Ordinary Radicals:

Did you see this video?  Well, the Register did not take up the fact checking challenge, but these people did.  

In light of the Obama/Ayers accusations, this writer points the similar accusations at McCain, from a perspective I definitely hadn't considered before (this is unrelated to the week's breaking news about McCain funding paramilitary groups in South America).  Made me think about how "terrorist" is a label that all depends on your perspective, though it is never the least bit redeeming.

Matthew 25 network gets asked how they can support Obama, centering around the abortion debate.  They posted these facts.  I don't know how much this can justify anything one way or the other, but what do you think?

iMonk offers the Ten Commandments of blogging.  And of course I break as many as possible.

I'm part of a core group for a new church plant in Little Rock.  We are called "The River."  Check out our sight here, and check us out in person if you're in the area.

Which brings me to the issue of poaching.

Ever since I wrote Ankaralizations, people have been getting to my blog in search of Ankara styles. I have since had a re-think about putting up pictures of my own creations. I love designing and coming up with new things, yet, amateur as I am, it would be really painful if someone else copied my work and made money off it before I’m able to do so.

The other day my teacher, told us how a design she created and showcased at a fashion show was poached. I could tell she was pained. She had that look like someone just ran over her puppy. Then again those are the risks you have to take if you put your work out there.

Having your work copied without permission or acknowledgement is the bane of every creative artist, regardless of their field of endeavour. Although in the Nigerian fashion industry, copying is the norm… you see a style you like, show it to your tailor and ask them to reproduce it for you. Mind you I use the word tailor here because there’s not much work involved in repeating what someone else had done. All you need is a good eye for details to know what to cut and what goes where.

There is a fashion show coming up in December. We’re graduating in November. Hmm… I’m thinking it’s a good opportunity to break into the industry. The question is, am I up for the challenge?

Studies were done a U.C.L.A. over thirty years ago and the conclusion also was females can reproduce by themselves, but they can only produce females; the studies were not published because of the great crashing of egos...Society without males, oh no, how can that be?  (Remember the Isle of Lesbos?)   Take it from there my friends, do I tell the truth or is it one of my ramblings over a good cup of coffee?

How about this one; scientists have confirmed the second case of "virgin birth" in a shark.  In a study reported today in the Journal of Fish Biology, scientists said DNA testing proved that a pup carried by a female Atlantic blacktip shark in the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center contained no genetic material from a male.  (That's the truth)

Have fun with this one and "Go where you have to go and do what you got to do."

I've become increasingly intrigued by the current financial crisis - in honesty, much of this stems from conversations with others who've got me thinking more than I had been.  Aside from knowing that a lot of major business and financial institutions were struggling mightily, I didn't really know (or care) what the big deal was.

Then my dad mentioned a really good piece on This American Life - a show that I've listened to once or twice and that my brother always highly recommends - so I figured I'd give it another go.  The first piece he mentioned was actually a sort of follow-up to an earlier piece and I figured (as is my wont) that it'd play better in chronological order (I'm sort of neurotic that way)... and to that end I'm actually going to link to the earlier piece first.

The first piece was entitled Giant Pool of Money, and gave a really good explanation of just what was going on; it was done in a very accessible manner, without being overly technical and I found it eminently understandable (and I don't think that has anything to do with my math background - the hosts are great).  So I got some insight into what was going on, it was a bit unsettling, but rather upbeat at the end.  I returned home, talked it over with my dad, and was a bit surprised to find that he didn't feel as upbeat as I did.  Then it dawned on me...  I'd only listened to the first part, from back in May!

Back to TAL... now the episode is titled Another Frightening Show About the Economy, and I think it lives up to its billing.  It again is really lucid and fills in a lot that has changed since the first show -- most importantly, what's gone wrong and how it's shaken some of the best and brightest in the financial world.  I think another thing that I find amazing about these shows (both of them) is how they can at the very same time sound so exquisitely sobering and yet full of dry wit.

