Humor test
Get a label for your sense of humor. Turns out I'm "The Wit" which is not a surprise (to me, anyway). But really, I think in the case of this quiz, the journey is at least as important as the destination. Let's just say I really enjoyed the kitten question.
P.S. Am I the only one who thought the hell quiz from Tuesday was funny?
P.P.S. This is stolen from Shannon's blog--thanks Shannon!
Thursday, July 28, 2005
An ICE Storm in the summer, you say?
Actually, no. There's a new movement afoot to help emergency responders through the magic of cell phones. By inputting "ICE" -- "In Case of Emergency" as a contact in your cell phone, responders can easily find and contact the person who will need to know if you are in an accident, just by going to your cell phone. Here's the article where I found out about it.
Actually, no. There's a new movement afoot to help emergency responders through the magic of cell phones. By inputting "ICE" -- "In Case of Emergency" as a contact in your cell phone, responders can easily find and contact the person who will need to know if you are in an accident, just by going to your cell phone. Here's the article where I found out about it.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Buying a Car = 4th Circle of Hell
Just feel like complaining a little bit about how irritating it is to try buying something large, like a car. Rumor has it that Eric enjoyed his car buying experience, but for me the million details, the uncertainty about reliability and the fact that no matter what we do it means more car insurance, all combine for an experience worthy of the 4th circle of hell, i.e. the circle for "Hoarders and Wasters."
If you'd like to know where in hell you could end up, there's a handy quiz available, as well. Unfortunately, it seems very easy to end up in the 9th (worst) circle. I will be frozen over with ice for trying to get some houseguests to leave sooner than they wanted to. Happy quizzing!
P.S. Bad news: Anyone with a bank account ends up in at least Circle 7.
Just feel like complaining a little bit about how irritating it is to try buying something large, like a car. Rumor has it that Eric enjoyed his car buying experience, but for me the million details, the uncertainty about reliability and the fact that no matter what we do it means more car insurance, all combine for an experience worthy of the 4th circle of hell, i.e. the circle for "Hoarders and Wasters."
If you'd like to know where in hell you could end up, there's a handy quiz available, as well. Unfortunately, it seems very easy to end up in the 9th (worst) circle. I will be frozen over with ice for trying to get some houseguests to leave sooner than they wanted to. Happy quizzing!
P.S. Bad news: Anyone with a bank account ends up in at least Circle 7.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Thursday, July 21, 2005
The Latest Goings-on in Sudan
So apparently, Sudan doesn't limit itself to violence against its own people. In this article, a Sudanese diplomat had to apologize profusely for elbowing and menacing some of Condolezza Rice's entourage.
According to sources in the article, the genocide has slowed considerably in Darfur, mostly because the villages are almost all destroyed and the people have been killed or displaced. It's ending because they've almost finished their grisly task.
Something shocking at the bottom of the article: there are people sneaking into refugee camps--even though they weren't victims of the rampage--because life there is better than where they were living before. Let me repeat that: there are people who are so poor that it is a step up to move into a refugee camp.
So apparently, Sudan doesn't limit itself to violence against its own people. In this article, a Sudanese diplomat had to apologize profusely for elbowing and menacing some of Condolezza Rice's entourage.
According to sources in the article, the genocide has slowed considerably in Darfur, mostly because the villages are almost all destroyed and the people have been killed or displaced. It's ending because they've almost finished their grisly task.
Something shocking at the bottom of the article: there are people sneaking into refugee camps--even though they weren't victims of the rampage--because life there is better than where they were living before. Let me repeat that: there are people who are so poor that it is a step up to move into a refugee camp.
Thought Experiment: Buddhism + Christianity = ?
What would it look like for Christianity to incorporate some of the wisdom of Eastern traditions? Keep the personal God, and the goal of unity with that God through Jesus, but then add meditation and yoga as spiritual practices, help people pay more attention to the present moment and the beauty of creation--attentiveness--and recover some of the Zen-like qualities of Jesus' teachings.
I think this is something quite a few people already do, and it seems reasonable that Eastern traditions have insights into both human beings and God's creation that Christians had not previously emphasized. Why not draw from that wisdom openly?
Just a thought.
What would it look like for Christianity to incorporate some of the wisdom of Eastern traditions? Keep the personal God, and the goal of unity with that God through Jesus, but then add meditation and yoga as spiritual practices, help people pay more attention to the present moment and the beauty of creation--attentiveness--and recover some of the Zen-like qualities of Jesus' teachings.
