it’s a web log

Status Update

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:06:14 -0400

I have enjoyed Chuck’s “My Week in Review”, so I am going to adopt that kind format to give some updates.

- I have kind of lost steam with project 365. I missed a lot of days in June and now a bunch in July. I will probably get around to uploading what I have, but it’s not at the top of the priority list. I enjoy the project, but some days I really run right to the end of the day and before I know it, it’s 12:30am.

- I bought an erg (Concept2 Model D).

- I hit zero home runs in the home run derby. I suck.

- In lieu of hitting home runs, I ate two helpings of Famous Dave’s.

- I cracked the screen of my iPhone. I have insurance and I will be getting it back soon, but for the next 3-7 business days, I’m stuck with the LG Shine. I hate it. It is SO hard to use. I have a newfound love and appreciation for the iPhone.

- I watched Run Fatboy Run. It is absolutely hilarious while still very poignant, and it stars Simon Pegg. Win all around.

- I went to French Creek State Park. It was lovely to get out of the city and enjoy nature. I plan to do that a lot in the future, possibly with staying overnight, other people and fire.

I have had a lot to think about recently and very little time to properly digest it. Hopefully I can post some of those thoughts here if I manage to sort them out.

Be Satisfied With Me

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 02:38:37 -0400

I’m not really sure where this comes from. I got it from a quarter sheet print out that was given to me by the Sisters of Life. It’s not on a holy card. The text is attributed to St. Anthony, though it does not cite a particular document or piece of writing. I don’t think this is a mystical conversation with God, rather what St. Anthony, in his holy wisdom, imagines God would say. With texts like this, I don’t think it really matters which document or letter it comes from. The message is so powerful that even if St. Anthony didn’t write it, it would bear the same weight.

This is a beautifully hopeful and uplifting text.

+M

Viva La Vida

Sun, 31 May 2009 00:55:41 -0400

Coldplay’s song “Viva La Vida” off their fourth album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends has been lingering on my conscience for the past two weeks. I got it stuck in my head after I downloaded a free copy of their live album. Usually, I only listen to Coldplay on rainy days because the two albums I have are so overwhelmingly quiet and suited to the grey weather. That’s a more polite way of saying that their music is kind of depressing.

Truly, “Viva La Vida” is a good song, so I shouldn’t feel strange that have it stuck in my head. It won the Song of the Year award at the 2009 Grammy awards and this is the first time I’m paying attention to it since I heard it in the iTunes TV spot. Sidebar, the music video is weird and I don’t like it.

But it’s not the tune that is weighing heavily on me. The lyric “For some reason I can’t explain I know St. Peter won’t call my name” has been really irking me for the entirety of the two weeks. Here is my attempt to articulate why.

Without diving into a serious theological debate, I am bothered by the ironic/discordant relationship between that lyric and the title. The recognition of a final judgement makes it clear that the subject, the fallen king, believes in God and understands that there is a certain standard by which he will be judged. He also recognizes that he has fallen short of the standard and anticipates that he won’t make the cut. It bothers me because the king is condemning himself. One of the core principles of Christianity, and I think it’s safe to say he believes in Christianity, is that a contrite heart is all that is needed to obtain everlasting life in heaven. The aforementioned lyric implies that even though the king knows this, he’s resigning himself to his sinful state. I don’t think he prefers it. Lyrics like “Never an honest word, but that was when I ruled the world” seem to suggest some amount of atonement. The name of the song is “Long Live Life”, but this king is willingly turning away from everlasting life. This irks me.

And, to offer a non-musical parallel, the character of this song reminds me of Petronius from Quo Vadis who makes a similar choice about his life. Even though that book and this song are only works of fiction, it saddens me to think that there are so many people who share that view.

More Reasons To Hate the Internet

Thu, 28 May 2009 22:46:24 -0400

I got “told” by a stranger in an Awesomeopolis comment thread. Two people immediately confirmed him with supporting comments. See the offense here.

Sigh. It’s a new low. :(

I Did Something Bold

Wed, 27 May 2009 22:40:54 -0400

I turned off the Internet and phone for five days. And I liked it.

I took a long weekend down in Nashville this past weekend. It was Wednesday to Sunday, and it was lovely. The weather, the people, the landscape, the food, culminating in a perfectly peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. Not once was I jolted out of my serenity by my phone or the ding of a new email.

It was tremendously constructive to focus on myself for five days and really feed myself with wholesome goodness (figuratively and literally) rather than the dribble we allow the Internet to give us. Sure, there are a lot of very good things out there, but we don’t seek them out. We are weak. We like the dribble. Failblog is like the Fruit Roll-Ups of the web. Twitter is like Dunkaroos. We love it, but we are left unsatisfied, it makes us stay up past our bedtimes, and we always want more. My mom never let me eat Dunkaroos - I think she was on to something.

So I think I’m going to make this kind of repose a more regular thing. At the very least, I returned to the mess genuinely renewed.