The Big Chair

J sitting in the "big chair" in the Oval Office. Fieldtrip to the Dubya Library. 

Differentiation

Super Bowl!

Greatest Groundhog's Day Movie Ever

Documentation

You're a liberal, aren't you?

I do not have a political affiliation. My allegiance is to Christ alone. I have views that fit on both sides of the political spectrum. In fact, I have views that fall all over the political spectrum. And I am very careful not to express my personal opinions to my students. But the other day, one of my students said "You're a liberal, aren't you?"

I was surprised and asked why they would think that?

The student responded that I'm always trying to get them help the poor and impoverished. They said I'm always bringing attention to the plight of those suffering in other nations. The student said I'm always raising money for non-profits that assist those living in developing nations. They said I was always trying to help those agencies in our county that assist the poor or the distressed.

I asked, "That's why you think I'm liberal?" And they responded with a resounding yes.

I found it sad that if you help the poor you are considered liberal. It's a sad state of affairs when conservatives are seen, fairly or unfairly, for not caring about the poor both in the United States and overseas. I know plenty of conservatives who help in many different ways to help the poor. But the general perception seems to be that poverty is a liberal cause.

I'm not a liberal or a conservative. I'm not a Republican or a Democrat. But I think both sides, regardless of ideology, should make helping the poor one of their primary objectives. They may have different methods and ideas about how to help the poor, but the poor should be a primary concern. Obviously, I'm coming at this from a Christian perspective. That's my affiliation. And one of Christ's major concerns was for the poor.

But I still found it sad that helping the poor makes you "liberal." Helping the poor should be what everyone does. Helping our neighbors should simply be who we are regardless of our party affiliation.

We have Olympic Fever

How I Find Time to Read...

I was asked an excellent question the other day: How do you find time to read with your busy schedule?

In the late nineties I noticed I wasn't reading as much as I used to. I was still reading magazines and blogs, etc...  But I wasn't reading books as much. I had always been a voracious reader so I realized I had to get back on track. Looking back on those days and reading some of my journals I came upon some ideas that helped me get back into reading.

1.) Be intentional about reading. There are so many distractions in the world you have to make the conscious decision to read books. Reading won't just happen. You have to make it happen.

2.) Challenge yourself with concrete goals. In 1999, I made a goal to read one book a month. That helped me stay motivated in finishing books. I actually read fifteen books that year. I set those concrete numerical goals each year for several years until the habit was built back up. Now I don't have numerical goals because reading has become second nature.

3.) Read subjects that interest you. Once you've got back into the habit of reading you may move on to other subjects. But jumping back into the reading habit can be tough. So find subjects that you find interesting. Don't worry about delving deep into philosophy or the classics. Those will come later. Read something short. Short chapters also help keep me moving along.

4.) Write a list of books that you would like to read. Ask for them for Christmas or birthday gifts. If you have a list, you're more likely to keep reading. If you don't know what to read, ask your friends. Each year the New York Times prints a list of notable books of the year. Return to authors you've enjoyed in the past. Find out who they read. HERE'S a list of books I've read the past several years.

5.) If a book is turning into a slog, don't be afraid to give it up for awhile and read something more accessible. You can always come back to it.

6.) Make reading a habit. I don't watch a lot TV although Netflix has become a real temptation with it's streaming service (I've been binging on Portlandia) . Make an appointment with yourself to read. It doesn't have to be a long chunk of time. Start with five to ten minutes and go from there. Work with the time that works best. Sometimes that changes each day. Sometimes I read at lunch. Sometimes I read right before bed. Sometimes I read in the waiting room. Read whenever it works. To do that...

7.) Always have a book with you. I always have either a book, Kindle, or iPad with me in my bag. If you have it with you you're more likely to read it. I read when I'm getting the oil changed. I read when I'm waiting in the car.

