My MySpace is No More

Well after four weeks I have terminated my MySpace account. I never used it once and e-mail worked just as well to stay in contact with my college pals. The lurid nature of the advertisements and phishing was distasteful to me. I don't judge anyone for making use of MySpace for positive reasons. It just wasn't my cup of tea. So this wary luddite in a 2.0 world has signed his analog self out of that particular corner of the digital universe. I leave it to all the Millenials who have never seen Star Wars and don't remember and wouldn't believe how the Kansas City Royals once ruled the American League.

photo: Me and the Blues Brothers at Chicago's Midway Airport in 2005. Many may not know that I was an unofficial member of the Blues Brothers from 1986 through 1989.

Blowup in Big D

The big news in Dallas yesterday was a huge explosion of a truck carrying hundreds of gas canisters at an industrial plant adjacent to downtown. The explosion took place right next to the intersection of I-35 and I-30 (aka, the Mixmaster) across the freeway from Reunion Tower. Amazingly only three people were injured in the blast and there were no fatalities. Traffic was shut down on both of these major freeways all day which as you can imagine created massive gridlock for the downtown canyon. Fortunately I didn't have plans to be in the canyon yesterday and could only watch the tower of toxic smoke from a safe distance in Forney.

The explosion was quite impressive and even pre-empted daytime television. I was also impressed by the quick response of local advertisers to catch on to the spirit of the event...this was heard today on 100.3 Jack F.M....

"Are you tired of dodging flaming canisters of gas flying over I-35? Tired of driving through plumes of toxic smoke? Then be sure to turn into Jack F.M.'s new traffic reports every weekday from 4-7 pm!"

Tour de Disgrace

I used to follow the Tour de France every July. But now I couldn't care less. After Floyd Landis I really lost interest. Now I read today that tour leader and expected winner Michael Rasmussen was kicked out for evading drug testing. The tour has become a joke and it's really too bad. I used to really look up the physical and mental stamina of the tour athletes. Now they're all pretty much lying cheaters.

Good Times for MLS Soccer

With Beckham mania sweeping America I have to say this is a pretty good time for MLS soccer. The crowds are growing. Ownership is more stable than at any other time. There are more and more soccer only stadiums in the MLS. The ignorant and intolerant anti-soccer sports columnists are retiring and are being replaced with open-minded and educated soccer aficianadoes. Don't count out the power of sports journalists to help boost a sport's popularity with the masses. Soccer stories used to be relegated to the back page...now they routinely get front page treatment even for stories other than Posh and Becks.

The NFL is reeling from player's trashy behavior (ala Vick and Pacman). MLB is reeling from steroid abuse. The NBA is reeling from gambling allegations. The NHL has become irrelevant after a season long lock out and television purgatory on a cable station no one has heard of (Versus? C'mon!). The MLS could very well gain a lot from all these messes.

Remember the generation that first caught soccer fire from Pele and the New York Cosmos (or for me, the NASL Tulsa Roughnecks) in the late 70's is now taking over the wheel both in the stands and in the pressbox. Generation X is taking over and that's a good thing for America in general and soccer in particular (also for the state of the American church...but that's for another blog.).

So I was very happy when I read today that MLS's leading scorer and Kansas City Wizard forward Eddie Johnson turned down a multi-million dollar offer from an English Premier team to stay in the states. Soccer is the future baby so jump on the pitch and start rollin' with the jugadors.

Scooter and Rich

I like to think I'm up on things...but I just recently found out that "Scooter" Libby was Marc Rich's attorney from 1985 to 2000 and fought for him to be pardoned by then President Clinton. I don't know about you...but I find that kinda weird. Don't know if there's any significance to that little fact...but it is kind of weird. Maybe ironic is a better word. Maybe those whacked out conspiracy theorists are right...maybe its BOTH dems and republicans behind the curtain in Oz.

The Lion Lamb Fellowship

I'm excited about the direction the small devotional group I facilitate at Dallas Central Church of the Nazarene is going. We picked a name that we modifed from other sources...especially inspired by a sermon I heard at Bethany (OK) First Church of the Nazarene...The Lion Lamb Fellowship.

We seek to be a place where people of differing personalities, socio-economic backgrounds, education etc... can come together and worship the Lord without fear of judgement. We seek to be a hospital where those who are sick can come and seek healing through Christ. We believe in the primacy of scripture and that our main goal as emergent Nazarenes is to model the life of Christ everyday through our words and deeds. We believe in Christian humility and the power of the Holy Spirit to effect change in our lives and in the world. We believe in Lion personalities and Lamb personalities coming together without fear in love to worship Christ.

