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Glasgow, the stoning of Stephen and a lack of theological imagination
By senseijfk | January 23, 2011
Doug Gay, a colleague who teaches Practical Theology at University of Glasgow, recently posted a citation on his Facebook page from Alastair Gray's stunning 1981 novel Lanark that gave voice to much of what I been wrestling with for the past two weeks. For those not familiar with Lanark, it is reminiscent of James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses with echoes of William Blake's poetry, Lewis Carroll's Alice through the Looking Glass, and George McDonald's Lilith and splashes of Irvine Welch and David Foster Wallace. Like Joyce, Gray is tearing away the facade of society and looking deep beneath the images toward a deeper notion of what is really animating life. Like Joyce's Dublin, Gray sets much of his wanderings in an unsympathetic repose of Glasgow in all its decay and longing. Rather than trying to universalize humanity in abstraction, he instead drives us to the particular, the intimate and the real. The central character in the first two books is named Lanark who akin to Joyce's characters is a persona in constant transition. Lanark's name changes to Thaw in the second two books for no explicit reason but this further goes to illustrate the liminality of identity. In this passage, Thaw ponders the lack of imagination for people in the city of Glasgow and the cost of this lack of imagination
"Glasgow is a magnificent city," said McAlpin. "Why do we hardly ever notice that?"
"Because nobody imagines living here," said Thaw. McAlpin lit a cigarette and said, "If you want to explain that I'll certainly listen."
"Then think of Florence, Paris, London, New York. Nobody visiting them for the first time is a stranger because he's already visited them in painting, novels, history books and films. But if a city hasn't been used by an artist not even the inhabitants live there imaginatively. what is Glasgow to most of us? A house, the place we work, a football park or a golf course, some pubs connecting streets. That's all. No, I'm wrong, there's also the cinema and library. And when our imagination needs exercise we use these to visit London, Paris, Rome under the Caesars, the American West at the turn of the century, anywhere but here and now. Imaginatively Glasgow exists as a music-hall song and a few bad novels. That's all we've given to the world outside. It's all we've given to ourselves."
While I had visited Glasgow prior to moving there, I didn't imagine life in Glasgow nor how I would reimagine the world because of that city and its people. Yes, I thought about my life in the university as a research student, serving in the Cathedral as an Assistant Minister, and relationships we would be establishing. But I never considered how this city with its poverty, its joy for living, its working class and upper class sitting side-by-side in the Tinderbox on Byers Rd. or singing the same songs at a Partick Thistle game would cause me to reimagine how I was to live, to serve, and even to believe. Over the six years we lived in Glasgow, my imagination shifted in ways both subtle and dramatic. Seismic shifts in how I saw faith, life and the resources I would draw from to make meaning in the world. Like Lanark's Thaw, I only allowed myself to consider Glasgow as a parody of sorts – a place Belle and Sebastian made music, where AL Kennedy wrote her novels, and launching pad from which to see the Highlands and Islands of the Celtic twilight. What I didn't take into account was that I would grow to see that much of what I learned was deeper than a renewed reason and was really a transformed heart. But this always comes with a cost and part of that cost was seeing and listening to the world in different ways, seeking out conversation partners that would not be valued (read: not authoritative) by some, and even dreaming of a world that was not the world of others.
This morning our church reflected on the stoning of Stephen in the book of Acts. In chapter 7 Stephen, one of seven deacons of the followers of Christ, is charged with sedition and treason ("We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God" – Acts 6:11) and as such is sentenced to death before the Sanhedrin. Chapter 7 of Acts is Stephen's grand sermon where he challenges the lack of theological imagination of those who consider themselves stewards and guardians of the faith. He rolls back time to recount from the very foundations of the faith that there is an expansiveness and wideness to God's working in the world that is now ushering in a new way and depth that not only continues on all the God has been doing, but will increase it even further to the very ends of the earth. Stephen is so passionate about this vision he has that he essentially turns to the so-called guardians of the tradition and utters these words:
"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him – you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it." – Acts 7: 51 – 53
With this Stephen is put to death with stones emblematic of the cold, hard, unchanging and unbending hearts that surrounded this first martyr of the renewal movement now called the Church.
I find a lot of commonality in Stephen and Thaw and will admit that after the past few weeks wondering whether we live in a world where renewal and change will ever come to the venerated institutions that guide and manage our public discourse, our view of the Good, our vision for humanity and even the so-called orthodoxy as to what passes as true faith and right belief. I wonder with Thaw if all that we sometimes truly offer the world around us is more of the 'same' – the repeated refrain of old sayings that are safe and don't cause mischief, the repose of the theologically rigorous yet little of the prophetically bold, the caution of partial activism that only serves to justify my life yet offers little enduring justice for others, and an economy of sacrifice that is measured carefully and with restraint and therefore costs me so little as to seem like a fad rather than faith. And yet here is Stephen, pounding out the faith story to the point of death and taking no prisoners along the way. Here is Stephen, caring so much for the future to be realized in the now that he will stand at the gates of power and no longer be silent. Here is Stephen, not even an apostle of the Church and merely a deacon, willing to engage the collected powerful and remind them that faith is only seen in what we release from our grasp and not in what we guard and protect at all costs.
There are times when people need to reach ever deeper into their hearts and ask with all sincerity whether the world is truly that which they ultimately desire and for those that we call our neighbors.
Is this all – as Alastair Gray's Thaw muses in relation to Glasgow – that we offer the world and ultimately all we offer ourselves? Are we so tied to the way things have been that we cannot hear the worlds of prophesy when they knock on our door and preach to us truth?
Posted in Alastair Grey, belief, Bible, books, church, culture, economics, facebook, Glasgow, Jesus, Lanark, missional, theology and tagged as Alastair Grey, Bible, books, church, economics, existential musings, facebook, Lanark, literature, theology. Leave a comment
The 'Book' in memoriam: The Book of Eli and The Secret of Kells
By senseijfk | November 8, 2010
Numerous scholars of the Abrahamic religions have called Christianity, Judaism and Islam "religions of the book" in reference to the central role that the sacred text plays in each tradition and all three sharing similar narratives albeit interpreted theologically in differing ways. As someone who studies and inhabits the Christian tradition, I would be a called a 'person of the book' as well. The collected 66 books that constitute the Christian scriptures – representative texts that inhabit the Hebrew scriptures coupled with the New Testament corpus – are the 'norming norm' of the Christian faith and while there is a quite a large span within the big tent of Christianity reaching from those who hold the texts to be inerrant (wholly and complete as holy inspired and therefore without error) to those who espouse the texts as authoritative as inspired texts yet still formed with human agency to those who see them along other 'weltliteratur': a text among others containing moral values and historical heft yet ultimately a product from within human cultural history. Therefore ranging from fundamentalist frenzy to merely supplemental reading in a Great Books curriculum, the Bible continues to be one of the most influential (if not THE most influential) book in human history. The role that the Bible plays in the forward movement and sustaining center point of human history have been discussed as the main concern in two recent films – The Book of Eli and The Secret of Kells. While there a number of stark differences between these films (one is a fairly standard post- apocalyptic action film made for the multiplex while the other is an indie Oscar nominated animated short film looking back to the age of the illuminated manuscript that had limited release in art houses), what unites these films though is a deep sense that without 'the Book' – this text that is somehow imbued with Divine initiative and unique in all the world – civilization as we know it will fall into darkness and akin to WB Yeats' The Second Coming we will fall into a spinning apocalypse beyond human control:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
In The Secret of Kells, the tale is woven around the monastic community of Kells in Ireland and the production in the 9th century of an illuminated manuscript of the synoptic Gospels. The story is told through the eyes of young Brendan, an orphan living within this monastic community who is introduced to Aidan of Iona, an elderly monk who is said to be the greatest illuminator of texts in all of Christendom. Brendan's uncle is the abbot of this monastic order and fears that their community will be overtaken by 'Northmen' – Viking invaders that have been savaging the lands throughout Scotland and Ireland and thrusting the world into anti-intellectualism and darkness – as well as pagans who continue to hold to folk religion. In order to protect the monastic community, the Abbot erects large walls to cloister the community and seal it off from both Northmen invaders and the pagan outsiders. Ultimately, the tale shows the tension between which future will be best – choosing to build bigger and better walls to protect a way of life from everything that is different or to journey into the pagan lands, to listen and experience what the world has to say in all its hopes, its loves, its dangers and its fears and allow art to speak into all these places as a dialog of hope and grace. It becomes clear that the illuminated Gospels will never be completed unless it is taken outside the walls that cloister and 'protect' it for only in the pagan realm are there the materials and inspiration to truly make the text a thing of light or a deeply 'illuminated' work. It is this journey of choice between creating stronger walls or finding the light of the world that already dwells 'in' the world with which the sacred text can be read by that the movie moves the viewer to choose for themselves.
The Book of Eli is in many ways a much simpler film – a ham-handed morality tale told through video game violence in order to keep a violence-saturated multi-plex audience attentive for the full two hours.
Yet that would be too harsh a judgement as the film is actually better and asking bigger questions than it perhaps even realizes. Akin to The Secret of Kells, The Book of Eli has as its central concern the fate of civilization that while not the dark ages (saeculum obscurum) arising after the fall of the Roman empire but post-apocalyptic dark age that has haunted the imaginations of Western culture from filmic visions such as Ridley Scott's Bladerunner and George Miller's The Road Warrior to the contemporary literary visions cast by Jim Crace's The Pesthouse and Cormac McCarthy's The Road. As with the exhaustion of virtues and morality that cast the world into darkness in The Secret of Kells, the ravages of the nuclear option burn through the aesthetics of The Hughes Brothers film with Denzel Washington fending off simple-minded madmen with a machete, amazing martial arts skills for a guy walking for 30 years and sweet Oakley sunglasses to boot. Behind the goofiness though is the haunting question of what will bring civilization back from oblivion and offer a center point around which human flourishing can prosper. The answer seems to rely upon the same book albeit in a decidedly different form than the illuminated Gospels of Kells (you will have to see The Book of Eli to find out just how different… I won't spoil it for you). As the sinister character Carnegie (played to maximum scene-chewing pitch by Gary Oldman) makes clear when trying to get the Book from Denzel Washington's Eli, what is seen as salvation to some is also power and domination to others:
[it is] a weapon aimed right at the hearts and minds of the weak and the desperate. It will give us control of them. If we want to rule more than one small, f$%^&' town, we have to have it. People will come from all over, they'll do exactly what I tell 'em if the words are from the book. It's happened before and it'll happen again. All we need is that book
After watching both films, I was taken that in both cases there is still this haunting sense that this book as 'the Book' is still thought of as having such power and the ability to making society or destroy it. Is this really the case in an age when every motel has a Gideon bible that is as ubiquitous as the free shampoos and conditioners? Many people speak of the post-Christian age – a time that has long since seen this book as 'the Book' lose its luster and hold on the hearts and minds of thoughtful people. Is this truly something that people, if they would but read it, find the center and still point in this ever twisting chaotic world or is it merely the stuff of film?
What do you think? Are St. Augustine's words 'take up and read' enough?
Posted in augustine, belief, Bible, books, church, Denzel Washington, existential musings, faith, Inerrency, Monastic community, Sacred texts, The Book of Eli, The Secret of Kells, theology and tagged as Bible, books, church, Denzel Washington, inerrency, Monastic community, Sacred texts, The Book of Eli, The Secret of Kells, theology. 2 Comments
Teaching as Pez dispensers – Parker Palmer and the active vs. contemplative life
By senseijfk | October 23, 2010
One of the challenges I face as a theologian working with educators in the public school system is helping teachers discover courage and hopefully a passion for engaging students in a life of the spirit as much as a life of the mind. This is no easy task. Teachers in elementary and secondary schools are under huge pressure to 'teach for the test' and constantly assessing students in ways that focus attention on skill acquisition without the time nor resources to adequately engender a reason and purpose for the life they are living.
One of my conversation partners is Parker Palmer who for years has sought to bridge the gap in educational theory with a deep concern for the spiritual in student's development. Palmer's background is notable: he has a PhD in Sociology from UC Berkeley, has taught in both public schools and higher education, and is a Quaker which speaks to his framing his thoughts in a contemplative ('consider the space of teaching') rather than declaratory ('here are five things to do in your classroom to make sure student succeed') mode. He is currently heading up the Center for Courage & Renewal which works with organizations to align "our lives and our work with renewed passion, commitment, and integrity." Because Palmer approaches these questions as a contemplative himself, this can be confounding to be sure and many of my students in the School of Education struggle with him – "does Palmer expect us to enact something here in the classroom? Where is the concrete amidst the abstract?" Much of this is based on his premise that we live in a tension between the contemplative life vs. an active life – two primary modes of living that are in tension in modern culture and not merely the classroom. As he explores in his book "To Know as We Are Known" and some other books such as "The Courage to Teach", he holds that in earlier centuries contemplation was the preferred life, one followed by academic or religious scholars through the medieval period until the rise of the scholastic period. As Palmer would state, an "active life" was one of tedious toil where one did not have the time to reflect on a higher plane of existence. Over time that changed. An "active life" (he wrote a book entitled "The Active Life" which gets at this thesis) became more prominent as technology progressed and the power associated with it. A pendulum effect between the two – active vs. contemplative – has swung back again as limits to technology have not provided a solution and the lure of a contemplative life and its seclusion has taken hold. In short, this has resulted in the "why" questions have been replaced with the "how" questions especially in our classrooms. The demands of 'teaching for the test' have created a culture of busyness and frantic skills assessment with little to no time given to what these 'skills' are for in our society and how they fund what it means to be a human being. For some of my students, they are frustrated because Palmer is not forwarding his point based on the strict adherence to social scientific method which holds that which is to be considered 'true' as correlating with quantitative methods that can be measured via statistical analysis. No, Palmer is speaking from a more qualitative stream of reflection which does go back to Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and continues on through humanities and the arts: a more existential reflection on the human condition and (for the sake of his books) and exploration of the spiritual as a vital part to deep education. He is inviting us to essentially go inward – the contemplative life – and sit in the space of quiet with our students and creates spaces for contemplation on the reasons to life in addition to the skills and tasks of living. As those sitting in his books and lectures, the dominant challenge for what is means to be human in our 21st century age is take seriously our vocation – our calling – and live the life we were always meant to live and to live this full life in front of our students in a holistic manner. Teachers have been forced into becoming information Pez dispensers – spitting out facts and figures and methods without context nor purpose to test and therefore 'assess' with reliability that students are learning.
Do you think that he has a point?
Have we lost something in the education of our children in the elevation of the 'active' life over the 'contemplative' life?
Posted in books, education theory, moral therapeutic deism, Parker Palmer, pastoral vocation, teaching, technology and tagged as books, Continential Philosophy, education theory, existential musings, Parker Palmer, pastoral vocation, public schools, teaching. Leave a comment
How (Not) to Speak of God – some latent reflections on Peter Rollins' book
By senseijfk | September 9, 2010
As I have begun to receive comments on my recent book Freedom of the Self, one of the questions I have had is for follow-up reading – people who are tilling the same soil I am seeking to work in bringing together continental philosophy, Christian mysticism, and a deep concern for the contemporary accelerated culture within which live in Western culture. One of the books I point people to right away is Peter Rollins' 2006 book How (Not) to Speak of God. It is a dense wee book filled with amazing insights from Rollins work in the academy as a research associate at the Trinity School of Ecumenics in Dublin (he holds a PhD in Post-Structual Thought from Queen's University, Belfast) and has kept that scholarly reflection in tension alongside faith communities such as a collective in North Ireland he founded called 'ikon' that in true Emergent spirit is a blended presence of live music, visual imagery, soundscapes, theatre and ritual in an act of what Rollins terms 'transformance art'.
One cannot read Rollins' book without seeing the role that irony has played and currently plays in contemporary thought be it theological or culturally embedded. It has been said that irony is the final trope of theology – that the literal assertion of any theological proposition be it creedal, hermeneutical, or
experiential is ultimately radically undone in the face of its practical outworking given the inherent limits certainty has on things of faith. Kierkegaard's famous aphorism that "it is the objective label 'God' that ultimately negates the subject" or Martin Heidegger's grand pronouncement "Das Heilige läßt sich überhaupt nicht 'theologisch' ausmachen, denn […] immer dort, wo die Theologie aufkommt, [hat] der Gott schon die Flucht begonnen" ("Wherever theology comes up, God has been on the run for quite a while") both resonate with the notion of irony as a grand theological trope. In short, you can't box up the gift you really want after all…
In Rollins' book, the place of theological irony is not overtly labeled per se but (rather ironically I might add) is deeply implied throughout. Rollins lays claim to this tradition in his introduction (ironically subtitled "the secret" given that Rollins quickly notes that there is no secret) by citing Wittgenstein's final sentence in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus: "what we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence." (xiii) As Rollins further argues throughout Part 1 of the book, the tradition of 'naming' God has de-evolved into a practice of 'heretical orthodoxy' where authenticity in relation to God is falsely boundaried by theoretical constraints born after the Enlightenment where God is only apprehended ideologically vis a vis a disembodied theology. Here Rollins chooses conversation partners amidst the 'Masters of Suspicion' (Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx) and seeks to embrace a way of approaching God that acknowledges that "one of the central elements of the postmodern critique, namely the recognition that relativism (i.e. the claim that there is no meaning) is ultimately self-contradictory, for to say there is no meaning to the universe is itself a meaningful statement, as it makes a meaningful claim about the way that the universe really is." (11) The path upon which Rollins ventures is a contemporary recovery of the apophatic tradition.
Rollins appeals to the work of Pseudo-Dionysus, Meister Eckhart and other mystics within the Christian faith by noting the challenge of naming God is perpetually bounded by kataphatic or positive language that would correspond with the procession of the divine out of itself into its manifestation in and as the cosmos, as opposed to apophatic or negative language would articulate the path of the created soul's return to the unmanifest divine transcendence.
Simply put, kataphasis for Rollins has given way to what he terms 'the idolatry of ideology' where the primacy of validity given to ideological renderings of God is comparable to fashioning idols. Conversely, the road of apophasis leads to a silence that continues to be anything but quiet since God desires to be known. As Rollins concisely states, "revelation [of God] ought not to be thought of either as that which makes God known or as that which leaves God unknown, but rather as the overpowering light that renders God known as unknown." (17) What Rollins advocates as the via media – the middle way – through the constraints of kataphatic and apophatic extremes is what he terms "the third mile" or what philosopher and ethicist Emmanuel Levinas terms the way of eminence, where 'naming God' would bespeak the completion of the created soul's return to God as the unmanifest source of the manifestation which the creature is. This 'third mile' of eminence is for Rollins the way of orthopraxis (right action) in fulfillment of orthodoxy (right belief) . Referring to Jesus' teaching that "if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles, this way of God is a movement of procession where the transcendent cause shows itself transcendently embodied in the cosmos whose procession it is. As Hans von Balthasar has put it long ago, in the kataphatic mode of theology, emphasis is placed on the "manifestation of the unmanifest." As immanent to all creation, God "has the name of everything that is" and "the theologians praise it by every name". In this regard Rollins agrees yet calls our naming/theology to be incarnate/praxiological. Rollins makes clear that it is only in going this 'third mile' – which he reframes later as going from 'knowledge' (orthodoxy) to 'love' (orthopraxy) – fulfills the meaning of theology into superabundance. In this way the Christian path is one that moves beyond mere ethics "[f]or ethical systems allow us to follow rules whether we love or not. While ethics says, 'What must I do in order to fulfill my responsibility?' love says, 'I will do more than is required.' (65) Rollins concludes his book with a number of rituals and liturgies that provide typologies for performing this 'third mile' in the midst of marginalized and silenced communities. As I mentioned earlier, there is a level of irony in the writing of this book – the seeking to unname God in order that God may be made known as a project that 'names' the unnaming as such in print. That said, I commend How (Not) to Speak of God to those seeking a confessional approach to this deep tradition of theological irony and apophasis and perhaps finding means to (re)new ways for services of worship that give voice to those silenced as well as those seeking the name of God as one 'unnamed'.
