For V-day February 14, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Christianity, Reading , 4 commentsFirst, real quickly…you can download Lisa & Ralph’s famous valentines here. You know, the ones with I Choo Choo Choose You and Let’s Bee Friends.
Also, I’ve been meaning to post an article that I found on the web a couple years ago. And given the subject matter, what’s a more perfect day that Valentine’s to do it? The article is titled Gospel-Community: Singleness, Marriage & Family. It used to be hosted at the veritas page at Chosun Journal. But during the past several months, the link has been broken. I thought it was lost and gone forever. But my friend Tim reminded me of good old google cache. So we managed to salvage it.
Hopefully, Tim Keller and those at Redeemer church don’t mind me hosting it. If you do, let me know. Keller had some interesting things to say about dating. He identifies both traditional and contemporary idols of marriage/singleness and offers some practical advice that avoids both of these and prompts faith. You can download it here [PDF]. The following are a couple highlights that I thought were good:
While traditional societies tend to make an idol out of marriage (because it makes an idol out of the family and tribe), contemporary societies tend to make an idol of independence (because it makes an idol out of individual choice and happiness.) While the traditional motive for marriage was social duty, stability, and status, the contemporary motive for marriage is for personal fulfillment. Both of these motives are partially true, of course, but they tend to become ultimates if the gospel has not changed your mind and heart (emphasis mine).
and
Paul refers to his singleness as a ‘gift’ in 1 Cor 7:7. Since he almost immediately afterwards says, “but if they cannot control themselves they should marry” (v.8), Paul probably means that a single ‘gift’ consists of a very low ‘felt need’ for a romantic relationship or marriage. We need to make a few cautionary remarks here, however. a) First, it is possible that a ‘low need’ for relationships is not from God but is a sign of a deep idolatry of personal freedom. Or it may be an inability to create deep relationships in general. Don’t mistake a selfish spirit or an inability to keep friendships or a fear/disdain of the opposite sex as a ’single gift’! In other words, we should not be too quick to accept a lack of romantic desire as a ‘gift’ from God. Unless you’ve done some serious dating and made a true effort, you can’t be sure about your own heart in this regard. b) Second, it is possible that a ‘gift’ like this is not a permanent condition but rather something given for a definite period of time. It must be reevaluated periodically. c) Third, it is not possible for a man or woman to be so sure of ‘God’s calling’ that they ever totally close off the possibility of marriage. You should stay open to God by allowing yourself to be in a more ‘passive’ mode for dating. Don’t seek but don’t refuse.
A logo February 9, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Sports, Friends , 2 comments
We needed a logo because we’re making T-shirts this season. My teammate Lauren’s coworker irons these puppies on somehow. It’s not nearly as good of a job as my brother could do, but I think it turned out alright. GIMP’s a quality program.
David Berman at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium February 8, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Music , 1 comment so farInstead of going to the Low concert at Mr. Small’s tonight, I joined Matt & Jolie to listen to the beats and rhythmns of David Berman at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium in Oakland. Actually, he didn’t have much beat or rhytmn to him. He talked in a more conversational, flat tone. Not too much intonation or flare. But his voice was likeable.
I think it was the first poetry reading I’ve been to. He read at the same place that I saw Andrew Bird a few months ago. Concentrating was difficult. I think I have a difficult time with attention during lectures. Poetry amplified this problem. With poetry being so dense and compact, it was difficult to follow his train of thought (if there was any). Other than one poem about love, it was hard for me to see the big picture (then again, if there was any). Only certain phrases or lines stood out to me.
The time that he actually read was pretty short. Literally, he read for half an hour. But it was free. And it was fun to go out.
The south side does not disappoint February 6, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Sports, Pittsburgh , 2 commentsWow. The Steelers won it. And as others have commented, it was not the most interesting of super bowls (at least for neutral viewers). But it was great to watch the Steelers pull out a victory. If you’d like to read some highlights of the game, read Adrian’s post.
Watching the game in the south side was the best decision, hands down. Unfortunately, most of my friends opted to see it at some house parties in the area. And I was tempted to go, but something told me the south side would erupt with frenzy after a win (or even a loss).
Since I couldn’t find any wingmen, I flew solo. I got to the south side around 3:30, which allowed me a couple hours to walk up and down Carson street to take some photos. Hopefully, I’ll post them on my flickr site soon. I’ll let everyone know.
And I ended up watching the game at Mario’s. People crammed in. I somehow managed a pretty decent viewing spot despite arriving right before kickoff. Plus, it offered me some good angles to snap some photos.
The game brought out things in me that I didn’t know existed. It was an incredible good time to continually be embracing the people next to you in black and gold joy. The number of high fives exchanged in that twenty block stretch of carson must have broken some record last night.
After our victory, the bars spilled out to the streets where the fans just went nuts. Thankfully, the entire street was shut down to traffic. There weren’t even parked cars. All the side streets were closed too. There was a host of sights. Some were making snow angels on the asphalt. Others were tearing their shirts off. Still others hung out of windows while people on the ground waved their terrible towels and Steelers flags. At another point, these two guys ran an extension cord that stretched for about three quarters of a block from their apartment. They plugged in an amp and a bass on the corner of 20th and Carson, set up a drumset, and played some Steelers fight songs for the crowd. There were literally hundreds (maybe a few thousand) on the entire stretch of East Carson last night.
And it seriously reminded me of heaven. Because you saw all these social groups unified in the strangest of ways. Punks were hugging yuppies. Jocks were high-fivin’ goths. Everyone was unified under the black and gold.
After nearly two hours of celebrating, the cops came out in all flavours - k-9s, horse-mounted, motorcycles, riot gear, undercover, etc. - and started to disperse the crowd. A PAT bus doubled as a makeshift holding cell that slowly drove behind the police brigade. Any agressive resistors were handcuffed and detained there. But by this time, it was around midnight and cold. So I headed home. But just before that, a few stranded guys from Scranton offered me $20 for me to drive them back to their hotel in Crafton. I did and more than recouped my bar tab from earlier.
It was a blast.
More news of steelers fandom February 2, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Sports , 2 commentsIf the heart attack weren’t enough, here’s another one. In fear of delivering her baby on super bowl sunday, a Pittsburgh woman asked the doctor to induce labor early. They were slated to give birth early Wednesday morning, but as things will have it, she started to give birth two hours prior to the scheduled time. The baby’s name is Joella. Jo for Joey Porter, Ell for Randel El and A for Allan Faneca. God help our city.