8.) Put the phone down. I got a smart phone just last April. The iPhone is a real temptation. I have to force myself to put it down. Some days I set goals like: I'm only going to check the phone in the morning and in the evening, etc...  Just say no to the phone once in awhile.

9.) Use a format that works for you. I have a Kindle, which I love because I can order books instantaneously. I can carry hundreds of books on a single device. But I also read real books as well. Don't get locked into one thing. Just read what works for you.

10.) I alternate between genres. I'll read a tough book followed by something less serious. I'll follow Camus with Elmore Leonard. I'll read something spiritual then follow up with historical fiction. Just go with the flow.

Mags

I've subscribed to a lot of magazines in my life. National Geographic, National Geographic's Adventure, National Geographic's World Magazine, Boy's Life, Golf, Golf Digest, Holiness Today, SKI, Skiing, Backpacker Magazine among others I'm sure I've forgotten.

These days I subscribe to only two magazines, both which I love...

Relevant Magazine and The Believer.

Relevant focuses on how to engage with our culture with a Christ centered focus.

The Believer is the literary journal of McSweeneys, the publishing house run by Dave Eggers.

Blogs to Check Out

Some of the blogs/websites I've been checking out a lot lately:

www.redletterchristians.org/

Red Letter Christians is the blog curated by Tony Campolo. This blog focuses on Christ centered approaches to current events.


www.thesimpleway.org/

The website of Shane Claiborne's Intentional Community, The Simple Way. 


sojo.net/

Sojourners. A community of Christians who take seriously Christ's command to care for the poor, the widows, the orphans and the hungry. 


kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

Katie Davis's blog. She went to Africa on a mission trip several years ago, was moved to return and spend her life caring for orphans. She teaches and has personally adopted thirteen kids. She's only in her mid-twenties!


www.qideas.org/
 
Q Ideas. Discussions about what it means to be a Christian in a post-modern culture. 


conspiremag.com/blog/

Conspire! The blog of Conspire magazine which focuses on the life of Christ and His model of serving others and giving sacrificially.

The Books of January

I was blessed to receive a lot of books for Christmas. I've raced through four of them so far in 2014. All four have been amazing reads and I recommend them highly:

The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne - This book has been one of the most powerful books I have ever read. Claiborne articulates a world view centered on the life of Christ and Christ alone. Going beyond trite WWJD marketing, Claiborne stresses that maybe Christ was serious when he preached the Sermon on the Mount. Claiborne calls for us to rid ourselves of our worldly goods, help the poor and show Christ's love through our actions. Claiborne has a lot of credibility on these matters. He practices what he preaches. He has given up most of his possessions and has lived in intentional community in inner city Philadelphia for the past decade.

Love Does by Bob Goff - Bob Goff's thesis is simple: real love does things. Love goes beyond talk and actually moves on people's behalf. Goff tells stories of hope and love. He believes that we should sacrifice ourselves for others at all times, not just when convenient. Once again, he uses Christ as his ultimate example.

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell - According to an interview in Relevant Magazine, Gladwell rediscovered his faith in God while researching this book. Gladwell shows how the underdogs in this world actually have more advantages that may seem possible at the time. He also demonstrates that some advantages are illusory and may actually be hindrances. 

A Life Worth Living (Albert Camus and the Quest for Meaning) by Robert Zaretsky - An inspiring biography of Albert Camus. The book does not follow the standard biographical narrative. Instead, Zaretsky divides his work into five themes: Absurdity, Silence, Measure, Fidelity and Revolt. Each theme reveals interesting dynamics of Camus's life and work.

MLK

Sanctity of Life Sunday

Another made up day. Sanctity of Life Sunday. Of course, the only lives most churches choose to defend are the unborn. Pretty convenient really. Doesn't take much work to defend those not yet here. We just talk loudly and say the other side is really bad. 

But all life is sacred. Why don't more churches promote adoption or support foster care ministries? Because then it gets messy. That's hard. Some of these kids are not easy to deal with. 

