone machines lack the common sense necessary to hold elected office.
✽ And the award for the best headline of 2010 will probably go to Fast Company -- "The Road to HAL Is Paved With Good Intentions: The Future of Google?" ~ link
✽ The worst place on earth to be a woman? -- DRC, says Lynne Hybels ~ link
✽ The extreme edge of electronic culture -- Japanese resort atttracts men with virtual girlfriends. ~ link
✽ Southern Baptist voice:
Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah...
It’s sad to see so many Christians confusing Mormon politics or American nationalism with the gospel of Jesus Christ. But, don’t get me wrong, I’m not pessimistic. Jesus will build his church, and he will build it on the gospel. He doesn’t need American Christianity to do it. Vibrant, loving, orthodox Christianity will flourish, perhaps among the poor of Haiti or the persecuted of Sudan or the outlawed of China, but it will flourish.
And there will be a new generation, in America and elsewhere, who will be ready for a gospel that is more than just Fox News at prayer. ~ link✽ Jordon Cooper's powerful post "Losing My Religion" is worth a read. ~ link
✽ Sign of the times -- spotted on a clothing label at Walmart -- Hecho en India
✽ I want to continue plugging my new Sweeplee.com blog -- a kind of clearinghouse for online promotions and games that are fun to play. There are thousands of online drawings and sweepstakes but only a few of them have anything to them beyond filling out a form. These promotions exhibit creativity above and beyond. There is some fun involved beyond winning stuff.
✽ The Facebook advertising people tell us that there are 1.4 million adults living within 10 miles of Laveen. It's not exactly rural here anymore. Still it doesn't feel THAT crowded.
✽ The lingering memory of Japanese colonization and oppression of Korea -- 100 years later. ~ Global Post
✽ If we really want to change North Korea we'll need to come up with some radical acts of kindness that don't jeopardize face. ~ The latest floundering reported by the BBC
✽ Perhaps something like this? ~ BBC
✽ I'm liking being able to make free phone calls right out of Google Chat.
✽ I'm thinking that I'm going to be liking Gmail's new Priority Inbox ~ Lifehacker
✽ I received a freebie copy of the Common English Bible New Testament in the mail today. When I first heard about it I thought that it was going to be in "common English" -- that is, in the simple English that is commonly spoken throughout the world -- transcending American and British idioms -- and default lingua for English as Second Language speakers. However, that's not what it is. It is, though, a fine and readable dynamic equivalence translation. The CEB is sponsored by several of the American mainline denominations and the translators represent several traditions.
✽ Dear John Huppenthal: I know that you have to contact a lot of people in a short period of time if you're going to get elected. But I think that you should know that I do not vote for anyone who uses a phone machine to call my cell phone. It's nothing personal. I just think that candidates who use phone machines lack the common sense necessary to hold elected office.
✽ And the award for the best headline of 2010 will probably go to Fast Company -- "The Road to HAL Is Paved With Good Intentions: The Future of Google?" ~ link
✽ The worst place on earth to be a woman? -- DRC, says Lynne Hybels ~ link
✽ The extreme edge of electronic culture -- Japanese resort atttracts men with virtual girlfriends. ~ link
✽ Southern Baptist voice:
I don't want to come back here 15 years from now and apologize to Hispanics. It's a kingdom issue.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, on his support for giving illegal immigrants "a compassionate, just pathway to earning citizenship or legal status. ~ AJC (via)
Monday, August 30
Random
✽ By 2030 the population of the Philippines will equal that of Russia -- assuming they can hold things together that long. ~ link
✽ Cheryl and I spent a couple of days in Flagstaff -- just chillin' and wearing sweatshirts. I noticed that higher taxes must come with the higher elevation. My 79¢ soft drink at Circle K ends up costing 86¢ with tax in Phoenix. In Flagstaff it costs 88¢.
✽ The guy we sat next to this morning in worship in Flagstaff says that he comes late to worship every week -- mossing in as the band is winding down. He's been a part of the church for six years and found Christ there. But he can't handle the music. (I assume it's too loud for him.) I admire his tenacity.
✽ Chicago's famous ShoreBank has closed. It started in 1973 "to prove that money could be lent profitably to poor people in poor neighborhoods." Unfortunately, it has not been able to weather the latest economic storm.
✽ "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." ~ Mark Twain
✽ Cheryl and I spent a couple of days in Flagstaff -- just chillin' and wearing sweatshirts. I noticed that higher taxes must come with the higher elevation. My 79¢ soft drink at Circle K ends up costing 86¢ with tax in Phoenix. In Flagstaff it costs 88¢.
✽ The guy we sat next to this morning in worship in Flagstaff says that he comes late to worship every week -- mossing in as the band is winding down. He's been a part of the church for six years and found Christ there. But he can't handle the music. (I assume it's too loud for him.) I admire his tenacity.
✽ Chicago's famous ShoreBank has closed. It started in 1973 "to prove that money could be lent profitably to poor people in poor neighborhoods." Unfortunately, it has not been able to weather the latest economic storm.
Some of the biggest names in mainstream finance rallied round to try to save it, including Citigroup, JPMorganChase, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. These banks are now part of a consortium that is investing in the ShoreBank operations taken over by the FDIC, which have been renamed the Urban Partnership Bank. ~ EconomistThese guys deserve credit for carrying out the experiment -- and kudos to the big names for backing them. A lot has been learned and the vision continues.
✽ "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." ~ Mark Twain
Saturday, August 28
Random
✽ This should rattle a few cages. Libertarian thinking is incompatible with Christianity, suggests Gary Moore in CT ~ CT
✽ On a related note, it looks like the only real solution to the financial crisis is if somehow people get a change of heart. ~ NPR
✽ Donald Bloesch, the theologian to whom I have continually turned for advice and clear explanation, died this week. Praise God for his life, ministry, and faithfulness. ~ CT
✽ A new study "suggests drivers think helmeted cyclists are more sensible, predicable and experienced, so therefore the driver doesn't need to give them much space when overtaking. Non-helmeted cyclists, especially non helmeted 'women' are less predictable and experienced..." Whatever. I'm not planning to abandon my brain-bucket anytime soon. ~ BBC
✽ Shell Oil is investing $2 billion in sugar cane bio fuels. ~ Fast Company
✽ Here is some more info on the growth of algea-based fuels, further establishing Arizona as the algae fuel-research hub. Algae energy has been under research at ASU for 30 years.
✽ On a related note, it looks like the only real solution to the financial crisis is if somehow people get a change of heart. ~ NPR
✽ Donald Bloesch, the theologian to whom I have continually turned for advice and clear explanation, died this week. Praise God for his life, ministry, and faithfulness. ~ CT✽ A new study "suggests drivers think helmeted cyclists are more sensible, predicable and experienced, so therefore the driver doesn't need to give them much space when overtaking. Non-helmeted cyclists, especially non helmeted 'women' are less predictable and experienced..." Whatever. I'm not planning to abandon my brain-bucket anytime soon. ~ BBC
✽ Shell Oil is investing $2 billion in sugar cane bio fuels. ~ Fast Company
✽ Here is some more info on the growth of algea-based fuels, further establishing Arizona as the algae fuel-research hub. Algae energy has been under research at ASU for 30 years.
