Schroeder Speaks

Experiments in Writing: IHOP marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 20:23:00 +0000

I came back to this notebook entry I had penned back in December and considered it worth sharing:

Today I went to IHOP for a writing marathon with my friends Claire, Mike, and Dave. You might be wondering, "Is IHOP really the best option for a coffee shop in Knoxville?" The answer is decidedly no. Knoxville has a handful of excellent options for a good coffee shop experience, but that's not what we were looking for on this particular Thursday in December. The 3 reasons that IHOP is good for a writing marathon are:
1. endless coffee
2. no power outlets
3. no wifi
4. cinnastacks (for the Gluten intolerant, see menu for "bacon")

I don't think our IHOP waitress was quite prepared for us to stick around so long so this made for some awkward moments, but hey- even awkward moments can spur the pistons of creativity. The group setting is a plus because it keeps you accountable to write, but the group setting is also a negative because groups are often more conducive to chatting rather than writing- especially when writing is difficult (see dictionary for "procrastination"). I didn't get as much writing done as usual, which I attribute to my uncomfortable jostling around without the support of wifi and also the fun of hanging out with my friends; but it was still a fun and creative experience.
I did accomplish one thing. After the laughing, the third cup of coffee, the country-fried steak, and the poking around my outlines and rough drafts I did arrive at a solid thesis sentence for my third chapter that could radically change the direction of my entire undergraduate thesis for the better, which goes to show you the import of a single sentence and all the time, thought, and effort that is required for its generation.

Writing is more than just pen to paper.

To Write Every Day

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 00:11:00 +0000

read time: 3:18

Curse of the Moleskine

Have you ever come across the perfect notebook? Maybe it was the perfection of Dieter Rams’ minimalism, maybe it had Van Gogh’s “Bedroom” on the cover, or maybe it was bound in the fine, aged leather of exotic caribou and branded with pages made from the pulp of wood offered from the arm of a benevolent Ent. Whatever it was, if you’re like me, you saw this perfect notebook and thought, “I have to get this now. I could write so many inspiring things in there!” The only problem is, after paying some outrageous price for that notebook, three weeks later you haven’t written anything in it besides: Property of Winston Niles Rumfoord. Now it just sits on your shelf and taunts you. Ever had that problem?

I have. I’ll go through writing spells, and then I’ll go through writing droughts. During the spells, I’ll write on anything (mostly post-its and index cards), but I accrue the notebooks during the droughts. It’s probably because I think that a more creative-looking notebook will make me more creative.
Lie.
Still, I am loathe to say that I have never been all that consistent with writing. Today, all that changes.

I have committed myself to writing everyday. Why?

1. So I can process what I learned that day.

These next two months I will be dedicating as much time as possible to consuming as much information as I can each day. All the effort that I put in day after day, however, will go to waste if I don’t give myself time to digest it. I can’t imagine starting the writing process of my thesis at the end of the summer and having to go back and sift through all my notes again. I’d be starting back at square one, and I would probably have to call in the help of an archaeologist to help me dig through everything. By reflecting on my research, if only a little, each day I can recount all the the different sources that I touched on that day, and I can begin the slow process of synthesizing related ideas in my head. I can leave the rest to steep in my mind for a while longer.

2. Visualize progress and direction

By writing each day, I can keep track of what has been done and what needs to be done. My journal will become a record of sources in thoughts that I can reference if I have a need. Writing also helps me step back from my research to see the progress of my thoughts. When focused intensively on one subject for a day or even a week it can become really easy to lose the forest for the trees. My research journal allows me to get a hold of the bigger picture again. It also helps me keep track of the various twists and turns that my thesis takes. No, it does not just stay in the same place, unfortunately! I found that out pretty much after day one.

3. So I can become a better writer.

This one almost goes without saying. The more you write, the better you become. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this past year I had to write a couple serious papers. In writing these papers, I found myself getting really frustrated at the limitations of my writing ability. I realized that I hadn’t really put any effort into developing that ability for a long time, practically ever. Now I am at a level where I can not just naturally expect my writing to be up to par. It’s time to put up or shut up, and those of you who know me know that I don’t intend on shutting up.

I want to make writing natural again. I want to write like its breathing. While this journal is by no means a work of poetry, I hope that the habit that it forms in me will turn out to be just that.

Why I write today

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 22:40:00 +0000

read time: 1 min. approx

I started blogging again after a conversation with my friend Matt. We talked about personal progress and seeing progress in our lives, the kind of progress that is cultivated by daily practice.

