Monday, August 21, 2006
Start of school top 7...
So, with the advent of another 9 months of much study and learning, here's the top 7 (I was going to do 10, but ran out of time before class) reasons why I'm glad to be a college student...
1) School schedule - my body likes to sleep from 12:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. People who work full time (like I did during the summer) sleep 10:00 p.m. - 6:00 a.m. Being in school lets me choose option #1.
2) Professors - you would have to work hard to convince me that there is a more intriguing group of people than college professors. Bow ties, dissertations, and lecture quirks all combine to make personalities that are both interesting and valuable to know.
3) Football - the NFL can keep their $12 million salaries. There is no sport in America as interesting to follow and as fun to spectate as college football. Rivalries like Michigan-Ohio State and 'Bama-Auburn, the love-hate relationship with the BCS, the speed of the SEC, the big hitting of the Big Ten...and being at UNI, you gotta love the Dome.
4) Four week long winter break - while it can get a little boring towards the end, what other stage in life offers four full weeks off in the winter?
5) Student discounts - theater and concert tickets, store specials, and most importantly...two for one at the University Ave Coldstone Creamery. I may not be making a lot of money, but I'm glad vendors know that.
6) Friends - not to get cheesy, but there really are few other times in life that allow as much time and as many different and unique opportunities to be spent with the people you like. Camping, sporting events, music concerts, late night conversations, Apples to Apples (if you don't know what this is, check out this website ) and much, much more are all available for the experiencing.
7) Learning - if you're in college, I hope you like learning. The environment on campuses is designed to develop thinking and learning processes (most of the time), and to allow students to delve into subjects they may never be able to study again. While it can get tedious, it's great to be a part of.
Off to my class that starts in 5 minutes...
1) School schedule - my body likes to sleep from 12:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. People who work full time (like I did during the summer) sleep 10:00 p.m. - 6:00 a.m. Being in school lets me choose option #1.
2) Professors - you would have to work hard to convince me that there is a more intriguing group of people than college professors. Bow ties, dissertations, and lecture quirks all combine to make personalities that are both interesting and valuable to know.
3) Football - the NFL can keep their $12 million salaries. There is no sport in America as interesting to follow and as fun to spectate as college football. Rivalries like Michigan-Ohio State and 'Bama-Auburn, the love-hate relationship with the BCS, the speed of the SEC, the big hitting of the Big Ten...and being at UNI, you gotta love the Dome.
4) Four week long winter break - while it can get a little boring towards the end, what other stage in life offers four full weeks off in the winter?
5) Student discounts - theater and concert tickets, store specials, and most importantly...two for one at the University Ave Coldstone Creamery. I may not be making a lot of money, but I'm glad vendors know that.
6) Friends - not to get cheesy, but there really are few other times in life that allow as much time and as many different and unique opportunities to be spent with the people you like. Camping, sporting events, music concerts, late night conversations, Apples to Apples (if you don't know what this is, check out this website ) and much, much more are all available for the experiencing.
7) Learning - if you're in college, I hope you like learning. The environment on campuses is designed to develop thinking and learning processes (most of the time), and to allow students to delve into subjects they may never be able to study again. While it can get tedious, it's great to be a part of.
Off to my class that starts in 5 minutes...
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Root, root, root for the home team...and Jesus
This article describes the expanding trend of "Faith Nights" at minor, and now major, league baseball games. I had no idea these even happenned. Apparently, minor league teams in Bible Belt states started including player testimonies, pre-game "fellowship", and prayer at specified games that were themed "Faith Nights". The purpose? Two-fold - minor league teams that were grasping for fans get increased attendance, and Christians get to send the message, "Hey, we don't all stand on the corner and wave a Bible and say if you don't come to Jesus, you're going to hell", as stated by a Faith Night participant. Now, the Atlanta Braves have scheduled three such nights for this season. Hmmmmm. I can't say I'm very comfortable with this idea. Altar calls would definitely take longer the 7th-inning stretch usually lasts. Seriously, though, I don't know if this is good for Christianity in America. Maybe this satirical article isn't as far-fetched as I hoped.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Howsitgonark...
So, I've been realizing in the last month that I have a tendency to try and avoid awkwardness in a pretty ridiculous way. I mean, I know that no one enjoys awkward situations, and that most people try not to create them. But for me, I have this almost innate, systematic response that not only tries to get out of awkward social situations, but also somehow calculates the potential risk of awkwardness developing in situations, and then reacts based on that calculation. Let me give you two actual scenarios that have happenned recently in order to explain what I mean. (The real names of people involved have been omitted...maybe...)
