The Institute (協会)

In Japan Dec. 30-Jan. 15

Fellas, I'll post again in a few weeks. I'm off to Japan for a couple of weeks to visit some missionary families. Thanks to frequent-flyer miles this flight cost $46.08. Yep, 46 bucks!

Atlanta, Black Professionals, Femininity, and BMWs

Ahh, black professionals. It's been a while. I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Atlanta, on my parents side of town, surrounded by black professionals. Laptops, coffee, meetings, and the only white person in the place is a girl working behind the counter. What's she doing here?

In Atlanta a BMW is the "Ford Taurus." Everybody's got a BMW. It's weird. My brother-in-law just got rid of his 5-series because he got a great deal on a Saab. In my line of sight is a 7-series BMW, an Infiniti G35, and huge Mercedes (I don't know which model), a Jaguar and another BMW just drove past the drive-thru window. No one is wearing running shoes and jeans here.

Femininity is still good. There's no androgyny here. Class, style, and no sick obsession with being skinny either. (Another Brutha in a 7-series BMW just drove up. Oh wait!! A huge Mercedes SUV (the GL 550) just pulled up too.) Dang, a black convertible Jaguar just pulled up, and a Mercedes E320. Wow, this is culture shock! This is the world I grew up in.

A sista's sitting across the room reading the New York Times.

Where was I? Femininity. It's celebrated at my home church as well. There's no confusion about modesty and clear femininity there. Making it clear that you can enjoy being a woman. It seems to be a value. Seems like it could be kind of expensive too, but that's Atlanta I guess. Also, bruthas aren't interested in singing love ballads to Jesus the King to cuddle up in his warm arms either. They would never stand for a prom song to Jesus singing something like "you're a beautiful, my sweet, sweet song."

A sista in a 2-door Mercedes coupe just drove by.

I went to a restaurant/lounge (P'Cheen) the other night with an elementary school friend and some of his friends. And, in Atlanta fashion, to be black and not be making 6-figures is basically shameful. Weird. "What's wrong with you?"

Since 1994, I've been trying to convince white evangelicals that most black people are not "urban,"poor", "on welfare" or even need to be around white people. No one believes me. I've failed to introduce this black middle-class to an evangelical America (a brutha in another black 7-series BMW just pulled up).

Then it hit me, after a recent conversation with an evangelical: the broad evangelical community has no interest in the black middle-class and the black middle-class has no interest in engaging broad evangelicalism.

Black middle-class Christians don't need white evangelical Christians for anything (other than a few resources perhaps). White evangelical Christians seem to only pursue the black underclass for relationships and partnerships for some reason. Evangelical institutions do not recruit students from the black middle class. I'm not sure why. I've never figured out why the word "black family" does not upload an image of a two-parent family living in the suburbs. That's all I saw growing up.

An black mother and her two sons just popped out of a huge Infinity Q45 sedan. A BMW X5 just drove by the drive-thru window.

Since 1994 I've been trying to bring evangelicals into contact with the black middle-class and now that I realize that there's actually no desire to do so (on both sides) some will advise me to just stop.

A sista in a black Mercedes E500 just drove by. A brutha saw my stack of papers and asked me if I was a grad student. I said, "no". "I'm a professor." Turns out he was too. He had never heard of my schools (except for my undergrad) but I knew of his--undergrad at Emory and PhD from Johns Hopkins. That's black Atlanta. It's just normal. Wow, that's a nice Lexus sports coupe.

All the cars I've seen were driven by professional male and female blacks in a Starbucks near gated communities and new sub-divisions in Atlanta. Black people living the American dream--a mythological world for evangelicals but a normal one here. So I will continue to roll my eyes at the pathetic juxtaposition of "black" and "urban" (even though only 1/5 of all blacks live in "urban" areas) and watch everyone remain comfortable with "separate but equal."

Steve Harvey On Jesus

A mainstream white comedian would never do this. Jesus talk is still acceptable in mainstream black pop culture (for now).

