8.06.2009
jump
I've made the switch over to word press for a more snazzy blog. Head over to http://epiploicae.wordpress.com/ for any new updates or ramblings. Ciao blogger.
8.03.2009
6.05.2009
extreme ice
Now, I'm not going to become a raving Global Warming advocate OR rant about the impossibility of the phenomena. I am skeptical about the "environmental crisis" and not part of the Obama-mania craze which has swept the nation. I also, love the outdoors and would like to be able to climb Kilimanjaro with ICE on the mountain and hike in Austria ON the glaciers; so, the loss of our global glaciers is something I keep track of from time to time.
Irregardless, I do think this is an interesting website and a cool project. Check it out:
Irregardless, I do think this is an interesting website and a cool project. Check it out:
5.19.2009
stockholm syndrome
There are bountiful rumblings on the net about Derek Webb's new cd entitled "Stockholm Syndrome". Go here for the latest email's which were sent out on his mailing list over the past two days.
Here is a link to Wikipedia regarding the history/meaning behind the album's title, which I found interesting.
The second e/m from Derek is a jumbled mess with underscores throughout the message which I found odd and sort of Lost-equese. It seems that there is a new website called Paradise is a Parking Lot where "artifacts" can be found and may lead to the tracks of the new album? The progress can be followed as well at a new Twitter account (Derek shut down his last one).
I must say Derek has piqued my interest regarding the controversy of his new album and all the new clues on the web (which however I don't have the patience to play with). One blog states that Derek has a new song he played at a recent show which has the word "sh_t" in the lyrics, perhaps this is the source of the corporate disgruntlement his label is expressing. Go here and here for more in depth reading.
I hope you all stay tuned for more from Derek....I know I will.
Update: good overview of the controversy here as well.
Here is a link to Wikipedia regarding the history/meaning behind the album's title, which I found interesting.
The second e/m from Derek is a jumbled mess with underscores throughout the message which I found odd and sort of Lost-equese. It seems that there is a new website called Paradise is a Parking Lot where "artifacts" can be found and may lead to the tracks of the new album? The progress can be followed as well at a new Twitter account (Derek shut down his last one).
I must say Derek has piqued my interest regarding the controversy of his new album and all the new clues on the web (which however I don't have the patience to play with). One blog states that Derek has a new song he played at a recent show which has the word "sh_t" in the lyrics, perhaps this is the source of the corporate disgruntlement his label is expressing. Go here and here for more in depth reading.
I hope you all stay tuned for more from Derek....I know I will.
Update: good overview of the controversy here as well.
4.21.2009
clover
So this past weekend I stumbled upon the absolute best cup of coffee I've ever had in my 33 years on this planet, twice. First, a cup of 100% Kona and then a strong bitter blend of Rwandan beans via a Clover. The Clover Coffee Maker will brew an individual cup of coffee in a sort of reverse french press (with a vacuum)with any beans available, exclusively at Starbucks. See below for a detailed video:
And here for all of Starbuck's bragging rights. Clover used to be a small Seattle based company until Starbucks bought the company to offer the machine ONLY at their stores. Right now only Seattle, Boston, and San Fran have been blessed with these beauties. One more reason to move to Seattle just got added to my list!!
And here for all of Starbuck's bragging rights. Clover used to be a small Seattle based company until Starbucks bought the company to offer the machine ONLY at their stores. Right now only Seattle, Boston, and San Fran have been blessed with these beauties. One more reason to move to Seattle just got added to my list!!
4.08.2009
Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade
I read an interesting position paper against abortion tonight that prompted this post. The full article is here and from the magazine, "Salvo".
The article is a compare/contrast discussion between the Dred Scott case in the 1800's and Roe v. Wade in the 1900's. Dred Scott was a slave who left the pro-slavery South and while living in the North sued for his freedom. His case went to the Supreme Court where they found that he was property and not able to sue for his freedom...chattel have no rights. From a modern standpoint we find that offensive and archaic logic, absurd to the nth degree. Especially in the Obama saviouresque culture we currently reside in.
But stand the same Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade next to it now. A fetus is just property, not a life. Sad when comparing these cases that this is THE highest court in our land. I hope you read the full article, it's worth the time.
Here is an excerpt:
Injudicious Decisions?
The parallels between Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade go much deeper than the judgments themselves. From start to finish, the decisions share a similar logic, rationale, and verbiage, perhaps best observed through direct comparison. Following are some brief selections from both rulings. Decide for yourself whether these two Supreme Court cases are a package deal.
On Personhood:
Dred Scott
"A negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves . . . were not intended to be included under the word «citizens' in the Constitution, and can, therefore, claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States.”
Roe v. Wade
" The word «person,' as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn. . . .The unborn have never been recognized in the law as persons in the whole sense.”
On the Right to Privacy:
Dred Scott
A slave is the property of the master, and the Constitution has "provided for the protection of private property against the encroachments of the Government.”
Roe v. Wade
"This right or privacy . . . is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”
On Historical Precedent:
Dred Scott
" That unfortunate race . . . had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order [and] they had no right which the white man was bound to respect.”
