Name That Blogger!

Greetings all from the July guest blogger.

Farewell…
First and foremost: Godspeed to Eric, who did a terrific job with the June blog. He is now off to pursue an exciting missions trip to South Africa, and our prayers and best wishes are with him.

And Hello…
I’m excited to share this 90&9 moment with you. My name is Lee Ann, and I’m the book columnist. For any of you who haven’t checked it out yet, please humor me and read a review or two or six. Basically I cover the latest book news in true bookworm form and fuss at myself for my lack of reading. The nitty-gritty details about myself are probably best summed up in this bio—you know: technical writing profession, single, active in my church, etc. So that covers the basics. I think the important stuff is:

1. I like duct tape. It will fix most anything.

2. Red is my favorite flavor snowball. (And don’t you go getting analytical on me and start in about red not being a flavor and how I need to specify strawberry, cherry, etc. Believe me, the snowball stand vendors have tried that. I think that’s just another example of life getting too complicated.) I like red snowballs. Period.

3. I laugh at people when they fall down. I'm sorry, I do. Admit it, it's funny.

4. My favorite food is ice cream. It cures what ails you.

Our Blog
We could worry about little know mysteries, such as if Dr. Seuss was really a communist, plot out new ways to sue McDonald's, and petition to have the next Youth Congress in Honolulu. But I will leave that to the more brilliant minds out there. Instead, my goal for the month (I guess I shouldn’t have told you so we could see at the end of the month who was paying attention) is to just keep it simple.

I want this month to be fun. My core beliefs (beyond the religious stuff) #1 – we take life too seriously. #2 – nothing is ever as bad (or as good) as it seems. From these pre-dispositions (word of the day!), I will approach the blog with an objective to comment on the world around us in a simple fashion with the disclaimer that it could be better, but it could be worse. I will also mercilessly rib people (a.k.a. me) who take themselves too seriously. And in all of this, I'm going to try to look on the bright side. We're surrounded by negativity and cynicism; maybe with this blog we can open our eyes to some of the good things around us.

And You…
Your mission—should you choose to accept it—is to help me find the positive in life to highlight. You can do that by sending me links to positive/fun stuff, sharing your own thoughts, etc. As with all of 90&9, this blog is made complete by your participation. I invite you to e-mail me. I’m looking forward to a lot of fun. Tomorrow I will be back with less boring details about me, and more comments on the world around us, the greatness of duct tape, etc.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Help out 90&9, Farewell

If you like 90&9 give it a hand

Producing and publishing 90&9 takes a lot of work. Run entirely by an all-volunteer staff, the website is performing a crucial service by being a web ministry and a ministry to young adults. If you want to help them out there are three concrete things you can do. 1. Tell your friends and family about the site so that readership is increased. 2. Take advantage of the Amazon link on 90&9 for your shopping. 3. Submit an article for publication.



Goodbye

This month has gone by really fast in some ways. Generally it was fairly easy to come up with things to talk about, although I started make a list of topics and ideas a few weeks before I began blogging for the occasional day when I just didn’t know what to talk about. Blogging takes more time than you might think. On average I spent a good hour writing, editing and posting an entry. I always knew that running a website takes a lot of time and energy, but I have a whole new level of respect for the 90&9 staff for the tremendous work they do every week (hence my first paragraph).

Whether you were reading while procrastinating at work or school, as part of your daily routine, or were simply an occasional stopper by, I hope you found this month to be a good use of your valuable reading time.


I will miss the times I have shared with you on this page.

Eric

This might be your last chance to E-mail me!

Political resources, CONA and alumni, Sorry vs. Repentance, my first goodbye

Politics Resources

Want to know more about American politics and important issues? The Ten Regions Index divides the US geography into distinct geo-political regions. Each area has a distinct flavor which colors the political leanings of the region. For example, I live in the “Big River” region which trends conservative, is politically competitive, has few Hispanics, and has produced many candidates for national office. Having lived in Dover, Delaware and Newark, Delaware (not to mention Washington, DC) I am also from The Southern Lowlands and the Northeast Corridor. Some of the information is a little dated, as it was written in 2003 or early 2004. Awareness of the dynamics of American politics requires understanding of sectional, regional, and cultural differences. This map is a strong and innovative attempt to make the complexities of America more understood.