I think this is something quite a few people already do, and it seems reasonable that Eastern traditions have insights into both human beings and God's creation that Christians had not previously emphasized. Why not draw from that wisdom openly?
Just a thought.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Race and the War on Drugs
I was mentioning in the comments below that I'd look up some information about the disproportionate incarceration of minorities. Here's a quote I found particularly interesting:
These statistics comes from several government surveys. Here's the website were I got this quote. They have other revealing statistics there.
The point of this? Only 15% of drug users are black, but around 40% of prisoners in jail for drugs are black. The justice system is heavily skewed against minorities, particularly when it comes to the War on Drugs.
I was mentioning in the comments below that I'd look up some information about the disproportionate incarceration of minorities. Here's a quote I found particularly interesting:
According to the federal Household Survey, "most current illicit drug users are white. There were an estimated 9.9 million whites (72 percent of all users), 2.0 million blacks (15 percent), and 1.4 million Hispanics (10 percent) who were current illicit drug users in 1998." And yet, blacks constitute 36.8% of those arrested for drug violations, over 42% of those in federal prisons for drug violations. African-Americans comprise almost 58% of those in state prisons for drug felonies; Hispanics account for 20.7%.
These statistics comes from several government surveys. Here's the website were I got this quote. They have other revealing statistics there.
The point of this? Only 15% of drug users are black, but around 40% of prisoners in jail for drugs are black. The justice system is heavily skewed against minorities, particularly when it comes to the War on Drugs.
Public Service Announcement: Recognizing a Cult
A friend was telling me last night about an organization that goes to disaster sites with misleading T-shirts and aggressively recruits disaster victims to be part of it. Here are some things to look for to make sure you don't accidentally join a big, scary cult:
1. They're dishonest about getting you in the door. For example, they might offer a workshop on one thing, but then it will actually be about something else--why you should join them.
2. They won't take no for an answer. A little healthy conversation is one thing, and sometimes asking more than once helps people get over their initial hesitance, but browbeating is something else entirely.
3. They abuse people. Cults can use people for money and force them to do things they don't want to do.
4. You can't disagree. As part of their control mechanism, cults demand total allegiance to the (often charismatic) leader. Wonder how David Koresh got so many 14-year-old wives? No-one was allowed to question him.
5. You can't leave. Obviously, this is not very helpful once you're already in, but cults use blackmail, fear, and other control tactics to keep their members from leaving.
A friend was telling me last night about an organization that goes to disaster sites with misleading T-shirts and aggressively recruits disaster victims to be part of it. Here are some things to look for to make sure you don't accidentally join a big, scary cult:
1. They're dishonest about getting you in the door. For example, they might offer a workshop on one thing, but then it will actually be about something else--why you should join them.
2. They won't take no for an answer. A little healthy conversation is one thing, and sometimes asking more than once helps people get over their initial hesitance, but browbeating is something else entirely.
3. They abuse people. Cults can use people for money and force them to do things they don't want to do.
4. You can't disagree. As part of their control mechanism, cults demand total allegiance to the (often charismatic) leader. Wonder how David Koresh got so many 14-year-old wives? No-one was allowed to question him.
5. You can't leave. Obviously, this is not very helpful once you're already in, but cults use blackmail, fear, and other control tactics to keep their members from leaving.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Darfur Petition
Hey folks, Africa Action is putting together a petition to encourage the UN to send a force into Darfur to discourage/put an end to the government-sponsored genocide going on there. I've signed the petition already--you should too.
Hey folks, Africa Action is putting together a petition to encourage the UN to send a force into Darfur to discourage/put an end to the government-sponsored genocide going on there. I've signed the petition already--you should too.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Karl Rove
Karl Rove has been implicated in "outing" an undercover CIA operative. His lawyer affirms his innocence, of course. I wonder if he'll face criminal charges or public censure, considering how the news very conveniently came out over the weekend.
Karl Rove has been implicated in "outing" an undercover CIA operative. His lawyer affirms his innocence, of course. I wonder if he'll face criminal charges or public censure, considering how the news very conveniently came out over the weekend.
Sigh.... Church Vandalism
Another sign that gay people and their friends aren't out of the woods yet: St. John's Reformed United Church of Christ in Middlebrook, VA was vandalized last week, with the vandals referring to the gay marriage decision at General Synod.
Here's the story.
What I find most disturbing is that the graffiti called all the members of the UCC sinners, in a kind of justification for the damage done to the church. Why do Christians do this kind of thing to each other? Chuck Currie, a fellow blogger, has some good things to say.
