This Pilgrim's Progress

Hiking for Dummies

This article from the San Diego Union-Tribune relates the successful rescue efforts of 50 people to find 2 hikers who got separated from their group of 12. They were hiking in the Anza-Borrego desert in very challenging terrain. Not only did they get separated from the larger group, but then compounded the error by not staying together and went their separate ways. This was a tragedy waiting to happen and they were fortunate to get out with nothing more than a rough night out in the desert cold.

As I have taught my children and the young boys in our cadets ministry, the wilderness does not forgive mistakes, and stupid mistakes least of all. 

The back-country of Southern California often seems benign and safe to outdoor neophytes. But many people have died from not taking it seriously and getting into situations they couldn't handle.  Read the article and learn from their errors.

Judge Alito

Alito's nomination was endorsed today by the Senate committee, and will now go to the full Senate for a vote later this week. I'm looking forward to brewing a pot of  "Judge Alito's Bold Justice Blend" coffee to celebrate his confirmation to the SCOTUS bench. 

BTW, our pastor preached a powerful sermon on abortion and the sanctity of life this Sunday. It was refreshing to hear and I'm pleased he had the courage to preach on this important topic. 

Peaches Geldof

Finally, one of the victims of parent's strange naming habits has spoken out!! Peaches Geldof, daughter of Bob Geldof, says she hates her name and wishes people would stop giving their kids weird names.

Here Here!! People give more dignified names to their pets than they do to their children these days. If these ex-hippies are so keen on these weird appellations, they ought to change their own names rather than inflict their poor taste on their children. Names are very important and can have an enormous impact on self-image and self-worth.  I hope the current crop of recent celebrity parents pay heed and take more care in the naming of their offspring.

I just finished Googling "Peaches Geldof" on the net and found what I think is the original opinion piece she wrote at the Telegraph on the topic. It's at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/05/25/peaches25.xml  She apparently wrote it on the occasion of Paltrow naming her child "Apple".  And reading some other articles it appears she's politically conservative!!  It's strange, but the same short 4 or 5 line article appeared all over the internet today on various sites about the same thing. Could it be some sort of plot by an over-zealous publicist??  They should have had a link to the Telegraph piece, she's a pretty good writer.

Safe Blogging for Teens

Laura Ingraham had a segment this morning on an article in the Washington Post about the popularity of teen blogging and some of the dangers inherent in the activity. It was a fairly balanced article and it focused on some of the dangers and abuses of the technology. Apparently some teens are posting personal details and in some cases even provocative or pornographic material on their blogs. What was surprising in the article were some quotes by parents who didn't feel they had a right to monitor their child's use of the internet!!

Blogging can be a safe activity and even a fun one for your teenager. But...you need to monitor their use and help protect them from adult predators that scan teen blogs and protect them from exposure to the seedier side of the internet. My daughter loves to blog, but she does it under our monitoring and protection.  Some basic rules that I recommend if your teen wants to blog:

1) No secret email or blogging.  Use monitoring software to check the family usage. We have access to their blogs and email accounts.  Use antivirus and security software, including a firewall if you have broad-band access. The better internet security software allows you to block internet sites by content, and you can even select sites that you don't want your child to see. One package that I highly recommend is "BSafe Online". It's affordable and easy to install and use. Some Internet Service Providers (Cox, AOL, Earthlink, etc.) offer free security software or services. Take advantage of those if you can't afford a stand-alone package like "BSafe".

2) On public blogs, don't post your real name or any details of where you go to school, or where you live except vaguely geographical (i.e. Southern California, West Coast, etc.).  Avoid using anyone's real name, use their blog alias or refer to them obliquely..."a friend", "my brother", etc.

3) Use blogs that allow control over posting comments and allow you to block IP addresses of those who violate the rules of service.

4) Avoid mentioning anything that would cause hurt or embarrassment to others ("golden rule").  Don't discuss incidents or details of your job or workplace, don't use anyone's real name.

These are actually good rules for even adult bloggers to use, and I try to use them diligently.  Sometimes I need to go back over posts and edit out names of family members, again to protect them from predators.  I've been blogging for about 2 years now, and generally it's been a good experience. 

On Laura Ingraham, some parents calling in said their solution to the problems of the internet was to keep their children off web access, no email, and some even don't allow cell-phones and texting.  Our approach is to teach our children to use technology and the internet responsibly and safely, and spend some effort to help them do so safely. It's better to learn to use a tool correctly and safely rather than hiding the tool from your children. 

Essential Paintings for Theologians???

Veith at Cranach, points us to a post on the blog "Faith and Theology" where they've come up with 20 Essential Paintings for Theologians.  Read both posts and see what you think of the list.  I'm not sure why these should be especially relevant to theologians?? Veith, of course, thinks Cranach should be on the list, and a commenter wonders why El Greco didn't make the cut (me too). 

I don't know if such lists serve a purpose other than to start discussions about who/what should or should not be on the list. 

As one from the reform tradition, I question whether Christ should be depicted at all?? And if he is, are we seeing the Man or the God or Both??   

