Culture and The Wounded Heart

"Love is a powerful force and energy to reclaim the potential good in another, even at the risk of great sacrifice and loss.

For example, if another's arrogance destroys the possibility of relationship with us and with God, we must hate his arrogance and see it as a cancer to be destroyed  In one way, the cancerous mass can be said to be a part of the man, but in another sense it is a foreign, alien thing that is not part of God's original design.  If we are to hate what is evil and cling to what is good, we are constrained to detest all that is consonant with evil and bind ourselves to whatever is good.  Therefore, love is not anemic unconditional acceptance that ignores evil in others or ourselves (Matthew 7:3-6).  It is not contradictory to love someone, desire their good, and equally work toward destroying their cancer through bringing them to repentance and faith" (242).

Dan Allender, The Wounded Heart

What does the truth of bold love have to do with how we look at cultures?  We might love the culture but still see severe issues in the culture (lies that they are believing).  This reminds me of my favorite non-fiction book in the world (that I haven't finished yet): Discipling Nations by Darrow Miller

Lovefeasts = bizarre

A Lovefeast service is a service dedicated to Christian love, and is most famously practiced by, but not limited to, the Moravians. A Lovefeast seeks to strengthen the bonds and the spirit of harmony, goodwill, and congeniality, as well as to forgive past disputes and instead love one another.

Wikipedia: Lovefeast

The Holy Spirit was always my favorite member of the Trinity

"The communion between Christ and believers, while it is so intimate and unbreakable that it can scarcely be expressed in words and can only be somewhat made clear by images (such as head and body, vine and branch, bridegroom and bride), it is still not a pantheistic mingling or identification, no transference of substance, no consubstantial oneness like that of the three persons in the Trinity, nor a personal union like that of the two natures in Christ.  Christ and believers remain distinct.  Their personalities are maintained.  The mystical union is a union of persons, not only in will and disposition but also in being and nature.  

This communion is brought about by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in Christ as the head and in believers as his members...Only the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, can so unite people with Christ that they share in his person and benefits and cannot be separated form him by death or the grave, by the world or by Satan (577)."

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation (vol. 4)

I love this stuff now.  But I love it knowing that a lot of people think theology like this is lame.  But I think its truth make any lameness worth it.  (This is referencing the argument post below).

liz (my sister in law) just posted the pictures from bangalore on fbook.

explanation: liz embroiders a neighborhood map onto a sheet or large piece of cloth and then goes into a neighborhood (she's done parts of barcelona, manhattan, and now bangalore) and sets up a table.  as people pass by she asks them to stitch "themselves," or their memories and impressions, onto the map.  This includes marking favorite places on the map, where one fell in love, where one has been mugged, places of the city that make them angry, etc.  It's pretty awesome and interesting.

rome.

my sister in law did a project in rome along with some other artists that i talked about before.  it was an audio tour of rome where people biked around and listened to recordings of people from other romes in the world (rome, georgia was one) talked about the places they were looking at and how it reminded them of their own rome.  can you see the wolf in the picture?  do you remember the story of rome?  

more pictures here from liz's website

she's doing an urban fabric project in bangalore now, i can't wait until the pictures are put up.

i couldn't stop thinking about this photo:

Garance Dore

When I decided to get dreads I didn't really know what i wanted.  But now I want this:  something bizarre and sculptural on top of my head.  

What is feminist theology? And other things that I know nothing about...

Wikipedia: Feminist Theology

first day of classes, already my mind is blown (part one)

How many "confessions of faith" are there out there?

Wikipedia: Confession of Faith

• The Sixty-seven Articles of the Swiss reformers, drawn up by Zwingli in 1523;
• The Schleitheim Confession of the Anabaptist Swiss Brethren drawn up in 1527 - (this confession was neither Catholic nor Protestant);
• The Augsburg Confession of 1530, the work of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon, which marked the breach with Rome;
• The Tetrapolitan Confession of the German Reformed Church, 1530;
• The Smalcald Articles of Martin Luther, 1537
• The Gallican Confession, 1559;
• The Scots Confession, drawn up by John Knox in 1560;
• The Belgic Confession[1] drawn up by Guido de Brès[2] in 1561;
• The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England in 1562;
• The Formula of Concord and its Epitome in 1577;
• The Irish Articles in 1615;
• The Westminster Confession of Faith in 1647 was the work of the Westminster Assembly of Divines and has commended itself to the Presbyterian Churches of all English-speaking peoples, and also in other languages. It is the most widely recognised Protestant statement of doctrine.