We want to serve others as Christ served others during his earthly ministry. We believe earthly and spiritual poverty can be eradicated. We believe Christ can end both spiritual and physical hunger. We believe that God doesn't look at your clothes but your heart on Sunday mornings. We believe we are called to be peacemakers. We believe we are stewards of the environment God created for us. We believe in the doctrine of the Church of the Nazarene yet believe Democrats and Republicans, Marxists and Captialists, all ethnicities, and even Sooners and Longhorns can come together and worship God freely in a fellowship of believers.

Ode to the Blowhards

I met a lot of great people at this past Euro Conference and as I said, our presenter was fantastic. But by the end of the week you do begin to tire of the blowhards who have no self-awareness and always have to throw in their special knowledge. There was a guy recording everything into a cassette and I was really tempted to say inappropriate words just to make it onto his recording. Ah...but I didn't...but I did write a poem and a couple of Haikus to release my frustration. The moral...let others participate...you don't have to prove how smart you are all the time.

Ode To An AP Euro Conference

A Sonnet of 14 Stanzas from the point of view of an obnoxious know-it-all...

We are the smartest people in the world.

Monday through Friday our genius swirled.

Carson was always wrong and we were always right.

Except for those bums Ty, Telford and David White.

All were wise and oh so smart

Into that guy's cassette I want to say "FART!"

You better not stumble or make a mistake

Or I will expose you as an AP Euro fake.

During all breaks I must talk and monopolize Carson.

Don't get between me and Eddie or I'll commit arson.

OOPS! You said 1588 and clearly it was 1589.

Yes, I said that, that comment was MINE!

That marxist Carson must be smoking grass.

Next year I'm going to apply to teach his class.

Haiku to the Blowhards

Many Blowhards here

Must prove Carson wrong a lot

They are super smart.

Another Haiku to the Blowhards

Let me answer that!
I love the sound of my voice.

AND I'm always right!

AP European History Conference

Finished up a week long Advanced Placement European History Conference at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas today. Our presenter, Eddie Carson was excellent. He has a lot more patience than I do. Teachers can be some of the hardest students because in these settings there's always a few who want to impress and prove their knowledge. Plus they will call you on every mistake you make. But Eddie handles it with great skill and aplomb and we had a great week of intellectual discourse. I hope to run into Eddie the next time I'm down Houston way. I made some new contacts and ran into some old ones. And it's always good to talk with people with similar interests in your field of study.

My hour long commute each day went extremely well...no accidents that caused major back-ups the whole week. Me and the Mini Cooper were freeway flyers. TCU was a great site and Perotti's Pizza was, as always, very good.

Weird America

The United States of America can be wonderfully weird. Last Tuesday we took the most direct route...albeit maybe not the fastest route from French Lick, Indiana to St. Louis, Missouri. We didn't take the interstate. We stayed on U.S. and state highways. The main reason was that Tom who was convoying with us wanted to see the famous white squirrels of Olney, Illinois...smack dab in the center of southern Illinois nowhere near an interstate highway.

Now I had never heard of the famous white squirrels of Olney...but as we drove into town there were signs and banners proclaiming Olney as the home of the famous white squirrels. You can see them in two places...the city park and the city lake. We chose the park because it was closer. However, the squirrels were pretty much out of sight due to rain and the county fair which was going on in the park.

But we did not leave disappointed because we did find one white squirrel hiding up in a tree out of the rain. Never thought I'd ever be in Olney, Illinois walking around like an idiot staring into the trees looking for white (not albino!) squirrels next to an exhibit of pigs in the rain.

Only in America.

World's Largest McDonalds

Just got back from vacation visiting family in Oklahoma and Indiana. On the way back we stopped at the world's largest McDonalds. This was one of my favorite stops as a kid. It's not quite as glistening as when it first was reopened as a Mickey D's several years ago. But it's still a nice stop on the highway. Located on I-44 near Vinita between Tulsa and Joplin. Jackson thought it pretty cool.

Your other left

Construction sign seen on northbound U.S. 75 at Spring Creek Parkway in Plano.

I guess you shouldn't pay attention to the arrows. TXDOT meant your other left.

