If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut. ---Stephen King.
I've read more Stephen King books over the years that those of any other author...he's by far my favorite writer of this era. One of his books that impressed me...it was one of his few nonfiction works...was On Writing, a semi-autobiographical book that went into what it takes to write successfully. King was frank: you have to have the knack for it...like many other fields, innate talent does play an important role. But one can have all the talent in the world for any area, and if they don't arduously apply it by working hard to develop that talent, then they're not going to go anywhere with it. With writing, King stresses spending about an equal amount of time...at least four hours a day each...between reading others' works and actually engaging in writing. And writing talent won't develop on its own...one has to write, write, write...and then write some more...
Seeing that I work full-time at my job and can't realistically see myself putting in eight daily hours of reading and writing...at least not until retirement day eventually comes around...I'm going to need to fudge a bit on Stephen King's minimum standard for developing whatever writing talent I have. Although it may seem to a reader of this blog that I read a lot...and I do compared to most folks...it's still less than I would like. And my writing? Other than this blog, the articles for which I usually whip up in 30-40 minutes while sipping my iced coffee at Starbucks (where I'm at now) or McDonald's, I haven't been writing...so between the two King-recommended regimens of reading and writing, my great, glaring need is to write more. And to begin to write fiction. Fortunately for me, I've been at work on this blog coming up on ten years in about a week, and I've consciously, deliberately made it available worldwide...and in the past four years have linked it to Facebook so that people who know me could read it, too. So I shouldn't feel too self-conscious about publishing my first fictional stories. Except that, right now, I do. Well, the only remedy I see for that is to shift into turbo with my writing...
Friday, March 31, 2017
Thursday, March 30, 2017
3/26 Sermon on Prodigals, Part 2
The sermon series at The Family Church here in Gainesville about prodigals, based on Luke 15:11-32 in the Bible's New Testament (click on this Bible Gateway link to access it), continued this past Sunday as Pastor Philip Griffin discussed the role of the father in this story from Jesus. The father felt great love for his rebellious son, who took his share of the inheritance, abandoned his family, and squandered everything while living in sin abroad. And how did the father express his love?
As Pastor Philip explained, the father expressed his love for his son in a number of ways. First, he did not try to restrain or rescue him. And when the son repented and returned, he accepted, not rejected, him and fully welcomed him back into the family. As for "rescuing", our pastor listed seven ways that we sometimes enable...as codependents...the prodigals in our lives for their behavior: protecting them from the consequences of that behavior, keeping their behavior secret, making excuses for them, bailing them out of trouble, blaming others for their behavior, making threats without following through, and doing for others what they should be doing for themselves. He also pointed out that the person we love but whose behavior we hate has a greater need than a relationship with us: their wholeness and maturity...which is God's goal for them. And that maturity may well necessitate them going through hardships. As for not rejecting them when they return, a good dose of grace and forgiveness can set all of us free...
So the returning son received his father's love in the end, but there was another son, too. Pastor Philip mentioned the other, dutiful son who didn't abandon his father but rather stayed behind and toiled for him. He did not have that God-given grace to forgive his brother and harshly judged his father for his celebration instead of joining him. It is this prodigal of a different kind...prideful and self-righteous...who will be the topic for next week's message...
If you're interested in viewing Pastor Philip Griffin's message I've just summarized...or maybe others from weeks earlier...you can do so through the following link to the church's YouTube video website: [link]. The Family Church, located at 2022 SW 122nd Street, holds its Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11. Besides the thought-provoking messages, there is uplifting praise music as well as an opportunity join discipleship groups. I've particularly enjoyed this current series on prodigals and think that next week's talk on the "other" prodigal son is certain to speak to my heart as well as...hopefully...many others...
As Pastor Philip explained, the father expressed his love for his son in a number of ways. First, he did not try to restrain or rescue him. And when the son repented and returned, he accepted, not rejected, him and fully welcomed him back into the family. As for "rescuing", our pastor listed seven ways that we sometimes enable...as codependents...the prodigals in our lives for their behavior: protecting them from the consequences of that behavior, keeping their behavior secret, making excuses for them, bailing them out of trouble, blaming others for their behavior, making threats without following through, and doing for others what they should be doing for themselves. He also pointed out that the person we love but whose behavior we hate has a greater need than a relationship with us: their wholeness and maturity...which is God's goal for them. And that maturity may well necessitate them going through hardships. As for not rejecting them when they return, a good dose of grace and forgiveness can set all of us free...
So the returning son received his father's love in the end, but there was another son, too. Pastor Philip mentioned the other, dutiful son who didn't abandon his father but rather stayed behind and toiled for him. He did not have that God-given grace to forgive his brother and harshly judged his father for his celebration instead of joining him. It is this prodigal of a different kind...prideful and self-righteous...who will be the topic for next week's message...
If you're interested in viewing Pastor Philip Griffin's message I've just summarized...or maybe others from weeks earlier...you can do so through the following link to the church's YouTube video website: [link]. The Family Church, located at 2022 SW 122nd Street, holds its Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11. Besides the thought-provoking messages, there is uplifting praise music as well as an opportunity join discipleship groups. I've particularly enjoyed this current series on prodigals and think that next week's talk on the "other" prodigal son is certain to speak to my heart as well as...hopefully...many others...
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Springtime Quickly Shifting to Summer In North Florida
After this past almost nonexistent winter that officially ended a week ago, the weather here in northern Florida is quickly shifting into summertime mode. Right now at 2 pm it's 85 degrees outside with temperatures expected to climb another 3 to 5 degrees. So now, it's not quite yet "summer" weather, as summer here usually entails highs in the mid-90s...and I have to admit, it's quite pleasant sitting outside here at my favorite Gainesville Starbucks about to start in on my caramel iced coffee that I've gotten into the habit of buying. So what's there to talk about?
Well, I've been watching C-Span2, which broadcasts the floor proceedings of the U.S. Senate. From time to time today senators from both parties have taken the floor to discuss the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Republicans invariably bring up the Senate's constitutionally-mandated role of advise and consent and criticize the Democrats' threatened filibuster to prevent a final vote as "unprecedented" in the country's history for Supreme Court confirmations. The Democrats, for their part, remind the Republicans that in 2016 they had a constitutionally-mandated role of advise and consent when then-President Obama selected Merrick Garland for the very same seat that Gorsuch is now being considered for and reneged on that duty...incidentally unprecedented in the country's history for Supreme Court confirmations. But all of this verbal tennis aside, the Democrats in the end don't have the votes to prevent Gorsuch from being confirmed to the Court...if a filibuster starts to take hold, the Republicans are certain to change the Senate rules to allow only 51 votes...a simple majority...for ending debate and to hold that final vote....
Late last night at home after work...as I was getting sleepier and sleepier...they were showing a replay of the incredible comeback that Barcelona staged in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal round against Paris-St. Germain (aka PSG). In the first of the two-match series, the total sum of goals determining which team advances, PSG had won 4-0, making it seem near-to-impossible for Barcelona to come back. But in the second game, I already knew that they did just that, winning it 6-1 to win the aggregate total 6-5 and advance over PSG. So I wanted to see just how they accomplished this near-miraculous comeback and caught the game just at the end of the first half, which they were leading 2-0. As I struggled to remain conscious, Barcelona did come back but PSG still had a 5-3 two-game goal lead with only about 15 minutes remaining. Then I briefly dozed off and woke up, only to find the Barcelona players celebrating their win...oh well, I guess I'll be able to see the ending sometime on YouTube...
For the last few days I haven't been running in order to clear up an occasional ache I've been experiencing in my left knee. It's nothing severe, but I don't want it to worsen, so I'm riding the bike in the meantime. On April 8, Gainesville will be holding a 5K/10K walk/run to benefit war refugees and I want to participate in the 10K event. I should be ready by that time...
Now, back to the summer-like heat...and I think I'm just about ready for a refill on my iced coffee...
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Just Finished Reading Benjamin Percy's Red Moon
I discovered the 2013 novel Red Moon by Benjamin Percy through a common practice of mine: randomly browsing my local public library's shelves. Without any sort of recommendation other than the conviction that the book wasn't a part of a greater series, I read it through...and now I'm ready with my reactions...
Red Moon is an alternative history dystopian novel, set in the present time. What distinguishes it from a story set in our real world is the existence of werewolves...designated here as "lycans"...an underclass in society, a few members of which are radicalized and practice terrorism...the connection between them and "our" world's Muslim population with their radicalized violent fringe becomes pretty obvious soon after beginning the story. And yes, there is a "lycan" nation overseas...this one being far north (in wolf country, of course), bordering Russia...and surprise, surprise, the Americans are engaged there in a long-term war of occupation and nation-building and...conveniently extracting its valued natural resource, not oil...but uranium. Further complicating the picture is that it an infection of prions that causes one to become a lycan...an infection for which there is no vaccine, although those so infected can have their symptoms blocked through medication. Since lycans over the years have suffered discrimination and persecution, their situation is regarded by many as less a medical/health issue and more one of civil rights. All of these "facts" are presented during the early chapters of Red Moon...
I liked the sympathetic protagonists Patrick and Claire, both young people with the latter being a lycan. Through their trials they cross paths as well as the barriers that society has placed between them to form first an alliance and then a friendship. No, I'm not going to go into detail about what actually happens to them in their world...I'll leave that to you, the prospective reader...but I do want to make a few incidental observations...
First, if you are from the Pacific northwest, especially the state of Oregon, then Red Moon might make you feel a little at home since the story primarily takes place there...that's not surprising since Oregon is where the author lives. Also, one chilling, prescient element in the story is the presence of a blabbermouth businessman who discovers a political following for him as he goes about making speeches against lycans and in favor of protecting our borders and citizens from them...and he decides to run for president. This from 2013, two years before our current commander-in-chief began his own blustering path to the Oval Office. And finally, there is a structural problem I had with the story. Benjamin Percy takes various characters who are relatively insignificant and then improbably, coincidentally puts them together at different points in the story to change the course of history. I had the feeling at times that the author was writing backward from his ending and that he had his entire novel outlined in advance...but that's just my impression and I could be totally wrong about that. But I also recognize, admire, and respect...as I usually do when reading a literary work...his skillful writing craftsmanship...
So I recommend Benjamin Percy's Red Moon, the faults I find with it notwithstanding. If for no other reason, this story is likely to get people talking about the issues it addresses...
Red Moon is an alternative history dystopian novel, set in the present time. What distinguishes it from a story set in our real world is the existence of werewolves...designated here as "lycans"...an underclass in society, a few members of which are radicalized and practice terrorism...the connection between them and "our" world's Muslim population with their radicalized violent fringe becomes pretty obvious soon after beginning the story. And yes, there is a "lycan" nation overseas...this one being far north (in wolf country, of course), bordering Russia...and surprise, surprise, the Americans are engaged there in a long-term war of occupation and nation-building and...conveniently extracting its valued natural resource, not oil...but uranium. Further complicating the picture is that it an infection of prions that causes one to become a lycan...an infection for which there is no vaccine, although those so infected can have their symptoms blocked through medication. Since lycans over the years have suffered discrimination and persecution, their situation is regarded by many as less a medical/health issue and more one of civil rights. All of these "facts" are presented during the early chapters of Red Moon...
I liked the sympathetic protagonists Patrick and Claire, both young people with the latter being a lycan. Through their trials they cross paths as well as the barriers that society has placed between them to form first an alliance and then a friendship. No, I'm not going to go into detail about what actually happens to them in their world...I'll leave that to you, the prospective reader...but I do want to make a few incidental observations...
First, if you are from the Pacific northwest, especially the state of Oregon, then Red Moon might make you feel a little at home since the story primarily takes place there...that's not surprising since Oregon is where the author lives. Also, one chilling, prescient element in the story is the presence of a blabbermouth businessman who discovers a political following for him as he goes about making speeches against lycans and in favor of protecting our borders and citizens from them...and he decides to run for president. This from 2013, two years before our current commander-in-chief began his own blustering path to the Oval Office. And finally, there is a structural problem I had with the story. Benjamin Percy takes various characters who are relatively insignificant and then improbably, coincidentally puts them together at different points in the story to change the course of history. I had the feeling at times that the author was writing backward from his ending and that he had his entire novel outlined in advance...but that's just my impression and I could be totally wrong about that. But I also recognize, admire, and respect...as I usually do when reading a literary work...his skillful writing craftsmanship...
