My wife picked up a bookshelf from target today. She could put it into the cart and then into the trunk, but going any further would probably do damage to her ~ 24 weeks pregnant frame. As I went outside to carry it from the car to the apartment, I noticed a sign on the box that got me annoyed with whomever wrote it down.
To my disgust, it had an advisory saying that 3-4 people should carry it! Now, I'm kicking myself because I can't find the exact shelf on target.com, but the point is, it wasn't more than 100 pounds. I carried from the car the 30 or so feet to the spot where it belonged in our apartment with no stress or worry that my back would be strained, and I'm a sissy boy intellectual!
Seriously people, do we need a sign to tell us how many people are needed to lift a particular box? And do we also need that sign to make it such that 3 people are lifting about 40 pounds each (and that's a maximal estimate--I'm guessing this thing was about 80 pounds)? I could see how maybe 2 people would be needed to hold the thing, but ultimately we should be big enough to know if something is too heavy for us. I'm sure it was a protective move to ensure that no lawsuits happen, but it really was laughable to think that 3-4 people would be needed to carry this thing.
We live in a society that is tailor made for weakness and litigious stupidity. It must end, and it will end when we start taking on more responsibility for ourselves.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Primary Colors (or the lack thereof?)
Has anyone else wondered why we should care about the presidential preferences of states like Iowa and New Hampshire, whose ethnic background is 91% and 97% white, respectively?
What sort of prognosticating power could such homogeneous lands have on a country that is much more of a melting pot in character?
This assignment of importance to those states that have caucuses or primaries earlier in the year reminds me of the ridiculous superstitiousness that pervades our society in other realms, such as Groundhog's day.
BLEH.
What sort of prognosticating power could such homogeneous lands have on a country that is much more of a melting pot in character?
This assignment of importance to those states that have caucuses or primaries earlier in the year reminds me of the ridiculous superstitiousness that pervades our society in other realms, such as Groundhog's day.
BLEH.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
2007-The Year in Books
Because a good friend of mine has posted his reading list of 2007, I thought it would also be appropriate to step back and list the various books that I was able to get through before the ball fell down in Times Square. As I look at the list I am happy to have read or reread these various books (and I realize how much time I spent studying Roman Catholicism!) but wish I would have had the time to have finished others which occupy a huge pile throughout my home.
I'm not sure if this ordering is the best, but it is what it is. There are also some other books that I checked out from libraries, and since they're not around I can't rouse my memory to be sure that I read them in 2007. Combine that with the size of this list, and I chose to omit them. Maybe in 2008, I'll be more systematic and write
book reviews as I go.
Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis
This introductory book from Lewis' trilogy is great on so many levels-he sets the stage for a crazy dystopic future seen in That Hideous Strength. Due to time constraints and my own worries over this country's direction, I abstained from going past the next book.
Perelandra - C.S. Lewis
The world of spirits and planets is explained on a deeper level as Ransom travels to a second planet. I love the reflection on how different planets have different modes of expression. Is it sexist? Methinks not.
Till we have Faces - C.S. Lewis
My favorite book of all of Lewis, perhaps because in this Greek myth retold he comes closest to using his knowledge of the classics and applying it to his own writing, which is something that makes me love Tolkien so dearly.
The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis
This book which is also on audio is something I listened to as a young teenager, and now that I've experienced love and the lack thereof on deeper levels I find his insights all the more witty and telling of the human condition.
The Gambler - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I'm glad to say that I've read the gambler--here Dostoyevsky deals with the trivialities of society and the way in which those things can enslave people and ruin families.
Notes from the Underground- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
This could be my new favorite by my Russian friend. He doesn't develop characters in this story the way that he does in the Brothers K, etc., but the depth of the emotion that is conveyed by the writer as he shares his frustrations and near insanity is beautifully done.
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
I mentioned above that taking legend and retelling it in a new light is beautiful to me--so I had to go through old faithful and read this with my son (again). Always a delight to read his work, and I'm looking forward to the movies in 2010 and 2011.
The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
Every time I read these books, the little side stories grow in my mind for they can come into closer focus as the rest of the book is almost memorized by me. Just thinking about Barrow Wights was enough to make me so happy to reread this book.
The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien
Ditto on this one-thinking about Kreeft's analysis of this book was also on my mind as I read this, in just thinking that this book is ultimately about Sauron, who is the Lord of the Rings may sound like an obvious thing to you, but hey, I miss obvious points all of the time!
Christianity for Modern Pagans - Peter Kreeft
Speaking of Kreeft, I had seen this book at my church's book table which is purchased via the honor system. Then when I saw it at the library I got to check it out. It reminded me that I wanted to read Pascal, and brought a lot of important thoughts to mind about what it means to believe, and what should be said in sharing this faith with others. In this book he quotes portions of Pascal's Pensees and reorganizes them based on topics that he thinks, while he provides his commentary on the Pensees.
Pensees - Blaise Pascal
Wanting to get the words straight from the horse's mouth, I went to read the Pensees as Pascal wrote them, and I didn't skip the chapters that Kreeft skipped for the sake of clarity and brevity. At times I thought this concoction was a mad mess, and at other moments I saw how he would present the world from both the view of one who believes in God and from the view of the skeptic. The madness that exists in the text is merely the natural consequence of these different perspectives colliding, and when I looked at it that way, I saw the grandeur of the Pensees.
The Winter of Our Discontent - John Steinbeck
Steinbeck has been on my "to read" list, beyond Of Mice and Men, that is. Winter of Our Discontent was a great story about what it means to be a successful American, which is something near and dear to me as I pursue a career that seems to be both very successful and hopelessly underappreciated in terms of work vs. pay.
The Trial - Franz Kafka
I will admit that I do not like Metamorphosis, which is supposed to be his best. But this book was turned into a movie by Orson Welles, and while that one is a bit hard to follow, I had to read the book since my hero had made a movie of it. This was no Metamorphosis--I really enjoyed the paranoia and despair of a world beset in self-contradicting laws. The threat of a government that is so big that we can't be sure of what we are charged (habeas corpus, anyone?) is portrayed in a gripping way, and I have to say that the changes Welles made did not improve this great book. Definitely a must read.
Stonewall Jackson : The Black Man's Friend - Richard G. Williams Jr. and James. I. Robertson Jr.
Living in Maryland has put the War of Northern Aggression on my mind, and this analysis of how a religious man like Jackson could still support the South was a great read. Instead of casting things in light of national policy, in this book we see the world of Jackson and the local blacks in his town, as he sought to teach them to read in violation of laws, so that they would develop a heart and mind for the truth. The mere fact that there is a stained glass window dedicated to Stonewall Jackson in the local church that the freed slaves attended was enough for me to see that underneath the oppression of slavery, the goodness of humanity persisted and prevailed. That it would have prevailed without a war costing 600,000 lives is, of course, a matter on which we could debate, but it is a position that I maintain.
At The Helm - Kathy Barker
This book is a divergence from the others--it's almost a manual on what it means to be the boss of a lab. I enjoyed the stories on what it takes, but at the same time my fear and uncertainty on this career path grew.
Nothing Feels Good - Andy Greenwald
I was mailed this book by a friend who instructed me to burn it upon reading it. This analysis of "emo" as a genre and a state of mind had some interesting vignettes but was overall a silly analysis of culture where the blog as a medium was the apex of being "emo". Ending a few years ago he wrote as though there would be no new "emo" as personalization found its true expression on the internet. The point is--the book is well emoted (ha!) but not thought out well. Maybe he was truly being emo in so doing.......
Orson Welles:Hello Americans - Simon Callow
Callow's second book on Welles did not let down from his first great work on the earlier phase of Welles' life. Here the pace slows down dramatically and we spend about 400 pages reading about what transpired in 6 or 7 years or so. As you can guess, a lot of detail is put into this story, but it is done in a way that is exciting. As both a comment on one man's life and the overall culture of the world in which he lived, I commend this book to all. It also gave me ideas as to what movies of his to track down next. Having seen MacBeth and Jane Eyre since, I can say that I've not been let down by Callow's descriptions!
Orson Welles Remembered - Peter Prescott Tonguette
This book is a straightforward collection of interview quotes from people who knew Welles. It sounds boring but the subject is not, and so this makes for a great read.
The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism - Louis Bouyer
After Francis Beckwith's reversion to Catholicism, I began focusing on this matter with more seriousness. This book was bought for me by a friend in the summer of 2005, but I didn't touch it until the spring of 2007. This book is a very thought-provoking work, where Protestantism as an idea is described as in agreement with Roman Catholicism. Bouyer lays the charge that the things that are actually unique about us as Protestants are the very areas where the Spirit of Protestantism is choked out by varying forces such as nominalistic philosophy. A must read, in my opinion.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church - The U.S. Catholic Church (I guess that's the author, if you trust amazon.com)
This book was hard to read all the way through, but I thought that if I wanted to be "fair and balanced" that it was necessary to do. It was an interesting endeavour.
The Roman Catholic Controversy - James White
This book was one by the author of a book that I formerly loved, and now I think may have been based on the fervor of angst towards an idea. I looked to see what his strongest points were, but am now convinced that any criticism of Rome must not come from this way of argumentation. That's all I'll say on this thread, at least.
Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences - Norman L. Geisler and Ralph E. MacKenzie
This assessment of the differences between Catholics and Evangelicals varies in terms the view of how much Protestants and Catholics have in common. I suppose that's why it was worth reading. Other than that it gets a bit tiring to read, though I suppose showing how many ways you can skin this cat of ecumenism is a worthwhile pursuit.
Called to Communion - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the theologian now known as the Pope)
Many people have told me that the current Pope is a great writer, so I sat down and read one where the issue of unity from the Catholic view would be a good way to start. The book is a very deep read that I think I'll reread in 2008.
Rome Sweet Home - Scott and Kimberly Hahn
This is a personal narrative by a former Presbyterian minister gone Catholic and his wife. It describes why he was interested in Rome, which helped me understand (I think) why many have done so through the years. No matter what they said, I still don't see the beauty of the Rosary, at least as it is expressed by most people who don't even know what the mysteries are about.
Hail, Holy Queen - Scott Hahn
Speaking of the Rosary, this book by Hahn is a defense of the Roman Catholic view of Mary. He presents her as a new Eve and the ark of the new covenant, which was an interesting concept. I have heard from some that elements of this book are not standard among Catholics, so I don't know what to think about this issue.
Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church - H. W. Crocker III
This popularized narrative of the history of the Catholic Church presents a defense of Roman Catholicism as it was followed by kings and princes and paupers throughout its inception up to the present day. I wanted to read this to have a grasp of how a Catholic looks at things like the Inquisition, and reading this was a good way to learn about it. He seems to come across as harsh to the Eastern Orthodox, but overall his defense is couched in asking whether a particular injustice was coming from the church or its followers--that's an important question to ask.
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization - Thomas E. Woods Jr
Much like the previous book, this book analyzes history from the Catholic perspective. Its focus is more on concepts such as art, architecture, science, etc. I probably enjoyed each page of this book more, but it feels piecemeal at the end, whereas the Crocker book feels more systematic. Overall, these books written in defense of Catholicism remind me that as Protestants we have only been around in our form since the 1500's. 500/2000 means that roughly 3/4 of the Church's existence was lacking our presence, so understanding the good of Rome is I think a must for all Christians, despite our assessment of any of their wrongs-doctrinal, philosophical, or structural (or anything else).
Simply Christian - N.T. Wright
This is N.T. Wright's version of Lewis' Mere Christianity. I liked it but kept wondering what it means--where should I go to church in his opinion? Is he a relativist on the matter of Anglican vs. Catholic vs. Protestant vs. Eastern Orthodox, etc.? That's the big problem I have with ecumenism based on determining what our faith's lowest common denominator is.
The Shape of Sola Scriptura - Keith Mathison
Because of my readings on the Catholic view of Scripture, I gave this book a read. I was disturbed by what seems to me like an arbitrary distinction between Sola Scriptura and what he terms as Solo Scriptura. Ultimately, the importance of creeds comes to mind, as Mathison and others have attacked heterodox views such as hyperpreterism by appealing to the Apostle's Creed. If the Scripture alone is our rule of faith, why seek to find historical precedent outside of Scripture? Either we are not consistent, or our true rule is bigger than Scripture.
Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton
I grew in my love for British wit as I read this Catholic luminary's view of the Apostle's Creed and faith in general. 2008 will be full of this man's work, as I loved the way he could turn a phrase and cast things in a new light as his argument developed. A MUST READ!
The Language of God - Francis Collins
This book, by the director of one of the NIH's Institutes, presents the case for a version of theistic evolution that gives evidence of God via a principle that he terms as Biologos. Overall, I think it strange that the same sort of design arguments that are used by Paley and his modern associates seen in the Intelligent Design Movement are not palatable, whereas cosmological arguments for design that have the same logical construction are all well and good. I'd like to talk to him about the differences between biological evolution and cosmological evolution, and why one points to design while the other doesn't.
Darwin Strikes Back - Thomas Woodward
This book details the way in which mainstream scientists have responded by and large to intelligent design proponents. The main question I have after reading it is, so what are the ID proponents going to do to show that they practice science? I have heard a lot of rhetoric and discussion of ID's foundations, but "publish or perish" must drive that movement if it wants to gain credibility.
The Edge of Evolution - Michael Behe
Speaking of gaining credibility, Behe did make a good stride in defending his position with this book. He discusses exactly what has been observed in experimental analyses of evolution, especially with the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The results of such reflection leads one quite underwhelmed by what has been seen. His argument that evolution fills in the gaps of the structure of life in a manner similar to the spandrels of a cathedral is especially interesting. Sure to bother creationists and Dawkins-style evolutionists alike, it was an interesting read.
WHEW!!!! So that was 2007 in books for me. 2008 is already off to a good start!
I'm not sure if this ordering is the best, but it is what it is. There are also some other books that I checked out from libraries, and since they're not around I can't rouse my memory to be sure that I read them in 2007. Combine that with the size of this list, and I chose to omit them. Maybe in 2008, I'll be more systematic and write
book reviews as I go.
Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis
This introductory book from Lewis' trilogy is great on so many levels-he sets the stage for a crazy dystopic future seen in That Hideous Strength. Due to time constraints and my own worries over this country's direction, I abstained from going past the next book.
Perelandra - C.S. Lewis
The world of spirits and planets is explained on a deeper level as Ransom travels to a second planet. I love the reflection on how different planets have different modes of expression. Is it sexist? Methinks not.
Till we have Faces - C.S. Lewis
My favorite book of all of Lewis, perhaps because in this Greek myth retold he comes closest to using his knowledge of the classics and applying it to his own writing, which is something that makes me love Tolkien so dearly.
The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis
This book which is also on audio is something I listened to as a young teenager, and now that I've experienced love and the lack thereof on deeper levels I find his insights all the more witty and telling of the human condition.
The Gambler - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I'm glad to say that I've read the gambler--here Dostoyevsky deals with the trivialities of society and the way in which those things can enslave people and ruin families.
Notes from the Underground- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
This could be my new favorite by my Russian friend. He doesn't develop characters in this story the way that he does in the Brothers K, etc., but the depth of the emotion that is conveyed by the writer as he shares his frustrations and near insanity is beautifully done.
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
I mentioned above that taking legend and retelling it in a new light is beautiful to me--so I had to go through old faithful and read this with my son (again). Always a delight to read his work, and I'm looking forward to the movies in 2010 and 2011.
The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
Every time I read these books, the little side stories grow in my mind for they can come into closer focus as the rest of the book is almost memorized by me. Just thinking about Barrow Wights was enough to make me so happy to reread this book.
The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien
Ditto on this one-thinking about Kreeft's analysis of this book was also on my mind as I read this, in just thinking that this book is ultimately about Sauron, who is the Lord of the Rings may sound like an obvious thing to you, but hey, I miss obvious points all of the time!
Christianity for Modern Pagans - Peter Kreeft
Speaking of Kreeft, I had seen this book at my church's book table which is purchased via the honor system. Then when I saw it at the library I got to check it out. It reminded me that I wanted to read Pascal, and brought a lot of important thoughts to mind about what it means to believe, and what should be said in sharing this faith with others. In this book he quotes portions of Pascal's Pensees and reorganizes them based on topics that he thinks, while he provides his commentary on the Pensees.
Pensees - Blaise Pascal
Wanting to get the words straight from the horse's mouth, I went to read the Pensees as Pascal wrote them, and I didn't skip the chapters that Kreeft skipped for the sake of clarity and brevity. At times I thought this concoction was a mad mess, and at other moments I saw how he would present the world from both the view of one who believes in God and from the view of the skeptic. The madness that exists in the text is merely the natural consequence of these different perspectives colliding, and when I looked at it that way, I saw the grandeur of the Pensees.
The Winter of Our Discontent - John Steinbeck
Steinbeck has been on my "to read" list, beyond Of Mice and Men, that is. Winter of Our Discontent was a great story about what it means to be a successful American, which is something near and dear to me as I pursue a career that seems to be both very successful and hopelessly underappreciated in terms of work vs. pay.
The Trial - Franz Kafka
I will admit that I do not like Metamorphosis, which is supposed to be his best. But this book was turned into a movie by Orson Welles, and while that one is a bit hard to follow, I had to read the book since my hero had made a movie of it. This was no Metamorphosis--I really enjoyed the paranoia and despair of a world beset in self-contradicting laws. The threat of a government that is so big that we can't be sure of what we are charged (habeas corpus, anyone?) is portrayed in a gripping way, and I have to say that the changes Welles made did not improve this great book. Definitely a must read.
Stonewall Jackson : The Black Man's Friend - Richard G. Williams Jr. and James. I. Robertson Jr.
Living in Maryland has put the War of Northern Aggression on my mind, and this analysis of how a religious man like Jackson could still support the South was a great read. Instead of casting things in light of national policy, in this book we see the world of Jackson and the local blacks in his town, as he sought to teach them to read in violation of laws, so that they would develop a heart and mind for the truth. The mere fact that there is a stained glass window dedicated to Stonewall Jackson in the local church that the freed slaves attended was enough for me to see that underneath the oppression of slavery, the goodness of humanity persisted and prevailed. That it would have prevailed without a war costing 600,000 lives is, of course, a matter on which we could debate, but it is a position that I maintain.
