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Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Road Trips
Mr. Bunch mentioned he was leaving us for a few days to visit his grandparents, so Denelle and I will try to take up the slack. I'm just returning from a roadtrip myself. My wife and I made a weekend trip to visit friends in Houston and watch the 'Stros play a couple of games.

Astros Update
We got to see Roy Oswalt and Roger Clemens pitch in back to back games. There aren't many pitching duos as good as those two. Unfortunately, the Astros only won one out of two as the bullpen couldn't hold the lead for Clemens. I'm beginning to think it may have been better for Houston if Clemens wouldn't have come back. Either the offense doesn't score or, in the case of this past weekend, the bullpen blows the lead. They must have something against the guy!

The Astros have a lot of ground to make up and I was hoping management would help the team out today before the trade deadline and pick up a new player or two, but there was no such move. Looks like they have confidence in the existing players to do what they've done the past two years. They better get busy, though. Time is a tickin' away.

No, Thanks
How many of you would turn down dinner with the president because of your job? Nick Saban did. The former LSU coach who is now coaching the Miami Dolphins, turned down a supper invitation from President Bush because training camp is in full swing.

"It was really a tough decision," Saban said. "I feel like my first responsibility is our team. That in no way disrespects the importance of the opportunity I would have loved to have had to spend dinner with the President."

I'm sure a lot of people will find Saban's decline of the invitation disrespectful, but that just proves how seriously the man takes his job.

In a related note, espn.com ran a poll asking readers who they would most like to have dinner with. Michael Jordan was the reader's first choice, getting 37% of the vote. President Bush was a distant second with 21%. W barely beat out Tiger Woods and the SportsCenter combo of Stuart Scott and Scott Van Pelt, who garnered 19% each. It was a hard choice, but I did vote for the Pres.

Posted by: kdc

As of mid-afternoon today (CDT), the Bible Quizzing Round 1 results were as follows:

Intermediate Division
Atlantic1 is the undefeated team.
South Texas 1, Texas 2, Western 2 are the runners-up.

Experienced Division
Western 2 was to play the winner between Ohio 1 and GA 1. (One of these three will be the undefeated team.)

The Top 8 includes: Indiana 1, GA2, South Texas 2, LA1, OH2

More as we hear it...

Posted by: David Bunch

Mel Gibson went on a profanity ridden, drink inspired tirade over the weekend while being arrested for driving under the influence. Because he hurled many anti Semitic slurs, some are asking if The Passion was really Gibson's jab at the Jews after all.

It seems to me that at best he's guilty of being stupid, and at worst the drink has caused him to let his guard down and reveal who he really is down deep.

In all, it casts the movie in an unnecessary dark shadow.

It also strikes me as very interesting that this is the same man that many religious leaders were holding up as the evangelist to the masses just two short years ago.

We should strive to know those who labor among us.

Posted by: David Bunch

I'll be leaving town this afternoon, traveling to Indiana to visit my grandparents for the rest of the week. While I relish the thought of blogging thru my travels and thus allowing you to accompany me via cyberspace, I just don't think an internet connection will be in my plans for the rest of the week.

Grandma and Papaw just haven't seen the need for a computer or an internet connection, and while I suppose I could bring my laptop and dial up or find a coffee shop with wireless, that is not possible since the old LT is on the blink and is barely hanging on.

Yes, yes, I've already started dropping the hints to the Mrs. about the necessity of a new laptop for Christmas.

But I digress.

So if for some reason I get lucky and find an internet connection, I'll do my best to check in with all of you this week. But assuming the worst, it will be this time next week before we chat again.

Have a blessed week and Godspeed.

Posted by: David Bunch

Be sure to check out the responses to last week's survey question, "Do you own a cell phone?"

Just last Monday I went from my standard Motorola flip phone to the Palm Treo 650. I knew that I wanted an integrated device that would play mp3s, serve as an organizer, and serve up email and internet if needed (I have not yet subscribed to that option. At $40 a month I just can't justify it-yet).

After a solid three months of research I chose the Treo. For one thing the price has really come down and my cell phone provider was offering a huge online bargain. For another, it got the highest reviews of any of the smartphones out there (at least in my price category). I wasn't sure how I would like going to Palm O/S after using a Windows Media Pocket PC for three years, but after using it for a week I have no regrets. PalmOne has definitely figured it all out as far as offering lots of features in a user friendly format.

Back to the responses to last week's survey: it cracks me up because there is one respondent who states they cannot stand seeing people drive and talk on a cell phone. There is another respondent who states the they do not have a cell phone yet because they are not old enough to drive.

So in that individual's view, the only time to talk on the cell phone is when you drive?

Let's come to a consensus here!

Posted by: David Bunch

Welcome to another Monday! Where do the weekends go as they fly by at the speed of life?

I had a great weekend that was highlighted by our 5th Sunday Service yesterday afternoon. We were incredibly blessed to have two great missionaries with us, Bro Monte Showalter and Bro Terry McFarland. God's Spirit moved in a great way and it is impossible to quantify all of the things that happened to various individuals in one 2 hour service. But suffice it to say that we had an incredible time.

Bro Showalter preached on a really neat concept that seems somewhat simple, but the more you think about it the more profound it becomes. The idea is that under the Old Testament Law a person who came in contact with a dead body, a leper, or any other "unclean" individual was contaminated and ritually unclean. There was a purification process for such people.

But Jesus Christ went about literally touching lepers, dead people, etc. and was not unclean. Rather, his virtue "rubbed off" on the needy person, thus creating a reversal of the law.

And because Christ dwells in us, we should not be afraid to touch the needy around us!

Amen and Amen.

Posted by: David Bunch

Denelle keeps the anitquarian Bible conversation rolling with this post today. Thanks for bringing us that story, Denelle!

More on Bibles
A new Australian translation of the Bible is making headlines, in part because it is selling much better than thought and in part because of the outcry of some critics.

