No, Harry Potter does not have god like powers. I am excited about seeing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince which comes out some time this week. I am a huge fan of how the book ended, it's great when you're immersed in a story and the author is skillful enough to really make you care when something awful happens like someone dying. It'll be great, and if you know the story, this poster will probably give you just a little bitty shiver:
Pretty cool. So back to god like powers...I was thinking a bit about this funny little machine that sits on a table in our kitchen, a machine that has changed the way we live, that would cause the best minds 50 years ago to role their eyes, and the most imaginative minds to drool.
The microwave.
No, just kidding. I'm talking about my laptop. How ridiculous is it that I can multitask, absorbing information from dozens of news sources, reading the musings of friends all across the country and communicate with people all around the world, all from my kitchen table. I am a perfect example of how easy it is to squander this power. I am embarrassed to say that the majority of my time online is spent researching movies (ahem...see above), watching the trailers for these movies, and playing silly games.
The internet is a complicated place. You can skim along the top, using email and Facebook without realizing the potential there is, or you can dive in and be absorbed into the limitless flow of information. There is a risk in diving in, as it is just as easy to get lost in uselessness, to be tempted to places that lull your brain to complacency as it is to find connection with global and life deepening reality. The historian David McCullough spoke at our commencement back in May. He pointed to the fact that facts do not equal wisdom. I agree that we can "learn" all we want but without the maturity and intentionality to turn that knowledge into wisdom, we are fooling ourselves.
Yet this knowledge, the knowledge of what is happening around the world and the knowledge of how people are thinking about these things is crucial. It is crucial so that I can be equipped to appropriately engage the world. Our ability to connect with the world through computers, laptops and cell phones, while ridiculous, can serve to help us find meaning in what is happening all over the world.
t Living in this hyper connected "global village", with constant internet access, sometimes seems like we are sharing god like powers. This would be a great time to quote Spider Man's Uncle Ben. "With great power comes great responsibility!" like powers. Sorry, Spidey, you must be so sick of hearing that. Could these god-like powers lead us to be more God-like people? I believe it can, but I can attest to how easy it is to lose perspective, to spend hours playing games and reading about movies when there is so much more!
Okay thats enough musing for tonight. I still have yet to figure out what exactly these blog entries will be about. I will continue to experiment. Perhaps tomorrow I will talk a little more about what I've been reading in Matthew. As long as I find some excuse to involve Spider Man, then I'm golden. Cheers.
Since Friday we have been enjoying sublime summer weather that I had only dreamed of the week before. Unfortunately, for some reason unknown to me, my body decided to quit at the same time the sun decided to return to us. I have been a slimy gooey mess of sinus nastiness all weekend.
I am doing all I can to recover, because I don't want to miss any (more) work, and the longer I am sick, the more worried my Mom will be about me getting swine flu. It has been a good weekend, though. I am thankful for Allison coming on the 4th to take care of me and cheer me up. We walked around outside as much as I could, but spent a lot of time just sitting on the porch talking. It was neat seeing the Boston fireworks from a different perspective (last year we went in to the Esplanade to see the Pops)
So my days this weekend have consisted of reading, sleeping, watching a surprisingly enjoyable collection of movies on TV, and of course consistently filling up plastic bags (about 1 bag a day) with used tissues. This deserves a serious (Mr.) yuck:
After sleeping for the last 2 hours I feel much better than I did before I konked out. This is encouraging. I managed to make it through church this morning too - just barely. It was great to play piano again, although it is difficult to blow your nose while trying to play. Remember me in your prayers tomorrow - I am have an appointment at a travel clinic to get my shots for my tip to Kenya. I expect this to be a serious expense, and they have been unable to tell me how much I should expect to pay. Oh well! All will be well.
Today is the first day of July, and the rainy summer of 2009 continues! There are so many threads going on in my life, in these few minutes before I scoot over to work, I will give the 411. What the heck am I up to? Where am I going? What do I spend my time doing, and most importantly what is God showing me during these rainy days?
Well I am living with my brother Ryan and his roommate Leif in Quincy, MA. It is great fun living with Ryan again after 7 years. Last summer I lived by myself in a ghetto rented room in Taunton. I learned that I desperately need relationships to enjoy life. Sure introversion has its time and place, but last summer my introversion was more like an intro-plosion.
I am living here waiting for August 21st. On August 21st I will be leaving to volunteer at the African Nazarene University in Nairobi, Kenya. It has been a long process so far, one that is far from over. I will be spending 3 months working for their student development office, as well as apprenticing with their electricians (a different perspective on my EE degree, I know. I welcome the difference.) I am also open to the idea of staying longer (up to 6 months) if workable opportunities for service present themselves.
I am preparing financially, working at the friendly neighborhood Hannaford grocery store as a friendly neighborhood (but slightly incompetant) cashier. I will be working for the Center for Academic Services at ENC in the next few weeks, and I have been picking up various odd jobs, baby sitting the oh-so-dashing Allen Plante or slaving for the less-than-dashing Karl Giberson. :)
It is also a goal of mine to prepare for my trip professionally, making contacts with folks at various companies so that the obligatory 3 month period of painful job hunting is blunted a little on my return. I will also be rocking various MATLAB projects and programming ventures while at ANU. If I decide to pick up HTML, I assure you that Ardrey Blog 2.0 will be totally rocking.
First and foremost I see this summer as a time to prepare spiritually for what should be a life transforming experience in Kenya. I have been reading alot, and welcome any suggestions for books on spiritual growth, leadership and devotion. Also, I would love to hear of any suggestions for books about Africa...fiction, history, current events - I'm not picky!
I am super excited that this blog is now in opporations. I will give me a reason to do things I want to do, but sometimes fail to. It will hopefully allow people to keep up with me, and keep us all connected! That is so important, connection. I hope to make this blog enjoyable to read, and consistent enough so I can establish the habit for my trip to Africa. Until then, I hope you enjoy reading about my no-less-real, but far less grand adventures in Quincy!
t Living in this hyper connected "global village", with constant internet access, sometimes seems like we are sharing god like powers. This would be a great time to quote Spider Man's Uncle Ben. "With great power comes great responsibility!" like powers. Sorry, Spidey, you must be so sick of hearing that. Could these god-like powers lead us to be more God-like people? I believe it can, but I can attest to how easy it is to lose perspective, to spend hours playing games and reading about movies when there is so much more!
