escapingbabylon.com

Since we have a month in 2008, I probably should start getting to work on a year in review styled post. Except, I have no real idea what to write about, so here’s where I seek participation from you guys. What would you like me to write about 2008? It can be anything, political, personal, spiritual, entertainment-related (movies, books, comics, etc).  Help me out here.

bikerace by redfloor

I don’t know about anyone else, but coasting is one of the highlights of biking for me. After building up some momentum, or working hard to get up a hill, it’s a great moment to let the wind hit your face, stop pedaling and breathe for a moment.  So of course, biking also fits into my extended metaphor. Here’s what I learned about coasting.

You can’t coast uphill

If there is one thing that I wish I could change about biking, this would be it. Imagine being on one of those extended hills, your legs hurt, and you are only half way up. If you could just take a moment and let momentum carry you, the rest of the trip would be easier. The problem is, you lose so much momentum that you have to work harder to get back up to speed than you would have if you were just moving at a constant speed to begin with.

Similarly, there are some times in your life where slowing down will hurt you badly. As I just started grad school/seminary, I can tell you from experience, your assigned reading is one of those places. Like I said in a couple of posts before, there are times in your life where you simply must keep pedalling.

It’s okay to coast after a hill

So what do you do? You push over the hill, and you use the other side to regain your energy. It’s ok, and even healthy to relax during the downhill stretches. While there will be many people who tell you otherwise (sometimes parents, sometimes fixed gear enthusiasts) I personally recommend taking some time after your hill to appreciate what you’ve just accomplished and to reap the benefits you’ve worked hard for.

Pedaling downhill can make your uphill easier

That being said, there are times when a strategic decision to work harder in a downtime pays off significantly.  If you are heading into a valley, which is to say, starting approaching a downhill segment that leads directly into an uphill segment. Using the acceleration that the hill provides as you go down, in addition to your own leg power, can give you enough momentum to help push you up and maybe over the next hill.

Coasting horizontally is ok too

Because sometimes, the natural ebb and flow of a situation does not coincide with what you personally need to survive. In which case, don’t feel guilty, if you have some momentum going, to take a little bit of time to recharge. This may simply be taking a day off, stepping outside and going for a walk, or turning off your email for a couple of hours. It isn’t something you want to do all the time, but a well placed rest can be a beautiful thing.

Whew! It’s so progressive to have a movie about one of the world’s most popular Asian characters played by a non-Asian.

Unfortunately, we must still get hot Asian chicks with guns, because everyone love hot Asian chicks.

THE BEAT » Blog Archive » World reminded of Dragonball movie’s future existence; world goes back to crossword puzzle

There’s a lot to be learned about the portrayal of minorities in media from that quote alone.

A while back, I was on Pilgrim’s newsletter committee. I was on it to specifically do some design and layout stuff. I spent a little time and came up with the following design. It was meant to be printed and photocopied in black and white, and mailed out to some of our members. Pilgrim has always been a place that was proud of it’s history and tradition, but also was friendly and open, so I tried to capture both in the design, and keep it relatively light.

It was never used partially because of some wierdness that I’ve never completely figured out, and partially because I was the only person with InDesign, so nobody else could edit it. (Plus I never got any actual articles to be laid out). Anyway, enjoy the pics. Let me know if you have any critiques. Click to make the images bigger.

The front page. My plan was to have the masthead image be an image of the featured ministry that month/quarter

This was a pain to figure out. I still do't like the use of space here, but there are some things I really do like (like that baseline)

The back page: I actually really liked the back page.

edit: And now that I’m seeing this on my blog, I’m definitely noticing some design similarities here.

Kurt Carr – Just the Beginning | Christian Music Today

Simply doing church proves Just the Beginning‘s undoing. From start to finish, the project is one sweeping, larger-than-life church extravaganza—an overproduced, oversized, oversung pageant that’s large on pomp but limited on circumstance. Earlier Carr standards allowed parishioners sing along and join the praise, but Just the Beginning barely lets them get in a word edgewise, as Carr and the imposing Kurt Carr Singers monopolize the entire live recording in their soloing, vocalizing, and sermonizing. There’s no room for the church when they do church!

Ok this may be a little bit obtuse for those who aren’t familiar with the Christian worship music scene and for that I apologize I’ll get back to something more universal next time. If anyone has heard the Kurt Carr Singers, you know that they are incredibly gifted musicians who create incredibly powerful music. But in this situation, it seems from the review that they fall into the trap that many musically talented worship leaders fall into. They let their musical ability get in the way of leading the congregation into worship.

Now I can’t speak for Kurt Carr and his group. But I have been with several groups who, while genuinely worshipping, will do things that leave the congregation as simply spectators, or confuse and distract the congregation from the worship they came to participate in. Here’s what I think every worship team should keep in mind. The primary reason that they are in front (or behind or to the side or whatever) of the congregation is to help the congregation worship, which is to say, to facilitate the conversation that the congregation is having with God. Whenever the people on stage begin to dominate the conversation, or carry the conversation in a direction that the congregation cannot participate, then they have failed.

I have more thoughts on this, but they may be posted later (if anyone cares).

If you remember, earlier I had linked to some articles around the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I promised to share more information as soon as I could on how to act. A friend shared this link with me on facebook

World Vision begins relief efforts for displaced in Congo; calls on regional leaders to act

World Vision has re-entered the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to begin assessing and serving the relief needs of tens of thousands of people displaced by the most recent outbreak of fighting in the area. At the same time, we continue to call on regional and global leaders to take actions that will protect civilians and address the root causes of the crisis.

On Thursday, our teams plan to begin distributions of family relief kits — including items like blankets, shelter materials, children’s clothing, and soap — to more than 10,000 families.

We plan to reach as many as 25,000 families as soon as security conditions allow, addressing health, sanitation, and protection needs. World Vision’s operations will concentrate in Shasha, Minova, Rutshuru, and Goma. Preliminary information indicates an initial response plan budget of close to $3 million.

Worldvision is an excellent organization that does great work in some very hard places around the world. You can contribute to their efforts in the DRC at the bottom of this page.

On a random blog note. I’ve added a category called Justice and Service, where I’ll put things like this and other issues of social justice and service that I want to talk about. (I have one or two that is waiting in the pipeline)

Obama ran and won, I believe my kids can fly | emerging mosaic

My oldest son who many say looks like Obama and has a biracial and a immigrant parent in common insisted he stay up to see the results to their conclusion and Obama acknowledge the win. He thought nothing of saying after a basketball career at Princeton I’ll go on to the presidency. It was all within the realm of possibility and for the first time i could say without hesitation yes son you can.

His flight is no longer restricted to sports on this morning in America. A black man who has normally been relegated to the bottom of the social totem pole in America has risen to the highest office in the land.

Andre Daley (who is a Jamaican immigrant and who, as far as I can tell, is not related to me) articulates one of the huge statements that this election makes.  Earlier I talked about how if a kid is always being told everyday that the people who look like them can only be second in command, can only be important as an athlete or performer then they will believe it. This election, and for the next four years, African American children have one heck of a proof of concept.

I look forward to the first Asian American, Hispanic American, presidents as well.

Hungry displaced people tried to push their way into a USAid centre near Goma.

I turned on BBC News today and saw a couple of articles on the current crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I’ll paraphrase one of the men interviewed who said that when Rwanda happened many of us reacted by saying “Never again.” Now the world has the opportunity to act on its words.

I have much information yet, I’ll see if I can get more info and post later (particularly regarding how to help). In the meantime, feel free to post whatever you know or find out in the comments.  In the meantime, you can read the following links, all from the BBC.

UK calls for urgent aid for Congo (video on page)

And finally a Q & A

Thousands of civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo have fled their homes and are living in desperate conditions following the latest outbreak of violence in the eastern part of the country.

They join an estimated one million already displaced in the region, raising fears of another humanitarian disaster. – BBC NEWS | Africa | Q&A: DR Congo conflict.