Category: <span>Art • Design • Culture</span>

I’ve been struggling over the past year and a half, trying to get a routine down — to optimize my time and get some real work done. I am essentially self-employed now, even if I’m not earning a living by my efforts. Nearly forty years with the US Postal Service and twenty-four years as a bi-vocational pastor kept me working and focused, so there was an imposed structure to my day with objectives and goals to meet, as well as work to be done. Now, I have to plan  my own workday, thankful that years of working for the USPS, Denise’s years of contracting and employment,  the generosity of others, and personal planning have provided the financial foundation for labors of love that don’t necessarily pay.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Christianity • Religion Leadership

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I completed my acrylic painting class about two weeks ago and this was my final project: Olive At Seven. I’m generally pleased with it, although it gave me a bit of trouble in combining white with raw umber and, then, glazing and going to a gray. After encountering that problem, I created swatches and learned that raw umber has some blue in it, evidently. I found that by mixing in a little burnt sienna, it “warms” a bit and will go to a creamier tint. Oh, well. That’s why I’m taking these classes.

Next up are a couple of portraits and then on to my current fascination: urban scenes.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Fine Art

My first acrylic painting class is drawing to a close. This is the first time I’ve put serious energy into painting since high school, over 40 years ago. I’ve learned a lot from our excellent instructor, Sandra Miller, at Sierra College. And, I can’t say enough about the wonderful color theory course I had with Linda Byrne two semesters ago.IMG_4209

One of the most enjoyable projects was a mixed media assignment. I decided to parody (not mock) this familiar Paul Delefsen print, Serenity. Denise found it at the thrift store, heading out to the garbage. We displayed it in our patio each summer, in order to capture the feeling that we were in a cool redwood grove, on hot afternoons.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Vintage • Retro • Kitsch

rant1I felt a New Years rant coming on, but didn’t get around to publishing it until today.

First up: There must be something wrong with me. I’d rather eat at a taqueria than Chipotle – there, I said it – I’m out – that’s just me – not hating or judging anyone. From an early age, I always knew I was different than the rest – but, that’s another story altogether. I don’t feel any different after eating organic/fresh than I do eating other kinds of food (unlike just about everyone else on social media). In fact, I recently ingested a bunch of home cooked fresh stuff and felt terrible.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Just Plain Fun

Well, it’s been over a month since my last post. A few things have conspired to keep me away from writing.

First, a friend of the family was hit by necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh-eating bacteria. It’s so rare, I never thought I would know someone, personally, who would be stalked by this deadly foe. He is a young man, received a timely bit of advice from his pharmacist and a quick diagnosis by his first surgeon and, then, he was off to an excellent hospital. He’s come through with flying colors. Today, he just learned that his grafts had taken very well and he’ll be going home Friday, after a month in the hospital.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Baha'i Necrotizing Fasciitis

The MoabitessI’m back in school again, taking an acrylic painting class and a publication design course, learning Adobe InDesign. The strategy at this point is to take courses I need to move forward in my new career: writing, designing, laying out, and publishing books that hardly anyone will read, aimed at niche audiences, interested in obscure subjects. Doesn’t that sound super-bohemian?

the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic, or literary pursuits. In this context, Bohemians may be wanderers, adventurers, or vagabonds.

I’m feeling hipper and groovier by the moment.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture

Picture_of_Abdul-BahaYesterday, I began in earnest to bring my latest writing and publishing project to life. I created an outline and plan for a book titled The Baha’i Faith: An Introduction  for Christian Readers. Why an introduction to the Baha’i faith, you ask? Because there still aren’t nearly enough resources out there for popular consumption on the subject, since I first encountered the Baha’i faith back in the 80s. Sources tend to be partisan and there is very little dialogue between opposing groups, who share an interest in the Baha’i faith and its roots in Babism, Sufism, Twelver Shi’ism, and Islam. Of course, Baha’is will accuse me of being so biased, that I can’t possibly add anything helpful to the discussion.… Read the rest

Baha'i Books • Literature

As I sat down to make resolutions for 2016, I remembered this sobering quote by John Goldingay from the book, I (Still) Believe: Leading Bible Scholars Share Their Stories of Faith and Scholarship. He reminds me that I’m seeking a “better country,” beyond 2016 and this life.

Here it is and it’s not for the squeamish:

Americans like to believe in legacies; I expect to be forgotten, in fulfillment of Ecclesiastes’ warning. I know that individual students gain from classes I teach and from books that I write… but in general my work makes no significant contribution to the life of the church or to the purposes of God in the world.

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Christianity • Religion Film

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I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens, last night, in 3-D.

