It's hard to say, sometimes, which things are fads and which will be around for a long time. CB radio? Fad. Cell phone? Here to stay.

When I was younger I was sort-of "anti" anything that was a stylish fad. I always wanted a "dead alligator" polo, since everyone else wanted to wear genuine Izod. I wore cowboy boots until everyone else started wearing them in 1980. I'd rather be different, but that doesn't always serve me well. So I suppose sometimes I should accept fads and just roll with it.

Anytime someone mentions "fads" I think back to the "pet rock" -- amazing what can be sold with the right marketing spin.

there's really nothing more annoying to young people than doing something for the purpose of being different and then finding out that what they are doing has suddenly gained mainstream popularity overnight.....and then having to choose between not doing something that they may genuinely enjoy or suffering the inevitability of being lumped in with the rest of the fad followers.....lol....

(social sadism.....my favorite form of entertainment....torturing the next generation all full of teenage angst....)

I actually remember making up the saying "That's rich". Obviously it was a negative way of saying "Oh great, that really stinks". I started saying that back in the 1970's. Now I actually hear other people say it. It does not make me upset. It makes me smile. I understand that there was someone, somewhere who must have said that wayyyyyyy before me but I never heard them. Ergo, for me it was orginal. So, that's my take on it. I try stuff if I like it or see it as a necessity. However I try it on my own terms and in my own time. If other's like or dislike it, I do not care. That's all.

I agree! Still don't have an iPod, I only recently started texting, and I don't have a camera phone, much less a smart one!

That video was funny, very funny. Thank you. :-)

NO!...Faithfully use that genuine, GOD given intelligence

Yea, I never listened to John Mayer when I first heard of him because it was already fadish and I don't like to be a joiner. But I really like many of his songs that I have finally opened myself up to listen to. I'm compulsively conservative in my tastes, unfortunately.

hahaha!!! saw this on tosh.0 it changed my life it was so funny, lol

i'm with sarah....i REALLY don't understand how this happened....lol!

Amazing!

That was funny! I cannot believe it.

I saw this on tosh.0 too hahahaha i laugh every time i see this!

that's insane!

lol, wow, nice man.This makes me miss our "hallway talks".. it's also like i'm actually listening to your thoughts "unfiltered" lol. I think a psychiatrist would have a hay-day with this lil post ;-p j/k.

i didnt know thoughts could be filtered i knew water can be filtered

and wow peni is cute lol but not as cute as fetema

this was a courageous post, christopher, and has certainly earned a more indepth response from me then i usually give on pleo. writing this out was a fantastic exercise in trusting yourself to be who you are and trusting the world to be as it is. you have been on a journey the last several years and you have just recently started to really make some progress....the problem with progress is that it's intensely unsettling and usually just illuminates for us how little control we have over our lives, requiring more progress just to process our progress....

the post i have on my blog right now is about the exact same thing that your post is about: the integration of mind and body so that my soul can exist umimpeded.

there is a subset of people who are metachildren, the ones who think about thinking, and analyze how they analyze, and process the way they process....not occasionally, not under particular circumstances, but every moment of their waking life....it is their central component of conscious existence.

these children of the intellect find safety and reprieve from the informational assault of the world around their bodies by retreating into their heads, where they construct grids and matrices and battle plans to defend themselves against what they perceive to be the invasive nature of the energetic forces of connection.

when you are born a little more sensitive to energy patterns, simply walking through a normal day can be overload until you learn to manage the ebb and flow of that synergistic exchange, and to recognize where you end and the world around you begins....for children who are more aware of this exchange than is typical, it is initially very difficult not to drown in the vortex so we isolate ourselves mentally to try to stem the chaos, resulting in an existential schematic that prioritizes the cerebral over the physical...this creates a schism between our mind and body that grows as we develop and exercises a chronic strain on our system, often leaving us exhausted, overstimulated, frenetic and very stressed out. this burns our resources with incredible inefficiency and we find ourselves constantly unable to live up to what we know is our potential to achieve and perform.....instead of recruiting our energetic resources in an organized and cohesive manner, our body and brain compete for them and this internal guerilla war takes a tremendous toll on us.

