Tennis anyone?

Just started playing tennis again. For some reason this sport appeals to me. Maybe it is a manifestation of my anglophile longings. I'm no last king of Scotland but I like Mr Bean, The Black Adder, and Bond....James Bond

Fascination with anime and manga

I am discovering japanese culture through film and books. Right now I am hooked on manga. I cant stop reading the stuff even though most of the time I have to read from right to left!!!

Wired magazine has a graphic guide to how manga has conquered America!

Check it out Mangalicious

Worn out but inspired by sacrament and Schmelzer

I am really tired today and I still have to finish my sermon but at least I have a spark of inspiration. Yesterday I listened to a sermon by Dave Schmelzer of the Greater Boston Vineyard. It was on creativity. The highlight was how he compared the liturgical churches (catholic, anglican, orthodox) with the protestant churches (everybody else) in regard to art. A greater number of artists and a higher quality of art came from the liturgical churches. He says that is because liturgical churches focus on sacrament or visible signs of worship in contrast to protestant churches that focus on word or abstract thoughts. It was freeing to hear this because I have struggled as far as fitting into the church most of my life with my creative and artistic inclinations. It made me realize that my art can be worship without it having to directly relate to some christian thing. I can be a christian and an artist and not necessarily a christian artist. Thanks Dave!!! Here is a link to his sermon

Pepper mint filled pinatas

Life is kind of like a pinata. It looks cool on the outside. YOu have your image of what it's supposed to be. Usually it's based off of a cartoon or a superhero. There is a sort of fantasy driven plan you have in mind for how things are going to go....and then you get whacked around until finally somebody comes and totally cracks you open until you are unrecognizable. That somebody is God and his plan is to not leave you the same. The good part after the whole process is over just like the pinata you have blessings for everyone else to enjoy.

I don't know if this new book Peppermint filled Pinatas is about that but I heard it's good. The author is Eric Bryant who is a pastor at Mosaic church in Los Angeles.

Here is his blog

Check out this cool video on creativity from Eric's site

I am thinking about becoming a ninja

This past Sunday at our evening service a guy named Greg came in a ninja outfit. It wasn't just for the Halloween party afterwards. He is a real ninjitsu instructor. This stuff is for real not just in the movies. Here is a link to his youtube site

Pittsburgh and Amish country

Me and Yvette are off to go see her folks in New Castle, PA. It is very close to the Amish Countryside. I'm hoping to go take a peek at the Amish Paradise. That video was so funny. Weird Al you gotta love him.

Before we get there I'm also hoping to get a Primanti Brothers sandwich in Pittsburgh. This thing has french fries and cole slaw inside the sandwich. Not for the health conscious but hey while I'm there I gotta try it at least once. See if u can resist Primanti Bros

Things to do before I kick the bucket

Twenty Things I would like to do before I die:

1. Learn to read and write music

2. Get my poetry published

3. Write a novel and get it published

4. Write short stories and essays and get them published

5. Go to London

6. Go to China

7. Go to Prague, Czech Republic

8. Go to Morocco

9. Learn to play the keyboard

10. Smoke a pipe

11. Smoke a cigar

12. Plant a garden

13. View Yosemite National Park from the top of Half Dome

14. Go scuba diving

15. Go spear fishing

16. Learn archery

17. Create my own comic book

18. See the Grand Canyon

19. Record a spoken word/r&b/gospel/hiphop/folk album

20. Learn Amharic, Hebrew, and Arabic

meat eating struggle

I have been striving to give up meat but it's hard. I have cut down on my meat consumption but giving it up totally is still far away. I am doing it for environmental/spiritual reasons. The other day I read an article that talked about how meat consumption is bad for your health but also bad for the environment. Water, oil, and land are consumed with a vengeance while people go starving so we can have the filet mignon or that Whopper with cheese (Uh oh it's almost lunchtime) Here are some facts I discovered from Earthsave International:

80% of corn and oats grown in the US are fed to livestock (while people are starving)

An acre can produce 165 pounds of beef or 20,000 punds of potatoes (that's Big Mac's for me or food for those who really need it)

It takes 25 gallons of water to produce a pound of wheat. It takes 2500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat. (Hmmmm...meat or wheat)

It takes 50 times more fossil fuels to produce a meat centered diet than a meat free diet.

So there's my motivation. Now I just have to break the habit. It's so hard in a meat eating society. Do I have enough courage and integrity to change?

Africa shoes

Check out the Africa shoes!!! They are dangerous(in a good way). I want to get some but they are a little expensive but at least the money goes to World Vision. Africa represent!!!

The Kingdom of God is not a job

The Kingdom of God is not a job. It doesn't have a great pension plan or 401k. Even with a BA, MA, and PHD Nobody is qualified. The pay is joy and that can never be measured. It goes on all the time so you can't clock in or clock out. The Kingdom of God is not a job. It never was and it never will be. Constantine confused it with a man made empire and some politicians think they can vote it in. But it has always existed somewhere between now and not yet. Between the pages of a book that men have argued about for years, and years, and years but can they live it. The Kingdom of God is not a job. It never was and it never will be.

Captain America is dead!!!

Say it ain't so. Say it ain't so. How the mighty have fallen! .Captain America is dead How did it happen? A hydrogen bomb explosion. A duel to the death with Wolverine. Baptism in fiery lava. Noooo. Captain America gets taken out by a sniper. What a way to go out! I hope it wasn't a gun from Walmart. That would really be a sad demise for the most patriotic superhero.

turtle power

I love my turtle. She's a red eared slider. She can't do any karate or throw ninja stars but here's the good part: I only have to feed her once every 1 or 2 days. Actually the truth of the matter is owning a pet turtle is exotic and it makes you very sexy :)

Cross cultural mess

I'm beginning to realize the toll that my work and new environment is taking on me. Being in this cross cultural environment is really taxing. I realized that it is not just me adapting to 20 or so different cultural grids but in actuality it is me just crossing over into one. Urban black culture to Suburban pop culture. It is me going from thinking Nas, Tupac, and Jay Z to My Chemical Romance and Fallout Boy. There is a whole different world out there and who would have thought it was only 20 minutes away. By the end of the week I am a crosscultural mess.

Lot's daughters and Jerry Springer

We just did a study of Genesis 19 for the group that meets at our house on Fridays. This is a very strange chapter filled with homosexual gang rape, fire and sulfur falling from heaven, and incest. I loved it!!!! The Bible is not just for pristine saints. It is not all clean cut and neatly trimmed. In actuality it is a mess because life is a mess.

I mean who would volunteer to make love to their father in order to preserve the family line!?!???!!? That's a Jerry Springer episode for real.

Seize the Day-Women in ministry

There is this ongoing debate about whether women should be in ministry. I have actually been paralyzed by this issue until I meditated on the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit moves irrespective of gender or culture. The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us into our gifts, our roles, our leadership and our authority. God said I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. All means all. If the Spirit of God is moving in a woman then I want to always yield to the Spirit.

Seize the Day-Tiredness

Just coming off this conference called Seize the Day and it has left me wasted. Very very tired. One of the speakers David Ruis talked about how living in LA makes you tired. I have to agree. The traffic, the ratrace, the image chasing is all enough to suck the life out of you. He described it as the land of "shattered dreams" People up and leave in a second and no one is connected or rooted to anything. Lack of fulfilling relationships can also make you tired.

What do you think?

Seize the Day-Tiredness

Just coming off this conference called Seize the Day and it has left me wasted. Very very tired. One of the speakers David Ruis talked about how living in LA makes you tired. I have to agree. The traffic, the ratrace, the image chasing is all enough to suck the life out of you. He described it as the land of "shattered dreams" People up and leave in a second and no one is connected or rooted to anything. Lack of fulfilling relationships can also make you tired.

What do you think?

Being sick

Being sick is God's way of getting us to stop and slow down enough to examine life. We realize we are mortal and begin to weigh the time and energy we have spent. We consider whether or not it has been worth it. Whether or not we should chart a new course, step out into uncharted waters. After all we could get sick again or we could fade away and die.

Hitchcock and Life

I love Hitchcock. His movies were made decades ago but they are timeless. I watched the birds last night and it kind of rattled me. It actually left me dazed. Why did those birds start attacking people? Movies like that don't necessarily have a happy ending and they actually do a better job at mirroring life. Sometimes we get through different tests and different seasons and survive but there is still a sense of mystery. There's still that gnawing question of "Why did that happen?" Sometimes the answer never comes.

Keeping the creative juices flowing

I am writing alot these days and working on four projects in four different genres.

1. Life with God. These are just my observations on life from a spiritual point of view

2. Wake up Call. This is a suspenseful mystery and also a commentary on busy American life

3. Little Brother Cricket. This is a kid's book that will be tailored to an African American audience. I just need an illustrator

4. The Name. This is the most extensive one yet. It is basically a mythological sort of work inspired by Lord of the Rings. It will be in 3 parts and I am now only creating the fantasy world. I probably won't actually begin writing until the end of the year.

So there you have it and if that's not enough I am also writing songs and poems again. Have to keep the creative juices flowin'