May 31, 2007
Mac Vs. PC--I Need Advice (Should I Swtich To A Mac?)
Fellas, I thinking about making the switch to a Mac. I've been a PC user for over 20 years. Which is better and why?
I'm thinking of switching 'cause I'm getting tired of crashing, spam issues, etc.
Advise!
May 29, 2007
Feminists, Hip Hop, and Mysogyny: My Most Recent Column In the Detroit News
My most recent piece in the Detroit News.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Why won't feminists protest misogyny in hip-hop culture?
In April, misogynist rapper Akon was filmed in Trinidad simulating sex on stage at a concert with a teenage girl.
Danah Alleyne, a pastor's daughter, was led on stage to participate in a dance contest but soon discovered that Akon had other plans. Verizon has now dumped Akon from their agreement but the question remains: Why hasn't the Universal Music Group taken action?
Read the rest here.
It Was A Good Run--The Last Post
Fellas, this is the last post on this blog. World Magazine is changing its format in about 60 days and all of us Worldmag bloggers have to fine a new home. Tim Bayly, another World Magazine blogger, explains the details on his blog here.
I'm returning home to my original blog set up by my Covenant College alumni friends at Coptix years ago. It's called the Institute. For those of you who have links to this site it's going to disappear in about 30 days so you'll want to link up to here at the old joint here.
Although I will still post on that blog it will not be nearly as much as I have for several reasons:
(1) I have recently been invited to post on websites that give me a larger audience (beyond the conservative evangelical ghetto).
(2) I hope to move into doing larger projects with the Magazine (World).
(3) Book projects are on the docket.
(4) I actually have been given a platform in mainstream media outlets to write things that I would have written here.
(5) There are people who want to give me money to write for them now and I have tons of school loans to payback.
So the things that I would normally put here will appear in other places like Resurgence and the Acton Institute Blog as well as a few other places that will be disclosed later.
Thankful: I'm particularly thankful to Marvin Olasky for letting me do this for 3 years (back when I didn't know what blogging really was). I never thought I have a blog that got around 14,000 hits a month. I've made lots of new great friends (and odd enemies). And I'm super thankful for the many new circles this blog was responsible for bring me into (e.g., Ed Stetzer showing this blog to Mark Driscoll and the rest is history).
I don't think that any of you are still around since I started this is blog in February of 2004 which is probably why I get e-mails asking me to post stuff I a posted about 2 or 3 years ago.
Fellas, the conversation on this site has been awesome over the years and since we're all in feminized churches this is the only place where many of you get to engage "guy stuff." I will continue to write about the masculine journey because you college guys are some of the most emasculated men in American history (esp. if you grew up in the church) and you don't even know it.
So fellas, we're taking the conversation over to my other blog. I hope to see some of you there at The Institute.
Gore/Obama '08
A Gore/Obama ticket will be tough for the Republicans to defeat and may be the Dems best shot.
I'm not a democrat (or a republican) but there are the two reasons that I would vote in a democratic primary for Gore/Obama: (1) Hilary (2) Clinton.
Guys, I'm Sorry About The "Laura Ingalls" Type Girl You Keep Running Into
Fellas, in the last few months I've received several messages and talked over the phone, and in person, with many you guys about your inability to find women who don't look like they just walked off the set of Little House On The Prairie and who's idea of fun in sitting a home on a Saturday night drinking hot chocolate, watching a movie, and playing a board (bored) game. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just not the stuff you like. I feel you, bro. So you find yourself hanging out with most non-Christian girls because you prefer the club/lounge/house party scene as opposed to the sitting a home watching another movie-scene while eating popcorn (like an adult youth group).
Fellas, I don't know what else to tell ya. Hang in there, I guess. You've got two options: do the boring scene or find one of the boring ones and rescue her from it.
Hey, "F-dawg" we need to hang out soon so I can get an update on how things are going.
Jamaica--2nd Best Vacation Ever
Ok, I had an awesome time in Jamaica. Chillin' with very close friends at an all-inclusive resort. Watch my buddy tie the knot and for the first time in months, I went several days without checking my e-mail or cell phone.
BTW, the best vacation I ever had was the last time I was in Guatemala and I went to El Salvador with my friend Rodrigo and spent some quality time with his brother Juan and the rest of their family.
May 22, 2007
Jimmy Carter, "Are You Serious?"
From CNN:
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Former President Jimmy Carter said Monday his remarks were "careless or misinterpreted" when he said the Bush administration has been the "worst in history" for its impact around the world.Speaking on NBC's "Today," Carter appeared to retreat from a statement he made to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for a Saturday story in which he said: "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."
