I checked my work email before my personal one this morning, like a good little drone, and when I saw an email from myself, my stomach really dropped. Then when I checked my gmail, nearly every message was from someone who'd gotten a slice of spam from me. It was actually kind of nice to see the names of so many people who are in my contacts but whom I hadn't talked to in a while.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Spam-a-Lot
Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time, I have been majorly spammed. Did I click on anything suspicious? Not that I remember. However it happened, it did. So, please, please, please do not click on any links you receive in emails from me in the next couple of days. Ugh, I just feel icky, like I need another shower. Gross. Also, I do not know much about spam, so I did only what Google prompted me to do, which was just change my password. It's crazy awesome and un-guessable now. Is there anything else I need to do? Please let me know if you get any other sketch-o emails from me, and I apologize a lot if the episode has affected your account or computer at all.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Various Musings
I missed the first half of The Soup tonight, which was okay, but then after it, this awful show about hoaxes (or something) came on! It was one of those bandage-face people! Where was Fashion Police?! We didn't know. So I went to 27 because it's first on my channel-flipping rotation (27, 35, 39, 40, 45, 55, 58, 65, 66, 76. Wanna guess what they are?), and it was Mamma Mia! at about halfway through. I like it. Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Meryl Streep together? Yes, please? And did I mention Colin Firth? So that's what I'm doing as I type this.
News flash: the world is not ending tomorrow. The guy who says that, and organizes the people to put up the billboards, etc., he said it was happening in 1994. Somehow, he retained his followers or got new ones even after that fail. His explanation was that he hadn't read parts of the Bible closely enough.
A five-year study published by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice has revealed the cause of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members. Homosexuality and celibacy are not the causes, they said very emphatically. The reason many, many Catholic leaders have molested children is THE UPHEAVAL OF THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES. No joke. That's what the study said. Its detractors call it "The Woodstock Defense." I appreciate that they don't want to demonize homosexuality or celibacy, but really? Everyone went through those decades, and very few people reacted by sexually abusing children. My theory on why the study took five years is that they came up with an answer after one or two, and someone didn't like the answer (I don't recall whether the study was commissioned by the Church), and they took the remaining years to come up with something, and because the funding was running out, they panicked and said what they said. I think it offends my intelligence. To be clear, I haven't read the study and don't know many details. I suppose there could be some more-convinving evidence. But just from what I know now, I'm very disappointed in everyone involved.
I woke up the other morning with a book in my bed. It was Understanding Comics. I hadn't read it in months. It's second-closest on the bookshelf right next to the bed, which makes it not completely bizarre, but I had no recollection of taking it from the shelf or wanting to. I figure I was grabbing for something in a dream and grabbed the book in real life.
This afternoon, I was thinking of what to wear tomorrow and remembered a shirt I hadn't worn in a few weeks. Then this evening, as I shook out my clean sheets while making the bed, I found that shirt wrinkled up in one of the corners of the fitted sheet! It had been folded up in the closet with the sheets for weeks. I laughed out loud.
I've been seeing things a little differently as seminary draws near. For instance, the management section at Barnes & Noble suddenly means at least a little something to me. Not that I'm all "I'm a manager of the church," but surely some of those books have valuable lessons for leaders of all stripes, and I guess a leader is what I'm gonna be. This may stem partly from the fact that I've seen the management book Good to Great on many pastors' shelves, specifically in the summer of 2005, which made me think the conference or district I was in at the time had all the pastors read it. I remember being surprised but interested in how it was used.
I got a tiny Hebrew lesson from my roommate today, which gave me an idea of how much I'm going to be learning this summer. I'm slowly shedding books, papers, clothes, and other items to prepare for the move. Three more weeks of work! Then a big party, camp, logistics galore, packing, and we're off. Thank and praise God.
News flash: the world is not ending tomorrow. The guy who says that, and organizes the people to put up the billboards, etc., he said it was happening in 1994. Somehow, he retained his followers or got new ones even after that fail. His explanation was that he hadn't read parts of the Bible closely enough.
A five-year study published by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice has revealed the cause of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members. Homosexuality and celibacy are not the causes, they said very emphatically. The reason many, many Catholic leaders have molested children is THE UPHEAVAL OF THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES. No joke. That's what the study said. Its detractors call it "The Woodstock Defense." I appreciate that they don't want to demonize homosexuality or celibacy, but really? Everyone went through those decades, and very few people reacted by sexually abusing children. My theory on why the study took five years is that they came up with an answer after one or two, and someone didn't like the answer (I don't recall whether the study was commissioned by the Church), and they took the remaining years to come up with something, and because the funding was running out, they panicked and said what they said. I think it offends my intelligence. To be clear, I haven't read the study and don't know many details. I suppose there could be some more-convinving evidence. But just from what I know now, I'm very disappointed in everyone involved.
