inaction

There are these moments in which I fail - these moments that bother me very deeply. These moments where the transgression is not in an action but in the failure to act.

I have fallen short again. This is the only way I know to make sense of it, to offer my apology to the ether.

My failure to act left me feeling more than helpless. I felt victimized by my own laziness. I felt maltreated by my own sense of comfort. Why wouldn’t I consider the impact that my inaction would have on you? Why didn’t I consider the way that it would leave you to feel? Why didn’t I…

…learn from all of my previous mistakes. This time, maybe. I will learn and be better. For you.

Roll down the window. Reach into the pocket. Reach out to that shadow. Knock on that door. Send that email. Click off that screen. Click on that button. Rise up against nothingness. Kneel down before wisdom. Check on that loved one. Be love to that enemy. Know someone truly. Truly be known. Or simply…Pick up the phone.

Inactivity. Creates difficulty. No apology. Can easily undo.

I should have acted.

I am sorry. I love you.

red bull and (ta)urine

So, I had my first adult experience with Red Bull recently. That’s right. After all of my incessant blathering about energy drinks, I only truly imbibed and measured the father of all energy drinks for the first time last week.

(As a matter of full disclosure, I tried Red Bull in 1999 when I was in college. Someone was giving the stuff away and I took one. After one sip, I couldn’t look at the ingredient Taurine without seeing “Urine”. I spent my late teen years drinking yellow Gatorade and Budweiser and yet somehow the Red Bull taste offended me. Go figure.)

Anyway, I have to admit to liking my Red Bull experience. I liked the taste, somewhat flowery and refined. I liked the kick. And there was something else.

Maybe it was the sponsorship of MLS’ Red Bull New York, an American soccer club who will soon have some sweet new digs to play in. Maybe it was the stimulus after a short night. Maybe it was the bull urine…er, taurine. I don’t know. But I liked it.

because you asked for it - candy corn nutrition info

candy corn

Based on a comment on Saturday's post on the recession and candy, we decided that we needed to present some facts on candy corn. Just 'cause...

Candy corn is a confection popular in the United States, particularly around Halloween. Created in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Co., the three colors of the candy are meant to mimic corn. Each piece is approximately the size of a whole kernel of corn, as if it fell off a ripe or dried ear of corn. The candy is usually tri-colored with a yellow base, orange center, and white tip, although the color combinations may vary. The most common alternate color scheme, called "Indian corn", is white, orange, and brown, and is sometimes associated with the Thanksgiving holiday.

The National Confectioners Association estimate 20 million pounds of candy corn are sold each year. October 30 is National Candy Corn Day. Although regular candy corn is most popular at Halloween, it is available year-round.

According to Brach's Confections, Inc., the top branded maker of candy corn, each year Americans eat enough Brach's candy corn that if the kernels were laid end to end, they would circle the Earth 4 times.

Candy corn is made primarily from sugar, corn syrup and honey. Originally, candy corn was made by hand. Manufacturers first combined sugar, corn syrup, and water and cooked them into a slurry. Fondant was added for texture and marshmallows provided a soft bite. The final mixture was then heated and poured into shaped molds. Three passes were required during the pouring process, one for each colored section. Few changes have been made to the process or recipe, with machines now performing the tasks formerly done by people. Candy Corn can be found at most popular grocery food stores in the USA.

Now you know.

of recessions, peanut butter bunnies, and the lighter (sweeter) things in life

A recent New York Times story, When Economy Sours, Tootsie Rolls Soothe Souls, got me thinking of lighter things heading into the weekend.

So, what is the best candy?

Is it a generally available candy? Is it seasonal? After all, Easter is coming and that brings with it all sorts of special candy, like Reese's Peanut Butter Bunnies and Cadbury Eggs.

Personally, I've always been a sucker for Skittles and Sour Patch Kids, but I have to confess to really enjoying cheap milk chocolate. The above-linked story had me feigning for a Mr. Goodbar. Seriously.

