Before the Tense

Moving my Blog

2007-03-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

So i have decided to move my blog. I am now over at www.thetensebefore.wordpress.com

All my previous blogs are over there, and I will be posting some more stuff soon. I like it over there. it is tres pretty.

-Dan

Soon I will look like Taylor Hackford

2007-02-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of weeks I have hit a nice patch of nostaligic self-consciousness that usually happens once a year or so. It is that late-middle school to early-high school self awareness where I have the irrational feeling that no one really likes me (I however do own this time for instilling my lovely humourous and witty irony that sometimes appears), but then I realize that I have been out every night for over a week and really I am just wicked tired, and am no longer the crazy extrovert that i once was, and all goes back to normal, and I stop feeling so self-conscious... Until yesterday, and this happens.....

I have a freakin' grey patch in my beard. Yeah, it is actually more white than grey, and it is more than one hair... So now I know within a couple of weeks I will look like Taylor Hackford and be married to a woman who looks suprisingly like the queen of england, or at least that is the extent that I have taken this to :)

(Note: go to IMDB.com to find out who is and what Taylor Hackford looks like)

Funny Things,

2007-02-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

So Chuck Klosterman is perhaps the American Nick Hornby, and closer to my generation, but he is the funniest writer I have read since David Eggers. And perhaps writes books that are even better on tape. Thus that is why it is 11pm and I should be asleep, but I can't get enough.

Another sadly funny thing, two circus clowns were killed in columbia... No real report tells me why, but aparently someone really hates clowns.....

And finally, for those that grew up in conservative Christendom, do you all remember the book Turmoil in the Toybox? You know the book that exposed the demonic plots of all the toys i loved as a kid? Yeah, that made me giggle when that came up in conversation tonight.

Cargo Cults hold more than Cargo Pants.

2007-02-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

OK, so this is a bit delayed than the promised AM post, but this will be a bit of a long one covering various oddities in my life.

But first! Great BBC article! Click here to read it! It's about a tribe of people in Vanauatu that worship John Frum... They believe he is Jesus and his spirit lives in the volcano. Turns out that in WWII these people were amazed by the technology that American ships brought to their part of the world that they thought they were Gods. So aparently, the soliders were told to say "I'm John from America." Thus... it then became that American Gods were "John Frum." And now they still worship the GI's they met. Hey at least one group of people love the USA!

Ok, so here are the other stories. Which are in the following order: 1. Dan speaking in Church, 2. Awkward run-in at Trivia night (aka people waving), and 3. plans for my March Break (AKA Tropical Craziness).

1. So this weekend I spoke at my church. It is a small little gathering of hip people who are open to differing ideas and dialoge, and even love Jesus too. So i managed to do a great mash-up. A mash-up on par with Danger Doom's Mash-up of Jay-Z and the Beatles for the Grey album, or that thing that Jay-Z and Linkin Park did. I discussed empathy, evolution, lent, children making fun of me, the saduceses, and Ash Wednesday. Yeah it was good. Anyways, I still don't know how i did, because it isn't like people would tell me if i bombed... but hey people laughed and aparently people learned about things i am passioned about. Which is good! And i acutually enjoyed it, but i also learned that I am really bad at following my outline. Maybe it is too much Prairie Home Companion.

2. OK, so after the church talk, a bunch of us went to Coopersmith's for lunch, and it was a racous 3 hours of fun. Following was hanging out with other friends doing Trivia night at Coopersmiths. So about 6:30, I noticed a woman across the way waving wildly. Now, i have a bit of a complex, and really don't get hit on ever, and really no one waves to me. So i ignore it. For the next three hours, i notice wild waving, and think it is someone behind me... So trivia finishes. Waving woman gets last, my team gets second. ANd then waving woman comes up and says, "Hey didn't you notice me waving?" And I say "Umm... I thought it was to someone else. Women don't usually wave at me." (Note: I am still not sure if i know this person).
She then says, " I am Sarah, the intern at Larimer Center." Then I realize who she is and realize, i do recognize her. Yeah, then i apologize for being a jerk. Yeah, so that was odd.

3. In a few weeks i will be going back to taiwan. I am going to visit my great friend Bethany! I am super stoked. The first few days that i am there, her cousins are going to be visiting her. So i decided not to cramp their style, i would try to travel the island by myself. Yeah, so i am going to travel Asia, alone and not able to speak the language or read it. So that will be exciting. I am planning to go to the resort area of Kenting in the south. It will be a grand adventure.

Now for the bonus posts.

4. I just bought a new camera. it is a cannon power shot sd3. It is freakin' cool. I will share pictures soon.

5. I downloaded a ring tone the other day for my phone. It was the Rolling Stones' Gimmie Shelter. Now every time my phone rings, I feel like i am in a Martin Scorcesse film.

Yeah so that is it for now. Thanks for reading.

back to the blog

2007-02-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

so i haven't blogged in a bit, and really this is my blogg saying that tommorow i will blog more, but hey I will have funny stories.
I don't know if other people have this issue, but rarely do females wave at me in bars on trivia night, but alas tonight it happend... and I realized that others remember me, when i have issues placeing faces out of contex, and thus making interesting and awkward interactions....

Oh yeah, I also gave a talk today at church... that was fun... and odd....

And soon i will be in the tropics and away from the 60+ days of snow in colorado.....

i promise more in the AM.

Wiki Wonders

2007-02-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here is something interesting. Penguin Publishing is writing a book utilizing the open-source fun of wiki. I am sure it won't be grand, but an interesting idea of colaberation and artistic expression. You can find it here. A Million Penguins

Here is some other Fun. A friend of mine wrote a fun piece for the Porpoise Diving Life. You can find it here

The Last King of Scotland

2007-01-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well with Oscar buzz around, i have finally got to see one of the buzz worthy movies. "The Last King of Scotland." It was amazing. At least the acting was. I didn't know how violent the film was going to be and was a bit taken aback. Just an FYI.
Anyways, Forest Witiker was amazing, and it was a compeling story. It reminded me of Goodfellas.
Anyways, the reason for the post was to link to an interview with the author of the book the film was based on. It was quite interesting. I often wonder how the world has forsaken the African continent so much.
Here is the link the the interview. Click here.

Back to non-intellectual posts that won't get referanced on other hip blogs

2007-01-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

So i have been accused of being overly intelectual. Well this should prove I'm not, but I just talk a good game.

So I saw the best movie as of late. And really it is a suprise of how much i dug it. It was called "The Protector." It is a Thai Film... Could this be because I would like to live in Thailand someday? Maybe... but alas "The Protector" was great!

So do you remember the movie Comando with Arnold? Like from 1984? Yeah, the one where his daughter was kidnaped by drug sumuglers? Well, "The Protector" has the same plot, but instead of his daughter, it is his family Elephant! And the elephant was kidnaped by Australian exotic meat dealers....

Oh yeah, and the action was super fun. Like Jackie Chan Fun!

Best Movie ever! And yes he beats people up with elephant bones.... So Good

(Note: Read this blog while listening the "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me)

What then are we left with?

2007-01-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

"What are we left with then?"
This was the question a church goer asked about a month ago when I was telling him (in jest) my idea for the new Para-Church ministry I had come up with. "Jazz Hands for Jesus." It would be street evangelism team that did interprative dance depicting the events of the "Left Behind" Books, set to the music of Carmen.
(Note: when I was about 10 yrs. My parents gave me a carmen tape for Christmas. There was a song about Demons. I cried. I no longer liked Carmen.)
Anyways, about three weeks later, I was at a rodeo and this same church goer was there. The rodeo ended with the song "I can only imagine." while a little colt was corraled in smoke and fog around the ring. As this was happening, announcers pontificated on "a purpose driven life" hermanutic of God and existentialism... (Ie: God wants you to be a astronaut if that's what you want to be).
I was a bit offended by this display because it was out of place (after seeing calves being clotheslined, Bulls spurred, and the like all for show.) I called it sacrine and trite, and this church goer attacked me. Basically saying that I hate all things Christian and I am Christians' worst enemy for being critical of things with a Christian label.
However, after about 2 weeks of deliberating and thinking about this, I have come to realize that being critical of things that are called "Christian" is actually more orthodox than passivly injesting alot of the crap that is produced and dilute the true meaning of the gospel.
I strive to be a Berean critic of our culture and espcially things that carry the lable of "Christian." Check out Acts 17:11 to find out more about the Bereans.

