counting down and counting crows

so "counting crows" is one of my favorite bands, and yet i constantly forget this and how much i truly love lots of their stuff. of course, this time of year i always remember "a long december." it has one of the greatest opening lines to any song, and certainly a fitting one when turning over a new (secular/pagan) year (since we Christians started our year like a month ago). so it's my standard line and has been for some time, and it's as much a prayer as i usually have in me for a new year - in kind of an irish way:

"a long december, and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last."

but then the other day i was driving and "holiday in spain" came on. it hit me, for the first time, that my favorite line (verse) from that song would be perhaps even more appropriate. so here goes - for a new year - a new, old line.

"well happy new year's baby. we could probably fix it if we clean it up all day. or we could simply pack our bags and catch a plane to barcelona cause this city's a drag. i may...take a holiday in spain, leave my wings behind me - flush my worries down the drain and fly away to somewhere new. take a holiday in spain, leave my wings behind me - drive this little girl insane and fly away to someone new."

i could be wrong

something has been bothering me for a while, but obviously not enough to keep me from forgetting to write about it (or anything for that matter). but there's a saying that's getting more play lately about an elephant in the room. i think it's meant to convey a serious issue that people are completely ignoring rather than addressing. if so, it's one of the worst metaphorical images ever. i mean, would anyone be able to ignore an elephant in the room with them? would they even go into a room with an elephant or have an elephant come into their room without bolting out the window?

regardless, the problem i'm having is with the twisting of this simple phrase. i've heard several times someone speak of "the white elephant in the room." i don't think the elephant's race matters, but i do believe this confuses the simple elephant in the room with a white elephant gift - which if memory serves is just a crappy gift (used maybe for dirty santa or yankee swap or exchange the white elephant gift).

then the other day, i heard on a network news show (not surprising) something about "a 400 lb elephant in the room." this is dumb on many levels. first, i'm pretty sure it's a 400 lb gorilla. second, i mean really, maybe an elephant's leg weighs 400 lbs. maybe it might weigh that in the first week of its life. but elephants weigh several tons. a person could weigh 400 lbs, which should be a pretty good clue an elephant likely doesn't.

i know it's not a big deal or anything, but it just bothers me that information has never been easier to attain and yet everyone - especially the "experts" - seem to be getting dumber by the minute. i guess ease begets laziness and a complete lack of concern regarding accuracy. after all, as ringo said, "it don't come easy." or was it george?

get candy!

a few weeks ago i noticed a candy bowl in my friend lora jean's office. it was full of yummy starbursts - one of my favorite candies. this brought about a crucial question for me: what is the best kind of community candy to put in a bowl? i think it might be starbursts. first, they draw immediate attention because of their bold colors. second, they are individually wrapped. this helps prevent the spread of germs by allowing people to root through the bowl (if red ones - the best - are not easily accessible) and not poison another person's candy. finally, they are amazing.

so here's a new poll - just in time for all hallows eve. please choose the best community candy. remember, this is the best candy to put in a hypothetical bowl in your alleged office and have random freeloaders steal from. it'd be great if you'd leave a comment explaining the motives for your answer or your choice if you select "other."

whatcha listening to?

i think i used to have things pretty put together when it comes to music. i'd be all over stuff when it was about to come out or even before it came out. i used to go to tons of concerts. the last year or so though, not so much. i guess i was reminded of this not so long ago when someone asked me what i'd been listening to lately - like i still had it together, and i was sampling new genres and stuff. i'm not sure if i was honest or not, but lately i've just been going with stuff i've heard in movies or on tv (commercials even). so here's the last five songs i downloaded from itunes and some explaining. let me know your last five and if you have it more together than i do.

5. high flying bird - elton john. so weird, i went on this big elton john kick in high school. bought like all his albums. but i'd never heard this song at all until i heard it in the background of a show a few minutes ago. good stuff.

4. come to me (peace) - mary j. blige. there was this "live from abbey road" special on one of the directv stations that had mary j, james blunt, and dashboard confessional. the live version of this song was unreal. i've heard her on lots of things, but i've never appreciated how great her voice is.

3. the mountains win again - blues traveler. yeah, i definitely had this album when it first came out and listened to it all the time. this was my favorite song on it. no idea where the album is now - got lost in a move maybe. but the song was on a coors commercial or something, and i remembered how great it was. it's really great to scream out the high notes while riding your scooter. prove me wrong.

2. robots - flight of the conchords. i have it on dvd, but the "with traces of lead" part made it necessary to download to the ipod. genius.