(ASU Senior Vice President Rick) Shangraw said that, unlike with ethanol, growing and harvesting algae results in an energy gain "because you get more energy out at the end of the process than you put in." In addition, the byproducts from algae can be turned into fertilizer or feedstock for animals. ~ AZ Central
Friday, August 27
Random
✽ "I think a key task in discipleship these days is leading people out of the bad habit of going to church..." Good post by David Fitch ~ link
✽ There is a new approach to being a multi-cultural society. "New Life in America No Longer Means a New Name" ~ NY Times
✽ A different approach to Christian higher education -- " A school can make Christianity a robust possibility, but not a mandate." ~ Jason Byassee
✽ Welcome, Mei! The latest edition of BrushStrokes is now online. (Xuefen Mei, who is our fall intern at MasterPiece Church and Daisy Ho -- and Daisy's dogs) ~ link✽ Someone on the Facbook side of things noted a passing reference to Open Theism and was looking for a definition. I came across the OpenTheism.info website. While it is a bit on the technical side it does a pretty decent job of explaining that line of thinking.
✽ "The paradox is that by the time you get to be senior, the decisions that matter the most are the ones that would be best made made by people who are junior..." ~ Seth Godin
✽ Ichiro Ozawa (kingpin of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.): "I like Americans, but they tend to be simple-minded...” He's perhaps correct in his assessment. But it would take a monocellular national leader to state so publicly.
✽ Multi-sensory worship for people with Alzheimer’s Disease ~ link
✽ Not something I would have thought of -- caffeinated marshmallows. ~ link
✽ This could have been avoided if the politicians had been more thoughtful in the first place. We are our own worst enemies and no PR firm can fix that. But Arizona is going to throw a chunk of change at the problem anyway. "The Arizona Governor’s Task Force on Tourism and Economic Vitality hired HMA Public Relations to come up with a campaign to help tackle any negative backlash caused by Senate Bill 1070." ~ ABC15
Thursday, August 26
Random
✽ Nobody is really questioning whether St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, destroyed during the collapse of the World Trade Center, has the right to rebuild. The issue there is mostly money (and lack of communication). Who is going to pay for it and how much? ~ USA Today
✽ Of all the people in the world Brits have the fewest visa restrictions. ~ Economist
✽ "Trader Joe's may be one of the few retailers to marry cult appeal with scale. Just don't expect anyone from the company to talk about it." Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's ~ Fortune
✽ "China’s consumers are optimistic, but they continue to be obsessed with saving money rather than spending it, and a main culprit is still fears about health care, according to a new survey." Hoarding can be as lethel as over-spending. But for the Chinese saving is how they invest in the future generations. ~ WSJ
✽ "Why open theism doesn’t even matter (very much)" -- the people who made the stink about it didn't really understand it. ~ Roger Olson
✽ Do Swedes really love eating their rotten fish (surstömming) or do they love the idea of something so culturally distinctive that it needs protection? ~ The Local
✽ Population explosion in the urban areas -- the BBC has a new interactive chart that helps put things in perspective. But places like Phoenix, which is closing in on the 5 million mark, have not even made it onto the chart, yet. ~ link
✽ Gmail and Google Voice coming together to create VoIP integration. Cool. ~ link
✽ Facebook says it owns the rights to the name "book." That's going to be difficult to prove. ~ link
✽ There are some advantages to following common themes and even using common music throughout the church year. Here is a children's signing curriculum from the UK. ~ link
✽ This is significant. "Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale now offers only one service at 10:15 a.m. with, essentially, blended worship – that means no more separation based on age, likes and comfort." ~ CP
✽ Of all the people in the world Brits have the fewest visa restrictions. ~ Economist
✽ "Trader Joe's may be one of the few retailers to marry cult appeal with scale. Just don't expect anyone from the company to talk about it." Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's ~ Fortune
✽ "China’s consumers are optimistic, but they continue to be obsessed with saving money rather than spending it, and a main culprit is still fears about health care, according to a new survey." Hoarding can be as lethel as over-spending. But for the Chinese saving is how they invest in the future generations. ~ WSJ
✽ "Why open theism doesn’t even matter (very much)" -- the people who made the stink about it didn't really understand it. ~ Roger Olson
✽ Do Swedes really love eating their rotten fish (surstömming) or do they love the idea of something so culturally distinctive that it needs protection? ~ The Local✽ Population explosion in the urban areas -- the BBC has a new interactive chart that helps put things in perspective. But places like Phoenix, which is closing in on the 5 million mark, have not even made it onto the chart, yet. ~ link
✽ Gmail and Google Voice coming together to create VoIP integration. Cool. ~ link
✽ Facebook says it owns the rights to the name "book." That's going to be difficult to prove. ~ link
✽ There are some advantages to following common themes and even using common music throughout the church year. Here is a children's signing curriculum from the UK. ~ link
✽ This is significant. "Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale now offers only one service at 10:15 a.m. with, essentially, blended worship – that means no more separation based on age, likes and comfort." ~ CP
Wednesday, August 25
The gap
Economics prof Mark Perry, drawing from the 2001 Gokhal and Kotlikoff report, asks, "Is war between generations inevitable? What about a war between the sexes?" I'd like to see updated information. Is this still true?
A male reaching 65 years of age today can expect to receive $71,000 more in government transfer benefits (of all kinds at both the federal and state levels, but mainly from Social Security and Medicare) than he will pay in taxes (of all kinds at both the federal and state levels) before he dies.~ Dr Mark Perry
2. A 65-year-old female can expect a net gain of more than twice that amount; she can expect $163,000 more in benefits than she will pay in taxes.
A far different picture confronts people entering the labor market today. In general, they will pay far more in taxes than they will receive from transfer programs, and any expansion of elderly entitlements will make things worse. For example:
3. A 20-year-old female can expect to pay $92,000 more in taxes than she will receive in transfer benefits over her lifetime.
4. The future looks more than three times as bleak for her male cohort, who can expect to pay $312,000 more in taxes than he will ever receive in benefits...
