Friday, 13 February 2009

Monday, 17 November 2008

  • life as a desktop.

    A note from Lazarus, my Dell laptop computer.


    I can't even imagine it.  Living as a desktop?  They just sit in one place all the time... one house... one desk...  one room.  They never move around.  Or, at least rarely, and when they do, it's a huge hassle and everybody hates it and gets all crabby.  They get wrapped up in tons of bubble wrap and travel safely in the back of a car until they move to a new desk in a new room, and set up there.  They don't see any of the world.

    Then again, being a laptop almost took my life.  I died once, you know.  A kind friend resuscitated me.  But... well... I've never really quite been the same since then.  It's been almost 8 months since then.  I'm a lot slower... Thinking or doing anything is very difficult for me now... 

    Being a lap top can be hard...  I've been tossed around in different bags, subjected to hot and cold weather, and lots and lots and lots of travel.  I've been to four different countries, and over a dozen different states.  I've seen wireless networks in coffee shops, libraries, airports, houses, and sometimes stolen from kind neighbors who didn't secure their connection.  I've been almost rained on in a park, braved thunderstorms under the overhang of a library fire escape, and put up with higher voltage European outlets. 

    I suppose being a desktop would probably have spared me some of the pain of all this...  I could have had a comfortable desk for the past 3 years of my life.  I'd probably look a lot better, with a lot less scratches, and wouldn't had to have had my rubber feet super-glued back on 3 times...  I'd probably still be running better... be better taken care of... never have to feel the cold or the heat... never have to be shoved into a dark bag with books and clipboards scratching my surface... 

    But then I think about everything that comfort would have robbed me of...  and I realize... I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything.  I've been able to see the world.  And even if it means a premature death for me, I don't think I could ever trade in this life of movement for one of safety.  This is the life I was built for.  Literally.


Tuesday, 04 November 2008

Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Sunday, 05 October 2008

  • an interesting BBC article

    An unconventional Church

    ST LOUIS, MO: So there I was in a downtown bar, discussing indie bands over my pint with a crowd of studenty-looking twentysomethings.

    The talk turned to the election. Religion and party politics shouldn't mix, someone said. Church leaders who urged their congregations to back conservative candidates were abusing their position, another drinker agreed.

    And then I remembered. These people were Southern Baptist evangelicals - supposedly the most partisan and right-wing of all American religious groups. What was going on?


    Read the rest:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/talkingamerica/


    It's pretty intriguing, especially reading the comments below.


Tuesday, 30 September 2008

  • a prayer for guidance

    O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light riseth up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
    --The Book of Common Prayer

Thursday, 25 September 2008

Saturday, 20 September 2008

  • Serbia's Muslims Celebrate Ramadan

    Just another interesting article about Serbia.
    05 September 2008 Novi Pazar _ Muslims in Serbia's south-west Sandzak region began celebrating the holy month of Ramadan this week, starting from Monday.

    In Novi Pazar, the largest town in the region, the smell of dough from countless pastry shops and bakeries fills the streets. Sandzak Muslims consider pita breads, or "little pita", as the round breads are known, as essential to the "iftar" or "sufur" meals, which they take before and after the daily fast.
       
    Because these pitas can be bought in the area only during Ramadan, some people call them "ramadanis". Each day, before iftar, large numbers of people gather in front of bakeries waiting for the pitas, which are tastiest when warm.

    During Ramadan, which lasts for 30 days, believers fasting from 4am until sunset, or 7.30pm, during which they time they are obliged to refrain from food, drink and sexual intercourse.

    Pensioner Alija Mujovic said he had been fasting in Ramadan since childhood. "This month makes me happy, the air smells different. I feel better when I am fasting, I am somehow healthier," he said.

    During the month-long feast, many Sandzak Muslim men spend the days playing cards and dominoes in coffee and tea shops, some of which work only during Ramadan. Bars are mostly empty or closed, because alcohol is forbidden.

    Women devote the season to their families. Sabina Corovic uses her holiday to give herself wholely to the fast, family and religion. "During the day, I carefully prepare the iftar, in the evening I go to the mosque for evening prayers and then I receive guests or visit relatives," she said.

    Local television stations adjust their programmes to Ramadan, organizing many religious and entertainment shows which last well into the night. After the Ramadan fast follows the three-day Ramadan Bairam, a great holiday in Islam, when believers return to their everyday lives.
    http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/life_and_style/12925/

  • Ethnic Tensions ‘Persist’ in Serbian Region

    Just found this interesting since it's basically what we were studying while we were in Serbia.
    11 September 2008 Novi Pazar _ Ethnic tensions remain in Serbia’s Muslim-dominated Sandzak region although the situation has improved, says the President of the Sandzak Committee for Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, Semiha Kacar.

    She presented the results of a survey on inter-ethnic relations in Novi Pazar at a press conference saying the situation has improved since the early 1990s.

    "We are encouraged by the fact that the interviewees, 80 Bosniaks and 20 Serbs, which is representative of the town's ethnic make-up, expressed a high degree of tolerance towards members of the other religion and nation," said Kacar.

    She said that 65 per cent of the interviewed Bosniaks (Muslims) would like to live in a multinational environment, while the majority of Serbs would prefer to live in a single ethnic one.

    "Asked whether they would like to change their current place of residence, the majority of Bosniaks replied negatively, while the majority of Serbs replied positively. A certain number of Serbs had nothing against mixed marriages, while all Bosniaks were against it. Asked how much they knew about the culture and customs of other ethnic communities, the majority of Bosniaks replied 'little', while Serbs replied 'quite a lot'," said Kacar.

    She said that interviewees of different age, gender and social structure showed a considerable degree of tolerance towards the construction of religious objects and display of religious signs.

    Kacar emphasised that all these answers should be considered from a perspective of all those experiences from the war-torn 1990s which will influence inter-ethnic relations for a long time to come.

    http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/13072/

Wednesday, 17 September 2008

  • Prayer for Mission

    O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth,
    and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near:
    Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you;
    bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh,
    and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

    --from the Book of Common Prayer