Kid Died To Save His Friend From Tiger

From CNN:

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- The last minutes of a 17-year-old boy's life were spent trying to save his friend from a brutal tiger mauling at the San Francisco Zoo, only to have the animal turn on him, police and family members said.

(Carlos Sousa, shown in an undated family photo, was trying to save a friend when he was mauled, sources say.)

Carlos Sousa Jr. and his friend's brother desperately tried to distract the 350-pound Siberian tiger, but the big cat instead came after Sousa.

"He didn't run. He tried to help his friend, and it was him who ended up getting it the worst," the teen's father, Carlos Sousa Sr., said Thursday after meeting with police.

The heroic portrait of Sousa and a timeline of the dramatic Christmas Day attack emerged as officials revealed that the tiger's escape from its enclosure may have been aided by walls that were well below the height recommended by the accrediting agency for the nation's zoos.

The rest of the story is here.

Weird story and tragic.

Public Art Connecting A Divided City: Kansas City

­ Whereas this interstate bridge cut Kansas City in half, its new guardrail tries to reconnect pedestrians with the city.
Mike Sinclair/courtesy El Dorado

From Metropolis Magazine:

A public-art project aims to reunite two sections of Kansas City that are divided by an interstate.
By Randi Greenberg
Posted December 19, 2007

“It’s the great irony of all American cities,” says Josh Shelton, a principal at the architecture firm El Dorado. “When interstates plowed through the middle of them, it didn’t make the downtowns more vibrant, it killed them.” Kansas City, Missouri, where El Dorado is located, was no exception. As the winner of a 2006 competition with local design studio MK12, the team had an opportunity to help remedy the local highway divide.

The scheme, Landscaped Edge, restores native Missouri vegetation—or at least an abstract facsimile of it—to a spot otherwise dominated by Interstate 670. El Dorado designed a modular guardrail for Wyandotte Bridge composed of alternating panels of laser-printed Plexiglas and stainless-steel mesh, while MK12 created the botanical imagery. Because each decorative panel has its own fluorescent light, the guardrail provides a safe walkway for pedestrians at night and offers engaging peeks at the urban scenery along the way.

Sponsored by the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Downtown Council of Kansas City, the public-art project is a gateway between new developments in the business district—including the Convention Center ballroom expansion and the Sprint Center arena—and the Crossroads neighborhood, a bustling cultural hub. “A project like Landscaped Edge creates a handshake between downtown and grassroots investment,” Shelton says.

The bridge’s popularity since its March completion has both residents and the Missouri Department of Transportation looking forward to even more improvements, and El Dorado will play its part. Joining forces with another local artist, James Woodfill, the firm won the next phase of the competition to design enhancements to four additional bridges. “More people are moving into urban spaces,” Shelton says, “and it’s a novel idea that pedestrians will now occupy the city.”

Good stuff, fellas. Good stuff!

Failure

College Football Coaching Changes, Thoughts?

From ESPN:

With Rich Rodriguez's leaving West Virginia for Michigan, college football's coaching carousel is finally beginning to slow down.

Arkansas and Michigan made the biggest splashes with their hires, but the Razorbacks and Wolverines didn't look so good in the process. Most college football fans have probably never heard of Paul Wulff, but why might he end up making Washington State look so good?

Here's a look at how more than a dozen schools have fared in their searches for new football coaches, including the jobs that remain unfilled: get the rest here.

More coaching changes here.

Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister pregnant

NEW YORK (AP) -- Another Spears baby is reportedly on the way -- and it's not Britney's. Jamie Lynn Spears, shown in September, stars in the popular Nickelodeon series "Zoey 101."

Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old "Zoey 101" star and sister of Britney, told OK! magazine that she's pregnant and that the father is her boyfriend, Casey Aldridge.
"It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected," she said. "I was in complete and total shock and so was he."

Read the sad story here at CNN. I hope they get married.

Sorry fellas, I just couldn't resist this one. Why were they shocked, fellas? Shocked?

Eric Volz Exonerated But Not Released

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (CNN) -- A Nicaraguan appeals court Monday ruled that an American convicted of killing his former girlfriend should be set free. Eric Volz awaits release from a Nicaraguan jail after his murder conviction was overturned Monday.