SCENARIO #1: I recently went to a church service with a group of people who will remain anonymous...we'll call them "my immediate family." As we entered the lobby, I saw a friend of a mutual friend whom I'd met and talked with a few times before. Naturally, after we greeted on another, we asked about each other's summers. Now, I was under the impression that this friend of a friend, whom we'll call "Friend of a Friend", had gotten married in the last couple of months, because I had happenned to confuse "Friend of a Friend's" name with another friend of the same friend (phew!) who actually had gotten married. So, with who appeared to be Friend of a Friend's husband standing nearby, I asked the obvious question: "How was the wedding?" "What do you mean?" was Friend of a Friend's surprised response. "Which wedding? (referring to friends of a friend that had been recently married)" Here's where my acute antiawkarditis kicked in. You see, a perfectly reasonable reaction would have been to laugh and say something like, "Oh, my mistake, I thought you had gotten married." But no. In a split second, I realized that she wasn't married, and that I was wrong, and so I quickly and smoothly said, "Well, both of them. 'Friend' said they were fun." I didn't even really think...it just happenned. I basically lied to avoid possible embarassment. And I was good at it.
SCENARIIO #2: I'm currently working in the same bio-tech plant that my father has worked in for the past 15 years, so a lot of co-workers know who I am because of past company family events. The thing is, I don't know who a lot of them are. I'm trying really hard to match names with faces, but there are still a lot of employees who I couldn't feel confident calling by name. So, I'm walking into the plant this afternoon, and a I see a co-worker leaving the plant, who's name I think is Mark. Now, I know "Mark" has called me by my name several times before, so I'm embarassed by the thought of just saying, "Hey...you", or by having to actually ask his name. So once again, my subconscious anti-awkward powers came into play. Instead of not greeting him at all, or greeting him without using a name, or greeting him while confidently guessing that his name was Mark, I did all three at once. I mumbled something like, "Hiowsitgonark." That way, if I was wrong about his name, maybe he wouldn't know. And if I as right, what's there to lose? Except, I didn't consider the fact that what I said sounded nothing like intelligible English.
So, all that to say I feel pretty ridiculous realizing that I've developed an unnatural fear of embarassment. Why? I don't know. But at least now you know to tell me your name if I say something that sounds Russian.
SCENARIO #1: I recently went to a church service with a group of people who will remain anonymous...we'll call them "my immediate family." As we entered the lobby, I saw a friend of a mutual friend whom I'd met and talked with a few times before. Naturally, after we greeted on another, we asked about each other's summers. Now, I was under the impression that this friend of a friend, whom we'll call "Friend of a Friend", had gotten married in the last couple of months, because I had happenned to confuse "Friend of a Friend's" name with another friend of the same friend (phew!) who actually had gotten married. So, with who appeared to be Friend of a Friend's husband standing nearby, I asked the obvious question: "How was the wedding?" "What do you mean?" was Friend of a Friend's surprised response. "Which wedding? (referring to friends of a friend that had been recently married)" Here's where my acute antiawkarditis kicked in. You see, a perfectly reasonable reaction would have been to laugh and say something like, "Oh, my mistake, I thought you had gotten married." But no. In a split second, I realized that she wasn't married, and that I was wrong, and so I quickly and smoothly said, "Well, both of them. 'Friend' said they were fun." I didn't even really think...it just happenned. I basically lied to avoid possible embarassment. And I was good at it.
SCENARIIO #2: I'm currently working in the same bio-tech plant that my father has worked in for the past 15 years, so a lot of co-workers know who I am because of past company family events. The thing is, I don't know who a lot of them are. I'm trying really hard to match names with faces, but there are still a lot of employees who I couldn't feel confident calling by name. So, I'm walking into the plant this afternoon, and a I see a co-worker leaving the plant, who's name I think is Mark. Now, I know "Mark" has called me by my name several times before, so I'm embarassed by the thought of just saying, "Hey...you", or by having to actually ask his name. So once again, my subconscious anti-awkward powers came into play. Instead of not greeting him at all, or greeting him without using a name, or greeting him while confidently guessing that his name was Mark, I did all three at once. I mumbled something like, "Hiowsitgonark." That way, if I was wrong about his name, maybe he wouldn't know. And if I as right, what's there to lose? Except, I didn't consider the fact that what I said sounded nothing like intelligible English.