And Christ said to love our enemies. So we sure don't defend lives if they live in Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria. Just war theory is a crock. 

And guns. Let's forget about the tools that are used to murder people...including children...on a daily basis. My rights are more important than other's lives. 

And the death penalty. All life is sacred. Let's teach that by killing those who killed others. That's real consistent. 

So let's honor all lives today and every day. Not just when it's convenient. 

Fourteen Hopes for '14

Shane Claiborne, one of my favorite authors and Christian activists, annually writes a list of hopes for the new year. Here are his 14 hopes for 2014. Good stuff and worth your time...

http://www.redletterchristians.org/14-hopes-2014/

Fake Stands

Been tooling around Facebook lately? I need to get off Facebook. Seriously, my IQ drops every time I log-in.

It's easier to support a millionaire self-proclaimed redneck on Facebook than to actually feed the hungry, show compassion to the homeless, give aid to the poor and care for the orphans and widows.

Because all you gotta do on Facebook to show you care is to click on a button and tag a photo. That shows you truly care.

pic: St. Francis of Assisi

Camelot

This was the scene directly west of Dealey Plaza last Friday, the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination. I had accompanied my students to a field trip to Medieval Times right down the street. Not sure if this mess had anything to do with the JFK ceremonies. Cold and rain always freak out Dallas drivers. 

One and Two

This stuff just doesn't happen very often. So I thought I'd make note of it. Americans finished 1 and 2 this weekend at a World Cup Alpine Ski race, specifically the Giant Slalom at Beaver Creek. Ted Ligety, who has become the best GS skier in the world, came in first...a full second before everyone else. A full second. In alpine skiing terms, that's monstrous!

Second place went to the legend...Bode Miller. The old man (36 years old) didn't ski at all last year due to knee surgery. He hasn't been on a podium in 22 months. GS isn't his specialty anymore. He hasn't placed in the GS in eight years. But the man pulled off a fantastic race. I'm hoping he burns up one more Olympics before his retirement. I love skiing and I will be sad when Bode's no longer competing.

Ligety is the man. My son has loved saying "LIG-E-TY!" since he was two years old. It's always good to see him dominate. What a great skiing weekend.

Self Preservation

I see nothing in the life of Christ or in the New Testament that celebrates the concept of self preservation.



picture: detail from the fresco 'The Martyrdom of Saint Stephen', Bernardo Daddi, 1324, Santa Croce, Florence, Italy

50 Years

Fifty years. We drove by Dealey Plaza today on a school field trip. Still is an eerie place.

Being Intentional

Being intentional about serving Christ can be challenging. Sometimes you just can't wait for opportunities to present themselves. Often you must be proactive in finding avenues to live out your life for Christ. We also shouldn't look for particular types of service. We should be open to the needs around us. God has given us opportunities to serve others right where we are. Sometimes we have to be creative. Sometimes we have to sit and think for a moment and use our God-created brains to figure out how we can live for others. The Kingdom of God is not far away. The Kingdom of God is near. It is here. It is all around us. We just need to look around and engage.

New Monasticism

I like this...

From The Simple Way website.

12 Marks of New Monasticism

1) Relocation to the abandoned places of Empire.

2) Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us.

3) Hospitality to the stranger

4) Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities combined with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation.

5) Humble submission to Christ’s body, the church.

6) Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the community along the lines of the old novitiate.

7) Nurturing common life among members of intentional community.

8) Support for celibate singles alongside monogamous married couples and their children.

9) Geographical proximity to community members who share a common rule of life.

10) Care for the plot of God’s earth given to us along with support of our local economies.

11) Peacemaking in the midst of violence and conflict resolution within communities along the lines of Matthew 18.

12) Commitment to a disciplined contemplative life.

What is your purpose?

This week I have committed to asking myself the question, 

What is my purpose?

I wrote this question on the white board by my computer. I wrote it at the top of my to do list on my phone. I am beginning each day asking this question, what is my purpose?

