My CW "Craft of Poetry" class has been pretty fun - here are the types of poetry I've learned to write or reviewed:

Pantoum (example)

Villanelle (example included - and no, it's not as hard as the author claims - at least to me it isn't)

Found poetry

Sonnet

Lakeside

I am the lake glittering diamonds
At the passing of gentle mother wind
Who tenderly caresses liquid
And stirs the flame within
I am the surface of the water
Whether the day is hot or cold
I ripple, dance, form many pictures
At times mirror smooth, at times pebble-rolled
I am the depths of father lake
Murky, mysterious, aged, wise
Colored with swirling sand and turbulent
Few find the treasure in sly earth lies
Above, beyond, around does my border cross
Come to my banks, bury your sorrow and loss

SMN, 2/25/03

Chant (or maybe you're more familiar with Gregorian Chant)

Political (a self-explanatory category)

Narrative

When one sees the words "pride" and "humility" in the same sentence, one has to wonder how each of these can see eye to eye with the other. Pride in this case is that emotion an individual feels when something is accomplished to such a degree that pleasure is taken in the work involved to make that accomplishment happen. It is also akin to self-righteousness and arrogance; it's what makes man want to stand tall and stare haughtily at those he deems beneath him. Humility, on the other hand, is everything "self" pride is not; honor where honor is due, not always eager to grab the spotlight, and when the humble man finds himself in the limelight anyway, he doesn't let it go to his head. And let's not get humility mixed up with insecurity here.

I have experienced both "self" pride and humility many times as a Christian, and neither is easy to handle. A stab of humility usually wants to give way to pride, and pride - eh, well, it's not an easy "high" to come down from, especially when things, people and events keep adding fuel to the fire. I lose sight of what I'm supposed to be doing and focus on what I want to do. I want to reach this goal, even if God has something better for me. I want this object, even though God may want to bless me with something bigger and better. I like where I am, even though God may want me to move on.

Combine this struggle of me vs. God with real life and I wonder what an outside observer would think. "Hey, wow, she's not some perfect religious fundamentalist after all!" or "What in the world is she sniffin'?" or "Why is she so freakin' moody all the time?"

Trying to be real - to be me, not someone everyone else BUT me myself and I would recognize - while trying to keep my faith in Christ intact in a world that's tired of fake Christians is not easy. I have to keep proving to others that my Christianity is real, but why should I bother?

It's not even about ME.

Proverbs, written by the wisest man that ever lived, tells us how to be a man. Four books show Jesus; how he lived, why He came, and what he felt was worth dying for. If it's worth dying for, it's likely worth living for. Incidentally, I'd love for you and every other young man to read 15 minutes a day in Proverbs and apply it. If you look at Christianity through the eyeglass of postmodern secular ethos (reheated existentialism) you'll conclude some devastatingly wrong things. First, me being authentic is the aim of life. It isn't. Second, what I think, feel and believe is the CENTER of the universe and my ideas are the ultimate arbiter of truth, reality and the American way is way off target. Jesus said in Lk 10:27, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." The focus of Christianity is God and others. "Me" got lost. Life isn't about me. Today we remember that Jesus, the God/man was in the grave. But it didn't end there, thank God. Easter's a comin'. The real challenge, in my opinion, of a Christian's blog is to help people know God. Everything in an authentic Christian's life is to help others know God.

- Proud Gator Dad
"This is me" comments thread

Some random thoughts as the weekend comes to a close:

1. The funkiness has gone away, and while I still remain unsure, I know God is faithful. That's enough of an assurance to get through anything.

2. If you don't get interested in a book right away, do you even bother trying to read the rest of it? I just picked up a book I'd bought about a month ago, read through a third of it last night and almost wondered why I'd bought it in the first place when I realized that I was bored with how the story was going so far. Then I picked up the same book earlier tonight and wondered if I should start reading from the beginning again because now it's exciting and maybe I missed something.

3. I really hate it when I accidentally erase something that I'm about to post.

4. Trying to escape the familiar usually leads one to retreat back to it when the going gets rough. I suppose this is human nature, and I suppose that trying to escape the familiar is sort of like a convict making a break from the penitentiary and the guard towers are tracking him every bit of the way, but that doesn't stop him from running. Why is it, then, that when we actually succeed at this, we find out that the unfamiliar is more familiar and precious than what we knew as "familiar" in the first place? (I dare you to repeat this over and over, fast. Yeah, I know, I can't do it, either.)

