typing is hard...i'll try to keep it short

First: a great story.

I was playing basketball yesterday, and while playing defense on a man going up for a lay-up, I either hit my hand oddly, or I got my finger caught in his shirt, but either way, I dislocated my left pinky. I tried to take pictures of it's current state--all swollen and bruised--but they didn't turn out like I wanted. So just know that about 30 hours ago, my finger looked like this.

That is why it's hard to type.

Now, I'm not the hippest cat in the world, but I know enough to understand that a lot of what is contemporary...that which is felt and expressed and observed by millions...happens all over the web. One such place is YouTube. My wife and I frequently check out videos together and just this evening were showing my sister-in-law one of our favorites. (as an aside, I really enjoy Jim Gaffigan's "Beyond the Pale" and just about anything by Mitch Hedberg. They make me laugh.)
But I digress. Occasionally, I will go to the "Favorites" section (or whatever) and check out that which is popular. After fighting through a lot of temptation to look at a lot of garbage I discovered the (apparently) very popular scene of video posts and responses. It's like a blog, only with AV. Well, I found this very commented-on video posted by an atheist in response to a video titled, "Atheist, what do you offer?" or something. This guy talked for close to 20 minutes, and I will refrain from poking any fun at him or his material because, really, who am I? I will also refrain from refuting anything he said or "arguing" with him at all. I walked away from the video feeling sad for all the times I belittled someone or picked fights just to try to show some superiority.
This video then led to another, called "The Blasphemy Challenge" in which people deny the Holy Spirit. One response had a group of Germans affirming their belief in Christ. While this video was heartwarming to me, I will admit that one comment was particularly insightful and humorous (commenting that Germans had not lost their ability to produce propaganda and that the video contrasted bad examples of atheists--for bad, read "dorky" or any such word you use to typify people who may be considered on the cultural fringe--with hip, attractive examples of Christians. Good point.) In addition to video responses, there are comments posted. The saddest thing was the hateful banter going on back and forth. Not just the atheists calling Jesus "gayboy" but also the willingness of Christians to argue.

I am not saying a believer should fail in his or her conviction to be a defender of truth. But why argue truth with one who says that objective truth doesn't exist? Why throw hate back and forth? The odd thing about the "gayboy" comment was that it had a pointed ending: "why not do the world some good?" Instead of fighting in ivory towers, wouldn't it be better to serve in dirty streets? And a hundred other thoughts flood my head. I wonder if an atheist's heart is warmed when they hear someone bashing "mindless belief" in a religious devotee? I'm not being antagonistic. I really do wonder if it makes them glad, just like it makes me glad to hear others affirm, in the face of an onslaught of people condemning and jeering and ridiculing and denying, their faith in Jesus.

Perhaps this makes less sense than I wanted it to. I'd better quit while I'm ahead...and before my pinky swells up like a balloon from all this typing.

Nose Progress

Here is a succession of images showing the progress of my most recent drawing. Spring Break is coming to a close, and it's still not done.
(Warning: The color in the first picture, previously posted as "(Lack of) Progress" is WAY off. The others show a more correct glimpse.)

(Eric: if you'll tell me how you make your montages i'll repost this and make it more prettier)

Falling Deep Into the Rabbit Hole

I heard of a study recently in which it was reported that many Americans now spend more time in front of a computer than they do with their kids.

I saw a night-time news program in which a person on one side of New York City was asked to find someone very different from them socioeconomically on the other side of the city. This was performed successfully, both "ascending" and "descending."

And most recently, I "listened" to the thoughts of wildly different people from all over the states and all over the world. I peered into the vast chasm that is internet blogging, and I fell deep inside the rabbit hole.

And this made me wonder if any of the people whose thoughts I was voyeuristically accessing knew anyone in their day-to-day, non-virtual, actual living and breathing geographically transversing lives whom I might also know. Could a blogger in Canada be friends with one of my dear friends and I randomly get to them through the much discussed six degrees of separation? It's fascinating, and time consuming. Fortunately, my kids were in bed, my wife was at class, and I was on spring break, so I didn't have to feel guilty about falling under the aforementioned statistic.

Although virtual reality is no longer science fiction and is very much a part of daily life, it is still sometimes fascinating to gaze upon this Wonderland I "walk" in.

So to all you other "strangers" who randomly found your way here, and to others like melanie pearl who stopped by via a connection with an old friend of mine, welcome and thank you for your feedback.

(Lack of) Progress

I am terrified of color.