Also as a Calvinist, I'm not so interested in variations on the Crucifix, where Christ's body is hanging from the Tree,  since that smacks of idolatry. Not that everyone treats the Crucifix like an idol, but many of the spiritually and theologically ignorant do.  Those paintings depicting stories from his life or a particular incident of the Stations of the Cross I feel have more of a legitimate purpose of informing and reminding us of his sacrifice.

I disliked most of the selections.  Too morbid or medieval for my taste.  I also find it weird that the Renaissance painters painted these historical scenes in contemporary dress. It'd be like showing Jesus in Nike's and a backward baseball cap. But then they were painting to appeal to their contemporaries and maybe they had no idea what the average Galilean or Jew wore in Roman Judea?

Let me know which ones you like and why! (I'm open to being educated in my tastes by the opinions of others).

I wonder what kind of paintings they would pick if the selection parameters prohibited depictions of Christ??

How about "Art for Calvinists"???  Problem is coming up with a definition! Suggestions anyone?

Fluorescent Pigs!!

Researchers in Taiwan have created pigs that glow in the dark!! They inserted DNA from jellyfish into pig embryos to get this affect. They hope to be able to breed them for use in genetic research.  I wonder if that would work on just localized parts, say the ears or nose?? Our Black Labrador Retriever is almost impossible to see on a dark night, and I often thought it would be handy if he had ears or something that were fluorescent!!

I wonder if the old "pig-in-the-poke" saying will go by the wayside with glowing porkers???

Marbletown

Among the gifts I got from Santa last month was this new cd titled "Marbletown"  by Blue Highway. Another excellent effort by one of the best groups in bluegrass. The packaging includes a complete discography, including the words to the songs.  There's a lot of meat in these songs.  Love, death, trains, infidelity, betrayal, desertion, wandering & restlessness are just some of the topics touched on in this album. Like all of Blue Highway's work there's the solid traditional base to their music, but it's definitely contemporary without getting "new-grassy".  The vocals aren't twangy, but they are evocative and the musicianship is the industry's best. I think this might even appeal to a wider country and pop audience if it gets some air-time. There's a timelessness in this music that will appeal to a lot of us caught in this post-modern world. Check out the music excerpts on Amazon and you'll get hooked right away like I did.

Weather and Water

"Weather and Water" is the newest cd by The Greencards.  This is a new bluegrass/newgrass group consisting of 2 Aussie's and 1 Brit. They are excellent musicians and singers and much of the material on this cd is their original stuff.  There is a lot of celtic influence to their sound, but it isn't overwhelming. It adds a lilting quality to their artistry. I really enjoyed this cd and their non-traditional sound with traditional roots. I read about this group in "Bluegrass Unlimitied" and checked them out on Amazon. I liked what I heard and I added them to my "wish list". Santa discovered my wishes and I'm glad he did. This group is great to listen to and has a distinctive sound that you wont' tire of.  Their voices are pleasing and melodic without the wailing quality some groups seem to inject into their music (yes I'm referring to "Nickel Creek"). I'll probably get their first cd, "Movin On", in a few weeks too, because it got rave reviews and helped them launch as warm-up acts on the concert tours. My only negative comment is that the liner notes don't have the lyrics, and the artwork is a little too "cute".

Cornbread Nation

"Cornbread Nation" by Tim O'Brien is one of two new releases he has out now. This one is the less-acoustic, less-traditional of the two cd's.  I first heard this cd on Mike Kear's show on Bluegrasscountry.org, where I especially liked "Runnin Out of Memory" being a computer geek by trade. I also read a interview of Tim O'Brien, and I was turned off by his politics (treehugging-liberal weenie), but listening to the excerpts on Amazon, I found the music fun to listen to, and decided to ignore the man's politics in favor of his music. I think most acoustic fans will enjoy this cd, despite the occasional lapses in acoustic purity.  The cd seeks to paint a picture of the "cornbread nation", the middle-America and it's values that have made our country so great and unique in it's folk culture. (The liner notes didn't have the lyrics, but otherwise they were adequate).

"Ayatollah" Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson placed both feet firmly in his mouth today by suggesting that Sharon's stroke is a judgement of God!!  His friends and family need to get together and do an intervention and get him committed to professional care. The guy is really off his rocker!! And he seems to have the knack  to come up with these statements that are totally off-the-wall and extremely offensive. For a man in professional ministry, he is committing a terrible sin by presuming to know God's will!!  Of course, he's just crazy enough to believe he is God's prophet and is getting these crazy idea's directly from the Lord. His rabid Dispensationalism leads him to make these really stupid remarks that have no basis in reality or in the Gospel. Someone, please sedate him and put him where he won't hurt anyone!!  I am really tired of these "Geo-Theo-political" fantasies about the Mid-east that these dispensationalists keep coming up with.

The real fact of the matter is that the stroke and possible death of Sharon is a deep tragedy for the nation of Israel, and will have a de-stabilizing effect on not only their politics but that of the entire Mid-east.  Christians need to be in prayer for Israel and the Mid-east, not making stupid statements that insult and anger people and betray the lack of God's grace in their own lives.