Frightening, yes; but I continue to remain hopeful.  What else is there to do?  Things are tied together in a way that makes escape from a collapse seem nigh to impossible...   Is the bailout a wise course of action?  I leave it to better, more informed minds to determine.  I think it's a telling point that one of those "more informed" types quoted on the show made an about face on this point after watching the current state of affairs grow more and more bleak.

The one bright side, if it can be called that, for me is that we've been too tight for the past 5 or 6 years to have any presence in the stock market (besides a small 401(k) type deal -- so at least I didn't take a bath (metaphorically speaking).  ;-)

And I can't recommend TAL highly enough - after enjoying those shows so very thoroughly, I found myself bingeing on whatever I could find.  A few that I really liked:

• Act V (a piece on convicts performing Shakespeare... fascinating and entertaining)
• A Better Mousetrap (stories about people trying to find new solutions to age-old problems)

And if all that is true, then you have a great responsibility - not only to yourself, but to those around you. Treat yourself with kindness, treat others with kindness, and you will get kindness in return. No, not ALL the time, but it's a sight better than if you grump around and wallow in worry and scorn. Call it Karma, call it whatever you want. If you sow kindness - You. Will. Gather. Love.

Are you treating yourself to a sweet, juicy Honey Crisp apple or a Butterfinger candy bar? A lean slice of pork loin roast or a  breaded and stuffed pork chop? Please, lean vs stuffed? Think about it!

Are you reading love stories and cursing your own husband's supposed ineptitude as you sigh over make believe, made-up men? Or maybe grisly tales of murder and violence? Remember "The Secret Garden" and "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" or how about "Anne of Green Gables"? Where did our love of wonder and courage and adventure run off to?

Are you listening to Amy Winehouse whine about "Rehab" or to Sheryl Crow happily "Soak Up the Sun"?

What's your favorite TV show? Is someone getting trashed or is someone conquering evil and saving the world?

You get the picture. All I ask is that you take a little time today and really pay attention to what you pay attention to.

"To insure good health: Eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life." -William Londen

Oh, and BTW, I think, therefore you are amazing!

"Men are beginning to realize that they are not individuals but persons in society, that man alone is weak and adrift, that he must seek strength in common action. " -Dorothy Day

I can confidently say I know know to make skirts and trousers. The tricky part has been the bands. I spent the whole of saturday redoing all my skirt bands. What I like about my teacher is she teaches us the difficult stuff first so the easier methods are a breeze.

Hopefully when the tedium of learning is over I can focus on creativity. Presently you can't think creatively when most times you're trying not to ruin your fabric.... there's just no room for it.

*

So, some years back when I was still bloggin on tBlog, I posted an article by Henry Makow titled, 'Bikini VS Burka; The Debauchery of American Womanhood'. I came across his site by chance and, giddy about how much similar our world views were, I put up the article on my blog with links to the site on my blogroll.

Imagine my surprise when I logged in the next day to find out the article and link had dissapeared. The only evidence I had to remind me that I was not insane and did not dream up the whole process was the few clicks on the article on my blog stats page before it mysteriously evaporated. Other than that it was no where to be found. Clearly the folks at tBlog thought, without explanation or notification, that the article was not worthy of being disseminated. Merely looking at the title of the articles on his site (http://www.savethemales.ca/archives.html), you'll understand why he 'needs' to be censored.

(So much for all that crap about free speech. Speech is only free depending on whose turf you're making it on.)

When you mention the word conspiracy, people imagine a raving oaf with nothing better to do than conjure up non-existant scenarios. Yet one would have to be unimaginably naive to believe we live in an ideal world where everyone has got whats coming to them. The truth is, truth is not some mystical elusive entity that people search their whole lives for. It's right there in front of us. Most people are contentented with going through the motions. As long as they are eat, sleep, work, shit and wake up to do it all over again, they're happy.

Contrary to popular belief things are not gray... they are either black or white. No in-between. Simple as that! You're either consistent in your values are you're not. But we're too used to living with contradictions due to our own inconsistent values that we excuse our gray morality with bromides like 'I'm only human'... or 'everyone makes mistakes' or 'it's not a perfect world'.