At The Helm - Kathy Barker
This book is a divergence from the others--it's almost a manual on what it means to be the boss of a lab. I enjoyed the stories on what it takes, but at the same time my fear and uncertainty on this career path grew.
Nothing Feels Good - Andy Greenwald
I was mailed this book by a friend who instructed me to burn it upon reading it. This analysis of "emo" as a genre and a state of mind had some interesting vignettes but was overall a silly analysis of culture where the blog as a medium was the apex of being "emo". Ending a few years ago he wrote as though there would be no new "emo" as personalization found its true expression on the internet. The point is--the book is well emoted (ha!) but not thought out well. Maybe he was truly being emo in so doing.......
Orson Welles:Hello Americans - Simon Callow
Callow's second book on Welles did not let down from his first great work on the earlier phase of Welles' life. Here the pace slows down dramatically and we spend about 400 pages reading about what transpired in 6 or 7 years or so. As you can guess, a lot of detail is put into this story, but it is done in a way that is exciting. As both a comment on one man's life and the overall culture of the world in which he lived, I commend this book to all. It also gave me ideas as to what movies of his to track down next. Having seen MacBeth and Jane Eyre since, I can say that I've not been let down by Callow's descriptions!
Orson Welles Remembered - Peter Prescott Tonguette
This book is a straightforward collection of interview quotes from people who knew Welles. It sounds boring but the subject is not, and so this makes for a great read.
The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism - Louis Bouyer
After Francis Beckwith's reversion to Catholicism, I began focusing on this matter with more seriousness. This book was bought for me by a friend in the summer of 2005, but I didn't touch it until the spring of 2007. This book is a very thought-provoking work, where Protestantism as an idea is described as in agreement with Roman Catholicism. Bouyer lays the charge that the things that are actually unique about us as Protestants are the very areas where the Spirit of Protestantism is choked out by varying forces such as nominalistic philosophy. A must read, in my opinion.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church - The U.S. Catholic Church (I guess that's the author, if you trust amazon.com)
This book was hard to read all the way through, but I thought that if I wanted to be "fair and balanced" that it was necessary to do. It was an interesting endeavour.
The Roman Catholic Controversy - James White
This book was one by the author of a book that I formerly loved, and now I think may have been based on the fervor of angst towards an idea. I looked to see what his strongest points were, but am now convinced that any criticism of Rome must not come from this way of argumentation. That's all I'll say on this thread, at least.
Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences - Norman L. Geisler and Ralph E. MacKenzie
This assessment of the differences between Catholics and Evangelicals varies in terms the view of how much Protestants and Catholics have in common. I suppose that's why it was worth reading. Other than that it gets a bit tiring to read, though I suppose showing how many ways you can skin this cat of ecumenism is a worthwhile pursuit.
Called to Communion - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the theologian now known as the Pope)
Many people have told me that the current Pope is a great writer, so I sat down and read one where the issue of unity from the Catholic view would be a good way to start. The book is a very deep read that I think I'll reread in 2008.
Rome Sweet Home - Scott and Kimberly Hahn
This is a personal narrative by a former Presbyterian minister gone Catholic and his wife. It describes why he was interested in Rome, which helped me understand (I think) why many have done so through the years. No matter what they said, I still don't see the beauty of the Rosary, at least as it is expressed by most people who don't even know what the mysteries are about.
Hail, Holy Queen - Scott Hahn
Speaking of the Rosary, this book by Hahn is a defense of the Roman Catholic view of Mary. He presents her as a new Eve and the ark of the new covenant, which was an interesting concept. I have heard from some that elements of this book are not standard among Catholics, so I don't know what to think about this issue.
Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church - H. W. Crocker III
This popularized narrative of the history of the Catholic Church presents a defense of Roman Catholicism as it was followed by kings and princes and paupers throughout its inception up to the present day. I wanted to read this to have a grasp of how a Catholic looks at things like the Inquisition, and reading this was a good way to learn about it. He seems to come across as harsh to the Eastern Orthodox, but overall his defense is couched in asking whether a particular injustice was coming from the church or its followers--that's an important question to ask.
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization - Thomas E. Woods Jr
Much like the previous book, this book analyzes history from the Catholic perspective. Its focus is more on concepts such as art, architecture, science, etc. I probably enjoyed each page of this book more, but it feels piecemeal at the end, whereas the Crocker book feels more systematic. Overall, these books written in defense of Catholicism remind me that as Protestants we have only been around in our form since the 1500's. 500/2000 means that roughly 3/4 of the Church's existence was lacking our presence, so understanding the good of Rome is I think a must for all Christians, despite our assessment of any of their wrongs-doctrinal, philosophical, or structural (or anything else).
Simply Christian - N.T. Wright
This is N.T. Wright's version of Lewis' Mere Christianity. I liked it but kept wondering what it means--where should I go to church in his opinion? Is he a relativist on the matter of Anglican vs. Catholic vs. Protestant vs. Eastern Orthodox, etc.? That's the big problem I have with ecumenism based on determining what our faith's lowest common denominator is.
The Shape of Sola Scriptura - Keith Mathison
Because of my readings on the Catholic view of Scripture, I gave this book a read. I was disturbed by what seems to me like an arbitrary distinction between Sola Scriptura and what he terms as Solo Scriptura. Ultimately, the importance of creeds comes to mind, as Mathison and others have attacked heterodox views such as hyperpreterism by appealing to the Apostle's Creed. If the Scripture alone is our rule of faith, why seek to find historical precedent outside of Scripture? Either we are not consistent, or our true rule is bigger than Scripture.
Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton
I grew in my love for British wit as I read this Catholic luminary's view of the Apostle's Creed and faith in general. 2008 will be full of this man's work, as I loved the way he could turn a phrase and cast things in a new light as his argument developed. A MUST READ!
The Language of God - Francis Collins
This book, by the director of one of the NIH's Institutes, presents the case for a version of theistic evolution that gives evidence of God via a principle that he terms as Biologos. Overall, I think it strange that the same sort of design arguments that are used by Paley and his modern associates seen in the Intelligent Design Movement are not palatable, whereas cosmological arguments for design that have the same logical construction are all well and good. I'd like to talk to him about the differences between biological evolution and cosmological evolution, and why one points to design while the other doesn't.
Darwin Strikes Back - Thomas Woodward
This book details the way in which mainstream scientists have responded by and large to intelligent design proponents. The main question I have after reading it is, so what are the ID proponents going to do to show that they practice science? I have heard a lot of rhetoric and discussion of ID's foundations, but "publish or perish" must drive that movement if it wants to gain credibility.
The Edge of Evolution - Michael Behe
Speaking of gaining credibility, Behe did make a good stride in defending his position with this book. He discusses exactly what has been observed in experimental analyses of evolution, especially with the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The results of such reflection leads one quite underwhelmed by what has been seen. His argument that evolution fills in the gaps of the structure of life in a manner similar to the spandrels of a cathedral is especially interesting. Sure to bother creationists and Dawkins-style evolutionists alike, it was an interesting read.
WHEW!!!! So that was 2007 in books for me. 2008 is already off to a good start!
2007--a year surveyed using silly questions....
I posted this within a comment box on a friend's blog, but I spent so long on it (and I wouldn't mind reading someone else's responses), so I decided to put this here too....
1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Truly enjoy sushi.
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? To a degree, but those are made privately so I shall divulge no further.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Physically, no.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes-both emotionally and physically.
5. What countries did you visit? Canada--Banff was a great town, and I must say that their Rockies are superior to ours.
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Money.
7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Hm....083107-my last birthday in my twenties...no other day sticks out in my mind.
8. Did you change? For the better, (super)naturally.
9. Are you happy with the year over all? I can't be happy with a period of time as large as a year---too much injustice and hatred to cloud out my thoughts of joy that can be seen on a day to day basis.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Only emotional wounds.
11. Are you going to change something about yourself next year? I'm going to work out again.
12. Do you think 2008 will be a better year than 2007? Year, shmear. Who knows who will be be elected, etc. I am a mere butterfly.
13. Did you go to an amusement park? Went to Disneyland--the 29 year streak is still on, despite living in Maryland.
14. Where did most of your money go? Paying off the seemingly insurmountable debt that crushes my will to live when I give it a moment's thought.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Ron Paul, great literature, great music, great movies, etc.
16. What song will always remind you of 2007? "All I Need" by Radiohead-it's more proof that C is the best chord in the galaxy.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:happier or sadder? Every year I feel both emotions on a deeper level than the year before.
thinner or fatter? definitely fatter, but the rollercoaster is at the top of the hill and we are getting ready for an exciting drop and hope for no more hills in the future!
richer or poorer? richer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I'd spent more time with my kids.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working jobs that mean nothing to me.
20. Did you go on a summer vacation? We went to California-it was decent.
21. Did you fall in love in 2007? No, my wife would kill me if I did.
22. 23. What was your favorite TV program? My Name is Earl, The Sopranos.