So, all that to say I feel pretty ridiculous realizing that I've developed an unnatural fear of embarassment. Why? I don't know. But at least now you know to tell me your name if I say something that sounds Russian.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Not about eating bugs...
This weekend I had the opportunity to commemorate the end of my friend Justin's un-wedded life with him and a few other of his friends. The festivities started on Saturday with a trip to Valleyfair (near Minneapolis). I was pretty impressed with the park as a whole - there were a few good roller coasters, and the 125-foot pendulum/swing ride they added this year was a lot of fun.
Anyway, what I want to write about has to do with Sunday morning, so I'll spare you unnecessary details. Basically, after a 10-hour day at Valleyfair, the five of us headed to a nearby campsite (which was right by the Minnesota River), sat around a fire for awhile, and then headed to bed in an almost-big-enough-for-five-people tent. I happenned to forget my sleeping bag and pillow, so, needless to say, I didn't have the most comfortable night of sleep (or lack thereof). By about 8:15 in the morning, I was ready to just get out of the tent. All of the other guys were still sleeping, so I walked outside and found a dead tree that was laying over the riverbank and just sat on it for a long time. The sun was still behind a lot of the trees, birds were still chirping a lot, and there weren't many human noises yet, like cars or radio music. So, I'm sitting on this tree, watching this river, and then I realized that I was experiencing something I usually missed during the week, and wanted to start experiencing everyday. I couldn't quite put my finger on it at first, since I knew I couldn't just wake up every morning and find a serene river scene in the backyard. But what I think I realized is that many times I'll take time to think and pray about things like ideas, or issues, or relationships (all of which is good), and I'll focus on them until there's some sort of resolution, and then I'll move to the next thing. But what I end up missing is the taking of time to actually listen and hear from God. Because as I sat by this river and took in everything that was going on around me, I couldn't help but just be quiet and open to receive.
As I was thinking through this on dead a tree by the Minnesota River, I noticed a few different kinds of birds darting over the surface of the water. Some were flying in pairs, some by themselves, and I saw one that would actually hit the surface of the water every once in awhile. I assumed that most of these birds were flying in order to hunt for insects, and maybe the one that hit the water was hunting for fish. But as I watched the birds more, I began to question my assumption. Instead of thinking, "The birds are flying in order to catch food", which seemed to be a reasonable scientific assumption, it hit me that maybe the birds were flying because they were meant to fly, and they got to eat as a part of fulfilling their purpose. And all of a sudden, I wanted to be like the birds. Instead of living in a way that thinks, "I'm working now for money," or "I'm going to school to become a lawyer," or "I'm reading my Bible to become a better Christian," I wanted to begin living out my created purpose to know and be with God, and work, study, and read as just a part of that life. We're not meant to sleep, eat, drink, walk, talk, cry, sing, think, love, etc. in and of themselves. They (along with any aspect or activity of life) must just be a part of the journey God takes us on to know Him more deeply and completely. And just like it's beautiful to see birds fly because they're meant to fly, it will be a wonderful things for us as humans to live knowing God more each day. Don't fly just so you can eat bugs - fly because you're created to, and maybe you'll catch something along the way.
Anyway, what I want to write about has to do with Sunday morning, so I'll spare you unnecessary details. Basically, after a 10-hour day at Valleyfair, the five of us headed to a nearby campsite (which was right by the Minnesota River), sat around a fire for awhile, and then headed to bed in an almost-big-enough-for-five-people tent. I happenned to forget my sleeping bag and pillow, so, needless to say, I didn't have the most comfortable night of sleep (or lack thereof). By about 8:15 in the morning, I was ready to just get out of the tent. All of the other guys were still sleeping, so I walked outside and found a dead tree that was laying over the riverbank and just sat on it for a long time. The sun was still behind a lot of the trees, birds were still chirping a lot, and there weren't many human noises yet, like cars or radio music. So, I'm sitting on this tree, watching this river, and then I realized that I was experiencing something I usually missed during the week, and wanted to start experiencing everyday. I couldn't quite put my finger on it at first, since I knew I couldn't just wake up every morning and find a serene river scene in the backyard. But what I think I realized is that many times I'll take time to think and pray about things like ideas, or issues, or relationships (all of which is good), and I'll focus on them until there's some sort of resolution, and then I'll move to the next thing. But what I end up missing is the taking of time to actually listen and hear from God. Because as I sat by this river and took in everything that was going on around me, I couldn't help but just be quiet and open to receive.