Random
✽ Scot McKnight has started transitioning his Jesus Creed blog over to Patheos. ~ link
✽ The Negro Motorist Green-Book ~ link
✽ I guess the people were not interested in a smart, common-sense, irenic governor. Now that the primary is over it is apparent that I'll probably have to vote for some Democrats in the fall. I'm disappointed but not at all surprised. We keep saying that we want things done differently but then we vote in the same old showboaters (or their children). ~ link
✽ Japanese man invents plastic into oil machine. But how much energy does it take to do the conversion? Something like this may help with the garbage and oil supply problems. But it won't help much with the air quality issues. ~ link
✽ "Rosetta Stone Tuesday released a Navajo-language version of its software to aid Navajo educators in revitalizing their native language." ~ Phoenix Business Journal
✽ The Negro Motorist Green-Book ~ link
✽ I guess the people were not interested in a smart, common-sense, irenic governor. Now that the primary is over it is apparent that I'll probably have to vote for some Democrats in the fall. I'm disappointed but not at all surprised. We keep saying that we want things done differently but then we vote in the same old showboaters (or their children). ~ link
✽ Japanese man invents plastic into oil machine. But how much energy does it take to do the conversion? Something like this may help with the garbage and oil supply problems. But it won't help much with the air quality issues. ~ link
✽ "Rosetta Stone Tuesday released a Navajo-language version of its software to aid Navajo educators in revitalizing their native language." ~ Phoenix Business Journal
Tuesday, August 24
Random
✽ China may drop the death penalty for "economic crimes." They currently hand out death sentences to people found guilty of 68 specified crimes. ~ BBC
✽ Why smuggling Bibles into China reflects an outdated mode of thinking ~ CT
✽ Swedish women have lower risks of heart failure than their US counterparts because Swedish chocolate is better, according to a new Harvard study. We all knew that it would ultiomately come down to this -- chocolate. ~ The Local
✽ "Medieval-Studies Group Divided Over Whether to Hold Meeting in Arizona" ~ CHE
✽ The US State Department has taken a lesson from the non-profit sector and is raising money online to help with the Pakistan relief. ~ link
✽ The Guam Youth Congress (which can actually introduce bills into the real Guam Senate) is learning the political ways of the islands early. They: 1) want to change their name, 2) double their stipends, 3) increase their tax-payer funded budget by 2,000%, 4) reduce the number of representatives, 5) secure a guaranteed line in the territorial budget. ~ PDN
✽ Guam Rev and Tax sent us a letter asking for clarification about something in our 2008 tax return. They're already processing 2008 returns? Growing efficiency.
✽ Swiss Army knife 2010 ~ link
✽ "Philly requiring bloggers to pay $300 for a business license" ~ Examiner
✽ Thieves break in and steal the whole ATM ~ EV Trib
✽ "A majority of states have more jobs today than they did a year ago, but Arizona is not one of them." Hmmm? Could it be that our political leaders have gotten their priorities screwed up? We've shifted from building business and homes to building a wall. ~ Phoenix Business Journal
✽ We've got a major boxelder outbreak in central Arizona! ~ link
✽ Pew Research: "...there is widespread agreement that politicians should be religious..." But is that the way we vote?
✽ "People don't like unselfish people because it pressures them to be unselfish." ~ Mike Elgan
Monday, August 23
Random
✽ New book for those interested in islanders: Towards a Theology of the Chamoru by Jonathan Blas Diaz ~ PNC
✽ More Facebook changes ~ link
✽ People with rheumatoid arthritis are less likely to develop Alzheimer's Disease because a protein produced in cases of the arthritis appears to protect against the development of the disease. ~ BBC
✽ More Facebook changes ~ link
✽ People with rheumatoid arthritis are less likely to develop Alzheimer's Disease because a protein produced in cases of the arthritis appears to protect against the development of the disease. ~ BBC
Sunday, August 22
Random
✽ The Open-Source Church by David Houshoulder ~ link
✽ YWAM has a new six-month School of Cartooning and Animation for Missions that they're running in Chiang Mai. ~ link
✽ "We have to crucify our self-righteousness." ~ CP
✽ "'The End of Management' Corporate bureaucracy is becoming obsolete. Why managers should act like venture capitalists" ~ WSJ
✽ YWAM has a new six-month School of Cartooning and Animation for Missions that they're running in Chiang Mai. ~ link
✽ "We have to crucify our self-righteousness." ~ CP
✽ "'The End of Management' Corporate bureaucracy is becoming obsolete. Why managers should act like venture capitalists" ~ WSJ
Saturday, August 21
Random
✽ The incredible Hoover bypass bridge is almost done. Grand Opening will be October 16th -- just for pedestrians. It's a wonder. ~ The Miner✽ Promo video from Christopher Wright: The Mission of God's People ~ link
✽ I ordered The Mission of God's People -- to be released next Tuesday. I had used his book Mission of God in a seminary class (grad-level) I taught last spring. This new book appears to put the cookies on a slightly lower shelf. Unusual and creative outline. ~ link
✽ CBN recently did a piece on the Marin Foundation's "love is an orientation" approach. Pleasant surprise from an unexpected place. God still does miracles. - link
✽ Re-reading the late Ralph Winter's paper on the 12 mistakes that Western missionaries have made. ~ link (.pdf)
✽ The Illustrated Guide to a PhD by Matt Might does a good job of simply explaining the role and function of the degree. ~ link (via)
✽ All three of our 20-something children arrived back in the States this afternoon. Kent is here in Phoenix with us. It's a joy!
✽ "Native Americans in Arizona Vow to Deport All Non-Native Americans" ~ link (via)
✽ More cynical humor:
NOGALES, Arizona (GlossyNews) — The Tea Party, which claims it is less racist than a blind beggar, held a rally on the Mexico-Arizona border today to demand the US Government, which they claim spends too much money, spend millions more dollars to patrol the border and keep out illegal immigrants... ~ link✽ I love this new book's title -- Reluctant Pilgrim: A Moody, Somewhat Self-Indulgent Introvert's Search for Spiritual Community. I know absolutely nothing about the writer or the publisher but the title is captivating.
Friday, August 20
Random
✽ Cheryl and I are excited. Kent is on the way to Arizona for two weeks. The start of the semester at PUST, the site of his next English teaching gig, was delayed so he was able to squeeze in a trip to America. As this posts he should be leaving Korean airspace en route to Narita. From there he goes to LAX and then arrives in Phoenix mid-afternoon today. Kirk and Betsy, who have been visiting him in South Korea, are both flying now, too. Kirk is en route to LAX and Betsy to SFO. We had a good skype chat with the three of them two days ago.
✽ The number of Swedish speakers in Finland ("the world's most pampered minority") is in decline. ~ The Local
✽ Great PhD project -- redesigning the surfboard -- UC San Diego, of course. ~ Wired
✽ I occasionally check the spam box to make sure that nothing critical is getting dumped in there. And I noticed a new subject line today -- "The IMF has approved your personal ATM card." I've finally made the big leagues.
✽ American soldiers deployed in Mongolia -- doing construction projects ~ link
✽ The number of Swedish speakers in Finland ("the world's most pampered minority") is in decline. ~ The Local
✽ Great PhD project -- redesigning the surfboard -- UC San Diego, of course. ~ Wired
✽ I occasionally check the spam box to make sure that nothing critical is getting dumped in there. And I noticed a new subject line today -- "The IMF has approved your personal ATM card." I've finally made the big leagues.
