Economic Crisis - WIP

There is a lot of finger pointing as to the cause of the current economic crisis.

Blame... blame... blame...

Some say it is the Democrats, some say it is the Republicans.

Some say it is the senior officers of high finance others say... well, they say that WE ARE ALL TO BLAME.

WE ARE NOT ALL TO BLAME. 

Contrary to what Whoopie Goldberg said, not everyone went to the party of financial free-for-all, and it's not just us that have to clean it up, it is going to be our children that are going to be dealing with this as well.

It would be easy to point the finger at one group and have a good ole fashion lynching.

Or just shrug and say that we all did it and a good ole fashion love-in.

But here's the reality, America is a culture of irresponsible finance, and there are a lot of people that are VERY responsible with their finances and are getting screwed because of the greed and financial irresponsibility of the masses.  I don't want to blame culture, can I blame materialism?

Melissa and I bought a used Hyundai Accent and it is paid off.

We bought a small townhouse that is about 45 minutes from the city.

We don't have any credit card debt.

We live within our means and we don't live on credit.

So... don't blame me for this mess.

Unlike so many other high finance companies, J.P.Morgan did not get themselves into the trouble that so many other did with high risk sub-prime loans... so I'm told.  So maybe there are some businesses that are fiscally reasonable.

Too many people buy the propaganda of the capitalism machine that material gain is the key to happiness, that a certain 'standard of living' is a non-negotiable. 

Some Democrats are guilty of this and some are not.

Same goes for Republicans, senior officers of high finance, and the average citizen.

I suspect that some politicians are not saying this because it would be upsetting to hear and they would lose approval.  Who's going to be approving of a guy that says you make crap financial decisions?

Why is looking for blames so seductive?

I've had the rare luxury of working with a leader that values moderation, diplomacy, and listening.  It was great for me to be exposed to real critical thinking early on.  When Clinton was president there was a lot of talk from Christian conservatives about how horrible he was.  My pastor told me that Clinton was not the anti-Christ.  He also told me interesting things about how Clinton managed meetings and actively sought out his critics to listen to what they had to say.  Because I respected the guy I was willing to have an open mind.  Years later GW took office.  Again, there was a lot of talk from Christian conservatives about how GW was God's candidate.  My pastor told me that while Clinton was not the anti-Christ, GW was also not the messiah either.  

I'm not in the middle of this thing, but as an average citizen I'm not feeling great about this rescue bill.  If you believe in a free market then doesn't that mean that you do not intervene?

I hear things like, 'Japan tried a bailout ten years ago and they still haven't recovered.'  I would like to help people feel at ease in uncertain times, but I feel like I'm going against the culture.  The way I was raised was always being bailed out when I got in trouble.  My parents were trying to protect me, but they ended up insulating me from the valuable life-learning experience of suffering natural consequences.  This is our culture.  Too many expect to be rescued from consequences because this is what we were taught to expect.  

So here's my advice.  If you are not part of the solution then try not to stir up a panic.  Start managing you money by living within your means and don't live on credit.  Realize that you do not have a right to a certain standard of living, 90% of the rest of the world would love to be in your position.  

The second part of my advice is tricky because I find it difficult to abide.  Don't be a hater.

There are people I really don't like, people that I think could be dangerous.  But I need to remember that people with power and people with out power are just people.   The best of us will make mistakes and brightest will have moral failings.   Hate is a heavy burden, it is hard to let go of because it is held in a clenched fist.  The hate that it holds was justified by a feeling that 'I am right'.  Every time I was ever wrong... I felt right.

THE BOWHAY DIET

I'm over weight.

I did the BMI and based on my age and height I need to be in the ball park of 160-165.

I started out this year at 235.

Right now I'm 218.  I'm cool with that.

Here's my diet philosophy.

1. Big ass protein heavy breakfast.

2. Medium sized lunch.

3. All-Bran for dinner.

The later in the day that you eat, the more likely it is that your food will turn to fat.

For breakfast I usually heat up some stuff I cooked earlier in the week.  Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage is a personal favorite.  I'll usually have it with eggs and toast.

Now, it's not good to have eggs every day, you need to be on a rotation.

If I'm lazy I'm grab some frozen chicken patties and some sweet potato fries.  I try to alternate with salmon and tofu.

I know, fish in the morning?  That sounds gross, but let's face it, where has western style eating habits gotten us?  Out of shape and unhealthy.  It does require a paradigm shift.

All-bran is the cereal with the highest amount of fiber.  Fiber is good, it will help you lose weight. Eating cereal for dinner will drastically affect your social life, bringing a ziplock bag of All-bran over to dinner at your In-law's place.