Thus, I have concluded that I am not an enemy of Christian interaction with Culture, I am just decerning and encourage others to be dercerning too. Thus, I am not a fan of the Left Behind Books, I don't listen to much of the music on K-Love, I laugh at South Park because it points out truthes and areas in which I can help the church be less hypocritical. Also, I don't fear people haveing a different view than me. If you love Left Behind, that's great, but don't tell me it is on par with apocolyptical literature that has been shaping western civilization for the last 2000 years, and then call me "Too Intellectual" because of this.
So the question is this: "What then are we left with?" My answer is alot. Here are just a few things that are Christian in base and high quality that honnors God through its creative process and is more powerful and life changing than pulp-fiction and pre-packaged love songs to the holy spirit.

Music:
U2, Damien Jurardo, Handel, Johnny Cash, Sufjan Stevens, Pedro the Lion, David Bazan, TJ Walsh, The Soft Drugs, Anything by the Worship Circle people, and on and on and on

Books:
Fydor Dostevesky, Brennan Manning, Madaline L'engle, Nikos Kazantzakis, John Updike, St. John of the Cross... and on and on and on

Dallas Williard left the pastorate to go teach in secular colleges because he knew that if he stayed the world outside Christendom would write him off. And really isn't that what we are called to do? Shouldn't we strive to go out and make disiples of all nations? Should this not be part of the media Christendom produces? No wonder the world laughs and skewers Christianity for this, it seems that we have created a market share of amusing ourselves, and forgot our mandate.

(Note: I know this sounds accusatory and I know there is a place for the WOW 2006 CD's, but I think we in Christendom has developed a tendency to entertaining ourselves in an ivory tower we have built. And the walls are covered with Kurt Cammeron posters, and we play the Joel Orsteen board game.)

The Whole One Punk Thing

2007-01-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

So i am wicked sick at the moment, and thus I am writing at 11:30 when i should be asleep. But alas I am coughing like a mofo.
Anyways, it served as a good excuse to finish up with the last episode of the Sundance Channel's "One Punk under God" Series.
If you haven't seen it, check it out on Itunes or your on-demand thingie for those that have fancy pants cable.
It may be the fact I am hopped up on cold meds, but I got a little teary at the end. Nothing has been such a good example of God's grace and love as this show has demonstrated. I can only hope that I show such love and care to those around me as that i have seen in this series. Something about family drama and honesty. It was really amazing. Anyways, I will write a more synthzied tome on this later, but for those that are in lands far away, try to get this show off of itunes. It is amazing!

Strange things about my dog, and a nice warm article on the internet.

2007-01-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

So my puppy (12 months is still a puppy right?) sleeps with his eyes open. Sometimes i worry that he is seizing, but i don't think he is because when i say his name he responds. but it is really odd. You can totally see his eyes move his eyes and they roll around as he snores on his ginormous bed. It is so odd.
Anyways, I ran across this article this evening and felt all warm and the like. It is a list of the best 25 songs that typify the 1990's. It was so entertaining, since i have seen most of these bands in concert and own at least one cd that has the songs on them. Oh how i love that i have reached the age that my teenage music is better than what i find now... at least for the most part. Here is the link.

I am so Indie

2007-01-05T00:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight I realized that I am so Punk Rock... Interestingly enough, I was at a punk rock concert when i realized this (actually it was Ska, but I am punk rock in classifying it as Punk Rock). So here is the list of why I am so indie/punk rock.

1. I enjoyed the opening band while "the herd" hated them and raised their middle finger in defiance. They rocked! Pop-Punk is so out of the mainstream it is mainstream. Take that Pitchfork Media.

2. I enjoy bands that everyone has heard of. Yeah, those mindless clones love to find the most obscure, but I enjoy the mass produced and am totally digging the My Chemical Romance CD even though Jay-Z made referance to it in his new CD.

3. I wore a button down collard shirt today. Leather and Spikes and ironic throw-back shirts are such a part of the machine.

4. I enjoy life... Yeah be a part of "the Man" and fake being apathetic. You will never understand my joy.

5. Oh yeah, I dig books, and even sometimes curl up with a Grisham now and then... Again so punk rock.

So you all can deal with that and ban me to the edge of society, and I will go to my career and you will never understand because you bought into that corprate mentality that I must be different and wear ironic clothing, and hate the bands that you paid 20+ dollars for... yeah you go and be part of the heard...

Oh yeah, Punk Rock shows are funny. It reminded me of going to shows in Seattle. Man, the sun is so punk rock. Who knew vitimin E was so indie...

Ok enough with the sarcasm. Goodnight.

Unhappy?

2006-12-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

From Toothpaste For Dinner:

The Best Christmas ever... beside that one with Jesus

2006-12-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I love my nephew... That's about all I have to say. He's amazing.

Evolution Sunday and Empathy

2006-12-26T23:42:00.000-07:00

Today I got an interesting e-mail. I have subscribed to a number of different groups that have a variety of bents. I am a member of Sojourners... and I get annoyed with them because they view that the "right" is wrong, and thus the "left" is Christian... yeah that is too simplistic.
Anyways, there is a group that sends out various things and causes that tend to be left of center but carry a less biased view. Anyways, I got an e-mail about "evolution sunday." I was excited. I even forwarded it to my pastors....
So let me preface this.... I am not sure about evolution... also I am really not convinced by "young earth" creationists... and I love the beauty of poetry... What does poetry have to do with this?
Oh yeah, the creation story follows Hebrew poetry, and may be a "myth" in that a literary way of explaining how God created the world...
All that aside, the bigger issue is empathy. What am i talking about? This is crazy pants! I must believe "a" or "b" otherwise how could i be a Christian....
Yeah so really I don't really even care about "evolution/creation" debate, I want to understand where people come from. I have no interest in figuring out how God created the universe. I love the struggle though.
Richard Dawkins believes that evolution proves theology wrong. Francisis Collins disagrees, Alister McGarth disagrees even more, and Answers in Genisis makes me sad they claim to be Christian....
All that to say, I feel the need to ask others for forgivness for Christians without scientific knowledge but with holy zeal... and I need to look at the philosophical implications of belief...

Yeah, I don't know how God created the world, but whatever the process it still does not take away that I believe he was the process... All that to say, we need to have empathy for others, and not create extra rules for grace to impart on others. I love the mystery, and i know Jesus/the God Head/the Holy Spirit love it too.

Come on and Do the Elf Dance

2006-12-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Granted for most right now it is Christmas Eve, but to me the eve is what it is all about. It has been tradition to open presents and have an hor'derve dinner on Christmas Eve. In between smoked fish on crackers and rice pudding for dessert, we open presents. However, this year was nice for me. I asked for cash, and that is what i got. No let down of not getting what i really wanted, because was i really wanted was a trip to Asia, and i got that in Nov. and now my family has helped foot the bill... but that isn't what i really wanted to write about.
I have a nephew. He is great. He is perfect for the most part, and alas he is five months old. But today, I got to see him laugh, cry, fall asleep on my chest, and even roll over. He's freakin' amazing. Alas even more amazing than Asia, which is a whole lot of amazing. Anyways, here are some pictures from the day. Merry Christmas all.

Choice and Existentsm pt. 2

2006-12-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

**I have had a lot of thoughts lately, and both of this posts are in process. I hope to edit to make them more cohesive, but i still want to make them availible for people to comment. These posts are pretty raw and not well edited but i believe in the validity of that. They are also open to interpretation, and hopefully eventually will make it into a more cogent form. ***

Tonight I went to a Christmas party, and it confirmed alot of what i have been feeling. I really don't want alot of what i am told I should strive for.
I was in a great conversation on why I didn't think Kevin Smith (of clerks fame) was a good director, when I was distracted by a group of pretensious 40-somethings talk about wine.

I have a problem with ease dropping.