The "Aussie Bible" translates the Bible into the vernacular, even slang, of the Australian people.

"There was this sheila who came across a snake-in-the-grass with all the cunning of a con man. The snake asked her why she didn't just grab lunch off the tree in her garden. "God, she said, had told her she'd be dead meat if her fruit salad came from that tree, but the snake told her she wouldn't die. So she took a good squiz [look] and then a bite and passed the fruit on to her bloke.

People make the mistake of thinking that Australian English is just slang. It's much richer than that, and it's a language of the heart.It's quirky and funny but it can also convey seriousness and emotion. It connects with people at a deeper level than standard English," Richards says

The article also states that Australia has given us a version of the Bible in text message lingo.

"In da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth," begins the SMS version, launched last year. "Da earth waz barren, wit no 4m of life; it waz unda a roaring ocean cuvred wit dRkness."

This reminds me of another translation of the Bible that I have seen, called Word on the Street. That version translates the Bible into English slang.

Found Rare Bible
Joining the Irish find mentioned above, a guy in Virginia has found a very old and possibly rare Bible in a dump.

Hoskins says he found a 188-year-old King James Bible and he's turning down offers approaching one thousand dollars.

The Bible was printed in Pittsburgh in 1818 and appears to have fire damage and had watermarks on some of its inner pages. According to Hoskins' research, it's one of less than a half-dozen copies in existence.

He needs to get with the guy from The Heritage Musuem that I mentioned yesterday and see what it's really worth.

Posted by: Denelle

Yesterday Dave posted a great story about a resurgence of interests in antique/rare Bibles and ecclesiastical texts and I was immediately reminded of a story that I read earlier this week about a rare book of Psalms that was found in a peat bog in Ireland.

This roughly 1000 year old volume narrowly escaped destruction by a backhoe that was gathering bog land for processing into potting soil. The back hoe operator saw something in the mire and stopped to check it out. Thankfully the owner of the bog had the good sense to keep the book covered until archeologists could arrive and properly remove the artifact. This book joins the Book of Kells as one of the oldest biblical texts in Ireland.

I've heard of bodies being preserved in bogs for hundreds of years but it is almost impossible to imagine that one tiny little book could survive that long.

If Women Ran the World

As many of you may have figured out, I like to do lighthearted and frivolous posts on Fridays. I feel like after an intense work week it helps me to set a more relaxed tone for the weekend. So without further ado, I give you some images (sent to me via email) of how the world would look if it were ran entirely by women.





(my favorite)



My mom, sister (on her way back from Spain), aunt and cousin are all going to be here this weekend. So we're going to play tourist and try to avoid getting stuck in the subway if the power goes out. Should be loads of fun. lol Hope you have a great weekend! I'll be back on Monday.

Posted by: David Bunch

The New York Times reviews several books that tackle the issue of how science and religion mix. As you would expect, the Times is not necessarily friendly to religious beliefs and takes great care to highlight the points in the books that slam faith, but the article does make for interesting reading (or at least "skimming").

Overall, it appears that at least a couple of the authors are able to bring themselves to acknowledge the fact that science and religion can exist together and are not mutually exclusive ideas.

If his eminence in science were not so unassailable, a fourth author, the biologist E. O. Wilson of Harvard, might also be taking a chance by arguing that religion and science ought to take up arms together to encourage respect for and protection of nature or, as he calls it in his new book, “The Creation.” Although he writes that he no longer embraces the faith of his childhood — he describes himself as “a secular humanist” — Dr. Wilson shapes his book as a “Letter to a Southern Baptist Pastor,” in hopes that if “religion and science could be united on the common ground of biological conservation, the problem would soon be solved.”

I've read a good bit of the great scientist Stephen Hawking's work and it seems to me that his world view is one in which scientific fact and God based faith can harmonize. It's an idea that I wish more scientists would embrace.

And it's one The New York Times should no be so predisposed to oppose.

Posted by: David Bunch

Christian Bookstores Are Out

I couple of weeks ago, I blogged about the struggling independent bookshop industry. Although I didn't realize it until today, Christian bookstores have been largely unaffected by giant retailers moving in on the market and squishing the little guy. Well, no more.

To the dismay of bibliophiles everywhere, most small bookstores have already been out-competed by corporate bookstore chains like Borders and Internet retailers like Amazon. Christian bookstores, with their specific and devoted clientele, enjoyed a bit more insulation from those threats. But now,independent store-owners like Steller say their biggest competition comes from department stores and general merchandisers like Wal-Mart, which have started carrying the hottest items on the Christian market at big-box bargain prices.

Moral? Don't buy The Purpose Driven Life at Wal Mart for $12.97, go to the Christian bookstore and pay the full $19.99 cover price. Okay, okay, I do feel for the independents, but aren't the big retailers just utilizing the free market to their advantage?

Rare Bibles Are In

The rare Bible market is currently sizzling. With a check for the proper amount, a collector can purchase a Bible, a page from a Bible, or even Spurgeon's sermon notes. Apparently, it's all the rage (at least in some circles).

Gene S. Albert Jr. isn't selling his prized King James first edition, first issue, printed in 1611. The book, also known as a "he" Bible for a masculine pronoun in Ruth 3:15 that was changed to "she" in later versions, sits atop a bookcase in the loft of the climate-controlled barn near Hagerstown that houses his museum. But Mr. Albert, who's been collecting for 25 years, has other rarities for sale at www.christianheritagemuseum.com. They include a single page of a 1454 Gutenberg Bible priced at $20,000; a 1685 second edition of John Eliot's Algonquin Indian Bible, the first Bible printed in America, for $175,000; and two handwritten sermon notes by 19th-century English evangelist Charles H. Spurgeon, marked down from $595 to $275 each.

Here is the link to the above mentioned Heritage Musuem.

So I guess Christian bookstores should start dealing in antiquarian Bibles.