A wary Luddite in a 2.0 world

I hate to admit this...I really do. I have a MySpace account. It is set on private...so only friends can see it and my address is not publicized. I don't update it much and am embarassed to have it. But I have it because it's a super easy way for me and some of my college buddies to keep up with one another. I just wish MySpace wasn't the forum. It seems so lurid and depraved. There's nothing wrong with it if you use it the right way. But so many people out there use it in ways that seem kind of gross...to find women and plan Roman-style fandangos. But even some churches and Sunday school classes are setting up MySpace networks...so it can be a positive force.

My MySpace tagline is..."A wary Luddite in a 2.0 world OR An analog man in a digital universe."

Texas Flood

A friend of mine once told me he wanted to move to Seattle because he likes rain and had heard it rains a lot there. This year he wouldn't have to move that far to see a lot of rain.

Rained again today...got caught in the Wal*Mart parking lot in a downpour. Our yard is turning into the type of wetlands greedy wealthy industrialists love to eradicate.

I've been in Texas now for almost ten years and haven't seen this type of deluge. I haven't set out my sprinklers once this entire year. Usually by April I've been sprinkling several times a week. I learned once I moved here that you have to keep the foundations and the ground next to your house from becoming too parched or cracks will destroy your foundation. The Texas clay cracks easily.

Last year we were under drought restrictions. This year it's monsoons. Must be global warming. We can blame everything on global warming...or Dubya. Appropriate year for the movie Evan Almighty and the story of Noah.

Anyway...stay dry, my fellow Texans and Oklahomans.

photo: frog (or toad) in the backyard wetland.

Renaissance or Medieval Faire?

I'm not usually one who goes for costumes...but a few weeks ago Kimberly and I attended a wedding of a friend of hers at Scarborough Faire. Scareborough Faire is a "renaissance" festival held every year for a month in Waxahachie, south of Dallas. As a history teacher I was interested in going to the fair...but not in costume. However, costumes were strongly encouraged for the wedding and Kimberly wouldn't relent.

So when we got there we stopped at a costume rental place and I immediately decided upon being a monk because the outfit looked similar to a Jedi Knight's gear. Plus it was raining walruses and clams and a monk's cloak provided great rain protection. The whole fair was one muddy mess...but we had fun. I was amazed how many people came in costume to the fair...not just to the wedding. Some people take this costuming pretty seriously.

I will say...and Kim says I'm splitting hairs here...the faire was actually more medieval than renaissance. And most of the renaissance stuff was of the northern variety rather than the more famous and influential Italian strain. Hey, what can I say...it's my job to notice these things. But we had fun and hopefully the next time we go it will bit drier.

Books read in 2007

My students are often interested in what I'm reading (believe it or not!). We're halfway through 2007 and here's what I've finished reading so far...

The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Tritessa by Jack Kerouac

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Collapse by Jared Diamond

Dining with the Devil by Os Guiness

1776 by David McCullough

Satori in Paris by Jack Kerouac

Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

Candide by Voltaire

I'm currently engaged in reading "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

All the above books are good but the ones that really stood out to me were "The Songlines," "Midnight's Children," "1776," "Black Swan Green," and "The Road." But I would recommend all these books. It's been a good year reading so far.

Jackson recommends "Fire Engines"

Entering the Fastlane

Okay...you may have noticed that I hadn't blogged in a month. The reason...our dial-up connection had become intolerably slow. As of today...we're now on DSL and internet life at home is much less frustrating. And we're actually saving money since we could cancel our DFW metro line and just get the cheap local service and rely on our cell phone. So I get high speed internet and save $30 a month. No brainer!

Summer is Nigh!

Whew...Four more school days until summer vacation! Kimberly and I have almost made it through what has to qualify as one of the craziest school years in memory.

Three days before my school year started my principal was "re-assigned" or fired basically...which you can imagine threw our campus into waves of uncertainty. By Christmas our district's superintendent retired out of disgust for petty school board power politics and a new principal wasn't hired until February.

Then Jackson made his wondrous arrival into our lives in January and changed everything wonderfully. Kim was off from Christmas to Spring Break. I was off for the first two weeks of the second semester. I missed more days this year than all the previous years of my teaching career combined. That of course raises the level of insanity when you return to the classroom.

We of course quickly, yet wearily, adjusted to four or five hours of sleep and something must have worked because for the first time in my teaching career 100% of my students passed the statewide TAKS test. Even 100% of my regular (I hate that description) students passed. Thirty-one of my thirty-nine A.P. students achieved commended scores. Maybe I should be absent from the classroom more often! I'm not quite sure I like the conclusions that can be drawn from that fact.