✽ American soldiers deployed in Mongolia -- doing construction projects ~ link
✽ "North Korea Executes 3 House Church Leaders" ~ CP
✽ "Seoul fights to block N.Korea's Twitter propaganda" -- Why? I've been following North Korea on Twitter for a few days and it's mostly rambling nonsense that just demonstrates how disengaged from reality they are. The US State Department has been more welcoming of the North Korean online presence -- seeing it as a possible channel for diplomacy. ~ AFP | Fast Company
✽ Would you pay $800 to get an area code 212 phone number? ~ WSJ
✽ Fidel Castro is showcasing a pop conspiracy theory "long popular both among the far left and far right: that the shadowy Bilderberg Group has become a kind of global government, controlling not only international politics and economics, but even culture." Once you begin to embrace the idea that centralized control can actually work, you're going to be predisposed toward seeing manifestations everywhere. ~ AP
✽ "Mind Your Language" -- fun with communication (warning: British humor) ~ link
✽ Pew Research: "Nearly four-in-ten say they would be less inclined to vote for a congressional candidate supported by the former Alaska governor" Sarah Palin. Although it is not wise to say "never," I can say that I share their reluctance. ~ link
✽ Mortgage rates are at an historical low. 51% of Arizona homes are "underwater" right now. Because of the negative equity, distressed homeowners can't get approved for the refinancing that would relieve their stress. Vicious circle. ~ KTAR
✽ "A Third of Teaching Positions Are Vacant at India's Top Public Universities" -- Too much brain drain? ~ CHE
✽ $525 an hour, working for the city of Vernon, California ~ LA Times
✽ If you're from out-of-town and you have a vehicle accident in Huntington Beach, California they'll ding you with an accident "fee" -- up to $2,000. That's inviting. ~ link
✽ Many of the businesses adapting green practices are downplaying their green innovations. They know that too much hype will come back to bite them. As Seth Godin reminded us a few days ago, there is power in subtletyy. We're living in a time when less hype is more. ~ Fast Company
✽ The same crowd which says that President Obama has been too influenced by Jeremiah Wright, the United Church of Christ pastor from Chicago, also says that the president is a Muslim. No one seems to be asking how both could be true.
✽ Even if he were a Muslim (he isn't), the following from the Constitution would apply.
✽ "Hitting the reset button: how America might look after the Great Recession" ~ link
✽ "Report: John McCain has highest 'Digital IQ' in Senate" ~ AZ Central
✽ "Investors who follow the adage buy low, sell high may want to avoid airline 'bonus mileage' programs. Travelers who buy frequent-flier miles pay about 3 cents per mile, but then they typically redeem them for tickets at 1.5 cents each—or even less." ~ WSJ
✽ Microneedle patches the size of postage stamps could replace the syringe. ~ LA Times
✽ More than 1,000 Lutherans from throughout North America will gather next week in suburban Columbus, Ohio, to form the North American Lutheran Church (NALC), a new church body for confessional Lutherans. It sounds like they're trying to clone the ELCA bureaucracy -- only more conservative. ~ link
✽ "McDonald’s Thursday became the first nonfinancial foreign company to launch a yuan-denominated bond in Hong Kong, according to Standard Chartered PLC, the Asia-focused U.K. bank that underwrote the deal..." ~ WSJ
✽ Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO --
✽ "Seoul fights to block N.Korea's Twitter propaganda" -- Why? I've been following North Korea on Twitter for a few days and it's mostly rambling nonsense that just demonstrates how disengaged from reality they are. The US State Department has been more welcoming of the North Korean online presence -- seeing it as a possible channel for diplomacy. ~ AFP | Fast Company
✽ Would you pay $800 to get an area code 212 phone number? ~ WSJ
✽ Fidel Castro is showcasing a pop conspiracy theory "long popular both among the far left and far right: that the shadowy Bilderberg Group has become a kind of global government, controlling not only international politics and economics, but even culture." Once you begin to embrace the idea that centralized control can actually work, you're going to be predisposed toward seeing manifestations everywhere. ~ AP
✽ "Mind Your Language" -- fun with communication (warning: British humor) ~ link
✽ Pew Research: "Nearly four-in-ten say they would be less inclined to vote for a congressional candidate supported by the former Alaska governor" Sarah Palin. Although it is not wise to say "never," I can say that I share their reluctance. ~ link
✽ Mortgage rates are at an historical low. 51% of Arizona homes are "underwater" right now. Because of the negative equity, distressed homeowners can't get approved for the refinancing that would relieve their stress. Vicious circle. ~ KTAR
✽ "A Third of Teaching Positions Are Vacant at India's Top Public Universities" -- Too much brain drain? ~ CHE
✽ $525 an hour, working for the city of Vernon, California ~ LA Times
✽ If you're from out-of-town and you have a vehicle accident in Huntington Beach, California they'll ding you with an accident "fee" -- up to $2,000. That's inviting. ~ link
✽ Many of the businesses adapting green practices are downplaying their green innovations. They know that too much hype will come back to bite them. As Seth Godin reminded us a few days ago, there is power in subtletyy. We're living in a time when less hype is more. ~ Fast Company
✽ The same crowd which says that President Obama has been too influenced by Jeremiah Wright, the United Church of Christ pastor from Chicago, also says that the president is a Muslim. No one seems to be asking how both could be true.
✽ Even if he were a Muslim (he isn't), the following from the Constitution would apply.
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. ~ Article VI, Section 3, United States Constitution ~ linkSo, move on, there is nothing here to see.
✽ "Hitting the reset button: how America might look after the Great Recession" ~ link
✽ "Report: John McCain has highest 'Digital IQ' in Senate" ~ AZ Central
✽ "Investors who follow the adage buy low, sell high may want to avoid airline 'bonus mileage' programs. Travelers who buy frequent-flier miles pay about 3 cents per mile, but then they typically redeem them for tickets at 1.5 cents each—or even less." ~ WSJ
✽ Microneedle patches the size of postage stamps could replace the syringe. ~ LA Times
✽ More than 1,000 Lutherans from throughout North America will gather next week in suburban Columbus, Ohio, to form the North American Lutheran Church (NALC), a new church body for confessional Lutherans. It sounds like they're trying to clone the ELCA bureaucracy -- only more conservative. ~ link
✽ "McDonald’s Thursday became the first nonfinancial foreign company to launch a yuan-denominated bond in Hong Kong, according to Standard Chartered PLC, the Asia-focused U.K. bank that underwrote the deal..." ~ WSJ
✽ Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO --
I don't believe society understands what happens when everything is available, knowable and recorded by everyone all the time," he says. He predicts, apparently seriously, that every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful hijinks stored on their friends' social media sites... ~ WSJ
Thursday, August 19
Random
✽ It's been awhile since I've been hooked by a television show. But this is the one I'm having trouble getting enough of. I'm still watching the early episodes so I don't know how the more recent shows have gone -- although the YouTube clip above is from this year.