But there IS a conspiracy out there. There is a concerted effort to dehumanize people and turn them into simpletons whose sole driving force are primitive, animalistic instincts. Soul-destroying acts are sugar coated with words like independence, individualism, uniqueness, feminism, empowerment, entertainment, poverty alleviation, etc. 

People are being taught that whatever they desire should be theirs without regards to right and wrong. If they want to be gay or have sex with a goat, that's fine. If they want to covet their neighbours property, for instance, if a country desires the oil in another and can invent ways to acquire it, that's also fine. Instead of empowering men to support their families, women are being targeted and told to be independent of men. Right now poeple are shouting that to move Africa forward the woman has to be 'empowered'. When a man is stripped of his masculinity and responsibilities due to him by nature, what is left for him to do than acquire a vice (or two!). Sexual roles are being reversed... a step away from total destruction. There are co-ed toilets springing up here and there because some group wants to obliterate any sense of gender from peoples minds. Religious leaders are dumbing down the people by shoving anti-life sentiments down their gullible throats.

There's just too much sick shit going on in the world ... too bad I'm coming down with a flu to go any further today.

There's something wonderfully solemn about fall and it's what makes me love it so much. I have no idea how to describe how I feel about brown leaves without getting bogged down in cliche, so I'll just spare you and move on.

I've started designing a new bike odyssey. I want to ride through monument valley, head north, riding up and down the rockies in Colorado and Wyoming, through Grand Teton National Park, into Yellowstone, and then see where I end up. I want to start in late summer or early fall and finish whenever I got too cold. I'd do it unsupported again but without a pre-planned route this time.

Or I want to ride through Wisconsin and into the UP at this time of year. But I'm out of shape and overcommitted right now so I'd settle for a nice 8 hour drive and weekend of camping. In fact, that sounds perfect. Alas, I'm getting about 20 hours a week at REI (which I enjoy). So, for the moment, my enthusiasm for the chill in the air is going to have to find some expression here... somehow. 

I'm going to be out in Pennsylvania for Fall Break in a little over a week. I hope that gives me a good fix. 

I'm getting close to graduation and that means I should probably start to seriously think about what the heck I'm going to do come May. Well, come April actually (our lease is up at the end of April). I used to be sure that I would live in a city somewhere. I felt a sense of duty to be near the most human need, to not separate myself from suffering. And I still do feel that pull, but I feel the pull to live somewhere secluded maybe just as much or a little more. 

I want to live somewhere deep in a forest. I want to design and build a small house. In my environmental science class we've been talking about ways to cut household energy costs. We're talking about renewable energy sources and small scale heating and cooling solutions that work well for a modest house and are easy on the environment (wood fired heating, ground water cooling, radiant energy, solar, wind, etc.). I'm thoroughly ashamed of the fact that I live in a country that makes up just 5% of the world's population yet uses 25% of its resources. 

I'm considering buying a terrapass. This company helps you calculate your carbon footprint and then takes your money and invests it in renewable energy sources and other "green" projects that offset your footprint. It's an idea that I like a lot.

As for a professional choice, I don't quite have as many ideas in that department. Sometimes I wish I'd gone to a school that offered some kind of specialized degree in forestry or wildlife management. But, I definitely don't regret choosing North Park. It's been incredibly formative in my life in ways that I certainly wouldn't have gotten anywhere else.

If the whole smoky the bear thing doesn't work out, I'm thinking about looking into graduate programs in global humanitarian aid. I would love to find a school that offered courses on the hunger crisis. I'm more interested in the NGO aspect of it than the political, so we'll see if anything like that is out there. 

In summary:

Short term goal: go outside.

Long term goals: figure out my life, go outside

The recent polemically wrangling rhetoric about political parties pandering to the baser instincts of the easily-fooled electorate, educated or not, among this obviously polarized pack of pundits has attracted my attention.