1. simple man - graham nash. i'm guessing this guy was a member of crosby, stills, nash, and young. never heard the song before, and it's in the opening of the movie "reign over me" which was really pretty great. don cheadle can't really miss in my eyes. gorgeous song.

to those outside, everything comes in parables (or songs)

"just a little something for the pain. hospital food getting you down? honey now i'm not one to complain, but this hangin' around is wearing me out. so patch me up boys take me home. are you not hearing a word i say? she sounds so different on the phone. i just sink like a stone - back to the day. tell me something. tell me something i don't already know. tell me something. tell me something i don't know." -david gray

No Way Airlines

i guess i've been pretty lucky when it comes to flying. i've rarely had a flight delayed, and i think i've only ever had one flight canceled outright. so the complaining that ensues is really much closer to spoiled brat whining, but i'm going to share it nonetheless.

so i'm flying back from seann and elizabeth's wedding (in houston), and i have to fly to memphis and then to nashville. "but david," you might ask "didn't you leave nineveh in jackson? and isn't memphis only an hour from jackson whereas nashville is two hours from jackson? why would you just fly directly from houston to memphis and drive to jackson to get nineveh?" such a reasonable question with an answer that is anything but reasonable: it's roughly twice as expensive to fly directly from memphis to houston than to fly from nashville to memphis to houston, and that's with gas as a variable!

so the flight from houston to memphis was delayed - no biggie. they projected that we would take off in plenty of time to make my connection. well, how glad i was when we actually were set to take off earlier than anticipated. piece of cake. but then, there was weather. it started drizzling in houston. i know - big panic. texas isn't used to rain. but seriously - i didn't see lightning once or anything serious. yet according to our pilot, the entire airport closed down. this was a little fishy considering the fed ex planes taking off left and right on the runways beside us as well as the american airlines planes three of which took off while we sat grounded.

finally we got the "okay" from God or whoever makes the rain, and we took off. it was gonna be close. well, we landed with about twenty minutes for me to get to my nashville bound plane. i wasn't really that concerned because the memphis airport isn't that colossal, and i knew it fairly well. but here comes the best part: they had made us check anything larger than a hamster at the planeside check-in thingy. well, normally that wouldn't be so big a deal because they typically just throw those bags up on the gate platform (bridge? i don't know air terms) and you grab em as you deplane (i know that one!). well, not this time. i guess because we had been delayed, and things weren't so hot they thought they'd be extra courteous to us and put all our bags on that little elevator thingy and pull it right up to the gate. only problem is, that really screwed most of the people who had mere minutes to make the next flight because it took them SO LONG to get the bags on that thing and get it around there. i was literally standing there with people who were saying "and i just missed my flight" when they clearly would have had time to make it had the people with the bags been equipped with basic reasoning and logic.

so i got my bags with literally one minute to make my plane. i sprinted from terminal a to terminal b (in chacos mind you) and saw my gate. no one was there. i yelled at the next gate down something that sounded like "tha mah play" (i'm not a sprinter). someone came over and quickly called the plane and told them to wait - he was truly helpful, and i wish i had tipped him. he ended up opening the door of the plane for me (unassailably cool i think).

so yeah, i ended up making the flight - and i kinda felt like batman...a batman with burning lungs.

so here's the part where you get to play along. i won't give the name of the airline i flew and won't fly again - but the initials are NWA. so you try and come up with a slogan wittier than mine (shouldn't be hard).

hands off my ice cream

disclaimer: this will likely be the most seinfeldesque post i've ever written. proceed cautiously.

so what's the deal with hand dipped ice cream? i can't remember the first time i saw a sign telling me an ice cream was hand dipped, but i remember being confused. i mean, what's the point? i suppose it does distinguish a certain kind of ice cream from another, say soft serve or homemade. but i think there's also this arrogance like people are going to extra trouble to hand dip this stuff. like i should be impressed that you had to scoop the ice cream. and really, is that any more work than twisting the cone under the spout of the soft serve? if anything, i think making a good twisty cone is harder.

well the other day i seriously heard the most moronic extension of this marketing: hand spun milkshakes. really? you mean you actually went to the trouble to hold a cup in your hand as a machine mixed the stuff around. robots didn't do this? oh, well then i'll have one. i was on the fence, but now that i know what enormous trouble you went to, sign me up.

i'm living suede.

to scoot or not to scoot

so because i'm a tree hugging hippie commie, i bought a scooter a couple weeks ago - to try and cut all ties with exxon mobil and their ilk. i really, REALLY like it. it's a blue honda metropolitan (i know, could i be any more metro?!). it gets, no lying, 100+ mpg. and it's really zippy to ride around on. i'm thinking of calling it "peppy" (i hope someone, maybe casey, gets the curb reference). but, of course, anytime i try to advance the cause of reason and sensibility let alone care for the environment or good stewardship, the "man" has to put his boot on my neck in a way that defies all logic.

