[1]: http://www.kennymartin.com/
Well, Kenny’s been talking a lot about how he wants to be a writer when he grows up. So now he has to blog three posts a week. Poor kid. :)
He likes it, though. I told him he’ll need practice, and the technology part helps make it interesting. And the fact that friends and family can take a peek at what he’s up to and comment back will help him along, I think. Hint. ;)
Anyway, see what’s on his brilliant ten year old mind at [www.kennymartin.com][1].
[1]: http://www.startribune.com/1592/story/398396.html
[2]: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/433153.html
[3]: http://michellemalkin.com/archives/005086.htm
Well, there was one of those important, meaningful protests in town today. A bunch of kids protesting a couple of recruiting offices. Supported by groups like “Socialist Alternative”, they came to share their anti-war perspective. Is that bad in itself? No way. They should be free to express themselves… Freedom of Speech and all, right?
Well, the protest itself is so iconic it’s pretty useless as a method to meaningfully express the intended viewpoint. But what *was* revealed was interesting.
[1]: http://www.consumer-culture.org/
[2]: http://www.maclaurin.org/
My friends at [The MacLaurin Institute][2] are helping to bring the [“Christianity in a Consumer Culture” conference][1] to the U of M campus this weekend. I might try to take in some little bit of it, though Kenny got strep (again), so that will mix up the weekend a bit. Looks like good stuff, though. From the supporting website:
> Consumerism is the driving force in our society—a spirit of our age. It is enmeshed within the fabric of our society. There are many critics to consumerism—those who are rightly concerned about the destructiveness of consumerism when it comes to economic justice or environmental issues. However, consumerism also reaches deep into the heart of American spirituality. Consumerism shapes the way we relate to each other, to our society, and to our God. Christians need to intentionally and carefully navigate our consumer culture, responding to its dangerous complexities with a deepening awareness of its promises and perils. The Conference on Christianity and the Consumer Culture will be both informative, fostering a deeper understanding of consumerism and its role within our society, as well as formative, providing strategies for faithful living in light of the promises and perils inherent to our consumer culture.
>
> Towards this end, we will bring together Christian thinkers and practitioners who will offer analysis of the way our consumer culture shapes Christianity in America as we cultivate practices which will help us faithfully respond to Consumerism as a driving force in our society.
I’d go, but I have some shopping to do.
Kidding! Consider it if you’re interested. Maybe I’ll see you there.
[1]: http://www.helenmartin.com/?p=96
I was going to chronicle my epic, nearly week long struggle with Qwest and USFamily.net, but I think I just need to let the whole episode slip into fading history. We’re back up and [Helen has posted something about it][1], so I think I’ll leave it lay.
However, I do want to congratulate modern corporate society for the invention and skillful implementation of the Customer Service Moat: a carefully crafted network of automated answering services and half-informed first tier customer “service” staff whose purpose is to ensure that no one penetrate too deeply into the corporate castle. Never have I so clearly and so often heard the auditory equivalent of the blank stare. Modern physics is wrong; energy can be turned into nothing.
Please, someone somewhere… please note that I will always try powering down the modem before I run to the phone for the pleasure of the customer service experience.
[1]: http://www.springwise.com/entertainment/popup_drivein_movies/
[2]: http://www.robparks.com/
When I see things like [this][1], I think “cool”, “I should do that” (yeah, sure, in my spare time), and “that is so [Rob][2].”
**UPDATE:** Under construction?! Shame on you, Rob. :)
[1]: http://www.eastsidereviewnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=64&SubSectionID=130&ArticleID=519
[2]: http://www.eastsidereviewnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=64&subsectionID=130&articleID=520
[3]: http://www.eastsidereviewnews.com/
[4]: http://www.ci.maplewood.mn.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={E3469DC0-711F-4E1E-BA97-9F58834A3A4E}&DE={3644121E-D861-4AE0-8EFD-F91F1FE06557}
Lately I’ve really enjoyed perusing the local “neighborhood” paper, [The East Side Review][3]. Seeing all the local little things that escape notice in the larger metro area, scanning the police blotter, looking at the ads; it’s all interesting.
