Community

This morning a friend invited me to a video chat. The Jetson-esque aspect of these chats still blows me away. I declined because:

A. Leah was on a conference call and I had to be very very quiet.
B. I just woke up, was rocking glasses, eye-crusties and had toxic morning breath that would've been visible on camera.

This got me thinking a little bit. I was awake and interested in certain levels of community. I was reading blogs, checking Facebook and even txt iChatting with a couple people. All in my pajamas. I pictured people from the 1800s. I doubt they did much in their pajamas except sleep or walk to the outhouse. If they wanted community they'd put on corsets, suits, rouge and stroll to courtyards and military parades. They would've had no way to hear about ALL their friends' weekend adventures without serious effort and formality.

Neither did we a handful of years ago.

Back in the 80s I had to go breakdancing parties to hear the latest WORD. In the 90s I spent countless hours at 90210 parties just to interact with my stonewashed cronies. Now I roll out of bed and I'm popping and locking with all of you from the comfort of my flannels.

I think all this technology is good right? I wouldn't know half of you clowns without it. I wonder when it's bad, though. Does all this cyber -community keep things sterile in certain ways? I certainly miss the smell of sweat and Tang from all those breakdancing parties. I really miss the smell of White Rain and denim from the 90210 get-downs. So if someone invents a way for smells to shoot thru cyberspace they'll be a billionaire. You could be smelling my breath right now. That's community.

New Pixels

I arranged various pixels in various new ways for a weblog facelift. I hope it blows your mind.

No Mo'

Here is perhaps the most comprehensive list of breakfast options ever assembled. Some unorthodox choices make the list. But I would still argue that the next time you're unsure how to break your fast this video could be a legitimate resource.

Status Updates

Yesterday I spoke at this class (Alpha) where folks are exploring the basics of Christianity, asking the hard questions, seeing if it's the real deal or not. I told some old stories I haven't told in awhile. The topic was prayer. Asking me to talk about prayer would be like asking George Foreman to talk about microwaves. But one of the things I threw out there was this Status Update prayer idea. In Facebook and Twitter (Miley Cyrus' fav tool) you update people (in the 3rd Person) on what you're doing. "Miley is watching dad get pancakes stuck in his soul patch." Then two hours later... "Miley is grumpy." Her friends comment. "LOL, Mileeeeeeee. I'm grumpy too!!! ;)" and "Does your dad still have friends in low places?"

I asked the folks in the class to experiment with giving quick status updates to God throughout the day. Let him know you're nervous about your job security. Tell him you had an awesome meatball sub today. It can't be a bad thing to be in constant conversation with God right? The next level would be giving him time to comment back. I have no idea if it'll work. But it is interesting (dare I say fascinating) that we are so into status updates these days. Could that translate into how we interact with God?

"Brad doesn't know but thinks it's worth trying."

Happy ReBirthday Chuck Norris

March 10 is the day Chuck Norris punched his way out of a dragon's womb. Tonight, while millions of people are celebrating his birth I will celebrate his rebirth. By now, we've all experienced the infamous Chuck Norris Facts. It is my theory that these facts were responsible for Chuck roundhousing his way back into mainstream. It is also my theory that these facts were inspired by the old Bill Brasky sketches on SNL. So, if you follow that logic out, Brasky is Chuck's rebirth father. TO BILL BRASKY!


Watch To be Bill Brasky in Entertainment Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Geniuses

Naturally 7

Chuck Hines showed me these guys at work yesterday. Very unique. Very cool.

Mnemonic Alphabet Soup

I've been DVRing Demetri Martin's new show on Comedy Central called Important Things. It's most excellent. I politely urge you to join me in watching.

He did a quick sketch where he made a mnemonic device to remember the alphabet. I thought it would be fun to try. Maybe you'll attempt one as well...


About bears (crafty devils)... every fortnight, ghastly, horrible, invincible, jerk-killers love manslaughter. Never obstruct pressuring/questioning, rappers & sailors. They urge violence wherever Xavier yearns zucchini.

Is this guy serious?

I honestly can't tell.

Gay Marriage

I listened to a fascinating interview today on Talk of the Nation (NPR). I copied this from npr.org: David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values, and Jonathan Rauch, who supports gay marriage, wouldn't seem to have much common ground on the issue. But, in an op-ed for The New York Times, they found it.

Everyone has their ideals, their perfect picture for everything. Rarely are those ideals met. I'll never dunk a basketball or have a functioning pancreas even though in an ideal world I would. So in the absence of realized-ideals there has to be compromise right? I can't yell and scream for the rest of my life that I deserve a pancreas. I probably do. But I have to compromise and take insulin, exercise and eat right.

People who hate gay marriage are probably never going to fully support it. People who want gay marriage are never going to stop wanting it. Both of these groups are never going to stop fighting for what they believe in. But it's pointless for both sides to keep screaming at each other. So this article offers a compromise. It's not the "ideal" for either side. But it's reasonable. And that's a better place to be than where the debate currently is.

Here is that op-ed.