Eclectic Mass

Update: Moving

2011-01-08T02:14:00.000-06:00

To those who follow this blog, thank you. I appreciate that. I've decided to move this personal blog elsewhere and invite you to follow me there. If you are interested in my more personal posts, you will find the continuation here. If you are more interested in my spiritual and theological musings, then you will want to follow me at Evolving Christian Faith Network. Thanks again, and see you there!

Review: The Path of the Blue Raven

2010-06-11T23:05:00.001-05:00

Years back, I read Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian. What a great book for those coming from an exclusivist background (those who believe Jesus is the "only Way" to heaven). Through fiction, McLaren takes his protagonist on a journey through some difficult theological questions that come with living in our world. The most obvious, of course, is how could a loving God could send all those loving people to burn in hell for all eternity just because they didn't "believe" in Him? The journey is one of expanding horizons, a journey that portrays literarily the natural transition from exclusivism to inclusivism (the perspective that holds Jesus above others, but still makes room for them) that happens as we grow spiritually. Unfortunately, those unable to see past an exclusivist perspective will not be able to handle McLaren's book.

More recently (and to the point), I have read Mark Townsend's The Path of the Blue Raven: From Religion to Re-Enchantment. Townsend is an ordained priest in the C. of E. He is also a stage magician. He had always included his stage magic in his religiosity, but eventually his understanding of magic changed. Through experiential reflection and encounters with others of a more nature-based religious perspective, he grew into one who found magic (and I don't mean stage magic) to be truly a part of everyday life, indeed to be life itself. This growing awareness has led him to become a Druid.

His transition from parish priest to Druid has been one of liberation. The context of his spiritual practice in the church was one of dogmatism and highly institutionalized religion. The context of nature, in contrast, was one of freedom, excitement, wonder, and awe. The journey (as the subtitle aptly describes) followed a path from religion to re-enchantement. No longer serving a parish for the C. of E., Townsend reflects on his sense of call and purpose saying, "Now, however, I do not have an institution telling me how to behave or how to do this or that ritual or blessing. I still miss it, immensely, but I am freeer, happier, more myself and more a priest than I ever was." (p. 120)

It seems that what McLaren does for exclusivists, Townsend does for inclusivists as he helps them to connect to a pluralistic perspective (one that values all religious perspectives). To conclude his book, he adds several stories of others. Those voices include Christians who values a pagan perspective, Christo-Druids, and Pagan Druids.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Townsend's journey is, in many ways, reflective of anyone's journey as they grow beyond a parochial religious perspective. And its prose continually invites deeper engagement. I highly recommend The Path of the Blue Raven for anyone interested in learning more about an ever-expanding, personal, progressive religious perspective.

A bonus tidbit that came with this book was an introduction to the Ceile De community. I've enjoyed browsing through their site. It's definitely worth taking the time for a look-see.

Posted via email from Evolving Christian Faith Network

Building a Muscle

2010-05-22T22:41:00.001-05:00

One of the perks of my job is that I get to work from home every once in a while. This, of course, makes my cat very happy. Although she is not happy with the distinct lack of attention, it seems to appeal to her more than me disappearing for hours on end.

Another perk for the night is that my landlord dropped by and put up my Perfect Pull-Up bar. I don't have any tools (yeah, I know, lame). And I prefer my landlord drill into my landlord's building. So, the point is that I now have a pull-up bar (indeed, a Perfect Pull-Up bar) in the doorway to my living room.

I'm not a big exerciser. Still, I can't resist the bar over at my friend's apartment. Every time I walk by it, I have to use it. My hope is that the same will happen here.

Behold, my future uber-physique!

*flexes*

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

Posted via email from Silent Echo

Moving the Blog Back...But Not Really

2010-05-22T21:59:00.003-05:00

I have several blogs. My biggest issue with them is that updating was a pain in the ass. I had to copy/paste all the info into all of them for a full update. Therefore, I tended to gravitate to one.

Now, however, I have a posterous account. That account allows me to update them all with a single email. Of course, the different sites may need a bit of a formatting tweak. My tumblr needs a bit of reformatting every time.

Anyway, my point is that blogger is one of the update possibilities. So, I've decided that there's no reason not to set this blog up on my list.

Let the revival of the blog begin!

Moving the Blog

2010-02-06T15:24:00.003-06:00

This has been my personal blog for a while now. I don't intend to move everything over. And, who knows, I may even post something on here from time to time. But for those who want to keep up with me, the place to go is...

http://eclecticmass.net/irreverance

It's a Good Day

2010-01-20T16:48:00.003-06:00

Last night, I got in about 2am from pool (which really makes it this morning). Even though I was tired, I couldn't resist putting in the last disc for Supernatural. Lo and behold, only two episodes left in season four, therefore I watched the whole thing. Bedtime: 4:30 am.

Alarm buzzes at 11am, I hit the snooze and pet my cat...for 3 hours. Yeah, talk about a slow wake up. But is was more than a slow wake up. I enjoy spending time with my cat petting her and listening to her purr. It's very soothing. So it was perhaps less 3 hours oversleeping, and more like 3 hours of cat petting and purring meditation. It was quite nice.

And maybe there was something energizing to it. Since I crawled out of bed, I've taken down my tree (yes, it was still up) and attempted to build my dvd case (which I've had for over a month). I say attempted because the box didn't have a screw packet in it. I had to call the company to have the send me the parts. Normally, I would say to myself, "I'll do it later." But, somehow, I had the motivation to be on top of it. And, to add to my list of accomplishments today, I even cleaned the kitchen a bit. Yes, I cleaned!

Too bad I didn't make it to the laundry.

Delayed Approvals for Replies

2010-01-17T06:19:00.004-06:00

I forgot that I am moderating replies to my blogs to keep out spam. It turns out that a couple have been sitting in the queue...and sitting...and sitting. If you happen to be reading this and you happen to be someone who was awaiting approval, I'm sorry for the delay. I'll try to keep on top of that in the future.

What To Do, What To Do

2010-01-12T00:54:00.005-06:00

I've been running a tight sched through the last several months. Recently, some things have changed, broken down, or morphed. It's time to look at my calendar once again. As a result, I have new time slots that have come available.

I have too many things I want to do. I want to play pool. There is a Monday league for beginners (which I might do okay in) and a Wednesday league for experienced players (which I would be used and abused in). Both sound like fun. I also want to play a tabletop RPG. That would have to start in the afternoon, so it would need to happen on Monday or Wednesday as well. Then, I'd like to start a meditation group up to compliment the group that is watching the Bart Ehrman DVD series, Lost Christianities. From what I can tell, Wednesday is the best evening for that. I would like to spend more time blogging. (I would even prefer to be able to do podcasting, but it takes way more time.) The best time for that kind of activity for me is during the day, which means Tuesday or Wednesday. Then, I'd like to play Halo 2 with my friend Nukem, who is only available early afternoons, which means Tuesday or Wednesday. Then, I want to work on a monthly (?) podcast with a friend of mine who is an atheist to talk about some shallow and deep shit of life. I still think the best name we could have for it would be "Whiskey and Beer," since thats what we'd be drinking during it.

All of these choices have led to paralysis. My guess is I'll go with pool on Mondays (since I can't do it often on Tuesdays anymore). Then Wednesday may be blogging/gaming day. We'll have to see though.

Blogger vs. WordPress, and My Other Blogging Experiments

2009-12-29T14:37:00.005-06:00

There are many blogging platforms out there. So far, I've only tried a couple. I started on LiveJournal around 2004. Loved it. The best part is their "friends" page. I can read entries from anyone on my friends list in chronological order. The closest I have ever come to this is a status update roll on MySpace, FaceBook, and Twitter. The LiveJournal templates aren't too bad either. There are a few I like, and some minor tweaking is possible. (Unfortunately, LJ now has ads unless you pay.)

I tried out blogger because I friend of mine started one. It originally annoyed me because I couldn't add him to my LJ friends and get all my updates and once. Still, annoyance turned quickly into an opportunity to explore, and I quickly set up this account (with an initial misspelling of "Ecclectic"). I liked the interface. I liked the way I could customize everything. I don't have the greatest designs right now, but they are my designs. That's important to me.
I miss the old friend's page, though. Yeah, I can subscribe to other blogs or start a blogroll. The whole process is cumbersome though. Still, not a fan of the lack of that feature, and I can't forsee that ever changing.

Relatively recently, I checked out Tumblr. A lot of great stuff there. Oops! In fact, I have to take back something I said earlier. Tumblr seems to have integrated the LJ friends page. Good for them! They also have a great interface for publishing. Unfortunately, waaaaay too many things wrong. First, I don't know why but it doesn't look much like what I expect out of a blog. The templates are weak, so that doesn't help. Second, I get the impression that they are trying to do half blogging and half social networking (hence the "not looking like a blog" thing). It makes it hard for me to take entries seriously, and prevents it from being a platform for a serious blog for something like politics and/or religion. In the end, I'm torn about Tumblr. I like it...and I don't. I think they are going in the right direction though, and they may be the next evolutionary step in the right direction. For now, though, it's a step back.

I've recently opened a WordPress account. WordPress has a lot going for it. The best thing going for them is their across the top tabs. I can have a home page, about me page, blog article page, podcast page, and any other page I want. I love that. The biggest issue is the inability to customize design. if you want your blog to look like something other than their horrible templates, you need to pay $15 per year. Comparatively speaking, that's a lot. If you were to pay an additional $15, you could get your WordPress its own domain. Add the two and you have paid as much as you would for a GoDaddy site with tons more storage. The pricing is not only ridiculous, but the inability to make your blog look good without paying is a deal-killer for me.

So far, after I've min/maxed my options, I think my favorite is still blogger. It simply has more of the features I like, and less that I don't. I mainly miss my friends page from LJ, but they have something similar in the dashboard that also allows me to add other blogs not on blogger (which LJ doesn't), so it's a bit of an upgrade. And I really wish I could do tabs like WordPress (I can't emphasize how much I want this). Regardless, the best part is I can make it my own visually and don't have to worry about ads (unless I put them there myself, like my EVE ad, which I mainly have there because I like the pic).

Making Headway on the Sci-Fi RPG

2009-12-15T12:41:00.005-06:00

I've been working on a table-top roleplaying game with a friend of mine. Since we haven't exactly put our noses to the grindstones, it has been in production for about 3 years. I'm disappointed that it has taken this long. I figured a year, max. And it should have taken that. I guess lazy costs time.

I believe it is nearing completion. Unfortunately, I don't want to say too much about it, other than it will be a sci-fi game with a unique system. The plan is to offer it as a website. We also want to have forums so that players could add to/modify the current rule set and setting. That way, we can have house rules and official rules online for all to see. Pick and choose the way you want to play it. House rules that we really like may even make it to official standing, with the authors receiving credit.

I would like to offer the basic game for free. If we follow this plan, the only charges would be if there are any supplements. And then, a minimal fee (about $1-$2) would probably be enough. It would be nice to pull in enough to keep the site up.

