feljr's Xanga

Friday, August 26, 2005

Fri, 26 Aug 2005 17:17:51 GMT

Read my thesis! (If you have a spare hour or two.)

In a work of this size--79 pages--there are no doubt typographical and other errors that I missed, even after multiple proofreadings. If you even think of pointing one out, I will tear out your innards and burn them in front of you.

I should have given it one of two epigraphs:

Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." -- Autobiography of Mark Twain

[I always thought that was just Twain. That it's Benjamin Disraeli makes me like it even better.]

Or...

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." --Aaron Levenstein

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Tue, 02 Aug 2005 02:59:45 GMT

Finally, a great answer to an annoying question.

"I got saved 2000 years ago, but only heard about it recently." --Michael Bird

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 09:40:00 GMT

Friday night, 9:33, Jackson International Airport. The revolution begins.

P.S.--Yesterday on Scrubs they definitely played "Come Around." Miller and Scrubs all at once was almost to much to handle.

Saturday, July 02, 2005

Sat, 02 Jul 2005 09:58:27 GMT

Public Corrections and Responses

All: Oops. I meant 1839, not 1939, for the date when John Lilley came from Stevington. My mom indicates it was actually 1833, though I thought she'd said 1839 before. I've got to start proofreading.

Vince: I think the Neshoba County Fair would welcome a liberal. They welcome Democrats, at least. The lineup for Thursday, when I'd like to go, is eight Democrats and two Republicans. On Wednesday it's five and three respectively. Here are the details. And plus, dude, there's going to be mule racing. (Okay, I'll grant they're Mississippi Democrats. I'm not saying it's going to be the MoveOn.org National Conclave. I'm just saying that I bet it'll be fun for all. Especially if you like mule racing.)

Luter: The Winter's Tale was good, though I'll grant quite strange. When the dead wife came back to life, he really lost me. I picked it because a) the time was most conventient and b) of the three shows they were doing it was the only one using "original practises" (as the Brits spell it).

Aight, I've got work to do now. I'm headed to Derry tomorrow for our last Mitchell event and must pack my recently hand-washed clothes. (Laundry is €5 a load here.) Plus, I have this small matter of a thesis to do.

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 18:04:12 GMT

People tell me I have an unusual name, but that's not true. I have a normal name in an unusual place.

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 10:30:23 GMT

Well, I'm back in Limerick. Travel was good, but it's good to be back. I've only a few weeks left here and will spend part of that time in Northern Ireland for Mitchell events. I'd love to go into more detail about the travel and whatnot, but I really should be cleaning/working on the thesis. In short, between June 6th and June 25th I climbed the second highest mountain in Ireland; didn't see the Loch Ness monster, though I did see Loch Ness; ran a marathon in Edinburgh; spent an entire day at the British Museum; went to Stevington, England, from whence John Lilley came to America in 1833; was accosted by two orange- and egg-throwing ten-year-olds in London; saw The Winter's Tale at the reconstructed Globe Theatre; found Gilwell Park, one of the first Boy Scout camps; went to the top of the Eiffel Tower; saw the landing beaches in Normandy; met the Prime Minister of Ireland; and saw U2 live at Croke Park in Dublin.

Some return-to-Mississippi plans are in the making. I've never been to the Neshoba County Fair, and for a political science major that just won't do. I'd like to go for the political speeches on the 28th. As I'm a) cheap and b) poor, I don't want to pay for a hotel or anything. I suppose I (or, preferably, we--anybody interested in going?) could drive up that morning, but I was thinking we could camp instead. If political speeches aren't your thing, there's mule racing in the afternoon and a fun run/walk (people racing?) in the morning. There's also a Trick Pony show that night, but I doubt that's worth anyone's time. It could only be a let-down after the mule races, anyway. So--any suggestions from folks who've been before? Anybody want to join in the festivities?

By the way, the link on my previous post went bad; but it's fixed now.

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Sun, 19 Jun 2005 09:03:35 GMT

Smith in the news.

Monday, June 13, 2005

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 17:00:18 GMT

One marathon down.

I can barely walk.

Friday, June 10, 2005

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 21:22:29 GMT

Being timed. Will be writing in sentence fragments.

In Edinburgh. Frickin' awesome. After a tour of the Scotch Whisky Museum, I found out the only other person in my tour group--Rajish (sp?), originally from India, but presently working for Novell in Utah--was a 1999 Mississippi State grad. Doing a bunch of random tours--Literary Pub Tour, tour of underground vaults, various and sundry museums. Will do Edinburgh Castle tomorrow. Went to Loch Ness and through Highlands yesterday. No monster, but great scenery.

The marathon is Sunday. Pray, meditate, channel your chi, and whatnot that I may finish. I'm feeling pretty good, though all these hills are killing my knees. They seem to have kept the bulk of the course pretty flat, fortunately.

Friday, May 27, 2005

Fri, 27 May 2005 21:54:04 GMT

Much to write, and not much time to write it. Thus, I must resort to a series of impromptus, Jay Nordlinger-style. (If you know who Jay Nordlinger is—and like him—you’ll be bumped up a notch or two on the friend rankings.) Here we go….

· Anne came for a visit, but she’s gone now. A great time was had. In addition to our general Limerick-area tourism and obligatory tour of the Cliffs of Moher and Burren, we went to Oxford to visit Judy Coleman and took a trip out to the Aran Islands. Oxford was incredible. I had fish and chips and a Guinness in The Eagle and Child, where Lewis, Tolkien, et al gathered after Inklings meetings. I’d love to study there (Oxford, that is, though I’m sure I’d frequent the pub as well) someday, but I still maintain that the Mitchell Scholarship is better than the Rhodes. (I bet Rhodes Scholars don’t get free tickets to see U2 in Dublin.) The Aran Islands were wonderful, as well. Pictures, I hope, will be up soon.

· I’ve had to catch up on running this week, however. Seven miles yesterday, nine the day before. I’ll take today and tomorrow off before attempting twenty on Sunday afternoon. I’m eating a pot full of spaghetti in the interim. (I make good spaghetti now, by the way.) The twenty mile trek will be my longest before the marathon on June 12^th. I ran 16 on the Wednesday before Anne’s arrival, and then stayed up all night finishing essays. I could barely walk, but I am (in the words of fellow Mitchell and roommate Zach) “much man.”

· I wandered into the “Contemplative Centre”—the chapel in the terminology of most any other college. Contemplation did not ensue. I found myself snatching some Benny Hinn brochures that somebody had left on a stand, twisting them into a mass, and throwing them on the ground. I can tolerate a lot, but not that damn crook profiting off people looking for God. (Don’t believe me? Go to the Trinity Foundation’s exposé. And for the record, I use the word damn quite literally there.) There were also some brochures promising that if you prayed the words inside six times a day for nine days and left nine copies of the prayer a day in a church, then God would grant whatever you asked. I wasn’t aware that God worked like magic aspirin, but I should try praying for Benny Hinn to go away. If you’re wondering, no, I didn’t throw away the brochures. Manipulation makes me angry, but superstition merely sad.

· I promised at one point an essay about the church and conservatives. It looks like I’m never going to get around to it, so let me offer some abbreviated reflections. Around the time of the “Justice Sunday” mess I got quite irritated. I’m for conservative judges—or, more properly, judges with originalist interpretations of the constitution. I’ll vote for presidents that will appoint them and senators that will confirm them. Making judicial appointments an issue for the church, though, is dangerous confusion. Too many conservative Christians have gotten this idea that it’s their job to fix the world through politics—stopping gay marriage and abortion particularly. I’m opposed to both, believe both are prohibited by scripture, and believe both are bad public policy. But the church nevertheless can’t let itself become too wrapped up in politics. The answer to cultural problems isn’t something the church does. It is the church. The world is fallen and will remain so until the return of Christ. Until then judgment should begin with our own house. To the degree that the church engages in political involvement to the detriment of serving as the Body of Christ—of loving the least of these, of preaching to truth to people of all political stripes—it commits idolatry. Certainly, Christians should engage the culture and serve as salt and light in the world; but when the moral stance of the church becomes indistinguishable from that of the Republican Party likely something has gone awry. (Or vice versa: Witness Jesse Jackson, who seems to care more about Jesse than he does about Jesus these days.) The church moral mission “as aliens and strangers in the world” is to “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” (1 Pet. 2:11). It is not to make the world perfect—or to side with political parties (assuming we’re talking about reasonable differences, here). Or maybe Matthew 28 actually says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the Republican Party.” Or maybe we should just kick all the Democrats out of the church. My faith influences my politics. It has to if you take it seriously. I’m sure it equally influences, say, Luter’s, though our political views are nothing alike. How we apply scripture and faith to politics isn’t always clear in this broken world. When God makes all known to us, I’m suspect we’ll both find out we’ve been mistaken in many respects. Until that time, charity and humility is required. “Only let us live up to what we have already obtained” (1 Phil. 3:16)—faith in Jesus which makes such divisions trivial.

· I’m not in as bad a mood as the previous spiel indicates. I can’t be, because I’m listening to Fred, a band out of Cork that rocks my face off even more than Chomsky. Do yourself a favor and download some Fred. Several mp3’s--including “Emmett’s on Fire,” “The Wondering Geologist,” and “Colour of the Numbers,” and “The Parsnip Song,” some of my favorites—are available. A lyrical example: “I’m in love with a scientific girl / She understands chaos, entomology, and me.” Brilliant. Seriously, get you some Fred.

· Since there’s a Fred the Band tribute band, Ted the Band, I’m brainstorming names for the Bad Feng Shui tribute band. The Skinny Donkeys? The Dead Skunks? No, no, this has to be it—Frank Stallone.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ve got to get some thesis work done (and get some sleep). I’ll leave you with some Fred applicable to my travels of late: “I can’t describe the things I’ve seen / Or share with you the food I’ve tried / Can only show you photographs / But they are only inches wide.” Gotta get you some Fred.