the side effects of this are numerous, but central among them are
- a strong compulsion to connect with other people to compensate for the diluted connectivity to the physical environement
- a dismissiveness of our physical bodies as important while simultaneously being frustrated at how they operate and resentful that they constrain us
- a constant feeling that we are "missing something" or don't have all the pieces, that we are struggling to make sense of something that always seems just out of reach....(crappy typing can also be a side effect because you prioritize organizing your thoughts over organizing your fingers)
- an incredibly harsh internal monologue that judges us for not performing consistently to our potential without taking into account the fact that most of the resources that we need to achieve have been hijacked by our systemic attempts to survive the compartmentalization of our existence
- a sensory sensitivity that can manifest in different ways, sometimes in a reactivity to food (craving particular types of food, usually sugars and carbs, and being crabby if we don't get them and happier if we do), or touch (a heightened sense of physical contact as a source of comfort or as an invasive experience depending on the relational context, a strong reaction to physical sensations, i.e., being irritated by certain fabrics or environmental temperatures), or strong responses to lights, sounds or colors...


the list goes on, but the common thread that underlies everything is a difficulty realizing and managing an energetic sensitivity and then suffering from the side effects of the ways that we try to escape from it instead of embracing it.


there has been a call to integration among the sensitives...God is readying us for the next phase of our purpose here and it's time for us to get it together....metaphorically and in actuality...we were made this way for a reason and we are being recruited to start using our abilities for their originally intended purpose instead of burying them in the ground or running from them like the bunch of jonahs we are...


we are marathon runners with the endurance of sprinters because we are afraid of pain.

i'll tell you a secret, though....pain isn't that big of a deal....it's just a learning mechanism....the idea that it's scary and evil and must be avoided at all costs is a lie that is designed to prevent us from accessing the phenomenal spirit of power and strength that lives in us.

as long as we try to escape the pain and suffering of our physical layers, the fear of the pain of looking stupid, being wrong, not having it all together, being alone, not being liked, struggling financially, not being physically attractive, not being in control of what happens to us, and whatever else drives our neurotic attempts to avoid physical and social pain....then we cut off our spirit's ability to operate in our bodies and affect the physical world in us and around us and we effectively cripple our ability to fulfill our purpose.


to the degree to which we are willing to be connected to the world around us and release the constant need to modulate or control or impede that connection, to that same degree we open ourselves up to God as a direct, uninterrupted vehicle of his love and influence in this physical plane.


the need for this is greater than ever before, and we are being called to bravery instead of cowardice.
we were given a body for his service just as much as were given a heart, and a mind and brain.
it is time for us to stop thinking of our bodies as an inconvenience and begin to appreciate them for what they are: amazing sources of information and energy and connection.

there are already a bunch of spirits running around the universe....we were the spirits that God chose to give bodies to for a reason and i don't presume to know all of why that is, but i know some of it and that's enough for me to start registering awe at my ability to feel pain and weakness and limitation...i get to experience existence in a way that the angels and demons are not privy to....

my body is an addition to my spirit, not a detraction from....

it is time for us to integrate our full selves together so that we are not warriors with broken arms or servants with broken legs...and the first step is to be still and know that he is God....

stop thinking
stop trying to figure it out
stop running in the hamster wheel in your head at top speed and getting nowhere
stop burning resources


find yourself a patch of sunlight and sit in it and still your mind and focus on the sensation of your body absorbing the heat and energy of its father....because we are children of light...and science is just now beginning to realize what God has tried to tell us all along...our bodies are composed of light....of energy waves and particles and rays and photons....it is our nature to be supernatural....


and you, Chris, are on the edge of the greatest cliff of your life.
don't think, dude, just jump.


and keep jumping

Wow

whoa..!!! u were right i didn't even read her whole comment. I think it might be longer than ur post too, lol

I love that "voila" misspelled is "viola". Snrk.