So I recommend Benjamin Percy's Red Moon, the faults I find with it notwithstanding. If for no other reason, this story is likely to get people talking about the issues it addresses...
Monday, March 27, 2017
Gators Lose, Final Four in NCAA Hoops Set
After my euphoric blog entry Saturday following the University of Florida men's basketball team's improbable last-second winning three-pointer in the NCAA Division I tournament, things have abruptly come back to earth with their loss in the Elite Eight game against South Carolina yesterday afternoon. The Gators fell, for the most part, because of a problem they've experienced before: they simply couldn't make their shots. After going 7 for 12 with their three-point shots in the first half, they were sunk in the second when they went 0 for 14 from that range...hard to win with those stats. Still, I'm proud of them for having gotten this far. Looking forward to next year!
On Saturday, Pacific states schools Gonzaga and Oregon won their respective games against upstart Xavier and heavily-favored Kansas, respectively. I was very surprised by the Jayhawks' letdown after their very impressive performances so far in the tournament...I had expected them to go all the way to the championship. Just goes to show you that one game is no reliable predictor of the next. After Florida's 77-70 defeat to South Carolina, I was looking forward to some redemption from the second game on Sunday when North Carolina, a school I've been supporting in basketball for decades, faced Kentucky, which I've been opposing a long time. It was an exciting contest reminiscent of the Florida/Wisconsin game on Friday...the Tarheels made a last-second jump shot to break a tie, sending Kentucky packing home and themselves to Phoenix. So in this 2017 edition of the Final Four, we have two regional number one seeds...Gonzaga and North Carolina, a regional number three seed in Oregon, and number seven seed South Carolina. North Carolina is the only school experienced at this stage in the tournament, but I don't think past records matter any more. I don't know who will win it all...I can only say that I'm rooting for the Tarheels and that I'm indifferent about the rest of the field. So hopefully NC will get past Oregon on Saturday to make next Monday's championship game interesting for me...
...Oh, by the way, my congratulations to the women's basketball team from Mississippi State for winning their overtime game against Baylor, which I watched yesterday on ESPN. They were amazing...now they're in their tournament's Final Four! Guess who I'm rooting for in that series...
On Saturday, Pacific states schools Gonzaga and Oregon won their respective games against upstart Xavier and heavily-favored Kansas, respectively. I was very surprised by the Jayhawks' letdown after their very impressive performances so far in the tournament...I had expected them to go all the way to the championship. Just goes to show you that one game is no reliable predictor of the next. After Florida's 77-70 defeat to South Carolina, I was looking forward to some redemption from the second game on Sunday when North Carolina, a school I've been supporting in basketball for decades, faced Kentucky, which I've been opposing a long time. It was an exciting contest reminiscent of the Florida/Wisconsin game on Friday...the Tarheels made a last-second jump shot to break a tie, sending Kentucky packing home and themselves to Phoenix. So in this 2017 edition of the Final Four, we have two regional number one seeds...Gonzaga and North Carolina, a regional number three seed in Oregon, and number seven seed South Carolina. North Carolina is the only school experienced at this stage in the tournament, but I don't think past records matter any more. I don't know who will win it all...I can only say that I'm rooting for the Tarheels and that I'm indifferent about the rest of the field. So hopefully NC will get past Oregon on Saturday to make next Monday's championship game interesting for me...
...Oh, by the way, my congratulations to the women's basketball team from Mississippi State for winning their overtime game against Baylor, which I watched yesterday on ESPN. They were amazing...now they're in their tournament's Final Four! Guess who I'm rooting for in that series...
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Corporations...and People
In the controversial 2010 Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission United States Supreme Court decision, the Court's majority decided with the plaintiff and in so doing, overturned more than a century of precedent law that distinguishes corporations from individuals when it comes to the expression of speech. Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his majority opinion, justified his position by stating that associations of people were just as protected by the First Amendment as were individuals and offered his own precedents for this view...opening the way for just about any shadow organization to now anonymously funnel millions of dollars into political advertising for targeted elections...thus in the eyes of the decision's critics, unduly influencing...even corrupting...the election process. What I think is important here is the equating...in the minds of the conservative justices rendering the majority decision...of corporations with individual people...
That was 2010...fast forward to now, in early 2017. The Trump administration says it wants to reform our tax code, in great part because the American corporate tax rate, at 38% when including average state and local corporate taxes, is the highest in the world and discourages our businesses from remaining here and encourages them to relocate abroad. But liberal critics of any plan to lower the corporate tax rate to bring it more in line with other countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, or Germany...all of which have drastically lower corporate rates...invariably refer to this endeavor as trying to give tax breaks to rich people. About which they're right, in a meaningful way, but in making this argument these liberals are in essence doing what they complain that the conservative justices did in Citizens United: equating corporations with individual people...
Of course, a corporation is not a person...else they'd be allowed to vote as well as run for public office. Justice Stevens, in his dissenting opinion in Citizens United, emphasized the important longstanding legal separations between corporations and humans while also questioning the rationale of exactly who it is that a corporation is "speaking" for: its shareholders, CEOs...who? And I'll add: if the shareholders are not American citizens, then does a corporation's "free speech", through its political spending, pose the danger of foreign interference in our elections? Well, I guess you can see that a whole can of worms has been opened up with the decision from seven years back...but it would also behoove those arguing against our new president's tax goals to clearly distinguish between corporate and individual tax rates when making those arguments...
That was 2010...fast forward to now, in early 2017. The Trump administration says it wants to reform our tax code, in great part because the American corporate tax rate, at 38% when including average state and local corporate taxes, is the highest in the world and discourages our businesses from remaining here and encourages them to relocate abroad. But liberal critics of any plan to lower the corporate tax rate to bring it more in line with other countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, or Germany...all of which have drastically lower corporate rates...invariably refer to this endeavor as trying to give tax breaks to rich people. About which they're right, in a meaningful way, but in making this argument these liberals are in essence doing what they complain that the conservative justices did in Citizens United: equating corporations with individual people...
Of course, a corporation is not a person...else they'd be allowed to vote as well as run for public office. Justice Stevens, in his dissenting opinion in Citizens United, emphasized the important longstanding legal separations between corporations and humans while also questioning the rationale of exactly who it is that a corporation is "speaking" for: its shareholders, CEOs...who? And I'll add: if the shareholders are not American citizens, then does a corporation's "free speech", through its political spending, pose the danger of foreign interference in our elections? Well, I guess you can see that a whole can of worms has been opened up with the decision from seven years back...but it would also behoove those arguing against our new president's tax goals to clearly distinguish between corporate and individual tax rates when making those arguments...
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Gators Fall Forward Into the Elite Eight
Whether it was a viral attack or simply the pollen allergy season hitting me, I found myself last night in the throes of coughing fits and upper respiratory congestion... and consequently sadly but wisely decided to forego getting up early this morning to run a 10K race in the middle of the alligator-friendly, soggy wilderness they call Paynes Prairie. Instead I slept in...hooray, I feel a lot better now! I went to one of the last two surviving Radio Shacks here in Gainesville to pick up a cheap MP3 player, only to discover that (1) they didn't have any more MP3s and (2) they are closing down in nine days. Sorry to hear that...Radio Shack's always been a fun place for me to browse through, and I've bought quite a bit of stuff there over the years. Anyway, between last night and this morning word has spread throughout Gainesville and beyond of late last night and the miracle three-point buzzer-beating shot of junior Florida Gator guard Chris Chiozza...as he was falling forward...that gave them a thrilling 84-83 overtime victory over Wisconsin and advances them to play South Carolina (for the third time this year) in the Elite Eight game tomorrow. It was funny to hear the sports commentators on TV talking about how Florida and Wisconsin...after all the previous games in the tournament...had finally put on a show worthy of the hyped-up excitement of "March Madness". As if either team actually wanted to have their contest so painfully drawn out the way it was, just to be considered worthy enough for others to watch! Actually, until last night I felt that Florida had been unfairly slighted and ignored by the national sports media...we're talking about a team devoid of superstars and coached by someone in only his second year with the school...a team with a losing record two years ago and which settled for going to the NIT last year! Regardless what happens tomorrow between the Gamecocks and Gators, it has already been a great season for Florida basketball...
I was tempted to wait until the Final Four lineup was set before writing my "basketball" article, but I think this weekend's games promise some interesting basketball to discuss. This is the schedule, for the next round, which will determine each region's champion and the Final Four field:
Saturday (today):
West Region
Xavier vs. Gonzaga, 6:09 pm, site: San Jose
Midwest Region
Kansas vs. Oregon, 8:49 pm, site: Kansas City
Sunday
East Region
Florida vs. South Carolina, 2:20 pm, site: New York
South Region
Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 5:05 pm, site: Memphis
Today's games...according to the NCAA website, will be shown on TBS and tomorrow's are on CBS...but knowing how television programming can suddenly change, I wouldn't bet my house on that information. As for the Final Four, should Florida get by South Carolina...and they split their regular season games...they will have the advantage of playing the Xavier/Gonzaga winner in the first game, on Saturday. I'm glad about that because I'd like to see the Gators get to the championship game and Kansas is so hot right now I don't know whether anybody can stop them. As for which teams I want to win...disregarding their real chances...I'd like to see Florida, Xavier, Oregon, and North Carolina make it to the Final Four...fat chance of all that happening, though. Anyway, the Final Four games are to be held in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, March 31 and Monday, April 2. The Saturday games will pair up the East/West and South/Midwest winners. May the best team win...unless it's the Gators, and may they win even if they're not the best team!
I was tempted to wait until the Final Four lineup was set before writing my "basketball" article, but I think this weekend's games promise some interesting basketball to discuss. This is the schedule, for the next round, which will determine each region's champion and the Final Four field:
Saturday (today):
West Region
Xavier vs. Gonzaga, 6:09 pm, site: San Jose
Midwest Region
Kansas vs. Oregon, 8:49 pm, site: Kansas City
Sunday
East Region
Florida vs. South Carolina, 2:20 pm, site: New York
South Region
Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 5:05 pm, site: Memphis
Today's games...according to the NCAA website, will be shown on TBS and tomorrow's are on CBS...but knowing how television programming can suddenly change, I wouldn't bet my house on that information. As for the Final Four, should Florida get by South Carolina...and they split their regular season games...they will have the advantage of playing the Xavier/Gonzaga winner in the first game, on Saturday. I'm glad about that because I'd like to see the Gators get to the championship game and Kansas is so hot right now I don't know whether anybody can stop them. As for which teams I want to win...disregarding their real chances...I'd like to see Florida, Xavier, Oregon, and North Carolina make it to the Final Four...fat chance of all that happening, though. Anyway, the Final Four games are to be held in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, March 31 and Monday, April 2. The Saturday games will pair up the East/West and South/Midwest winners. May the best team win...unless it's the Gators, and may they win even if they're not the best team!
Friday, March 24, 2017
Quote of the Week...from Henry David Thoreau
The universe is wider than our views of it. ---Henry David Thoreau.
Henry David Thoreau was a nineteenth century American writer famous for authoring Walden. He's also known for a number of quotes...the one at the head of this article resonated with me. In essence, he's saying here that as humans we tend to oversimplify reality, and even our greatest scientific accomplishments are only abstractions at best. But also, many of us fall prey to worldviews and ideologies that order the universe...especially that regarding society and its institutions...according to a set number of rules we often confuse with objective truth without recognizing their limitations. Take, for example, radio talk show host Mark Levin, someone I've grown accustomed to listening to on weeknights. He calls himself a "constitutional conservative" and has written a number of books espousing his ideology. But Levin, while entertaining and independent-minded, has a rigidity to his political philosophy...should a caller to his show define conservatism...even favorably...in any terms other than Levin's own "definition", he'll fly off the handle and begin to angrily berate them...often suggesting that they have no right to their opinion since they haven't read his books...
