You can safely assume that the head of PR for Pizza Hut didn't wake up today thinking "I wonder what we should do about one of our stores' phone numbers being found sewn into the clothes that Osama bin Laden was wearing when he was killed?"
Writers of PR textbooks around the globe are busy doing revisions so they can add a chapter on "Terrorist Affiliation Response."
You know you've pulled a jerk move when two different people post pictures of your parking job online and ask for comments. Here's a tip: if you're that worried about your paint job then take up two spaces on the far end of the lot (a minimally jerky move) rather than two spaces that are right outside the entrance (a maximally aholey move).
I received an email about an event, Mission for Mason, being held on May 14 at the Ten O One Sports Club in Winston-Salem to help a local boy fighting an aggressive brain cancer. From the event website:
The goal of the event is to donate 100% of profits from admission, food sales, raffle ticket sales and also a portion of the bar sales to Mason’s family of eight to offset medical costs and to provide support through the duration of his treatments. More importantly, we want to celebrate and lift up Mason, showing him that hundreds of individuals who have been touched by his firm resolve and bravery will be compelled to to rally behind him at a gigantic children's event and music festival for all ages on a sweet spring day in May !
No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.
~Aesop
I really like what Rex Hammock has written about the photo of the White House situation room during the attack on bin Laden's compound. I like it because I had exactly the same reaction when I first saw it, but I wasn't smart enough to do what he did in determining that the focus of the picture is really Hillary Clinton's expression:
But, upon further examination, I’ve decided this photo’s true power can best be understood by looking at it, as one can do on Flickr, at the original size it was posted, 4996 x 2731 pixels (click to slide show, then “view all sizes). At this size, you can see the photo as its photographer saw it through the lens — or the photo-editor who chose it might.
At 4996 x 2731, you can immediately see the photo’s focal point is Hillary Clinton — more specifically, her eyes.
The photo tells a story of an entire room of people, but this is a photograph of Hillary Clinton. And, frankly, it is one of the most powerful, honest photographs you’ll ever see of a public figure.
I do not support the death penalty, and I suspect that makes me part of the minority view here in North Carolina. I don't support it for multiple reasons, some based on practicality and some on my faith which is rather complicated given my religious background. Boiled down to its base my belief, a belief that is rooted in my interpretation of what I've been taught about Christianity in multiple churches, is that you can't justify the taking of one man's life because he took others' lives.
As with so many things it's much more complicated to apply such a belief in real life than in a church on a sunny Sunday morning, and it's especially complicated when you're talking about a mass murderer like Osama bin Laden. When one man is responsible for the death of thousands how can you not be justified in taking his life? In bin Laden's case I don't think we really had to struggle with that issue because according to all the news accounts I've seen he went down fighting. If he'd been captured alive we'd have had a debate about the proper course to take, but I don't think there's any doubt he'd have been executed and the only questions would have been about the process of getting him executed – where he would have been detained, how he would have been tried, how he would have been executed. I'm not going to say that I'm feeling regret that bin Laden was killed, I'd be lying if I did, but I will say that I'm relieved that we don't have to have the spectacle of a trial and a debate about the propriety of execution. I was struggling with these thoughts this morning when I read Esbee's post sharing a letter from her priest about bin Laden and I have to say he's expressed exactly what I've been feeling. I'm going to share it here and I hope she'll forgive me for lifting it in its entirety (I think it's important that it be read by as many people as possible):
Dear Parishioners,
Some years ago, our national conscience was pierced with a dagger that penetrated our hearts, our minds, and our lives. Lives lost in New York City, Virginia, and Pennsylvania touched lives of people across this nation and around the world. The voids left in so many lives will never, never be filled or replaced. One can merely pray that those who suffered loss might someday know peace, and that those who died will find eternal rest in the arms of their "Creator, Redeemer and Friend," to quote from our cherished Anglican hymnody.
This evening we heard the news of the death of the mastermind and chief perpetrator of that assault on human life and the aspirations of so many to make this world a better, safer, and more godly place. Whilst, I admit, I will sleep perhaps more restfully this evening, it brings me no great joy to celebrate at the death of someone, however evil, who, from his birth was created in the image and likeness of God (even as I grapple greatly with that concept).