I started an AP European History class this year at KHS and it went very well. Having three preps (AP World History, Euro, and World History) really wasn't that bad. Kimberly had a fantastic second year as a school counselor. Jackson entered daycare in the same building Kimberly works and adjusted marvelously.

Still...we're exhausted and can't wait for this summer to start. Mine is basically here. I only have four half-days left and only six of my students are taking my final exam due to exemptions they received for passing TAKS. Only students currently failing my course have to take my exam...so I'm basically done.

It's been a crazy year...my eighth and Kimberly's tenth! Crazy in some wondrous ways (Jackson's arrival) and tumultous ways (administration upheaval). I haven't even had much time to blog...maybe I can catch up during the lazy hazy days of summer vacation. What a great job teaching is!

Jackson Update

The Jackson Update: Four Months on May 8th.

Jackson is surprising us in new ways every day. He now laughs out loud. He loves his baths and really loves to make big splashes with his feet. He is now grabbing anything that gets within reach. He's rolling over from his belly to his back...he's found that's the easiest way to get out of the dreaded tummy time. His head control is great. The last three nights in a row he has slept eight hours at a time...much to the relief of Mom and Dad.

The coolest thing however is that he now is kissing people on the cheek...not the usual baby slobbering mush...he is really puckering and kissing people on the cheek. He's only four months old and he's kissing people! He really likes the ladies...he flirts with the daycare women, the nurses at his doctor's office and the doctor herself. He is really doing great and we are loving him more and more each day.

We celebrated Kimberly's first Mother's Day today and Jackson is the greatest gift a mother could ask for (according to Kimberly).

Ending poverty is a bad thing?!?

My policy on my blog is that I do not publish anonymous comments. I'm not asking for anything more than a first name and the city where you live. I want people to stand by their comments and not hide behind anonymity.

Anyway, I received a comment that really surprised me regarding my post about my microloan to a ceramics maker in Mexico. Among several ridiculous notions mentioned was that I should have loaned to someone in another country other than Mexico so my dollar "could go further." I guess we should base our charity on exchange rates now rather than on the human equations.

They also expressed a great concern that by empowering the lowest classes they would soon constitute a large lower middle class. They thought this would greatly upset the class system and create unknown chaos. They pointed out that the poverty rate around the world has remained stable at around 15% and that this was a good thing because it created a sense of stability.

I would post the actual comment but they hid their bizarre ideas behind the cloak of anonymity and I can actually see why. Why would anyone be in favor of people remaining in poverty? Not only is this notion callous, inhumane, immoral and classcist it is sheer evil. Poverty is an artificial creation. Bringing people out of poverty is not only humane but a moral peregotive we have as followers of Christ. To justify keeping people in poverty because of the unknown effects on the world economy if they were to improve their lot in life is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable.

The Microcredit Revolution

I first heard about microcredit when Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize this past year. I was captivated by his story and quickly read his book "Banker to the Poor." His concept to help alleviate world poverty is elegantly simple yet radically effective. Many suffering in poverty could work their way out of their horrible conditions with the help of a tiny loan...a loan that allows them to start a business or enhance an already existing business. The problem arises when they seek loans from their local third world bank or money lender which charge exhorbitant lending rates.

Microcredit allows an enterprising person to borrow a sum that is almost insignificant by first world standards with little or no percentage rates. They work with local NGO's to make sure worthy candidates are screened and enabled to pay the loan back in a timely manner. PBS and the New York Times a few months ago featured one of these microlending operations on Frontline: World. KIVA (meaning 'unity' in Swahili) allows people to loan as little as $25 to a recipient in a third world nation. Kiva also allows lenders to keep up with their loan recipient's progress. So far 100% of the loans have been repaid. Slate.com recommends Kiva as one of the best microlenders to use.

I made my first loan today to a middle aged woman in Mexico who is trying to support her family through the sale of ceramics. You can check out her story at http://www.kiva.org/lender/david5133. Even if I don't get my money back ($25) I'll just consider it a donation.

I went with someone in Mexico because people in Texas are always debating immigration. I believe in helping people where they are rather than just complaining about people moving here. If we can empower our neighbors they won't have to make the difficult decision to leave home in the first place. When she repays the loan...I'll reinvest in another loan. Besides, it's money I received for my birthday. This is a much more fulfilling way to spend my money. And it's not just a donation. Its money that's helping empower someone to help themselves lift themselves out of poverty and in turn make a positive difference in their community.

Check out www.kiva.org. They're safe and reputable and they're doing a wonderful thing. It doesn't take much to be an international micro-financier with great organizations like Kiva facilitating the process.