Normally, I avoid writing or speaking about, discussing or discoursing upon politics. I used to work for a small weekly newspaper here in Kansas which was actually little more than a soap box for the editor. However, he had a loyal following, primarily because of his conservative views. He once asked me "How did you and your wife get together, and how the hell do you STAY together?" I explained that we simply do not discuss politics in our house, a rule I've had to enforce on my sons once or twice. Likewise I dislike discussing politics with friends or acquaintances.

I have recently found a bumper sticker that I actually saw fit to put on my car. I wasn't actually LOOKING for a bumper sticker, and the fact that I found it in what passes for a "head shop" in Kansas has nothing to do with it's content.

Anyway the bumper sticker reads "Republicans/Democrats: Same Shit Different Piles."

I claim no party, and no party claims me. I grew up in the day when people blindly voted a "straight ticket." If you were one, the other was automatically evil. I refuse to be that way.

I can't see any difference in what's being said by EITHER side. They both some across to me rather like the adults in a Charlie Brown TV Special- noise, but nothing intelligible. Come to think of it, what can the President actually DO about these issues everyone seems so upset about? "Bush's War" was impossible without the consent of the Congress. Support for education, research and all of the other touch-points likewise had to go through Congress, then stand the test of judicial scrutiny. Has the Office of the President been reduced to a mere "prole" scape goat?

Feed the dog, stable the pony and remember where responsibility really lays. Where were all of these people who are upset about abuse in Iraq when Saddam was using chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction against the Kurds? Peace and stability in the Middle East? Get real- the region has been in an almost constant state of war since the locked the gates of Eden. The longest period of stability in the Balkans was under the post-WWII constant threat of Soviet Intervention. Giving the world a Coke will NOT make it all better.

We visited the aggrieved families in the neighbourhood and it struck me that mourning is a very solitary experience.  We miss seeing Zainab Aunty in her balcony in the morning but none of us mourned her absence in the way her daughters did this Eid.   Mourning comes from a deep sense of loss that can seldom be shared with empathizing visitors.

In contrast, Chacha left noone behind to mourn his absence, or perhaps not in our house.  We missed being begrudgingly called from Bhaijan's at 4pm because he had arrived but none of us felt terribly sad over his not being around.  Syeda Aunty, too left no children but we almost felt a sense of duty to actively remember such a wonderful woman who had braved such a difficult life and died so very self-reliantly.  She was Ammi's friend and not related to us at all and yet I felt a greater grief sitting by her bier than I did by Chacha's.  Perhaps my grief over her loss is more of a grief for my mother who is left friendless, without a confidante at this age.  Perhaps my love for her is but an extention of my love for my mother.

I think of Umair and I wonder if I were to lose a parent, would I be quite as endlessly disoriented as he seems to be without his father?  It is strange how when K and I talk about Ammi and Daddy dying, we think of more of the logistic issues we would be confronted with rather than the unimaginable loss Umair seems to feel.  It makes me wonder if we have turned into hard, callous women.

And despite the sadness, there was a family reunion of unthikable proportions.  All of Bhaijan's sons were together and as much as we love them as brothers, we were happier for them being together than for them beign with us.  Reunions come laden with so much nostalgia and so much wanting to relive old times that the present which has moved on, can be disconcerting.  It has taken much effort to put all that behind and enjoy what we have for its own sake because in spite of all that has broken away since their mother's death, we love them dearly and at the end of the day, that's really all that matters.  The other two of the four of us would have completed the family and they were missed, again more by Ammi than by us, who wanted to make the most of what was available at hand.

It's paradoxical to miss what you know never existed and yet, even without the yearning, there is undeniable sorrow.  There, Ali Akbar Bhai, I admitted it.  I did and do miss him.  I may hate him and know him to be a loathsome, despicable asshole and may not want anything to do with him but I do miss him.

I have a bit of a man crush on Professor Scott McKnight.  Apparently, I'm not alone.  Kruse went through and catalogued every post McKnight has written on women in ministry.  It drew my interest as this has been a big recurrent topic that I just can't seem to settle on.

Have you seen this artwork?  A map that looks a bit bloated.  And unjust.  How do you see the world?