i bought the scooter in tennessee, cause i just like trafficking vehicles across state lines. but i tried to do the right thing and take it in to the courthouse to pay tax on it and get it registered and all that legal stuff. let me preface what follows by saying the people who work there seem to hate life and their jobs a lot. people that work in fast food have more joy. anyway, i ask them what i need to do and show them my forms. this one lady (who just loathes me) gets on the phone with someone for a while. she returns and tells me it's illegal for me to ride it on the road; it can only be used for offroad purposes. um, it's a scooter. it's having enough trouble navigating a course that isn't circling the arch de triomphe. but it's certainly not IN ANY WAY for offroading. but the reason she gave me is the kicker: the minimum engine size they'll register is 50cc ~ "peppy" is, wait for it, 49cc. UNACCEPTABLE.

so i guess this place will be my selma or something. i'm not taking it back. i'm going to flagrantly break the law on a regular basis. i answer to a God that loves creation and hates violence, and i'm going to ride this vehicle that barely pollutes and doesn't cause wars. i know that doesn't make sense to most people around the planet, but i'm about changing their minds. in the meantime i'll probably be setting up a legal defense fund for the inevitable court battles ahead. i know i can count on you for a cake with a saw in it when it comes to that. viva la revolution!

worse than fiction

just when i think i've heard the most ridiculous thing possible, i remember there's always room for improvement. i've now heard twice about the environmental protection agency sending the bush administration a document about controlling greenhouse gases. this document was the result of the epa obeying a ruling from the supreme court. as this the new york times article reports, the bush administration chose to ignore the document by refusing to open the e-mail which held the document. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/washington/25epa.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1214920490-3WOjSZifpRF+CKY/LyYC8w

i guess normally i would be outraged at a branch of government behaving like a petulant child with his fingers in his ears yelling in order to ignore what he doesn't want to hear. but really it's just par for the course, so i've pretty much accepted it. the truly outraging part is that it continues to work, as it did with the epa which sent a revised document watering down its proposals. hey, you can't fault a winning strategy.

maybe at some point there will be enough rational, passionate people to hold government officials accountable and fire them for incompetency and bumbling disregard for all ethics. but apparently that's not gonna happen today. today we're just like the white house - willfully ignoring the obvious disaster ahead.

like francis

i was all set to take a trip to assisi in a few months, but events conspired to throw that off the rails. if i ever get to go i hope to hear more stories about st. francis who has always intrigued me. legend has it francis was born into a wealthy family but one day encountered a beggar (who i think had previously terrified francis) and saw in him the image of Christ. from that day on francis renounced his family's wealth, perhaps even stripping off his clothes in front of his cloth merchant father. francis then went on to live the life of a beggar and to serve the poor.

the other day i was ending up some travels in my hometown, and i went to eat at a sub shop. inside was a girl's softball team. one of the team moms was in front of me in line, and i experienced maybe the opposite of what francis did. her behavior in that short time might have robbed from me any future ability to really see anything Christ-like in a certain section of the population. she seemed to be the embodiment of those who serve manna. there was no kindness in her shown to the girls on the softball team or the staff working at the restaurant. she was actually very rude to everyone. her children's names were attempts at outdoing others in trendiness. i simply found it almost impossible to consider loving her because it seemed she cared nothing about love, compassion, sacrifice. she only cared about herself and victory.

i've lived a fairly privileged life, like francis' up to a point. and i'm not close to being able to sell everything i have and give the money to the poor (which i think Jesus actually wants us to do, not just be able to do). but i think i'm ready to call the old tale i've heard in the Church for so long about how the rich are as needy as the poor nothing more than a lie that i refuse to perpetuate. all the symptoms of being rich that are always trotted out (loneliness, depression, stress, etc.) can be alleviated very simply: stop being rich. stop believing that God wants you to be rich in anything other than love and communion with others. realize why Jesus had no possessions and no home.

francis gave his life for the poor, and i often wish i could follow in the same way. but i now belong to an order of clergy where i agree to go where i'm sent. in this way, success often means ending up at very wealthy churches and likely tending to the "problems" associated with wealth. i will seek to love people no matter where i'm sent, but i'm already praying that i'll be more often in ministry with the poor who are not so blinded by possessions and property that they can no longer see Christ.