✽ The numbers are up. Now 20% of Americans believe that President Obama is a Muslim. We're so gullible. We could probably make up a story about how the president is an illegal alien from Mexico, with ties to the drug cartels, and 10% of the people would buy it. After all he is soft on immigration. That's a fact! I know because I heard it straight from our governor and our senator. And they're both straight shooters -- shooting straight from the hips. ~ Washington Post
✽ France's unending conflict with Romas. It's not just Arizona which creates goofy knee-jerk policies to deal with immigrants. ~ Fox News
✽ There are only three operational ambulances for the civilian sector of Guam these days (the military has their own ambulance service to cover their people and bases). The island has a popluation of about 170,000. ~ PNC
✽ The Mexican Board of Tourism isn't going to like this article. You can understand why people are fleeing. ~ WSJ
Tuesday, August 17
Random
✽ It was 90 years ago today that the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified and women were given the right to vote -- not so long ago in the over-all scheme of things. ~ link
✽ Futurist Faith Popcorn talking about social transformation -- how America is embracing a "we" culture and the rise of ArkBrands -- brands which "inspire and inform." There is a lot to be encouraged about in her presentation. Part 1 | Part 2, which has most of the meat, below --
✽ NASA says that July 2010 is in a three-way tie for warmest July on record. ~ link
✽ "Global CO2 Emissions fell 1.3% in 2009" ~ link
✽ "Millionaire raffles off house for the simple life" -- Luke 18:18-30 ~ BBC
✽ Seth Godin on the power of subtlety ~ link
✽ Beyond Farmville -- "10 social media and technology mega-trends to watch" ~ link
✽ The theological differences between Republicans and Democrats ~ link
✽ I've been enjoying my experimentation with Prezi, a different approach to presentations. Touted as an alternative to PowerPoint, Prezi is a little less linear. There is a free version. ~ link
✽ Our latest edition of BrushStrokes, the e-letter from MasterPiece Church, is now online. This time I have included some thoughts on the Anne Rice announcement. ~ link
✽ Bees swarm sheriff's car, trapping deputy for three hours. He should have just driven it through the car wash. But all is well. ~ CNN
✽ Banks are trying to lure in the 1 of 12 American families who function without a bank account. Wow. If they can figure out how to avoid dealing with banks the more power to those families! If you're poor and can't afford the minimum balances the banks will not only nickel and dime you to death with fees, but if you bounce a check, they'll ding you the equivalent of your food budget for a week. It's no wonder that poor people gravitate toward the higher fee money services -- no surprises. ~ WSJ
✽ Hulu apparently does not have the second season of Sea Patrol. So I tried watching the first episode of season 2 on a Chinese site. They cut out the last 12 minutes of the show -- including the end of the boat chase. Ahhhh!!!!
✽ Google is trying to get a handle on the idiosyncrasies of the television business. ~ LA Times
✽ Dave Ramsey on how to get through college debt-free ~ link
✽ Futurist Faith Popcorn talking about social transformation -- how America is embracing a "we" culture and the rise of ArkBrands -- brands which "inspire and inform." There is a lot to be encouraged about in her presentation. Part 1 | Part 2, which has most of the meat, below --
✽ NASA says that July 2010 is in a three-way tie for warmest July on record. ~ link
✽ "Global CO2 Emissions fell 1.3% in 2009" ~ link
✽ "Millionaire raffles off house for the simple life" -- Luke 18:18-30 ~ BBC
✽ Seth Godin on the power of subtlety ~ link
✽ Beyond Farmville -- "10 social media and technology mega-trends to watch" ~ link
✽ The theological differences between Republicans and Democrats ~ link
✽ I've been enjoying my experimentation with Prezi, a different approach to presentations. Touted as an alternative to PowerPoint, Prezi is a little less linear. There is a free version. ~ link
✽ Our latest edition of BrushStrokes, the e-letter from MasterPiece Church, is now online. This time I have included some thoughts on the Anne Rice announcement. ~ link
✽ Bees swarm sheriff's car, trapping deputy for three hours. He should have just driven it through the car wash. But all is well. ~ CNN
✽ Banks are trying to lure in the 1 of 12 American families who function without a bank account. Wow. If they can figure out how to avoid dealing with banks the more power to those families! If you're poor and can't afford the minimum balances the banks will not only nickel and dime you to death with fees, but if you bounce a check, they'll ding you the equivalent of your food budget for a week. It's no wonder that poor people gravitate toward the higher fee money services -- no surprises. ~ WSJ
✽ Hulu apparently does not have the second season of Sea Patrol. So I tried watching the first episode of season 2 on a Chinese site. They cut out the last 12 minutes of the show -- including the end of the boat chase. Ahhhh!!!!
✽ Google is trying to get a handle on the idiosyncrasies of the television business. ~ LA Times
✽ Dave Ramsey on how to get through college debt-free ~ link
Random
✽ "Fruitful Harvest" -- striking back at hunger with urban orchards ~ link
✽ The majority of the students of the incoming college class of 2014:
✽ The Goldwater Institute is complaining that the administration at Arizona State University is bloated because they have 6.3 administrators per 100 students. In my limited experience 6.3 administrators per 100 students actually seems a bit lean given all the services that public universities are expected and mandated to provide. ~ link
✽ The cult of bodily perfection -- marginalizing the ugly:
✽ The majority of the students of the incoming college class of 2014:
- don't know how to write in cursive.
- don't use email much (it's too slow).
- have never owned or used a wrist watch.
- have always seen Korean cars on American highways.
- were not alive when Czechoslovakia was a country.
- have never worried about a Russian missile strike on the US.
- have always thought of the Post Office as on the verge of bankruptcy.
- have never seen positive performance ratings for Congress. ~ Beloit College Mindset List
✽ The Goldwater Institute is complaining that the administration at Arizona State University is bloated because they have 6.3 administrators per 100 students. In my limited experience 6.3 administrators per 100 students actually seems a bit lean given all the services that public universities are expected and mandated to provide. ~ link
✽ The cult of bodily perfection -- marginalizing the ugly:
...Apart from the economically impoverished, today’s marginalized “ugly” bodies include the handicapped, elderly, obese, and foreigner. It’s sad that many today fail to open their tables to society’s marginalized, to those who are especially hungry for fellowship and compassion. Even more distressing is that churches fail to address the ethical dilemmas inherent in the contemporary cult of bodily perfection. We should be addressing and halting the violence that “ugly and broken” bodies encounter daily... ~ César J. Baldelomar
Monday, August 16
Random
✽ The aurora borealis have been providing some pretty spectacular light shows up north. This Guardian photo, featuring my favorite shade of green, was taken in Denmark. ~ Guardian✽ Are you really leading a minimalist lifestyle if you have a laptop, an iPad, an Amazon Kindle, and two external hard drives? Relatively speaking I suppose so -- but you can accumulate a lot of stuff on hard drives. Absolutely no criticism intended. ~ Boing Boing
✽ North Korea is now tweeting. As they plug into the rest of the world perhaps they'll figure out that no one means them harm. ~ link
✽ I've now finished episode 11 of season 1 of the Australian Navy drama Sea Patrol. They are about to launch their fifth season so I've got some catching up to do. Grateful for Hulu, which may go public soon. ~ Fast Company
✽ The quest for cool hipster Christianity has been noticed by the Wall Street Journal ~ WSJ
✽ 40% of taxes in US are paid by 1% of the people -- those known as millionaires. ~ link
✽ Seth Godin pegs it with "the fear tax." ~ link
✽ Clark Pinnock, the 20th century theologian who I appreciated for his eclectic approach, died yesterday. It was announced in March that he was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Even though his theological shifting annoyed many, he always remained warmly evangelical. I once heard someone describe his love of Dr Pinnock by saying that "He is not afraid to change his mind." He was a humble theologian who was also known for his love and good deeds.
