and a week later...

now playing: the derek webb girl songs. what a great playlist. good for when you're missing someone.

Well folks, I've had a pretty long, great couple of weeks. Sit back and relax, I'm going to tell you all about it!


Rebecca came to visit on the 20th of June. I was pretty excited to see her. She came up with her parents, who are family friends and hadn't seen my parents in 4 or 5 years. It was good to all be together. We got to see some old friends who were passing through (Betsy and Laurie, from ESD where my parents were missionaries for 8 years), and generally to hang out a lot. There was even an attempt at a trivial pursuit game, which -- to be honest -- Rebecca and I were losing. Big time.





Anyway, Rebecca's parents left on friday, and Rebecca stayed an extra week. We started out that time by going to Peterborough to hang out with some friends.

To our left, we have Luke and Matt with Rebecca. It was the first time Rebecca met Luke, and the first time she'd seen Matt in a LONG time. Luke had just come back from Europe, and every story started out with "So, we were walking the streets of Munich..." or "We were in Berlin and..." Yeah, SHUT UP!!! ;-) Anyway, it was pretty hilarious.



So, then we went to Caleb and Megan's wedding. It was gorgeous! Well done guys... it was pretty darn cool. In addition to the fact that Caleb and Megan got hitched, and we got to see that, Rebecca got to meet a lot of my friends (she's detailed it on her blog, you can check that out). It was a blast, and it was super cool too. You know, it's pretty neat when two parts of your world merge and everything works out great. I really enjoyed getting to introduce Rebecca to everyone. She's pretty cool, and I'm pretty happy that she seems to like hanging out with me.


I lucked out, and I got to take a couple of half days off work. We got to do touristy / date-y things... We went to Bloomfield (in Prince Edward County... the only Island County) one day, ate ice cream at slickers (which is fantastic... highly recommended), and took pictures of funny things. Yep, like Dead People's Stuff Antiques. How funny is that? Prince Edward County is great - there's like a MILLION bed and breakfasts, which I'm sure are good for something, and lots of little chicky shops - which I wasn't forced to enter on this trip. Lucky! We stopped on the way home at Zwicks park right on the bay of Quinte, it was awful pretty. We looked at water,


played in the park, and did silly stuff like that. It was great. Then, a couple of days later, we started a bit of a minigolf tournament that -- I hope -- will continue for many years to come. I won the game we played in Ontario. Not by a lot, but I won it. I was pretty proud.

Anyway, on Canada day we woke up early to drive down to West Virginia. We lost two hours at the border (if you ever want to hear a funny-ish story, ask me about the jamaican guy who was running between cars with me on the way to the bathrooms). Then, we got lost for about an hour when I got us lost in Erie, PA. We never did find Mercyhurst college - but I'm sure we will one day. And when we do, many ridiculous pictures will result.


So, we got to West Virginia Friday night. West Virginia is a pretty state (see picture to the right). As we pulled up Rebecca's driveway, I heard a funny noise in the car, and as I backed in, it was loud... but we figured that "it was probably nothing." We went out Saturday morning to play round two of the mini golf tournament. (yeah, I lost this time, big time. Really big. If Rebecca's short game hadn't fallen apart on the last few holes, I think she would've won by 12 strokes. As it was, it was a 5 or 6 stroke victory. She also beat me at p'diddle on the way from Ontario to West Virginia... I can't win, seriously.)

Anyway, we got home after eating some lunch (at a restaurant where the entire staff welcomes every guest to come through the door) and I decided (owing to the very loud noises every time the car turned) that I'd let someone smarter than me look at the car. Rebecca's dad took the car out for a drive and to a mechanic friend of his to check out. Turns out the coil over the strut was broken. And of course, by the time we figured that out on Saturday the parts places were closed. So, repairs were going to have to wait out the long weekend. I got to spend extra time with Rebecca. What an awesome deal! We did stuff with her family, celebrated the fourth of July, and generally just had a blast. I even golfed (real golf) for the first time ever. It was a blast... even if I did awfully. I guess I need some practise. Also, Rebecca and I WON a round of Trivial Pursuit. Are you impressed? I sure am.

And oh yeah, we even got to see some fireworks. Anyway, on the morning of the fifth, we went down to the ford dealership to hopefully by the part - turns out, there's a "campaign" on for that part (I think campaign is a polite term for recall), and they fixed it for free. So, an extra few days with my girl, the chance to hang out with her family, and a car repair for free. I really got the best deal possible.

Oh, but when I got home, the mazda had a flat. Meh. You win some, you lose some. That was pretty winsome. :-)

Anyway, this has been your "where the heck has andymack been" update. Pretty soon, I'll blog about some metaphysical things just to make sure you're all entertained. For now, thank you, you're beautiful, good night!

from West Virginia

now playing: the sound of birds singing, and the whirring of my girlfriend's laptop's hard drive.

I'm sitting in the living room of Rebecca's house. We drove most of the day yesterday to get here, and now, having slept quite well, I am ready to face another day. It seems like a beautiful morning out -- kinda foggy, not too hot, like I said the birds are singing, and I'm in West Virginia. It's a very beautiful place. The drive down yesterday proved that fact. Just a gorgeous state. Of course, with all the mountains, and a speed limit of 70 mph, and the intermittent-at-best guard rails, well... the driving feels more adventurous than it is. Also, for those of you who wonder, it's more fun to do the trip in the summer than in the winter. Guaranteed.

The past couple of weeks have been great. Rebecca and I have gone to weddings, gone to movies, gone to places I've never been (searching for ice cream in bloomfield, for example), and in general, hung out. It's been a lot of fun, primarily because the company has been so good. I won't lie to you, long distance relationships can be challenging at times, but man, it makes you appreciate the time you get together a lot more.

So I'm going to close with that I think. The trip has been good. The trip back will hopefully go well as well. I'll talk at you guys again soon.

musings

Now playing: the tail end of brainstew by green day. Speaking of whom, I found a great remix of boulevard of broken dreams and wonderwall by oasis. The songs are fairly identical. It makes me laugh. That's playing now.

So, it's been a little while, eh? Yeah, I guess. A little. Happy father's day to the dads out there. Especially mine. i love you man.

What can I tell you? Matt came down for the weekend, that was pretty darn cool. I miss him a lot, and hope his summer at Elim Lodge is great.

I'm pretty wicked excited right now - Rebecca is coming to visit. Someone (I don't remember who... Matt Cook?) told me that I don't blog about her enough. Rebecca is my (insert favorite relationship word here), and she's from pretty far away (that's the only way I can find anyone to put up with me.) Anyway, she's coming to visit with her parents, and i can't wait. It'll be good to see her and good to hang out.

That's my mini update for now, i guess. Now I can say that I updated my blog. Peace!

thoughts and stuff

now playing: video killed the radio star / the buggles.

So, for the past 24 hours, I've watched the fallout from the Mac/Intel deal. I'm kind of embarassed—a long time Mac-vocate, I had to be alerted to the deal by my buddy gurr a day after it occured. Sheesh. But, seriously though. In a year, we'll be able to buy macs that run on intel processors (obviously, the term mactel will come into colloquial usage or something). I think I'm excited, except that now the whole XBox360 and PS3 use PowerPC technology thing is pretty well irrelevant. Still though, the possibilities of Mac on Intel are pretty cool, and I for one say "go for it!" But, I also say "Yeah, i won't be upgrading until I can get a Mac on Intel." Up til recently, I thought a MacMini would be a good idea. But, why do it now when i can wait a year-ish, and get a MacMinIntel? For you non-nerds, this is the equivalent of Superman deciding to accept Robin as his sidekick. It's pretty wild.

