[I apologize for masculine terms for G-d. When I picture my creator, I see my dad.]
Yesterday, I wrote something. Then I left the room, got something to drink and came back to it. When I did, I realized that what I written was blasphemous (actually blasphemous, in all seriousness) and I was afraid. I was afraid of offending this unseen character in my life. I knew that these words would encroach on HIS territory and I did not want to be responsible for shouldering the reprisal of that action. I don't know who He is, what He wants, or what I can do about it, but I know that I fear Him. And the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
I need that sometimes. When things are going the way that they are currently going, it gets easy to let cynicism and doubt rule my thoughts and speech. Recognizing that there is a limit, knowing that some things are still unacceptable means that despite how I feel, "the real me" is still somewhere in there. I just have to find him.
Blog Archive
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tell Obama I'm not a pirate! Don't shoot
I got this letter yesterday from some television/movie/music/world domination network accusing me of being a pirate. Apparently, piracy is still happening somewhere outside of the seas surrounding Somalia. Anywho, they think I've been sneaking into their studios at night and stealing their movies and selling them out of the back of my pirate ship.
Now I don't mind if people make mistakes, but just don't let the President hear that you think I'm a pirate. Because I heard he shot the last guys accused of treachery on the high seas!
Heres the letter:
Now I don't mind if people make mistakes, but just don't let the President hear that you think I'm a pirate. Because I heard he shot the last guys accused of treachery on the high seas!
Heres the letter:
Re: Infringement of NBC Universal Properties
Notice ID: 14-17986814
20 May 2009 01:04:56 GMT
Dear Sir/Madam:
I am contacting you on behalf of NBC Universal, Inc. and its affiliated companies ("NBC Universal") regarding certain activity on your Internet account. NBC Universal owns intellectual property rights, including exclusive rights protected under copyright law, in many motion pictures, television programs and other audiovisual works ("NBC Universal Properties"). Based on our data, we believe that your Internet account was recently used to reproduce and/or distribute unauthorized copies of one or more NBC Universal Properties in violation of NBC Universal's rights. We have set forth below the details concerning this infringement, including the title(s) in question, the IP address of the account at the time of the infringement, and the date and time of the infringement.
Your Internet service provider (ISP) has agreed to forward this notice to you in order to provide you an opportunity to remedy this situation. Your ISP has not provided your personal information to us, but NBC Universal reserves the right to obtain that information through legal process in appropriate circumstances.
Unauthorized copying or distribution of copyrighted works may give rise to significant liability for copyright infringement, including statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work for willful infringement. Such action may also constitute a violation of your Internet provider's Terms of Use and may result in suspension or termination of your Internet service account. Accordingly, we request that you immediately: (1) cease from any further unlawful copying or distribution of NBC Universal Properties; and (2) delete any unauthorized copies of NBC Universal from your computer.
We encourage you to learn the facts about Internet piracy, including the economic harm that piracy causes to creative industries in the United States and the danger of exposure to viruses, worms, hacking and identity theft as a result of using peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Information regarding Internet piracy may be found on the web site http://www.mpaa.org/piracy.asp, which is maintained by the Motion Picture Association of America for the purpose of educating consumers.
A true and correct list of the titles of the NBC Universal Properties which NBC Universal believes in good faith have been illegally offered for downloading using your Internet account is noted below.
We would be pleased to respond to any questions or concerns you may have concerning this notice. You may direct any such questions or concerns to us through the following Internet site: LINK REMOVED Please include the Notice ID in the subject line of any correspondence.
The undersigned has a good faith belief that use of the NBC Universal Property or Properties in the manner described herein is not authorized by NBC Universal, its agent(s) or the law. The information contained in this notification is accurate. Under penalty of perjury, the undersigned is authorized to act on behalf of NBC Universal with respect to this matter.
This letter is not intended to be a complete statement of the facts or law as they may pertain to this matter, or of NBC Universal's positions, rights or remedies, legal or equitable, all of which are specifically reserved.
Very truly yours,
Mark Ishikawa
CEO, BayTSP inc.
c/o NBC Universal Anti-Piracy Technical Operations
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
tel. (818) 777-4876
fax (818) 866-2026
antipiracy@nbcuni.com
Monday, May 11, 2009
Mi vida loca...