Posted in books, church, culture, Freedom of the Self, kenosis, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Mark Driscoll, Meister Eckhart, missional, Peter Rollins, Pseudo-Dionysus, theology and tagged as books, church, Continential Philosophy, Emergent, existential musings, Freedom of the Self, missional, Peter Rolins, theology. Leave a comment
Dragon Tattoo, Crazy Heart, Facebook and the End of Forgiveness
By senseijfk | July 29, 2010
Like so many people this year, I have been swept up into the world of Lisbeth Salander and the Millennium Trilogy of the late Stieg Larsson that began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Needless to say, the books follow a fairly predicable pot boiler thriller formula akin to a Scott Turow, Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy novel: an innocence protagonist is thrust (whether by chance or fate – you choose which *you* think organizes our lives) into a deeper world of deception and intrigue than typically meets the innocent eye. In the midst of this awakening to the darkness of the world that lurks just below the surface, the hero's journey takes on the classic bildungsroman tradition of German Romanticism where a gathering of companions occurs to assist the protagonist in their journey of self discovery, healing, and building of courage to take on and overcome the evil ("All the Evil" as its called in The Girl Who Played with Fire)that only they are equipped to deal with. In the midst of this journey, the protagonist will face a choice – either to run from their fated journey toward redemption of both world and self and try to remain in their seemingly safe world that existed prior to being chosen/thrust into this dark world…. or they will choose to face down the dragons, the beasts, the evil of the self and world and risk losing everything – life, love, hope – in the name of redemption. It is a tale as old as time to be sure and this latest iteration found in the world of a Swedish cyberpunk computer hacker and a washed up magazine journalist is written in the well-worn genre to be sure.
But there are thousands of thrillers published every year – what has made this trilogy such a global hit?
I think in many ways one of the reasons is that Lisbeth Salander (in addition to being one of the most evocative female protagonists in popular fiction – a mix of Alias' Sydney Bristow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly's River Tam with photographic memory and serious ink) has ripped the curtain back to show our worst fear in the 21st century and exposed the truth of the world in which we live: there is no such thing as forgiveness as we had previously hoped or even imagined because now that our lives exist in cyberspace, our sins can never, ever be erased. Lisbeth Salander is the bearer of the apocalypse in so many ways: the idea of 'starting over' is a novelty of an age where people could forget their past by burning a box of letters from old lovers, throw away pictures, move to another state and begin again. To think that only 20 years ago the quaintness of a movie like 1991's City Slickers offered up a world where after your life had spun out of control you could have a "do over" and start again – new life, new love, new future. That world is as antiquated as Western Union delivering a telegram to your door. In the Millenium Triology, Lisbeth Salander shows us the truth: there is no "do over" as we might have imagined. Everything you have ever written online is always there, every picture uploaded and tagged, every whimsical thought benignly put onto Facebook, every video caught on a phone and loaded onto YouTube, every email pinged back and forth sits on a server somewhere as a ticking time bomb just waiting for a person to hack into it and pull a file together.
In his July 19th article in the New York Times entitled "The Web Means the End of Forgetting", Jeffrey Rosen shows us the unforgiving landscape of the digital age in all its starkness:
[The question for all of us is simple:] how best to live our lives in a world where the Internet records everything and forgets nothing — where every online photo, status update, Twitter post and blog entry by and about us can be stored forever. With Web sites like LOL Facebook Moments, which collects and shares embarrassing personal revelations from Facebook users, ill-advised photos and online chatter are coming back to haunt people months or years after the fact. Examples are proliferating daily: there was the 16-year-old British girl who was fired from her office job for complaining on Facebook, "I'm so totally bored!!"; there was the 66-year-old Canadian psychotherapist who tried to enter the United States but was turned away at the border — and barred permanently from visiting the country — after a border guard's Internet search found that the therapist had written an article in a philosophy journal describing his experiments 30 years ago with L.S.D.
Strangely enough, one of the comforts I find in all this "exposure" is that it is long overdue that we learn that, in the end, forgiveness is ultimately never about forgetting. As someone who came through 80's evangelicalism and its view that God forgave us in a way akin to a divine Etch-A-Sketch: we ask for forgiveness and that prayer somehow shakes God up and down vigorously and leaves a clean slate so total that somehow God can't ever access our past ever again. From Aristotle's view of the soul as the 'unscribled tablet' from "Περί Ψυχῆς" (De Anima or On the Soul) through to Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes and John Lockes' Tabula Rasa and onto City Slicker's mantra of the "do over" there is a perpetuation of forgiveness as equivalent to forgetting. To be honest, perhaps that is the true prayer of our hearts – that what we desire isn't forgiveness anyway but merely forgetting on the behalf of God and others. How many of us choose to move on from the regrets, losses, flame outs in our lives with a 'year zero' approach – never speak of the past again… this is the new day…
Forgiveness is something so much more profound than mere forgetting. For one reason, forgiveness means we are forever changed in our redemption where mere forgetting is leaves us in the sameness of our brokenness. Sure, we make a break with the past in forgetting, but we are still the same without any deep and abiding shift in who we are and therefore only ready, willing and able to make the very same mistakes and errors over and over in some sick and twisted version of Bill Murray's 1993 Groundhog Day (which coming out only a couple of years after City Slickers signals to me that the "do over" mantra perhaps didn't have the purchase we had hoped). But forgiveness never forgets but is rehabilitating and unflinching in its gaze upon all that we have been and become and never lets us settle on the ease of walking away from our past nor merely getting everything back 'as it was' after we say "I'm sorry."
[SPOILER ALERT]
This was the genius of Jeff Bridge's Oscar winning turn as "Bad Blake" in last year's Crazy Heart. As a drunk and relationally derelict fame-faded country singer, Bridge's Bad Blake burns through bottles of whisky and serial relationships as an attempt as 'forgetting' as forgiveness over and over and over again. Yet when he stumbles into the relationship with a young women and her son whose love not only won't allow him to forget his past, but also shows him that life worth living will cost him more than his own self-despair and loathing. When tragedy hits and causes a reckoning, Bad Blake loses everything but instead of trying once again to forget he begins the journey of forgiveness that alcoholics know in ways that so-called sober folks can only guess. To stand up at AA meetings week after week and introduce yourself as an alcoholic is an act of forgiveness and the furthermost thing from forgetting as it gets. Like a communal Lisbeth Salander, AA meetings hold up evidence of where and what you have done and we stand before the collected evidence and acknowledge that while the fact of our failings remain, the bigger story is the faith of forgiveness that wraps its arms around our failings with all the blood, sweat and tears of our past included and walks it into the light of day. The fact that Bad Blake ends the film without the girl he loved because the damage done was too great is a testimony that forgiveness also means we don't get the world as we wish all the time… but healing and redemption is still worth it.
Let Lisbeth Salander dig away… what is forgotten can still be forgiven.
Posted in books, Crazy Heart, existential musings, facebook, film, music, the big lebowski, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, theology and tagged as books, Crazy Heart, existential musings, facebook, film, Freedom of the Self, literature, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, theology. 3 Comments
Tom Oord lists "Freedom of the Self" in his summer reading list
Tom Oord at Northwest Nazarene University posted his summer reading list and included Freedom of the Self on the list:
http://thomasjayoord.com/index.php/blog/archives/books_im_reading/
Many thanks Tom for the kind thoughts!
Posted in books, emergent, Freedom of the Self, kenosis, missional, theology and tagged as books, Emergent, Freedom of the Self, literature, theology. 2 Comments
Freedom of the Self – a short description of my new book and web deal price available now!
By senseijfk | June 29, 2010
Friends – my new book Freedom of the Self: Kenosis, Cultural Identity and Mission at the Crossroads is about to be published and I have a web deal for you. The book will be available July 1st but won't be up on Amazon and other sites for a few more weeks. My publisher has a "web deal" price of $16.80 if you order directly from the URL I am providing. Feel free to pass it around to those interested in picking it up:
http://wipfandstock.com/store/Freedom_of_the_Self_Kenosis_Cultural_Identity_and_Mission_at_the_Crossroads
The gist of the book is fairly basic: what it means to be a "self" in the world has been co-opted by the extremes of self-help gurus on the one hand who tell us that everything should feed our ego ("be all that you can be", "you deserve a break today", etc.) and those who feel the individualism of culture is so problematic that community should be everything and the self either ignored or dismissed. What I strike out to do in this book is reclaim what it means to have identity – to be a self – in this age after modernity and point toward a model of being and having identity through a model of what I call "the kenotic self". As the book jacket says: "Freedom of the Self revitalizes the question of identity formation in a postmodern era through a deep reading of Christian life in relation to current trends seen in the Emergent and Missional church movements. By relocating deep identity formation as formed and released through a renewed appraisal of kenotic Christology coupled with readings of Continental philosophy (Derrida, Levinas, Marion) and popular culture, Keuss offers a bold vision for what it means to be truly human in contemporary society, as what he calls the "kenotic self." In addition to providing a robust reflection of philosophical and theological understanding of identity formation, from Aristotle and Augustine through to contemporary thinkers, Freedom of the Self suggests some tangible steps for the individual and the church in regard to how everyday concerns such as economics, literature, and urbanization can be part of living into the life of the kenotic self."
The book moves between philosophy and theology in the first section but doesn't keep its head in the proverbial clouds. The second section of the book – The Space of the Self – is a how-to discussion ranging from economics (what role does spending play in our sense of self?) urbanization (what does being a self mean in today's urban neighborhoods?) and the role that the Christian church can and should play in the world exemplifying what I am terming "missional openness" to others.
If you click through the URL above, you can read some of the reviews for the pre-release copy if you are curious. But my hope is to get a conversation going with you and hear ways this model of "the kenotic self" can play out in your communities and how "missional openness" can challenge some of the fortress mentality that is crippling so many faith communities including those in Emergent and Missional models (I spend quite a bit of time both affirming the Emergent and Missional movements but also critiquing them).
Blessings and peace my friends – would love to have your feedback and please pass the URL to those you might think enjoy these themes and conversations.
But wait… there's more! Also you can get 40% off the retail price with the promo code BSCB10 – that bumps the price down to $12.60!
Posted in books, church, emergent, existential musings, kenosis, missional, missional quote of the week, theology and tagged as books, church, Emergent, Freedom of the Self, missional, theology. 2 Comments
Being Tame and Neo-Manhood Movement: A new appreciation for The Little Prince
By senseijfk | May 27, 2010
There is a line in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's wee 1943 book The Little Prince that caught my eye the other day: "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." It is such an interesting term this notion of taming. The tension surrounding what it means to be human is ultimately bound up (pun intended) in this notion of whether we are to be tamed or allowed to go native if you will. From the Age of Reason onward, this tension is framed by a longing for recovering that which is lost as Western culture moved further into a technological dependence. In his 1734 "An Essay on Man", Alexander Pope romanticised his view of the Native Americans this way:
o, the poor Indian! whose untutor'd mind
Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind;
His soul proud Science never taught to stray
Far as the solar walk or milky way;
Yet simple Nature to his hope has giv'n,
Behind the cloud-topp'd hill, a humbler heav'n;
Some safer world in depth of woods embrac'd,
Some happier island in the wat'ry waste,
Where slaves once more their native land behold,
No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold!
To be, contents his natural desire;
He asks no angel's wing, no seraph's fire:
But thinks, admitted to that equal sky,
His faithful dog shall bear him company.
While there was this eighteenth century longing for a seemingly simpler age, as Western culture entered the twentieth century, the call was to be more than merely civilized as seen in Frederick Nietzsche's calling forth to humanity to embrace the Übermensch (Superman/Overman). In his 1896 masterwork, Thus Spake Zarathustra Nietzsche sees the call of the Übermensch as merely our destiny in that all things seek to transcend their natural state as humanity leaves behind the Victorian age and embraces the twentieth century:
"I teach you the overman [Übermensch]. Man is something that shall be overcome. What have you done to overcome him? … All beings so far have created something beyond themselves; and do you want to be the ebb of this great flood, and even go back to the beasts rather than overcome man? What is ape to man? A laughing stock or painful embarrassment. And man shall be that to overman: a laughingstock or painful embarrassment. You have made your way from worm to man, and much in you is still worm. Once you were apes, and even now, too, man is more ape than any ape…. The overman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the overman shall be the meaning of the earth…. Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman—a rope over an abyss … what is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end." – Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Prologue, 3–4)
And yet Western culture has become deeply suspicious of taming. If you are a naturalist, taming evokes snuffing out the carnality and majesty out of something: powerful Elephants reduced to mundane circus tricks, horses that once ran free now walking in slow circles at children's petting zoos, dogs shackled to leashes and trotted around paved sidewalks while suburbanites yak away on cell phones.
Going back to The Little Prince, taming is something of another order than what Pope and Nietzsche are fixated on. Taming is making a tie to something, a tether, a bond. It is way to give boundary to our life so that we can not merely walk away from our commitments and choose to stay put, be present, and ultimately to love. Taming in not taking the divine spark out of something, but rather releasing ourselves to the imaginative possibility that goes beyond what we can see with the naked eye. In The Little Prince, a downed Aviator encounters the little prince in the Sahara desert. the Aviator is asked by the little prince to help him find his lost sheep. He fears that the sheep will be eaten if he is not cared for and pleads with the Aviator to 'draw' his sheep so he can see it and know that it is cared for. After some failed attempts to draw a 'real' sheep, the Aviator finally draws a simple box, which he explains has the sheep inside – that the sheep must be seen with imagination and not mere realism. The prince proclaims that this is perfect and feels that the sheep is now indeed safe.
To be tame is not a bad thing. It is a commitment to being with each other rather than being wild for the sake of ourselves. In a nutshell, this is my deep concern with the neo-manhood movement that is going on after John Eldredge and Mark Driscoll. This push to find our humanity in beating our chests, buying vintage 4×4's, and taking the world on through power and will is certainly something that Nietzsche hoped humanity would embrace and many Evangelical males have – think Übermensch with hair gel, soul patch, and screamo CCM blaring out of the tricked-out Tahoe. Rather than being "Wild at Heart", can we find some hope in binding ourselves in full presence with those we are called to care for, to embracing rather than running wild, and waiting for what God has to show us in imagining a new way of life rather than seeking a savage realism?
Just askin…
Posted in books, church, culture, existential musings, John Eldredge, Mark Driscoll, wild at heart and tagged as books, existential musings, John Eldredge, manhood, Mark Driscoll, The Little Prince, theology, Wild at Heart. 1 Comment
Your Neighbor's Hymnal – finishing first draft – looking for songs about faith, hope and love
This weekend I am rounding out my first rough (read: ROUGH) draft of my book project on theology and popular music entitled Your Neighbor's Hymnal: What Pop Music can teach Christians about Faith, Hope and Love. The book is under contract with Cascade Books and I hope to have it ready for press by June 2010. If you are familiar with Nick Hornby's 31 Songs, then you will be familiar with the way the book will flow – I am tracing the themes of faith, hope and love through 52 pop songs (a song a week) and seeing the way the artists and the culture have framed these three Christian virtues. If you have songs that you feel need to be in here, post your suggestion and what you feel this song/artist has to teach us about faith, hope and/or love. You might get your song in the book and name checked!
Posted in books, existential musings, music, Music Writing, Nick Hornby, secular, theology, U2 and tagged as 31 Songs, books, Cascade Books, music, Nick Hornby, theology, Writing on Music. 3 Comments
Toward a post-conservative evangelical theology – what is on the horizon
As I teach Postmodern Theology at Fuller Seminary this quarter, I am reminded that so much of what is shifting in current discussions surrounding what constitutes 'faith' is a deep concern for the sake of the poor and the marginalized in our world. The outpouring of support these past few days for Haiti, the constant desire to end human trafficking, the desire to return to the first impulses of the Reformers – to say once again that if the Christian faith is anything then it is deeply practical and bound up in God's care and longing to reconcile a broken and battered world. This is not a God of Deism that sits far off, indifferent to the cries of captivity, loss, mourning, joy, and wonder. No, a generation is arising that so deeply cares about what it means to live and breath each moment of the day that they are willing to sacrifice everything – job security, church traditions, safe zip codes of comfort – just to taste it once before they die. These are members of the community of loving defiance amidst the comfortable clubs of conformity that fill our web searches and reality shows.
One of the writers I continue to come back to and think has been lost in the Emergent swelling of writers is Millard Erickson. Erickson was ahead of the curve prior to the wave of Emergent folks who blossomed in popularity in the last 10 years and I think needs to be re-read. One book that is quite compelling is The Evangelical Left: Encountering Postconservative Evangelical Theology (Baker Books, 1997).
In it Erickson surmises the shift from evangelicalism as a movement toward a "post-conservative evangelical theology" which is marked by the following characteristics:
* Eagerness to engage in dialogue with nonevangelical theologians. Indeed, "they seek opportunities to converse with those whom conservative evangelicals would probably consider enemies." In particular Erickson refers to liberal and catholic theologians.
* Concern with theology's domination by white males and Eurocentrism. Recognizing the influence of social location on theological work, postconservatives seek to include women, persons of color, and Third World Christians in theological scholarship.
* Broadening of the sources used in theology. This frequently includes an emphasis on "narrative-shaped experience" rather than "propositional truths enshrined in doctrines." The sources may include, in addition to the Bible, Christian tradition, culture, and contemporary Christian experience.
* A discontent with the traditional ties of evangelical theology to the "evangelical Enlightenment," especially common sense realism. Rejection of the "wooden" approach to Scripture, in favor of regarding it as "Spirit-inspired realistic narrative."
* An open view of God, in which God limits himself and enters into relationships of genuine response to humans, taking their pain and suffering into himself. God is a risk-taker, not one who controls everything so that nothing contrary to his desires can occur.
* An acceptance, rather than a rejection, of the realm of nature. Nature, although fallen, is never abandoned by grace, which then pervades it.
* A hope for a near-universal salvation as far as access to God's grace. God has not left himself without a witness in all cultures, sufficient to bring people to salvation if they earnestly seek it.
* An emphasis in Christology on the humanity of Jesus. While retaining belief in the divinity of Christ, this is thought of more in relational than in substance and person categories.
* A more synergistic understanding of salvation. These theologians are, overall, more Arminian than Calvinistic.
* A rejection of triumphalism with respect to theological truth-claims. Postconservatives are critical of belief in epistemological certainty and theological systems.
What do you think of Erickson's points? Given that Erickson wrote this over a decade ago, did he sum things up well and what did he miss as we enter the next decade of the 21st century?
Posted in books, existential musings, Jesus, secular, theology and tagged as Emergent, evangelical, existential musings, Millard Erickson, pastoral vocation, theology. 2 Comments


