Toyah

i really don't have much to say about that, except that i waste plenty-o-time watching youtube videos. (i recently watched a terrible comedian named dan whitney, who is really terrible, but at some point becomes larry the cable guy, who is really terrible)

some have asked for updates on the wedding plans.

invitations have yet to be ordered, much less sent. however, people who called the highlands home (or home away from home) during the period from fall 2000 to graduation 2002, you are probably invited. if you need information from me in order to make plans, or if you wonder if you are the exception to the above blanket statement, please send me an email at work. actually, everyone should send me emails at work. i'd rather read them than do my job, and i don't have many email addresses since hotmail gave me the boot.

jennifer says we don't need to get cable once we move into the place we will live. as most of you know, this is not a big deal, since i don't care about tv.

This week and the week previous, the rivalry between Cleveland and Detroit is being given a chance to develop. Both cities' athletic teams are experiencing good times and the paths of their basketball and baseball teams are currently crossing. So far things are pretty equal.

The Tigers and Indians met this weekend at Comerica Park and will face off in Cleveland this coming weekend. The Indians came in a half-game behind the Tigers but swept the series on the strength of their outstanding hitting and good pitching. The teams are expected to compete all season for the American League Central title and both have a great chance of making the post-season. The two teams have rarely been good at the same time. In the 80s the Tigers were perennial contenders while the Indians dwelled in the cellar. The 90s belonged to the Tribe, as they won the first five AL Central titles but could not win the World Series.



The bright spot, so far, for the city of Detroit has been the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA. Last year the Pistons beat the Cavaliers in seven games in the conference semi-finals. This year they are playing for the conference title and the script looks similar. The Pistons won two close games in Detroit to take a 2-0 series lead, but LeBron James had a great Game Three and the Cavs have tightened the series with a win in Cleveland. The image of the two teams are quite different. The Pistons are, along with the Spurs, one of the most team-oriented clubs. Cleveland's success is much more contingent on the play of their star, LeBron.



The two cities, though geographically very close, have little history of rivalry. There is Michigan/Ohio State, which is believed to be the fiercest rivalry in college football, but those colleges aren't in those towns. The Lions and Browns are in separate conferences, the Tigers and Indians (as mentioned) are never good at the same time, the Pistons and Cavs are finally playing some meaningful games, and Cleveland never got on board with hockey. These cities should be natural rivals, and this year could do a lot to get things going. Then the tete-a-tetes with Dallas will get really fun!

Labels: sports

For years I've been looking for a book that would discuss and define the major heresies of the early church, preferably in a down-to-earth way and in a size that wasn't intimidating. Although it wasn't originally recommended to me for that purpose, one of the best books I've read lately (and I'm not quite done) is The Cruelty of Heresy by C. FitzSimons Alison, retired Bishop of South Carolina.

He affirms orthodoxy, but manages to do so in a way that doesn't make it boring. Orthodox doesn't have to be staid and stiff. Rather, he demonstrates that all the heresies have a measure of truth to them, yet all go too far in one direction or the other, ultimately becoming unbalanced and thus destructive to their own adherents. His take is thoughtful, sensitive, and extremely readable: readers unversed in theology or church history should not be afraid to read it.

I like his style: short chapters, easily explained and digestible, yet very thought-provoking. He isn't interested in the "Catholic" perspective: rather, he understands that God's way---the orthodox way---is the only path that can avoid all the pitfalls and traps of man's own wisdom. As such, I recommend it to anyone who wants a better grasp of the ancient heresies, and what exactly is so bad about them.

Labels: books

I just can't resist sharing Steven Hayward's comparison of Ronald Reagan and the current field of GOP presidential front runners to the differences between the old Kirk-dominated Star Trek and the newer Star Trek: The Next Generation. When I was in junior high, I often tried to make it home from school by 4:00 so I could watch Picard and the gang take on the next set of Borg or battle it out with Q. In truth, I never really liked the old Trek, probably because, compared with TNG, it looked so fake and was so cheesy. TNG, on the other hand, had cool graphics and co-starred LeVar Burton, the Reading Rainbow host. In fact, I think I started watching TNG because LeVar once went "behind the scenes" of TNG and showed things like how they used a model of the Enterprise to film scenes, and how the Enterprise's doors were actually operated by real people pulling ropes. I was disappointed to hear the "swoosh" sound of the doors opening was made by a synthesizer and not some cool futuristic door-opening mechanism. After elementary school, TNG was a natural next step. Of course, I was too young to appreciate the fact that, as Hayward points out, TNG was a very watered down version of the old Star Trek, in that, by virtue of the "Prime Directive," every other civilization, no matter how barbaric, was not to be meddled with; a primer on multicultural relativism. So, in sum, I'm a nerd, and political lessons drawn from Star Trek are so rare that I had to point this one out.

i had another blog on blogspot for quite a while, but today i decided to delete it. due to inactivity, hotmail purged my account. my history is no longer recorded on the internet, save for toyah's account.

In an attempt to remind the world that Toyah writers still exist, I present the things that have been going through my head lately:

- Apparently there was a big debate last night between all 1,553,561 Republican presidential nominees. Although I pay more attention to politics than most, I didn't know about it. I suspect that says more about the nominees than it does about me.

- Building a church is a lot of work. It isn't merely growing by adding new members, it's also holding on to what you have, developing weak Christians into strong Christians, and managing many divergent, even contradictory, personalities along the way.

- I think I'd like to learn to play the violin. I need a new challenge, and music is a rather underdeveloped part of my character. Why the violin, when we already have a piano? I'm not sure, though I suspect it's the romance of the violin. I looked into taking lessons at the college once, and I can't remember why I chose not to at that time. I think I decided I ought not to commit to such a large and potentially expensive hobby on a passing whim. If I'm still interested in the fall, I should look into it again.

- I am not sure what people do after work, who don't have home improvement projects to do. Last summer we painted the outside of the house: this summer I am remodeling/repairing the apartment that is the upper story. We've reached the painting stage, which will be followed by the carpet/vinyl laying stage, and then the sink-replacing stage, ended by the outlet/switch replacing stage. And then there are about 10 smaller projects lined up behind that one...