Alright, so here it is folks. A little update on me in case you cared:
1. I'm writing full-time and I love it.
2. I am moving with 3 of my closest friends on June 1...hilarity will most likely ensue. Pictures to follow.
3. I have been missing the most random people lately. If you hear from me quite unexpectedly, you may consider yourself warned.
4. I am so unsure about life these days. It has taught me a lot about myself.
5. I think everyone should be listening to a little more Al Green and a lot more Marvin Gaye, seriously. Do it.
6. I am finding out everyday that I'm a lot more like my Dad than I thought. Definitely a good thing.
7. If you gossip to me, I will listen. Try not to do that.
8. Happy is not a natural state of being for me. Natural is a natural state of being for me. People seem to struggle with that concept.
9. I'm hopelessly romantic. Just never at the right time.
10. I am finding out that some things never change. But most things do.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Dexter and Doubt
A long time ago, I used to watch a show called Boy Meets World. If you are familiar with the show, you're probably not even reading this anymore. If I were you, I'd be on YouTube looking up funny clips of Eric Matthews and the silly things he used to say that drove Mr. Feeny crazy. (Sidebar: is it weird that when most shows went to the "College Years", they weren't that good, but Boy Meets World only got better?) Anyhow, Eric said something about television in one episode: he said that it was the true mirror of our lives. And in a way, it is. Television takes the things that are common among us and points them out so that we can share in the memories and thereby create new experiences based on discussing the old ones. (Did I just go the long way to describe the word Meta?)
My most recent tryst into television has been my new favorite show: Dexter. I love the show because its about a guy who doesn't understand human norms that most people accept without question and I consider myself to be the same way. Dexter, like me, spent most of his life trying to learn and operate within this social construct in order to survive and continuously finding that there is no one in the world like him. That realization is a tough one to accept, but the silver lining comes in the form of the idea that to one extent or another, everyone feels the same way. In the real world, no one belongs. The unique bent of each person disallows congruence and creates the togetherness of being alone.
That idea reminds me of my favorite movie of late, which is Doubt. In it, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a priest who delivers a message to his congregation that very literally almost made me (see if I was capable of forcing myself to) weep. I'm not going to try to summarize it, so here is the text:
Last year, when President Kennedy was assassinated, who among us did not experience the most profound disorientation? Despair? Which way? What now? What do I say to my kids? What do I tell myself? It was a time of people sitting together, bound together by a common feeling of hopelessness. But think of that! Your BOND with your fellow being was your Despair. It was a public experience. It was awful, but we were in it together. How much worse is it then for the lone man, the lone woman, stricken by a private calamity?
‘No one knows I’m sick.’
‘No one knows I’ve lost my last real friend.’
‘No one knows I’ve done something wrong.’
Imagine the isolation. Now you see the world as through a window. On one side of the glass: happy, untroubled people, and on the other side: you.
I want to tell you a story. A cargo ship sank one night. It caught fire and went down. And only this one sailor survived. He found a lifeboat, rigged a sail…and being of a nautical discipline…turned his eyes to the Heavens and read the stars. He set a course for his home, and exhausted, fell asleep. Clouds rolled in. And for the next twenty nights, he could no longer see the stars. He thought he was on course, but there was no way to be certain. And as the days rolled on, and the sailor wasted away, he began to have doubts. Had he set his course right? Was he still going on towards his home? Or was he horribly lost… and doomed to a terrible death? No way to know. The message of the constellations - had he imagined it because of his desperate circumstance? Or had he seen truth once… and now had to hold on to it without further reassurance? There are those of you in church today who know exactly the crisis of faith I describe. And I want to say to you: DOUBT can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone.
Sometimes, the togetherness of difference is the only togetherness we have.
My most recent tryst into television has been my new favorite show: Dexter. I love the show because its about a guy who doesn't understand human norms that most people accept without question and I consider myself to be the same way. Dexter, like me, spent most of his life trying to learn and operate within this social construct in order to survive and continuously finding that there is no one in the world like him. That realization is a tough one to accept, but the silver lining comes in the form of the idea that to one extent or another, everyone feels the same way. In the real world, no one belongs. The unique bent of each person disallows congruence and creates the togetherness of being alone.
