Laugh or Snap - [Etcetera]

I was in a funk for the past week and this show pulled me out. Everyone else said it was pretty coo too. I hope it's as enjoyable for you as it was for us.

You can get the show delivered fresh each week by subscribing to the podcast here.

I'll now leave you with this memorable quote from C.S. Lewis...

"I don't have herpes."

Congratulations! - [Gordo]

It is my great pleasure to report that today, on your behalf's, I delivered a cheque/check in the amount of $1,300.00 to World Vision Canada's Mozambique Field Representative, Jane Sosu.

I have explained so many times, to so many people, how we all have come to be involved with this little village in Inhambane Mozambique. I realize every time I do tell it, just how unique what we have done is. Mrs. Sosu was delighted with our contribution and so pleased to hear the winding tale of how this cheque came to be delivered. The head of public relations also came to introduce herself and was also very grateful.

As most of you know our money will be directed to the representative on the ground in Mozambique who will look at what the most pressing need in our village is and spend the money as seems appropriate. World Vision will get back in touch with me (and I with you) about how the money was spent. We may even get some pictures if they are able. Expect news in 4-6 months.

On behalf of Laura and myself I just want to say THANK YOU for getting on board and supporting this effort. For you Etcetera folks... a big GOULET! to you all, for seeing a chance to do something and just doing it, that is so American. I mean that in the best way!

So to sign off I leave you with this quote from Micah 6:8

"... But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what GOD is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don't take yourself too seriously -- take God seriously."

We wish you all peace with love,

Laura and Gordon Brew (aka gordo)

This Present Life - [Sharon]

I feel freedom. Today I feel excellent. Stellar. Ready for the open road. I feel the ability to say goodbye to him. Goodbye to this long, long year of intercession and gut-wrenching , bleeding, painful love. I feel sturdy. Solid. I feel like I can look out at the future and breathe a sigh of complete relinquishment. I feel the call of freedom. It is sweet.

I know that the future is God’s and God’s only. I know to try to live there only brings torture. C.S. Lewis says it the very best in his Screwtape Letters:

“The humans live in time but our Enemy destines them to eternity. He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself, and to that point of time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity. Of the present moment, and of it only, humans have an experience analogous to the experience which our Enemy has of reality as a whole; in it alone freedom and actuality are offered them. He would therefore have them continually concerned either with eternity (which means being concerned with Him) or with the Present -- either meditating on their eternal union with, or separation from, Himself, or else obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure.

Our business is to get them away from the eternal, and from the Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human (say a widow or a scholar) to live in the Past. But this is of limited value, for they have some real knowledge of the past and it has a determinate nature and, to that extent, resembles eternity. It is far better to make them live in the Future. Biological necessity makes all their passions point in that direction already, so that thought about the Future inflames hope and fear. Also, it is unknown to them, so that in making them think about it we make them think of unrealities. In a word, the Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most completely temporal part of time -- for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays. To be sure, the Enemy wants men to think of the Future too -- just so much as is necessary for now planning the acts of justice or charity which will probably be their duty tomorrow. He does not want men to give the Future their hearts, to place their treasure in it. We do. His ideal is a man who, having worked all day for the good of posterity (if that is his vocation), washes his mind of the whole subject, commits the issue to Heaven, and returns at once to the patience or gratitude demanded by the moment that is passing over him. But we want a man hag-ridden by the Future -- haunted by visions of an imminent heaven or hell upon earth -- ready to break the Enemy's commands in the present if by so doing we make him think he can attain the one or avert the other -- dependent for his faith on the success or failure of schemes whose end he will not live to see. We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow's end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present.”