a penny saved

lots has been happening lately, and a good bit of it has been totally absurd. but it's been happening at such a break-neck pace (i hate that phrase) i've been forgetting most of it before recording it here. here's one thing that happened. it totally isn't worth writing about - but most things i write about aren't.

i'm in jackson (my hometown) for a few days, and i went out to eat with my buddy ben (whose wedding i'm co-presiding at this weekend). we went to rafferty's - one of my favorite jackson places. it has the greatest chicken tenders. actually, it's the sauce that i love so much. the chicken tenders are pretty average. but this sauce is unbelievable. i recently found out (i can't tell you how) that the sauce is just bbq sauce and honey mustard mixed together. now, it took me years of searching and doing unspeakable deeds to find this out. it was like a search for the holy grail. i was telling ben how much i loved the sauce and how it took me so long to figure it out, and just instantly he said "oh, what is it bbq sauce and honey mustard mixed together?" that's just the kinda friendship we have.

anyway, so we order the exact same food. the only difference is he gets a sweet tea, and i get a coke (which was sub-par. i'm a big snob when it comes to coke. props to chappy's in auburn. consistently the best coke i've had in a long time. i'll miss it). our check comes (just one so there's no telling the orders apart) and one of us is being charged a penny more. well, we were just about to burn the place to the ground when she brought us back the receipts to sign, and they were the same price: a penny less (or rather, the one didn't have the extra penny). i guess she knew we weren't to be trifled with.

best post ever!

a new blog

i've decided to launch an additional blog. i know, i barely write on this blog anymore so launching another one probably seems double crazy. it might be, but i feel like i need to do so. for the past couple of years i have become increasingly committed to practices of environmental stewardship (greening, care for the environment, tree hugging, whatever). my motives are primarily theological. i believe God created everything that exists and gave us the cognitive capacity to care for it all. we've done not such a great job recently, and i think it's certainly time for churches and church leaders to lead the way. if we are so adamant about God creating the universe then we must be willing to treat the resources of the planet accordingly. so i'm launching this new blog to deal specifically with these issues. i know i could post them on here, but there is already other content on here, and i want to devote the other blog solely to the environmental purpose. i'm going to try to write on the other blog at least once a week. i'm also going to try to write more on here, and as my life faces some changes soon, i doubt i'll have any lack of material. i'll simply have to make time to share it. but, i hope you'll check out www.goinggreenforgod.blogspot.com as much as you can and share your thoughts about caring for creation.

working for a living

i don't really have much to say, but it's the week of earth day and it's nice to see the tv networks all green and focused on that and everything. but of course i know that'll be over soon. maybe earth day will be the new Christmas when corporations learn more and more how to capitalize on it. i just know that there are two places very close to me - one literally right next to the piece of land i live on - where they are cutting down lots of trees. i've heard chainsaws and bulldozers all through "earth week." i actually like the smell of pine in the air, but then i remember why it lingers so heavy.

i try and put myself in the place of the people cutting down all the trees and realize they are just doing a job. but then i also think, people making missiles and guns and bullets - just doing a job. bartenders that allow people to drink way too much and then drive and kill someone - just earning a living. drug dealers - everyone has to pay the rent. i think the latter categories are much more severe than people who cut down trees for a living - i'm not that far gone just yet, and as long as i use paper or anything else made from wood, i have to allow for people to provide it. i just want there to be some consciousness in all professions of what is taking place - how much good is being done versus the harm, and some attempt at tilting the scales toward the good would be nice. probably some professions have to go. but martin luther thought Christians could serve God as executioners, so i could be wrong.

so yeah, some recognition of as big a picture as possible and the attempt to do the best we can. that might just start with people who cut down trees taking this week off.

do my eyes seem empty?

about a month ago this cat wandered into my yard. i'd seen her a few times before, but always on the edge of the woods. this time she ventured pretty close and eventually came right up to me. it was night, so i was a little hesitant - couldn't tell if she was foaming at the mouth or anything. but she seemed really friendly, constantly meowing and rubbing up against my legs.

we never had cats growing up, only dogs; we always had dogs. i'm admittedly way more of a dog person, but i guess i just feel like there's not as much of a chance for me to screw things up with one since i've been around them my whole life. of course, i really love all animals a great deal. i guess it's one of the things i'm softest about. i can't stand to see animals mistreated. people i can pretty much take or leave, but animals...well i kinda feel like we're supposed to take care of them, certainly the ones that can't fend for themselves. recently, i've come a long way with cats. i think i just started appreciating them for what they are. i used to write them off as snobby or entitled, and that may be true, but i've also realize they just aren't as domesticated as dogs even after centuries of having them as pets. they are just tame enough to live with humans, but wild enough to do it always on their terms. i respect that. they are certainly beautiful animals, and big cats (lions, tigers, and cougars) have always amazed me. not too long ago my dad and stepmom started caring for some strays that now run their yard. it's been a pretty impressive transformation. all this is to say, the thought came into my head that i might keep this cat.