I am not a Star Wars, Sci-fi or fantasy geek. I have been an audio geek and a Bible nerd, but I don’t know if geek or nerd are appropriate labels, if you are enthusiastic about one of the most popular and lucrative entertainment franchises in the history of the world. I tend to associate geeks and nerds with outsider movements. Anyway, I’ve been pretty hard on hardcore Star Wars fans in the past (see my take at Star Wars: It Really Matters What You Believe). But, I’m no hater and have the greatest love and respect for the franchise. … Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Film

Many men wish their handwriting was better and I’m one of them. This primer, How to Improve Penmanship, at The Art of Manliness, “will teach you everything you need to know about improving your cursive penmanship.” At least, that’s their claim. I have this notion that by training my mind, eyes, and hands to improve my penmanship, other skills I’m cultivating will follow. There are indications that writing by hand improves your cognitive abilities, but I’m hoping my art and creative writing will also benefit. We shall see. One specific writing skill I would like to acquire is the draftsman or architectural style of writing.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Blogging Just Plain Fun

12314707_10156495045285314_7032931350319123767_oThis past week, I came to the realization that I’m probably not a coffee drinker. I like coffee drinks or drinks made with coffee, but not coffee by itself… black. Denise roasts beans for us and does a great job. We have electric and hand burr grinders, a french press outfit, a pour-over device, an Aeropress, and a Cuisinart drip coffee maker. Until recently, we had a Krupps espresso maker. So, there’s no excuse for my not being a true coffee drinker — I have only my own taste buds to blame.

How did I come to this shocking realization? A couple of weeks ago, I decided to start drinking my coffee black and enjoy the essence of the bean without admixture or adulteration of the ebony nectar by dairy products and sweeteners.… Read the rest

Food Just Plain Fun

I have to concur with the writer, that “racking up mile after mile is difficult, mind-expanding, and hypnotic—just like putting words down on a page.” But, it’s also energizing and freeing to be out on the road, around town or through the woods, working out ideas and problems, step by step, mile by mile.

Freedom, consciousness, and wildness: Running offers writers escape with purpose. When confronted with “structural problems” in her writing as the result of a “long, snarled, frustrating and sometimes despairing morning of work,” Joyce Carol Oates would ease her writing blocks with afternoon runs. For Oates and many other writers, running is process and proves especially useful for the type of cloistered, intensive work they do.

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Blogging Books • Literature

One of the advantages of my defective and desultory education is a lifetime of discovery and learning! Kudos to the California educational system of the 60’s, leftist news organizations of the 70’s and the vacuous popular culture of the 80’s. (I suppose I should admit that I wasn’t a very enthusiastic learner in those days — it’s not like I was a total victim)

Along the way, I learned that , contrary to nearly everything I was ever taught on the subject of race or saw editorialized in the pop-press, that in the 26 major civil rights votes since 1933, Democrats opposed civil rights in 80% of votes, while Republicans joined the majority in favoring civil rights in over 96% of the votes.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture

la-le-me-mary-grace-canfield-jpg-20140217Our family lived in Maine from 1993 – 1997 and the area we lived in was ripe with chance meetings of fate, because so many celebs and power people vacation or retire there. Here’s just one example. More will follow and fans of the old TV comedy, Green Acres, will want to check out this post.

Most people who flew out of our area to the rest of the United States and the world would leave on the 6AM flight out of Bangor International Airport. It was a large plane, flying to Logan International in Boston, where connections were made with the rest of civilization.… Read the rest

Film Just Plain Fun Maine: The Vista From Away Wacky • Weird

IMG_6290I’ve watched boys writhing in the pews and struggling to pay attention for years, as the preacher plows through the text, turning over the soil of the soul. Sometimes the man behind the music stand or pulpit is me.

Other boys get down on their knees, but not to pray. They face a chair with a pencil up and press their noses down close to a piece of paper or a flyer for some church event or a bulletin or a sketch pad, rendering caricatures of superheroes or Transformers or stock cars. Older boys may read an appropriate novel. Some do their homework, while others game away on a device of some kind.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Christianity • Religion Just Plain Fun

If you haven’t already read it, this is a fine book about cultivating healthy, Gospel relationships within the Church. I read Ken Sande’s first edition of The Peacemaker years ago and have to say this revised and updated Third Edition is greatly improved. I skimmed over my highlighted copy about a month ago and was pleasantly surprised to rediscover this gem, buried among so much treasure:

People who use escape responses [to conflict] are usually intent on “peace-faking,” or making things look good even when they are not. (This is especially common in the church, where people are often more concerned about the appearance of peace than the reality of peace). 

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Books • Literature Christianity • Religion Gospel-Centered Leadership Missional Communities Planting

Why do I blog? There are a number of reasons, I suppose. francis4

I came across a quote which answers that question and may give you some insight into why I do whatever I do:

Our calling is to enjoy God as well as glorify Him. Real fulfillment relates to the purpose for which we were made, to be in reference to God, to be in personal relationship with Him, to be fulfilled by Him, and thus to have an affirmation of life. Christianity should never give any onlooker the right to conclude that Christianity believes in the negation of life. Christianity is able to make a real affirmation because we affirm that it is possible to be in personal relationship to the personal God who is there and who is the final environment of all He created.