As I was thinking through this on dead a tree by the Minnesota River, I noticed a few different kinds of birds darting over the surface of the water. Some were flying in pairs, some by themselves, and I saw one that would actually hit the surface of the water every once in awhile. I assumed that most of these birds were flying in order to hunt for insects, and maybe the one that hit the water was hunting for fish. But as I watched the birds more, I began to question my assumption. Instead of thinking, "The birds are flying in order to catch food", which seemed to be a reasonable scientific assumption, it hit me that maybe the birds were flying because they were meant to fly, and they got to eat as a part of fulfilling their purpose. And all of a sudden, I wanted to be like the birds. Instead of living in a way that thinks, "I'm working now for money," or "I'm going to school to become a lawyer," or "I'm reading my Bible to become a better Christian," I wanted to begin living out my created purpose to know and be with God, and work, study, and read as just a part of that life. We're not meant to sleep, eat, drink, walk, talk, cry, sing, think, love, etc. in and of themselves. They (along with any aspect or activity of life) must just be a part of the journey God takes us on to know Him more deeply and completely. And just like it's beautiful to see birds fly because they're meant to fly, it will be a wonderful things for us as humans to live knowing God more each day. Don't fly just so you can eat bugs - fly because you're created to, and maybe you'll catch something along the way.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
No Micronesian Big Macs...
So, before you plan on enjoying any Big Macs or McFlurries on your next trip to Africa, South Asia, or the South Pacific, you better check this list of countries that still don't have a McDonalds. Bummer...just when I wanted to enjoy some of "America's favorite fries" in Djibouti.
List of McDonalds-less countries
Link to map of Djibouti
List of McDonalds-less countries
Link to map of Djibouti
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
What's a motto with you?
Apparently, yesterday was the 51st anniversary of putting the phrase "In God We Trust" on all U.S. currency, and this month is the 50th anniversary of that same phrase being officially made our national motto by Congress and President Eisenhower. What I also just learned is that the phrase "E Plurabis Unum" (Out of many, one) was essentially pushed aside by "In God We Trust" by this act in 1956. A few thoughts...
1) Isn't it ironic that we should state our supposed trust in God with none other than our money? I have a hard time trusting God when I think a lot about money. I also don't know what to think about putting a God-centered phrase on currency that contains the image of one of the founding fathers and their houses or government buildings.
2) I've heard that part of the underlying motivation to make "In God We Trust" the national motto was to separate America from the "godless communism" it was battling in the Cold War. First of all, it seems questionable to invoke trust in God during a conflict that resulted in a build-up of weapons capable of destroying mankind many times over. Secondly, wasn't it the promotion American capitalism and democracy that conflicted with the Soviet agenda, and aren't these two ideas equally embraced by some who don't trust God, or at least don't trust Him as much as they trust capitalism and democracy?
3) I like the phrase, "E Plurabis Unum", and as far as I can tell, it is a more accurate and meaningful description of our country today. I think trusting God is best, but a fair number of Americans believe quite differently than I do, placing trust in many gods, or science, or even themselves. It seems like a national motto (if there is one) should reflect, as accurately as possible, the character and attitude of the nation as a whole. Keeping this in mind, it seems we are much closer (as a nation) to many different kinds of people trying to act as one, than a people who trusts one God.
Should we change the national motto, and remove the phrase "In God We Trust" from our currency? I don't know if it is significant enough of an issue, or if it would be beneficial to do so. But I do think it is important to question why we as a nation would be willing to endorse a motto such as "In God We Trust" while still acting and thinking in a way that is seemingly contradictory most of the time. Some might argue that our national heritage reflects a trust in God, and so there is still value in stating that in a motto and on currency. Fair enough - maybe we should have an "updated" motto then: "In God We Trusted", or even better, "In God We Trusted, Until Our Prosperity And Wal-Mart Seemed Better". At least we wouldn't be lying then.
1) Isn't it ironic that we should state our supposed trust in God with none other than our money? I have a hard time trusting God when I think a lot about money. I also don't know what to think about putting a God-centered phrase on currency that contains the image of one of the founding fathers and their houses or government buildings.
2) I've heard that part of the underlying motivation to make "In God We Trust" the national motto was to separate America from the "godless communism" it was battling in the Cold War. First of all, it seems questionable to invoke trust in God during a conflict that resulted in a build-up of weapons capable of destroying mankind many times over. Secondly, wasn't it the promotion American capitalism and democracy that conflicted with the Soviet agenda, and aren't these two ideas equally embraced by some who don't trust God, or at least don't trust Him as much as they trust capitalism and democracy?