5. When bloggers who say they're members of the same (ideological/political/religious) camp lose readers because of a disagreement over one issue, I have to wonder which party involved in the dispute is making a bigger deal of the issue than it should.

Have a good Monday, everyone.

You know how those online translators sometimes muddle the original query when you translate it back into English?

Dad (to Mom): Could you tell Vic when she comes home to clean up her room a little?

*LATER*

Mom (crossly, voice raised): Victoria, your dad wants you to clean up your room, RIGHT NOW!

Maybe I'm just fighting the blue mood, but suddenly I feel like Jonah.

I stumbled across this article, which didn't make me feel better. Something the author wrote struck a nerve, though I'm not sure yet what kind of affect this should have on me:

Journalism is best learned by doing it. Mostly, an aspiring reporter needs a job, preferably for an exacting editor. You try to be accurate, clear, quick, perceptive and engaging. These are not abstract skills learned in a classroom. At best, journalism schools are necessary evils. They provide basic training -- usually through mock newsrooms -- that most papers and broadcast stations won't. Some get this training on college papers and stations. Journalism school is an alternative. But keep it brief. In general, universities are sheltered places. Most professors have job security. Their politics don't reflect national politics (less than 20 percent rate themselves "conservative'').

To the lurking Intrepidites: LLE and VotI are officially gone. Now let us have a moment of silence for the end of an era...

*silence*

*pin drops*

Coming up: The 2143 Project. Stay tuned.

Dear Victoria,

I was thinking of embarrassing you in front of my readers, but decided getting a glare from you on your birthday would not be a good thing. (Yes, I'm kidding.)

So I'll wax sentimental instead: I thank God for blessing me with the family I have, and I'm glad you're my little sister. Happy 18th Birthday! I love you.

I got a total kick out of this song, which is a play on an Iraqi man's response to a reporter after American soldiers liberated Najaf: "Democracy! Whiskey! Sexy!" Well, not sure about the last two, but it's still pretty catching.

This artist's blog is here.

(via Uni)

I'm currently archiving posts from the relevant story threads of Voyage of the Intrepid before I turn operation controls over to the new, ahem, management. While doing so, I'm reading through some of the best writing I've come across by some very special people, and I'm sure it can only get better. Rhiain O'Connell will live on, as will others like Leland Urquhart, Christophine Taylor, Dimitrii Rokossovskii, D'No Watabee and Claire Stevenson. (You know who you are.) I still have plans to finish Rhiain's novella, but the halls of academia are calling my name, so I have to put it off for a little while longer. In the meantime, your posts will be here if you want them.

P.S. Next time someone actually wants me to archive anything, they're gonna be staring down the barrel of a xaser rifle.

P.P.S. This whine was induced by a BALANCE chocolate mint bar and some determination. Of course, undoubtedly I will be paying for this effort later today by being unable to stay awake during a poetry analysis in my Creative Writing class. Joy.

P.P.P.S This will only make sense to a select few, if they even pay attention to CS. As you were, the rest of yas... (It's nearly one in the mornin' - were you expecting me to be polite?)

Donald Sensing, formerly a major in the U.S. Army and now a pastor, looks at whether military chaplains should bear arms in a combat situation when fired upon. A discussion worth reading follows in the comments section.

Last Friday, The New York Times published an op-ed by Eason Jordan of CNN called "The News We Kept to Ourselves." Since then a firestorm of criticism has erupted over CNN's flawed coverage of what's been going on in Iraq.

(A related article about journalists in Iraq is located here. More here, here and here.)

Right-wing pundits especially have been giving Mr. Jordan a hard time since his NYT confession made the headlines. Yesterday Jason Kottke rebutted their criticism with this:

Lastly, where the hell was everyone else in Iraq, reporting all these atrocities? Where was FoxNews endangering the lives of their Iraqi employees' families to get the truth out at all costs? Where was Rush Limbaugh sticking his neck out to topple Saddam's regime with the truth? Out of your chairs, pundits. It's hard to make the tough choices when you're sitting comfortably on the sidelines. Could you make a decision to air a news report knowing that it will directly cause the brutal torture and death of someone's entire family?

Visas are the Ministry of Information's primary tools for controlling foreign journalists. Even correspondents for CNN and the BBC, which maintain permanent offices in Baghdad, must continually apply for visas, which typically last only two weeks. And without visas for their own correspondents, the networks have to rely on local Iraqis to keep their offices running--locals who are even more subject to government reprisals than are visiting Americans.