But, if your friends love you then they will support your lifestyle change, I mean, if I was diabetic (actually my doctor said I was pre-diabetic) then no one would say boo.

The Bowhay diet is kinda like coming out of the closet.  People will be uncomfortable around you because your lifestyle makes them confront their own lifestyles... or it's just awkward because it's out of the ordinary.  

For lunch I try to have two shots of wheat grass and a venti coffee. The coffee is very filling, but it's not good to drink your calories.  My advice is to learn to appreciate a good coffee without all the whip cream and syrup.  The peaberry is quite nice. The good thing about the wheat grass is that I don't like vegetables, so a few shots a week and I'm good.  If you've never had wheat grass before, WATCH OUT.  The taste is awful, it's like having your sinuses stuffed with fresh lawn clippings.  Keep the altoids handy, they're pretty good at masking the after taste.

SNACK OFTEN 

Carrots take more calories to digest than what they introduce.  Soyjoy cranberry bars are the highest in potassium and lowest in calories, also a good source of fiber.  Cheese sticks and apples are good too. I rarely reward myself with a dark chocolate or green tea cola. If I'm really fiending  then I might chomp on some of my daughter's rice crackers.

SUPPLEMENT YOUR DIET.

You probably already know the vitamins that you need, 

A (Retinol)

B₁ (Thiamin),B₂ (Riboflavin), B₃ (Niacin), B₅ (<Pantothenic acid), B₆ (Pyridoxine),  B₇ (Biotin), B₉ (Folic acid), B₁₂ (Cyanocobalamin)

C (Ascorbic acid)

D (Calciferol)E (Tocopherol), 

K (Phylloquinone)

but there are around 16 different minerals that the body needs to stay healthy.  

Calcium Chloride

Cobalt Copper

Iodine Iron

Magnesium Manganese

Molybdenum Nickel

Phosphorus Potassium

Selenium Sodium

Sulfur Zinc

Also, there are 8 different simple sugars that the body needs. 

Xylose Fucose

Galactose Glucose

Mannose  N-acetylgalactosamine 

N-acetylglucosamine N-acetylneuraminic acid

Most multi-vitamins that are available at your local drug store won't have anything with the 8 sugars.  If you don't have a specialty shop near you then go here.  But if you do then SUPPORT SMALL LOCAL BUSINESS!

You can't rely on a balanced diet to diet to take care of it for you any more.  In this day of corporate farming the soil is depleted of nutrients and produce is harvested before they have a chance to store any real nutrients. If you have farmers market near then go to it.  The key is to eat the freshest and most unprocessed foods as possible.

*When taking supplements you must drink lots of water.  Water is the catalyst. 

Vitamin D and Omega-3's will help you lose weight.

Omega-3's tell your body to burn stored fat.

Omega-6's (found in bread, pasta, and white starches) tell your body to store fat.

Your body doesn't make fat from consumed fat, it makes fat by converting starch into fat.

Last bit.

LEARN TO LIKE EXERCISE

I bought a pair of running shoes and my buddy David gave me bike.

I try to use one of them daily.

My friend James showed me a thing called the Powerbase.

It is light and compact (fits under your bed) and offers modular low-impact isometric workouts.

That's a good thing.

I got on craigslist and found the exact stair-master I wanted, the 'Climbmax 3000' (very sexy).  I got it for $275. It was in Jersey.  It was a huge time (12 hours), money (I think the gas cost more than the 

machine), 

and space

 investment (my laundry room is crowded as hell).  But I'm worth it :)

Also, if you are cheap and lazy like me, there are simple floor and stair exercises that you can do on your way from the kitchen to the couch.  

*one last tip

Mustard does wonders for bland healthy foods.

And it doesn't have all the sugar that ketchup or barbecue sauces have.  Here are some of my favorites.

SEX AND SOCIAL SERVICES

WARNING, IF YOU ARE A PRONE TO DEMONIZING SEXUALITY PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY COMMENTS. Instead you should go here, I mean, why needlessly upset yourself?

This summer my pastor gave a lecture that changed my life.

No, it was not the famous 'Last Lecture.'

It was about laziness.  I had always thought of laziness as the opposite of work. Anytime I wanted to  chill and eat some potato chips on the couch while watching reruns of The Nanny I figured I was being lazy.

This was his definition -

'When comfort wins over doing what is right'

That is a very liberating idea and at the same time very convicting.  

The reason why this affected me so much is that I was able to think about other virtues that I may have misunderstood and began to contemplate the principles behind them.