she kept coming around and eventually came up on my porch to the door. she would have come into the house, but i realized i had to test things with my dog first - she's kinda my first priority. so i tried to introduce them, and it did not go well. nineveh (my dog) is the most docile creature i've ever seen. it's clear she's been abused. she's always very cowed around other animals, even rabbits. so she was easing up to the cat very slowly. then suddenly, the cat hissed and struck at her. i reacted really suddenly and badly. i threw the cat down and yelled at it - i was really worried it had scratched nineveh's eyes. no blood. still, i was really mad. i decided this wasn't gonna work and that my loyalty was to nineveh. the cat would have to find a home elsewhere. so i ran her off.

i felt pretty bad in the following days. i mean, she was just being a cat i guess. we all know cats and dogs historically don't get along. but, she didn't come back around, so what could i do? i went out of town for a few days last sunday and got back wednesday afternoon. the cat was back, and i found her under the side of my shed. she seemed really weak and not at all well. when i ran her off, i noticed that her stomach was a little larger than the rest of her. i didn't know if she was pregnant or not (again, no experience with cats), but now she certainly was not pregnant any longer. she was skin and bones. i tried bringing her some food and water, but she wouldn't eat. so i got really worried and decided i'd try taking her somewhere the next day. i kept checking on her, and at one point she crawled under the shed to the middle of it and curled up on an old tarp that was under there. i didn't think this was good at all. so, i called katie to help me get her out. katie kept a flashlight shining on her so i could see, and i tried moving her with different things - she was really impossible to reach though. a couple times she got up, and i thought maybe she'd come out, but she just laid back down. finally i decided i'd have to go to the top of the shed and come in from that angle - which was really dicey because there's a lot of mulch and weeds and stuff there. i cleared out as much stuff as i could and put a board down. then i reached under the shed and started pulling the tarp. the cat stayed on it which helped. finally i pulled her out. she was so weak and dirty. we fed her some tuna, and she ate decently and drank some water. i decided to make a little bed for her in this kiddie pool where i wash nineveh. i also would put it in my backyard which is fenced so she wouldn't get out (i don't know anything about cats).

the next morning i went out and checked on her. she seemed a little better, but i noticed she was bleeding from her back end. i called my vet to see about possible treatment. things didn't sound good. i had decided i really couldn't keep her, but i'd pay for her treatment (as long as it wasn't insane) so she could be adopted by someone else. i was told it could cost $800-$1,200 to get her healthy, if that was even possible. of course this was just an estimate - they hadn't even checked her out. i called the humane society, but they said given her condition they'd likely put her to sleep. finally, i checked with the auburn vet school (how lucky to live near a vet school). at first they too were a little hesitant since it wasn't my cat, but eventually a very kind woman said i could bring her in anonymously and they'd do what they could for her. that was good enough for me. so i went outside to get her, and she was nowhere to be found.

i looked all over the yard where i had seen her just moments before. finally, i looked under the shed, and there she was, curled up again. at that point i wondered if i should just leave her. it's always amazed me how animals know when it's their time. they truly are more perceptive than we give them credit for. but i decided i'd have to get her out one way or another - better to do it while she was still alive and maybe had a chance. so i dug her out with my hand again and put her in the car. she was very peaceful on the way to the vet school. i should say at this point that once i got a look at her, she really was a pretty cat. her head and tail were kinda gray striped - pretty standard. but her body was almost blonde with a very faint tortoise print. i'd never seen a cat like her.

i brought her in and the lady i spoke with took us to an observation room. she agreed the cat didn't look good. a vet/student soon came in to ask me some questions and took her to do a quick exam. she wanted me to stay, which i was a little surprised about, but i did. she came back with another vet and they started talking with me about options. they would do what they could, but also needed to know if i could help pay for anything and how much. i told them i could help some, but i certainly don't have much money and just wanted to get her healthy so someone could adopt her. we all agreed on doing blood work and going from there. so i left, and they promised to call me.

a few hours later i got a call that things were not good. she didn't have leukemia (which would have been a deal breaker treatment wise), but she did have a very bad virus and a fever of 105. they think she might have miscarried and weren't sure if the virus could have caused that or the other way around. basically even with some serious (and expensive) surgery and loads (of expensive) antibiotics, it was still 50/50 whether she'd even live. they said the best thing to do would be to put her to sleep. then they asked my permission. i didn't sign up for that part. she wasn't my cat - just a stray that wandered up, but here i was being asked if it was okay to kill her. i said yes. they told me it was the best thing to do and then expressed their gratitude for bringing her in and doing "so much more than most people." i thanked her for doing all she could and hung up the phone. then i pretty much lost it.

