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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) giveawayboy | |
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W is for wapiti, whitsunday, water mass, warp & woof, wyvern, wrist, wuerhosaurus, watrous, waterpolista, warping, wrasse, wunderkind and Wallia pura Tags: alphabet
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dakegra | |
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just finished reading pTerry's latest, Unseen Academicals. Which, despite my misgivings concerning the subject matter, ie. football, is really rather good. Now. What to read next? Had a couple of book parcels through today - one from the lovely folks at Rocky Nook, Photography Unplugged by Harald Mante, which I shall gush forth about later (it's very *very* beautiful) and one from Borders. Finally. Ordered them a week and a half ago and the entire order has been marked 'ready to ship' since friday 6th. Anyhoo, that parcel contained David Benioff's City of Thieves , Matt Seaton's Two Wheels , and a graphic novel, The New Brighton Archeological Society I suggested to EB that he might enjoy the latter, and he's spent bits of today with his nose firmly stuck in the book. I shall point him at my Tintin collection next. :-)
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seraphimsigrist | |
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Friends, Will be in the City today. Pushkin Little Tragedies at the Baryshnikov this afternoon... Last night talking with a friend, the question of what is a Christian equivalent to the famous Zen saying "If you see a Buddha in the road kill him." Which is of course a warning against inflation... There is "only the hand that erases can write the true thing." But that, and for that matter the Zen tradition too, is rather sophisticated. I look in the desert fathers sayings ,sayings which are simple and unrefined, not within a tradition but newly made. There is of course "If you see a brother rising up to heaven pull him down." but here is one less familiar maybe...
"Even if an angel should indeed appear to you,
do not receive him..."A couple of others strike me and may interest you, or someone...
"A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning
others, he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another
who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent..."and "There was a man who ate a lot and was till hungry, and another
who ate little and was satisfied. The one who ate a lot and was
still hungry received a greater reward than he who ate little and
was satisfied."These then in haste before starting out. They are easy to apply to others but there is no-one I think to whom it does not apply also ,to myself, to everyone that there are areas of self satisfaction, of inner babbling, of inflation and fascination with a false ideal self like an angel... well anyway they are road signs...vectors... as always welcoming all your response on these or other I am yours +Seraphim  .
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) mooretothepoint | |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MooreToThePoint/~3/SSzut2ZH_pE/ http://www.russellmoore.com/?p=4513 Earlier this week I posted our first “Questions and Ethics” query, and invited you to join in. Below is the question again, and my response to our ethically-inquisitive friend. Do you agree? If so or if not, let me know…but use your real name?
Dear Dr. Moore,
Sometimes I go on blogs and websites, in the comments section, especially in places that are taking shots that I know are not true about people I care about, and I’ll use a fake name. The point is just to get the information out there. “The statement you made about so-and-so isn’t true, and here’s why.” Is it okay for a Christian to sign up with a fake name? How about on sites hostile to historic Christianity where they’ve “banned” me because of my outspoken beliefs? Is it okay to go back on with another identity? I guess my question is this, it is okay to be anonymous or use a pseudonym as a Christian? Is that lying?
Anonymous (of course)
Dear Anonymous,
First of all, I admire you for seeking to look out for the names and reputations of others, above yourself. That’s Christian, and commendable. I agree also with some of the comments on the first post that deception is sometimes ethically permissible. Warfare, for instance, inherently involves some deception (you want the opponent to think you’re amassing your troops in one place when you’re really going another).
I am not saying that a fake name is never permissible. A Christian missionary in a closed country (or an intelligence agent with the military) might use a pseudonym to the glory of God in order to keep from sacrificing the mission at hand. I could also see a situation where a pseudonym might not be deceptive or cowardly at all. Say, for instance, you’re a Christian pastor with a background in firefighting. The local newspaper would like a local column on fire safety, but they don’t really want to distract people with your calling as clergy. Writing about smoke alarms as “Sparky the Fire Ant” in that case really doesn’t seem all that ethically problematic to me.
I also don’t have a guilty conscience about posting anonymous questions here (or questions with pseudonyms) since the person sending them in isn’t engaged in conversation with others but is simply offering me a test case to prompt others to think about an issue of relevance to many.
In most cases, though, I think our responses as Christians ought to be authentic, transparent, and honest about our identities. I think that’s especially true in controversy, on the Internet or otherwise. Jesus tells us to let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no,” meaning that our integrity is above questioning by outsiders (Matt. 5:27).
I think, though, the issue becomes much, much clearer if one is using a fake name (or an anonymous note) to criticize, attack, or tear down. There are few things more cowardly or counter-productive than anonymous or pseudonymous attackers of others (whether those others are believers or unbelievers). Our speech, whether spoken or written or typed, is not to be “cunning” (as is the Serpent of Eden) but truthful, and loving (1 Cor. 13:6; Eph. 4:15). I’ve seen the Spirit move in some mysterious ways, but never through an anonymous letter of attack to a brother or sister in Christ.
