steve-o
Introduction To The House of Carr
Introduction To The House of Carr

Re:fun[d]

Today was a good day. I finished doing my taxes. Throughout high school and college, when I was working for my dad, I just let the accountant who did the company's payroll do my taxes. At that time, I didn't care how much it cost because I didn't want to have to do all that math on my own.

When we got married, having nothing and pinching ever penny, I decided that it was time that I stepped up and figured out how to do it on my own. The first time was a little rough, but I've been doing it ever since. And I don't do it with a computer program; au natural with me baby.

I admit: I sorta like doing my taxes [sounds masochistic, but it's true]. It's like gambling on a puzzle; it's not until you get close to the end that you realize if you'll be ecstatic or angered. Only once in the past eight years have we owed money to the government. But we've been blessed not to owe a large amount. And since we embarked into the world of home ownership, our returns have been repeatedly pleasant.

I will say that I'm a little ticked that we did owe on our Ohio taxes. I did some outside speaking that I didn't pay taxes on. And since the state allows for fewer deductions than the federal, we owed some on that. So for the afternoon, I hate Ohio.

Yeah, boring stuff, but it's my life.

Freedom Isn't Free

I noted in a previous post my concern the current war on terror, which also seems a war to liberate the world towards democracy, might be creating governments that will not uphold the freedoms we expect here in America. Reinforcing this idea is news out of Afghanistan about a man on trial for his life because he converted from Islam to Christianity. Abdul Rahman could be sentenced to death for his conversion unless he is willing to recant. The trial judge also said Rahman could escape capital punishment if he was ruled insane.

This from a country our military helped to liberate from the fundamentalist Taliban government and where, currently, we still have over 22,000 troops stationed.

Friends, this is unacceptable.

Outrage is an appropriate reaction when our brothers and sisters are facing persecution. And our government is in the situation to do something about this. If our State Department is not willing to step up and do something about this, I would really question the competence of those currently in power.

One Thumb Up

Something to look forward to this Christmas. New Line Cinema will release the film Nativity, which will follow the life of Mary and Joseph before the birth of Jesus. Rumor is that the Whale Rider girl will be Mary. And seriously, don't be surprised if they cast Ashton Kutcher as Joseph.

I guess this news makes me both delighted and disappointed. I'm glad that Hollywood is starting to, once again, make films out of Biblical narratives. It's the 50th anniversary of Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, a quality film in my opinion. True, there's some definite over-acting [thank you Mr Heston and Mr Brynner] but it was fifty stinkin' years ago! Unfortunately, movie makers have mostly steered clear of trying to retell Bible stories.

But, while I'm excited, part of me is leery of this onslaught of Bible-based movies. Ever since Mel Gibson's Passion Of The Christ grossed over $600 million, film companies have seen the kind of profits that the Christian demographic is capable of bringing in. The Chronicles of Narnia [not Biblical but I think C.S. Lewis wrote some of the Bible], which also made significant money, reinforced this idea. Do Christians really want to be known as a significant marketing demographic? I'm not sure. That's why I'm a little torn.

Although I must admit, if this trend creates the possibility that I get to see Phinehas the movie, then I'm all for it, baby!

The Freedom Center

One of the keystones of the new riverfront development in Cincinnati is the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. It's a visually stunning building, commemorating those who risked their all to free Southern slaves before and during the Civil War [at least I think that's what it's for]. The Freedom Center is now facing a financial crisis, in only its second year of existence. CEO John Pepper is trying to raise $10 million in additional funding, which would include funds from state and local tax-payers to keep the Center operational. So here's my problem with the Freedom Center: it's dumb. I say this as someone who has visited the center within the past year. Before you jump on my case to call me a closet racist, allow me to make an assessment on what's wrong with the Center.

First, my experience. I was excited to visit the Freedom Center. Like I said, the building is an architectural masterpiece inside and out. But once you get inside, there seems to be nothing but hype. On the second floor [there's nothing on the first floor but the gift shop], there is an impressive log cabin from Mason County, Kentucky that served as a slave holding cell. It was a powerful visual message of what slaves must've gone through. But beyond that, there wasn't much on that floor. There were a bunch of pictures hung on the wall detailing stops from where slaves would be shipped, but that was about it. Oh, there was a weird animated movie with Angela Bassett doing the narration but that was really it. It was very disappointing.

On the third floor there was a museum display you could walk through, but it was chaos. I have no idea how they decided to organize it. The displays weren't even in chronological order, jumping around between random events. They had a few interesting historical artifacts, but not nearly enough. On that same floor they had an obligatory diversity section, where you were supposed to learn how to be accepting of minorities. But I found that it to be a waste of space. The type of people inclined to visit the Freedom Center probably aren't the people who need the diversity training.

Perhaps I was expecting too much. Although I've never been there, I've seen video of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and was very impressed. I imagined that's what the Freedom Center would be like. And I think that's what people expected it to be. It's as if the people who run the Freedom Center viewed it as a "Field of Dreams" structure ["build it and they will come"] and it hasn't quite worked out. Honestly, unless they make major changes to the displays, I cannot imagine returning.

