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Blog
I'm in Edson
and I really have nothing to say...
Travel Day today
Am heading to Edson with Wendy, Leighton, Darren, Elway (the dog, not the football player), and Mark (the boy, not the author of the Gospel). Dropping the boy and dog off and then heading to Victoria. Will blog tonight if I have anything to say. Labels: Wendy Cooper
Here are some of my favorites :: # 23-25
Fabulously incompetent lawyer Lionel Hutz. ('This is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film The Never-Ending Story '), and in particular...
25 ...this exchange with Marge. Hutz: 'Now don't you worry, Mrs. Simpson, I - uh-oh. We've drawn Judge Snyder.' Marge: 'Is that bad?' Hutz: 'Well, he's kind of had it in for me, since I accidentally ran over his dog. Actually, replace "accidentally" with "repeatedly", and replace "dog" with "son".'
26 And his mantra. 'If there's one thing America needs, it's more lawyers.'
and this one
And what to do with condiments.
Agent Mulder: 'We want you to recreate your every move the night you saw this alien.' Homer: 'Well, the evening began at the gentleman's club, where we were discussing Wittgenstein over a game of backgammon.' Mulder: 'Mr Simpson, it's a felony to lie to the FBI.' Homer: 'We were sitting in Barney's car eating packets of mustard. Ya happy?'
Some more pics
Amanda Johnson took these pictures while we were setting up and hanging at the Worship Freehouse.
Interactive stations of the cross.
The current bargaining agreement between hockey players and owners expires next year. Already, lines are being drawn for a potential work stoppage. And once again, owners claim they're losing buckets of money by running hockey clubs. Normally, one wouldn't be cynical to assume this is little more than bargaining histrionics. This year, though, a financial crisis has hit the frozen pond.
Two teams, the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres, declared bankruptcy. A third, the Pittsburgh Penguins, have such a bad financial position that the owner came out of retirement last year to play. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, the owner happens to be Mario Lemieux, one of the greatest players in a generation.
The Los Angeles hockey franchise, the Kings, claimed in a report that since the current owners bought the club in 1996, cash losses have exceeded $100 million, and they will reach $12 million this year alone. This for a generally competitive team averaging 15,000 paying fans per game.
Many fans were skeptical since a team's owners could simply lard up the company's financials with expenses, stick earnings into other entities, and "produce" paper losses. Doesn't matter -- team financials aren't a matter of public record, and the losses would give the team more bargaining power against the union or an excuse to get rid of some high-priced players.
When the Kings made this claim, one ardent fan -- who happened to know a thing or two about financial analysis -- asked to see the books. Philip Propper, equity analyst for Trust Company of the West, sent a note to Tim Leiweke, president of the Kings, saying he's a fan, and he's skeptical of the claim of losses. To his (and the Kings') credit, Leiweke accepted the offer, seeing it as an opportunity to show an outsider that the economic situation is as bad as advertised.
In February, Propper spent 10 hours with the team's financial statements and had unfettered access to Dan Beckerman, the team's CFO. His conclusion? The Kings really have lost that much money on a cash-flow basis, money that's been floated by owner Phil Anschutz (who's also the largest shareholder in Qwest Communications. Propper further stated that he found any transfer payments between other elements of the Anschutz empire to be conservative and proper. In other words, the team wasn't lying.
Of course, the argument has long been that owning a major league sports franchises isn't about cash generation -- that most owners can lose money each year and still make out huge, as the franchises appreciate. Witness Al Davis' 1966 purchase of the Oakland Raiders for $20,000 -- a franchise estimated to be worth $400 million-plus today. This is a dubious argument in today's hockey environment, with the two clubs in bankruptcy changing hands at fire sale prices.
Propper's report is fascinating, and it's also the first time a team has let an unaffiliated fan have such unfettered access to its financials. Propper discovered that the cost of player salaries increased 17% per year, while combined revenue failed to keep pace. He places substantial blame on the National Hockey League head office and its aggressive expansion. And he believes the NHL's best (or only) course of action is to contract the six weakest teams in order to survive.