Eric Volz, 28, of Nashville, Tennessee, was convicted in 2006 of raping and killing Doris Ivanez Jimenez and sentenced to 30 years in prison.The court Monday reversed that decision, but Volz has not been freed because a judge failed to show up for an afternoon meeting to arrange his release, according to attorney Fabbrith Gomez.

Gomez, who claims Volz is being held illegally, said he intended to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus, a process that forces a court to give proof justifying why a prisoner is being held.

Volz was transferred Monday from a Managua jail to a police hospital, according to Gomez and the prison warden, but it wasn't clear why.

This is great news, fellas. It's been a long journey for him. If he has a welcome back party I might try to go! Read the rest here.

# Story Highlights
# Eric Volz's conviction for killing his ex-girlfriend overturned Monday
# A judge fails to show up Monday for an afternoon meeting to release Volz
# Witnesses testify Volz was in his office at the time of the killing
# Volz, 28, of Nashville, Tennessee, was the publisher of EP Magazine

On NPR Yesterday

Friends, I was on "News and Notes" yesterday.

News & Notes, December 17, 2007 · Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is benefiting from Oprah Winfrey's endorsement, but is the "Queen of Talk" facing a backlash from some fans?

Plus, the estranged husband of evangelist Juanita Bynum makes a public apology.

Farai Chideya discusses that and more with bloggers Eisa Ulen, Anthony Bradley of The Institute, and Earl Dunovant of Prometheus 6.

You can listen here.

Fellas, do you think the Obama/Oprah tour is going to make a difference? Is it wrong for Oprah to campaign for him?

Ella Fitzgerald: The Best Voice We May Hear For Centuries

It's been kind'a downhill for female vocalists since Ella. The classiest, more versatile voice most of us will ever hear. Her range and interpretations are amazing.

Praying For Death Because of Shattered Family Dreams

The past few weeks I've have had a surprising number of conversations with men (in their 20s and 30s) who have confessed that they have seriously asked for, and even prayed for, death. And it's all been for one reason: The "family dream" that they were sold as kids has not happened. On the surface things look great, but peel back one layer and you find excruciating pain. "Hey, bor how's it going?" "Fine," the liar says. "Just fine."

Families like the Keatons and the Cosbys (like the Cleavers and Nelsons of a previous generation) were presented as the pinnacle and fullest expression of life on earth.This is what you want fellas, a beautiful wife, a few kids, a nice house, a good job. . .then comes retirement, grandchildren and you die a fulfilled man. Ahh, what a life!

Guess what? Lots of guys are finding out the hard way that in the real world having the perfect "American family" image is the rare exception. Here's the truth: lots of guys I know are in completely miserable marriages, many (I mean MANY) wives have committed adultery, kids have chronic illnesses, guys hate their jobs are stuck because of debt, divorced (even though they swore they were not going to do what their parents did by splitting up), many wives want to leave their husbands because they don't make enough money, lots of "great guys" never marry, many can't get over addictions because after praying for 12-15 years they've discovered that it "doesn't work," depression, dealing with their own sexual abuse at a late age, mulling over a very long list of regrets, wanting to pack it all up and go "into the wild," your daughter has a reputation for being a "slut," your son's already a pot head, etc. And for guys that I talk to who aren't Christians or part of any religious tradition some of the issues are worse than these.

Or even worse, you could be one of those guys whose wife just cuts him down and emasculates regularly (daily).

I don't always know how to respond to hearing "bro, I want to die," knowing that the guy is serious. Very serious. How were men taught to handle the dreams and expectations that never come true. How much of it is evny, the "grass is greener syndrome, or mystery?

A few of us are growing in our ability to stomach being in the presence of those men who acquired the ideal existence as advertised--the annointed ones. It's not their fault they had it easy and continue to have it easy (or at least they put off like they do). This one guy recently talked about how easy it is for the annointed to believe that God loves them but it's very hard for those who circumstances are constantly hard and painful, "the cursed," walk in "grace." What's ever worse is that the guys that do all the teaching in churches are the ones who appear to have the "ideal" as advertised and that its working out perfectly. So the "perfect" life guys are completely ignored by the rest. "Of course you can preach about God's love, look how easy your life is."