Or take this nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch. He has his own system for deciding cases on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In exploring how a specific law applies to the plaintiff and defendant in a particular case, he makes no effort to explore the underlying intent that the lawmakers had in designing and passing it, instead just taking the text on its own terms...and then using his Oxford English dictionary to read the definitions of different words in the written law that best suit him. This has resulted in some strange past rulings of his that have come out in the Senate confirmation hearings lately...including one that the current Supreme Court just unanimously overturned...
Look, we have to make some order and sense out of the chaotic universe that surrounds us...we would otherwise be unable to function. But let's not get carried away with ourselves and instead recognize our own man-made rules and explanations for what they are: merely tools and not reality itself. And if someone else has a different way of interpreting things, it's O.K. to respect them for that while remaining secure in our own outlook. On the other hand, if you're a federal judge with the enormous responsibility that job has regarding others' lives, then the people appearing before you depend on you seeing their case from more than one self-imposed, narrow perspective...
Henry David Thoreau was a nineteenth century American writer famous for authoring Walden. He's also known for a number of quotes...the one at the head of this article resonated with me. In essence, he's saying here that as humans we tend to oversimplify reality, and even our greatest scientific accomplishments are only abstractions at best. But also, many of us fall prey to worldviews and ideologies that order the universe...especially that regarding society and its institutions...according to a set number of rules we often confuse with objective truth without recognizing their limitations. Take, for example, radio talk show host Mark Levin, someone I've grown accustomed to listening to on weeknights. He calls himself a "constitutional conservative" and has written a number of books espousing his ideology. But Levin, while entertaining and independent-minded, has a rigidity to his political philosophy...should a caller to his show define conservatism...even favorably...in any terms other than Levin's own "definition", he'll fly off the handle and begin to angrily berate them...often suggesting that they have no right to their opinion since they haven't read his books...
Or take this nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch. He has his own system for deciding cases on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In exploring how a specific law applies to the plaintiff and defendant in a particular case, he makes no effort to explore the underlying intent that the lawmakers had in designing and passing it, instead just taking the text on its own terms...and then using his Oxford English dictionary to read the definitions of different words in the written law that best suit him. This has resulted in some strange past rulings of his that have come out in the Senate confirmation hearings lately...including one that the current Supreme Court just unanimously overturned...
Look, we have to make some order and sense out of the chaotic universe that surrounds us...we would otherwise be unable to function. But let's not get carried away with ourselves and instead recognize our own man-made rules and explanations for what they are: merely tools and not reality itself. And if someone else has a different way of interpreting things, it's O.K. to respect them for that while remaining secure in our own outlook. On the other hand, if you're a federal judge with the enormous responsibility that job has regarding others' lives, then the people appearing before you depend on you seeing their case from more than one self-imposed, narrow perspective...
Thursday, March 23, 2017
3/19 Sermon on Prodigals, Part 1
The new message series at The Family Church here in Gainesville that Pastor Philip Griffin began last Sunday is about Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, appearing in the New Testament book of Luke 15:11-32...here is a link to the passage for this sermon, in the New International Version via the Bible Gateway website: [link]...
In introducing his message, Pastor Philip made two points: one, the term "prodigal" means wasteful and squandering...and two, what is commonly referred to as the "parable of the prodigal son"...which I myself just used...is actually about two prodigal sons, each meeting that description in a different way. Most who are familiar with this story know of the irresponsible, selfish son who demands his father give him his portion of his inheritance up front and then squanders it all in a distant land on prostitutes, ultimately finding himself destitute, left to feed pigs while he himself is starving. He then decides to repent of his ways and returns to his father, willing to be taken back not as a son, but as a servant. But the father sees him from far off and rejoices that his son, once lost, is now found...and stages a big party for him. The older brother, who had dutifully stayed with his father, takes offense at this type of greeting...feeling slighted and unjustly treated while prideful at his own righteousness behavior...
Last Sunday's message focused on the rebellious son in this story from Jesus. Pastor Philip unraveled the process through which this prodigal son rejected his father...in fact treating him as "dead" by demanding his inheritance, rebelled against his father's ways...in the opinion of the pastor, probably alienating him from the local population and necessitating him moving far away, finally reaching an all-time low, responding to that bottoming-out by repenting, and then receiving forgiveness and restoration from his father. Not only does this all conform pretty closely to the sermon notes I have in front of me, but as Pastor Philip pointed out, it is also a picture of the salvation process we have through Jesus...the father represents God, the party he throws is his kingdom in heaven, and the prodigal is...actually, each of us...
As this series continues over the next couple of weeks, the focus will shift to the father and then that "dutiful" prodigal son. You can view Pastor Philip's message, as well as many others from previous weeks, by getting on The Family Church YouTube video website, which you can access with the following link: [link]. The Family Church holds its Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11 and is located at 2022 SW 122 Street...
In introducing his message, Pastor Philip made two points: one, the term "prodigal" means wasteful and squandering...and two, what is commonly referred to as the "parable of the prodigal son"...which I myself just used...is actually about two prodigal sons, each meeting that description in a different way. Most who are familiar with this story know of the irresponsible, selfish son who demands his father give him his portion of his inheritance up front and then squanders it all in a distant land on prostitutes, ultimately finding himself destitute, left to feed pigs while he himself is starving. He then decides to repent of his ways and returns to his father, willing to be taken back not as a son, but as a servant. But the father sees him from far off and rejoices that his son, once lost, is now found...and stages a big party for him. The older brother, who had dutifully stayed with his father, takes offense at this type of greeting...feeling slighted and unjustly treated while prideful at his own righteousness behavior...
Last Sunday's message focused on the rebellious son in this story from Jesus. Pastor Philip unraveled the process through which this prodigal son rejected his father...in fact treating him as "dead" by demanding his inheritance, rebelled against his father's ways...in the opinion of the pastor, probably alienating him from the local population and necessitating him moving far away, finally reaching an all-time low, responding to that bottoming-out by repenting, and then receiving forgiveness and restoration from his father. Not only does this all conform pretty closely to the sermon notes I have in front of me, but as Pastor Philip pointed out, it is also a picture of the salvation process we have through Jesus...the father represents God, the party he throws is his kingdom in heaven, and the prodigal is...actually, each of us...
As this series continues over the next couple of weeks, the focus will shift to the father and then that "dutiful" prodigal son. You can view Pastor Philip's message, as well as many others from previous weeks, by getting on The Family Church YouTube video website, which you can access with the following link: [link]. The Family Church holds its Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11 and is located at 2022 SW 122 Street...
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Star NBA Players Sitting Out Regular Season Games
Having had my fill for a little while of the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch...and straying from the ongoing headline news story about today's terrorist attack on London, I checked in to ESPN and heard Stephen A. Smith and his interchangeable cohort go off against each other about National Basketball Association star players being given "off days" by their respective coaches and sitting out entire games...even those advertised by major networks for show on TV. It's gotten so bad now that sometimes almost the entire starting lineup won't play...in essence forfeiting that game and, in my opinion, cheating the paying fans the opportunity to see the high caliber of basketball that they shelled out their money for. The rationale for a lot of this off-time is that the season is too long and that too many games are played back-to-back...with this train of thought goes concern for the players' health. And after all, it's the playoffs and not the regular season that counts, right?
If the 82-game NBA regular season is only there to establish eligibility for the playoffs and create a seeding system for the 16 teams that make it, and everyone's so concerned about the players' health...then why not reduce the number of games, then? Do we really need that many games...or is the sport instead way too greedy? I suspect the latter is the real reason for the status quo in pro basketball here. If you can take around 200 teams in college basketball and devise a 64-team tournament that few events in sports can challenge for its mass popularity...and accomplish this after most teams have played regular seasons of only 24-27 games, it seems to me...unless of course money is the only thing they're interested in...that the NBA playoffs could be lined up after a regular season of, say...around 50 games. That would still be about twice the number as the college version, and think of all the "off"-time that the big-shot multi-millionaire stars would be enjoying. On the other hand, if the regular season has to be kept at 82 games, then why have playoffs at all?
Why not have the teams in the league play each other the same number of games and let the team with the best record be crowned champion...or let the playoffs be limited to a championship series between the two conferences' regular season champions? Overseas professional soccer leagues don't use playoffs to determine their champions and they are still wildly popular over there. This way, the games themselves would count and you wouldn't see all these games with starters on the sidelines throughout. And also, let the worst finishers in the league be relegated to a lower-status league in order to reduce the incidence of teams...such as reputedly the 76ers...flopping in order to achieve a high draft status for the next season...
But the bottom line here is that, if the coaches and star players themselves don't value the regular season, then why should I or any other fan? When I tune in to a game like the other night and see a whole row of perfectly healthy, monumentally-paid starters sitting back on the sidelines joking around with one another while their team on the court is losing by 25 points, then I would say we've got a problem here...
If the 82-game NBA regular season is only there to establish eligibility for the playoffs and create a seeding system for the 16 teams that make it, and everyone's so concerned about the players' health...then why not reduce the number of games, then? Do we really need that many games...or is the sport instead way too greedy? I suspect the latter is the real reason for the status quo in pro basketball here. If you can take around 200 teams in college basketball and devise a 64-team tournament that few events in sports can challenge for its mass popularity...and accomplish this after most teams have played regular seasons of only 24-27 games, it seems to me...unless of course money is the only thing they're interested in...that the NBA playoffs could be lined up after a regular season of, say...around 50 games. That would still be about twice the number as the college version, and think of all the "off"-time that the big-shot multi-millionaire stars would be enjoying. On the other hand, if the regular season has to be kept at 82 games, then why have playoffs at all?
Why not have the teams in the league play each other the same number of games and let the team with the best record be crowned champion...or let the playoffs be limited to a championship series between the two conferences' regular season champions? Overseas professional soccer leagues don't use playoffs to determine their champions and they are still wildly popular over there. This way, the games themselves would count and you wouldn't see all these games with starters on the sidelines throughout. And also, let the worst finishers in the league be relegated to a lower-status league in order to reduce the incidence of teams...such as reputedly the 76ers...flopping in order to achieve a high draft status for the next season...
But the bottom line here is that, if the coaches and star players themselves don't value the regular season, then why should I or any other fan? When I tune in to a game like the other night and see a whole row of perfectly healthy, monumentally-paid starters sitting back on the sidelines joking around with one another while their team on the court is losing by 25 points, then I would say we've got a problem here...
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
The Overrated Small Group Circle
I'm not sure that this article is one based on principle as much as it is my feelings about a certain subject: how people are seated when in small groups. I've noticed over the years in school, church, and the workplace that often the individual in charge of conducting the small group I am attending will insist on drawing up chairs in a circle, with everyone directly facing each other. This is supposedly meant to engage everyone in the group...but I find it produces the opposite effect with me. I find myself instinctively looking away from the others in the group while feeling defensive about them watching me...instead of focusing on whatever was the reason for the group in the first place. If I happen to be a little out of sorts...be it sleepy, anxious, or displaying the numerous symptoms of my seasonal respiratory allergies...it all becomes readily apparent to all...call me self-conscious in that regard. I also believe that many who insist on conducting small groups in circles do it precisely to make the participants uncomfortable...this enhances their power within the group to manipulate the others. And also, the circle format creates the impression, accurate or not, that one's own opinions about a particular matter are subservient to those of the group...or should I say, those of the loudest and most dominant of the group...
I say all this because I recently heard someone ridicule the idea of people in a meeting sitting in rows and that they should instead be gathered in a circle. I don't think folks need to follow either model...as long as we are within a reasonable proximity of each other, we should be able to sit facing whatever direction we want...as long as our backs aren't to everyone else...and in different places that make us feel the most comfortable. But I'll repeat my earlier sentiment, and you cannot refute me because it is how I deeply feel: small groups in circles are worthless and counterproductive as far as what I get out of them, and they serve to worsen instead of strengthening my connection with the people involved...I consequently tend to avoid situations where they are mandated. There, I said it...