 - And these are just the confessions of faith that are called "confessions of faith"

Interesting.  

What is feminist theology? And other things that I know nothing about...Wikipedia: Feminist Theology

What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder??
Wikipedia: Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) (previously known as Dysmorphophobia[1] and sometimes referred to as Body dysmorphia) (also known as "Dysmorphic syndrome," and "Dysmorphophobia"[2]) is a psychiatric disorder in which the affected person is excessively concerned about and preoccupied by an imagined or minor defect in their physical features. The sufferer may complain of several specific features or a single feature, or a vague feature or general appearance, causing psychological distress that impairs occupational and/or social functioning, sometimes to the point of complete social isolation.[3] It is estimated that between 1%-2% of the world's population meet all the diagnostic criteria for BDD.

transcript of an argument

my roommate sharon and i have had a three part argument that has spanned the last week and a half.  it's an argument, and so i disagree with her.  however, i will try my best to represent her side of the argument without snide or disparaging remarks thrown in.  sharon wanted me to post something about this.  comments welcome.  

the argument started one night after a game of Mexican Train when I called something "lame."  Sharon said, "i don't think you can call something inherently lame.  everything is subjective and something will be awesome to one person while it might seem lame to you."  I said, "no that's not true, some things are generally agreed upon as being lame.  what's your definition of lame, sharon"  sharon did not have a definition of 'lame.'

it continued the next day at sharon's office when i came by to turn in some receipts at the church.  the topic turned to Celtic Woman, the pbs show (hence the post a couple days ago about Celtic Thunder).  I said that this show and love of this show was lame.  Just like wearing tweety bird shirts is lame.  

Sharon said that children and mentally handicapped people love lame stuff unashamedly and that I cannot possibly call them lame.  

I said that children and the mentally handicapped are the exception and that most people should be aware of the larger reality of whatever they love.  It's fine to love Celtic Woman but be aware that it is not held in high esteem by the rest of society.  You should be aware of the arguments for and against whatever you appreciate and be able to stand by your decision to enjoy (fill in the blank).  

sharon brought up the practical implication of my argument.  are we really going to go around to people and make them aware of what society thinks of their hobbies or music tastes?

I said no but we should try to make people aware of reality with truth and love and if they think that everyone in the world really likes tweety bird shirts then maybe we should let them know differently.  

later on that night tony and dean came over and we brought up the argument again.  I don't remember how it came about, but the argument came to whether we should appreciate good art more than bad art.

Sharon brought up the example of one's child coming with a badly-made finger painting and how the parent appreciates and loves this "art" more than a Jackson Pollock painting.

Tony or Dean or I said that there needs to be a difference between emotional appreciation and aesthetic appreciation.  

Sharon said that there isn't, really.  

thoughts?

feist on sesame street!

how happy!

from Jeff

exodus 12:4b, "You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat."

This was during the passover and the amount of blood that was afforded each house was kind of directly based on how much the household could eat.  

Today, we're given communion in a fixed amount, by how much we eat.  It's kind of an odd connection between what we eat and the amount of sanctifiying blood we receive.  Kind of like a serving size.  

hahaha.