I recall 11th September 2001. The images of the towers collapsing, heroes, preserving our national monuments proclaiming , "Let's roll," and the sound and the stench emanating from the Pentagon into our home (in Old Town, Alexandria, at the time) will never be forgotten. The images of those in other parts of the world who would call themselves our enemies, rejoicing in our shock, sorrow, and loss are also still clear and vivid.
That said, the words of our Saviour are also enduring, "Love your enemies," "Pray for those who persecute you." We are called to be a "A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that [we] may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light." In the spirit of him who died for us and was raised from the dead to bring us life eternal, my prayer is that we might all marshal that which is good and salutary within us so that the image which others may have of us is not one of gloating over the death of one individual, but, rather, how we might employ this incident to be for us a new beginning so that all of God's creatures might now know precious they are not only in God's eyes, but in our hearts as well.
I remain, as ever
Your Rector,
Albert
I know a lot of Christians, myself included, who struggle with forgiveness. After reading Rick Reilly's column I'd say Lewisville's own superstar Chris Paul could probably teach us a thing or two. Not many people would seek a second chance for their grandfather's killers:
"Even though I miss my granddad," Paul told me, "I understand that he's not coming back. At the time, it made me feel good when I heard they went away for life. But now that I'm older, when I think of all the things I've seen in my life? No, I don't want it. I don't want it…"
No, what floors me about Chris Paul is his humanity. If strangers had bound my weak-hearted grandfather, beat him for no reason and killed him for the cash in his wallet — strangers who to this day have not shown a thimbleful of contrition — I'd want them in prison 100 years after they were in the dirt.
Chris Paul once wrote that his grandfather "taught me more things than I could ever learn with a Ph.D."
One of them must've been love.
Not much to add to the video other than to tell you it's incredible. The part about ADHD really hits home considering we live in NC (you'll know what I mean when you see the map). I'd love to have this shown at the next WSFCS board meeting or, even better, I'd love to have Sir Ken Robinson invited to speak to them.
I'm not a music afficianado by any stretch of the imagination, so it wouldn't surprise anyone that Yo-Yo Ma is probably the only classical musician that I can name. I don't know what the experts think of Ma but I think he does an admirable job of promoting the arts, and I love that he's so open to doing things outside of traditional venues for cellists. The video below (found on BookofJoe) is a perfect example:
The video was accompanied by this quote from Spike Jonze:
"The other day, I was lucky enough to be at an event to bring the arts back into schools and got to see an amazing collaboration between Yo-Yo Ma and a young dancer in LA, Lil Buck. Someone who knows Yo-Yo Ma had seen Lil Buck on YouTube and put them together. The dancing is Lil Buck’s own creation and unlike anything I've seen."
That quote reminded me of an article I read a while back in Wired about the impact that Youtube and other video sharing sites on the rate of innovation:
"A series of challenge videos by rival groups of street dancers had created an upward spiral of invention as they strove to outdo one another. The best videos were attracting tens of thousands of views. Much more than pride was at stake. Chu knew something weird was happening when he saw a YouTube video of Anjelo Baligad, a 6-year-old boy from Hawaii who had all of the moves of a professional.
In fact, he wasn’t as good as a professional—he was better. This tyke, known as Lil Demon, was demonstrating tricks few adult dancers could pull off. If 6-year-olds could do this now, Chu imagined, what was dance going to look like in 10 years? As he remarked at last February’s TED conference, where the LXD gave a breathtaking performance: “Dancers have created a whole global laboratory for dance. Kids in Japan are taking moves from a YouTube video created in Detroit, building on it within days and releasing a new video, while teenagers in California are taking the Japanese video and remixing it to create a whole new dance style in itself. This is happening every day. And from these bedrooms and living rooms and garages with cheap webcams come the world’s great dancers of tomorrow.”
The American Basketball Association has three expansion teams slotted for North Carolina and one of them, the Triad Tre4 Cheetahs, will call Winston-Salem home.
One item of potential interest to a few guys down at the Y: tryouts for the three teams will be held May 21 in Durham. Registration is $125, but hey, dreams don't come cheap these days.
I don't know if they play with the red, white and blue ball of Dr. J's ABA, but they do have some wacky rules like the old ABA did. My faves:
Could be fun to watch.
Fec posted this a few days back and I just had the chance to watch it. Let's just say it didn't lighten my heart.
Befuddled 