Archives for October, 2004
Most entrepreneurial cities in the United States
Catalytix, a group associated with Richard Florida, has developed a regional creativity scorecard. And now, Visa USA has identified what its research considers the most entrepreneurial cities in the United States.
The Visa Entrepreneur Index was compiled using data such as the average number of new businesses created each year (or expansions and divisions of those businesses) and the number of new patents issued by the U.S. Patent Office.
The top 10 cities are:
* Austin
* San Diego
* West Palm Beach
* Houston
* Raleigh
* Dallas
* Detroit
* Salt Lake City
* Phoenix
* Seattle
San Francisco straggles in at #17, with Boston at #18 and New York at a lowly #46.
You can do anything - but not everything.
David Allen, one of the world’s most influential thinkers on personal productivity, offers his unique advice on how to keep up the pace — without wearing yourself down.
The Best Free Desktop Linux . . . and how to make it better
I need to install Linux one of these days…
Doh!
This isn’t the best medication for someone that hasn’t slept that well but I worked today starting at six a.m., have four hours off and then back to work until 2 a.m at Safeway. Then after five hours of sleep, it is off to Spiritwood and then home. I am tired thinking about it. Can’t see any more blogging until Sunday night.
Migraine #2
I have had two migraines in my life. Both resulted in sight loss and mind numbing pain. Today was one of them. I woke up in tears this morning around 2 a.m. Heart racing, sick to my stomach and for a while couldn’t see very well. Until three years ago I had never had a headache that Tylenol could not take care of. Today was a not so wonderful exception. Am feeling better but I am glad Mark was not my nurse. His ideas to make me feel better.
- Play “Hungy, Hungry Hippo”
- Sing to me. Off key.
- Constantly yell, “I love you Dad!”
He may have been trying to kill me. The good news is that I am feeling better and the migraine medication worked it’s wonder.
Confessing Christ in a World of Violence
A new confession from Sojourners. Clicking on the link will take you to the list of signers.
Our world is wracked with violence and war. But Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matt. 5:9). Innocent people, at home and abroad, are increasingly threatened by terrorist attacks. But Jesus said: “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). These words, which have never been easy, seem all the more difficult today.
Nevertheless, a time comes when silence is betrayal. How many churches have heard sermons on these texts since the terrorist atrocities of September 11? Where is the serious debate about what it means to confess Christ in a world of violence? Does Christian “realism” mean resigning ourselves to an endless future of “pre-emptive wars”? Does it mean turning a blind eye to torture and massive civilian casualties? Does it mean acting out of fear and resentment rather than intelligence and restraint?
Faithfully confessing Christ is the church’s task, and never more so than when its confession is co-opted by militarism and nationalism.
- A “theology of war,” emanating from the highest circles of American government, is seeping into our churches as well.
- The language of “righteous empire” is employed with growing frequency.
- The roles of God, church, and nation are confused by talk of an American “mission” and “divine appointment” to “rid the world of evil.”
The security issues before our nation allow no easy solutions. No one has a monopoly on the truth. But a policy that rejects the wisdom of international consultation should not be baptized by religiosity. The danger today is political idolatry exacerbated by the politics of fear.
In this time of crisis, we need a new confession of Christ.
1. Jesus Christ, as attested in Holy Scripture, knows no national boundaries. Those who confess his name are found throughout the earth. Our allegiance to Christ takes priority over national identity. Whenever Christianity compromises with empire, the gospel of Christ is discredited.
We reject the false teaching that any nation-state can ever be described with the words, “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” These words, used in scripture, apply only to Christ. No political or religious leader has the right to twist them in the service of war.
2. Christ commits Christians to a strong presumption against war. The wanton destructiveness of modern warfare strengthens this obligation. Standing in the shadow of the Cross, Christians have a responsibility to count the cost, speak out for the victims, and explore every alternative before a nation goes to war. We are committed to international cooperation rather than unilateral policies.
We reject the false teaching that a war on terrorism takes precedence over ethical and legal norms. Some things ought never be done - torture, the deliberate bombing of civilians, the use of indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction - regardless of the consequences.
3. Christ commands us to see not only the splinter in our adversary’s eye, but also the beam in our own. The distinction between good and evil does not run between one nation and another, or one group and another. It runs straight through every human heart.