1988 Completed Under graduation from Govt. College of Engineering, Salem - 636 011 specialised in Metallurgy with First Class.
1992 Completed Post graduation from Madras Institute of Technology, Anna University Campus, Madras, specialised in Production with First Class with Distinction.
2004 completed Ph.D from Bharathiar University Title "Diffusion Bonding Studies in Superplastic, Super-plastic like and Non superplastic materials"
Thiyaneshwaran, K. Sivaprasad and B. Ravisankar, "Nucleation and growth of TiAl3 intermetallic phase in diffusion bonded Ti/Al Metal Intermetallic Laminate" Nature – scientific reports (2018) 8:16797, DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-35247-0.
Nagaraj and B Ravisankar, "Investigation on ECAPed structural steel IS2062 and evaluation of strengthening mechanisms", Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) PP 1-11, https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/aaf2fb.
Nagaraj and B. Ravisankar, "Effect of Severe Plastic Deformation on Microstructural and Mechanical Mechanical Behaviour of Friction-Welded Structural Steel IS2062", Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals, (2018), https://doi.org/10.1007/s12666-018-1527-1.
Р. Г. Фаррахов, Е. В. Парфенов, В. Р. Мукаева, М. В. Горбатков, П. В. Тарасов, А. Р. Фаткуллин, Н. Рамешбабу (N.RameshBabu), Б. Рависанкар (B.Ravisankar), "Влияниесоставаэлектролитаназащитныесвойства ПЭО-покрытиянациркониевомсплаве Zr-1Nb" Электроннаяобработкаматериалов (Surface Engineering and Applied Electrochemistry) 2019, 55(1), 23–30. (In Russian) - DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2551229.