I love living. It keeps hitting me over and over these days. The other night I was on my way home from a friend’s house, and I got stopped on a little side street close to home by a train crossing. It was late, so I was the only car waiting, and I put the e-brake on as I settled in to wait as the freighter chugged by. I watched car after car rumbling past, and tried to get good looks at the various graffiti splayed on the sides of the cars. Some of it was so beautiful. I have always had an appreciation for graffiti. Maybe it stems from growing up in Los Angeles, I don’t really know. But some of it, the really good stuff, just astounds me. I thought about the people who do this. They are really gifted and stunningly creative people. Most are kids, just adolescents proclaiming their identities. They are ridiculed for being vandals, and I’ll admit some certainly are. But some are different. They are talented and bold. Their desire to make their mark on something, to create and produce their art, is so strong that they go out at night, under intense pressure, and paint. I know I shouldn’t be praising someone for law-breaking, but I’m sorry, I just find it amazing.

So there I sat, watching some of the beautiful stuff go by, and I thought about the kids that did it, and I felt an up-swelling of joy at being human. At being alive. I loved life. I loved feeling alive, and being connected to these fantastic artists. I loved being part of the human race. The sort of normalcy of sitting there, and appreciating art by someone that I will never meet. Someone that at some point, snuck into the train yard and left me a little message. A colorful “I was here” symbol that, unbeknownst to them, I would enjoy as I sat on that dark and lonely road, waiting for the guard arm to rise back up as the train disappeared on its way into the night. We had a connection. A human connection. And I just sat and felt so happy to be part of that. To be a human.

I feel blessed today. I feel honored to be here in the present. I want to dance, and sing, and write, and keep living. I want to share with friends, and love feeling everything: joy or sorrow, hope, love, fear, sadness, or glorious freedom. I love living. I love the present. I love life.

Mmmbaby, Mmmbaby, Mmmbaby - [Etcetera]

I don't know what to sssay, sssay, sssay, sssay about today's show, but one thing is for sure...there was a show today and you can click here to listen to it (actually that's two things that are for sure).

Here's another thing that's for sure, you can click here to get the mmmpod, mmmpod, mmmpod, mmmpodcast.

And one last sure thing, Gordo is the grand poobah of show graphics and his work is once again on display, play, play for all to be in awe of.

This Brings Tears To My Eyes - [Erik]

You absolutely must watch this right now.

THE STORY:

In "Superman Returns", the Man of Steel comes back to Earth after a several year absence. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman faces the heartbreaking realization that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, has moved on with her life. Or has she? Superman's bittersweet return challenges him to bridge the distance between them while finding a place in a society that has learned to survive without him. In an attempt to protect the world he loves from cataclysmic destruction, Superman embarks on an epic journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space.

Oh! The Humanity! - [Etcetera]

Today's show was...well...what can I say...hmmm...KICK BOOTAY!! Yes that's it. Big bootay was in fact kicked.

Click here to waste some time with us.

If you likey, you can subscribe to the podcast and waste time with us on a regular basis.

Major props to Gordo for this week's bad-ass show graphic. I bow before his brilliance. Praise the Gord.

So...What Do We Do Now? - [Erik]

Awake. Shake dreams from your hair my pretty child my sweet one.

No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn.

What if there was no line…nothing wrong, nothing right?

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

All things work together for good.

I can do anything I want. And so can you.

What do you want?

Love.

All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

My song is love, love unknown. Love to the loveless shown.

Thank You for assuring us in these holy mysteries...that We are living members of the Body of Your Son and Heirs of Your eternal kingdom.

The present is the point at which time touches eternity.

I only do what I see my dad doing.

Eternity is now. Choose eternal life or eternal death.

Now eternity is now. Don’t wait till you die to enjoy it. Choose again.

We are the God people. You don't have to be alone.

We participate in the divine will through prayer and choice.

Stay in His channel.

Loose it on earth and it will be loosed in heaven.

Thank You for assuring us in these holy mysteries...that We are living members of the Body of Your Son and Heirs of Your eternal kingdom.

I'm not going to take it back.

I'm exploding...rivers of living water...no more words...they just won't do...feel this...be this...I'm in heaven right now.

[ping]]

Zipperhead - [Sharon]

I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes I feel like my head is unzipping. I mean, I know it sounds vague, and theatrical, but it’s the only phrase that keeps popping into my mind every time I’m driving in my car thinking, or sitting in my house thinking, or trying to have conversations with people. My head feels like it’s unzipping.