I say all this because I recently heard someone ridicule the idea of people in a meeting sitting in rows and that they should instead be gathered in a circle. I don't think folks need to follow either model...as long as we are within a reasonable proximity of each other, we should be able to sit facing whatever direction we want...as long as our backs aren't to everyone else...and in different places that make us feel the most comfortable. But I'll repeat my earlier sentiment, and you cannot refute me because it is how I deeply feel: small groups in circles are worthless and counterproductive as far as what I get out of them, and they serve to worsen instead of strengthening my connection with the people involved...I consequently tend to avoid situations where they are mandated. There, I said it...
Monday, March 20, 2017
What's Up for Me this Week? Don't Know Yet...
The coming week in my life contains some variables, the outcomes of which will determine what I do. I may end up spending some time at the beach or run a 10K (6.2-mile) trail race...or both...or neither. What I end up doing should be cleared up, though, within a few hours...
The beach is always calling me, and whenever an opportunity arises for both Melissa and I to get to go there, then we have to seriously consider it. Maybe I'll get to go and maybe I won't. But if it's not in the cards to go there this week, then there is a cool-sounding trail running race held annually in Paynes Prairie, just south of Gainesville. Called the Trail of Payne, it's become an annual tradition...yet I've never gotten around to running in it. Being a trail race, the surfaces are varied and things can even get a bit muddy...and I'm wondering about those alligators, too. Should Saturday morning end up clear on my calendar with me still here in Gainesville, I have half a mind to go down there and try it out...
Regardless of where this week leads me, I'm resolved to make the best of it and have a good time...
The beach is always calling me, and whenever an opportunity arises for both Melissa and I to get to go there, then we have to seriously consider it. Maybe I'll get to go and maybe I won't. But if it's not in the cards to go there this week, then there is a cool-sounding trail running race held annually in Paynes Prairie, just south of Gainesville. Called the Trail of Payne, it's become an annual tradition...yet I've never gotten around to running in it. Being a trail race, the surfaces are varied and things can even get a bit muddy...and I'm wondering about those alligators, too. Should Saturday morning end up clear on my calendar with me still here in Gainesville, I have half a mind to go down there and try it out...
Regardless of where this week leads me, I'm resolved to make the best of it and have a good time...
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Senate Confirmation Hearings for Neil Gorsuch Begin Tomorrow
At 11:00 tomorrow morning (Monday, March 20th), the United States Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to begin its hearings on Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's pick to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court as an associate justice. Gorsuch has served ten years as a federal appeals judge in the 10th Circuit, having been nominated for the position by then-President George W. Bush and approved on the Senate floor by voice vote. By all standards, including those of the American Bar Association, he seems very qualified for the post he is nominated for. His judicial philosophy is to interpret the Constitution as he believes it was originally intended and to strictly interpret laws according to their text, putting him squarely in the corner of conservative judges like Scalia. Because of this, he is bound to be seriously grilled during the hearings by the nine Democrats on the committee, with his more controversial decisions from the 240 he has made so far certain to receive scrutiny and criticism. I imagine Gorsuch will be able to catch his breath, though, whenever the eleven Republicans are questioning him, doubtless raining accolades down on him and feeding him softball questions...
Monday's hearing will feature Judge Gorsuch in attendance, but other than the nominee possibly saying something later that day, the rest of the time will be devoted to the committee members making their own speeches and setting the tone for the hearings. Tuesday will feature Gorsuch in the "hot seat" as the senators take turns asking him about his record, past statements, and judicial philosophy. Committee chairman Grassley wants Gorsuch's testimony to be only a one-day affair, but it may spill over into a second. The last day will be devoted to others' testimonies about how good or bad a job they feel he will do on the Supreme Court...and then the committee will vote to pass on the nomination to the Senate floor. Then it will be a question as to whether the Democrats can muster up enough votes to filibuster the final debate...if they succeed, in all probability Majority Leader McConnell will change the Senate rules to end debate with a simple majority...the so-called "nuclear option"...in order to hold the final confirmation vote. Regardless, unless something nobody knows about Gorsuch comes out, it is a near certainty that he will be confirmed and sworn in as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice...
I personally do not have a problem with a conservative president appointing and having confirmed a qualified conservative to the Supreme Court. What I do have a problem with is when a liberal president makes his own selection to the high court and has it stonewalled and rejected out of hand by the opposition-controlled Senate, without even the courtesy of a hearing given the nominee. This vacancy, caused by Justice Scalia's death more than a year ago, was Barack Obama's to fill. He made overtures to McConnell and Grassley in order to come up with a candidate more acceptable to them, but they refused to honor their Constitutionally-mandated role of advice and consent. The President nominated Merrick Garland, by no means a liberal but neither a dyed-in-the-wool conservative. In my opinion there is something illegitimate about next week's hearings for Neil Gorsuch, as Garland should already have been serving in the Supreme Court for several months by now. That having been said, it isn't Neil Gorsuch who is at fault here and, so far, I have a favorable opinion of him...
Monday's hearing will feature Judge Gorsuch in attendance, but other than the nominee possibly saying something later that day, the rest of the time will be devoted to the committee members making their own speeches and setting the tone for the hearings. Tuesday will feature Gorsuch in the "hot seat" as the senators take turns asking him about his record, past statements, and judicial philosophy. Committee chairman Grassley wants Gorsuch's testimony to be only a one-day affair, but it may spill over into a second. The last day will be devoted to others' testimonies about how good or bad a job they feel he will do on the Supreme Court...and then the committee will vote to pass on the nomination to the Senate floor. Then it will be a question as to whether the Democrats can muster up enough votes to filibuster the final debate...if they succeed, in all probability Majority Leader McConnell will change the Senate rules to end debate with a simple majority...the so-called "nuclear option"...in order to hold the final confirmation vote. Regardless, unless something nobody knows about Gorsuch comes out, it is a near certainty that he will be confirmed and sworn in as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice...
I personally do not have a problem with a conservative president appointing and having confirmed a qualified conservative to the Supreme Court. What I do have a problem with is when a liberal president makes his own selection to the high court and has it stonewalled and rejected out of hand by the opposition-controlled Senate, without even the courtesy of a hearing given the nominee. This vacancy, caused by Justice Scalia's death more than a year ago, was Barack Obama's to fill. He made overtures to McConnell and Grassley in order to come up with a candidate more acceptable to them, but they refused to honor their Constitutionally-mandated role of advice and consent. The President nominated Merrick Garland, by no means a liberal but neither a dyed-in-the-wool conservative. In my opinion there is something illegitimate about next week's hearings for Neil Gorsuch, as Garland should already have been serving in the Supreme Court for several months by now. That having been said, it isn't Neil Gorsuch who is at fault here and, so far, I have a favorable opinion of him...
Saturday, March 18, 2017
The 2017 NCAA Basketball Tourney As I See It
Having been at work during the first round of the 2016-17 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament on Thursday and Friday, I've already missed more than half the tournament's 63 total games...not that I would have watched them all had I had the chance. But here I am on Saturday afternoon and the second round is now underway to pare the field of teams down from 32 to 16. Earlier I watched Notre Dame bow to West Virginia in the day's first contest...and now defending champion Villanova just got upset by 8th seed Wisconsin...no repeat champions this year! Later today in Orlando, Florida State will play Xavier and then the University of Florida will face Virgina...the Seminoles should advance but "my" Gators are pretty evenly matched against their ACC opponent...good luck to both my home state's teams! I was disappointed that Miami (badly) lost their game yesterday and is out of the tournament. I traditionally support North Carolina, and the Tarheels are seeded number one in their region...they will play Arkansas early tomorrow evening to try to advance. As for which team I think will eventually win it all...well, I have a feeling that Kansas may be the one to put it all together this time around. But after mentioning this to a co-worker who is also a sports fan, he suggested that Arizona should be considered, too. Then, there are also Gonzaga, Duke, UCLA, Oregon, Kentucky, and so on...
Now that Villanova has been eliminated, that makes 25 years now during which only one school has managed to put together back-to-back NCAA Men's Division One Basketball championships: the University of Florida (my alma mater) who pulled it off in 2005-06 and 2006-07. This year's edition of the Fightin' Gators isn't quite as star-studded as that earlier group, which included future NBA players Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Corey Brewer, but it works very cohesively as a unit under second-year head coach Mike White. Unfortunately, their starting center John Egbunu suffered a season-ending injury a month ago and they have been struggling to fill in the gap caused by his absence. But if they can shoot well in their game against Virginia, Florida should be in a good position to win and then be competitive against the next opponent: those impressive Wisconsin Badgers who put just put away the defending champs. Now please excuse me while I get ready for the next game...
Now that Villanova has been eliminated, that makes 25 years now during which only one school has managed to put together back-to-back NCAA Men's Division One Basketball championships: the University of Florida (my alma mater) who pulled it off in 2005-06 and 2006-07. This year's edition of the Fightin' Gators isn't quite as star-studded as that earlier group, which included future NBA players Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Corey Brewer, but it works very cohesively as a unit under second-year head coach Mike White. Unfortunately, their starting center John Egbunu suffered a season-ending injury a month ago and they have been struggling to fill in the gap caused by his absence. But if they can shoot well in their game against Virginia, Florida should be in a good position to win and then be competitive against the next opponent: those impressive Wisconsin Badgers who put just put away the defending champs. Now please excuse me while I get ready for the next game...
Friday, March 17, 2017
Quote of the Week...from James Joyce
Mistakes are the portals of discovery. ---James Joyce
James Joyce was an Irish author of the previous century, considered by some to be the greatest writer of English literature since Shakespeare. Not having read his works, I couldn't say whether I agree or not...besides, I'm not that big a fan of Shakespeare, anyway. I do know that Joyce was well known for writing fiction with language very difficult to understand for its complexity...and his book Finnegans Wake is a unintelligible morass of cryptic, disconnected phrases with numerous sojourns into other languages. So I was tempted to use the following quote of Joyce instead on this St. Patrick's Day: I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality. But hey, I already knew of this successful strategy of writing with popular songwriters like Beck or R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe...
As for the above quote that I did use, I think that few things could be more true. We do learn from our mistakes...the trick is to keep them from being fatal, debilitating, or harmful to others. One of the problems I had with the way things were structured during my school years was how mistakes were consistently used to judge whether a student was "good" or "bad". The fewer mistakes you made meant that you got a higher grade and more meant you were headed for trouble. Now supposedly homework and in-class assignments were supposed to bring out mistakes so that students could learn from them and they could then do well on quizzes and tests...but if these learning assignments were also graded and recorded by how many mistakes they contained, then the student was discouraged from this important learning experience and would be more defensive about how he or she performed them...
In a broader sense, in our lives we're all making mistakes left and right. It's better to already know that doing or saying a particular thing is going to backfire and never try it. And sometimes behavior that is counterproductive or even harmful will go unchecked until the habit is well entrenched and the consequences happen later on down the line. Better that a mistake is exposed as early as possible and corrected. But in a more creative sense...and here is where James Joyce might have been going with this quote...mistakes can often lead one to reconsider where they are going and to either change their direction, reevaluate what they are doing and why, or to discover a better solution to their situation...one that opens up new opportunities heretofore hidden from them...
James Joyce was an Irish author of the previous century, considered by some to be the greatest writer of English literature since Shakespeare. Not having read his works, I couldn't say whether I agree or not...besides, I'm not that big a fan of Shakespeare, anyway. I do know that Joyce was well known for writing fiction with language very difficult to understand for its complexity...and his book Finnegans Wake is a unintelligible morass of cryptic, disconnected phrases with numerous sojourns into other languages. So I was tempted to use the following quote of Joyce instead on this St. Patrick's Day: I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality. But hey, I already knew of this successful strategy of writing with popular songwriters like Beck or R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe...
As for the above quote that I did use, I think that few things could be more true. We do learn from our mistakes...the trick is to keep them from being fatal, debilitating, or harmful to others. One of the problems I had with the way things were structured during my school years was how mistakes were consistently used to judge whether a student was "good" or "bad". The fewer mistakes you made meant that you got a higher grade and more meant you were headed for trouble. Now supposedly homework and in-class assignments were supposed to bring out mistakes so that students could learn from them and they could then do well on quizzes and tests...but if these learning assignments were also graded and recorded by how many mistakes they contained, then the student was discouraged from this important learning experience and would be more defensive about how he or she performed them...
