Busy, busy, busy; good or bad? It's hard to tell. The speed at which we conduct our lives has exponentially increased over the last 100 years and I wonder if it prematurely ages our bodies, brains, and souls. Wouldn't it be nice if we had someone shouting from the rooftops the virtues inherit in taking some time off? If you agree, take a look at Al Gini's new book, 'The Importance of Being Lazy'. Al is a professor of philosophy at Loyola Chicago and is a contributor to WBEZ, Chicago public radio. He has also published 'My Job, My Self: Work and the Creation of the Modern Individual.' Just something to think about.

On the subject of our Sunday night time together, I thought some additional information on Phil might be in order. Here, find some comments regarding Phil's 'Life on the Vine'. Interestingly enough, google Phil's name and see what you find on page 3, why it's us! Wow, we're generating some traffic for Phil. Some trivial information about Phil? His favorite desert, which we'll plan to have on Sunday.

Amy and I really hope you enjoy the community's time on Sunday night and we're excited you've altered your schedules for this event. We hope and pray it will be of benefit to us.

I had quite the surreal experience last night while eating dinner, watching MLB's All-Star game, and reading diary excerts of Rachel Corrie, an American pacifist who was killed in Palestine March 16 of this year while protesting the destruction of homes in Gaza. This strange combination could be deemed surreal on its own merits, but seemed exceptionally so at the time. Why? Well, a few things immediately come to mind.

One; Rachel's death reminds me that this world is fallen and that we're 'damaged goods', so to speak. While we clamor for justice as Americans, as Rachel was doing, and also for us, as Christians, injustice happens every day and we must come to terms with that. While we should not be complacent we should understand that our actions will have limited effect. What then, is our call? What is the appropriate action for us to take? In fact, what are we supposed to do, anyway? Here's a possible starting point: Sojourners. Be careful. Also, if you're interested in the movement for justice in the middle east from an ecumenical but largely Jewish perspective, pay the folks at Tikkun a visit. Click on the core vision link if you've an extra hour to spare. And, for those of you who didn't know, Cornell West is the man.

Two; what's so wrong with baseball? Everybody and their brother has been bashing the game over the last few years and it's easy to see why. The All-Star game, once something I dearly looked forward to, last night showcased all that's wrong with the game of baseball, namely escalating player salaries and use of public funds for privately held companies (i.e., stadium financing). It was nice to see a few kids in the stands but I suspect we'll see more and more gray hairs in the seats instead of kids with gloves over the next 20 years. Of course, there's still minor league ball.

The North American Christian Convention is getting ready to wrap up at the Indianapolis Convention Center and we've been fortunate enough to see some of our friends from Milligan and Emmanuel School of Religion the past couple of days. Even better, we've been host to our dear friend Brett, currently serving as a chaplain aboard the USS Eisenhower. I'll spare you the rest of the website, but you may find the Eisenhower's Five Star Resource Team Magazine of interest, especially the Chaplain's column on page two of most issues, RELMIN. (Click on the individual issue dates to open the .pdf file in a new browswer window.) Two things to note: the Eisenhower is in dry-dock under massive renovation so you'll see many in hardhats; and, Chaplains in the US military are not allowed to proselytize so the vast majority of their time is spent counseling. We love you, brother Brett!

Sites of interest: Sausagegate
Miracle?
Yes, even I bought a ticket (5 to be exact)

Time to probably explain the method behind the apparent madness for readers new to the ol' blog spot here.

Diego Rivera is best known as the leading muralist of the 20th century. Born in Guanajato and raised in Mexico City, Diego showed an early gift for the arts and engineering. He studied at the San Carlos Academy and apprenticed with José Guadalupe Posada. His talent afforded him the opportunity to study in Spain and then in Paris, where he was caught up in the influence of post-modernism and cubism. After studying with Cezanne and following in the style of Renior, and, brimming with the political idealism that was sweeping the salons and cafes in Paris, he was drawn back into Mexico's embrace. Through circumstances, Diego found himself drawn to Tehuantepec Mexico where native Mexican heritage and genes remained a vital part of the country. His art provided him a vehicle of expressing their physical beauty and soon Mexico's pre-Columbian past was demonstrated on murals far and wide under Diego's brush. The idealism from Paris and his association with a technical workers union also carried Diego into the fringes of leftist politics and caused his economy to suffer. His art, in the United States, is most notably seen at the Detroit Institute of Arts and at various museums in San Francisco. He is also known as the husband of Frida Kahlo.

Now, what, you may ask, does this have to do with a non native-American who sports his name on a blog site? Not much, except that, as a senior in college, I fell in love with the man's art and (albeit foolishly) dedicated months of research into his art for my senior thesis. That, a failed attempt to express his work and how that could be reconciled into and appreciated by modern day Christians, blossomed into a greater desire to find synergies between politics on the left and Christianity, especially in today's conservative climate. A work in progress.

As a side result, diegorivera2 was born. So, what will you find here? Things both reverent and irrevrent, topical and eternal, and hopefully something of interest to you.

Sites of interest: My web site
Detroit Institute of Arts
Milligan College