10 Habits of Highly annoying bloggers.  And I'm definitely guitly of a few.

A post with early church quotes kicked up a lengthy dialogue here.  Care to join the discussion?

FactCheck.org video on the VP debate- a special times for both parties to unite in lying to the public.

And a note about my site: as more and more of my writing is coming to focus on the early church and the Judaism it emerges from, I've added tabs for those two topics over in my categories on the right.

If you didn't see the Palin/Couric SNL parody, then you want to.  If you saw the actual Palin/Couric interview, then you'll be laughing out loud at some of the similarities, especially the healthcare/economy bit.

McCain gets pissed when he doesn't like your questions:

Compare that with the Obama/O'Reilly interview.  (HT: Zach Lind)

In other news, Zondervan contacted me yesterday about reading and promoting Michael Wittmer's upcoming book.  Oddly enough, Wittmer may be one of my professors if I do end up attending Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.  Time for suck up points to begin?  Here's the book's synopsis:

"Evangelicals who reject the narrow fundamentalism of previous generations are in danger of over-correction. Don’t Stop Believing is an urgent call for both right practice and right belief. Our concern for social issues must not diminish the core doctrines of our faith. We must not stop believing.

Must you believe something to be saved? Does the kingdom of God include non-Christians? Is hell for real and forever?
 
These are big questions.
 
Hard questions.
 
Questions that divide Christians along conservative and liberal lines.
 
Conservatives love their beliefs and liberals believe in their love.
 
Each pushes the other to opposite extremes.
 
Fundamentalists imply that it doesn’t matter how we live as long as we believe in Jesus, while some Emergent Christians respond that it doesn’t matter what we believe as long as we live like him.
 
Theologian Michael Wittmer calls both sides out of bounds and crafts a third way that retains the insights of each.
 
He examines ten key questions that confront contemporary Christians and shows why both right belief and right practice are necessary for authentic Christianity.
 
Here is an urgent reminder that best practices can only arise from true beliefs.
 
Genuine Christians never stop serving because they never stop loving, and they never stop loving because they never stop believing."

minus distraction

plus sound

and feel what it is experience feels like

not what it sounds like

telling your friends how cool or dumb or lame

it is

i told them this morning

and tonight i sit

scrapping the chocolate from the sides of the bowl

the prongs of the fork scratching morsels

meant for my mouth.

I answered: Hullo.

She said: I had this dream about you.

Into the receiver, I whispered: I know.

We were in a closed, pale room, she told me.

Sitting across a cold, metal table from one another, I replied.

You were sick.

You were sick, too.

How are you? She asks.

Fine. Not too sick. Getting better. And you?

Good. I thought I might be sick. The doctor, he says it’s nothing.

Oh, I say.

We sit in deep silence.

You said you’d not be here for long in the dream, she says to me.

No, I don’t think I will, I tell her.

No, me neither, she says.

The sickness, it’s serious. I pause.

Yes. Well, no. Not yet.

She lies.

We should see one another, she says. That’s what the dream means, she continues.

Perhaps, I say. I worry for you.

I worry for you, too.

We’re okay? I ask.

Yes, I think we must be.

I love you, I say.

I love you too, she says.

Pay close attention, okay?

I will, she sighs.

Okay then.

Okay.

Well.

Goodnight.

Goodbye.

Not goodbye.

No, just goodnight.

Okay.

Click.

Click.

xoxo,

M.L. H’art

I've added to my "Why do I work out?" list. I've been catching glimpses of Kelly "OMG She's Ripped" Ripa on TV. Dang woman is a health hazard for the rest of us spongy-types. I hate to sound like I'm taking this personally, but really, isn't any one person limited to the amount of perfection they can lay claim to? Apparently she will grace the cover of the November issue of Shape Magazine...I'll let you know later if I give in a buy it. Argh!!

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Yeah, that's right, I forgive Miss Ripa her perfection. I just hope that you will forgive me when I achieve the biceps and shoulders of my dreams and wear sleeveless tops even in mid-winter and constantly search for reasons to  open jars in public or talk dramatically using body builder-like poses to help me make my point. Or whatever. Take that, Ripa.