Carter said Monday that when he made the comment, he was responding to a question comparing the Bush administration's foreign policy to that of Richard Nixon
Here's why I'm not upset. Jimmy Carter is arguably the worst President in U.S. history so those comments coming from him would be like the Kansas City Royals saying that the Yankees haven't had any good players in years.
Just Returned From Birmingham--Civil-Rights/Confederate Country
(Birmingham 1963)
I was at a wedding in Birmingham over the weekend. It was the first time I was in the "non-Atlanta" South in years. I missed it at first and then the longer I stayed the more I realized why I don't.
(1) I ate at Dreamland BBQ. It was amazing! Southern obesity is so explainable.
(2) I was in one of the nicer areas of town near some mall called "The Summit." Right at HWY 280 and Int. 495. I saw more Mexicans than black people which meant that I was certainly on the wrong side of town.
(3) If I owned a golf shirt business I'd be a millionaire in that town. Golf shirt/khakis pants. Whew.
(4) I didn't realized Birmingham was so hilly. It was awesome. It was also awesome to see pine trees and red clay. The accent was refreshing to hear as well, for a while. It was good to hear "y'all."
(5) Then it happened. I had a moment where I remembered how bad race relations are there and how segregated the Christian community is there socially (beyond Sunday). My brother used to live there. I remembered the church bombings, Governor Wallace, and I remembered that John McCain got boo-ed at the Republican debate because of his comments about the Confederate Battle Flag. Then I remembered that this was an area where many Christians not only would proudly wave the flag but also support much of the culture and lifestyle the flag represented. Then I remembered being at Clemson when my Confederate-loving "Christian" friends would, frequently, forget I was black and "slip up" only to end up saying, "hey man, that didn't offend you did it?" I've always been confused about "Christians" who love the confederate South but don't expect blacks to think that they are racists. If Robert E. Lee is a hero of yours you're going to be suspicious to blacks. I also continue to be amazed at how emotionally attached Southerners are to Confederate Battle Flag.
(6) So, Birmingham's a great place, esp. if you play golf, but I don't know if I'd be able to live there. I'd need to go to the "other" side of town and talk to black people to see what's it's really like to live there.
(Dreamland BBQ--"Umm, Umm It Sho' Is Good!")
May 17, 2007
Asian-American Women Have The Highest Suicide Rates Of All Women 15-24
From CNN:
Push to achieve tied to suicide in Asian-American women
By Elizabeth Cohen
POSTED: 8:45 p.m. EDT, May 16, 2007
Story Highlights
• Suicide second-leading cause of death for Asian-American women 15-24
• Highest suicide rate among women of any race, ethnicity for that age group
• Experts cite "model minority" expectations, family pressures as factors
"ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- One evening in 1990, Eliza Noh hung up the phone with her sister. Disturbed about the conversation, Noh immediately started writing a letter to her sister, a college student who was often depressed. "I told her I supported her, and I encouraged her," Noh says.
But her sister never read the letter. By the time it arrived, she'd killed herself.
Moved by that tragedy, Noh has spent much of her professional life studying depression and suicide among Asian-American women. An assistant professor of Asian-American studies at California State University at Fullerton, Noh has read the sobering statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services: Asian-American women ages 15-24 have the highest suicide rate of women in any race or ethnic group in that age group. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Asian-American women in that age range. (Watch more about Asian-Americans' feelings of pressure to hide depression Video )
Depression starts even younger than age 15. Noh says one study has shown that as young as the fifth grade, Asian-American girls have the highest rate of depression so severe they've contemplated suicide."
Fellas, wow, this is very interesting. . .
May 15, 2007
Mitt Romney--The Republican Candidate For President in 2008??
He looked really good at the debate tonight. What'd you guys think? If Thompson doesn't enter he may have a really good chance. The rest of the guys seem unimpressive.
Jerry Falwell 1933-2007
Here's the story from CNN.com
Fellas, thoughts on Falwell's legacy?
I've got one thing to say in light of the Reagan presidency: "Thank God for Baptists!"
A War Czar??????? Is George Bush A Big Spending Democrat??
Bush Taps Skeptic of Increase as 'War Czar'
Lt. Gen. Lute Accepts Position Others Spurned
By Peter Baker and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, May 16, 2007; Page A01
President Bush tapped Army Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute yesterday to serve as a new White House "war czar" overseeing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, choosing a low-key soldier who privately expressed skepticism about sending more troops to Iraq during last winter's strategy review.