i was sobbing for the next half hour or so. i just couldn't get over not having taken the cat in sooner or being willing to officially adopt her so i would have spent the money. i felt so guilty for running her off and truly believed i killed her. i felt awful the rest of that day and for the next few days. i'm admittedly someone who wants to save the world singlehandedly, and i know that's pretty dangerous sometimes, but i also think it's what makes the few good things about me so good. say what you will about me, you can't say i'm not passionate.

in the days that have followed i've been reassured by several more people that i did all i could for the cat and way more than many people would have done. i guess i still can't get over not being able to save her though, even though i fully understand it can't always work out that way. i truly can't say enough good things about the auburn vet school and the work they did. i sensed in them a deep compassion not just for animals, but for people who do their best to try and help animals, however insufficient that effort ultimately is. i plan to make a donation to further their work when i can. and i guess that's my next thing to be passionate about. i've always loved animals and wanted to help them, but i haven't done as much about putting my money and time towards that effort, and i have a strong motivation now. of course, i've also realized that the main reason i didn't keep the cat was because my first priority is to my dog that i adopted from a rescue service. she was abused and could have suffered the same fate as the cat, but she was rescued from a shelter and now rescues me on a daily basis. so i guess that's the biggest lesson i have for others. if you possibly can, adopt/rescue/save an animal. it requires a great deal of time, money, patience, and love and one should NEVER get an animal on a whim. but i think there are plenty of people who could give animals a very good home, and i hope they will seek out not just the most photogenic or trendy breed, but also those who have no more chances and need special attention. by saving their lives you will likely discover that in countless ways, they return the favor by saving you.

my sacrifice for creation

for the past couple of years i have tried to practice good environmental stewardship. i'll admit that a key in my new focus was seeing the film An Inconvenient Truth. i will not argue the science of the film or global climate change or anything to do with Al Gore. none of these ultimately brought about my change. what did it was remembering the intricate beauty of creation and my belief that the God i worship somehow brought about all that exists. it occurred to me that i can't love God and trash what God created and called good. so i set out to care for creation in as many ways as i could. i rode my bike more, i started using my own bags at kroger and my own water bottles everywhere (even when i was yelled at by an employee at taco bell - where i refuse to eat again), i have even invented my own water efficient way of washing dishes, which i'll disclose later. but one thing i couldn't turn green was my lead foot...until now.

one of my church members told me about a guy in "Reader's Digest" who won an mpg contest by getting 150 mpg. i was pretty floored, especially when i read that the car he used wasn't a hybrid. his secret: coasting. basically driving as slow as possible and trying never to use the gas, or the brake for that matter. so i've started trying it - it's really too soon to tell if i can do this. i'm so used to getting frustrated with people who even drive the speed limit. now i find myself well under it. i suppose this will be the true test of my dedication to creation. of course, i could just scrap the car and bike everywhere.

here are a few other tips the article offered: 1. keep your car empty of everything you can. excess weight only drags you down. 2. keep the tires inflated well and the car regularly maintained. 3. don't use the air conditioner or roll the windows down (really tough, the guy in the article wears an ice vest!).

and now, as promised, my amazing dish washing method. of course, if you can afford some fancy dishwasher that conserves energy and water, go for it. but i can't, so i do this. for starters, you have to clean your plate as much as possible when you eat. you should do this anyway - starving kids in africa. then, start off with just a little water and dish soap in the sink, just enough to wash a few things (plates). let them soak for a few minutes and then sponge them or whatever. THEN rinse them off with the water filling up the sink even more. in other words, don't rinse them in the other side with the water leaving and being wasted. i know you might be like "eww, but the water will be all gross." no, it won't. the dish should be totally free of crud when you rinse. any crud will be in that water anyway - and if you've eaten everything on your plate, it shouldn't be a problem. so continue rinsing so that the water level rises, and continue adding larger dishes and letting them soak for a few minutes. by the end, you'll have a full sink of water, but you'll have conserved a lot. tell your friends.

studio 60 on the sunset strip

a couple weeks ago i finally broke down and ordered the complete series of the show mentioned above. i had watched it when it was on a few years ago, and i was deeply saddened that it didn't get picked up. although i guess i shouldn't be that surprised. it offered a little more social commentary than most people care for i suppose.

