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Showing posts from August, 2005

OK Go - the Video

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I have written several posts about how the right mix for Internet video is short video done at a low cost. Here is a really cool music video that is not quite MTV video standards but fun, creative and makes you wonder what could have been done with a budget.

Why Go To War In Iraq?

Are We Really That Crass? Reading this discussion at Digan's 75 Year Plan makes me want to answer this question. The reasons the U.S. going to war in Iraq are not merely the atrocities committee by the Bathist Government of Saddam Hussain, nor was it Saddam's attacks on his own people, nor was it merely because he was by many pre-war accounts developing weapons of mass destruction. The good reasons for going to war in Iraq have been stated many times and are quite simple. In fact, so simple that some feel it is not reasons at all. Middle Eastern Thinking In the past the Middle East has been home of a class of educated people who are devoted to their religion. Many of these people have opportunities to live comfortable middle class lifestyles or even better. However their nations (or is it people, or is it religion) do not have the international prestige that they desire. An overwhelming question in their minds and hearts is “Why has God not blessed o

Capital Bible Seminary

Classes start this next week. Tommorrow is oreintation. I’m looking forward to the study. I have already completed on of the assigned readings. It was a pictorial overveiw of church history. It was enjoyable. I talked with one of the academic counselors yesterday. I really had questions about what was realistic ministry for myself and was seeking answers. He is a guy who retired early from the state university system is pursuing missions as an avocation. God sent the perfect person to tell me keep up the pursuit. See more progress on: Obtain a Masters of Divinity (M.Div.)

Three Days of the Condor for Lunch

So my wife and I are looking for lunch near the Metropolitan Art Museum. We walk three blocks East and one block North and we happen to come up to a little place called the Candy Shop Luncheonette. Your son's school bus is bigger than this place. So it is sort of a diner, but small. As we sit there we notice that there are a lot of celebrities who have taken their picture with the owner. You know, like Jerry Seinfeld and such. I guess Jerry was trying to sponge off this guys name or something. Anyway, we read on the menu that the diner was used in the making of Three Days of the Condor . By the way the bacon burger is excellent and my wife had the tuna salad.

Televangelist Is Wrong More Than One Way

I don't watch the 700 Club but this quote from the Washington Post if accurate is highly irresponsible. I would not accept it from a Muslim cleric nor is it something I do accept from a Christian televangelist. Morally Robertson is wrong. By the way, how can you do a covert op if it has been announced on TV and the Washington Post. Anyone killing Chavez has an easy party to blame, the US. This just shows that Robertson does not really have a clue what he is talking about. Covert ops and public media do not mix. They are mutually exclusive. Pragmatically, Robertson is wrong. Below is the Washington Post quote. "We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator," he continued. "It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."Televangelist Calls for Chavez' Death: "'We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that

Redeemer Presbyterian Church

My wife and I celebrated our 22 wedding anniversary this month by visiting the Big Apple. We stayed at a hotel in the Wall Street district. One of our highlights was visiting Redeemer Presbyterian Church. We took the subway up town to the corner of 64th and Central Park Avenue, on the West Side. The church meets in several locations, this one was a building belonging to an ethical society. It had traditional pew set up for the worship. The service seemed to be run by lay people for the most part with the sermon being delivered by one of the pastoral staff, Rev. David Bisgrove. The service did not seem to be overly liturgical, but leaned toward liturgical and less contemporary. My wife and I expected the music to be good and it was, but what impressed us was the authentic flavor of the music though classical in style. Something different in this PCA church was the level of women in leadership. They gave the prayer, they read the scripture and took up the offering. Every ch

Amazon.com: Books: Emergence : Labeled Autistic

Amazon.com: Books: Emergence : Labeled Autistic : "Emergence : Labeled Autistic" Browsing the bookstore biography I came across this book “Emergence: Labeled Autistic” by Temple Grandin, and Margaret M. Scariano. This biography is written in a style that is quite different than your normal biographical perspective, one somewhat distinguished by the autism itself. A prime example is an excerpt of one of the author's class paper's in college. The topic of the class is marriage but she somehow turns the topic to her fascination with cattle chutes. Strangely it works as a piece of literature despite the odd topics she can not leave behind. The book is only 180 pages and in a style that preteens and teens could read. This book to me is about understanding people in general, not just the autistic. It is about seeing how perspectives can be quite different and yet correct. It is about how a mother struggles with her child to overcome a disability. I highly re

JOLLYBLOGGER: Review of "Total Truth" by Nancy Pearcey

My good friend Jollyblogger has written an engaging review of Total Truth . If have not the time to read the book, at least read the review. JOLLYBLOGGER: Review of "Total Truth" by Nancy Pearcey : "At long last I have finished Nancy Pearcey's book, Total Truth and am posting a review. This book was provided to me by Stacy Harp at Mind & Media and was provided to her by the generosity of the good folks at Crossway Publishing. "