Obscenity.  

I met with my old religion professor last month just to catch up on life and talk shop.  He recently came back to his faith and is considering going back to church.  He lamented that these 'American Christians' are all obsessed with sex. He said, 'That's all they want to talk about.'

I thought to myself, "Yea, but there's a lot of freaky sex in the Bible."

Years ago I heard Ravi Zacharias talking about pornography and in the same lecture he said that 'nothing is inherently evil.'  He didn't come up with that, theologians have been saying that for generations. But, to include that thought on a subject that is so socially unacceptable was pretty bold.  Zacharias when on to compare trash romance novels to pornography, not because they were graphically explicit, but because they were conceptually explicit.  The indulgent reward to the pleasure center of the brain is the same, an instantly gratifying and intense rush of stimulation.

The problem with pornography is that it is  empty calories... 

like soda and candy.  Soda and candy are not evil, but if you use it to cope 

and rely on it as your source of nutrition then you will not only get sick and eventually die, you will also be somewhat dysfunctional as a person.

But let's face it, people will use anything to cope, even the common understanding of love is 'I like how you make me feel,' rather than 'I care about how you feel.'

Empty.

Now you all know that I love a good controversy, and my last thought is not the big controversy here.  I would like to take this moment to trample on something revered in our culture.  Something that is undisputed as a godsend to our culture...

Of course it is good that some people get helped, that's not my beef.  And I'm not saying that it is a BAD show or that you are BAD for watching it.  After a long stressful week it's nice to flop on the couch and veg.  Coping mechanisms are okay in moderation, but over indulgence leads to an unhealthy and dysfunctional consumer mindset.  The reward for watching EHM is that you get an intense emotional rush, and it is instantly gratifying.  You get to feel warm and fuzzy about the down-and-out family that gets a second chance.  You get to feel good about yourself because other people rush out to serve the less fortunate.  

What's wrong with that?

And for the sake of argument, what's wrong with some pimply kid getting the instant gratification of an intense physical rush from a naked picture?

The teen-age boy is not actually participating in fornication... right?

(The same way that the viewers of EHM are not actually participating in any charitable act of service)

SIDE NOTE - I don't think masturbation can be considered a sin based on the Onan model.  The dude was guilty of deception because he was supposed to provide a child but was selfish and shot his load into his shoe (so as to not provide any evidence when he put his foot back into that slimy penny-loafer) and then exited the tent.

Sorry, it that too graphic?  That's in the Bible (maybe not the NIV).

Let's back up for a second.

What is lust?

Is it any sexual thought? No. (some sexual thoughts are harmless and some are psychotic)

Before you quote Matthew 5 gimmie a minute.

Does the insight into the principle of laziness help us understand lust? Yes.

Here's my definition

     Lust is when you indulge in your desire at the expense of another person.

(This is why I think that many husbands are guilty of lust against their own wives)

This may not completely resolve the controversy of sexual taboos, but it at least makes a little clearer and rational in my head.

Now getting back to the harmless thoughts thing.  I agree with Matthew 5:21.  Anger is totally unnecessary and can be eliminated very easily with the right coaching.  But,  sexual thoughts are only unhealthy if you are ogling or fantasying about indulging in your desire at the expense of another person.

If a kid objectifies women, then yea, that's not cool.  I consider myself a feminist, I have a wife, a daughter, a mom, and a sister.  I want the best for them.  As far as his pet monkey goes, maybe his impulse is momentarily satisfied, but society as a whole is not suffering from the loss of his contribution to... I don't know, the local sperm-bank?

But, if we as a culture are pacifying our ideal to help others because we watch a show on Sunday night then we all lose (except Home Depot).

And who really benefits?  Are the 'down-and-out' families receiving long term professional assistance?  No.

Hore Depot benefits, maybe they are not the corporate whore that some people accuse them of being, but they might be the ho-slapping pimp.

I KNOW, I KNOW!!! 

You are saying that this show inspires people to go out and help others...

...prove it.

EHM averages over 3 million viewers.  I don't want to be right, I would love to be wrong.  Cynicism has not served me well, I desperately want to have hope in Americans. 

If you like EHM and you like how it makes you feel, then keep watching it.

I'm not here to preach abstinence or censorship.  But I do challenge you to get involved in ACTUAL social service rather than a virtual fix. I believe in the potential that each individual has something to contribute.  When you stimulate yourself into social atrophy the whole community suffers.

Dora the Explora

The difference between a rational decision and an act of faith is the difference between doing what is practical versus helping someone at your own expense.