Anyways, there was a man wearing a turtleneck under a v-neck talking trash about one of my friends who actually knows about wine... It is a moot pnt. that I know that the turtle neck guy was just trying to look cool and knowledgable about wine, but it illistrated something I have felt deeply lately: I don't want a normal life, and the normal things i am told to have.
One of my friends recently posted about making tough choices about turning away from easy physical gratification, and it really struck a chord with me. I wish i had such preemptive wisdom.
I am often told by culture that I should be married and have children by now. I am told that I should have a "career" and a "house" and feel complete. However, I don't want this.
I want adventure, and I want independance (at least for now) and I want to interact with people that God created but western Christendom forgot. I want to find Grace in all areas of life and in all relationships. I want to live in a culture where i am the minority and I am viewed as exotic. I want to struggle and I want to be only responcibile for what God has set for me.
I have realized recently that I could have chosen a life in which i could have a wife and family, and a "career" and comfort, and that knowledge that a person "likes" the idea of me, but I know that this is not me. And I know this is not what I would like, and I know that I would rather be alone on an adventure that settling for something that a culture told me to have.
This raging against what i am told to have is a great struggle for me because identity in christendom is so wraped in it. But I want something more, adn if i am supposed to have a family, I want to tell my children about the glories of God's world and the adventures they can have, and not the wine parties and the pretense that they can achive.

This is my choice. There is sacrifice, but i am excited for this, and the gains from this sacrifice.

In closing, i want to share what a friend shared with me a long time ago, and who i have lost contact with, God has you on a course striving for his purpose, and if so be it eventually you find someone whose path merges with yours... and some people never merge, but that is ok.
I believe we have a choice to merge, and I know where I want my path to go, and I don't want to merge unless it ends in a simlar place. And I am ok with that... and if Christendom doesn't like that then so be it, but Christ is bigger that Christendom, and redeems my choices and experience.

Choice and Existentialism

2006-12-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

**Note this is still in rough form, and not very cohessive, and not fully what i want to say, But i will post it and make corrections as nessessary. **

There are two things in life that I love (well there is more but philosophically there are two things): Choice and Existentialism. Both of these are interconnected and like theology (or the more popular term: worldview) these things inform my life and how i interact with the world in even the smallest instance. Also, like theology, my views on these things change. And I seem to be in quite the moment where these things have changed for me recently.
Last week, I was sitting in Old Chicago's with one of my closest and longest friends ever, and three people that I don't know very well, but have been quite friendly with as of late. So the two guys that i was with were discussing issues with women and relationships and the like, and requesting information from the two other women that we were with. The question of does God have a specific someone, or a group of people that could be your specific someone to spend the rest of your life with.
I have thought about this, and really I think this is a stupid way of looking at things. Because like so many of the little divining games that we play with God and his "will" this sets one up for failure either way.
Suppose I meet someone and I believe they are the "one" for me, but as I often do, i get the jitters and never really make a move and they move on and marry someone else. Blast! Did i just f'up my chance with "the one" that God "picked" for me... This is way to much pressure, and then it works on the other end too... A couple of times I know that someone thought I was "the one" and I KNEW that I was not the one, but you would not believe the pressure that that places on a person, and how freakin' creepy it can get. It also puts a person on a pedastil. But more about that later.
The second divining outcome is the "multiple One's." The thought goes that God has multiple people that could be your "one" and that it is your choice to pick. Yeah, here is the awesome problem with this... it opens one to the thought "hmm... I wonder if I didn't pick the best 'one' for me" and leads one to wonder this....
So both ways of approaching this is flawed. That's why I love existentialism. It is not my job to evaluate what God's will is, and if i like it, or even if i can divine what it is. It is my job to submit myself and say here I am, here are my wishes, thy will be done. But alas that is the hardest thing to do but it is the most satisfying.
The other area of Choice and existentialism that I love is evaluating others' motivation. Every choice and action i make affects everyone that I know. God created us for connectedness. However, as with everything in the fall, this has its tarnished spots too. When one person makes a choice and follows through with that, it can affect a multitude of people in Good and bad ways. However, in our culture now, it is the default to view everyone's actions as an afront to yourself personally if you don't like the result.
For example: This morning i was driving a van back from DIA. Now i am not familar with this van, as i don't drive it often. Being wet, the front window was beginning to get muddy. In an attempt to turn on the wipers, I flashed my brights at a VW that had just merged in front of me. This was the time I wished for an "oops" light, but alas there was no way to communicate to the driver that I was just an idiot that couldn't work the wipers, and that I was not mad at him for merging.
So this serves as an example of choices and descisions in life. There are things that people need to do, called to do, or even just choose to do that affects others. And in the spirit of deference one should not always jump to the conclusion of it is an intentional act againt the person.

Anyways, that was rambeling, and I believe i will be editing this in the future, but I will just post it and make changes as nessessary. Enjoy the spelling mistakes.

Two fun things...

2006-12-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well for those that read this and are not in Colorado (Bethany I assume, and John and Lyndsey since they are in Australia). This is what you missed.
I got home from work at 9am because they had closed Foothills. I parked and there was a little bit of snow on the ground.... At about 2pm the snow was about half way up my tire. When I went to bed at 11pm you could still see some of the hub cap. This morning... it was completly covered. Also, My puppy loves to bound and play in the snow... and the snow is up to his head in my back yard. So cute.

Secondly, last night I found a list of "The most Dangerous Roads in the World." And the Taroko Gorge got an honnorable mention! That freakin' awesome! Bethany, Joanna and I survived one of the most dangerous roads in the world! For some reason I am super excited about that. Here is the Link to the website.

Emergent and Liberal

2006-12-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

So my friend/pastor recently wrote a post about a conversation she had with her husband. While this post was interesting, the comments are what i loved. I ended up leaving a post and my computer sucked it up and deleted the post before i could submit it. So i thought i would post my response here. The question was about is the emergent church movement moving towards relativism and universialism. Which is quite the common criticism. But a completly irrelevant one. And here are my thoughts.
This is kind of a straw man argument against the emergent movement but I see how it happens. I believe that the emergent movement is a reaction out of what my generation has seen from the clergy. We were told that the clergy spoke for God and that the had "The Truth" and were just preaching "The Bible." Then we saw these people fall from grace and relaized that they are just human like us all. (Note: See Ted Haggard. He is a man just like us all, and I would not wish my issues hung out for everyone because I would shame Christian Faith with my actions.) However, we are a generation that saw the popular and the local fall and be just like us. If the pastor or the gatekeeper is just like us, then the question arises if we a person can arrive.
One of the most amazing things i have seen in years is Jay Bakker. I am not sure if i believe the same things as he does, but he is honnest. ANd he is broken (just like me), and he acknowledges that. And he realizes that brokeness is not a red card for ministry.
Jay Bakker is the son of Jim and Tammy Faye... and he still loves jesus and still has grace that is amazing.
So there is the preabmle... The real issue is that the emergent movement does not strive to take a stand, or make "truth" claims... That is nto to say they are relativistic or weak in philosophy. It is to say we are humble. In Rob Bell's book, Velvet Elvis, he talks about how the early apostles came to descisions but left room to understand they are falible. Thus they issued their beliefs as it "seems" that the Holy Spirit says this... Not "to be a Christian you must say this." The amazing thing about the emergent movement is that it strives to be humble and say "This is where i am at in ther journey, and I am open to God Correcting me."
This is Scary! I can here people say "But what about (insert issue here)" and needing an answer. But I don't think it is that easy. We can have convictions, but just because we have convictions doesn't mean that they are applicable to everyone or even that they are from God. I assume that Satan has some pretty stong convictions too.
All that being said. I really see that discord and conversation is something from God. It is obvious in the scripture that he has this dialogue with himself. Jesus request God to have this cup pass from him if it is possible (referring to being crusified) and the God-Head and the God-Man are the same entity. But we are made in God's image. Thus, i think questioning and conversatoin is part of that image. And the inability to know "Truth" for certain things is part of the fall. This is where God's grace comes in. He forgives and makes our knowledge perfect in the next, and not now. Thus can I really know "the truth," or be so concieded to say that my opinon is simiply just what "the bible says." NO! God wants me to engage in the process of Grace, and stumble along the way, and make his sacrifice worthwhile, and engage in the wonderful world he created and redeemed.
So I am no relativist, or universialist, but I believe that God's grace is big, and I don't know how or who it is imparted to ,but I think it is amazing and a mircle and I have my thougthts, but I am ok with being wrong.
And that is where I am at.

Please comment. I love to hear from others.

Tis the Season

2006-12-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

So I love the end of the year... Not so much for Christmas, which i find a bit tough and obnoxious... That is because I watch alot of gift opening after a 10 minute preable of the real reason for Christmas. That is why i love Easter. No Gifts, and a ton of litergy.
But my favorite thing about December and January is it is the "Best Of" Season. And soon I will grace with world with my own personal "best of" list. But before that here are some of the favorite things i have seen. For example the onion has published their most important stories of the year, and as we all will remember as the year that K-Fed got his divorce. The link is here.