When Matt asked me: how do you want to live?
The only thing I could come up with was: I want to live more.

Being More- Let’s Get Excited

1. compassionate
What a powerful word! To me, right now, this means to live more along with people, shoulder to shoulder. It means that I need to be more patient with the people that have been placed in my life, to hear them out, and to listen to what they have to say without needing to respond. I want to cultivate a minduflness of compassion, moment by moment.

2. capable
I want to understand the world around me more, and I want to be able to live and to participate in it in a real way. I want to learn how to use my hands, and I don’t want to be dependent upon the internet.

3. focused
I desire greater focus for the tasks laid before me. Why? I thrive at cultivating “being productive” without being able to just close the deal and move on, and I too often allow myself to be swallowed up in to-do lists and calendars. I desire a focus in my life that will allow me to be fruitful with the time given to me for work so that I can be generous all the time that is left. I need a stronger sense of presence both at work and at play.

And that's why I will write. I will write to hold myself accountable to change, and I will write to perceive this change in myself.

Why I Stopped Blogging. Why I want to start again.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 22:12:00 +0000

I wrote this over a year ago when I stopped blogging:

I am embarrassed to say that I realize that I have begun this project of blogging anew with the intention, subconscious if not slightly intentional, to amplify myself in some way. My ideas for this blog have the tendency to carry my head into the clouds. Unfortunately, my head likes to take my ego with it. I am forced to ask myself:
Why do my opinions need to be heard? Why do I need to be the one explaining anything? There are people far better suited to write these articles with far better answers. As for me, I need to step back and seek out in what way I can better glorify God and reach out to my friends, my brothers and sisters. I must be still for a time and listen for my direction, whether it be writing for the cause of improving my craft (which sorely needs it) or simply writing for the sake of writing... or maybe not at all.
In time.

To the few of you who have managed to read any of my posts, I appreciate you and your willingness to listen to me so much. I hope to never waste your time or let you down in any way.

After a year of thinking, learning, and growing up, let's see if I am ready to write again.

A page from my minimalist journal:

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 15:57:00 +0000

SBXIII

Day 1: dirt, dust, detergent, monasticism, prayer

Day 2: gasoline, mojo, yunnan, mason jars, Judd Apatow

Day 3: rust, rain, grease, oatmeal, Atala giro d' Italia, Mad Men

Day 4: snow, fits of disapproval, friends, coconut, walking dead

Day 5: pages, more snow, more pages, Stumptown, signs

Day 6-7: more dead, papers, writing

750 Words

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 20:42:00 +0000

“My only ritual is to just sit down and write, write

every day.”_#

– Augusten Burroughs

I have a headache right now, yet here, again, I find myself writing. Why am I writing at 10:53 pm with a migraine? Because I want to become a better writer. I know that good writing comes with practice so I have committed to practicing everyday at writing on 750words.com Sometimes I will work on my thesis. Other times I will flesh out a work. Maybe take some reflective notes on a book I just read or a movie I just watched.

Let's back track a few steps.

I don't think that I have ever had to think about improving my writing before. That is not to say that I am some natural born spawn of Kerouac, rather I was educated in the age of no child left behind where being "good enough" didn't require much. I managed to slip through the cracks all the way up to junior year of college, taking several "senior-level" classes (whatever that means) before then until I realized that my writing style had not changed in years. It took the marks of a couple red G2 pens to hit me like a ton of bricks. If I wanted to stick around in this whole academic thing, I needed to improve.

Since then, I have focused on practicing my writing, so much so that it has become a ritual. Having the prospect of a Senior Thesis on my plate really helps with the motivation. If I stop writing I'll become paralyzed so I have to keep going, day after day, morning after coffee-fueled morning.

One tool that has really helped me with my "practice" is 750words.com. It's a simple idea, write 750 words every day. You can commit to a month-long challenge, wagering a reward if you succeed at writing every day for that month and a punishment if you fail. They also have a Wall of Fame and Wall of Shame. How do you get on the Wall of Shame? Fail to write the 750 words a day that you committed to writing. How do you get off the wall of shame? Take the challenge again next month and succeed. It's carrot and stick.

It's really pretty fun, and you can utilize the tool however you wish. I've been using 750words to get mileage on my thesis each day. It gives me progress that I can track and therefore schedule, defending against future panic attacks and frustrated late nights. In 13 days I've logged 10,956 words- which translates to around 45.2 double-spaced pages typed in 12 point Times New Roman font.

