partsofspeaking

There’s a funny old commercial for Sprite you can find on YouTube.  Some commercials you ignore, and some stick with you.  “Where’s the beef?” was brilliant.  Everyone who ever saw it remembers it.  Since I study communication, I love to watch commercials, at least new ones.  On the Sprite commercial, it has three young, tough-looking Black guys who are supposedly playing a rough game of basketball.  The commercial is supposedly for a sports drink, called Turboboost or something silly like that.  So the three tough guys are standing, talking to the camera, and the one in the middle holds out the can, but the director of the supposed commercial stops him, “Cut—you’ve got the can upside down, dummy.”  The can-holder breaks into a rage, using a British accent, “I played Hamlet at Cambridge!”  The second actor says, “Once again, you caused me to lose MY concentration!”  And the third says, “Excuse me, what’...

A large corporation—it may have been Walmart—used to have a motto, “Whatever It Takes.”   It was a mantra by which employees were supposed to operate.   It meant the goals or mission of the organization (ostensibly customer service) was supposed to drive everything, and personal problems and logistical limitations were supposed to be set aside to serve the customer. It’s good to think about this.   So many people want to make excuses more than anything else, want to look at the obstacles, and this saying looks at the goal.   I operate this way a lot with teaching my students.   I don’t say, “I can’t do this because …. “   I just focus on what will help the students learn. I think the Apostle Paul would take this approach to his work in spreading the gospel.   In this part of chapter 1, he discusses four things that could, but don’t, stop him from spreading the gospel.   Whatever it takes, he is going to kee...

You are Invited to Attend… the 2nd Annual Northwest Georgia Valley Writers Conference May 6 & 7   This Year's Keynote Speaker and author of All that's True , Cold Rock River , Divorcing Dwayne , and Roseflower Creek is Jackie Lee Miles Learn more about Jackie Lee Miles at www.jlmiles.com OPTION ONE / For Writers : Pre-Registration at the Harris Arts Center or by Phone (706-629-2599) is highly encouraged as there will be limited registration on the day of the event. $50 for the conference / price does not include meals. OPTION TWO / For Readers : There is no charge to attend end-of-day events on Saturday. Join us at 5:45PM for a panel discussion on "The Writer's Life" then stay for book sales and signing at 6:15PM Those attending ONLY the "readers" portion of the event do NOT need to register and admission is free ________________________________________________________________ Friday Night: New this Year—Bonus workshop! 7:00 PM Enjoy ...

With this post I finish my series on traits of spirituality, and I put this blog on hiatus for a while. One of the traits of spirituality is willingness.  I have been thinking about the place of my online presence for a while.  I spend way too much time on the Internet.  I have to, to some extent, for my work.  I teach online, expect my students to submit papers online, do research online, etc.  This morning, for a short period, the college's network was down and I literally could not teach as I wanted to!  Beyond that, blogging and Facebook and checking my special sites (such as how my book is doing on Amazon, and it never changes) is a habit, a compulsion.  Since another trait of spirituality is detachment and freedom, I don't like being compelled about anything.  For the Lenten season, at least, I am going to use the Internet only for work and basic email.  I plan not to open up Facebook or post to this blog. If you happen upon this ...

Gratitude.  No one can be spiritual without gratitude.  Gratitude is the root of humility.  Lack of gratitude is the root of entitlement, meanness, rudeness, arrogance, pride.  Deep thankfulness for everything one has, knowing very, very little is ours of our own work or choice. Corny but true:  if you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he didn't get there by himself.

Spirituality #7 Another trait of spirituality is to be more positive than negative in one’s approach to life.   Spirituality #8 Another trait of spiritual is to have a quick, healthy sense of humor about oneself but a slow, underdeveloped sense of humor about others.

I cannot let this go by without a post.   I was not surprised by the Supreme Court’s decision, on the "Westboro Baptist" case, 8-1 even, because of their past defenses of free speech.   Good for them in standing by the principle.   I often disagree with them, but they usually get it right on this issue. Of course, it is obligatory to say that the cult involved in this dispute is detestable, horrible, mean, nasty, vile, etc.   No one is going to contest that point.   But I think we aren’t looking a little deeper.   Why do we think they are so bad?   There are probably three reasons: The first is that they interfere with the grief of families who are burying their sons (and perhaps daughters—I focus on sons because the Pentagon has a policy that women are not put in direct combat, but if a daughter is involved, I apologize).   That is enough of a reason to detest these people, who are really only a handful. ...

Today I finished Their Eyes Were Watching God .  Magnificent book.  Beautiful prose.  Story and themes reminiscent of The Color Purple .  Janie Crawford/Starks/Woods does not grow as we might expect her to, but she comes to self consciousness by making choices of her heart.  It also reminded me of Kate Chopin in its honest and frank (but not tacky) portrayal of women’s sensuality.   It is clearly a feminist novel and Black men don’t get a good portrayal (as in The Color Purple ).

Just finished Not God’s Type by Holly Ordway.   This would be a good book to give a friend who is seeking or investigating Christian faith.   She claims to have been a total atheist, a rationalist, and a scholar (she has a Ph.D. in English yet she doesn’t tell us what she’s published in literary criticism).   At times I felt she was giving herself too much credit, and it was a little off-putting, but she writes well and it might help someone to understand apologetics.    What I would have liked from her is a greater sense that what really motivated her search was not her great brain and rationalism but a sense of lostness and pointlessness in the universe that her world view gave her.   Atheism, to me, is more a matter of will than reason, although there are maybe one or two rational reasons to reject belief in God (and a lot more to accept it).   You might ask, what are they?   Reasons that don’t hold up we...