Roe v. Wade
" Abortion was practiced in Greek times as well as in the Roman Era. . . . Greek and Roman law afforded little protection to the unborn.”
On the Benefits to the Victim:
Dred Scott
"The negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.”
Roe v. Wade
"There is also the distress for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of bringing a child into a family unable, psychologically, and otherwise to care for it.”
The article is a compare/contrast discussion between the Dred Scott case in the 1800's and Roe v. Wade in the 1900's. Dred Scott was a slave who left the pro-slavery South and while living in the North sued for his freedom. His case went to the Supreme Court where they found that he was property and not able to sue for his freedom...chattel have no rights. From a modern standpoint we find that offensive and archaic logic, absurd to the nth degree. Especially in the Obama saviouresque culture we currently reside in.
But stand the same Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade next to it now. A fetus is just property, not a life. Sad when comparing these cases that this is THE highest court in our land. I hope you read the full article, it's worth the time.
Here is an excerpt:
Injudicious Decisions?
The parallels between Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade go much deeper than the judgments themselves. From start to finish, the decisions share a similar logic, rationale, and verbiage, perhaps best observed through direct comparison. Following are some brief selections from both rulings. Decide for yourself whether these two Supreme Court cases are a package deal.
On Personhood:
Dred Scott
"A negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves . . . were not intended to be included under the word «citizens' in the Constitution, and can, therefore, claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States.”
Roe v. Wade
" The word «person,' as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn. . . .The unborn have never been recognized in the law as persons in the whole sense.”
On the Right to Privacy:
Dred Scott
A slave is the property of the master, and the Constitution has "provided for the protection of private property against the encroachments of the Government.”
Roe v. Wade
"This right or privacy . . . is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”
On Historical Precedent:
Dred Scott
" That unfortunate race . . . had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order [and] they had no right which the white man was bound to respect.”
Roe v. Wade
" Abortion was practiced in Greek times as well as in the Roman Era. . . . Greek and Roman law afforded little protection to the unborn.”
On the Benefits to the Victim:
Dred Scott
"The negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.”
Roe v. Wade
"There is also the distress for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of bringing a child into a family unable, psychologically, and otherwise to care for it.”
3.26.2009
vid's for the kid's pt 2
Some new ones:
Trace Bundy:
Joe Purdy:
Ray LaMontagne:
THE best cat video ever:
Trace Bundy:
Joe Purdy:
Ray LaMontagne:
THE best cat video ever:
2.21.2009
1.15.2009
1.08.2009
suffering
Over the past few months I've gone through my own trial of suffering; one that I won't go into detail on now. Nevertheless, my trial had no clear reason to occur that I could see and sent my family through difficult waters which, hopefully, we are starting to sail out of. During this time a good Brother emailed me and advised me to read the November 5th entry of My Utmost for His Highest. I'd like to share the entry along with a video of a related sermon by Mark Driscoll from his "Rebel's Guide" sermons series on Suffering. Both are highly recommended.
-My Utmost for His Highest:
Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings." 1 Peter 4:13
If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across. Oh, I can't deal with that person. Why not? God gave you ample opportunity to soak before Him on that line, and you barged off because it seemed stupid to spend time in that way.
The sufferings of Christ are not those of ordinary men. He suffered "according to the will of God," not from the point of view we suffer from as individuals. It is only when we are related to Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. It is part of Christian culture to know what God's aim is. In the history of the Christian Church the tendency has been to evade being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ; men have sought to procure the carrying out of God's order by a short cut of their own. God's way is always the way of suffering, the way of the "long, long trail."
Are we partakers of Christ's sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp our personal ambitions right out? Are we prepared for God to destroy by transfiguration our individual determinations? It will not mean that we know exactly why God is taking us that way, that would make us spiritual prigs. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through; we go through it more or less misunderstandingly; then we come to a luminous place, and say - ' 'Why, God has girded me, though I did not know it!"
-The Rebels Guide To Joy in Suffering:
-My Utmost for His Highest:
Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings." 1 Peter 4:13
If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across. Oh, I can't deal with that person. Why not? God gave you ample opportunity to soak before Him on that line, and you barged off because it seemed stupid to spend time in that way.
The sufferings of Christ are not those of ordinary men. He suffered "according to the will of God," not from the point of view we suffer from as individuals. It is only when we are related to Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. It is part of Christian culture to know what God's aim is. In the history of the Christian Church the tendency has been to evade being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ; men have sought to procure the carrying out of God's order by a short cut of their own. God's way is always the way of suffering, the way of the "long, long trail."
Are we partakers of Christ's sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp our personal ambitions right out? Are we prepared for God to destroy by transfiguration our individual determinations? It will not mean that we know exactly why God is taking us that way, that would make us spiritual prigs. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through; we go through it more or less misunderstandingly; then we come to a luminous place, and say - ' 'Why, God has girded me, though I did not know it!"
-The Rebels Guide To Joy in Suffering:
1.01.2009
triple door
I just ran across this video on Josh Garrel's blog. The video is of Josh and Trace Bundy playing "O Come O Come Emmanuel" at The Triple Door in Seattle, WA. Spend 5 minutes and watch them play this amazing song.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
