Thoughts, Feb 28th, 8:07PM

I am sitting on a bench in a gazebo in the middle of the quad at Belmont, and a strange phemona has occurred.

Next to me, a spontaneous event has erupted. A group of students, armed only with a banjo, two violins, a penny flute, a dulcimer, and their voices began to perform everything from medieval music to their own versions of the themes from Titanic and Pirates of the Carribean to original songs. And it's all improvised on the spot. It's been going on for quite a while now, and I love it.

I love the fact that the weather is perfect and I am outside at 8pm with only a slight chill in the air. I could not have asked for a more beautiful day in Nashville. Everyone has come out from their winter hibernation, and the campus is once again full of life.

I love that I just came outside not too long ago from seeing an interview with Ben Folds and his take on the production of music in today's dynamic world.

I love that I have made so many close friends here that really care for me enough to wake me up every three hours during the middle of the night to make sure that the bite on my back was not another attack of the brown recluse that apparently has made a home on our hall (not for long! mr. exterminator had a little visit yesterday).

If home is where the heart is, I think that (finally) a part of my heart has rested on Belmont. It's been a long process, but it's good to feel at home again.

It's also good to have spring again. Everyone is in happy moods, everyone is out playing frisbee or resting on a blanket or reading their favorite book. Community is being fostered simply because everyone is congregating at the center of campus. Spring is also a reminder of me that all things can be made new. All things can be restored. The winter has gone and and new things are in store. A new life has just begun for me. And it's always good to be reminded that life is full of (and even dependent on) rhythms. It's how God created it. A time to be sad, a time to be happy. A time to grow, a time to reflect. Things don't stay the same, and they aren't intended to. Change happens. I can detect rhythms even within my weekly routine. I know that there are certain times during the week when I'm more likely to be worn out or sad than others. And I can prepare for that. It's normal. It's a rhythm. Just like I can always count on Sunday coming after Saturday. Or on Spring always breaking from the Winter. I am just glad that I'm finally on the growing curve and am leaving the reflective state. It's been a long season in my life, and it's so refreshing to be free from it and experience new things. I know it'll come back soon enough, and at that time I'll be needing it and wanting it, but right now I'm happy for the change. I can't wait to see what this chapter has for me. I feel like I'm finally HERE. Some of you know all too well what I mean by that.

Post Oscars

Eh..Pretty good year! At least I got the top four right -- Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Film. I was impressed overall with the Academy, though I am a little dissapointed Pan's didn't get foreign film and Children of Men got shut out completely. Oh well. I'm glad Forest Whitaker took best actor...his speech made me smile. He deserved it. Anywho, off to bed :o).

Oscar Predictions

Performance by Actor in Leading Role -- Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"

Performance by Actor in Supporting Role -- Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed"

Performance by Actress in Leading Role -- Helen Mirren, "The Queen"

Performance by Actress in Supporting Role -- Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine" (*Going out on a limb, the academy loves to set records...)

Best Animated Film -- "Cars"

Achievement in Art Direction -- "Pan's Labyrinth"

Directing -- Martin, Scorsese, "The Departed (Though it should be Alfonso Cuaron, "Children of Men")

Documentary -- "An Inconvenient Truth," (Though should be "Jesus Camp")

Film Editing -- "Children of Men"

Foreign Film -- "Pan's Labyrinth"

Makeup -- Tough call, but I say "Pan's," cuz the academy hates Gibson

Best Picture -- "The Departed"

Visual Effects -- "Pirates of the Caribbean"

Adapted Screenplay -- "The Departed" (though it should be "Children of Men," and better not be "Borat")

Original Screenplay -- "Pan's Labyrinth"

Net Neutrality

Be aware. Fight apathy. Communication is at stake.



This is something all bloggers especially should care about. Please repost this and get the message out.

I Wish I Said That... Part 1

Spring has sprung, and therefore in its honor (or just in mother nature's honor in general) I have decided to post one of my favorite quotes. Courtesy of Frederick Buechner.

"I go about my business, and it goes about its business, but though we are in countless ways removed from each other, we are by no means uninvolved with each other. When the leaves start to change in September, something in me starts to change with them. When some sorrow rises in my throat or some gladness makes my heart beat faster, the very indifference of the landscape becomes a kind of bond between us because it is I who am the one it is indifferent to, and my sorrows and gladnesses are reduced to size by its endless capacity for ignoring them. So there is Buechner being himself say the hills and fields, the horses and birds, the rain, the snow, the sun. And there you are being yourself too, I say back. Such vast and unconditional acceptance of each other is not the same thing as love, I realize, any more than upekha is the same thing as agape, but it is not altogether unrelated either. In deep and mysterious ways, I think neither of us would be quite the same without each other."

