Gilmore Girls

I'm a Gilmore-head. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love that freakin' show. And since the bunny ears on my TV pick up very few channel selections, I watch the Season DVDs over and over and over again. It makes me happy. However, what does not make me happy is this: Since the show's creators and writers-fabulaire left at the end of last season, the show is not as good. Seriously. Not. As. Good. The witty banter is not the same. The plot moves too quickly. It jumps from one thing to another. I mean, it took over five years to get Lorelai and Luke together, and in just a few episodes, Lorelai goes from being engaged to Luke to being married to Christopher. Not cool. And Rory is whiny. I miss brooding, shy Rory. I don't like bubbly, crazy editor Rory. Ok, I'm done. I'll still watch the show, but I'll wax nostalgic. Amy Sherman-Palladino, please ignore the stupid, corporate, network execs. Come back and write my one-hour of Tuesday bliss!!!!

Indonesian Protests

Yesterday, when I was reading about the protests against President Bush in Indonesia, I couldn't help remembering something a journalism professor of mine used to say. He had been an AP reporter covering Asia during the Vietnam-war era. I thought of him yesterday when the news showed pictures of the protests, where all the signs were in English. Of course, many Indonesian people can speak English. However, why in a country where Indonesian and over 300 regional languages are spoken, are the signs in English?

My professor described this kind of protest many times in class, saying that when protest signs in a non-English speaking country were in English, there was more to the story. Clearly, protestors meant to send a message to the English-speaking world, and it seems that they meant to use our media to do that. No reporter that I saw or read yesterday commented on the language of the signs. Could it be that we're so ethnocentric that we believe protestors automatically use English as their preferred language? It seems the media let the signs speak for themselves because, of course, everyone seeing the images in the U.S. could read them. I was sad when no news reporter researched who organized the protests, who was behind them, or who made all those signs. I don't know. It just seems like bad journalism to me to take something like that at face value.

College Football

NCAA Football should have playoffs. I think the Michigan v. Ohio State game proves that. I'm also a little biased because of my SEC allegiance, where every good team beats at least one other amazing team during the season, thus making our rankings fall, and insuring hardly any teams go undefeated.

Of course, I am proud that my Dawgs redeemed themselves somewhat last weekend, with a dominating win over #5 Auburn. That win at least partly makes up for losing to two of the worst teams in the SEC. I think this is what we call a "rebuilding" year. Or at least that's what we say to make ourselves feel better.

Holly and Davis

Two of my best friends got engaged yesterday. Crazy. The wedding won't be for another year and a half, but I couldn't be happier for the happy couple. For me, it seems way too soon to marry, but for the two of them, all I have to say is...It's about darn time! Blessings and Congratulations to the future Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Democrats take over Congress

YAY!!!!

I guess at this point I should put my missionary disclaimer. I tend to be suspicious of combining religion and politics. As MLKjr. said, "The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool." I believe separation of church and state works well for both entities. Since I work in ministry, I find that concept to be a fine balance. And furthermore, God is not a Republican...or a Democrat.

I am a little happy, however, that new trends seem to show that being an Evangelical Christian and a Democrat is no longer deemed impossible. Being a member of a mainline denomination, I've been raised in an environment that speaks strongly about social justice and the rights of the poor--a very Democratic stance. However, my relationship to the Evangelical world seems to say that abortion and same-sex marriage are the only two items on the agenda.

This election year seems to say that people are ready for a change--maybe because of the war, maybe for other reasons. I know I'm all for it. I never thought the Iraq War was a great move in the first place (as many arguments with certain very pro-Republican family and friends can prove), but what's done is done. Our government has to find the best option now.

I'm ready for other changes. I'm ready for a time when people won't hear Christian politics and think right-wing. I'm ready for a time when Christian friends won't tell me which Presidential hopeful is God's candidate. (I think we gave up Divine Right when we gave up monarchies.) I'm ready for a time when we can accept a person into the fold even if we don't understand their life choices. I've heard it said that we should hate the sin and not the sinner. Good strategy, but why can't we just stop hating? Maybe we're too human; maybe we can't separate our hatred of sin with the sinner. I'll leave that up to God.

I'm ready for a time when we can stop pointing out everyone else's sins ("planks in their eyes") and start examining our own weaknesses. I get that the Bible gives many examples of keeping each other accountable, and I would be lost without my "accountability" friends. Yet, it says first and foremost to love each other. I think if we Christians spent a shred more time loving people, rather than "keeping them accountable," we'd have a lot more impact.

As Gandhi said: "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Welcome to my Neighborhood

Last night, the police taped off a whole block of 14th Avenue, a main thoroughfare through Cap Hill. I was wondering what all the fuss was about, and Emily just sent me this article. It turns out, the police busted a suspected meth lab. Ok, so nowadays, that isn't that unusual, but still, kind of crazy. Oh, yeah, sorry Mom. Safety first.

Here's the link:
http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=1340198&version=6&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1