tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91173462011-08-01T11:54:21.074-05:00...but I believe that I may understand.cassel_____noreply@blogger.comBlogger3071100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-34315174392960846922010-10-17T19:48:00.003-05:002010-10-17T19:54:15.006-05:00

"It is true; the word is preached to all the world, to gather in the children of God's purpose that are scattered up and down in the world [John 11:52] and to leave them inexcusable; but the prime end and aim of the Lord Christ thereby is to gather in those heirs of salvation unto the enjoyment of that feast of fat things which he has prepared for them in his house." - John Owen

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-6633670763658651842010-10-09T11:32:00.002-05:002010-10-09T11:58:31.638-05:00

I'm doing a lot of reading on this, so I thought while I'm at it I'd aggregate together some of the links I'm reading for the benefit of anyone else who wants to see a decent spread of the material coming out on the internet about Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Prize. Han Han wrote a blank blog post to make his point about the prize and internet censorship. (Danwei)Twitter / Sina microblog reactions (CDT)

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-55449451522070562452010-03-22T22:19:00.003-05:002010-03-22T22:29:36.156-05:00

Matthew Henry on Nebuchadnezzar's return to reason in Daniel 4:He has the use of his reason so far restored to him that with it he glorifies God, and humbles himself under his mighty hand. He was told that he should continue in that forlorn case till he should know that the Most High rules, and here we have him brought to the knowledge of this: My understanding returned to me, and I blessed the

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-20808451487315092492009-07-26T02:24:00.006-05:002009-07-26T03:22:31.565-05:00

I realize that these random once quarterly posts aren't good for anything like a regular readership, but I decided to get with the program and put this on the blog.Over the course of the last two years my language skills in mandarin have progressed significantly. Right now, I think it is far to say I speak mandarin and can read Chinese with a high level of proficiency (I still don't think I've

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-42543698757053548652009-03-21T07:56:00.003-05:002009-03-21T08:19:34.031-05:00

Today I just finished Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. I first got into Calvino when a friend gave me a copy of If on a winter's night a traveler, and I really enjoyed the dramatically different style of writing that characterizes Calvino, and his ability to be more or less continually thought provoking, although not be always working towards a clear thesis. He's just an extremely engaging

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-74885794626550466932008-12-28T02:23:00.002-06:002008-12-28T02:54:38.128-06:00

This year I again enjoyed my (Christmas) seasonal read of Athanasius' On the Incarnation, and found a few new points of interest that hadn't stood out to me before. While I won't summarize everything (the book is short, free online, and well worth reading), I thought I'd post a few of those thoughts.1) On the Incarnation is ancient literature, so it has the feel of a work that deals with issues

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-89221668116607322022008-11-09T04:42:00.003-06:002008-11-09T05:00:38.183-06:00

Today was a good day of rest. The weather was really nice so it was a good day to have a relaxing walk and explore an area I frequent yet rarely explore (I am a creature of habit). Unfortunately I couldn't find any good park recommendations (green spaces: something this area is woefully lacking) so I decided to walk about another half mile up a road from one of my usual haunts and just see what

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-74991478913535725402008-09-08T08:13:00.004-05:002008-09-08T09:23:34.127-05:00

Good writing is not begun with caveats.This is not good writing.So, here's the caveat: there's a lot of good journalism out there on the Olympic games that have just concluded in Beijing. There's a lot of bad journalism, too - it seems to me one of the wonders of the free press is copious amounts of bad journalism - yet if you've been reading major outlets (such as the BBC, NY Times, CS Monitor,

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-24059980170917543602008-07-27T16:14:00.002-05:002008-07-27T16:18:41.474-05:00

Just saw a hilarious article about some streakers at a Polo match in England (attended by no less than Prince Charles himself).The best quote is the club manager justifying the event:"I think it is the hot weather and the Pimms to blame. These things happen." Yes, the Pimms.* I see.*Pimms is a family of British liquors.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-52406492200709226632007-10-13T04:26:00.000-05:002007-10-13T05:21:19.835-05:00

Some might say I listen to Radiohead too much. Maybe they're right. So I was pleased when I heard Radiohead finally came out with their new album, but even more pleased that they let me pay whatever I wanted for it. Really, not making that part up. Head on over to their website (www.inrainbows.com) and download it.I have to say I'm pleased with it. My journey to Radiohead appreciation started

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-22084468474437269412007-10-05T00:01:00.000-05:002007-10-05T00:11:28.989-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a long time, and this is out of character for standard fare here. Read the following."It is the highest and holiest of the paradoxes that the man who really knows he cannot pay his debt will be for ever paying it. He will be forever giving back what he cannot give back, and cannot be expected to give back. He will be always throwing things away into a bottomless pit of

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-25445142997531290932007-08-27T05:01:00.000-05:002007-08-27T05:07:49.588-05:00

I want to photoblog very badly.I've just spent all afternoon and some of this morning whipping a template into shape (which is good in theory). But the added code from blogger that should make things "work" is so terribly arcane that I cannot integrate it with my template without everything breaking. I do not want a photoblog with all the excess. I just want a blog title, a picture, and a title

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-33364721340268445592007-08-11T09:23:00.001-05:002007-08-11T09:26:45.039-05:00

Excites the inner prospector in you, doesn't it?