In a broader sense, in our lives we're all making mistakes left and right. It's better to already know that doing or saying a particular thing is going to backfire and never try it. And sometimes behavior that is counterproductive or even harmful will go unchecked until the habit is well entrenched and the consequences happen later on down the line. Better that a mistake is exposed as early as possible and corrected. But in a more creative sense...and here is where James Joyce might have been going with this quote...mistakes can often lead one to reconsider where they are going and to either change their direction, reevaluate what they are doing and why, or to discover a better solution to their situation...one that opens up new opportunities heretofore hidden from them...
Thursday, March 16, 2017
3/12 Sermon on Family Life, Part 2
At The Family Church here in Gainesville for the past two weeks, the Sunday morning messages have been focused on the church itself and the need for missions. Last Sunday Jeff Moody, our missions coordinator, delivered the sermon, titled Four Commitments That Will Change the World...which was about missions, of course. And his key Bible verses are well-known to those in this field: Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV):
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Known as the Great Commission, this was the final commandment given by Jesus before his ascension. But speaking of commandments, what did Jesus say during his brief sojourn on Earth? Jeff, drawing upon material he had read from others...including George Patterson...came up with seven basic commandments of Jesus: repent and believe, be baptized, love, take communion, pray, give,...and that last one: make disciples. I'm assuming that forgiving others comes under the banner of "love"...
Jeff structured his message around the commitments that each of us can make to have a global impact. One crucial commitment is to obey Jesus's commands...not as a one-time event but as a continuous, ongoing process throughout our lives. As for making disciples, part of that involves training whoever becomes a disciple to, in turn, make disciples of others. Our fellowship at The Family Church offers programs to do just that...
Jeff Moody's message was very focused and well spoken. I appreciate his return to ministry at our church and wish him and his family the best. You can watch his message by clicking on the following link to the church's YouTube video website: [link]...
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Known as the Great Commission, this was the final commandment given by Jesus before his ascension. But speaking of commandments, what did Jesus say during his brief sojourn on Earth? Jeff, drawing upon material he had read from others...including George Patterson...came up with seven basic commandments of Jesus: repent and believe, be baptized, love, take communion, pray, give,...and that last one: make disciples. I'm assuming that forgiving others comes under the banner of "love"...
Jeff structured his message around the commitments that each of us can make to have a global impact. One crucial commitment is to obey Jesus's commands...not as a one-time event but as a continuous, ongoing process throughout our lives. As for making disciples, part of that involves training whoever becomes a disciple to, in turn, make disciples of others. Our fellowship at The Family Church offers programs to do just that...
Jeff Moody's message was very focused and well spoken. I appreciate his return to ministry at our church and wish him and his family the best. You can watch his message by clicking on the following link to the church's YouTube video website: [link]...
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Puzzled About "Cat Found" Notices
I write this blog using social media...Google's Blogger...posting my articles on it as well as putting a link to them on another social media site, Facebook. I also have a Twitter account, although my use of it is more to get information than to express myself. A few months ago a co-worker told me of another social media site, NextDoor.com, in which the user can communicate over it with others in his or her own immediate neighborhood. Although I've never posted anything on it, I receive regular postings from others on my cellphone app. Among these are postings from folks who either lost a pet or found one. I understand how someone would want to put neighbors on the watch for their lost dog or cat, and I can see a good Samaritan holding a stray dog and posting about it, in hopes of reuniting it with its owner. But what about the posts I occasionally see about someone who has "found" a cat?
In my subdivision, cats are everywhere running free, in their own yards and others', crossing the street (or boldly lying in the middle of them), jumping fences...pretty much free spirits with their "territory" being the neighborhood itself. On the other hand, if someone notices a dog walking around loose without its "human" in sight, then it's a major crisis that urgently needs rectification. I understand the difference: cats, unless rabid, are not going to chase people down and attack them while many dogs will do just that. If I were to pick up, retain, and advertise "CAT FOUND" with every unrestrained cat I saw while driving or running through my neighborhood, I wouldn't have much time to do anything else...plus, I'm sure I'd end up with a lot of pissed-off neighbors! So I ask, how does one see a stray cat and decide to advertise it as "found"? Now I can see somebody reading another's plea about their own lost cat and, using the animal's description, find it on the streets or in their own yard...and then directly contact the owner. But I'm not talking about this here. I plead ignorance on this subject and am puzzled. Oh ye who are more enlightened, please educate me...
In my subdivision, cats are everywhere running free, in their own yards and others', crossing the street (or boldly lying in the middle of them), jumping fences...pretty much free spirits with their "territory" being the neighborhood itself. On the other hand, if someone notices a dog walking around loose without its "human" in sight, then it's a major crisis that urgently needs rectification. I understand the difference: cats, unless rabid, are not going to chase people down and attack them while many dogs will do just that. If I were to pick up, retain, and advertise "CAT FOUND" with every unrestrained cat I saw while driving or running through my neighborhood, I wouldn't have much time to do anything else...plus, I'm sure I'd end up with a lot of pissed-off neighbors! So I ask, how does one see a stray cat and decide to advertise it as "found"? Now I can see somebody reading another's plea about their own lost cat and, using the animal's description, find it on the streets or in their own yard...and then directly contact the owner. But I'm not talking about this here. I plead ignorance on this subject and am puzzled. Oh ye who are more enlightened, please educate me...
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Just Voted...On Election Day in Gainesville
Considering how badly the previous election went for me and my candidates, I was eager to get another one behind me, one that wouldn't "matter" as much even if things didn't go my way. Well, thanks to the good people running the show here in Gainesville, Florida, I didn't have to wait long: for some reason unknown to me (and probably most everyone else), they decided to hold city commission elections in March instead of November...guaranteeing a low voter turnout. As faithful as I am to consistently get to the polls, even I nearly let today's election slip by me...
For this election three Gainesville City Commission races were on the ballots. In my precinct, I got to vote for two of them: one at-large seat covering the whole city and one districted seat...that was all that was on my ballot. Once again, I drove the very short distance to my polling place at the county's senior recreation center, walked straight through to the volunteer at the appropriate desk, got my ballot, spent about five seconds filling it out, shoved it into the slot, received my "I Voted" sticker, and then skedaddled out of there. My main impediment during the whole process was having to dodge several seniors in the hallway, a few of whom seemed hell-bent on colliding head-on with me...
As for that senior recreation center, which I joined for free after turning sixty last October, I'm still trying to figure out how I can make use of it. So far, the only attractive thing they offer that doesn't conflict with my work schedule is chess on Wednesday mornings. I've never been a good chess player and the brochure states that someone will be offering some instruction in the game. Maybe I'll try it out sometime in the near future...
For this election three Gainesville City Commission races were on the ballots. In my precinct, I got to vote for two of them: one at-large seat covering the whole city and one districted seat...that was all that was on my ballot. Once again, I drove the very short distance to my polling place at the county's senior recreation center, walked straight through to the volunteer at the appropriate desk, got my ballot, spent about five seconds filling it out, shoved it into the slot, received my "I Voted" sticker, and then skedaddled out of there. My main impediment during the whole process was having to dodge several seniors in the hallway, a few of whom seemed hell-bent on colliding head-on with me...
As for that senior recreation center, which I joined for free after turning sixty last October, I'm still trying to figure out how I can make use of it. So far, the only attractive thing they offer that doesn't conflict with my work schedule is chess on Wednesday mornings. I've never been a good chess player and the brochure states that someone will be offering some instruction in the game. Maybe I'll try it out sometime in the near future...
Monday, March 13, 2017
Just Finished Reading John Grisham's Rogue Lawyer
Rogue Lawyer, which came out in 2015, is the seventh John Grisham novel I've read so far. Seeing how six of them are stories about the legal profession, it's surprising I've gone this far into the genre, considering that I entertain a deeply-held revulsion toward courtrooms, trial lawyers, and judges. Not that I've ever been in trouble with the law...I haven't...but jury duty over the years has left me cold...I might say disillusioned as well, but I never had any illusions about it to begin with. Whenever I get a jury summons...and they seem to be annoyingly attracted to me...the immediate reaction I get is a feeling of disgust, anticipating the spectacle I'm about to experience against my will. But Grisham is a very good writer and his ability to spin a good yarn, along with how well he develops his characters, has overridden my aversion to the "justice" system...consequently, here I am with another book to write about...
Sebastian Rudd, the protagonist in this story, is just what the book's title suggests: a rogue lawyer, someone operating on the fringes of the profession who takes cases nobody else wants and who has no problem making enemies with the police or the prosecution when it comes to defending his clients. He operates his law practice out of a modified van, which brings to mind the 2005 Michael Connelly novel The Lincoln Lawyer that spotlighted another renegade attorney who ran things out of a vehicle. There are a few more similarities between the two books, but I read Rogue Lawyer on its own terms and don't consider it to be a ripoff of Connelly. After all, it is the nature of literature, art, and music to be derivative...this is why we have different genres and schools in the first place. Rudd tells the story in the first person, which gives the reader a lot of information concerning his attitudes about life, relationships, and justice. He has a big mercy streak to his personality, but finds that many of those he defends are suffering from their own self-made problems and attitudes that get in the way of his trying to help them. And the symbols of justice and law and order...the judges, lawyers, juries, and especially the police...don't carry much, if any, credibility with him...
Rogue Lawyer is, in a way, a collection of shorter stories, interwoven into a cohesive whole, that describes different cases Rudd works, along with his dysfunctional relationship with his ex-wife and their son. Also, he has to make several ethically-questionable decisions in order to achieve the greater good...something that carries a more universal application beyond practicing law. Throw in a little romance on the side, along with Rudd's penchant for managing and betting on cage fighters, and you pretty much have this novel down...albeit without the main details of which I'm going to hold back in case you'd like to read it yourself...
I liked Rogue Lawyer...but then again I like John Grisham's writing. If you're a fan of his, go for it and read this book!
Sebastian Rudd, the protagonist in this story, is just what the book's title suggests: a rogue lawyer, someone operating on the fringes of the profession who takes cases nobody else wants and who has no problem making enemies with the police or the prosecution when it comes to defending his clients. He operates his law practice out of a modified van, which brings to mind the 2005 Michael Connelly novel The Lincoln Lawyer that spotlighted another renegade attorney who ran things out of a vehicle. There are a few more similarities between the two books, but I read Rogue Lawyer on its own terms and don't consider it to be a ripoff of Connelly. After all, it is the nature of literature, art, and music to be derivative...this is why we have different genres and schools in the first place. Rudd tells the story in the first person, which gives the reader a lot of information concerning his attitudes about life, relationships, and justice. He has a big mercy streak to his personality, but finds that many of those he defends are suffering from their own self-made problems and attitudes that get in the way of his trying to help them. And the symbols of justice and law and order...the judges, lawyers, juries, and especially the police...don't carry much, if any, credibility with him...
Rogue Lawyer is, in a way, a collection of shorter stories, interwoven into a cohesive whole, that describes different cases Rudd works, along with his dysfunctional relationship with his ex-wife and their son. Also, he has to make several ethically-questionable decisions in order to achieve the greater good...something that carries a more universal application beyond practicing law. Throw in a little romance on the side, along with Rudd's penchant for managing and betting on cage fighters, and you pretty much have this novel down...albeit without the main details of which I'm going to hold back in case you'd like to read it yourself...
I liked Rogue Lawyer...but then again I like John Grisham's writing. If you're a fan of his, go for it and read this book!
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Mexican Pro Soccer Matches Postponed...and Why
I have been a soccer fan for the past three years, focusing my attention on some of the top professional leagues in the world. I follow England's Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga, Mexico's Liga MX, and the United States/Canada's Major League Soccer...well, maybe this last one still has a way to before attaining that "top professional league" status. I would be a fan of Spain's La Liga, France's Ligue 1, and Italy's Lega Serie A, but I don't pick up their games with my TV cable plan and have plenty of soccer to watch as it is. One of my favorite "activities" on a Saturday evening at home is to tune in to Univision and watch the Spanish-language play-by-play live broadcasts of Mexican soccer. And last night had two great games lined up: "my" team, the UANL Tigres, were facing off against Guadalajara, a traditional favorite in Mexico and doing well this year...and the later game was between first-year Necaxa and another traditional favorite: Club America, based in Mexico City. There was extra drama with these matchups because Tigres and Club America, each usually near the top of the standings, were struggling so far this season and are both in danger of missing the playoffs, which they call "Liguilla". So I'm sitting there waiting for this very violent dramatic series titled La Piloto to finish at eight, when game number one was going to start. Only it never did, and that horrid show kept going on and on. Being a citizen of the 21st century, I simply whipped out my android phone and asked it what happened to the games...the answer, while disappointing, affirmed what I had already been thinking about professional soccer, especially as it is played in Mexico...
