Archive for April 2010
On Leadership and Mad Men
I had a thoughtful post-modern, existential piece of review on the TV show Mad Men waiting in queue for about two weeks now. That's all gone to pieces after reading my friend's blog post. For those who know me decently well, know that I am very much against our never-ending war efforts. I, along with those close to me during my youth pastor days, have endured what nobody should have to in seeing someone, on the eve of his 21st birthday, literally sacrifice his life for his country, his honor, and his beliefs.
Since then, I have now made another friend who is also a marine. I'm reminded that because of such men, I live in the kind of country I do today, and I have an idea of what "freedom" means.
Read his entry for a first-hand look at true leadership on the field.
While I Was Away
Easter has come and gone. This time, it's the most quiet Easter ever. No buzz over a large production event. No hoopla behind a special drama, or dance that took months in the making. And no early morning sunrise to recreate the resurrection. Anne Lamott compared the faith journey to skipping from one lilly pad to another, as opposed to a roller coaster ride of highs and lows. I feel like I know what she's saying.
I've been away from the internet the past 40 some days. I abstained from Google Reader, Facebook, internet surfing at home at night, and took my reading offline into the world of books. I started this as a way of observing Lent, a Christian tradition meant to draw one closer to God, but oddly found myself not drawn any closer to God but to the simple life, or "digital asceticism" as some call it. Perhaps God is in the freedom of things, rather than just the feeling of holy, the emotion of bliss, or the knowledge of the divine.
They say it takes about 21 days of doing something in order to make it a habit. After 40 days of not checking Google Reader, Facebook, or internet surfing at night, I haven't missed much at all. And this habit will continue on.
What I did find is the joy of reading deeply. Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway), Traveling Mercies (Anne Lamott), and parts of Free (by Chris Anderson). I've experienced a range of emotions over the course of time, particularly because of Hemingway, and some have triggered my thinking about life, marriage, business, and of course, faith.
I started a new project with some friends in sharing and discovering music together. It's a community banded by the common desire to find great music, literally spread throughout the country but brought together through the internet. Woodpigeon, Broken Bells, and Charlotte Gainsbourg are some of my new favorites through this.
long way round 