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Confession
I was at a church recently where one of the elders was speaking, filling in for the minister who was out of town. During his talk, he confessed that in the past he gave in to the temptation of pornography. Even now, he hasn't completely overcome this struggle. He talked about some of his strategies for dealing with this issue...mostly through accountability with his wife and a good friend and avoiding situations where he might give in to temptation. I was really impressed. In my experience in the churches of Christ, confession is one of the most ignored biblical principles. It's hard to admit your mistakes in anything other than the most generic sense of "we all sin." People walk around pretending they're perfect, and so people who can't hide it so well don't really fit in. I thought this elder displayed a great example of transparency and confession.
Spellbound
Last night we finished watching the documentary Spellbound (2002). From Wikipedia:
Spellbound is a 2002 documentary, directed by Jeffrey Blitz, nominated for the Academy Award for Documentary Feature. It follows eight competitors in the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee: Harry Altman, Angela Arenivar, Ted Brigham, April DeGideo, Neil Kadakia, Nupur Lala, Emily Stagg and Ashley White.
We enjoyed it. The kids are pretty amazing, and it was also quite interesting to the engagement of the parents and how the whole thing is quite an experience (and lots of hard work) for both parents and children. I give it 4 out of 5.
Whassup
From an article titled "Unlike boomers, Gen Y doesn't believe in disaster" by Garrison Keillor:
I am of a generation that believes in disaster; the younger generation does not. A Harris Interactive poll of Generation Y's feelings about work shows 92 percent want a "flexible work schedule," 96 percent want a job that "requires creativity," and 97 percent want a job that "allows me to have an impact on the world." All I can say is, Wow. Good luck. And now you know why we need illegal immigrants to do the inflexible uncreative stuff that simply needs doing right now. We've raised a generation of young people who want to be writers. Whassup? That's whassup, dude.
My father was a carpenter and a postal worker. He admired people who came early and stuck with a job until it got done. People who embraced work. His Republicanism was based solidly on that old bootstrap philosophy. Finish your coffee and get to work and let's get this hole dug and don't complain about the heat, it's the same heat for everybody. Stick with the job, rest, then resume. The kids surfing and snazzing up their Web sites at work would be aliens to him, and he wouldn't have a lot of sympathy for the gloomy old guy with visions of disaster either. The people most like my dad are the Mexicans coming across the border to work hard and send money home to their families. He would understand those people completely.
When Animals Attack
Here are a couple of stories that caught my eye back in June that share a common theme: From boing boing:
Dale Rippy, 62, killed a rabid bobcat with his bare hands when it attacked him on his porch in Wesley Chapel, Florida. The Vietnam vet was later treated for bites, scratches, and exposure to rabies. From Associated Press: Dale Rippy endured the (25 pound) bobcat's slashes and bites until it clawed into a position where he could grab it by the throat. Then he strangled it.
and from the Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer:
Swan allegedly attacks jet skiers at Goguac Lake
The Enquirer Michigan Department of Natural Resources is investigating reports of an aggressive male swan attacking jet skiers on the south side of Goguac Lake. Christine Hanaburgh, Michigan DNR wildlife biologist for Calhoun, Berry and Kalamazoo counties, said she's heard conflicting reports and is looking into the issue. "We're determining if the swan is a danger to humans," she said. Some lakeside residents are worried that the DNR will euthanize the male swan, who they believe is overly aggressive because his female partner has a broken beak. "That's a possible explanation, however, I would gravitate to another explanation," said John Lerg, acting supervisor for the state DNR Wildlife Division, southwest management unit. Swans often pair for life, or until one bird dies then the other finds a new mate. They also tend to nest in the same area year after year, he said. "Regardless of the condition of the female, it's not out of character to find the male, the cob, to be the more aggressive of the two," he said.
Who knew male swans were called cobs?
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