6:00 PM - 8:00 PM in the prayer room, followed by a breakfast of Kelsey's homemade granola with my boys. This morning ROCKS!
9.30.2004
9.29.2004
Today, I....tweaked a 30 minute talk I'm delivering at a fundraising banquet tomorrow night for EMI...printed my boarding passes for the flight...spent some time in the prayer room...proofed the print material for the midweek bulletins...answered enough email to drown a tall man...drafted some thoughts regarding observing the prayer event below...packed...took the two little guys to the park...picked up a dvd at the library...found son's backpack (hiding in plain sight on a table in front of the coffee shop for three days)....verified with the DMV that I do not, in fact, owe personal property tax on my vehicles (yet)...and ran the Child Taxi to for Jackson.
9.28.2004
In the "Couldn't Make This Up" department...
Various Artists
Left Behind Worship (2002)
"From the critically acclaimed book series and movie, Left Behind. Features 10 worship songs with such artists as: Sonicflood, Rebecca St. James, Geoffe Moore, Adrienne Leisching of the Benjamin Gate, Delirious, Chris Tomlin, and Matt Redman."
This is the worst idea I have seen in a long time. Even worse than that lame compliation album last year where all the hip Christian artists covered U2 songs..... thanks to Miss Kels for providing the link.
Various Artists
Left Behind Worship (2002)
"From the critically acclaimed book series and movie, Left Behind. Features 10 worship songs with such artists as: Sonicflood, Rebecca St. James, Geoffe Moore, Adrienne Leisching of the Benjamin Gate, Delirious, Chris Tomlin, and Matt Redman."
This is the worst idea I have seen in a long time. Even worse than that lame compliation album last year where all the hip Christian artists covered U2 songs..... thanks to Miss Kels for providing the link.
Big Fun at the Ballpark with Robert Craig and his boys....
I got an email this morning from IHOP worship leader and all around fun guy Robert Craig saying "I've got six tickets...Royals vs. Indians...." so we schlepped our boys (minus Zion, who was playing guitar at IHOP when I left, see photo below) out to the ball park for a record breaking small crowd but grand ol time.
As mentioned, ZB was busy rockin' the house....note eye-lock on worship leader as he watches for any change of chords or adjustment of the headphone monitors. This has become a regular routine for Z - he is convinced he is in the band, and we're not telling him any different.
I got an email this morning from IHOP worship leader and all around fun guy Robert Craig saying "I've got six tickets...Royals vs. Indians...." so we schlepped our boys (minus Zion, who was playing guitar at IHOP when I left, see photo below) out to the ball park for a record breaking small crowd but grand ol time.
As mentioned, ZB was busy rockin' the house....note eye-lock on worship leader as he watches for any change of chords or adjustment of the headphone monitors. This has become a regular routine for Z - he is convinced he is in the band, and we're not telling him any different.
CNN.com - 23 receive $500,000 'genius grants' - Sep 28, 2004: "Other grant recipients announced Tuesday by the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation include a health care advocate for Native Alaskans, a glass sculptor, and a pianist and composer who has devoted himself to preserving ragtime music."
Noticably absent was "a bald prayer missionary in Kansas City, Missouri."
Noticably absent was "a bald prayer missionary in Kansas City, Missouri."
I am a conservative...
I was somewhere on the playa when Arnold gave his rousing "I am a republican!" speech, so I missed it. I read the text later, but frankly, without the accent, it probably wasn't the same. Nevertheless, like most good speeches, it got to me to thinking. I've noticed a number of blogs recently where the writers are flirting with liberalism...not in the blatant "look at me" manner of the 60's, but in that sort of "well, whatever...let's move on" post 2000 manner (a decade that we need to start referring to as the Oh-Oh's). They present a few issues that are genuine - our role in Iraq, the economy, and occassionally an issue or two that is ridiculously inane (the President is from Texas, you know....and his father, who was also President, also lived in Texas!). It feels like it's been hip to tip towards Kerry, less as an attachment to him than a detachment from Bush.
All of this has gotten me thinking - aside from the rhetoric and banner ads, who am I politically? I find I'm very conservative, based on the following:
1) I'm not angry at rich people.
Understand, I'm not one. I'm far from one, and have made life choices (ministry, a big family, etc) that pretty much insure I never will be one, but I'm not angry at them. I think that if they pay a majority of the taxes and a tax break is offered, they should get more of it than the rest of us. I don't think "they can afford it" is reason enough to punish people - in fact, that seems sort of kindergartenish to me.
2) I believe that most people, given a fair opportunity to work, would rather do so.
The welfare state in our country has it's roots in the left's New Deal - the deal being "we're renting your votes indefinetly. All you have to do is stay poor. We'll provide a meager amount of monthly funds and make sure it's never easy to make much more." I'd rather spend significant amounts of money in job development and training than spread the same amount of money out over X number of people who have no impetus to work because it would mean little or no economic increase for them.
3) I'm willing to vote principle over pocketbook.
I've read some people who say "I'm not a one-issue voter", casting themselves as the voice of reason among a bunch of crazy conservatives who will not vote for a pro-abortion candidate. They "take all the issues into consideration", which generally looks strangely like "How will this affect me personally..." and then decide. Call me a moron....I'll wait....but I can't do that. There is one issue - the issue of the safety of the unborn - that I will always side with, even if it appears to be a losing side. I'm happy to lose right rather than win wrong. My vote is not up for trade in exchange for job security or social services. This probably makes me appear simple, but it seems to me that the better word would be principled.
Selah.
I was somewhere on the playa when Arnold gave his rousing "I am a republican!" speech, so I missed it. I read the text later, but frankly, without the accent, it probably wasn't the same. Nevertheless, like most good speeches, it got to me to thinking. I've noticed a number of blogs recently where the writers are flirting with liberalism...not in the blatant "look at me" manner of the 60's, but in that sort of "well, whatever...let's move on" post 2000 manner (a decade that we need to start referring to as the Oh-Oh's). They present a few issues that are genuine - our role in Iraq, the economy, and occassionally an issue or two that is ridiculously inane (the President is from Texas, you know....and his father, who was also President, also lived in Texas!). It feels like it's been hip to tip towards Kerry, less as an attachment to him than a detachment from Bush.
All of this has gotten me thinking - aside from the rhetoric and banner ads, who am I politically? I find I'm very conservative, based on the following:
1) I'm not angry at rich people.
Understand, I'm not one. I'm far from one, and have made life choices (ministry, a big family, etc) that pretty much insure I never will be one, but I'm not angry at them. I think that if they pay a majority of the taxes and a tax break is offered, they should get more of it than the rest of us. I don't think "they can afford it" is reason enough to punish people - in fact, that seems sort of kindergartenish to me.
2) I believe that most people, given a fair opportunity to work, would rather do so.
The welfare state in our country has it's roots in the left's New Deal - the deal being "we're renting your votes indefinetly. All you have to do is stay poor. We'll provide a meager amount of monthly funds and make sure it's never easy to make much more." I'd rather spend significant amounts of money in job development and training than spread the same amount of money out over X number of people who have no impetus to work because it would mean little or no economic increase for them.
3) I'm willing to vote principle over pocketbook.
I've read some people who say "I'm not a one-issue voter", casting themselves as the voice of reason among a bunch of crazy conservatives who will not vote for a pro-abortion candidate. They "take all the issues into consideration", which generally looks strangely like "How will this affect me personally..." and then decide. Call me a moron....I'll wait....but I can't do that. There is one issue - the issue of the safety of the unborn - that I will always side with, even if it appears to be a losing side. I'm happy to lose right rather than win wrong. My vote is not up for trade in exchange for job security or social services. This probably makes me appear simple, but it seems to me that the better word would be principled.