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-12113452746286755492007-08-06T15:24:00.000-05:002007-08-06T15:28:05.265-05:00

Some things are simply too incredible to make up.Like this, for example: Thai cops that are late for work or otherwise exhibit poor discipline are now being punished by being forced to wear Hello Kitty armbands for a few days. They cannot disclose their offense, but must suffer humiliation in silence.My guess is that nobody will be late for work anymore.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-80779442164065600082007-08-01T23:31:00.000-05:002007-08-02T00:21:15.539-05:00

The title of the post is clearly a generalization.But that's where I'm going with this post.I finished the final book and let me at the start say I enjoyed the book and the others. This last one wasn't the most impressive but it was worthwhile and enjoyable. I enjoy a good yarn, and a good yarn it was.As I read it I thought of an article that I read on Arts and Letters Daily some month ago (sadly

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-4430471030297841212007-07-31T08:19:00.000-05:002007-07-31T08:21:01.331-05:00

More to come.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-85250910159275492702007-07-28T09:48:00.000-05:002007-07-28T21:52:45.134-05:00

In the conclusion of my last post I mentioned that I was having some problems with my Macbook's screen flickering and the looming harbingers of an expensive battery replacement. Here's the long and the short of it: I took the Macbook to the Apple Store in Tulsa on Wednesday and by Thursday night they had given me a new battery, replaced the defective power inverter for the display, and replaced

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-74802107258414841122007-07-23T20:25:00.000-05:002007-07-23T21:13:40.441-05:00

In my last post I described my discovery of an inexpensive replacement battery for my 3rd generation iPod. I got it in the mail today and prepared for the sobering experience of cracking open this fine piece of engineering to replace the battery.Here are some photos of the process.I started out with a very hard plastic wedge to pry the white casing off of the metal body and a new battery that is

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-49015862042295732492007-07-20T11:31:00.000-05:002007-07-20T11:52:02.158-05:00

My 3rd generation iPod (named Mjollnir - yeah, go ahead and laugh) that I bought the summer before I went to college is sadly not in great shape. Its battery is terribly unreliable (45 minutes at best), making it totally useless as anything other than a permanently AC-tethered 15GB jukebox (which isn't all bad, as my housemates from last year will tell you). Actually, this is the only thing wrong

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-26237314188431829002007-07-19T21:11:00.000-05:002007-07-19T21:29:34.132-05:00

I just got my Canon Powershot S3 IS in the mail today, and I've been figuring out its rich feature set on the scenery around the house. So far, I love the camera. I'm glad I won't be standing there for five seconds anymore trying in vain to take decent pictures. Instead I can put it into a continuous shooting mode that takes five pictures in two seconds, letting me pick a good one. It also takes

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-14279842299106647612007-07-17T13:37:00.000-05:002007-07-17T13:47:31.880-05:00

Apparently the youth of China are being numbed to death by online games, so the government is instituting a new "anti-indulgence system" to curb the amount of time spent in online gaming:In a game equipped with such a system, which has been proven effective in testing, an underage player will get only 50 percent of points and upgrades earned after more than three hours of game play in a single

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-22850194083887200102007-07-17T00:02:00.000-05:002007-07-17T00:05:02.687-05:00

Just read a great article by rocker Ted Nugent about hippies in the Opinion Journal. You've got to read this, if for no other reason than it's Ted Nugent.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-32286573799273195132007-07-10T10:09:00.001-05:002007-07-10T10:38:20.261-05:00

You may have heard that the US Trade Representative (an official appointed to reperesent the interests of the United States in trade negotiations) has just finalized a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, which now needs to be passed by the legislatures of both countries. However, the Pelosi-controlled Congress is unwilling to pass it (in addition to another FTA just finalized with

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-86984926990427868852007-07-09T13:37:00.000-05:002007-07-09T16:07:43.876-05:00

Well, Noel and Elissa have been having problems with a groundhog they've named Jonas. I made what is colloquially known as "the worst possible choice" and headed to St. Louis for the weekend to see them, and as it turns out, to help set the bait for said groundhog's future demise.I had full intention to liveblog our quest, forming a liveblogging triumvirate against the rodent, but was sidetracked

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-85520850853366426202007-07-05T11:45:00.000-05:002007-07-05T11:49:45.454-05:00

