TATTOO on the HEART

As much as I love SoCal, I find it utterly repulsive that there are no college sports fans out here. It’s bad enough that they’re already fairweather pro sports fans, but not liking college sports is just unacceptable.

The NCAA basketball tournament is easily the most credible National Championship of all college sports. And these days there’s so much parody in college basketball that it does give you the sense that anyone could win at anytime. That’s why even the undercard is worth watching.

I was counting on a few upsets on this first day, but Miss. State, VCU, and Minnesota all came up a little short. I did, however, pick Maryland to beat Cal. Wish I’d seen that W. Kentucky win happening.

As it was I was so apprehensive about even filling out a bracket. I told someone yesterday that I don’t like filling out pieces of paper that just remind me that I’m wrong. Well, 24 hours later, and I’ve been wrong 6 times.

BUT…My final 4 is still intact, so we’ll see how it goes.

HOW TO TWEET YOUR WAY OUT OF A JOB

Today I saw this unfortunate story: How to Tweet Your Way Out of a Job

I’ve really embraced the power of the micro-blog in the last few months as have many of you. This is hopefully a reminder that people actually read these things and that some times your quick wit in the middle of the work day could actually cost you dearly.

It’s the power of words – all 140 characters at a time – and they can say tons more that maybe you meant or intended.

LAUGHING & CRYING

I found this very interesting today:

According to Professor Lou Ruprecht, an expert on both laughing and crying, sad things make us laugh. Most of us who laugh are crying.

He teaches a popular class in ancient Greek tragedy and comedy at Georgia State University.

“First and foremost, we get it wrong when we separate tragedy and comedy,” says Professor Ruprecht. “They’re joined at the hip. You laugh about the same stuff you cry about.” What stuff is that? “The things over which we have no control,” answers Professor Ruprecht. Aristotle was clear about this. “Both tragedy and comedy play on reversals of fortune,” says the professor. And our society is going through a huge reversal of fortune.

I’ve never really thought about it that eloquently, but I think it’s true. I joke a ton about being a sizeable chunk Palestinian. My jokes are all sad – even tragic – but absolutely hilarious. [if I do say so myself!]

I’ve always been the one whose wit always took him past the place where most people are wise enough to stop. Just to get that over the top laugh.

I was the guy cracking jokes that people always said, “That’s wrooooong!” And they were wrong, but they were so wrong that it was funny.

That’s not funny, you might say. It’s sad. But that’s what makes it funny – at least to sick people like me.

Think about America’s Funniest Home Videos – most of what is on there are videos of people in embarrassing, unfortunate situations – even serious injuries – and we laugh at it.

Why do we laugh? Because we’we really are sick people? I don’t think so. I think it’s something that somehow we have a shared experience of. Either it’s the kind of comedy of Seinfeld where he puts together thoughts on everyday experiences like going to the drugstore, and we’re like: “Wow, he’s right. Why haven’t I ever thought about that?” It’s funny because it’s true and we relate.

Or maybe we see someone embarrassed on video when they were acting like total fools and we’re really laughing because we can relate. We remember those moments.

Perhaps I’m the sickest one of any of you because I’ve done more stupid things and it enables me to laugh the hardest.

Tweet of the Day [3.18.09]

// March 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // {BEST} TWEET OF THE DAY

yabbadab Pandora on my BB is great but the network at the dentist in Pacific Beach isn’t…..

Tweet of the Day [3.13.09]

// March 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // {BEST} TWEET OF THE DAY

yabbadab Okay someone explain $160 for 2 tires or $170 for 4….somehow I’m an idiot – either the math is bad or I’m getting screwed…

Tweet of the Day [3.12.09]

// March 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // {BEST} TWEET OF THE DAY

yabbadab 5 hour energy spray has such a weird smell even minutes after use…

All’s quiet outside…

// March 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // OUT LOUD THOUGHTS

I’ve been particularly contemplative lately.

I used to think that being contemplative resulted in being really profound in some kind of way. I guess that’s not always the case. Does being contemplative mean that you’re going to run off at the mouth? I don’t think so. Sometimes it can give you a lot to say about the everyday, seemingly mundane and ordinary experiences of life. Other times, talking too much is just talking too much and perhaps shows the lack of being contemplative.

Today, I don’t really have any new insights. I suppose I’ve been in a sort of recovery over the past few weeks: I’ve recovered some things that are really extraordinary in life.

One of those things is identity. I think our identity in Christ is something that we’ll always be in the process of discovering, re-discovering, and unpacking. And the reason why is that as our knowledge of God is expanding, so do the pieces of ourselves start coming together. We simply can’t truly know ourselves outside knowing God.

Over the past several weeks God’s kinda reminded me of who I am. And I’ve gotten this gentle “attaboy” of God simply whispering, “Just be who you are. Be who I’ve made you to be.”

That’s so freeing, because I realize how much of my life is spent trying to be someone else, or to be the “next,” and in various stages of living the life of pretend.

I’m happy to say that as I’ve experienced or “re-experienced” this freedom, I’ve been living so much more deliberately. So much more satisfied. I’m living in an unbroken experience of the presence of God. I can’t express how satisfying that really is.

Crazy thing is how much more I’ve seen God lately. Not that He’s really that much more present than He’s ever been. It’s just that I guess I’ve been much more present than I have in a while. 4 people I prayed for in the past week had miraculous healings on the spot.

Is God healing more people or am I just that much more aware of who I am and what God’s up to that it’s propelling me pray about the things that Jesus would be praying about if He was walking in my shoes.

I think that’s the whole point isn’t it? Isn’t that supposed to be the source of anything that we’d do for God? Aren’t we only supposed to be doing the things that Jesus would be doing if He was in our shoes? I’m pretty sure that’s the case.

Tweet of the Day [3.08.09]

// March 8th, 2009 // No Comments » // {BEST} TWEET OF THE DAY

yabbadab Ever looked at your reflection in the bottom of a coffee cup? Kinds weird…

Archive for March, 2009

Tweet of the Day [3.26.09]

Tweet of the Day [3.25.09]

Tweet of the Day [3.25.09]

Tweet of the Day [3.24.09]

March Madness…

Tweet of the Day [3.18.09]

Tweet of the Day [3.13.09]

Tweet of the Day [3.12.09]

All’s quiet outside…

Tweet of the Day [3.08.09]

My videos. Featured videos.

My photos. Now you know me.

Lifestream

Categories