I just read today, however, that the actual purpose for these "750 words". They are supposed to be more of a pre-writing exercise, taken from the book The Artist's Way. A meditative word-culling, mind-clearing meditation turned, as they say on the front page "future-ified". A way to clear your mind of your thoughts so you can get down to the real process of being creative. Moleskine meets Mac. It's zazen for your fingers.

I commend it to you.

Expect more articles on the art of writing, as I have no idea what it is yet.

*note this is not a commercial. I'm just really having fun with this website.

Linus: Was Charles Schultz a classicist?

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:40:00 +0000

"non me carminibus vincat nec Thracius Orpheus nec Linus, huic mater quamvis atque huic pater adsit, Orphei Calliopea, Lino formonsus Apollo." - Vergil, Ecloga IV

Linus: there were various local cults and myths relating to this myserious youth and his violent death. His name has been connected with greek linos, the lament sung at vintage festivals (Hom. Il. 18.569-72), and with the dirge-refrain ailinon (Pi. fr. 126.5, Ov. A. 3.9.23). Like Orpheus, with whom Ovid (loc. cit.) also associates him, he came to be regarded as 'learned in every kind of wisdom' (Hes. fr. 306MW), was the subject of many dirges (Hes. fr. 305MW) and had a number of apocryphal works attributed to him, including a Theologia (D. Servius). He appears again in 6.67. - Rober Coleman

The Mission of Christ and Gospel Homework

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 02:12:00 +0000

Here are some helpful sermon notes courtesy of @mnicolaus via Dr. Dyson of Wesley Theological Seminary. It's a simple breakdown.

The Mission of Christ:

Proclaim the good news of Jesus (I have a story- what is it?)
Act out the good news: We are called to set the prisoners free and give sight to the blind (both spiritually and literally).
Establish communities centered around the good news.

There was a good deal that I had planned to share on each number of this list, but I feel like that would just be me doing your homework for you. There's no vicarious living here. Go out there and find out for yourself! It's going to be exciting, and it's going to be really hard. I promise.

If you want to hear my personal experiences, come get coffee with me sometime. I would love to talk to you.

Also check out this video about gospel centered discipleship with Matt Chandler and Jonathan Dodson:

Principles: When the Dead Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:32:00 +0000

So I am pretty much addicted to the Walking Dead now. Fair statement. You've seen it right? Please tell me you've seen it.
Summer marathons be cursed!

Seriously though, let's talk about this. I know what a lot of you are thinking. It's all just mindless killing, violence, and gore right? Wrong. You haven't seen the show. Not much for TV? Read the book.
Beyond all of popculture's hype with the zombie craze, this show in particular has me riveted because it provides a surprising social commentary concerning ordinary civillians forced into extremely improbable (and horrific) situations in order to see how they might probably respond. Did that make any sense? Example: Your sister was bitten by a zombie and is turning before your eyes. What do you do? The results can be surprising. The horrors of the zombie apocalypse forces us to ask ourselves: what scares me? Why? Will the values that I have formed within the ease of the day-to-day still hold true in this new, extreme reality? Trials and hard times really have the ability to reveal the true nature of what exists underneath. What lies dormant within, often easily neglected, can be forced to the surface. In this TV show the viewer sees just that. When mankind is placed back onto the food chain and zombified people begin to prey upon their own friends and family like animals, will the civilized then stoop to becoming animals, themselves? This is an important question that we really cannot answer. Still, other questions arise. What is the difference between man and animal? What is it that divides us? What holds us all together? What constitutes us? What drives us?

via jimbenton.com

Principle sets us apart from the animals. Principle divides us, it unites us, it individuates us, and it drives us. As civilized people we have the ability and the liberty of choice. We can choose between right and wrong, but how then do we go about divining this difference? In any given choice we must (and we do, even subconsciously so) weigh our options against our principles, the fundamental truths on which we base any sense of belief or purpose that we may have in our lives. These axioms may vary in different degrees from person to person; and, so being, they come to constitute the individual identity of that person. Building our lives around these principles, whether actively chosen by us or passively instilled within us, we then act out of these principles, one choice at a time. This is why an understanding of our own principles is so important. We act out of them whether we intend to or not. In easy times must not neglect them. In hard times we must hold fast to them. I urge you, the reader, just as I urge myself to consider these things. Remember who you are, and why you are. Ask yourself: what defines me? Is it who I think I am underneath or what I do?

Please don't, however, misinterpret me. I don't actually think the zombie apocalypse is going to happen. This is not a reality that I am preparing for, but that is the very reason why shows like the Walking Dead are so interesting and so important. They handle the big questions that we really can't answer. Big questions like: what does it mean to be human? What is civilization?

