"Deliver Me From My Enemies"

NPH's daily reading of the Psalms has yielded this phrase more than once this week. "Deliver me from my enemies." Strangely, for the first time in his life, NPH feels like he has enemies, only they're not the things that a technological age thinks are enemies. Because they are the technology. Or they are a person's use of the technology. Or they are a technology's use of a person.
Computers, television, video games, mp3's: NPH is only starting to see the ways in which these devices conspire to claim valuable chunks of his time and attention and to deny him the fulfillment and the rest that they promise. For example, NPH three days ago finally dove headlong into the bittorrent phenomenon, and he has since acquired innumerable records he has long desired to have. To what result? Fulfillment? Enjoyment, even? Not really. Instead he is fatigued and finds his thoughts increasing drifting towards other things to look for, to discover, to acquire.
To be delivered from these enemies is the only thing that will save. NPH cannot manage them, cannot avoid being given completely over to them for a time. Alas, NPH cannot, it seems, avoid worshiping them by offering to them the most valuable chunks of time and attention he has to give.
They have crept into NPH's life with a whisper about "leisure" and "recreation"--"education" even--and they have established strongholds in my everyday routine. They are occupiers. They are enemies.
Deliver me from my enemies.

Read more ...

Can This Be Done?

Blogging as a useful regular practice, that is. NPH has wrestled all along with the question of what, exactly, a blog is good for and why he alternately should and should not be spending time with one. This blog was conceived as a sort of escape, a way for a small church pastor to write about things that don't pertain to "work." Over the months, these things have most prominently included werewolf movies and Douglas Rushkoff.
Entire weeks have passed now where the demands of funerals, nominating committees, and stewardship campaigns have rendered blog fodder completely meaningless, so that spending time posting would be to take away time for other valuable activities, like preparing sermons, reading, or even just resting.
That's been good. But NPH is challenged by the example of some good blogs, maintained by people in the same vocation, as a vehicle for critical reflection and even faith formation. Foremost of these are Kairos and Church For Starving Artists, not to mention Andrew Sullivan, who, though he is primarily a news commentator, is a committed person of faith who whips out gems like this.
So let's give this another go. Let's see if NPH can't be a regular participant in a community of thinking and learning not restricted to content constituting an "escape" from work. It's all work, really. And that's good, as long as it's good work.

Read more ...

From Amendment 2

Patricia Heaton looks right into the camera and says that the amendment makes it a constitutional right to buy and sell human eggs for stem cell research. Now, NPH is just reading through the text of the amendment for the first time, and we've found this: "(4) No person may, for valuable consideration, purchase or sell human
blastocysts or eggs for stem cell research or stem cell therapies and
cures."

The "no on 2" campaign has the website, "nocloning.org." Yet, again reading the amendment for the first time, it says this: "(1) No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being." That's right at the beginning of the amendment. It later defines "cloning": (2) “Clone or attempt to clone a human being” means to implant in a
uterus or attempt to implant in a uterus anything other than the
product of fertilization of an egg of a human female by a sperm of a
human male for the purpose of initiating a pregnancy that could result
in the creation of a human fetus, or the birth of a human being."

Read more ...

Fact Check on The Missouri Senate Race

Before Michael J. Fox and Kurt Warner weighed in on Amendment 2, there were the Talent campaign's own ads. At first, his ads were clever and effective, relying on images of Talent himself rattling off his Senate accomplishments before exclaiming, "I have to get back to work!" But then the ads went the way of, well, political ads. The campaign rolled out a series of ads attacking Claire McCaskill's record as auditor, trying to associate poor conditions in nursing homes (notice the flashing phrase, "sexual assault" next to the face of a senior citizen), and using nefarious newspaper quotations to do so.

Factcheck.org has picked the ads apart and figured out that what the ads are doing is not quoting the newspapers, but quoting McCaskill opponents as quoted in the newspaper, then attributing the quote to the paper itself. For example, from the factcheck article:
 

"Exaggerating" state audits .
This quote is used five times in the four ads. Only once is the date
given: July 17, 2004. The article is a profile of McCaskill, and
contains the sentence: "Critics accuse McCaskill of sometimes
exaggerating her audit results." The ad falsely implies that the words
are the newspaper's judgment of McCaskill, rather than unnamed
"critics." The article goes on to quote one of those critics, her
political opponent Maxwell."

Nice. I can't wait for this thing to be over.

Read more ...

Response Ad to Michael J. Fox

This is the ad that ran during the world series last night, featureing two entertainers and three professional athletes connected to Missouri.

Read more ...

Michael J. Fox ad

Michael J. Fox

A couple of ads are running in Missouri on the proposed ballot measure known as Amendment 2. The measure has to do with stem cell research. What's remarkable about these ads is their stripped-down, gritty character, from Michael J. Fox's unedited endorsement of Claire McCaskill for her support of stem cell research, to entertainers and athletes staring into handheld cameras to oppose it. Both ads are enjoying serious run on the blogosphere, which is, of course, what they were meant to do. It's political advertising at its best. Or worst.

Read more ...

I Know That Train

CNN is reporting this morning that a French passenger train collieded with a freight train this morning, killing 10 people and injuring scores of others. The crash occured in the northeastern part of the country, on the line connecting Luxembourg and the French city of Thionville.

NPH's wife grew up only miles from Thionville, and her best friend still lives there. NPH has been there and has ridden that train. Twice.

Our hearts go out to everyone involved.

Read more ...