Posted by: David Bunch

There will be live bloggers at the General Youth Division's "Commune-ity" conference in Kansas City next Thursday thru Saturday. This is the event formerly known as the North American Youth Worker's Conference. Keep checking 90&9 for all the latest!

AND
We are still looking for bloggers who can blog live from the North American Ladies Conference in Louisville. Interested parties should send their basic information to editor@ninetyandnine.com.

Hope you enjoy!

Posted by: Denelle

Once again I am left to marvel at the process of our judicial system. A Texas jury has just overturned the conviction of Andrea Yates (convicted of drowning her five children in the bathtub) finding her not guilty by reason of insanity and sentencing her to treatment in a mental institution. Perhaps I could believe that it was temporary insanity if she'd drown one child but she methodically drown FIVE children, in a way that was planned and carefully carried out.

Andrea filled the tub with water and beginning with Paul, she systematically drowned the three youngest boys, then placed them on her bed and covered them.
Mary was left floating in the tub. The last child alive was the first born, seven-year-old Noah. He asked his mother what was wrong with Mary, then turned and ran away. Andrea caught up with him and as he screamed, she dragged him and forced him into the tub next to Mary's floating body. He fought desperately, coming up for air twice, but Andrea held him down until he was dead. Leaving Noah in the tub, she brought Mary to the bed and laid her in the arms of her brothers.

And now a jury has decided that this woman will be sent to a mental hospital where she will be treated and periodically reviewed for the possibility of release. Is that what our society has come to? Kill your five children and we'll slap you on the wrist and let you go?

I believe firmly that PPD (post partum depression) is an illness and that it affects many women. That it shouldn't be brushed aside or those who suffer from it made to feel like they are less than normal or bad mothers (thank you very much Tom Cruise). However, I also believe that somewhere along the line you have to take responsibility for your actions and stop searching for excuses. Something as deliberate crosses the line from illness into the category of murder. Obsessive, pre-meditated, carefully planned murder. And even in America someone shouldn't be allowed to get away with murder.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Tiger's back! Two months after losing his father and a month after failing to make the cut at the US Open, Tiger Woods proved he's still the one to beat by winning the British Open with a brilliant final round.

I read a couple of articles recently that questioned whether Tiger would ever be the same since losing his father, who was so instrumental in his golf game. Uh, yeah. It was hard not to feel good for Woods, seeing the emotion he let out after his final putt on the 18th hole.

HOYLAKE, England -- The emotions had been trapped in Tiger Woods since he stood at his father's grave two months ago, set loose only after he tapped in his final putt Sunday to win the British Open.

It was his 11th major championship, but the first one they couldn't share.

He plucked the ball out of the cup, turned slightly and started to grin when a mixture of sadness and satisfaction washed over his face and he screamed out, "Yes!"

Woods buried his head in the shoulder of caddie Steve Williams, sobbing uncontrollably, his chest heaving. Then he found his wife, Elin, and hugged her for the longest minute, tears still streaming down his face.

"I'm kind of the one who bottles things up a little bit and moves on," he said. "But at that moment, it just came pouring out. And of all the things that my father has meant to me and the game of golf, I just wish he would have seen it one more time."

Posted by: Denelle

"Beam Me Up, Scotty" is possibly one of the most recognized phrases in American T.V. history. And this October the remains of actor James Doohan, who portrayed Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott aka "Scotty" on the original Star Trek series, will be blasted into space.

Doohan’s ashes will be blasted up along with the remains of around 100 other people, including astronaut Gordon Cooper, who first went to space in 1963.

After a short flight the rocket will return to earth with the capsules holding the remains. A second flight in December or January will send a capsule containing Doohan’s remains into orbit where it will remain for several years, Schonfeld said.

“Whatever goes up must come down,” Schonfeld said, adding that the capsule would eventually drop out of orbit and burn up in the earth’s atmosphere.

Ever true to Star Trek's iconic status, fans from around the world of the cult t.v. hit are planning a celebration, complete with uniforms, communicator pins and I'm sure a tricorder or two. Good times people, good times.

Posted by: David Bunch

The Learning Channel has a new reality show called The Messengers. It sets out to find America's next inspirational speaker, which is kind of cool. I enjoy listening to motivational speakers, and it seems that good public speakers are a rarity these days.

The Messengers explores their ability to communicate the many complexities of life’s toughest lessons. Along the way, the speakers address issues viewers face in their everyday lives and communities. The foundation of each episode is a field trip designed to give the speakers a profound learning experience – the opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes.

Contestants spend time, for example, with the homeless in Los Angeles before giving a speech about the experience.

The New York Times has this review of the show, pointing out that many of the contestants have a religious theme to their speeches, or come from a religious background.

The contestants were chosen for the same reasons as dinner guests or the participants on “Big Brother,” an interesting mix. They include Cornelious (See)Flowers, a self-described “spoken-word artist” who combines hip-hop cool with a preacher’s hortatory style (“My benevolence has no relevance”); Angelica Osborne, an Alabama preacher’s daughter and apartment manager; and Kent Healy, a surfer and self-help guru from San Clemente, Calif. Their speaking styles are all quite different, even though Christianity is a common bond for many. Angelica tells stories that are amusing and also touching. Robert Rutherford, a pastor and construction worker, sounds a lot like Bill Clinton.

Posted by: David Bunch

Church of the Masses blog has an interesting piece on the PG rating of upcoming film Facing the Giants. The blogger states that she has in fact seen the movie, and there is nothing in it to warrant a PG rating. On the contrary,

The MPAA reviewers gave the film a PG rating for "Christian content." When they were called on it, MPAA spokesmen backed off of Christianity as the reason for the rating, but, too bad for them, one of their original statements had included the note that some people might be offended by the prosletizing in the film.

The film should still not have gotten a PG rating. The truth is, it isn't the MPAA's job to warn audiences that a movie is coming from a particular sub-culture. Their job is to protect kids from harm. Now, if the sub-culture out of which the movie was coming was Skinhead Fascism or the North American Man Boy Love Association, it would be the job of the MPAA to flag the film as morally problematic. But Christianity, even over-simplified, saccharin, sentimental Christianity, is not a moral problem.