Selah.
9.27.2004
Swing state, eh? I think it swung.
Huge crowd greets Bush:
"West Chester Police Chief John Bruce said the crowd was estimated at more than 50,000 people. Republican officials called it the largest crowd of any Bush re-election campaign rally."
Huge crowd greets Bush:
"West Chester Police Chief John Bruce said the crowd was estimated at more than 50,000 people. Republican officials called it the largest crowd of any Bush re-election campaign rally."
9.26.2004
BIG BIG NEWS: U2 Who?
Also releasing a new single was Zion Bohlender - click here for his latest - Enemy Go Away.
Link fix: Try this.
Also releasing a new single was Zion Bohlender - click here for his latest - Enemy Go Away.
Link fix: Try this.
credits
lyrics - Zion Bohlender
vocals - Zion Bohlender
acoustic guitar - Zion Bohlender
drums and electric guitar - garageband
production engineer - dad
lyrics - Zion Bohlender
vocals - Zion Bohlender
acoustic guitar - Zion Bohlender
drums and electric guitar - garageband
production engineer - dad
Behind the Music info: Z plays his guitar about an hour a day - longer if we go to IHOP. He plays pretty much only his own music (the only exception being whatever he's heard Todd Ganovski play last). He was playing goofing around one Sunday afternoon and I told him "Z, let's record a song!" He immediatly strapped on his guitar and tore into this song, totally unrehearsed.
Jackson moved out.
Well, not out of the house, but off my blog account to his own space. I fixed his link already, but you can get there from here as well. The boy is well worth the read.
Well, not out of the house, but off my blog account to his own space. I fixed his link already, but you can get there from here as well. The boy is well worth the read.
Up and at'm. whoever 'm is.
Just hoarking down a few slices of toast and a bananna before running to the House of Prayer to connect w/Greg Burnett from the Charlotte, NC House of Prayer.
It's been a weekend full of meetings with Andy & Annette Comisky. We have loved every minute of it - they are loving and very, very funny people. Andy is speaking in both services this morning and we'll grab lunch afterwords w/some of the leadership team.
I realized this morning that I am speaking at a banquet next Thursday when the presidential candidates square off in debate....I'll have to skip my salad, cut the speech short, and race back to watch. I wonder if it's inappropriate to begin the talk with "In conclusion.....".
Also, FYI, my friend Sean is on the public rant. Go watch!
Just hoarking down a few slices of toast and a bananna before running to the House of Prayer to connect w/Greg Burnett from the Charlotte, NC House of Prayer.
It's been a weekend full of meetings with Andy & Annette Comisky. We have loved every minute of it - they are loving and very, very funny people. Andy is speaking in both services this morning and we'll grab lunch afterwords w/some of the leadership team.
I realized this morning that I am speaking at a banquet next Thursday when the presidential candidates square off in debate....I'll have to skip my salad, cut the speech short, and race back to watch. I wonder if it's inappropriate to begin the talk with "In conclusion.....".
Also, FYI, my friend Sean is on the public rant. Go watch!
9.24.2004
Where is the justice?
I know most of you check this blog out for quirky observations about every day life, but this morning I'm feeling less than quirky. I'm grieved. Grieved for lives lost, potential squandered, and hearts grown cold. I cannot believe that we have made this an argument about choice when it's a matter of life.
I'll compose more words if I can ever get around to composing myself.
9.23.2004
As a matter of fact...I am.
As a matter of fact, I am superdad. I have managed into the third day with Kelsey on the road and me being in charge of meals and homesquirrel. As of yet, we have had no life threatening fires, and the boys have learned some things.
We can't wait for Kelsey to get home later today....but I have loved every minute of this. I have great kids!
As a matter of fact, I am superdad. I have managed into the third day with Kelsey on the road and me being in charge of meals and homesquirrel. As of yet, we have had no life threatening fires, and the boys have learned some things.
- They have learned that Dad is not a great cook. At one point, Grayson looked at me with his big eyes and asked "So...is this it? Mom usually makes a side dish."
- They have learned that Dad is a task master at the school work. Mostly out of fear of being behind when Kelsey returns.
- They have learned to sing along with the "Sweet Home Alabama" ringer on my cell phone. I'm calling it Social Studies.
We can't wait for Kelsey to get home later today....but I have loved every minute of this. I have great kids!
9.22.2004
And everyone said "AMEN."
MSNBC - Mexico churches wage war on cell phones:
MONTERREY, Mexico - Some Mexican churches are using state-of-the-art technology developed by Israeli electronic warfare experts to silence cell phones that ring during mass, church officials said."
I have small children, so I understand the necessity of having a phone with you at times, but for crying out loud, have you ever heard of the BUZZ feature!?!! I have total grace for the first phone that rings in a service; we've all been a dunce once in a while...it's the SECOND phone that rings that makes me go nuts. And then the person pretends that they don't know it's theirs...after six rings, it goes silent. Fifteen seconds later, "Ba-DING"...voicemail. AARRRRGH.
One time, after delivering a similar diatribe in a conference where I was speaking....while I was standing at the podium, a phone rang in my pocket. Everyone went "OOOOOOOOH!". I said "It's the first phone, for crying out loud! Have mercy!"
MSNBC - Mexico churches wage war on cell phones:
MONTERREY, Mexico - Some Mexican churches are using state-of-the-art technology developed by Israeli electronic warfare experts to silence cell phones that ring during mass, church officials said."
I have small children, so I understand the necessity of having a phone with you at times, but for crying out loud, have you ever heard of the BUZZ feature!?!! I have total grace for the first phone that rings in a service; we've all been a dunce once in a while...it's the SECOND phone that rings that makes me go nuts. And then the person pretends that they don't know it's theirs...after six rings, it goes silent. Fifteen seconds later, "Ba-DING"...voicemail. AARRRRGH.
One time, after delivering a similar diatribe in a conference where I was speaking....while I was standing at the podium, a phone rang in my pocket. Everyone went "OOOOOOOOH!". I said "It's the first phone, for crying out loud! Have mercy!"
If you have small children...
and have not downloaded the Poopsmith song from Over The Rhine, you must get your head examined. It made me laugh, it made me cry. Who else could write a song about the potty that has a line ending with "...the neighbor's Weimaraner" and actually rhymes!
Here's a followup note from Linford about the song that I found hillarous:
Letter from Linford, Sept 2004:
and have not downloaded the Poopsmith song from Over The Rhine, you must get your head examined. It made me laugh, it made me cry. Who else could write a song about the potty that has a line ending with "...the neighbor's Weimaraner" and actually rhymes!
Here's a followup note from Linford about the song that I found hillarous:
Letter from Linford, Sept 2004:
"It's election season, and we submit this for your consideration. The Poopsmith Song! Our first recording with and for children. A universal theme. Based on a true story. We grinned alot recording it. Lotsa parents have downloaded the free MP-3 from overtherhine.com. Their pre-schoolers seem to agree: Play it again! We did a focus group with my neices and nephews. Satisfying giggles all around. One mother wrote us and said it significantly helped her son narrow down the range of targets.
The Poopsmith Song! was supposed to be included on a parenting cd that was going to be distributed free to parents in Ohio. The project is being organized in part by Hope Taft, wife of Republican Governor Bob Taft. The music coordinator loved the song. The music was screened by a political adviser to the Republican Party. The song raised concerns. It was too edgy. Potentially politically damaging. An election year. 'We can't include a song about poop.'.... We resist the urge to have thousands of you send zip-lock baggies, stool sample safely sealed, to the Governor's office. 'We were going to put it in the potty, but I guess you and your advisers know of a better place to put it.'"