24. Do you dislike anyone now that you didn’t dislike this time last year? I'm always meeting new people, so yes.
25. What was the best book you read? This is tough to answer. I think I'll go with Notes from the Underground by Dostoyevsky or Orthodoxy by Chesterton.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Another tough one...I guess it would have to be Belle and Sebastian, though I speak of the fervency of my appreciation of them, as they're not new to me.
27. Who do you think you were on the phone with the most? I try to distribute minutes freely, with a bias towards fellow T-Mobile customers. Those that come to mind most in that sub-fraction would be Ben and Jim.
28. What did you want and not get?
A house.
29. What was your favorite film of this year? The Darjeeling Limited
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? If I remember correctly, we just hung out at home on the day when I turned 29 and Jonathan X. turned 7.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having the NIH move to California.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Old Faithful
33. What kept you sane? A sense of connection to history, and a generous set of drinks after a hard day's night.
34.Did you ever go to the hospital ? Just once, outside of visits to Building 10 of the NIH.
35. What political issue stirred you the most? Ron Paul for president!!!!!!!!!!!!!
36. Whom did you miss? Christopher Dallas Helwig
37. Who was the best new person you met? No one really comes to mind there.
38. Did you get a tattoo? NO, and I think I'm done.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
If your right hand is causing you pain
Cut it off, cut it off
If your colours have started to run
Let them all run, run away from you
There is lightning in this room
Above our heads, waiting to strike
I'm a thinker not a talker
Put your faith, your faith in God
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more despair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of flux
I'd kill for an adventure
Just you and I, in the Curzon Bar
Dancing till we knew
So all that we've learnt disappears
When you shouted at me
I saw my father in the second grade
Concerned and kind
Yet unable to reach me
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more despair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of flux
State of flux
We need to talk
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more despair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of flux
1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Truly enjoy sushi.
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? To a degree, but those are made privately so I shall divulge no further.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Physically, no.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes-both emotionally and physically.
5. What countries did you visit? Canada--Banff was a great town, and I must say that their Rockies are superior to ours.
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Money.
7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Hm....083107-my last birthday in my twenties...no other day sticks out in my mind.
8. Did you change? For the better, (super)naturally.
9. Are you happy with the year over all? I can't be happy with a period of time as large as a year---too much injustice and hatred to cloud out my thoughts of joy that can be seen on a day to day basis.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Only emotional wounds.
11. Are you going to change something about yourself next year? I'm going to work out again.
12. Do you think 2008 will be a better year than 2007? Year, shmear. Who knows who will be be elected, etc. I am a mere butterfly.
13. Did you go to an amusement park? Went to Disneyland--the 29 year streak is still on, despite living in Maryland.
14. Where did most of your money go? Paying off the seemingly insurmountable debt that crushes my will to live when I give it a moment's thought.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Ron Paul, great literature, great music, great movies, etc.
16. What song will always remind you of 2007? "All I Need" by Radiohead-it's more proof that C is the best chord in the galaxy.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:happier or sadder? Every year I feel both emotions on a deeper level than the year before.
thinner or fatter? definitely fatter, but the rollercoaster is at the top of the hill and we are getting ready for an exciting drop and hope for no more hills in the future!
richer or poorer? richer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I'd spent more time with my kids.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working jobs that mean nothing to me.
20. Did you go on a summer vacation? We went to California-it was decent.
21. Did you fall in love in 2007? No, my wife would kill me if I did.
22. 23. What was your favorite TV program? My Name is Earl, The Sopranos.
24. Do you dislike anyone now that you didn’t dislike this time last year? I'm always meeting new people, so yes.
25. What was the best book you read? This is tough to answer. I think I'll go with Notes from the Underground by Dostoyevsky or Orthodoxy by Chesterton.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Another tough one...I guess it would have to be Belle and Sebastian, though I speak of the fervency of my appreciation of them, as they're not new to me.
27. Who do you think you were on the phone with the most? I try to distribute minutes freely, with a bias towards fellow T-Mobile customers. Those that come to mind most in that sub-fraction would be Ben and Jim.
28. What did you want and not get?
A house.
29. What was your favorite film of this year? The Darjeeling Limited
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? If I remember correctly, we just hung out at home on the day when I turned 29 and Jonathan X. turned 7.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having the NIH move to California.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Old Faithful
33. What kept you sane? A sense of connection to history, and a generous set of drinks after a hard day's night.
34.Did you ever go to the hospital ? Just once, outside of visits to Building 10 of the NIH.
35. What political issue stirred you the most? Ron Paul for president!!!!!!!!!!!!!
36. Whom did you miss? Christopher Dallas Helwig
37. Who was the best new person you met? No one really comes to mind there.
38. Did you get a tattoo? NO, and I think I'm done.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
If your right hand is causing you pain
Cut it off, cut it off
If your colours have started to run
Let them all run, run away from you
There is lightning in this room
Above our heads, waiting to strike
I'm a thinker not a talker
Put your faith, your faith in God
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more despair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of flux
I'd kill for an adventure
Just you and I, in the Curzon Bar
Dancing till we knew
So all that we've learnt disappears
When you shouted at me
I saw my father in the second grade
Concerned and kind
Yet unable to reach me
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more despair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of flux
State of flux
We need to talk
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more despair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of flux
Monday, January 7, 2008
long time no ramble
This being the first week that is 100% 2008, I think I can begin to post again.
Ramble.
Rumble.
Let's get ready to ramble!!!
Ramble.
Rumble.
Let's get ready to ramble!!!
Friday, January 4, 2008
21st century heaving men - part one of one
The pain was unbearable. He grasped his chest and felt the tell-tale numbness in his arm. It was over, and he knew it. Or at least, he feared it.
A lifetime of ignoring prudence had him smoking, drinking, consuming fatty foods, and taking every available opportunity to lounge about his home watching reruns, sports, infomercials, you name it.
As the paramedics bravely crossed the threshold to take him to the doctor, he lost consciousness.
The fuzz in his sight did not erase the heartless clarity that can only be found in the lights that illuminate a place such as an Emergency Room. The attending entered and said, "I'm sorry, sir. Your arteries are blocked. Do you know the best way to end this blockage? A lifetime of dieting and exercise such as running, of course. Since this is ideal, we have brought this." He wheeled around in perfectly imitated Vanna White fashion to show that our corpulent crusader had won the grand prize of a treadmill.
"Up you go, Mr. X. We'll start you off at a smooth pace of 9 minute miles, and see how you feel."
Shocked and in utter disbelief, our friend looks at the doctor with a smirk of hatred and incredulity. "If you say so. I'll do my best, but it's been a while since I've been to the gym."
He ambled slowly onto the treadmill, and the doctor turned it to the speed of 9 minute miles.
He struggled to accelerate in perfect synchrony with the unfeeling machine, and as he did, he stumbled to the floor.
Flatline. Say your prayers, pay your respects, or mumble something about the futility of our human existence, just don't expect to see this man walking on the earth again. The cure was worse than the disease, and now he has left this fragile plane of existence.
FIN
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
Postlude I
Now dearest reader, what do you have to say to our attending physician? Could Hippocrates' oath have been trampled on with any more ferocity than to be so callous and unmindful of the situation? Perhaps, but I've never witnessed something on that scale.
But then again, I'm a sheltered lad.
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
Postlude II
Like my other posts entitled "fictitious fiction for foul figments", where I discussed a fake war and a fraudulent syndrome, this story completely contrived. Any resemblance to those living or dead is regretful and inevitable, but most importantly, coincidental. In this instance, I think it's worth considering a medical practice that operates in this fashion because it illustrates the insanity of curing a country through immediate application of good principles. It's a big reason why I think the majority of voters cannot understand the greatness of Ron Paul. They are seriously ill with a disease of consumerism and dependence upon the government. It would have been prevented by following the Constitution. The question that I have, which I think is illustrated well in this brief allegory, is how can we go from our political philosophy that has more in common with a couch potato than George Washington, and return to the greatness of our founders? Are we doomed to die, or is there a sensible road back that people can embrace? God, how I hope that the latter is true.
A lifetime of ignoring prudence had him smoking, drinking, consuming fatty foods, and taking every available opportunity to lounge about his home watching reruns, sports, infomercials, you name it.
As the paramedics bravely crossed the threshold to take him to the doctor, he lost consciousness.
The fuzz in his sight did not erase the heartless clarity that can only be found in the lights that illuminate a place such as an Emergency Room. The attending entered and said, "I'm sorry, sir. Your arteries are blocked. Do you know the best way to end this blockage? A lifetime of dieting and exercise such as running, of course. Since this is ideal, we have brought this." He wheeled around in perfectly imitated Vanna White fashion to show that our corpulent crusader had won the grand prize of a treadmill.
"Up you go, Mr. X. We'll start you off at a smooth pace of 9 minute miles, and see how you feel."
Shocked and in utter disbelief, our friend looks at the doctor with a smirk of hatred and incredulity. "If you say so. I'll do my best, but it's been a while since I've been to the gym."
He ambled slowly onto the treadmill, and the doctor turned it to the speed of 9 minute miles.
He struggled to accelerate in perfect synchrony with the unfeeling machine, and as he did, he stumbled to the floor.