Switched Onto Decaf

When I went to Operation DESERT STORM I took up the habit of drinking coffee. Eating breakfast at the dining hall meant that I would have to get up a half hour early. If I had breakfast of coffee once I got to work, I could sleep in. Oh by the way, I was working twelve on twelve off with an hour commute each way. I found the coffee habit a source of fellowship and a conversation item. After a while though I found my coffee habit one that could make me irratable. My attitude could be edgy and I would disenfrachanchise people around me. I also found myself depressed at times. I kept myself going with coffee when I should be resting. But I had not built enough time into my schedule to rest. I let myself get way too tired and too stressed by pushing myself way too hard. Then I found that I had a lot of trouble sleeping. Of course not sleeping was even worse on the stress managment issue. I tried to simply not drink coffee quite a few times. My head would spin and b

Reforming Youth Ministry

My friend Laird sent me a link to this blog. I did not know my buddy was even into blogs. Go figure. Check out what seems to be a promising topic. Reforming Youth Ministry : "Welcome to reforming youth ministry. This blog will be dedicated to an ongoing conversation of reforming and rethinking Youth Ministry in a covenantal context so that our methodogy would match our theology. This will be a place to toss out ideas, to be challanged, and Lord willing encouraged as we strive to be reformed and always reforming to the Word of God. The vision is a cross generational, family based, evangelistic, covenantal ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ. The vision is big and the problems hard, but may the God bless as we seek to make much of Jesus Christ and be faithful to His Holy Word. Let the conversation begin..."

Here I am Lord

Sermon on 1 Samuel 3 By Terry L. Pruitt Title: “Here Am I Lord, Let Me Speak Your Word” Introduction Samuel is called the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. He is the last of the judges because he led Israel until there was a King. He may not qualify as a judge in the sense that he led the children of Israel in a battle. Last week brother Badorf preached about one of God's judges for Israel. And with Samuel the days of the judges are passing by and the days of the kings and prophets in Israel's redemptive history is coming. There are a number of prophets in redemptive history before Samuel. There is Noah. He functioned as a prophet. He warned the people of God's impending judgment. There is also Abraham. God calls Abraham a prophet in Genesis 20:7 when addressing Abimelech regarding taking Sarah into his house. Moses is called a prophet in Deuteronomy 18:15. So there are other prophets before Samuel. However, Samuel marks a turning p

Ligers Make a "Dynamite" Leap Into the Limelight

You have got to be kidding? Ligers Make a "Dynamite" Leap Into the Limelight : "Ligers Make a 'Dynamite' Leap Into the Limelight Maryann Mott for National Geographic News August 5, 2005 It's half lion, half tiger, and completely real. Now thanks to a cameo in the 2004 cult movie Napoleon Dynamite, the liger has leaped into the limelight, prompting fans to ask, What are they really like?"

Parableman: Design, as long as it's not intelligent

I encourage you to slip on over to Parableman to read his interesting and thought provoking post on the intelligent design debate. It is a topic I find interesting and needing to be discussed. Parableman: Design, as long as it's not intelligent : "Design, as long as it's not intelligent I've returned from a research conference and another meeting, but I'll be traveling again next week. I keep hearing talks at conferences that I find rather amazing. For example, in the areas of systems biology and biological networks, I've heard several talks about how these systems are 'designed'. Sometimes (as in the talk I just heard) speakers will go beyond saying that the systems 'appear designed', and state that the evidence shows that they are designed. This seems scientifically well-received as long as the speakers avoid suggesting that there was actually an intelligent designer who did the designing (and perhaps instead suggest that natural

Assumptions Influence Conclusions In Study

While I have many blogging friends who are geographically close, I would say I have an equal number who are dispursed accross the globe. I have never met Parableman, but I think he is someone I admire, respect and occationally ask for advise. My oldest daughter uses LiveJournal. I think the design of LiveJournal is built on friends you already know. From reading my daughter's blog and her friends, it seems to be a type of blogging plateform that is more focused on social networking. And that is fine. Other blogs are more focused on content creation. It even seems that there are some blogs out there that are written with no social purpose in mind. LiveJournal is great, but this study should not be centered on this one blogging platform. Bloggers Make Buddies Close to Home in a Small Online World : "In a recent study, scientists observed members of the online community LiveJournal.com, to track how relationships form in cyberspace. The researchers found tha

Profile Of Chinese Christian

I found this mini-biography at a site that promotes praying for China. Follow the link to get the whole thing... Pray For China : "Soldier for Christ His Old Life. In his youth, Zhang Xueliang played a prominent role in Chinas political development and lived the life of a patriotic playboy, but for his last 37 years he was a devoted soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. Zhang was born in Haicheng, Liaoning on June 2, 1900."