Another guy said once, "yeah it's really easy for me to see how God loves other guys, just look at his wife and kids, their nearly perfect." What do you say to that? But easy riders will say, "No, I can relate, my wife and I get into fights all the time." And they guy who just caught his wife cheating (again) just rolls his eyes and says, "yeah, wow, whew that's hard stuff for ya."

So what the great American lie has produced is a profound cynicism. A cynicism that tempts men what to end their life. Being a kid is so awesome because you're often oblivious to destruction that is guaranteed to visit most of us and will completely avoid others--a profound mystery.

I know one guy who says that he's trying to get over his refusal to even have a conversation with one of the annointed. He hasn't had much respect for them as men. I know this one guy who asked, "if you can't have kids, what's the point of being alive?" Ahhhh, to spend the rest of life quarantined in the "40-plus" singles group at your church for local service projects, camping trips, and Bible studies."

What are we suppose to say to this? I guess the Christian cliches will do. Fellas, I wish I had more answers.

Homeschooled, Conservative, And Murderous?

I posted this over at World Magazine

Matthew Murray - 24, raised in a Bible-teaching home - walked into a church and a parachurch ministry a few days ago firing gun shots at Christians. Murray then died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We may never know why this happened but Murray’s life, as associated on the ex-Pentecostal website “Azusa Street Survivors,” paints a chilling narrative. Murray’s screen name is thought to be “nghtmrchld26.” The FBI has pulled several posts by nghtmrchld26 that speak with detail about shootings, being homeschooled, and rejected by YWAM.

The Associated Press reports nghtmrchld26 saying on Sunday, “I’m coming for EVERYONE soon and I WILL be armed to the @ %$ teeth and I WILL shoot to kill.”

Describing his daily home life on December 24, 2006 nghtmrchld26 wrote, “We had bible memory, hymn singing, and prayer for at least the first two hours of the day growing up all the way till age 18. I don’t think it worked at keeping me in their system though.”

He also seems to resent religious people who wed Christianity with Republican politics: “I remember growing up in pentecostalism/evangelicalism, we were always told to support the republicans/conservatives and to ‘hate those evil satanic democrats.’ Jesus never said to put our trust in any political leader, yet we see so many christians trying sooooo hard to believe that ‘America was founded on fundamentalist evangelical christianity’ and we must turn america back towards God!!!”(January 14, 2007)

What are we to learn from this? We may remember that the shooter of the Virgina Tech massacre, Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people and wounded many more, before committing suicide, was also reared in a suburban conservative evangelical context. Both Murray and Cho experienced rejection and pain from the Church and retaliated later. The two seem to have amazing similarities in their stories of conservative Christianity and experiencing rejection by the “beautiful people. . . .”

Here's the link to the full piece.

Rectifying My Negative Net Worth

I worked out my financials with a firm, and according to Michael's report, with my assets and liabilities, I have a negative net worth of -$52, 659. Yeah friends, that's right NEGATIVE (minus) $52,659.

Just to be clear, if I sold everything I had car, house, investments, books, etc. I'm 50 gees in the hole.

How did this happen? Pursuing the American Dream: graduate school loans coupled with a graduate student lifestyle. When I started graduate school in 1994 I had a net worth of $500. That's it. As a defector from the black church, I embraced early on an unwise vision about my future when I started my grad school journey and was not practical enough when choosing a tradition over the financials--and I am fully responsible (haha, I sound like I'm running for office or something). My little brother, another Dr. Bradley, did it the right way.

I asked an elder about this once because I was a little worried paying all this money back and his response was "yeah, but, you chose it." Basically, his response was "you made your bed, now you gotta lay in it." I got no sympathy from him and I never should have expected any.