We reject the false teaching that America is a “Christian nation,” representing only virtue, while its adversaries are nothing but vicious. We reject the belief that America has nothing to repent of, even as we reject that it represents most of the world’s evil. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).
4. Christ shows us that enemy-love is the heart of the gospel. While we were yet enemies, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8, 10). We are to show love to our enemies even as we believe God in Christ has shown love to us and the whole world. Enemy-love does not mean capitulating to hostile agendas or domination. It does mean refusing to demonize any human being created in God’s image.
We reject the false teaching that any human being can be defined as outside the law’s protection. We reject the demonization of perceived enemies, which only paves the way to abuse; and we reject the mistreatment of prisoners, regardless of supposed benefits to their captors.
5. Christ teaches us that humility is the virtue befitting forgiven sinners. It tempers all political disagreements, and it allows that our own political perceptions, in a complex world, may be wrong.
We reject the false teaching that those who are not for the United States politically are against it or that those who fundamentally question American policies must be with the “evil-doers.” Such crude distinctions, especially when used by Christians, are expressions of the Manichaean heresy, in which the world is divided into forces of absolute good and absolute evil.
The Lord Jesus Christ is either authoritative for Christians, or he is not. His Lordship cannot be set aside by any earthly power. His words may not be distorted for propagandistic purposes. No nation-state may usurp the place of God.
We believe that acknowledging these truths is indispensable for followers of Christ. We urge them to remember these principles in making their decisions as citizens. Peacemaking is central to our vocation in a troubled world where Christ is Lord.
Jerry Falwell Bobblehead Doll
via Dan Phillips and they are signed by Falwell himself! That’s it, next Christmas I am going to commission some Darryl Dash bobbleheads and sell them as a reminder of fun times on dashhouse.com. They will be huge (and wobbly)!
The GWB edition of the iPod
The GWB edition of the iPod
Originally uploaded by mathowie.
I know I said that I wouldn’t post anything partisan until after the election but this was too funny not to post. I apologize to Rudy and the other two GOP readers of this blog. If someone has a funny Kerry picture that makes me laugh, send it to me and I will upload it to bring balance to the blog.
Everything Bad is Good For You
Steven Johnson’s new book
It’s just me trying to marshal all the evidence I can to persuade the reader of a single long-term trend: that popular culture on average has been steadily growing more complex and cognitively challenging over the past thirty years. The dumbing-down, instant gratification society assumption has it completely wrong. Popular entertainment is making us smarter and more engaged, not catering to our base instincts.
Grace Final Worship
I was looking for this the other day. I finally found the link on Jonny Baker’s old blogspot blog but the link was broken. Thanks to archive.org and I found the page. Cool.
Feds create puzzle not found on toy shelf
Department of Homeland Security sends agents to investigate some pirated Rubik’s Cubes. Can someone tell me how a Rubik’s Cube is a threat to the safety and security of the United States? via
I am in a fog
I was in a fog all day. Everything I did, it was hard to get my bearings. I felt grey and overcast all day. I thinking I should get some help and then Wendy reminded me it was just foggy outside and it all made sense 
Relational Disorders
Andrew Jones mentioned Leonard Sweet’s newest book, Out of the Question…Into the Mystery : Getting Lost in the GodLife Relationship. Wendy bought me the book for our anniversary. A nice touch as the book is all about relationships.
Humans find it quite difficult to live with one another even during the best of times. Some of us aren?t emotionally wired for intimacy. Some of us have crippling flaws that make relationships difficult. In fact, some of history’s greatest contributors have been relationship-challenged. As an adult, Isaac Newton shunned personal intimacy in all its forms, preferring his laboratory of the mind to living specimens. Henri Nouwen, who inspired many of us to move deeper into relationships with God and one another, had trouble himself developing intimacy with others. Relational disorders abound among creative people.During the Second World War, while they were both in Yugoslavia, English satirical novelist Evelyn Waugh and his friend Randolph Churchill (son of Winston) got in constant fights. Churchill one day exploded, “I thought you were supposed to be a Christian and a Catholic.” To which Waugh replied, “And think how much worse I would be if I wasn’t.”