Simply Ankaralicious!

I love my country... I love her her beautiful landscapes, her clear blue skies, even when it rains everyday I still love her.

I love the soil I walk upon... I love the sun that kisses my face... even on a very hot afternoon when the heat from the asphalt rises up as if to brew my face, I still lover her. I love her star lit skies.

I love the different seasons... I love how mangoes and fresh corn trail the wet season. I love how the nights are very cool during harmattan and I love seeing little kids playing around in the sand with skins that seemed to have been coated with ash. I love how they sometimes don't bother to clean their wet noses on those cold mornings.

I love her vibrant people, how versatile they are... I love our diverse cultures, and how you can't go from here to there without encountering, at least, two different languages.

My people, I love their strenght and endurance. Uncoutable burdens their shoulders have carried... and continue to carry. I hope to be there the day they unload their burdens and stand tall, proud, as Nigerians.

HAPPY 48TH BIRTHDAY NAIJA!

Who knows all that you do

Who hears all that you say,

and knows that which you do not say

Who knows all that you see,

and that which you avert your vision from

Who is aware of all that is concealed from the world,

everything hidden within – that no one else knows of:

everything you feel,

your most private of thoughts,

your most demanding of desires,

your greatest of ambitions,

your dearest of hopes

Remember the One

Who brought you into existence

Who asks so little from you,

yet gives so much to you:

all that you have of goodness,

and all you’ve been spared of difficulty

Remember the One

Who is always with you,

Who loves for you to ask of Him,

Who listens to your pleas,

Who guides your heart to that which is best for you

Remember the One

Who is always ready to forgive your transgressions,

if you would only ask with sincerity,

and leave your mistakes in the past,

resolving to make your future better

Remember the One

Who gives strength to endure hardship,

Commitment to fight your hardest of battles,

Success to those who strive to gain His pleasure

Remember the One

Whose words you often hear,

Whose Guidance you’re often reminded of,

Whose Mercy and Love is beyond all human comprehension

Remember the One

Who has prepared for you

an abode of such beauty and pleasure,

such that no human mind has conceived of it,

no eye has envisioned it,

no sense has ever experienced it

Remember the One

Who has put you in this world,

and to Who you will be returned

And when you see Him on that,

the most important day of your life,

One of the problems I have with this design is that I hadn't anticipated that I would quilt it so heavily, therefore the front pocket (which is not quilted) no longer lays flat again the bag because the fabric behind it has shrunk from the heavy quilting. I have that problem solved, in my head anyway, and I'll let you in on it when I start my next Spice Girls Tote.

I have a new favorite recipe, "Pan-Sautéed Chicken Cutlets with Dijon-Mustard Sauce." It's based on a recipe from the Fall issue of Clean Eating magazine. I love their recipes, I just tweaked this one a little to suit our tastes. Oh. My. Goodness. It is Good! Leave me a comment or email me and I'll send you the recipe.

That's wild rice, and sautéed mushrooms and spinach on the side - the dh's current favorite. It takes a lot of cooking to keep my Marty happy -  he insists on nutrient-dense, muscle-growing food, and lots of it. Don't tell him, but I don't mind cooking as long as I get to hang out with something that looks like that->->->

Can I get an "Amen," Sisters.

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bush seeks $700B for debt bailout
CNN

Economists: Financial bailout necessary
MSNBC

"People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. It is the poor jerk who is shy half a slug who must tighten his belt. " The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

Where were all of these helpful people two years ago when we needed a bailout?  We are classic "victims", if that is the correct word, of the Mortgage Mess.

We had a nice house.  It wasn't showy or very big, but it was ours.  Well, MOSTLY ours.  To quote a song by the late, great Jerry Reed "That me and the finance company own".  "Owned" is the correct verb. 

