Joke of the Day, 9/23/08

09/23/2008, 7:00 am -- by Bweinh | 1 Comment

A man walks into a bar with a newt on his shoulder. He told the bartender that the newt’s name was Tiny.

“Why?” asked the bartender.

“Because he’s my newt!”

The Council’s Ruling — Lunch

09/22/2008, 12:30 pm -- by Bweinh | 2 Comments

This and every Monday, the Bweinh!tributors, having convened in secret for hours of reasoned debate and consideration, will issue a brief and binding ruling on an issue of great societal import.

This week’s question — If you could only eat one lunch for the rest of your life, what would it be?

The Council was unable to issue a majority ruling.

MCB offers this opinion, joined by Job and Connie:

A submarine sandwich with everything on it; it’s delicious and gets me my vegetables for the meal, sometimes for the day.

Steve offers this opinion, joined by Djere:

A simple, fresh cheeseburger with all the fixins. The best when done right.

Kaitlin offers this opinion:

If I could make it myself, then sauteed vegetables, chips and salsa, half a melon with yogurt in the middle, and hummus. All the delicious foods that just aren’t the same at college.

Tom offers this opinion:

Ham and swiss on rye. Quick, easy, delicious. Sophisticated while accessible, and interesting enough in flavor to not get old quickly.

David offers this opinion:

Free — for obvious reasons.

Josh offers this opinion:

Pizza. It’s the food I’m least likely to get tired of.

Erin, Chloe, and Mike played no part in the determination of this issue.

Next time: Is the US economy in significant trouble?

It’s Better Than Nothing

09/22/2008, 11:26 am -- by Steve | 5 Comments

I could survive for 1 minute, 19 seconds

Tension and Balance

09/22/2008, 10:00 am -- by David | 7 Comments

“It is the sea that shapes the sailor, and the land that shapes the sea . . .”
Rich Mullins, “The Breaks”

While we were checking out of Wal-Mart on Saturday, the subject of Sarah Palin came up, and I was astounded to find out that my son-in-law had no idea who she was. He had not even heard of her yet. I guess all that really means is that ”” as pervasive as coverage of her has been ”” it has not yet filtered down into the virtual environment of World of Warcraft.

Perhaps it\’s not so astounding. It started a good discussion about politics and presidential candidates, though, and eventually he asked me to explain the difference between liberals and conservatives. After considering and discarding various statements, I decided to fall back on the standard explanation that liberals basically favor more government involvement in our lives, while conservatives seek less.

I know that is an oversimplified statement of the opposing views, but in our country it is pretty accurate. Both views are necessary. Obviously no one wants to live without government oversight and regulation of society. I like to know that the bridge I\’m driving over has been engineered and built to some kind of safety standards, and I actually welcome government interference when my neighbors are partying in their driveway till the wee hours of the morning and I can ask a policeman to go by and have them turn the music down.

On the other hand, while some people are talking about the government hitting the oil companies with outrageous windfall profit taxes, I ask myself, “Would I want the government to step in when I have a good month at work and take another 30% of my profits ”” in addition to what I already paid?”

No, I wouldn\’t. I don\’t want them to have so much control over things that they stifle productivity and initiative by removing the rewards that come with hard work. That thinking has always led to failure in communist or socialist societies.

The chief impetus for civilization is the ability to pool our resources and create a system that gives us access to services and benefits that we could never afford on our own: libraries, courts, police, military. To accomplish that, we surrender some of our wealth by paying taxes. It also makes it possible to care for the poor among us. Our nation functions best by maintaining a good balance between the two opposing views; the tension keeps us from going off the deep end in either direction.

Liberals force conservatives like me to do a better job of helping the poor, protecting the environment, and being proactive on health care and other social issues. We force them to understand how a free market system works to generate the wealth necessary to perform the costly services that they want society to provide. In this country, we also serve to remind them that there is a God who has standards. We are committed to seeing those standards reflected in our national psyche, even when they run afoul of the liberal ideas on abortion, homosexuality, and other social issues.

We ended up having a good conversation, and I feel confident that my son-in-law at least has an inkling of who Sarah Palin is. And who knows: maybe now the Republicans have a shot at the 17 World of Warcraft electoral votes in November.

Quote of the Day, 9/22/08

09/22/2008, 7:00 am -- by Bweinh | No Comments

“Sport is a moral undertaking because it requires of participants, and it schools spectators in the appreciation of, noble things — courage, grace under pressure, sportsmanship. Sport should be the triumph of character, openly tested . . . “ — G. Will

Three Links (Vol. 5)

09/21/2008, 1:26 pm -- by Steve | 2 Comments

Just walked back from church through a brisk, delightful mist, appropriate weather for the last day of summer.

— Maybe you’ve seen smarmy standup comic Bill Maher in advertisements touting his upcoming movie Religulous. Although he characterizes religion as a “neurological disorder” that prevents people from thinking critically, it turns out he’s got some intensely odd beliefs of his own — no surprise, given a recent study that concluded that those who lack traditional religious belief generally exhibit increased faith in pseudoscience and the paranormal. So if everyone has the disorder of faith, just pointed in different, contradictory directions, at what point do we start to see it as a feature to be tweaked, not a bug to be squelched?

— I probably couldn’t disagree more with Roger Ebert’s politics, but I love his movie reviews for their insightful and incisive commentary. Here he writes a wise defense of criticism: “It is important to know why you hold an opinion, understand how it emerged from the universe of all your opinions, and help others to form their own opinions . . . Too many simply absorb. They are depositories for input. They can hardly be expected to be critical of their own tastes, can they?” Oh yes, they can — and must.