Your Beef is her boca burger.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 18:18:00 +0000

Eating this year has been a challenging task for me. In the process of avoiding my newly-found allergies to dairy and gluten (among many others), I have been forced to completely deconstruct and reshape my diet along with my entire understanding of nutrition, an understanding that was essentially nonexistent before this year. Through all of this I have learned many important lessons about my health. Besides the nitty gritty and the details of this and that, there is one clear lesson that I would like to share here; and that lesson has to deal with the apprehension of many to the word health and diet (and all that other jargon).
Health (and by health I mean the road to becoming healthy) is not so much about remorse, struggling, and gritting our teeth as we would often let ourselves believe, but about discovery. It's about trying new things. It's fun. Just think, health is not a do or don't do sort of thing. It's a do. And it's a lifelong process. Think of it as the sanctification of your physical body.
So go easy on yourself. Give yourself some time, and open yourself up to the fun and tasty new opportunities that are waiting for you down the road. Whether it is bouldering, going raw, gardening your own food, cooking with quinoa, or backing off the dairy, I know there is something out there for you.

You are becoming. You are not done.

So read some blogs, and talk with your friends.
Then go work out with some of those friends, or cook with them.

For starters, here's a zenhabits article that I really like: The Three Day Monk Syndrome

It doesn't really have much to do with health.

License to be spiritual.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:06:00 +0000

Spirituality.
What this is and how you define it may depend on your faith, your personal theology, your current background, your upbringing, or some other factors. Maybe you thought one way, but then you stopped going to church in college. Maybe later on you got baptized and became a Christian so you thought another way, but then you read Kerouac or somebody else and thought a whole 'nother way. Or maybe you met so-and-so and stopped thinking that way, and then you got a Hindu friend.
Whatever "spirituality" comes to mean, it definitely holds a multifarious definition that translates differently with each person- whether that translator may be me, you (the reader), or Mao Zedong.

(Now, just so I may be clear, I am not writing about, or advocating, relativism here. This post is not about truth but about an adjective- and a flimsy adjective at that.)

The definition of spirituality, however, is not at all the aim of this post. My point in saying so is to identify the evident fact that spirituality means different things to different people. Mine is mine and hers is hers, and we are both claiming to know what is right.
We are what we are. It is what it is. Welcome to the tension of dialogue and conversation- growth and maturity. The good stuff.

Often we can miss out on this opportunity entirely, especially when we decide that someone is unspiritual. Perhaps we judge that someone is incapable of having a spiritual conversation. (Have you ever been surprised by the wisdom that flowed from a mouth of a person you had misjudged?) I have to ask, what is the grounds for such a judgment? Your own conceptions of spirituality? Your superficial judgements of a person? Leave such judgements to the Lord.

The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD,
searching all his innermost parts.
(Proverbs 20:27 ESV)

Having participated in many spiritual communities, I have seen and done this a lot. The truth of the matter is that we, people, are judgmental creatures; and we make a lot of dumb calls. In the specific form of judgement which I am referring to I see a two-fold sin.
1.) A sin of disrespect toward our fellow brothers and sister.
2.) A sin of pride and self importance.

To write off a person as unspiritual, is to completely ignore and invalidate the worth of that person along with the necessity of being that God created them for. [Preposition.] The fact of the matter: spirituality is inherent to each and every soul. Everyone is spiritual and everything has the opportunity to be spiritual if only we would open our eyes to see it.

"A love of God is at the essence of us all" - Radhanath Swami

Let's engage one another spiritually. Each and every one of us.

As for the sin of pride, get over yourself. God is bigger than you.

Let this be my apology letter,
Allen Wilson

"If you want to have rest here below, and hereafter in all circumstances say 'Who am I?' and do not judge anyone." - Desert Father Joseph of Panephysis

sturgeon (or: the efficacy of a word)

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:00:00 +0000

2012-06-08 13.54.49 (Photo credit: alvol27)

I am only beginning to understand the potency of a word on its own. For instance, take the syllabic sharpness of the word "sturgeon" or the eggshell softness of the word "ochre". The sound of words can be magical. Don't even get me started on the effect these words can have when used together, and context is a painter's palette. In the right hands, a sentence can become a meticulous incantation, a careful meditation, or a potent prayer. Diction is a sorcerer's wand or a penitent's rosary. Do not underestimate the efficacy of the spoken word. Add a plot, symbolism, or rhetoric? The possibilities escape me.