9.21.2004
I want my forty minutes back.
I just spent forty minutes looking at a few Christian media sites. Wait. Allow me to rephrase that. I just wasted forty minutes looking at some Christian media sites. To say I spent it would infer that I somehow received something of value in return. I wasted it - smoked it - threw it out the window. And what did I get? I got jack.
In the old days (in the media, the old days means 18 months ago, but in this case it goes back even further...), Christian media was admittedly bad. It was hokey. It was all comb-overs and double-knit suits - great faces for radio, talking to one another. It was a kinder, gentler Larry King...who, if he were kind and gentle, would not be worth watching at all. Get the picture? The saving grace of the old Christian media was that it acknowledged it's own hokiness. The unspoken thought was "hey, we're doing the best we can with inferior equipment, no budget and arguabley no talent."
The New Christian Media is different. It's hip. It's got punch. Panache. Mouse and digital video. It's part MTV, part NIV, mostly DOA. It speaks our generation's language while saying nothing in the process. Here's the biggest problem I see - our current Christian culture is so dramatically awash with cynicism that is not capable of serving any purpose. It's cynical about the old days of Christian media, it's cynical about the faith of our fathers, and it's even cynical about itself. Nowhere in those pages of cynicism is there room for the power or glory of God, the beauty or mystery of the church, or even a sort of suggestion on how to fix what's wrong. It has become the digital extension of what I referred to on Chad Canipe's blog as a culture of dissatisfaction. Unable to create from a clear place of the heart, it is hell-bent on expending as much energy as possible towards detaching itself from religion, ironically becoming pharasitically religious in it's own right. Feel free to selah on that one for a while.
Of course, in this very rant, I am coming dangerously close to becoming that which angers me. So, in the interest of progress out of this hole, here's what I'm looking for: Young voices - under 30 years of age - who will rise up and write, draw, paint, design, direct or produce quality material that reflects what is right with God loving people, that speaks with a prophetic edge about things to come, and points people to real answers rather than strikes a classic postmodern clueless pose.
It has become hip for our generation to say 'we don't know - who are we to judge?" It is also the spiritual and intellecual low road. It is imperative that others rise up to say "We do know. We have heard. And this we believe to be true...." It is easily the most relevant message of our day. For God's sake, someone say something.
I just spent forty minutes looking at a few Christian media sites. Wait. Allow me to rephrase that. I just wasted forty minutes looking at some Christian media sites. To say I spent it would infer that I somehow received something of value in return. I wasted it - smoked it - threw it out the window. And what did I get? I got jack.
In the old days (in the media, the old days means 18 months ago, but in this case it goes back even further...), Christian media was admittedly bad. It was hokey. It was all comb-overs and double-knit suits - great faces for radio, talking to one another. It was a kinder, gentler Larry King...who, if he were kind and gentle, would not be worth watching at all. Get the picture? The saving grace of the old Christian media was that it acknowledged it's own hokiness. The unspoken thought was "hey, we're doing the best we can with inferior equipment, no budget and arguabley no talent."
The New Christian Media is different. It's hip. It's got punch. Panache. Mouse and digital video. It's part MTV, part NIV, mostly DOA. It speaks our generation's language while saying nothing in the process. Here's the biggest problem I see - our current Christian culture is so dramatically awash with cynicism that is not capable of serving any purpose. It's cynical about the old days of Christian media, it's cynical about the faith of our fathers, and it's even cynical about itself. Nowhere in those pages of cynicism is there room for the power or glory of God, the beauty or mystery of the church, or even a sort of suggestion on how to fix what's wrong. It has become the digital extension of what I referred to on Chad Canipe's blog as a culture of dissatisfaction. Unable to create from a clear place of the heart, it is hell-bent on expending as much energy as possible towards detaching itself from religion, ironically becoming pharasitically religious in it's own right. Feel free to selah on that one for a while.
Of course, in this very rant, I am coming dangerously close to becoming that which angers me. So, in the interest of progress out of this hole, here's what I'm looking for: Young voices - under 30 years of age - who will rise up and write, draw, paint, design, direct or produce quality material that reflects what is right with God loving people, that speaks with a prophetic edge about things to come, and points people to real answers rather than strikes a classic postmodern clueless pose.
It has become hip for our generation to say 'we don't know - who are we to judge?" It is also the spiritual and intellecual low road. It is imperative that others rise up to say "We do know. We have heard. And this we believe to be true...." It is easily the most relevant message of our day. For God's sake, someone say something.
This kid is way smart.
From Jackson Bohlender's Blog:
"Whatcha think about dem apples?
I was thinking about this Adventures in Odyssey episode called Malachi's Message where an angel comes and inspires all of the citizens of Odyssey with all of these life-changing ideas. But the big thing is... They forget Malachi, the angel, ever came into the town by what seems like a spiritual thing.
Just think ... Has that ever happened to us? In our lives, have we had millions of life-changing anglelic encounters, only to consider them afterwards as sudden bursts of inspiration?
Just a thought."
9.20.2004
I spent Saturday in home repairsville...and realizing that we are no longer living in a new house. The house we're in was built in the 50's, and as a result, standards have changed. Without going into the gory details, suffice it to say that the Home Depot Universal Toilet Repair Kit is not nearly as universal as they would lead you to believe. When I returned it and asked Mike the Plumbing Guy what I should do for a narrow guage tank drain, I got the blank stare treatment. I believe I own a one-off, experimental toilet tank....probably built by NASA.
Yesterday, IHOP hosted Art Katz. A German Jew, he narrowly escaped the holocaust and spent years trying to reconcile the notion of the existence of God with this dark time in history. Katz's energy sort of tricks you into thinking he's a lot younger than he is - and his command of the english language is phenomenal. He'll be with us again today at 10 AM and 6 PM, as well as sitting in with the leadership team this afteroon. It's great to be in a place where guests like this blow through almost weekly.
Yesterday, IHOP hosted Art Katz. A German Jew, he narrowly escaped the holocaust and spent years trying to reconcile the notion of the existence of God with this dark time in history. Katz's energy sort of tricks you into thinking he's a lot younger than he is - and his command of the english language is phenomenal. He'll be with us again today at 10 AM and 6 PM, as well as sitting in with the leadership team this afteroon. It's great to be in a place where guests like this blow through almost weekly.
OK, so this will interest only about 3 of you...
but never let it be said I was pandering to the masses here. This is a great article on two of my favorite subjects - Apple and innovation - and how the latter may be the undoing of the former.
Fast Company | If He's So Smart...Steve Jobs, Apple, and the Limits of Innovation:
but never let it be said I was pandering to the masses here. This is a great article on two of my favorite subjects - Apple and innovation - and how the latter may be the undoing of the former.
Fast Company | If He's So Smart...Steve Jobs, Apple, and the Limits of Innovation:
"Everyone knows Parisians are snobs. So it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise that an unshaven, middle-aged American, speaking English and dressed in cuffed jeans, sneakers, and a worn black T-shirt, was rudely turned away from the bar at a lavish fete inside Paris's Musee d'Orsay on September 16, 2003. Except that the man was Steven P. Jobs, the cofounder and chief executive of Apple Computer Inc., and it was his party."
.
9.18.2004
OK, you're going to have to forgive the whining nature of that previous post. A little more coffee and a whole lot of Psalm 124 sort of put things in perspective for me.
