One of the advantages to working for Dartmouth College for a couple years was that I could attend one course free per quarter. I did not avail myself enough of that benefit, but I did take one class that reviewed motion picture portrayals of Native Americans. As you can probably imagine, much of the curriculum's…
Category: Bulletin Articles
Even Doofuses Need Jesus
After an article has formed in my mind, I try to think of a catchy title—something that will make the average person at least wonder what the piece is about (while at the same not being a bait-and-switch). As this one continues you will probably be able to guess what I intended to have in…
Awake!
In a previous article I noted that as the years have weathered my body, in the physical realm I have had to learn to be satisfied with pass/fail instead of "winning" (as in, being happy I was able to get to the top of Mount Cardigan instead of worrying about whether I was passing or…
20 Days
Perhaps one of the worst reports we can hear is that of a baby unexpectedly passing away overnight. As a parent of a three year-old, I don't want to even consider what it would mean to tuck my tike into bed one evening and then find he's no longer breathing in the morning. Can anyone…
The Prayer of a Child
Michelle, Augie, and I were returning from Bible Study yesterday, and (as is quite often true) I had my iPod playing on shuffle through the car's stereo. I believe were were enjoying a song by Christina Anu when Augie made a simple request. (If you are not familiar with Anu, she's an Australian singer whose…
Poof!
Within some Seventh-day Adventist circles there is a joke connected with how strict Adventists are unlikely to wear jewelry (even a wedding band is avoided). The only jewelry allowed has to be functional—for example, a watch. (To be fair, although I might come to a more tempered conclusion, they have valid reasons for their aversion…
Living in Ordinary Time
"I'm so very, ordinary / Nothing special, on my own. Oh I, have never / Walked on water. And I have never / Calmed a storm." So begins Nicole C. Mullen's inspirational song, "Call on Jesus." The reason that track comes to mind is because as I quickly head toward my 47th birthday I see…
The World According to Baljeet
Mount Cardigan in Orange, New Hampshire isn't terribly tall, peaking at 3,121 feet. Additionally, the main trail is a short hike of 1.3 miles. However, a good portion of it has a sharp inclination, especially as the trees thin and the granite becomes prolific. It was perhaps three quarters of the way up the mountain…
The Invisible Fire Engine
Heading into town today to fix a friend's laptop, I was partway down Elm Avenue when I noticed one of our neighbors had a large old firetruck parked off to the left. I commented to Michelle that it was kind of cool, and she replied that it had been there quite a while. Now, it's…
Wolf Control
A little earlier this year Rob Bell, the popular founding pastor of Mars Hill in Grandville, Michigan, set off a bit of a web explosion by releasing a video trailer promoting his soon-to-be-released (at that time) book, Love Wins. The video didn't specifically say anything heretical, but it implied quite a bit in its questions…
X-Ray Vision
Younger readers probably won't appreciate how when (growing up) I really would have liked a pair of the x-ray glasses that were advertised in various comic books. Now, I wasn't gullible enough to actually think they worked, but what a cool idea! Or even better, how about having Superman's x-ray vision? I think not being…
Then I Met Marty
A couple weeks back you may have also cringed when you heard, on national news, that a New Hampshire state senator suggested we ship the mentally ill to Siberia to die. I cannot remember if the story stated his party affiliation, but even if it didn't I would have assumed he was Republican and figured…
A Little Creeped Out?
This past week, to make the time on my Concept2 Rower pass more quickly, I listened to talk shows on Internet radio (well, the Internet streams of "real" radio stations). On one show they interviewed the founder of Voyurl, a service which "allows you to share your clickstream and find out who is looking at…
The End
If you click on the image, you’ll see that the “10-degree Map Centered at 40°N, 140°E” (generated Saturday, March 12, 15:22:22 UTC) says, “255 earthquakes on this map.”1 First, imagine having lived through the original estimated 8.9 magnitude quake—one that appears to have shifted Japan’s main island by 8 feet and the earth’s axis by…
What’s in a Name?
This week I spent a couple days off-the-grid in East Millinocket, Maine with Mike, my father-in-law (a retired truck driver who dabbles in used car sales). During one trip (to plain-old Millinocket) I saw a sign for an oil and propane supplier—one I'd never noticed before: Dead River Company. I told Mike that it seemed…