Blog Entries

Thoughts on Freedom...

gabe

I've been thinking about freedom lately, and what it means to be free. Brooke and I have talked about this some and we've discussed what society means when it uses the word "freedom." For example, we were watching the movie Definitely, Maybe last night and there was a quick line about freedom. Being a romantic comedy [...]

Is It Worth It... Food Or Fuel

matt

Remember the good ol' days when the only impact my energy use had on the global food supply was a long and distorted series of causal effects? You know, I drive and it heats up the earth and then El Nino is more violent somehow and that affects Mexican corn supply which affects tortilla production... which creates a real catch-22 when I drive long distances to buy a bu [...]

pins and needles! pins and needles!

eric

if anyone remembers pigman shouting “pins and needles, pins and needles” in the “great” film PCU back in the 90’s, you may remember it was because he found a movie that had both michael caine and gene hackman in it. it was the conclusion to his college thesis [i’m not going to explain how…just watch the old filthy movie yourself if you ca [...]

Changelujah

eric

this past november i posted about the film 'what would jesus buy? ' which was playing in select theaters around the country. it was a hard film to find for most people, but it has thankfully hit DVD today. the films producers have also created a nifty little discusion guide that goes with the film and i wanted to get that to anyone who was interested.

some [...]

More Compassion Fatigue (ironically)...

gabe

An article on Time.com tells about the fatigue that many people are feeling over the past few weeks. On this site this fatigue has been called 'compassion fatigue'; Time calls it 'disaster fatigue'. The sources for this fatigue are often seen to stem from two places: overexposure by the media and over-solicitation by charitable organizations. It's also a term referring to overworked physicians or caretakers, and to oversimplify the situation, th [...]

Compassion Fatigue (Part II)

gabe

Something strange has been happening the last two days. It is insignificant in our everyday lives, our eating and drinking and working and sleeping lives. Yet, the ramifications of this phenomenon are far-reaching, and hold sway over what

it means to be human, especially what it means to be human in the 21st century.

Cyclone Nargis, one of the deadliest cyclones in history, struck Burma early this month. Last week, international ire and frustration arose a [...]

43

gabe

Psalm 43

Send out your light and your truth;

let them lead me;

two moments observed, one beautiful and both infinitely sad.

The middle school andhigh school kids in the town where I live start school at the absurdly early time of 7:20 in the morning. I often go for runs between 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning and so I often see kids on their way to school. Here are two things I’ve seen.

Life and Death on the Playground

I posted this essay elsewhere on rednow, but I spend more times reading blogs here than other stuff, so I thought I'd post it here too in case you use the site like me.

Danny Schwa [...]

Why is this so hard when the reward is so great?

sherwood

I have recently been a part of a couple professional situations where folks in positions of leadership have made strong decisive moves that have had big fallout. Their moves have caused pain and confusion for people closeto me. I don't want to blog about the ins and outs of their particular decisions. In each situation, a case could be made for both sides.

What I want to blog about is this. In each case, there were significant fac [...]

Wounds...

gabe

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
   and by night, but I find no rest...

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet --
I can count all my bones --
they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them, and for [...]

Valley of the Shadow of Death...

gabe

Note: This journal is part of a larger work, selections of which I'll post from time to time...

Psalm XXIII
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still

waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your [...]

the Effects of Violence

matt

My mom always told me not to hit other because it "wasn't nice." But what if violence is more than just a social faux pas. Maybe there's more to the effects of violence than just the obvious. Maybe MLK, Ghandi and Jesus knew something that we are still figuring out. An A.P. story caught my attention this morning as I browsed Yahoo news. The headline read "Report: 121 Veterans Linked to Killings." You can follow the link to read the articl [...]

Favorite Film Discoveries of 2007

thom

At the end of every year, throughout the month of December I have the ubiquitous “top ten” list conversations with many friends. I admit I have never really understood the desire to create one, which is not to say I haven’t made a few of my own. A list such as this seems to be much more telling about the person who made it. However, I wonder if it is really as “telling” as one may think. It only tells the reader what one liked without telling us the totality of [...]

REDNOW TOP 10: (Surprising) Stories of 2007

dswanson

Just like the tacky decorations in my neighborhood are a sign that Christmas is around the corner, the ubiquity of Top-10, End-Of-The-Year style lists is an unmistakable reminder that one year is about to blur into the next. I generally like the lists more [...]

getting rid of...

eric

i stood in the check-out lane of my local grocery store, my items just scanned through the register: one box of hostess ding-dongs [for throwing, not eating...long story], one box of city trash bags and two bundles of city yard-waste bags for the piling leaves in my yard.

“$33.99” reported the cashier. she looked down at the small pile of things i was purchasing and said, “it’s ridiculous how much it costs to get rid of something, isn’t it?”

Thanksgiving

sherwood

�� It's Thanksgiving time. For a lot of us, that might not mean much more than food, football and getting up bizarrely early on Friday to go shopping. Still, I bet most of us have at least a moment or two where we stop and think about whatwe're really thankful for, perhaps even who we are thankful to.
� �� English writer and Catholic, G.K. Chesterton said, "The moment of crisis for an athiest (and he had formerly been one) is to find oneself thankful, with no on [...]

two films, a sitcom, and the most beautiful song of the year

dswanson

I like rhythm and routine. I like knowing the plan. Better yet, I like making the plan. My friends and family could tell you some of the neurotic symptoms of this type of personality, but one of the benefits is the margin that allows for reflection. Rhythm and routine generally allow for time to look around, pay attention, notice how things connect.

It's been a month at least since I've had that kind of margin. I'm currently experiencing the ty [...]