The answer: to reflect Christ. 

I desire to reflect Christ to everyone I meet or encounter. I desire to reflect Christ to myself. 

I fail at this too often. But this is my goal. This is my purpose. I desire to reflect Christ. 

Burn it all Down

I was stunned to hear the announcement that the Atlanta Braves are abandoning Turner Field for the suburbs and a new $650 million stadium.

I have no emotional attachment to Turner Field. I have never seen it in person. But I find the idea of bailing on a state-of-the-art stadium, that is only 17 years old, unbelievable. Not only is it a fairly new stadium it was once an Olympic Stadium. The city of Atlanta has announced they plan on tearing down the structure as soon as the Braves vacate.

This is wrong on so many levels.

First, this is a perfect example of the greed that runs rampant in our culture. The Braves are making this move to make a lot of money. They are completely ignoring the historical import of an Olympic Stadium and a stadium that has hosted countless baseball playoff runs. The Braves have no sense of civic responsibility in helping maintain and cultivate an urban core.

This move is also indicative of our throwaway culture. We have no respect for permanence. We have no interest in building things that last. This is a complete waste of resources and man power. Environmentally it is almost a criminal waste of material. We don't like something, we throw it away.

This move also shows a complete disrespect for the people. Once again we have rich billionaires demanding the public pick up a large portion of the tab for the building of a new Braves stadium. Turner Field was built using public funds and now is being abandoned and destroyed. How about a refund to the tax payers who helped build it in the first place?

Of course not. The same hypocrites who criticize the welfare system for giving out handouts turn a blind eye toward the rich who are asking for even greater handouts. The billionaire does not demand money for food for their children or unemployment assistance. The billionaire is demanding money for a place to play sports and to make themselves even richer.

This is not just a sports issue. This is a social issue. This announcement is simply a mirror of our contemporary culture. I dream of a day when somebody somewhere says no, we will not allow you take advantage of the public. Probably a pipe dream. Maybe Thomas Hobbes was right.

Goodbye Blockbuster...

I don't usually have sympathy for multinational corporations. But I must admit I was a little sad to hear that Blockbuster was closing the last of their brick and mortar stores. I haven't seen an open Blockbuster in years and the last video store in my town (Video and Tan) closed a couple of years ago. I miss the video store.

I miss going into the video store on a Friday evening and browsing the hundreds of VHS tapes then DVDs. I miss the internal debate about which movie to rent. I don't miss the lines or the late fees or the hassle of having to actually go to the store to return the movie. I miss the late night college runs to the video store to rent a marathon's worth of movies.

Today I am one of the dwindling few who continue to use Netflix's DVD mail service. Soon that will go by the wayside. Digital streaming is very convenient but there is still something missing in the process of physically going to the video store. Part of my nostalgia is due to the fact that I'm old enough to remember when movies were not so accessible. It wasn't until I was ten or eleven when most people could actually afford a VCR. It was a stunning concept that you could watch movies any time you wanted if the movie was available at the video store. You no longer had to wait until the movie played on television. I remember that transition that so many take for granted today.

So goodbye Blockbuster. It was fun...

THORsday!

 I know I know. Today is Friday. But we are celebrating it as THORsday. We are going to see the new THOR sequel with great enthusiasm.

Football Guilt

I grew up a football fan. I am still a football fan. I have invested a lot of ridiculous emotion in rooting for the Oklahoma Sooners and the Kansas City Chiefs. I have been thrilled by the Chief's 9-0 start to this season. But the past year or so I have been conflicted by football. For years the big money and the corruption in athletics have disgusted me. But I always kind of swept those feelings under the rug as I continued to spend a lot of time and money watching and attending football games. Just last week I attended with great enthusiasm the SMU Homecoming game. I have been rooting for SMU since I began attending graduate school there a couple of years ago. However, if there's one school that represents corruption in college athletics it's SMU due to the excesses of the early 1980's. SMU still can't avoid being linked to events that happened thirty years ago.