This graph tells the story of a truly stagnant week. I can get out of my house around the 15' mark. The mind boggles.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-89735712359600765252007-07-03T18:30:00.000-05:002007-07-03T18:37:33.208-05:00

Just saw this today and had to post it - Beijing authorities say that the water from the tap is now safe to drink. All I can say is based on my time there you would have to pay me a lot to test this assertion. To this day I wonder how many heavy metals I ingested through the use of normal water boiled for tea at restaurants, which substitutes for all other drinks because it is (1) inexpensive, (2

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-77324412612741799062007-07-03T17:10:00.000-05:002007-07-03T18:25:02.702-05:00

My clock tells me that right now it is 5:12 PM on Tuesday. That brings me to approximately three days that I haven't been able to leave the house because of 5-6 foot deep standing water on all the roads surrounding my house. I might be isolated for another two.Fortunately my home is not at risk - it is on a significantly more elevated piece of land - but this isn't true for everybody. Some of

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-29222923208062879552007-07-01T13:12:00.000-05:002007-07-01T13:16:04.527-05:00

Really cool animated version of traditional Chinese art, via CDT. It's really beautiful - even if you don't have any particular love for this artform, give it a go. It's worth it.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-27969378292273086902007-06-20T18:13:00.000-05:002007-06-20T18:39:06.272-05:00

Even if I don't have anything to say, there will always be something happening in the Middle East that will be unfortunate and demand our interest.If you haven't kept up with it, the leader of the Palestinian government, Mahmoud Abbas, has recently had a row (can I use this word if I'm not British?) with Hamas and many are worried about Hamas setting up their own government in Gaza. Abbas has

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-50276582709539999202007-06-18T13:00:00.000-05:002007-06-18T14:03:08.035-05:00

I don't know if anyone in my neighborhood of bloggers has picked up on this yet, but I was going through the accumulated mass of Pitchfork's messed up feed in my RSS reader and came upon this gem. It's Sufjan Stevens singing The Innocence Mission's The Lakes of Canada. I'm a fan primarily because: (1) I think The Innocence Mission are one of the best bands I've ever heard.(2) The Lakes of Canada

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-28201244025741825272007-06-17T01:00:00.000-05:002007-06-17T01:27:34.408-05:00

You may have thought I had abandoned this forever. You were wrong. But I don't blame you for thinking so.The world hasn't become any less interesting, I've just become less interested in pontificating about it. This is probably a positive development. But there is an additional fact: while I haven't been too busy to blog, I've just been changing my scenery a lot recently (like 3000 miles in the

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-65289883134546052642007-05-19T13:21:00.001-05:002007-05-19T13:49:21.558-05:00

I haven't posted in a long time. I'm not going to make excuses for that. I've been doing things.Okay, one excuse: I didn't get this picture post done yet (they've been picked out for awhile) because I've been using wireless from a neighbor this last spring. Nothing shady about it, but way too weak to do uploads like this. Survived on one of four bars of signal for 9 months, though. Here's to the

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-23616003968908392612007-04-27T10:47:00.000-05:002007-04-27T11:58:07.346-05:00

Friends,Many of you know about something that is of significant importance to me. And I would really like to take a minute here to blog about it. That thing that I refer to is, of course, mythology.I don't believe I've blogged about mythology before in a more than "Volsunga Saga was really good" sort of way. So I'm doing that now. If you're a believer in the AFDB you might put one on right now

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-26144607947602261612007-04-19T11:44:00.000-05:002007-04-19T11:48:32.321-05:00

I love people with keen senses of civic duty. See today's NYT:“I spent six months trying to figure out how to stop people from spitting,” Mr. Wang said. “I first wanted to wipe their spit up myself, but just how much could I wipe? So I decided the best way was to ask the spitting person to stop.”He chose to begin in May 2006 in Tiananmen Square, which might qualify as an official venue if

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-47508630782392228752007-04-07T15:14:00.000-05:002007-04-07T16:09:58.426-05:00

Howdy. It's been awhile.My calendar is leering at me accusingly for the many days I haven't blogged. It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about, this is certain. It's more a question of time and place. I don't really have a specific thing to comment on in this particular post, but more a couple of things.Some things I've read:1) There's a really good article (how many times have a started

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-68855811763400176862007-03-20T12:02:00.000-05:002007-03-20T12:29:50.102-05:00

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-59915696319813091442007-03-09T11:26:00.000-06:002007-03-09T11:46:53.557-06:00

Comments made by Michael Stipe during an interview about rock and roller Patti Smith:Patti Smith really motivated me to get into music. Part of it was that she was so sexy, but she was also very androgenous. She was very sexy, sexy like a woman, and she was also very sexy like a man." This confusion astounds me. What does one say to this?