So just like those eagerly awaiting Santa's yearly B&E, i eagerly await the NY Film Critics and Entertainment Weekly's best of list.

Also, I found it weird that Time Magazine picked me as the person of the year... Check it out here. I guess moving in with your parents when you have a career and a puppy is so punk rock that they thought it was much more imporatant than say... umm Kim Jong Ill's nuclear weapons, Al Gore and his power point that was a movie hit, or even David Duke claiming that going to Iran an spewing hate about the Holocost was really a symposium on free speech (Mel Gibson was booked because of the Mayan Movie). I am glad that Time finally has recognized my achievments... Oh yeah, I also beat God Of War on the PS2 in like a week. That is probably what clinched it.

More about my quarter-life crisis

2006-12-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

As many of you who have been friends with more for more than a month or two, you probably have figured out a couple things about my personality. One, I am a super happy guy, but I enjoy my meloncholy days like a warm blanket now and then. And Two: I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, but by process of elimination i keep figuring out what i don't want to do.
So I have been a therapist now for about 4 years! Weird huh, and I will have my licence in about a month... And I don't really want to be a therapist that much any more.
For a bit I thought I would like to go back to seminary. I totally dig theology and modern/post modern philosophy along with social justice and making people think. But then I figured out that most of the people that i enjoy as theological leaders are not M.Div's but come from different walks of life and breathing new life into the journey. Thus, i think i don't want to go to seminary again fearing that I would lose my love and excitment for it.
And then i travel... Yup, stupid traveling. I love it oh so much. Now some who have traveled with me may find this funny because, often i need some time alone when i travel to take it all in. But i tell you I love it! There is just so much beauty and excitment in the world outside of the most beautiful colorado. This brings me to my new thought ratteling around in my head.
Missions... yeah, i thought i would never have said that. But after going to Taiwan for a very brief time, I realize how exciting things are around the world. Now I know that Culture shock is tough being that i had a tough time only after 10 days. But it was also such a grand adventure. But then the problem is agian... I have a very western degree... and MA in Counseling... so not to sure how to live and work in Asia with a degree in a profession that doesn't really translate. Oh well, God will lead me if that is what I am supposed to do...
So with that Rabbit trail, I am lead to my new found love of Monday's... well for the last two weeks. I actually have found it fun to be relaxed and just read stuff for fun... This is odd for me since i love to be active and doing something.
The last few days, i have found a weird trend in the podcasts and articles that I have been reading. Thanks to the blog of a friend, I found out about Revolutions NYC Church. This is Jay Bakker's church. Jay Bakker is the son of Jim and Tammy Faye. They have a very progressive church in NYC and ATL. BUt one of the sermons online was about Christian response to Homosexuality... While I am not sure I agree, it was good in that it was researched and an attempt at honnesty. Another pod cast i listend to was the tony campolo podcast about Ted Haggard and homosexuality in Christianity. All very interesting and very explosive. And all the reason i love disscussion and honnest Christianity. I have linked to the different sites for the podcasts if you all are interested

Revolution NYC
Tony Campolo Podcast

"I love the Power Glove... It's So... Bad..."

2006-12-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Does anyone remeber the movie "The Wizard?" It was the Fred Savage movie from the late eighties/early ninties. I netflixed it and watched it last night.
It is funny to watch a movie that you absolutly loved as a child and then realized how bad it really is, and in that badness, realize that it was truly great.
Apart from the fact that Jenny Lewis was in it, it also introduced the power glove, and Super Mario Three. It also gave us the coveted look into the profession that we all wanted as children: The Nintendo Power Game Counselors. They were the reason I became a counselor. I thought I was going to school to help people through tough parts of video games, but by the time I realized I was helping people with their mental and emotional issues it was too late to change.
So, you might ask yourself: "who is Jenny Lewis?" Well she is the lead singer of Rilo Kiely and had one of the best solo cd's of the year this year... Oh yeah, and she was the smart and witty love interest of Fred Savage in the movie...
Finally, the greatest part of "The Wizard" is the moral to the story: Super Mario Three can cure a mentally and emotionally disturbed child, while simultaniously cure a very broken family system and an evil bounty hunter's heart to the love the children he is paid to hunt...
"The Wizard" may be the most important movie of all time.

Could it be the Hanso Foundation?

2006-12-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hmm... i just saw this.... I wonder if it is a clever ploy from the Hanso foundation, and really what was in the food containers from lost... Click here to find out... I'm a nifty link! Click Me!

After Vacation Let Down

2006-12-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

Well it is 5:45 in the morning on Saturday... It has been a weird adjustment comming back from a wicked exciting and fun vacation, and really my sleep schedule has not really gotten much better.
Anyways, I went back to work for the last two days, and realized how much i like vacation. And to drive the point home even more, everyone wants to talk about the vacation you wish you still were on.
The interesting thing is to tell the stories of all the strange adventures of traveling around an island 7000 miles away, and realizing just how special and amazing the trip it was. If only i could be a traveling therapist solving the worlds problems while seeing amazing marble gorges and eating squid on a stick.
The other interesting thing i realized is how much i am around people who swear. It was interesting in Taiwan, I only think i heard one swear and saw one once on a poster. Now, i know that sounds odd, but going for 10 days, and not hearing anything that i recognize as an expression of profane anger was kind of neat. I realize that may sound a bit uptight but it was a truely unique experience. Now, i do realize that I probably heard some chinese swears, but really i couldn't understand them. It is amazing to be surrounded by happy and heathly people for such a long period of time.
Anyways, that was my musings for this early morning. But here is a fun picture from my trip to Taiwan.

Stupid Second Wind, and musings on Asia

2006-11-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

So I have just traveled back in time! That's right, for those thinking of traveling, i recomend asia, because when you come back you gain back some time and thus travel back to the present... alas i don't think it is back to the future.
But alas I have seen the future in Asia. I left Taipei at 10:30 am and arrived in San Francisco at 8:30 am! Crazy! Two hours before i even left.
Anyways, I must say that my 10 days in Asia were absolutly amazing and quite an intense experience. I believe part of the intensity is the fact that i knew i was leaving in 10 days when i got there. Thus, there was no thoughts of "huh, how i will i complete this certain task to survive." It was just "Huh, things are really different and I ahve no idea what is going on."
I also realized that alot of my mental heuristics have to do with language both written and spoken. Thus, i believe i was in a state of hyper-vigilience for the last 10 days. It was all trying to understand what was going on, and also to experience to the most. It was also exhausting.
With that said, I was happy to come back to the USA today. It is a comforting thing to come back to a place where i see Asians, latinos, african americans, and caucasins all on the same train... and that was even in Colorado! Also, it was nice to not have to work to figure out what signs said, or fear ordering food, or buying things because there will likly be alot of pointing.
I also came back with a huge respect and awe for my friend Bethany. She has adapted to living in such a different country so well, and it is a very encouraging thing to see. She amazes me in how much she puts her self out there, and is willing to do things that are difficult and rewarding. ALso, i am in awe that she was able to get cabs, and order our food.
Alas, it is 10:30, and I have only had about 2 or 3 hours of sleep in the last day, and I have my stupid second wind... Gah! I don't think i like jet lag. I really have no idea what time my body feels that is should be.
Anyways, I will quit this rambeling blog and share some more coherrant thoughts after i get some sleep.
Horray for forgien travel, but curses you long flights and jet lag.

The Language of Love and Thanksgiving in another country

2006-11-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

So right now I am in Taiwan. It is only the third country outside of the USA that i have been to. The first was the 4 years that I lived in Canada for college. Then on the way here, we had a layover in Japan...
"Why, a layover doesn't count!" You might say. But you would be wrong and here is the reason: Forigen Toilets! I don't know if it like this in Africa, Europe or South America, but Asia has squaty potties... Yeah, they are little porscelien holes in the ground, and in nice places you get handle bars.
Now I told numerous people that I was going to Asia, and a few of them had been here before, but no one mentioned this. The travel guides have not mentioned this either.
So i get off the plan in Nagoya, Japan after a 12 hour flight. All the urinals are full, so i go to the stalls. I open the door, and realize I am not sure what I am looking at.
Anyways, I have not used one, but I did get some sweet video of them that I will post sometime when i get back.
THe other thing is the joy of tonal languages.... It sounds like everyone is yelling and mad. Granted it is because I don't understand what they are saying. It makes me wonder if they whisper sweet tonal nothings into each other's ears...
Finally, we got yelled at by a crazy asian store owner and her husband yesterday because I assume they thought we stole something, i don't really know... BUt all we could do is smile and walk away as I believe they were yelling at us... It was humorous... and slightly odd... Oh the wonders of the far east.
I will post more and with pictures when i get back to the good ole' USA, Happy Thanksgiving.
Oh yeah, i forgot, my thanksgiving dinner, was meat pasta and red wine in China... That was funny. But it was good.