I woke up the other morning with a book in my bed. It was Understanding Comics. I hadn't read it in months. It's second-closest on the bookshelf right next to the bed, which makes it not completely bizarre, but I had no recollection of taking it from the shelf or wanting to. I figure I was grabbing for something in a dream and grabbed the book in real life.
This afternoon, I was thinking of what to wear tomorrow and remembered a shirt I hadn't worn in a few weeks. Then this evening, as I shook out my clean sheets while making the bed, I found that shirt wrinkled up in one of the corners of the fitted sheet! It had been folded up in the closet with the sheets for weeks. I laughed out loud.
I've been seeing things a little differently as seminary draws near. For instance, the management section at Barnes & Noble suddenly means at least a little something to me. Not that I'm all "I'm a manager of the church," but surely some of those books have valuable lessons for leaders of all stripes, and I guess a leader is what I'm gonna be. This may stem partly from the fact that I've seen the management book Good to Great on many pastors' shelves, specifically in the summer of 2005, which made me think the conference or district I was in at the time had all the pastors read it. I remember being surprised but interested in how it was used.
I got a tiny Hebrew lesson from my roommate today, which gave me an idea of how much I'm going to be learning this summer. I'm slowly shedding books, papers, clothes, and other items to prepare for the move. Three more weeks of work! Then a big party, camp, logistics galore, packing, and we're off. Thank and praise God.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Janus Jesus
I had a really, really good time at my parents' house last weekend, as I almost always do there. If any young people are reading this, please take note that this is what happens when you grow up, probably. There's a good chance your parents will become exponentially more fun once you're out of the house, etc.
As I mentioned in my post from there, we watched both Godspell and Jesus Christ, Superstar because they were kind enough to hold onto them on DVR for a couple weeks. I had seen Godspell as a live show numerous times, including the time I was in it (what?! That's right), but never the movie. I had never seen JCS but knew some of the music because we have the songbook for piano and there was a time when I'd play almost anything for fun. Sidebar: I really look forward to working in churches because I'll pretty much always have access to a piano. Look out, Broadway! Or Rum Runners!
There were many cool things about watching these back to back. First, the movies came out in the same year! 1973. It's like Antz and A Bug's Life, or Armageddon and Deep Impact, or 30Rock and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, or ER and Chicago Hope, which are all eerily similar for things that came out at the same time. These two movies are similar on that level, of course, but very different. JCS focuses a lot on the persecution Jesus faced, Judas is a major character, and you get quite a lot of the minor key. Godspell is like the rainbow-sunshine version of the story. It has serious moments and is thought-provoking at points, but it's mostly just an enjoyable and fun experience.
This is where Janus comes in. Janus is the Roman god of transitions and beginnings, and hence of doorways, gates, doors, endings, and time, according to Wikipedia. He is usually depicted with two faces, facing in opposite directions. I'm reminded of him when I think of Godspell and JCS together, because Jesus does have two sides, and then some. But the cool thing is, as far as I can tell, it's the same face repeated. Janus is not like Jekkyl and Hyde or Twoface, with one good and one bad side. So, the past and the future are both good. Jesus persecuted and Jesus rejoicing are both good. That's what makes him different from all other gods, who usually have one salient characteristic. He's a round character, like the people you know, a collection of traits that form a real man.
Another cool thing: Playing Jesus in Godspell was Victor Garber, whom you'll recognize as one of those actors with a solid body of work and few starring roles. What makes it cool, besides just knowing it and how young he is, is that he played the devil in Damn Yankees.
In other trivia, the guy who played Caiaphas in JCS was in a 1993 film called The Nostril Picker. The actor who played Peter also has a career in pornography. There was a 2000 version, and something is in the works for 2014. Exciting!
Also, I read in the archives for work about a musical called Cotton Patch Gospel, which is Jesus' life set in the south. Joe and Mary are headed to Atlanta for a tax audit and, when there's no room at the motel, they have to give birth in a mobile home in Gainesville, Georgia. "Men don't live by grits alone," he will grow up to say. The music is by Harry Chapin. This sounds promising. Has anyone seen it?