If you're a sports fan and ever wondered where all that money goes, Propper just lived your dream. He's seen it, and his report isn't pretty. I hate to admit that this article is probably right on and it isn't pretty elsewhere in the league either. Labels: economics, environment, hockey
Pope John Paul II has formally placed a monk who inspired European resistance to Muslim invaders in the 17th Century and five other historic Italian religious figures on the path to sainthood.
Their beatification at a ceremony in St Peter's Square marks the final step before actual canonisation through the Roman Catholic Church.
Marco d'Aviano, a wandering preacher for the Capuchin monastic order, is credited with rallying Catholics and Protestants on the eve of the Battle of Vienna in 1683, which was crucial to halting the advance of Turkish soldiers into Europe.
He is also remembered by some as the man who, by legend, inspired the fashionable cappuccino coffee now drunk by millions across the globe.
Why? Why does it have to be this way? I don't want to rip anyone off. I don't want to take part in a global conspiracy against the poor. I just want a hot drink, a dangerous amount of caffeine and somewhere to read the paper. Is that too much to ask?
Apparently so. And the more you find out, the worse it gets. Food, clothes � even dear old chocolate � conspire to make me a cold-hearted villain.
And here's the lowest scam of all. I say to myself: Self, enough of this. I'm not buying anything any more till my conscience dies down a bit. And so my towering piles of money sit in the bank � where they're probably funding some project to beat democratic protesters about the head with baseball bats (you can tell my grasp on the precise economics of this is somewhat flimsy).
What they certainly are doing is supplying financial institutions who bleed the Third World dry with debt repayments they can't afford and didn't deserve in the first place.
These people are turning me into a bad guy. It's not even as if I want to be especially good. I just want to pass. But they're making me destroy people's lives every time I buy anything. And that sucks.
So that was my Saturday. How was yours? Labels: baseball, economics, politics, sports
Wow, it looks like they had an amazing year.
Alan Jamieson, church minister and sociologist, is author of recently-published A Churchless Faith, which interviews over 100 church leavers to discover why it is that people are abandoning the pews. Labels: interviews
I quickly posted some pictures that I took last night at the Worship Freehouse. The evening was a good one. We came pretty close to filling the Jazz Bassment and it had a nice feel to it. I thought everything went well for a first time. The televisions were a lot of fun. I bet those tv's had 200 years of combined life to them and some of them showed it. Jeb and Leighton did a good job on getting them working. We had enough woodgrain on those T.V. sets to redo a 1985 Chev Impala wagon. It wasn't pretty.
The band was excellent and Todd did some of his own stuff which was really nice. The Bassment staff said afterwards that they loved hosting us and we tentatively booked a couple more dates. The rumor is that we made a $5 profit on the night. I think that $5 needs to be put towards placing some pens on each of the tables for contact information but that is just me. I think the band wanted it to start a gold-plated hot-tub fund but that will have to be decided.
The Bassment's liquor license allows for minors to be in the building (but obviously not drink) which meant that Mark was able to hang out all night. That was fun for me to have him there in that environment. I was looking for him during the evening and Jerry Reimer reminded me that it was a safe environment for him. I replied that if I see him walking back holding a Bubba of beer that I was going to be concerned. (it wasn't going to happen) He was dancing in the back and cheering the band on which made crack up every time I saw him.
I almost forgot. Weird weather day yesterday. Had a lot of snow driving to Spiritwood but by midnight it was quite warm for spring. Nice service at Lakeland as well. Labels: environment, Lakeland Church
Jordon has left the building.
Just got home from the Worship Freehouse. Amazing night. God was there and we hope He was glorified. Mark was up last night sick and I am exhausted. Will post some pictures tomorrow. ZZZZZZZ
Renewal
it has always struck me that the church or any other organisation or movement gets renewed two ways - by people who leave the centre to make new things happen on the edges that creatively open up new directions and possibilities; and by people who have the patience to help those at the centre gently change. i don't always have the patience for the second but i'm glad others do. both groups tend to dismiss the others approach, but i reckon that over time having both approaches is better than having one. wise words by Jonny Baker.