I saw a some lady sitting on the concrete with her two kids, approximate ages 18 months and

 2 and half.

The mom had a look of hopelessness on her face.

I said 'hi' from a distance and then walked up to them and asked her if she needed help.

Now, I'm not much to look at.   I had just rolled out of bed and my day-old luke warm coffee wasn't doing anything for me.

In broken english she said that she was waiting for her husband.  She said that he is working at a restaurant and is probably busy. I told her that I had a car seat and could give her a ride home or take her to her husband's restaurant.  We went to Beijing Express, I got a free diet coke.

The 18 month old girl was playing with my daughter's Dora Ipod.  She was a little frazzled.  

This family looked like they were right off the boat and living in the back of the kitchen of this sleazy joint.  

I gave her the ipod.

Why was the poor lady who loved her babies in this situation?  

Is she a selfish person or did she make bad choices?

Does she have some emotional baggage that sabotages everything in her life?

Does life just suck for some people?

Does it matter?

There was a sign that said the owner reserved the right to refuse any business.

Ministry is the business of helping and loving people, and no one gets turned away.

Star Wars Church versus Star Trek Church

I've been hanging out with an old buddy lately.

I'll call him 'Captain Jean Luc Picard'

Jean Luc is a pot smoker and is into porn.

I like hanging out with Jean Luc.  

I feel like I can be totally honest and be myself without having to worry about Jean Luc feeling shocked or uncomfortable or challenging his world view.  

But what I really enjoy about his company is that I never have to worry about being judged for anything that I may say or do.

Jean Luc unconditionally accepts me.

I think that it is a shame that this is a rare thing.

I suspect that it would be rare for a lot of people everywhere.

I've been in faith communities for my whole life.

Many of them claim to accept everyone 'where they are'

I don't find that this is always true.  And I suspect that this (more than pedophile priests) is why faith communities get accused of hypocrisy.

I don't often find unconditional acceptance in faith communities, it seems like I have to leave the faith community to get it.  The down side is that me and Picard tend to morally stagnate outside of the challenges of a faith community. (by morally stagnate I don't mean that we start doing 'bad' things, I mean we stop doing selfless things)

I have another friend, I'll call him Boba Fett.

Boba Fett was going out with a Leah for about a year and was not happy.

So he decided to break up with her by saying something to the effect of,

'You're just not the kind of person that I could ever love'

wow

I asked Mr. Fett, 'what the HELL is wrong with you?'

There is being honest and then there is being heartless.

There were a million other ways to break up with Leah without going Deathstar on her.

It's called tact.  Christians call it 'telling the truth in love'

It's a cool theory,  I don't know how well it works in practice (not because of the theory, I think people are the weak link here).

The funny thing is that as soon as Boba Fett left Leah's apartment he remembered that he left his grappling hook on the table, he went back to the door to go get it (it was a very important grappling hook) but he could hear Leah sobbing through the walls of the apartment.

So he decided to let it go.

Good choice.

Later Boba confided to me that the fact that I questioned his decision about how he broke up with Leah really struck him.

He said that none of his other bounty hunter friends would ever call him out on anything of his action that may have been questionable.

He was convicted and valued my accountability.

HERE THE THING

I want to be a part of a faith community where I can be totally and unconditionally accepted.

I was at a church in California a while back and I was served barbecue  ribs by heroine addicts.

The principle of this church was that we heal from our wounds, not by focusing ourselves, but by healing others.

I can dig that.

I've seen a lot of churches that invites people into their community... BUT THERE IS A CONDITION.

If you are a pot smoker, then you have to admit that it is wrong  and you have to be taking steps towards 'recovery'

You can be a tranny-stripper, but it has to be a part of your past testimony.

R.C. Sproul thinks that God's 'holiness' is his premier trait, more than his love.

I think R.C. Sproul is a condescending tool and should get spanked by Joel Olsteen's pimp.

Ravi Zacharias says, 'Jesus did not come to make bad people good, he came to make dead people live.'

HERE'S THE HYPOCRISY

no one is perfect

But there are sins that are acceptable in a church, that won't go confronted.

things that are under the radar like gossip, self righteousness, envy, wrath, gay bashing, gluttony, greed, lust (I don't mean porn, I mean the husband that doesn't care if his wife has an orgasm as long as he is satisfied), democrat bashing, vanity and laziness.

It all boils down to selfishness.

I saw a defensive Christian bumper sticker that said, 'not perfect, just forgiven'

I gotta say, some people that are 'just forgiven' can be really unforgiving.