text:
South Africa: It's Very Difficult to 'Be Different' When You Play the Gentlemen's Game
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
analysis By CS Chiwanza
The recent exposure of systemic racism in Yorkshire cricket, as well as harrowing stories of discrimination during South Africa's own inquest into racism in cricket, underlines the sport's problem with all forms of diversity.
West Indian cricketer Tino Best tells a story about Hashim Amla. In 2007, both men were part of a contingent that travelled to Wales to play in a charity tournament. At the dinner that followed the afternoon matches, Amla found himself seated at a table beside a cricketer who enjoyed his alcohol. No one would have minded if the player just enjoyed his wine or whatever he was drinking.
"Just have one sip, it won't hurt you," the player repeatedly said to Amla for the better part of the night. Each time the player accosted him, Amla responded as all who have watched him over the years have come to expect, with humility and respect: "Sir, I don't drink. Thank you, but, no, I don't drink."
But it wasn't enough for Amla to politely decline the drink and the player kept insisting, trying to get him to break his religious beliefs and take a sip "to fit in". Drinking is part of cricket culture and so-called...
Read the full story on Daily Maverick.
Copyright © 2021 Daily Maverick. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
WBJ Viewpoint: Bus Industry Remains Stalled without Pandemic Relief Funds
Posted by Melanie Hinton on February 11, 2022
Viewpoint: Bus Industry Remains Stalled without Pandemic Relief Funds
Washington Business Journal
Thousands of small, family-owned businesses could be forced to shut down, and nearly 100,000 jobs will be impacted if Congress doesn't act now. Motorcoach companies, nearly all of which are small businesses and many are minority-owned, have always supported themselves, never asking for help. However, the circumstances are dire, and these businesses need a lifeline to stay alive. I urge Congress to provide Covid relief money to those in the bus industry who are doing everything they can to keep their family businesses afloat.
As a result of the global pandemic, in December 2020, Congress provided some initial support to the bus industry, but that money covered only a fraction of the losses the industry has endured. The once-thriving $15.3 billion bus industry has shrunk to just $2.6 billion in 2020. Many do not realize that, prior to the pandemic, the bus industry transported nearly 600 million passengers in the U.S. annually. This makes up a significant portion of the nation's transportation infrastructure, where trains only transport about 32.5 million people and airlines transport about 800 million people domestically. While others in the transportation industry grab the headlines, it's small businesses in the bus industry that are doing a fair share of the work.
For example, D.C. Trails is a family-owned company that has made difficult choices during the pandemic. An essential partner for the Department of Defense, transporting servicemen and women to and from military bases, D.C. Trails had to significantly downsize the company, so much so that the owner was forced to take to driving buses himself to stay afloat. Faced with the uncertainty about the business and trying to save others jobs, he was and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the buses running.
It's not all about big city transportation needs, though. Bus companies also operate in rural states, oftentimes filling a gap in the transportation system and showing up when they're needed most. Arkansas-based Little Rock Coaches lost a third of its 50 employees as a result of the pandemic. Despite this, the company sent six of its buses to Texas last September, to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency with emergency recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ida. But without support from Congress, Little Rock Coaches may not be around to aid after the next natural disaster.
In addition to family-owned bus companies, local restaurants, hotels, theaters, museums and other retail operations depend on a healthy motorcoach industry to bring them customers and to continue their business. To avoid losing all these important economic industries, Congress should urgently pass the legislative package that Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., are leading, which would deliver roughly $60 billion in grants from the Small Business Administration. With no clear end to the pandemic in sight, those funds would provide a critical lifeline.
Small, family-owned businesses represent the best of American entrepreneurship. These companies might not make the nightly news, but they continue to struggle in the face of the never-ending pandemic. It's high time for the corridors of power to listen to and provide small businesses, and the bus industry, the support they so desperately need — and deserve.
Peter J. Pantuso is president and CEO of the American Bus Association, based in D.C.
dc trails
little rock coaches
sen. ben cardin
sen. roger wicker
family owned businesses