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-29739633253389615822007-03-07T20:47:00.000-06:002007-03-09T12:08:12.542-06:00

There have been many interesting things said about the flux in global financial markets that started in Shanghai not long ago, but given some recent work that I've been doing I'd like to throw in a few comments (not original, surely, but parenthetically interesting) about what's going on.Recently I've been doing some work that has allowed me to become significantly better acquanted with the world

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-56188801965090692632007-03-01T18:48:00.000-06:002007-03-01T18:52:02.597-06:00

I was just doing my increasingly ridiculous daily news troll and found a really compelling, fairminded and honest article from a Christian perspective about how Christians ought to handle homosexuality. None of it seems all that innovative, but I think it's well executed and definitely worth a read. See it over at New America Media (which is an interesting portal in its own right).

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-13272044851745197782007-02-27T14:36:00.000-06:002007-02-27T14:48:51.170-06:00

This is something I have been intending to blog about for some time, as it concerns significant changes in my daily life over the last two months. However, until now, I haven't had time. What is it, you may ask, that is so important?I have a new way of making coffee.What you see here is the my new small but powerful Italian stovetop espresso maker next to my large, imposing 12 cup french press,

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-75846835866922437892007-02-26T20:33:00.000-06:002007-02-26T21:05:21.458-06:00

I just pulled some pictures off of my camera and came on some great photos taken a couple of saturdays ago at Coolidge Park.That's Lowen with a halo effect going on because of the bright sun that he was conveniently blocking out.It was a really clear, pretty day. I'm ready for the nice weather to return so I can enjoy a few more of these days.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-26291286992912600472007-02-26T13:03:00.000-06:002007-02-26T13:21:59.396-06:00

This last weekend I was out of the loop in Nashville visiting some friends. The incredible man pictured below will be known by some and beloved by all who know him, and I am happy to report that he is doing quite well, and unsurprisingly, hasn't changed a great deal. Anyone looking for a "Whoa" or an "Mmm Mmm Mmm." need look no further than the music city.We had a fantastic time.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-49294070847622150952007-02-20T14:28:00.000-06:002007-02-20T14:35:50.320-06:00

I was looking through my Pitchfork new music download RSS feed and came upon "23" by Blonde Redhead. Trippy. Go get it, now.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-45276900165942502802007-02-15T21:54:00.000-06:002007-02-15T21:56:56.140-06:00

I read an article today about a South Korean woman who broke the world record for longest period of time spent singing karaoke: she clocked almost 60 hours before she collapsed in fatigue. She did it for her ill husband. Awesome.Totally worthless knowledge, but incredible nonetheless.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-65946417712184870212007-02-14T08:23:00.000-06:002007-02-14T08:25:18.903-06:00

I thought that the hokey funeral home in my home town was the only place that spray-painted their grass that cheap shade of green.I guess I was wrong.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-72209801420888665752007-02-14T08:13:00.000-06:002007-02-14T08:20:16.152-06:00

I've got a quick MP3 find to commend to you: it's a song called "Another Sunny Day" by Belle and Sebastian. I've never really been into Belle and Sebastian, but this is a great song. It's off of their new record The Life Pursuit and actually has me thinking of buying the album.It's available for free download from their label here.Happy listening.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1171061303587021512007-02-09T16:23:00.000-06:002007-02-09T16:48:23.613-06:00

Yesterday I returned from a two day trip with about 40 9th grade girls.It was ridiculous (but it could have been far more crazy).How did this happen? Paige Weichbrodt and Jane Henegar, both dear friends and teachers at GPS, asked me to go as an extra body on a two-day school trip/break. This was mainly since they would need to have more folks if they needed to take someone to the ER/something

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1171059810503959722007-02-09T16:17:00.000-06:002007-02-09T16:51:42.700-06:00

Blogger's new beta is now out of beta. I never converted my blog, and don't really intend to. However, I think the time is coming when they will make me, whether I want to switch or not. This makes me quite disappointed because I'm pretty sure that whatever changes they've made will break my custom template, which I think looks nothing like a blogger blog. And I don't want to spend all that time

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1170783428896575242007-02-06T11:23:00.000-06:002007-02-06T11:37:08.943-06:00

Today there's an article up at the New York Times whining about Republican use of Senate procedural rules to block debate and a vote on the Iraq troop increases.This post is not in any form about what is actually happening in Iraq, if we should send more troops, or anything related. To me, that is an entirely seperate issue.The real issue is that NYT posted a story yesterday and ran another one

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1170450605151740422007-02-02T14:25:00.000-06:002007-02-02T15:10:05.173-06:00

Disclaimer: this is hopelessly Covenant-centric.As of late there has been a tidy bit of controversy surrounding the application of standards of conduct to Covenant students who go abroad. Particularly, those who are going to Slovakia.Up until now, it's been the policy that students were to use discretion and have up to two drinks a day for the purposes of fitting into the cultural context.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1170014830267362812007-01-28T13:48:00.000-06:002007-01-28T14:21:15.266-06:00