Sunday, August 15
Random
✽ Impressive moves ~ via
✽ Bees prefer cities ~ BBC
✽ Seth Godin's "Foundation elements for modern businesses" are worth bookmarking. ~ link
✽ JetBlue's PR genius ~ Fast Company
✽ New technology detects lung, breast, bowel and prostate cancer with a simple breath test. Tricorders can't be too far off. ~ KABC
✽ Rumor has it that the start of the semester at PUST has been pushed back a week -- which frees Kent up to come to the States for a visit. We're hoping to see him before the end of the week! Yipee!
✽ YouTube celebrity Steven "Pisseth Against the Wall" Anderson has been cleared by a jury in his Border Patrol confrontation. ~ ABC15
✽ My experiment of trying to boot Kent's old laptop with Ubuntu from a thumb drive has hit a wall. The machine is so old that the BIOS doesn't allow for a USB drive in the boot sequence. Suggestions? There is no hard-drive. I can boot from the CD but it is slow and limited.
✽ Great worship + hospitality go together. Check out Carolyn Arends upcoming free webinar. ~ link
✽ Good stuff from Olivia Mitchell, with implications for those of us who preach and teach -- "Are you ready for the third era in presenting?" ~ link
✽ More from Olivia -- "Why most attempts at audience participation fail and what to do about it" ~ link
✽ As we work to maintain a positive outlook during our 112° days i
t is helpful to realize that Brazil and Argentina have both been struggling with extreme cold and excesive snowfall. There are over "1 million fish and thousands of alligators, turtles, dolphins and other river wildlife are floating dead in numerous Bolivian rivers" -- frozen to death. I'd much rather deal with the heat. ~ link | link✽ Meh ~ link
✽ STOP THE PRESSES! President Obama has gone swimming in the Gulf with his daughter. ~ CNN
✽ Who really redefined marriage? ~ USA Today
✽ Anchor baby terrorists? Or just another politician feeding the fear during an election year? ~ CNN
✽ In-N-Out burgers reverse engineered. ~ link
Saturday, August 14
Random
✽ Ray Stevens is helping feed the irrational fear and suspicion. Is an impoverish Mexican man sneaking across the border looking for a job as a bus boy the same as the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor? Do the USS Arizona survivors agree with this kind of association and logic? Whatever happened to Everything is Beautiful?
✽ Jay Phelan says it well:
The presence of Muslims or Hindus or any other religious tradition in a given area is no threat to the churches of Jesus Christ. These varied traditions can bring out the best in the church by forcing it to identify differences and challenges and pursue new ways of witness and welcome. I would suggest that the fact that most Muslim countries marginalize the Christian Church it or keep it out entirely is a sign that Muslims fear Christian witness and lack confidence in their own tradition and own people. Does the Christian Church in the United States really want to follow the same path? I think not. We have nothing to fear from the “competition” of Muslims. Rather than protesting the mosques, we should welcome them with open arms, with the compassion and generosity of Christ, and with genuine love. I find anti-Mulsim sentiments among Christians extraordinarily repugnant and terribly sad. ~ link
✽ Seth Godin on the impact of slow -- "Smoking killed far more people than terrorists ever did. It's just not as dramatic." ~ link
✽ "China accounts for 40% of the debris in orbit around the earth, followed by the U.S. and Russia, who contributed roughly a quarter each, according to the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos." ~ WSJ
✽ "The Cool Church"? -- Apparently, they didn't come up with the name themselves -- but ran with what people in the community were saying. I'm not sure that's something I'd run with but I don't know because no one has ever accused me of being cool. ~ link
✽ Some churches just don't get it. But some churches get it well.
✽ Glad to see Jim and Cathy Stanley-Erickson so warmly welcomed into their new community. ~ link
Friday, August 13
Random
✽ ...but most Americans are probably not interested in amending the 14th Amendment. ~ link
✽ ...but the sermon IS worship. Listening to what God has to say is as much an act of worship as singing of his glory. ~ link
✽ Fewer than half of the school buses on Guam are operational. Vehicle maintenance is not one of the government's strengths. ~ PDN
✽ A third of poor people weren't born that way. "They became poor within their lifetimes on account of factors that could have been prevented. It’s ironic that even as governments and donors and others are doing a lot to pull people out of poverty, very little is done to prevent people from falling into poverty so the pool of people in poverty keeps growing even as many people come out." ~ Duke University public policy professor Anirudh Krishna in WSJ interview
✽ The US has "lacked a legitimate government since Congress failed to adjourn properly in 1861." Okie dokie -- and are you selling bridges, too? Sovereign Citizen Movement 101. ~ link
✽ Fly Guam is the name of the island's new airline which will fly to Taipei, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Osaka, Manila, Palau and Seoul. ~ PNC
✽ Witnesses claim that the flipped-out flight attendant had been mistreating passengers. ~ WSJ
✽ Youth Academy program prepares refugee children for the American school experience. ~ KOLD
✽ "Lake Mead at 54-year low, stirring rationing fear" ~ AZ Central
✽ "'World's biggest' tidal turbine unveiled in Scotland" ~ BBC
✽ Poop powered beetle ~ The Sun
✽ According to a new study, plankton levels affect how thunder storms behave -- and "whether clusters of tropical thunderstorms spin up into monster hurricanes, and to steer mature storms across large swaths of the ocean." It has to do with temperature and ocean color. ~ Discovery News
✽ John Ortberg on the Reveal study and the challenge of developing spiritual depth:
✽ ...but the sermon IS worship. Listening to what God has to say is as much an act of worship as singing of his glory. ~ link
✽ Fewer than half of the school buses on Guam are operational. Vehicle maintenance is not one of the government's strengths. ~ PDN
✽ A third of poor people weren't born that way. "They became poor within their lifetimes on account of factors that could have been prevented. It’s ironic that even as governments and donors and others are doing a lot to pull people out of poverty, very little is done to prevent people from falling into poverty so the pool of people in poverty keeps growing even as many people come out." ~ Duke University public policy professor Anirudh Krishna in WSJ interview
✽ The US has "lacked a legitimate government since Congress failed to adjourn properly in 1861." Okie dokie -- and are you selling bridges, too? Sovereign Citizen Movement 101. ~ link
✽ Fly Guam is the name of the island's new airline which will fly to Taipei, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Osaka, Manila, Palau and Seoul. ~ PNC
✽ Witnesses claim that the flipped-out flight attendant had been mistreating passengers. ~ WSJ
✽ Youth Academy program prepares refugee children for the American school experience. ~ KOLD
✽ "Lake Mead at 54-year low, stirring rationing fear" ~ AZ Central
✽ "'World's biggest' tidal turbine unveiled in Scotland" ~ BBC
✽ Poop powered beetle ~ The Sun
✽ According to a new study, plankton levels affect how thunder storms behave -- and "whether clusters of tropical thunderstorms spin up into monster hurricanes, and to steer mature storms across large swaths of the ocean." It has to do with temperature and ocean color. ~ Discovery News
✽ John Ortberg on the Reveal study and the challenge of developing spiritual depth:
...EVERY church faces that problem. Even if a church offers nothing but Bible studies 24/7 in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic taught personally by N.T. Wright, they will still face this problem.