"Damian McGinty (born September 9, 1992) is the youngest member of the group and is from Derry, Northern Ireland. He is now 16 years old. He recorded the Celtic Thunder album when he was 14, going on 15. Since then McGinty has hit a growth spurt, and is now 5'9'. Mc Ginty has been quoted as saying the first six months of 2008 were the hardest of his Singing career, with him maturing and his voice breaking. The transition is now complete and Mc Ginty's voice is now deep and is sure to be successful."
One of the middle school girls at church is really into this kid.
Celtic Thunder

Ptichfork's Top 100 Tracks of 2008

100 Girls - "Hellhole Ratrace"
99 Final Fantasy - "The Butcher"
98 The Magnetic Fields - "The Nun's Litany"
97 Buraka Som Sistema (Feat. M.I.A. and DJ Znobia) - "Sound of Kuduro"
96 Empire of the Sun - "Walking on a Dream"
95 Friendly Fires (Feat. Au Revoir Simone) - "Paris (Aeroplane Remix)"
94 WHY? - "Fatalist Palmistry"
93 Atlas Sound - "River Card"
92 Born Ruffians - "I Need a Life (Four Tet Remix)"
91 Jamie Lidell - "All I Wanna Do"
90 Sic Alps - "Message From the Law"
89 Ponytail - "Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From an Angel)"
88 Low Motion Disco - "Things Are Gonna Get Easier"
87 The Veronicas - "Untouched"
86 Los Campesinos! - "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks"
85 Osborne - "16th Stage"
84 Beach House - "Gila"
83 Titus Andronicus - "Upon Viewing Brueghel's 'Landscape With the Fall of Icarus'"
82 Solange - "Sandcastle Disco"
81 Love Is All - "Wishing Well"
80 The Bug (Feat. Warrior Queen) - "Poison Dart"
79 Ida Maria - "Oh My God"
78 Frightened Rabbit - "The Modern Leper"
77 Telepathe - "I Can't Stand It"
76 Justice - "DVNO (Radio Edit)"
75 Little Boots - "Stuck on Repeat"
74 Wale - "The Kramer"
73 Goldfrapp - "A&E"
72 Fleet Foxes - "Blue Ridge Mountains"
71 Sigur Rós - "Gobbledigook"
70 Rihanna - "Don't Stop the Music"
69 Portishead - "The Rip"
68 Four Tet - "Ribbons"
67 Young Jeezy (Feat. Kanye West) - "Put On"
66 Lykke Li - "Dance, Dance, Dance"
65 Max Tundra - "Which Song"
64 The Whitest Boy Alive - "Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)"
63 The Very Best - "Kamphopo"
62 The Tough Alliance - "Lucky"
61 Q-Tip - "Gettin' Up"
60 Crystal Castles - "Courtship Dating"
59 The Dodos - "Fools"
58 Annie - "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me"
57 High Places - "From Stardust to Sentience"
56 Vampire Weekend - "Oxford Comma"
55 Usher (Feat. Young Jeezy) - "Love in This Club"
54 Lykke Li - "Little Bit"
53 Be Your Own Pet - "Becky"
52 Ricardo Villalobos - "Enfants (Chants)"
51 TV on the Radio - "Golden Age"
50 Invisible Conga People - "Cable Dazed"
49 Jay Reatard - "Always Wanting More"
48 Spiritualized - "Soul on Fire"
47 Alphabeat - "Fascination"
46 M83 - "Graveyard Girl"
45 Antony and the Johnsons - "Shake That Devil"
44 Hot Chip - "One Pure Thought"
43 Kelley Polar - "Entropy Reigns (In the Celestial City)"
42 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!"
41 No Age - "Sleeper Hold"
40 T.I. [ft. Rihanna] - "Live Your Life"
39 Kanye West - "Love Lockdown"
38 TV on the Radio - "DLZ"
37 Big Boi [ft. Raekwon and André 3000] - "Royal Flush"
36 Arthur Russell - "I Couldn't Say It to Your Face"
35 Shearwater - "The Snow Leopard"
34 Fuck Buttons - "Sweet Love for Planet Earth"
33 Animal Collective - "Street Flash"
32 Crystal Castles - "Untrust Us"
31 Aeroplane [ft. Kathy Diamond] - "Whispers" 
30 MGMT - "Time to Pretend"
29 Vampire Weekend - "M79"
28 No Age - "Eraser"
27 T.I. - "No Matter What" 
26 The Walkmen - "In the New Year"
25 The Hold Steady - "Constructive Summer"
24 Gang Gang Dance - "House Jam"
23 Beyoncé - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
22 Santogold - "Lights Out"
21 Hercules and Love Affair - "Hercules' Theme" 
20 The Juan MacLean - "Happy House"
19 Vivian Girls - "Where Do You Run To"
18 Women - "Black Rice"
17 Wiley - "Wearing My Rolex"
16 The Mae Shi - "Run to Your Grave"
15 Amadou and Mariam - "Sabali"
14 Lil Wayne - "A Milli"
13 Kanye West - "Flashing Lights" 
12 Cut Copy - "Out There on the Ice"
11 David Byrne and Brian Eno - "Strange Overtones"
10 Estelle [ft. Kanye West] - "American Boy"
09 Portishead - "Machine Gun"
08 Air France - "Collapsing at Your Doorstep"
07 Cut Copy - "Hearts on Fire"
06 Deerhunter - "Nothing Ever Happened"
05 M83 - "Kim & Jessie"
04 Santogold - "L.E.S. Artistes"
03 Hot Chip - "Ready for the Floor"
02 Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal"
01 Hercules and Love Affair - "Blind"