I often don't like the slant (bias?) present in many articles over at the New York Times, but this afternoon there's a very good article posted called "It Has Unraveled So Quickly." It frames the current situation as a civil war coming out of a society where there is always an oppressor and an oppressed, and the people cannot imagine trying to resolve the current tension in any other way. It also

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1169859945878696332007-01-26T18:46:00.000-06:002007-01-29T07:29:57.166-06:00

One of the great things about doing my SIP on neoconservatives is that now I have a much greater context for reading the prominent neocons out there today. To balance out that ridiculous last post I have some legitimate content for you, in the form of two articles I've read recently.The first is "Identity and Migration" by Francis Fukuyama, a neoconservative Bush critic. He makes a very

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1169858467434928652007-01-26T17:39:00.000-06:002007-01-26T18:41:07.520-06:00

So, I realize that chinese personals ads posted in english on western websites may not be my readership's expertise (and this is admittedly a very particular kind of personals ad), but as a daily peruser of Shanghaiist (one of my China/expat blog sources), I have developed a certain expertise on the forementioned literary type (albeit only because of the repeated incidental contact that I have

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1169438484446217952007-01-21T21:02:00.000-06:002007-01-21T22:14:06.576-06:00

Although I've heard that it has always been a subject of controversy since its installation in 2000, the Starbucks in the Forbidden City (that's me and my friend Jing standing in front of it in that photo) is coming under attack once again. Rather than summarizing myself, I recommend an already good post over at Shanghaiist to get you up to speed.While I support China's efforts to preserve its

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1169063040045128632007-01-17T13:40:00.000-06:002007-01-17T13:44:00.073-06:00

This is simply unbelievable.Or as McLelland says, "Beam me up, Scotty."ridiculous

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1168895535288816232007-01-15T15:07:00.000-06:002007-01-15T15:12:15.320-06:00

"In any case, the person who finds this diary will have one certain advantage over me: with a written language it is always possible to reconstruct a dictionary and a grammar, isolate sentences, transcribe them or paraphrase them in another language, whereas I am trying to read in the succession of things presented to me every day the world's intensions toward me, and I grope my way, knowing that

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1168837756714380212007-01-14T22:41:00.000-06:002007-01-15T08:30:48.010-06:00

Last week I began my normal schedule for the rest of the semester and everything has begun without too much event. This last weekend I again spent time in St. Louis with Noel and Elissa, hitting the City Museum, Trader Joe's, and the Asian Market. I have steamed milk buns in the freezer. I am rejoicing.As I was surfing around my usual internet haunts over the weekend I stumbled across a very good

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1167800724123751342007-01-02T22:53:00.000-06:002007-01-02T23:05:24.156-06:00

As I write this, the phrase "road tripping" somehow reminds me of a terrible parody song called "star trekking." Euuahhh. Only other geeks could possibly understand the agony.The last week or so I've been in Texas attending a friend's wedding and catching up with some friends in Clear Lake, Texas (home of NASA, and former residence of mine) and with the Weichbrodts, who live in Spring "let's

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1167181617674504142006-12-26T18:58:00.000-06:002006-12-26T19:55:51.193-06:00

When going to Sky Sports to read some Premiership news, I couldn't help but see their main headline, which reads:Australia v England: over-by-over.Australia start day two of the fourth Ashes Test on 48-2 in reply to England's total of 159. Launch the skysports.com scorecentre for commentary on the action from Melbourne.I understand pretty much nothing about this headline other than the fact that

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1166910930879793002006-12-23T15:15:00.000-06:002006-12-23T15:55:31.036-06:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've blogged, but that's because I've been immersed in all kinds of other good reading. Let me recommend some of it: - Bill McClay's "Is Conservatism Finished": An interesting take on the future of conservative movements. Especially interesting to me because he is at UTC and fellow reformed brother. Catch this article while it's available free - it rolls over to

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1166478302037140612006-12-18T15:39:00.000-06:002006-12-18T15:45:02.056-06:00

Commentary Online has a great article (also long) called "What does Putin Want?". It is a really good description of the current political momentum in Russia against the reforms of the 1990s. Really sad, but important. I highly recommend reading this article to get up to speed with the current Russian situation.russia democracy human rights economics

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1165687509455728942006-12-09T11:57:00.000-06:002006-12-09T12:05:09.476-06:00

The trees have long since given up their leaves, but I only just now pulled this picture from an autumn run off of my digital camera. I'll be sad not to get these autumns in the future.picture college

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1165611781961122642006-12-08T14:42:00.000-06:002006-12-08T15:03:01.993-06:00