That idea reminds me of my favorite movie of late, which is Doubt. In it, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a priest who delivers a message to his congregation that very literally almost made me (see if I was capable of forcing myself to) weep. I'm not going to try to summarize it, so here is the text:
Last year, when President Kennedy was assassinated, who among us did not experience the most profound disorientation? Despair? Which way? What now? What do I say to my kids? What do I tell myself? It was a time of people sitting together, bound together by a common feeling of hopelessness. But think of that! Your BOND with your fellow being was your Despair. It was a public experience. It was awful, but we were in it together. How much worse is it then for the lone man, the lone woman, stricken by a private calamity?
‘No one knows I’m sick.’
‘No one knows I’ve lost my last real friend.’
‘No one knows I’ve done something wrong.’
Imagine the isolation. Now you see the world as through a window. On one side of the glass: happy, untroubled people, and on the other side: you.
I want to tell you a story. A cargo ship sank one night. It caught fire and went down. And only this one sailor survived. He found a lifeboat, rigged a sail…and being of a nautical discipline…turned his eyes to the Heavens and read the stars. He set a course for his home, and exhausted, fell asleep. Clouds rolled in. And for the next twenty nights, he could no longer see the stars. He thought he was on course, but there was no way to be certain. And as the days rolled on, and the sailor wasted away, he began to have doubts. Had he set his course right? Was he still going on towards his home? Or was he horribly lost… and doomed to a terrible death? No way to know. The message of the constellations - had he imagined it because of his desperate circumstance? Or had he seen truth once… and now had to hold on to it without further reassurance? There are those of you in church today who know exactly the crisis of faith I describe. And I want to say to you: DOUBT can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone.
Sometimes, the togetherness of difference is the only togetherness we have.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Update: On earth, as it is in heaven...
5/2/2009: I'm not sure if I should call this part, "In G-d's image" or "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made". So, this week, it was confirmed that our favorite pageant runner-up got free breast implants from the California pageant in preparation for the Miss USA pageant where she was planning to spread the LORD's message of "opposite marriage". You see folks, its a slippery slope: First they will let men marry men, then men will marry women who are actually part women and part plastic, then they will marry women who are part plastic and hate gay people!
Did her G-d not do a good enough job or is it possible that the truth is that this was always about her and never about spreading the love of Jesus to all of us lonely guys who watch her pageants?
For the record: I hate the need for cosmetic surgery to improve body image because of what it says about how our culture views our natural selves. That being said, I understand why people do it and I am in full support of doing what is necessary to feel good about yourself and to be the absolute best you possible. But I'm not sure that you will find that message in the Bible.
Original Post: Well this was an interesting weekend. We're looking to move again to incorporate a new roommate and a dog, so we were caught up in that the whole time. But the best part of the weekend for me was sitting down to discuss the Miss California USA comments at the pageant in Vegas last week. Now, as a disclaimer, I will say that I saw it second-hand through news outlets and I wasn't really that interested because I thought that everyone just assumed that beauty pageant people weren't that smart so we didn't care about their opinions. (Not saying that I felt that way, just saying that I assumed people had come to that conclusion after what happened last time.)
It only got interesting to me when a football player who couldn't stand to be out of the limelight built himself a church and then invited this part-time beauty queen and full-time bigot to come to his church and speak. (Now, if you know about this guy, then you know that Miles McPherson is less of a pastor and more of a rockstar and that he doesn't create messages to inspire people, he just makes up catchphrases and witty sayings to entertain. So it would be pointless to enter a theological debate with him since I have about the same experience in both Bible college and more experience the mission field than he does.) Nevertheless, here is what I know about him. He was an OK football player for the Chargers, did some drugs and met Jesus, now he's a brand-name in Christianity. He used to use the catchphrase, "who is the man?" and then the congregation would roaringly reply with the name of Jesus. But now, according to his website: Miles, himself, is the man. He is also responsible for the term "Cheasters" to represent Christmas and Easter churchgoers and the resurgence of the term "sword" to mean Bible so that Christians never forget their Crusading days.
That being said, I would still like to debunk what happened here: This woman, named Carrie Prejean, was asked if she thought that same-sex couples should be allowed to get married and if states should offer this freedom to them. She took this opportunity to talk about what she believes based on how she was raised. (Now, here's a little pageant tip for you: NEVER DO THAT, especially if you were reaised by bigots. Don't they have cue-cards or something???) She said that in her country, like in her family she doesn't think that it should be done that way, and then she adds that she means no offense to anyone. In what way would a same-sex couple take these comments and not be offended? "Dear Person, you deserve fewer rights than I do in the land of the free....no offense." I bet she would love the opportunity to give them separate (but equal) drinking fountains and schools too, right? Then, on top of that, she went to a San Diego "church" this last weekend where she was paraded around like the newest mascot and icon for hate in America that she is. Keep in mind, that the pastor of this church spoke at the Republican National Convention this last election, so he's probably getting his talking points from Fox News rather than the Bible.
Anyhow, here are my problems with this situation:
1. If we are maintaining the antiquated views of the Bible, why are we allowing women to speak in church?
2. Since when are a football player and a beauty queen (runner up) the authorities on social issues?
3. Wasn't one of the main selling points of America to escape religious persecution?
4. Isn't it a little inappropriate to hide behind the guise of religion if you're just a place to spread your social agenda?
5. If this were anything other than a chance to get her 15 minutes of fame, then why not go to her home church and speak?
Did her G-d not do a good enough job or is it possible that the truth is that this was always about her and never about spreading the love of Jesus to all of us lonely guys who watch her pageants?
For the record: I hate the need for cosmetic surgery to improve body image because of what it says about how our culture views our natural selves. That being said, I understand why people do it and I am in full support of doing what is necessary to feel good about yourself and to be the absolute best you possible. But I'm not sure that you will find that message in the Bible.
Original Post: Well this was an interesting weekend. We're looking to move again to incorporate a new roommate and a dog, so we were caught up in that the whole time. But the best part of the weekend for me was sitting down to discuss the Miss California USA comments at the pageant in Vegas last week. Now, as a disclaimer, I will say that I saw it second-hand through news outlets and I wasn't really that interested because I thought that everyone just assumed that beauty pageant people weren't that smart so we didn't care about their opinions. (Not saying that I felt that way, just saying that I assumed people had come to that conclusion after what happened last time.)
It only got interesting to me when a football player who couldn't stand to be out of the limelight built himself a church and then invited this part-time beauty queen and full-time bigot to come to his church and speak. (Now, if you know about this guy, then you know that Miles McPherson is less of a pastor and more of a rockstar and that he doesn't create messages to inspire people, he just makes up catchphrases and witty sayings to entertain. So it would be pointless to enter a theological debate with him since I have about the same experience in both Bible college and more experience the mission field than he does.) Nevertheless, here is what I know about him. He was an OK football player for the Chargers, did some drugs and met Jesus, now he's a brand-name in Christianity. He used to use the catchphrase, "who is the man?" and then the congregation would roaringly reply with the name of Jesus. But now, according to his website: Miles, himself, is the man. He is also responsible for the term "Cheasters" to represent Christmas and Easter churchgoers and the resurgence of the term "sword" to mean Bible so that Christians never forget their Crusading days.
That being said, I would still like to debunk what happened here: This woman, named Carrie Prejean, was asked if she thought that same-sex couples should be allowed to get married and if states should offer this freedom to them. She took this opportunity to talk about what she believes based on how she was raised. (Now, here's a little pageant tip for you: NEVER DO THAT, especially if you were reaised by bigots. Don't they have cue-cards or something???) She said that in her country, like in her family she doesn't think that it should be done that way, and then she adds that she means no offense to anyone. In what way would a same-sex couple take these comments and not be offended? "Dear Person, you deserve fewer rights than I do in the land of the free....no offense." I bet she would love the opportunity to give them separate (but equal) drinking fountains and schools too, right? Then, on top of that, she went to a San Diego "church" this last weekend where she was paraded around like the newest mascot and icon for hate in America that she is. Keep in mind, that the pastor of this church spoke at the Republican National Convention this last election, so he's probably getting his talking points from Fox News rather than the Bible.
Anyhow, here are my problems with this situation:
1. If we are maintaining the antiquated views of the Bible, why are we allowing women to speak in church?
2. Since when are a football player and a beauty queen (runner up) the authorities on social issues?
3. Wasn't one of the main selling points of America to escape religious persecution?
4. Isn't it a little inappropriate to hide behind the guise of religion if you're just a place to spread your social agenda?
5. If this were anything other than a chance to get her 15 minutes of fame, then why not go to her home church and speak?