100 Grand. Gummi Bears. Hershey Bar. Nut-Rageous. Mike and Ikes. Payday. Clark Bar. Jelly Belly. Charleston Chew. Snickers. And on and on...

Which is the best? What is your favorite?

of building bunkers and the sovereign source

Did anyone else sing that mind-bending children’s song growing up, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”?

You know the one. I didn’t grow up in evangelical circles (something I am sometimes quite thankful for) and one of the few God-songs that I remember is the “Whole World” song. The song never ended. After the whole world, you start singing about oceans and jungles and fish and birds. Eventually, the teacher is straining to keep it up and you’re singing things like “He’s got the whole state of Idaho in His hands…” and kids are looking at each other like they’ve been tricked or something. It was bad enough that our little brains had to imagine big grandfatherly hands holding the whole world. Forcing us to be cognizant of geography at the same time? Torturous.

I think it is our aversion to such an idea, really an aversion to believe that we are not in control and supreme, that causes us to give the idea of Godly sovereignty such a tepid response.

For example, Obama wins an election and, to paraphrase Matt Chandler, some of us are celebrating in the streets and others of us are building bunkers and stockpiling weapons. As if we are sure we have righted the ship or we are pretty sure that the whole world is about to burn… Like, God is up in heaven scratching his head and trying to come up with a Plan B since he never saw a Democratic victory coming? I just don’t see Creator God (who has already written the end of the story) watching CNN waiting to see what His next move needs to be, especially since the story being told here is not an American story or a 21st century story, or an economics story or a human story.

We are simply bit players in the middle of a redemption story, the greatest story ever told. It is a narrative about the redeeming, merciful, all-powerful Source of light and life.

Come on out of the bunkers, people. Take a few deep breaths. Lift up your heads.

Sing it with me: “He’s got the whole world…”

post #501: of truth and kissing the postman

This morning I put up my 500th post here. And rather than commemorating the event with some sort of missive of mass importance, I decided to do the opposite. (I really am turning into George Costanza…) I decided to be flippant and trivial, hoping that the triviality would quash any aggrandizing notions that I was carrying with me.

As soon as I posted it I was irritated at myself. I mean, seriously…what would Jesus drink? No harm in it, but really... I never want to be that guy that diminishes the weight and glory of the existence of Jesus into something that might make for a good 30 minutes on VH-1. It can be fun to contextualize, but I looked back and found the whole thing a bit slight. Still, I guess I succeeded in minimizing any weird pride I might have had in posting my 500th. Let’s move on…

So anyway, it all got me thinking… I started thinking about the weight of glory and the way that we all process Truth. I am not talking about “truths”, like if I go crashing out my office window right now I will be badly injured or I feel uncomfortable every time I am in a church with a fog machine. Those things are true, but they do not encapsulate “capital-T” Truth.

I sometimes wonder if I am beginning to see a trend in this life. Like, why do we yearn and seek and strive for all of the things we do? And why do we find joy and transcendence in the things that we do?

I am willing to bet that there are things/events/experiences in this life that stir up Truth within us. Just this morning, I got a call from my wife. I had installed a bird feeder outside on the deck. And I set it so that when one looked out the big windowed doors, they would be certain not to miss anything that may be fluttering around the feeder. And so my wife calls me and says thank you this morning. She opened the blinds and was greeted by a brilliant red cardinal right outside the window. I think, on some level, she found Truth in that experience. Some part of the beauty of Creation welled up within her and she was compelled to call and thank me. This is the Truth I speak of.

Others of you are into things that for whatever reason just don’t move me. Take live music for example. I enjoy live music. I like to go watch friends play at local places and I enjoy going to concerts every now and then. But nothing stirs within me around live music. For some of you, though, it does. You feel charged up as you walk into the club. Just the smell of the joint gets you going, the old wood-paneled walls stained by years of cigarette smoke, sweat, and power chords. Your heart might even begin to pick up as you think about it – discovering a new band that you’ll love, having the perfect drink to go with the perfect song, or just enjoying a night with its own unique soundtrack. I think that in there, in that experience, is some reflection of the Truth I speak of.

