Mail Bag 7-2-07 (Brian Speaks)

Just wanted to say how wonderful I thought your podcast was this week. I particularly enjoyed your continuous references to me. However, ifI'm going to critique it, I must say I was quite disappointed that thecigar and wine scale wasn't judged by "How many Brian's would you ratethis wine/cigar?". You missed a golden opportunity. Also, to clarify, code requirements for stairs (indoor) is 7" maximumrise (the height of the step) and 11" minimum run (the length of thestep), not 9". Outdoors it varies, but generally is a 4-6" rise (makesfor a more gentle step in bad weather conditions) and between 12-22"run. We can talk about ramps next time. In the meantime, check outthis link for "universal design" in homes, which eliminates all stairsin homes as well as other design changes to aid people of all ages andabilities. Therefore, it is my antithesis. I am the MC Escher of thearchitectural world... http://www.aarp.org/families/home_design/a2004-03-23-whatis_univdesign.html As for your talk on serving countries more in need than ours andspreading goodwill and love through our , I thought you guys would find this video from the church that I attend particularly poignant. Lastyear, 300 people traveled to Mamelodi, South Africa, built homes,planted gardens, played with children and spread love to the people ofthe poorest area of South Africa. This year, there are two trips and atotal of 600 (!) people making the trip. The next wave of volunteersare heading out this week. And by the way, the church funded NONE of the trip for all 600. Everything was raised through local donations. Quite a story... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRdS0T0X7_M&mode=related&search= Sincerely,Brian

Jeepers Creepers

If i was not currently trying to follow jesus i would probably never start . . . His followers are judgmental and creepy


And note . . . Sadly . . . I am a follower . . . Which most likely makes me judgmental and creepy

Barack Obomination?

"An undergraduate student's papier mache sculpture of Obama as a messianic
figure — entitled "Blessing" — went on display Saturday at a downtown gallery
run by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. By Monday, word of the piece
had spread on political blogs, and the school had been flooded with calls.
David Cordero, 24, made the sculpture for his senior show after noticing all the
attention Obama has received since he first hinted he may run for the
presidency.
"All of this is a response to what I've been witnessing and hearing, this idea that Barack is sort of a potential savior that might come and absolve the country of all its sins," Cordero said. "In a lot of ways it's about caution in assigning all these inflated expectations on one individual, and expecting them to change something that many hands have shaped." (Link)

So a 24 year old grad student decideds to do a think piece about the country's fixation on Obama coming in to save our society from the evil republican regime. I'm not losing sleep, infact I think this has less to do with blasphemy then it does our mindless obsession over the "next big thing". This is just the thing I was trying to explain during the last episode. Don't check your brain at the door, examine the situation at hand and don't blindly follow the propaganda of your local mega-church leaders or telelvangelists. Christians should be the ones creating the art, not trying to destroy it.

Scandalous Freedom

I was dancing around the store and a fellow Christian wanted to admonish me asking "can you imagine Jesus dancing?" I said no...But then I thought I can't imagine Jesus going to church, driving a car, or playing the organ either.