In other news, read this article cause it's good (thanks to Adagio County Independent.)

All right, I'm done for now. Go play a guitar or something!

brown shoes and paper cuts, oh my!

now playing: goldie's last day by the late, great pfr

hello blogosphere! It's Tuesday. Wait, no, it's monday night. I just got done working a little OT (which is a lot like a hockey game, but less exciting). Today as I was on the phone discussing our company and what we offer, I managed to give myself THE WORST PAPER CUT, EVER!!!! No word of a lie. It actually hurt quite significantly. It went like this: "Yeah, hard cover is an option but *pause while Andrew thinks of words he'd like to say* sorry... yeah, hard cover is an option but..." It was quite humorous - much akin to the time that I stapled my finger while selling a pair of cell phones. That time, i was way manlier (probably cause there was a 50 dollar commission in it for me)—I actually completed the sale (while the lady was like... "Is there a staple in your finger?") before I took the staple out.

A pair of brown shoes can be a man's best friend. Comfortable brown shoes are even more likely to acheive that status. I spent the last two months searching for brown shoes that would fit. Sound ridiculous? Yeah, well... it is. Everytime a freak like me goes to look for shoes, it's a bit of a laborious process. When you're a 13-14w, it's hard to figure out just precisely what fits. In the last two months, i've tried on a pair of vans 13s (way too small), a pair of walmart 13W (way too small), several pairs of payless 14s (some too small, some too ugly). Finally on Saturday I saw two pairs of brown "old man" shoes (the very best kind!). They had both a 14w and a 13. Obviously, since up til this point my experience had been heavy in the "too small, freak" vein, I tried the 14w first. For once, I felt like a normal person: they were huge. Positively, absolutely too big. It was awesome. Luckily the 13s fit.

Okay, so the men out there are going "why is he rambling about buying shoes? Is this andymack's blog? Did I get the address wrong?" I feel like my shoe buying experience has mirrored the downfall of customer-oriented sales environments. It used to be that people in stores wanted to help you. They would go out of their way. In all my time shopping for shoes in the past 2 months (probably 4 hours total - and I'm not a shopper, i prefer to go in, grab what I need, and book it) I have found one helpful employee. I think his name was Chad. When I told Chad that I was looking for shoes, he actually got my size and went "in the back" (aside - what does it mean when they say "let me check in the back"? I wonder what's really back there) to find the two pairs they had at that size in the entire store. Juxtapose that experience with the girls at payless... no word of a lie, this is how the pitch went:

her: "Is there anything I can help you with today?"
me: "Yeah, I'm looking for shoes, and I need them in an abnormally large size like a 14."
her: "Wow, that's too bad." *walks away*

What the heck? Isn't she getting paid to help me buy shoes? Isn't it about the consumer? So, while I'm glad about my brown shoes, they really are a sign of the end of western civilization as we know it... retail isn't about the consumer any more. I guess I'll just take my brown shoes and walk.

what about that nut from the observer... Frank something... you know, the one who's in love with his typewriter?

on / off relationships

NP: recruiting sargeant by great big sea. gotta love the sea.

So, I have, or appear to have, an on / off relationship with my blog. When it's on, boy is it on. When it's off, not much can get me motivated to write. Then, I get frustrated with never screaming "listen to me, oh please, listen to me" (basically the content of a blog post, no?) and so I start again. Wash, rinse, repeat until hair acheives desired softness.

Anyway, it bugs me. I read serious writers, and they all write something--anything at all--at least once a day. That's how they pull off the whole "Yes, I do what I love and manage to subsist on it." I envy them that. Not so much the money (although money isn't "the worst thing in the world"--just the root of evil), but the doing what they love and pulling it off.

I was reading about the Lemony Snicket dude -- how brilliant is that (note - I am not speaking to the content of the books... I have only seen the movie, and probably won't ever read the books. I will note that I'm not sure how gung-ho I am about kids books trending darker. Seriously, I was in the kids book section at Chapters yesterday and WHA! Talk about darkness)... he creates a character and then lets the character write the books. That's smart! And, it makes for some pretty good jokes.

So, i guess that's it for my "On" post. I guess I'm back on for now.

Photos from Jenn and Jord's wedding

Hi Guys. Jenn and Jordan are now the newest branch of the Webb Family, and that's pretty stinking cool. I've uploaded the best of my photos from the weekend to www.photobucket.com. You can login with the username andrewmackay and the password mackay. If you want to actually get prints, you can contact me and I'll send you the original files (about 2x the resolution of those posted to photobucket.com... basically way better for printing from). So, there you have it, or most of it. Also, there's photographic evidence that I'm actually fractionally taller than Kara, and I'm excited about that!

My friend Matt Cook is a dad

Dear friends, surf on over to http://matthewcook.blogspot.com and rejoice in their gladness. How cool is that!

also, read this...

Hokey dinah. I can only imagine one better way to see star wars than the way this guy managed it. What a neat experience.

There is nothing like...

now playing: high noon by andrew peterson.

There's nothing quite like driving through country side in spring time and listening to folk music while you do it. We went to Peterborough today. It was a good trip. We saw family and had a good time.

I think watching the farm process is good for a man. As we drove down highway 28 we passed unplowed fields. We also passed freshly plowed fields. In between the two, we passed a field that was just getting started. There was a man in a tractor (yes, in... not on. Tractors are way fancier than how a cidiot imagines them) pulling a plow behind him. In the manner of any imperfect analogy, it reminded me of the work of God. Sometimes my heart is a lot like an unplowed field - hard, caked together, kinda nasty. You can tell that maybe something grew there before, but you have to stop to wonder if anything ever will again. All that's really necessary is some work. It's encouraging to see that process taking place.

I guess that's it for me. I need a cup of tea. No more rhymes, I mean it. Does anybody want a peanut?

read this

now playing: zombie by the cranberries.

In the spirit of my previous post, read this article about absolutes and evangelical culture. I think it's a good read, and it's short too.

animal crackers

Now playing: don't tell me, the avril and central vac, the mom.

I bought animal crackers. You know, animal crackers—the popular children's snack; predecessor to Goldfish and other gimmicky kids snacks: what were the graham cracker bear things? I totally can't remember. I'm actually presently looking quite forward to enjoying some animal crackers with my tea. Which has now steeped for far too long. One sec. One tip on animal crackers before I move on: don't buy the cheap ones: they all look like mutated bisons. All of them. 'Cept maybe the lion, cause he's skinnier.

So, here's what's been bugging me about my thought processes of late. There is no synthesis. It's not like I don't have a solid grasp on who I am or anything dumb like that, rather I do not think critically and incisively about the events that take place around me or that I read about. I read about the pastor who left the church after the whole political thing blew up in his face and think "Hmm, I wonder what happened in NHL negotiations today." This reveals two things actually. 1. I'm really, really dumb. Nothing happened in NHL negotiations today! Duh, I already knew that, cause nothing ever happens in NHL negotiations. So, that was just stupid. 2. I've slipped into a dangerous apathy.

If I'm going to be a true Christian—a thinking Christian whose worldview impacts the way he sees the world around him, whose desire is to see change (not necessarily governmental or institutional) and to have an impact, I'm going to have to change that. "'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise' (Eph. 5:14-15).