So, short answer: since you’re involved arguing with people in public (and sometimes that’s an okay thing to do), I think you shouldn’t make up a fake name (unless the rules of the site require some type of “handle”). Just be yourself. And I’m still working this out myself. I use the name “Russell Moore,” because doing this pastoral and ethical stuff tends to detract from my main career out there writing songs and singing with my friends.
What about you? Do you have a question for me to answer about some ethical decision? Email it to me at questions@russellmoore.com
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seraphimsigrist | |
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Friends, Some news yesterday reminded me of the conclusion of Full Metal Jacket. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmILOL55xP0the mickey mouse song wove in and out of my night... now looking at the thing again I am reminded that Joker said that while the world around him is askew he is alive and not afraid, going on as best he can with his comrades, that is a positive thought isnt it? Speaking of the movie I like that its effect is neither dovish nor hawkish, it is non-political in that way. The peace sign and the 'born to kill' on Joker's helmet show the poles within which his road runs... Kubrick the director was nonpolitical...His Barry Lyndon is a film I like,for its theme music perhaps the most moving music to me that I know(sarabande) but also its bitter sweet view of life...The music is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erKsIJyfB_Qand the visual clips epitomize the mood nicely... Else thinking about Thanksgiving and hoping to formulate a plan so I will not be forlorn. The family I am usually with is not doing a Thanksgiving this year. Perhaps I could drive somewhere on a two day vacation although it would cost money. In Autumn the leaves turn red and yellow but also some of the reds shade into purple and the photo at the end today shows a bit of that, and it is a transformation I particularly like... If you also like purple leaves and would like to see this photo from yesterday a little larger click here. ( Read more... )If only we could also have some blue leaves! Else reading along in the four books I am reading (perhaps I will add on one or another) One by and one about Kandinsky, Nabokov's Gift and the Conjure Man Dies. I think for many of us it can be more of a useful thing to read than to write novels. I say subversively of nanowrimo. But really I understand how it is a creativity for many and for of course some of you (I think also for some there could be publishable elements that might appear within a novel unpublishable as a whole and that is great) and its just that I ,likely rightly, sense I dont have any worthwhile novel in me. Old Japanese story of writer doing a novel based on his father, and then one on his also deceased mother, looking across breakfast table at his wife and saying "you know I think I have one more novel in me." Today these various...they are in effect just a few purple leaves maybe...and as always I invite all your thought on these or anything else, yours +Seraphim  . Purple leaves...the whole rather like a painting perhaps?
larger form within the post.
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edbook | |
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Chimney Rock and Cimarron Ridge – on the way to Owl Creek Pass,
Uncompahgre National Forest – San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA
I really enjoyed my time in this place, I missed it on my last trip to SW Colorado and had it high on my list of places to visit. I want to go back to spend more time exploring these forests and the other side of the ridge. When I got up to ~10,000ft (not 12,000' like I said in the video) Owl Creek Pass, evening light was starting and some snow was loose in the air. I returned to the west slopes to catch evening alpenglo on the ridge. I also made an image of approaching weather bringing snow that was featured a couple weeks ago at CreativeTechs.com/training. I had underexposed this exposure by three stops which introduced lines of noise in the dark areas. Jason Hoppe tried a few things trying to minimize the noise without losing detail and ended up blurring the dark cloud area in a selective edit. On screen in the video, it looks like a solution but seeing the original file, I didn't like how the 'texture' of the image varied across the image and the lines of noise outside the blurred area still had noise. Good try but I decided to try a different route by introducing more noise so it was deliberate and a sort of texture... but, in the end, I chose not to use the image and don't have it online to show. Here's Jason's video though with some interesting tries... (my voice is a little garbled in the video because I was talking via phone and not via my computer) Peace
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edbook | |
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The Needles in morning light - Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA
©2009 Ed Bookon my autumn Rockies tour last month, after I left Colorado on my return toward home, I stopped by Canyonlands to do some scouting (and photography) for a return next spring, perhaps with some students. I arrived in the area late and passed the rock art at Newspaper Rock too late to photograph and then stopped for the night along the road to the national park. In the morning I was up before first light wondering where I would find a location for morning images with no pre-scouting... It's as if one is racing the sun and not knowing where it would come up and what it would paint with morning alpenglo... I drove toward the national park and was surprised by the sun rising without much color in the sky and no discernible earth shadow opposite the rising sun. I was at this location and was looking at the map still wondering what, where, but I did know when, (and it was that moment)... I pulled out camera and tripod and set up just as the sun broke through the distant cloud bank in the east to paint warm light on the needles and I was clicking... The Needles (seen in the distance in this image) form the southeast corner of Canyonlands and was named for the colorful spires of Cedar Mesa Sandstone that dominate the area. Later in the day, I would be much closer to the spires when I hiked the Elephant Hill trail toward Elephant Canyon. I ran out of daylight and didn't want to be caught on the trail after dark because it's difficult to follow in the dark (and in some places a challenge finding it again if one wanders away from the track). It normally takes a couple days, at least, before I get into the making images mode, but, there in Canyonlands, I only had one day and I was lucky to start clicking with the scenery immediately... a very prolific imagemaking day it was... I'm excited for a return in the spring. wanna go? Peace
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edbook | |
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would you watch or ignore the rain?