At first, I was pissed 'cause I got all super-spiritual and thought "yeah, yeah, but I did all this for the Kingdom, for the church, blah, blah." Later, however, I realized that his sentiments were on point. The Kingdom's not going to pay my loans back. Had I chosen to do something else I'd be in a different financial situation.

So here's the deal: Michael has advised me to get aggressive about getting out of loan debt. So for the next few years I guess I'm going to be an uber-pragmatist because am "financially over-obligated," his report said on page 2. I have one goal over the next several years: to get back to at least a zero net worth!

I'm think I qualify as one of the "Strapped"

A college degree is the new high school diploma - but it now costs a fortune to get that degree and students graduate with crippling debts. Good jobs are scarcer thanks to stagnant wages and disappearing benefits. And, the cost of everything - starter homes, health coverage, childcare - keeps going up and up. Budding families, even those with two incomes, struggle to pay the bills, while Visa and Mastercard have become the new safety net. Young adults are starting out behind the financial eight ball-borrowing their way into adulthood and wondering whatever happened to the American Dream.

Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead by Tamara Draut.

Matthew Murray, thought to be nghtmrchld26, narrates this

Photo from CNN

Matthew Murray, 24, was shot several times by a security officer at New Life Church on Sunday, but his death was ruled a suicide, the El Paso County Coroner's Office concluded after an autopsy.

Fellas, I've collected several posts from nghtmrchld26, thought to be Matthew Murray, from the ex-Pentecostal website "Azusa Street Survivors" There is a lot of pain and anger on that site. It seems that what they all need a strong dose of teachings about Grace. Here's an post from last spring reply to another post he read.

nghtmrchld26
Friend
Posts: 31
(5/31/07 6:31 pm)
Reply

Re: Ex-UPCI They ruined my daughter!!
________________________________________

I went through something very similar to what you're daughter is going through at age 17. I am a young adult now.

I remember a few months before I turned 17 I was having serious doubts about how to be saved and whether I had lost my salvation and/or committed the unpardonable sin. I searched all the Matthew Henry's commentaries, talked with pastors, looked up every verse on salvation......yet only found contradictions and more questions. The depression over my "salvation" and where I would spend eternity started sinking in.......in addition to all the other depression and flashbacks from the other pentecostal abuse.

A few months after I turned 17 I was completely despondent believing I had nothing left to live for since I was going to hell anyways and that God was going to curse me with sickness and poverty/homelessness since I had lost my salvation. I called prayer lines, went to prayer meetings, saw counselors, tried anti-depressants ;NOTHING would touch this depression. I had completely lost all hope and not because of some chemical imbalance as pills could NOT answer any questions about my salvation; and whether I could gain it back. This went on for over 8 months with constant thoughts of depression and hopelessness. No one anywhere had any answers for me except to say;you just have to have faith, stay on meds, and ;just stop feeling that way.;

So I pretended like everything was better. . .;instead of being depressed, get out and help someone.; So I got involved in a church ministry and soon got into the YWAM /Kings Kids track after that, which is a whole different story. After about 8~13 months of this depression episode I found a way to make it all clear up? I had to simply just say this view of salvation is NOT true and I'm not going to believe it anymore; Of course, if the other Christians had found out they would have called me a heretic and condemned me. After that, well, I had to find something else to believe in and that took a long time.

Moving To Dubai, A Very Good Idea

Fellas, if you think Dubai has a cool skyline now, just wait a few cities. In terms of design, it would be one of the coolest places on the planet.

From Metropolis Magazine:

Dubai-tastic superlatives and apocalyptic fears aside, the buildings standing today—monumental though some of them are—pale in comparison to what’s coming. Apart from the supertall buildings and stylish designs by superstars, there are a sig­nificant number of projects by local and regional architects, along with innovative, social, and sustainable work like David Fisher’s twirling tower, which will have floors that rotate independently and use wind turbines to power itself.

In September the United Arab Emirates launched a green ratings system, LEED Emirates, modeled after the U.S. Green Building Council’s standards and focused on water conservation, energy efficiency, and sustainable site development—an indication that the country’s massive investment in design and construction will produce more than just pretty buildings.

See the entire photo gallery of new buildings here.

