BelongingMy older sister's blog
Blibby's BlogMy little sister's blog
Gixxer For ChristMy brother's blog
Grantian FlorilegiumDr. Grant: literary, bibliophile, wordsmithy, and professor
Blog and MablogPeople either love him or hate him; I'd go with the former
The Evantine AbbeyMy former landlord, current Christian teacher and philosopher
Roots by the RiverThe elder Wilson, providing practical encouragement to Christian living
Christus RexHe's masculine during the week and feminine on Sundays
BabbelogVirgil Hurt, pastor in Lynchburg
Trozzort's TalesShe drives three hours to church every Sunday
Blog of NashThe Nashes like football and their daughters
Joy in the JourneyDoes her husband know what
she blogged today?
IkimayShe raises her children and smashes down walls
Filled With TruthRefreshing thoughts from a young Christian woman
The Cedar RoomThoughtful stories and anecdotes
Social AnomalyOff doing something chemistry-related, most likely
A MinorWhen a young couple lives in Monroe, LA blogging is one of the few things they can do
This Classical LifeYoung family living the classical life
Sir JakeHe's happily taken
UnrivenThe writer, student, and Chicago style pizza lover
Gulf
CoastalCovers a lot of territory
Odd ThoughtsThe Booth is thinkin baseball
EffableWatch out you peer-to-peer music sharing terrorists
The High PostClever Christian chaps, triumvirate of family men
Weighing GlorySomewhere chasing his hat
Down To A Sunless SeaTorn between Florida and Minnesota
Moscow Is My HomebaseWordless blog
Crash Into MeNo problems with authority
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e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 3 0 t h
9:01AM |
Fan Intervention
 very once in a while you hear
about fans running onto the playing field at athletic events. On one
hand you have streakers and other drunken fools. Then you have funny
but ill-advised occasions such as when a fan ran onto the field
during a Bengals football game, grabbed the football from the
unsuspecting quarterback, and ran with the ball to the other end
zone. Then you have the ill-tempered fans, such as the two who ran
onto a baseball field and started attacking a Kansas City Royals
coach. This past Sunday introduced something entirely different and
original: at the Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles football
game, during a timeout a fan ran
to midfield, knelt, and poured his dead mother's ashes from a plastic bag
onto the field. His deceased mom was a die-hard Eagles fan who had
never been able to attend a game, and now his mom is part of the
Eagles' football field forever.
 Currently listening:
Driftwood
by Travis
S
u n d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 7 t h
6:45PM |
Life In Heaven
 oday I was reminded that death,
for a Christian, regarded as the beginning of a less-substantial
ethereal life is death wrongly considered. After death a Christian
will be more full of life than when he walked in our fallen world.
When writing in 2 Corinthians 5:4 about looking forward to eternal
life in Christ's presence, Paul says "For we that are in this
tabernacle do groan, bring burdened: not for that we would be
unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up
of life". Our current life is subject to the pains of sin and the
terminating prospect of death on the horizon, but life, orginating
in, embodied in, and provided by Christ, will thoroughly overcome our
present weak mortality. However, in this life we think about the good
things and pleasure in this present life, and surmising that these
things will not be present in heaven, we have a hard time eagerly
desiring heaven in the place of our current life full of good things.
C.S. Lewis saw this problem and said that "one reason for this
difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education
tends to fix our minds on this world". Our modern education is almost
wholly concerned with "real-world" occupational preparation, cold
empirical science, and the deriding suppression of Christianity or
anything overtly spiritual or metaphysical. We are brought up and
living in a world that tells us what the good life is, and directs
our focus on this world because, when nothing is taught about God and
nothing is taught from a Biblical perspective, there is no other life
to offer aside from the one we are living now, and any other or
better is life is unimaginable and unwanted.