That phrase alone is enough to send a chill down my back that even strong sumantra will not disperse. I don't even want to go there. I'm going to leave my previous post - not because I'm proud of it, but because it reminds me of how nitpicky and whiney I can get over things that - in the grand plan of heaven (that plan that I claim to want to be about so much) - do not mean a hill of beans. (English teachers, I apologize for that sentence. Sometimes my feelings cannot be contrained by the limits of good grammar.)
Then I slid on over to Psalm 127 and read of the blessing of sons....
Psalm 124:1
If the Lord had not been on our side....
That phrase alone is enough to send a chill down my back that even strong sumantra will not disperse. I don't even want to go there. I'm going to leave my previous post - not because I'm proud of it, but because it reminds me of how nitpicky and whiney I can get over things that - in the grand plan of heaven (that plan that I claim to want to be about so much) - do not mean a hill of beans. (English teachers, I apologize for that sentence. Sometimes my feelings cannot be contrained by the limits of good grammar.)
Then I slid on over to Psalm 127 and read of the blessing of sons....
Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gates.Down the hall, two of my sons and one of their buddies who spent the night are trying to contain their giggling fits as they organize the world finals of paper airplane design. I am sitting here, worrying about the basement, while twenty feet away are the giants who will contend with the enemy at the city gates...and they are wondering what I'm going to fix for breakfast. The basement seems strangely unimportant. Urgent, perhaps, but not important.
Psalm 124:8
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
7:32 AM on a Saturday morning, rain on the roof, coffee perking in the kitchen, and the house all quiet, except for the sounds of Over the Rhine in my earbuds. This is pretty honkin' near an introvert's nirvana, and probably would be so if it were not for the fact that the rain came in the basement and soaked the pad and carpet near the stairs. Hmmmm. That'll turn the mood of a paragraph in a nanosecond, won't it?
Today is blocked off as a 'work on the house' day. It'll be nice just to be with Kelsey. We have one bathroom that has a strange condition; everything that makes water stop doesn't, and everything that should take water away doesn't. I'm serious - the tub leaks in the corners, both sinks' drain mechanisms jammed somehow and won't drain, and the toilet leaks but won't flush. It's like the worst of all plumbing worlds. Fortunately, I don't think any of the fixes are expensive - a little wax donut seal under the toilet, a little caulking, a little folding of the hands to rest....
If the rain lets up, I've got work to do on the exterior as well. Either way I've got water downstairs, and it frustrates me....it ruins a perfectly good rain soaked, coffee infused, OTR Saturday morning.
Today is blocked off as a 'work on the house' day. It'll be nice just to be with Kelsey. We have one bathroom that has a strange condition; everything that makes water stop doesn't, and everything that should take water away doesn't. I'm serious - the tub leaks in the corners, both sinks' drain mechanisms jammed somehow and won't drain, and the toilet leaks but won't flush. It's like the worst of all plumbing worlds. Fortunately, I don't think any of the fixes are expensive - a little wax donut seal under the toilet, a little caulking, a little folding of the hands to rest....
If the rain lets up, I've got work to do on the exterior as well. Either way I've got water downstairs, and it frustrates me....it ruins a perfectly good rain soaked, coffee infused, OTR Saturday morning.
9.17.2004
Rob Mazza
Props to my Home Slice, Rob Mazza, pictured above, for his thoughtfulness in sending 3 cd's worth of Burning Man photos my way today. Rob's a genuine mountain man from Montana, complete with a real-life-radio-anouncer voice and a big grin. It was his tent that was transformed into "El Beano" tent.
And yes, I'm tired in his pictures too.
"Who am I? And why am I here?"
Admiral James Stockdale
It could have been called the beginning of the end for the 1992 Perot campaign...when his Vice Presidential nominee opened up the debate with the question "Who am I? Why am I here?" Of course, rhetoriticians assured us, it was just a portion of an introduction, taken out of context...but Admiral Stockdale exasperated the problem when he never got back to answering his own questions. As the debate wore on, many of us wondered "Yea, who is he? and why IS he here?". It was not the sort of thing one hopes for in a vice president. The ironic thing is that it's a series of questions that we all ask ourselves regularly...perhaps not on the high wire of a presidential campaign, but surely in the dark recesses of our mind. We all question our purpose, seek for our place, hope for a little more present day reality, even at the expense of a latter day vision.
It's in these two questions - these seemingly self-centered questions - that we see the first inclining of a desire for destiny. It is not enough to just be us. It is not enough to be randomly here. Our hearts are parched for purpose.
God the Father lies at the root of these questions. He placed the ache in our hearts, knowing that only He could satisfy it. He gave us a natural craving for what only He provides - a fulfilled sense of being. It's just like the Father to seed the test of life with questions that point us to Him.
Likewise, there is an enemy yearing to answer those questions for us. He declares that you are his, and that you were made for you. He screams his lies - that eternal being was created for seventy years' pleasure, that being can be found in buying, that we are all there is. His lies leave us staring at the gravestones across the fence, knowing ours will be there one day, and that we have spent all we have on bread that was moldy the day it arrived.
Who are you? Why are you here? Pick your answer and live acordingly.
Admiral James Stockdale
It could have been called the beginning of the end for the 1992 Perot campaign...when his Vice Presidential nominee opened up the debate with the question "Who am I? Why am I here?" Of course, rhetoriticians assured us, it was just a portion of an introduction, taken out of context...but Admiral Stockdale exasperated the problem when he never got back to answering his own questions. As the debate wore on, many of us wondered "Yea, who is he? and why IS he here?". It was not the sort of thing one hopes for in a vice president. The ironic thing is that it's a series of questions that we all ask ourselves regularly...perhaps not on the high wire of a presidential campaign, but surely in the dark recesses of our mind. We all question our purpose, seek for our place, hope for a little more present day reality, even at the expense of a latter day vision.
It's in these two questions - these seemingly self-centered questions - that we see the first inclining of a desire for destiny. It is not enough to just be us. It is not enough to be randomly here. Our hearts are parched for purpose.
God the Father lies at the root of these questions. He placed the ache in our hearts, knowing that only He could satisfy it. He gave us a natural craving for what only He provides - a fulfilled sense of being. It's just like the Father to seed the test of life with questions that point us to Him.
Likewise, there is an enemy yearing to answer those questions for us. He declares that you are his, and that you were made for you. He screams his lies - that eternal being was created for seventy years' pleasure, that being can be found in buying, that we are all there is. His lies leave us staring at the gravestones across the fence, knowing ours will be there one day, and that we have spent all we have on bread that was moldy the day it arrived.
Who are you? Why are you here? Pick your answer and live acordingly.
9.16.2004
Well, sure, when you put it that way...
I was driving Jackson home from class this afternoon, and of course, we're talking culture and all that. Somehow I called Zion "Roscoe P. Coletrain"....which, of course, led to a series of questions that forced me to lay out the plot, character sketch and general idea behind the Dukes of Hazard.
"See, there were these two cousins. Well, three cousins, really. They lived with their uncle and were in trouble with the law from the day they were born. The Sherriff worked for a fat man who owned the town. He had a dunce for a deputy named Enus....and a dog named flash that slept all the time."
By this time, Jackson could stand no more. He did his best 11 year old eye roll and said "You have GOT to be kidding me."
Quiet, kids. I think I hear Waylon.....
I was driving Jackson home from class this afternoon, and of course, we're talking culture and all that. Somehow I called Zion "Roscoe P. Coletrain"....which, of course, led to a series of questions that forced me to lay out the plot, character sketch and general idea behind the Dukes of Hazard.