Rob Bell Now In Time Magazine

Go Rob!! Wow!

Here's Rob Bell in Time Magazine.

Bell, 37, is guilty of none of the negatives. He is largely apolitical, thinks that only those with gay friends are positioned to judge homosexuality--and he tinkers marvelously. At 28, he founded a megachurch that threw out the conventional sermon-and-worship service and instantly drew thousands of attendees. He has sold hundreds of thousands of books with titles like Velvet Elvis and Sex God that find the sacred in the profane. And he has created a form of video message he calls Nooma (phonetic Greek for spirit or breath) that may make him to YouTube what Graham was to the arena.

"He could be one of the most important 21st century Christian leaders," says Bible professor and evangelical blogger Ben Witherington. He and several other thinkers feel that in a "post-Christian America," whose basic assumptions are increasingly secular, the faith needs someone who can defend its tenets in the argot of the day. Bell does this effortlessly. The question now is whether he can sell his approach to the rest of Evangelicalism or whether, as Christianity Today editor Andy Crouch puts it, he will "remain more of a singular rock star in the church world."

Bell comes of faithful stock: his parents met at Wheaton College, known as the Evangelical Harvard. But his first ambition was to be David Letterman. ("The birth of irony," he jokes. "The Betamax was a portal to another world.") Next came rock. As a student at Wheaton, he fronted a band that seemed poised to break nationally. When it didn't, he attended Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., and apprenticed at a megachurch before founding Mars Hill just outside Grand Rapids. The town is notoriously well churched, but Bell saw an untapped audience: some were his music fans, others Christians left cold by traditional services.

CNN, Time Magazine, this is really broad exposure. Here's one thing I've noticed about evangelical Christians--if you pastor a church called "Mars Hill" you're gonna get a lot of hatin'. Mark Driscoll is not soft enough and Rob Bell is does not use conservative jargon enough.

Both of the guys are speaking to actual issues of today from different perspectives, as opposed to many still fighting the battles of 15th and 16th centuries and America is paying attention.

Some hope that one day many confessionally reformed preachers and theologians we actually speak to the issues that affect people's lives in their local communities 2007 beyond, "culture bad, culture bad" or "he's not biblical."

Is liberation theology "biblical"? They quote and proof-text the bible all the time.

In the meantime, the Rob Bell and Mark Driscoll hatin' will continue I imagine. Someone should have told these guys that they should not speak unless they use the exact same words and phrases of the time between the Reformation and American fundamentalism; and that they should completely ignore the fact the Western culture has radically shifted epistemologically. Radically.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday: Colorado Church Shootings

Fellas, what is going on? More and more young guys, it seems, are randomly shooting people in public spaces.

The two shootings, the first at a Christian missionary center and the second at a Colorado Springs megachurch, left a gunman and four victims dead and six wounded, authorities said.

Arvada Police Chief Don Wick said there is reason to believe the shootings are related. A black-clad gunman who attacked worshippers at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, initially killing one and wounding four, was killed by "a courageous security staff member," Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers said.

One of the wounded died late Sunday, according to a Penrose-St. Francis Hospital spokeswoman Amy Sufak. "The suspect was confronted by a security guard," Myers said at a news conference late Sunday. "She shot the suspect, and the suspect subsequently died at the scene."

Detectives in the Denver suburb of Arvada were working closely with their counterparts in Colorado Springs to determine whether the attack on New Life Church was related to the shootings that left two staffers dead and two wounded at a live-in training center for Christian missionaries about 12 hours earlier, Wick said.

More on the Colorado story at CNN.com.

Robert Hawkin's, pictured above, walks into a mall with an assault rifle and commences a massive murder-suicide.

Hawkins suicide note says,

"I've been a piece of s#!T my entire life it seems this is my only option. . .I just don't want to be a burden to on the ones that I care for my entire life."

Suicide is not new. This level of depression and hopelessness in a country as wealthy and full of options as ours should tell us something. Why a mall, why a church? Why take others with you in your despair?