Score: 8.3

2009-11-01T17:12:00.003-06:00

Okay, not really a score. It's my handicap in the pool league. I subbed a couple of weeks ago. I had to pick up 4 past games and play 8 games that night. Winning 8 out of 12 isn't bad, though I really should have won 11. And I would have, had I not continued to flake on the 8 ball. I need to work on consistency. That probably means I need to go back to setting up practice shots rather than playing complete games. Repetition, repetition, repetition.

Amazing Storytelling Through Art

2009-10-19T16:42:00.002-05:00

There are very few theologians I can say I like. Peter Rollins is among them. On his blog, he has this amazing video. Kseniya Simonova uses sand on a lightbox to tell the story of Russia's resistance of Nazi invasion. As I watched, I sat stunned.

Influencer is Good

2009-10-19T03:16:00.005-05:00

It has been a while since I've read a good leadership book. Last Wednesday I picked up Influencer: The Power to Change Anything. It has surprised me. As you can imagine, it's all about how people are motivated to go in a different direction. I'm about a third of the way through it, and can't escape it. It is very pragmatic in its approach. While its understanding is relatively simple, it shows how difficult it can be to actually implement a plan to bring about significant change. I can't wait to finish it. Yet, to reach the end so soon would bring vacuous despair.

Still Awake

2009-10-16T03:12:00.005-05:00

So, what does one do when still awake at 3am? Start blogging.

Better yet, I think I'll eat, then crawl into bed and watch Dr. Who Season 2. I've been impressed by this remake. The Doctors have been surprisingly good. The storylines often remind me that there's supposed to be a horror element to them. And the writers do an excellent job of making sure you're watching Dr. Who, and not some spinoff.

New Q&A Site for ECF-Net

2009-10-15T16:57:00.004-05:00

My internet side project is the Evolving Christian Faith Network (or ECF-Net), which is meant to be a voice for a revisionist alternative for Christians. My friend Gnarf just put together a StackExchange Q&A site for WoW called EpicAdvice. It's very cool. Since the StackExchange platform is in beta and free, I decided to put one together for ECF-Net.

The Evolving Christian Faith Network Q&A page.

The StackExchange platforms is very community driven. I've snagged a TED vid for the ECF-Net blog entitled "Clay Shirkey on Institutions vs. Collaboration" that may help if the idea is difficult to grasp. Basically, it is for the community, by the community. As people gain standing in the community, they are able to do more things (such as edit posts). The more the community trusts someone (based on the quality of their interaction), the more power the community gives them.

This is an experiment. Its longevity may be determined by whether I can afford to keep it up once the beta ends and StackExchange starts charging. Hopefully, it takes a while before that begins, and I am able to gather enough people for the site to become self-sustaining.

X-posted: ECF-Net.

Behold, My Mighty Shaft of Power!

2009-09-19T23:49:00.007-05:00

I've been playing pool for 3 1/2 months now. I figured out that I like the lighter sticks. I wanted blue (I call it my lightsaber). I wanted something between $50 and $150. Anything more than that and I would not be able to appreciate it.

I finally found my stick of choice: The Viking G02, Blue.

I love this stick. I've only used it a couple of times, but already I can feel the importance of having something decent to shoot with. A good investment.

And, yes, I supported the place that I play, Rockford Billiard Cafe.

Akira, Evolutionary Energy, and Theology

2009-09-06T20:22:00.004-05:00

My friend (LithiumInduced) and I are working on a tabletop RPG together. Recently, we've discussed how we want to create the religious system. That's when the old, old anime Akira came up. One of the main characters, Tetsuo, became a conduit for Evolutionary Energy, which made him a total bad-ass. So, we started to talk about the energy of "potentiality."

That was last Tuesday. Just today while reading Werner Heisenberg's Physics and Philosophy I realized how close our product came to Process Theology. I like process theology, for the most part. I think it has issues, which are primarily connected to its metaphysics (mainly meaning that I'm leery of any metaphysic). I'm more of a deconstructionist. But I need to explore this more as I continue to work out my own perspective.

Where's My Xbox?

2009-08-24T05:03:00.003-05:00

It was accepted at the post office on Wednesday. It should take 4-11 days. I'm impatient. I hope it gets here soon.

Have I mentioned that I'm impatient.

*taps foot vigorously*

ETA: It has arrived! Yay!

*jumps up and down*

Welcome to the 20th Century: Halo on the Way

2009-08-16T19:21:00.002-05:00

I finally did it. I broke down and bought an Xbox. No, not an Xbox 360. Just an Xbox. With a green "X" right on top.

I love video games. The reason I haven't bought a system is that they are expensive, and I couldn't justify it. Why get a console system when computers are better. Now that I have a 32" Vizio, though, I have a reason to have one. If I wanted to spend a lot of cash on a system, I would buy another desktop rather than a 360. And since I love Halo, I had to get an Xbox.

Yay for eBay! I found a system and many games for about $100. It should be here in about a week or so. I will have plenty of fun lined up for my copious free time. All I need now is copious free time. This could be a problem.

My schedule is full from week to week, but I will have to make room for my new toy. Halo, here I come!

FAIL...again?

2009-08-05T15:57:00.002-05:00

I think my cat needs lessons on how to be a cat. Last Sunday, she's tearing into the bookshelf in the living room at 11am (while I'm trying to sleep between night shifts). The entire bottom shelf cleaned off and spread out onto the floor.

Okay, I think, "maybe she's after a bug." I move the bookshelf out a little. Lo and behold, I see a mouse tail.

Aha!

I put Annabelle on the left side of the bookshelf to keep watch. I grab a towel to start to press it into the right side (it's in a corner on this side). Annabelle comes over to the right side where the action is. I pick her up and put her back on the left side with "You watch for the mouse over here." I proceed to make sure the towel is snugly in place to hamper escape (not that it would necessarily work, but maybe it would slow the mouse down a bit). Annabelle appears again on the right side. I pick her up and put her back on the left side, hoping the mouse had not made a break for it. I then finished cleaning off the 3' bookshelf.

It was time. I lifted the bookshelf, Annabelle jumped in and snagged it. A bunch of quarters dropped on my foot. They stung. Annabelle wandered into the kitchen. She dropped the mouse. It tried to flee, but she grabbed it again. She dropped it again. This time, it successfully made it under the fridge. After that, who knows where it went.

Mousing 101 second try = FAIL!

I really wonder if she knows what she's supposed to do once she catches it.

Being Sick Sucks

2009-08-03T17:47:00.003-05:00

I think it's a flu bug. It has been building for a few days. Finally, last night it caught up to me. I had to bail on work. Today, I've been laying around watching TV. It may sound like fun, this laying around, but I feel like shit. On the bright side, I don't go back to work until Thursday. That gives me a few days to recover. Unfortunately, it means that my time off is lost to getting better.

Oh well.

I think I'll lay back down now.

New Goal: Pool Shark

2009-06-21T05:32:00.002-05:00

I've decided that I need to learn pool. Well, not just learn pool, really. I want to become a shark.

Those who know me know that I usually don't just learn something new. I want to be good at it...really good. That applies to pool as well. Last week I came into the office on a day off and practiced shooting on the pool table for about 6 hours. Yes, I was sore the next day. But, in a game I shot a masse around one ball, into another, which in turn tapped my real target and knocked it to the edge. Unfortunately, it didn't go in, but I was quite happy with "almost." It's a great game.

Eventually, I'd like to be able to do the tricks in this video, though I think that may be a loooong time away.

Application to the Evil League of Evil

2009-06-14T02:42:00.008-05:00

I just picked up Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. One of the extras is a set of video applications for the Evil League of Evil (ELE). My favorite is the one by The Reverend. I think this should be my application.

Radar Detectors in Illinois

2009-06-07T02:33:00.004-05:00

I've always believed that radar detectors are illegal in Illinois. The article "Illinois Car Insurance: Radar Detector Law & Legalities" says otherwise.

Under federal law, the use of radar and lidar detectors is illegal in all commercial vehicles over 10,000 pounds (see http://www.ncsl.org/programs/transportation/radar.htm). For all other purposes, radar and lidar detectors are legal in Illinois.

Whoda thunk it? That settles it. I'm getting one so I can make it to the parents faster.http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10594074&postID=4719299981442534941#

Weekend #2

2009-06-06T17:04:00.003-05:00

Last week, I started my new weekend hours at work. On Saturdays, I now go in at 7pm and get out at 6:30am Sunday morning. I go home, play with the cat, go to bed and get hopefully 8 hours of sleep, get up, and get back in the office at 6pm for another over-nighter.

Last week went relatively well. I didn't get a lot of sleep before the Saturday-Sunday shift, so I was tired. When I got home, Annabell went ape-shit. She was way too excited to see me. I spent some time with here, but after a while it was bedtime. She disagreed. I don't think I've ever seen her go berserk like that. She ran all around the apartment, clawed on nearly everything cloth to get my attention, and even jumped on the bed and ran in a circle. It's generally good to feel loved, but not so much when I'm trying to go to bed so I can get up for work. Eventually, she calmed down.

Early afternoon the Sunday lawn mowing started. I'm pretty sure I heard 2 lawn mowers and a weed whacker going at once. That really wasn't too bad though. I was able to get back to sleep relatively quickly.

Overall, I enjoy working nights. It's so quiet and peaceful. When I worked nights in the past, I was alone. Now, I have a workmate. It's nice having someone else there.

I got more sleep last night and I'm more prepared for tonight. It may take a couple of weeks for my body to fall into a rhythm. I hope Annabell adjusts as easily as I will.

It Was Just a Little Thing

2009-05-31T00:12:00.001-05:00

Last night I went to Mary’s Place and listened to a cool Reggae/Ska band. I almost didn’t go in. I’m not one for going into a bar when I don’t know anyone inside. But as I got ready to leave, my friend Nukem arrived. I changed my mind and went in. It was a great time. I’m glad his arrival prompted me to stay.

The coolest thing, though, happened today. Nukem gave me a call to make sure I made it home safely. I’m not used to that. Normally, in my little world, it’s me looking out after others. It was really nice to be on the receiving end. In the grand scheme of things, this really was just a little thing. I thanked my friend, but I don’t think he’s figured out what that little gesture meant to me. It really made my day.

The End of EVE

2009-05-25T13:55:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know, I just posted an entry. This one is different. It's about one of my pasttimes.

I enjoyed playing EVE Online for quite some time. But now, I think it's time to draw it to a close. I just have too much to do. It's also getting a bit boring. I don't think I'll pick up on another MMO for a long time, if ever. I've come to believe that I'm more inclined toward games that have an end. Yes, it's fun to "advance." And it's more fun to finish and start over.

I Double Dog Down Dare You

2009-05-25T13:41:00.000-05:00

The TV rocks! No longer do I have to get up every 2 minutes to jiggle the wire, in hopes of getting a picture or making the squealing noise go away. Now, I turn it on and leave it alone. What a concept!