More thoughts on springing soon enough.

Rev. James Lawson at BU

I went to see Reverend James Lawson speak today on campus, and I was pretty excited about it. The man, nay legend, was expelled from Vanderbilt University in the 60s for training both blacks and whites how to organize sit-ins. Martin Luther King even said that he was "the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world."

And he certainly had some great things to say. Pretty controversial, and I'm pretty sure we would not see eye to eye on everything, but I have deep respect nonetheless. I will let you in on a few very brief highlights from his talk. As always, I was taking the best notes I could, but don't count on the fact of me getting word for word what was said.

-Jerry Falwell is a biblical racist. He teaches that people of color are inferior and servants of the dominant, if not directly, through all of his political stances.

-Conservatism is the new label for racism. Clergy and religious alike hide behind the label, and knowingly or unknowingly support poverty and racism.

-Poverty is not the fault of bad choices. Most of poverty in America is structually inherent.

-Family initiatives are not protecting families. Poverty is attacking the family unit, though.

-Certain people in our country are advocating a theocracy through their policies. Can't we see that the Islamic theocracy we are "fighting" against isn't working?

-War is not a virtue. Violence is not a virtue. Why are so many religious so blindly following the war? Once the bombs have stopped falling, the problem is still there.

-When we desert the creative forces within ourselves for forces of manipulation and domination, we desert the very nature of the potential of our own lives.


So that's some of the points. Just relaying them to you, not saying that's what I believe. In fact, I really wish I had an opportunity to ask a question. He expressed disapproval for Tennessee offering tax breaks for Nissan should they move to Tennessee. He argued that the wealthy were just getting wealthier while the poor were trapped into low wages. My question to him: Is not Tennessee trying to fight poverty by providing jobs to Tennesseans? Is not a low paying job better than no job at all? Several times Lawson made the argument for higher prices and for fixing the trade deficit to provide jobs for Americans. He said that these things would fix poverty in America. Really? It might help those who have jobs better off, but at the same time employers would be unable to afford the quantity of jobs they currently have and we would see an increase in unemployment, which will lead to an overall decrease in the standard of living for the poorest people. Higher wages do not equal less poverty. It just doesn't work like that. At the same time, I admire his courage and ideals for wanting to fight the gap between the poor and the wealthy. I believe God hates that gap. I find it interesting that he claims that conservatism is the label for a new racism, and I really see it now. Conservatism right now stands for war, big business, and fighting homosexuality. All issues of eliteness and separation. How do they regain face? How does something that for a lot of people represents Christianity also to other people represent oppression and hate? There's a disconnect there. I love the last point that I highlighted. In order for us to solve these problems, we must rise above our first instinct and use our creative forces. The solutions are there, we just have to imagine for a little bit.

A Good Life Was Had...

Well, I've been delaying this post for too long.

Alas, blogosphere, it has happened. My dog er... passed into the land eternal this week. A place where the fire hydrants are made of gold and the pearly gates are always open, never restrictive.

Woody was a good chap. He had his run-ins every now and then when he got a little excited and couldn't control himself on our carpet, but when you think about it, who really can? Fourteen years well lived. Millions of excited wagged tails. Thousands of barks to welcome me home after school. I couldn't really ask for a better companion. Thanks for a great childhood, Woody! :o)

(At this point, a picture would be a nice touch, though I do not have it, and you will have to wait until I make a trip back home. Thanks for reading)

Friends Shmiends

Sociologists tell us that the average human can handle about 110 relationships.

Facebook tells me I have 187 friends at Belmont, 102 friends in Nashville, 37 friends at MTSU, 33 friends at Franklin High School, etc., etc....

I guess this clearly means that I am super-human. Either that or that sociologists lie.

Or maybe it's that we as a society and I as a person am going shallower and shallower with more and more people. I've noticed something about myself recently. When I'm talking to someone in a place full of people, people that I potentially know, I have a hard time consistently looking that person straight in the eyes. I am constantly looking over their shoulders for the next person I recognize. I can't even focus on the conversation I am having with the person right in front of me. I am a victim of a fast-paced, myspace friend world. Tis sad really. I'm gonna have to work on it.