As I mentioned in my post from there, we watched both Godspell and Jesus Christ, Superstar because they were kind enough to hold onto them on DVR for a couple weeks. I had seen Godspell as a live show numerous times, including the time I was in it (what?! That's right), but never the movie. I had never seen JCS but knew some of the music because we have the songbook for piano and there was a time when I'd play almost anything for fun. Sidebar: I really look forward to working in churches because I'll pretty much always have access to a piano. Look out, Broadway! Or Rum Runners!
There were many cool things about watching these back to back. First, the movies came out in the same year! 1973. It's like Antz and A Bug's Life, or Armageddon and Deep Impact, or 30Rock and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, or ER and Chicago Hope, which are all eerily similar for things that came out at the same time. These two movies are similar on that level, of course, but very different. JCS focuses a lot on the persecution Jesus faced, Judas is a major character, and you get quite a lot of the minor key. Godspell is like the rainbow-sunshine version of the story. It has serious moments and is thought-provoking at points, but it's mostly just an enjoyable and fun experience.
This is where Janus comes in. Janus is the Roman god of transitions and beginnings, and hence of doorways, gates, doors, endings, and time, according to Wikipedia. He is usually depicted with two faces, facing in opposite directions. I'm reminded of him when I think of Godspell and JCS together, because Jesus does have two sides, and then some. But the cool thing is, as far as I can tell, it's the same face repeated. Janus is not like Jekkyl and Hyde or Twoface, with one good and one bad side. So, the past and the future are both good. Jesus persecuted and Jesus rejoicing are both good. That's what makes him different from all other gods, who usually have one salient characteristic. He's a round character, like the people you know, a collection of traits that form a real man.
Another cool thing: Playing Jesus in Godspell was Victor Garber, whom you'll recognize as one of those actors with a solid body of work and few starring roles. What makes it cool, besides just knowing it and how young he is, is that he played the devil in Damn Yankees.
In other trivia, the guy who played Caiaphas in JCS was in a 1993 film called The Nostril Picker. The actor who played Peter also has a career in pornography. There was a 2000 version, and something is in the works for 2014. Exciting!
Also, I read in the archives for work about a musical called Cotton Patch Gospel, which is Jesus' life set in the south. Joe and Mary are headed to Atlanta for a tax audit and, when there's no room at the motel, they have to give birth in a mobile home in Gainesville, Georgia. "Men don't live by grits alone," he will grow up to say. The music is by Harry Chapin. This sounds promising. Has anyone seen it?
Monday, May 9, 2011
Lundi Links: Useful
Under this category in my Favorites are mostly boring things like my bank and Mapquest and the Weather Channel; you can figure out what you need in that department. But there are a few that you may not know about, things that have come in quite handy.
At http://www.icantfindmyphone.com, you can type in your phone number, and it'll ring for you as you poke around the house playing the hotter-colder game with yourself.
http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com is a pretty ingenious concept. If you have trouble getting to a site, you type in the URL and it tells you whether it's your problem. If only there were a site like that for personal problems.
At http://www.oneacross.com, you can type in the clue that's stumping you in a crossword puzzle, plus the pattern (like, "refined" and "cl***y"). You'll get a list of possible answers rated by likelihood. Whether this is useful, because it aids a relatively non-useful pastime, is debatable, but I like it.
Another site of debatable usefulness, and one I've never actually used but is a cool concept: http://www.filleritem.com helps you find something to get you just over the $25 mark on Amazon so you can get free shipping. Or you could join Amazon Prime and always have it. Or, shop at used book sales instead.
That's it for today. Check back for more Lundi Links next Monday, and maybe a regular post or two in the meantime.
At http://www.icantfindmyphone.com, you can type in your phone number, and it'll ring for you as you poke around the house playing the hotter-colder game with yourself.
http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com is a pretty ingenious concept. If you have trouble getting to a site, you type in the URL and it tells you whether it's your problem. If only there were a site like that for personal problems.
At http://www.oneacross.com, you can type in the clue that's stumping you in a crossword puzzle, plus the pattern (like, "refined" and "cl***y"). You'll get a list of possible answers rated by likelihood. Whether this is useful, because it aids a relatively non-useful pastime, is debatable, but I like it.
Another site of debatable usefulness, and one I've never actually used but is a cool concept: http://www.filleritem.com helps you find something to get you just over the $25 mark on Amazon so you can get free shipping. Or you could join Amazon Prime and always have it. Or, shop at used book sales instead.