I can now start working out with my Yoga & Pilates DVD. I had already started with the basic situps, pushups, and weights. I won't stop with that. The basic working out gives me a different feel from yoga-pilates. I can't say I like one more than the other. Either way, I get that kinda fun, tender muscle feel. (*poke* *ow*, *poke* *ow*)

Since the weather has become warmer, I'm also trying to spend time outside in the sun. Mainly, I grab a book and blanket and sit in the backyard. Whenever my friend/landlord, Nukem, comes over to work on things, I see if there's anything I can do to help. Just standing in the sun is boring. Reading in the sun is better. But actually doing somethin in the sun is the best.

Recently, I've needed such things as the sun and exercise (especially the sun) to help me get out of this depressed funk. Yeah, depressed. It has been a long time since I've been in a relationship, and I'm feeling quite lonely. I haven't dated in what feels like ages. I need to get out there where everybody else is. Until that happens, I'll keep working on the buffitude.

Presbytery of San Francisco says Princeton Theological Seminary = FAIL!

2009-05-15T05:35:00.001-05:00

I hadn't heard Adam Walker-Cleaveland's story until yesterday while reading Tony Jones' Beliefnet blog. The short version is that he has jumped through all the hoops required for ordination into the PC(USA). Part of that is the completion of an M.Div., which he got at Princeton Theological Seminary, a Presbyterian seminary. He transferred his membership from his old presbytery to the Presbytery of San Francisco. Additional time in process was expected for them to have a chance to get to know him.

But surprise! The Presbytery of San Francisco has decided that Adam Walker-Cleveland needs to take another 7 courses to fulfill their expectations! In other words, they have effectively declared the education that candidates receive at Princeton Theological Seminary to be insufficient. I don't know whether they would admit to that last statement, but that's what it comes down to: he met Princeton's requirements for an M.Div. degree, and the Committee on Preparation for Ministry said it was not enough for them.

Hard to believe.

Either there's something else going on or the Committee on Prep for SF is dominated by stupidity.

Yet, this is exactly the kind of thing that reminds me of one of my convictions: the current ordination process in the PC(USA) turns the corporate discernment process into a joke.

(Edited to change pic and add Tony Jone's reference.)

Life is Strange

2009-05-13T20:48:00.002-05:00

The unexpected abounds. I've had a series of ups and downs that have happened so fast that it really is like being on a roller coaster. Some of them, I think it's best not to relay. Others, I can.

For the last two years or so, I've been working on saving so that I would be ready in case of a minor disaster. Finally, thanks to the income tax refund, I got there. I even had enough left over to decide to splurge on myself. For my upcoming 4oth birthday, I wanted to get myself something big. After all, we're talking about the big four-oh.

I picked up a 32" Vizio (refurb)! I decided it best to have it shipped to work rather than home. I don't live in the "best" of neighborhoods, and I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't take long for such a package to disapper of fmy porch.

Then, I get an e-mail saying that I forgot to pay. Arrg! What? Apparently, PayPal accounts need to be verified. I did this, but it took a couple of days.

Between the time that I "bought" the TV and "paid" for it, my check engine light came on. It stayed on for a few days (the book said to rund it a few driving cycles and see if it goes off), and then started sounding and acting funny.

Time to get it checked out. I dropped my care off at B&C Transmission. Thankfully, a friend (whom I'll call Nukem, because he has a habit of making my armies glow in Empire Earth) was able to give me a ride back from the transmission shop.

Now, I'm landlocked. Before releasing my car, I stocked up on groceries, so I don't have to worry about that. My cat has absolutely loved the fact that I'm not going anywhere. And I'm (yet again) realizing the blessing of being employed by a company that allows me to work from home when necessary.

I found out today how much it will cost to have my transmission rebuilt. Ouch! But, I guess if this has to happen, now is a good time. After all, this is exactly what I was saving up for. I've got it covered, but it's going to mean tightening the belt for a while. It puts me back 2 years, but it's doable.

I also received today a note from the TV merchant. It says they've sent it out...to my home address! Oh no! It's supposed to go to work. Why here? I don't know. Maybe it has to do with confusion related to the late payment (remember, I had to verify my account). Now my TV is going to appear on my doorstep where I did not want it to end up. This is not good.

Or is it?

I'm landlocked remember. That means I'll be here. Hooray! I won't have my TV shipped to work (where I can't get to it). I can hook it up as soon as it arrives.

And that's just a peek at all the wierdness that has been going on. At times it has been joyful, at others downright frustrating. Yet, I'm strangely at peace with it all. Maybe I can say that because I'm covered. But I like to think that maybe there's a bit of divine help in there, nudging things, keeping me unsettled yet safe. Who knows.

Maybe it's all a matter of perepective. But for me right now, amidst all the turmoil, life is great!

Bat & Wolf

2009-05-03T13:40:00.000-05:00

My friend is a star! Richard created the story for Bat & Wolf, a comic about two old friends of an unusual sort: one vampire and one werewolf. And these aren't the uber-sexy kind other-worldly creatures either, unless you have a major thing for a comb-over. They're misfits. And their existence is about to get a lot more interesting than they expected.

Check it out. It's a lot of fun.

EVE Synopsis on Destructoid

2009-05-02T23:40:00.000-05:00

I've been playing EVE Online for a while now. It's an MMO set in space. What I love about is is its realism. When your ship gets popped, you don't just get to respawn. You have to go buy another. That means spending hard-earned ISK getting back to where you were before the combat. There are consequences. If you don't want to play the price of replacing your ship when you lose in PVP, don't play the the PVP game.

What I loath about the game is its realism. If I get my ship popped, I will have to replace it. I don't want to have to spend all that time re-earning the ISK to get back to where I started.

(Surely, you see how this is going.)

Seriously, it's a great game.

While searching EVE Online for information about the character races, I noticed a link to this stellar synopsis of the game: EVE: The Unforgiving - A Basic Understanding of CCP's Masterpiece. Anyone looking for an MMO should read that article and consider EVE.

And if you do decide to join, let me know so I can give you a referral.

Facelift

2009-04-20T12:50:00.000-05:00

I started this blog in 2005. Four years of the same look probably cries out for a redesign.

I've been learning a little about user-experience-oriented web design, and thought I'd try a more crisp look. The banner is still a bit large, but I'm good with that. I don't think the white background is too hard on the eyes, since the entire page isn't a blinding white. Instead of a black page background, I went with a dark gray to tone down the white a bit (less contrast). The dark gray, blue, white, and black color scheme seems to work.

I'm happy with it. (Though that doesn't mean I won't tweak the hell out of it.)

B&N Fail

2009-04-19T16:19:00.001-05:00

Really? They didn't!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oh, and I think at work I may request my own office.

Cool Site: The Art of Nonconformity

2009-04-19T14:48:00.000-05:00

Chris Guillebeau (no, I'm not quite sure how to pronounce it) is a new name to me. I happened to stumble upon it through an article on Seth Goddin's blog. I clicked the link, and ... wow!

This is a great site. I mean, come on, how can I (of all people) not get the excited-fuzzies from seeing a PDF entitled "A Brief Guide to World Domination"?

So far, Guillebeau's site is impressive. Ultimately, his message is to find a way to follow your passion and milk the most out of life. Don't let the world dictate to you how you will live. Your destiny is just that: yours. It's time to take it back with your own hands.

Or something like that.

I haven't spent a whole lot of time on it, though that will surely change. Not surprisingly, the "nonconformist" writings appeal to me most. He has a great article on "The Anarchist Professor." Someone needs to tell the stories of those who do things "differently." They help us go claim a new perspective on on standards that we simply take for granted.

The Art of Nonconformity inspires me. Perhaps some day I, too, shall have such a cool site.

Baptism Liturgy

2009-04-12T10:41:00.000-05:00

It's Easter. Traditionally, this has been a day for baptisms. As Christ is risen, so too are we risen with him. It's a significant day in the life of the church and in the lives of many individuals who symbolically express/experience their participation in the Divine Reality.

I've recently been reading Nancy Chandler Pittman's Christian Wicca: The Trinitarian Tradition. She offers a wonderful portion of a baptismal liturgy.

From Sinner to Saint, From Darkness into the Light
You are baptized into the Waters of Life
To be submerged once again into the Mother of All the Living
To Rise and Be Reborn to this World
To Walk in the Newness of Life
You are baptized in the name of
The Father, the Mother, and the Blessed Son, Jesus Christ
Through The Divine, all things are possible
Arise to be a living Testament for Their Namesakes. (p.63)

As I came across this passage this morning, its beauty struck me. Indeed, it takes me back to the day of my own baptism.

It's a good day!

PTO

2009-04-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

I'm taking some paid time off Wednesday and Thursday. It's going to be nice to wind down with a 4-day weekend. It's amazing how quickly the time fills up. It's Tuesday, and already I have a million things that I want to fit in.

~Work on RPG
~Play EVE
~Read a friend's story
~Read some theological texts
~Read about emerging systems
~Sketch
~Play with Annabelle
~Try to finish watching Millenium
~Cook corned beef and cabbage
~Visit friends
~Post a blog or 2 on ECF-Net
~Clean the appartment
~Do laundry
~Slowly go through my Revenge of the Sith art book.

It's almost exhausging looking at the list. I may need to go back into work to catch a break.

B-Net

2009-03-29T15:18:00.000-05:00

Recently, I've tried to reconnect with BeliefNet. So far, not having any luck. Here's a link to my journal over there. I've called it a ghost town. It used to be quite active. My theory is that the vitriol is driving people away. Very sad.

There are two blogs, though, that I may like enough to keep coming back. Tony Jones is a leader in the Emergent conversation. He is a theologian who tries to be cutting edge. For many, he is. So far, his blog is quite lame. (He seems to be currently caught up in an argument regarding "practical theology," which is basically "duh-material" for anyone who's clued in.) But, I would hope to see it pick up.

B-Net also has Gus diZerega blogging for them. I first found out about him through his book Pagans and Christians: The Personal Spiritual Experience (which I highly recommend). He's had an interesting multi-post argument going on about why pagans should not have "clergy." So even if I find the place to be a wasteland, it still has a couple interesting water holes in it.

Tool: Right in Two

2009-03-29T14:57:00.000-05:00

This is a stellar song!

Frustrations with EVE

2009-03-23T23:47:00.000-05:00

I've been playing Eve Online for a while now. I have a love-hate relationship with it. There are a great many things I like about the game. However, they recently did an upgrade. As a result, I don't think I can run it on my system. I've finally gotten to a point where I can really do something interesting, and now I may have to stop playing.

I am so very disappointed.

Spring, Finally; Mousing, Finally

2009-03-22T10:15:00.001-05:00

It's about time the warmer weather hit. I was getting quite annoyed at the chill. I'm ready for the days to come that allow me to open my windows.

I watched as Annabelle failed Mousing 101. Good timing too. I was wondering a couple of days before whether she would know what to do if she found a mouse. She found it and I helped her catch it by moving things. She played with it a while, until it wasn't moving anymore. I had to leave the room because I couldn't watch. Then a heard a rumble. I went into the kitchen to see what happened and found her looking under the fridge. Apparently, it tricked her. Either that or she ate it so quickly and noisily that I thought it got away.