Love Your Enemies
Christians whose loyalty to the Prince of Peace puts them out of step with today's nationalistic world, because they are willing to love their nation's friends but not to hate their nation's enemies, are not unrealistic dreamers who think that by their objections they will end all wars. On the contrary, it is the soldiers who think they can put an end to wars by preparing for just one more.
Christians love their enemies because God does so, and commands his followers to do so. That is the only reason, and that is enough. -- John Howard Yoder
Worship Freehouse
I sometime take for granted the talent of people that I work with in putting together the Freehouse. Last Wednesday we were in Mike Gingerich's zone and it was a thing of beauty to watch. He knew what questions to ask, what to do, and even had some answers that the rest of us had no idea about. Today I was talked to Jeb about video projection (not an area of personal strength for yours truly), he broke it down in plain language and made it easy enough my dog could have set it up (okay the lack of opposing thumbs may have caused problems). Can't wait till tomorrow. Must get some sleep before then. Will post some pictures when we get home from it. Talking about pictures, Amanda Johnson will be taking some really good pictures at the Freehouse while mine will be of the amateurish variety. What I lack in quality, I'll make up in quantity. I can't wait to see what she takes.
Heading back to (downtown) Saskatoon...
I have been hard on Saskatoon's downtown core over the years but I was downtown buying stuff for the Worship Freehouse today and I was pleasantly suprised by the amount of new businesses that are down there. Now that I have given up coffee, I have little reason to head to Starbucks but I noticed a couple of cafes and stores on 2nd Avenue that could actually entice me to head back down there. Labels: Saskatoon
An Approach to God - Losing my Religion
To some, God is the transcendent power waiting for us in everything
To others, God is an oppressive power used to bind and blind the wretched of the earth
To some, God is the creator who breathes the breath of life into our bodies
To others, God is the creation of an infantile humanity, superstitious and scared to grow up
To some, God is a motherly parent, birthing creation and holding her people to her breast
To others, God is tyrannical father, never pleased enough, loathed and feared as he traps us in dependence
To some, God is a liberator, hearing the cries of the oppressed and moving to help them
To others, God is a collaborator, deaf to the cries of the oppressed and siding with the powers that be
To some, God's hands were split open by violence in suffering love for women and men
To others, God's hands are stained with the blood of the countless atrocities and needless human suffering
To some, the praises of the church rise like incense to be breathed in by the God of live
To others, the smoke of Auschwitz and Hiroshima rises like a finger accusing God, like smoke which blinds God's eyes
Some of us find all our hope and sense of meaning in God
Others have lost all faith in God
God means something to us,
to our worship or our doubt,
to our trust or our fear,
as lover or as tyrant,
as ultimate reality or grand illusion.
We are here to face up to what we do and don't believe about God.
Let us worship God.
from Alternative Worship
Over drinks and dinner at the Madison Avenue Pub in downtown Toronto, people chat about their lives. But unlike most regulars, a group meeting there weekly starting May 5 will also be taking the Alpha course.
Andrew Williams of Bayview Glen Church, a Christian and Missionary Alliance congregation, helped transplant Alpha to the pub. As a facilitator for the course billed locally as "spirituality on tap," he says the setting attracts a new crowd.
"People immediately understand if we are meeting at a bar we are not talking about a list of rules but who we are," says Williams. Someone gets it. (via Jerry Reimer)
Why?
Youth ministry doesn't have any staying power.
Young people flock to Christian concerts, cheer Jesus at large events, and work on service projects. Unfortunately, it's not because of Jesus; it's because they're young!
The success of youth ministry in this country is an illusion.
Very little youth ministry has a lasting impact on students.
I believe we're no more effective today reaching young people with the gospel than we've ever been. In spite of all the dazzling super stars of youth ministry, the amazing array of YS products, the thousands of youth ministry training events, nothing much has changed. article by Mike Yaconelli's in YC.