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Blogging Christianity • Religion Gospel-Centered

We all know Evernote is great for keeping track of notes and tasks, but it can be used for so much more than that.

I found some pretty great uses for Evernote that hadn’t occurred to me yet. This is one of those applications that is so simple, yet versatile, well written, and executed that the variety of uses may be endless. Check it out:20 uses for Evernote that you probably haven’t thought of yet | Macworld

If you don’t know what Evernote is, you may want to watch this video:

And, if you’re a note-taker, business person, designer, artist, planner… watch and be amazed:

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Technology

This was something I posted back  in 2005 and I thought it might be worthwhile to look back to where we’ve been and see how far we’ve come.

It has long been a dream of mine to redecorate our home in a modern theme, but it looks like that will have to wait for another 5-10 years. In the interim, we have decided upon a retro look and have been scouring thrift stores, garage sales and eBay for furniture and accessories from the same era as the ribbon-cutting on our home, i.e. 1961.couch

Today, Denise, and I were leaving a disappointing garage sale, when we happened upon a young gentleman (who happpened to be from New Zealand), standing in the driveway of his new home, next to this sectional.

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Art • Design • Culture Blogging Just Plain Fun Vintage • Retro • Kitsch

I don’t recall memorizing, reciting or reading Robert Frost’s poems in school, while growing up in Southern California. That may seem unusual for anyone my age or older, because he was the nation’s poet laureate and all the rage in the early ’60s. He wrote a poem for John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, which bound him inextricably to the times and events that many baby-boomers cling to as their coming of age.

I had, in the words of one Richard Baxter biographer, a defective and desultory education. I think it was more my fault than any deficiencies in the educational system or my teachers.… Read the rest

Books • Literature

leading_on_emptyLeading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro is a book for burnouts. I picked it up back in February of 2013, when I finally realized I was experiencing long-term exhaustion (the formal diagnosis). I was a classic case — I didn’t know I had arrived at burnout, until I was actually coming out of it. A friend pointed me to this text as a classic on the subject, specifically written for Christians.

The book was not overly helpful for me, because I had stumbled into solutions or had recognized and addressed many of the symptoms already. It did help me to make sense of the troubled waters I’d just passed through and gave me a few tips or reminders to get back on course.… Read the rest

Books • Literature Leadership Planting

Let’s talk about Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More? Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist by Karen Swallow Prior. Dr. Prior is a Professor of English at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. She is also the author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me (T. S. Poetry Press 2012) and a contributing writer for Christianity TodayThe AtlanticIn Touch, Her.meneutics and Think Christian.  Ms. Prior is a member of the Faith Advisory Council of the Humane Society of the United States, living out a fierce commitment to her family of dogs, horses, and chickens in rural Virginia, along with her husband, Roy.… Read the rest

Books • Literature Christianity • Religion Religion

Hugh Jackman to star as the apostle Paul in high-profile Christian film | Film | The Guardian

I suppose this is exciting news for fans of Marvel Comics… and, the Bible.

From The Guardian, Jackman had this to say about his father, who is a Christian:

“He takes his religion very seriously and would prefer I go to church,” Jackman revealed. “We’ve had discussions about our separate beliefs. I just find the evangelical church too, well, restrictive.

I think the actor may be surprised to learn that many Evangelicals would agree the faith is “too, well, restrictive” and are ditching long-held teachings and practices of both Jesus and His apostles, as well as the prophets.

I think Michael Bird has the right take on this casting decision, as well as the storyline for a future project:

Personally, I’d love to see Jackman do an Apostle Paul/Wolverine re-mix, and pull out the retractable bone claws to emasculate the judaizers in Galatia!

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Christianity • Religion Film

Last year, I joined a group of men reading through the Bible in a year, with the aid of this Biblical theology, The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. It was an incredible experience,  hearing the Story of God in a cover-to-cover reading of the Scriptures. So, it was both shocking and delightful to hear Nancy Guthrie express many of the same discoveries our men’s group made, covering essentially the same ground. I highly recommend a good listen to this podcast for anyone, at any stage in your story, following Jesus: WHI-1254 | Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament, Part 1 – Out of the Horse’s Mouth.… Read the rest

Books • Literature Christianity • Religion Gospel-Centered

I’ve finished reading Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More? Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist by Karen Swallow Prior. I have my own review, and I’m just about ready to push the “Publish” button. But, for now you can find this interview of the author over at The Gospel Coalition. From the biography:

Hannah More

More was born in a rapidly changing society, and her life embodies many of those changes. She was born to laboring class parents but became an early example of social mobility by rising well above her station by the end of her life. But having both lower class origins and upper class attainments gave More an opportunity to effectively reach both rich and poor and in between through her writing and her reform efforts.

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Books • Literature Christianity • Religion