Right now, she's at my feet trying to get me to play. I gotta go. :)

Ashes to Ashes '09

2009-02-25T21:01:00.000-06:00

Ash Wednesday is my favorite holiday. I'm not quite sure why. I suspect that it has something to do with the ambiance that death lends to life. I like to walk through graveyards with well-crafted, yet aged stones and statues. There's something special about adorning death with art. Furthermore, I'm a night person. The veil of darkness adds mystery to my surrounding world. When done well liturgically, Ash Wednesday captures those feels quite well.

My favorite TV series right now is the new Battlestar Galactica. I don't have the Sci Fi channel, so I have to play catch-up on Hulu. I don't want to spoil the final season for anyone (so if you haven't caught up, skip to the next paragraph), but there is a wonderful scene where the rebel cylons have to make a tough decision. Unlike humans, when they "die" they are downloaded into a Resurrection Ship. Then, they are uploaded into a new body. But, in a strange and unexpected plot twist, the rebel cylons help the humans to destroy the Resurrection Ship. Once that is done, death becomes final. This may sound like insanity to those of us who inevitably will meet an end, but there is something significant to their reasoning. Without death, life is meaningless.

I think that's what we can call the ambiance that death lends to life: meaning. This in no way makes death a happy occurance. I'm not happy about it at all. When I think of my mom and dad, I know I don't want them to die. I would much rather have them with me always. But all stories must come to a close. For stories to have a meaning, they must have an end. It is a sad, yet powerful truth. And I believe that intermingled with that truth is also an amazing grace.

"Legalism Destroys"

2009-02-24T13:34:00.000-06:00

It's the old tag line from a site I used to frequent a few years ago. It served as a home for those who had been wounded by the church because of their cultural or sexual identities. Basically, it was a place for Christian (or otherwise) pariahs. Over time, activity dwindled, we moved to LJ, and the site withered away.

A few days ago, I was asked by the founder if I thought it would be worth it to revive the site. Interesting question, especially since I had recently been thinking about it and what kind of potential it might have for today.

It has been about 4 years since the site went down. Since then, I haven't really found an online community I could call home. For the most part, they've all lacked a certain edge that the old hang out had. If we can come up with a good plan, I'd love to see it fly again.

Firefly

2009-02-23T18:10:00.000-06:00

Recently I borrowed Firefly (again) from InvaderTim. Good series. When it was on TV, I wasn't interested. Now, I thought it would be a good series for inspiration while working on the sci-fi game.

When I first saw Firefly, I had yet to see Buffy or Angel (also not interested while they were on TV). While watching Firefly this time around, I've noticed something. Angel and Buffy seemed to have a knack for not only telling a quick story, but also for saying something about the human condition. There was a certain depth to them. Firefly doesn't seem to shoot for that.

I'm going to guess that this is the reason it ended up getting canceled. Yeah, I know, it was ratings. But what led to the lower ratings? Could it be that one of the things that made for a Joss Wheedon Special just wasn't there? That's my suspicion.

Nonetheless, I still love the series.

Transitioning

2009-02-14T16:21:00.001-06:00

As I start to revive this blog, I suddenly realize a small problem. "Eclectic Mass" is now the name of the spirituality group I am trying to put together (Eclectic Mass). I turned my website into the group's site, and now I think I should do something with this blog. I might change the addy to "irreverance" and come up with another banner.

Day Off

2009-02-12T11:44:00.000-06:00

Ahh, if only I could get up whenever I wanted every day of the week.

My plans:
~meet with a friend
~continue reading Emergence: The Connected Life of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software, which is proving to be quite good
~work on the game a bit
~contact people about Walter Wink
~and my cat insists that I play with her

Not very ambitious. That should make for a good day.

Seth Godin on Creativity

2009-02-06T09:13:00.000-06:00

A very interesting blog thought. Maybe I needed the reminder that what is "creative" for me isn't going to be the same as what is "creative" for someone else.

Creativity and stretching the sweatshirt.

There are also some other interesting articles on there.

Hey There Cthulhu: The Photomontage Video

2009-02-05T14:14:00.000-06:00

Gotta love it. :D

Reviving the Blog?

2009-02-04T13:54:00.000-06:00

I think I just might do that. I haven't kept up well on my LJ. I like it, but I'm lazy.

The original plan with this was for EclecticMass to be personal and ECFNet to be theological. I think I might try to do that. If I go there, I will want to go hunt down some old stuff for very late cross posting.

It's just something I'm considering.

Moving the Blog

2006-03-22T21:01:00.000-06:00

Having become tired of updating multiple blogs, I've decided to move my primary blogging back over to my LiveJournal account. I like the way their "friends" feature works. And it's more community driven. So, for more about my life, go over to Xian Anarchist's Live Journal

(However, from time to time, I might do some updating here too. Ya never know.)

Ready for Ordination

2006-01-19T13:52:00.000-06:00

Finally, I have jumped through my last hoop for ordination. Two Tuesday's ago, I had my final examination on the floor of presbytery. I passed, but I thought that they'd never stop asking questions.

Anyway, I will have an ordination service some time near the end of February. It will be quite the relief to have this all behind me.

Now all I need to do is call the pastor who will be preaching to figure out when he is free, and we'll set the whole thing up at the church.

A Surprise!

2006-01-07T15:32:00.000-06:00

I wear a white robe on Sunday mornings for worship. Not everyone likes it. They think it looks too much like a sheet. Anyway, yesterday a parishioner told me that they had black choir robes upstairs in a little-used room. When I went up to check it out, I have to say that I wasn't all that interested in the choir robes. But, in my exploration I found...

*drumroll*

...a COSSACK!

I love cossacks. IMO, they are about the neatest liturgical attire out there. I can't wait to sport it tomorrow morning.

It's not the suggested robe to replace the one people don't like, so it will be interesting to see whether they like this one.

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Screams

2005-12-17T14:55:00.000-06:00

Title: "Threats Will Get You Everywhere"

I just completed this last night. Overall, the whole drawing took about 10 hours. It was nice and relaxing.

I drew this from a reference (taking a bit of artistic licence of course). The original can be found in the new Contagion anthology, War Stories put out by Aegis Studios.

Anyway, this was all about getting back into the habit a bit. I started with the left and worked my way right. As time progressed, I started getting back into the groove. As a result, the right looked much better than the left. So I went over it with some digital touchups here and there (and there and there). It's amazing how easy it is to tell the difference from the right side (which is dominated by pencil rendering) and the left side (which has substantial digital alterations). I definitely like the pencil work better.

And don't forget to notice the tatoo. I didn't want to mess up the drawing when trying trying to figure out where to put my sig. And there we have it: An immortal young lass wearing my name on her arm for all eternity! The ultimate in artistic vanity? You tell me. Some would say yes. Some would say no. The rest of us could really care less.

Handwriting Analysis

2005-12-13T19:31:00.000-06:00

The results of your analysis say:

You fill every waking moment with activity.
You are a shy, idealistic person who does not find it easy to have relationships, especially intimate ones.
You are affectionate, passionate, expressive, and future-oriented.
You are a talkative person, maybe even a busybody!
You are self-confident and like to bring attention to yourself.

What does your handwriting say about YOU?

It's 5' x 9'

2005-12-13T19:09:00.000-06:00

Title: Advent Truth

This is the pictoral version of my sermon a couple of weeks ago. It's about how during the season of Advent (just before Christmas), we are called to take upon ourselves the pain of what it is to be human, become the voice of those who suffer, cry out to God on their behalf, and live into and bear the hope of that which is to come.

On the left is the present and on the right is the future Kingdom of God. On the left, a watcher is on a stylized version of the Second Con tower wearing black (the color of pain to match the pain-colored city of Rockford in the pic) who has a firey head (the color of the Christ-head on the right) looking over Rockford and into the future.

The waters of baptism flow from the future and sweep through all with thier claiming power. Meanwhile, the Communion elements (bread and cup) bridge the now and future.

The big white thing in the middle is the moon, which relates to the scripture passage read for the sermon.

Hopefully, the snapshot is clear enough to see.

New Home Page

2005-12-03T23:07:00.000-06:00

After a long silence, I should introduce everyone to my new home page: Eclectic Mass Home Page. It's much better than my geocities one.

Let's see, what's happened in the last month since I posted?

My car was broken into. Someone smashed out my rear, passenger side window in order to pillage my back seat. The boneheaded move on my part was to leave lots of stuff there. The thief must have felt silly though rummaging through a box that had copies of the Presbyterian Outlook and a liturgical calendar in it. All the person made off with was a smoothie machine. (Oddly enough, I didn't want a smoothie until my machine was gone.)

I went to the Octane to celebrate Tim's 33rd birthday. Happy birthday Timmy-boy! Met some really neat people there too. (And a quick "hello" to them if they happen to stumble across this entry.)

I've discovered a new art form (well, new to me anyway): paper lace. Basically, take a long sheet of paper (my mock-up is 8 1/2" x 17"; the final will be about 5' x 10'). Draw a design on it. Strategically cut out negative spaces, making sure you have enough paper attachments to hold it together. Then hang it from the ceiling. It becomes a really cool banner that is far less complicated than it really is. Eventually, I'll get a pic of my creation story mockup.

The Contagion War Stories anthology is officially out. I have an article in there entitled "All Things are Relative." I also did the pic to go with it.

I'm really missing the time to draw. I'm being creative in other ways, which is way cool, but I keep getting the hunkering to break out a HUGE sheet of paper and just go crazy with my pencils for about a day or two. Unfortunately, I'm having a tough time convincing the world to stop turning so I can create the next series to dominate the louvre (or maybe somewhere slightly smaller).

My Roller-Coaster Ride Last Weekend

2005-11-04T12:18:00.000-06:00

Finally having a weekend where I didn't have anything that I had to do up here in Rockford, I finally got out of town. Friday, I made it down to Charleston, IL, where I got to see some Eastern Illinois University friends. That's where I received my history degreesl, and it was good to reconnect with my past profs. I was amazed at how it seemed like had seen them not so long ago. In fact, the last time I saw Anita and Newton was in 1999. I'm glad they hadn't changed much. I kind of like them just the way they are. So that was the highlight of last weekend.

Unfortunately, on Sunday I was down in Ladd with the First Presbyterian Church. I served as their pastor for 2 years, until we didn't receive the redevelopment grant that we'd hoped for. As a result, I had to get another job and they had to make the difficult decision to close. Last Sunday was the final worship service for that congregation. I really enjoyed being their pastor and I hope they find congregations they can connect with. While it was great to be with them again, it was a really sad occasion.

A Must See: Crash

2005-10-20T16:20:00.000-05:00

Movie: Crash
This is by far the best movie I've seen in a long time. The way the story line unfolds is masterful. It definitely made me think more about the world in which I live.

I'm going to go see my parents this weekend. It has been too long since I've been able to make it down there, but getting a two-day weekend hasn't exactly been easy.

No, last Sunday's sermon has not made it to the podcast yet. I will get that out there as soon as I can.

My shopping for the cheapest internet service is going to take me into the arms of Insight again. I was looking at the possibiliy of dish plus DSL, but DSL requires phone service, which cranks the price up to Insight levels. Oh, well. I can deal.

