::season::

venturing into the christmas season my mind is constantly whirring around thinking about my time spent in the middle east and how that has affected my view on said traditional stories of christmas...tonight in particular i was in such a mood as to think again about how i felt about the "truth" behind our traditional christmas stories...especially the nativity...i could write for quite a while on this topic as i have quite a few of my own thoughts...but in interest of time i found in some searching and reading a sermon which really seemed to encompass many of my thoughts and is really a good look at the stories of our gospels...and i thought this picture was quite apropos (you will understand if you read the sermon)... (click on the picture)too perfect?

::hindenburg's bad rap::

it is quite possible that the hindenburg indeed got quite a bad reputation ...or at least its use of hydrogen. most people assume since then that the use of hydrogen is just plain dangerous....but as it turns out it was more likely a demise caused by the airships flammable powdered-aluminum coating. anyway all of this to really highlight and tout the new honda fcx concept car...not only is this car run using electricity and hydrogen but its only exhaust is water...amazing....and according to most reports i have read the car handles like a dream as well.....for more information about how it works....just click on the picture

..................why

what makes people do what they do? i look at the headlines in the news every day and all it seems to be is ridiculous killing, cheating, stealing,...hating. the religions of the world speak of how they have the way to a better life and a better world....but they don't seem to be making much of a difference...the same unexplainable mindset is still here....the one that would allow brother to kill brother in "our" civil war .... it is the same as what would drive someone to lie to innocent unemployed people (fathers, mothers, sons) who are desperate...lure them to a car and then kill them....what have we done to each other....i want to have faith in something which can be above this violence....but most of the times these "social structures" which try to speak of spirituality are the cause of violence...shiite, sunni, mennonite, christian, jewish....why does it really matter why do we have to continually create human structures to justify why we know more than someone else or why we are better or why someone else is not "human"... because that is the only way i can see someone could ever justify the violence that has occurred throughout history ... by creating divides people can believe that others deserve to live less than themselves.... i am comforted by the small things though.... a seemingly trite show about the "2006 iron man competition".... a man with ALS who just one year ago ran this same race and today can't even walk... yet another whom he barely knew took his cause and went 140 miles of grueling swimming, biking, and running and forced himself to finish ...why?... well i don't know but if it weren't for knowing that others out there are striving to live in true community it would be a lot tougher to remain optimistic

::doorway to change::

to make a difference...how to let people express
themselves....let them create their own dream....

::apologies::

i must issue a few apologies about not posting for quite a while...not sure if anyone actually does check this site...but for myself i want to remain consistent with posting...have continued to be extremely busy for the last week or so...working a full day and then many days having meetings or other events to go to in the evenings...a list of events that have happened and are coming up (gives a feeling for some of the stuff i am working with)

- screening of documentary (avenge but one of my two eyes) the middle east forum co-sponsored through an international film festival...the movie was awesome and the video-conference with the director Avi Mograbi took awhile to work correctly but was beneficial. the movie really delves into the feelings which may be overwhelming the palestinians in the face of occupation... and compares and contrasts this feeling with the glorification of samson and the individuals from mosada...incredibly powerful movie for anyone who is interested in the conflict between these two peoples


- next week there are going to be two major events coming up for AFSC ... one is going to be an event called "playback theatre" ...an improv theatre group is going to be preforming and using audience feedback to structure a vision of what peace looks like to people....could be sweet....

- one major event i will be in charge of is coming very quickly....the toughest thing is that we don't know when it will happen... i will be trying to host an event to recognize the day when we lose the 3,000th soldier since the Iraq war began...

- one other major task i have been undertaking was to create a new website for the Middle East Forum i have been helping with....so far i have a shell up....on the site you can check out the events we have coming up!

i have been busy...but i shall try not to shirk my responsibilities to my blog again :-D

ciao