Yeah. So, lets challenge each other as a generation to not fall into the same traps of apathy and self-centeredness that have plagued us for so long. Lets try to have a sphere of awareness that is encompassing, not just obsessed with whether or not the NHL plays hockey this year, or whatever other mundanity may be easy to obsess about.

Welp, I hope that made some sense to someone other than me.

everybody's working for the weekend?

now playing: video killed the radio star // the presidents of the united states of america, covering the buggles.

Hiya folks! It's the end of a Tuesday, and I'm not too sad to see it go. (You'll note that the comma in that sentence was necessary as it was splitting two complete sentences (subject and predicate) joined by a conjunction.) I realized today at work that I've turned into one of those people who live for weekends. I guess that to a certain degree everyone does it... but, it can't be healthy. I guess I haven't really capitalized on the things about my job that i enjoy and can be happy about. (You'll notice that, while there was a conjunction in it, the preceding sentence did NOT need a comma as the conjunction joined a compound predicate. Basically, the easiest way to distinguish is to ask yourself "is there a new subject?" If not, then no comma. If so, then throw the comma before the conjunction. Of course, when you're separating items in a list or a series, there's a whole different set of rules (including the dreaded serial comma). We'll handle that next week or something.) There's absolutely no reason to constantly rush headlong through life looking forward to future events. That sort of an attitude is simply silly, wasteful, and immature. (<-- Serial comma... did you see it?) So, I guess i need to take a page from monty python and "Always look on the bright side of life."

Good tip. This message brought to you by Elements of Style and the Chicago Manual of Style. Your ad could go here next post. Contact me at thisspaceforsale@orsomething.com.

resigned detachment

Now playing: Big Yellow Taxi, Counting Crows. Heh. Ironic.

I'm struggling with how to interact with the world. I look at the news (yes Justin, at www.foxnews.com) and I have a hard time not going "meh, who cares?" It just seems easier to not be concerned at all about the world around me. Why should I bother? I've got enough to worry about, darn it.

If I was being dishonest, I'd probably blame my eschatology. Afterall, everyone knows that a dispensationalist - even a progressive one - can't have a positive outlook on the direction the world is going. On the one hand, that's kinda true. On the other hand, when you look at the news and the leading story is about two second graders being found stabbed to death, it's hard to understand how anyone could have a positive outlook on the ultimate direction of mankind and history.

I know better. My eschatology does lend itself to caring about the individuals who populate the world. They need Jesus, and how.

So, it ends up being far more basic than that. It ends up being a selfishness thing. Cause ultimately, I sell myself on the fact that I'm better than them, and more deserving of good things; ultimately, I convince myself that loving myself is really the best thing to do.

Why am I telling you this? Cause confession is good for the soul? I'm not sure. What I do know is that my perspective is off. I guess starting from a selfish perspective leaves you with no choice but determining in the end that it's all about numero uno.

Blah blah blah, I'm rambling.

You should read matt cook's blog. It's funny. I'm not only a member, I'm also a client.

Wow. Maybe I'll come back when I can act like maybe the world isn't all about me, and make some logically sound, relevant arguments. G'night!

what a funny world

now playing: Am I Wrong by Love Spit Love / from the Angus Soundtrack.

We live in a funny world - a world of instant publishing, where anyone can have a platform, anyone can spread a message, and supposedly everyone has a chance. I was thinking about this as I started a book today that was writtin in the early 19th century. The author had been rejected (like most traditional authors go through today, at least for a while) outright for her first book. Her second book managed to find a publisher (for good reason: I won't mention the title, cause it's a little lame, but she uses lots of big words to describe people, and she's very british), and she lucked out. It's not like she could've started a blog or written a book on a web page. She couldn't have published an E-book in PDF format for free. We've got it easy.

I think a little bit of everyone wants to be a writer. It's inherent to our nature to want to leave something behind, something permenant. The written word is really one of the few tangible things that tends to stick around if it's done well. It's easy to want to be a part of that. It's really a lot harder to actually be a part of that.

If you do some research, you'll be told to write every day, write with discipline, write with soul, write what you love. Not that any of that stuff is bad, but darn it, I just need to write. Forget about it being good or bad: that's what revision is for.

Why am I lecturing you all? I have no idea. This one's really for me. Don't think about writing, don't intend to write. WRITE!

I think that's it for me, for now. You may notice updated links at the side. Visit some of them.

spring car cleaning

Now playing: ghetto-old petra songs... that make me feel like getting together with 30 or 40 other musicians and signing a lame song to try to raise money for aging Christian rockers. Seriously, John Schlitt, Louie Weaver, and Bob... I can't remember Bob's last name... are going to need pensions pretty soon, and I understand Larry Norman could already use one.

So, it's that time of year that everyone loves: Spring. In spring, bible college students form couples like it's going out of style. In spring, people start to exercise again, cause winter's over and the extra layer of blubber is no longer necessary (unless you live in ohio, where you can possible have 30 cm of snow on the second last weekend of april. Gosh.). And, in spring, you get to clean your car out. You know what I'm talking about... wrestle out the shop vac, try to figure out why it smells like it got in a fight with a Christmas tree (always take the easy answer - it must've just got in a fight with a Christmas tree. Way better than finding out that your dad loaned it to the local sawmill to aid in clean up efforts. Gosh), wipe down all the dusty surfaces, try to figure out what all the new noises under the hood are. Of course, with my mechanical capabilities, I was able to determine that my car had a motor. I felt like I had made a substantial discovery, so I celebrated by giving up and getting back to cleaning—at least I understand that part. It's nice to have a clean car - nicer if it's a nice clean car, but I guess i can't win 'em all.

Life just keeps on rolling. And, that's a good thing, but sometimes it all just seems weird. If I could sit down and drink coffee with you, I'd tell you stories, and you'd be like "a, he's self absorbed, b, God's plan is funny and awesome, c, no one else thinks in lists like me, so no one else would get to c." Anyway, things are going well, I am happy, and I think (for todd and matty who will care), I actually wrote a song the other night.

Alright, i gotta go. I smell like I was operating a shop vac that got in a fight with a Christmas tree. Go figure.

remember when?

i'm listening to various rock and roll songs and enjoying it.

Do you remember when you lost your imagination? I remember even up to the age of 13 (i know, loser?) playing some serious lego with my brothers (who will remained unnamed for their own protection), and man... we had imagination. We would make whole cities... okay, more frequently they were army out posts... and we'd have people who had lives... or at least armies... and we'd have a blast.

WHAT HAPPENED? How come I can't think that way anymore? It's almost like with the media saturation I've put myself in, I don't ever have two creative thoughts to rub together. I stopped caring about the fantastic and instead became obsessed with the mediocre. I think that, to some degree or another, that's probably true of most of us. I'll concede that there MUST be exceptions, cause otherwise we wouldn't have things like Calvin and Hobbes (come back Mr. Watterson, please, come back!), or Ender's Game, or the Lord of the Rings... at least, the books. But, I think that for most of us, reading other people's imaginitive spewing forths is probably as close as we get. We're constantly surrounding ourselves with noise and things to occupy us. Even as I'm doing this, my computer features Hootie and the Blowfish (pre-burger king ad days), there's some dvds waiting to be watched, and some laundry to fold and stuff. Mundane. If i try real hard, I can explain it away with "well, that's real life." Realistically though, that' s not real life -- it's life the way we've fashioned it. And it's not cool. So, take the time to imagine something... there's nothing wrong with imagination. Or playing with lego, either. (Is legos the plural of lego? does it matter?) Gosh, a little more media saturation, and we'll all be brain dead.

someone else's words

I'm sitting here, listening to Andrew Peterson's Carried Along album. This guy can write. BUY HIS ALBUMS, seriously. I did, and I'll never regret it.