text:
Javanese traditional house () refers to the traditional vernacular houses of Javanese people in the island of Java, Indonesia.

See also

 Indonesian architecture
 Rumah adat
 Kraton (Indonesia)
 List of mosques in Indonesia
 Dutch Indies country houses
 Kotagede

References

Works cited

Rumah adat
Javanese culture
House types

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Image Title: Modern Cute Girls Room Pink Black Beige And Red Polka Dot Curtains In For Little Decorations 12. Post Title: Curtains For Little Girls Room. Filename: modern-cute-girls-room-pink-black-beige-and-red-polka-dot-curtains-in-for-little-decorations-12.jpg. Image Dimension: 714 x 714 pixels. Images Format: jpg/jpeg. Publisher/Author: Henry Kshlerin. Uploaded Date: Thursday - June 14th. 2018 19:52:16 PM. Category: Architecture. Image Source: houseandgarden.co.uk. Room A 693 520 And Curtains To Lil For Bedroom Nursery Ideas Pertaining Girls Inspirations 3. Images DIY Idea Toddler S 8. 9. Treatment Best Little 4 Our Co Girl Windows In Design Brylees Curtain Regarding Pink Pixels This 4. Remodel Within Matches Love Inside Throughout 18. Cute Between Ipllive Baby Pinterest 14. Decor 17. 44 13. Two Window Jpg Plan Sale On Sheer 1. 7.