Many who cross the sound often or daily absorb themselves in books, laptops, newspapers, or conversation to ignore the crossing. I've lived in western Washington state only since '73 so haven't been here long enough to get tired of the rain and don't ride the ferries often enough to get tired of the view - even if the view is fogged by rain... but I've always been like that, I love to enjoy the view when I go from here to there or from there to there or there to here... Back when I worked for wages at the place in Bremerton that did stuff to ships, I enjoyed my commute and the view, especially on the way home - for more than the fact that I was going away from that place... I often took the long way home... often my ten mile commute would stretch to fifty or a hundred or more miles and even in the rain... and even though I usually rode a motorcycle.
Now, that I work at home, I often sit by a window watching
the rain...
but, today, no rain, cold and mostly clear but no rain... but, I watched for it...
Peace
ps this afternoon I saw the bright orb drop from a cloud and hide behind the Olympic Mountains...
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/newsinfo.gif) news
theljstaff | |
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Notes augmented
We've enhanced and de-bugged Notes. If you haven't tried it yet, now's the time! You can create a private note when you ban multiple users. You can also delete multiple notes at once. Lastly, paid users have the option to add a note (visible only to you) whenever you add or remove a friend (guaranteed to avoid embarrassing social mishaps). If you don't currently have a paid account, you can upgrade now! It only takes a few minutes and costs less than a bad shopping mall haircut (plus, it's way more fashionable)!
Product tweaks and bug kill
- In another effort to zap spam, comments containing links from domains LiveJournal deems untrustworthy are now automatically screened
- If you sign up to get notifications of the Writer's Block question of the day, you'll now see the daily question in the email notification, so you'll have a little extra time to ponder before you post. You can subscribe to Writers Block notifications here
- The issue causing random comments to vanish has been fixed!
- If you visit a LiveJournal page and get prompted to log in, you'll be returned to the same page after you sign in (Thanks, Dreamwidth)!
- If you don't edit the timestamp for an entry at all, the entry timestamp will indicate the time the entry was posted instead of the time the Update Journal page was loaded
- Comments with paddings/backgrounds render correctly within the comment box (and will no longer wrap outside the box and break frames/margins)
New FCK fixes rich text editor!
- We've updated our RTE (Rich Text Editor) to FCKeditor version 2.6.5
- When switching from the RTE to HTML editor, links for syndicated feeds are no longer broken
- RTE now functions properly in Safari 4.0
- An extra line/space will not be auto-inserted whenever you switch from RTE to HTML editor
- The insert image link now works correctly in all browsers
LiveJournal Cares
We’re pleased to introduce you to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) lj_cares, a new LiveJournal community dedicated to raising awareness and funds for U.S. charitable organizations that improve the health and well-being of people around the world. Each month, we’ll spotlight a nonprofit that is making a significant global impact through medical research, public outreach, and/or humanitarian social programs. Charities will be selected in accordance with the U.S. calendar of national health observances based on a high rating (of over 60%) on Charity Navigator and global scope of impact.
In this, our inaugural month of November, we will celebrate national adoption month by offering a charitable virtual gift (priced at $2.99) to support Love Without Boundaries, an organization that saves the lives of orphans with life-threatening diseases and places them in loving homes around the world. LiveJournal will donate 100% of the proceeds from the sale of charitable vgifts (we'll cover the cost of credit card transaction fees). To learn more about Love Without Boundaries, please visit lj_cares and read about how they helped save Baby Kang and the Rainbow Twins from fatal illnesses, who are now thriving in nurturing families. You can purchase your Love Without Boundaries gifts in the Virtual Gift shop.
Papered in postcards
A couple of weeks ago, we asked you to send in postcards to surround us with LiveJournal community. Thanks for coming through! We've received postcards all the way from Germany, Finland, and Canada and from all over the US, including Texas, Florida, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Indiana, Hawaii, and Oklahoma just to name just a handful. We're thrilled with our improved decor.
Please keep the love coming for one more week by writing to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be drawing the names of ten random contributors next Thursday to win paid account credits!
Photos of the week
We have more dazzling images posted by talented LiveJournal photographers from around the world. We're hoping to span the entire globe, so please continue posting and tagging. Of course, you can also sit back and enjoy the view at lj_photophile.
You can see a sample of this week's gorgeous photos and check out spotlight communities and awesome user content after the jump!
( Read more... )
Curtains
We thank you, once again, for joining us. See you next week! Tags: bugs, csi wii, fck, lj_cares, lj_photophile, notes, rte, writer's block
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αρχη