Flatline. Say your prayers, pay your respects, or mumble something about the futility of our human existence, just don't expect to see this man walking on the earth again. The cure was worse than the disease, and now he has left this fragile plane of existence.
FIN
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
Postlude I
Now dearest reader, what do you have to say to our attending physician? Could Hippocrates' oath have been trampled on with any more ferocity than to be so callous and unmindful of the situation? Perhaps, but I've never witnessed something on that scale.
But then again, I'm a sheltered lad.
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
Postlude II
Like my other posts entitled "fictitious fiction for foul figments", where I discussed a fake war and a fraudulent syndrome, this story completely contrived. Any resemblance to those living or dead is regretful and inevitable, but most importantly, coincidental. In this instance, I think it's worth considering a medical practice that operates in this fashion because it illustrates the insanity of curing a country through immediate application of good principles. It's a big reason why I think the majority of voters cannot understand the greatness of Ron Paul. They are seriously ill with a disease of consumerism and dependence upon the government. It would have been prevented by following the Constitution. The question that I have, which I think is illustrated well in this brief allegory, is how can we go from our political philosophy that has more in common with a couch potato than George Washington, and return to the greatness of our founders? Are we doomed to die, or is there a sensible road back that people can embrace? God, how I hope that the latter is true.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Learning to write by reading a writer writing to readers
I recently checked this book out from a library. Yes, I confess that I skipped the first two volumes, as this third tome is a compilation of letters written by Clive Staples Lewis in the years of his prominence as a writer (namely, from 1950-1963).
It has an amazingly thorough index, which allows the purveyor to consider particular themes, books, concepts, people, or almost anything that you can imagine, as written about by Lewis to a variety of different people including children, literary peers, friends, and other luminaries of his day.
Several things strike me about Lewis' writing, in its most personal form of expression.
One is that his letters, even when brief, are written with care. How idly do my fingers type on an IM or e-mail, or yes, even a blog. This must change, and change it must.
Second, his love of reading permeates his writing. So many letters are full of spontaneous quotes of Shakespeare, Greek and Latin writers, and even when writing to Tolkien, he uses a quote from The Fellowship of the Ring.
Third, he has the view of the world that I am hoping to consistently apply to my life. From writing about morality in general to the particulars of a decision on divorce made by Anglican bishops to writing a letter completely in Latin to a Roman Catholic Dom, Lewis sought communication with all of God's people. Which makes me wonder, what would he have thought about the latest doings in Canterbury and the rest of the world? But I suppose that is a subject more fittingly addressed on Contrarian Presbyterian.
o.k., this is weird
I received a spam e-mail from myself today.
Has this happened to anyone else out here?
At any rate, this e-mail from me ended up in my Spam Box. My address and the link they put at the end are altered and deleted so as to not give either of us any more unwanted press....
From: *&$#%*%#$*@yahoo.com
To: *&$#%*%#$*@yahoo.com
Subject: Need help to buy Finest Replicas?
Dear Consumer,
You are Welcome to our online store.There is our catalog of exclusive,
high quality replica watches at your disposal. The visitors of our site
are provided with a great opportunity to purchase the most popular
replicas around the world.
Famous replica watches, and other replicas have become inexpensive and
most important of all a high quality substitution for original watches,
hence the huge popularity. Therefore it is very important to chose the
right replica retailer. The one with great quality products, good
customer support and warranty.
Also the cool thing about replicas is the fact that for the price of
one original watch you can buy many replicas. Therefore you can get
watches of different brands, colors, etc. Or just buy just one replica, and
save a bunch of money.
Go visit http:///!!!!!!!!!!!!!.com
Has this happened to anyone else out here?
At any rate, this e-mail from me ended up in my Spam Box. My address and the link they put at the end are altered and deleted so as to not give either of us any more unwanted press....
From: *&$#%*%#$*@yahoo.com
To: *&$#%*%#$*@yahoo.com
Subject: Need help to buy Finest Replicas?
Dear Consumer,
You are Welcome to our online store.There is our catalog of exclusive,
high quality replica watches at your disposal. The visitors of our site
are provided with a great opportunity to purchase the most popular
replicas around the world.
Famous replica watches, and other replicas have become inexpensive and
most important of all a high quality substitution for original watches,
hence the huge popularity. Therefore it is very important to chose the
right replica retailer. The one with great quality products, good
customer support and warranty.
Also the cool thing about replicas is the fact that for the price of
one original watch you can buy many replicas. Therefore you can get
watches of different brands, colors, etc. Or just buy just one replica, and
save a bunch of money.
Go visit http:///!!!!!!!!!!!!!.com
Merry Christmas, Fellow Nerds
Like its fellows, this picture is worth a thousand words.
I thought it was so funny because December 25th stands out as an island among days where different people in my building have signed up to use the confocal microscope.
The whole idea of Christmas and what it means may be lost to most humans walking about this globe, and maybe C.S. Lewis had it right when he said we need to replace the term "x-mas" with "The Feast of the Nativity", but you can't deny that people see the importance of this day qua this day.
What will your day be full of?
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
the best news i have heard in months
Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema are enemies no more!!!
There will be TWO movies based on The Hobbit, to be released in 2010 and 2011!!
Oh the JOY!!!!
read about it here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/18/film.thehobbit.ap/index.html
There will be TWO movies based on The Hobbit, to be released in 2010 and 2011!!
Oh the JOY!!!!
read about it here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/18/film.thehobbit.ap/index.html
Sunday, December 16, 2007
the tea party is ON!!
In honor of the Boston Tea Party, www.ronpaul2008.com
is taking donations on this day.
You have under 12 hours to contribute to beat this great patriot's previous record of money raised in one day.
Get there and join the REVOLUTION!
is taking donations on this day.
You have under 12 hours to contribute to beat this great patriot's previous record of money raised in one day.
Get there and join the REVOLUTION!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
i believe that i myself am the future?
We live in a cruel, sickeningly cruel era. In the midst of the parasitic protests for more for me, and the maddening mockery of "menos" for thee,
rays of hope shine, emanating albeit softly from those who advocate freedom,
goodness, and all of those other wonderful things more rare than gold on this present horizon.
This may be no more clearer to me when I reflect on my existence as a parent. For some reason this culture of death has not only forgone love for comfort, it is quick to seek out sources of cultivation and praise, and to target them for scrutiny and mockery. These things are funneled, isolated, anything but placed under the spotlight. For after all, a moment's consideration would let the resplendence of life and love outshine the notions of the nuclear family, ten year plans, early retirement, and the other catch phrases disguised to anesthetize the heart's cries of anguish as it thinks of chances squandered, thrown into the mire that will inevitably
mire the heart itself.
To that end, I must earnestly ask those traveling on life's road with me--are we ourselves ends in and of ourselves? Can we look back and call a life well-lived if it was set up to solely ensure the best scenario, a scenario that only placed the camera on the director himself?
Oh no, my friends. This will never satiate the human condition. We are all farmers,
the question is what are we planting into our field, and what will that do to the
earth and its other inhabitants--these other inhabitants whose very existence is
scorned and brushed aside for things like "me" time.
"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies"
we build a house upon shimmering worthless lies......
My mathoms may not give the greatest yield if measured by annual returns,
but "wealth" is one fruit of the field, it must not let us spurn,
the truly cherished, valued things in life, that raise the poorest man's head
but tear until they are dead the rich who drown in their own strife.
rays of hope shine, emanating albeit softly from those who advocate freedom,
goodness, and all of those other wonderful things more rare than gold on this present horizon.
This may be no more clearer to me when I reflect on my existence as a parent. For some reason this culture of death has not only forgone love for comfort, it is quick to seek out sources of cultivation and praise, and to target them for scrutiny and mockery. These things are funneled, isolated, anything but placed under the spotlight. For after all, a moment's consideration would let the resplendence of life and love outshine the notions of the nuclear family, ten year plans, early retirement, and the other catch phrases disguised to anesthetize the heart's cries of anguish as it thinks of chances squandered, thrown into the mire that will inevitably
mire the heart itself.
To that end, I must earnestly ask those traveling on life's road with me--are we ourselves ends in and of ourselves? Can we look back and call a life well-lived if it was set up to solely ensure the best scenario, a scenario that only placed the camera on the director himself?
Oh no, my friends. This will never satiate the human condition. We are all farmers,
the question is what are we planting into our field, and what will that do to the
earth and its other inhabitants--these other inhabitants whose very existence is
scorned and brushed aside for things like "me" time.
"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies"
we build a house upon shimmering worthless lies......
My mathoms may not give the greatest yield if measured by annual returns,
but "wealth" is one fruit of the field, it must not let us spurn,
the truly cherished, valued things in life, that raise the poorest man's head
but tear until they are dead the rich who drown in their own strife.
Friday, December 14, 2007
lessons learned from little lads
I woke up this morning with a sore throat.
Having a sore throat is the sort of illness where one can't help but complain, despite the fact that the
injury is really quite manageable. I was in the mood to complain about my irritation. As my son arose
this morning, his faithful greeting of "Hi, dad" was more gruff than usual.