"See, there were these two cousins. Well, three cousins, really. They lived with their uncle and were in trouble with the law from the day they were born. The Sherriff worked for a fat man who owned the town. He had a dunce for a deputy named Enus....and a dog named flash that slept all the time."
By this time, Jackson could stand no more. He did his best 11 year old eye roll and said "You have GOT to be kidding me."
Quiet, kids. I think I hear Waylon.....
life untethered....
Thus marks my fifth day without a cell phone, and you know...life ain't bad this way. I can see why the greater portion of earth's six billion people do NOT carry a cell phone. It's liberating. Of course, most of the earth's six billion can't afford a cell phone....so maybe it's not so much a lifestyle choice as one would imagine.
I got to hang out yesterday afternoon with Stuart Greaves. Stuart directs our night watch. Imagine being responsible for keeping the fire stoked in a prayer room from 10 pm to 6 am....seven nights a week. He and his wife, Esther, also lead a 3 month Fire in the Night internship that serves two purposes: to train people in the intense environment of all-night prayer and worship, and to provide fresh horses for the effort!
Last night we did a late night library run for the boys...'twas close to 10 pm 'till we got everyone down and out. I intended on going straight to bed but ended up talking to Andrew Stone much longer than I thought I had. You're a good man, Andrew. Pass the buscuits.
Onward, into the day. It's meetingsville.
Thus marks my fifth day without a cell phone, and you know...life ain't bad this way. I can see why the greater portion of earth's six billion people do NOT carry a cell phone. It's liberating. Of course, most of the earth's six billion can't afford a cell phone....so maybe it's not so much a lifestyle choice as one would imagine.
I got to hang out yesterday afternoon with Stuart Greaves. Stuart directs our night watch. Imagine being responsible for keeping the fire stoked in a prayer room from 10 pm to 6 am....seven nights a week. He and his wife, Esther, also lead a 3 month Fire in the Night internship that serves two purposes: to train people in the intense environment of all-night prayer and worship, and to provide fresh horses for the effort!
Last night we did a late night library run for the boys...'twas close to 10 pm 'till we got everyone down and out. I intended on going straight to bed but ended up talking to Andrew Stone much longer than I thought I had. You're a good man, Andrew. Pass the buscuits.
Onward, into the day. It's meetingsville.
9.15.2004
And they say the youth of America don't know how to take initiative....
Following inquiry, police arrest student in parking ticket fraud - The Daily Cardinal - News: "UW-Madison student Anthony Gallagher was charged in Dane County Circuit Court Monday with obstructing an officer following a police investigation since April 2003. Police found he and an individual identified as Nate Grede had been placing fake parking tickets on windshields and collecting payments for approximately six weeks.
"
dark but lovely....
Yes, it's in the Song of Solomon, but it's exactly what came to my mind this morning when I poured myself a cup of Panera's best. Ummmm. Coffee good.
I'm hiding out at my favorite wifi-equipped bagel dive, organizing some thoughts for an upcoming speaking engagement. I was asked to speak at a fundraiser for a nonprofit...and said yes, not even beginning to think about how different that sort of setting is from where I normally teach. I tend to lean towards a 'teach people by tweaking them' approach which, my gut tells me, is not the best idea for a fundraiser.
Maybe we should take up the collection before I speak.
Yes, it's in the Song of Solomon, but it's exactly what came to my mind this morning when I poured myself a cup of Panera's best. Ummmm. Coffee good.
I'm hiding out at my favorite wifi-equipped bagel dive, organizing some thoughts for an upcoming speaking engagement. I was asked to speak at a fundraiser for a nonprofit...and said yes, not even beginning to think about how different that sort of setting is from where I normally teach. I tend to lean towards a 'teach people by tweaking them' approach which, my gut tells me, is not the best idea for a fundraiser.
Maybe we should take up the collection before I speak.
9.14.2004
awash with memories....
Kelsey and I had a long, substantial talk last night. Well, the sort of long, substantial talk a couple has while hauling their 3 boys through Target and trying to buy the 7 year old shoes. Let the reader understand.
The talk ranged widely over what we've done for the past eight years or so and how we landed on the decisions we landed on. We talked about vision and mission and calling and laces vs. velcro. It was glorious and domestic at the same time.
This morning as I was getting ready, I had the strangest experience....it was a memory, but it was way more than a memory. It wasn't a vision, but it was a sensing....I really felt it to be supernatural.
Years back, we were pursuing church planting with all the finesse of a yak in an evening gown. We really wanted to plant, and were looking for direction. Our denomination sent us on what we now joke about as the Tour of Ohio, looking at different locations. One of those locations was Loraine, Ohio...on the lake, just west of Cleveland.
This morning, I was suddenly standing on the shore of the lake in Loraine, looking north across the grey waters. It was a little, ratty city park with trash everywhere. I was trying to convince myself that this was what God wanted us to do...although in my heart of hearts, I was hearing "close, but no cigar." (God speaks to me like that. It's endearing at times....although sometimes I sort of wish I'd get that booming voice thing from the movies).
My take away is this...it's possible to move forward with part of a vision and miss the target. I want to make sure we're 100% lined up when we go for it.
Kelsey and I had a long, substantial talk last night. Well, the sort of long, substantial talk a couple has while hauling their 3 boys through Target and trying to buy the 7 year old shoes. Let the reader understand.
The talk ranged widely over what we've done for the past eight years or so and how we landed on the decisions we landed on. We talked about vision and mission and calling and laces vs. velcro. It was glorious and domestic at the same time.
This morning as I was getting ready, I had the strangest experience....it was a memory, but it was way more than a memory. It wasn't a vision, but it was a sensing....I really felt it to be supernatural.
Years back, we were pursuing church planting with all the finesse of a yak in an evening gown. We really wanted to plant, and were looking for direction. Our denomination sent us on what we now joke about as the Tour of Ohio, looking at different locations. One of those locations was Loraine, Ohio...on the lake, just west of Cleveland.
This morning, I was suddenly standing on the shore of the lake in Loraine, looking north across the grey waters. It was a little, ratty city park with trash everywhere. I was trying to convince myself that this was what God wanted us to do...although in my heart of hearts, I was hearing "close, but no cigar." (God speaks to me like that. It's endearing at times....although sometimes I sort of wish I'd get that booming voice thing from the movies).
My take away is this...it's possible to move forward with part of a vision and miss the target. I want to make sure we're 100% lined up when we go for it.
9.13.2004
CNN.com - 'Batman' protest at queen's palace - Sep 13, 2004: "The queen was not at the palace at the time of the protest as she is on her summer break at Balmoral in Scotland, the palace said."
the inherent dangers of safety....
Recently, I read a post on someone's blog regarding their decision to toss out their PDA in favor of a small paper calendar and notebook. My first reaction was "Luddite!". Why would anyone toss out a handy tool and revert back to the Ink Age? Then I got to thinking a little bit about how and what I write...
I realized that when writing electronically, I write very differently than when I'm jotting in my journal. With a keyboard in front of me, my thoughts are more complete...and guarded. I guess I'm vaguely aware of the fact that almost everything that one records electronically is likely to come back to haunt them. Whether it's posted to the web or just stored on a hard drive somewhere, there's always the idea that some time, some where, when I'm less passionate about the issue I've ranted about, I might end up having to defend something I wrote...and maybe my thoughts will have changed. The keyboard is no place for an emotional rant, unless you're willing to withstand that emotion for a long, long time.
