GO SEE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
I'm on a four movie winning streak-- Doubt, Milk, Gran Torino, and Slumdog. I think Frost Nixon is possibly next. Anyone want to go?
In other news, my sister is working to get me to listen to music made this millenium. If you want an excellent Pandora station, try You and I by Ingrid Michaelson, You Don't Know me by Ben Folds and Regina Spektor, Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend, and Damnit Anna by the Morning Benders.
Life as a nonengineer is wonderful. I am looking forward to going to four out of five classes, with the only exception being Statistics where we're currently on scatterplots.
Steelers 26 Cardinals 17
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Benji and I were talking just talking about what it would take for P.B.O. to not get a second term. Benji thinks it would be possible for someone else to beat him if the economy is still in the tank in 4 years. I think we'd need to find out that Barry is screwing Rick Warren, Barney Frank, or Hillary Clinton.
I'm pretty supportive of most of the actions he's taken so far. I'm not thrilled with the trillion dollar stimulus, but as long as a significant chunk of it is tax rebates (and not just welfare hiding as tax rebates), I'll live with it. I'm thrilled that he's closing Guantanamo. I don't know what the better alternative would be, but I don't think a secret prison where we don't give prisoners any kind of right to a trial is a good example of the republican government we are trying to spread around the world and ends up being a good recruiting tool for terrorists.
I'm pretty supportive of most of the actions he's taken so far. I'm not thrilled with the trillion dollar stimulus, but as long as a significant chunk of it is tax rebates (and not just welfare hiding as tax rebates), I'll live with it. I'm thrilled that he's closing Guantanamo. I don't know what the better alternative would be, but I don't think a secret prison where we don't give prisoners any kind of right to a trial is a good example of the republican government we are trying to spread around the world and ends up being a good recruiting tool for terrorists.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
I went to a rodeo tonight. Matt's dad had company box tickets, and they invited me. There was a huge (50 foot) American flag. We prayed before it started. Matt and I were tempted to chant "Yes we can," but never did. One of the stars was whiplash, the cowboy monkey. They had an event where little kids rode bucking sheep called "mutton busting." Overall, it was a pretty epic Saturday night.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
I went to Rocky Horror Picture Show last night. It was super bizarre and awesome. Then I realized that my mom used to go to that. A lot. Was she really one of those people?????? hella weird.
Sorry(?) I haven't posted in a really long time... nothing to write about, I guess. Merry CHristmas, I guess? I hope it's a good one (without any fear). Hopefully not too much consumerism stressing everyone out... I wish I had experienced the mall so that I could see how stressed everything was... I did all of my shopping at Barnes and Noble, and managed to get my whole family books that they enjoyed. It led to a quiet Christmas since we all had our noses in books, but I was pleased that I didn't epically fail at knowing my families tastes.
I'm part of the way through A Prayer for Owen Meany (thanks efar) and Into the Wild (thanks like 12 angsty teenagers). I've also finished Jesus wants to Save Christians, Rob Bell's latest. He lays out a systematic theology that is much more political/global than anything I've ever read by him. It all centers around Exodus and how God led them out of Egypt and from oppression, and then cautions us from becoming Solomon's Israel and focussing on accumulating wealth and arms. It sounds a lot like anything that Shane Claiborne would write, although much more Biblically focussed. All are great and I recommend them.
damn... 3 more weeks until Blacksburg. Why do we not start around the 10th like normal schools? Oh well, I should be able to knock out a lot of the reading I've wanted to do. I still have something by Brian McLaren and something by Ravi Zacharias that I'd like to read.
Sorry(?) I haven't posted in a really long time... nothing to write about, I guess. Merry CHristmas, I guess? I hope it's a good one (without any fear). Hopefully not too much consumerism stressing everyone out... I wish I had experienced the mall so that I could see how stressed everything was... I did all of my shopping at Barnes and Noble, and managed to get my whole family books that they enjoyed. It led to a quiet Christmas since we all had our noses in books, but I was pleased that I didn't epically fail at knowing my families tastes.
I'm part of the way through A Prayer for Owen Meany (thanks efar) and Into the Wild (thanks like 12 angsty teenagers). I've also finished Jesus wants to Save Christians, Rob Bell's latest. He lays out a systematic theology that is much more political/global than anything I've ever read by him. It all centers around Exodus and how God led them out of Egypt and from oppression, and then cautions us from becoming Solomon's Israel and focussing on accumulating wealth and arms. It sounds a lot like anything that Shane Claiborne would write, although much more Biblically focussed. All are great and I recommend them.
damn... 3 more weeks until Blacksburg. Why do we not start around the 10th like normal schools? Oh well, I should be able to knock out a lot of the reading I've wanted to do. I still have something by Brian McLaren and something by Ravi Zacharias that I'd like to read.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Micro-lending
Something noteworthy from a book I am reading on Micro-lending:
One thing that I love about the system that Professor Yunnus, the author, has created is that it is simultaneously holistic and focused on the individual. It truly promotes markets and requires hard work and responsibility.
One thing that I am trying to do while reading this book is to connect successful methods of economic development with the methods we should use for spiritual development. Yunnus is very clear that he wants capital and opportunity and responsibility to be thrust directly on to the poor, not transferred through many hands where everyone gets to take a cut. How often do we spread spiritual fulfillment through local churches and committees and ministries where 10% of the church does 90% of the work spiritual renewal is never taken to the masses. I'll probably be writing more about this book and exploring the economic-spirituality relationship more later, because it is baller.
Development should be viewed as a human rights issue, not as a question of simply increasing the gross national product. When the national economy picks up, the situation of the poor is not necessarily improved. Therefore development should be redefined. It should refer only to a positive measurable change in per capita income of the bottom 50 percent of the population.
One thing that I love about the system that Professor Yunnus, the author, has created is that it is simultaneously holistic and focused on the individual. It truly promotes markets and requires hard work and responsibility.
One thing that I am trying to do while reading this book is to connect successful methods of economic development with the methods we should use for spiritual development. Yunnus is very clear that he wants capital and opportunity and responsibility to be thrust directly on to the poor, not transferred through many hands where everyone gets to take a cut. How often do we spread spiritual fulfillment through local churches and committees and ministries where 10% of the church does 90% of the work spiritual renewal is never taken to the masses. I'll probably be writing more about this book and exploring the economic-spirituality relationship more later, because it is baller.
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