The brain is interesting.

2006-10-26T17:29:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Clicked, they linked to Scott Adam's blog. He is the guy that wrote Dilbert. Anyways, he got laringitis and then lost his voice indefinatly.... Through nursery Rhymes he retrained his brain. Amazing. HEre is the link to the blog

Bless the Texas Ranger... And the kid from the Sixth Sense

2006-10-21T17:25:00.000-06:00

The Hyper Hypo

2006-10-20T18:24:00.000-06:00

Perhaps my most favorite SNL sketch ever.

Entertaining

2006-10-18T17:29:00.000-06:00

This was pretty entertaining for a comercial. All the pretty colors
http://www.bravia-advert.com/paint/thead/

Hopefully I will catch some Airwolf in taipei

2006-10-15T22:44:00.000-06:00

Taiwan

2006-10-15T22:09:00.000-06:00

So as many of you know, being that those that read this are typically a small circle of people that i knwo, but my good friend Bethany lives in Taiwan... Taipei to be exact. Anyways, i am going to visit her in a month, and I am super excited! Can you feel the excitment in the exlamation point! Look there is another one. Anyways, I will write more when i feel like it, but hey in 30 days, i will on the oposite side of the world!

Speaking of Faith

2006-09-29T20:56:00.000-06:00

If you all have time, you should check out this week's episode of Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippit. IT is a great NPR program that has some great shows about Religion and Culture. This weeks highlights two of my favorite authors ever: Flannery O'Conner and Thomas Merton.

I can only hope that others find the amzing experience in O'Conner and Merton that I have.

I've always wanted to be smart

2006-09-25T19:29:00.000-06:00

Now i can, because i have attended MIT! Horray! That will go on the Resume!
Go to the MIT Site and you too can become a geek for fun.

Rough Week

2006-09-25T18:23:00.002-06:00

SO i just got off a really rough week, and it confirmed that i am really confused. Not only did I have a hellish week of guardians and parents wreaking all kinds of havoc, the GRE prep made me feel really dumb with a 46% on the practice exam and then my boss brings up something from 3 months ago as an issue... and has nothing current to critique me on....
Yeah it was a pretty bad week. ANd i really feel at the same level that i was at when i live in Washington a few years back when i should have gone on prozac, but to make it all the more sad, I still can't figure out why my boss would bring up something from such a long time ago.
So here are my thoughts:
1. She's a bit slow on the uptake (but we have had supervison within the last 3 months so i don't know why it wasn't brought up then.)
2. It is tough to be a supervisor when there isn't too much going on with teh supervisee and thus you have to find something.
3. Supernatural forces are out to ruin my week and make me feel like shit with nothing to do to correct said issue (this really isn't sarcastic because this is really what i think is up.)
4. God knows, and is pushing me to make a change in my career and life.

Oh yeah, I am thinking of going to do a PH.D in I/O psychology.

Also, if you read this Andy, I have your wedding present. Chad didn't make the certificate he said he would. So i finally have a card for you.

Amazing pt. 2 (but not in a good way)

2006-09-15T16:09:00.000-06:00

So i got some interesting comments, e-mails and phone calls about the Keith Oberman thing... Just to clarify, I don't believe everything he said, but I still find it amazing none the less because there is a level of emotion that was not censured in the commentary, and as a therapist, I love this. I find the honnesty of emotion as one of the most beautiful things in the world. Also, my brother told me about this video today. It is a home video of the attacks taken from an apartment about 500 yards north from the towers. It is really hard to watch, but I hope to show it to my kids one day so that they may understand some of the confusion and feelings i had on 9/11... Don't watch this if you don't want to relive one of the most horrific, isolating and confusing days of our lives. But I think this is amazing and profound none the less.

amazing

2006-09-13T21:21:00.000-06:00

Sureal and Abusurd

2006-09-13T20:11:00.000-06:00

Hmm... so one of my favorite books of all time is the stranger by Albert (pronounced "AL-Bear") Camus (pronounced Cam-moo)... it is about a guy who for some reason or another stabs an algerian on a beach, and then goes to prison. Yup, that is the best synopsis i could come up with, but it is about the absurdity of life and the situations one finds oneself in.
So here is my aburdity for the last few days. On Monday (when i typically don't work) I talked with a client who i believe has the devil inside (and not in a pop-culture 80's music sort of way). It was uber-creepy... I finished my morning with this guy, and then i went to a wedding rehersal.
Absurd in the dichotomy between the two... I don't really know how to explain how this kinda messes me up in an emotional way, but the rehersal was nice, and I got to spend some good quality time with my best friend.
Then on tuesday, i had to explain to the mother of the uber-evil guy that he is not progressing and really I don't find the need to call her every week to tell her that her son is evil... ( yeah it sounds cold, and i don't know how i would handle having an evil son, but I don't think i would yell at his therapist... but then again I am biased because I wouldn't yell at me.) So after that, i got to go to my best friend's wedding.
I was the best man. It was fun. I enjoyed it a great deal, and I hadn't seen him so happy. Also, the cool thing was that i got to meet a friend from High School's husband who was one of the coolest people ever... really how often do you find a stranger who finds the humor and irony to dance a slow dance with a stranger who used to go to high school with your wife... Yeah awkward i know, but way cool.

I also sang "Like a Virgin" by madonna... yeah, and I was completly sober... and it was a mormon/lutheran wedding.... again... awkward.

So today was kinda the let down to 5 days of events, and I am a bit depressed, but hey that's ok. I am starting to get used to it. Like a nice blanket that is mildly comforting, at least i know what to expect.. oh yeah, and tommorow i get to meet with crazy mom in person. I am so excited.

Also, one of my friend (i used to think good friends) hasn't called or e-mailed me back in like a month... I am a bit paranoid, but that also makes me wicked sad... I hope i haven't offended someone.

However, on a positive note, her is a picture of a fly with glasses... and yes its real. They are the smallest glasses in the world.

I am a nerd

2006-09-10T21:34:00.000-06:00

The only two words that have no rhyming partner are Orange and Silver... They do have semi-rhyming partners though... or at least according to askoxford.com

Books I bought

2006-09-09T00:30:00.000-06:00

Yeah, this is a lazy post. I have spent alot of time alone lately, and to deal with my adjustment problems i bought books. Horay for the best kind of self medication.

So here is what i bought and am excited about:
JPod by Douglas Coupland - my favorite post-modern author's new book about 20 somethings in Vancouver, Canada where I sometime wish i was.

A book about the art of Thomas Merton- nothing better than a monk who is ecumenical and is great with art.

The Gnostic Bible- hooray for non-cannonical jewish, christian, and islamic books found in the nag hamadi library.

The Black Dahlia - yeah i sometime cave and buy some pulp novels ever once and a while.

Well I am off to hang out by myself again and read.

Agitationn

2006-09-07T23:39:00.000-06:00

So i have the hicupps now... that reallly is annoying.

The good thing is that my roommate has witnessed my dog dreaming and barking in his sleep.

So i think I have realized that my role in life is to be an element of change and encouraging thought. I went to a planing meeting for a local group of young professionals and made myself the odd man out... i wish wasn't so challenging.

I wish i could find people that love the sharpening of belief, and people that want to confront the social justice issues of being a world class Christian.

The Descent

2006-09-02T21:46:00.000-06:00

So i must say how amazing the movie "The Descent" was... Really it is as good as snakes on a plane...

So one of my favorites ever is Psycho... It is the most amazing thriller ever... So is Aliens... ALso really good... The Descent is right up there.... I would have never expected it...

Also, if you get a chance, watch "The trouble with Harry" It is hilarious and one of the greatest black comedies ever.... I hope someday we will have another hitchcok in film.

Also, Happy Birthday Bethany!!!

Voyerism

2006-09-02T18:33:00.000-06:00

So i have a bit of an addiction... Really I think that is why i am a therapist and like the people that are out there... I love the vast experience and the moments when someone is really open and honnest and lets others into that world. Really most people just see his or her own world and censored versions of other people's lives... that is why i am addicted to these sites...

http://mysecret.tv/index.php://

and

http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/

Finally A New Post

2006-09-01T21:14:00.000-06:00

So i have been bad and haven't actually written a blog in a while. So i guess this will sufice.