Another sign that gay people and their friends aren't out of the woods yet: St. John's Reformed United Church of Christ in Middlebrook, VA was vandalized last week, with the vandals referring to the gay marriage decision at General Synod.
Here's the story.
What I find most disturbing is that the graffiti called all the members of the UCC sinners, in a kind of justification for the damage done to the church. Why do Christians do this kind of thing to each other? Chuck Currie, a fellow blogger, has some good things to say.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Fred Phelps v. Military Funeral
Oh, and in case you missed Tara's link in the comments section a few posts down, here's a story about the Anti-gay nut jobs protesting a military funeral BECAUSE IT WAS HELD IN MASSACHUSETTS. Read about how bagpipes save the day.
Oh, and in case you missed Tara's link in the comments section a few posts down, here's a story about the Anti-gay nut jobs protesting a military funeral BECAUSE IT WAS HELD IN MASSACHUSETTS. Read about how bagpipes save the day.
A different tack on Iraq
Regardless of how we may feel about the administration's decision to go into Iraq, (have I been clear enough about my position yet?), the soldiers there are doing their best to make something good out of a difficult situation. If you'd like to send a note of support to a US soldier, here is a website that was recommended to me:
Any Soldier
I looked it over and it's really neat--the basic idea is that active duty soldiers have volunteered to receive packages and letters from folks at home and to distribute them to the people around them. You can't send pork or homemade items, which means I won't be mailing the ham Heather and I cured the other day, but I've found a medical unit that looks like a good place to start sending letters. And they have contacts in a bunch of different places, not just Iraq.
Please also keep in your prayers the Iraqi citizens in the midst of so much violence and turmoil in their home country.
Regardless of how we may feel about the administration's decision to go into Iraq, (have I been clear enough about my position yet?), the soldiers there are doing their best to make something good out of a difficult situation. If you'd like to send a note of support to a US soldier, here is a website that was recommended to me:
Any Soldier
I looked it over and it's really neat--the basic idea is that active duty soldiers have volunteered to receive packages and letters from folks at home and to distribute them to the people around them. You can't send pork or homemade items, which means I won't be mailing the ham Heather and I cured the other day, but I've found a medical unit that looks like a good place to start sending letters. And they have contacts in a bunch of different places, not just Iraq.
Please also keep in your prayers the Iraqi citizens in the midst of so much violence and turmoil in their home country.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Justice Issues
At General Synod, many important justice issues came up as a part of our ongoing conversation about God's vision of justice for the world.
I met a Mennonite lawyer who works for peace in Colombia. Columbia has been experiencing horrifying civil war for many wars, fueled to a fever pitch by the influx of drug money and American military support. The war on drugs, in other words, is actually being waged and paid for in blood in Colombia, not the US.
One resolution supported Hawaiian prisoners in a privately-owned prison in Oklahoma whose religious leaders have been kept from seeing them. Not only is this an abuse of those particular prisoners, but it points to the growing need for prison reform in the US, as we continue to incarcerate at rates much, much higher than other developed nations, and as we continue to disproportionately incarcerate minorities and the poor.
A grassroots group handed out fliers on Darfur where refugee displacement and possible genocide continue with little interference from the outside. The information on what's happening there also seems scanty thanks to a less-than-forthcoming national government.
We also discussed how we would support peace in Israel/Palestine. The relationship between Israelis and Palestinians may be at an important turning point now, but there is a history of destructive violence on both sides. Israel's illegal occupation and day-to-day restriction of the freedom of the Palestinians is counterbalanced by a history of suicide bombings and other violence by Palestinians. And the whole thing seems to be a place where a volatile Middle East focuses its frustration and where extremist jihadists turn when fanning the flames of Anti-Semitic terror. We saw in London yesterday that those extremists are no longer limiting themselves to Middle Eastern nations.
Although it didn't come up directly at Synod this year, the war on Iraq was in the background for all of us. I don't think anybody really knows what to do with Iraq.
And then a slower-burning crisis: there are over a billion people in the world who eke out an existence on less than $1 per day. These people generally don't have access to clean water, enough to eat, health care, or any kind of fall-back in case of the crises that life often deals out.
What was heartening about General Synod is that people of faith came together to speak out for healing and transformation in these situations. It's easy in the face of so many wrongs to give up in despair. And these problems are all complicated and tightly woven into the world's power structures, but I think that if we have any hope it's because we are not alone in facing them. If we were then it would be a hopeless situation.