And actually, Mr. Peterson is the focal point of this particular post. He's been very candid in his last few journal posts on his website. I recommend that everyone who is a fan of Christians playing music go read his words, just in terms of understanding what their world is like. He also has some ideas for what we can do to help, which brings up pretty well my favorite quote:

You can also let other people know about the
music--especially that they don't have to force themselves to
like every song on the local Christian station. Being a
Christian doesn't mean suddenly liking the same kind of
music as every other soccer mom-Sunday School teacher in
your city (which is the demographic I've heard Christian
radio bases their format on). I always ask myself, "What
about the rest of us?" Those of us who are more ministered
to by songs with artistry, honesty, music that's raw and
compelling? I believe there are millions of people in the
world who would prefer the kind of music I'm speaking of to
what they hear on the radio, but they just don't know it
exists, or where to find it. You can spread the word.
(from andrew-peterson.com/journals.php)

Some good words by a good man and a great musician. I wish I could've said that, but since I didn't, I'll rephrase... I don't care what genre you like, be it punk, pop, or a little down-home folk-rock—find musicians who are genuinely good at what they do and write good music that says something. Then, support those musicians. Go to concerts, talk about them in your blogs, do everything you can to let other people know that they are out there. Darn it. I dunno, i guess it just gets frustrating how Christians tend not to support the real artists in their communities and beyond.

In other news, well... I'm mostly working, spending a fair deal of time making long distance phone calls (to antarctica, I swear. I run... ya, I run an arena penguin football team. We're trying to draft some new talent, and it's not easy. It's not like I'm calling a girl. Gosh! :-) ). I'll post more this weekend—for once a weekend where I'm not travelling around! YES!

Keep it real.

21:retrospective

now playing: Noel and Liam and their buds. Although, with as much as they hate each other, you'd think they'd have a hard time finding anyone else to jam with them. I guess there are advantages to making lots of money.

I'm embarking on my 22nd circling of the sun. It's kinda exciting and daunting and all of those things, but it's also kinda... blase. I guess it all depends on what you do with it; what you pursue. I hope my 22nd time around is better than the 21st. I think I'm learning some things lately. I want to share one of them with you. There's a danger in even saying it outloud, for, as the same author I'm about to quote points out later in his book, it can be easy to become good at being a teacher or a pastoral type (ie, sounding wise) without actually ever knowing God.

I picked up a copy of JI Packer's Knowing God the other day. It's possibly the best book money I've spent lately. It's a pretty good book. You know a book is going to be amazing when you're floored by the intro.

"In A Preface to Christian Theology, John Mackay [no relation to yours truly] illustrated two kinds of interest in Christian things by picturing persons sitting on the high front balcony of a Spanish house watching travellers go by on the road below. The 'balconeers' can overhear the travellers' talk and chat with them; they may comment critically on the way that the travellers walk; or they may discuss questions about the road, how it can exist at all or lead anywhere, what might be seen form different points along it, and so forth; but they are onlookers, and their problems are theoretical only. The travellers, by contrast, face problems which, though they have their theoretical angle, are essentially pracical—problems of the 'which way to go' and 'how to make it' type, problems which call not merely for omprehension but for decision and action too. Balconeers and travellers may htink over the same area, yet their problems differ... In relation to evil, the balconeer's problem is to find a theoretical explanation of how e4vil can consist with God's sovereignty and goodness, but the traveller's problem is how to master evil and bring good out of it... Or take the problem of the Godhead; while the balconeer is aksing how one God can conceivably be three, what sort of unity three could have, and how three who make one can be persons, the traveller wants to know how to show proper honour, love and trust toward the three persons who are now together at work ot bring him out of sin to glory. (p. 7-8)


A quick clarification: JI is certainly not arguing that theology is bad, just that without application it is useless. He's right. It's time for us, especially us who climb the steps to the balcony so easily, to get down again, and start walking the road. Remember how I said it was easy for me to be cynical and presume I'm better than everyone else? This is why. Cause I sit in my balcony all day long and critique everyone else. Eventually, if we stay in the balcony, we end up like the old guys from the muppets. Kinda amusing to listen to for 10 seconds once a week, but otherwise quite pase, cause they're irrelevant.

21:retrospective... sitting in the balcony just won't do. Get walking.

there's looking for a date, and then there's desperate

Given the topic at hand, somebody told me by the killers seemed appropriate, or not.

Hi kids. Before I launch into a post on the topic of dating, i want to say that the serious side of me agrees with my friend megan when she talked about dating. I know where she's coming from and was there fora while myself. God plans the seasons of our lives for a good reason. When the right person comes along, that's an awesome thing. But if they haven't yet, that's an awesome thing too, cause God's still working on stuff. In making light of dating below, I certainly don't mean to be frustrating to anyone, nor to slight God's sovereignty even in these things.

Now, on to inane-ity. Read this. Yep... now you don't even need to go to one of those dating websites to find a date... just do your shopping like you normally would! Except, with a red bow on your cart. Go figure. Man, I wonder if Walmart will start offering some discount relationship counselling, too? That'd be great. And perhaps a "valu" wedding chapel out back... wait, they'd just have to convert the flower section. Great! You could get hitched in one evening at Walmart. I laughed pretty hard on this one. What's next? Is there no institution that Walmart will not try to become a part of? What a strange, strange world.

Thats it for now!

thought process

You'll never believe this, but I'm presently listening to High Noon by Andrew Peterson again. Shocking? You know it! It's a great song. I recommend Mr. Peterson whole-heartedly.

I have another shocking revelation for you all, though. I'm a jerk. Now, you're thinking, "here we go, momentary conscience attack" but that's not it at all. I've been sitting here trying to come up with something to talk to you guys about, scouring the internet for inspiration. I've looked at news, at Christian commentary, at music info. All i can say to any of it is, tell me why I care. I don't care that Amy Grant is getting a reality show. I don't see what it matters that the pope thought about resigning — it's like football stats. I find it just passably interesting that Relient K is opening for Simple Plan and Good Charlotte.

Now, it's all fine and good to not care about pop-junk-info. (a.k.a. 3/4 of what the news media reports.) My problem is that this often sweeps from my view of culture into my view of people. It's easy to despise people for being petty, self-obsessed, and caught up in a super-lame culture. the problem with that is, most of the time I'm petty, self-obsessed, and caught up in a super-lame culture. But, I don't think of that. I just marginalize everyone else, and act like I'm the king of everything. Self deceit is an interesting thing, i think. I'm good at convincing myself that I'm good, fair, important, right, and all those other things. Everyone else is a moron... me? Great. And not even regular great, but Tony the Tiger... GRRRRRREAT!

Anyway, the moral of my story is, I ultimately found something to talk to you guys about. Click here to read it. (Also, the connection may not be perfectly clear... and that may be a reflection of how my head works. Either way, it's a good read) It's an interesting little meditation by John Piper.