S
a t u r d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 6 t h
6:16PM |
Sports Briefs For The Teams I Care About
he Philadelphia 76ers look like
they have a much-improved basketball team this year. Miniscule
ten-year veteran and scoring phenom Allen Iverson somehow retains his
durability and is still playing at a high level as the leader of the
team, and just like last year has proven an excellent floor leader at
the point guard position, still finding a way to dish out 8 assists
each game while scoring over 30. The team also has a better coach in
former player Maurice Cheeks, who relates better to the guys than
former coach O'Brien did. The younger players are more comfortable
with him, and the play-calling and situational lineups are far
better. Perhaps it is because of the new coach that Chris Webber is
again playing like a star, finally providing Iverson with a second
scoring option. Yet his liability is on defense, which so far is
Philly's clearest weakness as a team. This is something the team will
have to work on and improve if they are going to be a serious
competitor in the playoffs. They have a great defender in high-flying
second-year swingman Andre Iguodala, and now that lanky defensive
specialist Samuel Dalembert is back from injury patrolling the paint,
the defense should certainly improve in the frontcourt. I like how
Philly possesses something that they lacked last year: size. With a
decent bench as well, this team looks like one that should stick
around and compete throughout every game.
In the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles are facing struggle after
distraction. A great player is fone in wide receiver Terrell Owens'
forced departure, but the Eagles did the right thing in showing the
door to the disrespectful, troublesome, selfish Owens. Add to that
injuries to Pro Bowlers Donovan McNabb, Lito Sheppard, and Tra
Thomas, and the Eagles ar ein for a long final six games of the
season. The Eagles will probably miss the playoffs this year, but
they will certainly be back as a contender in the NFC next year, so
there are no worries about the organization long-term.
Philadelphia's baseball team's new owner, Pat Gillick, talked the
White Sox into a good deal for the Phillies. Philly traded aging and
oft-injured slugger Jim Thome and cash to the champion White Sox for
center-fielder Aaron Rowand and two minor-league left-handed
pitchers, one of whom (Gio Gonzalez) looks especially electric. The
Phillies addressed a couple of their most obvious needs: they cleared
the way for NL Rookie of the Year Ryan Howard to play every day at
first base, upgraded center field by adding a young guy who plays
great defense and has a better bat than Michaels and the aging
Lofton, and bolstered their minor league pitching corps. Now the team
needs to convince closer Billy Wagner to return, and perhaps even
pick up another solid starting pitcher. Next offseason's focus will
be upgrading third base and catcher, when Bell and Lieberthal find
themselves with expired contracts.
Hockey boasts the best team from the city of Philadelphia; the
Flyers, as expected, are playing well led by the goal-scoring of
Simon Gagne and assists of Peter Forsberg. The biggest thing the team
can improve upon is the penalty kill, and more consistency from the
goalkeepers.
Finally, in college football, the NC State Wolfpack despite a
disappointing season qualified for bowl eligibility today, and #3
team in the nation Penn State is waiting for someone to slip up so
that the Nittany Lions get a chance to play for the national
championship.
W
e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 3 r d
8:28AM |
Clement For Starters
omorrow is Thanksgiving Day, but
there is an excuse for the fun to start today, if you are so
inclined. Today is St. Clement's Day, and Dr. George Grant explains the origins of this
festive holy day as we head into the Advent season. I've never
attended a church that actively adheres to the church calendar, so I
didn't know anything about St. Clement's Day really.
T
u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 2 n d
10:03PM |
Bible Study With The Wife
 ne of the things I most look
forward to when I am married is daily Bible study with my wife. I
think unity in Christ is essential for a husband and wife, and should
involve reading the Bible and discussing Christian matters together.
If nothing else, the home is a safe place to think out loud when
pondering the words of Scripture. A marriage founded on the love of
God and genuine pursuit of holiness would be mutually beneficial to
each half of the marriage unit (poor term, I know) in so many ways,
but the particularly activity of Bible study and discussion would
help me in a few ways. It would make me more careful when I read,
because I am responsible for leading my wife and will need to take
care to think clearly and interpret accurately, so that I am not
leading my wife astray into falsehood. I will be compelled to make a
better effort to understand things for myself in such a way that I am
able to regurgitate them in clear explanation, so that I am prepared
to answer questions that my wife might raise. This will make me more
inquisitive and attentive around my spiritual elders, which will lead
to my own growth of knowledge and learning. This aspect of marriage
is just another example of where I think a wife would motivate me to
do more than I do now.