This Sunday evening, the High School Youth Group will be going out to Chamberlain's Nursery to check out their mazes. They have five. One of them is a corn maze for which we need flashlights. This ought to be a lot of fun.

Heir to the Empire came out back in the early 90s. It's the first book in the trilogy that continued the Star Wars saga beyond Return of the Jedi. I'm finally reading it all the way through. I like it. I need to go pick up the second book before I run out of this one.

I Like This Quote

2005-10-07T13:57:00.000-05:00

I just read a great quote from Parker Palmer's To Know As We Are Know: Education As a Spiritual Journey. I wanted to share.

On the one side, prayer is our capacity to enter into that vast community of life in which self and other, human and non\human, visible and invisible, are in-tricately intertwined. While my senses discriminate and my mind dissects, my prayer acknowledges and recreates the unity of life. In prayer, I no longer set myself apart fro others and the world, manipulating them to suit my needs. Instead, I reach for relationship, allow myself to feel the tuggings of mutuality and accountability, take my place in community by knowing the transcen-dent center that connects is all.

On the other side, prayer means opening myself to the fact that as I reach for that connecting center, the center is reaching for me. As I move toward the heart of reality, reality is moving toward my heart. As I recollect the unity of life, life is recollecting me in my original wholeness. In prayer, I not only address the love at the core of all things; I listen as that love addresses me, calling me out of isolation and self-centeredness into community and compassion. In prayer, I begin to realize that I not only know but am known. (p. 11)

This book is one of my personal fav's regarding the field of spiritual formation. I recommend it for anyone who leads small groups.

There Is No End to the...

2005-09-29T12:03:00.000-05:00

boxes, boxes, and more boxes.

I've officially moved in to my new place. Of course, there's no room to move around yet. The worst part is that I can't find my coffee pot. I bought this cool new Chocolate Silk coffee to try out, but I have no way to make it at home. I've had to bring it to the office. It's good, but not as good as I'd hoped.

I posted flyers around downtown yesterday. We're starting up an "Experimental Worship" service at Second Con and we want local musicians to play.

What we're looking for:
Street music that speaks to people spiritually (which does not necessarily mean "Christian" music)
People who can commit to participating regularly in the Experimental Worship
Several groups with different styles (since we want to rotate different artists regularly)
People intersted in helping to carve out their own spiritual niche

What we're not looking for:
Contemporary Christian music (there's plenty of places that have that; we want somethign different)
Artists who only want to come if they are playing that night

And, some suggested styles:
Etheral
Drumming
Reggae
Other sounds from the neighborhood

I'm not sure the of the actual start date, but I do know that it will be tied into our Wednesday Night Live. We will begin with a community meal around 5:50pm, and then around 6:20 we will adjourn to the chapel.

I'm looking forward to starting this up. If anyone who reads this knows of someone who might be interested, please give them the head's-up.

Also, we're considering starting up a Living the Questions group. If we go in this direction, I'm toying with the idea of having it over at the Minglewood. That would open it to the public.

Is that Queen I Hear in the Background?

2005-09-21T13:15:00.000-05:00

Title: Stained Glass at Second Con
We won! Second Congregational Church is officially the soft-ball champions of the church league as of last night. The final score: 14-9.

On a different note, I got a bit of feedback for my sermon last Sunday. It came in a beautiful card with our stained glass windows on the cover (see above).

Here's what she said:

Dear Bo,
A church service such as yesterday's inspires me the rest of the week. Welcome to Second Congregational Church! Youre sermon was great.

I'm not going to give the name of the author, and she probably won't stumble across this blog, but just in case she does....thank you!

For those interested in hearing the sermon, it can be found on my Eclectic Podcasting Mass. Or you can just click on the following button.

Preaching

2005-09-15T17:34:00.000-05:00

This Sunday will be my first sermon at Second Con. I just finised the nearly-final draft. As I try to think about where this congregation is, I realize that I may have to take a pretty different approach to sermons. I have effectively moved from a conservative, rural congregation to a liberal, urban one. The extent to which I have to adapt I don't yet know. It has made this first one tough though.

I'm also thinking about doing another DVD discussion group at a local coffee shop (much like the Historical Jesus Discussion Group that I did at the Common Grounds BookCafe). Mike has suggested a "Fundamentalist Recovery Group." It's a neat idea. I think Bart Ehrman's New Testament DVD series would be great for that, but I'll have to do a quick review to see how complicated it is.

Now, off to check out a coffee shop that my predecessor haunted.

No More Anonymous Comments

2005-09-08T18:16:00.000-05:00

I got tired of the "anonymous" comments that were actually spam postings (or whatever they're officially called). Therefore, I've turned off the option to post anonymously. If anyone out there wants to post on here, sorry, but you've got to get a blogger account. That doesn't mean that it ever has to be updated, but you'll have to at least set something up.

Tomorrow, I'm going back to Spring Valley. I think I've found a temporary appt up here, so I think I can bring some stuff back. The new place would start at about mid-month. After (if?) I take it, I can rent and load a truck and finish this transition.

And She's Off

2005-09-07T22:17:00.000-05:00

Mission Bound is off to Japan tomorrow. Tim, her, and I were going to go to the India House (she's a big fan of anything Indian), but apparently they saw us coming and decided to be closed on Tuesdays. So, off to get Giordano's pizza. I'm very sad to see her leave, but I'm sure she will have a ball over there.

The car is back in my possession. In fact, now it works much better than it has in a long time. Woo hoo! I can finally go down to Spring Valley and continue dismantling my appt for the move.

I should be working rather than blogging right now. About 1/2hr before I left work today, the Senior Pastor and I had a discussion about doing some sort of "alternative worship" on Wed nights. Theoretically, I should be able to go back in tomorrow with something tangible on paper. Part of the problem is that I have too many ideas. The question is: "What approach will enable new people to give voice to their own sense of spiritual connection?" The next question is: "How do we advertise this effectively when the start date is 28 Sept?" So much to do; so little time.

Quite exciting though.

Where's the Dunce Cap?

2005-09-02T17:02:00.000-05:00

I just got the call from the mechanic. He has figured out what is wrong with my car. Apparently, in my mad dash to make it to the softball game, I topped off the tank with diesel. He'll get it fixed up and back to me some time during the beginning of next week.

I feel like such a bonehead.

Losing Internet Access

2005-09-01T22:44:00.000-05:00

While in transition, I will be losing some of my internet access. I can connect where I'm staying with friends, but I don't want to monopolize their computer. Obviously, at work I'm limited by...well, work. And in Spring Valley I'll be canceling my service since I'm not there.

This isn't as big a deal for my blog as it is my podcast. (Though it does mean I won't be surfing many other people's blogs much.) I'm glad to say that I've got at least 20 subscribers now with about 40-50 hits a day. I need to update. It has been too long. I'll try to get another spot out there as soon as I can, but it might be a while. Hopefully, I'll be able to connect enough in the near future to at least get an explanation out there.

I finished watching the movie Alexander tonight with friends. Not good. In fact, very bad. Okay, atrocious is really more like it. I might have to watch The Incredibles again just to cleanse my memory of all the bad acting.

Oh, and for all those interested, Second Congregational will be renting parking spaces for $5 for Waterfront. If I remember correctly, the $$$ goes to our gym and youth group activities. I'll be out there off and on with the youth group if anyone wants to drop in and say "hi."

Not Good

2005-08-31T08:44:00.000-05:00

My car is smoking. I started it this morning (or at least tried to). It made funny sounds and almost got going. I turned it off, looked in the rear-view mirror, and there was the cloud.

Shit.

I guess I'm not going into work today. Unfortunately, I don't know where to take it here in Belvidere. I'll have to wait till Ang gets back. Then she can take me to wherever it is that I need to go.

Hopefully, whoever is going to fix it can do it soon, because I have to move my stuff up here. Finances are limited, so it better not cost too much.

Natural Disasters and God

2005-08-30T17:32:00.000-05:00

Downtown New Orleans, 30 Aug 2005
“Why?”

One minute the world seems to make sense, and then something terrible happens. This time it is Hurricane Katrina. When the power of nature rises up and brings such destruction, we humans (yes, we who have conquered the skies and landed on the moon) find that we are powerless to stop it. We who were once masters of our world, suddenly find ourselves feeling very tiny and vulnerable. Our world has not only lost the meaning it once had, but has become dangerous as well.

“Why?”

Some people believe that when natural disasters strike, they do so because somehow they are the will of God. While the disasters bring death and destruction, they are seen as divine tools to fashion a greater good. So, in the end, it all balances out, with a little more weight landing on the “good” that comes out of the disaster. There is a sense that somehow, it was all “worth it.”

I am not one of those who believes that.

I do not believe that natural disasters are God’s tools for bringing about the death and destruction necessary for a greater good. I do not pretend to know “why” natural disasters happen. But regardless of what I or anyone else believes about the “why” of natural disasters, they happen nonetheless.

God is love. That’s what I believe. That influences how I see such things in the world. It also influences how I respond to the world around me.

God is love. It is a central Christian emphasis. It is what we’re called to proclaim. But, surrounded by the howl of tsunamis and hurricanes, our voice is often drowned out and we feel stifled. How can we be heard? How can we declare that the God who is love is not silent, but still speaking?

St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Proclaim the Gospel, and, if necessary, use words.”

To all who suffer, to all who mourn, to all who weep in the meaninglessness of it all, to all who will listen, we declare God is Love.

I have snagged the following news article from the UCC website. It is important to know how at least one church is declaring God’s love in the darkness, as well as a few ways that we can do our part.

***************
“UCC begins disaster response to Hurricane Katrina”
Aug. 29, 2005

Hurricane Katrina, a Category 4 hurricane, stormed ashore the U.S. Gulf Coast this morning with extraordinarily strong winds and heavy rains. Extensive wind damage and flooding is anticipated along the projected track of the storm from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio River Valley. Katrina crossed southern Florida on Friday resulting in 9 deaths and extensive flooding.

One Great Hour of Sharing is rushing $25,000 to Church World Service for the initial response to Hurricane Katrina.

"At this point we pray and wait. We are grateful to have One Great Hour of Sharing offering funds and UCC Disaster Network in place so we are able to respond as soon as it becomes safe to do so," said Susan Sanders, Minister for Global Sharing of Resources.

UCC National Disaster Ministries' staff have been in contact with Conference Disaster Coordinators, Alan Coe from South Central Conference; Will Rabert from Southeast Conference; Bill Wealand from Florida Conference and Shari Prestemon, Executive Director of Back Bay Mission, Biloxi, Mississippi to express concern and offer One Great Hour of Sharing financial support for clean up and recovery in aftermath of this storm. Contact has not yet been made with staff of Dillard University in New Orleans.

Back Bay Mission staff have evacuated to safety away from the coast and will return to Biloxi as soon as it is safe to do so.

Will Rabert and Alan Coe are prepared to travel to the disaster area as soon as possible to provide assistance to UCC congregations, institutions and local communities as they assess recovery needs.