{I say more gruff than usual because he has a habit of lowering his voice to sound more tough, in case those of you
who haven't had the blessing of talking to him are confused, but I digress.}
Noting this deepening and scratched tone to his voice, I asked, "Hey man, do you have a sore throat?"
"Yes", came the baritone call from my 7 year-old.
"Aw, man, so do I. I guess we both do."
There it was, I had set up my chance to commiserate. What would he say to remind me that misery loves company?
"Too bad", was his blunt but quite accurate assessment of our mutually inflammed throats.
My wife and I started laughing, for quite a bit of time, so much that we had to explain to him the simplicity and
truth in his comment. He thought we were laughing at him for saying something silly, but really I had been the one who was
pensively puerile.
The truth is that it's too bad when little trials come our way, but they come for a reason. For whatever reason, at that moment little Jonathan was years beyond my tired and childish attitude of this morning, and he knew that complaining solves nothing.
Having a sore throat is the sort of illness where one can't help but complain, despite the fact that the
injury is really quite manageable. I was in the mood to complain about my irritation. As my son arose
this morning, his faithful greeting of "Hi, dad" was more gruff than usual.
{I say more gruff than usual because he has a habit of lowering his voice to sound more tough, in case those of you
who haven't had the blessing of talking to him are confused, but I digress.}
Noting this deepening and scratched tone to his voice, I asked, "Hey man, do you have a sore throat?"
"Yes", came the baritone call from my 7 year-old.
"Aw, man, so do I. I guess we both do."
There it was, I had set up my chance to commiserate. What would he say to remind me that misery loves company?
"Too bad", was his blunt but quite accurate assessment of our mutually inflammed throats.
My wife and I started laughing, for quite a bit of time, so much that we had to explain to him the simplicity and
truth in his comment. He thought we were laughing at him for saying something silly, but really I had been the one who was
pensively puerile.
The truth is that it's too bad when little trials come our way, but they come for a reason. For whatever reason, at that moment little Jonathan was years beyond my tired and childish attitude of this morning, and he knew that complaining solves nothing.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Surely you jest, dearest Jonathan!
No, poorest readers and friends, I am speaking truly when I tell you that I want another blog.
The problem I have had with blogging as of late is that my other two blogs,
www.express-lane.blogspot.com
and
www.contrarian-presbyterian.blogspot.com
are so focused on specific forms of expression that I cannot really share other things that are on my mind. And to that end, I have started www.themathoms.blogspot.com
As the headline to this blog states, Tolkien invented this Hobbitish word that greatly captures our desire to cling to things that we can't quite throw away or polish and put in a display case.
So what will you find at this latest iteration of my thoughts expressed in electronic form?
Mathoms
That is-my thoughts that I have as I walk down this road of life. Perhaps this site will be more characteristic of your typical blog.
Who knows? We shall see, we shall see.....
The problem I have had with blogging as of late is that my other two blogs,
www.express-lane.blogspot.com
and
www.contrarian-presbyterian.blogspot.com
are so focused on specific forms of expression that I cannot really share other things that are on my mind. And to that end, I have started www.themathoms.blogspot.com
As the headline to this blog states, Tolkien invented this Hobbitish word that greatly captures our desire to cling to things that we can't quite throw away or polish and put in a display case.
So what will you find at this latest iteration of my thoughts expressed in electronic form?
Mathoms
That is-my thoughts that I have as I walk down this road of life. Perhaps this site will be more characteristic of your typical blog.
Who knows? We shall see, we shall see.....
Friday, December 7, 2007
I accuse you all of abhoring all accusatives
I recently discussed ways in which our modern English is neglecting the nominative.
At the same time, we also take the accusative and almost always assign it to some abject address.
After all, when was the last time you heard someone say "To whom are you referring?" I will wager that for every time you heard that you heard at least twenty sentences that went something like this: "Who are you talking about?"
The latter is grammatically grotesque, whereas the former is fine.
I realized this clearly because of my current employment, which has me surrounded by people whose second language is English. At first I wanted to correct some of their usages of the word "whom", when I realized that I had been the one in error.
So be careful, kids, and be sure to use "whom" whenever your interrogatory pronoun is the object of the sentence!
At the same time, we also take the accusative and almost always assign it to some abject address.
After all, when was the last time you heard someone say "To whom are you referring?" I will wager that for every time you heard that you heard at least twenty sentences that went something like this: "Who are you talking about?"
The latter is grammatically grotesque, whereas the former is fine.
I realized this clearly because of my current employment, which has me surrounded by people whose second language is English. At first I wanted to correct some of their usages of the word "whom", when I realized that I had been the one in error.
So be careful, kids, and be sure to use "whom" whenever your interrogatory pronoun is the object of the sentence!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Twenty-First Century Festering Wounds-7
Armed with the knowledge of genetics research, I felt ready to cure Sam Vespucci.
The real question that needed to be answered to get to a cure, was what on earth I was supposed to do with the knowledge of the gene that had crippled his ability to clot properly. Coagulation was the key, but really how did knowing what was wrong do us (and more importantly, Sam) any good?
I wanted a few months to mull these thoughts over, maybe present these meetings at a high-impact science conference, so that I could formulate the best way to be there for this dying soul, but such a luxury was not mine to be grasped.
I had to take this basic understanding and convert into some sort of life-saving elixir, and do it fast. But was such a thought impossible, left to the mythical worlds of alchemy and magic?
It was not clear, but there was only one thing that was clear to do, and that was to try to apply this knowledge. The WASP gene is critically important for clotting and other forms of cellular skeleton building, and Mr. Vespucci had lowered his expression of this gene. Could I turn the gene on somehow? Replace it with some other factor? Perhaps something artificial? Nothing sounded like a logical, or at least possible solution.
As my mind raced from option to option, it was clear that my tools in the laboratory would not suffice. Would I only be able to tell Sam why he was dying, without telling him of a way to avoid his demise? I hoped and yes, I even prayed, that he would survive thanks to some insight that I could provide. I hadn't slept in days, pondering literature on WASP as a molecule, but it didn't make sense. It's not as though he was born with a clotting problem. What happened to this guy to make him so unable to clot?
Greg Kim, my M.D. friend, gave me a call. It was the call that I had dreaded since I had started this project.
"It appears that Sam is in full shock. His wound has been infiltrated yet again, and this time it looks like it may go systemic. His whole body will be a crawling bacteria incubator in a few moments. If you have made any progress with how WASP could be important, now is your chance."
I started stuttering, wanted to say something, but nothing would satisfy our question. Nothing intelligible left my lips, except for the clear message that I was unable to give an answer.
"You don't know, do you? Well then, I'm wasting my time on the phone."
The phone hung up on the other end, as Dr. Kim doubtless had to go off to attend todo all that I could, but I was still hopeless. What could I do with my knowledge? If it was merely kept up in this storehouse of facts called my brain, it would make for interesting party conversations, but without any ability help someone it would have been better to have never known what was wrong.
Like the man on death row who knows the date of his doom, had I merely told him the composition of the chemicals in the lethal injection? Would he even come out of the sepsis that poisoned his body and mind? Would I spend the rest of my life knowing that I had come close to a cure but had faltered at the end? I needed to see him at least one more time, perhaps that would help.
Leaving my office, my eyes wavered from side to side through the halls of labs, hoping that some clue would open my eyes to the way to apply my knowledge, but to no avail. I might as well have looked at a blank slate. Nothing came to me.
Pulling into the hospital, I parked in the temporary area. Parking tickets and car towings could come and go, that was unimportant. What mattered most was to not let this chance to see Mr. Vespucci at least one more time slip away.
When I crossed the threshold to his room, I remembered the first day when we met. The odor that first knocked me to the floor had worsened to new heights, or should I say depths. He was unresponsive but still alive as a team of medical technicians used that frighteningly harsh cleansing apparatus to remove the bacteria from his wound. Hopefully that would stop the constant flow of new bacteria into his blood. But would his body be able to clear the bacteria that was there?
His temperature had surged to 103.8 degrees Fahrenheit, and it seemed that nothing would stem the tide that swelled waves of death into this room. I was so powerless, that again, I could not help but cry out to whatever god may have been listening at the time.
The team took a break from swabbing the wound in his thigh, and the once pristine webs of plastic fabric had so much blood and pus that you would never have guessed that the apparatus was once man-made. It looked like some sort of pulsing alien life form.
As I kept the contents of my stomach deep within by trying to take my mind off of the gore that was so repulsive, I asked the resident M.D. a question that may be the most important question I have asked while walking the face of this earth.
"Um, excuse me, but who is the vendor of these surgical swabs?"
He told me the company, which was famous for making various hi-tech swabs out of forms of polystyrene that were touted to be the best in the business, far superior to any soft cotton-based swab. Realizing this, my heart sank precipitously, before it rose into the heavens. For at that moment, I realized what was wrong with Sam. You see, I had called the swab frighteningly harsh, and by that all I had meant was that it must hurt like the worst torments to have one's wound cleansed. Such soul splintering pain would be the worst case scenario for you or me if we had to have the same procedure done on one of our wounds, but we were not dealing with a festering wound on your leg or my leg. We were talking about Sam Vespucci's problem, and after all, his mutation in WASP made things not just painful, but maybe it had made him unable to clot by the mere force of our procedure!