Fellas, I know I sound like a skipped CD repeating the same line, but the extreme acts of violence by male suburban millennials (born after 1981 or so) is providing us a signal to a masculinity crisis and utter despair hidden by wealth and comfort.

The motive of the church shootings with be VERY revealing. If parents think that moving kids to suburbs will keep them safe from violence then those parents are naive.

Fellas, what's going on?

Does Tom Have A Case Against The Plumber: Calling All Attorneys (And Those Who Watch "Judge Judy" or "Law and Order")

Here's the question: does Tom have to pay the balance on his plumbing invoice even though the work was not completed.

Here's what happen:

(1) January 1: "Fix It" plumbers came by Tom's house to give him an estimate/bid on a job. The bid was $1200.

(2) January 15: Tom gives a $400 deposit

(3) January 22: Larry, the plumber from the company, comes by and begins work to replace 10 pipes.

(4) January 23: Larry does not show up to work as expected.

(5) February 8: Larry comes by and repairs 3 of the 10 pipes.

(6) At some point Larry quits the company and lies to management saying that he completed the work when he did not. Tom is really, really pissed at this point.

(7) In May, "Fix It" starts sending threatening letters about the balance due. The invoices do not include the $400 deposit which Tom thought was really odd.

(8) May 5th, Tom calls to remind them that they have not completed the work as contracted. The company calls to schedule an appointment to see the work that is left to be completed.

(9) May 8th, the estimator failed to appear as scheduled. Tom is very angry.

(10) May 20, another harrassing invoice threatening to put a leaning on the home. Tom calls again.

(11) May 27, "Fix It" agrees to terminate the original contract.

(12) June 13th, "Fix It" sends another "final invoice/threaten letter" contain a full invoice amount of $1,000. This invoice, however, has a long list of new itemized charges for items that were not a part of the original bid, nor were they listed in any of the previous invoices.

Magically, the new charges of $1,000, combined with the deposit, result in a total cost of $1,400 for the project. The rationale in the new invoice is that "there was cutting of wood around the pipes that were not factored into the original contract."

"Fix It" only completed 25% of the original bid yet have a final invoice with new itemized charges for non-negotiated items.

Tom does not think he should pay the $1,000 because the charges are, for the most part, random, and appears to be a way the company has decided to make up the difference in the work not completed because the contract was terminated.

Does Tom have a case? Should he have to pay the $1,000?

Ok, legal scholars, what do you think?

Personally, I don't think Tom should pay because the project was never completed and the new charges are random and were never negotiated beforehand.

Borat Filmmakers Sued By Driving Instructor

From MTV News:

The one guy who seemed kind of charmed by Borat's antics in last year's "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" has joined the parade of people suing the fake Kazakh reporter. According to Reuters, driving instructor Michael Psenicska's suit against the film's makers and star Sacha Baron Cohen claims that he was tricked into participating in a film that he was led to believe was a "documentary about the integration of foreign people into the American way of life."

Psenicska said he was paid $500 in cash to give Borat a driving lesson and described the experience as "surreal," saying Cohen drove erratically down residential streets, drank alcohol and yelled to a female pedestrian that he would pay her $10 for "sexy time." Psenicska is seeking $100,000 in compensatory damages and additional punitive damages for being misled, and for the emotional harm he allegedly continues to suffer. Psenicska said if he had known the true nature of the film, he never would have participated. The studio behind the flick said the suit had no merit and that Psenicska was a willing participant in the film.

What? How dumb is this? Why is the dude waiting THIS late to sue? Greed?

Since when is being dooped a criminal offense? I'm gonna sue the filmmakers as well because I thought the movie was a true story. Maybe I could get $300,000.

Fellas, what's up with this?

Arkansas Wants Bowden

Here's the link at ESPN:

Arkansas has focused its coaching search on Clemson's Tommy Bowden and is prepared to offer Bowden a contract in excess of $2 million annually, sources told ESPN.com.

Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips was in New York on Monday but may fly back to meet with Bowden on Tuesday morning to try and persuade him to remain at Clemson. Earlier, Clemson had offered Bowden a two-year extension and $400,000 raise that would increase his total package to approximately $1.6 million annually.