If weapons of mass destruction were not the primary reason for war, what was? Here's the answer officials and advisers gave ABCNEWS.
The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks changed everything, including the Bush administration's thinking about the Middle East � and not just Saddam Hussein.
Senior officials decided that unless action was taken, the Middle East would continue to be a breeding ground for terrorists. Officials feared that young Arabs, angry about their lives and without hope, would always looking for someone to hate � and that someone would always be Israel and the United States.
Europeans thought the solution was to get a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. But American officials felt a Middle East peace agreement would only be part of the solution.
The Bush administration felt that a new start was needed in the Middle East and that Iraq was the place to show that it is democracy � not terrorism � that offers hope. From ABC News via Bene A just war or a political point? Labels: Iraq, war
 O.J. Simpson -- acquitted in 1995 in the killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman -- is preparing for his debut as the star of his own "Osbournes"-esque reality show. Just when I was certain that television couldn't sink any lower.
As John Ellis wrote in this Fast Company article that this is the new normal. Most people will tell you that MSNBC's pathetic state is a one-off, an aberration of complicated circumstances and a market suffering from overcapacity. I think that the opposite is true. MSNBC isn't unusual; it's emblematic of what's happening in television. The major networks are now competing against one an-other with freak shows. Fox has Joe Millionaire . ABC will soon have its own version of the British show Wife Swap . And there's a ton more of these kinds of shows in the works.
Sitcoms and dramas have become so expensive that the networks are at a tipping point. It costs $11 million per episode to keep Friends on the air. That's unsustainable. The networks lose hundreds of millions of dollars on their NFL broadcasts. That's also unsustainable. Their news divisions are mature businesses with declining ratings. Over the long term, that isn't going to work. The only ray of hope is freak shows. And that amounts to a form of cannibalization -- for the business itself and for the brand equity that has been built up over 50 years.
FusionBlog
Several months ago Leighton was over and said it would be easy to create a blogging software in Cold Fusion. I was bugging him that I wanted to move to Moveable Type and Leighton used MT as a guideline for features. He was over the other night and showing me what he had come up with and I was amazed. While it is still rough I think he has come up with not only a great blogging tool but a content management system for bloggers that goes beyond MT in some ways. It is really cool.
I love Blogger and I am torn because I they have set the bar so low for people to get their blogs online but LT has created a tool that I would love to use. Labels: Blogger, blogging
 My copy of Alternative Worship by Jonny Baker and Doug Gay, and finally arrived today (via Canadian Customs who charged me almost as much duty as what I paid for the book) and I am really impressed which what I have seen. It has given me so many ideas for the Worship Freehouse and Lakeland Church that it is driving me to distraction. Even if you aren't part of an alternative worship scene there are enough creative ideas in this book to justify double its cost.
The CD-ROM had a plethora of ideas as well. While the CD was contructed in Flash, it's source files are included so that you can use them in your own services. The CD is a very welcome and well thought addition to this excellent book. Thanks to Jonny Baker and Doug Gay for putting it together for all of us.
The only bad part about the book is that I probably won't sleep tonight thinking about the cool ideas.
Labels: Lakeland Church
Malcolm Gladwell answers some questions about The Tipping Point.
A paper some how felt that a personal blog on his own time was a serious enough competition to the paper that they forced him to shut it down. That's it, I am gunning for the Star Phoenix now. I like what Dan Gilmour has to say, The Tribune Co., which owns the Courant, should think about the messages it's sending, and not just the sheer arrogance of telling staffers that their days and nights are totally owned by the employer (I wonder if the state of Connecticut's labor laws allow this.)
The paper is also telling the world that it's mired in the past. That may be the more dangerous message.
This was sent out in an e-mail from my denomination about what they now call, "Company Classes" (apparently I am now working for a company)
What? Course: "The Wonderful World of Church Administration"
Why? This is a credit course for Commissioned and Ordained Minister requirements. Yet no classes are required or even offered for any kind of engagement in our culture. I don't even want to think about what that means for us as a denomination.