My guess is that a movie about Skinhead Fascism would be upheld by the Hollywood clowns as the paragon of artistic creativity.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Reunion
So tonight is my 10 year high-school reunion. 1996 wasn't ten years ago, was it? Somebody must have miscalculated...I can't be that old! It does seem like I just graduated a couple of years ago, but here I am, with 30 just around the corner. I suppose it doesn't really matter since I still act 16.

Anyway, it will be good to meet up with old friends and see what everyone has accomplished in the last ten years.

US Basketball
Here's an interesting article on espn.com on the state of US Basketball. Some major changes took place after the US finished a very dissappointing third in the '04 Olympics (althought that was much better than the sixth place showing in the '02 World Championships. Role players were brought in (Shane Battier and Bruce Bowen) along with some of the regular stars. It looks like these guys might have some chemistry going, though, since they're actually practicing and are being coached by one of the best (Mike Krzyzewski). Maybe they'll actually play some team basketball and give us something fun to watch.

The article also does a good job showing the attitude of arguably the two best all around players in the game: Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.

...according to James and Wade, this feels different than the hurried and, in retrospect, oddly configured '04 team coached by Larry Brown. The extra preparation time helps. So does the absence of Brown, who doesn't have a history of embracing young players (James averaged just 11.4 minutes per game under Brown, Wade 17.5). So does the presence of veterans such as Billups and Elton Brand.

"We have no egos," said James. "It's hard to [fit in] if you've got an ego and feel like you're on top of the world. We don't feel that way. Myself, Carmelo, Chris [Bosh] and Kirk [Hinrich] -- all being from the 2003 draft -- we don't have no egos. We don't feel like we're the best players here."

Said Wade: "There's no reason to be jealous. On this team we can all shine."

What they won't say -- but others will -- is that Wade and James are partly responsible for the different environment here at the '06 camp. With due respect to Dirk Nowitzki and Team USA no-show Kobe Bryant, Wade and James are the NBA. Wade is coming off an NBA championship. James is fresh from leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first playoff appearance in eight years.

And yet, they big-time nobody. They are among the Team USA leaders in sweat dripped. And if Krzyzewski decides to vote on a team captain, here's guessing Wade or James would earn the honor.

Posted by: Denelle

Ok, so the "ends" is really just the end of the work week (yea Friday) but I do have a few other random thoughts and links for you (hence the odds).

Yesterday was the 37th anniversary of the moon landing. Interestingly enough, I didn't see this even mentioned anywhere on the net, a friend had to point it out to me. But in honor of this great American achievement I have found the perfect way to celebrate - with your very own astronaut suit! It's available in adult and children's sizes and I have to admit that I think this would make a great gift for anyone who is really into outerspace/NASA/Star Trek (ok, maybe that's streching it)/etc.

Celebrity news is particulary slow this week - unless you care (and I don't) that 1) Paris Hilton may or may not have hacked into Lindsey Lohan's Blackberry and sent mean messages to all of Lindsey's friends (like Paris has the brain power to accomplish that) or 2) that Tori Spelling may or may not be pregnant. I'm still waiting for pictures of Suri Cruise (still no sightings after 3 months??? come on, and Lisa Remi's "convenient" baby sighting is just too unbelievable even for words) but I guess in the meantime I'll have to content myself with making my own Suri.

One comment that I left out of my ESPY recap was my surprise at seeing Oksana Baiul on the red carpet. I haven't seen or heard anything of her in years (since that whole drunk driving accident she had) so I just assumed she'd faded into the black hole that is post-gold medal figure skating. Even her showing up on the red carpet I sort of shrugged off as a fluke until I turned on the tv the other night and saw her on ABC's Master of Champions as a celebrity pannelist. Guess it just goes to prove that reality tv can revive the career of almost anyone.

Oksana now (courtesy of ABC.com) and then.

The horrible heat here in NY has finally broken and so I'm hoping to be able to do more than just sit infront of my a/c this weekend. Here is hoping the best for you as well.

Posted by: David Bunch

Today marks the anniversary of the publishing of the first part of The Lord of The Rings trilogy in 1954. The Writer's Almanac has some interesting information about the famous novel, including the fact that it took Tolkien 17 years to complete it in its entirety.

Posted by: Denelle

As promised, here are some pictures from the 2006 ESPY Awards.

Seems like it was a pretty varied and interesteing crowd, but I guess that's normal for the ESPYs.





This year's show was hosted by Lance Armstrong. Who it turns out is not related to astronaut Neil Armstrong, despite Will Ferrell's song suggesting otherwise.



In the Olympian corner we had Bode Miller - who cleans up pretty nice when he isn't partying. Along with Bruce Jenner (who has traded up in the world of wives) and Sean "The Flying Tomato" who had the honor of presenting with Dave Navarros's soon to be ex-wife Carmen Electra.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took home the trophy for best Team, despite the fact that their quaterback almost killed himself a month ago in a motorcycle accident where he wasn't wearing a helmet.



Rounding out the evening (or at least my recap of it) is Venus Williams in a dress she obviously didn't design because it's not half bad.



My final thoughts on this year's ESPY Awards.

Ben Stiller is looking old. Most female athletes have no idea how to wear a dress. And the trifecta that is Lance Armstrong, Jake Gyllenhaal and Matthew McConaughey sort of creeps me out.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Posted by: Denelle

I will admit to only being 5 or 6 years old the last time things between Lebanon and Israel were this tense. Yet it seems to have left an indelible impression on my young mind because I am find myself with an overwhelming feeling of "haven't I done this before?"

Can We Learn From History . . .

