THE SOUTH WILL RI-I-I-I-I-SE AGAIN!!

Big thanks to Ten Fingers, 6 Strings for a pity link.

TF6S references a post by Glenn Reynolds talking about Neo-Confederacy. Glenn is from Knoxville, Tennessee.

It doesn't surprise me that Glenn lashes out against secession. There were plenty of Unionists in the hills of East Tennessee in 1861, and it appears that there are plenty today.

I must stand against this Californian and his Yankee lovin' buddy in honor of my beloved Dixie; I echo the words of Buford Comstock,"The South is gonna rise up, just as soon as we get together and get all our @#%$ back in one sock. Then, look out, Northerners!"

Man, we are screwed, aren't we?

A Bit Of A Makeover And An Update

So you may have noticed that From The Still is a tad bit larger. This was done to distract you from the lack of content on this site. Jacob Nielsen would be proud.

Life has been pretty good. Although I'm getting a little worried about getting tickets to U2's April 20th show in Denver. It sounds like they are going to add another show. I was presented with an option in the short-lived 20 minute window. What was it you ask? Nose bleed obstructed view for $95 + Ticketmaster fees. I'm not sure, but I think I would have been screwed on that deal. I opted out.

::sigh::...this is a little disheartening. I don't necessarily think that U2 wanted this to happen, but what do I know. Maybe this is the backlash from the days of the real Napster.

I do have some feelers out there for some REASONABLY priced tickets. I will try to steer people in the right direction if I hear anything. You can always go on EBay (NOT!). I wonder if the good folks at the #1 auction site believe that selling General Admission Standing Room Only tickets for a $450 premium it's the RIGHT thing to do. I think it's going to be their next commercial.

As for the future of FTS, I have a couple posts in mind. Of course, the purpose of having a blog is getting those posts out of one's noggin and on to the page.

Until then...

The coolest thing ever...

Okay, maybe not the coolest thing ever, but one of the coolest accessories for the iPod. It also comes in white, but it would look a little weird with the U2 Special Edition iPod.

I read some reviews on cnet and was a little concerned, but I haven't had any problems. I think the people that had issues didn't understand that the best sound you are going to get out of it is just really good radio. I've been very happy; it even works if I set it on the backseat of the Jeep.

I've always been a closet Apple fan. My family's first computer was an Apple IIe. And, my folks had a Mac for a long time before switching to a PC.

In the early 90's I used them for web development. Those were the tough days for Apple. You could barely run a graphics program and two telnet sessions without the machine shutting down.

All this iPod business has got me curious again. Maybe it's time I look at one of those Power G5's. Just for a play machine.

Paradigm Shift

Sheri, Destin and I had the privlege to free DirecTV on our Frontier flight from Nashville back to Denver earlier this week. I was able to catch the Tuesday night Scarborough Country. The premise for the show was, "Is humanity standing on the edge of an abyss and is God punishing humanity for their sins, as some religious leaders in America are suggesting?"

Before I get into my thoughts, I would like to say that my prayers go out to everyone affected by the horribly unfortunate tsunami. Thank God for all the countries and organizations that answered the call to help those in need.

It always seems that when bad things happen in this world the question of God and His purposes come to the front of conversations. Where was God? Why did He do this? It never seems to come up when good things happen. I believe C.S. Lewis can help here:

Yesterday I read a letter that referred to an event that took place almost a year ago. That was the night a number 1 bus drove into a column of young Royal Marine cadets in Chatham, and killed twenty-four of them. You remember? The letter asks some simple but fundamental questions. Where was God on that December night? Why didn't He stop it? Isn't God supposed to be good? Isn't he supposed to love us? Does God want us to suffer? What if the answer to that question is yes. You see, I'm not sure that God particularly wants us to be happy. He wants us to love and be loved. He wants us to grow up. I suggest to you that it is because God loves us that he makes us the gift of suffering. Or to put it another way, pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
We're like blocks of stone, out of which the sculptor carves the forms of men. The blows of His chisel, which hurt so much, are what makes us perfect.

God gets our attention with pain. It's not fun or explainable, it's just part of the deal. This wonderful life we've been given is about love and joy and goodness; however, pain and suffering also come with the human experience.

The bottom line is that all of us are selfish. It is human nature to protect oneself. And let me tell you, if I was in the situation where I had lost a loved one to a chaotic event such as this these questions would not be the first ones on my mind. But, what if we asked these type of questions:

• How can I use what happened to me to help my fellow man?


• What can I do to ease someone else's pain?

Imagine a society where we as individuals take our experiences and look at them from someone else's benefit. How then would we ask, "Why did this happen to me?"

Looking at Matthew 5:43-48:

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Brennan Manning tells us that the word "perfect" in verse 48 is the greek word for "compassionate".

"He permits us to come in contact with suffering and calamity in order to call us out of our selfishness; He seeks to develop in us the attributes off His character--compassion, tenderness, and love."

-Christ Object Lessons, Ellen G. White

Where was God on that dreadful day? If you know Him you know exactly where He was.