But what is more troubling about football is the concussion issue. The constant trauma to the brain in the game has resulted in great tragedy for thousands of former football players. Player after player has come forth with stories about suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Just yesterday it was Tony Dorsett. Last week it was Brett Favre. Sure these guys made millions off the game, but what is the brain worth? And what about elementary kids, high school players and college kids?

I'm having trouble reconciling my enjoyment of the game with the knowledge of the toll football is having on the lives of young men. I am a hypocrite. I will be keeping tabs on tonight's Sooner game against Baylor. I will be watching November 17th when the Chiefs play the Broncos in primetime. But I am conflicted.

Here is an article by ESPN columnist Rick Reilly that summarizes my views exactly. I don't always agree with Reilly but I'm with him on this one:  http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9932209/nfl-becoming-guilty-pleasure

Reformation Day

Yes I know today is All Hallow's Eve and I intend to celebrate. But it is also Reformation Day, the day when Martin Luther started a revolution...kind of a big deal. Hammertime!

Keep Calm and Drink Green Tea

I have a cold. So I am drinking lots of green tea. I drink two cups of green tea every day but when I'm sick I up the dose to six or seven cups. Only way I make it.

Flags

Here is an interesting perspective on why you need to think twice about displaying the Confederate flag. Hint: It's not just about racism.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/25/opinion/obeidallah-confederate-flag/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

Brazza

Today is a Brazzaville kind of day. I am listening to nothing but Brazzaville.

photo: Brazzaville playing Uzbekistan

thought

For those who think they've got it all figured out...

"Our logic, itself a construction of language, is surely not capable of exhausting the infinite abundance of experience. Life is larger than thought."

- Roland Stromberg

Perspective from another Perspective

The same people who are throwing fits about the concept of Universal Healthcare are the same type of people who:

in Ireland rioted for a week after the release of the play The Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge.

rejected the art of Van Gogh, Picasso and Matisse as ridiculous.

as members of the Paris Academy ejected Maurice Ravel in 1903.

scorned the music of Gustav Mahler, Wagner, Debussy and Schoenberg.

rioted in the streets of Paris following the release of Igor Stravinksy's Rites of Spring.

declared that Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys was un-listenable.


They will be on the wrong side of history when all is said and done. There are serious flaws with "Obamacare." But don't obfuscate the issue with flaws in the Obamacare Website roll-out. Flaws there will be but I applaud the first efforts in a revolution to provide affordable healthcare for ALL people. First efforts are often sloppy but you have to take the first step. Outlawing pre-existing condition clauses and raising the age children can remain on their parent's insurance, allowing someone who works 40 hours a week on minimum wage access to affordable healthcare...these are bad things? 

Enabling people to get preventive screenings and visits that potentially ward off more expensive health issues...these are bad things? Giving insurance companies more competition for health care? I thought competition was a conservative and capitalist value.

Overreach? We require students to get an education until their mid-teens. We regulate food and drugs. We require protection against workplace abuses. We require drivers to carry insurance. Overreach? Or prudent governance?

This is tyranny?

Please.

Decades from now our children will be amazed that this was even a debate. 


painting: Riot in the Galleria. Umberto Boccioni. 1910

Perspective

Perspective.

If you earn over $50,000 annually you are in the top 1% of the world’s earners.

If you have $2,200 in assets like your home, car and clothes then you are among the top 50% of the world’s wealthiest people.

If you made $1,500 in income last year, then you are in the top 20% income earners in the world. You are richer than 80% of the world’s people.

If you have $61,000 in assets or $25,000 in income you’re in the top 10% of the world's richest people.

Source: MSN Money

Warrior

He has averaged an assist a game. He's become the best dribbler on the team. This was his breakout season. Four seasons just running around. Fifth season he becomes a player. Even picked up his first ever foul for pushing back the other team's biggest player and bully. Rarely have I been so proud than when he committed that foul. 