If we put [g]bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet [h]it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And [i]the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, [j]staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, [k]full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people [l]who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
Who is wise and understanding among you? [m]By his good conduct let him show his works [n]in the meekness of wisdom.
(James 3:3-13 ESV)

=======================================================
[g] Ps. 32:9
[h] [Ps. 12:3, 4; 73:8, 9]
[i] Ps. 120:2-4; Prov. 16:27
[j] Matt. 15:18
[k] Ps. 140:3; Eccles. 10:11; Rom. 3:13
[l] See Gen. 1:26
[m] ch. 2:18

[n] ch. 1:21

Or perhaps a movie quote:

Albus Dumbledore: "I always surprise myself on my ability to turn a phrase. Words are, in my not so humble opinion, the most inexhaustible source of magic; capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it."

[I just couldn't help myself.]

And some advice from Thomas A. Kempis in the chapter "On Avoiding Idle Talk" in The Imitation of Christ:

When the right and opportune moment comes for speaking, say something that will edify.
Bad habits and indifference to spiritual progress do much to remove the guard from the tongue. Devout conversation on spiritual matters, on the contrary, is a great aid to spiritual progress, especially when persons of the same mind and spirit associate together in God.

This is why I meet friends for coffee.
This is why I like to blog.
This is why I study language.

Unfortunately: "One language dies every 14 days. By the next century nearly half of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken on Earth will likely disappear," (National Geographic).

Concluding Confessions of Augustine: Therefore Christ died for all.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 16:35:00 +0000

St. Augustine of Hippo as pictured during the Renaissance (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The last lines Augustine of Hippo committed to his Confessions:

"Terrified by my sins and the burden of my misery, I had cast in my heart, and had purposed to flee to the wilderness: but You forbade me, and had purposed me, saying, Therefore Christ died for all, that they which live may now no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him that died for them. See, Lord, I cast my care upon You, that I may live, and consider wondrous things out of Your law. You know my unskillfulness, and my infirmities; teach me, and heal me. He, Your only Son, in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, has redeemed me with His blood. Let not the proud speak evil of me; because I meditate on my ransom, and eat and drink, and communicate it; and poor, desired to be satisfied from Him, among those that eat and are satisfied, and they shall praise the Lord who seek Him."

Coffee is really a drug.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Le Depart via alvol27

The pot had been drained before he had realized he had gone too far. the lecture continued like nothing had changed, but his imagination had breached the surface of his caffeine tolerance. he began to see the silhouette of that drummer from Coldplay, beating on the timpani from that viva la vida video- or was that the pulse of a vein on his right temple?

suddenly gnosis. he reached the wholly hill. no he could see the holy hill. not a hill. a mound, the home of a hobbit. and beyond that a secret door, a chapel. recite the rite of passage. translate euripides. fill a notebook. memorize the Mayan calendar. Omomyids in the Eocene. Are Homunculi real? he would look that up next. make a new list. planner. a thousand apps of productivity. a thousand mind apps. a thousand apps. all was possible. real apps for real life. he felt creativity pass through him like a sugar rush. and then he was gone. a thousand real apps. relapse.

To creative mornings.

These Take Away Shows Will Make the Hearts in Your Ears Sparkle.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:07:00 +0000

Your favorite musicians are playing in Europe: Bon Iver, Local Natives, Tallest Man on Earth...
Okay, so they were playing in Europe.
Okay, so they are my favorite musicians, but maybe you will like them too. Let's be real for a second: you should already.
Set your google translate to French and head on over to La Blogotheque. There you will find a pristine collection of "take away shows" from Sigur Ros, Sufjan Stevens, and Phoenix to Spoon, Fleet Foxes, The National and so much more. Come here every morning with your coffee and cereal.
Below, I picked out a couple of my favorites that might just be able to cool you down a little in the heat of this summer. Linger and get inspired. Then go find some more. Give me a shout if you find any that you really like!

#93.3 - BON IVER - For Emma, Forever Ago by lablogotheque

Reason #5 to be a fan of The Dark Knight: Lucius Fox

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:30:00 +0000

You shouldn't need any reasons to appreciate the Dark Knight trilogy, but reason #5 on my list is Lucius Fox.
The man is quick, sharp, and seasoned. Working vigilantly to both run Wayne Corp and craft the claws, wings, and wheels of the Bat, Lucius manages it all with panache and humor; but you don't have to watch any of the Batman movies to know this. It's all in the jacket and bow tie!
How many times do I have to say it? You gotta respect the bow tie.
And you know Morgan Freeman knows how to do.

Lucius Fox: Yeah, three buttons is a little '90's, Mr. Wayne.

