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And miles to go before I sleep December 22, 2006

Posted by Patrick in : Random , add a comment

The days become longer starting today!

Back in the ’90’s

Posted by Patrick in : Christianity, Reading , add a comment

Since we disconnected the internet a few weeks ago, my reading has drastically increased. Here are a few things that I’ve read recently:

A Simple Plan (Scott Smith) - Like the movie, the grief of hiding secrets, both small and large, were difficult not to empathize with. A Simple Plan tells the story of two brothers and a friend finding a treasure in a field, and their efforts to keep it. The plan was to keep the money stashed away for six months, split it three ways, and each leave town separately.

It was interesting and sad watching the characters’ relationships deteriorate as half-truths and deceit muddied up both their inner and outer lives. If anything, it showed me the seriousness of sin, especially when it’s unconfessed.

Evangelism: Doing Justice & Preaching Grace (Harvie Conn) - This book is a short one that I picked up at a conference a month and a half ago. Don’t let the title throw you off. The book was written in 1982 and I think that the connotations of the word evangelism have continued to sink since then.

In just over 100 pages, the book basically fills out why the Christian life needs to be both word and deed. It focuses more on the church (community of believers) and why social healing must be part and parcel with gospel-saturated teaching.

He fleshed this out with his twelve-year experience of helping those trapped in Korean prostitution rings. When he went to Korea, he understood the gospel just as calling individual sinners to repentance and faith. His prostitute hearers were merely the subjects and agents of sin. Though many listened, he saw little fruit.

As he continued to work with the prostitutes, he came to understand how the gospel needed to speak to not just sinners, but also the sinned-against. He witnessed how many of the women, because of their circumstances, were buried in guilt and shame because of the extreme debt they had toward those who imprisoned them. It really wasn’t their fault that they were in prostitution.

As he learned this, Conn’s compassion began to grow. He worked toward changing the system while speaking a message of Christ dignifying the shamed. The gospel started to break through and become a reality to the girls. They began to taste “the power of the new day that has come”.

Parable (Carlos Delgado) - This short story was written by my friend Carlos (not the same Carlos Delgado who plays MLB). I was impressed by this one. Many will find it sad and depressing, but I kind of like these themes of overbearing mothers who completely smother their children until the point of madness. I look forward to other works.

Ankeny Briefcase December 16, 2006

Posted by Patrick in : Friends, Reading , 1 comment so far

If you’re looking for a last minute Christmas gift for your bibliophile friends, pick up the Ankeny Briefcase. It’s a collection of various short stories from young, upcoming writers. This endorsement, of course, has nothing to do with my friend Carlos who was just published in it. Is he the next Flannery O’Connor? You’ll have to buy it to make that judgment.

Another Magnetic Fields Post December 15, 2006

Posted by Patrick in : Music , 2 comments

There seems to be a lot these days.

Reading the latter post earlier today about the superiority of Charm of the Highway Strip caused me to interrupt my normal scheduled routine (listen to my mp3 library on random) and slap in their first dual-album disc, The Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees. My roommate in college would often say that this album sounded like they recorded it in a tin box. Although Merritt doesn’t sing on either of these, Susan Anway’s soft vocals complete his ironic lyrics just fine.

As the album neared its completion, I almost forgot about its closing gem: 100,000 Fireflies. Can songs get better than this? If you never heard it before, I found a link. I also found a punky Superchunk cover that I never heard until now.

Rope December 11, 2006

Posted by Patrick in : House , 4 comments

The painting of the apartment has officially begun. A friend and I put the first coat on this past Saturday. The official title of the paint was Ancestral Gold, but it turned out to be more of a limey gold. Unfortunately, it didn’t go too well with the brick in the room.

After doing some research on the internet, the experts at apartmenttherapy recommended a white/off-white so the walls wouldn’t compete with the brick. Their advice was to use the brick as the accent wall.

So in honor of one of my favorite films, it was repainted to Rope. I wish I had some photos, but I am sans camera at the moment.

Congrats Colin December 5, 2006

Posted by Patrick in : Friends , 3 comments

For when I am wiik, then I am strong.

The car was towed (again) December 4, 2006

Posted by Patrick in : Pittsburgh , 4 comments

On Saturday night, I parked at my new place in an area that I usually do not park in. It was normal street parking a bit beyond my own house. Anyway, I parked, visited my place to pick out some paint colors and then walked over to the new Borders.

After running into Albert, I returned around 12:45 to a bare patch of pavement instead of the Mercury Sable that I was expecting. At first, I thought someone stole it. But there was no broken glass. Then, the driveway came in view and I followed with a palm to the forehead. Somehow, I missed the driveway that I parked in front of.

So, I picked up the car today via the bus and paid the $139 tab. Ouch!

In other news…Pittsburghers, have you seen Google Transit? We’re one of the few areas in the country that has our public transportation routes searchable within Google Maps.