It just happens sometimes. Something stirs within us. Something speaks to us on a level that we didn’t know we even had. And the Source of that Truth is always the same. It is just the look of the cathedral that changes. The danger in any of those moments is that we make the glimmer of Truth into truth itself. The reflection is not the real thing. A bucket full of ocean water may smell like the ocean and taste like the ocean and be a composite reflection of the ocean – but it can never fully represent the ocean’s vastness and beauty.

Diminishing the glory and weight of Truth is what we do. Considering that bucket of ocean water as an ultimate, full picture is what we do. We find triumph in sports, a glimmer of the Source, a reflection of the Truth. Yet so many of us get so enraptured by sports that we make them ultimate, thereby denying the reflective value they had and failing to recognize that they merely point to a larger Truth. Live music is great. But we’ve all seen the 80 year-old guy drinking by himself at the bar while a band of 20-somethings plays. Somewhere he thought a life lived around live music was a great idea. Somewhere the Truth escaped him. We long for the beauty and joy in sex. When we take it out of context – when we make life about sex - we diminish its beauty. We end up promiscuous and lonely in practicing something that was intended for pleasure and wholeness. We end up wondering how something so good could leave us feeling so crummy.

Truth is out there. It is yearning to be recognized. And we miss it in the little things. It would be like watching a baseball player make a great catch and then applauding his glove as he tossed it on the bench between innings. Yes, the glove was involved, but it is not the Source of the greatness. It would be like getting a letter telling you that you’ve inherited $1 million dollars and kissing the postman and giving him half. He was involved, but he was only the delivery system. The postman was not the Source, not the originator of Truth.

There is something undeniable about the ways in which we are wired, each of us receptive to Truth in some unique fashion.

Truth is out there. We are all seeking it every day. And it isn’t like there is one Truth for me and a different Truth for you. We have simply been wired in such a way that Truth is able to be delivered through a myriad of unique pathways. Same letter, different postman.

So, here it is. Post #501. Maybe a bit too involved. Probably, despite my best intentions, a bit preachy. Still, I hope that we all look beyond the surface today. I hope we see Truth, no matter what form it presents itself.

WWJD - What Would Jesus Drink?

I assume that there have probably been serious (and heated) discussions on today's topic. This is not intended to be one of them.

When a friend implied that Jesus would drink Red Jak, I started to wonder if such a thing could be true. Jesus sipping on Red Jak, Red Bull, or Monster? Would Jesus skip it and go straight to 5-Hour Energy?

Would he be a red wine or white wine guy? And where from? Established wine markets or third world up and comers?

Silly, yes. But scintillating.

WWJD? And why?

costanza

of pre-emptive strikes and male-pattern baldness

Call it silly or childish. Call it impulsive or bizarre. Call it what you will. I call it a pre-emptive strike against male-pattern baldness.

Friday night, after some glorious pulled pork, the decision was made that I would be taking clippers to my head, to the remnants of a once-glorious head of hair. I would be taking the leap that so many men before me have taken. Those brave men must have, like me, looked into a steamy mirror every morning, only to be confronted by increasing amounts of bare scalp staring back at them. Those courageous heroes of yester-year must have, like me, found that there is no winning formula (Grecian or otherwise) against male pattern-baldness. Those immortal souls of battles lost must have, like me, understood that the receding hairline never gives up and that the first time through with the buzzing clippers might very well be the final time to be seen with the vigor, virility, and vivaciousness of a real man.

So, I did it. It is gone. The hair has been swept away like so many memories, like so many lost opportunities. In return, I have acquired maintenance-free mornings and a whole new line of jokes.