But God is with us. Will we be with God?
At General Synod, many important justice issues came up as a part of our ongoing conversation about God's vision of justice for the world.
I met a Mennonite lawyer who works for peace in Colombia. Columbia has been experiencing horrifying civil war for many wars, fueled to a fever pitch by the influx of drug money and American military support. The war on drugs, in other words, is actually being waged and paid for in blood in Colombia, not the US.
One resolution supported Hawaiian prisoners in a privately-owned prison in Oklahoma whose religious leaders have been kept from seeing them. Not only is this an abuse of those particular prisoners, but it points to the growing need for prison reform in the US, as we continue to incarcerate at rates much, much higher than other developed nations, and as we continue to disproportionately incarcerate minorities and the poor.
A grassroots group handed out fliers on Darfur where refugee displacement and possible genocide continue with little interference from the outside. The information on what's happening there also seems scanty thanks to a less-than-forthcoming national government.
We also discussed how we would support peace in Israel/Palestine. The relationship between Israelis and Palestinians may be at an important turning point now, but there is a history of destructive violence on both sides. Israel's illegal occupation and day-to-day restriction of the freedom of the Palestinians is counterbalanced by a history of suicide bombings and other violence by Palestinians. And the whole thing seems to be a place where a volatile Middle East focuses its frustration and where extremist jihadists turn when fanning the flames of Anti-Semitic terror. We saw in London yesterday that those extremists are no longer limiting themselves to Middle Eastern nations.
Although it didn't come up directly at Synod this year, the war on Iraq was in the background for all of us. I don't think anybody really knows what to do with Iraq.
And then a slower-burning crisis: there are over a billion people in the world who eke out an existence on less than $1 per day. These people generally don't have access to clean water, enough to eat, health care, or any kind of fall-back in case of the crises that life often deals out.
What was heartening about General Synod is that people of faith came together to speak out for healing and transformation in these situations. It's easy in the face of so many wrongs to give up in despair. And these problems are all complicated and tightly woven into the world's power structures, but I think that if we have any hope it's because we are not alone in facing them. If we were then it would be a hopeless situation.
But God is with us. Will we be with God?
Hey look, a fellow Minnesotan blogger!
For some interesting reads from a fellow who's "so gay it hurts" try this blog: Eleventh Avenue South
For some interesting reads from a fellow who's "so gay it hurts" try this blog: Eleventh Avenue South
Thursday, July 07, 2005
8th Deadly Sin: Slacking Off!
Hi folks, sorry I have been so absent lately. I was literally absent this weekend--I was at the UCC's General Synod in Atlanta, GA. It was a good experience, I'm glad I went, and I am still trying to sort through which issues were the biggest/most important/most interesting and need to be conveyed to my church on Sunday.
The one that made the nightly news: The General Synod approved a resolution in support of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. This is very encouraging to me, although I'm worried that it will give some people a reason/excuse to leave the church, making it less moderate and more polarized.
Still, I can't help but be excited about the people who are already interested in knowing more about the UCC because of this resolution. 10,000 people looked for a local church on Monday on our website when the news hit. Ultimately, if this helps people who hadn't been going to church recognize that there is a place for them and a community that will support and challenge them in their faith journeys, then it is a positive step forward.
Relevant Articles:
The basic gist
Each UCC congregation decides for itself how to react to the General Synod's recommendation.
Some folks who are less than thrilled.
There is much much more to talk about from General Synod, but I will leave it to future posts.
Much love,
Amy
Hi folks, sorry I have been so absent lately. I was literally absent this weekend--I was at the UCC's General Synod in Atlanta, GA. It was a good experience, I'm glad I went, and I am still trying to sort through which issues were the biggest/most important/most interesting and need to be conveyed to my church on Sunday.
The one that made the nightly news: The General Synod approved a resolution in support of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. This is very encouraging to me, although I'm worried that it will give some people a reason/excuse to leave the church, making it less moderate and more polarized.
Still, I can't help but be excited about the people who are already interested in knowing more about the UCC because of this resolution. 10,000 people looked for a local church on Monday on our website when the news hit. Ultimately, if this helps people who hadn't been going to church recognize that there is a place for them and a community that will support and challenge them in their faith journeys, then it is a positive step forward.
Relevant Articles:
The basic gist
Each UCC congregation decides for itself how to react to the General Synod's recommendation.
Some folks who are less than thrilled.
There is much much more to talk about from General Synod, but I will leave it to future posts.
Much love,
Amy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)