Waving or Drowning?

Merry Christmas Part II

Love this...

"O inexpressible mystery and unheard paradox: the Invisible is seen, the Intangible is touched , the eternal Word becomes accessible to our speech, the Timeless steps into time, the Son of God becomes the Son of Man!"
- Saint Gregory of Nyssa

Merry Christmas!

Window In The Skies, or...

...Merry Christmas to U2.

Here's an exercise for you to do over the holidays. First, the background: A while back Beth had been hosting a conversation on the lyrics of the new U2 song Window On The Skies. I missed out on that, but saw her subsequent post highlighting one of the earlier comments. Now that the video was out, did it change/impact any earlier thoughts on the meaning behind the song?

Not being familiar with the lyrics I had the chance to go straight to the video "unbiased". My reaction was immediate and profound. I won't tell you what it is yet, although you can find it readily enough in a comment on Beth's second post.

Here's what I'd like you to do. Watch the video yourself (below) and think about what you see. A "theme", a "meaning"... anything at all.

Now, in order to add the lyrics to the experience, check out this "karaoke" version recorded live in Japan:

Now compare your first reaction to any subsequents thoughts now that you've seen the lyrics. Care to share with us?

The End of Religion - Audio Book (UPDATED)

I still get a lot of hits from people googling The End of Religion, or Bruxy Cavey (or The Meeting House, for that matter.) This was certainly one of my favorite books of last year, and I've quoted from it several times in prior posts.

Now I hear there will be an audio version released in January 2007. For now you can download Chapter 1 for free here.

(It's not Bruxy reading, but whoever it is, the guy has a better voice than our friend in the previous post. Maybe listening to Chapter 1 will help you clear your head...)

UPDATE: OK, the joke is on me. Bruxy tells me via email that it is in fact him reading! I asked him if it's him singing in the previous post too, but so far he's being cagey about an answer...

O Holy Night

It took me almost a full year, but I managed to get this song out of my head. Then, Jon felt led to post a link. Curse you, Jon Reid.

(Red)emption - Week 9

This is it - the week ahead will be our last full week of (Red)emption. Of course, it's Christmas Week, so I understand if your thoughts are elsewhere!

First, here are the numbers at this point in time:

Number of donors:
539

Countries Represented:

1. Canada
2. United States
3. South Africa
4. England
5. Scotland
6. Sweden
7. Australia
8. Wales
9. Chile
10. Italy

Number of Blogs linking to (Red)emption (that we're aware of):
91

After we realized that 1000 wasn't going to happen this go-around, we set our sights on 500, and you've blown us right through that number! We received a big leg up from one person who donated in the name of 24 of her friends... unbelievable!

The story this week has also been the generosity of some matching donors. Our last one came through with a possible $500. We've put that to good use - at this point the next 11 partners will have their $10 matched, and we'd like to make sure we don't leave any money on the table!

As we head into the last few days before Christmas, please keep our (Red)emption Christmas Gift idea mind. Also, please note we will officially be closing off donations at midnight December 31. Thanks for all the support and encouragement so far. We're rounding the finally bend now and the finish line is in sight!

Remember, we are the people we've been waiting for.

I'll sign off with a line from Bing & Bowie from the previous post:
Peace on earth!

Peace on Earth

I love this... sort of a Modernity meets Postmodernity around the piano.

Cates Park Damage

  100_2809 
  Originally uploaded by Mike Todd.

I went by Cates Park today to see if I could catch some of the damage for you. Several huge firs were snapped like match sticks, but I couldn't get close enough.

Here's a couple of shots to give you an idea of what the wind must have been like.

Useful Sites

This morning The Guardian has an article on the 100 most useful web sites. (h/t to Jonny)

Destined For the Worst?

This quote gets filed under the sentiment "Awake is the new sleep!" Time to wake up.

Where would we be today if certain women, men, young people, and also children had not arisen at moments when the human family seemed destined for the worst? They did not say: "Let things take their course!" Beyond the confrontations between persons, peoples, and spiritual families, they prepared a way of trusting. Their lives bear witness to the fact that human beings have not been created for hopelessness.    

- Brother Roger of Taize (from "Peace of Heart in All Things: Meditations for Each Day of the Year.")