Like (m)any other chump(s) in the late 90's I tried to keep it as nice as possible, while enhancing the resale value.  New siding and windows came first.  It was really first-rate viny siding, and very good double-paned windows.  The contractor even knew a banker looking to make this kind of home improvement 2nd mortgage loan.  The plan was we were to get the work done, and then she was supposed to help us get a new mortgage at a lower rate for the whole amount.  That was the plan.  However:

"The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
(The best laid schemes of Mice and Men
oft go awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!)   Robert Burns, To a Mouse (Poem, November, 1785)

Next there were the termites they discovered while replacing the patio door. I'd never seen a termite before, but there was little doubt in my mind what those stupid little white ants were. Hello, exterminator.

After the loan went through and the work was done, I couldn't find the loan officer. The offices where they had been were empty. This was not a fly-by-night operation. This was a real bank and a banker of some standing in the community.

So anyway there we are with a nice looking house and two mortgages. We should have sold it then, without the loan officer, but this was at a time when the local military base was undergoing a downsizing, with the major unit moving to Europe. Schools built to accommodate the families of soldiers and support personnel were closed, and houses didn't move in that market. By 1993, we had filed bankruptcy.

After The Floods of 1993, the ground started moving at an accelerated rate. We escaped the water, but the false-stability of the ground was disturbed. First the foundation cracked. If you are unfamiliar with Kansas geology and building practices, imagine if you will houses built on the old flood plain of a river, down stream from the dam constructed to control the flooding but outside of the levees. "Geology" actually implies rock. "Sandy Clay" is a better description. Houses built upon slabs of concrete on land that calling it "unstable" is a gross misnomer. Water line breaks were routine, and to find a house without a cracked foundation and wonky walls was a rarity.

It got so bad we could see light coming in beneath the south wall in the master bedroom. The floors were like a rolling plain beneath the carpeting from all of the cracks. So another mortgage was necessary to get at least the south end of the house lifted. Then part of the ceiling started to collapse because of all the foundation movement.

My wife started talking about gasoline and matches. I started hoping for a tornado- less suspicious. They had discovered a small geologic fault running beneath the dam by this time, and everyone had earthquake insurance added onto their policy. I tried to convince my agent to consider that it all MAY have started with a small earthquake, but he thought I was kidding.

We had to wait until after 2000 to get his done, until the bankruptcy had been completely discharged, but eventually

we got the one end of the house done. I thought it was odd that the mortgage officer that we went through kept adding onto our income until it "fit", but he assured me that this was a common practice, coming to an "average" income level for our area.

So once again we limped along for several years, in hopes of getting yet another refinancing to fix the other end of the house. I should have looked skyward for inspiration - I might have seen the leaks in the roof. Another refinance, only not for what we had planned. THIS guy told me he knew of an appraiser that "if he didn’t see it, it wasn’t real" so he urged me to smooth out and/or otherwise cover up the undulating floors. That way the house would appraise for more and we could get more of a mortgage. We got a nice chunk of change, but not enough to do the rest of the foundation as well.

Finally we felt we were in a position to finish the foundation work. Someone started building multi-story houses along a nearby street, and property values skyrocketed. We thought with the increase in value we might finally be able to get the foundation done and sell this house. We were in the process of preparing for this when we discovered that the termites had not really left. No the hungry little… devils had come up behind a book shelf we had on the eastern wall, making many of our books hors d'oeuvres before proceeding on to the main structure. We couldn’t even interest anyone in the house as a potential "flip" with this combination of problems. We couldn’t afford it, we couldn’t fix it and we couldn’t even sell it. So we lost it.

One would think I should have been suspicious of all of these clowns and their machinations, and on one level I suppose I was. But I kept thinking eventually we’d sell the house, and everything would work out.

So why am I asking about OUR bailout? What excuse do these financiers have? They hoped it would continue for ever, and everyone would wind up happy, rich and comfortable. The minute things got tough for them, they start crying for the government to help them. Nobody rode to our aid. We received no such compassion & understanding from them. I read about loan officers from these companies living in their cars and losing their condos, some living in their cars, and I say "wah!"

One mortgage company referred us to a debt assistance company. We had submitted all of our information to this outfit and they had sent it to them. So what did it accomplish? When I called to see what we could work out, they hadn’t even opened the packet. The representative had no idea what I was talking about, and just continued to demand payment.