If anyone needs me, I’ll be sulking on the couch – eating potato chips and drinking diet root beer.

kaizer chiefs

secret passage

From downtown san antonio

san antonio runs on dunkin?

Somebody tell me how the 7th largest city in the United States only has one Dunkin' Donuts...

I guess I shouldn't complain. Every once in a while, Stef and I pack up the wee one and make the drive to the "real west side" (since we live in the "yuppie west side" or so I am told) to visit San Antonio's only Dunkin' Donuts. We load up on coffee (check this website), donuts, and our monthly allowance of powdered sugar. It is glory.

I don't know what it is about a Dunkin' Donuts that is so great. I know that one of my few requests upon returning form Africa was that, while in New York City, I wanted to swing by a shop and grab a dozen donuts. I had the greatest city in the world at my disposal and no agenda whatsoever. I wanted donuts. What can you do...?

My favorite: Bavarian Kreme. Yours?

johannesburg city walk

An authentic, somewhat dizzying walk through downtown Johannesburg.

wash me: or getting to know you through bumper stickers

From Car

There are lots of ways to get to know people. Talking, for instance, is a popular one.

More surreptitious, however, is scanning the books on another person's shelf. Or better - checking out the stickers and other shwag on the back of their car.

So, here is your assignment today (somewhat like last Monday's assignment)...

Post a comment here telling the world what is on the back of your car. It could be stickers, or license-plate frames, or even an embarrassing "wash-me".

And then, take a minute and snap a photo of that back windshield or bumper and email it to me - theburkholders@gmail.com - and I'll post all of the photos I get in an upcoming blog-post. I think it should make for a fascinating, angle at the community that we have created...

From Car

From Car

From Car

i heart

My friend and sistah Tiffani wrote a great blog recently. She just listed things that she “hearted” in order to remind herself that things weren’t all bad.

I decided to do the same. Feel free to add more to the list via comment...

I heart:

South Africa
The idea of soccer
Leather
Almonds
Rainy Days
Seattle
Tall Buildings
Urban infill
My wife
My daughter
Poor people
Willie Dengler
Being critical
Being cynical
Staying Hopeful
Calvinism
Irresistible Grace
Areah Molefe
Beauty
Hot tea
Coffee
Coffee flavored ice cream
Dreaming about exploding cubicles
Bashing Twitter
Genuine worship
Shane and Shane’s drum kit
Kings of Leon
Cheetahs
Kaizer Chiefs
Bloemfontein Celtic supporters
Memory
Energy Drinks
Seasons
Thunderstorms
Raising a child
Being a child
Having a family outside of family
Community
Walking
Woodlawn Lake
Cranes
Wild parrots
Aluminum
Seinfeld
People who watched Seinfeld
Making Kristi Johnson laugh with Simpsons jokes
Hugs
Diapers
Cooing
Having two girls at home
Blogging
Architecture
Costanza
Ceiling Fans
Netflix
Bill Simmons
Gardening
Hope
Being a Landlord
Being a Brother
Stress relievers
Friday afternoons
Sick days
Onesies
Mobiles
The Village
Podcasts
Dwight Schrute
Being Anti-Corporate
DCB
Admitting that Frappucino is good
Nandos
Airports
Chicken Licken
Golf courses
Perfect pitch
Kindle
The University of Texas
Life
Air
Love
Grace
Sovereignty of the Source

hello, my name is - answers

You asked, we answer... For only four questions, this took quite a bit of thought...



Matt @ The Church of No People:
"If you were a store, a Target, a WalMart, Pier One, etc, which would you be?"

Matt: Me, I'd be a bookstore. Probably not a Barnes and Noble though.

Kyle: I would be Amazon.com. Gotcha, there.


Jeff @ Fuel the Fire:
"If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? I've got you pegged for pasta."

Jeff: Me, hamburger, no questions asked!

Kyle: South African Biryani, a South African take on an Indian curry dish of rice and spiced meat and veggies.