Bowden and new Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long are longtime friends going back to their days at Duke when they worked on the Blue Devils' staff together. Bowden and Long met in South Carolina on Monday, sources told ESPN.com.

Seems random! Thoughts, fellas.

Lectured At St. Louis University Today

I gave a lecture today at St. Louis University on "Race, Culture, And Black Liberation Theology"

Lots of fun! Wow.

I got to use Kanye West, a clip from Bill Moyer (James Cone was a guest) and taught some amazingly attentive and engaged ungrads. Very cool!!

Rob Bell On CNN Talking About Sex! Hey, why is Confessional Reformed America So Culturally Impotent and Irrelevant?

Rob Bell was recently on CNN talking about his book: Sex God.

Here's the link.

Wow, his Nooma Video series have sold over 750,000 copies. Wow. That's really cool.

Bell on CNN, means he's reaching the culture. The book will sell thousands more copies after being on CNN. He just did it. This is huge.

Question: how come people who claim to have the best theology to deal with transforming and reaching "the culture" seem the be the most ill-equipped, uncreative, and unsuccessful at actually speaking to "the culture?"

Rev. Rob Bell reaches "the culture".

Rev. Joel Osteen reaches "the culture."

Rev. Pat Robertson reaches "the culture."

Rev. Michael Eric Dyson reaches "the culture."

Rev. Cornell West reaches "the culture."

Peggy Noonan reaches "the culture."

And that confessionally "Reformed" guy(s) who's really reaching American non-Christian culture is_______________________?

Now, I could be wrong and I may be "out-of-the-loop" on what confessionally Reformed folks are appearing in mainstream media to actually do what they claim the Kingdom is on earth to do: bring the Truth to the nations. It seems that those who are confessionally Reformed seem to be some of the most impotent at actually reaching the culture. Why is this?

BTW, Rob Bell being interviewed in the UK?!? And the confessionally "Reformed-transforming-culture" blah, blah, blah guy being interviewed in the UK is? The UK???? Here's another link.

Here's what many the confessionally Reformed guys are really good at, as many people might argue (which will likely see in the comments below): being divisive and critical of all the non-confessionally Reformed people like Bell and Osteen who have a voice in broad American culture. Critique without construction.

Can confessionally Reformed people actually reach America's culture or will they forever be confined to primarily attacking non-Reformed Christians in hopes of making them "Reformed?" I guess that's what reaching "the world" really is: making all the Christians "Reformed." Who cares about the world, the lost.

Fellas, tell me what I'm missing here? I don't understand.

Congrats Rob on speaking to the world, to the nations.

The BCS Mess--Playoffs? Ohio State Playing for No. 1?

This BSC system is a joke. There is NO reason Ohio State should be playing for the national championship. It would be awesome for LSU to run-up-the-score just to make a point. Scandalous.

Gene Wojciechowski, over at ESPN, says the same thing and more in his article "Chaos doesn't legitimize ignorance or stupidity of flawed system":

By sheer accident, nothing more, Ohio State and LSU will play Jan. 7 in the Allstate BCS National Championship Game. A few days ago it was supposed to be Mizzou vs. West Virginia. And before that, Kansas vs. LSU.

If there were a congressman to write concerning the forever flawed Bowl Championship Series (Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C.?), I'd give you his address. But there isn't. Instead, we get SEC commissioner Mike Slive, who doubles as the Bowl Championships Series coordinator. It's a crummy part-time job because you're forced to explain the unexplainable, defend the indefensible. . .

And that's the shame of all this. Nobody is playing better than OU, Georgia or USC right now. But it's Ohio State, with its puppy fur-soft nonconference schedule and so-so Big Ten quality, that was chosen for New Orleans. Interesting, since the Buckeyes didn't register a win against a top 20 team at the time they played. At least inconsistent LSU mostly survived a killer conference and won its league championship game.

Here's the rest of dude's column.

Fellas, thoughts on the season, the BSC mess, or why Ohio State should not be playing for the national championship?