So last night, I saw one of the greatest horror movies ever. Let me start first by saying that often i don't find horror movies scary. The worst I have seen was High Tension... It was supposed to be all crazy because it was french and gory. But it alas it was really bad, and not scary.

So last night I saw this British film; The Descent. It was freakin' great! Almost as good as snakes on a plane! It was the creepiest and most clasterphobic movie i have ever seen.

It was apparently made before the move "The Cave" with Jin from Lost, but it was pretty much the same movie except scary. I as all about it.
The Descent was like Alien which still scares me. I know i will never be in a cave with crazy psychopathic creatures, just like i know i won;t be in space with psychopatic aliens... But it was still way crazy and creepy.

Bethany! I tell you! You should go see this.... It is up there for one of the most scary movies i have ever seen.

Also, If lyndsey or john read this, get me the UK DVD if you can. Apparently, it has a great ending that was changed for the US.

HAve a great night all my friends. And Happy Birthday Bethany!! I miss you oh so!

Why is it so hard to find intellegent people.

2006-08-25T18:31:00.000-06:00

So the title of my blog now seems like I am quite the pedantic person. But really I hope I am not. However, on Monday and Tuesday of this week I found more people that made me sad and feared for the future of the world.
Monday was my birthday. It was great night, and the night ended with me having quite the annoying conversation with a co-worker at a bar in Fort Collins. This person is what i would like to refer to an angery athiest. He prides himself on not believing but alas has no belief or system for himself. He knew i believed in God and also worked with Sex offenders. (Side note: I used to feel like i needed to have other people KNOW what i believe, but I have finally realized that just asking questions really makes more sense.) So this person didn't believe in anything other than material things, and believed that Good and Evil are social constructs... *NOTE: HE WORKS WITH SEX OFFENDERS!!!* So, I asked him, if he then thought that the genoside in Rawanda was ok then because it was socially acceptiable by the majority of the people there at the time... He conceded that he had problems with this too.
Anyways, I could write a book about this but i won't. It was like talking to the athiest on the show 30 days (see post below). I have a good friend who is an athiest, but he is an ethical athiest and believes in Good and Evil. But then again he is an evolutionist, which has room for ethics, because consistant and healthy ethic is needed for the survival of a species. I just hope that most out there are more honnest and look to both the faith and reason of what they believe.

Also that is another thing that annoys me is that people that are not really honnest and dogmatic believe that faith and reason are mutually exclusive... But we all know that faith and reason work hand and hand... there still must be some sort of reason in faith, and reason (specifically scientific method) has faith that things will always happen the same in the same conditions.

Note too: I am a big believer in the scientific method and really believe that science and faith (read: religious philosophy) are not at odds.

Then on tuesday I had to sit on the "Multi-cultural competency comittee." This is one of the most offensive meetings i have ever been apart of. So i admit that i have beliefs and and I believe things to the exclusion of other's beliefs. However, all i ask is that i am afforded the same respect as other people. But alas, I was treated to such comments as "When i hear things quoted out of the bible I just feel sick to my stomach, and i don't feel that way about people reading from the Koran." or "Those fundelmentalists are so stupid. how do i conduct a group and change their thinking." and lets not forget the culture of politics "George Bush is a facist"

Yeah, so if it is a competency comitee then why are we trying to change the belifes of our clients? Why are we call teh religious belifes of our clients dumb? Why is George Bush being talked about in the "Cultural" meeting. That's freakin' politics.

So here is the side note: As a therapist, i don't believe it is my job to change people's mind, but help them make informed decsions based on their beliefs. If their beliefs change then so be it. However, unless they are my forensic clients, i am not there to challenge their belifs. Also, I am a politically moderate Christian. I am not a fan of George W. and his social policies, but that has nothing to do with me being a good therapist. And finally, why is that it is hip and cool to dig a misogynistic reading of the Koran, but then berate a misoginistic interpretation of the Bible and not even look at what was the meaning in the original Greek. Also, the ignorance about Esther, Ruth, Debrorah, Mary, Mary Magdiline, Pricilla ect... and all the amazing women in the Bible just makes me cry...

I wonder how long until i get kicked off of this comittee...

But hey, it was a great week, and I finally feel like i helped someone today. horray.

Birthday

2006-08-21T09:04:00.000-06:00

So this is kinda self-serving, but for the three people that actually read this... Hey it's my birthday. And to wish me birthday cheers. I am posting this picture. Why? Well because i can.

"That is Enough" -Samuel L. Jackson

2006-08-20T18:47:00.000-06:00

So yes, i feel into the wonderful world of marketing and saw "Snakes on a Plane." And yes it was really good. Bethany, if it plays in Taiwan you should see it, since you love that cheesey horror movie stuff. But really it was good.

Oh yeah, also I saw the B-52's and Nickle Creek this weekend. How crazy is that. I love the new west fest...

Also, i think my dogs are gay... They were spooning the other week, and I think i caught them kissing. Weird I know, but it really didn't look like playing to me. It was kinda of weird in a Brokeback Mountain sort of way. They were wrestling and play biting, then they had their tounges in each other's mouth... Oh yeah, and Ang Lee and Annie Prolux were over for Breakfast at the time.

Very Strange indeed.

30 Days and why i cry in a small ball under my desk

2006-08-14T23:16:00.000-06:00

I just finished watching an episode of 30 days from the FX channel. Granted i don't have cable and bought an episode off of Itunes. Anyways, the theme of the series is having someone live 30 days in an awkward situation. This episode was an athiest living in a conservative Christian household in Texas... and really this whole show made me sad... Why? Well it was all stereotypes on all sides.
1. Apparently, all Christians love the whole "war" metaphor that plagues the church and validates a horrific pro-war stance in the first world.
2. Athiests are all shrill and smug psudeo-intellectuals that only believe in not believing... Yeah so they just don't believe and that's cool, and they don't really need to explain why they have ethics and such, they just feel good so that is good.
3. The major crisis of faith is in the suburbs with people that have everything.

OK, so i didn't really explain it too well. The show had an athiest mother from Lawrence Ka move into a home with conservative christians (yes i know i didn't capatilze that) from Texas. So both of these families are more well off than i ever will be and more well off than 99% of people in world. Again a false dichotomy. It is easy to believe in anything as long as it is validated by wealth.
So the athiest never clarified where she got her ethic, and why she believed what she believed. She seemed to just hold to the shrill and smug belief that she had arrived and the CHristians had not.
The Christians made more infuriated. They kept saying things such as " well how to make ethically judgments without doctrine." And other stock, and useless arguments for people that only belive in humanism... Did the Christians miss the part about all humans being created in God's image... hmmm... maybe a universial ethic may be part of that.
Anyways, the most profound part was a clip about a church service the athiest attended. It was wrought with North American CHristian Cliche. It was about how you just have to experience the love of Christ and then really FEEL it, and then you will know..." When did the US Church move away from rationality and exigesis. Never once did I hear good exegisis or anything that didn't just appeal to a halmark feeling of God. No wonder people think Christians are dumb... We lost are edge by preaching to those who already believe and not ever challenging the cultural dogma we ingest every day. UGH! It makes me so frustrated...

So, why couldn't FX have the comfortable athiest go live with people like Tony Campolo in NJ, or my friend in Rawanda trying to build schools, or the people who give up wealth to work at the Union Gospel Mission in Downtown Vancouver? Or even me, who is frustrated with complaciency and the idolitry that I see in our North American Christendom? Why must I have to fight against this crate n' barrel, and Gap Christianity that I see everywhere and struggle to find an honnest and sacrificing group that I long for.

Have a good night Friends.

I am such a nerd

2006-08-10T18:06:00.000-06:00

So alas, i love riding the coat tails of being cited by publications that i read... So i find it way cool that I got two letters posted in the latest edition of clicked. It is a blog on MSNBC that has other links to random news articles and odd stuff on the internet. Anyways, my two letters got published near the end of of the blog today. One, about the photographer Kevin Carter and the book house of leaves, (Yes Bethany, it's the scary one with the magically appearing hallway), and the other is about the crazy Chineese model found on google earth. Horray, this is just like when my comic heroes made fun of me the other week.