Nicole @ Blue Jeans Hostess and Influenced by Grace:
Question #1: What are your top 3 U2 songs--not including the new album?
Question #2: What is your favorite Texan dish to eat?

Nicole #1: 1)Where the Streets Have no Name 2) Pride (In the Name of Love) and 3) Mysterious Ways
Nicole #2: I don't think I've had any Texan food, so I need some ideas of what to make. :)

Kyle: In no particular order: Bullet the Blue Sky, Please, Miracle Drug

Kyle: Enchiladas Suizas


Jay @ More Than Enough:
If you had to pick three resturants and the rest of your life you could only eat food from these resturants (assume that logistics is not an issue), which three would you pick?

Jay: La Viña (Mexican), Fire Bowl Cafe (Stir fry), W.D. Deli (Sandwich shop)

Kyle: Carnivore (South African), Matt's at the Market (Seafood, Fresh Fare), Paesanos (Italian)

into the light

From downtown san antonio

caffeine-induced bonus post (II)

It has been awhile since I have featured a good caffeine-induced bonus post. In reality, it is the same as a normal post - only I am admitting that I tend to write when under the influence...

I love my wife. She is sick. Not like "start praying and making funeral arrangements" sick, just "take some NyQuil and curse the Lord for creating viral infections" sick.

Anyway, I took the day off of work today to take care of Baby Bella while Stef rested and, hopefully, started to feel better.

(I actually worked for 43 minutes and then came home. This is interesting because I sat in traffic on the way home because some yahoo decided to spill diesel fuel on the highway and shut the thing down. All told, I spent 48 minutes in the car today to work 43. But I digress.)

My point here is that being a Mom is hard work. And tiring. And I can appreciate that a little more today. Love my daughter - she'll wear me out. Love my wife - hope she feels much better soon. Weariness loves company.

of b-sides and getting on your boots: a listening to u2's new album

I am a U2 supporter. I like their penchant for reinvention, their seeming apathy for critics, and their ability to be "the biggest band in the world" with some sense of humility.

The new U2 album, No Line On The Horizon (NLOTH), has been...not disappointing...not underwhelming...just...not really U2.

The best way I can describe the album is like a collection of their best B-Sides from the last 10 years. The songs sound unfinished or somehow unresolved. There are really no arena anthems, no immediate sing-alongs, and no hooks that make you want to find the "repeat" button.

Usually, a new album produces that "I can't wait to see how they do this one live" feeling at first listen...this album produces more of a "I wonder how they think they'll pull that off live".

I usually like their "departure" albums, Zooropa and Pop among them. This one, however, hasn't quite caught me. Still, I haven't given up on the new effort...yet.

twitter - nobody cares

Want to talk about Twittering. NPR does: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101619832

Click and enjoy...

your automatic list

Question: What bands* are on your “Automatic List”?

What is my Automatic List, you ask, and how do I know what bands are on it? When a band on your Automatic List releases a new album, you don’t ask questions or check reviews…you buy it. That is how you know.

In addition, there are rare occasions when a band makes it beyond Automatic status. These bands make up your “Super-Automatic List”. These are bands that you not only scoop up the new album right when it comes out, but if they happen to come anywhere near your city tour there is absolutely no question that you will be in attendance…

So, who makes your Automatic List? And who, if anyone, makes up your Super-Automatic List?

My lists are in the comments section. Share yours in a comment.

(*The term “bands” includes solo performers, a la Madonna or Kanye.)

of protecting the past and the prohibition of progress

Recently, an issue has come before the San Antonio Historic Design and Review Commission. A developer has submitted a plan to build a 24-story hotel on a skinny lot on the Riverwalk that is currently occupied by a crumbling, old 3-story structure.

The HDRC has refused to grant the demolition permit to the hotel, citing the current structure's historic nature without ever stating what was historic about it - other than the fact that it is old.

(And let me note that this is a building that is currently demolishing itself. Walking by the other day, I almost had a foot crushed by a stone block that just fell out of it's facade.)

In a city as historically rich as San Antonio, we often get carried away with our desire to preserve its history.

This is a theme in many areas of our lives...

At what cost do we continually eschew progress? At what cost do we protect the past? What areas of our lives are already crumbling and yet we refuse to give in?

the old wooden floor and the lessons contained within

Our house's old wooden floor seems to have a lot of stories to tell. It creaks under the weight of time, under the weight of every step.

The soft old wood gives more than one would expect at times. It certainly holds little in common (at least structurally) with newer wooden floors resting above concrete foundations.

Now that we are again in the months where the Texas weather allows for bear feet, I have started noticing that certain boards in our floor give more than others. Certain boards are softer and others much more rigid. Certain boards seem independent of the rest, even though they are obviously part of a larger whole.

Somehow, I have been reminded of the Church. We are a compilation of many parts, some much more worn than others and all with some version of a story to tell. And while some may seem independent, all are part of a larger whole, part of a body that gives the collected members meaning in the first place.

As a follower of the Way and a seeker of the Source, this has been comforting. This metaphor allows for deviations in perspective and alterations of the overarching themes. After all, would boards of the kitchen floor and boards of the living room floor not view the same party in very different ways? One may lament the traffic and the mess, while the other marvels at the creativity and the buzz.

I guess what I am trying to say is that there are many versions of the same story. And I am still trying to learn to respect and appreciate those who have witnessed it from a different vantage point than I have.

new u2 album for $3.99

As a Post-Karmic service, here is the link to the new U2 album, downloadable from Amazon's MP3 service for only $3.99.

Now, for those of you who use iTunes exclusively, know that I am an iTunes user and I have used Amazon's MP3 store before. It is a simple process to get songs bought on Amazon into your iTunes.

I have a copy of the album buzzing in my cubicle headphones and will be posting some reactions later in the week.

Here the link again: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001S6HZTE/ref=dm_ty_alb

hello, my name is...

(I have stolen this idea from Matt @ The Church of No People - he is a genius and you should read his blog...)

This is your opportunity to 'introduce' yourself to our little group. Just ask a question of me. It can be (almost) anything. Then you answer it of yourself.

One question per person!

At the end of the week, I will post answers to your questions along with your name and a link to your blog or website (or if you have no website or blog, I’ll link to the website of your choice). So you get a little reward! If you come up with some ridiculous question, everyone will be like, 'Wow, that person is crazy, or something. I want to read his blog!' But you have to answer it yourself, or no credit, and no post!

Fire away...

ripped from: http://www.strategycentral.org/2009/02/future-dude.html

escape

From downtown san antonio

golden

From downtown san antonio

circular living: or how marvin gardens might be a nice place to settle down

The game of Monopoly is an interesting reflection of our understanding of life.

We seem to see life as a game of sorts. We hope to have more good luck than bad luck and we intend to make money along the way. Apparently, success or victory can be claimed when we have more than others, although such relativism leads to an unwinnable proposition. After all, someone is always richer, smarter, and better-looking. Still, a great number of us live in such a purposeless haze as to chase the illusion of relative success.

To me, the beauty of Monopoly is in the way that the game board is oriented. The square-ishness makes me smile. No matter how much money one earns or how many properties one acquires, he must still continue on that tedious journey. He must continue making his way around the square.

For all intents and purposes, we could round out that square game board into a circle and the effect would be no different. We would be engaged in circular living, the human equivalent of a dog chasing his tail.

Circular living is a disease that plagues most of us most of the time and all of us some of the time. We chase incremental improvements and relative gains. Just once, I would like to see someone land on Park Place or Boardwalk (or even Marvin Gardens or Baltic Ave) and then refuse to take his next turn. I would love to hear someone say, “I think I’ll stay here awhile and just appreciate the view.”

I would like that very much.

will africa let sudan off the hook?

