So, it's been a wee little while since I last posted. Some of you have contacted me via email to find out what's happening and to be sure everything's okay. I appreciate that -- I really do.
So I was sitting here tonight with pretty much nothing to do except wait for the Super Bowl to begin and I thought I'd take the time to post a brief update via my little four-year-old PDA.
Here are the highlights: We are all nicely settled into my father-in-law's home. I have a nice little private space in the basement where I can pay bills and work at a desk. (This is important because since I lost my job back in 2006 we've gotten behind in some bills. We haven't totally caught up yet, but my recent two month's of full-time employment really helped.) I've spent several thousand dollars in the past keeping creditors happy
Last week saw a milestone pass in our house: AJ enjoyed his very first last day of his very first year of schooling. He has now officially "graduated" kindergarten.
We are very proud.
[Blah, blah, blah — skip Rich's philosophizing,
and go straight to the podcast!]
Never having parented before, and having no memories of Kindergarten myself (I never went, scofflaw that I am), I didn't realize there was actually liturgy for Kindergarten graduation. Maybe this is something we only do here in the Midwest. Or maybe it happens all over the world and I've been clueless for 39 years. Probably the latter.
I think milestones are important to celebrate — even if there's no real par-tay and spiked beverages involved. I mean, we really don't do these things well in
Last year, on October 3, I did a live interview with John Hall and Stephanie Fraschetti from Word-FM about the "Jesus Camp" documentary that was then the height of Evangelical fear-mongering (start here if you don't know what I'm talking about: "Jesus Camp: Brainwashed in the Blood — or Is it Spin?"). At least that was before the Ted Haggard fracas blew up.
Not long before this interview took place, I had also been interviewed by MSNBC for its program, "The Most." (If you're interested, see "Jesus Camp and BlogRodent on MSNBC."). It was interesting experiencing these two interview formats back-to-back. I enjoyed being on "The Most" as a floating-head talker, but I really enjoyed chatting with John
Update: I've added Jennifer's account of AJ's first day in the comments section, for the interested.
Today we sent our little boy to school for the first time. Nobody wept. There was no gnashing of teeth, wailing, or sack-cloth and ashes. On our part, anyhow. Instead, we were excited to see AJ off to a new adventure in his life, one that promises whole new rafts of friends, future sleepovers, new books to read, realms of knowledge to acquire, and numerous — I repeat ... numerous — parent-teacher conferences down the road.
He's not angry, just surprised and squinting into the Sun. Or maybe he's just part Ferengi.
Every parent believes their child to be the brightest bulb in the firmament — with the possible exception of overachieving, insecure parents who vicariously live through their childen, ever suspecting and fearing that their child will prove to be as colossal a failure as they imagine themselves to be.
Not us. AJ is not only bright, he is certifiably bright, even if nobody believes us the first time we warn them — err — inform them. My Bride and are enomously proud of our son (when we're not enormously vexed by his impulse-control), and I've already been justifiably corrected by my son on many observations I've made. The days are few until he truly knows more about things than I do and I become the student. Nevertheless, I hope to remain in service as his father, mentor, and guide — even through High School.
Update (07/14/2007): "Carlton Pearson: The closest to God you’ll probably ever get"
On Heresy
What is heresy? The textbook definition is simply:
- An opinion or a doctrine at variance with established religious beliefs … or
- A controversial or unorthodox opinion or doctrine.
And right alongside that definition — at least on this weblog, anyhow — you can find a picture of Bishop Carlton D. Pearson who wants to "rewrite the theology of the charismatic world" by preaching a "Gospel of Inclusion" asserting that Christ's death conclusively reconciled all mankind to God — whether we realize it or not — and that the only separation between man and God's grace is subjective, illusionary, and exists only in unenlightened minds (Carlton Pearson, "Jesus Savior of the World/Gospel of Inclusion — Position Paper," Higher Dimension website, viewed March 5, 2006).
More on that later, but first.…
I’m popular on the Web! Well, maybe I’m just popular on Garrick Van Buren’s website. Or, maybe I’m just popular on one podcast on one podcaster’s show coming out of a small home in Minnesota that is redolent of freshly roasted coffee.
I had the pleasure of spending over an hour on Skype with Garrick of the “First Crack Podcast,” talking about his show, podcasting, the Internet, and more. It was a great conversation, and I’m looking forward to listening to his half-hour condensation our our hour-plus conversation.
I just had to say that now, before listening to the show, because I really enjoyed the conversation, and didn’t want to sully my good feelings with that sense of “Aargh! He left out the best part!” <grin> Garrick’s a good guy, and he has an interesting show, in my opinion. I frequently enjoy the