It's true, I'm graduating. Now. Or, whenever I hear about a time for my SIP defense. This is literally my last obligation as an undergrad (that I know of).Here's the process of graduating that I've experienced thus far:1) In exhaustion and disbelief, mill about the living room and blankly stare at things. Do so for an indefinite period of time.2) Think about what you will do with all that time.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1165182944553357002006-12-03T17:48:00.000-06:002006-12-03T17:32:49.293-06:00

I haven't seriously posted in awhile. I realize this. But here's why: I'm graduating in 5 days, and I turned my SIP in on Thursday. I'm pleased with it, and very glad to have been able to seriously look into neoconservatism, liberal democracy, and Christian action in politics. If anyone would like a copy of it, I'll be glad to send it on to interested parties. Comment/email me and I'll give it to

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1165188195039566762006-12-03T15:59:00.000-06:002006-12-03T17:31:24.296-06:00

Recently I've been thinking a lot more about the environment.I'm an Oklahoman - a land of historic conservatism with deep ties to the oil industry. Where I come from, environmentalists are not very welcome, nor are their points carefully considered. Global warming research is full of lies (after all, it was ridiculously cold yesterday), efficiency advocates are just socialists who are bitter at

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1164832419151525652006-11-29T14:31:00.000-06:002006-11-29T15:18:40.913-06:00

Actually, I only do this occasionally when I play so that my opponents don't feel too outclassed.soccer video

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1163773980097511302006-11-17T08:28:00.000-06:002006-11-17T08:33:00.143-06:00

Let me recommend Imagethief's latest post about China's recent crackdown on dog ownership. Dogs in China are really funny. And by that, I mean really annoying. They just beg to be punted (and that's coming from someone who likes dogs). Go read the article. It's quite funny. funny china

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1163295048588070442006-11-11T19:05:00.000-06:002006-11-11T19:34:59.916-06:00

This last week I hit up Half.com for some used music, in a binge buying spree compensating for my lack of new music since early May. Here's what I ended up getting, some of the top tracks, and an album rating out of 10.Beck - Odelay; Sea Change - Jack-Ass, Lost Cause - 6/10, 8/10.The Innocence Mission - Befriended - Beautiful Change, Sweep Down Early - 9/10.Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun - Little

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1162677928531101092006-11-04T15:16:00.000-06:002006-11-05T20:10:00.536-06:00

Vanity Fair currently has a piece up that details Neoconservatives' supposed abandonment of Bush and his war policy.Blogger and self-associated Neoconservative David Frum has published a retort. He claims that he himself has not changed his position: "My most fundamental views on the war in Iraq remain as they were in 2003: The war was right, victory is essential, and defeat would be calamitous."

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1162672220239367172006-11-04T14:26:00.000-06:002006-11-04T14:30:20.280-06:00

Two more shows I've found that are perfect sound quality that you must download:Matisyahu Live at Newport Music Hall on 2006-01-15 (you'll have to go there to get each file individually)Ryan Adams at the Great American Music Hall - VBR MP3 .zip download (137 mb)music archive.org free downloads

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1162670471185389672006-11-04T13:50:00.000-06:002006-11-04T14:03:41.273-06:00

Last night was Rock Creek Fellowship's fall festival. It was good for several reasons:1) The church showed up, including Covenant students, to help make the thing happen. There were lots of Covenant students who volunteered, and all but one of them were able to follow through on their commitment and they did so in a timely manner. It's good to see fellow students really contributing.2) Kids are

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1162304576935600972006-10-31T08:20:00.000-06:002006-10-31T08:22:57.000-06:00

I don't have anything interesting to say here because I wrote another 9 pages of my SIP last night to bring the total page count to 25. I'll have to find a way to publish it in portions when I'm done so you can read it (if you'd like).Rock over London, Rock on, Chicago. Pontiac, we're driving excitement.SIP

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1161965571905214452006-10-27T11:07:00.000-05:002006-10-27T11:12:51.946-05:00

In the midst of plumbing the depths of Leo Strauss, I thought I'd tell the whole world: I'm giving a bruising to the SIP. Rough Draft deadline: Thanksgiving. Page count: 16/30. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and thanks to my education in philosophy at Covenant College, I have no shortage of weapons in my arsenal of conceptual analysis. There is (almost) always another distinction worth

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1161905917818318542006-10-26T18:36:00.000-05:002006-10-26T18:38:37.840-05:00

This is hilarious.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1161378140899091492006-10-20T15:25:00.000-05:002006-10-20T16:02:21.003-05:00

Today Business Week posted a pretty good article about OPEC's emergency meeting in Doha to cut production of crude oil. What follows is my take on the whole thing, and should be regarded as total punditry (but I think it's interesting, or I wouldn't be writing it here).The summary of the whole situation is that OPEC isn't happy to see oil comfortably below $60 a barrel, and that they want to cut