Dr. Laffer at Belmont

This week was a big week for me and lectures at Belmont. I had the honor of seeing Dr. Arthur Laffer, and I think it is safe to say that the crowd received him very well. I was incredibly impressed. Dr. Laffer is known to some as the "Father of Supply-Side Economics," as he was Reagan's primary economic advisor and the brain-child of "Reaganomics," an economic theory that has been in place in our country for the last quarter century and that is (many say) responsible for our economic prosperity since that time. Among his mile long resume is also the creation of the Laffer Curve, known to any first year economic student, which led to the many well known tax revolts in the 90's. Needless to say, this was going to be a pretty big lecture.

And he delivered. He spent the first part of his speech chronicling British and American history, dividing people into two groups. The first group, the "redistributionists," believe that money should be taken from the wealthy and given to the poor. Nice warm fuzzy feelings, but it doesn't actually work and encourages unproductivity. The second group of people are the "growthists," or people who believe that all people of a society benefit from a healthy economy and that the best welfare program is a sustainable job. So that's a little simplification of what he said, but you get the point. He did a wonderful job of separating specific political parties from the label of either groups, giving examples of how both parties have been both "growthists" and "redistributionalists" at some point.

Dr. Laffer was an extremely funny person, but that actually spilled over into his outlook on our country currently, which is surprisingly optimistic. Not too many people today have such a good view of America. In the second part of his talk, he said some interesting things on some hot issues, which really made me think:

-The trade deficit is not a trade deficit. It's a capital surplus. Without American dollars leaving our country buying other goods, our products can't sell globally.

-If immigration were cracked down on, legal or illegal, our economy would collapse. They provide cheap and quality labor.

-The democrats have been pretty much handed a golden platter for this election. Nevertheless, they won't stop the tax cuts. There may be talks of it, but it won't happen because there is too much at stake. If they do, the economy will take a serious downturn and a republican will be in office again in four years.

-Foreign companies on our soil being profitable aren't a bad thing. Would we rather have our companies on foreign soil being subject to foreign laws or foreign companies on our soil being subject to our laws?

-China isn't the devil. Our economy wouldn't last without China.

-Our country has a ridiculous employment rate. Ridiculously high. 94% is incredible. Compare that with other countries, throughout history and even today and you will be surprised.

So all in all, a good lecture. He's local in Nashville now, so I hope to hear from more of him sometime in the near future...

That's a lot of candles...

Happy 97th Birthday, Grandpa!!!! Hope it's evan better than the first 96 ones! I love you!

A Theology for the City

Craig Brown of City Church East (East Nashville) came to give a lecture entitled "A Theology for the City" at Belmont this morning, and I was super inspired. I thought I'd just bullet some of his points that I can remember.

-The heart of a city will spread and influence the suburbs and country. Take hip-hop music. The main market for hip-hop music is not inner-city urban demographics. It's white, middle class, suburban teenagers. What was a part of the city has influenced the suburbs.

-The suburbs do not influence the cities.

-Cities are where the best of the best live. If you are the best guitar player in Utah, you probably won't be the best guitar player in Nashville. But this inspires greatness. When people are better than you, you are challenged to grow.

-Cities were traditionally places of refuge (with walls and everything). They still are. Cities are places of refuge for the poor, new immigrants, homeless, etc.

-Christ not only came to save the world from hell. The cross was about regeneration, renewal, and rebirth.

-Culture happens in the cities. In Revelation, all of the kings from all the lands are called in front of the thrown to bring the best their land has to offer (culture) as a starting point for the new kingdom being built. If you are involved in the city, you can influence culture, and maybe have a part in shaping what eternity looks like.

-Evangelicals have historically (and tragically) avoided the city. By doing so, we separate ourselves from real life and its tension.

-If all Christians picked 4 or 5 cities to move to and intentionally love on, he believes, cultural shift like we never have imagined before would take place.

-It starts with a garden and ends with a city.

Oops

Missing something?

Seth Godin deserves kudos for spotting this first.

Day of LOVE

Knock Knock!
Who's there?
AVACADO!
Avacado who?
Avacado crush on you!

(selflessly stolen from my wonderful roommate, who is far more creative than I)

Happy Valentine's Day amigos!

I hope you are enjoying it appropriately...eating lots of chocolates, snuggling up next to that favorite somebody (or teddy bear, in my case), and of course, watching LOST tonight. I know that my day has already been made by none other than the Belmont cafeteria. Yes, I know, it's shocking, but I guess blessings can come from the most unlikely of places. My V-Day meal of a perfectly grilled steak, baked potato, and chocolate fondu bar hit the spot. And the wonderfully decorated tables were great, but best of all, I think, was Mike, one of the cooks, dressed as none other than cupid. I have never been more upset at not having a camera.