Attention la baignade est interdite aux étangs de Dézerseul, nous avons été priés de sortir de l'eau par un agent municipal. Privilégiez le site du stade d'eaux vives.
Paddling the South West of Western Australia....my home town....the traditional lands of the Wandardi people. Amazing untouched bush land, deep brackish river that is clear and fresh. A Magnificent experience.
Hi. We would love to sup in the south of Western Australia! Can you tell me, where exactly in the Blackwood River did you paddle? At what place would you recommend to get in the water and where out. Thanks for information about this!! Cheers!
Another early morning session at the Swan River.
Checking out the Brisbane area we found Bay Island Paddleboards in Raby Bay Foreshore Park.
They rent out boards for a fair price, $ausd25 per hour. After your paddle session you can join the espresso bar next to the SUP rental. From the park you can paddle to the north west along our through trees that grow in the water.
A bit of a mangrove feel from what I experienced couple years ago at the Floriday Keys at Marathon Key.
After that you can cruise through the local harbor and enjoy beautiful houses and boats of the Aussie rich and famous.
In the park is plenty free parking space, a restroom building with fresh showers and several beaches to launch from.
When you are lucky you might see some wild life during your paddle session ranging from dolphins, turtles or other animals.
come to Malaysia, will bring you to SUP in some mangrove areas.
Browsing the Sydney harbor area for SUP rentals we found WATSSUP. This company provides pre booked tours from resp. Watsons Bay but a also other locations.
We met Terry McDermott who by coincidence had a cancellation and was willing to show us around. Terry is a retired Bondi Beach Lifeguard (also know from the TV series Bondi rescue) and knows the place very well. From where we started you can park your car for free. Sydney can be expensive parkingwise. At the start location you can use restrooms or grab a after SUP bite. We started from the beach, north of the ferry terminal. Be cautious about the ferries! Besidies that the water is quiet and provides an awesome paddle scenery with Sydney in the background. We just did a small lap of an hour but you can do more if you want.
Check the website of WHATSSUP for more details. For us a place to come back when possible.
Good parking in lay-by in Westhay and again down at lock in Highbridge will need two cars.


Jamie Lenman's new double album really is a tale of two halves.
Disc one of Muscle Memory features brutal riffs and intense vocals, while disc two is a collection of soft melodies with elements of big band jazz and blues.
Jamie, who until 2008 was lead singer of metal band Reuben, says he will do his best to combine the two styles when he embarks on a UK tour that plays Birmingham Institute on December 5.
Muscle Memory is Jamie's first new musical offering since Reuben split five years ago.
''I didn't play any music for about a year, until the end of 2009. I was sick of it really. I had what I suppose you could call a burn out, almost a mini break down. I don't want to get too dramatic but it was very stressful being in a band. It's always stressful being in a rock & roll band, especially that type of band, we didn't have any money and we were touring non-stop. I just couldn't face it, I couldn't pick up a guitar until it became impossible not to and that's when I got back into it.
Jamie admits the process from playing music for his own enjoyment to releasing an album was a slow one.
Jamie has a full time career as an illustrator and cartoonist. He is currently working on a series of children's history books for publisher Bloomsbury.
''I've finished two, I'm working on another two and there are five more in the pipeline,'' he says.
However, he found time to illustrate the sleeve of Muscle Memory and also continue his regular comic strip in Doctor Who Magazine.
And his verdict on the recent anniversary TV episode?


As the G-20 summit approaches this Friday, it brings to the forefront some international economic policies, deals, and misfortunes. Hosted by Argentina this year, the summit will include representatives from the world's most robust economies. The main topics are set to include infrastructure, economic development, and food security; things Argentina itself struggles with as it continues to transition from government after government with a protectionist mindset to Mauricio Macri's more open-bordered approach. Macri has attempted to position his country well by building relations with both the Trump and Jinping administrations of the United States and China, respectively. This is a respectable accomplishment for his three years in office thus far because of the tension that exists between the US and China over trade disputes currently. The topic of these countries' qualms will surely be visited during the summit though perhaps not directly. I believe it unlikely that discussion at a two-day summit conference will help significantly move trade barriers between the nations but I think it should prove interesting to see what events unfold, especially whether or not Canada, Mexico and the US will sign the new North American Free Trade deal.
Additionally, the turn of events for Argentina as it plunges deeper into crisis will likely affect the discussions as well. It seems that intervention is required in the form of policy when it comes to the Argentinian economy as the $56 billion IMF credit line it was granted does not seem to be helping either enough or as quickly as it is needed. I'm interested to know what the thought process was behind lending that massive amount of credit when Argentina has previously defaulted on loans before. I think that Argentina is definitely in worse shape than other South American countries because of its previous protectionist policies. When you shock a system that has been in place for so long it can often get much worse before it gets any better and the inflation the country is experiencing is contributory to that.
Stephanie, aside from the economic events to be discussed during the G-20 summit in Argentina, it worthy to note that there are widespread speculations that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, might be arrested in connection with the brutal assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Argentina has a a war crimes clause in its constitution which allows it to investigate any involvement by the crown prince in possible crimes against humanity in Yemen and Khashoggi's murder.
The killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and a critic of the crown prince, at Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul six weeks ago where he was dismembered and his remains dissolved in acid, has strained Saudi Arabia's ties with the West and battered Prince Mohammed's image abroad.
Prince Mohammed will arrive in Argentina from Tunisia, where he was met by protesters who denounced him as a murderer for the killing of Khashoggi.


text:
#include "System/UserInactivityMonitor.h"

#include <functional>
#include <rapidjson/document.h>
#include <rapidjson/pointer.h>
#include <rapidjson/stringbuffer.h>
#include <rapidjson/writer.h>

#include <AVSCommon/Utils/JSON/JSONUtils.h>

namespace alexaClientSDK {
namespace capabilityAgents {
namespace system {

using namespace avsCommon::sdkInterfaces;
using namespace avsCommon::avs;
using namespace avsCommon::utils::timing;
using namespace avsCommon::utils::json;
using namespace rapidjson;

/// String to identify log entries originating from this file.
#define TAG "UserInactivityMonitor"

/// Number of seconds in one hour.
static const int SECONDS_IN_HOUR = 3600;

/**
 * Create a LogEntry using this file's TAG and the specified event string.
 *
 * @param The event string for this @c LogEntry.
 */
#define LX(event) alexaClientSDK::avsCommon::utils::logger::LogEntry(TAG, event)

/// String to identify the AVS namespace of the event we send.
static const std::string USER_INACTIVITY_MONITOR_NAMESPACE = "System";

/// String to identify the AVS name of the event we send.
static const std::string INACTIVITY_EVENT_NAME = "UserInactivityReport";

/// String to identify the key of the payload associated to the inactivity.
static const std::string INACTIVITY_EVENT_PAYLOAD_KEY = "inactiveTimeInSeconds";