Here's the rest of this big spending bureaucratic story is here.
Ahh, Mr. President? Why do we need a War Czar? I thought the Constitution of the U.S. implies that the Czaring is the business of the President. What's the Secretary of Defense for?
A War Czar???
May 14, 2007
5 Years, NO Trial Date For R. Kelly--Do Laws Apply To Celebrities?
I found this over at BlackNews.com
By MICHAEL TARM
Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO (AP) _ Since being charged with child pornography five years ago for allegedly videotaping sex acts with a young teenager, R. Kelly has had six best-selling albums, three nationwide tours, a multitude of hits and awards _ but no trial.
A series of sometimes bizarre events, including a judge's tumble from a ladder and a case of appendicitis, have delayed the 40-year-old R&B superstar's trial far longer than the norm. Kelly is due in a Chicago courtroom Friday for yet another status hearing, but there is still no trial date in sight as he prepares to release a new album on May 29.
Other celebrity trials, including Michael Jackson's, have long since begun and ended since Kelly's indictment. And judging by how long it usually takes such cases to run their course, Kelly's trial should have finished years ago, legal observers say.
``Five years is a long time,'' said Michael Helfand, a Chicago attorney with no links to Kelly's case. ``Most child pornography cases find themselves in a courtroom within a year or two.''
Folks, this is absolutely pathetic. Why is there no outrage in our culture about this (or Akon's craziness in Trinidad where he simulated sex on stage with a teenage girl?)
May 11, 2007
42.3% of Black Women Have Never Been Married (And Likely Never Will)--Buy the Soulmate DVD
(Ok, this stirs up a lot so I want to be careful so I don't cause the phone to start ringing to any of my employers (haha).)
I would encourage Christians from the dominant culture (whites) to purchase the Soulmate documentary (produced by Christians) so that you all don't ask black female Christians suffering socially in evangelical contexts silly questions, "so, how are things on the dating front?"
Again, this is one the reasons I continue to caution young African Americans from leaving the black church too soon. Nearly all of the black women I know that left the black church and entered into the dominant culture's evangelical world inadvertently made a decision for permanent celibacy and no one warmed them. Whenever I see black women at the dominant culture's college conferences or young adult events, and they are often the only black woman in their circle of friends, I get sad because I know what the future likely holds: they may have to trade off marriage for a theological community that they resonate with.
Christians from the dominant culture do not have a clue about these kinds of decisions and trade offs because they don't have to make them. As such, black female singles in evangelical circles are often asked profoundly hurtful and flippant questions because many people don't understand, and are completely unaware of, some of the realities.
Bringing single black women into the dominant culture's churches might not be the best thing for them. I've already warned black and Hispanic men about this. I'm not just making this stuff up, the black community in the midst of a marriage crisis (and the dominant culture doesn't seem to get it). I'll talk more about this on the Reformed Blacks of America website this summer.
By the way, the percentage of black men who never marry is 57.2%
I've Been Violated--$2,500 Worth
My credit card company informed me yesterday that someone called the company and requested $2500 in emergency cash claiming that that needed the cash because they were traveling and lost the card.
Visa gave them the money(?) because the caller had all of my information. I was like, "wait, you mean they have my SS#?" And the dude, said "yep!!"
I didn't realize that getting my SS# was so easy but apparently it doesn't take much. I'm not responsible for the $2500 but I hate the fact that my SS# is floating around out there.
Anybody else had this happen?
May 10, 2007
FORD: The Hydrogen-Electric Car!
By Michael Silverberg, from Metropolis Magazine
Posted April 18, 2007
"Long a favorite of political speechwriters, hydrogen-powered vehicles have so far been all gas and no bang. Ford’s new hybrid hydrogen-electric concept vehicle is not about to make them commercially viable—that’s at least ten years off—but it does take several promising steps forward. The most important is a pared-down power train that taps the fuel cell to charge the battery instead of using it to run the car directly, allowing commuters to travel short distances on electric alone and then plug in at night. “You don’t need to depend on hydrogen as your only way to get around,” says Mujeeb Ijaz, Ford’s fuel-cell-vehicle engineering manager. “Every day you get twenty-five miles on the grid.”
Here Ijaz takes us through the features of the HySeries Drive power train, and Ford’s design manager, Jordan Bennett, tells us about the red-and-white interior, which was influenced by what he calls the “optimistic space travel” of Kubrick’s 2001. “And not the killer robot part of it,” he says.
