i love what David has to say here …

Legalize Neighborhoods Again! (Anybody else ready to start a campaign?!)

calling for the common good

I appreciated this discussion on NPR a few days ago …

Neal Conan with Jim Wallis & Russ Roberts

planned-obsolescence obsolete?

I was cheering inside (okay, maybe even whispering an amen or two) as I listened to this piece on NPR today.  (Got especially fired up over the bit about ownership; go get ’em, Mr. Jalopy!)  Here’s the teaser:

On a basic level, the [maker] movement is about reusing and repairing objects, rather than discarding them to buy more. On a deeper level, it’s also a philosophical idea about what ownership really is.“If you’re not able to open and replace the batteries in your iPod or replace the fuel sender switch on your Chevy truck, you don’t really own it,” Mr. Jalopy argues. “The terms of ownership are still dictated by the company that assembled it and glued the iPod shut so that you couldn’t get into it.”

Mr. Jalopy, helped codify these ideas in 2005 with the Maker’s Bill of Rights. The list of 17 directives includes: “If it snaps shut, it shall snap open” and “Ease of repair shall be a design ideal, not an afterthought.”

—NPR, California’s Maker Age

Can I get a witness?

buyers beware

So you knew the price of groceries and gas had gone up.  Did you realize the size of your cereal box and kraft cheese package was shrinking?!  (Sneaky manufacturers–or something like that!)  I might not’ve believed my ears … if I hadn’t (come to think of it) wondered about that smaller yogurt container just the other day.

We’re not hallucinating, ya’ll.  Checking for prices and sizes maybe just the start of shopping smart!

nadal’s wimbledon win

(They’re using words like “epic.”)  I’m a sucker for this kind of spent.  Details here.

props to my buddy, josh

So … my all-time favorite album commemorating unrequited love is a little-known freshman project entitled About A Boy.  It just so happens I was suffering through my own season of prolonged & traumatic heartbreak when introduced to classmate/song-writer, Josh Bales (who told me such raw materials had been the inspiration for his first album).  Of course, I prefer to forget the fact that he was wrestling with (and writing songs about) such themes at age 16, while I was merely sulking in the company of his reflections … at age 28.  But catharsis, thank you very much, was had by all.  And yes (take this, ex-loves-of-our-lives), we’re the better for it!

Now, though, it seems we’ve both turned a happier-corner.  Just today, I uncovered Josh’s latest project –which (though-country) showcases his style & finesse in a way that’s distinct and (let’s go ahead & say it) more accomplished than his other stuff.  (Though my favorite song may still be a number from his album just prior: Hymn for All the World, a ditty Josh performed on graduation day in the company of a few hundred church leaders … commissioned to serve across the globe.  I cried.)  

In any case, I’m giddy to think I get to enjoy this old companionship (and now) in some brighter (more countrified) spaces!

tiger makes me love golf

And that’s saying a lot.  This guy’s like the energizer bunny.  More here … on what many are saying was the greatest US Open ever.

 

how can i believe in god and pain?

I’m writing an e-mail to folks in my community … to give them an update on some of the workers we partner with in China and to help us think together about some of the world calamities in recent weeks.  I really liked a couple of paragraphs I stumbled across, written by Michael Ramsden (who is a riot, btw, not to mention brilliant speaker).  Maybe you’ll find his thoughts instructive & challenging as well:

The heart of the questions … people most commonly ask [is]: can I trust God even when faced with great evil?  Is He morally trustworthy?  Can I trust Him even if I don’t understand what is happening?

These are profound questions, and whole books could be written about them.  But I will offer one more thought.  Maybe the reason we question God’s moral character when bad things happen is that we live our lives largely independent from Him.  In other words, we struggle to trust Him in times of trouble because we do not really trust Him when things are going well.  Maybe we struggle with suffering so much in the West because we are so comfortable most of the time that we feel we don’t need God … As I said earlier, I have never been asked questions about God and suffering when I am travelling in countries riddled with the realities of it.  In fact, when I visit churches in parts of the world where they are faced daily with horrific affliction, I normally leave inspired.  They trust God in everything, even when things are going well.  When times are hard, they cling to God because they have already learned to trust Him.  They have learned that God does not change, even when our circumstances have.

a call to prayer

So many Burmese people find themselves in need of the basic necessities in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.  Let us pray that our Heavenly Father will grant them shelter, food, community support, and the inexplicable peace only He can give in such times.

i may be a geek, but …

I find the idea of a shadow system in our (American?) economy deeply fascinating and disturbing.  Did you realize that very rich people are making “bets” on how our markets are going to perform, keeping these bets anonymous & totally deregulated, and making a heckof-a-lotta dough when they get it right.  (One implication here is that wealthy people are not “betting on” [or investing in] legitimate economic initiatives within the market.  Rather, they’re merely “betting” around them.  If they win – as I said – they make some quick cash.  If they lose – maybe it’s only if they lose big – average Americans like you and I foot the bill.)

Sounds crazy, huh?  (Tell me there’s something I don’t understand.)

If words like “complex derivatives, commodity futures, and otc derivatives” make your head hurt (but you’re still sort of curious to know what’s going on), you might give this interview with Michael Greenberger a try.  Seems like we oughta get some of this stuff figured out (before we all wind up living together) …