While volunteering one day a week in the Spring of 2003 for US Senator James Talent (R-MO) I became acquainted with the Congressional Research Service. CRS’ job is to provide Congress with nonpartisan research and reports on topic of interest. The reports are first rate; they have all the latest statistical data, and are written in a concise and accessible manner. Unfortunately, CRS doesn’t make its reports available to the general public. However, a new website called Open CRS is up that indexes the reports and then provides a link to it either from its own database or from another database or government site where the report is available. In other words it puts CRS material in the public’s hand. The Washington Post ran a good article on this the other day. If you write papers on nearly any subject (especially current events) then you are going to want to use this. I've already bookmarked it.


CONA

In the summer after my senior year of high school I attended the Conference on National Affairs (CONA) in North Carolina. One of the guys I met there I became pretty good friends with while at AU. Also, towards the end of my college freshman year I met a guy who had gone to CONA a year or two before me. He was the business manager at the school paper and gave me a job which led to other involvement in campus activities for me. Anyway, the conference is a follow up to the various Youth in Government (model state legislature) programs held around the country. It is on my mind because they send me a request every year to donate to their scholarship fund. I sent $10 this year. I like to stay involved with these kinds of things. Every year, for the last 3 years, my high school sends me a packet so I can help select the Alumni Tuition Scholarship recipient. It doesn’t take too much time, and I feel like I am giving back a little. Anyone out there ever been to CONA? Anyone else like being apart of alumni groups, etc?

Sorry vs. Repentance

Bro. Travis Miller preached Sunday night. He touched upon something I had been thinking about for awhile. He was talking about redemption and made the point that repentance is more than just saying I am sorry, it is turning away with determination to lead a different, righteous path.

American culture (meaning us Americans) likes the quick fix, the easy way out, the path of least resistance. This sometimes infiltrates our notions of repentance. By saying that repentance is being sorry for our wrongdoings, we sell ourselves and God short. Saying “I am sorry” is often remorse at being caught or feeling guilty; it is the acceptable way for a person to acknowledge their error and hopefully make everything even. It is the sophisticated way of saying “my bad.” Being sorry is primarily verbal, sometimes emotional, and occasionally intellectual. However, repentance must be something much more, a physical or metaphysical turning and revolution from the erroneous state to a righteous state. Could it therefore be that we sometimes struggle with sin because we are sorry, but unrepentant?


The Big Goodbye

This is now officially the last day of my tenure on this blog. I will post again though before I sign off and leave this enjoyable responsibility to someone else. To Kent Curry: thanks for giving me this chance! Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Secular College, US Presidents & personalities

“Secular College”

As Pentecostals we have our own lingo, jargon and other flags of a sub-culture. Here is one that bothers me: “secular college.” I have real respect for Bible Colleges and Bible College students. Our church frequently has Gateway students attending and they are impressive individuals, many with an admirable passion for ministry. My family has been involved with Bible Colleges for most of my life, in some capacity or another.

However, non-Bible college is sometimes referred to as “secular college” by Bible College students and by Pentecostals in general. The term is not completely neutral; in a community where we believe God should encompass all things, tagging something as “secular” is not a compliment. For example, “secular music” is not a term of endearment. Yes, I attended a “secular college” where I received an accredited “secular” degree which will help me earn “secular” money. My “secular” degree goes well with my “secular” life insurance policy, my “secular” driver’s license, and my “secular” birth certificate.



Lincoln

This weeks Time Magazine features stories on Abraham Lincoln, one of our finest Presidents. Presidential history is very interesting to me. I have visited a handful of Presidential Libraries and Museums, and plan on visiting more. And as you know, I enjoy reading books on the subject.

The conventional wisdom is that Lincoln is our greatest President, with Washington a close second and FDR and Jefferson more distant third. Truman, Wilson, Regan, Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt, Jackson, Polk often round out the top 10.

I am personally high on Washington and Lincoln. I think Truman, Regan and T.R. are good as well. But I have also written a paper on John Tyler arguing that his actions helped protect the presidency and make him important (not necessarily Great though). Tyler was the first Vice President to ascend to the Presidency upon the death of the President. He insisted on being treated as President, not a mere acting hold over, which ensured the continuity and stability of government, one of systems most important features. Also, he refused to let Congress, and its ambitious Whigs, seize the imitative and govern from the legislature. By the end of his Presidency he was an outcast from his party, known as an apostate. History has judged him harshly for his failure to advance much of an agenda (although he did help usher Texas into the U.S.) and for his reactionary views on slavery. He went so far as to serve in the Confederate House of representatives. Nonetheless his precedents were crucial since Vice-Presidents have taken over for a deceased president now nine times.