Lol!

Don't blame it all on the South! I grew up here and I do pretty well.

You are insane. But I would have done the same thing had I made the commitment to not edit :) Anyway, I can't really improve upon Peni's comment, but I enjoyed your stream of consciousness.

what are you doing in houston?

Right on the money. Excellent.

Jess and I were renting a house in Missouri and the owner sold the house. This is when Jess was eight months pregnant. So for now we moved in with my parents till we find something else. My focus is nursing school. While Jess is looking for a teaching job. Congrats on graduating, what was your degree in?

Thank you Son. When you and Nicole went with us we were not able to see the cauldron because the vog (volcanic gases and fog mixed together) was so thick. We could not see 10 feet in front of us.

We wanted to drive around Crater Rim but it was too dangerous and they closed the road.

We were able to drive out and see some lava flowing down a hill. It was far away but none the less amazing to think it was lava!

There was no viewable lava flowing directly into the ocean. Next time (Lord willing) we want to take a boat out to see the lava flow.

there is no telling where we will be in a year from now. Hows Houston growing on you, any luck with your degree there? Been to any sporting events, UH had a pretty good year, that was fun to follow.

If it weren't for computers... if we were stuck with typewriters... we'd all type with fewer mistakes. It's so easy to fix on the computer that we never learn to be careful. I back up a lot.

I think too much, too. The difference is that I've always just done what I thought I was supposed to do at the time. I never planned anything, never had any expectations for my life. I changed my major three times in college, but got through in 4.5 years anyway. (Fortunately, Computer Science was a new major at the time, not really filled out, and had lots of free electives, so my music classes weren't wasted as far as the major was concerned.) I don't know what I would have done had I not liked programming, but I think I wanted to be through so badly that I'd have stuck with it. It was time to be through. I was supposed to finish.

But my life has been a series of "logical next steps". I was never looking for a wife, I just happened across one. I never thought I'd get married before I finished college, but then, I never really thought about getting married. It surprised me when I found myself engaged when I still had a couple of years of school left. It seemed foolish, yet I didn't feel like it was my choice; it was what I was supposed to do.

I think that part of what Peni is saying is related to this. Stop trying to control things so much, and just move on. If you keep bailing out before you finish something, you'll never get on with your life. Then again, maybe she didn't mean that at all.

Regarding the southern thing, you're the one that doesn't pronounce the "L" in "talk"! Southerners are more precise with their communication. (That's a joke.) I would like to think that the English learn their language well, but I've been participating in a forum based in the UK, and they're just as horrible as Americans when it comes to spelling and grammar.

(This comment made extensive use of the backspace key, and was twice edited after posting.)

Alan's comment reminds me of this song.


Here are the lyrics.

Father
It's not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy,
To be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you've got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

Son
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again.
It's always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

Father
It's not time to make a change,
Just sit down, take it slowly.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
if you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.
(Son-- Away Away Away, I know I have to
Make this decision alone - no)
Son
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside,
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.
If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them They know not me.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.
(Father-- Stay Stay Stay, Why must you go and
make this decision alone?)

yeah me ether it would be interesting if you can

"Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly." - 2 Tim 2:16

"From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the unfaithful have a craving for violence." Prov 13:2

"The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences." Prov 18:21

I see your point that a word in itself is not sin, i completely agree. But the words that we consider "cuss" words, presently, have certain meanings when used to "cuss", mean something negative. The point is to speak positively and build up other members of the body. The bible obviously has so much to say of the importance of what we speak.

"There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking." Prov 29:20

Thomas Crapper (also known as John) had much to do with improving the toilet. It used to be called a crapper. That's where the term "taking a crap" and "going to the john" came from. We comprend what crap means today.

"For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" "Found Under Carnal Knowledge" "Fornication Under Consent of the King" It does not matter where the acronym for these sayings came from - we understand what it means.