/// String to identify the AVS name of the directive we receive.
static const std::string RESET_DIRECTIVE_NAME = "ResetUserInactivity";

void UserInactivityMonitor::removeDirectiveGracefully(
    std::shared_ptr<avsCommon::avs::CapabilityAgent::DirectiveInfo> info,
    bool isFailure,
    const std::string& report) {
    if (info) {
        if (info->result) {
            if (isFailure) {
                info->result->setFailed(report);
            } else {
                info->result->setCompleted();
            }
            if (info->directive) {
                CapabilityAgent::removeDirective(info->directive->getMessageId());
            }
        }
    }
}

std::shared_ptr<avsCommon::sdkInterfaces::UserInactivityMonitorInterface> UserInactivityMonitor::
    createUserInactivityMonitorInterface(
        const std::shared_ptr<avsCommon::sdkInterfaces::MessageSenderInterface>& messageSender,
        const std::shared_ptr<avsCommon::sdkInterfaces::ExceptionEncounteredSenderInterface>&
            exceptionEncounteredSender,
        const std::shared_ptr<acsdkShutdownManagerInterfaces::ShutdownNotifierInterface>& shutdownNotifier,
        const std::shared_ptr<avsCommon::sdkInterfaces::DirectiveSequencerInterface>& directiveSequencer,
        const std::chrono::milliseconds& sendPeriod) {
    ACSDK_DEBUG5(LX(__func__));
    if (!messageSender || !exceptionEncounteredSender || !shutdownNotifier || !directiveSequencer) {
        ACSDK_ERROR(LX("createUserInactivityMonitorInterfaceFailed")
                        .d("isMessageSenderNull", !messageSender)
                        .d("isExceptionEncounteredSenderNull", !exceptionEncounteredSender)
                        .d("isShutdownNotifierNull", !shutdownNotifier)
                        .d("isDirectiveSequencerNull", !directiveSequencer));
        return nullptr;
    }

    auto monitor = std::shared_ptr<UserInactivityMonitor>(
        new UserInactivityMonitor(messageSender, exceptionEncounteredSender, sendPeriod));

    shutdownNotifier->addObserver(monitor);
    directiveSequencer->addDirectiveHandler(monitor);

    return monitor;
}

std::shared_ptr<UserInactivityMonitor> UserInactivityMonitor::create(
    std::shared_ptr<MessageSenderInterface> messageSender,
    std::shared_ptr<ExceptionEncounteredSenderInterface> exceptionEncounteredSender,
    const std::chrono::milliseconds& sendPeriod) {
    if (!messageSender) {
        ACSDK_ERROR(LX("createFailed").d("reason", "nullMessageSender"));
        return nullptr;
    }
    if (!exceptionEncounteredSender) {
        ACSDK_ERROR(LX("createFailed").d("reason", "nullExceptionEncounteredSender"));
        return nullptr;
    }
    return std::shared_ptr<UserInactivityMonitor>(
        new UserInactivityMonitor(messageSender, exceptionEncounteredSender, sendPeriod));
}

UserInactivityMonitor::UserInactivityMonitor(
    std::shared_ptr<MessageSenderInterface> messageSender,
    std::shared_ptr<ExceptionEncounteredSenderInterface> exceptionEncounteredSender,
    const std::chrono::milliseconds& sendPeriod) :
        CapabilityAgent{USER_INACTIVITY_MONITOR_NAMESPACE, exceptionEncounteredSender},
        RequiresShutdown{"UserInactivityMonitor"},
        m_messageSender{messageSender},
        m_lastTimeActive{std::chrono::steady_clock::now()},
        m_sendPeriod{sendPeriod} {
    startTimer();
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::sendInactivityReport() {
    std::chrono::time_point<std::chrono::steady_clock> lastTimeActive;
    m_recentUpdateBlocked = false;
    {
        std::lock_guard<std::mutex> timeLock(m_mutex);
        lastTimeActive = m_lastTimeActive;
    }
    if (m_recentUpdateBlocked) {
        std::lock_guard<std::mutex> timeLock(m_mutex);
        m_lastTimeActive = std::chrono::steady_clock::now();
        lastTimeActive = m_lastTimeActive;

        // Recent update was blocked means user was active, so we don't need to send an event.
        return;
    }
    Document inactivityPayload(kObjectType);
    SizeType payloadKeySize = static_cast<SizeType>(INACTIVITY_EVENT_PAYLOAD_KEY.length());
    const Pointer::Token payloadKey[] = {{INACTIVITY_EVENT_PAYLOAD_KEY.c_str(), payloadKeySize, kPointerInvalidIndex}};

    // AVS requires inactivity time to be a multiple of 3600.
    auto inactiveSeconds =
        std::chrono::duration_cast<std::chrono::seconds>(std::chrono::steady_clock::now() - lastTimeActive);

    // Rounded hours.
    auto inactiveHours = ((inactiveSeconds.count() + SECONDS_IN_HOUR / 2) / SECONDS_IN_HOUR);

    Pointer(payloadKey, 1).Set(inactivityPayload, static_cast<int64_t>(inactiveHours * SECONDS_IN_HOUR));

    std::string inactivityPayloadString;
    jsonUtils::convertToValue(inactivityPayload, &inactivityPayloadString);

    auto inactivityEvent = buildJsonEventString(INACTIVITY_EVENT_NAME, "", inactivityPayloadString);
    m_messageSender->sendMessage(std::make_shared<MessageRequest>(inactivityEvent.second));

    notifyObservers();
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::startTimer() {
    m_eventTimer.start(
        m_sendPeriod,
        Timer::PeriodType::ABSOLUTE,
        Timer::getForever(),
        std::bind(&UserInactivityMonitor::sendInactivityReport, this));
}

DirectiveHandlerConfiguration UserInactivityMonitor::getConfiguration() const {
    return DirectiveHandlerConfiguration{{NamespaceAndName{USER_INACTIVITY_MONITOR_NAMESPACE, RESET_DIRECTIVE_NAME},
                                          BlockingPolicy(BlockingPolicy::MEDIUMS_NONE, false)}};
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::handleDirectiveImmediately(std::shared_ptr<AVSDirective> directive) {
    handleDirective(std::make_shared<CapabilityAgent::DirectiveInfo>(directive, nullptr));
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::preHandleDirective(std::shared_ptr<CapabilityAgent::DirectiveInfo> info) {
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::handleDirective(std::shared_ptr<CapabilityAgent::DirectiveInfo> info) {
    onUserActive();
    removeDirectiveGracefully(info);
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::cancelDirective(std::shared_ptr<CapabilityAgent::DirectiveInfo> info) {
    if (!info->directive) {
        removeDirectiveGracefully(info, true, "nullDirective");
        ACSDK_ERROR(LX("cancelDirectiveFailed").d("reason", "nullDirectiveInDirectiveInfo"));
        return;
    }
    removeDirective(info->directive->getMessageId());
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::onUserActive() {
    ACSDK_DEBUG5(LX(__func__));
    std::unique_lock<std::mutex> timeLock(m_mutex, std::defer_lock);

    m_eventTimer.stop();
    ACSDK_DEBUG5(LX(__func__).m("Timer stopped"));

    startTimer();
    ACSDK_DEBUG5(LX(__func__).m("Timer started"));

    if (timeLock.try_lock()) {
        m_lastTimeActive = std::chrono::steady_clock::now();
    } else {
        m_recentUpdateBlocked = true;
    }
}

std::chrono::seconds UserInactivityMonitor::timeSinceUserActivity() {
    std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
    auto lastTimeActiveCopy = m_lastTimeActive;
    lock.unlock();

    return std::chrono::duration_cast<std::chrono::seconds>(std::chrono::steady_clock::now() - lastTimeActiveCopy);
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::addObserver(std::shared_ptr<UserInactivityMonitorObserverInterface> observer) {
    if (!observer) {
        ACSDK_ERROR(LX("addObserverFailed").d("reason", "nullObserver"));
        return;
    }

    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
    m_inactivityObservers.insert(observer);
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::removeObserver(std::shared_ptr<UserInactivityMonitorObserverInterface> observer) {
    if (!observer) {
        ACSDK_ERROR(LX("removeObserverFailed").d("reason", "nullObserver"));
        return;
    }

    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
    m_inactivityObservers.erase(observer);
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::notifyObservers() {
    std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
    auto observers = m_inactivityObservers;
    lock.unlock();

    for (auto observer : observers) {
        observer->onUserInactivityReportSent();
    }
}

void UserInactivityMonitor::doShutdown() {
    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock{m_mutex};
    m_inactivityObservers.clear();
}

}  // namespace system
}  // namespace capabilityAgents
}  // namespace alexaClientSDK