i'm a pretty big aaron sorkin fan. i own the complete series of Sports Night and the first five seasons of The West Wing (i couldn't bear watching after the first few episodes of the fifth season). anyone who has seen the shows would have a hard time arguing that the substance of them is that distinct. and one could go so far as to say they are the same show in three different packages. so i find it a bit suspicious that Sports Night and Studio 60 made it two and one seasons, respectively, while The West Wing went seven and won quite a few emmys. i'm no conspiracy guy, but could it have something to do with the american flag being in The West Wing's opening credits? who's to say?

anyway, of the three The West Wing is probably my favorite, but then it had much more of a chance to earn that accolade. of the three, the first season of Studio 60 is by far the best. the first season of The West Wing is almost painful to recall - especially moira kelly. once she left it had the superior cast of the three, but only barely. all three casts were phenomenal compared to anything else on tv. matthew perry was great on West Wing and Studio 60. i hope he gets another shot at a role like that. only time will tell i suppose.

"suzanne, tarps over everything!"

a bit of a crowbar separation, please

i thought maybe under bush people would begin to realize that a president's (or candidate's) religious beliefs really mean nothing regarding the way they will govern. bush is a self-avowed Christian (as are all candidates who hope to have a prayer of getting elected) and yet he has waged an unprovoked, unmitigated, endless war built entirely on lies. at the same time he has thwarted any effort to care for the environment and ignored any scientific evidence (or really any opinion) that has not supported his beliefs. i defy anyone to defend the claim (with a straight face) that he has done anything in his presidency that would even please Jesus Christ.

but i'm fine with this because politicians are not pastors and they shouldn't be. they should, of course, stop pretending to be devout Christians and admit they're playing to the crowd. but at the same time, the voters should actually explore history rather than listen to hack revisionist historians (often in the form of "pastors") and realize that the founders of the united states wanted a government devoid of religious favoritism and influence.

to those who want to belong to the Church - God is the ultimate authority. therefore, there is no allegiance to the state. to those who want to pledge allegiance to the state, let them serve the state, but don't expect them to worship God. no one can serve two gods.

which brings me to jeremiah wright. he is a pastor. his job is not to make flattering comments about the united states. his job is to serve God. people may certainly disagree with his sermons, but not in any political way because he is not a politician. and if people disagree with his sermons, they should speak with him, not members of his church. they don't write his sermons.

perhaps obama should answer questions about his relationship to wright - but not the kind the media are offering. maybe obama should be asked why a political campaign has a chaplain or spiritual advisors. even more basic, he should be asked how he plans to command a military that may be called upon to kill while he serves a God that forbids killing. but of course these questions draw attention to the problems of mixing Church and state, and everybody knows those two are separate. right?

stop the fame for the infamous

before michael moore had the "audacity" to question and challenge bush's motives for waging war on iraq, thus incurring severe wrath from...well not above, but somewhere (moore, not bush), he was fairly widely celebrated for Bowling for Columbine. in it, he examines the violent culture of america - especially america's youth - and the myriad factors that might contribute to disasters like those experienced at columbine high, virginia tech, and now northern illinois university.

particularly piercing in his work is the difference between our media and that in other countries. most, if not all, mainstream media religiously follows the maxim "if it bleeds, it leads." but i'm starting to wonder if the immense attention and fame (or perhaps infamy) heaped on the perpetrators of these acts isn't becoming a massive incentive. we can blame the increase on the severity and regularity of these acts on many factors, but certainly it seems that the more coverage these acts have received, the more they have occurred.

most of the people who commit these acts are suicidal. but rather than simply kill themselves, they want to make as big a bang as possible. so they kill many others. and then, we give them just what they wanted to begin with: massive attention. in essence, we grant their final wish - and we honor them with attention far above their poor, innocent victims.

criminals, especially of this caliber, should not be made celebrities. we should completely deny them this awful fame. don't mention their names or anything about them. don't show any photos of them posing with weapons of death. withhold from them all glory, and declare once and for all that those who commit these atrocities will receive no attention. i find it deplorable that during sporting events cameras will cut away from people running on baseball fields or across tennis courts because "we don't want to encourage that kind of behavior" - but apparently we shouldn't question whether or not we are encouraging mass murder. just once it would be encouraging to see ANY news outlet that wanted to try and be part of the solution rather than contributing to the problem.

think i'm exaggerating about this? i'll bet you know the names of the murderers at niu, va tech, and columbine - or could at least describe them. now try describing or naming any of their victims.