Church World Service Disaster Response and Recovery Liaisons are on call to work with local agencies to organize and to address the unmet needs of those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

How you can help:

1. Pray for people who live in communities affected by hurricanes.

2. To help those affected by disasters you may send gifts payable to your congregation marked for "Emergency USA " with the request they be sent through your Conference office on to Wider Church Ministries.

OR

3. Send gifts payable to Wider Church Ministries and marked in the memo portion "Emergency USA" to the Office for Global Sharing of Resources; Wider Church Ministries; 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115.

OR

4. Make a secure on-line donation now by clicking on the Emergency USA button on [the UCC homepage].

For All the Cubs Fans Out There

2005-08-27T15:05:00.000-05:00

While cleaning and packing, I rediscovered a book by Robert J. Morgan entitled Real Stories for the Soul. Please note that this is in no way a plug for this book; it's terrible. Generally speaking it's shallow and the veracity of the stories is questionable. But, there is this really cool one that I would like to share (most of it anyway).

***************
The 1908 World Series (p 135-36)

The 1908 National League season saw a fierce struggle between the Chicago Cubs and the New York Giants. When they met with thet Pennant on the line, there was a last minute change in the Giant lineup. The Giant's first basemen had a sprained back, and substituting for him was an eager nineteen-year-old named Fred Merkle who was thought to be a rising star in baseball.

The game was tied, adn in the bottom of the ninth, the Giants were at bat. There were two outs, and two men on base. The winning run was on third, and Fred Merkle was on first. The batter hit a single, and the runner on third lumbered home. The Giants had apparently won the game and the pennant. Jubilant Giant fans poured onto the field while Fred Merkle was still on his way to second. Alarmed by the crowd suddenly bearing down on him and convinced the game was over, he ran straight for the clubhouse.

He didn't go all teh way to second base. The Chicago second baseman noticed the [sic.] Merkle hadn't bothered to touch second. If he could get the ball and touch second himself, the winning run would be cancelled by the force-out. First, he had to find the ball.

One of the New York coaches saw what was happening, and he ran for the ball and threw it into the stands. A fan in a brown bowler caught it and started home with his trophy. Two Cubs players chased the man through the mob and tried to take the ball away from him. When he resisted, they knocked him down, grabbed the ball, ran back to the field, and threw it to their second baseman, who, holding the ball, jumped up and down on the bag to make sure the umpire saw what he had done.

As a result, New Yorkd lost the game--and the Pennant--and although Fred Merkle stuck it out for fourteen more years in baseball, he never got over the reputation of being the man responsible for what is still to this day called "Merkle's Boner."

***************

For all those Cardinal fans out there, it has to make us wonder, did they really win that year? Hmmm. Do ya think we should we tell 'em?

Long Day

2005-08-22T22:08:00.000-05:00

My first day alone on the job. I already have sooo much to do. Of course, since it is only the begining of my solo week, I don't really know if it is a lot or a little. I'll have to see how much I get through by Thurs.

Didn't leave the office till 7pm. That's okay though, I really enjoyed today. Something I really like about the pastor position is the diversity of things to do. I could have left earlier if I wanted, but I chose to stay. Yeah, I know, it's odd. But I like what I do that much.

Big Day

2005-08-20T23:33:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow (Sunday) will be a big day. I'll be in worship for the first time at my new church. Then, after the service, there is a picnic. What are the odds of me getting lost on the way there?

Hopefully, I will be looking at a house tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunatly, due to this I will not be able to make it to the Gorilla Art Thing (which will meet outside the Octane from 1ish to 5ish). Sorry all, but I need to find a roof. It makes living a lot easier when you have one, ya know.

I'm not quite sure how much I'll be in and out of my appt in Spring Valley this coming week. It depends on how soon I can find a place up here. So, for all those calling my home phone, you might not hear back from me for a while. E-mail will work much better till I get settled.

Time for beddy-bye. After all, I have a job to get to in the morning. (Hooray)

First Week

2005-08-19T00:25:00.000-05:00

So far, not a bad first week. I started Monday, and while there have been some interesting twists, nothing disasterous has happened. I've been really busy, so I haven't had a chance to contact Tim or anybody else (imagine links here to various MySpace pages that I don't have the addresses to right off hand) and say "hi." I'll have to give everybody a tour. The outside of the building is like a castle, and there's this awesome tower. I made sure to go up there on the first day.

I'm off on Fri and Sat, so I'll be hitting the housing ads pretty hard. I've settled on getting a small house. It's a lot more expensive, but I've been living out of boxes for the last 6 yrs and really need to feel spread out. The rental cost difference between Belvidere and Rockford is amazing! I figure living in Belvidere would increase my drive time from about 15 mins to 1/2 hr, but even with the cost of gas it might be well worth it.

The last couple of nights I've spent with my friends Eric and Ang and their kids. Tonight, I took the kids (ages 6 and 4) shopping for the stuff to make chili dogs. We had a lot of fun.

The current Associate Pastor's last day for the church is Sunday. After that, I will be the only pastor there for a week until the Senior Pastor returns from the mission trip to Angola. This could make for a very interesting second week on the job.

As I sit here, I'm working on Eric's computer. I'm jealous of his really cool cordless mouse that is overly-decorated with fully functional and useful buttons. I must get one of these things. Also, I forgot how awesome ergonomic keyboards were. Now, I can't remember why mine isn't hooked up to my computer. Was it because I needed an adapter? Maybe limited desk space? I'll have to check when I get home.

The Word is In

2005-08-14T20:27:00.000-05:00

I've got the position! I will be the New Interim Associate Pastor at Second Congregational. From what I understand, I will be filling some really big shoes, so it's a bit intimidating. I received notice yesterday and will start tomorrow. The plan is to be in the Rockford area early and begin looking for appts. Then, I will meet the current Associate Pastor in the afternoon.

Employment: here I come!

Elsewhere in life...

This weekend I went to see Christina. It was good to get away and relax. Since her 9-yr old son wasn't there, we talked about painting his bathroom as a surprise. The theme would be "pirates." On wall #1: a skeleton with a pirate hat by a palm tree on a desert isle (I would point out at this point that skeletons are hard for me to do). On wall #2: a pirate ship on the ocean. On wall #3: a treasure chest peeking out from behind the toilet (part of the fun for this one would be seeing how long it took him to notice it was there). After a bit of planning, we decided that it might take too long to get it all together. We didn't want to take any chances on me having to leave before it was done. So, we decided to put it off until later. (I still really want to do it, though.)

We also went to Alladin's Castle in the mall. I haven't been in one of those in years. She beat me in air hockey, and for the record I didn't let her win. Also for the record, she only won by one point so I intend to get a rematch.

And, we watched The Bourne Identity. Great movie, but was it ever hard to stay awake. I was exhausted! A long day plus a really big meal at the Olive Garden (compliments of her dad, who gave us cash to go celebrate my new job...thank you!!) about put me to sleep half way through.

The big finale: We bought a lottery ticket. It better hit big, because we have already figured out how we are going to split our respective halves.

For Those Who Didn't Already Know This...

2005-08-11T16:31:00.000-05:00

...the only thing worse than moving is moving when you don't know whether you're actually moving. Boxes, boxes everywhere.

Tonight, I'm trying to get the group up to go to the labyrinth. So far, it has rained every time we've tried. Today, it looks dark, but if it isn't too bad, I'm still going (I don't know about the rest of 'em).

Aegis Studios is putting out their Contagion Anthology soon enough. The release should be around Halloween. I have a written piece in there. Come to think of it, I need to finish a pic for it. Shh...don't tell Travis I've been procrastinating.

Still Waiting

2005-08-10T07:28:00.000-05:00

The word is that the results on the interview are still "inconclusive." It has been a bit of a strange drama thusfar, but I hope to hear something back in the next couple of days. But, the job still starts on Monday, so my appt is a wreck as it is filled with boxes.

Ugh!

Meanwhile, If I don't hear something by mid-afternoon, I'll be setting up another interview elsewhere. If the Rockford possibility doesn't come through, here's hoping that this new one will move quickly.

Yes, the employment roller coaster takes yet another sharp turn.

Stomach...Churning...

2005-08-07T13:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm nervous now. Oddly enough, when I went into the first meeting regarding this new call opportunity, I was barely nervous. Now, it's hitting pretty hard.

I went to Open Prarie NCD (UCC) in Princeton today for worship. Oddly enough, I've been there three times and have yet to hear the pastors preach. I hear they're awesome, but every day I've been there they've had a guest preacher.

Today, that was a real blessing. The college student (I believe her name is Dawn, but I forgot to bring home a bulletin) who preached gave a kick-ass sermon. I talked with her afterward about recording it and putting it on my Eclectic Podcasting Mass. I hope she decides to do that. I'd love to host it for her. It's her story, which is something that I think more people should hear.

Come to think of it, I should probably ask Open Prarie's pastors, Curran and Katie, if they would like me to host their sermons.

Well, I'm off to the big meeting.

The News

2005-08-03T22:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight, the church called me regarding their open position and offered me the job. I very quickly said "yes," of course. The start date: Aug. 15th. That's pretty quick. Now, I have to find an appt that will rent month to month. The hiring is not yet official. The committee that presented the call to me is not the group that hires. I have to go before their Provincial Council for that. We will meet Sunday evening. But still, this is all quite the relief. Woo hooo!

MissionBound dropped in last night and left today. She had training in Chicago. Sounds like it was exhausting. It was good to see her again. Lots to catch up on. Way too much fun.

I cooked meat pie for us for lunch. The receipe:

~1 lb gr. beef
~1 standard can condensed tomato sauce
~1 standard can gr. beans
~1 sm. can mushrooms
~1 sm. can corn
~salt and pepper
~4 cheese instant potatoes
~1 egg
~shredded cheese

Cook beef, add tomato sauce, add beans and corn. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Make mashed potatoes. When done, stir in egg (beaten), which will help the potatoes to keep their shape in the over.

Put meat, etc., into cassarole dish, and cover the meat with the potatoes. Then sprinkle cheese over the top.

Put in over (375) for about 40 minutes, until done (the cheese will start to brown slightly). Pull out carefully. It will be very, very hot for a long time.

Yum!

Fortune: "Happy News is on the Way"

2005-07-31T18:27:00.000-05:00

That's what my fortune cookie said today. So, here's hoping.

Anyway, I did hear back about that job, but I haven't had time to post much here until now. They are now in the reference-check mode. When I applied, I put "references available upon request." I guess I wasn't thinking. I should have given them some names up front. I have good references, though, so this is a good thing.

Also, they needed a Statement of Faith. This is another thing typical of pastoral candidates. (Again, I should have got this to them earlier on.) I didn't send it with my ref's, because I wanted to look it over to see if I wanted to revise it. They were very cool with that. Funny thing is that I forgot that I sent it off to someone else earlier this year, so I had already touched it up. A couple of more final tweaks, and it was good to go.

So, now they should have everything. Hopefully, I will hear back from them mid-week. Till then, I'll just sweat it out some more.