My journal, on the other hand, is a mess. Thoughts are scattered, interspersed with prayers, cries, fumings and dreams. With the pen in hand, my heart unlocks a little, because I know where the journal is staying. Interestingly enough, some of those rantings are refined into genuine, defendable positions, and do find their way onto the blog or into something else I'm writing....but not until properly cooked and cured through the journal.
I want to write more - electronically - but I want to live more in the journal.
Recently, I read a post on someone's blog regarding their decision to toss out their PDA in favor of a small paper calendar and notebook. My first reaction was "Luddite!". Why would anyone toss out a handy tool and revert back to the Ink Age? Then I got to thinking a little bit about how and what I write...
I realized that when writing electronically, I write very differently than when I'm jotting in my journal. With a keyboard in front of me, my thoughts are more complete...and guarded. I guess I'm vaguely aware of the fact that almost everything that one records electronically is likely to come back to haunt them. Whether it's posted to the web or just stored on a hard drive somewhere, there's always the idea that some time, some where, when I'm less passionate about the issue I've ranted about, I might end up having to defend something I wrote...and maybe my thoughts will have changed. The keyboard is no place for an emotional rant, unless you're willing to withstand that emotion for a long, long time.
My journal, on the other hand, is a mess. Thoughts are scattered, interspersed with prayers, cries, fumings and dreams. With the pen in hand, my heart unlocks a little, because I know where the journal is staying. Interestingly enough, some of those rantings are refined into genuine, defendable positions, and do find their way onto the blog or into something else I'm writing....but not until properly cooked and cured through the journal.
I want to write more - electronically - but I want to live more in the journal.
9.11.2004
9.11.01 : We Remember
This article smacked me in the face this morning. I have a million words of commentary - none which correct the issue. The article - and the pain - speak for themselves.
The New York Times : Growing Up Grieving, With Constant Reminders of 9/11:*
"The bone brought sad finality to everyone but Brendan Fitzpatrick. It was proof that his father had died on Sept. 11, 2001. But for Brendan, who is 5, the news that a piece of Thomas Fitzpatrick's humerus had been recovered was vexing, at best. 'Can we get all the pieces and put them together?' he recently asked his mother at their home in Tuckahoe, N.Y. 'So he could be alive.'
In Harlem, a different puzzle unfolded for Samuel Fields. He was 10 when the towers collapsed, and knew his father was gone. But he could not cry. He jumped off the steep rocks in Central Park, punched a classmate and, the following summer, wound up in jail for pelting cars with stones. It was only then, after his mother yelled, 'Would your father want this?' that the first tears fell."
*registration required, and worth it, even for this story alone.
Last night I ran across this...
On a blog written by Moby on 9/8/04. Yes, this is the man who regularly uses his celebrity status to question the intelligence of the President:
On a blog written by Moby on 9/8/04. Yes, this is the man who regularly uses his celebrity status to question the intelligence of the President:
"I should probably keep this to myself, but i was talking to an engineer friend of mine today and i was showing him a moderately fancy microphone that i've been using for a year or so and i was complaining that the results were'nt what i'd been hoping for.From one strange little bald man to another....dude, you may want to back off the rhetoric until you figure out which end is which. On multiple levels. Of course, it is "a complicated microphone." Funny how foreign policy can seem so simple when a microphone can be so confusing.
and he said, quite simply, 'well, you're singing into the wrong side of the microphone.'
yes, that's right, i've been a musician for over 20 years, i've made many records, i've performed everywhere in the world, i've written music for movies and tv shows, i've sold 15 million records, but yet i can't figure out which side of the microphone to sing into."
9.10.2004
Let us bow our heads....
We gather together in solemn digital lament for the passing of my beloved Nokia 3650. It is survived by a chrome digital camera, a white G4 iBook, and a red & black Timbuk2 gear bag. Six months young, this blue-tooth equipped beauty passed long before it's time. And fortunately, long before it's warranty ran out. Customer service assures me a new one will be here next week. So if you're calling my cell, it's not ringing right now.
And no, this is not a ploy to drum up Blackberry funds...which, in case you're waiting for someone else to make the first donation, has a grand total of $0.00 as of 4:16 PM.
We gather together in solemn digital lament for the passing of my beloved Nokia 3650. It is survived by a chrome digital camera, a white G4 iBook, and a red & black Timbuk2 gear bag. Six months young, this blue-tooth equipped beauty passed long before it's time. And fortunately, long before it's warranty ran out. Customer service assures me a new one will be here next week. So if you're calling my cell, it's not ringing right now.
And no, this is not a ploy to drum up Blackberry funds...which, in case you're waiting for someone else to make the first donation, has a grand total of $0.00 as of 4:16 PM.
Home Depot to open 1st Manhattan store - Sep. 10, 2004: "The store will also offer urban-oriented home improvement clinics with names like 'Make 500 sq. ft. feel like 5,000 sq. ft.' and 'How to Create a Garden on a Fire Escape.'"
Also offered will be seminars like 'How to Knock off a Liqour Store With a Cordless Drill' and 'Concrete: It's not just for shoes anymore.'
Also offered will be seminars like 'How to Knock off a Liqour Store With a Cordless Drill' and 'Concrete: It's not just for shoes anymore.'
9.09.2004
Be afraid
Due to popular demand...
I'm posting two more Burning Man photos...although judging from the non responsiveness to the Blackberry fund (see a few posts down), you certainly seem to be a demanding, ungrateful lot.
This photo is of myself, Barry "RatCar" Long and Lana Whisman. This was shortly before we dropped by the bank. It did not go well, for reasons we could not understand.
I'm posting two more Burning Man photos...although judging from the non responsiveness to the Blackberry fund (see a few posts down), you certainly seem to be a demanding, ungrateful lot.
This photo is of myself, Barry "RatCar" Long and Lana Whisman. This was shortly before we dropped by the bank. It did not go well, for reasons we could not understand.
Peace Through Grease
This was on the side of a multicolored hippie bus near our camp. The diesel engine was converted to run on waste grease from resturants. I did not have the heart to tell them that most of that waste grease was made from animal fat.
Peace through carnivore pursuit, says I.
Peace through carnivore pursuit, says I.
Why I like going in to the prayer room at 6 AM:
1) As the NightWatch leaves, none look twice at my unmufflered Volvo.
2) I usually get to say 'hey' to my friend, Stuart, who's just leaving (having been here all night). We actually went so far as to schedule coffee this time. Morning coffee with Stuart happens about 4 pm.
3) If I limit my food intake and jack the coffee, I can get my blood caffein content up around .30.
4) It blows me away to see how many others are here....from my seat on the left, among the hundred or so here, I see a sixteen year old who will leave at 8 AM to go to home school, a semi retired executive and his wife, and every sort of person in between. Hmmmm. After five years, 24 hr hours a day, anyone care to label this an emotional outpouring that will never last?
5) God really likes me at this time of the day. Well, He likes me all day, but as the day goes on, it gets harder for me to understand why.
1) As the NightWatch leaves, none look twice at my unmufflered Volvo.
2) I usually get to say 'hey' to my friend, Stuart, who's just leaving (having been here all night). We actually went so far as to schedule coffee this time. Morning coffee with Stuart happens about 4 pm.
3) If I limit my food intake and jack the coffee, I can get my blood caffein content up around .30.
4) It blows me away to see how many others are here....from my seat on the left, among the hundred or so here, I see a sixteen year old who will leave at 8 AM to go to home school, a semi retired executive and his wife, and every sort of person in between. Hmmmm. After five years, 24 hr hours a day, anyone care to label this an emotional outpouring that will never last?