A nugget of nonsense

A few weeks ago PJ remarked that he believed that one’s insecuritys play heavily into the formation of their personality. To this I responded “so you are saying that sands on insecurity become pearls of personality?” We all laughed. But then I wondered, what does my need to be witty and sarcastic say about me? Questions, comments, psychoanalysis, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Fitzgerald, Washington, Sharks, $1,000

F. Scott Fitzgerald


Thanks to the readers who responded to my prompt regarding The Great Gatsby. One reader recommends reading Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise and says the reason we love these books is because “something in our human nature identifies with that struggle to find meaning and purpose out of life / achieve the American dream.” Another reader also recommended Paradise, saying “both books draw you in and paint a vivid picture of society in that time period...” Kris posted an interesting reply saying that Fitzgerald “twines words together in such a way that you are drawn into a whole new world. Even making ugly things like alcoholism, and the pitiful life of Gatsby, not so ugly.”

Again, thanks so much for taking time out to respond. Since This Side of Paradise is so highly regarded, I plan to purchase it soon (through the 90&9 Amazon link!) and read it this summer. I think I might also get 1984 by George Orwell. I really liked Animal Farm and I heard a radio commentator talking about 1984 the other day and it reminded me that I have been wanting to read that book.



George Washington


Way back when I first started this blog I mentioned a book I had just finished reading. Well I never got around to telling you about it. I read Joseph Ellis' new biography of George Washington (remember to purchase through the 90&9 Amazon link). Washington has always been someone who I deeply admired in American History. The book was really well done. There were a couple of things I took away from it which I will share.

1. Washington wanted his life to be consequential and meaningful. Most of his male relatives died around age 50, and he understood he had a short time to make his mark. Washington was far from perfect, and as a military stagiest he was often wrong, but he had an innate sense of being able to use good people around him.

2. I found it fascinating that during his earlier years Washington traveled to Barbados with his uncle in hopes that the warmer weather would cure his uncle of Tuberculosis. While in Barbados, Washington contracted smallpox which he ultimately overcame, despite its slightly scaring his face. Years later, while leading the American army, smallpox would ravish the ranks, killing and weakening many. However, Washington stood strong immune from the pestilence. The episode got me thinking about the experiences and the difficulties we face as young adults. It might just be that sometime down the road of life there is going to be a situation where we need to have that immunity; where the scar of the experience past will allow us to be victorious in the future.

3. Washington’s paramount character trait was his self-control. He was ambitions to be sure, but he always strove to be the master of his emotions and desires. Here is what it boils down to for me: Washington was given the opportunity to exercise absolute power. At the end of the Revolutionary War the military, government and people were willing to make him a king. And Washington refused and walked away. A few years later when he was elected President Washington again had the stature, means, and opportunity to exercise absolute power and he again chose not to, and to give up the power. King George apparently remarked that if Washington gave up command at the end of the War he would be the greatest person on earth. Washington did it twice, and America exists because of it. Very few of us, when given absolute power, either over an individual, organization, etc, posses the self-control to do the right thing. Washington did. As far as political heroes go he is first in war, first in peace and everlasting in posterity.

My commentary can’t do either the book or Washington a shade of justice. If History, biography, military history or government are your alley than I highly recommend reading this book. It is not a perfect book (for example, I went to the endnotes to find the citation for that quote by King George, and Ellis quotes some book from the 1980s. Surly there is a better primary source than that), but by the conclusion I was so taken away by the message of Washington that I can hardly remember them now.



Shark Attacks


I always get nervous when this starts happening. The media is again reporting on the various shark attacks at different beaches. Unfortunately, some people have been hurt, and a girl did die. I get nervous because it reminds me of the summer and early fall of 2001. The biggest stories were shark attacks and the disappearance/murder of Chandra Levy and Congressman Gary Condit’s possible involvement.

Now the shark attacks are back, and instead of Gary Condit we have highly unimportant gamesmanship being waged between Republicans and Democrats. Does anyone really care about the latest comment Dick Durbin or Karl Rove made? Maybe I am just feeling a little unplugged this summer. To me its similar to baseball. I like baseball games (in fact I went again on Sunday afternoon) and I will occasionally look up the top stories and see how the Sox are doing. But I don’t really care until it gets close to playoffs time. Cover stories that matter…if a Supreme Court justice retires that will be a big story, but around day 8 of the coverage it will probably get a little old (for the record my pick for a replacement Justice is Luttig, my sleeper pick is Roberts).


Missions update


In the last calendar week I have had approximately $1,000 come in! The outpouring of support is really touching (the sponsorships are from letters I wrote). The trip is only a few weeks away now, I am getting ready! Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!