Untitled

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:30:00 +0000

2012-06-08 18.00.59 (Photo credit: alvol27)

I lost my shoes sometime somewhere in a far away place, a place where it always rains and people speak Latin. Those shoes carried me through green pastures and thick mud, over the weathered cobblestones of the marketplace. A pilgrim's progress to sacred sanctuaries and the destinations of story tellers, where mumblers meditate. They climbed up corridors of barnak stone all the way to the top and stood on the shoulders of gargoyles, adjacent to the cupola. They tread in both the courts and the graves of kings, if you will believe me; yet, because of this, my poor shoes grew worn with the wearing. They stayed behind.
It was in June.

Albums of Note: Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:12:00 +0000

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://thewelcomewagon.bandcamp.com/album/precious-remedies-against-satans-devices"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=22" title="The Welcome Wagon" rel="homepage" target="_blank"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Welcome Wagon&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:06:00 +0000

The Beautiful Idol (or: The Incorporeal Self and the Have It Your Way Gospel)

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:42:00 +0000

Cover of My Beautiful Idol

If you are reading this post right now it's probably because you already have decided that you agree with me in some way. Yes, it is also because you probably already know me. [Thanks friends!] In any case, whoever you are, you may already expect and anticipate a certain set of beliefs that I should espouse. I am just going to go ahead and make that judgement call, for isn't that the truth with a majority of the material we read? Let's be honest for a second. Unless you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and are looking for a fight in the comments section (a redditor perhaps?) or an ironic laugh, you are probably not going to intentionally seek out content that does not fit your social fung shui. for instance, I do not get my christian news from Christwire. Sorry. I am not saying this subconscious filtering is a bad thing. I am not endorsing some sort of intellectual masochism, but I am not saying its a good thing either. It's a thing, nevertheless, and we need to be aware of it because this habit does not contain itself simply within the world of articles, blogs, and podcasts. What we are addressing here is a symptom of something much deeper.
Look at your personal social networking world. The sentiment extends there as well. In the social networking world we are allowed to manipulate a synthetic social environment, consisting of our choices of sources. There we decide what sort of ideas or people are allowed into our social bubble, and we can (and do) shape that bubble to emphasize the particular things that we find important. We amplify what fits us and filter out what does not, creating for ourselves a controlled universe that can be distorted from the corporeal one that we actually live in- but are living there less and less every day. Even now, in a blatant turn of irony that cannot be ignored, I am contributing to this universe. I am building a version of myself that is significant, important, relevant. In this universe the little things that I care about, are things that everyone cares about- surely they do. In this little world of mine I rule. And so I begin to define myself by my social presence online. I live for the next status update. When something cool happens, I hope someone is around to record it so that people on Facebook will get to see how much fun I am having. I analyze each social situation in order to produce something clever for Twitter.

Here breathes my beautiful idol.

Not to be contained, however to the blogosphere, my beautiful idol seizes control of my corporeal sphere as well. In my clothes, my music, my accomplishments. He writes with the penname "Individualism", quaint, and walks with the smug judgement of a cynic. His ideas are more important. His theology. His spirituality. He does not care for the "church" because it does not fit his piety standards, his theological spectrum. His pastors are not up-to-date on recent podcasts. The musicians are still playing songs from "Christian radio". His fellow congregants are not up to par. They do not go to coffee shops, and they are not aware that John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius had a falling out. They don't read pitchfork so, of course, they are never going to understand him. So why stick around?
My beautiful idol says that I can have the gospel my way. I can have church my way. I can have religion my way.
A little reformed.
A little social justice to show I care.
A little John Mark McMillan because I can be emotional too.
No creamer in your coffee.
ESV only.
My beautiful idol tells me that God really can fit into my theological preconceptions, my philosophical inclinations. I just need to read this article or this book. I just need to stop talking to that person. No, God does not need me to change. Growing should be comfortable.

Is this a criticism of social networking?
No.
This post was brought to you by social networking.

Just something to prayerfully consider.

Useful Notes:
Philippians 2:4, 2:12-16
Recent survey on College-age Millennials leaving the church
*The memoir pictured above.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:27:00 +0000

Counterculture coffee no. 46.

Steep for 4 minutes. Then press.

And now for mounds of reading. Where to begin? Hume or Philo?

Always Philo.

Thanks to Mr. Urevick for the coffee this morning.