This was a really good weekend. A friend of mine wanted me to come down and visit in the Springfield area. I had a decision to make: go to show off my art at the Ottawa River Days or go visit. I chose to go visit. It was a blast. I suspect her 9-year old had way too much fun shooting me...repeatedly...in an X-Box game called Timesplitters. That's an awesome game. I must remember never to get anything like that for my computer, lest I never get anything done ever again.

Alas, the result of being out of town was that I missed Battlestar Galactica. Now, I desparately have to find out when SciFi airs the rerun, or else I don't know how I will get through the week.

I didn't go to the Go/ue/rilla Art Thing today. I was intending to, but my nap lasted longer than intended. I hit the pillow some time after 1pm, closed my eyes, opened them again, and lo and behold it was 5pm. Yikes! It felt good though. Apparently, I really needed it.

Today was the last of my two-Sunday pulpit supply gig at the church down the road. That means that the second installment of the two-parter is finally done. I tried to put it together on Friday, but it just didn't come together. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday on it, and didn't really finish it until late last night. Of course, yaking constantly on the phone doesn't help time management any. (Hmm, maybe this has something to do with the long nap?) I should be able to get it up on my podcast soon. Tonight, though, I have phone calls out the wazoo to make, so I probably won't be able put it online until (maybe) late tonight or tomorrow.

Btw, I'm really excited about the stats that I'm getting on my podcast. It appears that I have somewhere between 11-20 subscribers. Unfortunately, I don't know whether I'm reading them right (which odds are good that I'm not.) So, if anyone out there has significant familiarity with the feedburner stats, please leave some suggestions for interpreting them.

Egad, It's Hot!

2005-07-25T17:24:00.000-05:00

Since I've been working on getting the podcast up and running, I've largely neglected Eclectic Mass. So, I want to hit on a few highlight from the last couple of weeks.

Megalomaniac dropped in for a week. We went to see the The Fantastic Four. I liked it better than he did. The effects were great, except for the Thing. When you see creasing in the stone skin, the illusion that it isn't foam starts to fade.

I had an interview last Thursday. I don't want to say too much, but I think it went well. I won't hear anything until after mid-week. Till then, I'll just have to sweat it out.

Speaking of sweating, it's hotter than hell out there! It says that it's a whopping 89 degrees, but add all that humidity and you might as well be standing on the sun. Let's hope that thunder I've heard all day means something later.

After my interview, I dropped in on a couple of friends. Their children hung on my, which was fun. They're just adorable. While there, we watched Catwoman. The movie was good, but the CGI looked too "fake." I don't know, maybe it was too crisp or something.

Since I've been working again on Nutshell Christianity I've remembered why I stopped. Writing about evil is hard. Really hard. And then putting it on paper in such a way that it is concise and easy to "get" is even harder. Part of my problem is my growing impatience. I want it done, and I want it done now. I need to relax, not think about self-imposed schedules, and let it flow. I need to take the time to do it right.

Today I was reading an article in The Myth of Christian Uniqueness (eds. John Hick and Paul Knitter). I was supposed to have read it all during seminary. Apparently I didn't, because I just discovered a wonderful text by Japanese theologian Seiichi Yagi. A great quote: "For all human beings are so constituted, in their very natures, that the divine and the human are at the same time one and two. It is just that most persons have not yet awakened to this reality." (p. 122-23) Now, time for me to go away and finish reading the article.

Getting Back in the Saddle

2005-07-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

Now that I've got some time on my hands, I need to get back to work on Nutshell Christianity. It has been about 4 mo's since I last worked on it, and it's high time I got back in the saddle.

This is what I said about it back in March:

It doesn't exist yet. I've been working on it in my spare time. It's an intro book to Christianity as a religious option in America. The BIG plan is to turn it into a supplement book for a video series. It would be a way to present a Christian alternative to both those already in the pews and to those who are on the outside of the church. It is all about a Christian option for postmoderns who are both experiential and thinking people.

Since then, I have a basic outline:
1. What is Christianity?
2. Christianity's Origins
3. Christianity's Central Symbols and Beliefs
4. Christianity's Aim
5. Being/Becoming Christian
6. The Problem of Evil

And possibly...
7. Major Issues in Christianity Today

The title is a working title. I will still need something better. Maybe, A Christian Alternative, or Christian Evolution. Not sure yet. What I do know is that I have a lot of work to do.

I'm Listed

2005-07-20T12:33:00.000-05:00

The podcast is now in real live directories. (However, it may take a while for them to appear there.)

~~Digitalpodcast.com
~~itunes

Unfortunately, itunes looks pretty cool. The plan is not to buy anything from them until I get the income to justify it. Once I start buying, things will probably go downhill from there.

I was looking at the audio books, and then realized how difficult it is for me to sit thorugh them. A few years ago, I tried to listen to one that a friend loaned me. It was really interesting. However, I kept spacing out. That meant rewinding. That meant more spacing and rewinding. Maybe audio books are wasted on me unless I'm in the car.

The Podcast is Ready

2005-07-18T21:44:00.000-05:00

The podcast is now fully functioning. If you go over there, you will see that I have a reflection and 3 sermons. That should be enough to start with.

Isn't the animated gif neat? Unfortunately, I can't put it in my sidebars because it is too big. The only size it works at is too small to read, which of course defeats the purpose. So, this is probably the last you'll see it unless I can find a way to use it.

For those who don't have an aggregator yet, I use Doppler Radio.

For those who do have an aggregator, hurry up and subscribe! The feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/eclecticpodcastingmass.

Please either post comments on the podcast page or send e-mails to vmcguffee@yahoo.com.

Podcast Update...and Much, Much More!

2005-07-18T09:28:00.000-05:00

Some time in the near future, my podcast location will be moving. I am using podblaze as a temporary trial run until I can get the real deal up and running. Tim has been talking with me about what I will need to set it all up. Here's hoping it goes smoothly.

Interestingly, when I was talking with him, he said he only had one show listed. Actually, there are two. I suspect that because podblaze only allows 15MB, the second one will not show up. So, to find it, people will have to go to the podblaze site...at least until I get the new one up.

I have pulpit supply set up for the next two Sundays. Hooray! And they're right down the road in Waltham Presbyterian Church. I was there for a Presbytery meeting a few months ago. They have this HUGE window behind the pulpit that allow everybody to see the corn in the background. Perhaps that's something only a midwesterner can truly appreciate.

I've finished the first draft of a short story that I'm turning into Travis of Aegis Studios. It will be a horror anthology set in the Contagion universe.

I had a friend over last week, so I didn't get to go to the Gorilla Art Thing yesterday. I heard it was hot. Very hot. Tim said he is going to start bringing drinks in mass quantities. So far, the forums are pretty dead, but we need to get people there first before we really start focusing on the forums. (However, if there are any artists out there who want to display their work with us, go right ahead. I'd love to see it and check them regularly since it is an admin requirment.) I'm toying with putting things on there myself.

Anyway, as I was saying about my friend who visited (Megalomaniac), he stayed for about a week. It was a really good week. We had talked about the idea of a "graphic novel." (This is what "Master of Shadows" posted earlier was about.) My experience with graphic novels is that they are kind of like big comic books design-wise. He was talking about full-page pics on one side with text (bubbles/boxes?) on the other. Apparently, they used to do this with Conan graphic novels. Sounds like fun. And a LOT less work for the artist, while also allowing for higher quality art.

Keys to Power

2005-07-15T11:05:00.000-05:00

A while back I picked up a book entitled The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. It's a great book, and I'm now only rediscovering it. Basically, it is his answer to the question, "how do I acquire power?" Greene uses historical illustrations to convey the spirit of the law. He's quite witty too.

Each chapter begins with a "judgment." Here's my fav, cause I think it's funny:

Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timit.

See how funny that is? Okay, well maybe I'm the only one that will bust a gut at that one.

How about this then:

Law 6: Court Attention at All Costs
Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attnetion by appearing larger, more colorful, mor mysterious than the bland and timid.

Well, not so funny, but I like it.

So there you have it, two of the 48 Laws of Power. Use them wisely and you too can subtly take over your own little hamlet in rural America without anybody noticing.

Medium: Charcoal

2005-07-13T20:20:00.000-05:00

Title: Niedius, Master of Shadows
Charcoal is something that I haven't touched in over 15 years. It was fun back then, but messy. And since I like to draw inside, messy is a bit of a concern. It's a character for an idea for a graphic novel. I'm trying to figure out how to do quality b/w for comics. This pic was done with charcoal, but touched up in on the computer. So far, they see to work well together. I definitely want to use charcoal more.

The inspiration for the look came from the movie King Arthur. It wasn't a great movie by far, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I really appreciated their trying to make it more "historical" as opposed to "romantic." But you can't keep from coming to a movie like that without certain expectations, and when they're not met the overall evaluation is naturally less positive.

I'm a Podcasting Maniac Too!

2005-07-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

Why would I want to podcast sermons, you ask? Well, it's pretty simple really...

I like writing sermons.
I like my computer.
I like being everywhere at once.

It's not like you all couldn't see this coming eventually.

Check out the Eclectic Podcasting Mass. Right now there's only one entry, but give me time.

Edit: Okay, I just discovered the downside of podblaze. They only allow 15MB of storage for free. That means that I can only have one or two sermons available at a time until I break down and buy space. Mind you, I will not be working with podblaze. They are very expensive.

How Incredibly Disappointing

2005-07-09T18:14:00.000-05:00

Today was (and yesterday and tomorrow) was Utica Days. I was invited to be in the art tent, which was flattering because they did have a bit of "quality control." But, did it ever suck.

First, the art tent was supposed to be on a main street where all the action was. However, that meant closing off the highway, which meant getting permission from the state first. But, someone apparently forgot to apply for the permission, which meant not being able to close off the highway, which meant that we were a couple of blocks out of the way. Most people didn't even know that we existed.

Second, they expected to have 20,000 people attending. Where they got that number I'll never know. There weren't very many people out our way, and some artists who had gone up to the main area said that it wasn't overly populated either. Let me put it this way: I went away for lunch, and when I came back I pulled right into a parking spot. Utica's pretty small. It was a very low turnout.

On the bright side, they did refund the fees that we paid to set up. So the only cost was time and getting there. Since I've only sold 2 mugs so far, that pretty much still puts me in the hole. If I'm in the area next year, there is no way I will pay $50 for two days (which is an outrageous price anyway). I might consider $10/day, but certainly not any higher.

Two good things happened.

One, I met another portrait artist. He's better than I am, and he gave me some suggestions on pricing. That really helped. I told him about deviantArt. He really should get on there and get prints set to sell.

And two, I've been invited to participate in the art show for the Ottawa River Fest on 29-30 July. It sounds like that will be a better situation.

I guess that means that the day wasn't a total wash.

To Podcast or Not to Podcast...

2005-07-03T11:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, MissionBound and I went to the birthday party for "ssg". Quite the bash, I assure you. It was good to see my friends there as well as several new faces. (How was I supposed to know that "ssg" had a sister. Well, if he will not turn to the darkside, then perhaps she will!)