But we live in a culture that makes relationships harder while stimulating the hunger for relationships. The more globally the market economy structures itself, the more relentless the assault on all nonmarket social relations. This makes the church’s role in strengthening the social and ecological webs in which humans live all the more important. Unfortunately, the culture seems to be more aware of this than the church. The most highly visible people addressing the impoverishment of our relationship skills are “relationship ministers” such as Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, Oprah, and (my favorite) Delilah.
Consider some contrasts between what we experience and what we long to experience:
- My parents taught me how to play Scrabble with them. Parents today are more likely to teach their kids how to play Solitaire.
- One third (35 percent) of USAmericans today say they have been through a romantic breakup at least once in the past ten years.
- More than one in ten USAmericans (12 percent) spend Friday nights alone.
- And today, one in four USAmericans lives alone.33
For the first time in history, more USAmericans live alone in single-person households than there are families comprising a husband, a wife, and one child.
The voice at the other end of the cell phone “Hello? We’re breaking up!” might well be the motto of our era.
Norma Jean Mortenson spent much of her childhood in foster homes. In one of those homes, when she was eight years old, a boarder raped her and gave her a nickel. He said: “Here, take this and don’t ever tell anyone what I did to you.”
When Norma Jean went to her foster mother, Gladys Baker, she was badly beaten for telling what had happened.
She was told: “Our boarder pays good rent. Don’t you ever say anything bad about him!” At the age of eight, Norma Jean learned what it was to be used, given a nickel, and then beaten for trying to express the hurt and loneliness inside her.
Eventually she escaped to Hollywood and took the name Marilyn Monroe. When her handlers told her they would make a “sex symbol” out of her, she confessed she didn’t know what a symbol was. Dumb-blonde roles were invented by Marilyn Monroe, and in spite of her beauty, everyone on the set hated her. She kept crews waiting for hours. They thought she was preening.
Most of the time she was in the dressing room throwing up because she was so terrified.
She went through three marriages and kept asking: “Did you notice I’m a person?”
On a Saturday night when she was thirty-five, Marilyn Monroe took her own life. When the maid found her body, she noticed the telephone was off the hook.
In one of Father John Powell?s books, the Jesuit theologian tells the story of Claire Booth Luce’s question: “What really killed Marilyn Monroe, the love goddess who never found any love?” For Claire Booth Luce, the dangling telephone was the symbol of Marilyn Monroe’s life. She died because she never got through to anyone.
First of all, this is a much different book than some of Len Sweet’s previous writings but at the same time if you have read his previous books, you will feel at home with this book. On one level I have really enjoyed the book but one the other hand, I have found the book to be extraordinarily difficult to process, largely because I find relationships so hard in my own life. Then again maybe it is what the books so good to read.
Ortona :: Canada’s Stalingrad
One of the bloodiest Canadian battles of WWII.
Persecution of church leaders in North America
More from The Present Future
Persecution of church leaders in the North America context does not come from outside the church. I have never heard a church leader say to me, “I am quitting. The pagans are getting to me!” I’ve had dozens of them say, “I can’t take the club members anymore.”Church members trying to be missionaries are not immune from persecution either. I know people who have given up church responsibilities to create more time to minister to people outside the church. Sometimes their reward has been to receive much less greetings from staff members who tried to recruit them for church jobs and were turned down. Some have been tagged as “unfaithful” to the church or “not committed.” What a sad day when answering the call to live on mission earns you the ridicule from the church….
… I talked to a college minister this past week about doing this. His response was that the senior pastor of his church wanted to see those college kids at church. “That’s all that count,” this college minister told me. “I could have hundreds involved on the campus, but only the ones who show up at church count in the numbers that I am responsible for generating.” Talk about club values! Where do you think this college minister has his office? At the church! That makes good sense for a staff geared for club member services but no sense in a missionary culture.
Our Cabin Weblog- Recently listened to music
- David Gray – Be Mine October 19, 2008
- David Gray – December October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Knowhere October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Real Love October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Last Boat To America October 19, 2008
- Recently additions to my library
- Messy Faith: Daring to Live by Grace by A. J. Gregory October 28, 2008
- Rediscovering Church: The Story and Vision of Willow Creek Community Church by Lynne Hybels October 26, 2008
- The Teeth of the Tiger, A Novel by Tom Clancy October 26, 2008
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell October 26, 2008
- The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy October 26, 2008
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