Manifesto

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:16:00 +0000

“I only read nautical novels and my own personal manifestos.” – Ron Swanson

My next project is to compose my own personal manifesto. For me it will be a short and simple guide to daily remind me of my values as man of Christ. May my gaze be fixed in trials and hardships. May my eyes not lower in weariness or distraction.

Here's where I got some inspiration: AOM

But before that I still have two other composition projects on the table. The first is a commentary/personal meditation on Colossians. The second is a time sensitive secret.

Liber::Books::THE LIST::Classic::St. John's

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:09:00 +0000

The Reading List

The reading list that serves as the core of the St. John's College curriculum had its beginnings at Columbia College, at the University of Chicago, and at the University of Virginia. Since 1937, the list of books has been under continued review at St. John's College. The distribution of the books over the four years is significant. Something over 2,000 years of intellectual history form the background of the first two years; about 300 years of history form the background for almost twice as many authors in the last two years.

The first year is devoted to Greek authors and their pioneering understanding of the liberal arts; the second year contains books from the Roman, medieval, and Renaissance periods; the third year has books of the 17th and 18th centuries, most of which were written in modern languages; the fourth year brings the reading into the 19th and 20th centuries.

The chronological order in which the books are read is primarily a matter of convenience and intelligibility; it does not imply a historical approach to the subject matter. The St. John's curriculum seeks to convey to students an understanding of the fundamental problems that human beings have to face today and at all times. It invites them to reflect both on their continuities and their discontinuities.

FRESHMAN YEAR

HOMER: Iliad, Odyssey
AESCHYLUS: Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides, Prometheus Bound
SOPHOCLES: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Philoctetes, Ajax
THUCYDIDES: Peloponnesian War
EURIPIDES: Hippolytus, Bacchae
HERODOTUS: Histories
ARISTOPHANES: Clouds
PLATO: Meno, Gorgias, Republic, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, Timaeus, Phaedrus
ARISTOTLE: Poetics, Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, On Generation and Corruption, Politics, Parts of Animals, Generation of Animals
EUCLID: Elements
LUCRETIUS: On the Nature of Things
PLUTARCH: Lycurgus, Solon
NICOMACHUS: Arithmetic
LAVOISIER: Elements of Chemistry
HARVEY: Motion of the Heart and Blood
Essays by: Archimedes, Fahrenheit, Avogadro, Dalton, Cannizzaro, Virchow, Mariotte, Driesch, Gay-Lussac, Spemann, Stears, J.J. Thompson, Mendeleyev, Berthollet, J.L. Proust

SOPHOMORE YEAR

HEBREW BIBLE
THE BIBLE: New Testament
ARISTOTLE: De Anima, On Interpretation, Prior Analytics, Categories
APOLLONIUS: Conics
VIRGIL: Aeneid
PLUTARCH: "Caesar," "Cato the Younger," "Antony," "Brutus"
EPICTETUS: Discourses, Manual
TACITUS: Annals
PTOLEMY: Almagest
PLOTINUS: The Enneads
AUGUSTINE: Confessions
MAIMONIDES: Guide for the Perplexed
ST. ANSELM: Proslogium
AQUINAS: Summa Theologica
DANTE: Divine Comedy
CHAUCER: Canterbury Tales
MACHIAVELLI: The Prince, Discourses
KEPLER: Epitome IV
RABELAIS: Gargantua and Pantagruel
PALESTRINA: Missa Papae Marcelli
MONTAIGNE: Essays
VIETE: Introduction to the Analytical Art
BACON: Novum Organum
SHAKESPEARE: Richard II, Henry IV, The Tempest, As You Like It, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, and Sonnets
POEMS BY: Marvell, Donne, and other 16th- and 17th-century poets
DESCARTES: Geometry, Discourse on Method
PASCAL: Generation of Conic Sections
BACH: St. Matthew Passion, Inventions
HAYDN: Quartets
MOZART: Operas
BEETHOVEN: Third Symphony
SCHUBERT: Songs
MONTEVERDI: L'Orfeo
STRAVINSKY: Symphony of Psalms