A New York Times Op-Ed Piece


by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Cape Town

The expected issuance of an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan by the International Criminal Court tomorrow presents a stark choice for African leaders — are they on the side of justice or on the side of injustice? Are they on the side of the victim or the oppressor? The choice is clear but the answer so far from many African leaders has been shameful.

Because the victims in Sudan are African, African leaders should be the staunchest supporters of efforts to see perpetrators brought to account. Yet rather than stand by those who have suffered in Darfur, African leaders have so far rallied behind the man responsible for turning that corner of Africa into a graveyard.

In response to news last July that Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the court’s chief prosecutor, was seeking an arrest warrant for President Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, the African Union issued a communiqué to the United Nations Security Council asking it to suspend the court’s proceedings. Rather than condemn the genocide in Darfur, the organization chose to underscore its concern that African leaders are being unfairly singled out and to support President Bashir’s effort to delay court proceedings.

More recently, the Group of 77, an influential organization at the United Nations consisting of 130 developing states and including nearly every African country, gave Sudan its chairmanship. The victory came after African members endorsed Sudan’s candidacy in spite of the imminent criminal charges against its president.

I regret that the charges against President Bashir are being used to stir up the sentiment that the justice system — and in particular, the international court — is biased against Africa. Justice is in the interest of victims, and the victims of these crimes are African. To imply that the prosecution is a plot by the West is demeaning to Africans and understates the commitment to justice we have seen across the continent.

It’s worth remembering that more than 20 African countries were among the founders of the International Criminal Court, and of the 108 nations that joined the court, 30 are in Africa. That the court’s four active investigations are all in Africa is not because of prosecutorial prejudice — it is because three of the countries involved (Central African Republic, Congo and Uganda) themselves requested that the prosecutor intervene. Only the Darfur case was referred to the prosecutor by the Security Council. The prosecutor on his own initiative is considering investigations in Afghanistan, Colombia and Georgia.

African leaders argue that the court’s action will impede efforts to promote peace in Darfur. However, there can be no real peace and security until justice is enjoyed by the inhabitants of the land. There is no peace precisely because there has been no justice. As painful and inconvenient as justice may be, we have seen that the alternative — allowing accountability to fall by the wayside — is worse.

The issuance of an arrest warrant for President Bashir would be an extraordinary moment for the people of Sudan — and for those around the world who have come to doubt that powerful people and governments can be called to account for inhumane acts. African leaders should support this historic occasion, not work to subvert it.

Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

For more, see video below...

ekhlas

i am...where?

I am finding that there can be great peace in uncertainty.

I find myself in an uncertain place right now, between two ideas that each have merit. And the tension between the two is real. It is palpable. Yet somehow, uncertain as to what the next step is, there is peace. Everything will be as it is to be. And no amount of stress or worry will change that.

I think I am enjoying this place. I hope I can be present here, open to all of the parabolic possibilities.

we, the optimists

Today, I am optimistic. I am full of optimism, full of...

...an outlook on life such that one maintains a view of the world as a positive place, or one's personal situation as a positive one. It is the philosophical opposite of pessimism. Optimists generally believe that people and events are inherently good, so that most situations work out in the end for the best.

Alternatively, some optimists believe that regardless of the external world or situation, one should choose to feel good about it and make the most of it. This kind of optimism doesn't say anything about the quality of the external world; it's an internal optimism about one's own feelings.

What leaves you feeling optimistic today?

a word in defense of fanta orange

It recently came to my attention that a certain blogger (Cousin Jeff) had spoken poorly of Fanta in the comments section of a crassly worded and ignorant blog posting.

Let it be known in this space that neither Orange Crush nor Sunkist will ever approach the love that is felt around the globe for Fanta Orange.

Beyond that, the fine folks at Fanta have generously given us many Fanta flavors to savor, including the Dimetapp-like Fanta Grape and the incredibly acidic Fanta Pineapple.

I salute you, Fanta Orange. You are a true friend.

crosstown rivals

From downtown san antonio