For those of you who are too young to remember, Lebanon was involved in a violent civil war from 1975 - 1990. As opposed to simply having two sides fighting for control, as in the American Civil War, Lebanon had multiple factions or militias vying for control. Things became increasingly unstable in the region in 1978 when the PLO, under the leadership of Yassar Arafat, began firing missiles from southern Lebanon into Israel. Israel in return sent troops into Lebanon to create a twelve mile wide "buffer zone" between the countries to discourage further attacks. Then, in June 1982 Israel pushed further into Lebanon, seizing control of East Beirut in an attempt to break the strength of the PLO and force them out of Lebanon.

Eventually the United States (along with other UN countries) sent in troops to help oversee the withdrawal of PLO troops from Beirut. In April 1983 the US Embassy in Beirut was bombed, killing 63, including 17 Americans and in October 1983 a suicide bomber attacked the US Marine Barracks near Beirut Airport killing 241 Americans. Americans who had until that point remained in the country for various reasons were urged by the US Government to evacuate. In June 1985 TWA Flight 847 was hijacked by two Lebanese men who held the crew and passengers hostage for 17 days while demanding the release of 1,000 prisoners held by Israel. When their initial demands were not met, a US Navy diver was shot and his body dumped on the airport tarmac. Between 1982 - 1992, ten US citizens would be kidnapped in Lebanon, the longest (Terry Andersen) being held for just under seven years. While there is still some speculation, it is generally known and/or suspected that Hezbollah was responsible for all of these incidents.

Or Are We Doomed to Repeat It?

And now here we are, 20 years (and more) later, and again Lebanon is in turmoil. One week ago today Hezbollah insurgents kidnapped two Israeli soldiers from their post along the Lebanon border. Israel retaliated by bombing various sites in Lebanon - including inflicting major damage on Beirut Airport, sealing off the Lebanese ports and firing into Lebanon from ground positions and air strikes in an attempt to take out Lebanese missiles.

In the age old pattern of Middle Eastern conflict (it is sort of reminiscent of watching a tennis match), Hezbollah upped the stakes by sending missiles into Haifa (Israel's third largest city) and threatening to attack other locations in Israel, including Tel Aviv. Which of course only resulted in an increase to intensity of the attacks on Lebanon.

Once many Americans/Europeans have found themselves stuck in the middle. It is estimated that there are 25,000 American's still in Lebanon. And despite the fact that the situation is tenuous at best, their evacuation is proceeding incredibly slowly. Many are US college students who never expected to find themselves in the middle of a war. Also affected are Lebanese civilians, specifically those in and around Beirut. Roads are closed, water supply is limited not to mention the fear of misguided bombs exploding. Many still bear the scars (in the form of damaged homes, injuries, etc) of the civil war.

Where Will it End?

The question remains is there an easy solution?

I tend to lean toward the side that says let's return the two soldiers and everybody can go back to minding their own business. Why turn this into something that will drag out for weeks, months, or even years. I'm sure that Hezbollah doesn't see it that way. They knew what they were risking when they kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.

Israel has never made any secret about the fact that the kidnapping of their soldiers is seen as an act of war. And historically, Israel has dealt with it's military matters in an intense and expedient manner (they are nothing if not efficient).

Should the international world simply sit back and wait for these two to come to an agreement? Even if it means risking hundreds or thousands of innocent lives in the process? Should we (because you know America will lead the way) pursue a path of negotiation and diplomacy or do we stick by our claim that we don't negotiate with terrorists - which Hezbollah clearly are. Is something stronger than words needed? And when all of this starts to calm down do we send in international forces to help maintain peace and create structure and run the risk of recreating past mistakes?

Our reaction to this situation as a nation and as a world is vital. The sides we choose will undoubtedly affect our future relationship with not only Lebanon and Israel but with the rest of the Middle East for decades to come.

Posted by: David Bunch

Brad Leithauser of the New York Times has an excellent review of Seamus Heaney's new poetry collection called "District and Circle". I found Mr. Leithauser's comments on Heaney's (and others') use of rhyme very interesting.

I sometimes think there's no more reliable way of initially entering a poet's private domain than by examining what he or she rhymes with what. Certainly, the abbreviated signature of a good many poets could be read by assembling a sample list of the end-words of their lines. George Herbert, Lord Byron, Emily Dickinson, Marianne Moore, James Merrill — in many cases a savvy reader could, with all the quiet exultation of a code-breaking cryptographer, identify the author purely through paired rhyme-words, independent of what the poem was actually about.

Add to that company the Irish poet Seamus Heaney, Nobel laureate of 1995, whose rhymes are rough-hewn, hand-honed. Dungarees and rosaries? Whops and footsteps? Joys and tallboy? We're in Heaney country.

Posted by: David Bunch

The New York Times has an article on the disturbing trend of overly medicated kids. The proof? The huge amount of medicine dispensed at summer camps.

The medication lines like the one at Camp Echo were unheard of a generation ago but have become fixtures at residential camps across the country. Between a quarter and half of the youngsters at any given summer camp take daily prescription medications, experts say.

With campers far from home, family and pediatricians, the job of safely and efficiently dispensing medications falls to infirmaries and nurses whose stock in trade used to be calamine lotion and cough syrup. Three times a day, at mealtimes, is the norm,with some campers also requiring a sleep aid at bedtime to counteract the effect of their daytime medications.

This is sad, and scary...what are we doing to our kids? No doubt there are legitimate cases in which a child needs his or her medicines, but it seems to me we have overly stimulated kids' dependence on pharmaceuticals.

This phenomenon is so prevalent that companies are being formed to provide medicinal services to summer camps.

Increasingly popular is a service offered by a private company called CampMeds, which provides a summer’s worth of prepackaged pills to 6,000 children at 100 camps. Its founder, Dana Godel, said 40 percent of the children regularly took one or more prescription medications, compared with 30 percent four years ago. Eight percent used attention deficit medications last year; 5 percent took psychiatric drugs.

Posted by: David Bunch

Phil Cooke has an excellent blog this week on the power of networking. Cooke is a producer in Hollywood who also works hard doing consulting and advising to organizations. He calls himself a "catalyst for change" and his work has a decidedly faith based bent to it.