The referees, totally exasperated at the whining, arguing, and even threatening attitude of the players whenever a call goes against them, collectively got together with their union and staged a one-weekend walk-off strike in protest of their poor treatment. Apparently, all the games slated for this weekend were postponed to a later date. While I was unhappy at missing what would have in all probability been two entertaining contests, I am completely in sympathy with the officiating staff, which gets very little respect from the players during their matches. Soccer does not use cameras and instant replays and reviews to back up their calls, so what the officials say on the field is final and that's just the way it is until the rules get changed...hopefully that won't happen as replay/review would ruin the natural flow of the game. But with that lack of official review, the authority and responsibility for calling fouls and penalties (or not calling them) rests much more heavily on the individual referees, and there seems to be an epidemic of players getting in their faces arguing with almost every serious call. I see this in all of the leagues I follow, but in Mexico the lack of sportsmanship has reached new depths. I love following the different teams and seeing the fans in the stands rooting for their sides...but folks just need to get a life...after all, it's all just a game in the end...
The referees, totally exasperated at the whining, arguing, and even threatening attitude of the players whenever a call goes against them, collectively got together with their union and staged a one-weekend walk-off strike in protest of their poor treatment. Apparently, all the games slated for this weekend were postponed to a later date. While I was unhappy at missing what would have in all probability been two entertaining contests, I am completely in sympathy with the officiating staff, which gets very little respect from the players during their matches. Soccer does not use cameras and instant replays and reviews to back up their calls, so what the officials say on the field is final and that's just the way it is until the rules get changed...hopefully that won't happen as replay/review would ruin the natural flow of the game. But with that lack of official review, the authority and responsibility for calling fouls and penalties (or not calling them) rests much more heavily on the individual referees, and there seems to be an epidemic of players getting in their faces arguing with almost every serious call. I see this in all of the leagues I follow, but in Mexico the lack of sportsmanship has reached new depths. I love following the different teams and seeing the fans in the stands rooting for their sides...but folks just need to get a life...after all, it's all just a game in the end...
Saturday, March 11, 2017
My 2017 Run for Haven 10K Experience
The town of Tioga, a few miles west of Gainesville, holds an annual 10K/5K race in mid-March on a Saturday afternoon, with the theme of celebrating St. Patrick's Day...hence the green clothing in the above picture. Today marked the third straight year I've run in it, always opting for the 10K (6.2 miles) distance. The temperature this time around was relatively moderate in the mid-seventies and the humidity was low. On the other hand, though, the part of the 10K course that went through the woods west of the Tioga neighborhoods was drastically changed due to extensive road construction...we had to run down long stretches of dirt roads with a traction as difficult at times as dry sand on the beach. Yet in spite of that, I managed to run a moderately strong race (for me), maintaining a very consistent 9:28/mile pace throughout. My final time was 58:45 and I finished 42nd out of 115 total finishers for the event. In my men's age 60-64 category, I finished first...against only one other contestant. As a matter of fact, I was the 4th oldest finisher out of the 115. You can view the race results on the following link: [link]...
Most of the participants in Run for Haven chose to run the 5K race. Since both the 5K and 10K events began simultaneously, I once again found myself spending the first mile or so struggling to avoid collisions with others. But eventually we all spread ourselves out and I could enjoy it more. Still, the race was very tiring and I found my chronically sensitive throat rebelling against the heavy breathing involved...by the race's end I was struggling to avoid coughing bouts. The folks running this event were all very supportive and friendly...as were the runners I encountered. All in all a very positive experience...aided by the fact that I sat for a while before the race at the Starbucks a few yards away from the starting line and then used the facilities at the nearby Gainesville Health and Fitness (of which I'm a member) as well as warming up a bit on the treadmill there. I think this Run for Haven, proceeds of which go to support Haven Hospice, has definitely become an annual tradition for me. I wonder what's up next on the racing calendar...
Friday, March 10, 2017
Quote of the Week...from Michael Stipe
Life is bigger, it's bigger than you and you are not me. ---Michael Stipe.
There's a pretty reasonable chance you've already heard this quote, since it's the opening line in a famous hit song, R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion, from 1990. Michael Stipe, their brilliant lyricist and lead singer, wrote a song not of someone losing their spiritual way but rather about a very frustrating conflict with another person, a conflict that is in large part about boundaries and respecting identity..."losing my religion" is an old slang expression meaning to lose one's temper. Although R.E.M. is one of my all-time favorite musical acts and I plan in the not-too-distant future to put out a comprehensive list rating almost all of their recorded songs, this song is not one of my favorites...except for that very discerning opening line that carries great meaning for me...
One of the incredible disadvantages that children have in life is that they have to take reality the way it is presented to them...and their notions about what is "normal" are largely based on those people with whom they live and go to school. Compounding this disadvantage is that many adults with whom they are in a subordinate relationship have a problem with respecting the distinct nature of a child's identity, instead wrongly concluding that they are somehow lacking in viability due to lack of knowledge and life experience. I saw this in my own family growing up, as well as with my teachers at school. There was also this notion among my childhood peers that individual kids weren't entitled to be respected for their own selves...the burden of respect was always on the one receiving it, never on the one giving (or denying) it...
But I am no longer a child and at last check haven't been for some time. I can look back and evaluate the attitudes of others who haven't respected me for who I am, especially those in positions of authority over me...particularly at home, school, and the workplace. Just because people are friends, classmates, co-workers, fellows in their respective faiths, in the same family, etc., does not mean that they have to share the same points of view and preferences as the "alpha dogs" in their respective groups. When I encounter someone who sees me as an extension of themselves instead of the complete, separate person that I am, that person is to be avoided. I have my own story to tell and others can speak for themselves, and if they can't accept that then they can just take a hike, to put it very euphemistically...
There's a pretty reasonable chance you've already heard this quote, since it's the opening line in a famous hit song, R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion, from 1990. Michael Stipe, their brilliant lyricist and lead singer, wrote a song not of someone losing their spiritual way but rather about a very frustrating conflict with another person, a conflict that is in large part about boundaries and respecting identity..."losing my religion" is an old slang expression meaning to lose one's temper. Although R.E.M. is one of my all-time favorite musical acts and I plan in the not-too-distant future to put out a comprehensive list rating almost all of their recorded songs, this song is not one of my favorites...except for that very discerning opening line that carries great meaning for me...
One of the incredible disadvantages that children have in life is that they have to take reality the way it is presented to them...and their notions about what is "normal" are largely based on those people with whom they live and go to school. Compounding this disadvantage is that many adults with whom they are in a subordinate relationship have a problem with respecting the distinct nature of a child's identity, instead wrongly concluding that they are somehow lacking in viability due to lack of knowledge and life experience. I saw this in my own family growing up, as well as with my teachers at school. There was also this notion among my childhood peers that individual kids weren't entitled to be respected for their own selves...the burden of respect was always on the one receiving it, never on the one giving (or denying) it...
But I am no longer a child and at last check haven't been for some time. I can look back and evaluate the attitudes of others who haven't respected me for who I am, especially those in positions of authority over me...particularly at home, school, and the workplace. Just because people are friends, classmates, co-workers, fellows in their respective faiths, in the same family, etc., does not mean that they have to share the same points of view and preferences as the "alpha dogs" in their respective groups. When I encounter someone who sees me as an extension of themselves instead of the complete, separate person that I am, that person is to be avoided. I have my own story to tell and others can speak for themselves, and if they can't accept that then they can just take a hike, to put it very euphemistically...
Thursday, March 9, 2017
3/5 Sermon on Family Life, Part 1
At The Family Church here in Gainesville last Sunday morning, Pastor Philip Griffin embarked on a new series...I'm not quite sure how long it'll be...titled Family Life. The first message concerned the nature of Christ's church and what it is not: it is not a building, something to attend instead of being, something that is optional, or something that, like a business, is consumer-based. Instead, Pastor Philip stresses that the church is a family, of which all Christians are integral members, each with their own specific roles to play according to the spiritual gifts that God has bestowed upon them. And being so equipped, each is then deployed to advance God's kingdom...so in this way each of us changes our world. The pastor raises some questions for us to ask ourselves in order to ascertain whether we are truly living out our family role in the church: do we bear others' burdens and allow others to bear ours, do we encourage others in a constructive way, do we confess our sins and demonstrate accountability to others, and are we engaged in service to others...notice the connection between "we" and "others": it's all about relationships, isn't it?
This message wasn't presented in the usual manner that Pastor Philip is accustomed...instead of taking a section of Biblical text and exploring its underlying themes, he has taken the theme and then used various short passages as illustrations. He used 1 Corinthians 12:20-22, 26 and Ephesians 2:19-21, 4:11-16. You can look them up for yourself through this link to Bible Gateway: [link]...
Yes, I knew that the church isn't a building or a business, but rather the collective body of believers in Christ...yet here we are with this "church", The Family Church...as opposed to the other fellowship bodies scattered about, often in a sort of unspoken competition with each other for members. And I do attend church, and it does have to be accountable and solvent like a business as well. But the message's main point is to get people thinking and acting on their own attitudes and purposes within this fellowship. If you want to hear Philip Griffin's message, here is a link to it through The Family Church's YouTube video website: [link]...
This message wasn't presented in the usual manner that Pastor Philip is accustomed...instead of taking a section of Biblical text and exploring its underlying themes, he has taken the theme and then used various short passages as illustrations. He used 1 Corinthians 12:20-22, 26 and Ephesians 2:19-21, 4:11-16. You can look them up for yourself through this link to Bible Gateway: [link]...
Yes, I knew that the church isn't a building or a business, but rather the collective body of believers in Christ...yet here we are with this "church", The Family Church...as opposed to the other fellowship bodies scattered about, often in a sort of unspoken competition with each other for members. And I do attend church, and it does have to be accountable and solvent like a business as well. But the message's main point is to get people thinking and acting on their own attitudes and purposes within this fellowship. If you want to hear Philip Griffin's message, here is a link to it through The Family Church's YouTube video website: [link]...
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
The Nonlinearity of Long-Term Progress
Whenever I am first embarking on a personal endeavor, for example like running long-distance or learning a foreign language, there seems to be a direct, linear correlation between the effort I put into it and the progress I achieve. But it seems like in every case, with everything I do, that effort/results relationship eventually breaks down. With the running I've been doing since 2007, I initially built up my endurance by simply going out there and running longer and longer distances...culminating in running a marathon in January, 2011 while training for the same-distance race later that month. But in the process I injured the IT-band in my leg and my progress was stymied, with me drawing back to running for half-marathons. But even had I not been injured, sooner or later I would have tapered off my training to a state of equilibrium...a maintenance state at the level I was satisfied with. In the years since, I had found that running too much can cause problems with my feet (plantar fasciitis) while my already-sensitive throat, coupled with a tendency for upper-respiratory airborne allergies, can make me prone to coughing over the course of a long run. So just stepping out my door and running down my neighborhood streets for a protracted period of time doesn't bring the same benefits as before...and that detracts from my enjoyment of running...
With the study of foreign languages, living completely immersed in the target language and culture is easily by far the most preferable course. But my life does not lend itself to this, and my learning consists of books, language learning apps like Duolingo and Quizlet, and Internet audio sources. It is possible to develop a good rudimentary vocabulary and get a grasp of grammar...and make great progress with scripts that aren't based on the Latin alphabet...but at a point it all falls short when it comes to understanding a regular conversation or reading an ordinary newspaper or magazine article in that language...