How do I even put into words what I mean? Maybe I can at least give you some symptoms of the affliction. Let’s see, I guess the most common is the desire to bolt. I get this intense urge to pack all my belongings, and just move away. To somewhere completely new, so I can assume whatever identity I choose, and start over. Has anyone seen The Good Girl, with Jennifer Aniston? There’s this scene at the end of the movie, where she’s narrating her choices: If she drives her car to the right, she goes back to her painfully mundane life. And even though it’s the morally correct thing to do, it offers her no real hope, or promise, or joy. If she turns left, Ahhhhh....open road, stretching out before her. The image, when I watched it, just made me feel a rush of cool air in my soul...I felt like I could suddenly breathe, just looking at that highway, the road forming that beautiful sharp point, penetrating the horizon. That’s the way I find myself feeling at times these days. It’s overwhelming. The Radiohead lyric, “Frantic. Like a cat - tied to a stake.” resonates on the deepest level in my head.

Today Erik told me the story of a monk being chased by a tiger. He sees a cliff, and a rope hanging over the side. So he climbs down it, and looks below to see jagged rocks at the bottom underneath him. So he hangs there: tiger stalking above, rocks looming below. Suddenly, he notices the most beautiful, luscious strawberry he’s ever seen growing out of the cliff face in front of him. So he eats it. And that’s the end of the story. I don’t need to explain the message to you all. You get it. So I am trying to eat that f-in’ strawberry. I see it. In fact, I see more than one. They’re all over the cliff face around me. But for some reason, the urge to get off that rope is so strong that I seriously consider just letting go, and seeing what it feels like to land on those rocks. After all, at times it seems the temptation to quit just hanging around is almost too much to handle.

So what am I trying to say in all this? Absolutely nothing, other than I KNOW God is working. I KNOW I am right where He wants me to be. In fact, that is part of why my head feels like it’s unzipping. Because I feel closer to Him than I ever have in my whole journey with Him, yet I feel equally as close to screwing everything up in an attempt to get off the friggin’ rope.

Will some of you inevitably think I’m losing it? Yes. Will some of you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about? Hopefully. But whatever your thoughts, I’m glad I know that Abba sees it as all part of the process. I’m indescribably secure in knowing that He’s with me no matter where I go in my unzipped skull. Whether I climb back up to the tiger, drop my carcass onto the rocks, or just dangle for as long as it takes, He is there. He WILL be with me. And He’ll be with you, too.

I guess that’s the strawberry I’m tasting today.

God Bless the TV - [Erik]

So I'm wandering around blogville, following the links on the comments, and I end up here.

As soon as I saw that pic of Twiki I was like, "Holy crap...Twiki...I forgot all about him!"

That was cool. Thanks geppapa.

Now, while I'd forgotten about Twiki, there are certain memories from the Buck Rogers TV show that come up pretty regularly.

For example, Buck Rogers taught me that if you sack the quarterback the play is over. He wasn't merely talking about football. He was talking about being outnumbered in any conflict. He was saying, "Go for the head. Take out the leader and the sheep will scatter." Of course, this was wisdom that the ass-backward, post-apocalyptic inhabitants of the future were not privy to. They didn't know what football was. So in this one particular dogfight, Buck proceeded to blow the lead ship all to hell and sho nuff, the other guys ran scared.

Then there was the time that Buck got a ficus tree for his sterile, futuristic living quarters. Doctors Theopolis and Huer were just about as dumbfounded by the idea as the time Buck wanted to stop taking his nutrition pills and eat some real food instead. Anyway, Mr. Rogers (jumpsuit, not sweater) and his ficus tree taught me that being close to living things of all kinds is important.

Buck taught me to appreciate rock n' roll, the Olympics, and a bunch of other things that most of us take for granted.

But as unforgettable as all of that is, I count it all rubbish when compared to the special place that Col. Wilma Deering will forever hold in my heart and mind.

I was just telling my wife about this the other night. Actually, it was the Thursday before Halloween. We were watching the vampire sorority episode of Smallville (read - excuse to get Lana and some of the other characters into lesbianesque positions while wearing skimpy clothes). I started to enjoy it a little too much and it reminded me of Wilma Deering.