We Build Tomorrow

I was stunned when I first saw the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona on a college band trip in 1995. I had never seen a building like it. When I returned to Barcelona to live for a year in 1996-97 I often visited the cathedral because it was a never ending source of inspiration. I found myself becoming more creative just by being in proximity to Antoni Gaudi's famous work.

They have been working on the cathedral since 1883 and it is still not finished. But real progress is being made and some project that construction will be completed by 2026. It almost makes me sad to think that someday the whole thing will be finished. The never-ending work was part of it's mystique.

The firm that is overseeing construction has released this amazing video of what the finished project will look like upon completion. I love this building and have a poster of it hanging in my home. I would love to visit it when it is finally finished.

HERE is an excellent article about this miraculous church that appeared in Slate recently.

I miss Netscape

A few months ago I finally ditched Internet Explorer. IE would not open a lot of my favorite websites at my workstation. At home IE caused problems with YouTube and Adobe Flash. Although I felt like a tech adulterer, I began to mess around with Chrome and Firefox. Both browsers are so much more superior in so many ways. They're faster, less buggy, and much more secure against viruses. Personally I'm diggin' Firefox the most. But whenever I'm using Google products like Google Drive, Search, YouTube, etc I use Chrome. 

By habit I still find my mouse hovering over the e at the beginning of a browsing session but quickly head over to the fox that looks like he's on fire. 

Here's an article that gives even more reasons why you should ditch Explorer.

Bey Blade Madness!

BeyBlade Madness at the Morgan's. 

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

I can't believe I just discovered this amazing song from 1998. I can't stop listening to it. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.

DIY

We were bored with The Moms out of the house for the afternoon. So we made a DIY pencil holder in the form of an upright piano. Look at all the things created out of boredom: Buddhism, Islam and DIY piano pencil holders made out of an Apple Jack cereal box. 

Malala

Malala Yousafzai is one of my heroes. Malala is the young Pakistani girl who as a fourteen-year old girl was shot by the Taliban on her school bus simply because she is an outspoken proponent of girls having the right to an education. She miraculously survived. She has a wisdom and courage beyond her years. She should be given the Nobel Peace Prize, there is no one more deserving. This short video clip of her interview with Jon Stewart will leave you speechless. Gives me chills.

 

No Privacy

No privacy. I lay on the floor for like 10 seconds and I'm already being judged. 

Fair Day

Life's not fair, except for one day a year: Fair Day. This year was cool and rainy. But we were prepared and the rain kept the crowds low. No lines and cool weather made for a perfect day at the Texas State Fair. The new Big Tex looked great. 

Serious Affairs

Weddings are serious affairs. We really should be paying attention. 

Ted Hearts Miley

Has Ted Cruz become the Miley Cyrus of the United States Senate. This article makes a convincing case. Please Ted, no twerking.

Cultural and Intellectual History

On the menu: Mozart, Beethoven, Darwin, Flaubert, Dostoevsky with a little Comte thrown in just to spice things up. 

Class Heathens

Me listening to my SMU prof discuss Marx, Darwin and Hegel. How dare they discuss such heathens at a Methodist institution!

Back on The Hilltop

Yep. Another semester, another go around on The Hilltop. Two classes this semester one of which is in Dallas Hall (pictured). After this I will have only four classes left in the program. Of course, that might take two years because of my busy schedule. But I'm in no hurry because I have enjoyed every moment at SMU. 