Here is the link to clicked website: Clicked

Random Run-ins

2006-07-31T14:05:00.000-06:00

I have noticed quite the dichotomy in my life lately. Who knows what it really means being that I don't believe in Karma, or a Karma-like thing that makes everything equal out but apparently I may be wrong.
So on Sunday, I went to the Flaming Lips show at Red Rocks. To my knowledge i didn't know anyone else except my friend and I that were going. Hanging out on the steps, I noticed a woman i met a in may at a friend's birthday party. We did the "eye-contact: I know you" type things. And she said "Hey I know you from Jarvis' right!" and that was about the extent of our conversation. Really nothing exciting right? i agree, but the exciting thing is that people do have common courtesy and say hello to aquantencies.
Now here comes the ying-yang opposite. Last night, I was at coopersmiths with a friend who I hadn't seen in years. We were on the patio just hanging out and talking. About an hour into our dinner, this guy comes up, with girlfriend in hand, and just stares at my friend.... Then he says... "Bethany?!? oh wait... your not Bethany." So i try to start a conversation and say hey, yeah Bethany is in Taiwan. But the guy just ran away, and made a really awkward scene.
The odd thing is that I have met this guy at least six times in the past and have been introduced to him, and carried on conversation with him... Yet he never remembers my name.

Well for the few that have been privy to my interactions with this guy, I guess i shouldn't be supprised. But really I find it offensive that I know his full name, where he goes to school, church, and what he is studying, and I really don't like him... But I at least remember him and have civil interactions.
So the dichotomy is, one girl i met months ago and we had a nice stop-n-chat at a concert even though we really know nothing about each other, and on the other hand apparently I am not worth remembering... For some reason this really annoys me that this happens.
I know i may sound a bit out of line, but really, I would have hoped the guy I met a church function would have taken a human interest in me. But really it was the girl who probably has a substance abuse problem and has significant issues that at least cares about people she meets.

How's that for over generalizing.

Links

2006-07-27T23:04:00.000-06:00

These are the links that i promised andrew i would leave for him.
http://www.tursiops.cc/idhop/library/kearns/kearns1.htm
http://www.vispo.com/kearns/indexenglish.htm
http://www.michaelshowalter.net/journal
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5241442

People Are Strange

2006-07-27T16:33:00.000-06:00

LAst week I went to a great comedy show, and promptly got made fun of by the comedians because I was called on stage and my friends shouted "Danimal" alot. The unfortunate nickname of "danimal" provided fodder for humorous quips and prompt jibbing from the Comedians.
Anyways, the strange thing, is that last night, i was reading Michael Showalter's blog (one of the comedians) and some guy named "Liam" had tried to pass him self off as me in a post.... It is strange when other's want to ride the coat tails of me, and want to bask in the light of being made fun of by comedians at a show....
As a professional counselor, and someone who has a decent grip on human behavior.... I really have no idea why a person would do this... and thus, making the whole experience even more sureal.

How strange.

The Interesting Thing of Evil

2006-07-26T21:11:00.000-06:00

Work has been interesting this week, and again reinforces the fact of true evil in the world. I have the (un)fortunate job of working with sex offenders some of the time. The reason there is parentheses is that sometimes i really enjoy the challenge.
However, this is not one of those weeks. I am starting to see how evil the world is, and am being really disturbed by it. Now, some of it is par for the course, but yesterday I heard a client tell me things that creeped me out and made my hair stand on end. Which is odd. I thought i had dulled that down over the last few months. But the thing is, i truely beleive there is levels of how evil people are and sometimes you experience pure evil. I once read a book by Father Malichi Martin. He is one of my heroes. He was the primary exorcist for the vatican in the US for a number of years.
For a long time i did not believe that demon posession was real or what i read about it. But it is, i think some people just chose to give up the struggle and give in. This really messess with my theology, but i know someday it will all make sense. But it really does a number on me. I wonder what role God has me in these moments. I feel a bit lost, but i know it will all work out.
But the whole process is creepy.

Two good movies

2006-07-24T19:46:00.000-06:00

Ok, so this is a bit of a lame post, but really these are two really good movies that I have seen recently.
The first one is called "The Second Chance." Now it is probably because i wasn't expecting much and I am really critical of the media that overtly Chirsitan Publications and movie houses put out. But this is a super good movie about the disconnect between the gospel and the suburban church movement. It is amazing that a movie does such a good job looking at the importance of social justice and social gospel issues. Also it has Micheal W. Smith in the movie... and he doesn't even sing "friends are friends forever." Anyways, It is one of the most relevant movies for Christians... and even those who don't hold the same beliefs of me... It is amazing to see not all Christian film makers are making the Left Behind series-type tripe.
The other movie is a documentary called "Cruise." It is a documentary that follows Timothy "Speed" Levowitch as he provides tours on a double decker bus in New York. It is part travelouge and part performance art. I love that the eccentric and the functionally mentally-ill have such a beautiful view of the world around us. I believe that even though they struggle with functioning in the norm, God has blessed these eccentric type people with an amazing perception of the ordinary world that everyone can learn from.
Speed Leveiwitch also was in my favorite movie ever "Waking Life" directed by Richard Linkleter, and in that movie he quoted one of my favorite poets of all time Frederico Garcia Lorca. It's amazing.
You all should check them out, both are avalible on netflix or blockbuster online.

Way cool things

2006-07-22T19:55:00.000-06:00

So today i got to see my new nephew again. It was wicked cool. He is really long... I know it sounds odd, but a baby apparently can be really long. The other great thing was that i got to feed him too! Now i know this really doesn't translate to a blog, but iwas amazing. Truely amazing. I can say how it feels to hold another living thing that is wicked small but responds to your voice. And when he was awake, he just looked at me and everything was new and exciting. I cannot image everything being a new experience. One of my favorite things is to go to a new town or place and just experience... For my nephew, that is everytime he opens his eyes.... It is amazing. Someday he will know what an elipcies is and I will have to explain my misues.

I post way too much

2006-07-22T00:03:00.000-06:00

So I am about to go to bed, and my dog is asleep on the floor next to me... He snores... and it sounds exactly like Darth Vader.... God must truely have inspired writers with Dogs. The are freakin' amazing.... also make sure to check out the trailer for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie.... I am totally excited.

Funny Funny things and Growing Pains

2006-07-21T16:40:00.000-06:00

So i have a really funny story about work, but alas i can't share it on a blog. But for those of you that know me you really must ask me to tell you about Kirk Cameron and his "Way of the Master" program... and funny things ensue. I am glad it just isn't me and my seminary education that makes me really annoyed with Mike Seever...

China's new diorama

2006-07-20T17:20:00.000-06:00

This is weird... maybe the Chinese military are in kindergarten or geography... Ohh you bent my wookie... really this is for my brother to see this article.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/19/huangyangtan_mystery/
-Dan

Two unconnected things

2006-07-19T21:17:00.000-06:00

So I am really excited by this website because I am giant nerd, and my life has turned to taking care of a puppy instead of having a wicked cool social life on the town during the week nights... Ok well that was never true.
Anyways, I have spent hours learning completely useless things on this site. Tonight I learned that the longest one syllable word was used in a translation of Don Quixote in the 1600's. Anyways, I love the oxford people. Here is the link: http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/?view=uk

So here is number two: President Bush just vetoed a bill concerning stem cell research, and being one that loves being annoyed and not having a large position to triumph have been annoyed by Christians on both sides of the fense. I got an e-mail from a progressive Christian group chiding the president for vetoing the bill and all the people that will die because of the bill, but ignored the fact that the cells are taken from fertalized embryos that could develop into a human.... then a guy who wrote a self-described book on Christian Ethics praised President Bush for the veto.... But then talked about the ethic and goodness of the death penalty... yeah, too bad that a civilized country can't have a consistant ethic of life. I love that i get so annoyed with people who all are validating their positions by invoking Jesus to create views that people supposed cannot argue with it... I think Jesus would just be sad. I know I am, and I don't really know how i feel on the issue.

Horray, and Thanks Bethany for reading my Blog. I believe you might be the only one, but at least it is carthartic.