From Stereogum

(it took me forever to remember this music blog/website.  I'm so happy to be reunited)

In other news, I think I may have to purchase an external hard drive to hold my music, as my 60GB hard drive on my laptop is overwhelmed.  

remember that sandwich from Spanglish?

World's Greatest Sandwich

3-4 slices of bacon 
2 slices of Monterey Jack cheese 
2 slices of toasted rustic country loaf (pain de campagne) 
1 tbsp of mayo 
4 tomato slices 
2 leaves of butter lettuce (yes, it�s called butter lettuce) 
1 teaspoon butter 
1 egg

Preparation:

1. Cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels 
2. Place slices of cheese on one side of toasted bread. Place in toaster oven or under broiler to melt. 
3. Spread mayo on other slice of bread top with bacon, sliced tomato, and lettuce 
4. On non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Fry egg, turning over briefly when the bottom is set (keep yolk runny) 
5. Slide finished egg on top of lettuce, top with other slice of bread (cheese-side down genius) 
6. Place sandwich on plate and slice in half, letting yolk run down sandwich

developed by famed Chef, Thomas Keller

from the Kitchn: Apartment therapy

telepathe

Chromes on It - Telepathe

from Coolhunter

"First of all, how good-looking is my wife?" the president asked a cheering crowd.

yahoo news

Jason Wu

stripper heels and classism

from Garance Dore

these shoes rock and would be that new item in my wardrobe that would instantly match a million outfits and make them cool again.  i also know that most people would think they are weird but also would kind of like the way they look a little bit.  i think i want my entire wardrobe to be like that.

there's a (really crappy quality) pair like this being sold at Body Central at the mall.  Body Central.  I went in there with my friend from high school, Nancy, when she was in town from colorado.  They look like stripper heels.  Here's a picture of them from gojane.com. 

Also, while I was in Body Central, I found out that a girl we graduated with from high school had been manager there for three years.  Also, I found out that the stupid shoes were $30.  And, that one of the ex-high schoolers from my youth group has been working summers there for a couple years.  Maybe she can hook me up.  

I felt kind of awkward saying that I was in graduate school to my classmate who didn't go to college and was in kind of a crappy job.  I couldn't really tell if the awkwardness was on my part or hers.  Is there a good way to say that?  Should I have been self-deprecating to soften the supposed blow?  Also, I don't know about her life.  Maybe her life rules in comparison to mine because she loves crappy clothes and is in love with someone or something.  Who knows.  

new U2 CD on March 3rd!

Get On Your Boots - U2

going to madrid in april:

the problem with love is...

it gives you the security to act generally anti-social and pissy in public or with friends if you feel like it.  because someone is there who understands why you're acting like that.  

it's annoying.  

the firecracker press

The Firecracker Press MySpace

based in St. Louis!

(they're cupcakes)

from Julie!

tempus fugit

Charles Darwin - "A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life."