Words in and of themselves are not sin in the fact that they are not alive and have no soul. Ergo they can not sin.

Viruses have no soul and no ability to choose so they can not sin even though they are alive. HIV itself can not sin.

We are instructed to shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 2Ti 2:16

Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. Eph 5:4

How we speak is important to God.

I suggest that although words or viruses themselves may not be sin - man has the ability and can make them sinful for himself.

In the same aspect as the man crying out to God to save him or to thank God is a good thing. The man who cries out God's name in anger or in vain is a bad thing. The word is the same but man has used the capability to make it sinful.

i've wondered this before...

I think the 2 Tim 2:16 and Eph 5:4 passages really address the issue: We are instructed to be careful about our speech. The practice of substituting other words for the ones our society considers to be vulgar isn't the answer. We should develop speech patterns that don't require these words or their substitutes.

I think we start with a disadvantage on this subject because it seems modern views of language are not quite the same as ancient. Simply consider that Jesus is called "Logos" the Word. The ancients had a much different view of the inherent power of words. As an earlier poster commented, our words are meant to build up the body, thus we should be very careful in the language we use as it has the power to be creative and destructive.

As there are a variety of passages that deal with avoiding certain types of words, "idle, vain, coarse" there should be no problem in seeing that "cuss words" are just one type of word group that should be avoided.

Dude you know I have pondered this before as well. Interested in seeing everyone's responses...heh heh.

I've thought about this myself. I think the words that are derogatory towards a person should definitely be avoided, because they tear down, rather than build up.
As for some of the other words, what's the difference between one particular word and "ouch" when I stub my toe? I'm honestly not sure.
(note to others who read this and don't know me...I don't use this language, just raising a question)

btw, I like to use http://www.etymonline.com to look up the origin of words. most explanations of cuss words (including those above) are urban legends.

I would respond that what constitutes a "bad word" is socially constructed and comes through associated meanings (conotations) for words used. Denotatively speaking, there is not much difference between calling someone a buthole and an a**hole. But one term is found more offensive or cutting than the other to most. That means that the way in which words are used within a population predict the extent to which they will be edifying to others. Sub-circles may use words differently than the general populace, which makes a special vernacular appropriate. But words that may be edifying in one population may be unedifying and tearing down in another. The impact that the word will have thus determines the rightness or wrongness of using it. As it says in Ephesians 4:29 we should select words that are "useful for building up." I choose not to use standard cuss words because it is hard to predict whether it will offend someone or what impression of Christianity it may present to a listener. Rare would be the occasion where I would need to use a cuss word to make an avenue for the positive influence of Christ.

Undoubtedly, though, the "evil speech" of Ephesians refers not just to one word offenses but sentences that hurt peoples feelings or are inappropriate.

I didn't really read the comments above, so forgive me if this is repeating something already said...

I've always wondered "who decided that was a bad word?" Is it only a bad word because somebody somewhere sometime used it as an insult? Somebody randomly decided that it was "bad"?

I don't know. Interesting thoughts.

Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Col. 4:6

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach-- Col. 1:21-22

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, ; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." I Pet 1:14-16

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. 1 Timothy 4:12

When someone meets me I want them to know I am a Christian, that I am different. Our words are often what they use to determine that. I don't know who decided what words are bad, but in our culture, using certain slang words, curse words, and euphamisms would not put us in the "above blame" or "holy" category. If we are looking for ways to 'fit in' and use language that most of the world uses, I think we should rethink our motives and about what God wants from us.Let's be a light in this world.

I agree about words just being... words. Letters strung together.

I think the more important point is in our influence, not in the usage or non-usage of a word itself. When society fully accepts a word, it no longer tarnishes a Christian's influence to use it. Take the word "pregnant" for example. Used to be considered tawdry... not so anymore.

And ditto to JDB.