Willow was simply naming the big kahuna challenge we all grapple with.
To be transformed; to have Christ formed in you, is quite different from being church-ier, or more traditional, or better informed. Of course, churches vary enormously in our effectiveness at it. But it’s not about contemporary versus traditional versus emerging... ~ link
Thursday, August 12
Random
✽ Roger Olson's solution -- completely separate marriage from civil unions. Government only oversees civil unions. Religious groups only oversee marriages. A couple could choose one or the other -- or both. It's not a new idea but it is worth discussing. ~ link
✽ Pew Research: 21% of American adults say they don’t use the Internet. ~ link
✽ The ELCA lost 90,000 people and 48 congregations last year. ~ link
✽ Only 24% of the US population has positive feelings about the Republican Party. We still haven't recovered from the last president. ~ WSJ
✽ Horticultural Therapy? A little unusual but it makes sense. If I lived in Oregon I might consider doing the program at Portland Community College. ~ link
✽ "Poll: Young Hispanics less likely to be Catholic" ~ USA Today
✽ Stanford replacing textbooks with iPads for medical students. Unfortunately, this will only represent a slight savings in textbook costs since the electronic editions are nearly as expensive as paper and ink editions. ~ link
✽ 10% of the delegates to the recent World Communion of Reformed Churches gathering were denied entry into the US. The 73 who were denied entrance were from the "global south" -- Indonesia, India, Kenya, Guyana, Nigeria, the Philippines, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Columbia... Entry into the US has become so rigidly restrictive that it just doesn't make sense to have meetings here anymore. ~ link
✽ The US Census is coming in under budget. They've already returned $1.6 billion, to the treasury. ~ WSJ
✽ Private sector myth:
✽ Pew Research: 21% of American adults say they don’t use the Internet. ~ link
✽ The ELCA lost 90,000 people and 48 congregations last year. ~ link
✽ Only 24% of the US population has positive feelings about the Republican Party. We still haven't recovered from the last president. ~ WSJ
✽ Horticultural Therapy? A little unusual but it makes sense. If I lived in Oregon I might consider doing the program at Portland Community College. ~ link
✽ "Poll: Young Hispanics less likely to be Catholic" ~ USA Today
✽ Stanford replacing textbooks with iPads for medical students. Unfortunately, this will only represent a slight savings in textbook costs since the electronic editions are nearly as expensive as paper and ink editions. ~ link
✽ 10% of the delegates to the recent World Communion of Reformed Churches gathering were denied entry into the US. The 73 who were denied entrance were from the "global south" -- Indonesia, India, Kenya, Guyana, Nigeria, the Philippines, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Columbia... Entry into the US has become so rigidly restrictive that it just doesn't make sense to have meetings here anymore. ~ link
✽ The US Census is coming in under budget. They've already returned $1.6 billion, to the treasury. ~ WSJ
✽ Private sector myth:
For years, we've heard the politics-driven nonsense that "private industry can do things more cheaply and efficiently than government." Iraq proved that to be history's biggest lie not told by a half-naked teenager. Contractors can do a few things, such as run chow halls, better than the military -- but few save us any money.✽ The last mile of I-10 through downtown Phoenix was completed 20 years ago this week -- connecting the east and west coasts of the US. ~ ABC 15
Instead, we've seen the worst war-profiteering orgy in history by "patriotic" corporations packed with hireling retired generals and admirals and gushing campaign contributions. Gates is calling them out. ~ Ralph Peters in the NY Post
Wednesday, August 11
Random
✽ Teens exiting church youth groups in mass? ~ USA Today
✽ "Brain works more like internet than 'top down' company" ~ BBC
✽ As it widens its reach, Google is trying to figure out its boundaries. ~ WSJ
✽ It used to be that private sector employees earned more than government sector employees. Now it appears that "federal employees' average compensation has grown to more than double what private-sector workers make." ~ AZ Central
✽ Why Americans don't use dollar coins: "Retailers will not stock the coins because they do not see consumers using them, while consumers will not use the coins because retailers do not stock them." If we are serious about cutting federal spending we'll figure this one out. ~ BBC
✽ "Does Arizona need an image makeover?" Well, yes. We could start by repealing 1070. Then we could close down the Jan and Joe shows. A few choice changes in the fall election would go a long way, too. However, none of that is likely to happen. So, we'll probably hire a PR firm -- and the nation will laugh at us every time they hear the ads on the radio because they can see how desperate we've become. ~ ABC15
✽ "Brain works more like internet than 'top down' company" ~ BBC
✽ As it widens its reach, Google is trying to figure out its boundaries. ~ WSJ
✽ It used to be that private sector employees earned more than government sector employees. Now it appears that "federal employees' average compensation has grown to more than double what private-sector workers make." ~ AZ Central
✽ Why Americans don't use dollar coins: "Retailers will not stock the coins because they do not see consumers using them, while consumers will not use the coins because retailers do not stock them." If we are serious about cutting federal spending we'll figure this one out. ~ BBC
✽ "Does Arizona need an image makeover?" Well, yes. We could start by repealing 1070. Then we could close down the Jan and Joe shows. A few choice changes in the fall election would go a long way, too. However, none of that is likely to happen. So, we'll probably hire a PR firm -- and the nation will laugh at us every time they hear the ads on the radio because they can see how desperate we've become. ~ ABC15
Tuesday, August 10
Random
✽ Dave Gibbons, Jim Gustafson, and friends tell the story of NewSong Church. More importantly, though, especially for the rest of us -- their concept of Third Culture.
✽ If you think that life is about the pursuit of happiness (it isn't!) then you might consider a move to Scandinavia. ~ link
✽ "The Mexican government will begin offering online college-degree programs this month to its citizens living abroad, many of whom are suffering the effects of stricter immigration controls in the United States." ~ CHE
✽ New research: Kids who watch Popeye cartoons eat more vegetables. Duh. The power of media. ~ link✽ "India Asks, Should Food Be a Right for the Poor?" Even with the incredible progress, they're still struggling to keep everyone fed. ~ NY Times
✽ Bill Gates thinks that better use of technology can lower college tuition to $2,000. ~ The Hill
✽ This is why the protesting, demonstrating, politicizing approach to being a moral compass just doesn't work in 21st century America (If indeed it ever really worked anywhere...). ~ BoingBoing
✽ "What to do with your Google 'Social Circle'" -- extensive list of your people and their connections. ~ Mike Elgan
✽ Feeling outrage. ~ Reuters
✽ Scot McKnight on the future of evangelicalism: "The only way the older coalition can survive is if Christianity Today - and I see no other genuine alternative - can continue to attract consensus-shaped evangelicalism." Talk about pressure. ~ link
✽ The power of composting ~ link
✽ Richard Mouw has a refreshingly different response to the Anne Rice announcement. ~ link
Monday, August 9
More like falling in love?