F
r i d a y , N o v e m b e r 1 8 t h
8:05PM |
Week In Review
 haven't been to a hockey game
in a while. I need to fix that. But the Hurricanes have not really
been playing much at home lately anyway. Instead, what I've been
doing most nights this week is watching the dvd of Firefly,
the sci-fi series that once played on Fox and from which the movie
Serenity was born. Firefly is an enjoyable series (I am
on the third of the four dvd's) but it seems to lack a monumental
danger or background story that ties everything together, which is
why I think it failed. The characters are certainly interesting, but
I don't think that the main mystery of the series - who two of
Serenity's passengers really are - carries a whole series very well.
Yet, Firefly is one of the few shows I would watch if it was
still aired, and is some of the better sci-fi I've seen on broadcast
television. I still like the first seasons of Babylon 5
better, and would like to get the dvd's of all the B5 seasons to
revisit the episodes that I once watched and to catch up on the
events in the later episodes that I never saw.
Two Psalms that I read this week and especially enjoyed were Psalms
32 and 34. Psalm 32 is about confession of sin, and God's forgiveness
and aid in helping us overcome our sins. Psalm 34 proclaims how God's
ears are open to the cries of His people, and promises that He will
deliver them. Both Psalms are a good read if you have sin in your
life that you are harboring or if you are discouraged by hard
times.
It took longer this year for the leaves on trees to turn color and
drop, due to the unordinary high temperatures. However, once they got
started turning it was all soon over, and there are not a terribly
large amount of laden branches left. I do not have a yard of my own
to rake, so my main interaction with leaves these days and enjoyment
of them is watching them float in the wind as I sit at my desk in the
office, or when I drive along the streets watching the leaves swirl
on the road, stirred up by both the wind and the other cars' speed. A
rain of leaves is a fine thing.
In my last post I forgot to include the link to the story of the vendor
of broccoli casserole flavored and turkey and gravy flavored sodas.
They're real drinks - I wasn't making them up. You might get me to
try all the flavors except for the salmon-flavored.
T
u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 1 5 t h
1:10PM |
All Things Lawful, But Not All Things Helpful
 ust in time for Thanksgiving
there are some holiday-themed festive sodas. Broccoli casserole
flavor, corn on the cob flavor, and just in: salmon flavor. I'm
dreaming of a liquid Thanksgiving.
8:09AM |
The Birds And The Tortoises
 y premonitions, coincidental as
they might be, are getting annoying. Monday morning I dreamed that I
was watching the Eagles vs. Cowboys game on Monday Night Football. In
my dream, the Cowboys rallied for a late touchdown to take the lead
away from the Eagles. With a few second left in the game, the Eagles
drove down the field and set up for a field goal, but kicker David
Akers missed and the Cowboys won. I woke up suddenly and was relieved
that it was just a dream, but the result of the game in my dream is
exactly what happened in real life on Monday night. The only
difference was that in my dream the field goal was not from a 60 yard
distance but was a little closer, and was wide right of the goalpost.
The Eagles totally dominated that football game until the final six
minutes: their offensive line was superb, they had a running game for
the first time this year, and the defense was stalwart, forcing nine
punts from the Cowboys. One bad throw and a couple dropped passes,
and the Eagles lost the game. I guess that evens things out for the
Eagles' improbable end-of-game victory over the Chargers earlier this
year.
But turning away from sports for the moment, there is a giant tortoise who turned 175 years of age. This
guy (girl) is the size of a dinner table.
S
a t u r d a y , N o v e m b e r 9 t h
4:17PM |
Man's Chief End
 salms 6:5 and 30:9 both ask for
God's preserving aid and mercy in the face of peril, because if He
leaves our lives to be cast into the grave we no longer have a living
body that can remember God, joyfully recount His mercy, and sing His
praises. The dead body cannot praise God and give glory to Him
through actions and words. These verses declare what man's chief end
in life is: to glorify God, to praise Him, and to enjoy Him forever.
If we are not doing this we are like a dead body, like a lifeless
corpse decomposed into dust. If we are not glorifying God and
praising Him, we might as well be dead.
W
e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 9 t h
8:27AM |
Dreaming Of An Upside-Down Christmas
 pside-down Christmas trees are
growing in popularity.
These fake pre-strung-with-lights trees are built to hang from the
ceiling or on the wall, and their chief benefit and marketing ploy is
that they "leave more room under the tree for presents". Among other
places, you can buy upside-down Christmas trees online from Target. I mentioned these unusual Christmas
trees to some people and a common sentiment was "that's blaspehmous".
Sigh.
