Filed under: Uncategorized — thelivingroom @ 11:01 am
(I’m really only blogging this because I don’t want to read any more articles about information management. *head explodes* But no, it’s great.)
Great theology is always a kind of giant and intricate poetry, like epic or saga. It is written for those who know the tale already, the urgent messages and dying words, and who attend to its retelling with a special alertness, because the story has a claim on them and they on it. Theology is also close to the spoken voice. It evokes sermon, sacrament, and liturgy, and, of course, Scripture itself, with all its echoes of song and legend and prayer. It earns its authority by winning assent and recognition, in the manner of poetry but with the difference that the assent seems to be ultimate truth, however oblique or fragmentary the suggestion of it. (Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam, p. 117)
Teacher Dave: i had a “Seattle’s Best” Peppermint Mocha Trio at Borders after lunch.
TD: mmmmmm, peppermint mocha.
me: mmmmm.
TD: it’s practically the reason Baby Jesus was born.
TD: i mean, REDEMPTION OF MANKIND, obviously. but also peppermint mocha.
me: LOL
TD: ;- )
me: i am so totally blogging that.
(I haven’t done one of these since June of last year. Figured we’re about due.)
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The book, not the movie, which is apparently terrible, which didn’t surprise me while I was reading the novel, because it is basically unfilmable without some serious alterations–which would kill it. The book is lovely, though, a long meditation on the nature of relationships and, perhaps, terminal illness (at least that’s what I thought, anyway). A caveat: Lots of sex (much of it unnecessary), lots of strong language. So proceed with caution.
All these really great sermons at redeemer.com
I know, I know, we Reformed folk are in danger of making Tim Keller our Presbyterian pope, but that’s hardly any fault of his (and I think making an idol of him is terribly ironic, considering the topic of his latest book). Anyway, for Redeemer’s 20th anniversary, they’ve put up 150 of their recorded sermons and forums and such, and there’s a wealth of material there. I’m a rather big fan of the ones on singleness, myself.
HEB brand Oreos sandwich cookies
They make some that are chocolate with peanut butter cream (creme?) inside. They’re as excellent (and unfortunately addictive) as they sound.
College football
I’ve recently discovered the joys of this. I went to a high school with a not-so-great football team (let’s face it, we were a basketball school), I went to a college with a not-so-great football team (again, basketball school)–and now I find myself in the position of going to a university with an undefeated team, at least this season. It’s a lot more fun when your team at least has a shot at winning in division games. Or I may just be a fair-weather fan, I don’t know.
John Adams
The miniseries by HBO, that is. I’m about halfway through it, and I find it to be excellently acted and directed and researched. Very real, very unsentimental about the time period. Again, a caveat: Seeing as it was on HBO, it can get pretty gritty (e.g., the scene of the guy getting his leg amputated during battle), and there’s a scene when John and Abigail, um, express their marital rights (no nudity or anything, but it is there).
The Texas weather of late
Seriously, y’all, it’s kind of amazing.
The Avett Brothers
If you haven’t heard them yet, shame on you. I recommend their EP The Second Gleam.
Filed under: Uncategorized — thelivingroom @ 10:00 am
The hours since Friday at about 5:30 have been pretty epic, I have to say. Since then I:
*hung out with my old roommate and a bunch of her friends (who are becoming my friends, too) for her birthday party–we went out for a bit and had some eats and some wine and some good conversation. While I don’t entirely agree with them sometimes, they’re all very interesting interlocutors and fun brains to pick.
*had aforementioned roommate over to my place for brunch on Saturday. We found this ridiculous pancake mix–it came with chocolate chips that had bacon in them. Yes. Surprisingly tasty. We also went to drop off her U2 ticket (she couldn’t go, alas) with a very cordial guy who bought it off of her on Craigslist.
*made soup! (Chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, spinach, brown rice, corn, black beans, chickpeas, and a bunch of Italian seasoning. Yum.)
*drove to Arlington, and got stuck on some back roads on the way there (I have never been more grateful for my GPS)
*hung out with Teacher Dave for a bit before the rest of the crew came up from Houston. (Today’s Dave’s birthday, by the way. Go say hi.)
*missed a connection with Jonathan/eustacepedler, sometime commenter on this blog (sorry again about that, man).
*went to go see U2 and Muse. HOLY CRAP, PEOPLE. Amazing. We were down on the floor (which, if you think about it, is kind of amazing in and of itself, considering professional football games are played down there). There were points when we were literally about 70-80 feet from the band. I am now kicking myself for not bringing a camera. The only thing is, everyone was so packed in that in the back of my mind I was sort of freaking out (I’m a little bit claustrophobic), and there were these two girls there that were sort of drunk and completely not mindful of other people (they almost smacked Steph in the face a few times; I very nearly told them off). However, there were moments of utter, utter beauty and transcendence, such as, for instance, this:
The nice thing, too, is that I got to hang out with some excellent people from Houston that I’d met but didn’t really know very well, and it was lovely. Much sarcasm and ribbing and show analysis (and lots and lots of walking) and such tends to help people bond. (Also, we kept losing Dave, to the point where we wondered if he had been raptured.)
*drove home to Austin on four hours of sleep in torrential rain, which was probably not the smartest thing I have ever done (but oh well).
*called Steph when I got home, only to find out her car had hydroplaned and crashed–everyone’s okay, but she’s now without a car for a while, and that crew all had to shove into one vehicle for the duration of the trip back, which I imagine was less than fun…
*went to go hear one of my old professors talk about, of all things, U2 and faith, at a local bookstore. (He wrote a book about it.)
But today, it’s back to the grind. And that’s okay.
