So I had a legendary moment while working at the Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless today.
The new Fall promotion began today, and so did the push for employees to sell more whole bean coffee. All the machines were also marked down to closeout prices. I happened to be wearing my newly re-acquired Coffee Master apron, which if I were writing a PR piece, would be a symbol of my hard work and dedication to the Coffee Chain's values and beliefs.
Throughout my morning shift, I sold three pounds of coffee to various customers. Now I could attribute this to my looking like I knew something about coffee with the aforementioned apron, which is fancier than normal aprons and black. And I could write how I was setting the example of coffee excellence by not only wearing the Coffee Master Apron, but also selling more than my fair share of beans in one day. Or I could attribute it to being at the right place at the right time, namely behind a register.
Later on in the day, a customer called asking if my store had a pricey espresso machine (normally $1,400 but marked down to $449). I happily said, "Well, yes, I think we do. I can put it aside for you..."
That was very good news to my ears and to the customer's. Apparently, she had to call around to four different stores to find the machine. She and others had chipped in to buy the machine as a wedding present for some happy newlywed couple that would be so happy to have the machine. I helped the customer out to her car with the machine (it's probably 20 lbs or so) and she told me how happy she was to find this. After I put the machine in her car.
She was elated and then gave me a hug before she drove away. Now if this were some puff piece, I might say that I was proud to wear that black apron today. I could say that this was all in a day's work for a Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless Coffee Master. Maybe I could speculate as to how my would not have been as good if I had not worn that apron.
But luckily, for you, this isn't a PR fluff article, and this is the end of the story.
______________________________
I watched The King over the weekend.
Very disturbing. I guess it was a very accurate portrayal of evil? I'm not sure how to take this film. Don't know if there's anything here besides good acting and style that's redeemable.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
A Real Blog Update; Interesting News
Since The Brew is still down, I've some extra time on my hands. And so I thought, why not produce a real blog update? So here's some of the banal stuff I never put up on here when I have more important things to post.
The Brew is still down.
My new running shoes (bought before the car sucked all my money away) are working great. Ran about a mile and a half this afternoon around White Rock Lake (a beautiful lake and park in east Dallas) and loved it. I didn't do more because it was 95 degrees while I ran.
My two new roommates are both teachers at a small Christian school and are back to an early to bed, early to rise schedule. Whenever I close at The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless, I get up too late to see them (7:30 a.m.) and come home too late to see them (9:30-10 p.m.). It's like I've got a two bedroom all to myself.
I tried the new blueberries and cream 'beverage' with shots of espresso blended in. I woulda thought it'd be nasty, but I'm hooked now. It's really good.
I'm reading through The Man Who Was Thursday by Chesterton for the classics club at my church. It's great. When The Brew gets back to normal, I'll refer you to a great article about this book in the January issue by my bud Kevin.
I ate black beans and rice for dinner tonight. I'll probably eat the same thing tomorrow night again, since I have a new, my-car-sucked-all-my-money-away budget.
I can't go see Muse when they come to Dallas in September (again, the budget). But, MuteMath will be back here in November at the smoke-free House Of Blues. Hoorah.
My family decided to host another exchange student this year. So when I go home for Thanksgiving, I'll have a 16-year-old brother from China named Teng.
-----------------------------------------------------
Here's some interesting news stories I found this last week:
Aquafina bottled water comes straight from the tap.
Some messiness where TV journalism crosses the line into invasion of privacy and why NBC's Dateline program is in hot water because of their 'To Catch a Predator' series.
The Brew is still down.
My new running shoes (bought before the car sucked all my money away) are working great. Ran about a mile and a half this afternoon around White Rock Lake (a beautiful lake and park in east Dallas) and loved it. I didn't do more because it was 95 degrees while I ran.
My two new roommates are both teachers at a small Christian school and are back to an early to bed, early to rise schedule. Whenever I close at The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless, I get up too late to see them (7:30 a.m.) and come home too late to see them (9:30-10 p.m.). It's like I've got a two bedroom all to myself.
I tried the new blueberries and cream 'beverage' with shots of espresso blended in. I woulda thought it'd be nasty, but I'm hooked now. It's really good.
I'm reading through The Man Who Was Thursday by Chesterton for the classics club at my church. It's great. When The Brew gets back to normal, I'll refer you to a great article about this book in the January issue by my bud Kevin.
I ate black beans and rice for dinner tonight. I'll probably eat the same thing tomorrow night again, since I have a new, my-car-sucked-all-my-money-away budget.
I can't go see Muse when they come to Dallas in September (again, the budget). But, MuteMath will be back here in November at the smoke-free House Of Blues. Hoorah.
My family decided to host another exchange student this year. So when I go home for Thanksgiving, I'll have a 16-year-old brother from China named Teng.
-----------------------------------------------------
Here's some interesting news stories I found this last week:
Aquafina bottled water comes straight from the tap.
Some messiness where TV journalism crosses the line into invasion of privacy and why NBC's Dateline program is in hot water because of their 'To Catch a Predator' series.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Tears of Joy
So I nearly cried during church this morning. I think it was for a couple of reasons.
There was a lot of stuff happening that had built to a climax and it just came together during one of the most refreshing worship services I’ve been to in a long time.
That service was at my church but was different than usual because the associate pastor, who was recently put in charge of structuring the worship service, preached today. In all honesty, this associate pastor is one of the main reasons that I stayed at my church. It was great to worship in the service he put together and then also hear him preach. And that last sentence might be the first time I’ve used ‘worship’ to describe something that I’ve done, rather than some nebulous concept.
What made this moment so encouraging and humbling was my past week. Earlier in the week, some hackers broke into the server that hosts The Brew, my online magazine, and did some royal technical damage (Here is what it looks like now). My friend, who takes care of the technical side of The Brew, told me that we might have to restart the magazine. This could mean that I would have to repost and re-enter all the articles and author profiles from the last ten months. We’d be pretty much starting over.
About the same time, my ’99 Hyundai Elantra decided to start overheating. I had some people from church check it out and we tried some small solutions to fix it, though they ultimately didn’t work. So I took my car, which has survived three 1,000-mile, cross country drives, in to the shop to get fixed. They told me that I needed a new water pump and thermostat. They also needed to replace my timing belt, which they said they had to replace after removing it (in order to replace the water pump). The boss at the Meineke store I took my car to told me that he would eat the cost of the belt (including the labor, which was over $70/hr) because he had already had to call me once to add on more parts/charges.
More than $600 later, my car was working, but I had to adjust my plans for a ‘mystery outing’ for the college group that I help out with. I cancelled the dinner I had planned and instead planned to go to a coffee house that had bad coffee but good live music. And for a while, I wasn’t sure anyone would come, because I hadn’t heard any response. I was almost ready to have no one show up and be ready to do something else that night.
But lo and behold, at the set time, they show up and we have a very cool night.
I got to thinking about all the problems that came up this week and the some of the wrong thoughts that came up. A good friend of mine kept calling throughout the week to see how I was doing because he knew of my past with depression. And then I realized how all the strife of this week could have crippled me or sent me into a depressive state. I could have thought that I was overwhelmed with all that was going wrong. I could have thought that I was stuck and helpless to do anything.
But what happened instead: people from my church were very willing to help me with my car. Guys from a church-less Bible study I go to kept checking on me to see how I was doing and offer encouragement. I saw how community works. I saw how the church should work. And I saw how car troubles or magazine glitches didn’t set me off like they could have.
So I guess that is rolling with the punches. Or maturing. Or getting even further down the road from things that could bring back depression.
And that is definitely something that warrants tears of joy.
There was a lot of stuff happening that had built to a climax and it just came together during one of the most refreshing worship services I’ve been to in a long time.
That service was at my church but was different than usual because the associate pastor, who was recently put in charge of structuring the worship service, preached today. In all honesty, this associate pastor is one of the main reasons that I stayed at my church. It was great to worship in the service he put together and then also hear him preach. And that last sentence might be the first time I’ve used ‘worship’ to describe something that I’ve done, rather than some nebulous concept.
What made this moment so encouraging and humbling was my past week. Earlier in the week, some hackers broke into the server that hosts The Brew, my online magazine, and did some royal technical damage (Here is what it looks like now). My friend, who takes care of the technical side of The Brew, told me that we might have to restart the magazine. This could mean that I would have to repost and re-enter all the articles and author profiles from the last ten months. We’d be pretty much starting over.
About the same time, my ’99 Hyundai Elantra decided to start overheating. I had some people from church check it out and we tried some small solutions to fix it, though they ultimately didn’t work. So I took my car, which has survived three 1,000-mile, cross country drives, in to the shop to get fixed. They told me that I needed a new water pump and thermostat. They also needed to replace my timing belt, which they said they had to replace after removing it (in order to replace the water pump). The boss at the Meineke store I took my car to told me that he would eat the cost of the belt (including the labor, which was over $70/hr) because he had already had to call me once to add on more parts/charges.
More than $600 later, my car was working, but I had to adjust my plans for a ‘mystery outing’ for the college group that I help out with. I cancelled the dinner I had planned and instead planned to go to a coffee house that had bad coffee but good live music. And for a while, I wasn’t sure anyone would come, because I hadn’t heard any response. I was almost ready to have no one show up and be ready to do something else that night.
But lo and behold, at the set time, they show up and we have a very cool night.
I got to thinking about all the problems that came up this week and the some of the wrong thoughts that came up. A good friend of mine kept calling throughout the week to see how I was doing because he knew of my past with depression. And then I realized how all the strife of this week could have crippled me or sent me into a depressive state. I could have thought that I was overwhelmed with all that was going wrong. I could have thought that I was stuck and helpless to do anything.
But what happened instead: people from my church were very willing to help me with my car. Guys from a church-less Bible study I go to kept checking on me to see how I was doing and offer encouragement. I saw how community works. I saw how the church should work. And I saw how car troubles or magazine glitches didn’t set me off like they could have.
So I guess that is rolling with the punches. Or maturing. Or getting even further down the road from things that could bring back depression.
And that is definitely something that warrants tears of joy.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Brouhaha on The Brew; Texas Heat
So someone hacked into the server that hosts The Brew, which is currently unable to be viewed. Our large technical staff of 1 is working to move The Brew onto a different server and fix whatever problems happened when the hacks hacked in. We should have it all back together pretty soon.
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The full force of a Texas summer is here. So far, most of this summer has been cooler, due to almost constant rain showers. But the showers have cleared up and let in the heat, bringing the temps back to normal, with highs of 104 and 105 (without the heat index).
So I'm getting used to sweating through most of my clothes and having to wash them all the more.
The heat is also taking it's toll on my car, conditioned in the icy winters of Illinois. This week my '99 Hyundai decided to start overheating. I'm pretty sure it's something with the engine coolant system because I keep shoving water and coolant into my car, with no visible effects.
Luckily, I mass texted people I knew down here and found out someone from church knows cars (and also bought a new Hyundai recently). The guy is coming by today to check it out. I'm hoping it's not a big thing like a water pump or compressor. But time will tell.
---------------------------
The full force of a Texas summer is here. So far, most of this summer has been cooler, due to almost constant rain showers. But the showers have cleared up and let in the heat, bringing the temps back to normal, with highs of 104 and 105 (without the heat index).
So I'm getting used to sweating through most of my clothes and having to wash them all the more.
The heat is also taking it's toll on my car, conditioned in the icy winters of Illinois. This week my '99 Hyundai decided to start overheating. I'm pretty sure it's something with the engine coolant system because I keep shoving water and coolant into my car, with no visible effects.
Luckily, I mass texted people I knew down here and found out someone from church knows cars (and also bought a new Hyundai recently). The guy is coming by today to check it out. I'm hoping it's not a big thing like a water pump or compressor. But time will tell.
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Living Conflict; Soup Kitchen; Fellowship Church
I just posted new author Daniel Burnham's "The Living Conflict" on The Brew. It's a look at the continuous conflict for anyone who believes in Christ.
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There’s nothing like serving in a run-down, grimy soup kitchen to get your mind off your own depressed, narcissistic self.
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Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX
Saturday night I went to this church with my friend Trent and his wife, Sarah. We do this periodically to see what all is out in the DFW area. We both have our own smaller churches that we’re committed to but enjoy experiencing other churches and then discussing them.
So we thought we’d tackle the mega-churches, which is why we went to Fellowship, perhaps the largest mega-church in DFW, or possibly Texas. Ed Young is the pastor, but he was on vacation this week. We’re all naturally cynical, having gone to Bible school and having experienced what we would consider to be ‘real’ church at our smaller congregations. We tried to be fair, but we couldn’t get away from being skeptics.
The best way to describe it may be to just write about some glimpses.
I visited the restroom and was treated to “Now is The Time” by Delirious? playing through speakers. I thought, it’d been a while since I heard them.
There were five Grapevine cops in and around the church, watching the crowds or directing traffic.
The kid’s wing of the church was a friggin’ amusement park, with a Sea World-lookin walkway, classrooms entrances that looked like rollercoaster waiting lines. There was a fifty-foot tall enchanted castle with a waterfall flowing down the middle. There was enough sensory overload to hook a kid, and drive them to bug their parents until the parents brought the kid back.
The worship service used only one familiar song, while the others seemed to be just ways for the worship team to perform. And did they ever. It was a slick production and impressive. At the beginning of the set, the worship leader, who looked like a mix between Prince and Seal, said, “Look around you at the beautiful people all around you.” This was the lead in to have everyone greet each other.
The spookiest part was as we were leaving, and had Silversun Pickups playing was we left the parking lot. A song played and the lyrics started off like this:
“So much for the light show
pissing on while pissing off
sucking in a smokescreen
selling of a loose knit dream”
It was hard to not compare the lyrics to what we had just experienced. That was trippy.
-----------------------
There’s nothing like serving in a run-down, grimy soup kitchen to get your mind off your own depressed, narcissistic self.
--------------------------------------
Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX
Saturday night I went to this church with my friend Trent and his wife, Sarah. We do this periodically to see what all is out in the DFW area. We both have our own smaller churches that we’re committed to but enjoy experiencing other churches and then discussing them.
So we thought we’d tackle the mega-churches, which is why we went to Fellowship, perhaps the largest mega-church in DFW, or possibly Texas. Ed Young is the pastor, but he was on vacation this week. We’re all naturally cynical, having gone to Bible school and having experienced what we would consider to be ‘real’ church at our smaller congregations. We tried to be fair, but we couldn’t get away from being skeptics.
The best way to describe it may be to just write about some glimpses.
I visited the restroom and was treated to “Now is The Time” by Delirious? playing through speakers. I thought, it’d been a while since I heard them.
There were five Grapevine cops in and around the church, watching the crowds or directing traffic.
The kid’s wing of the church was a friggin’ amusement park, with a Sea World-lookin walkway, classrooms entrances that looked like rollercoaster waiting lines. There was a fifty-foot tall enchanted castle with a waterfall flowing down the middle. There was enough sensory overload to hook a kid, and drive them to bug their parents until the parents brought the kid back.
The worship service used only one familiar song, while the others seemed to be just ways for the worship team to perform. And did they ever. It was a slick production and impressive. At the beginning of the set, the worship leader, who looked like a mix between Prince and Seal, said, “Look around you at the beautiful people all around you.” This was the lead in to have everyone greet each other.
The spookiest part was as we were leaving, and had Silversun Pickups playing was we left the parking lot. A song played and the lyrics started off like this:
“So much for the light show
pissing on while pissing off
sucking in a smokescreen
selling of a loose knit dream”
It was hard to not compare the lyrics to what we had just experienced. That was trippy.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
African Conflicts on The Brew; No News
I just posted Kevin Schwartz's "An African Conflict Even Witch Doctors Stay Away From" on The Brew. It's a humbling look at church conflicts in Africa and how it is resolved.
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I've been thinking of what to blog about. I had a similar problem while talking to someone on the phone today. They asked what's up. I had to think for a while. Most everything has been going pretty well. Church is good. The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless is good. The Brew is exceeding my expectations. My roommates are cool.
I guess no news is good news.
---------------
I've been thinking of what to blog about. I had a similar problem while talking to someone on the phone today. They asked what's up. I had to think for a while. Most everything has been going pretty well. Church is good. The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless is good. The Brew is exceeding my expectations. My roommates are cool.
I guess no news is good news.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Blog-fighting on The Brew; Kierkegaard on Adventure
I just posted new author Dale Harris' "Theology, The Internet and Conflict-Loving Conservatives" article, which is a great example of the dark side of online community.
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I read Kierkegaard again and was very encouraged by his ideas about venturing out in faith. I thought about these quotes and how they made so much sense when I thought of well The Brew is doing.
"We delude ourselves into thinking that to refrain from venturing is modesty, and that it must please God as humility. No,no! Not to venture means to make a fool of God--because all he is waiting for is that you go forth."
"A person can distress the spirit by venturing too much. Yet there is comfort in knowing that discipline will surely come and will help him if he honestly humbles himself under it. But a person can also distress the spirit by venturing too little. Alas, but this comes home to him only after a long time, perhaps after many years when he is living in the security he sought by avoiding danger. Now he must experience the truth that he was untrue to himself. Perhaps it does not come until old age, perhaps not until eternity. In any case, the thing to do about venturing too little is to admit humbly before God that you are coddling yourself.
Unless you do this, you will begin to imagine that what you are doing is mighty clever--alas, for then you are lost forever. At that very moment the eternal flickers out, our relationship with God closes up, the truth in you dies, and you become untrue. If, on the other hand, you make the humble admission--perhaps you are sick and therefore despondent, perhaps you are too hard in judging yourself--you at least preserve your relationship to God. Your admission will keep you awake and alert, and will not permit you to become happy in a clearly purchased security, distanced from danger. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps in a year, faith and confident boldness will rise up in you and you will once again be able to venture."
---------------
I read Kierkegaard again and was very encouraged by his ideas about venturing out in faith. I thought about these quotes and how they made so much sense when I thought of well The Brew is doing.
"We delude ourselves into thinking that to refrain from venturing is modesty, and that it must please God as humility. No,no! Not to venture means to make a fool of God--because all he is waiting for is that you go forth."
"A person can distress the spirit by venturing too much. Yet there is comfort in knowing that discipline will surely come and will help him if he honestly humbles himself under it. But a person can also distress the spirit by venturing too little. Alas, but this comes home to him only after a long time, perhaps after many years when he is living in the security he sought by avoiding danger. Now he must experience the truth that he was untrue to himself. Perhaps it does not come until old age, perhaps not until eternity. In any case, the thing to do about venturing too little is to admit humbly before God that you are coddling yourself.
Unless you do this, you will begin to imagine that what you are doing is mighty clever--alas, for then you are lost forever. At that very moment the eternal flickers out, our relationship with God closes up, the truth in you dies, and you become untrue. If, on the other hand, you make the humble admission--perhaps you are sick and therefore despondent, perhaps you are too hard in judging yourself--you at least preserve your relationship to God. Your admission will keep you awake and alert, and will not permit you to become happy in a clearly purchased security, distanced from danger. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps in a year, faith and confident boldness will rise up in you and you will once again be able to venture."
Thursday, August 02, 2007
August's Brew
August's Brew has begun. I posted this month's editorial on conflict on The Brew today.
Monday, July 30, 2007
New Brews; Film Faux Pauxs
Over the weekend and today, I posted Jane Does'"When SHE Struggles"and Lonnie Smith's "Talk To Your Kids About Sex, Dammit!".
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So I went to two movies on Sunday. And each time, I made some kind of mistake that was pretty stinking funny.
The first happened when I purchased a ticket at a automated kiosk. I went through the process of picking which movie (You Kill Me at 4 p.m.) but then I came to the type of ticket I wanted. I wasn’t watching too closely and got a senior citizens discount ticket.
And then all of sudden the ticket popped out of the machine with ‘senior’ printed under the movie title.
The ticket taker did a double-take at the ticket but didn’t say anything. I was more than willing to explain the mistake, but I guessed I passed for over 65.
At the next movie, I got another ticket from an automated kiosk. This time I picked the regular price and the right showtime (The Simpsons Movie at 7:10). But I didn’t realize the ticket taker standing a few feet from the kiosk. So I walked right on by the taker, not even noticing that I blew by her. I didn’t realize what I did till I sat down in my seat in the theater and saw that I had both halves of my ticket.
Both movies were great, by the way. You Kill Me was a great, dark, dry humor movie about a alcoholic hit man, Sir Ben Kingsley, who starts going to AA. And The Simpsons Movie was pretty funny throughout.
------------------
So I went to two movies on Sunday. And each time, I made some kind of mistake that was pretty stinking funny.
The first happened when I purchased a ticket at a automated kiosk. I went through the process of picking which movie (You Kill Me at 4 p.m.) but then I came to the type of ticket I wanted. I wasn’t watching too closely and got a senior citizens discount ticket.
And then all of sudden the ticket popped out of the machine with ‘senior’ printed under the movie title.
The ticket taker did a double-take at the ticket but didn’t say anything. I was more than willing to explain the mistake, but I guessed I passed for over 65.
At the next movie, I got another ticket from an automated kiosk. This time I picked the regular price and the right showtime (The Simpsons Movie at 7:10). But I didn’t realize the ticket taker standing a few feet from the kiosk. So I walked right on by the taker, not even noticing that I blew by her. I didn’t realize what I did till I sat down in my seat in the theater and saw that I had both halves of my ticket.
Both movies were great, by the way. You Kill Me was a great, dark, dry humor movie about a alcoholic hit man, Sir Ben Kingsley, who starts going to AA. And The Simpsons Movie was pretty funny throughout.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Why The Renaissance is Sexier, etc.; One Punk Under God
I posted Georgie Lee Fledderjohn's "Why The Renaissance is Sexier" article on The Brew; it's a look at other fantastical ideas about sex and what is sexy.
Be watching through the end of the month for more articles. I won't be blogging about every single one, since there will be many over the next few days.
Next up is another Jane Doe article on female sexual struggles; then Lonnie Smith's "Talk to Your Kids About Sex, Dammit!". The last one is pretty self-explanatory.
---------------------
I love Jay Bakker. I empathize with him. But he is also my hero. He survived a religious catastrophe that never really stopped. He survived a faith that could have surely killed someone else. I could almost say that he survived the church, evangelicalism, the dark side of Christianity, etc.
I moved this DVD to the front of my Netflix queue when I heard that Jay’s mom, Tammy Faye Messner, died from cancer earlier this week. After watching the portions of the series with her in it, it truly is a miracle that she lasted so long. There weren’t many details of how bad the cancer was but what I saw of Tammy Faye disturbed me. Doctors said in the one of the episodes that any day that she keeps living is a miracle. The series was probably filmed last summer, so that could mean that Tammy Faye lasted another year on a who knows how many pills, a portable oxygen machine and Hospice care. And perhaps prayer and faith.
It’s hard to care about someone’s eccentricities when you literally see them dying before your eyes. And that is what you’ll see in One Punk Under God.
You’ll also see Jay do what he can to have a relationship with his dad. This was so hard to watch. The only way that either Bakker was able to communicate to the other was when they were preaching or doing a TV show. Now, naturally, Jay took a lot of initiative to foster a relationship with his famous father, Jim Bakker; but both were so similar in that they almost needed an audience in order to be genuine, open and honest.
I’m always fascinated by anyone’s struggle with their religious identity. I can relate to that. I empathize with that because I do the same. It’s easy for me to over dramatize my struggle for faith, my relationship with my parents or anything else that might be considered hard or traumatic. I’m surely no where near what someone like Jay Bakker has experienced.
But I was completely moved when his dad came to visit the new church Jay started after moving to New York City. I cried when I heard his father say that he was so proud of his son and that Jay was doing what Jim couldn’t do. That was just beautiful.
Be watching through the end of the month for more articles. I won't be blogging about every single one, since there will be many over the next few days.
Next up is another Jane Doe article on female sexual struggles; then Lonnie Smith's "Talk to Your Kids About Sex, Dammit!". The last one is pretty self-explanatory.
---------------------
I love Jay Bakker. I empathize with him. But he is also my hero. He survived a religious catastrophe that never really stopped. He survived a faith that could have surely killed someone else. I could almost say that he survived the church, evangelicalism, the dark side of Christianity, etc.
I moved this DVD to the front of my Netflix queue when I heard that Jay’s mom, Tammy Faye Messner, died from cancer earlier this week. After watching the portions of the series with her in it, it truly is a miracle that she lasted so long. There weren’t many details of how bad the cancer was but what I saw of Tammy Faye disturbed me. Doctors said in the one of the episodes that any day that she keeps living is a miracle. The series was probably filmed last summer, so that could mean that Tammy Faye lasted another year on a who knows how many pills, a portable oxygen machine and Hospice care. And perhaps prayer and faith.
It’s hard to care about someone’s eccentricities when you literally see them dying before your eyes. And that is what you’ll see in One Punk Under God.
You’ll also see Jay do what he can to have a relationship with his dad. This was so hard to watch. The only way that either Bakker was able to communicate to the other was when they were preaching or doing a TV show. Now, naturally, Jay took a lot of initiative to foster a relationship with his famous father, Jim Bakker; but both were so similar in that they almost needed an audience in order to be genuine, open and honest.
I’m always fascinated by anyone’s struggle with their religious identity. I can relate to that. I empathize with that because I do the same. It’s easy for me to over dramatize my struggle for faith, my relationship with my parents or anything else that might be considered hard or traumatic. I’m surely no where near what someone like Jay Bakker has experienced.
But I was completely moved when his dad came to visit the new church Jay started after moving to New York City. I cried when I heard his father say that he was so proud of his son and that Jay was doing what Jim couldn’t do. That was just beautiful.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Homosexuality and The Church on The Brew; Expensive Coffee
I posted part one of an anonymously written article entitled "Homosexuality and The Church" on The Brew. It's one woman's encounter with homosexuality and then the right and wrong ways to respond (Pt. 2 which will be posted tomorrow).
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So The Coffee Chain That Remains Nameless is raising it's prices for the second time in less than a year (the first was this past fall). Here's a short blurb on it. Coffee and barista-made drinks will go up by .09 on July 31.
The funny thing is that I heard this from regulars at my new store, rather than from someone inside the company.
---------------------
So The Coffee Chain That Remains Nameless is raising it's prices for the second time in less than a year (the first was this past fall). Here's a short blurb on it. Coffee and barista-made drinks will go up by .09 on July 31.
The funny thing is that I heard this from regulars at my new store, rather than from someone inside the company.
Monday, July 23, 2007
A New View Of Purity on The Brew
I just posted Dan Morgan's "Entering the Forbidden Garden: A New View Of Purity" on The Brew. It's a damn good article that shows the beauty of purity, without the puritanical downsides.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Connections on The Brew; Exploration; Undertow
I posted new author Jay Friesen's "Connection: Sex and Praise and Worship" on The Brew.
Jay looks at the longing for connection in music and in the desire for sex.
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I went to meet a good friend at a place called Tipperary Inn in Dallas' Lakewood neighborhood yesterday. I got there a little early so I walked around and explored a little was well rewarded.
I found a little hole in the wall coffee shop called Coffee Co. The entire store was about the size of my apartment living room but looked like a farmer's market/mercantile in the middle of a coffee shop. There were only about two tables in the small place, possibly due to the coffee roaster that took up the front part of the store.
When I walked in, the owner was roasting some Columbian beans and it smelled amazing and slightly nutty. My first thought was, 'How does this guy stay in business?' I looked at his list of coffee beans and saw the prices were slightly higher. But he did have Jamaican Blue Mountain beans (one of the most expensive beans, next to the Hawaian Kona beans and the silly Asian-monkey-digested coffee beans). I thought I'd support the little guy so I bought a 1/4 pound of the Jamaican beans ($13).
By that time, my buddy showed up to the Irish 'snug' for a beer or two. They apparently call it a 'snug' because, unlike the more open pubs, this place had partitions between seats to give privacy to the patrons. Two seats at the bar had partitions with stained glass on either side to separate them from the other bar stools.
I had a Boddingtons (really flavorful and complex) and a some other kind (can't remember the name) that had 1776 in the title.
Either I had an empty stomach before hand or the two beers I had were pretty potent. So I walked over to a used bookstore, Paperbacks Plus. I refrained from buying anything, mostly because I'd already bought two books last weekend at another used bookstore (Blue Blood, a memoir by a New York City cop, and Attack Upon Christendom by Kierkegaard). But it was great to smell that used book smell when I walked in the door. It was good to follow the maze of bookshelf hallways and find so many books that you think you might read.
----------------------------------
I watched Undertow last night. Great style; has a choppy, unfinished look that seems to imitate the look and feel of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre films (though Undertow is not a horror movie). Great Southern gothic tale. Not as dark and menacing as I thought it was going to be.
Jay looks at the longing for connection in music and in the desire for sex.
---------------------
I went to meet a good friend at a place called Tipperary Inn in Dallas' Lakewood neighborhood yesterday. I got there a little early so I walked around and explored a little was well rewarded.
I found a little hole in the wall coffee shop called Coffee Co. The entire store was about the size of my apartment living room but looked like a farmer's market/mercantile in the middle of a coffee shop. There were only about two tables in the small place, possibly due to the coffee roaster that took up the front part of the store.
When I walked in, the owner was roasting some Columbian beans and it smelled amazing and slightly nutty. My first thought was, 'How does this guy stay in business?' I looked at his list of coffee beans and saw the prices were slightly higher. But he did have Jamaican Blue Mountain beans (one of the most expensive beans, next to the Hawaian Kona beans and the silly Asian-monkey-digested coffee beans). I thought I'd support the little guy so I bought a 1/4 pound of the Jamaican beans ($13).
By that time, my buddy showed up to the Irish 'snug' for a beer or two. They apparently call it a 'snug' because, unlike the more open pubs, this place had partitions between seats to give privacy to the patrons. Two seats at the bar had partitions with stained glass on either side to separate them from the other bar stools.
I had a Boddingtons (really flavorful and complex) and a some other kind (can't remember the name) that had 1776 in the title.
Either I had an empty stomach before hand or the two beers I had were pretty potent. So I walked over to a used bookstore, Paperbacks Plus. I refrained from buying anything, mostly because I'd already bought two books last weekend at another used bookstore (Blue Blood, a memoir by a New York City cop, and Attack Upon Christendom by Kierkegaard). But it was great to smell that used book smell when I walked in the door. It was good to follow the maze of bookshelf hallways and find so many books that you think you might read.
----------------------------------
I watched Undertow last night. Great style; has a choppy, unfinished look that seems to imitate the look and feel of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre films (though Undertow is not a horror movie). Great Southern gothic tale. Not as dark and menacing as I thought it was going to be.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
My Take on Tommy Nelson on The Brew; How To Become Outgoing
I just posted my article "Sex? Well, Duh! (A Look at
Tommy Nelson)" on The Brew. It's
my 'sex columnist' look at Tommy Nelson and his Song
Of Solomon series.
----------------------------------
So I realized that I'm becoming more of an extrovert (or maybe just an introvert that's coming to process more of everything verbally). My journaling has dwindled to a month's time between each short entry.
And I've spent a lot more time on friends' front porches, plowing through a six pack of Pacifico or Bass while also plowing through talk about friends, church and everything else.
God has blessed me with some great drinking buddies (one is a good bud from Moody and another graduated from Pensacola, but has since experienced grace) who have become my support system down here in Texas. They've taken the place of all the other Moody alum who stick around Chicago and help their fellow grads figure out life after Moody.
And I think that this is the first time in a long time that I've actually used the phrase "Life After Moody." It's like there's no need to use Moody as some descriptor or designator of time anymore. It's like it's just "Life."
Tommy Nelson)" on The Brew. It's
my 'sex columnist' look at Tommy Nelson and his Song
Of Solomon series.
----------------------------------
So I realized that I'm becoming more of an extrovert (or maybe just an introvert that's coming to process more of everything verbally). My journaling has dwindled to a month's time between each short entry.
And I've spent a lot more time on friends' front porches, plowing through a six pack of Pacifico or Bass while also plowing through talk about friends, church and everything else.
God has blessed me with some great drinking buddies (one is a good bud from Moody and another graduated from Pensacola, but has since experienced grace) who have become my support system down here in Texas. They've taken the place of all the other Moody alum who stick around Chicago and help their fellow grads figure out life after Moody.
And I think that this is the first time in a long time that I've actually used the phrase "Life After Moody." It's like there's no need to use Moody as some descriptor or designator of time anymore. It's like it's just "Life."
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Tommy Nelson For Females on The Brew; Goodbye Mall Stores and New Milk
I just posted Kennedy Lewis' article "Nelson Hits The Mark With Series On Sex", a female perspective on Tommy Nelson's Song of Solomon sermon series, on The Brew.
-------------
I worked my last day at the mall store of The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless. There were some cool people working there and I prayed that my last day there would not leave me cursing North Park Mall; I prayed that somehow working at this store could be a good experience.
I lost hope of that when the person who was to open up the store that morning was 45 minutes late. Then plenty of other small things not finished the night before compounded the lateness, effectively destroying my hopes of this being a good day.
But then the day went on and a good crew of people came in to work. As the store got busier, the crew worked well together and I could direct people around to slide the rush through the drink process and erase the line out the door.
The last two hours of constant traffic were enjoyable, and turned the tables on my mood. So I left happy and satisfied. I guess that's an answer to prayer.
And the Coffee Chain found yet another way to improve efficiency yet again. A co-worker (who laughed long and hard about this discovery) blogged about a new way of labeling milk. Check it out.
-------------
I worked my last day at the mall store of The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless. There were some cool people working there and I prayed that my last day there would not leave me cursing North Park Mall; I prayed that somehow working at this store could be a good experience.
I lost hope of that when the person who was to open up the store that morning was 45 minutes late. Then plenty of other small things not finished the night before compounded the lateness, effectively destroying my hopes of this being a good day.
But then the day went on and a good crew of people came in to work. As the store got busier, the crew worked well together and I could direct people around to slide the rush through the drink process and erase the line out the door.
The last two hours of constant traffic were enjoyable, and turned the tables on my mood. So I left happy and satisfied. I guess that's an answer to prayer.
And the Coffee Chain found yet another way to improve efficiency yet again. A co-worker (who laughed long and hard about this discovery) blogged about a new way of labeling milk. Check it out.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
SATC on The Brew; No Cable
I just posted new author Georgia Lee Fledderjohn's "What Carried Bradshaw Did (And Did Not Do) For Us" on The Brew. It's G-Fled's funny review of the series Sex and the City.
--------------------------
Life without cable TV is awesome, though I slightly miss being able to watch Law and Order any time of the day and also Dirty Jobs.
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Life without cable TV is awesome, though I slightly miss being able to watch Law and Order any time of the day and also Dirty Jobs.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Cinematic Sex On The Brew; Hell At The Coffee Chain That. Shall Remain Nameless
To kick off the sex issue of The Brew is Trent Starnes' article "Cinematic Sex: The Build Up And Let Down". It'll help ground your expectations of sex in the real rather than reel world.
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Helplessness, Hopelessness and Hell at The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless
So I’m working at a mall location of The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain for two weeks. I was spared working either the night of July 3rd or at all on the 4th. But today, Saturday, I worked the opening shift, which became a fill-in/afternoon shift.
This particular store is always understaffed, unstable and undesirable. Something about the store stinks and many partners (as this Coffee Chain communistically calls its employees) have sniffed that stench and stay away. The store has burned through three store managers in its less than 12-month run (with one walking out in the middle of a shift) and is currently being run by a guy hired from outside the company, whose resume includes being some sort of manager for Wal-Mart (probably the second-most demonized company in America).
Located in a semi-hidden corner of the mall behind the entrance to an AMC Movie Theater, the store is a place of refuge from the busyness of the mall, states the store’s district manager during his pitch to recruit me for this failing store. There is only one supervisor to run shifts during the day; the store manager, who really is a nice guy, also runs shifts but neither he nor the sole supervisor can cover all the shifts.
Such is the environment that I have to work in for two weeks (the reason why has to do with me working over the aforementioned district manager and the store being at a close, convenient location). Shifts during the week were easier than expected, with much of the normal work getting done. But weekends is where partners can experience Hell on earth.
Friday night was survivable. We had enough people to handle the rushes of people coming and going from the movies. But the store seemed sadly understaffed all day Saturday. From around 2:45 p.m. until I left at 5:15, there was a nearly constant stream of people into the store. All that transpired during these 2.5 hours was the stuff of a barista’s nightmare: people keep coming into the store; all sorts of products run out; the café area is trashed; half of the customers don’t know what they ordered and wanted something different from what you put in front of them, etc.
I stayed an extra hour and 15 minutes because the night crew wouldn’t be able to take lunch breaks if I didn’t. During uncontrolled chaos of those two hours, I became helpless to fix the problems all around me (‘You’re out of napkins and iced coffee’; ‘I ordered a drink before that person…’). The Coffee Chain’s idea of legendary service was trampled to death by the high volume and the five of us working during that rush couldn’t change that.
Anyone getting their drink quickly or made correctly was hopeless. The people working were hopeless to fix anything since no other warm bodies were coming to help. There wasn’t time to step away from the espresso machine to fix any of the problems. There wasn’t any way to make the customers happy or to keep many of them from stepping out of line in frustration and leaving the store.
You just stop caring and trying to rush around so much. It’s hopeless that things will let up and you’re helpless to do anything but continue trotting on, doing what you can to appease whichever customer makes the most immediate fuss (‘I asked for a glass of water ten minutes ago!’).
And then I realized that this kind of resignation is a powerful and accurate description of depression. I won’t make all the connections for ya but give this whole thing another read with that in mind. And if you have no idea what depression is about, this should give you a glimpse.
-----------------
Helplessness, Hopelessness and Hell at The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless
So I’m working at a mall location of The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain for two weeks. I was spared working either the night of July 3rd or at all on the 4th. But today, Saturday, I worked the opening shift, which became a fill-in/afternoon shift.
This particular store is always understaffed, unstable and undesirable. Something about the store stinks and many partners (as this Coffee Chain communistically calls its employees) have sniffed that stench and stay away. The store has burned through three store managers in its less than 12-month run (with one walking out in the middle of a shift) and is currently being run by a guy hired from outside the company, whose resume includes being some sort of manager for Wal-Mart (probably the second-most demonized company in America).
Located in a semi-hidden corner of the mall behind the entrance to an AMC Movie Theater, the store is a place of refuge from the busyness of the mall, states the store’s district manager during his pitch to recruit me for this failing store. There is only one supervisor to run shifts during the day; the store manager, who really is a nice guy, also runs shifts but neither he nor the sole supervisor can cover all the shifts.
Such is the environment that I have to work in for two weeks (the reason why has to do with me working over the aforementioned district manager and the store being at a close, convenient location). Shifts during the week were easier than expected, with much of the normal work getting done. But weekends is where partners can experience Hell on earth.
Friday night was survivable. We had enough people to handle the rushes of people coming and going from the movies. But the store seemed sadly understaffed all day Saturday. From around 2:45 p.m. until I left at 5:15, there was a nearly constant stream of people into the store. All that transpired during these 2.5 hours was the stuff of a barista’s nightmare: people keep coming into the store; all sorts of products run out; the café area is trashed; half of the customers don’t know what they ordered and wanted something different from what you put in front of them, etc.
I stayed an extra hour and 15 minutes because the night crew wouldn’t be able to take lunch breaks if I didn’t. During uncontrolled chaos of those two hours, I became helpless to fix the problems all around me (‘You’re out of napkins and iced coffee’; ‘I ordered a drink before that person…’). The Coffee Chain’s idea of legendary service was trampled to death by the high volume and the five of us working during that rush couldn’t change that.
Anyone getting their drink quickly or made correctly was hopeless. The people working were hopeless to fix anything since no other warm bodies were coming to help. There wasn’t time to step away from the espresso machine to fix any of the problems. There wasn’t any way to make the customers happy or to keep many of them from stepping out of line in frustration and leaving the store.
You just stop caring and trying to rush around so much. It’s hopeless that things will let up and you’re helpless to do anything but continue trotting on, doing what you can to appease whichever customer makes the most immediate fuss (‘I asked for a glass of water ten minutes ago!’).
And then I realized that this kind of resignation is a powerful and accurate description of depression. I won’t make all the connections for ya but give this whole thing another read with that in mind. And if you have no idea what depression is about, this should give you a glimpse.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Sex on The Brew; Kierkegaard Always Amazes
So begins the July issue of The Brew, where we talk about sex. I just posted July's editorial today.
And since most of this month's articles are on the serious side, I wanted to post something that wasn't as serious. So in keeping with July's topic, here's a song to keep things a little lighter. It's 'Business Time' by Flight of the Conchords.
-------------
I'm still working through Provocations by Keirkegaard. The chapter on his collected works on 'Spiritual Trial' is just constantly amazing.
Here's two of the more challenging quotes that I couldn't get out of my head.
"In the case of temptation the right thing to do may be to fight it by avoiding it. In the case of spiritual trial, however, one must go through it. Temptation should be avoided? Temptation is best fought by running away? But this does not work with thoughts that try the spirit, for they pursue you. If it is spiritual trial, go straight toward it, trusting in God and Christ. When you are weak, he is strong."
And here's a great prayer for spiritual trial:
"From your hand, oh God, we are willing to receive everything. And even if it seems that your arm is shortened, increase our faith and our trust so that we might still hold on to you. And if at times it seems that you draw your hand away from us, oh, then we know it is only because you close it only to save the more abundant blessing in it, that you close it only to open it again and satisfy with blessing everything that lives."
And since most of this month's articles are on the serious side, I wanted to post something that wasn't as serious. So in keeping with July's topic, here's a song to keep things a little lighter. It's 'Business Time' by Flight of the Conchords.
-------------
I'm still working through Provocations by Keirkegaard. The chapter on his collected works on 'Spiritual Trial' is just constantly amazing.
Here's two of the more challenging quotes that I couldn't get out of my head.
"In the case of temptation the right thing to do may be to fight it by avoiding it. In the case of spiritual trial, however, one must go through it. Temptation should be avoided? Temptation is best fought by running away? But this does not work with thoughts that try the spirit, for they pursue you. If it is spiritual trial, go straight toward it, trusting in God and Christ. When you are weak, he is strong."
And here's a great prayer for spiritual trial:
"From your hand, oh God, we are willing to receive everything. And even if it seems that your arm is shortened, increase our faith and our trust so that we might still hold on to you. And if at times it seems that you draw your hand away from us, oh, then we know it is only because you close it only to save the more abundant blessing in it, that you close it only to open it again and satisfy with blessing everything that lives."
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Oscar Critique Wraps up on The Brew; Depressed Music
I just posted Keith Ever's second part of "And The Winner Is..." on The Brew.
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So I'm in a semi-depressed state after one of those unavoidable times in life. Here's what I've been listening to (though none of the songs accurately reflect that life experience. They just provide the right kind of mood to sail through that kind of time):
Radiohead's OK Computer album
"Hang Me Out To Dry", "Hospital Bed", and "Rubidoux" by The Cold War Kids
"Dekota", "Long Way Around", and "Nothing Compares To You" (Cover) by Stereophonics
"Underground", "Philosophy", "Song For The Dumped", and "Battle Of Who Could Care Less" by Ben Folds Five
The Black Holes and Revelations album by Muse
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So I'm in a semi-depressed state after one of those unavoidable times in life. Here's what I've been listening to (though none of the songs accurately reflect that life experience. They just provide the right kind of mood to sail through that kind of time):
Radiohead's OK Computer album
"Hang Me Out To Dry", "Hospital Bed", and "Rubidoux" by The Cold War Kids
"Dekota", "Long Way Around", and "Nothing Compares To You" (Cover) by Stereophonics
"Underground", "Philosophy", "Song For The Dumped", and "Battle Of Who Could Care Less" by Ben Folds Five
The Black Holes and Revelations album by Muse
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