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last few years, you would have heard and/or read about the rise of outsourcing (also referred to as offshoring). But do you understand outsourcing and the benefits behind it?
When a company uses independent contractors or another company to perform services on its behalf (often in another country), the organisation is engaged in outsourcing.
Outsourcing takes place in any industry and is widely utilised in customer service, administration, accounting services and legal firms: pretty much any task that is done with a telephone or computer can be outsourced. The biggest uses of outsourcing, however, seem to be within the Information Technology and Marketing industries.
The outsourcing market isn't a small one either. In 2017, the global outsourcing market amounted to USD$88.9 billion which has doubled since its early days in 2000 – there's a lot of outsourcing going on.
The year of 2018 is set to see a further rise of outsourcing trends worldwide. A recent article published by Deloitte states that IT service outsourcing was at 31% in 2017 and will continue to grow rapidly in future.
Businesses aren't simply outsourcing work to other businesses and countries because it's the "in thing" to do either. They are outsourcing because of the many benefits of doing so – more about these a little later.
The latest blog from our Virtual CFO will provide you with everything you need to know about the rise of outsourcing. Would it work for your business? You decide.
So, why do businesses use outsourcing in the first place? What are the benefits and the common drivers to do it?
In 2016, the leading motivation for the use of outsourcing services was to cut costs – and this is likely the most common reason you will hear.
In addition to cost-cutting however, there are many other common reasons for outsourcing.
The benefits of outsourcing can go so much further than these though.
Yes, outsourcing began as cost-cutting measures as well as some of the other common drivers above, but companies routinely creating sustained value use them for achieving far more strategic ends.
Smart businesses use outsourcing to gain capabilities that they may not have in-house or to strengthen their existing capabilities.
Studies completed over 10 years on 2,000 companies, found that 85% of winning companies used capability-sourcing broadly and strategically. They did this for everything from developing world-class talent, to bringing new products to market faster and enabling business model innovation (Bain & Co, 2010).
This confirms that many organisations have moved way beyond mere cost-cutting drivers and are wisely continuing to do so.
Instead, businesses are trying to tap into global talent (particularly in emerging markets), to seize new local market opportunities and to get to market faster, whilst boosting innovation.
Making the decision to outsource is a big one, as your business and reputation could be at stake, as well as your client's overall experience.
However, with the right outsourcing, the benefits can be substantial.
All risks and benefits aside is it a choice that only you as a business owner can make and the path of outsourcing is not necessarily for everyone.
Thinking about what areas you would look to outsource, is a good starting point.
Check our previous blog post on what are the Key Elements in making a Business Plan?
If you're interested in outsourcing, you must first assess the areas of the operation for which this approach will be most effective for your business.
To determine this, start by looking at the tasks which take up the most time and which someone outside of your company's core structure could easily complete.
Following a careful review, create a short list of what these tasks might be and pick one function to test. This will help you determine if outsourcing will have the positive impact you seek.
Outsourcing payroll, for example, could be one such option and can be very inexpensive. For a business owner, the time freed up from payroll tasks can result in an opportunity to spend more time on revenue-generating activities.
Along with the tasks which take up most of your time, use outsourcing to really benefit your business by thinking about the capabilities you may not have in-house, which you hope to gain and the global markets you may be interested in tapping into.
Because in today's uncertain business climate, adopting a strategic view of capability sourcing isn't an option. It is imperative if your business is to have any hope of leapfrogging over the competition.
This is where a Virtual CFO comes in.
As you can see, whether you're currently outsourcing, are against to the idea, or simply don't really understand the whole concept, it is happening!
So, what did you decide? Is outsourcing an approach you feel would be useful in your business?
We will be writing more on the topic of outsourcing in the future, so we can help you really get into the nitty-gritty of it all!
Until then… If you want to learn more about outsourcing and what it could do for your business, talk to our Virtual CFO at proCFO in Perth today.


text:
Tam Giang is een xã in het district Núi Thành, een van de districten in de Vietnamese provincie Quảng Nam. Tam Giang heeft ruim 5900 inwoners op een oppervlakte van 11,51 km².

Geografie en topografie
Tam Giang ligt op een eiland in het estuarium van de Trường Giang en de Tam Kỳ.

Zie ook
 Lijst van administratieve eenheden in Quảng Nam

Quảng Nam
Xã in Vietnam


MMMMMMM. Chocolate chip cookies. My favorite!!
I don't know about you, but chocolate chip cookies were the very first thing I ever learned to bake. Since then I've searched for the PERFECT recipe.
And this recipe is the one I've settled on, its THE best and super easy to make! The cookies turn out just a little bit crispy with the nice chewy center.
I made a batch today, and have already eaten my fair share of them!
Step 2: Cream butter with both of your sugars (Brown sugar and granulated sugar).
Step 3: Once the butter and sugars are beat together so they are creamy, beat in your egg and vanilla.
Step 4: Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (flour, baking soda, and corn starch).
Step 5: Mix your dry ingredients in with your wet ingredients (that butter, sugar, egg, vanilla mixture you have). Slowly pour the dry into the wet while mixing.
Step 6: Mix in your chocolate chips and M&Ms.
Step 6.5: Test your M&Ms to make sure they taste good/are not poisonous/whatever other excuse you would like to insert here.
Step 8: Pop them in the oven and bake for 8 minutes (I like mine a bit underdone so they are chewy, so you could bake yours for 9/10 minutes if you like them more crispy).
Seriously. SO good. Hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I do!!
Throwback Thursday – Wedding Day!
Here's a throwback for you: January 4, 2014. Wedding Day!
I can't believe its been over a year and a half, time sure flies.
Our wedding has been on my mind lately because I have been working on our wedding album (a year and a half later HA!) and just last week we were over at my parents (where my dress is stored… because they are kind and let us steal some of their storage space) and I decided to give my dress another try. I wish I had an occasion to wear it again… I guess I'll just have to make friends with a princess and get invited to a ball or something!!
Anyways. I wish I could re-live the day over again!
I am LOVING summer, the sunshine, green everywhere, warm but crisp mornings… making it perfect for a run.
I started off the day with some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). The idea is to make your time worth it. Work harder for a shorter time. Sounds good to me!
Believe me, these sprints will get you. My lungs and legs were burning (especially after all those lunges)!! Definitely a tough workout.
Let me know how it goes for you! ENJOY!!


For the second consecutive weekend, the Bruins will have a matinee game – this time against the Los Angeles Kings. Last weekend, the Bruins defeated the Washington Capitals, 1-0, on Super Bowl Sunday and then followed it up with a 3-1 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday in Patrice Bergeron's 1000th NHL game. On Wednesday, the Bruins gave up a 3-1 lead in the third period to lose 4-3 in a shootout to the Rangers. The Bruins are in the second wild-card spot with 66 points, two points behind Montreal with a game in hand.
Even though the Los Angeles Kings are the worst team in the Western Conference with fifty points, they are in the middle of a three-game winning streak including wins over the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers all this week. Two of the three wins were post-regulation wins – one in the shootout and one in overtime. Los Angeles is five points out of a possible playoff spot, but the Blues, who have the second wild-card position, have two games in hand.
Anze Kopitar signed an eight-year contract worth an annual average of $10 million per season back in 2016 and he has been worth his money in the past few games. In the last six games, the Jesenice, Slovenia native has 3-6-9 totals including a five-game point streak that lasted from January 19th to February 7th. The 31-year-old leads the Kings with 16-24-40 numbers in 53 games this season.
Patrice Bergeron is going to be honoured for his 1000th NHL regular season game today against the Kings and he has not slowed down his play, even with the milestone. The Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, Canada native has four points in his last four games including three goals in the last two games. Bergeron 19-28-47 totals in thirty-eight games this season and he continues to be one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL.
Tyler Toffoli was a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Kings and has been one of the better scoring players on the roster over the past few seasons and he has been as of late as well. Toffoli has 3-2-5 totals in his last three games, including two goals in thirty-five seconds against the Devils on Feb. 5th. Toffoli helped the Kings set a franchise record for fastest three goals to start a period, scoring three times in only 112 seconds.
Tyler Toffoli tallied twice in a span of 0:35, marking the 19th time in @LAKings history that a player has scored two goals in less than 40 seconds.
Tuukka Rask has been solid in the crease for the Bruins. In each of his last ten starts, the Bruins have earned a point with Rask going 8-0-2 in that time. He has an impressive 1.63 goals-against-average and .945 save percentage in the ten games played. Rask's 2.30 GAA is tied for the third-best in the league and his .924 save percentage this season tied for fifth.
Drew Doughty is the number one defenceman in L.A., even more so with the loss of Jake Muzzin to the Maple Leafs in a recent trade but he has not been the best this season. He only has one point in the last four games and was a minus rating in two of those games – bringing his season total to a -18 rating, the worst on the entire Kings roster.
Jake DeBrusk is supposed to add some more goals and assists on the second line for the Bruins but he has failed to do so this year, only scoring fourteen goals and five assists for nineteen points in forty-five games. The 2015 first-rounder has only one point in his last seven games and has not scored a goal since January 8th (11 games). In response, DeBrusk was skating on the third line ahead of today's game.
Alec Martinez is currently in the middle of an eleven-game pointless streak dating back to December 6th. Martinez has put up thirty plus points in the past few seasons with the Kings, but in 2018-19, he is currently on pace for around twenty-two points. Martinez is 31 years of age now and he needs to bring more responsible scoring on the backend, even though he is a defenceman.
When the Bruins and Kings battle it out, it is more often than not an entertaining contest. Both teams like getting physical and have the players to do so and in the same breath have players and goalies that can score or make big saves. Equally, both the Bruins and Kings need this win for playoff seeding values, as the Kings may try and make a push for the post-season.
Last season, the Bruins won the two-game season series against Los Angeles, losing a 2-1 overtime game in October, but returning with a 2-1 regulation win in November 2017. This meeting is the first of two meetings within seven days for the two franchises, as the two will make the trip to Los Angeles, California for the second game next Saturday.
Expect another close, back-and-forth hockey game this afternoon. Boston's power-play (tied for 2nd best in NHL at 27.1%) may be a big factor as the Kings have the third-worst penalty-kill percentage in the league, killing off only 76.1% of the penalties they take. On the flip side of that, the Bruins average the most penalty minutes taken per game, while the Kings take the third-least amount of penalties per minute on average in the NHL.
Either way, this 1pm EST puck drop will put a start to a great hockey game at TD Garden. Make sure to follow me on Twitter (@tkdmaxbjj) for post-game coverage. Here are the projected lines for the contest for your Boston Bruins.
David Backes is in for Trent Frederic and Matt Grzelcyk is unlikely to play today as he is dealing with a lower-body injury.