Yesterday, I was almost giggling over the coverage over what seems to be a pretty big deal and which plainly has stoked passions: “[Surprise! East Side activist named interim Maplewood manager][1]”. The best I can tell, the Maplewood city council newly has a Republican majority and Mayor Diana Longrie is also a Republican. The city administrator Richard Fursman, who seems not to be, has been fired. Apparently, the mayor and city administrator were not getting along. And Greg Copeland is the surprise *interim* replacement city administrator. An “activist”! Oh no!
Copeland seems to be a long-time, persistent conservative in a region where conservatism isn’t necessarily very cool. (Well, conservatism is actually way cooler. Some folks are just out of touch.) And he may very well be an activist. But it was odd to see the label. I didn’t notice anyone else labeled similarly.
Anyway, I could be completely wrong, but my perception was that author and managing editor Holly Wenzel seems displeased about the firing of the Fursman.
If you read the article, I wonder if you can figure out a substantive reason Fursman was fired. I expect the answer would come back to me “well, no one knows… there *is* no good reason” as this was alluded to in the article. Still, is there really *nothing* to find concerning this? What was the history like since January? What were the city council meetings like? What policies is the mayor wishing to change that Fursman supported? A brief peek through the city council minutes makes me wonder if wetlands/public use/property rights might be a point where they differed.
Sure, that’s a bit of homework, and maybe too much to expect from a small local paper. But then you find the companion story on the jump, “[Greg Copeland, too, has been ousted from office][2]”. Well, apparently *some* research was done then! Go back ten years and we find he was fired, and printed right there is a selection from “a long laundry list of 25 alleged improprieties”.
How odd. Why print a ten year old list of *allegations* about the Republican newcomer, but print nothing negative and no allegations about the fellow actually being fired?
Or, oft-quoted council member Will Rossbach has run for mayor, and Copeland has run for House and Senate, but only Copeland is noted as losing his bids. (Rossbach did, too, and had he garnered just a few hundred more votes, this story could be quite different.)
Since I’m a bit busy due to our internet outage, here’s a couple of little keyboard tricks for Mac:
– function-delete deletes forward instead of backwards
– option-delete deletes a whole word backwards
Thrilling, eh? Well, I couldn’t find them online when I wanted them, so there you go.
[1]: http://www.helenmartin.com/
[Helen][1] and I have not been able to post lately because we’re suffering a severe case of Pass The Buck Crossfire, where both the phone company and the ISP say “it’s not our fault your DSL is down.” Down for three days now. Seriously. Ugh.
**UPDATE:** For a few glorious hours yesterday, it was working. In fact, working better (faster) than ever. This only after a lot of time on the phone and getting a “Tier 2” support person who herself had to go to “Tier 3”. But, alas, I woke up this morning to no connection. Back to the phones.
If one more tech person asks me if I have rebooted my modem, you will need to visit me in prison.
Q: How many people with ADD does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: HEY! Let’s ride bikes!!!
[1]: http://www.faithtacoma.org/sermons/Revising_Communion/communion.htm
[2]: http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1605
[3]: http://www.kpmartin.com/?p=71
After **[The Lord’s Supper – Part 1][3]**, I spent some time wandering the internet in search of how folks have come to their opinions on whether wine should be used in the Lord’s Supper. I found a number of things which I’d like to follow up on and add to what I’ve started here.
###”It really wasn’t wine.”
One resource I found was the web site of a Baptist church. I have chosen not to link to their web site because I do not wish to single out any one fellowship. They are not unique in their view, and I intend to address what they argue in a very generic sense.
The foundation for their stance was that “To [assert Jesus turned water into wine] makes the Lord Jesus to put an intoxicating drink to the lips of his neighbors in clear violation of scripture,” and so it must have been juice used at the Lord’s Supper, too. They even go so far as to have a header called “The Absolute Prohibition of Proverbs 23:29-31” which reads: