Darryl's Blog
Recently in Life Category
My Dad died two years ago today.
Some things my Dad taught me: to laugh and have fun; how to give an underdog (pushing someone on a swing while going under them); to go with plan b when plan a doesn't work out (example: deliver pizza if your union goes on strike).
Unfortunately he also taught me what bitterness looks like if you let it take root. He also taught me how to honor a parent who has let his family down, which was probably important for me to learn.
I kind of miss him.
I'm back in Toronto. Before I tell you what I learned I have to share some of the oddest moments of the past few days:
- Trying to hail a cab, but having a black Mercedes pull up with tinted windows and roll down his windows. I looked for a meter and waved him on when I didn't see one, which drove my friend Ian crazy. He figures we were in for some kind of an adventure. I agree but getting into strange cars in NYC isn't my idea of an adventure.
- Having someone at the conference ask me as I was eating lunch, "Is that your orange? Do you mind if I eat it?" I replied, "It's my orange but you can have it if you want." That's Canadian for "Back off, buddy, if you value your life." The translation didn't get through and he walked away with my orange. I'm told I had a shocked look on my face. I think I have to learn how to communicate New York style.
- Sitting beside a guy one year older than me, but having Ed Stetzer call him the young guy with a PC, and me the old guy with a Mac. I used to like Ed Stetzer. (Just kidding. Ed's still OK.)
Many other fun stories. I'll post soon on what I learned at the conference. In case you're interested my friend Earl has a post on his experience.
Proof we're not staying in a swanky hotel in New York City. The room number in magic marker is a nice touch. Not that I expect any sympathy - pretty hard to complain.
I've wanted to attend a service at Redeemer Presbyterian in New York for the longest time. Yesterday it happened. I preached at Richview in the morning, then got on a plane and arrived in Manhattan with plenty of time to make it to the 6:00 service. When I made it to the service, I thought that I had the wrong place.
Turns out I was in the right place. Redeemer put on an abridged performance of the opera Rigoletto, followed by a lecture by Tim Keller and a time of Q&A. They call this an open forum, which is something they do a couple of times a year. It's designed "specifically for those who are exploring the claims of the Christian faith."
At first I was disappointed not to catch a regular service, before I caught myself. What's not to like about a performance with singers from the Metropolitan Opera, followed by a time of reflection by Keller? I settled in and it was amazing.
I'm going to have to come back another time for a regular Redeemer service, but last night was outstanding.
Today a group of us are meeting with Ed Stetzer for the day. Tonight we have tickets for Letterman, and then tomorrow we're at the Dwell Conference. Looks to be a good few days.
From Kent Online:
Last month, a Hungarian driver and his 40-tonne truck became stuck when his sat nav directed him down a tiny country lane in Yalding, near Maidstone and he was unable to turn around to avoid a fallen tree.
Cllr Geraldine Brown, chairman of Yalding Parish Council, said at the time: "We have been moaning about sat nav for a long time and with good reason. Anyone can see that that lane is not suitable for a 40ft articulated lorry to go down."
And this:
We should have seen it coming. We should have seen all of it coming, really. Paula Ceely should have seen the railway tracks coming, and the train that hit her car moments after she got out. The 62 truck drivers who smashed into the same bridge in Grantham should have seen that coming. The stream of drivers plunging into 4ft of water at Luckington and having to pay 25 quid a go to get their cars pulled out; they should have seen the river Avon coming – just as the woman who drove down a farm track marked "unsuitable for motor vehicles" should have seen trouble ahead even before she drove into the river and was swept away...
Like all the others, she was using a GPS-based satnav system, a magnificent piece of intricate technology which guides you to your destination, helps you to avoid traffic jams, locates petrol stations when the yellow light comes on and will even, if you are a terminal dullard, offer you a guided tour of Places Of Interest wherever you are.
The email said:
If we leave at 7, Google Maps says we should be there at 4:30. I figure if we allow 30 minutes for the border, 30 minutes for a lunch break somewhere, and maybe a little time for traffic, we should still be through Cincinnati before rush hour gets bad, and into Louisville in enough time for dinner.
But that didn't take into account:
- we didn't leave at 7:00
- that pigs would be roaming the highway
- that we'd need to find a mechanic to fix the alternator of a car in our convey
And more. No fire extinguishers rolling around the highway though, and we had some good conversation on the way down.
The good news is that we got through Cincinnati without hitting rush hour. It was long over by then.
Today we have the Band of Bloggers gathering, followed by the start of the conference. There are 5 thousand people here. They're giving away 8 books at the blogger thing, and I heard they're giving 18 away during the conference. Then there's a bookstore. It's why I brought lots of empty luggage.
More to come.
TORONTO - DashHouse.com announced today that it is making a hostile takeover bid for Achievable Ends, a blog on faith, media, and leadership.
"We think that Achievable Ends will be a great addition to the DashHouse family of blogs," said DashHouse blogger Darryl Dash. "It brings a certain edge that we're currently lacking."
According to Blogshares, Achievable Ends is valued at over 3 million dollars. They note:
achievable ends suffered a huge setback with several analysts urging their clients to ditch the stock as it suffered a public relations disaster. The exact nature of customer dissatisfaction was not known but beachtiglet was rumoured to have had a hand in it. Industry insiders suspect a Relay (artefact) was involved. achievable ends share price dropped from B$80,497.28 to B$39,443.67
Sadly, this is not the first scandal involving Achievable Ends blogger Bill Kinnon and beachtiglets.
Dash, however, believes that Achievable Ends is poised for a comeback, especially after Internet Monk named it one of the top blogs of 2007. Michael Spencer, the Internet Monk, wrote, "Bill has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening at the intersections of emerging church and traditional church, all done with an appreciation for technology. Just the right amount of attitude." While Bill Kinnon's wife Imbi Kinnon disputes that her husband has just the right amount of attitude, Dash agrees that Kinnon writes a good blog. "Frankly, I can never get my finger on the pulse. Maybe a little more of Bill's attitude will help."
Dash also announced that he has plans to hire other bloggers, such as commenter Ken Davis, who also serves as pastor of Thistletown Baptist Church. Last year, prominent pastor Thabiti Anyabwile said that Davis is "about as close to walking laughter and Christian joy as you'll find." "With Bill's attitude, and Ken's laughter and joy, we can't be beat," said Dash.
Dash was also rumored to be making an offer for the services of Toronto blogger Paul Martin, until he read Martin's description of himself at his blog: "I am the worst sinner I know." Dash said, "We don't need that kind around here." Dash's wife was overheard agreeing that they already had a big enough sinner on their hands. When apprised of his wife's statement, Dash had no further comment.
A great post over at the Thinklings:
If I've seen this once I've seen it a thousand times. It's what I call "I've Identified the Problem and it's You" syndrome, or IITPAIY. Some blogs and comment threads are positively flooded with it.
From Real Live Preacher:
“What need has God for categories? Why sort and catalog a collection when you know and can describe every individual item? What meaning do your base labels have for a higher mind? You have created categories for your own use, fallen in love with sorting them, and made a god of the whole affair. This is an idolatry of the highest order. It is a blasphemy so bold as to cause angels to tremble. ‘The mind of The Almighty,’ you say, ‘is like unto my own mind.’”
“God is on intimate terms with the simple matter of earth, yet you dare label people instead of trying to know them. Your precious divisions of nationality, of Christian and non-Christian, saved and damned, good and evil, slave and free. These convenient memory aids might have served you well when you were biting spiritual ankles and wrestling with your primers. Will you not set them aside even now?”
Real Live Preacher is an amazing writer. I wish I had the talent that he does. And I know what he's driving at here. Labels can be abused.
Still, I think there's a certain fallacy here:
- Categories and labels are wrong and make us judgmental.
- There are two categories of people: those who categorize others and those who don't.
- Therefore, we should join the category of people who don't categorize, and judge those who do.
Huh? No matter how hard you try, it's impossible to not label or categorize. As I quoted Tim Keller the other day: "We can't avoid drawing boundaries. Everyone does it, and if they say you're not doing it, then you're drawing a boundary by saying you're not doing it."
I think labels and categories are here to stay, and that's not all bad. Categories exist. They are not right or wrong. They just are.
By the way, I don't think people really mind categories. For instance, few really mind being categorized by gender. It's practical and helpful. What's wrong is the abuse of any category, such as gender. It's not the category that's wrong, but the misuse of categories - things like stereotypes, caricatures, and a refusal to see differences within categories.
Categories aren't perfect. Categories work as long as we recognize that there are differences within each category. The differences do not negate the category, though. Within biology, for instance, there is something called a species problem. As long as we realize that at some point categories break down, categories are useful and even necessary.
I have another couple of posts brewing on this, which will come pretty soon. But for now, I disagree with RLP: categories are here to stay. The real trick is how to avoid misusing categories.
It's been an interesting week.
I crawled in the attic for 4 hours the other day and spent the next few days recovering. I'm getting old. Then my allergist gave me samples of a drug that's being probed by the FDA for its possible links to suicidal thoughts. Then the furnace guy found a crack in our heat exchanger which he can fix for over four figures.
I'm not really complaining. These are small problems. But I would appreciate your prayers for a friend who's facing bigger challenges.
A neighbor of ours, who is quite isolated, isn't well. I talked to her last night, and Charlene ended up taking her to emergency last night. She had a grand mal seizure in emergency, which is one way to get bumped up the waiting list. Pray for her. We're going over to feed her six (six!) cats right now.
Maybe next week will be boring.