(in their defense, churches are filled with people that are hurting (some of them know it and some of them don't), and people that are hurting tend to hurt those around them)

HERE'S THE PROBLEM

Dinesh D'Souza said that, "Coerced virtue can never be true virtue, it can only have the outward semblance of virtue."

Pretending to be holy for conditional acceptance is worse than hypocritical it is living in isolation.

I've heard the argument that if you have church members running around doing what ever they wanted then it would cease to be a church.

I don't think unconditional acceptance is the same as endorsement.

And a faith based community ought to have faith that their community of faith is going to thrive.

HERE'S MY MODERATIONS

I think that Jean Luc will have problems if he expects unconditional acceptance as his condition to accept others.  Remember no one is perfect, some are just forgiven.

I think that if you want unconditional acceptance it will be easier if you are unconditionally accepting of others.

I think that, like virtue, acceptance cannot be regulated.  

I think that the only way to know if someone, or a faith community, will accept you is to be yourself and trust them and give them an opportunity to accept or reject you.

It is scary, no one wants to expose themselves to rejection.  It takes faith and the alternative is pseudo-righteous isolation or selfish stagnation.

I think that people like Boba Fett do need to be challenged to be a better bounty hunter, but it has to be requested.  You cannot force accountability, it has to be done in cooperation with someone you trust that unconditionally accepts you.

the conference

So I just got back from this conference in California.

It was pretty cool.  I think I am changed, but I don't how.

First of all, there is no Mile High Comics in LA.

How lame is that? The land of the Wondercon, and no mhc.

I found a comic shop, but it was dinky and unimpressive.

They did carry some cool stuff that my own shop didn't have.

The ultra graphic Hercules (not the Marvel one), Rasl by Kevin Smith, David Lapham's comic Young Liars, Glamourpus, and Vertigo's House of Mystery.  So that was pretty cool, especially since I already read through all of my Secret Invasion crossover comics on the way to CA.

Also, cable in California... not very exciting.  It's pretty much the same crap that we have out east.  I did watch the Alaska Experiment that was cool.  I also saw the old narrated version of Bladerunner, lame.

Other sad news, I discovered that Jack in the Box no longer serves the bruschetta chicken ciabatta. 

So, this thing was about the P.E.A.C.E. plan.

The basic idea is that there are many bad things that affect millions of people, but only a few that affect billions.  If someone wants to help make a difference they might be overwhelmed by all the needs in the world, this helps consolidate and focus things.  This is an initiative to try to take on the top 5 giants that are bringing down the human race.  It is not hard to guess what they would be, pandemic disease (AIDS and stuff), starvation, education, corruption in leadership, all that kind of stuff.  Mostly it had to do with Africa, it sounds bad for me to say it like that, but whatever, judge me later.

The methodology is about mobilizing regular people, stop outsourcing aid to 'professionals' (ngo's and gov) and put it in the hands of the people (there is some training involved so that people don't make situations worse, the first principle is 'do no harm') instead of throwing western money at the problem. Two billion people can do more than two billion dollars.  Too many times donated goods end up in the black-market and funds are seized by warlords and corrupt politicians. Any aid that does reach the intended recipient ends up creating dependancy and a worse situation. 

It was amazing to hear about the type of people that were getting involved.  Big CEO's (who I would normally hate) were getting on planes and going to Africa to meet chicken farmers and helping people grow their businesses, Dairy farmers were going into foreign cultures and showing people how to raise cattle, 

I would like to take this moment to give a big middle finger to all the anthropologists that care more about introducing cows to a cowless culture than they care about the millions of people with babies that are starving to death.

substance abuse addicts and people with sexual disorders were focusing on others to help them save their babies from getting malaria.  Yes, it is controversial, yes, there is risk involved, and yes, these people were succeeding in changing the world for the better.  Spiritual leaders are meeting with generals and politicians and learning about conflict resolution and reconciliation. Rick Warren mediated the conflict in Kenya and helped to resolve the violence that was killing thousands.  All I have to say is sick balls man... sick balls.  This is something that I think I can really get into.

The last important things, there is a barbecue joint in the OC called Lucille's.  The best brisket and ribs I've ever had in my life.  Also, this fat kid playing the acoustic cover of the Outkast song 'Hey Ya' is my new theme.  It's kinda hippie so most of you won't like it.  Deal with it. 

btw, when I listed education as a thing that is 'bringing down the human race' what I meant was that education is a bad thing and we need less of it.  The stupider people are the happier they well be.  Sure they may get malaria from drinking infected water and spread AIDS by having sex with virgins to cure their AIDS... okay, that's not funny at all.  Education is good.

The Matrix has you...