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1161310305959459292006-10-19T21:06:00.000-05:002006-10-19T21:12:20.543-05:00

I'm writing my SIP. It's a slow start (at least I'm writing).But I'll tell you what isn't: Matisyahu.Get over here and listen/download these Matisyahu tracks, especially "King without a Crown" and "Close my Eyes."Tip of that hat to Noel for noticing this long ago.music sip

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1161263794723129112006-10-19T08:09:00.000-05:002006-10-19T21:15:43.043-05:00

Well, it turns out that the infamous DVD shops and knock-off Pumas in China aren't really standouts when it comes to IPR infringement in asia. Check out this post from Occidentalism and keep scrolling to see picture after picture of blatant IPR violations in South Korean products (this topic was precipitated by Starbucks' recent loss of an IPR infringement lawsuit to the Korean firm "Starpreya" -

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1160834385595211462006-10-14T08:49:00.000-05:002006-10-14T08:59:45.613-05:00

Recently I've been pretty busy (hence the lack of posts) because the student lifestyle is again killing me. But I won't pedantically prattle about that.A week and a half ago my Mom came to town and we took her father's banjo that he used to play for them on the farm (in the 50's and 60's) and got it restrung. [Notice: if you ever restring a banjo without any previous knowledge, it is quite

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1159971712906294872006-10-04T08:49:00.000-05:002006-10-04T09:21:53.116-05:00

There's an incredible piece over at OhMyNews (a Korean english language news source) that is the translation of a top professor at Fudan University (the chinese Princeton) commenting on the possible consequences of NK nuclear tests. He says they don't have enough to lose and that they'll go ahead and do it, and that because of it's own interests China will only in voice oppose them, implementing

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1159379991973867352006-09-27T12:44:00.000-05:002006-09-27T13:03:32.406-05:00

Here's some interesting stories from the last few days:Marketwatch: Oil at $61 a Barrel - it intrigues me that once we would have been aghast to see oil at this price, but now we're relieved. OPEC is glad for this, to say the least. We have to develop our own energy sources so that we aren't vulnerable to price gouging by regimes that aren't always politically stable.BBC: Shanghai Officials

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1159366134826217932006-09-27T08:58:00.000-05:002006-09-30T10:33:54.340-05:00

Last night I binge-downloaded at archive.org again in their live music archive. There's some truly great stuff over there - but out of the 700 megs of VBR concerts that I downloaded last night (legally!), let me recommend two particular files from Over the Rhine and the Vigilantes of Love.Both of these shows' sound quality are so good that you feel like you're standing in the front row at the

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1159213463262353782006-09-25T14:36:00.000-05:002006-09-25T14:44:23.320-05:00

I'm up at 9:00 AM saturday morning cooking up some eggs when Justin Borger arrives at the usual time and says what he does not usually say: "Do you see what your neighbor is doing?"I had noticed something was up, because there was a nice big barbeque pit and I could smell the burning charcoal. But so far, nothing special. "Do you realize your neighbor is skewering a pig on a spit?"This, I did not

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1158951534352570502006-09-22T13:57:00.000-05:002006-09-22T13:58:54.423-05:00

This is too good for me to make up.hilarious

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1158853004133365192006-09-21T10:10:00.000-05:002006-09-21T10:45:35.220-05:00

There's some interesting things going on that are well worth reading:The Guardian: Colin Powell says that America is Alienating the rest of the World.BBC: Thai Leaders ban Political ActionNYT: Iran's leader relishes 2nd chance to make wavesThe Guardian: Chavez attacks 'devil' Bush in UN speech - Note: I think the priceless part of this article is the end where it cites Bolivian president Evo

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1157078066144426572006-09-19T21:24:00.000-05:002006-09-18T20:47:05.043-05:00

I'm depressed and angry. Let me give you four reasons why from the last month or so. All of them arrested:Chen Guangcheng: Advocate for those who underwent forced sterilizations.Gao Zhisheng: Leading Beijing LawyerHu Jia: Aids human rights activistGuo Feixiong: Leading Guangzhou lawyerDon't tell me you're liberalizing because you can now mass produce higher quantities of inexpensive, low quality

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1158158545400439372006-09-13T09:34:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:49:55.173-05:00

One of the sad consequences of a migration to a new machine (which I did at the beginning of the summer) is that my slow accumulation of a well rated music collection died. In the blink of an eye all of it is freshly unrated on the new machine. Ach.Today I decided to see if I could find an application that would help me rate every song as I listen to it so that I can rebuild my rating base. Not

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1158117407758230032006-09-12T21:42:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:50:28.236-05:00