T
u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 8 t h
9:27PM |
Early November Playlist
 ere is what I am listening to.
Evanesence and Interpol are two bands with great sounds for autumn:
Evanescence with its haunting emotion and Interpol (especially their
breakout album Turn On The Bright Lights) with their cold
echoing vocals.
Save Me - Remy Zero
Somewhere Out There - Our Lady Peace
Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down - Interpol
Stand By Me - Oasis
Everybody's Fool - Evanescence
The Crystal Lake - Grandaddy
Lizaveta - The Constantines
Bite The Hand That Bleeds - Fear Factor
Panda - Dungen
Bullet With Your Name - Scars of Life
Hurt - Johnny Cash
A Day Like Today - Tom McRae
M
o n d a y , N o v e m b e r 7 t h
3:03PM |
Somedays You Hit The Trail, And Somedays The Trail Hits
You
 esterday I went running for the
first time in two weeks, due to my resting my lower left leg and then
a week of being sick and on the mend. I went again today, this time
to the old park in Raleigh where I used to run when I was running my
best. While my running performance was rather poor, I did enjoy the
pre-run warmup in which I walked along the open trail, enjoying the
balmy weather while viewing the autumn foliage clashing with green of
the pines and other trees that do not or have not yet turned color. I
used to think that I walk fast, though lately I have come to rethink
this when finding that an old lady with a cane is walking up a long
slope in the path and almost keeping up with me. It's not uncommon
for other people, even those with shorter strides, to pass me when
we're both walking. I'm not really into the whole power-walking
walk-for-a-workout thing (might be a pride thing) so I kind of take
it easy as I stroll along - either that or the reason I'm walking is
because my legs are aching after a bout of running, and it's a feat
just to lift one foot and put it in front of the other. So I take it
easy when I walk, but running is a different matter. When I "go
jogging" what I'm actually rather doing is sprinting. I hate running
slow - I save that for when I'm tired. The whole point of running,
for me, is not to get the exercise (it's not like I need to lose
excess fat). Instead, I like to move fast on my feet and go flying by
immobile objects beside the path and mobile bipeds upon the path.
It's the exuberance of speed and expended energy. Improved breathing,
increased endurance, and harder better-defined abs are just extras.
Theoretical extras, perhaps.
When my lease expires in the coming Spring, I think that I will move
back to Raleigh. I'll look into it anyway, because I'm sure I could
save at least $100 a month on rent over there, rather than this more
upscale suburb. I doubt that I'll have a roommate, and I don't really
think that I'd want one. Time to put some carbs back in the body.
F
r i d a y , N o v e m b e r 4 t h
9:48AM |
Not Big On Google
 oogle launched their first round
of books in their digital library, converting printing text into
images on the screen for the public to search and read. Right now
Google is working on literature for which copyrights have expired and
are no longer valid. I hopped over to http://print.google.com/ to take a look at what
books are available.
Like with all my Google experiences, I was confused. I could not find
a searchable list of books that have already been entirely converted
to digital format. If you type a title or topic keyword in the Google
Print search bar, you will get all kinds of results but will not know
if the book is available in its entirety, or if simply the covers,
table of contents, and title page are viewable until you start
clicking through the book. I finally found a book that was available
in its entirety, but the navigation of the book was not
user-friendly: as far as I could tell you could not easily skip back
to a previously read section of the book without turning the pages
one by one, nor could you mark your place for when you come back to
resume reading. Google Print is only in its Beta stage, so quite
probably these issues might be fixed. They'll have to be fixed when
competitors get going on the same projects.
But in general, I have never liked Google. I know I am in the
minority here. Experts and some users praise it for its simplistic,
minimal front page. I can't stand that very fact and find that it
hampers usability, for me anyway. I want to immediately be presented
with a list of all Google's search-engine related products and
services, as well as some news items and announcements from Google -
such as: "Announcing Google Print! Click here to browse our online
catalog of books and read great literature for free". Google makes me
do more work than my preferred search tool (it's not a search
engine): Yahoo.