JUNIOR YEAR

CERVANTES: Don Quixote
GALILEO: Two New Sciences
HOBBES: Leviathan
DESCARTES: Meditations, Rules for the Direction of the Mind
MILTON: Paradise Lost
LA ROCHEFOUCAULD: Maximes
LA FONTAINE: Fables
PASCAL: Pensees
HUYGENS: Treatise on Light, On the Movement of Bodies by Impact
ELIOT: Middlemarch
SPINOZA: Theological-Political Treatise
LOCKE: Second Treatise of Government
RACINE: Phaedre
NEWTON: Principia Mathematica
KEPLER: Epitome IV
LEIBNIZ: Monadology, Discourse on Metaphysics, Essay On Dynamics, Philosophical Essays, Principles of Nature and Grace
SWIFT: Gulliver's Travels
HUME: Treatise of Human Nature
ROUSSEAU: Social Contract, The Origin of Inequality
MOLIERE: Le Misanthrope
ADAM SMITH: Wealth of Nations
KANT: Critique of Pure Reason, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals
MOZART: Don Giovanni
JANE AUSTEN: Pride and Prejudice
DEDEKIND: "Essay on the Theory of Numbers"
"Articles of Confederation," "Declaration of Independence," "Constitution of the United States of America"
HAMILTON, JAY AND MADISON: The Federalist
TWAIN: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
WORDSWORTH: The Two Part Prelude of 1799
Essays by: Young, Taylor, Euler, D. Bernoulli, Orsted, Ampere, Faraday, Maxwell

SENIOR YEAR

Supreme Court opinions
GOETHE: Faust
DARWIN: Origin of Species
HEGEL: Phenomenology of Mind, "Logic" (from the Encyclopedia)
LOBACHEVSKY: Theory of Parallels
TOCQUEVILLE: Democracy in America
LINCOLN: Selected Speeches
FREDERICK DOUGLASS: Selected Speeches
KIERKEGAARD: Philosophical Fragments, Fear and Trembling
WAGNER: Tristan and Isolde
MARX: Capital, Political and Economic Manuscripts of 1844, The German Ideology
DOSTOEVSKI: Brothers Karamazov
TOLSTOY: War and Peace
MELVILLE: Benito Cereno
O'CONNOR: Selected Stories
WILLIAM JAMES; Psychology, Briefer Course
NIETZSCHE: Beyond Good and Evil
FREUD: Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON: Selected Writings
DUBOIS: The Souls of Black Folk
HUSSERL: Crisis of the European Sciences
HEIDEGGER: Basic Writings
EINSTEIN: Selected papers
CONRAD: Heart of Darkness
FAULKNER: Go Down Moses
FLAUBERT: Un Coeur Simple
WOOLF: Mrs. Dalloway
Poems by: Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, Valery, Rimbaud
Essays by: Faraday, J.J. Thomson, Millikan, Minkowski, Rutherford, Davisson, Schrodinger, Bohr, Maxwell, de Broglie, Heisenberg, Mendel, Boveri, Sutton, Morgan, Beadle & Tatum, Sussman, Watson & Crick, Jacob & Monod, Hardy

Info Glutton

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Don't be. Read what you need. Espouse what is necessary. Create what is interesting.

Herodium

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:53:00 +0000

Agrippa I also called the Great (10 BC - 44 AD), King of the Jews, was the grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus IV and Berenice. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Allow me to collect my thoughts about Herod. You might know him as King Herod. A man. A megalomaniac. He built Antonia on the temple mount. He built a temple to Augustus in Caesarea. This king of the Jews had Roman sensibilities. I can only imagine what kind of distasteful comics could have been published in the Jericho press about that- maybe one of Herod slinking out of a Roman bath house with a toga draped lewdly around his shoulders. And a big head of course.

They say pride comes before the fall, and it does. I wouldn't wish the misfortunes of Herod upon my worst enemy- or the maladies. Oh the worms! But why is this important? Why talk about this filicidal maniac from Idumea at all?

Well, he appears in the Bible but so does Josheb-Basshebeth; and I don't see much ink being spilled for him nowadays.

I am getting there.

In Herod I see a man like any other man, but Herod was born into and given extraordinary circumstances. These circumstances do not completely isolate Herod as a man from other men, I think. These circumstances elicit from history a hyperbole so extravagant that it must be true, and it is. In Herod I see pride like all pride. Like the pride I have. The pride of Herod was just given many more resources than mine. In Herod I see a man who worshiped idols of cultural sensibility, wealth, and power. These are not unfamiliar idols. In Herod I see fear. Herod harbored a paranoia that would probably make a meth-head tweak. This is humanity exposed. Sin in all its glory. Would you disagree?

The question is, put in Herod's place would I not be tempted to do the same? What does the tendencies of my life show? I most often think of myself first and foremost. I struggle to be culturally relevant. I care about trivial things. And I am afraid. Somewhere deep within me there exists a fear of loneliness, of rejection, of myself left to my own devices. What is there that I would not do if wasn't pushed to do it?

This is why I need Jesus.

Schroeder Speaks

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2. Visualize progress and direction

3. So I can become a better writer.

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