Among the 8 networking tips he gives, I thought this one was most notable:

Really care about people, and be interested in them personally. John Maxwell says "No one cares how much you know unless they know how much you care." People can smell insincerity a mile away, so networking is not about a con, it's about real relationship. Be authentic.

This has implications not only in our professional life, but in our efforts to reach out to others for the cause of Christ as well.

Posted by: David Bunch

My avid readers (both of you) will remember that when I hosted the Month In My Life blog I commented on a rare complete copy of Shakespeare's First Folio that was up for auction. It looks like it finally sold for 2.8 million pounds ($5.2 million US).

London dealer Simon Finch Rare Books purchased the book - still in its original 17th-century calfskin binding - during a sale at Sotheby's auction house.One of about 40 complete copies of the book known to exist, and one of the few in private hands, its value had been estimated at between 2.5 million and 3.5 million pounds (US$4.6 million and 6.4 million; euro3.6 million and euro5.1 million).

Just to let you know, dear old Uncle Simon Finch Rare Books gives me really good Christmas presents every year....can't wait to see what the old codger has in mind for this year....

Posted by: Denelle

Smile! It's Friday!!!






















Seems, I'm not the only one who is glad the weekend is here.

Hopefully I'll survived the heat wave that is supposed to hit. They're claiming it will be in the mid-90s over the weekend. Where's the pool when I need it?

I started checking out grad schools yesterday and even signed up for an information session for NYU on July 25. Hopefully this will help to motivate me out of my slothful state and back into educational mode. The good Lord knows I feel like my brain is turning into mush.

We also started the process of our annual reviews here at work. So any day between now and the first week of August, I could get a call to go meet with my supervisor. Funny how even though this review/raise is based entirely on my performace during the past year and theoretically I can do nothing to change it, all the waitng makes me nervous.

I'm also getting that "life is about to change" vibe again (and somewhere my parents groan). While it's not always a big change, when this happens there is amost always some type of alteration coming down the pipe. Call it my Spidey sense, my Sixth sense or whatever. Anyway, it tends to make me very unsettled and edgy until said change happens. Anybody else know what I mean or am I just a freak? Freak or no it happens, is happening, and I will be quite glad when it's done happening.

So, to help you start the weekend off with a good laugh . . .

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

If you missed Major League Baseball's All-Star game Tuesday night, you missed seeing the continuance of the National League's futility. It looked like the boys from the NL might pull off their first win since 1996, but it wasn't to be! The American League chalked up two runs in the ninth inning to pull off a 3-2 win. The outcome reminded me of the last couple of games the Astros played the Cardinals, where the Cardinals came back late to trump my boys.

The game was actually pretty boring until the ninth inning, since only 3 runs were scored until that point. Usually, there is more offense and therefore, more excitement.

You will probably see some of the All-Stars at the ESPY Awards held Sunday night, as Denelle mentioned. The are usually quite a few celebrities and people watching at the ESPY's, so all you husbands may even be able to get your wife to watch with you.

To keep our culture quotient up here at Collideoscope, I leave you with a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson for the weekend.

Rubies

THEY brought me rubies from the mine,
And held them to the sun;
I said, they are drops of frozen wine
From Eden's vats that run.

I looked again,--I thought them hearts
Of friends to friends unknown;
Tides that should warm each neighboring life
Are locked in sparkling stone.

But fire to thaw that ruddy snow,
To break enchanted ice,
And give love's scarlet tides to flow,--
When shall that sun arise?

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Posted by: David Bunch

The prize, presented with tongue implanted in cheek, is given each year for the worst opening sentence to an imaginary novel.

Here is winner Jim Guigli's appalling entry:

"Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean."

The Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest was started in 1982 by the English Department at San Jose State University to honor the Victorian novelist who opened his 1830 novel "Paul Clifford" with what were to become the immortal words, "It was a dark and stormy night."

I wrote some stuff in high school and college that I believe would have been strong entries.

Posted by: Denelle

People who have known me for very long, know that I love children and that I have always said I would like to have a large (say 5 kids) family (the older I get the smaller that number becomes). However, I don't think I would know what to do if I found myself in Angela Magdeleno's shoes. Magdeleno just gave birth to quadruplets (everyone now . . . awww). However, she already has three year old triplets and two older children. That makes 9 children and 2 adults living in a one bedroom apartment in East LA.

Angela Magdaleno’s husband wanted many children — she just didn’t know that they were going to have this many.

“I don’t know if I’m sad or happy,” she said. “I’m happy but, I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it.”

I can explain it. Completely overwhelmed.

Meanwhile on the other side of the world things are just as bizarre.

Tribal law can be pretty tough in Sabah state on Malaysia's Borneo island. A native who secretly married a second wife was fined a buffalo and a pig - even though he agreed to dissolve his second marriage and return to his first wife and kids. A local judge noted that a man generally wouldn't have been punished for taking a second wife, "but in this case he did not get the permission of the first wife." What a bigamess. (Thanks to the NY Post)

And finallly (because it combines my love of entertainment news with all of the sports news that so many of you love) don't forget to check out the ESPY awards. The awards were handed out at the Kodak Theater (I've been there, and seen Val Kilmer shirtless, but that's another story) in Los Angeles. If you want a recap of the winners before the show is broadcast check them out here --> CLICK ME. Otherwise, find a way to watch/tape/tivo/etc them Sunday night 9 pm (EST) on ESPN. I'll try to post some pictures of your favorite sports stars all dressed up and on the red carpet when they become available.

Posted by: Denelle

Kyle MacDonald managed to turn a red paper clip into a house. A three bedroom, 1,000 sq. ft. house in Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada to be exact.

Roaming Canada and the United States, he exchanged the pen for a ceramic knob, and in turn: a camping stove, a generator, a beer keg and Budweiser sign, a snowmobile, a trip to the Canadian Rockies, a supply truck and a recording contract. Next, in April, he got himself really close, obtaining a year's rent in Phoenix.

I think that this proves what real ingenuity can do for a person. Hmm, let's see . . . I have some scissors here on my desk. Think I can turn those into a brownstone in Brooklyn?

Posted by: David Bunch

I'm blogging this morning on my newly repaired home PC. I want to mention the now infamous headbutt from Sunday's World Cup final in which Italy beat France for the championship title.

France's Zinedine Zidane was playing in his last match before retirement, hoping to win the big one. Instead, he went out by headbutting an opponent and getting ejected-possibly costing his team the crown.

What is most noticeable when you watch the video clip is that the headbutt comes out of nowhere. You see a few words pass between the two players, and then Zidane casually walks ahead of his opponent and sets up for the attack. The opponent never saw it coming.

Much is being made of what was said between the two to set Zidane off.

It seems to me like Zidane could have thought of a better way to play his way into retirement.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Word of the day for Monday, July 10th:

friv·o·lous (frĭv'ə-ləs)
adj.

1. Unworthy of serious attention; trivial: a frivolous novel.
2. Inappropriately silly: a frivolous purchase.

Example: This lawsuit can be filed under "frivolous."

By PAT DOORIS for kgw.com
A Northeast Portland man is suing basketball superstar Michael Jordan and Nike founder Phil Knight for a combined $832 million. Allen Heckard filed the suit himself, June 29th in Washington County Court. Heckard says he’s been mistaken as Michael Jordan nearly every day over the past 15 years and he’s tired of it.

“I'm constantly being accused of looking like Michael and it makes it very uncomfortable for me,” said Heckard.

Heckard is suing Jordan for defamation and permanent injury and emotional pain and suffering. He’s suing Knight for defamation and permanent injury for promoting Jordan and making him one of the most recognized men in the world.

How dare MJ turn out to look the way he does! I'm sure Michael knew exactly what Heckard looks like him and purposefully planned his looks to disrupt Heckard's life.

On a similar note, I just dropped a lawsuit on Johnny Depp. :)

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

The weekend marks the end of the first half of the Major Leauge Baseball season and it's been an exciting year so far.

It's been a season of streaks for the Astros. Houston will lose a few in a row and then go on a winning streak. Their up-and-down play has put them right around .500 going into the All-Star break (pending the last couple of games versus St. Louis...whom they beat last night, I might add), which currently leaves them 3 games out of first place. I'm hoping the Astros can go on a second-half run like they've done for the past two seasons and get into the playoffs.

The All-Star game will be played Tuesday night and for the fourth consecutive year, the league that wins the game will have home field advantage come World Series time. The American League has absolutely owned the National League for almost two decades now. The NL has lost an unbelievable 16 of the last 19 All-Star contests, and if interleague play is any indication, this year will be another loss for the NL. It's always a fun game to watch, though.

The home run derby, which will be held Monday Night, is also fun to watch. You can really see the players' personalities since they can relax and goof-off a bit. No, I won't be participating in the home run derby this year. I pulled a muscle in my shoulder weeding our flower bed, so the doctor said "no-go", but if it wouldn't be for that....

Posted by: Denelle

Why is it that we always seem to need a vacation from our vacations?

So far mine has gone like this:

Sunday: church twice
Monday: drive 2 hours to outlet malls, shop 5 hours, drive 2 hours home
Tuesday: work fireworks stand for church fundraiser (4 hours), shop for brother's new bed set, bbq with family/friends (remainder of day)
Wednesday: go buy paint to paint brother's room, take 3 children (11, 9, 5) to the beach for 4 hours while their mother and my mother paint, get terribly sunburned (ouch), church again

and on the agenda for tomorrow . . . Disneyland (with the aforementioned 3 children). After this if anyone needs to find me, I'll be vegging on my couch for the next 3 weeks in Brooklyn.

I don't have much to report on as far as the rest of the world right now. I was shocked to sign online tonight and see that Ken Lay had died. Either the stress got to him or he figured that he'd take the easy way out (after all there are ways to "have a heart attack"). And I don't think victims of Enron should be so upset about his death. He wouldn't have served any real jail time and they weren't going to get any actual money out of him (how can you get water from a dry well) so maybe this is better justice in a way.

I'm also looking forward to the finals of the World Cup. France and Italy will face off on Sunday. I've actually watched several matches this year and I can totally see why people love this sport. Over two solid hours of fans (in an enclosed arena) singing God Save the Queen? Fabulous. Personally, I think that Italy will walk away with the Cup this year.

On another front, my sister isn't having such a wonderful time in Spain. It is proving to be a bit difficult to be the only person in a 90 person group who isn't interested in going out and getting drunk every night and just generally being stupid. She loves the country and the (native) people but is totally over the people she went with. I think it would be a much different experience if she had gone with a smaller group and/or a group that was only from her school. Only three and a half weeks to go and I think she's counting every minute. Oh, and speaking of minutes (and by way of a plug) if you ever need a phone card to call internationally, I highly recommend Just Phone Cards. They have the best rates/conversion I've found.

That's it for me. My body still thinks it's somewhere around 3 am and that combined with the sunburn is killing me. Pray for me. In this condition may not survive Disneyland tomorrow.

Posted by: David Bunch

We had coffee with friends Bo and Stephany last night and they brought to my attention the fact that some Episcopalian churches are now structuring their services around the music of U2. I was unaware of the U2charist fad, even though it appears that this made news in April of this year.

Ushers handed out earplugs and fluorescent glow sticks for the "U2 Eucharist," a communion service punctuated by the Irish rock band's music. Episcopal parishes from California to Maine have hosted similar events, weaving U2's tunes -laced with biblical references - into the liturgy.Streamers flew over worshippers' heads at the recent gathering in Providence. Children danced by the altar. Plasma-screen TVs illuminated the gothic sanctuary. Some people sang and clapped, while a few looked puzzled.