I think one of the problems with jumping into an endeavor enthusiastically and progressing up to the point where we reach a plateau or even a wall is that in many cases we truly do not understand the nature and scope of what we are trying to do. As we get more deeply into the activity we begin to realize its complexities. Take any neophyte president, not just the current one. They all storm into office with their ambitious "hundred days" agendas, making decrees left and right...until the resistance settles in against them, not just from the opposing party but also from those in their own who feel threatened and the need to assert themselves with the new leader. Each president has to finally learn...if they want to be re-elected, that is...that the office they have assumed is a lot more involved and complex than they may have arrogantly assumed when they were campaigning for it...
It seems like with any worthwhile long-term endeavor, clarity is the rule at the beginning...but chaos eventually takes over with all-sorts of conflicts and complications. Gee, I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but that's just how I see it...
With the study of foreign languages, living completely immersed in the target language and culture is easily by far the most preferable course. But my life does not lend itself to this, and my learning consists of books, language learning apps like Duolingo and Quizlet, and Internet audio sources. It is possible to develop a good rudimentary vocabulary and get a grasp of grammar...and make great progress with scripts that aren't based on the Latin alphabet...but at a point it all falls short when it comes to understanding a regular conversation or reading an ordinary newspaper or magazine article in that language...
I think one of the problems with jumping into an endeavor enthusiastically and progressing up to the point where we reach a plateau or even a wall is that in many cases we truly do not understand the nature and scope of what we are trying to do. As we get more deeply into the activity we begin to realize its complexities. Take any neophyte president, not just the current one. They all storm into office with their ambitious "hundred days" agendas, making decrees left and right...until the resistance settles in against them, not just from the opposing party but also from those in their own who feel threatened and the need to assert themselves with the new leader. Each president has to finally learn...if they want to be re-elected, that is...that the office they have assumed is a lot more involved and complex than they may have arrogantly assumed when they were campaigning for it...
It seems like with any worthwhile long-term endeavor, clarity is the rule at the beginning...but chaos eventually takes over with all-sorts of conflicts and complications. Gee, I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but that's just how I see it...
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Just Finished Reading Daniel Silva's Portrait of a Spy
Daniel Silva is an American author with an interesting niche in fiction: a successful espionage series featuring as the protagonist an Israeli secret agent. His first book in the Gabriel Allon series came out in 2000 and he has been putting them out pretty much annually since...the seventeenth installment is due out later this year. I just finished reading my first book by Silva, number eleven in the Allon series, titled Portrait of a Spy...
One major advantage that standalone novels have over series is that, especially in stories involving suspense and peril, you never can be sure just who will survive to the end and who will perish. With series, the main protagonist is certain to endure, while it's also a more or less safe bet that the series regulars will make it, too, to start afresh in the next book. So in spite of Gabriel Allon finding himself in numerous very dangerous situations in the story I read, I was kind of bored...the suspense here is in what happens to the "guest" characters. In Portrait of a Spy, Allon has recently retired from working as an Israeli spy and is living with his wife in Cornwall, England, doing what he likes best: restoring great paintings. But a rash of terrorist attacks in Western cities, along with one that Allon witnesses and unsuccessfully tries to stop, leads him to serve at least one more espionage stint with the aim to infiltrate the new terror ring and bring it down. Enter the "guest" character as an important asset in this project...and that's about all I'm going to say about this story so that I don't give it all away...
I've read only one Gabriel Allon book, but I get the basic premise: the Israelis are better at the spy game because their very survival depends on their success, while other countries like America and Britain have more or less institutionalized the field and depend much more heavily on technological prowess to achieve their ends. The clumsy and overly political Americans and Brits keep getting in Allon's way...kind of reminds me of a few James Bond flicks...
Usually I avoid picking up a book in the middle of a series like this, and I should have known better: I already possess a Gabriel Allon novel that I got in a local used book sale but never got around to reading. No, for this type of genre it's much better to read a story that stands alone without any sequels and for which the author's intended suspenseful sequences ring true for the reader...
One major advantage that standalone novels have over series is that, especially in stories involving suspense and peril, you never can be sure just who will survive to the end and who will perish. With series, the main protagonist is certain to endure, while it's also a more or less safe bet that the series regulars will make it, too, to start afresh in the next book. So in spite of Gabriel Allon finding himself in numerous very dangerous situations in the story I read, I was kind of bored...the suspense here is in what happens to the "guest" characters. In Portrait of a Spy, Allon has recently retired from working as an Israeli spy and is living with his wife in Cornwall, England, doing what he likes best: restoring great paintings. But a rash of terrorist attacks in Western cities, along with one that Allon witnesses and unsuccessfully tries to stop, leads him to serve at least one more espionage stint with the aim to infiltrate the new terror ring and bring it down. Enter the "guest" character as an important asset in this project...and that's about all I'm going to say about this story so that I don't give it all away...
I've read only one Gabriel Allon book, but I get the basic premise: the Israelis are better at the spy game because their very survival depends on their success, while other countries like America and Britain have more or less institutionalized the field and depend much more heavily on technological prowess to achieve their ends. The clumsy and overly political Americans and Brits keep getting in Allon's way...kind of reminds me of a few James Bond flicks...
Usually I avoid picking up a book in the middle of a series like this, and I should have known better: I already possess a Gabriel Allon novel that I got in a local used book sale but never got around to reading. No, for this type of genre it's much better to read a story that stands alone without any sequels and for which the author's intended suspenseful sequences ring true for the reader...
Monday, March 6, 2017
Favorite Songs So Far in 2017
We've gone only a couple of months in 2017, and many of my favorite songs from last year remain my favorites...in particular P.J. Harvey's The Wheel and Regina Spektor's The Light. These are tracks from their respective albums The Hope Six Demolition Project and Remember Us to Life...I recommend both. Also, in 2016 I liked...from the radio...Take It All Back by Judah & the Lion and still think it's fantastic. Oh, I neglected to mention that when it comes to listening to current hits on the radio, there's only one station in the Gainesville area I follow: WHHZ/100.5, commonly known as "The Buzz" and which plays Alternative/Indie/Rock. Unfortunately, it transmits from a few miles out of town and its signal is relatively weak, so unless I want to drain my android phone's batteries by picking it up online, I have to wait until I'm at home or in the car to listen to it. Still, I've come to like a couple of already-established songs that are in its regular play rotation: Spirits by the Strumbellas and Ride by Twenty One Pilots. This latter act I was pleased to see win a Grammy a few weeks ago...they've amassed a nice string of hits...
I suppose if I were to name the "Song of 2017" so far, it would be Ride...although that tune has been out since 2015. As I've said before, it sometimes takes me a little while to catch on to a song...sometimes years, as a matter of fact. In any event, it's still early in the year and I'm confident I'll hear plenty of other good songs. I'm keeping a lookout for any new recordings from my favorite musical artists, Beck's much expected and long-delayed album release being at the head of the list. And, of course, I'll continue to listen to "The Buzz" whenever I have the chance...although I liked this station more from 2002 up to 2008 when its music selection was more in accordance with my tastes...
I suppose if I were to name the "Song of 2017" so far, it would be Ride...although that tune has been out since 2015. As I've said before, it sometimes takes me a little while to catch on to a song...sometimes years, as a matter of fact. In any event, it's still early in the year and I'm confident I'll hear plenty of other good songs. I'm keeping a lookout for any new recordings from my favorite musical artists, Beck's much expected and long-delayed album release being at the head of the list. And, of course, I'll continue to listen to "The Buzz" whenever I have the chance...although I liked this station more from 2002 up to 2008 when its music selection was more in accordance with my tastes...
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Market and Sell All Short Stories for Kindle as Individual Items
With the advent of the digital revolution, it is clear that the music industry has vastly outpaced that of the printed media. When the compact disc rose to prominence in the 1980s, there was no comparable technology for books. Eventually, Kindle and its imitators emerged, but the overwhelming majority of books that have been published are not available in a digitalized format...yet we've had the ability for some time now to purchase just about any individual song for download...even from old "out-of-print" albums...for $1.29. Try that with out-of-print short stories on Kindle!
Over the years, I amassed quite a collection of old science fiction short stories. For example, I have the entire 25-volume Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories, spanning the years from 1939 through 1963 and collected and published in the 1970s and 80s, and edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Isaac Asimov...these books are all out-of-print now. To me and many others, this was the "golden age" in science fiction short story writing, and these books contain many of my all-time favorite works in this genre. Yet try to find those favorites on Amazon...even if I can, in all probability they are inseparably attached inside larger, expensive collections. Why can't I go down a list of an author's works and purchase and download on my Kindle the specific ones I want, in the same way I would order a musical act's individual songs from their listed discographies? After all, short stories are copyrighted one-by-one, not as inextricable parts of a whole...so I don't see how the question of royalties would be a problem. Amazon itself proclaimed a new policy of selling short stories as individual purchases in 2013, but here we are four years later and there are still precious few to select from. I don't understand why it is so easy to sell digital music this way, but not digital stories. After all, the technology is in place to accomplish this and it can only be a win-win situation for companies like Amazon, the authors and copyright owners, and of course devoted readers like me...
Over the years, I amassed quite a collection of old science fiction short stories. For example, I have the entire 25-volume Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories, spanning the years from 1939 through 1963 and collected and published in the 1970s and 80s, and edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Isaac Asimov...these books are all out-of-print now. To me and many others, this was the "golden age" in science fiction short story writing, and these books contain many of my all-time favorite works in this genre. Yet try to find those favorites on Amazon...even if I can, in all probability they are inseparably attached inside larger, expensive collections. Why can't I go down a list of an author's works and purchase and download on my Kindle the specific ones I want, in the same way I would order a musical act's individual songs from their listed discographies? After all, short stories are copyrighted one-by-one, not as inextricable parts of a whole...so I don't see how the question of royalties would be a problem. Amazon itself proclaimed a new policy of selling short stories as individual purchases in 2013, but here we are four years later and there are still precious few to select from. I don't understand why it is so easy to sell digital music this way, but not digital stories. After all, the technology is in place to accomplish this and it can only be a win-win situation for companies like Amazon, the authors and copyright owners, and of course devoted readers like me...
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Just Finished Reading Frank Peretti's The Oath
A few years ago, a hardback copy of Frank Peretti's novel The Oath found its way into my garage...we're not exactly sure how it got there. It has a strong evangelical Christian orientation while its genre is similar to the horror fiction of Stephen King...albeit without the latter's usually strong profanity sprinkled among the pages. I finally had enough of walking past this book and picked it up to read...it was pretty much the way I expected it to be...
The premise of The Oath is basically a bargain with the devil, instituted by the corrupt owner of a mine in Hyde River, an isolated western American town in the late 1800s, and signed by that community's residents, that created a rapacious, predatory beast which devours those who sin and run afoul of the town boss. Fast forward to the present as Steve Benson, an agnostic scientist, arrives to investigate the mysterious death of his brother...ostensibly by a rogue grizzly bear. But the autopsy reveals a different sort of attacker...and Evelyn, his brother's wife, has witnessed the event but is suppressing her memories of it. Hyde River's citizens are all hush-hush about the incident...except for born-again Christian Levi Cobb, who understands the underlying mystery...
Evangelical Christian symbols pervade The Oath, as I expected that they would...the message is clear: sin is inevitable and will ultimately consume you unless you make God first in your life. I have read literature with Christian analogies but which isn't quite so direct about it...C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings are two examples. Even Stephen King's novels usually have a strong moral message to them and contain struggles that could only be seen as spiritual warfare. So yes, The Oath was definitely predictable about the general flow of the story, as well as its conclusion...and it was clear that the overriding intent of the author was to present the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the reader. No problem with that, as far as I'm concerned. It just bothers me that some folks apparently want to just live inside their own bubble when it comes to reading literature, listening to music, or watching television, a bubble that excludes material even created by others of their own faith but which is not theologically "pure" enough for them...