The expression "the cure is worse than the disease" usually speaks of some strategy that is fundamentally flawed. In this case, I wondered if that blood and pus-covered swab had been the perfect cure for your standard 21st century wound-a wound that would be healed by cells that had enough WASP to do the job. And maybe Sam never had a clotting problem before because he had never had a polystyrene based swab rubbing his cells to the point where they could no longer work. It was all so clear!
The resident had opened a fresh swab to finish the job, and as my mind raced a mile a second I jumped up from my science-inspired dream to grab his arm.
"I've got it, I've got it, I've got it. You are killing him by saving him. Put that damned tool down this instant!" I sounded like a raving lunatic, and if I hadn't worn my lab coat (which I almost never do) he probably would have punched me in the face.
"Greg, Greg, get over here!" Greg Kim rushed to the room, looking at me and his exasperated resident. My words were jumbled and I tripped over myself, but in a frenzy I was able to convey the general idea that the technologically advanced swab was just too much for his WASP-mutated cells to handle.
"Calm down Andrew. I don't think that you're right, and even if you were, I think the patient won't survive this episode. But let's give it a shot. Johnston, you heard the man. Get us some soft gauze, the kind that we used to use when I was training, and let's see if you can get that wound cleaned up."
I let out a deep breath and knew that this could work. Even if it didn't I would never have another shot at understanding how this one gene could weaken his cells so.
It wasn't clear that Sam would live long enough to see whether my hypothesis would work. I tried to watch his vital signs near his bed, but I had no energy left after all of this literature searching and pondering. I fell asleep, and as I lost consciousness I sincerely prayed for the third time in my life, and like the other two prayers, they were all uttered on the same day.
The real question that needed to be answered to get to a cure, was what on earth I was supposed to do with the knowledge of the gene that had crippled his ability to clot properly. Coagulation was the key, but really how did knowing what was wrong do us (and more importantly, Sam) any good?
I wanted a few months to mull these thoughts over, maybe present these meetings at a high-impact science conference, so that I could formulate the best way to be there for this dying soul, but such a luxury was not mine to be grasped.
I had to take this basic understanding and convert into some sort of life-saving elixir, and do it fast. But was such a thought impossible, left to the mythical worlds of alchemy and magic?
It was not clear, but there was only one thing that was clear to do, and that was to try to apply this knowledge. The WASP gene is critically important for clotting and other forms of cellular skeleton building, and Mr. Vespucci had lowered his expression of this gene. Could I turn the gene on somehow? Replace it with some other factor? Perhaps something artificial? Nothing sounded like a logical, or at least possible solution.
As my mind raced from option to option, it was clear that my tools in the laboratory would not suffice. Would I only be able to tell Sam why he was dying, without telling him of a way to avoid his demise? I hoped and yes, I even prayed, that he would survive thanks to some insight that I could provide. I hadn't slept in days, pondering literature on WASP as a molecule, but it didn't make sense. It's not as though he was born with a clotting problem. What happened to this guy to make him so unable to clot?
Greg Kim, my M.D. friend, gave me a call. It was the call that I had dreaded since I had started this project.
"It appears that Sam is in full shock. His wound has been infiltrated yet again, and this time it looks like it may go systemic. His whole body will be a crawling bacteria incubator in a few moments. If you have made any progress with how WASP could be important, now is your chance."
I started stuttering, wanted to say something, but nothing would satisfy our question. Nothing intelligible left my lips, except for the clear message that I was unable to give an answer.
"You don't know, do you? Well then, I'm wasting my time on the phone."
The phone hung up on the other end, as Dr. Kim doubtless had to go off to attend todo all that I could, but I was still hopeless. What could I do with my knowledge? If it was merely kept up in this storehouse of facts called my brain, it would make for interesting party conversations, but without any ability help someone it would have been better to have never known what was wrong.
Like the man on death row who knows the date of his doom, had I merely told him the composition of the chemicals in the lethal injection? Would he even come out of the sepsis that poisoned his body and mind? Would I spend the rest of my life knowing that I had come close to a cure but had faltered at the end? I needed to see him at least one more time, perhaps that would help.
Leaving my office, my eyes wavered from side to side through the halls of labs, hoping that some clue would open my eyes to the way to apply my knowledge, but to no avail. I might as well have looked at a blank slate. Nothing came to me.
Pulling into the hospital, I parked in the temporary area. Parking tickets and car towings could come and go, that was unimportant. What mattered most was to not let this chance to see Mr. Vespucci at least one more time slip away.
When I crossed the threshold to his room, I remembered the first day when we met. The odor that first knocked me to the floor had worsened to new heights, or should I say depths. He was unresponsive but still alive as a team of medical technicians used that frighteningly harsh cleansing apparatus to remove the bacteria from his wound. Hopefully that would stop the constant flow of new bacteria into his blood. But would his body be able to clear the bacteria that was there?
His temperature had surged to 103.8 degrees Fahrenheit, and it seemed that nothing would stem the tide that swelled waves of death into this room. I was so powerless, that again, I could not help but cry out to whatever god may have been listening at the time.
The team took a break from swabbing the wound in his thigh, and the once pristine webs of plastic fabric had so much blood and pus that you would never have guessed that the apparatus was once man-made. It looked like some sort of pulsing alien life form.
As I kept the contents of my stomach deep within by trying to take my mind off of the gore that was so repulsive, I asked the resident M.D. a question that may be the most important question I have asked while walking the face of this earth.
"Um, excuse me, but who is the vendor of these surgical swabs?"
He told me the company, which was famous for making various hi-tech swabs out of forms of polystyrene that were touted to be the best in the business, far superior to any soft cotton-based swab. Realizing this, my heart sank precipitously, before it rose into the heavens. For at that moment, I realized what was wrong with Sam. You see, I had called the swab frighteningly harsh, and by that all I had meant was that it must hurt like the worst torments to have one's wound cleansed. Such soul splintering pain would be the worst case scenario for you or me if we had to have the same procedure done on one of our wounds, but we were not dealing with a festering wound on your leg or my leg. We were talking about Sam Vespucci's problem, and after all, his mutation in WASP made things not just painful, but maybe it had made him unable to clot by the mere force of our procedure!
The expression "the cure is worse than the disease" usually speaks of some strategy that is fundamentally flawed. In this case, I wondered if that blood and pus-covered swab had been the perfect cure for your standard 21st century wound-a wound that would be healed by cells that had enough WASP to do the job. And maybe Sam never had a clotting problem before because he had never had a polystyrene based swab rubbing his cells to the point where they could no longer work. It was all so clear!
The resident had opened a fresh swab to finish the job, and as my mind raced a mile a second I jumped up from my science-inspired dream to grab his arm.
"I've got it, I've got it, I've got it. You are killing him by saving him. Put that damned tool down this instant!" I sounded like a raving lunatic, and if I hadn't worn my lab coat (which I almost never do) he probably would have punched me in the face.
"Greg, Greg, get over here!" Greg Kim rushed to the room, looking at me and his exasperated resident. My words were jumbled and I tripped over myself, but in a frenzy I was able to convey the general idea that the technologically advanced swab was just too much for his WASP-mutated cells to handle.
"Calm down Andrew. I don't think that you're right, and even if you were, I think the patient won't survive this episode. But let's give it a shot. Johnston, you heard the man. Get us some soft gauze, the kind that we used to use when I was training, and let's see if you can get that wound cleaned up."
I let out a deep breath and knew that this could work. Even if it didn't I would never have another shot at understanding how this one gene could weaken his cells so.
It wasn't clear that Sam would live long enough to see whether my hypothesis would work. I tried to watch his vital signs near his bed, but I had no energy left after all of this literature searching and pondering. I fell asleep, and as I lost consciousness I sincerely prayed for the third time in my life, and like the other two prayers, they were all uttered on the same day.
Monday, November 26, 2007
21st century festering wounds - sextus
The results were in, the experiments were done. We had found that in Samuel Vespucci's cells, several genes were somehow lowered in their expression. And for whatever reason, all of these genes were lying in a straight row on the X Chromosome.
But which gene was to blame for this strange malady?
I could not figure it out.
I surveyed the list of genes that came up as strange on the gene chip, with no strong clues.
However, as my eyes scanned neighboring genes, the picture became clear to me. The proverbial moment of clarity is sometimes depicted as a light bulb going off, and I had had times in my life when it seemed like I had grasped the experience of a true epiphany. But that was all washed away in comparison to this moment.
For at the moment, the bulbs flashed, the scales fell from my eyes, all of these metaphorical bursts of epiphany were true at the same time.
WASP!!! WASP!!! WASP is not expressed properly in Samuel!!!
I could not stop shouting and screaming the word WASP, as my colleagues looked at me with befuddled jaws gaping.
"Come on, you don't know WASP? It even has a wikipedia entry on it. Look it up as Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, not the insect or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.....This is it!!!!" The gene wasn't on the list that we got from our experiment, but it was wedged right between some of the other genes that we found on the X-chromosome. It was as clear as day to me now, but not to my student.
Who could blame these poor cellular biologists, whose worlds revolved around Dictyostelium discoideum, the slime mold that spends most of its time as a single cell? Studying this molecule in such an organism is not as logical as studying the other molecules that we prefer to work on, but as far as humans go, WASP is definitely worth studying. Humans who lack this gene completely develop serious diseases, and many times this manifests itself by problems with, yes, clotting.
My graduate student and her friends from the lab next door listened to my tirade as they looked up more info on WASP, and I knew what I had to do to bring about a change. I was sure I could save Sam. I just needed to get to him in time.
But which gene was to blame for this strange malady?
I could not figure it out.
I surveyed the list of genes that came up as strange on the gene chip, with no strong clues.
However, as my eyes scanned neighboring genes, the picture became clear to me. The proverbial moment of clarity is sometimes depicted as a light bulb going off, and I had had times in my life when it seemed like I had grasped the experience of a true epiphany. But that was all washed away in comparison to this moment.
For at the moment, the bulbs flashed, the scales fell from my eyes, all of these metaphorical bursts of epiphany were true at the same time.
WASP!!! WASP!!! WASP is not expressed properly in Samuel!!!
I could not stop shouting and screaming the word WASP, as my colleagues looked at me with befuddled jaws gaping.
"Come on, you don't know WASP? It even has a wikipedia entry on it. Look it up as Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, not the insect or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.....This is it!!!!" The gene wasn't on the list that we got from our experiment, but it was wedged right between some of the other genes that we found on the X-chromosome. It was as clear as day to me now, but not to my student.
Who could blame these poor cellular biologists, whose worlds revolved around Dictyostelium discoideum, the slime mold that spends most of its time as a single cell? Studying this molecule in such an organism is not as logical as studying the other molecules that we prefer to work on, but as far as humans go, WASP is definitely worth studying. Humans who lack this gene completely develop serious diseases, and many times this manifests itself by problems with, yes, clotting.
My graduate student and her friends from the lab next door listened to my tirade as they looked up more info on WASP, and I knew what I had to do to bring about a change. I was sure I could save Sam. I just needed to get to him in time.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
21st century festering wounds - cinco
I have been involved with science as boss or worker for 17 years now.
Some days have passed leisurely, because a big paper from my group had come out and I knew that was a guarantee that I'd make the next promotion or get the next grant. At other times I was unable to sleep before I heard whether our latest hypothesis could be backed up with reliable data. Naturally, this was especially true when funding was bad.
But all of that was rubbish compared to this current matter matter of Samuel Vespucci. With every passing hour I was so thankful to the gods or Buddha or the blind forces determined by Newton and friends that I was not an MD.
To be a medical doctor would have caused me to die of a heart attack or some other stress-induced malady. There's something about my mind that makes me able to project my mind into the body of someone in pain. Call it extreme empathy, or whatever you call it, it was so unsettling for me to have seen Sam have another break in the bacterial colony that had spread from his leg back into his bloodstream.
My good friend Dr. Kim was handling that with severe treatments reserved generally for cancer patients--small molecules called "cytokines" were added to Sam's i.v. that provoked his immune system to get to work and kill the bacteria had bought Sam some time, but we all knew that if he lost consciousness, he would be gone. The DNR was signed and none of his family could convince him otherwise.
And so I got to the lab a bit earlier than usual, and hoped we could find something.
As it happened, my graduate student Karen had already been working on analyzing the genes from Sam.
To do this, we used some powerful technology where every gene in the body can be identified in terms of whether it was turned on or turned off. This was done using a small chip, hence the name gene chip.
She was sitting at the computer with a frown. Turning to me, she said, "I'm sorry Andrew, but I think our gene chip has a problem. If you look at all of the genes, they are all pretty consistent between the healthy patient sample, but it seems like a bunch are a bit lower in expression. I think there was some sort of a smudge on the chip that made Sam's cells look like genes were turned off."
"Yeah, but all we have to do is look at the chip and see if that's true. And what do you mean, a bunch? And didn't you run replicates to be sure things like this didn't mess up your experiment?"
"Oh yes, yes, of course", she replied somewhat defensively. I had trained her well enough to do this but things seemed so odd that I had to ask.
"Ok, well, can I see this list of genes, and see what you mean?"
There were over 30,000 genes in the study, and they were listed in terms of how much they were expressed.
This was the list on the screen that she showed me that day:
ELK1
SSX9
ERAS
KCND1
GRIPAP1
GAGE4
LOC729422
In every instance, Samuel's cells had for some reason lowered the amount of expression of these genes. It was like those genes were somehow muted compared to cells from you or me.
"So Karen, you think these chips, which run several thousand dollars for each one, were all smudged in the same spot?? Come to think of it, where are those genes on the chip? Are they even in a row????"
"Hm.....let me see." She took the list of genes and organized them based on where they were on the little chip, and suddenly the grouping was lost.
It was then that we realized that those genes weren't in a row on the piece of plastic used to measure them.
"Wait a minute--I'm going about this all backwards....what if you sorted based on location in the human genome?"
With a few clicks and a few more seconds, we realized what was wrong----
The chip wasn't broken, affecting the genes in one row---to our shock, the genes were all in a row, if you looked at where they actually were on one part of one chromosome.
Some days have passed leisurely, because a big paper from my group had come out and I knew that was a guarantee that I'd make the next promotion or get the next grant. At other times I was unable to sleep before I heard whether our latest hypothesis could be backed up with reliable data. Naturally, this was especially true when funding was bad.
But all of that was rubbish compared to this current matter matter of Samuel Vespucci. With every passing hour I was so thankful to the gods or Buddha or the blind forces determined by Newton and friends that I was not an MD.
To be a medical doctor would have caused me to die of a heart attack or some other stress-induced malady. There's something about my mind that makes me able to project my mind into the body of someone in pain. Call it extreme empathy, or whatever you call it, it was so unsettling for me to have seen Sam have another break in the bacterial colony that had spread from his leg back into his bloodstream.
My good friend Dr. Kim was handling that with severe treatments reserved generally for cancer patients--small molecules called "cytokines" were added to Sam's i.v. that provoked his immune system to get to work and kill the bacteria had bought Sam some time, but we all knew that if he lost consciousness, he would be gone. The DNR was signed and none of his family could convince him otherwise.
And so I got to the lab a bit earlier than usual, and hoped we could find something.
As it happened, my graduate student Karen had already been working on analyzing the genes from Sam.
To do this, we used some powerful technology where every gene in the body can be identified in terms of whether it was turned on or turned off. This was done using a small chip, hence the name gene chip.
She was sitting at the computer with a frown. Turning to me, she said, "I'm sorry Andrew, but I think our gene chip has a problem. If you look at all of the genes, they are all pretty consistent between the healthy patient sample, but it seems like a bunch are a bit lower in expression. I think there was some sort of a smudge on the chip that made Sam's cells look like genes were turned off."
"Yeah, but all we have to do is look at the chip and see if that's true. And what do you mean, a bunch? And didn't you run replicates to be sure things like this didn't mess up your experiment?"
"Oh yes, yes, of course", she replied somewhat defensively. I had trained her well enough to do this but things seemed so odd that I had to ask.
"Ok, well, can I see this list of genes, and see what you mean?"
There were over 30,000 genes in the study, and they were listed in terms of how much they were expressed.
This was the list on the screen that she showed me that day:
ELK1
SSX9
ERAS
KCND1
GRIPAP1
GAGE4
LOC729422
In every instance, Samuel's cells had for some reason lowered the amount of expression of these genes. It was like those genes were somehow muted compared to cells from you or me.
"So Karen, you think these chips, which run several thousand dollars for each one, were all smudged in the same spot?? Come to think of it, where are those genes on the chip? Are they even in a row????"
"Hm.....let me see." She took the list of genes and organized them based on where they were on the little chip, and suddenly the grouping was lost.
It was then that we realized that those genes weren't in a row on the piece of plastic used to measure them.
"Wait a minute--I'm going about this all backwards....what if you sorted based on location in the human genome?"
With a few clicks and a few more seconds, we realized what was wrong----
The chip wasn't broken, affecting the genes in one row---to our shock, the genes were all in a row, if you looked at where they actually were on one part of one chromosome.
Friday, November 23, 2007
High Koo's --------- j
how soft your embrace
so anxious to meet anew
and stay in your sight
how soft your embrace
the treasure that changed my life
by ending my life
it has been too long
so anxious to meet anew
each second endless
i'll do all i can
to make you smile, never turn
and stay in your sight
so anxious to meet anew
and stay in your sight
how soft your embrace
the treasure that changed my life
by ending my life
it has been too long
so anxious to meet anew
each second endless
i'll do all i can
to make you smile, never turn
and stay in your sight
High Koo's -------- i
measure resentment
pound by pound it buries you
and spits on your grave
measure resentment
in the way you won't reveal
the hollow inside
the weight has a toll
pound by pound it buries you
suffocates your breath
eulogy of shame
he tells your life as it's not
and spits on your grave
pound by pound it buries you
and spits on your grave
measure resentment
in the way you won't reveal
the hollow inside
the weight has a toll
pound by pound it buries you
suffocates your breath
eulogy of shame
he tells your life as it's not
and spits on your grave
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