Symbolism over Substance

[i originally wrote this as a comment to one of Jesse Wilson's blog entries, but would love to hear what others think on this, so i reposted it here. it's in response to one of Jesse's comments about purposely not using capital letters, and how it's almost pretentious in trying to not be pretentious.]

why is it that capital letters seem pretentious? it's funny how sometimes we do things subconsciously in an effort not to appear pretentious (i do that all the time too - just as i am now not using capitals); but when it becomes a conscious effort it seems ridiculous. like going back over a blog or email changing upper-case to lower-case. as if following grammatical conventions is overly stiff, formal, snobbish... or maybe it's the thought that I went through the extra effort to hit the 'shift' key just to be grammatically correct... and wanting to be correct is a bit pretentious? the funny thing is, while we would happily disregard capitalization conventions, we wouldn't be caught dead misspelling something... one thing to flaunt convention, another thing to appear unintelligent!

here's another question: we wear casual clothes at church for what reason? so that people don't feel a need to 'dress up' for church... and some people can't afford it; but maybe mostly so that people feel 'comfortable' as they are. maybe dressing nicely (e.g. slacks, dress) is seen as somehow trying to appear better than other people? i notice that there's almost a little hostility when someone dresses nicely... disgised as "wow, what's the occasion?"... as if only special occasions warrant slacks or dresses, and it's 'pretentious' at other times... on the other hand, and this is why it's a bit funny to me, many of us will go to the ends of the earth to look 'cool'. because it's OK if people think i'm casual, but god forid anyone would think i'm not hip or cool. i wonder if we would wear dorky clothes so that people who come to church in outdated clothes feel at home? heck no! because casual or even downright sloppy is nearly a virtue (just think of Jack Black, John Belushi, Chris Farley - everyone would love to hang out with them) but dorky or uncool is a sin (and i'm only slightly exaggerating).

oh well, no need to skewer us poor Vineyard pastors... we're all doing our best...okay... i'm clearly on a soapbox, but hey, this is a blog... if not here, where?

somewhat unrelated to the preceding...symbolism over substance: i'm thinking of the hollywood stars who drive the hybrids in an effort to appear environmentally friendly... but who then take a private jet across the country for a movie premier. symbolism over substance. or the people who buy 'fair trade' coffee at Starbucks so that Juan Valdez can make an extra 10 cents a day, but who oppose 'outsourcing' real jobs to his country so that he can actually do something better than farm coffee beans. symbolism over substance: people who rail against segregation but don't live within a mile of an actual black person. talk about how we need to save public education and send their kids to a private school; oppose private school vouchers, but would never send their kids to one of those failing inner-city schools.okay.. soapbox over... good cathartic exercise there...

Cloudy

It's been really cloudy here lately... I've only seen the sun a few times for the past few weeks. I don't mind the cold weather, don't mind the snow... but I really dread overcast skies day after day. I wish there was some technology that would get rid of it! That's what needs to be invented... a cloud disperser; then we could build a mountain maker (I'm thinking of a GIGANTIC bulldozer). Build some really big mountains, dig some new lakes, get rid of the clouds... oh yeah.

Wow, can't wait until this election is over. These TV ads and mailings are just *lame*. Are people really this stupid? Do these attack ads really work? Some little part of me is thinking that democracy is overrated. Seriously, I'd feel a little better about it if I thought most voters had any clue about the issues. On the other hand, the "smart" people don't seem to agree on anything either, so I guess democracy is the best bet. At least we can blame ourselves if the leadership sucks (at least 49% of us).

I've been feeling a bit sick lately. Haven't been sleeping well for the past 1-2 months, and this last week I've had some sort of flu bug. I'm waking up every morning congested, and I'm having interrupted sleep... feel tired all the time. I have some suspicion that something is in our room/bed that I'm allergic to. I have a doctor's appointment on Monday.

I'm really excited about the new Biblical Greek for Everyone class that Brown Kinnard and I will teach, starting tomorrow. We've had really good sign-ups, and looks like it will be a lot of fun.

Only one and a half weeks left until I go to England! Yeah! Can't wait. Only bummer will be not seeing Julie for 10 days... that sucks. Please pray for a safe trip.

stuff this week

Darn... I wrote a bunch of stuff but accidentally erased it. Oh well... here goes again:

I returned the Sennheiser headphones and ordered the Bose Triport. Can't wait! I love relaxing in bed at night getting deep into some good music. Really been enjoying Yo-Yo Ma lately. A friggin musical genius. Can't wait for U2's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb". It's got a track named "Yahweh" on it--cool.

Mowed the lawn yesterday. Getting brown--that time of year. Ground is pretty lumpy... i'm going to have to rent a lawn roller to smooth it out in the spring... don't want to sprain an ankle while playing lawn croquet! Also had some moles digging tunnels earlier this year. I sprayed some mole repellent and they went into the neighbor's yard. Then they spray the repellent and it comes back to my yard! Hate to have to kill the thing, but it really makes a mess. What to do?!

Can't wait for the trip to England in November. Really looking forward to the time with my dad. We've already got all the tickets, travel, lodging... everything is booked. I've never had such an organized trip before. My dad is really into seeing everything, so I think I'll be exhausted by the time I come back. It will be fun to see Dublin again... haven't been there since 1995. I like the Irish people... pretty warm and fun, although they can get a bit crazy at the pubs.

Went and saw Friday Night Lights with Jesse last night. I really enjoyed it--a lot more than I thought I would. Kinda reminded me of basketball camp when I was in high school. I remember the coaches talking about their high school basketball glory days, like it was the pinnacle of their lives. Sorta depressing... It's funny how sports seems to bring out the best and worst in people-- the aggressiveness, pride, ego, anger, selfishness, cruelty... but also (hopefully) sacrifice, honor, excellence. Sometimes I wonder if the good outweighs the bad.

Home life is really good. I love being married; love Julie. Marriage has definitely improved over the last couple of years. God is really good, merciful, patient....

Willow Creek Conference

Just got back from a conference at Willow Creek Church. Wow! What a place! The new sanctuary seats 7,500 people... their 'small' sanctuary seats 4,500. There were waterfalls, elevators, escalators, cafe's, wireless internet, dozens of giant LCD monitors... very cool. The conference was great; lots of good ideas and inspiration for neighborhood small groups. Can't wait to implement this stuff here at the church.

I'm getting better with the orthodontic device... still slurring certain words a little bit, but I'm sounding more normal than before.

Really looking forward to the November trip to England with my dad. We're flying into London, then taking a bus to Bristol, where I'll spend a few days at Trinity Theological College working with my Ph.D. advisor John Nolland. Then we'll take a ferry over to Dublin, Ireland, spend a few nights at a hostel, and then head back to London for a few remaining days.

It's starting to get cold here! Down into the 30's last night... I *love* the fall; the leaves, the crisp, cold air, cider & donuts, fireplace, down comfortor...ahhh.

I got my new Sennheiser 555's... they're awesome, but unfortunately they don't insulate the sound very well, so others can hear them... I may have to return them. I might get the Bose headphones, unless Sennheiser has something better.