Media organizations like FOXNews didn't have the same arrangement CNN did, nor did they care to maintain one. Why? I think they weren't willing to sacrifice their integrity to hide the truth. Journos who didn't quote the Baathist Party line were kicked out of Baghdad and out of Iraq, sometimes permanently. If you ask me, a one-time-only visit in-country would be worth more than "permanent" access to a situation at the price of one's credibility.

Several corners have been discussing the issue of women in combat situations since the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch. I won't resurrect that debate here, but here is an article about something indirectly related: guns and women. An excerpt:

Some politicians began to actively encourage women to protect themselves by owning guns. When a serial killer was loose in Baton Rouge in the summer of 2002, Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster advised women "you have a right to get a [concealed] gun permit. ... if you know how [to use a gun] and you have a situation with some fruitcake running around, like they've got right now, it sure can save you a lot of grief."

Foster received the predictable backlash of outrage from gun control advocates who suddenly sounded sexist. Holley Galland Haymaker from the anti-gun group Louisiana Ceasefire argued: "Maybe if you're a big, white guy who hunts all the time, it might do some good. For a woman who is surprise attacked, having a gun is only giving them [the attacker] another way to kill you."

I will ignore the racist implications of this remark and simply ask, "Why would a white guy who hunts be more competent with a gun than a woman who is trained to use it?"

(Day by Day)

I really have to hand it to the Iraqi information minister: this dude knows how to stick to the party line all the way...

Even when American GIs are waving and grinning at him right outside his window.

I guess I shouldn't keep my dad out of the loop when it comes to important things...

Dad: Do you still have the Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers DVDs?

Me: Uh, no

Dad: WHAT!?

Me: I gave them away.

Dad: Why?

Me: I was done watching them.

Dad: Can you get them back?

Me: Dad, I gave them away as Christmas gifts!

Dad: *sigh*

Me: You can always go rent 'em from Hollywood Video...

Dad: What were we talking about before I brought this up?

Mike Sanders has posted the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers, modeled after Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He's also commented on interdependence, World of Ends and habits. Some pretty good stuff. Also, Each Blogger is Really Four. Check it out.

And I know I'm over two months late in saying this, but I'm glad you're back, Mike.

(via Brian)

When it comes down to basics, I'm not a debater. I follow discussions that are interesting to me because of the topic and will discuss it with a close friend (who either agrees with me on the topic or has something of his/her own to contribute to the whole discussion), but most likely I'll not take part in it.

Earlier today I wrote a post out of frustration and also because I was annoyed that only one viewpoint on the subject was being presented. I've discovered several things about myself during the past few years when it came to theological debates and similar discussions: I'm only able to present my viewpoint on a topic when something really, really bothers me about it. I'm more passive than active on debate participation, I think partly because I'm not ready to defend my views when someone questions them (yes, that's bad), partly because I'm not always sure of some of my throughts regarding said subject in the first place, and also because I'm very open to hearing different aspects before speaking up.

Yes, I will admit to being wrong about something; I'm not so proud to think that I've covered all the bases on the subject - most likely I missed something that might've changed the content of my argument substantially. I have also learned not to personally flame someone who disagrees with me, and no, I won't rebut in the same manner if I get flamed, anyway.

I'll post a few links I found on being a Highly Effective Blogger tomorrow. Right now my roomie is grouchy and I really need to think about something else. G'nite.

Major lesson learned last weekend that seems to be coming back to haunt me: large book sales are not good for my financial health. The fact that there's now one across the street from my apartment complex does not make me feel any better. Oy.

I've posted something on modern worship at ABA that I felt had to be addressed. (Note: I've used the second person voice a lot - don't take it personally.) Check it out.

I think he's been in his stuffy classroom too long. All that dust flying around can really affect someone, especially someone with a weak constitution. (Weak constitution? Sheesh, I've been in college too long!)

Nearly a week after Columbia University professor Nicholas De Genova called for the mass slaughter of U.S. troops, the man who wants "a million Mogadishus" fears so much for his own life he is refusing to go to class.

De Genova claimed death threats forced him to skip his 2:40 p.m. Latino History course at the university's Hamilton Hall - the first lecture he had scheduled since the March 26 anti-war "teach in" in which he referred to the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" incident in which 18 GIs were slain.

(via G. Reynolds)

"Where do they get young men like this?"

Seek and you shall find, Mr. Savidge.

I've given up my school career and decided to become a hermit.

A blogging hermit.

UPDATE: Don't tell me you guys thought I was actually serious about this.