I think part of what I find appealing about Yahoo's front page is
that Yahoo immediately displays that they have a lot to offer. There
are eye-catching headlines (and sometimes photos), as well as
entertaining features. There are links to all of Yahoo's handy and
various services, as well as fine categories to help guide you
places. I go to Google and all they have is a search box, which is
fine if all I want to do is a quick search, but Google makes it look
like the search box is all they have to offer. I prefer a lot of
information on a home page presented in an appealing, organized, and
controlled way - like Yahoo does. I prefer Yahoo's welcoming offering
of information over Google's cold and unrevealing minimalism.
W
e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 n d
8:02PM |
Thoughts On A Couple Readings
n The Lion, The Witch, And
The Wardrobe after the White Witch invokes deep magic to
bring about the logical and cruel execution of Aslan, when the
resurrected Aslan appears before Susan and Lucy and reveals that a
deeper magic from before the dawn of time threw off the White
Witch's plans, making a mockery of them and actually setting the
White Witch back in what she thought was her moment of triumph,
sealing the fate of her tyrannic icy hold of Narnia, C.S. Lewis was
drawing upon the beautiful words of 1 Corinthians 2:6-10.
"Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are mature: yet not the
wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to
nothing: but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden
wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: which
none of the princes of the world knew: for had they known it, they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written,
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love
him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
The Lord frustrated the wise and the proud. The thought had not even
entered their minds that Jehovah would go to such lengths for His
people. They do not know such love, nor have they grasped such real
power. Their self-centered grasping for power now in this life
necessitated by their creaturliness could not account for the thought
of victory by dying, when for them there is nothing after death. The
princes of this world could not fathom the depth and power of God's
love for His chosen people, so when they thought they had Him
cornered, they found themselves astonished and confounded. As always,
when the Lord reveals a portion of Himself, His lightnings
enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled (Ps. 97:4). The
pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished (Job 26:11). If such a
God, wiser than the wise and an inspirer of fear in things that
naturally cannot fear, is on our side and concerned for our good, who
can stand against us?
1:23PM |
Health Update
here haven't been any entries
here lately because I've been sick the last couple days and have
mostly been lying around with not much interest in doing anything. I
caught a virus which is still leaving my system, and I also have some
kind of minor hernia in the abdomen, but that is supposed to go away
on its own. Fortunately I have not really had any problem sleeping,
even managing to sleep through a whole night after constantly taking
short naps on Monday. Strangely, I am most comfortable when standing,
and even a bit more so when lying down, than when I am sitting or
reclining. Too bad I don't have the focus to read when I am sick.
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 E l s e w h e r e
Blog and Mablog (link added 11.17)
In a Communion exhortation, Pastor Doug Wilson admonishes against withdrawing yourself from the Lord's Supper and thus forsaking it, recommending that instead you forsake the sin that you are harboring and that makes you feel like you are unworthy of the Lord's table.
Read it
Real Live Preacher (link added 11.07)
Gordon describes and helps those outside the experience understand depression, anxiety, and the blessing of medication. From my own experience with anxiety, his description is very accurate and revealing.
Read it
Leithart.com (link added 11.06)
One of the best Communion meditations I've ever read or heard: God gives above and beyond what we expect.
Read it
P o e t r y
Ballade of True Wisdom - Andrew Lang
While others are asking for beauty or fame,
Or praying to know that for which they should pray,
Or courting Queen Venus, that affable dame,
Or chasing the Muses the weary and grey,
The sage has found out a more excellent way -
To Pan and to Pallas his incense he showers,
And his humble petition puts up day by day,
For a house full of books, and a garden of flowers.
Inventors may bow to the God that is lame,
And crave from the fire on his stithy a ray;
Philosophers kneel to the God without name,
Like the people of Athens, agnostics are they;
The hunter a fawn to Diana will slay,
The maiden wild roses will wreathe for the Hours;
But the wise man will ask, ere libation he pay,
For a house full of books, and a garden of flowers.
Oh! grant me a life without pleasure or blame
(As mortals count pleasure who rush through their day
With a speed to which that of the tempest is tame)!
O grant me a house by the beach of a bay,
Where the waves can be surly in winter, and play
With the sea-weed in summer, ye bountiful powers!
And I'd leave all the hurry, the noise, and the fray,
For a house full of books, and a garden of flowers.
Gods, grant or withhold it; your "yea" and your "nay"
Are immutable, heedless of outcry of ours:
But life IS worth living, and here we would stay
For a house full of books, and a garden of flowers.
S t o r y
R e a d i n g / R e a d
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