The Sked

Summer Reading

	I was sitting in my wife's grandmother's house in Indiana wondering what to read next. I had just finished the amazing Catch 22 by Joseph Heller but I was already looking forward to the next read. I had read Catch 22 in an actual book format but now that I was out of town I didn't have any other books with me. But I had my Kindle. On my trusty Kindle were dozens of classic works that I had downloaded for free but never read. These classic titles are free because their copyright has expired and many of them were on my elusive list of "books I must read before I die in order to be considered well read."   Moby Dick by Herman Melville has been on that list for some time. Believe it or not I never had gotten around to reading The White Whale. Somehow it never showed up on any of my high school or college syllabi. But it was on my Kindle so I gave it a go. After all, Moby Dick is considered one of the great American novels.   Immediately I was entranced. The narrative sparked my interest from the first page. The writing was poetical and ethereal. The storyline was hypnotizing, a real page turner (or Kindle click). The metaphors were evident but not simplistic. The allegory powerful but not cliché. The descriptions of Ahab's monomania are some of the best detailing of neurotic obsession ever put on paper.   However.   I was forgiving the first time Melville left the linear narrative in order to go on a lengthy discussion on the different species of whales. I was skeptical when he left the narrative again for a long tangent about how different tools, sails and ropes are used on a whaling vessel. I became weary when Melville elaborated on the different paintings of whales and how these paintings are almost completely inaccurate. I was chagrined when I realized that the narrative was taking less and less space and the book was becoming more of a historical treatise about 19th century whaling. Soon I got bogged down.   I read through these tangents not wanting to miss something essential. I didn't want to miss an important metaphorical literary device. Soon I found myself skimming through these tedious passages. They ruined the book in my opinion. These tangents take away from a fantastic narrative and don't really add much heft to the reader's understanding of the context. Most of these meanderings could have been included in the narrative and severely edited without harming any part of the literary experience.   For example, Patrick O'Brian writes about 18th/19th century British naval experiences and never explains what a jib or mizzen sail is. You learn to either figure out the terminology or bypass them for the narrative. O'Brian's narratives are exceptional and never shut down in order to explain what a monkey rope is used for.   I also became weary of the pervasive racism in Moby Dick. I ignored it at first as a cultural relic and an unfortunate world view of the time period. In fact, to leave the racism out may have made the book less realistic. But it kept pounding away at me. Pounding away. And it wasn't written as any type of indictment of racism. It was simply the author's and the character's world view. As historically accurate as it may have been I just got tired of hearing other races so utterly demeaned all the time.   I realize that the modern reader should not necessarily force their modern conceptions of the world on to novels centuries old. But I find whaling barbaric and cruel as most 21st century readers probably do. Moby Dick is not merely a description of events on a whaling ship or a story about a particular journey while whaling. This book is a full on propaganda tract about the wonders and greatness of the whaling enterprise.   Maybe I missed Melville's tone. Maybe I missed the subtext. Maybe he was damning whaling and racism the entire time. Taking an author at face value can be dangerous. But I'm not so sure that I have missed Melville's point. I understand the story of monomania. But the constant going down unnecessary rabbit holes, glorification of a disgusting enterprise and the pervasive racism really took it's toll on my experience.

World of Soccer

Got tix for this weekend's match between FC Dallas and the Los Angeles Galaxy. Looking forward to seeing US International Landon Donovan even though we'll be rooting against him once the clock starts. To get in the right frame of mind we made a visit to the legendary World of Soccer just to look at all the jerseys. Dallas 'Till I Die!

Pinterestmadness

My wife re-did our laundry room inspired by Pinterest. She makes recipes inspired from Pinterest. She organically cleans carpet stains and kills weeds inspired by Pinterest. Yesterday she said she would like to get married again so she could plan it all on Pinterest. 

Just because

Found another Royals shirt at the Old Navy in east Dallas. There was only one left so I decided to dress a mannequin with it. Just because. Oh, and the Royals have the best record in baseball since the All-Star Game.

Drive Ins

It's August 1st and I've been on an unplanned blog sabbatical. Honestly I've just been too busy. I was away from home for 30 out of 36 days due to work, vacation and family reunions. Then I got busy with home projects like refurbishing a patio and painting a storage building among other things. 

It's already August. Unreal. We celebrated the last night of July at the Galaxy Drive In Theatre.  Beautiful night under the stars in the back of the truck watching movies.