It's easy for me to try to be a firebrand and to tell myself that "It doesn't matter what people think." But, there's an important aspect of my Christian calling that does put some weight to what people think. And while, as JP points out, there is the possibility that they will hate our message, if we act like I've outlined above, they won't ever get around to looking at the message—they'll be too busy hating us.

Thats it for now.

High Noon

now playing: Andrew Peterson can seriously give me goosebumps. Especially in the song "High Noon." Easily the coolest "Jesus conquering sin" analogy I've ever heard. Also, it's in dadgad, I have chords if you want them. I like this song so much, I'm going to share the first verse with you guys.

High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the deep of the valley was bright
When the mouth of the tomb shouted,
"Glory, the groom is alive"
So long, you wages of sin go on,
Don't you come back again
I've been raised and redeemed;
You've lost all your sting
To the victor of the battle at
High noon in the valley
In the valley of the shadow

buy this guy's albums!

So, it's been a while, i guess you could say. In fact, it's been so long that I'd wager no one will check this. Hehehe... we'll see how it goes. Anyway, I'm back for a while... back to the land of thinking i have something to say to the world, even if it's small and pointless. Heck, everyone else gets to have a platform, why not this kid? Wait! You're not supposed to answer that.

A quick side paragraph about grammar and composition.

First, a note about Satan, based out of something I've observed a lot lately. This may come as a surprise to some people, but... I'm pretty sure Satan—if he's even aware of it— isn't insulted when you write his name without a capital on it. In fact, I think it takes more time to conciously think about lowercasing it than is healthily spent on the topic. Satan doesn't really care if you violate the rules of the English language because you don't like him. So, how's about we just follow the rules of ENGLISH and keep the exceptions for meaningful things? Capitals on proper nouns.

Also, while we're chatting about grammar and composition, excessive use of exclamation marks doesn't help your writing. It makes it seem like you're self-obsessed to the point of exclaiming everything you say. For example:

I went to the beach today! It was great! I walked in sandals! My reef sandals are pretty well the best I know of! This one time, I got hurt at the beach! But, I didn't get hurt today! Yippee skippee!

Now, did any of those sentences stand out from the rest? No. Why? Because when you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing.

So, that's it for my grammar lesson for today.


In other news, last time I wrote, I stated... " I think I'm going for a bit of a road trip. It should be awesome. I'll follow up and let you guys know how it goes..." It's funny how you say something, and people really hold you to it. I can think of a few people who have been waiting to read me at least say something about the whole thing. I'm prepared to make a statement. It won't be as elaborate as the ones I usually make on behalf of my little brother (who, by the way, is dating that girl again. Remember, back when I issued the retraction? For the first time ever, I'm retracting a retraction). I did go on my trip. I went to the great state of West Virginia. It was a fantastic trip, although the driving was a little scary at times. I had a great time visiting friends. Oh, and also, I guess mentioning (for those of you who haven't already either heard it "through the grapevine" or seen it on my face) the fact that there's this girl down there that I'm crazy about could be relevant. Yeah. Probably. Hence Luke's comment on my last post. It's not a long distance relationship, though. It's a distance challenged relationship. :-) She's great, and she's also reading this, going "Gosh Mackay!" so I think I'll leave at that. Suffice it to say, if you bump into me and I look giddy and slightly mournful all at once, you know why.

Alright, i think that pretty well covers my return to blogging. You know what's interesting about blogging? There's supposed to be this element of commentary on web sites that one is visiting. Hmm... hopefully I'll have some comment in that form for you guys... there's a lot of stuff I'd like to get others thoughts on. So, help me out.

I'm done for now. Keep it real.

i blog in fits and starts

I think I could write an emo song about that... except I think it's more emo to use Xanga than blogger. Oh well, I wasn't ever really emo anyway. And I'm okay with that, i think.

Okay, for those who care, yesterday was a wicked long day. We went to pick up mom and dad's new car (which I will totally steal whenever I've got a long trip to go on :-) Thanks mom and dad), and man... you get to do a lot of running around when you're picking up a new car. It all worked out though, and...

to quote Napoleon (kinda)... "You've got disc brakes, a cd player, a spoiler, fog lights, cruise control... lucky."

Anyway, so that's cool. What's also cool is, I have a week of vacation time coming up, and I think I'm going for a bit of a road trip. It should be awesome. I'll follow up and let you guys know how it goes... possibly with pictures. :-)

Alright, it's 8:00, I gots to go! Peace.

Andrew

morphing plans

Hi Guys,

Well, now that everyone knows, I can talk about it i guess - Our grand trip to Thunder Bay (by our, I refer to myself and the three totally awesome people who voluntarily were going to go) has been cancelled. It's kinda weird when you've been planning for something for months, to have it cancelled, but I'm fairly comfortable with God's sovereignty through it. He tends to know what He's doing. Anyway, yeah, that's that.

It's been a very long week. I'm writing this on Friday morning, sitting here listening to Franz, and dreading work -- not for works sake, but because I'm tired like a mad dawg. And dawg is way more serious than dog, dontcha know. Speaking of dogs, my mom is pretty fixated on getting one - which makes me start to think about the age-old question of mutt versus purebred. Actually, this question probably isn't age old. It probably dates back to when snobby nobility in Europe who were all inbred needed one more card to pull out over top of the rest of the family, so they started inventing paperwork about dogs. Sounds dumb, no? I kinda think so. I guess the nobility just wanted dogs that were as inbred as they were. Wow, I sound like I'm bitter against European Aristocracy. I guess I probably am a bit, since realistically, that socio-political/economic system totally sucked.

Anyway, i need to get ready for work, but get a mutt! They're way cooler... plus, there's no paperwork to track.

AndyMack.

P.S., I definitely need to stop signing these Mack out, cause it sounds like I want to be the stupid aemrican Idol guy - I think I've been saying it longer than he has, but that doesn't matter. Blech. Also, I shaved my beard.

Make-up talk

Okay guys, this kind of follows along the same vein of my last post, but seriously... what's with make-up product talk? I started thinking about this the other night; I was in my bathroom the other night washing my hands, and I took a look at the hand soap bottle ... Now, please note, i probaby wouldn't be able to pick a good hand soap if I tried; my mom bought it for me. But, on the bottle it says "Vitalizing." Now, i've heard of re-vitalizing, but can a soap be just vitalizing? Then, we were watching TV, and some pretty girl who was way too skinny and wearing way too much makeup started talking about the fresh feeling she gets from her make-up, how it awakens her skin and soothes it and such. WHAT?! It's make-up! Holy cow! It's like a bad book review! Words that make no sense! Why not say "My make-up highlights the facial features I want to highlight." Or something like that--something that makes sense? All this metaphysical, soothing fresh feeling hoighty toighty crap has driven me up the wall! Let's use true words, and leave the marketing BS for the people selling "Oil-Based, Non-Dairy whipped topping."

citizens for accurate food names

Dear friends with a capital f. wait wait wait, let me start again

Dear Friends,

Today, a global menace has creeped ever closer to taking over. Up til now, we've sat by and kept quiet. We can do so no longer. It's not as though it's any one particular thing... but it's rather the conglomeration of ever expanding mis- or mal- named products that have driven us to this point. Whether it's the "Roasted Chicken" sub at Subway (roasted? chicken?) the filet o' fish at McyD's (fish? filet?) or the 100% beef burgers also at McDonalds, this has just gone far enough. There's a definite line between good marketing and just plain lying. Good marketing doesn't lie about products, it casts them in the best possible light. Cool Whip just sounds better than "No Name Oil-Based, Non-Dairy Topping." Plus, Cool Whip is easier to write on trademark forms. "No Name Oil-Based..." well, you get the point. Just dumb. We're not arguing that companies tell us precisely what the product is IN the name, just that the name doesn't explicitly lie. Let us lie to ourselves about the product! Everyone knows we will.