It is asked lots over at Corante's blog in the context of big media. I think the bigger question that needs to be asked is, "Can the poor quality journalism that is found everywhere be called journalism?" Can CNN and what FOX calls news be called journalism anymore? Entertainment and ratings seem far more important then news. If that is journalism now, may it is good that blogs aren't considered journalism.
Doh, I knew I should have worn my other hat! (you know, the one without any drugs in it)
Currently the theoreticians are more excited about internal blogging systems than are the people who actually have to implement them. Earlier this month, on his widely read weblog, Biz Stone predicted that "blogging in the business community is about to be a big deal. When Google bought Blogger, a record skipped, the music stopped, and business folks turned their heads toward the blogging phenomenon." Stone says he thinks the most immediate uses of blogging in corporations will be in the area of knowledge management: "Companies are going to want to capture people's experiences so when they leave the company they don't take everything with them." Labels: Blogger, blogging
Wasn't that what the Iraqis were saying all along? It was the first hint by Bush that U.S. troops and others hunting for weapons might fail to find chemical and biological arms. The administration had laid out in detail what it called an irrefutable case that Iraq possessed such weapons. Failure to find significant quantities of the weapons could be an embarrassment for the U.S. position. Labels: Iraq, war
U.S. broadcasters' coverage of the Iraq war was so unquestioningly patriotic and so lacking in impartiality that it threatened the credibility of America's electronic media, the head of the BBC says.
BBC Director General Greg Dyke singled out for criticism the fast growing News Corp's Fox News Channel, owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch, and Clear Channel Communications, the largest operator of radio stations in the United States, with over 1,200 stations, for special criticism.
"Personally, I was shocked while in the United States by how unquestioning the broadcast news media was during this war," Dyke said in a speech at a University of London conference on Thursday.
"If Iraq proved anything, it was that the BBC cannot afford to mix patriotism and journalism. This is happening in the United States and if it continues, will undermine the credibility of the U.S. electronic news media."
Dyke singled out Fox News, the most popular U.S. cable news network during the conflict, for its "gung-ho patriotism," saying: "We are still surprised when we see Fox News with such a committed political position." He is right on. As soon as the networks made embedded "jounalists" media stars it crossed the line from journalism to propoganda. I am just stunned it took this long for someone like the BBC to say something. Labels: Iraq, war
and promptly ruin his career potential like they have with every quarterback that they have had since Boomer Esiason. The Bengals have been the NFL's worst team the past 12 years, in part because they've mishandled their quarterbacks. They moved up to take David Klingler with the sixth overall pick in 1992 and chose Akili Smith with the third overall pick in 1999.
Neither one had much of a chance on a team that hasn't had a winning record since 1990. Both missed training camp in contract disputes, then got thrown into the lineup as unprepared rookies.
If Lewis gets his way, the same thing won't happen with Palmer. The plan is for him to sit for at least one year and learn behind starter Jon Kitna. Palmer is convinced he'll be handled properly under Lewis.
"There are times in every organization's life when you hit a crossroads, you hit a key juncture," Dunn said. "This organization is clearly wandering down a different road than they've wandered down before.
"And it's nice to be at the beginning of the fork in that road."
Klingler, who came from a run-and-shoot offence at Houston, and Smith, a mobile passer from Oregon, both were confined by the Bengals' passing philosophy. They tried to turn both of them into Ken Anderson clones -- stand in the pocket until the last second, then dump it off if necessary.
Klingler lasted only four years with a weak offensive line and an unimpressive receiving corps.
The Bengals did even worse with Smith, who got less than one full season as a starter before he was discarded. The Bengals teamed him with rookie receivers Peter Warrick and Ron Dugans in 2000, when head coach Bruce Coslet quit three games into the season. I feel sorry for the guy. Let's hope that Marvin Lewis can break the cycle of abuse. The Bengals website who took shots at the team all last year (yes you read that right, even the official site took shots at the team) said this about the signing. The Bengals still can�t get off the ESPN punch line even though in the last four months they have quietly given their organization a complete overhaul:
-Their first pre-draft deal in history.
