Blog
Righteousness and Peace Have Kissed
Listening to Psalm 85 recently, the title phrase to this post jumped out at me as a beautiful metaphor for a time when God and his people are in a state of harmony:
8 I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
But let them not return to their foolish ways.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
so our land will be filled with his glory.10 Unfailing love and truth have met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed!
11 Truth springs up from the earth,
and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
12 Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings.
Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
13 Righteousness goes as a herald before him,
preparing the way for his steps.(New Living Translation)
Act V
When you've got an hour (e.g., on a drive), have a listen to This American Life episode 218 which was re-run on the show a couple weeks back.
...over the course of six months, reporter and TAL contributor Jack Hitt followed a group of inmates at a high-security prison as they rehearsed and staged a production of the last act—Act V—of Hamlet. Shakespeare may seem like an odd match for a group of hardened criminals, but Jack found that they understand the Bard on a level that most of us might not. It's a play about murder and its consequences, performed by murderers living out the consequences.
It's a really interesting and entertaining listen.
Lego Soccer
After Saturday's soccer games, we went down to Lisa's parents house to celebrate her mom's and nephew's birthdays. Lego soccer is always one of the highlights at Grandma B's house (especially for Finn). Just about everyone spent some time playing it with Finn this weekend. Here are some photos:
Smoking Ban for Apartment Dwellers
This kind of thing doesn't usually bother me too much, but even I'm wondering if the smoking ban coming to Belmont, California, goes too far...off-balance in the tension between your right to make decisions for yourself and my right not to be harmed by your decisions.
From "Smoking ban looms for Belmont apartment dwellers" by Steve Rubenstein in the SF Chronicle:
Belmont apartment dwellers who like to light up in their homes have 14 months to kick the habit, work out a compromise with their nonsmoking neighbors or get out of town.
Under the city's new smoking ban, among the toughest in the nation, apartment residents whose secondhand smoke invades their neighbors' units will be subject to fines of as much as $1,000.
The measure, which the City Council enacted Tuesday on a 3-2 vote, bans smoking in multiunit dwellings as well as in parks, outdoor restaurants and other public places. The apartment provision takes effect around New Year's 2009, while lighting up elsewhere is banned as soon as the law officially takes effect in about a month.
Hardly a loophole exists for Belmont denizens hooked on the weed. For example, the new law allows an actor to smoke onstage during the performance of a play - but only if smoking is an "integral part of the story."
The city says the tenant smoking ban will be enforced only if neighbors complain. It's believed to be the first such law in the country.
Pages
Theme by Danetsoft and Danang Probo Sayekti inspired by Maksimer