But, o Blogosphere, I have a special V-day treat for you.

First, due to happy youtube hunting, a short and fun video for you:



And most importantly, in the spirit of LOVE, who naturally wouldn't think of the best band on the planet, LOVEDRUG? I will leave you with a love song of sorts from their newest album that is to be released on March 7th. Enjoy the sneak peek, and go preorder the album NOW!

Bleed Together.mp3

Calling All Lost Fans

Last week's episode was pretty remarkable on all accounts, I think everyone agrees. And even better are all the hidden tidbits that fanatics have been finding in it all week long. I won't go in depth with them, but I just wanted to highlight my favorite that has surfaced in the last week. Apparently, if you play the audio from the Clockwork Orange scene (where Karl is being hypnotized by that crazy video) backwards, it reveals a hidden message consistent with a lot of the other hidden nuggets. Listen for yourself:



Things like that are the reason that LOST is such a powerful show. Not only is it built around solid, complex, dynamic characters, not only is the whole context of the story continually evolving, not only is the mythology unbelievably believable, but the writers go the extra mile to come up with things like these to fuel the craze and to create the fanatics (like myself). Kudos to you, David Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. You make me very happy.

From One Blogger To Another...

Thursday I had to give an demonstration speech for my communications class.

Naturally, I chose to do it on the topic of "How to Prove Lipscomb's (Belmont's arch nemesis) President is a Carrot...Using Mathematics." It was about this fun little math proof from this book called Zero that I thought could be funny.

But the point is...in drafting my PowerPoint, I decided to use the advice I had read from Seth Godin's blog about how to properly use PowerPoint during a presentation. And I think it worked. We'll just have to wait and see what my grade is.

Thanks Seth...

From The Most Unlikely Of Places...

The couple walked up to the man they spotted from a block away. Just as they expected, he turned out. Scruffled beard, raspy voice, a face that told of more life than they ever had hoped to live. "How are you doing?" the lady asked, a bit timid and ashamed as she tried to forget about how she had cursed the cold only a few seconds ago from inside the world of her warm jacket. The smell of a stale cigarette on the tip of his breath, he responded with a matter-of-fact demeaner as to place himself on level with the strange aliens that stood before him. "Can't complain. Never helps anything, anyway." And with that, the two were off to meet the next indulgence in their path. Though the man had not even returned to his corner of meager belongings to lay his head for the night before the encounter had floated from his mind, that fateful meeting would forever resonate in the conscience of the young lady. Wisdom and truth are not as picky of their owners as we are our outcasts, so it seems.

Marketing 101: Zune and iTunes

Apparently, CompUSA has finally found a way to sell the Zune: Throw in a free Apple iTunes gift certificate with purchase. Funny their incentive to buy a Microsoft product is with an Apple product. If only iTunes actually worked on a Zune.



Thanks to TUAW for this.

Car Soccer

Sorry, I know my YouTube frequency has been high, but you will thank me for this :o).



Anyone want in? This can be arranged...

Thanks to Ethan for this.

Colbert For President

When will it stop?

Now, Ben and Jerry's is rumored to be developing an ice cream flavor themed after Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert. Red, white, and blue colors are predicted...

This coming on the heels of him winning a bet with the mayor of the Canadian town, Oshawa, after the Saginaw Spirit, the youth hockey team with a mascot named after Colbert (Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle) won against Oshawa 5-4. As a result, Oshawa will have an official "Stephen Colbert Day" declared on the mayor's birthday.

A Praise Report...

The Kings of Virginia

My haitus from blogging has been a result of quite an eventful weekend. After the Battle of Belmont, I got three hours of sleep, went to one class, and left on my trek to Virginia. Tennessee Tech was my first stop, picking up my good friend Patrick.

Onward to UT, where Mike awaited:

And after a couple (but not the last) near-death experiences provided free of charge by Patrick, we arrived in Virginia, the legendary home of Justin. He immediately took us to The Tea Room, a local hangout and home of the cheesy (as pictured below).


Lynchburg, Virginia. Also known as Falwell-town. That's right, it's home of Jerry Falwell, Moral Majority head hancho. We toured his town, his school (Liberty University), and even preached from his pulpit:

Preaching was not enough; we were ready to take on a more physical task: high jumping. Thanks goes to the Liberty University for our newfounded skills (go Flames!):

After a long day's adventure, we settled down for a nice, small campfire in Justin's backyard:

We ended up at UT for the Superbowl, which was a wonderful ending to a fantastic trip.