I heard this song by Jason Gray on the radio. It's about relating to God:
First of all, to say that relating to God is "more like falling in love" is misleading in a culture which thinks that infatuation and heavy breathing is what constitutes falling in love. "Loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength" (Mark 12:30) is not the same as "falling in love" with God.
Second, the song tends to divorce the emotions from the head or will -- perhaps setting them against each other. Emotional intensity overshadows everything else -- "More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance..."
Third, it's all about "me" and really has little to say about God (even though Jesus is briefly mentioned in passing). This song could be sung by Muslims or Hindus -- or the most secular pop fan.
Give me rulesWhile I appreciate the sentiment, that our relationship with God has to have a heart-dimension, I wonder about the wisdom of the love metaphor as used here. I have a few other bones to pick with this song, which is getting plenty of play time on CCM stations.
I will break them
Give me lines
I will cross them
I need more than a truth to believe
I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes
To sweep me off my feet
It ought to be
(CHORUS)
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love
Give me words
I'll misuse them
Obligations
I'll misplace them
'Cause all religion ever made of me
Was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet
It never set me free
It's gotta be
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love
It's like I'm falling in love, love, love
Deeper and deeper
It was love that made
Me a believer
In more than a name, a faith, a creed
Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me
It's gotta be
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love
It's gotta be
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love
It's like I'm falling, oh
I'm falling in falling
It's like I'm falling
First of all, to say that relating to God is "more like falling in love" is misleading in a culture which thinks that infatuation and heavy breathing is what constitutes falling in love. "Loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength" (Mark 12:30) is not the same as "falling in love" with God.
Second, the song tends to divorce the emotions from the head or will -- perhaps setting them against each other. Emotional intensity overshadows everything else -- "More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance..."
Third, it's all about "me" and really has little to say about God (even though Jesus is briefly mentioned in passing). This song could be sung by Muslims or Hindus -- or the most secular pop fan.
Random
✽ Somebody burglarized JB's Ukulele Hut. ☹ ~ Pacific News Center
✽ US Special Forces troops in Afghanistan have been ordered to shave off their beards. It seems to me that the ground forces understand contextualization better than the brass. ~ NY Daily News
✽ "American Christianity is not well, and there's evidence to indicate that its condition is more critical than most realize — or at least want to admit..." ~ William Lobdell, LA Times
✽ Chris Wright's new book ~ link
✽ An entire island the size of Hawaii made of recycled plastic. If it were not for the dreamers we'd never make any progress. ~ link
✽ The question is not whether online learning will be accepted -- but how will the learning be validated? ~ link
✽ Don Johnson had this parable on his blog. ~ link
✽ US Special Forces troops in Afghanistan have been ordered to shave off their beards. It seems to me that the ground forces understand contextualization better than the brass. ~ NY Daily News
✽ "American Christianity is not well, and there's evidence to indicate that its condition is more critical than most realize — or at least want to admit..." ~ William Lobdell, LA Times
✽ Chris Wright's new book ~ link
✽ An entire island the size of Hawaii made of recycled plastic. If it were not for the dreamers we'd never make any progress. ~ link
✽ The question is not whether online learning will be accepted -- but how will the learning be validated? ~ link
✽ Don Johnson had this parable on his blog. ~ link
Sunday, August 8
Random
✽ Finger painting on an iPad ~ link
✽ Nathan Kerr interview on ABC Local Radio Sunday Nights Show. He is the author of 'Christ, History and Apocalyptic: the politics of Christian mission' ~ link
✽ Great Britain has had a difficult time recently accommodating all the young people who want to attend traditional universities. It should not then be too surprising that the non-traditional Open University has had an "unprecedented" 34% increase in 18 to 24-year-olds doing a distance learning degree. ~ BBC
✽ Basil Marceaux lost in the Tennessee primary but won a place in people's hearts. ~ Washington Post
✽ The Fuller Wind Turbine is a new bladeless roof-top "wind turbine with a mesh-covered air inlet, which poses no danger to bats and birds. Nor will it disrupt radar used by air traffic controllers and the military." ~ link✽ "A piece of ice four times the size of Manhattan island has broken away from an ice shelf in Greenland..." Rumor, from a usually unreliable source, has it that it may float to the Gulf Coast of the US and cause yet another disaster. ~ BBC
✽ Scot McKnight is moving his Jesus Creed blog off the quirky, pop-up saturated Beliefnet to Patheos. ~ link
✽ Public Wi-Fi options lacking in Japan and Guam ~ link
✽ China's growth has slowed to a mere 8% a year. Will pollution levels drop correspondingly? ~ WSJ
✽ I'm not so sure that Google Wave is forever dead. I'm guessing that the features will eventually show up in Gmail and Google Docs. We didn't really need an additional application to manage. ~ link
✽ Roger Olson is now blogging. ~ link (via)
✽ Don't bother calling.
Nearly all age groups are spending less time talking on the phone; boomers in their mid-50s and early 60s are the only ones still yakking as they did when Ma Bell was America's communications queen. But the fall of the call is driven by 18- to 34-year-olds, whose average monthly voice minutes have plunged from about 1,200 to 900 in the past two years, according to research by Nielsen. Texting among 18- to 24-year-olds has more than doubled in the same period, from an average of 600 messages a month two years ago to more than 1,400 texts a month, according to Nielsen. ~ Washington Post
Saturday, August 7
Random
✽ Cactus power! ~ video link
✽ "Men wanting to catch the eye of women should dress in red, a color which new research shows makes them more alluring to the opposite sex." ~ Reuters
✽ I didn't think that anyone running for governor was worth voting for until I heard Matt Jette on the radio. Yeah, he is a darkhorse (although in this environment a darkhorse might possibly pull it off with a viral campaign -- if the established candidates continue to act out and say outrageous things). But he might really be aiming for next time around. He's smart, reasonable, amiable, idealistic -- but practical -- and not given to extremism. ~ link | AZ Republic story
✽ "Arizona sees drop in legal Mexican visitors" ~ AZ Central
✽ Changing face of Roman Catholicism in Europe ~ Economist
✽ "Men wanting to catch the eye of women should dress in red, a color which new research shows makes them more alluring to the opposite sex." ~ Reuters
✽ I didn't think that anyone running for governor was worth voting for until I heard Matt Jette on the radio. Yeah, he is a darkhorse (although in this environment a darkhorse might possibly pull it off with a viral campaign -- if the established candidates continue to act out and say outrageous things). But he might really be aiming for next time around. He's smart, reasonable, amiable, idealistic -- but practical -- and not given to extremism. ~ link | AZ Republic story
✽ "Arizona sees drop in legal Mexican visitors" ~ AZ Central
✽ Changing face of Roman Catholicism in Europe ~ Economist
Friday, August 6
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