interesting clip

I know nothing about this book or doctor but thought this was pretty sweet.
The Scalpel and the Soul
http://www.allanhamilton.com/

Quick bio - After studying art in college, which earned him a career as a janitor, Allan J. Hamilton, MD, FACS, went on to attend Harvard Medical School, and to become the chief of neurosurgeon and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center. He currently holds a main appointment as a Professor in Neurosurgeon as well as professorships in Radiation Oncology, Psychology, and Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. Hamilton also is the Executive Director of The Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center (ASTEC) at The University of Arizona College of Medicine.

whiteness

Is it ok that I find this site funny? Or does that make me racially insensitive? I just think the featured stuffs show insight.
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

There are 78 likes to date.


#1 Coffee

There is no doubt that white people love coffee. Yes, it’s true that asians like iced coffee and people of all races enjoy it. But I promise you that the first person at your school to drink coffee was a white person. You could kind of tell they didn’t enjoy it, but they did it anyways until they liked it - like cigarettes.

White people all need Starbucks, Second Cup or Coffee Bean. They are also fond of saying “you do NOT want to see me before I get my morning coffee.” White guys will also call it anything but coffee: “rocket fuel,” “java,” “joe,” “black gold,” and so forth. It’s pretty garbage all around.

If you want to go for extra points - white people really love FAIR TRADE coffee, because paying the extra $2 means they are making a difference.

Someone is paying attention. I had a housemate in college that LOVED his coffee and took all sorts of precious care to drink the best damn coffee he could.

balance

Nothing to do with what I want to say. Just a great (meaning ridiculous) email.
I received an email this morning from a coworker. This is not even close to being the first email like the following. And this colleague is a former English teacher. Maybe there's a reason unnamed left that profession.

My mailbox is full every other day and this project was done for last fall so No emails here. We only reproduced it because the [company] ran out of stock. I don’t believe it was to be a continuous this really.

"I don’t believe it was to be a continuous this really." Don't be fooled, the period at the end of this string of words does not make this a sentence. And I'm not one to always stay within the rules for writing but at least it makes sense.

And while I'm on the subject of writing, I have another friend that currently teaches 8th grade English. I witnessed the grading of some papers this past spring. One particular student wrote a one page paper, maybe two, about Martin Luther King, Jr. However, he was referred to as MLK every time throughout the paper. EVERY time. Ummm, that's not good. That's like a sports article about a game that never gives the score or winner.

Smooth segue.


Get back to work kid.

Wife and I are loving our time with the kiddo. Growing, smiling, laughing, grabbing, wobbling, playing, exploring. We spent Friday evening at a high school basketball game and as far as I could tell he was watching the game. So cool.

Wife and I love picturing our hopes for him and the rest of the clan as it grows. One thing we have begun to discuss is money and chores. And how it will relate to their view of Father. We want them to know (as I do) that Father loves them lavishly and he gives freely. So we know that at least initially we model the Father for them.

So how do you balance this with teaching them work, responsibility, perseverance, doing something well?

Our current thought goes something like this. As parents, we give them money when they need it or when we want to. We buy them stuff when they need it or we want to. We lavish our love on them. We give freely. We do NOT pay for helping around the house. We separate giving and receiving from doing or accomplishment. They need to be untied within the family.

But as friends of families with children, we invite these kids over to help with chores and pay them. Would you mow my lawn for $15? Would you shovel my snowy driveway for $10? Would you take out and bring in our trash cans for $2? And hopefully they do the same for our kids.

This way we've created some separation between how they receive from their parents but they also learn about work. What are your thoughts on this?

How does one as a parent balance this with doing necessary chores around the house? Do we demand their help? That doesn't seem to line up. Do we as parents just take on that responsibility? Will that be one part of modeling Father and sacrificial love? I suppose my hope is that they love being with me or their mother and would like to be with us while we happen to be doing chores. Win-win.

I really would like some feedback on this one. Especially if you are already a parent.