And thus, our Virginia exploration was ended. Hopefully, we'll be back!

The End of Poverty in India?

According to this report by the BBC, the financial minister of India thinks that he can eliminate extreme poverty by the year 2040.

This is a pretty bold statement considering that 25% of Indians live on less than a dollar a day. With India's population, that's 250 Million people.

Can they do it? What effect will it have on their economy? The world's economy? Can a politician do more than the church is doing? Or is it just talk?

Serbia Rejects Kosovo Breakaway

From the BBC

Serbia's president says he will never accept the independence of Kosovo, after the publication of a UN plan which could allow it to separate.
UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan recommends that Kosovo should govern itself democratically and be able to make international agreements.

But President Boris Tadic said the plan paved the way for independence, which he and Serbia would not accept.

Kosovo's leader said he believed the process would end in full independence.

"Kosovo will be sovereign like all other countries," President Fatmir Sejdiu said, after meeting Mr Ahtisaari.

Keep Reading...

Shaun's Music

Head over to My Free Music Friday to download a free song from Shaun Groves. He thinks he can top Amy Grant for most songs downloaded on the website. The blogworld can make it happen...

It's SNOWING!!!

"It's SNOWING!!!"

The shout came from outside my hall at 1 AM. We all knew what this meant. A call to action.

I rushed outside my dorm to look out of the window on fifth floor Maddox. To my wonder I saw a beautiful sight before me:





The task was before us. We suited up (coat, hat, gloves) and ran in mass down the staircase to partake in the most sacred of adolescent games: the snowball fight.



First Task: Hit anything moving in sight, check.
Second Task: Gang up and tag the cars coming by, check.
Third Task: Hit the police car, check.
Fourth Task: All, at once, charge the police man who just got out of his police car and peg him with snowballs, check.

And finally, the war began.

In a heroic manuever, the Maddox team charged the other freshmen dorm on campus, Pembroke, and thus the great snowball fight of 2007 commenced:





The war zone is no place for photography, and my camera was doing little use. It had to be put away so I could sacrifice my blood and sweat for the good of Maddox.

"Charge!! Charge!!" "Hold the Line!!!" "Keep pushing forward!!!", and then the dreaded V-formation: "Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack!!!"

I think we all know who came on top in this battle. Remember, Remember, the 2nd of February. (not as catchy as V's line, but it works).


Just thought I'd let you in on a little bit of my college days. And thus, I am posting this at 2:30 AM. Enjoy!

New LOST Intro

LOST will return in less than a week... and a new intro to the show has already leaked on the web. Looks like ABC is taking a different approach to the second part of this season...

Kosovo Status Overview

Tomorrow, the highly anticipated day arrives for Kosovo and for the world. The UN is unveiling their proposal for the final status of Kosovo, as it has been existing as a protectorate of the UN since the NATO bombing campaign in 1999. This package has been delayed and delayed and then delayed some more, but it looks like things are ready to be announced tomorrow. It is an extremely volatile situation there right now, as ethnic Albanians have threatened to revolt if they are not ultimately given complete soveriegnty (though full soveriegnty is expected...indirectly), and ethnic Serbians have threatened to either leave the country or to fight if they feel discriminated against. Nevertheless, I have been looking forward to this day for a long time now, and I am excited and hopeful that the situation will get better from here.

Now, I know what you are thinking...

"Hey Tim, I'm really confused on what's really going on over there. Could you clue me in?"

"Certainly! In fact, I did a major paper on the situation last semester! I also visited the area for a month a year and a half ago. You can look at my major paper
by clicking here!"


I really encourage you to find an article or to read my paper. This announcement will have dramatic effects on not only Kosovo and Serbia, but the entire Balkan peninsula and even the entire European Union. Before the U.S. was involved in Iraq, we did support a bombing campaign in Kosovo and for the very first time we took preemptive measures to stop a genocide. It is important to continue to understand the great dynamics of our world, and this essential event seems to be getting a little bit overlooked in the U.S.

The first half of the paper deals with the history of the region (primarily focusing on 1999-present), while the second half is largely my proposal/prediction about what will be presented tomorrow by the UN Contact Group (and how to foster long-standing peace in the region). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE respect intellectual property. I spent a lot of time compiling all of this information and gave proper documentation to it. If you want to use it, please do the same! Most of the paper will be irrelevant tomorrow anyway.

Here are two other articles that could be useful:
Ahtisaari Presents Kosovo Plan to Contact Group
INTERVIEW-NATO prepared for north Kosovo 'domino effect'