7 Quick Takes Friday

 



Before we get into the mix, I’d simply like to say that I think it’s cheating to post your seven quick takes for Friday on Thursday night.  However, I didn’t invent this game – I’m just jumping in for the fun of it.  Still.  Hmph. 

Enjoy!

ONE
I’ll be baching (yes, this is how you spell it, even though it looks like some sort of bastardization of a classical musician’s work) it for 24 hours while Gena heads back to Phoenix for a quick family pow-wow.  I don’t worry too much about handling the kids solo for that time frame – I feel very capable.  But I also want to try and figure out special things to do with them during that time.  Which of course, requires extra thought and effort on my part.  I’m grateful that my kids and I are comfortable enough together that it will be special no matter what.  I just pray that I’ll be able to come up with some out-of-the-ordinary things to occupy them, exhaust them, and maybe create a few memories.

And I pray safe travel coming and going for my wife!


TWO
I’ve been doing some reading this week on the topic of vocation and how it has been interpreted and defined theologically.  Towards this end, I reread Gene Veith Jr.’s book The Spirituality of the Cross.  I also blogged a brief review of it.  It’s a great little read on some of the fundamentals of Lutheran theology (traditional Lutheran theology – not the mess that has been made of Lutheran theology by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  The ELCA has taken yet another step towards removing themselves from the pale of Biblical Christianity this week – please pray for this church body and the many congregations that are now forced to decide if it’s time to leave the ELCA for more orthodox denominational affiliations.). 

In any event, it was good to read a synopsis of the classical Lutheran stance on the issue of vocation.  I’m still sifting through it mentally, probing the edges where I’m a bit uncertain, and then attempting to probe myself to understand why I’m uncertain about those things.  I look forward to another thinking & planning & writing session with my colleagues on Tuesday!


THREE
My wife and I watched a regular movie last night for the first time in months, probably.  Our Netflix queue has been busy with the extended versions of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King – also known as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  We’ve been putting off watching To Kill a Mockingbird for a couple of months, and so we jumped at the chance to watch the newest arrival – Rabbit-Proof Fence.  A review here if you’re interested.  Regardless of how we felt about the movie, it was great to remember how awesome it is to sit together on the couch with your wife watching a movie. 


FOUR
I have to say it didn’t surprise me when a study determined that Baby Boomers were continuing their recreational drug use as they age, with nearly twice as many 50-somethings admitting they had done drugs in the last year than indicated so in 2002.  I’ve written with disdain about the weak arguments about how we’re never going to win the war on drugs so we might as well legalize them.  I think this study should remind everyone that there are reasons that drug use remains a huge problem in our country – there are now several generations of folks who don’t see anything wrong with a little recreational drug use.  It’s hard to convince kids to avoid drugs when their parents and grandparents are toking up.  Pot must be safe – grandpa does it!


FIVE
An interesting but too-brief article in Time regarding what happens to our digital identities when we die.  Something that most people may not stop to think about is who has access to their e-mail, their instant messaging identities, their virtual reality identities, their social networking accounts, and other recreational online identity sources.  Each company has different ways of handling these situations, and there are now third party organizations that are springing up promising to manage people’s accounts and passwords, and to help in drafting “legacy letters” which can be sent out to people who know you should anything unexpected happen to you. 

For a culture that is bent on avoiding the whole issue of death, this poses a whole new wrinkle in things.  On a personal note, I experienced what this could be like many years ago.  I had gone on several dates with young woman in another town, when I received an e-mail one day from her e-mail account – but written by her mother – informing me (and who else I’m not sure) that the young woman had died unexpectedly.  I e-mailed back asking for a little more information, but never received it.  I’ve always wondered if she was just trying to find a way to not have to go on another date with me, or if she had actually passed away.

It’s worth giving some thought to how you want people you know online (and perhaps exclusively online) to find out about your death.


SIX
For others who are taking part in the 7 Quick Takes Friday project, how do you come up with your seven items?  In browsing other sites, I’ve seen some folks who take a thematic approach, others that seem to write whatever is on their mind at the moment, and others with no discernible pattern or theme.  I’m just curious if folks save up the things they want to talk about in this sort of shot-gun format, or what.  Thoughts?


SEVEN
I’ve been obsessed the last week or so with a video game that I spent millions of dollars playing when I was younger.  It’s been made available for free in a flash form, and I’ve been reacquainting myself with this strange little game. 


I’m almost over my re-obsession though.  Definitely.  Really.  I am. 

Just….one….more….game…..unnngggghhhh