1.
if I were penniless
and you owned the whole world
I would not beg you
but would spit in your face instead
2.
I can only mourn for
what I will never have
and will only be comforted
on the day you lose instead of me
3.
it takes too much work
to inherit the earth
when the man comes around to collect the meek
I might sleep through the trumpet sound
4.
hungry, I try to absorb everything
thirsty, I drink down the spirit of the age
and like alice’s tiger I get caught by
desire again and again and again
5.
I would rather be shown justice
as long as I get to enact my own
vengeance is mine and I will repay
even if i burn along with my enemies
6.
if this be blindness, I don’t want to see
let me keep my eyes and gaze
on the prey I will always be trying to
catch and show off with the rest of my trophies
7.
trying to satisfy the god that growls at me
every time it demands sacrifice
i have no peace to offer you
just my own restless need to be full
8.
a kingdom, comfort, the whole earth,
satisfaction, mercy, a vision, a family:
these you would offer me, if only I would come and die–
but i would build my own puny empire instead.
A few happy things that have happened to me that I haven’t blogged about:
*I got flowers a couple weeks ago from the lovely Mrs. Cole, and they made my kitchen smell really good. There’s still one holdout which is now living in a bud vase.
*My parents sent me a package which contained, among other things, a box of Oatmeal Creme Pies. Those, with peanut butter, are one thing I’ll have to take with me en masse if I ever move out of the country (like I increasingly want to do).
*One of my projects this semester is to come up with a strategic plan for a non-profit, and my team chose a computer museum here in town which is really incredible. We got to meet with the guy this morning, and he’s really enthusiastic about us working with him. All you folks in the ATX, go check it out and support it. Two of my classmates and I are going to work on making it better.
*I knitted a really beautiful something…which I can’t post, because it’s for someone who signed up at this post. I might post a pic once I actually give it to them. (By the way, if you haven’t gotten your thingamabob from me yet, it’ll come. I’m still brain storming on some of the items, so hang tight.)
*I got to talk to Sara (who doesn’t really blog anymore, oh well) and Erica the other day on the phone, which was lovely. Good to hear from y’all.
1. I’ve taken to walking around my new neighborhood lately. I live in a very walkable part of the city, and seeing as Austin’s been named one of the greenest cities in America, I’ve been guilted into not driving when I could walk somewhere. And it’s been nice. There are some very cool houses around me, and I’ve noticed things that I wouldn’t have just by driving by them, so that’s been good. Also, it’s been saving me gas, which is a bonus.
However, this is something else I’ve noticed, and I’ve been rather convicted about–I don’t know my neighbors. I’ve met the guy next door, mostly because he leaves his door open all the time and is therefore kind of hard to miss. (For those who are wondering, yes, he is always clothed, and no, he’s never doing anything weird or scary.) But I don’t know him. It’s been a while, honestly, since I’ve lived in community with other people. I’m starting to build some through this ministry I’m involved with, but it’s hard for me, mostly because it’s hard for me to get outside my own head.
This Sunday my pastor preached on pride (we’re doing a series on the seven deadly sins, which I think is going to be fun), and the thing is, he said, humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. In other words, it’s not about having low self-esteem or whatever. The key is, it’s just not thinking about yourself as much. You get outside yourself. You dwell more on God. You consider other people more than you do yourself.
Now, this is hard for me, because I’m introverted and I’m lazy, which is a bad combination already, but it’s now compounded by the fact that I live by myself. Whose stupid idea was this, anyway? But God knows me, and I have to remember that He’s not done with me yet. It’s only by His Spirit that I am going to kill my pride. And I have to be patient about it.
2. And I don’t say that to be Debbie Downer or anything, I just felt like sharing. Maybe it’ll encourage someone out there, I dunno.
3. I’ve been on this weird Bruce Springsteen kick lately. I downloaded his album of Pete Seeger covers a while back, and goodness, people, I think I’ve fallen in love. I already sort of liked his music, but that jump started it for me. He’s past his glory days, I think (…no pun intended there, I swear), but he’s still cranking out some good stuff.
4. This is going to be a long one. This is what happens when I don’t blog for a while. Sorry, y’all.
5. So, what else is up…um, school. That’s about it. I’m about to start volunteering at a used bookstore the public library system here runs, and I get to volunteer at ACL this year (okay, that’s just amazing), and I signed up to volunteer at the Texas Book Festival at the end of October. Next month brings a U2 show, and possibly a Waterdeep show as well, and a bunch of people’s birthdays, and due dates for a bunch of projects, so if I end up being quiet for a while again, sorry.
6. If you’re wondering where that post title came from, here you go:
I spent the afternoon in a crowded room
and watched as the towers fell from heaven.
Something shifted in space and time,
though none of us could say what:
We were fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
with very little knowledge of what would make
a man offer himself on a fiery altar
for his faith in the god of vengeance.
And now every autumn we rewind the tape
to watch over and over again
the formation of the wound
which only the God who sought justice by
His own death
will ever fully heal.
You know how in Sweeney Todd, Mrs. Lovett calls him Mr. T? Am I the only one who thinks "I PITY THE FOOL THAT WALKS INTO MY BARBER SHOP!"?/10 hours ago
I would love to know why no one's invented a user-friendly copy machine yet./14 hours ago
I am having an amazingly hard time getting my brain to function today./18 hours ago
The only thing is, everyone was so packed in that in the back of my mind I was sort of freaking out (I’m a little bit claustrophobic), and there were these two girls there that were sort of drunk and completely not mindful of other people (they almost smacked Steph in the face a few times; I very nearly told them off). However, there were moments of utter, utter beauty and transcendence, such as, for instance, this:
