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Today is my Sabbath (weekly day of rest) and for some reason I was reminded of this liturgy that my brother posted on his Facebook account about this time last year.

I thought of this poem because, this year, my goal is for the holidays to be sort of an annual Sabbath; a month or two of the year when (hopefully) life slows down and I get to rest, relax, and recharge with friends and family.  I know that this may not be the reality for many (myself included), but it's my primary goal this Christmas.

Enjoy...


Quiet Advent

it is a time of whispers
of rumors and echoes
angels are unfurling their wings
stars are dancing new steps
and the universe is drawing breath
for now we live in the waiting time

let the darkness gather
let the seasons change
let the nights draw in
to their darkest moment

the light is on it's way

so come now
be a blessing to the frantic and worried world
come now
and find space
silence
stillness

for God is slipping into skin
and restless in the womb

it is advent


P.S.  I tried unsuccessfully to find out who the original author is so I could credit him/her.  If anyone knows who wrote this, please let me know.

I just read this article from NPR.  Apparently, the U.S. Postal service is all but canceling the "Operation Santa" program that allows volunteers to reply to children's letters to Santa.  Evidently there was a sex offender volunteering for the program.  A few thoughts regarding this turn of events:

1.  Growing up, my parents did not teach me about Santa.  I do not feel any lasting ill effects from this (apparently) gross omission from my childhood, and I have no intention of teaching my own 10-month-old son about Santa.  The way I see it, there's plenty of awesomeness surrounding the holidays (family, traditions, etc.) without introducing a fictional character to spice things up.  (Before you all post angry comments: yes, I am aware that Saint Nicolas is a historical figure; he bears little resemblance to the pot-bellied apparition that we've created.)

2.  The previous point notwithstanding, I have no problem whatsoever with those who choose to do the Santa thing.  I don't think it's sacrilegious, silly, irresponsible, or any other negative adjective.  You like Santa; good for you.  I'm all for whatever makes the holidays happy for you and yours.  Merry Christmas.

3.  The real reason though that I'm writing about this whole turn of events, is this: I think we Americans overprotect their children.  Are we really going to nix an entire program that has (presumably) given joy to thousands, maybe millions, of children...because of one lousy sex offender?  Now, I'm not suggesting that a known predator should be allowed to continue interacting with children.  But maybe we could just deal with the lone perverted perpetrator and let the program be?  My point here is that it seems like a slight overeaction, don't you think?  To borrow from the article, it seems like an "explosion of the elephant gun in a panicky attempt to dispatch a random ant".

You may disagree with me; that's cool.  We're all entitled to our own take on the matter.  However, there are some academics (who I happen to agree with) who believe that within the next 15 years (maybe less) there will be a backlash to the current trend of over-protection.  Our kids will feel so smothered, so stifled, so cut off from experiencing life...that they will eventually rebel (as individuals, and thus collectively as a generation).

Now, I don't think most parents want their kids participating in the next generation's version of the "stick-it-too-the-man" 1960's (complete with anarchy, sex, drugs, and rock & roll).  I know that's not the future that I've envsioned for my son.

So, maybe a little perspective is in order.  Let's keep the elephant gun holstered, huh?  What'd ya say?

P.S.  If you're the geeky type (like me) who enjoys learning about sociology, patterns, and why things happen they way they happen, then check out this book, it's changed the way I look at society and history.

The following is from a blog that I read written by a Navy Chaplain who has served for 28 years; this is a small excerpt from his Veterans Day post.  To read the entire post (which I highlyrecommend), or if you're interested in following his blog, visit his website at http://padresteve.wordpress.com.

We serve because we believe in the ideals of this nation and unlike wars past, the “Good Wars” where there were homecoming parades after surrender ceremonies we come home to a nation which mostly has not been at war, a nation that we have protected and served in harm’s way when most Americans were told to be patriotic after 9-11 by President Bush by “going shopping.”  In the midst of all we serve, many of us volunteering for more, not because we like war, but because we believe in our country and in helping others come to know freedom.  I know that amid the political cynicism that is so rampant that such idealism is derided by those who only see America as a force for evil, but such is not the case.  By and large our Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coastguardsmen serve not for college money or to simply have a job, but because we care about the country and know that by serving now that we will likely end up in a combat zone.

We serve in unpopular wars and our sacrifice is to many people just a news bite in between economic, entertainment and sports stories.  There are those on the left who despise us as much as they did those who served in Vietnam. Likewise there are those on the right who have no compunction about using us in the military until we are spent without sharing a whit in our sacrifice, without ever having put on a uniform much less seeing combat.

This Veterans Day, my way of honoring those who are serving (or have served) is to be neither on the left nor the right.

A few pics and a video from last night at Artwalk.  Grant and Sarah came down to hang out for a little while.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by.

The state of our higher education system annoys me.  It annoys me because often the people who would most benefit from college are the ones that are NOT in college.  The converse of this is also true: the ones who ARE in college or university are often the ones least likely to benefit from it.

Example 1:  A hardworking middle-class (maybe middle-aged) worker with a life-long passion for learning is unable to go to school because she is supporting a family and can't afford the ridiculously high tuitions that most of our universities now charge.  She would LOVE the opportunity to further her education but she doesn't have the resources.  Common sense dictates that she not abandon her responsibilities to her family in order to further her education.  However, because of her insatiable desire to learn, she will end up either a) educating herself on her own time, or b) go deeply into debt because she sees no other option.  However intelligent she may be (and often she is), she is forced to make the choice of either taking on extravagant amounts of student debt, or being shut out of jobs where a degree is required.

Example 2:  A young, free spirit with no idea (yet) what he wants to do with his life, is more or less forced into going to college by his well-meaning, well-to-do parents who believe that their son "will never amount to anything" unless he has a college education.  He doesn't really have an interest in learning, but doesn't feel like he has any other options.  The result is that he often doesn't do well in his classes and spends his time in college on "non-academic endeavors".  For him, college is just a way to delay the responsibilities of adulthood while living on his parents' dime.  He's been subtly indoctrinated with this ideology his whole life by his unwitting parents and by our culture.

*deep breath*

Huh?  What's that?  What's the answer to this conundrum? 

I dunno...I'm still working on that part...

I just downloaded a recording and sound-editing software called Audacity.  My brother recommended it to me; he has used it to do the sound-editing for some of his short films.  I've messed around with the software for only a couple of hours so far, but I have to say that I'm impressed.  Here's a little blues ditty that I recorded with nothing more than my guitar, my laptop, and a cruddy little webcam microphone.

So how much did this software cost you might ask.  It's free?  That's right...free.99 baby.  How is it that a product that would've been traditionally cost a small chunk of change...can now be given away?  Through the beauty of the phenomenon called "open-sourcing".  I love it.  Here's an interesting podcast about open-sourcing.  Enjoy...

Honest question:

If the inequality of the American healthcare system is so appalling, then why is it not even more appalling that those in third World countries have even worse healthcare?

After all, if there's a moral mandate to fix inequality, then it applies across international borders.  No American should receive any elective treatment until every human being in every country of the world receives the vital, lifesaving treatments that they need.

It seems to me that very few Americans who lobby for "universal healthcare" really mean that. What they really mean is "cheaper and better healthcare for me, for those I love, or for some nebulously defined 'underprivileged Americans'".

If we as a nation were really concerned about injustice, then we'd be doing something about the glaring global inequalities that are all around us.

Just an observation...