The premise of The Oath is basically a bargain with the devil, instituted by the corrupt owner of a mine in Hyde River, an isolated western American town in the late 1800s, and signed by that community's residents, that created a rapacious, predatory beast which devours those who sin and run afoul of the town boss. Fast forward to the present as Steve Benson, an agnostic scientist, arrives to investigate the mysterious death of his brother...ostensibly by a rogue grizzly bear. But the autopsy reveals a different sort of attacker...and Evelyn, his brother's wife, has witnessed the event but is suppressing her memories of it. Hyde River's citizens are all hush-hush about the incident...except for born-again Christian Levi Cobb, who understands the underlying mystery...
Evangelical Christian symbols pervade The Oath, as I expected that they would...the message is clear: sin is inevitable and will ultimately consume you unless you make God first in your life. I have read literature with Christian analogies but which isn't quite so direct about it...C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings are two examples. Even Stephen King's novels usually have a strong moral message to them and contain struggles that could only be seen as spiritual warfare. So yes, The Oath was definitely predictable about the general flow of the story, as well as its conclusion...and it was clear that the overriding intent of the author was to present the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the reader. No problem with that, as far as I'm concerned. It just bothers me that some folks apparently want to just live inside their own bubble when it comes to reading literature, listening to music, or watching television, a bubble that excludes material even created by others of their own faith but which is not theologically "pure" enough for them...
Friday, March 3, 2017
Quote of the Week...from Dean Karnazes
Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.
---Dean Karnazes.
Dean Karnazes is one of the most renown ultra-marathon runners in the world, ultra-marathons being races beyond the standard 26.2-mile marathon distance...usually measuring 50 or 100 miles. I first read his book Ultra-Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner back in 2010 and have it on my Kindle, regularly rereading it although I have no intention of ever running that far...I'll just stick with half-marathons as my "ultra" distance, thank you. But the above quote resonates with me, especially since this past Sunday morning I practiced it while participating in my first half-marathon in two years...
I enter long-distances races with the aim of running throughout them, but in any event I always resolve to finish them...even if I have to walk part of the way. In this recent race I had to walk brief stretches while I got through a coughing fit and a bad cramp in my right thigh...but I stayed the course and finished the race. In my "official" marathon back in 2011, I injured my IT-band just below the knee and, after 10 miles, had to alternate running and walking until around the 19-mile mark, when the increasing pain compelled me to walk (slowly) the rest of the way. But I finished it! I know another long-distance running enthusiast who annually trains for marathons and proudly insists that he never walks during his races...as if it is somehow cheating to do so. But in the trail races dominating the ultra-racing calendar, Karnazes not only sometimes has to walk, but also climb...and yes, even crawl on occasion! And those races often require all participants to stop at various points on the course and submit to being weighed and examined by a physician in order to avoid serious medical complications arising from the distance and conditions. Jeff Galloway, a great American marathon runner, developed a plan whereby runners will walk "x" minutes and then run "y" minutes in the appropriate ratio that enables them to be able to train for longer distances and then successfully finish their races...even marathons...this way. Now if you want to make up your own rules for yourself that prohibit you from ever walking, then that's your business...but don't hang that legalism on me. Besides, being brought up in the Judeo-Christian tradition, I've come to believe in the application of the concept of a Sabbath in just about any endeavor I do...work intensely for a set time and then lighten up for a brief period before resuming the intensity. Galloway has found that this system of his has helped runners avoid many of the chronic repetitive motion injuries that often befall this group...
Many good quotes that contain a literal meaning can carry over and be applied to other aspects of one's life...the above quote is a case in point. And if you expand its meaning to life itself, then it also has a more universal application to others, not just highly trained distance runners. And here is that meaning for me: having a purpose in life is crucial to us...and always being engaged in actualizing it is also important. But circumstances, either external...such as inadequate financial resources, conflicts with others, or rejection by potential schools, employers, publishers, etc, or those of an internal nature...such as illness, injury, physical or mental disabilities, or the lack of skill and knowledge...can present themselves to us as obstacles to the realization of these purposes. It is during these times that we shouldn't give up, but rather "walk"...or even "crawl" toward our ends until once again we can break out into a "run"...but even if it takes crawling to the end, then crawling it will be...
---Dean Karnazes.
Dean Karnazes is one of the most renown ultra-marathon runners in the world, ultra-marathons being races beyond the standard 26.2-mile marathon distance...usually measuring 50 or 100 miles. I first read his book Ultra-Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner back in 2010 and have it on my Kindle, regularly rereading it although I have no intention of ever running that far...I'll just stick with half-marathons as my "ultra" distance, thank you. But the above quote resonates with me, especially since this past Sunday morning I practiced it while participating in my first half-marathon in two years...
I enter long-distances races with the aim of running throughout them, but in any event I always resolve to finish them...even if I have to walk part of the way. In this recent race I had to walk brief stretches while I got through a coughing fit and a bad cramp in my right thigh...but I stayed the course and finished the race. In my "official" marathon back in 2011, I injured my IT-band just below the knee and, after 10 miles, had to alternate running and walking until around the 19-mile mark, when the increasing pain compelled me to walk (slowly) the rest of the way. But I finished it! I know another long-distance running enthusiast who annually trains for marathons and proudly insists that he never walks during his races...as if it is somehow cheating to do so. But in the trail races dominating the ultra-racing calendar, Karnazes not only sometimes has to walk, but also climb...and yes, even crawl on occasion! And those races often require all participants to stop at various points on the course and submit to being weighed and examined by a physician in order to avoid serious medical complications arising from the distance and conditions. Jeff Galloway, a great American marathon runner, developed a plan whereby runners will walk "x" minutes and then run "y" minutes in the appropriate ratio that enables them to be able to train for longer distances and then successfully finish their races...even marathons...this way. Now if you want to make up your own rules for yourself that prohibit you from ever walking, then that's your business...but don't hang that legalism on me. Besides, being brought up in the Judeo-Christian tradition, I've come to believe in the application of the concept of a Sabbath in just about any endeavor I do...work intensely for a set time and then lighten up for a brief period before resuming the intensity. Galloway has found that this system of his has helped runners avoid many of the chronic repetitive motion injuries that often befall this group...
Many good quotes that contain a literal meaning can carry over and be applied to other aspects of one's life...the above quote is a case in point. And if you expand its meaning to life itself, then it also has a more universal application to others, not just highly trained distance runners. And here is that meaning for me: having a purpose in life is crucial to us...and always being engaged in actualizing it is also important. But circumstances, either external...such as inadequate financial resources, conflicts with others, or rejection by potential schools, employers, publishers, etc, or those of an internal nature...such as illness, injury, physical or mental disabilities, or the lack of skill and knowledge...can present themselves to us as obstacles to the realization of these purposes. It is during these times that we shouldn't give up, but rather "walk"...or even "crawl" toward our ends until once again we can break out into a "run"...but even if it takes crawling to the end, then crawling it will be...
Thursday, March 2, 2017
2/26 Sermon on Joseph, Part 7
At the Family Church here in Gainesville, Pastor Philip Griffin concluded his series, titled Upcycling: Trash to Treasure on the life of Joseph from the Old Testament book on Genesis, Chapter 50, Verses 12-21...you can access the passage via Bible Gateway through the following link: [link]. The theme for this past Sunday's message was redemption and summed up the previous weeks...
As Pastor Philip noted, Joseph did three things right: one, he refused to take God's place by not making up his own moral code, giving God the rightful credit for his successful interpretation of dreams, not allowing himself to worry, and to not assume God's position as judge by holding grudges or seeking revenge. Two, he sought God's perspective, not man's. Philip gave a word picture of a little child looking up from the "other" side at his grandmother's needlepoint...it looked like a mess from below but was beautiful and meaningful from above. We don't always know the divine strategy for our lives, and many problems and crises can cloud our sense of God's presence...but he is always there, turning things his way for the good. And three, Joseph embraced God's grace by being kind to all and reflecting God's grace on his fearful brothers, reassuring them of his forgiveness for their earlier mistreatment of him...
This was a good series and contained many valuable lessons. Since I've written each successive Thursday following the previous Sunday's sermon, you can read my take on each message by going back in time on this blog. You can also view the entire series on the church's YouTube video website, which you can reach through the following link : [link]. The Family Church, located at 2022 SW 122nd Street, holds its Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11. There's good praise music, complimentary coffee, and friendly people...not to mention, of course, the messages themselves...
As Pastor Philip noted, Joseph did three things right: one, he refused to take God's place by not making up his own moral code, giving God the rightful credit for his successful interpretation of dreams, not allowing himself to worry, and to not assume God's position as judge by holding grudges or seeking revenge. Two, he sought God's perspective, not man's. Philip gave a word picture of a little child looking up from the "other" side at his grandmother's needlepoint...it looked like a mess from below but was beautiful and meaningful from above. We don't always know the divine strategy for our lives, and many problems and crises can cloud our sense of God's presence...but he is always there, turning things his way for the good. And three, Joseph embraced God's grace by being kind to all and reflecting God's grace on his fearful brothers, reassuring them of his forgiveness for their earlier mistreatment of him...
This was a good series and contained many valuable lessons. Since I've written each successive Thursday following the previous Sunday's sermon, you can read my take on each message by going back in time on this blog. You can also view the entire series on the church's YouTube video website, which you can reach through the following link : [link]. The Family Church, located at 2022 SW 122nd Street, holds its Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11. There's good praise music, complimentary coffee, and friendly people...not to mention, of course, the messages themselves...
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
President Trump's Address to Congress Last Night
I admit it: I personally dislike Donald Trump, although he is my president and I want him to be successful in promoting the interests of the United States, performing in an ethical manner while upholding the Constitution, and respecting my own personal livelihood...the last sadly being under attack from the Republican establishment in Congress. I wish he wouldn't behave so childishly with his policy of never conceding anything...no matter how obviously true...that he perceives as negative to himself. And this getting bogged down with his asinine Twitter posts...c'mon, dude, you can do better than this! Yet I hold out some hope that his presidency will grow into something good...and Mr. Trump showed some promise of this with his address to the joint session of Congress last night...
I wasn't able to follow all of his speech, and what I did hear was through radio, not television...so I was spared the president's annoying repertoire of goofy facial expressions as he delved through his material. Nor was I exposed to the vice-president and house speaker sitting behind him, with their own smug expressions...along with the Republican side cheerleading the speaker on and the Democrats going to their own lengths to express their "resistance" to our elected president. Content-wise, Donald Trump was true to the issues that he ran on during the campaign, pointing out what he regarded as failures of the previous administration...as well as some of earlier ones. But he also struck tones of inclusiveness, unity, and optimism when he opened up the address by decrying the recent outbreak of anti-Semitic attacks and how he wanted to lift up those living in the inner cities. He balanced the idea of free trade with that of negotiating with other countries as America's advocate, first and foremost. I have a big problem with a lot of he is promoting, but our new president showed his potential for being an effective communicator with this speech...he should focus on this venue and discard the petty, petulant nonsense of his angry personal vendettas in favor of displaying a better image of himself. Last night was a promising first step, but will Donald Trump go down this road? I rather doubt it, although he would be well-served by resisting his baser impulsive and reactive instincts and instead take his presidency to a higher, more dignified level...
I wasn't able to follow all of his speech, and what I did hear was through radio, not television...so I was spared the president's annoying repertoire of goofy facial expressions as he delved through his material. Nor was I exposed to the vice-president and house speaker sitting behind him, with their own smug expressions...along with the Republican side cheerleading the speaker on and the Democrats going to their own lengths to express their "resistance" to our elected president. Content-wise, Donald Trump was true to the issues that he ran on during the campaign, pointing out what he regarded as failures of the previous administration...as well as some of earlier ones. But he also struck tones of inclusiveness, unity, and optimism when he opened up the address by decrying the recent outbreak of anti-Semitic attacks and how he wanted to lift up those living in the inner cities. He balanced the idea of free trade with that of negotiating with other countries as America's advocate, first and foremost. I have a big problem with a lot of he is promoting, but our new president showed his potential for being an effective communicator with this speech...he should focus on this venue and discard the petty, petulant nonsense of his angry personal vendettas in favor of displaying a better image of himself. Last night was a promising first step, but will Donald Trump go down this road? I rather doubt it, although he would be well-served by resisting his baser impulsive and reactive instincts and instead take his presidency to a higher, more dignified level...
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