— “I’m a liberal Democrat. And I do not favor same-sex marriage.” So writes David Blankenhorn, who supports California’s Proposition 8 this November as a way “to strengthen the only human institution — marriage — that is specifically intended to safeguard” the right of children “to know and be cared for by the two parents who brought them into this world.” He notes that the other events that take away that right are seen, to some extent, as tragedies — to enact gay marriage would be to celebrate this failure, effectively denying the worth of a mother and a father to the children they rear.

Quote of the Day, 9/19/08

09/19/2008, 7:00 am -- by Bweinh | No Comments

“The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” — G. Eliot (M. Evans)

Best of Bweinh! — Scared of the Dark

09/18/2008, 12:30 pm -- by Steve | 2 Comments

11 years ago tomorrow, Rich Mullins died in a car accident. He was a singer, a songwriter, a poet and a prophet, an honest and authentic man of God. He was 41.

Two days before he died, he wrote my favorite poem of all time, reprinted below. It was the last piece he wrote before his death.

Scared of the Dark
Rich Mullins
September 17, 1997

i don’t remember meeting Him
He had just always been there.
when people ask me, “how did you meet the Lord?”
i don’t know how to answer.
meeting Him seems unavoidable
recognizing Him can be tricky
loving Him seems impossible.
people often ask that too — “do you love Jesus?”
and again i’m stuck for an answer
i know the right one — the answer you’re supposed to give
i know that it presupposes so many things that it could hardly be honest
so i say,
as much as i love,
i love Jesus.

if love was easier, i would love Him more
but then again
if love was easier, it would hardly be worth the little it would ask
if i was stronger, i would love Him more
or maybe
i would more know how little i love

we grow slowly,
and love takes time . . .

Continued here!

One Hundred Words (34)

09/18/2008, 11:00 am -- by Josh J | No Comments

It’s not that I think I’m anything great. Honestly, I’m not here to brag. But sometimes, I put my pants on both legs at the same time. I did it just this morning.

It’s not even that hard, if you’re sitting down. In fact, I find it easier than if I were to put them on one leg at a time while standing up. On they went, both legs at once, without a thought nor scarcely any effort.

But again, I’m nothing special. Please believe me. I put my jacket on one arm at a time, just like anyone else.

–JDJ

Three Links (Vol. 4)

09/18/2008, 9:55 am -- by Steve | No Comments

— Is it really a good idea to teach computers what words mean? I guess it would make yelling at them more satisfying.

— Lileks has a brilliant takedown (toward the bottom of the page) of a loathsome, unhinged piece in Salon. McCain and Palin, the author’s Jesuit friend assures her, are “everything He or She [God] hates in a Christian.” As Lileks writes, “Nothing gives the soul peace like knowing God hates the same people you do.”

— As a basketball official who has been known to make a bad call from time to time, I feel awful for Ed Hochuli, whose mistake actually changed the outcome of a game. “I failed miserably,” he writes. “Although it does no good to say it, I am very, very sorry.”

Joke of the Day, 9/18/08

09/18/2008, 7:00 am -- by Bweinh | No Comments

An older man suffered from serious hearing problems for many years. Finally, the doctor fitted him for a set of hearing aids that restored his hearing completely. The man returned after a month, and the doctor said, “Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be thrilled!”

The man replied, “Oh, I haven’t told them yet — but I’ve changed my will five times!”

From the Phone 4

09/17/2008, 1:01 pm -- by Job Tate | No Comments

“The McCain website should debut a feature where you can sign up to receive a text message when Obama picks a NEW running mate.”

Battle of the Bands LXX

09/17/2008, 12:20 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

The next group from Acts appears before you — as Havoc authoritatively moves on…

{democracy:297}

Bible Discussion — Acts 9-10

09/17/2008, 12:00 pm -- by Bweinh | 4 Comments

This week, Bweinh.com moves on to the next two chapters of Acts.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS:
Genesis: 1-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-18 | 19-22 | 23-26
27-29 | 30-32 | 33-36 | 37-39 | 40-43 | 44-46 | 47-50
Exodus: 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | 15-18
19-22 | 23-26 | 27-30 | 31-34 | 35-40
Romans: Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 (I)
Ch. 8 (II) | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15-16
Luke: 1:1-38 | 1:39-2:40 | 2:41-3:38 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
11 | 12 | 13 | 14-15 | 16-17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24
Esther: 1-2 | 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-10
Acts: 1 | 2 | 3-4 | 5 | 6-7 | 8

INTRODUCTION:
David:
In chapter 9, we see the conversion of Paul, and catch a glimpse of his struggle to be accepted by the early believers. In chapter 10, we get a glimpse of the “First Pope” acting very un-Popelike by refusing to allow Cornelius to show him any reverential deference.

Steve:
Here is the most pivotal moment in the life of the most influential man in history. The chief of sinners met the sinners’ Friend, and nothing would ever be the same.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Steve:
Saul didn’t eat or drink anything for the entire three days he was blind in Damascus. What a time that must have been for him and those he was staying with.

Also, when Peter came to pray for then-late Dorcas, the crying widows crowded around him, to show him the clothes she had made. “You’ve gotta bring her back, Pete! Look at how flattering this line is!”

Tom:
Ananias saw fit to remind Jesus of who Saul is. “Um, I don’t know if you heard, but he’s kind of a bad dude.” Have we tried to explain things like that when prompted to witness to or pray for leaders/bosses/neighbors?

Connie:
Barnabas brought Paul into the group (9:27). Since we mostly focus on Paul’s writings, we tend to think of Barnabas as Robin in this little duo. He didn’t start out that way — he was probably more of a mentor and protector at first, and they may have ended up equals eventually, for a while anyway.

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
David: The Italian Band
Connie: Caesarean Summons
Steve: Eat the Reptiles
Tom: Lydda
Josh: The Way

Continued here!