Bailout?  Don't those building have windows?  Feel free.

When it comes to Nigeria, it would seem that good news is no news.

Recently the ThisDay newspaper organized a music festival purpotedly to 'improve the image of Nigeria abroad and promote tourism. The event held in a choice location and promiment African American and Nigerian artists were paid millions invited to grace the event. It was all fun and fanfare, but I doubt it did much to improve the image of Nigerians overseas. If anything, it showed that Nigerians love to party! After all the merry making ended things were back to the way they were.

With all the negative press, on one hand you want to defend your Motherland, on the other hand you can't help but acknowledge the truth in these happenings and the stark reality of a country whose innards are twisted and mangled almost beyond salvation. But there is salvation in the persons of individuals who are not swept away with the grandoise, but are focused on getting the little things right.

Getting the little things right, that should be our motto!

I'll take Lagos state where I'm currently residing in as an example.  The newly elected governor has embarked on a beautification project. Green lawns, water fountains and well trimmed lawns are springing up all over the place. People are praising him because of the tangible results they're seeing within a short period of time. Personally I think what he's doing can be likened to someone without feet admiring the array of beautiful shoes displayed through a shop window.

What I'm trying to say is I'll take functionality over aestheticism any time. What Lagos needs is massive restructuring. It is massively overly populated. I read somewhere that it's infrastructure was initially built to cater for less than half a million. It's currently supporting over 10million! The traffic situation is one of the worst in the world. The only solutions are to either build new roads or reduce the number of cars and people.

I propose the government start building low cost housing estates in the outer parts of the state to seduce the masses and encourage emigration thus reducing the sheer number of people clamouring the scanty resources. The issue of taxation has to be fully explored as well. Once upon a time people paid tax at the toll gate upon entering Lagos. Then the roads were something to boast about. Now it's not so. In saner parts of the world you pay your taxes in exchange for a comfortable living.

These are just a few of my grievances. People are singing Babatunda Fashola's praises up and down, but I can only praise someone for doing a good job by the quality and consistency of their reformations. By now Nigerians should know better than to be suckered in by the shock and awe techniques of our politicians.

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By the way has anyone else heard about the  Daily Trust African of the Year award which according to the newspaper is going to "be conferred on an African who has made impact on the lives of Africans positively or negatively through his/her decisions, ideas or inventions"

Conventionally, conferring an award on someone is a mark of recognition in honour of their efforts and achievements in expressing their independent faculty of reasoning. Oftentimes to a constructive end. So, can someone please explain to me why they are inviting nominations for people who have impacted the lives of Africans in a 'negative' sense? Imagine giving an award to the likes of Robert Mugabe (who single-handedly destroyed Zimbabwe's economy. You'd be lucky to buy a loaf of bread there for 10million Zimbabwean dollars!) or Omar Al Bashir (the presideng who stood by and watched hundreds and thousands of Sudanese slaughtered).

If they want to spark debates and discussions about the sorts of leaders not to have, they ought to have come up with another name. Why must we acknowledge much less celebrate mediocrity and outright impotence when we should be naming and shaming.

As we near independence day on October 1st, my feelings are numbed, as always, I ask myself, do I mourn or celebrate or remain indifferent?

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Conditional giving?  Support your local church or missionary, unless of course...

Cho on the Other.  Here's the original NY Times article: The Push to ‘Otherize’.

Shady Obama connections?  You be the judge.

Ron Paul on the economy.

Eschatology of Politics.

Tally Iraq costs (and more than money).

Scott McKnight on emerging past "emerging."  Tony Jones counters with emergence as a NSM.

The Stackhouse principle for blogging/commenting.

I want one of these.

Audio from Phyllis Tickle on emergence as a NSM in theology and culture at large.  What caught my attention was her point that in every other theo/cultural shift (i.e., Reformation and Enlightenment) the theological and cultural names were different.  Here, Phyllis Tickle explains the confusion brought from the new theological event that is indistinguishable from the cultural event.