An embarassing night o' fun

2006-07-18T19:44:00.000-06:00

So last night i got to see one of my favorite comedians ever. Eugene Mirman at the bluebird theater in denver. It was an exciting evening of merryment. During the second comedian, I got called to go up on stage and participate in a version of Jeopordy... However, for comic reasons all the questions had to do with poop... or something like it... anyways, as I am on the stage my friends yell out my nom de plume "Danimal" in a racous sort of way.... All was funny and slightly awkward... anyways... The fact that my friends had called out "Danimal" turned into a running joke throughout the show and my comedy hero Eugene then made referance to it and engaged in banter with me and my friends throughout the rest of the show... Now I am sure that they thought that this was annoying and probably think i am somesort of a tool... but hey it's not every day that you get made fun of someone while they are on stage... Also, After the show i got an autograph from eugene that said I (heart) Danimal... Yeah it was funny, and really amusing. ANd all day i have been super psyched.... Anyways, here is a picture of eugene taken by the portiroid people... they are kinda creepy but entertaining. Oh yeah, I also got to meet Zach Oarth, Mike Showalter, and Leo Allen. Someday i will be the darling of the alternative comedy world.

Bored and alter ego

2006-07-17T17:39:00.000-06:00

So i am waiting for friends to show to eventually see my favorite comedien. Eugene Mirman. So I pilfered this from my friend/coworkers blog. Horray for pilfering:
1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name)
Samantha Bobtail
2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side, your favorite candy)
Stan Barb Sour Ball
3. YOUR "FLY GIRL" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your middle name)
DanJSto
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Green Pigmy Marmoset
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
James Loveland
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom's maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in.)StoDaJoLov
7. Terrorist Name: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards)
semaj nosnhoj
8. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, favorite drink)
The Green Rum and Coke... hmmm... maybe the Burnt Sienna 1554.... Or how about the transparent Framboisen.

Amazing things

2006-07-17T15:05:00.000-06:00

So there are amazing things that really i just can't get my mind around... so here are a few... I will try to not get depressing but then again it has been a happy and sad season for me.

1. How amazingly soft my nephew's skin was (his name is Stephan [pronounced Stephen] Andrew)

2. How freakin' tiny his nails were too... and they were sharp.

3. How loud he can cry.

4. How much my dog can poop just because he ate alot of stuff he wasn't supposed to

5. Dog poo and dog puke can look alot alike.

6. That I found out about my friends' death in Vancouver from a friend in Rawanda

7. That we landed on the moon

8. Providence... the philosophical and theological concept not the city in Rhode Island.

9. That my dog instinctually does not mouth my hand too hard and limits his bite inhabition because he "knows" people are slow.

10. The amazingly profound thing my clients say at work.

11. That i am able to keep in contact with one of my best friends in Taiwan almost daily when 15 years ago that would be crazy pants.

12. That I have friends in Taiwan and Rawanda.

13. That people think i am smart and value my opinon.

14. I attend managment type meetings and give my companies positoin on things.

15. I am smart enough and dumb enough to be as pretensious as i want to be.

16. Jelly Fish

17. and Finally the Stigmata... well i don't really believe it, but my friend andy is touching Assi's stigmata. (Sorry it is sideways)

more gifts

2006-07-15T23:09:00.000-06:00

How ironic, as I wrote the previous blog, my roommate found more little gifts left for me by my dog.... I also learned that a dog cannot process chcolate wrapers, and it goes through all intact. Crazy pants!

Puppies and Babies

2006-07-15T22:40:00.000-06:00

So i have a puppy and my brother has a baby. And they are quite simlar except that my puppy knows how to play catch, but someday my brother's baby will have abstract reasoning.
Anyways, So the other night, my puppy ate a whole lota stuff he was not supposed to. Things including macaroni and cheese, raw chashews, half a tin of chai tea mix, a chocolate bar, and probably close to 10 granola bars....
That was thursday night....
All day friday, he seemed okay and did not show any intesnal problems.... I thought i was free and clear... I was so wrong....
This morning (Sat. morning) I wake up at 6 to let my dog out... .and find three mounds of greenish goo on my carpet... (why so many elipcies you ask? Well because it illistrates the horror). I thought maybe it was just throw up (like that would be better), but alas it was not... My dog has had the worst poos ever today. And I have learned that a dog cannot fully diget raw cashews... It really must have hurt... So i had to cancel my plans for the day and hang out with my pooping dog...

However, it give me empathy for my brother, because i know he is going through the same with the little one... but eventually that little one will learn english... So anyways here is a picture of my dog and my nephew... THey both are amazing.

Dichotomy

2006-07-09T22:00:00.000-06:00

So today I became an uncle. Which i am super stoked about. It is a boy and his name is Stephen Andrew... I was hoping for Andrew Stephen... Then he would have cool initials, but alas I agree with the name order in all actuallity. He seems to be neat, as I have yet to see him because I had to come home and take care of my puppy when my sister in law was giving birth.
SO here is the dichotomy part... in the waiting room i was checking my e-mail and my friend's sister e-mailed about his memorial and the news story about the Bike accident. So i watched the news clip (yeah i know i'm smart) in the waiting room, and cried a bit. Then I ended up back at my home and my Dad called me when my nephew was born, and for the second time today. What an emotional day. Good and Bad... huh, how sureal with all of this.

Spelling

2006-07-07T20:34:00.000-06:00

Wow, re-reading stuff i realize i transpose letters like none other. Huh. I should really spell check, but hey it is so RAW this way... right... that is a good excuse... right... awkward.

Death, I suppose that life is the tense before

2006-07-07T20:09:00.000-06:00

This morning I got to work at 7am and was greeted with the most existential e-mail I have had in a while. Actually this ranks up with the most existential call i recieved about 2 years ago at work. Both have to do with the death of a friend at the hands of a freak bicycle accident.
But today i am only really concerned with today's existential experience. So here goes my cyber processing of this event.
I get to work and start the day checking my e-mail. I receieved an e-mail from my friends in Rawanda (yes the country). So usually the e-mail i get them are updates on their none profit that is building schools in Rawanda. However, the subject was omonious. It was simply "Ben." For some reason the period spoke volumes. Thus it was the end of Ben. So it was a short and probably the best way to get the news. Here is what the beginning of the e-mail said:
"This is a very difficult e-mail to write. You may have heard by now but I wanted to make sure you knew that our dear friend and brother in the Lord, Ben Farrant, died at 1:20 pm on Thursday after his bike was hit from behind by a car. He was so special to many of us and I am really struggling to understand God’s purpose right now...."
So this starts a tough day of seeing clients and remembering all the funny and good times that I had shared with Ben. Those of which I may share someday, or just keep to myself and my friends that knew him.
The existential part comes when I realize that he was the same age as I was, and has had a similar experience that I have had, and not that is done for him. It feels like standing at the edge of the beach with open ocean and it scares the shit out of me.
Sure there is the theological comfort of I can say i knwo where he is and all those things people say to comfort you. But really it doesn't help with the loss and realization how life can end so suddenly and in such a messed up way.
To be honnest as a Christian and as a Therapist, I should know how to handle this stuff but really I don't, and to be honnest I don't think at 26, i really should understand this stuff.
All I can pray is "thy will be done." But damn it I just don't get it at the moment... or at all as it has felt lately. But then again I realize is that "all i know is that I don't know"
Wow only two blogs and I have gotten depressing. I thought it would take a week or two.

The Crack of the information age

2006-07-05T17:21:00.000-06:00

So i have given in. Just like the guy pushing snapple on the cornor that switches from peach lemonade to peach crack on a thursday. I really thought I wouldn't get into the this whole blog thing, but alas, now the anon masses will read banal things that I write. So now i am part of the gutenburg process of this media transition. Really I have not much else to say and alas i have tried to be as pretensious as possible (please not the obscure references and the poor spelling).
really what got me started was seeing a guy's profile on myspace that was so sad in how pretensious he was about knowing about the mainstream. Under the little "your favorite books" section, he wrote about Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky. And then finished it by saying "if you haven't read or heard of these guys you are all just part of the machine and need to get a clue." Yup, he picked two of the most popular revisionist theorists of our time. Not to say they aren't entertaining but they are revisionist and really the John Grishams or Dean Koontz of modern scholarship. So I thought, hey, I can too alienate and puff myself up by writing abuot things i have read or thought. So how about them apples... Yeah that's what i thought, you all still believe the ego is just the mediator between the super and the id. Well yeah you're wrong; it's structured as language. If yuo don't know that you should get a clue and read Lacan. (Ok so that was all making fun. But then again i am probably just as big of a tool writing this and being pretensious.)
But Pretensiousness is sexy. Ya? Because everyone loves to be talked down to... right... why is it so quiet?... (muffled whimper)