Billy the Kid

I like the looks of this.

I’d like to be a superhero. Some of the benefits of being a superhero would be you get to save people who are innocent and fight those who are guilty…while sometimes you win the heart of a damsel that you rescue. Unfortunately I’ve never been the savior of a damsel, though I hope someday I will be.

sounds like

My voice is not its ordinary self today. I think I sound like a tonton.

Workmates have said I sound like the following.
gay
Alan Rickman
Bea Arthur

funniest email of the day

I know it's only two o'clock but I'm pretty sure this will win the funniest email I get today award. This was forwarded to me from a friend with only, "Hmm."

Subject: Large portable screen

Is anyone using it or is anyone using it? Thanks.

Barbara N...
Media Specialist
K... Local Schools

Pick me out a winner Bobby.

Someone's gonna need a new bat.

I want to be clear, this is a picture I thieved from an old friend's blog. I don't feel bad about that.

I love the moment captured in this photo. Especially the little girl in pink. "Come here bat. Come here little, friendly, flying bat." And her Dad, "Whoa, I've got the not-in-harms-way side of your head but fend for yourself my precious daughter." Gotta imagine he took a lot of crap from family and friends for his strong parental instincts on that one. Maybe it's just his niece?


And then there's the jaw BEFORE it had to be surgically repaired. It's slow mo baby. How did he not get his hands up at all?

There's the lady trying to peel the cheese off of her pizza box that never saw it coming. And the guy two rows up that doesn't flinch and is smiling to himself and thinking, "Man, I'm glad that's not me in Row F, Seat 4." The lady in brown, "Thank the Lord my frosty malt is safe."

And finally the little redhead in the front row. "Look, I'm on the jumbotron."

New music, to me (mostly)

If anyone still reads this, I have found a couple of new music makers that I've fallen in like with. Maybe it's only one song but I just wanted to share them. Some I've known about for awhile and just haven't posted. Some are new as of yesterday.

Flight of the Conchords - I like these guys. They are funny and not serious. But creative and... funny. (Do you ever find yourself trapped into a sentence? I do with thank you notes because I use pen. Not quite so much on the computer but I like the stream of it so sometimes avoid the backspace key.) Storytellers, storytellers. That's what I wanted to say.

A friend sums it up like this:

I love these guys. They're just two dorks who started recording themselves and their stupid humor and it turned into a BBC radio spot, then eventually the HBO show. What is up with that?! YES!

Listen all the way to the end. You'll be surprised at what you learn.





And make sure you carve out some time to watch ALL of their other clips on youtube.

Keller Williams - Maybe this is easy, but I just like watching him create the loops. It's gimmicky and I likey. I still remember when I first saw this happen live. Neat-o.
And it helps he doesn't suck.



Kyle Hollingsworth (via String Cheese Incident) - I sure do dig good piano. Especially this first track. Hopefully "Boo Boo's Pik-a-Nik" plays. And I enjoy his versatility even though I can't listen to much of it for very long. Maybe I'd call that musicianship?

I think if I could not have to work at it and play any instrument really, really well it would be this one. As in people would stop to listen when I played. I have a few friends that I have crushes on because of the little black and white keys they travel so easily.

As a side, I caught the Ray Brown Trio in Cleveland in the late 90s. (Best class assignment I've ever had.) Geoffrey Keezer was playing keys with him. He's got the goods. And I just learned he'll be in the 'Nati at the end of the month. That's just a friendly tip.

M. Ward - "Chinese Translation" reminds me of a Johnny Cash tune. In general I like the instrumentation, the voice, the tempo, the simplicity.

Good writing

It's been a while since I've heard this, but today I did. And this is one of my favorite verses in song.
And I use the word "verse" loosely here.

My name is Sue.
How do you do?
Now you gonna die.

Brilliant.

Thank you Mr. Cash. Today I'm reminded that I miss your songwriting.

Demographics can be fun

I took Western Civilization when I was a sophomore in high school. It was an AP class which means college level. College level means hard. Big mistake on my part.

On one of the exams an essay question directed me to do something with demographics. Use them to support my response, talk about them, who knows. So I raised my hand like any properly trained student who has been told there is no dumb question and asked, "What are demographics?" Apparently I missed the training session where they tell you the teacher doesn't have to actually answer your question. Instead I got, "You probably should have asked that before the test."

If I could have that moment back I would like to say, "Well I guess I won't be answering this question." Oooh, in her face. You won't be surprised to hear I opted not to take that AP exam. That was the one good decision I made in that class.

I know what demographics are now.

Oompa-Loompa genius

This is just too good not to share. As simple and childish as it is, the awesomeness is undeniable. It rings with me as I frequently consider dismantling the TV. Or maybe just the cable.

From my friend Roald Dahl, care of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
I just finished reading this and was thoroughly impressed with the Oompa-Loompa songs. This one I read out loud to wife last night before our first born interrupted. But I got through most of it. (I have not double checked the accuracy but it looks pretty close.)

The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set --
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink --
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

the bad first

I have found myself going through this March Madness type tournament on CMT.com today. 64 videos from amateur/semi-pro country/not-so-country musicians. There are a bunch, as in a BUNCH, of not good songs. I only write this to say you know a song is not going to be good when it is titled "I Still Think About You" and the first line is "I just googled your name again." I am pretty sure but any reference to Google disqualifies a song from respectability unless you're Brad Paisley. I think that dude can sing about anything he wants.

This does make me feel better about my own writing that has taken a multi-year hiatus.

However, this gives me a chance to start what is hopefully a reoccurring occurrence here. What I think would make a good movie or song title. The newest is Lonely Kingdom. I think this could make for a fine movie one day. I'd probably go see it. How could that not be good.

Oh, and one of the videos was made in my old home town outside of Cleveland. How wacko is that?

News rag

Here is a portion of an email I sent the boss to update her on the family status last Thursday.

We're all doing well and Jackson seems very content to sleep and be loved. I attached a couple of pictures but please ask everybody not to sell any of these photos to the tabloids. They are all trying to get the first picture (and paying top dollar I might add) but we want to keep him out of the international spotlight as much as possible.
Thanks.

When I got into the office Tuesday somebody had worked this up.

repositioning

I thought this was a really interesting video. 20 minutes, but you'll be engaged.
Rethink your assumptions.

the elusive bride

Do you know who the bride is? Not you or me or him or her alone, but us together. Us together is her, the bride. I'm just getting my brain wrapped around this. I'm seeing more that this is the Church. And big church Sunday style is not the Church. And the various house churches are not the church. It may be expressions, but not it. That's my growing understanding of the bride, and it's challenging.

That's my super quick background on why I thought this was a really great email I got to peek in on.

You know God was able to give Moses some very specific instructions on how to build the tabernacle. If He had wanted to, He could have done the same quite easily in defining what were the important sacraments, what day of the week we should meet, and what were the 17 key points to have in our statement of faith. Instead “He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

With all that there were arguments and schisms in the NT church too. I guess many of Paul’s letters (those that survived and those that didn’t) addressed that.

So do you think we have been doing it all wrong for 1700 or so years now since Constantine?

I suppose the problem is that you can’t really define what is beyond definition in some sense. People want an ecclesiology that they can see, understand, control, or at least that is definitive, ordered, and structured in some sense. They see a pattern or system to everything in the created world and expect the same in the church. What you’re describing is far too dynamic. People want to see and know what their role is in all of this. After all these years, we still want a king of our own flesh, just like Israel and a defined kingdom. We want a simpler order, hierarchy, methodology, or system. The order within a fractal is too complex!

Anyway…just some thoughts. In some sense its very simple to grasp. In another, it’s way over our heads, and not wanted because it’s not within our control, nor does it have the appearance of order in a simple way.