-Lewis� recruitment and the club�s signing of five projected free-agent starters.
-A $250,000 weight room renovation that sparked the team�s first organized offseason workout program that has been drawing an average of 40 players a day.
-The addition of two scouts to the player personnel department.
-The addition of 10 new coaches, the biggest staff turnover in club history.
But ESPN needs the Bengals like Jay Leno needs Clinton even if the jokes are three years old, so a guy like Palmer finally sat down with his own information to figure out if this was hell in stripes. He took a whiff of the change last week when he visited minicamp and guys like T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Danny Farmer were telling him things like, �Everything has changed.� The energy after such a bad season told Palmer that the heart of his potential new teammates were in the right place. Time will tell.
So much for my theory that it was Diane Sawyer.
 Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Godfrey declared he would be the first to call for baseball games at SkyDome to be cancelled if SARS posed a threat to players, staff and fans. "Rest assured if there was a risk to the good health of those individuals, I would be first to contact Commissioner (Bud) Selig to have a game rescheduled," Godfrey said in a statement.
I feel for the city of Toronto and I have to agree that the WHO is over-reacting to the risk of travelling to the city. First of all people should realize that there aren't enough people going to Jays games anymore to allow anyone to be infected. Labels: baseball, sports
Interview by Sally Morgenthaller (who is now engaged) with Jonny Baker, Dan Kimball, and Ron Martoia.
I finally got off my rear and sent out a Future Mapping e-newsletter. If you haven't signed up, you can get it by sending an e-mail to futuremapping-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or following the above link.
Wow, has Hockey Pundits taken off. The playoffs brought a new intensity and a lot more cliches to the blog that Jeb, John, and I started. Some Leaf bashing and much gloating over the Red Wings collapse seems to have brought more posts, more readers, and a lot more comments. We added a couple new Pundits lately and their posts have been excellent and some new voices has made the blog a lot more enjoyable. Labels: hockey
This Week's Crime Report From the Cooper's
They just stole some of our lawnchairs from the backyard. Ugh. This reminds of a story (urban legend) that I heard of in northern Saskatchewan where the RCMP had to lock up the police dogs with a security system because the place was so tough that they would steal the police dogs. Not quite that bad around here.
Worship Freehouse (the next day)
Had a great meeting with those zany people who are putting together the Worship Freehouse. As usual we met at the very cool offices of Beagle Productions for a couple of hours and put the finishing touches on this Sunday's worship experience. Everyone there was so positive and cool, it was a great time. If the Freehouse is half as cool as our meetings, I will be very happy. Our mailing list is growing too. If you want to be added to the list, send an e-mail to ontap@worshipfreehouse.com to get updates and announcements.
The Worship Freehouse
In addition to meeting this Sunday, we have two dates in June picked out. Check out the Worship Freehouse for more details.
This is the conversation I have had several times today...
Me: My wallet was stolen and I lost all my I.D. Can I get a new (bank card/drivers license/etc)?
Clerk: Sure you can. Can I see two pieces of I.D.
Me: Umm, no, my wallet was stolen and I don't have anything.
Clerk: Sorry, we can't help you. It is our store policy. Maybe if you got some other I.D., I could help you.
Me: Well, they sent me to you so I could get some other I.D.
Clerk: There isn't much I can do.
Update: I would like to thank Costco for giving me my Costco card as easy as they did. I am forever in your debt.
Deck-Blogging
As I type, Leighton is wandering down my street and seeing how far away he can WiFi from my basement. He is about 3/4 of a block away. Anyone driving between Avenue D and E on 35th Street can access my access point.
The Soup Gives Life
Leighton joined Jeb, Sharla, Cathy, John, Darren and I for his first bowl of Spicy Soup. He passed the test with no complaining and unlike John, he did not have to put ice in his soup (pathetic isn't it) to "cool" it down.