Friday, April 03, 2009
I finally figured it out
As a guy who hasn't technically gotten out of bed for the day yet, I have had a pretty stressful day. Having a laptop affords me the often unfortunate privilege of working from my bed. (Wow, this isn't starting well)
So, this morning I was doing a write up for work on a pretty obscure company that I interviewed yesterday. As a matter of fact, this company is so obscure that I have not once noticed it since I moved here and it's literally steps away from my apartment. Anyhow, I got to thinking about this small business and how one would go about realizing that they are qualified to do that particularly obscure kind of work and finding a company that does such a thing. The end of this thought process was the realization that I never how to answer the question that employers will needlessly, yet undoubtedly ask: What is your greatest weakness?
Now, to be fair, my $100k Psychology degree tells me that they don't particularly care what your weakness is (although if it is sexually deviant or criminal in nature, they may give extra consideration); in reality, employers are more interested in how you react in demeanor to such an uncomfortable question. That being said, readers will note that my nature is not to focus on such important details; I have been very much interested in what could be named greatest amongst my many crippling flaws!
After much more thought than necessary and some particularly timely encounters with people for whom I care a great deal, I discovered it. I finally discovered my greatest personality defect: When I meet a person, I put them through an investigative vetting process that involves asking around, internet searching, deep conversations, and random "firing squad-style" questioning. (The quotes appear in that sentence because that is how these unannounced questioning sessions have been described) For the sake of brevity, I will say that I go to great lengths to know all that I can about people who I interested in for the sake of friendship or anything more. But once a person passes that initial probation period (be it through virtue or deception), I find it impossible to re-establish my guard around them. This carte blanche trust has lead to some of the most epic, devistating inconsiderations, oversteps, and betrayals that I have ever witnessed or experienced with little or no reprocussion.
In business, like in life, there has been no personal weakness greater than that. (Not even my constant, simultaneous over-estimation and lack of self-esteem) The part of this whole thing that interests me most is the fact that the chances of my making steps to repair that broken part about myself are very remote.
So, this morning I was doing a write up for work on a pretty obscure company that I interviewed yesterday. As a matter of fact, this company is so obscure that I have not once noticed it since I moved here and it's literally steps away from my apartment. Anyhow, I got to thinking about this small business and how one would go about realizing that they are qualified to do that particularly obscure kind of work and finding a company that does such a thing. The end of this thought process was the realization that I never how to answer the question that employers will needlessly, yet undoubtedly ask: What is your greatest weakness?
Now, to be fair, my $100k Psychology degree tells me that they don't particularly care what your weakness is (although if it is sexually deviant or criminal in nature, they may give extra consideration); in reality, employers are more interested in how you react in demeanor to such an uncomfortable question. That being said, readers will note that my nature is not to focus on such important details; I have been very much interested in what could be named greatest amongst my many crippling flaws!
After much more thought than necessary and some particularly timely encounters with people for whom I care a great deal, I discovered it. I finally discovered my greatest personality defect: When I meet a person, I put them through an investigative vetting process that involves asking around, internet searching, deep conversations, and random "firing squad-style" questioning. (The quotes appear in that sentence because that is how these unannounced questioning sessions have been described) For the sake of brevity, I will say that I go to great lengths to know all that I can about people who I interested in for the sake of friendship or anything more. But once a person passes that initial probation period (be it through virtue or deception), I find it impossible to re-establish my guard around them. This carte blanche trust has lead to some of the most epic, devistating inconsiderations, oversteps, and betrayals that I have ever witnessed or experienced with little or no reprocussion.
In business, like in life, there has been no personal weakness greater than that. (Not even my constant, simultaneous over-estimation and lack of self-esteem) The part of this whole thing that interests me most is the fact that the chances of my making steps to repair that broken part about myself are very remote.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Bric-a-brac
Update:
Life is pretty up in the "air right now". But when is that not the case? Here's the housekeeping for those of you who (for whatever odd reason) don't already know all of this. I am going to visit Allie for my birthday. It should be a whole lot of fun and I'll probably post pictures despite how terrible of an idea that is.
I quit my job last Monday and I was unemployed for like an hour. I've been making some pretty significant headway on my book, so a publishing company seemed like a great move for a job. People say I'm dumb, I probably am.
Schweizer and I launched ReviewStacks.com earlier this year and things are going well there. We are in the process of working on a Review Stacks mixtape which we will executive produce and release for free download. The point is just to get some artists that we have become familiar with a little bit of exposure. So that should be cool. Things with the site are going well though. Very proud of that.
Last time I posted, I got some fantastic advice from Allie. (She is so damned smart) I listened and followed her advice (Hey, I'm smart too!) and now things with Mary are pretty fantastic. We have the problems of any unequally yoked couple living in sin but ya know, some people don't even have that!
I'm seriously thinking about getting a Master's Degree in History. But all of the admissions personnel that I know from local schools seem to think that Psychology is the path for me. In their defense, it makes sense that they would say that since I know them through my undergrad experience in Psychology (and of course by experience, I mean degree). Anyway, Keturah agrees with me that teaching on the collegiate level might be a good outlet for my constant need to rant and my love college culture. (Not like Asher Roth, though) I will keep you updated on this.
Speaking of Keturah: She, Brian, and Baby-Bella are just going to town up there since moving. They are really digging their heels into their new community, which is pretty cool. Apparently Bella has got walking on her mind, so that's pretty exciting. Brian is selling his photography and has a book out. The info on that is on http://jbhaferkamp.squarespace.com/.
I'm becoming less and less interested in Religion lately. My participation in religious practices has been reduced to maintaining week-long text conversations with my Rabbi (in which he gives me reading assignments) and popping into temple something like once a month. I suppose at some point it will be important to me, but right now, I would rather focus on the construction of my idea of G-d and fellowship with people I believe bring my closer to that.
Right now, I'm reading the Chosen by Chaim Potok. It's weird the 3rd time. And I'm listening to Chuck Berry exclusively for the next 48-72 hours.
Here are some things that I've been thinking about:
Motivation is such a strange part of human life. I think that there are several subtle ways in which our socialization in this culture teaches that our motivations should be private. I would even assert that most people feel that it is dangerous to have their motivation revealed because we fear that other people possess the intent to do us harm. We have become quite skilled at veiling our true desires. So much of my last job involved tapping into people's motivation and it was that part of the position that required either a true skill or a sincere lack of interest in the well-being of others.
Life is pretty up in the "air right now". But when is that not the case? Here's the housekeeping for those of you who (for whatever odd reason) don't already know all of this. I am going to visit Allie for my birthday. It should be a whole lot of fun and I'll probably post pictures despite how terrible of an idea that is.
I quit my job last Monday and I was unemployed for like an hour. I've been making some pretty significant headway on my book, so a publishing company seemed like a great move for a job. People say I'm dumb, I probably am.
Schweizer and I launched ReviewStacks.com earlier this year and things are going well there. We are in the process of working on a Review Stacks mixtape which we will executive produce and release for free download. The point is just to get some artists that we have become familiar with a little bit of exposure. So that should be cool. Things with the site are going well though. Very proud of that.
Last time I posted, I got some fantastic advice from Allie. (She is so damned smart) I listened and followed her advice (Hey, I'm smart too!) and now things with Mary are pretty fantastic. We have the problems of any unequally yoked couple living in sin but ya know, some people don't even have that!
I'm seriously thinking about getting a Master's Degree in History. But all of the admissions personnel that I know from local schools seem to think that Psychology is the path for me. In their defense, it makes sense that they would say that since I know them through my undergrad experience in Psychology (and of course by experience, I mean degree). Anyway, Keturah agrees with me that teaching on the collegiate level might be a good outlet for my constant need to rant and my love college culture. (Not like Asher Roth, though) I will keep you updated on this.
Speaking of Keturah: She, Brian, and Baby-Bella are just going to town up there since moving. They are really digging their heels into their new community, which is pretty cool. Apparently Bella has got walking on her mind, so that's pretty exciting. Brian is selling his photography and has a book out. The info on that is on http://jbhaferkamp.squarespace.com/.
I'm becoming less and less interested in Religion lately. My participation in religious practices has been reduced to maintaining week-long text conversations with my Rabbi (in which he gives me reading assignments) and popping into temple something like once a month. I suppose at some point it will be important to me, but right now, I would rather focus on the construction of my idea of G-d and fellowship with people I believe bring my closer to that.
Right now, I'm reading the Chosen by Chaim Potok. It's weird the 3rd time. And I'm listening to Chuck Berry exclusively for the next 48-72 hours.
Here are some things that I've been thinking about:
Motivation is such a strange part of human life. I think that there are several subtle ways in which our socialization in this culture teaches that our motivations should be private. I would even assert that most people feel that it is dangerous to have their motivation revealed because we fear that other people possess the intent to do us harm. We have become quite skilled at veiling our true desires. So much of my last job involved tapping into people's motivation and it was that part of the position that required either a true skill or a sincere lack of interest in the well-being of others.
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