I have long been fascinated with Bono's spiritually infused lyrics, and have wondered what kind of religious beliefs he holds.

Many Christians have long seen U2's frontman as a latter-day prophet. But the Episcopal Church in the US has been among the first institutional church to recognise the band's power. A few years ago two of its priests edited a book of sermons based on U2 songs entitled Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog.

Bono even spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast this year.

Bono, meanwhile, has told interviewers that he worships God through music. He once belonged to an ascetic Christian community, and in February, he spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast. The band's early tapes were sold in religious bookstores.

But given all of this, one still has to keep in mind that this is a rock n' roll band. One's imagination doesn't have to run very far to figure how they most likely live their lives.

Still, the band members are traditional rock'n'rollers - they swear, drink and sing about sex. It's also not known whether U2 endorses the services using their songs.

Which is my problem with all of this. While I think that the Church or a church must continue to look for relevant ways to reach the un-churched, a line is crossed when we start using rock n' roll music to try and attract people. At best, U2 sings and writes about a spiritual quest in generally Christian terms. But that doesn't make them Christians or endorsable as spokes persons for Christ.

Bitter and sweet water cannot flow from the same fountain.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Denelle brought up some nice ideas on how to celebrate the Fourth of July, but here's one she didn't mention: a hot dog eating contest.

A Japanese man won the Independence Day hot dog eating competition for the sixth straight time, breaking his own world record by eating almost 54 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Now, if you follow hot dog eating as much as I do, you know this fella usually doesn't have much competition, but I'm happy to inform you that he was pushed to the edge by American Joey Chestnut, who downed a very strong 52 dogs.

It's interesting to see that most of the competitors were normal size, save for Eric Booker, a 425 lb. behemoth from Long Island. From espn.com:

NEW YORK -- A 160-pound wonder from Japan set a record by devouring a sickening 53¾ frankfurters in 12 minutes to win the annual Independence Day hot dog eating competition on Coney Island.

The feat earned Takeru Kobayashi, 27, his sixth straight title in the event, held at the original Nathan's Famous hot dog stand on Brooklyn's seashore. His prize: the coveted Yellow Mustard Belt.

Kobayashi broke his record of 53½ hot dogs, set at the same competition two years ago.

Thousands of raucous spectators jammed the streets in front of the hot dog stand, a block from the famed Coney Island boardwalk, to watch the competition and Kobayashi -- a top-ranked eater who once ate 17.7 pounds of pan-seared cow brains to win $25,000.

His strongest competition was Joey Chestnut, a 220-pound civil engineering student from San Jose, Calif., who set a U.S. record by eating 50 hot dogs during a qualifying tournament in Las Vegas.

Chestnut jumped to an early lead in the competition, sometimes jamming franks into his mouth with two hands as the crowd roared.

But Chestnut struggled, red-faced, with veins bulging in his forehead, as the Japanese star methodically chomped dog after dog, often dipping them in a soft drink before cramming them into his mouth. Kobayashi passed Chestnut with about three minutes left in the contest.

Posted by: Denelle

I love July 4th. I love the bbq's, the fireworks, getting the day off work . . . all of it. And so it is with much expectation that I am looking forward to tomorrow. Last year I watched the Macy's Fireworks display overtop of the NYC skyline. I think it will forever be one of my most enjoyable memories (along with watching them under the Arch at the VP Fair). Talk about feeling patriotic. This year Macy's is scheduled to launch over 39,000 fireworks from each of 5 barges set up along the East River. I know most of you can't be there but I also know they the show is broadcast (like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade) and it is definitely worth a look, especially if your local fireworks show isn't anything to write home about.

However, I'm even more excited this year because I'm in CA (visiting my family) so there will be no big fireworks display, just some sparklers and maybe some small fountains. But I get to do the whole family/friends/bbq thing. I love NY but sometimes I forget how much I miss having a backyard.

So what are some fun things to add a little festivity to your day? Here are a few ideas from me (and grandma) that you may enjoy. Remember, the 4th is about family/friends and celebrating, don't spend all your time preparing . . . afterall, there are sparkelers to light.

When I was little grandma used to make a "flag" cake for the 4th. She took a regular cake (8 12 x 11 szie) and topped it with Cool Whip. Then she put blueberries in the corner (top left) and made rows of strawberries (leaving white "rows" showing) so the cake looked like this. The fruit/whipped cream made for a light and refreshing dessert.

Another option to add a little splash of color to your day is to take an ice cube tray, fill it partially with water and then add a blueberry or raspberry to each opening. The water should then cover the berry and you can freeze them. Add them to your drinks (iced tea, water or lemonade, etc) for a festive dash.

Don't forget to score your hot dogs so they plump and retain their flavor, and grill your chicked frozen so it keeps the juices. Add a little garlic butter to the hot dog/hamburger buns before you toss them on the grill for some added flavor.

Google is a great resource if you're looking for more ideas.

But most of all don't forget to hug the people you love and celebrate the freedom we enjoy.

Happy Birthday America!!!

Posted by: David Bunch

Scott Cairns is a poet and faculty member in the creative writing program at Missouri University, and he has won this year's Guggenheim Fellowship.

The prestigious award is given to recognize a recipient’s exceptional achievements and promise. The accompanying cash prize — which fluctuates based on need but in 2005 averaged at $38,236 — is intended to allow winners to further develop their talents, abilities and interests with as little constraint as possible.

Cairns is a poet who has published six volumes of poetry. He writes about faith and spirituality.

Much of Cairns' work is religious in tone or inspiration, owing to the fact that he is a former Baptist and Presbyterian who converted to Orthodox Christianity. However, his poems are anything but safe. His work blends the religious and sensual with humor and fierceness in what he describes as his desire to glimpse God in creation and other people.

This past April, Ninety and Nine editor and MU alumnus Kent Curry blogged live from Calvin College while listening to Cairns (and others) speak about creative writing. (Follow the link and scroll down to view).