Interesting article on fundementalism and politics. I don't know enough about American or Southern Baptist politics to have an educated opinion but I thought I would post it here for others to comment on. It is a political article that mixes politics so if you are going to comment, try to respect both sides of the debate. If you have some other links that support/refute the article intelligently, I would like to read them. E-mail them to me at coop@jordoncooper.com.
This is going to be a heated election race. Labels: Saskatoon
Blogging from the Thinkpad
 The Thinkpad is up and running although the battery isn't holding a charge. I will drop that off at Battery Boys today to see if they can fix it. Probably easier than getting one off eBay. I put Windows 98 on it. It used to have XP on it but just seemed to be overkill for the OS. I may upgrade it to 2000 later but I have always like Windows 98 (I like it better then XP actually). I got most of the stuff I want on it now but I am sure over the next couple of weeks I will be discovering new stuff that I forgot. I like having the IBM Trackpoint mouse again, I hate the touch pads as a general rule and I really enjoy the enourmous screen. My Gateway Solo didn't have a CD-ROM so having one of those is nice again. That being said, it is a desktop replacement so it is in the 7 pound range while I prefer the three pound sub-notebooks but after all is said and done, I am pretty happy with the machine. I had a horrible problem getting the WiFi card going but once I realized that my network had a different SSID than my desktop, all worked well (doh).
Red Wings Hire New Director of Public Relations
The books that constitute the Hitler Library were discovered in a salt mine near Berchtesgaden�haphazardly stashed in schnapps crates with the Reich Chancellery address on them�by soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division in the spring of 1945. After a lengthy initial evaluation at the U.S. military "collecting point" in Munich the books, numbering 3,000, were shipped to the United States and transferred in January of 1952 to the Library of Congress, where an intern was assigned to uncrate the collection. "The intern did what we call 'duping out,'" says David Moore, a German-acquisition assistant at the Library of Congress. "If a book was not one hundred percent sure, if there was no bookplate, no inscription to the F�hrer, he didn't keep it." According to Moore, duplicate copies were sent to the exchange-and-gift division and then either went to other libraries or found their way onto the open market; the non-duplicate books that could not be fully authenticated were absorbed into the Library of Congress's general collection.
The 1,200 volumes that survived the "duping out" joined the rare-book collection on the third floor of the Jefferson Building, where they were unceremoniously identified by a large cardboard sign�dangling on a string from a ceiling pipe�that read, "Hitler Library. This bay only. Please replace books to proper location." via Caterina Fake
No one ever got fired for buying IBM.
Blogging from the Thinkpad (oh yeah, I didn't buy a iBook). My Gateway was dying and I needed something so I picked up a used Thinkpad. It was a lot cheaper than an iBook and I love the massive screen.
Excellent article by Rodney Clapp on antithesis.
It makes sense
Warren Kinsella writes about Easter weekend at his house.
For fun, we let the kids sleep in a big tent in the boys' room tonight. After story time, the conversation turned to non-secular matters. Our four-year-old, who has the makings of a Jesuit, related the story of the Last Supper, which he called "Jesus' last meal before the bad guys killed him."
When I asked him how many other people were with Jesus at said "last meal," he replied three.
"Three?"
"Yes, Daddy. The three musketeers."
Which, when you think of it, now explains the little bit of swordplay that took place at Gethsemane. The ear of the high priest's slave was lopped off by one of the Musketeers, not one of the disciples. Mystery solved. Labels: Lent/Easter
Easter
Had a wonderful afternoon and evening with family at the Reimer's. Here are some great pictures of the Easter Egg Hunt after supper. Labels: Lent/Easter
Oh yeah...
In case I missed it. The Edmonton Oilers are out of the playoffs, Toronto Maple Leafs to follow.
You're kidding me..
At three a.m. this morning I realized that the person who stole the stuff from my van also grabbed a couple of books and my sermon for this morning when they stole my backpack. If you see someone passing themself off as me and has a pretty good sermon, call me on my cell phone (he or she didn't get that) and let me know how the sermon turned out.
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