Apologies for the long absence, I have a few drafts of posts that never made it up.Being a senior at Covenant means that you have to write the SIP, that seniorish/integrated/paperlike thing. I'm writing mine on german refugee/political philosopher Leo Strauss' view of democracy. The reason why I chose this topic is because Strauss is something like a godfather to all neo-conservatives in America

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1157462812728831952006-09-05T08:17:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:50:44.040-05:00

I try not to put in too many boring life accounts on this blog. I like to keep it oriented towards things that are happening elsewhere.But I must say, the life of the student during the week simply doesn't have that much variation. Here's about how it works:7 AM - awake to alarm and be very confused about what the heck is going on. Over the last 4 years it's gotten harder to get up.8 AM - take a

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1157076897094012832006-08-31T20:35:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:51:06.473-05:00

My feelings about Covenant College this week have oscillated between glowing and absolute rage. This might seem like something of a cheap vent, but since much of my readership are Covenant Alumni, I think it's worth writing. Rest assured, I'm not writing this just because I have nothing else to write. I actually think I'm going to write another post on another subject immediately following this

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1156266445053318852006-08-22T11:32:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:51:29.760-05:00

Sorry for the long dry spell here on the blog. I've been something of a vagrant as I wait to fully move into my new digs here in Chattanooga for the next nine months. I've also been spending time with my family, as my mother and sister are here in town to introduce my sister to the wonderful world of Covenant College. I don't think of this is a suitable restart to my blogging after all of the

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1155412011999843552006-08-12T14:43:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:51:52.173-05:00

This is my last weekend in DC before I leave for a while. I'd like to come back. It certainly gave me a nice farewell.photo dc

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1155314217701629412006-08-11T11:33:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:52:14.866-05:00

I saw an interesting article the other day about the photoshopped photographs recently circulated portraying various global conflicts. With original/edited shot comparisons, it's well worth looking at.

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1155056371771903172006-08-08T11:56:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:52:49.866-05:00

There's a fantastic piece over at Danwei about the chinese media dichotomy between official, controlled areas and the uncontrolled substratum that is dominated by bootleggers. It's long, but worth it (especially to anyone interested by media in general).media

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1154838579468824752006-08-05T23:13:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:53:25.526-05:00

I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far - I certainly am. Let me just list a few of the things I've already enjoyed this weekend:1) Watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for the first time. Cal Marshall and I wanted to watch a movie cheaply, so we looked up the AFI's top 100 films list, picked a decade (the 60's), and picked a film that struck our fancy. Neither of us had seen this

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1154787069576256522006-08-05T08:17:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:54:56.856-05:00

One of the interesting things about working on Capitol Hill is that you learn a lot about constituents. One of the primary things that we all feel as constituents is that we own the country - and if you pay taxes, this is true (in a very small way). Another thing that some constituents feel (in error) is that they actually know anything about the issues debated or political process here in

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1154400670274025892006-07-31T21:30:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:55:21.630-05:00

So it's been quite awhile since I was in NYC, but I think you all deserve the story of my travels (travails) in trying to get back and forth.Friday, I wait an hour for the bus to be late, and then realize truth in advertising doesn't apply to chinese bus drivers. The drive is more like 5 hours than 4, and then there's that business of rush hour Jersey/NY traffic. Sorry, kid, 8:30, not 6:30.At

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1154399145205854172006-07-31T21:13:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:55:47.856-05:00

今天在饭馆我看一个女人有纹身写”女“。为什么美国人觉得中文纹身很聪明? 不难知道他是女人无”女“写在他的身。有时候，我真的不懂怎么美国人能是这半脑。Today I saw a woman with the chinese character for woman tattoed onto her neck. This puzzles me why she would need to tattoo this on herself. What would you do if you saw a chinese girl with "girl" tattoed on her neck? Major idiot.For a blog full of this sort of thing, see hanzismatter.hanzi idiocy 中文

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1154102561385658682006-07-28T09:48:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:56:20.846-05:00

I went to an outdoor bar last night for a party for a friend who is transitioning into a different job in the area. Little did we know that a bunch of Congressmen also had a party planned there.At first there wasn't anything going on. But then something around 15 or 20 congressmen showed up. It was funny enough for me to see my boss (and representative) smoking a cigarette and hanging out with

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1153879655353950292006-07-25T20:58:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:56:40.896-05:00

This is Justin Johnson and I both wearing hard hats that were given to each of our offices by some lobbyists. Now if only we could put some aluminum foil inside.pictures work safety

cassel_____noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117346.post-1153849327508159002006-07-25T11:52:00.000-05:002006-09-13T09:57:58.926-05:00

Today, the New York Times has an interesting article on the relation of faith and reason. It primarily discusses a few different books that have been recently written about the link between faith and reason - but particularly regarding the scientific method's application to the question of origins. And unsurprisingly, at most points it seems to be hopelessly lost in the confines of methodological

cassel_____noreply@blogger.com