**
Even though hydrogen is a very light fuel, its container gets pretty damn heavy. With the three components, there’s about 880 pounds sitting in the middle of the vehicle. We borrowed a concept from Land Rover called a “unitized body-on-frame structure.” You get the benefit of a unibody’s light weight with the advantages of a steel-frame structure.
You’ll run this as an electric car. The only time the auxiliary power unit—a fuel cell in this case—comes into play is to help keep the battery’s state of charge from going below about 40 percent. We’ve reduced the size, cost, and weight of the fuel cell by more than 50 percent, getting us a little closer to being able to commercialize it.
The compressed-hydrogen tank’s being down the center of the vehicle is no accident. We did that because we wanted to maximize its protection from side impact, frontal and rear crashes, and so forth.
We can drive 25 miles of electric-only on this battery, and then the fuel cell will turn on. Truly, an electric car needs more than 100 miles, but you only need 25 to 30 miles to do commuting distance. Every time you need to recharge, you can just plug in the car in your garage.
It’s got two electric motors—one in front and one in the rear. It’s an all-wheel drive. Typical fuel-cell vehicles are $3,000 to $4,000 per kilowatt. By doing the HySeries Drive, we’re now looking at a design that’s closer to $150 or $200 per kilowatt."
Fellas, you'll save a lot on gas spending? Thoughts?
May 08, 2007
35-Year-Old Guy Commits Suicide And There's A Huge Battle Over The Dog?
From the Associated Press:
• Dog's owner died January 1, leaving $2 million estate but no will• Owner's parents, fiance, and ex-girlfriend wanted custody of Alex the dog
• Judge decided to split custody between owner's divorced parents
• They'll trade Alex back and forth every two weeks
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) -- A man who had not written a will left a $2 million estate, but the most hotly contested item in court has been his golden retriever, Alex.
The four-way dispute over the 13-year-old pet was so intense, an attorney was appointed to represent the dog's interest. On Monday, the judge decided the man's divorced parents should split custody, The Commercial Appeal reported.
"At first glance, the petition seems almost frivolous, but after speaking with all parties, it is evident that this is a highly emotional issue for all involved," said Alex's attorney, Paul Royal, in his report to the probate court.
Ron Callan Jr., 35, committed suicide on New Year's Day. He had been a partner with his father in Callan Salvage & Appraisal Co., and the father was named the estate's administrator.
In the consent order the judge approved, the elder Callan and his ex-wife, Esther Snow Gnall, will trade custody of Alex every two weeks. Both parents also agreed to take the dog to the veterinarian for arthritis treatments and any other needed procedures.
Before the agreement was reached, the elder Callan had custody and took Alex to work during the day. The father has cats at home, though, so at night, the dog stayed with Callan Jr.'s former girlfriend, who had known Alex since he was a puppy.
The son's fiancee also was interested in Alex, and Gnall had said if she won custody, she would allow the fiancee to spend time with the dog.
Royal, the dog's attorney, said he believes all four people love Alex and would take good care of him, but they were using the fight for the dog to punish each other for past transgressions.
"This case is similar to a bitter custody battle involving children where each party loves the children, but the kids are stuck between two people who cannot coexist," the attorney said in his report.
May 07, 2007
Viva la France!!! France's New President Rocks!!
• Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy wins France's presidential election • Sarkozy takes 53 percent of the vote, according to early results • In a victory speech, he promises to be "president of all the French people" • Conceding defeat, Socialist Segolene Royal vows to "keep on fighting"
PARIS, France (CNN) -- France was Monday looking ahead to a new political era after conservative Nicolas Sarkozy took a decisive victory in presidential elections that he claimed as a five year mandate for change.
Sarkozy was expected to waste no time in pushing through promised reforms aimed at shaking up France's labor market to revive the country's flagging economy.
Sarkozy won with 53 percent of the vote in Sunday's presidential runoff, according to preliminary results issued by the French Interior Ministry. Socialist Segolene Royal took 47 percent of the vote.
"The president of the republic must love and respect all the French," Sarkozy told cheering supporters at his campaign headquarters. "I will be the president of all the French people."
"The French people have called for change. I will carry out that change, because that's the mandate I have received from the French people."
Sarkozy added that he wanted to tell his "American friends that they can rely on our friendship ... France will always be next to them when they need us."
FELLAS, THIS IS SUCH GOOD NEWS!! I THINK I'D BE WILLING TO VISIT THERE NOW!!