That's it for today. Check back for more Lundi Links next Monday, and maybe a regular post or two in the meantime.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Parents' for the Weekend
I cleared my calendar for today and came to Henderson last night so I didn't have to drive all day on Sunday for the brunch extravaganza. My grandmother's turning 80, my brother's 26, and both Munno (that's the grandmother) and Mom are being celebrated for Mothers' Day. So I get to spend the weekend here, watching recorded episodes of The Office and 30Rock (and Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar! God bless DVR), running the shorter but hillier route I've walked or run my whole life, addressing invitations for my cousin's rehearsal dinner, filling the birdfeeders, and playing with Mom's iPad. What a great time we have.
I checked my Union (seminary) email to see if they'd told me about housing. Not yet, but there were multiple emails with prayer requests and praises: this person is getting married, that person's mom has cancer. Also, in the two classes that I visited, the professors asked for prayer requests and prayed before starting class. Manhattan and Austin and Princeton and Frisco are great places to visit; I am going to the perfect place for me. I haven't counted the days yet, but I know it's less than two months until Hebrew class starts. Life is good.
I checked my Union (seminary) email to see if they'd told me about housing. Not yet, but there were multiple emails with prayer requests and praises: this person is getting married, that person's mom has cancer. Also, in the two classes that I visited, the professors asked for prayer requests and prayed before starting class. Manhattan and Austin and Princeton and Frisco are great places to visit; I am going to the perfect place for me. I haven't counted the days yet, but I know it's less than two months until Hebrew class starts. Life is good.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Lundi Links: Art and Visuals
Today's focus for Lundi Links is the sites that make me go "ooh" and "ah" in a purely visual sense.
http://www.guidodaniele.com is the site of an artist who paints mostly on other people's hands. It's awesome stuff.
http://azuregrackle.com/periodictable/table/ is a project that recruited different artists to design prints for each element of the periodic table. Extra points for blending art and science.
http://www.brickartist.com has some very impressive Lego sculptures, including Conan O'Brian.
http://www.abelardomorell.net is the site of a really neat photographer. One of the first things you find is camera obscura work.
At http://irinawerning.com/back-to-the-fut/back-to-the-future/, you can find grown folks reenacting pictures from their childhoods. Cross-reference: Funny.
Five at a time is enough, so that's all for today's Lundi Links. Check back next week for more, and possibly some regular posts in the meantime.
http://www.guidodaniele.com is the site of an artist who paints mostly on other people's hands. It's awesome stuff.
http://azuregrackle.com/periodictable/table/ is a project that recruited different artists to design prints for each element of the periodic table. Extra points for blending art and science.
http://www.brickartist.com has some very impressive Lego sculptures, including Conan O'Brian.
http://www.abelardomorell.net is the site of a really neat photographer. One of the first things you find is camera obscura work.
At http://irinawerning.com/back-to-the-fut/back-to-the-future/, you can find grown folks reenacting pictures from their childhoods. Cross-reference: Funny.
Five at a time is enough, so that's all for today's Lundi Links. Check back next week for more, and possibly some regular posts in the meantime.
A Pilgrim's Progress
I got my first seminary-related book today. I'll be reading What They Don't Tell You: A Survivor's Guide to Biblical Studies over the summer and hashing it out with an online discussion group of other incoming students. I can't go to the face-to-face weekend, but I figure it'll be good to get acquainted with people in cyberspace.
I also sent out an email to some of my Wilmington friends asking for company as I make the rounds of the city's best restaurants, collaboration on a yard sale, and help moving. It took me a long time to get around to it and a long time to compose it, mostly because I didn't want to ask for help moving and because it made the move more real. It seems to get more tangible and ambiguous every day.
I'm extremely excited about going to Richmond. The support and encouragement I've gotten have gone far beyond what people expressed when I went to grad school, which was plenty, so I'm certain that this is the right move, a rare feeling. But going there means leaving Wilmington! Dang it! Who invented that mess? I've never been so sad to leave a place and its people. So my heart is on the heavy side even as it soars.
I also sent out an email to some of my Wilmington friends asking for company as I make the rounds of the city's best restaurants, collaboration on a yard sale, and help moving. It took me a long time to get around to it and a long time to compose it, mostly because I didn't want to ask for help moving and because it made the move more real. It seems to get more tangible and ambiguous every day.
I'm extremely excited about going to Richmond. The support and encouragement I've gotten have gone far beyond what people expressed when I went to grad school, which was plenty, so I'm certain that this is the right move, a rare feeling. But going there means leaving Wilmington! Dang it! Who invented that mess? I've never been so sad to leave a place and its people. So my heart is on the heavy side even as it soars.
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