5) God really likes me at this time of the day. Well, He likes me all day, but as the day goes on, it gets harder for me to understand why.
9.08.2004
NASA says a collective "whoops....".
CNN.com - Genesis capsule crashes in desert - Sep 8, 2004: "'Under those condition, the Genesis capsule hit the ground at about 100 mph.'"
CNN.com - Genesis capsule crashes in desert - Sep 8, 2004: "'Under those condition, the Genesis capsule hit the ground at about 100 mph.'"
9.07.2004
PocketMac BlackBerry Edition Call Toll Free 1-866-POCK-MAC: "Why not have the best of both worlds? That's why we created PocketMac BlackBerry Edition, the original Mac-To-BlackBerry Sync Solution...
---
Support your International House of Prayer Missionary Geek.
For ages, two things have stood in the way of my using a Blackberry.
1) They didn't sync with Mac's (see above).
2) I'm pretty much broke.
Now that PocketMac has solved issue one, let's all band together to solve issue two!
All monies Paypaled by hitting the button at the left will be put towards a good used Blackberry on eBay and the necesessary software. Should donations come up short, they will cheerfully be refunded or even more cheerfully used to buy my kids shoes. Win-win, knowhatamean?
---
Support your International House of Prayer Missionary Geek.
For ages, two things have stood in the way of my using a Blackberry.
1) They didn't sync with Mac's (see above).
2) I'm pretty much broke.
Now that PocketMac has solved issue one, let's all band together to solve issue two!
All monies Paypaled by hitting the button at the left will be put towards a good used Blackberry on eBay and the necesessary software. Should donations come up short, they will cheerfully be refunded or even more cheerfully used to buy my kids shoes. Win-win, knowhatamean?
Home again, for real.
After 850 miles, we rolled in about 8 PM last night. The SS Family Truckster performed flawlessly. I am convinced the people screaming for electric powered micro cars have no children and never travel more than twenty miles to the health food store. The only exception might have been the old diesel bus driving hippies I saw at on the playa who had converted their bus to run on grease from resturants (no kidding). A sign proclaimed it the "Peace through Grease Tour".
It's good to be back - have a meeting this morning at 7:30 AM and then off to the prayer room.
After 850 miles, we rolled in about 8 PM last night. The SS Family Truckster performed flawlessly. I am convinced the people screaming for electric powered micro cars have no children and never travel more than twenty miles to the health food store. The only exception might have been the old diesel bus driving hippies I saw at on the playa who had converted their bus to run on grease from resturants (no kidding). A sign proclaimed it the "Peace through Grease Tour".
It's good to be back - have a meeting this morning at 7:30 AM and then off to the prayer room.
9.03.2004
Random My Hind End
I have been randomly searched twice today, in the Reno airport this morning, and again in the KC airport a few moments ago...both times by surley security workers, who, in the best interests of protecting our homeland, appeared to have their grumpy pants on.
I am sure that it does not help to travel alone, buy a one way ticket on a cut rate airline at the last minute, then rush on carrying enough electronic gadgets to overthrow a Radio Shack, sporting a been-in-the-desert growth of beard and deep tan, holding a boarding pass that says "Randy" and wearing yellow and red soccer shirt declaring my name to be "Carl". But still....
Next stop, Smashville, Tennessee. I hope the car rental place is Burning Man friendly.
I have been randomly searched twice today, in the Reno airport this morning, and again in the KC airport a few moments ago...both times by surley security workers, who, in the best interests of protecting our homeland, appeared to have their grumpy pants on.
I am sure that it does not help to travel alone, buy a one way ticket on a cut rate airline at the last minute, then rush on carrying enough electronic gadgets to overthrow a Radio Shack, sporting a been-in-the-desert growth of beard and deep tan, holding a boarding pass that says "Randy" and wearing yellow and red soccer shirt declaring my name to be "Carl". But still....
Next stop, Smashville, Tennessee. I hope the car rental place is Burning Man friendly.
I'm home...sort of. :)
I'm sitting in the KC airport, having flown from Reno to DFW to KC today and at the last minute, deciding to carry on to Nashville and rent a car to go to eastern Tennessee and help Kelsey drive home.
We left the playa yesterday for a hotel in Reno before flying home today. When we arrived at the hotel, we literally left a trail of dust from the rental cars to the hotel door - something like Charlie Brown's friend Pigpen.
After a dusty week on the playa, the showers at the hotel seemed almost decadent. I cranked on the valve and watched the water rush out of the shower head and down the drain...it was amazing. There was as much as I wanted. This in itself is almost unique to developed nations.
I've posted a few more photos. I know many of you are wanting a wordy summary of our trip, and frankly, it can't happen for a while. The entire team talked of need to decompress...a lot of processing needs to take place. It might seem that all we have is wacky stories and bizarre photos. We have much, much more, but most will not find it's way to the blog. It's better told over a cup of coffee, preferrably late at night...with a little dust around the edge of the cup and a stiff southerly wind. Until then, read between the lines. That's where the best stories always dwell.
Hope you enjoyed the trip a fraction as much as we did.
I'm sitting in the KC airport, having flown from Reno to DFW to KC today and at the last minute, deciding to carry on to Nashville and rent a car to go to eastern Tennessee and help Kelsey drive home.
We left the playa yesterday for a hotel in Reno before flying home today. When we arrived at the hotel, we literally left a trail of dust from the rental cars to the hotel door - something like Charlie Brown's friend Pigpen.
After a dusty week on the playa, the showers at the hotel seemed almost decadent. I cranked on the valve and watched the water rush out of the shower head and down the drain...it was amazing. There was as much as I wanted. This in itself is almost unique to developed nations.
I've posted a few more photos. I know many of you are wanting a wordy summary of our trip, and frankly, it can't happen for a while. The entire team talked of need to decompress...a lot of processing needs to take place. It might seem that all we have is wacky stories and bizarre photos. We have much, much more, but most will not find it's way to the blog. It's better told over a cup of coffee, preferrably late at night...with a little dust around the edge of the cup and a stiff southerly wind. Until then, read between the lines. That's where the best stories always dwell.
Hope you enjoyed the trip a fraction as much as we did.
Bike Riding Lizard
But wait...it's more than just a lizard...
Ok, so here's the story with this one. We're sitting in our chairs during a rare lull in the gale force winds, munching dusty lime flavored Tostitos and knocking back a couple of Rasberry Snapple (who says we don't party hard?) when a Raptor on a custom bicycle rides by. Becky Kahler, for the tenth time in as many minutes, calmly says "I have never seen anything like that...".
The costume was fantastic - pictures don't do it justice - but just as amazing was the guy's physical mannerisims. He would twitch his head back and forth, then crank his neck back at an angle very odd for a human but remarkably lizard like! It was a riot. Did I mention that the black and yellow swirled wheels spun in opposite directions? Seems sort of superfluous now, but it was an important part of the design.
A while later, I saw the guy was across the street, having a drink at our neighbor's camp (Pun Camp - People United for Nothing). I went over to ask if I could take his picture. He said "Oh, certainly! But let me get on my bike first!"
Because a man in a lizard costume, no big deal...but get that lizard riding a bike, and baby, you've got a photo op.
Ok, so here's the story with this one. We're sitting in our chairs during a rare lull in the gale force winds, munching dusty lime flavored Tostitos and knocking back a couple of Rasberry Snapple (who says we don't party hard?) when a Raptor on a custom bicycle rides by. Becky Kahler, for the tenth time in as many minutes, calmly says "I have never seen anything like that...".