May 03, 2007
John Piper on Marriage As An Idol--Singles Aren't Weird Or Incomplete
John Piper preaches on how evangelicals have made an idol out of marriage and family. Here's the sermon.
Here are his four points:
1. That the family of God grows not by propagation through sexual intercourse, but by regeneration through faith in Christ;
2. That relationships in Christ are more permanent, and more precious, than relationships in families (and, of course, it is wonderful when relationships in families are also relationships in Christ; but we know that is often not the case);
3. That marriage is temporary, and finally gives way to the relationship to which it was pointing all along: Christ and the church—the way a picture is no longer needed when you see face to face;
4. That faithfulness to Christ defines the value of life; all other relationships get their final significance from this. No family relationship is ultimate; relationship to Christ is.
Alistar Begg was the first pastor I've heard say this. The idol of marriage is very pervasive.
May 02, 2007
Mark Driscoll On Why Pastors Need To Be Men and Not "Nice Guys"--The Church Is Desperate For Strong Men
Mark Driscoll explains why the church planters need to focus on building men. The feminization of the church and the emasculation of men is still a tragic problem. The church in the future is in trouble if masculine formation does not become a priority.
I argue that when you have a church of strong men you'll have a church that's passionately engaged in kingdom mission in local communities and beyond. Evangelical churches with passive, feminized men reveal a lot about the kinds of things churches AREN'T doing and explains why the church continues to produce young men who are lost and have NO idea what is means to be a God-man fighting in the Great Battle (as C.S. Lewis describes it). Most 18-year-old guys in the have no idea what their God-given, Kingdom-oriented masculinity is for.
Thoughts?
May 01, 2007
18-Year-Old Honor Student Dies At Prom Party, Not Discovered For Hours
Leland Martin, 18, was an honors student.
By GEORGE CHIDI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/30/07
The prom after-party in Auburn ended with Leland Martin's body lying forgotten in the living room. Barrow County medical staff found the 18-year-old Winder-Barrow High School student dead at the scene around 12:15 p.m. Sunday. The night before, he and his classmates had been celebrating their upcoming graduation at the house on Quail Trail Road.
By the time a fellow party-goer found him, Martin had probably been dead for hours, said Ronnie Hutchins, a deputy coroner for Barrow County.
Someone forgot a cell phone from the night before and went back to the house, Hutchins said. Hutchins didn't know who it was that found Martin.
"[Martin] was laying in a position like he was sleeping," Hutchins said. But the person who found Martin noticed that he wasn't breathing.
That person retrieved the missing cell phone and dialed 911. An ambulance arrived a few minutes later. Property records show the house is owned by Christopher and Barbara Michael. No one answered at the Michael residence. When reached by phone, Barbara Michael hung up after a reporter identified himself.
Barrow County Sheriff's Office announced Monday that alcohol had been consumed at the party and that Martin had been in a fight with someone at the event. Sheriff's Office officials did not return calls seeking further comment on the case.
Hutchins said an initial autopsy did not indicate Martin had died of injuries from the fight. Toxicology tests might take as much as three months for results, he said. "It's sit and wait now."
Neighbors said the party had been loud for most of the night. Angela Higbee, a next-door-neighbor, heard shouting and crying around 3 a.m., she said.
"It sounded like a group of people were disturbed," Higbee said. But loud parties were common next door, she said. "I've heard this stuff before. But I almost got up. I wish I had."
Fellas, this is going to be sad. A huge, house party, underage drinking, the kid passes out and dies, and it seems like everyone just thought he was passed out and left him. The owners of this home are in a world of trouble. Thoughts?
I find it interesting how the media highlights that he was an "honors student." Are "honors student" supposed to be different from other students in situations like this?
Two Teenage Guys Die At Lacrosse Practice In The Same Week
BOSTON -- A Medway High School lacrosse player collapsed during practice Saturday and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The death of Nick Souza, 15, was the second death of a lacrosse player at a Massachusetts high school in a week. Medway school Superintendent Richard Grandmont told the Boston Globe that Souza was running drills and was not struck by anyone or anything. The cause of death is unknown.
"The Medway Public Schools is deeply saddened by this unfortunate tragedy," Grandmont told the Globe. "We extend our deepest sympathy to the friends and family of this young man."
NewsCenter 5's Jim Morelli reported Sunday that Souza had passed a sports physical within the past year and that teammates said he had no health problems.
William Judge, 14, a student at St. Sebastian's School in Needham, collapsed and died Tuesday during lacrosse practice. The cause of his death has not yet been made public."
This is weird??? You can get both stories here.