nothin

well it's been a few weeks since i posted. so you might be wondering what have i been doing? well, nothin. i don't really have a good reason for not writing - just nothing much has come to me lately. i don't really have that much to write about now, but i feel like i need to - and emily told me to. so i guess here are a couple things that have been consuming my time.

planet earth - i finally got a library card to the auburn public library (on a side note - boo to the university library. you may be big and have a cool name that is almost "dragon" but i'm not paying for a library card. you're a public university, and my taxes keep you alive. you should be saying "thank you" not "gimme more of your money." also, you started as a methodist school and i'm methodist clergy - so where's the love?) and i checked out the first two dvds of this series. it truly is unbelievable. i deeply love nature and find so much of it fascinating. this is the greatest presentation of nature documentary i've ever seen. it's entrancing. it really has brought out a deeper appreciation for animals. i mean, i've always loved animals and been amazed by them. but until lately i don't think i've respected them as much as i should. what they have to go through just to survive is incredible. when i want food, i go to kroger or any number of other food vendors, and i get exactly what i want. when animals want food, they have to take it somehow, and in many cases they have to endure ridiculous hardships to come by it. seeing some of the hunt scenes in planet earth truly humbles me. and it saddens me so much more that we are making the existence of so many animals that much harder - it not impossible all together. if we cause the extinction of polar bears, i'm pretty much done with the human race.

unChristian - at the aub pub lib (as i call it) i also got a little book i'd seen a few times before called unChristian. the full title is unChristian: What a new generation really thinks about Christianity...and why it matters. the book features the extensive work of the barna group which has research perceptions of Christians and the Church, and in this case most of the data concerns 16-29 year olds who are considered "outsiders" to the Christian faith (atheists, agnostics, or adherents to another religion or no religion). well, the findings are staggering but not surprsing, enlightening as well as troubling. i'm not finished with the book yet, but i've been a bit surprised by how much it has resonated with me. i find myself sharing many of the frustrations that the "outsiders" express. overall, i certainly agree with the feeling expressed by many that "outsiders" are seen by many within the church as targets. they only really matter insofar as they could be another check on our church logs, and that's generally how we treat them. we may try once or twice to convert them or something, but a meaningful, long-lasting relationship where they are deeply honored and equal partners in the discussion - no, we aren't really that interested in that. the book doesn't pull any punches, and i like it's honesty and willingness to turn the microscope in on itself. the people who did this research and produced the book are deeply committed Christians willing to say "we are a large part of the problem." furthermore, they offer real suggestions for helping with the problem. i can only hope they will find ears willing to listen in our churches. if not, they may be describing the beginning of the end of Christianity as we know it...which come to think of it, may not be a bad thing at all.

thoughts on heath ledger and other things

heath ledger's death caught me by total shock, and i don't really know why. that's to say it's not really like i knew him or anything about him. i know i felt sadness for several reasons, but i think i felt an eeriness because i was so captivated by the scenes of his portrayal of the joker in the forthcoming batman movie - so much so that i wrote about it in the post before last. then to hear suggestions that the role might have contributed to his death - even if it just caused him to lose sleep and seek sleeping pills - i felt guilt at celebrating a performance that might have led to such a tragedy.

in the media coverage of all this, it is encouraging to see even the slightest restraint in pronouncing his death. i suppose the restraint is mostly an unavoidable consequence of having to wait for toxicology reports. after that comes out, all bets are off. but at least there are efforts have the facts - as much as we can have - before pronouncing judgment. i suppose i'm particularly attuned to this because i just finished reading a book about the duke lacrosse case. since i was there for the whole thing, i promised myself it'd be several years before i read any of the books about it. but i heard this one (Until Proven Innocent) being read on NPR and decided to go ahead.

of course the main feature of the book exposes the rush to judge the lacrosse team regardless of the facts and the general refusal to admit this fault once the charges had been totally disproven. during the events i tried to remain as objective as possible. i certainly didn't clamor for their heads (or other body parts) as the extremists did - possibly because i'm a white male, and i don't feel either trait makes me inherently evil or criminal. but i guess having the respect for due process that i have also cautions me about rushing to judgment. i can't say i didn't feel that deep down something probably happened at that party - but i look back and realize that's generally all that was presented to me by the media, even at ground zero (with the usual exception of The Chronicle - duke's student newspaper, which i read often, but not daily). for a long time it wasn't really a question of whether or not a sexual assault occurred; it was what happened and who did it? but the principle characters responsible for shaping the story did not stop at the first scene and honestly account for the facts.

regardless of what the facts end up concluding (or suggesting - as total conclusion may never be possible) about ledger's death, it is a tragedy. i think that's really all we can say and perhaps all we should.