(Sigh)

Wilma Deering.

Dig the hottest chick in New Chicago.

I did some research and found out that the episode of Buck Rogers titled "Space Vampire" originally aired on January 3, 1980. That would place me at 7 years old when my pre-pubescent eyes got their first look at an undead chick on the make. But it wasn't just any undead chick. I'm talking about Wilma Deering.

It was the most exciting thing I'd seen. You know how chick vampires are. I'm talking about seduction at its finest. Just look at her over there. Damn. Now imagine her doing her worst to turn Buck. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Well, all of that to say...that was the first time I was aroused by images on a screen. Before that, I just didn't know women could do those kinds of things.

I have no idea why I just told you that. I guess the point is that I learned a lot of cool things from the TV.

[ping]

All Your Base - [Etcetera]

Captain: What happen ?
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
Operator: We get signal.
Captain: What !
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It's You !!
Cats: How are you gentlemen !!
Cats: All your base are belong to us.

plastic baby jesus (Chp. 3) - [Matthew]

I'm nothing if not a man of my word; here now is the last installment of the promised three chapters. Anyone interested in reading the whole 'plastic baby jesus' novella, please e-mail me directly at matthew@95-theses.com.

Enjoy...

[ Chapter 3 ]

He thought he had seen it on the way in, on the bus. In the front of the big church next to, what was it? A library? His knuckles were still sore and red from punching the bathroom stalls at the H.O.F.L. offices downtown. He stared down with disgust at the promo sticker in his hand. After a moment, he balled it up and turned to find somewhere to throw it. Finding no satisfactory target, he launched it into the air. It floated to rest on the sidewalk three feet away.

The boy was suddenly self-conscious and looked around to see if anyone had noticed him. Staring fiercely at the sticker, he picked it up, jammed it deep into the pockets of his father’s old overcoat, and made tracks toward the bus stop.

Checking the schedule, he exhaled deeply into his hands. How was Chicago so much colder than Wonder Lake? It was just fifty miles away. Then, as if in a movie, a bus pulled away and there it was, the church next to the library. And on the church’s lawn, the nativity.

Without hesitation, his knees sank into the snow in front of the manger. Hands clasped together, eyes shut, head bowed.

“Dear God…” his freezing lips intoned. A pause. Silence.

“Dear God, I’m…” Again, the impetus evaporated.

“Heavenly Father…”

Like trying to turn over the engine on a cold day. It just wasn’t working. The eyes opened, cold and glassy. He looked down to see that his hands were no longer folded reverently, but were holding on white-knuckled to the edge of the manger where the Plastic Baby Jesus slept.

The boy looked up at the heavenly host, gloriously illuminated by the forty watt bulb burning inside each of them.

Finally, the breakthrough:

“Dear God, I hope you understand what I’m about to do.”


[end ping]

BRILLIANT!! - [Erik]

As some of you guys have discovered, Chase is in fact...BRILLIANT!! You absolutely must waste as much time as possible on Chase's page. You will see "Chase Is Not Cool" in the links on the right...that's what I'm talking about.

Here's a sample from the world of Chase to whet your appetite...

"-I just made a little video of me playing some of my instruments...a sort of montage...it's silly, not serious...i'm not playing them well at all...but i think it's kinda funny. PLEASE, check it out! I didn't make it for my health!CLICK HERE!!!it's about 1.1Megs. watch and enjoy!!"

That made it hard for me to breath and I dribbled pee in my pants. So funny. And yes, he plays all of those instruments.

Chase is not paying me for this publicity. I simply enjoy the hell out of him and I want to share Chase with you. And if you don't think Chase is BRILLIANT!! too, then I question your taste (I'd still like to be your friend, I just wouldn't take any movie suggestions from you seriously).

Time Flies - [Etcetera]

No time for clever copy. Click here to listen to today's show.

Subscribe to the podcast. It will be cool. Seriously, I have to run.

Chase is a Chick Magnet - [Erik]

I love Chase. Yes...I've been drinking. So what. I still love Chase.