For a limited time only, CFAFN (yes, that's pronounced exactly how it looks... except, if you could give it the same inflection that Jo Jo the Super Nanny would, that'd be a little better) will grant the use of our exclusive "Our Trademark Doesn't Lie" sticker to organizations that meet the accurate marketing requirements, as well as a couple of other ones (ie. lots of cash. In fact, you don't even need to meet those other requirements if you have lots of cash. Call my cell, we'll talk)... Er, Um... yeah, so look for the "Our Trademark Doesn't Lie" sticker on all the products you buy.

And, this exciting news just in - Walmart is the first brand to qualify for the "Our Trademark Doesn't Lie" sticker! Lets give a hand to the Walton clan, and the 6 million dollars it cost them to license the sticker. Also, we'll be producing a special sticker for use in the alabama market: the "Our Trademark Don't Lie" sticker.

Whooo!

also, oil-based, non-dairy topping sucks.

what do you give to the person who already has everything?

Now playing: caedmon's call guild 99 concert bootlegs. Pretty sweet. I'll say.

You know, sometimes I feel like that guy who already has everything, except I feel like i've already blogged everything. That's not even possible. But, in the little box that I've painted my blog into, maybe I really don't have anything left to say. maybe I need to start being sillier and writing about jumping beans and prada backpacks. You know, I think I'm just desperate to be relevant and sound cool. And that's pretty pathetic. So, as I try to figure out how to blog with integrity, I'm gonna go and eat chocolate. Chocolate helps me think.

sometimes...

... my life feels like a loop of the Fatboy Slim Praise You video... if you don't remember it, download it somewhere, you'll see what I mean.

just another day

You know guys, sometimes weeks go by and I feel like i have nothing to say. That is frustrating. Right now is one of those times. I hope everyone's doing good and having fun. I hope sometime soon, i have something to say.

an interesting article

Note: I do not EVER read GQ. Someone on a webboard I read referenced this article, and I was curious, given the fact that it's a journalist from a guy's magazine (a genre that I don't associate with, say, journalistic integrity), and it's about Christian music. It's worth a read (if you can handle a few swears) and it'll certainly give you something to think about, even if you don't think his conclusions about faith are necessarily right.

so, read the article!

an ammendment to the previous news release

It is the unfortunate responsibility of the Office of the Press Secretary for the House Mackay, having given the situation some time to allow for clearing of the air, to announce that the aforementioned relationship is now not to be aforementioned again. The media's understanding is appreciated in this matter. We expect that all car chases involving members of the press and the girl involved in the un-aforementioned relationship will cease and desist at once. Let this also serve notice that pedro has offered us his protection, and anyone who messes with the House Mackay regarding the un-aforementioned relationship will be faced with a chat with "Pedro's Cousins with the sweet hookups." You have been warned. Thank you.

The Office of the Press Secretary for the House Mackay

winston churchill ate my girlfriend.

i am samwise

Just wanted to say folks... I am Samwise. It's like being tiger woods, only possibly better, but with less swedish supermodels to hang out with. I'll point out also that it was a two-way tie with being Gandalf. I'm like a super hobbit. YES!!!

You scored as Samwise. You're Samwise Gamgee! Samwise the brave is the most loyal friend that you could ever ask for. He'll be there for you through thick and thin, and be willing to do anything for you. "There is some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for." Samwise 88% Gandalf 88% Eowyn 75% Pippin 75% Aragorn 56% Arwen 50% Frodo 50% Faramir 25% Gollum 19% Which LOTR character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

news release [Jan. 24, 2005]

For Immediate Release
from the Office of the Press Secretary for the House Mackay

Let it be known throughout the domain, and let it be heard far and wide, the youngest son of John and Lori Mackay has yet again found himself a girlfriend. Girlfriend is a noun that means "favoured female companion or sweetheart" according to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Them's big words. The House Mackay would request that paparazi and news media give the couple space and room to allow the relationship to flourish. All requests for comment may be directed to the office of the Press Secretary. The Lord and his Lady were heard to have said "Matthew's got a girlfriend, Matthew's got a girlfriend" in tones not unlike those used in first grade when mocking a friend. There is no further comment from the family at this time.



Thank you.


Andrew Mackay,
Press Secretary and Public Relations Guru
The House Mackay
...cause Mackay means Sons of Thunder, and we ain't messin' around.

Manu Forte

the heart is a liar

Hello friends. I've been thinking about my heart lately. I'm not quite sure what sparked it, but something today made me start to think about my heart and the way it is. Scripture says that the heart is deceptive above all things. Desperately Wicked. Desperately. That's a big word. A heavy word even. Man alive, I think we need to discipline our hearts. We have these songs and books and cliched slogans that tell us to follow our hearts. (Napoleon says: "That's what I do.") There's a problem with all that, cause sometimes our hearts run away with us. I guess it's easier for me to acknowledge it when it's not happening. My little brother has acknowledged it too, and maybe it's a family trait, but if I survey the last 3 years, I've had a ridiculous amount of shallow crushes. And, while most of them didn't last long, it's not a good thing. It's evidence in my case of a heart that tends to flit. Flit is a girly word that means jump from object to object. That's not a good thing for a heart to do. It displays little faithfulness. It needs to change. How do you whip your heart into shape? I just don't know. All right, that's enough despairing, bleeding heart crap from this kid. Peace out.

disclaimer: the above piece is perhaps a bit of an overstatement; the writer realizes that a lot of his petty crushes over the years were pathetic, and wishes that they'd never happened. That being said, the heart is always an interesting beast.

independent music

Hi guys,

I've been listening to some music tonight, and I've realized that independent musicians really do beat the pants off most of the ones who are signed to the labels (with the few exceptions of artists who do their own thing inspite of a record deal, like Derek Webb). I thought i'd draw your attention to some cool musicians who sell stuff on the net and give away free songs too.

Andrew Peterson. He looks precisely like one of my good friend's boyfriends. Bonus points if you can tell me who. This guy writes PHENOMENAL stories. He's so good. He does a Christmas musical every year. If you have high speed and want to watch andrew play great songs along with a bunch of his friends, go to the livefromstudiob website, and click on the watch this video link. This is phenomenal music. Oh yeah, if you buy one of Andy's CDs from his website, guess how much of the money he gets? Not just fifty cents or something, the whole proceeds go to him. That's cool.

Andrew Osenga. This guy isn't foreign to the world of having record deals - he was the front man for a cool band called The Normals, and now he plays with Caedmon's Call... he's pretty phenomenal. What's neatest is that he's got this thing called "The Drawing Board" and he gives away rough cuts of songs he's working on. He's great. Listen to him. And oh yeah, if you buy one of this Andy's CDs from his website, again, he gets the proceeds. That's cool too.

The cool thing about the above two guys is that they don't exist in a vacuum. They're musicians, and they like good music too. So, if you click on their links pages on their respective web sites, you'll find (I just made a consistency issue, I technically mispelt website earlier by putting it together—technicalyl wrong, but envogue, and then just now I split it, which is technically proper) a list of musicians that they listen to/play with / hang out with. And the whole thing continues, cause those people do the same thing. That's community. These folks are REAL artists. They rock. And their music is pretty darn good, too.

All right, that's it for me... for now.

while the world turned

now playing: Shane and Shane, Psalm 118. They're pretty talented.

Yes, whilest the rest of us led our pathetic, normal life, 25 extreme guys were potentially fulfilling their destiny... who would receive a rose and who's egos would be shattered? Thats right folks, I just watched about 7.8 minutes of the bachelorette. Wow. Thats really just about my only response. All of those guys suffer from one of three things: they're either 1) convinced that this is their chance to get their 15 minutes of fame, 2) in it for the money, or 3) as one of my favorite professors would say, Delusional. Cause seriously, this chica, whatever her name is (jen, I think), has been through this before - she KNOWS it doesn't end up with a successful match. Either she's in it for the money or she's there to extend her 15 minutes of fame to 20. And those poor chaps who really believe they have a chance are being duped.

We are a world OBSESSED with ourselves. You see it on dating shows like this and you see it on American Idol and its knock-offs... especially when they show the clips of people who are awful - notice that everyone seems to share one trait: confidence that they really are the best, and can win this thing. There's still something to be said for someone who is self-aware AS WELL as self assured, or instead of self assured, or something. Cause, lets face it... we're not all cut out to be actors or pop music stars / starlets. But you know what, not everyone's cut out to be a welder or an editor or a pastor, or whatever. Man alive! But, we're all so programmed to believe in ourselves, to be self-confident. Really, aren't we sabatoging ourselves? Anyway, I'm sure that I've got reruns of survivor to watch or something. I'll catch you guys later—if you get your own reality show.

All Points Bulletin: Sugar Bandit on the Loose

This is a notice from the office of the director for home security.
Current warning level: hot pink. Everybody loves hot pink.


This memo is intended to inform the public of a growing menace known as the Sugar Bandit. He was brought to our attention by one of our operatives, codenamed Agent Mom. Agent Mom reports that the Sugar Bandit leaves sugar all over the counter and floor. What could cause someone to do such a heinous thing? The only thing we can think of is a sick, twisted mind. We've run a psych profile, and it seems likely that the sugar bandit is a Male, possibly Caucasian, probably in his early 20s. He should be regarded as armed and dangerous. Or sickeningly sweet. The public is advised to pass any and all tips along to our tip number: 1 888 bandito. If you think you know who the Sugar Bandit is, do not approach him... he could inflict harm at the slightest provocation. Beware the Sugar Bandit.

Thank you. This has been a public service notice.

My name is andymack, and I approved this message.

hero (plural)

Dear Friends,

This will not be a long blog post. This is just a quick note to say that I'm finding a lot of human life consists of evaluating, then re-evaluating and adjusting. Generically, that is true. Specifically, today it is true of what I view as heroic. By definition we think of heroic as a one-time, out of the blue action that really kicks butt. Like Hulk Hogan lifting up Andre the Giant, or that guy beating the chess computer, or a fireman saving a kid from a burning building, and stuff like that. What I realized tonight is that it's not the one time act that makes those people heroes. It's the persistence that gets them there. I realized this as I woke my dad up to go to work. My dad isn't the most athletic guy, my dad isn't the fastest... he might be the craziest, but that's another story. But my dad has, for the last 11 or so years, spent his life with kids who are like he was once -- young, deaf, alienated a little bit from their families by communications barriers. Kids who need role models and authority figures who are encouraging but not afraid to establish boundaries either. My dad is one of my heros. Sure, he can't leap tall buildings. He can't lift a billion pounds over his head. He can't even beat me in a mercy fight any more (but keep that on the down low). But day in, day out (or, as it goes currently, night in, night out), he does what he can to help his community, the deaf community, develop. At the same time, he provides for his family, loves us, and even spoils us as much as he can. So, stop looking at heroics in terms of one-time acts. Start thinking about it in terms of patient, persistent people. I think it's more accurate.

thoughts from a man smarter (and possibly more verbose) than I

Dear friends,

I'm currently trying to read David Wells' second book on modernity and it's impact on the church, God in the Wasteland. I recommend him if you want a big brainful of thinking. This thought has occupied my brain off and on for the past few days; I thought maybe you guys would appreciate it too.

"... A curious paradox involving the way in which biblical other-worldliness provides the leverage for Christian this-worldly pertinence. It is only those who are "not of this world" in their inner being who have the reason and acquire the fortitude to resist the charms and allurements of the world and who, for that reason, are able to be culturally pertinent. Those who are cognitively and morally dislocated from worldly culture are the ones who are driven to change it; those who are comfortable and at home with it... are often so beholden to it as to find dislocation from the source of their blessings most uncongenial." (david f. wells, God in the Wasteland, Ch. 3)

How 'bout that? I think he may be on to something. Although, I did just figure out that he's post-mil. I guess that doesn't prevent him from having something to say. ;-) Think about it. Tell me what you think. Maybe we can interact on this one a bit. That'd be cool. Do you think that culture is absolutely so tainted that unless we're dislocated from it, we're smitten with it? I leave it with you.

refried...coffee? and songs I haven't listened to for months

Yep, I'm sitting here drinking refried... okay, okay, reheated... coffee. It's not that bad. Man, enough sugar and anything'll taste good.

Go and watch this - warning for my dial-up friends, this is a long download. I'm going to tell you what it is in a second anyway, so you may want to forgo it. The rest of you, go watch it.


I will confess that it is true that I way overplayed a certain song by Derek Webb a couple of years ago at KLBC. My poor friends who don't necessarily love his voice (the rest of us who do love his voice could listen to it a million times). Anyway, I hadn't listened to this song for a while. Tonight, I was sitting here contemplating the way I am, and my sinfulness, and how I have no apparent love for God's grace some days. And, i went on over to Donald Miller's web site (the link above) and watched the video he put together. It features scenes from Romeo and Juliet put to Wedding Dress by Derek. It starts out with the hypothesis that Shakespear's play was an illustration of the truth of reform theology. (Sidenote: I don't think that Will intended the play to be interpreted that way, but who cares.) And—as much as I don't like Romeo and Juliet—I couldn't help but see the illustration. It's a beautiful illustration. And it's very relevant especially for those of us that seem to at times make theology a dead carcass of irrelevance. So, next time you listen to that song, think about the truth of it. I know I will.

Figurin' life out

You know, it's funny, but somehow January 1 inspires in us (or in me at least) a desire to figure life out. There's a perception that somehow, during the night between December 31 and January 1, the whole world regenerates, or becomes new, or something. Not that that's a bad thing. After all, who couldn't use a second chance? This date that we've arbitrarily (as far as I can tell) set as marking the New Year gives us that opportunity. A new year is a good thing. It's also a little bitter sweet. For me, it involves looking over the past year and seeing where I've failed spiritually, relationally, even physically (darn those 15 extra pounds I'm carrying around). I've spent over a year without a significant committed relationship (unless you count me and the boys, who should all be committed). Have I learned from that? Sure, probably a little. But have I learned everything there is to learn? Not as of yet. I've watched families fall apart. I've watched families join together. I've visited family in the hopital. I visited the hospital once for myself (and to Dr. Buntington, thanks for your help). I've laughed. I've cried. I laughed a lot more than I cried, but I inherently don't cry very often. The past year seems to have been shorter than any year in my memory. It was actually a day longer than most of the ones I remember. I'm more confused than ever by girls, but maybe, just maybe, through everything I've done and been through this year, i've learned more about myself. That is worth it. Maybe I've learned more about who God is. That is more worth it.