The costume was fantastic - pictures don't do it justice - but just as amazing was the guy's physical mannerisims. He would twitch his head back and forth, then crank his neck back at an angle very odd for a human but remarkably lizard like! It was a riot. Did I mention that the black and yellow swirled wheels spun in opposite directions? Seems sort of superfluous now, but it was an important part of the design.
A while later, I saw the guy was across the street, having a drink at our neighbor's camp (Pun Camp - People United for Nothing). I went over to ask if I could take his picture. He said "Oh, certainly! But let me get on my bike first!"
Because a man in a lizard costume, no big deal...but get that lizard riding a bike, and baby, you've got a photo op.
Sloth Camp
Sloth Inside
A long standing, non-commercial tradition at Burning Man is the changing of logos...if it's on a rental truck, shoes, whatever, people use duct tape or paint to make minor adjustments and change the meanings - usually with quirky results...art springing from a resistance to advertising a product.
This was a new twist - a camp going out of it's way to proudly display a flag of a logo that had been changed. Every Mac user cheered at the hoisting of the Sloth Inside logo. For everyone who's done the ctrl-alt-delete salute today, we say...enjoy your sloth inside!
A long standing, non-commercial tradition at Burning Man is the changing of logos...if it's on a rental truck, shoes, whatever, people use duct tape or paint to make minor adjustments and change the meanings - usually with quirky results...art springing from a resistance to advertising a product.
This was a new twist - a camp going out of it's way to proudly display a flag of a logo that had been changed. Every Mac user cheered at the hoisting of the Sloth Inside logo. For everyone who's done the ctrl-alt-delete salute today, we say...enjoy your sloth inside!
Rob's Tent
The Winds of Change
One of my favororite logo alterations was also one of the smallest...and right inside our camp. First time burner Rob Mazza converted his L.L. Bean tent to....well, you see.
Need I mention that he did not have a tent mate? 'Nuff said.
One of my favororite logo alterations was also one of the smallest...and right inside our camp. First time burner Rob Mazza converted his L.L. Bean tent to....well, you see.
Need I mention that he did not have a tent mate? 'Nuff said.
Barry Long
Northern Kentucky Vineyard Pastor in Action
Barry was taking a well deserved snooze-a-luia after riding around on top of the RatCar delivering water. It's quite a site as well...and yes, I have a photo of that too.
Ask Barry about the bike tour he sent our way. He will pay.
Barry was taking a well deserved snooze-a-luia after riding around on top of the RatCar delivering water. It's quite a site as well...and yes, I have a photo of that too.
Ask Barry about the bike tour he sent our way. He will pay.
9.02.2004
Me
Did I mention I was tired?
This photo was taken Wednesday afternoon. I am wearing my ancient Superman shirt, although Tom dubbed me Captain Understatement (this was after I announced that he was Mr. Monkey Pants, so you can imagine we had quite an afternoon).
I don't remember being this tired and charged at the same time. While we handed out bottles of water and battled the wind, the dream interpretation team was working in the tents, interpreting as many as 5 different peoples' dreams at once. At one point, we were bracing the structures with pipe and duct tape in the wind, holding it together with our bare hands, while they were talking to seekers inside...it was desert warfare to the Nth degree.
We're back in Reno now...showered, happy and tired. Dusty hats off to the team - Tom Mills, Tara Martin, Danielle Wheeler, Rusty Geverdt, Barry Long, Marjie Long & Becky Kahler. I was so impressed at their cheerful willingness to go far beyond what was expected in the face of horribly adverse conditions.
This photo was taken Wednesday afternoon. I am wearing my ancient Superman shirt, although Tom dubbed me Captain Understatement (this was after I announced that he was Mr. Monkey Pants, so you can imagine we had quite an afternoon).
I don't remember being this tired and charged at the same time. While we handed out bottles of water and battled the wind, the dream interpretation team was working in the tents, interpreting as many as 5 different peoples' dreams at once. At one point, we were bracing the structures with pipe and duct tape in the wind, holding it together with our bare hands, while they were talking to seekers inside...it was desert warfare to the Nth degree.
We're back in Reno now...showered, happy and tired. Dusty hats off to the team - Tom Mills, Tara Martin, Danielle Wheeler, Rusty Geverdt, Barry Long, Marjie Long & Becky Kahler. I was so impressed at their cheerful willingness to go far beyond what was expected in the face of horribly adverse conditions.
Serve One, Serve All
We laugh in the face of death...
Danie Wheeler, aka Extreme Outreach Girl, shows that she is undaunted, even by the grim reaper.
Team IHOP ROCKED this week, serving 10,000 bottles of water in 2 and a half days...in the worst weather I've ever seen at Burning Man.
The wind and sand was incredible...each night we'd crawl into our tents and fall, exhausted, into a new layer of silt 1/4 inch deep.
Danie Wheeler, aka Extreme Outreach Girl, shows that she is undaunted, even by the grim reaper.
Team IHOP ROCKED this week, serving 10,000 bottles of water in 2 and a half days...in the worst weather I've ever seen at Burning Man.
The wind and sand was incredible...each night we'd crawl into our tents and fall, exhausted, into a new layer of silt 1/4 inch deep.
Wind Storm
Unbelievable Wind
I took this photo between nearly constant wind storms - this is looking to the south as another blew in. The sand felt like pins hitting us, millions at a time, for hours....
Psalm 104:4
He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
I took this photo between nearly constant wind storms - this is looking to the south as another blew in. The sand felt like pins hitting us, millions at a time, for hours....
Psalm 104:4
He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
Fire Flowers
Flowers go K-Boom
Standing on either side of the walkway from center camp to 80 foot tall 'Man', These twenty foot tall steel flowers don't look nearly as impressive in this photo as they did last night about midnight as we walked through them and they both suddenly belched 20 foot flames.
We walked the up the left side of the Esplenade, past the Thunderdome and roller coaster, through the raves at and out to David Best's temple, then back through the center of the playa. The walk: 2 1/2 miles.
Standing on either side of the walkway from center camp to 80 foot tall 'Man', These twenty foot tall steel flowers don't look nearly as impressive in this photo as they did last night about midnight as we walked through them and they both suddenly belched 20 foot flames.
We walked the up the left side of the Esplenade, past the Thunderdome and roller coaster, through the raves at and out to David Best's temple, then back through the center of the playa. The walk: 2 1/2 miles.
Home Made Roller Coaster
Here's the Scary Award
This roller coaster was built in someone's garage and assembled on the playa - to see it operate was frightening. The car not only slide down the U, but spun forward while sliding down, and backward while sliding up.
We saw it run last night and they had to lift the passengers out because they were so ill. It's a repeat attraction for Burning Man, although the Go Go Dancer cages in front were a new addition. When we watched, only one was in use, by a 50 year old man in a kilt, who the announcer declared as "Way too un-funky". We concurred.
This roller coaster was built in someone's garage and assembled on the playa - to see it operate was frightening. The car not only slide down the U, but spun forward while sliding down, and backward while sliding up.
We saw it run last night and they had to lift the passengers out because they were so ill. It's a repeat attraction for Burning Man, although the Go Go Dancer cages in front were a new addition. When we watched, only one was in use, by a 50 year old man in a kilt, who the announcer declared as "Way too un-funky". We concurred.
Flame Throwing Truck
Burners agree with Tarzan: "Fire good."
Here's one of the more creative uses for an old International Harvester truck - triple flame throwers. We didn't see this one light up but we saw plenty others.
Here's one of the more creative uses for an old International Harvester truck - triple flame throwers. We didn't see this one light up but we saw plenty others.
9.01.2004
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