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. 1 Timothy 4:12

Words have meaning. If a word is considered offensive in our present society, I believe it is best for Christian to refrain from using it. The same thing if it is offensive to our spiritual brother or sister. We should strive to be above reproach.

ha ha, thanks - Micah's my son, and we're friends with Frederic - I suspect that anyone who's reading Frederic's blogs could be one of his friends, too...I think it'll be ok. Thanks, though. :)

and I read your post - look at Matthew 15:18 and Luke 6:45, just to name a couple of passages.

I enjoyed this post discussion, thank you for posting it, Chris

Hey Chris, yesterday I saw someone who looked a lot like what I expect you'll look like in 20 years...I was at the FC bookstore (my TEN YEAR reunion!!), and it almost freaked me out! :-)

I just noticed that you said "out of vogue". That amused me so much.

Oh I have no clue who it was, just someone at Lectures.

yeah it dose its like these people dont have feelings for anybody eles but themselfs and one is a christain to

I would have rater met him in his adolesence when he was homeless and living with the jews... This is where he formed his maladaptive thoughts... He was a very political person and if only he was molded more corectly in his ambitions....

That is my 2 cents

That is so funny! There was nothing on my blog from you. I hung up the phone from our conversation and there was your :-).

Remember this from White Christmas?

Your ditto mad tom kid did not turn out right. *Fredrick's page.

it's interesting that you bring up that question because there comes a time in (we'll just say "Military operations") when there is a small window of opportunity and one must consider the collateral damage that might result from a high priority target. Of course today it equates to that of killing 1 person who has already carried out an action or has methodically planned out actions that would have the potential of carrying out catastrophic acts of violence/terrorism, while concurrently taking out innocent lives that he may have surrounded himself with. A common term for this way of thinking is "a necessary evil". But with the Hitler baby it's only 1 innocent life and has done nothing "yet". But I would still consider it a necessary evil. Everyone always hates to think about doing things like that, which is why they have people in my line of work do the things that no one likes to think about but yet allows them to sleep peacfully at night
This might be a tangent from what you might have been trying to get out of the answer,lol..but consider the space-time continuum effect. However noble the thought and right that action might have seemed independently in that frame of time, you would have to think about what type of alternate universe would be created and the actions that would follow. The possibilities are endless..Would the Jews somehow rise up and recreate the same acts and line of thoughts as the Germans did? Would it have been America that had been invaded. A better question is would you or any of us even exist right now?? If there wasn't a baby boomer generation (which ultimately resulted from the end of the war hitler created) would any of us be who we are today or even exist? If you answered yes, then you might also say that time and it's events would have carried itself out the same way with or without hitler, just in some other fashion. If no, then you must consider erasing your very existence..

After knowing a bit about the milt and then reading about Einstein's special relativity theory, you might have a lot to say..lol

I would simply make sure he got into art school.

Yea, but then people might ask Centigrade or Farenheit?

happy
holidays!

I cannot find the type of tub I wanted - which was big enough for at least two people, rectangle with a slightly sloped back and flat bottom. With a big enough tub, the jets don't get in the way and hurt when you lean back.

I looked for years in several states, online, and even at a professional Kitchen&Bath show in Chicago. Finding the one that I want proved impossible. I could not even find anyone to custom make what I want. I will not spend several thousands of dollars for something that is not what I want.

I do not want another jacuzzi b/c I do not want to bother with the crud that builds up in the jets. So I chose a regular tub that I can take a regular bath in. I am not even having a tiled surround built around the tub. In this case for this tub, less is more.

What would Hobo Potter do?

Did you see the S.S. Ticonderoga in the first video? Do you remember where that ship is now?

Thanks Son! Love you.

I thought they were nuts, too. The only rain was to come before the cold, so there really wasn't any chance of freezing overpasses. People just like to get all excited about things... panic is fun!

Thanks for the help!

Read her blog.

I thought you'd get a kick outta that! :-)

Yes, but I like Dream Theater and other progressive/jazz music who seem to say, "Time signatures? We don't need no stinking time signatures!"

The question is, if you killed Hitler's parents would Hitler have turned out to be Hitler? Or, if you made Hitler move to England?