Maybe Not the Worst Ever, but …

So I visited my brothers the day before Christmas Eve. I couldn’t visit them on Christmas Eve, since they’re going to Monterey. My Dad, meanwhile, was driving up north (to I know not where) last night on business. There’s a chance I might see him this morning, but that’s not likely to happen.

Still, all things considered, it could be worse. I got to spend Christmas Eve with my Mom at least, and today we go up to Lancaster to my Great Aunt Rosie’s for tamales. After that it’s to Big Bear to see my Grandparents and at least one uncle.

Things can only go uphill from here.

To leave this off on a somewhat more seasonally appropriate note:

A poem by G.K. Chesterton, via Chesterton & Friends. Though I can only hope that all the poetical allusions to the Christ-Child’s lustrous hair are just that; I would hate to think Chesterton really imagined Jesus’ had golden blond locks.

Which reminded me of another Chesterton piece I found in one of my English textbooks:

The Donkey

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
On all four footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

Which might be jumping the gun a bit, but a little context never hurt anyone.

Bean

It could not possibly get any better than this.

More Animation from Youtube

Via BoingBoing.

Timely

I was perusing Revolution in Jesusland (and adding it to my blogroll ), and came across this post about some megachurch somewhere. It was mildly interesting. My interest was more thoroughly piqued, however, by this qoute:

Many of us have turned the Bible into a self-help program rather than a life-long process of self-denial.

This is a practice I’ve seen a lot of. I’m normally quite critical of it.

I think, given my present circumstances, that I’ve been rather too harsh on people, though. Life lately has been rough (and slow) going; this has become especially true since moving back to the Valley. Not that I’ve ever been a dazzling font of optimism. My life has been, overall, a monotonous routine of drudgery and disappointment punctuated only occasionally by the lilting strains of gladdening melodies, but only lately has it really started bugging me. None of my plans for life has yet shown any fruit. Not that I’m sinking in despair here, either. But I have to admit, I’ve not been feeling encouraged lately.

But if I have not the mind to hope, I do, at least, have the compulsion to act. Perseverance, in the absence of any success, has shown itself sufficient to the task before. It can be hard to remember that sometimes, and I suppose that’s what makes it so easy to fall prey to narcissistic ideologies. I’ve spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself lately, and in so doing I’ve been neglecting my obligations.

So I suppose I’d best pull myself together.

I Should Have Found This Sooner

Derek Webb is great.

Via Derek Webb dotnet.

An Emerging Trend

I seem to be establishing a pattern here.

A Phillip Glass animation for Sesame Street from back in the day.  Via Boing Boing.

ooh…

I think the title↑ says it all.

Via Brass Goggles

Jars of Clay

I like this video.

There needs to be more animation in music videos.

A Post!

Something to post about:

1. I finally committed some serious time to an actual piece of art, which I hope to finish soon.
2. I’m actually somewhat confident concerning a job interview that I will hopefully have after Christmas. It’s at a library about 15-20 minutes away. With the price of gas as it is, getting that job would be a very good thing. Did I mention it’s at a library?
3. I read something rather compelling online:

There’s this blog I’ve read for ages. I don’t really know the guy who writes it, but it’s interesting stuff so I keep going back, and recently he wrote a post about his being Christian. The central idea he puts forward is one that I’ve had floating around in my head for some time now:

Let’s suppose for just a moment that I’m wrong. Science explains everything that exists now and has ever existed, including whatever it was that caused the Big Bang and started the universe as we know it. Suppose nothing exists beyond the physical world. There is no God and Jesus of Nazareth was just a man like the rest of us. Let’s even suppose that Jesus did not say or do any of the things attributed to him. If that were the case I would still choose to call myself a Christian, because even if everything else we believe about Jesus is false, the idea of him still remains, and that is enough to change the world.

The teachings of Jesus call for a radical shift in human relationships. They say we should love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and respond to violence with self-sacrifice. When people have truly taken these teachings to heart they have started revolutions.

This is something that, in my opinion, doesn’t get nearly enough attention from anyone, but especially Christians. I could go on about this for gigs and gigs more, but I’d probably just get preachy. If you’re really interested you can just go and read it for yourself.

Moved

To WordPress.com.