Anyway, while there, I was talking with InvaderTim and discussed the idea of me doing a podcast of my own. (FYI: He was in the Rockford Register Star. Go look it up people. But be forewarned, he did not say that podcasting was "all things.") I was thinking about putting sermons out there. He told me he would help me get me off the ground, which hopefully wouldn't be toooooo hard.

So, even though I am now not in a church, I might be doing weekly (or bi-weekly?) sermons. I'm considering it. I'm even recording a couple to see how they sound. We have yet to see the extend to which I'll go down this path. Regardless, I want to find out more about this whole podcasting thing.

An Interview with Your's Truly

2005-07-01T12:29:00.000-05:00

The most recent installment of Tim's Podcast is out. It starts with an interview with none other than me. Get over there and listen to that thing.

Which leads me to a little story. When I went to Tim's podcast page, I also checked out his Podcast Extras page. As I was reading, I noticed that he misspelled "ecclectic" wrong, not once but twice. Silly boy spelled it with only one "c". Then I thought about it and...wait a minute...I'm the one who's been misspelling it! Egad! I don't even know how to spell the title of my own site!

Okay, so spelling isn't my greatest strength. Now, the question is: Do I correct it or leave it? That means redoing the whole logo. That means people changing their bookmarks. That means me going through and changing links on other pages. I may just leave it. (Besides, it looks better with two "c"s.)

Maybe I should set up a poll: How many think I should change it after all this time? Or, maybe not since that, too, would be more work.

B/W Rendering

2005-06-30T21:05:00.000-05:00

I wanted to practice black and white rendering on the computer. The sketch took about 1/2 hour. The redrawing and filling with 50% gray took about an hour. And the dodge and burn took about an hour. That totals a little over 2-1/2 hours. The original intent was a 4x2" comic panel.

I think the biggest time consumer is the redrawing. This has given me even more incentive geta drawing tablet (or whatever the hell they're actually called). Then, I could use a stylus rather than a mouse. That would be soooo nice.

My thoughts on the pic: I'm not happy with it. It looks too much like a chalk drawing. I like the look of chalk drawings, mind you, but not when I'm trying for something else. This is not the look I had in mind. I tried the watercolor filter, and then remembered how fake that thing looks. I may need to find an entirely different approach.

I've saved the basic gray pic to play with. You may see this pop up differently rendered in a later post.

And an important note: On Wednesday, 6 July 2005, the Sci-Fi channel will host a Battlestar Galactica marathon. That means every episode of the new series for 12 staight hours starting at 9:00 am. I know what I'm doing on that day.

Blues Traveller...Here?

2005-06-30T17:37:00.000-05:00

Yes, you heard right. Blues Traveller will be in Peru, IL at Lou's LaGrotto Pizza House on August 6th. It's there 30th anniversary and they want to celebrate big. Tickets are $5 (which goes to charity, but I can't remember which one).

Who'd have thought that anyone that big would come to this area?

Happy Birthday to Me

2005-06-30T11:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm officially 36 years of age. Yes, boys and girls, that means that I am now closer to 40 than 30. Not that I feel it or demonstrate it in my behavior, mind you.

So, "How did your birthday go?" you may be wondering.

Well, I'm glad you asked. It was an emotional roller coaster. At the church, we had a congregational meeting to discuss the future of the church. (Unfortunatly, this was the only day we had available to do this.) At this meeting, session members presented our situation to the congregation. Then they presented the recommendation that we vote to close, with the last day being Reformation Sunday (last Sunday in October). This allows for four months of celebrating the congregation's heritage as well as grieving its loss.

It was a very difficult meeting for me. I've thoroughly enjoyed being a pastor to these wonderful people. I'm sure I'll see them here and there, but it won't be the same.

Enter, MissionBound to the rescue. She is in the area for a couple of weeks, so she took me to see Batman Begins. I really enjoyed this movie. And my favorite line: "It's not what is within, but what you do that defines you." Three cheers for postmodern psychology! Rah Rah Rah! (I should write more, but I'll leave it to that for now.)

Anyway, I felt much better after the movie and a couple of beers. Today is the final day here as Student Pastor. What's next is still up in the air. Hopefully, we will find out soon.

Sweet Stick People

2005-06-29T09:32:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine sent me this. I was tremendously amused.

I've scanned in my pic that I drew at the Gorilla Art Thing. I'm not posting it here though. To see it, you have to go to the forums and check out the "Visuals."

We have another user on the forums, who is way out of the area. I think we need a e-mailing list so we can send out invites. I'm thinking send out a few, and have those few send out to those they think might be interested, and so on. That's going to have to be the way this thing picks up: word of mouth.

Boomer: W.I.P. #1

2005-06-28T00:48:00.000-05:00

Title: Boomer: W.I.P. #1
In case you haven't noticed, I'm a huge fan of the new Battlestar Galactica series. I decided to practice my drawing skills on a bit of fan art.

I saw someone do a few "work in progress" series. It was great getting to see how the artist's picture developed. So, I thought I'd do the same.

Time investment so far: 2 hrs. As you can see, I'm not very far into it. The final will be about twice as tall.

Sunday

2005-06-27T15:53:00.000-05:00

Sunday was an emotionally confusing day for me. The first part was really hard: my last Sunday in th pulpit in Ladd. On Wednesday (my birthday nonetheless) we will have a congregational meeting to determine the direction of the small country church. The options are severely limited. Thursday is my last day here. Then...who knows. Maybe I will have a minor part time position in a church with pizza delivery on the side until I can get something. Maybe I will do only pizza delivery. We'll see.

On the bright side, after a nap I went up to the Guerilla Art Thing in Rockford. That was a lot of fun. We had a couple of new people. Very cool. Travis Legge from Aegis Studios dropped in for a while. (Artsy-type FYI: I think Aegis is looking for artists, so check out the website and contact them.)

Afterward, I dropped off a mug to a friend of mine, and spent some time with InvaderTim. Didn't get out of Rockford until late.

So, the plan was to have the A-C fixed today. Turns out that they thought the problem was "X", but it turned out to be "Y". Meanwhile, I'm cooking in here. Actually, I'm more worried about my computer than myself. I can always hop in the tub to cool down if need be; the computer...not such a good idea.

Reminder: We now have the Gorilla Art Thing Forums up and running. So far, it's only myself (Acumenical Goliard) and timmy on there. We're trying to get every artist in Rockford to sign up (they just don't know it yet...which would be the temporary speed bump). It doesn't matter how good or...well...not so good you are, use the space to showcase your work and to connect with other artists.

Hmmm... Maybe flyers.

"Gorilla" or "Guerilla"?

2005-06-25T16:21:00.000-05:00

Last night I spent a bit of time putting together forums for the Gorilla Art Thing. Sure, I know that it's supposed to be "guerilla," but I was putting them together and liked "gorilla" at that moment. Ergo, the name.

Why? Well, I was looking at different free forums sites and wanted to put something together, but didn't know what to go with. Then I thought that they would really help with the gorilla gig.

It really didn't take very long. They have several skins to chose from. After picking a few (and yes, members have a choice of which one they use), it was just a matter of throwing in a few categories and boards. Voilla! Ready-made virtual community.

Now all I have to do is find out whether this is something they want. If not, I'll just delete them (no biggie). For me, I got what I wanted: a bit of experience setting up forums. Now, I am thinking of redesigning and customizing a skin.

The only downfall with these things is the banner ads. They stay until you pay. I don't feel like pumping $4 a month into cleaning up the board yet. Maybe in the future when I get more settled financially.

We Were Outside

2005-06-23T21:51:00.000-05:00

Tonight, we had our Historical Jesus DVD Discussion Group meeting at the Common Grounds BookCafe in Utica (they are no longer in LaSalle). We decided to take the TV outside and watched it in the garden area. That was awesome. It was a great discussion, too. Admittedly it was more geared toward "spirituality" than "historical Jesus," but great nonetheless.

Okay all, don't forget...

Poster by InvaderTim
Next Sunday, outside the Octane in Rockford, IL. Bring your gear. Let's get it on...the page that is.

Also, I mentioned "ssg" in a previous post. However, I thought it best if I showed a photo of him (which I stole from InvaderTim) sitting with InvaderTim(who now has a podcast. Go vote for him here, here, and here now).

Photo not by InvaderTim,
which should be obvious
since he is in the pic.
I hope that helps.

Moving Down the Page

2005-06-22T20:28:00.000-05:00

When I put together "Daddy's Home" I had a page layout in mind. I'm continuing with it. This leaves only two more panels to go. One is already sketched. The other, which is more complicated, is still blank.

Since I'm keeping track of time...

The sketch of the remaining panels (minus the one yet to be done) is 1 hour. Each of these panel colorings took short of 2 hours each. That means the 6 (for the first pic) +1 (for the sketch) +4 (for the renderings)= 11 hours so far. My guess is that I will need another 5 hours till finished. That will be a whopping 16 hours to complete the entire page. If that holds, then working full time, I can finish a page every two days.

Since a comic typically has a penciler and a colorer, I don't know whether that is a good speed or not.

Going Ape at the Guerilla Art Gig

2005-06-20T21:20:00.000-05:00

Title: "Daddy's Home"
Sunday evening was the Guerilla Art Gig (G.A.G.) in Rockford, IL. I already knew InvaderTim and "ssg". New to me were Jesus (the one who called us all together), Marika, and Brandon. We did more talking than anything. InvaderTim should have the podcast up soon enough. (I hope I didn't say anything too embarassing.)

I was torn between whether I should draw a tree or work on comic book art. I chose the latter. I sketched the above pic out while I was there, and brought it home to finish it. It would be approximately a 6x3 panel (about a third of a comic page). That thing took two hours to sketch and four hours on the computer. Crimeney, Danger Mouse! I'm definitely not happy with the time involvement on this one.

I think I've figured out one of my major problems. Even though I knew it would only be a 6x3 product, I worked in detail as if it were one of my normally sized works. There's a point at which detail isn't detail anymore, and the big learning curve is going to be in that area.

The coloring took about 3 hours, and was the most fun. I'm really enjoying this whole taking a half-assed sketch and rendering it into something pretty cool. It's amazing what a difference the colors make.

Anyway, back to the G.A.G.

They are planning on meeting every week...at least for a while. So, if anyone is interested, just bring your art supplies on Sundays around 1:00 pm-ish and join it. We don't bite...honest. (Can't vouch for the plastic sock monkeys though.)

FPC-Ladd

2005-06-19T00:50:00.000-05:00

The First Presbyterian Church
of Ladd, IL
This is the church that I'm currently serving as Student Pastor. Since I will be leaving at the end of the month, I wanted to give each of them a drawing of the building as my parting gift to them. Many parishioners have given me things that they made, and I wanted to give them something that I made.

It also served as good practice.

About 20 minutes ago I noticed how late it was. Normally, this would not be a big deal, but tomorrow I'm going to Rockford for an artist gathering. I'll definitely need a nap before I hop in the car.

I wonder how many are actually going to show up since it is after all Father's Day. I will be very annoyed if I show drive all that way and nobody shows up.