If I could wish for anything in 2005—for myself and for you, my friend—it'd be that in 2005 we'd believe God to be who He is. I think that every other time in my life that I've used the term "it's probably my biggest problem" could be summed up in that statement. I just don't believe that God is who He has revealed Himself to be. If I did, all those other things, like discipline, faithfulness, obedience, joy, graciousness, and so on, wouldn't be at all a problem. Okay, Okay, wouldn't be as much a problem.

So, until I see you next :

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."
(Lamentations 3:22-24, ESV)

You don't have to wait for January 1st to come back around before you can get a new start.

hokey shmokes

All due respect to my american friends, I'm going to presume that we can all agree that this ann coulter chick is an idiot. Watch this: Now, seriously, to America. Yes, you may be bigger people wise, you may have more money than we do. Congratulations. Please though, don't act like we exist at your mercy. There are 30 million of us. I'm pretty sure we don't exist as a nation at anybody's mercy. If anything, you could say that we're dumb to sell as much as we do to you guys. A sound national economic policy would limit exports to y'all to, maximum, 10-15%. Not out of dislike for anyone, but in the name of economic freedom. I hope that most americans wouldn't agree with the pompous attitude presented in this clip. You'd have to kill at least 2 million of us to take over the country I'm pretty sure. Unless you came through Quebec. Anyway, I found the above clip disgusting and frustrating. Except for the part at the end where Caroline Parrish ripped into the crossfire guy. That was awesome. Anyway.

Christmas Shopping: not for the elderly nor the faint at heart.

In honour of the topic of the night, I'm listening to Bing Crosby croon some Christmas Tunes. His pianist—or band leader, or water boy, or something— is named Skitch. Is that Skitch Patterson? Who knows! Could be! Beauty.

So, I was out doing some Christmas shopping, and let me tell you, it's a dog eat dog world out there. Or at least, a dog eat effeminate acting sales person world out there. Christmas shopping isn't easy! You gotta figure out what you're getting people for Christmas, and darn it, it's just hard. Plus, i don't think I've ever been so afraid of toddlers and their moms. It's like the toddlers are the Storm Troopers from Star Wars and their moms... frig, who knew that the emperor could exist in that many incarnations. Tell you what, if we could control the toddlers, and harness their whining and screaming, we'd be able to take over the world. Holy cow. I just finally understood the entire toy industry!

Then, on top of that, you've got the media pressure. Canada.com is running their Holiday special. They talk about bad gifts and good gifts. Gee, thanks Canada.com, for doing that out of the goodness of your hearts. Not like the rest of the media doing it just to try to weasal more cash out of us or their advertisers. You can read that section here, then you'll at least be doing better than the 13% of Canadians who have REGIFTED in the last year. C'mon folks. Seriously. Anyway, it seems like everyone who ever gets a pedestal in culture tries to tell us what to buy for Christmas. I mean, really, who could forget The Twelve Days of Christmas from the Great White North Album, performed by Bob and Doug Mackenzie? Wait, you don't know it? Well, we'll have to remedy that! Here, thanks to the wonderful world wide web, are the lyrics to the aforementioned song. This features some classic Canadian gift ideas. Hehe. Beauty:

Bob: Ok g'day. This is the Christmas part of the album, you can play this at your Christmas partys uh, or to yourself on Christmas eve if there is nothing else to do
Doug: G'day eh? in case you thought like I wasn't on this part.
Bob: Oh i guaranty ya, you'd be on.
Ok so good day, this is the Christmas part, and we're gonna tell ya what to get your true love for Christmas.
Doug: Look out the window!
bob: Where? Whaddya doin?
Doug:Snow!
Bob: Oh it's the great white north, and it's snowin cuz its Christmas time.
Hey, hoser! heres a quiz.. quiz for Doug:
Doug: Ok, I got my thinking toque on!
Bob: Yeah, right. What are the 12 days of Christmas?
Doug: Um.
Bob: Cuz figure it out , right? Christmas is when?
Doug: The 25th.
Bob: Right, well whats the 24th? Xmas eve, right.
Doug: Thats 2.
Bob: Then , whats after that?
Doug: Wrestling day
Bob: No.
Doug: Boxing day.
Bob: Thats 3. Then whats after that? Nothin'.
Doug: New years.
Bob: 4.
Doug: New years eve.
Bob: 5. Where da ya get 12?
Doug: Uh... theres 2 sat's and sun's in there , 4. Thats 9 and 3 other days which i believe are the mystery days.
Bob:Ok, this is our Christmas song, in case ya don't know what to get someone for Christmas.
Doug: Theres lotsa ideas in here, so listen and don't get stuck. By the way , thats me on the organ.
Bob: Ok geeze.
Doug: Ok, you start.


Song Lyrics
Bob: Ok, on the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
beer.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
2 turtlenecks,
and beer.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and a beer.
There should be more there, eh?
Where?

On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Oh. See? ya need more.

On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
5 GOLDEN TOQUES! (background singers start to help)
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
6 packs of two-four.
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Ok.

On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
7 packs of smokes,
Nice Gift... oh.... (rushes) 6 packs of 24s
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
oh, i keep forgettin'.
whew, this should be just the 2 days of xmas, this is too hard for us!

On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
8 comic books,
7 packs of smokes,
6 packs of two-four,
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon, (background singers)
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Wow,That beers empty

Day 12.
G'day and welcome to day 12.
Yeah.

5 GOLDEN TOQUES! (all together)
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tre-e. (Doug harmonizes)

Where did you learn to do that?
Uh, Albums.
Boy, so thats our song merry Christmas, and g'day.
G'day everybody. Happy new years.
Ok, ya know what ya left out?
What?
Donuts. I told you to get me donuts.
Oh no!
Either on the 9th day, or the 10th day or the 11th day. I wanted donuts.
The song is over merry Christmas everybody,
or the 12th you coulda gotten me a dozen donuts.
Go to the stores and get some presents.
You coulda gone down to the donut shop where you buy a dozen donuts, you get another donut free. Then it coulda been 13 for the 13 days of Christmas.
Next Christmas, get me a chainsaw.
Take off!
Boy that song was a beauty.. it moved me.
Yah , it ranks up there with stairway to heaven.
What?

As a disclaimer, I don't recommend most of those as presents, although 4 pounds of back bacon would be beauty. So, yeah, like, that's it for me. That should be everything you need to go out and do your Christmas Shopping. Or at least to get a bit of a laugh outa good ol' andymack the teetotaler's blog. :-)


BEAUTY

vandals... possibly in sandals

Dear friends. I'm taking this time to write to you from my grieving state. This morning, our neighbourhood, nay, our whole city, was rocked by a vandalous attack. White fluffy stuff was blown all over every inch of our city (okay, except the area in the lee of the north west area of every building). These attacks are shocking, and as a city we are standing up and saying "No" to vandalism. These attempts to intimidate us will not be tolerated. The perpetrator of these heinous attacks is asked to make a full confession, after which we can discuss the terms of the reparations. Think Versailles. Again, we will not stand for this. Cities across this nation will join the outcry.

Nah, for now, most people are going to be like, "Oooh, pretty." So, I guess I take that all back. Thanks for snow, God. Now, where did I leave that gas can? I think I need to go start that snowblower.