- from my gmail crawl

 

I have been noticing recently how much time flies.  I woke up at 10am this morning (i'm sick,

 i can do this) I watched the movie Casino (3 hours!) and now it's 3:20pm .  I didn't do anything today.

 

I can remember when I was eleven years old and days dragged on for ev er.  What happened?  

How did I gain the skill of not doing anything for hours and hours?    

revolutionary road

I don't remember why we thought it was a good idea to go see Revolutionary Road in the theaters.  It might have been because Jeff was all about Kate and Leo reuniting on the screen.  Now that I'm legitimately poor I think I will reserve movie tickets for action movies.  Dramas just don't need 30 feet of screen space (usually).  

The last ten minutes of the movie were the most interesting for me, as I felt like the director put the finishing touches on defining the relationships of the three main couples.  

The main relationship - Kate and Leo - had a couple major fights throughout the film in which Kate would turn away and say that she didn't want to talk about it any more and Leo would persist.  Eventually (spoiler alert) Kate goes kind of crazy.  The second couple (the neighbors), at the end the husband says, 'I just don't want to talk about them any more' and the wife listens and shuts up.  With the third couple (and this is the ending scene) the wife is going on and on about nonsense and the husband slowly turns down his hearing aid, blocking her out.  

What is this saying about relationships and marriage and talking?  Can we successfully and sustainably (correct use of a buzzword?) connect with each other?  Is the "solution" in this film to give each other the space to disappoint us and "not want to talk about it"?

p.s. - a lot of the footage from the trailer wasn't in the movie.  strange.  

middle schoolers and social darwinism

omg miley

I was talking with two seventh-grade girls last night after youth group and they were talking about how much they hate that they can't wear what they want to school.  This is not because their parents restrict their wardrobe choices, but because the popular kids do.  

They said that mostly it sucks to be popular becuase your social standing is extremely unstable and your friends basically suck because they are constantly talking behind your back about you.  But one good thing about being popular is that you can start trends.  A. said, "I want to wear high heels to school but none of the popular kids have yet - so if I do then I'll be made fun of."  

This reminded me of how much this was true in middle school.  Trends that were rocking the entire world and every other school in your zip code might completely miss your school if the popular kids didn't jump on board with it.  

Everything was subjective to the power of the popular kids.  If they weren't stylish or creative then the entire school wasn't either.  

p.s. - it must suck that whenever someone google image searches you it turns up home-shot photos of you and your pasty belly that you sent some dude three years ago.  Sorry, Miley.  

p.p.s - when you google image search me you just come up with photos from this blog.  weird.  

mmmm...lil wayne

onsmash.com

Marvin vs. Beyonce

Allie got me a life-size cardboard cut-out of Beyonce for Christmas.  Awesome and creepy.  Carrie brought over her dog Marvin Gaye tonight and they did not mix well.  

from Ellie!!

Science Friday

Malcolm Gladwell on Spaghetti Sauce

I love love love this man. My bro got 'Outliers' for Christmas. I plan on borrowing it.
Thanks to Patrick, a devoted fan of TED.com

Question:

How do Africans help themselves?  How can other countries help them to help themselves?  

SNL Spring 2006

I got this from Mondo's blog.  I need to learn from this.  Christmas (plus my regular spending habits) killed my savings.  I'm poor.  

fierce

gojane.com

this shoe will eat your foot for dinner.

Bunny Aint No Kind of Rider - Of Montreal

from Caroline.

No One Does It - Department Of Eagles

I really really like this song. thank you gossip girl 2.14

Its Alright, Ma (Im Only Bleeding) - Bob Dylan

I told my step-cousin about how I've been studying cutting and self-injury lately and she recalled this song.

Viva la Beyonce. In the video she is wearing Gareth Pugh. Here's his Spring 2009 RTW line.

I like how edgy she went with the costumes.  I like the more avant-garde direction Rihanna is going as well.  

RIP, Pushing Daisies

I may have been the only person to watch this show, but I loved it all the same.  Visually, the sets and characters were vivid and beautiful.  The dialogue was witty and quick.  I'm sad to see it go.  

Here's an interview with Kristen Chenoweth, who was brilliant: