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our family business, all american pest control, just got a face lift. a new look website with more functionality. the wifey is pretty stoked as she has worked a number of hours to get this going. check it out, let us know what you think, and if you live in the nashville area and would like a high quality environmentally friendly small business taking care of your termite and pest control needs. give us a call!
one of my parents sent me this. reminds me of my angst against metro schools and pedro's war on low testing at the expense of actually teaching kids to think.
erin & i were looking at some houses in the neighborhood as a possible option for her grandmother. who currently lives in tullahoma but seems to be in nashville more and more for health reasons. some minor, some more major. while looking i was pleasantly surprised to see our neighborhood and most of davidson county is all plugged in with google's street view. it was way cool to play with.
afterwards wifey said that she might sue google for sucking up all her husbands free time. i don't know if i would blame google, i could waste just as much time on twittervision or second life. &:~D
the pic is our little corner house probably sometime in the winter as our flowers are not blooming.
i am thinking a redesign is in order here. i can't remember how long i've used this look. but it seems like a good time to play around with some new looks & set ups. one should redesign their stuff with some regularity. i had planned on doing a new look at the beginning of the year, but was too busy. today is too nice to start now. so before i get going, do you have any suggestions?
-gav
today, friday, was my friend and cohort beth's last day at the conference office as conference youth director. i've been too busy to think about it this week. but when i got home there was an email.
Hey Gang,
This is it, my last message to you... Our new CCYM has made the commitment to carry on – so I hope you will look forward to what the future will hold. Your local churches are blessed by your presence as I have been over the years. I can be reached anytime you need me...
i'm bummed.. come monday, there will be these continuing moments of absence. change is okay, i can handle that, but the means and spirit of these things and manipulative nature still cuts deep. i have tried to keep a high road in all this, but i don't know how long that will last.. shall i just walk away. do my own thing. i don't know
pretty cool. one of my pics has been pulled for nashvillest's photo of the day. thanks folks
this afternoon geekdom took on a whole new level participating in tim's weekly skypecast. this time i plugged into my own ustream video feed. today wasn't the best day for a phone call as a bunch of folks randomly stopped in. i think tim put me on mute because of that. sorry man. this is a bit of a screen capture of the fun. i think when i do the next blog redesign i'll set a page for ustream viewing. it's pretty cool, but who wants to look at me all afternoon long. haha!
my mom sent me this video. apparently, my old high school girlfriends mom (dianne, in the yellow) was on korean television. they are great, even though i wasn't dating their daughter they gave me money every now and then while i was in college cause they are just cool like that. i'm still reasonably close with the family, though we haven't talked in awhile i had no idea she was part of this. from what i can tell these are people who have developed some fan appreciation for korean dramas, not sure if its television or other medium. i don't speak korean.
in other korean connections. jessica has a killer new tatt.
so i've been a little busy these last two days with a short week i suppose. we are also in the midst of holding some town hall type meet ups with our youth and youth leaders to share and discuss restructure for our upcoming year in youth ministry... so blogging has come second.. well last really.
getting back on track, here are some significant links for the week.
via the ooze i was given a copy of 'my beautiful idol' to read and give my review.
i threw out some excerpts from the book early in reading. at that point i really enjoyed reading and there was some anticipation of what was happening next. where does this journey go, etc. it is a memoir of faith trying to be lived out in actions and some of those actions would be considered nutty by some, noble by others. i really liked seeing into some of the 'noble' actions and their less noble feelings. especially the attempt to be like henri nouwen. but like the impact of stories of people like henri nouwen or shane claiborne doing counter cultural attempts to the standard move upward in the celebrity/corporate world. the heart of their story and motivations is not that we all follow in their footsteps to enact their exact same things. so you get failed attempts at being who you are not.. and this went over and over and over
as i closed the book i was let down. the first half of the book was riddled with some fun stories, leaps of faith, and honest self-examination. but 230-250 pages in i was pretty much over with the self-exam that moved into self-deprecation. it just got old for me. maybe i need some epiphany to feel good. maybe the self-actualizations were not that profound for me. maybe i have my idols that are not allowing me to see past my own self.. maybe..
was it a good book? if you like memoirs then sure. it is written well and moves quickly. it has some cool spots too. i know i was really intrigued reading his understanding of speaking in tongues. something i am not familiar with as spiritual practice. but memoirs haven't traditionally been my book. i like to be challenged in thinking and this didn't take me there in the end.
blake has a more favorable outlook on the book. search for other reviews to see if i am full of crap.
i am glad to know, but a harsh reality check, of my standing as a youthworker in the church. via dave of cartoon church & cartoon blog.
for this memorial day i wanted to do a little remembering via blog. billy joel's goodnight saigon has always been a fav of mine. for the normal video to this song.
spent sunday evening attending to the wedding of a family friend, jason blackburn and his new bride, jessica evangelist. a fab affair for sure. being family friends we were close enough that i was able to get some pretty cool photos. check out the blackburn/evangelist flickr album.
i love this new weezer video (part cause i love weezer) but it encompasses all those random viral videos that we have come to know and love. brilliant! tip chris brogan. so as chris suggests, how long till this itself goes viral? as for music one needs to watch the video twice so you can focus on the music and not focus on picking out what viral video you have or have not seen.
episode five of the youthworker movement podcast is up and going. subscribe via itunes
mark is the director of the youth ministry spirituality project and the author of "contemplative youth ministry" and "growing souls." i met up with mark to talk contemplative youth ministry approach & growing souls. how does a youth leader care for the soul of themselves and the youth in their charge. we also bring back some 80's music. interviewed at the national youth workers convention in atlanta, november of 2007.
contact me to get plugged in or ask questions on the podcast. i could use hearing from some friends.
email at: gavoweb(at)gmail.com or call: 615-357-3275
today i spent time online with tim & others in tim's organized weekly skypecast. it was cool, my microphone worked the whole time this week. the first time i plugged into the skypecast the microphone crapped out after about 10 minutes and i did the chat thing. good conversation with those involved, but one moment took the platform for me as interesting.
frank, who has participated in the skypecasts was talking about his town in delaware. i mentioned to him that i used to hang out in a town down there he might be familiar with.. (took me a bit to remember the name).. dagsboro. there was a little silence and he reponds.. that's where i work. whoa!
dagsboro is a strange place in my teen years. this is the town that my friend mike and his family (mom & little brother) were forced to move to when his step dad kicked them all out of their house in the town we were growing up in. they moved there to live in an area that was essentially an established modular house park.. not quite trailer park. just trying to remember the name took me back to all kinds of good and not so good memories. so wonderful and not so wonderful people. knowing the demise of my friend, and the people he & we (my group of friends) befriended, i know there are numerous broken teenagers there.
after work i made it home and was mowing my lawn before the weekend. while mowing julianne the neighbor who will actually talk to us and give us the gossip about us stopped by to talk about what to bring for monday's block party. i mentioned that i wanted to cook some brats and pasta salad. she called our for her husband and mentioned "your fellow jersey boy is going to cook brats for monday." again reminded, craig is from riverside new jersey, a small town a few miles from where i grew up in cinnaminson. again, many stories.. who would have thought i'd move 900 miles away and find myself next to a guy who grew up some 5-8 miles from me.
so i was mentioning this snippet from south park's commentary on mormonism. and for two days this thing has been sticking in my head.. "dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb".. "smart smart smart smart smart smart"
anyways, my pain is your pain.. enjoy
for you metal heads. this comes via resonate media radar. introducing apocalyptica just watch and listen.
i might also suggest listening to one or unforgiven
for those of you in and around hendersonville area & take a lot of photos. i wanted to invite you over to an evening with don mcpeak. don is a professional photographer of a different sort. he is passionate about action imagery. he works with belmont, tsu, sumner schools, and others. from what he told me he had a thumb print on a march madness issue of sports illustrated. since i don't get sports illustrated i cannot confirm this, but i trust him. &:~D
come by our 3rd floor lounge area at 6:30pm sunday june 1st and 8th. don will be going over the aspects of good and poor action shots. some technical aspects and some play time. so bring your camera for some good fun and learning so you can catch all those fine moments during a fabulous summer.
i am saddened to hear of the loss of maria to the chapman family. i know i am like many who have been impacted by steven's music but their family story over the years. my heart breaks for their loss.
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, sheild the joyous; and all for your love's sake. -amen
so many of you know that i do the twitter thing now. well on saturday i wrote this.
i noticed today that i had this reply from, none other than southwestair.
wasn't sure what they wanted to hear, so i told them the truth.
so this is their response.
i've been a fan of southwest for a long time. i love the hearding lines, the 24 hour check in that i always forget. mostly though, the cheaper prices and the fact that they try to have some fun doing those mundane tasks over the flight experience. never would i have imagined that i would be engaging in some customer service via twitter.. my how the world has changed.
there is no doubt that you have heard of the 16 year old girl who had pleaded a case of rape in a video and uploaded up to youtube. a part of her confession struck me. a part where she indicated that uploading a video to youtube was her last hope. this isn't just for teens there is also the wealthy new york socialite who is being divorced by her husband. she decided to throw him under the bus about sex life and more in a youtube video.
though i do not discount that these people have hurt. it is interesting to see how the crowds rally for or against your hurt. there is account now that 'crystal' the 16 year old girl consented to her sex. so now videos are popping up bashing her in very mean ways. mean enough and vulgar enough that i care not to link to them.
so i am wondering why the variant opinions.. i know people can be mean and rub salt in wounds. but generally people are caring and would tend to hurting people. so why? the only idea i can come up with is that putting videos out like such are, in-fact, acts of aggression. yes, people need to be outed for misdeeds and held accountable. but to air it in a youtube fashion may be perceived as aggression back, and that diminishes the empathy that one might normally have for a victim situation.
i understand that victims of all sorts of mistreatment want accountability & justice for actions taken against them. when that justice is not what they imagined is youtube really the last resort? one might want to rethink that & be prepared for the consequences.
am i way off?
i was telling some of the chat people in second life about this. yes, there is a dance for jesus club. what is interesting. the two times i've gone the (the first time i found it and the 2nd to go take the pic) there are a number of people there. so maybe that is needed in the kingdom folks. church planters take notice!
a run down on semi-interesting things
so probably one of the best 80's videos, great song with the highest note that average singer does not need to attempt (myself included) but they try anyways.
so on my way into church today i was thinking. will the rise in gas prices incline people to change their churches? now, some already subscribe to the parish church, that church closest to where they live. but i know more and the trend has been to drive to a church passing a number of other churches. i've been told by church planter/growth people that a 45 minute drive one way is reasonable to expect that someone will drive to get to church.
if such is the case, do you think that saving money will compel folks to find a closer to home church community? or will this be a no brainer to keep paying, 4-5 dollars a gallon of gas (when it gets there) to attend a one to three hour period with a church community?
in other thoughts. how should the church react to people spending so much money driving and using fuel that it might impact their giving. not that the price of fuel should have to do with this dilemma, but what about the church's witness to conserve energy resources. should we start encouraging picking up friends for church, not having meetings and studies throughout the week? doing some busing? promoting ethanol fuel? educating further on other cost saving practices?
today was graduation day for hendersonville high school seniors. some of my pictures seeing my third set of graduates from hendersonville.
caught a pre-screening of prince caspian tonight courtesy of the folks at interlinc and youthworkermovement. i didn't know what to expect past the first 5 or so minutes. so i was interested to see how i would or wouldn't appreciate it.
i am not an expert in this book like others i dwell on the missing length of depths of various conversations, like that of the fab four with the beavers in lion witch and wardrobe. so for you purists. i probably will let you down.
so i share my feelings through the movie.
was it better than lion witch wardrobe? eh, probably not. but, it is hard to beat that initial allure capturing the narnia world. glad the worlds are back in order.
so i have this illness, it is called "yes." i say yes too many times, to too many projects or positions. sometimes it has given me some real benefits, other times not. it has me thinking, what are good guidelines for making "yes" decisions to participate in or take on new endeavors?
my initial guideline thoughts
what other guidelines might be employed in saying "yes" or "no"
Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. -psalm 82
shane claiborne on urban ministry. tip dale
for your review
where do we get this time to work on the internet?
Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides in the great assembly;
he gives judgment among the "gods":
2 "How long will you defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 "The 'gods' know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 "I said, 'You are "gods";
you are all sons of the Most High.'
7 But you will die like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler."
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.
Matthew 5:2-12
2and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
when i think of the music that was a big part of my life in those later teenagers years cat stevens would have to be somewhere at the top. to this day, i still sit listen, feel.. he was already yusuf islam when i started listening to his music, so i it is just how i've known him. so today, we do a little then and now of two favs.
peace train then, and now with a twist
father and son now & then
i've been really poor with my uploading pics to my project 365 this past month. but for all the mothers out there from our front porch family to yours, Happy Mother's Day
i've had a pretty good time of late discovering second life. caught this article by the center for parent/youth understanding on second life becoming more into first life.
Even though just four years old and relatively unknown to non-cyberspace dwellers, the last few months have vaulted SL into the public, real world consciousness of advertisers, businesses, universities and ordinary people looking for fun, companionship or something a little different from the first life they are currently living.
...
SL represents another step in cultural interaction. As with other Internet advancements, the possibility of good and evil is present. I would imagine, for the good, in the near future, churches may make use of SL to promote events, hold services and even provide support networks. However, I also imagine, for the bad, that evil influences will continue to find ways to lure avatars (people) into dark places. So, since SL and similar sites are here, let me offer a few suggestions and observations:
...
Cyberspace reality does impact the way one interacts in the real world. As demonstrated, the real world is cashing in on the real needs expressed in SL. It also has been demonstrated, more than once, that relationships built in cyberspace, even though beginning with the promise of confidentiality, find their way into the real world either by choice or by deception. The real world impact of SL conjures up the following questions: If SL users, particularly teens, can use the anonymity of SL to work through identity issues, how will that affect the struggle for identity in first life interaction? Furthermore, if avatars, who gather enough resources, can find life fulfillment in SL (friendship, security, sexual fulfillment, religious enlightenment, etc.), how will that affect the search for the fulfillment of those same needs in first life? Realize cyberspace does impact the way we live life outside cyberspace.
Don’t let your SL experience cheapen the way you view and live life in the real world. Even though real-world interaction and challenges have found their way into SL, and participants can lose real money in this virtual world, remember that there is a real life outside of SL where real people are living life in all its fullness, failures and pain.
i've run across this video a few times, last time was at the shift conference. i shared this as an add on to my presentation at the youth ministry institute retreat this weekend. i also showed this and a the last 10 minutes of this. the idea is that youth are heading into mass of unknown.. how are we helping to prepare them for this?
one the shows i've been getting interested in lately is gossip girl. since coming back on the scene with new episodes this new show, based off a series of books has some interesting hybrids and is meshing mainstream media with web2.0.
simple premise, think beverly hills 90210 characters move to upper east side new york, take on the charming care for human kind of cruel intentions, with the omnipotent narration of desperate housewives. mix in that, a blog. it could be a new favorite of mine.. when nothing else is on.
actually, i'm just intrigued how these characters are interlinked with a cyber media. with the target audience being teenagers i wonder what this might mean to the blog world. there are already enough gossip blogs, but when teens want to be somebody will similar blogs which talk of their happenings start popping up? as we know, it seems better these days to have people notice you with negatives rather than not be seen at all
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