3) I like the phrase, "E Plurabis Unum", and as far as I can tell, it is a more accurate and meaningful description of our country today. I think trusting God is best, but a fair number of Americans believe quite differently than I do, placing trust in many gods, or science, or even themselves. It seems like a national motto (if there is one) should reflect, as accurately as possible, the character and attitude of the nation as a whole. Keeping this in mind, it seems we are much closer (as a nation) to many different kinds of people trying to act as one, than a people who trusts one God.
Should we change the national motto, and remove the phrase "In God We Trust" from our currency? I don't know if it is significant enough of an issue, or if it would be beneficial to do so. But I do think it is important to question why we as a nation would be willing to endorse a motto such as "In God We Trust" while still acting and thinking in a way that is seemingly contradictory most of the time. Some might argue that our national heritage reflects a trust in God, and so there is still value in stating that in a motto and on currency. Fair enough - maybe we should have an "updated" motto then: "In God We Trusted", or even better, "In God We Trusted, Until Our Prosperity And Wal-Mart Seemed Better". At least we wouldn't be lying then.
Friday, July 07, 2006
A playboy for Allah...
The attached article describes a foiled terror plot (allegedly linked to al-Qaida) that was targeting the NYC subway tunnels under the Hudson River. Apparently, one of the main terrorist operatives was arrested in Lebonon, and he eventually confessed about his involvement with the plan, as well as some details about the plan itself.
2 thoughts about this article:
1.) Is it comforting to know what places in the U.S. almost got attacked? I mean - do NYC citizens that use the subway system really want to know that they may have been killed on their way to work one day? Maybe they do. I don't live in a place that has experienced terrorist attacks, and if I did, maybe I would want to know what plots have been stopped. But on the other hand, doesn't it make you wonder what plots aren't being stopped?
2.) In the article, the terrorist operative who was arrested (Assem Hammoud) supposedly "confessed that he belongs to a radical organization ... and that he was told not to show any religious inclinations while in Lebanon and to give the impression of a playboy, which he did perfectly." Now, I'm no expert on the religion of Islam, but from what I gather, even mainstream, "Western" forms of Islam have fairly strict expectations for moral behavior (check out this article for an example), nonetheless radical sects like al-Qaida that are brutal in their treatment of women and members of other faiths. If Hammoud really was a part of a radical group linked to al-Qaida, isn't it interesting that they would encourage "playboy" behavior for the sake of the terror operation? At that point, isn't the religion of the group terrorism, and not Islam, since fundamental moral principles of Islam are sacrificed for the sake of killing Americans? It seems like Islam becomes just a label for these groups, maybe lending them credibility in the minds of their members. Regardless, it seems to be another example of how one end (killing Westerners) will justify seemingly endless means for those who are a part of al-Qaida-affiliated organizations.
Foiled terror plot article
2 thoughts about this article:
1.) Is it comforting to know what places in the U.S. almost got attacked? I mean - do NYC citizens that use the subway system really want to know that they may have been killed on their way to work one day? Maybe they do. I don't live in a place that has experienced terrorist attacks, and if I did, maybe I would want to know what plots have been stopped. But on the other hand, doesn't it make you wonder what plots aren't being stopped?
2.) In the article, the terrorist operative who was arrested (Assem Hammoud) supposedly "confessed that he belongs to a radical organization ... and that he was told not to show any religious inclinations while in Lebanon and to give the impression of a playboy, which he did perfectly." Now, I'm no expert on the religion of Islam, but from what I gather, even mainstream, "Western" forms of Islam have fairly strict expectations for moral behavior (check out this article for an example), nonetheless radical sects like al-Qaida that are brutal in their treatment of women and members of other faiths. If Hammoud really was a part of a radical group linked to al-Qaida, isn't it interesting that they would encourage "playboy" behavior for the sake of the terror operation? At that point, isn't the religion of the group terrorism, and not Islam, since fundamental moral principles of Islam are sacrificed for the sake of killing Americans? It seems like Islam becomes just a label for these groups, maybe lending them credibility in the minds of their members. Regardless, it seems to be another example of how one end (killing Westerners) will justify seemingly endless means for those who are a part of al-Qaida-affiliated organizations.
Foiled terror plot article