So here, I think, are the two major problems about the Center:

1) They spent too much on the structure and not enough on the content. Actually, I love the look of the building so I should strike that first part, but I still believe they skimped on the displays. This Center could be so much more but they cut some corners. What they need to do is reorganize, refocus, and make the Freedom Center a place where people will want to come back to.

2) The focus of the Center is too broad. You would think using "Underground Railroad" would make the focus too narrow, but on their website, they claim the Center's purpose is this:

The NURFC is a living and learning center in Cincinnati offering lessons and reflections on the ongoing struggle for freedom. In addition to celebrating the historic efforts of the Underground Railroad, the Freedom Center will also showcase the efforts of modern day heroes--men and women from around the world.

My opinion: they concentrate way too much on the now. I saw more junk on changing the world today than I cared to see. The Center's organizers are insecure about letting history speak for itself. It is condescending that they interpret the lessons of the past for people, not letting them draw their own conclusions. I guess my gripe here is that there was a liberal slant in quite a few exhibits that had nothing to do with anything but pushing a certain political/social agenda. I came to experience history, not to listen to patronizing diatribe.

Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong, but I actually want to see the Freedom Center succeed, so my criticisms shouldn't be dismissed too easily.

One Is Enough

I remember an old Rodney Dangerfield bit about the Mormon church motto. It was something like, "I don't care how you bring 'em, just bring 'em young." HBO's new series Big Love has drawn the ire of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The new series shows the life of Bill Henrickson, played by the always flamboyant Bill Paxton [sarcasm], who lives in Salt Lake City with his three wives [just a quick note: how interesting of HBO, hitting it big with a show about a mafia family, and deciding to follow it up with a show about polygamy]. HBO and the show's producers have gone to great lengths to distance the show from Mormonism but it's difficult to believe that the two aren't connected.

LDS officials are angry because they've worked hard to separate their faith from the practice of polygamy. They even posted the following press release on their website about Big Love. Among some of the objections they raise is that placing the show in Salt Lake City, the headquarters of the LDS, blurs the lines between Mormonism and the family in the show. HBO has tried to cooperate, showing LDS leaders the script and allowing them to screen a few episodes of the show. While they are appreciative, LDS leaders would prefer the show not air.

I don't have HBO, so I don't plan on watching Big Love, but I find the whole controversy interesting. The problem is, despite how much the LDS want to distance themselves from polygamy, their church history is based on it.

In 1890 the LDS made polygamy illegal, calling for the excommunication of all violators. But during the first six decades of the Mormon church, it was a way of life. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, wanted to restore Old Testament traditions, especially the practice of taking more than one wife, so he collected thirty-three himself. I'm wondering how he spent his days . . .

So here, in the inspiration of an HBO series, is the problem with Mormonism. It's roots are severely tainted. Joseph Smith was a lunatic wanting to start a religion that would serve himself well [L. Ron Hubbard said the way to get rich was to start your own religion]. Despite the efforts of LDS church reformers, it's virtually impossible to reform crap.

And as for me and polygamy, I can barely handle the one I got, so why would I want any more?

Um, I love you, Kelly. *some information cited in this post is found here.

It's Not Easy Being Green

I thought I would clear up that, despite the red hair, I'm not really Irish. But how about some obscure Saint Patrick's Day facts on this holiday?
  • Saint Patrick didn't drive the snakes out of Ireland. They probably never had snakes in the first place. And he wasn't really Irish. He was born in Wales.
  • "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" isn't an actual Irish ballad. It was composed by an American. Isn't that disappointing?
  • Leprechauns aren't cute little spirits. They're evil creatures that perform treacherous deceptions to keep you away from that pot of gold. So beware when eating your Lucky Charms.
  • The national symbol of Ireland is the Celtic harp [as seen in the logo of Guinness], not the shamrock.

Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner

That's why our bassinet isn't in a corner. You can't go and break a rule like that. Kelly had to make a trip to Target this afternoon to return duplicate shower gifts so this meant the first opportunity for me and Kaelyn to be alone. Good news: I didn't lose her.

I wasn't sure how to spend our time together so I made a list of things we could do. For instance, I wanted to teach her how to walk so, when Kelly returned home, she would be surprised. I don't think Kaelyn is quite ready for it. She did twitch her legs a couple times though.

Nor was she willing to learn any Spanish. Seriously, it wasn't that hard; I was keeping it simple- Spanish 1 type words. There was this one time, when she tooted, it sounded like the word "caramba," but I was mistaken; she gave me nada.

And I'm not even going to talk about our juggling session. How embarrassing. At this rate, she'll never make it into the circus.

So all we really got accomplished this afternoon was Kaelyn eating, me changing her diaper, and her sleeping. Not quite the father/daughter time I was hoping for, but it'll do for now.

More Than Words

There's so much that has happened in the past two months that I didn't get a chance to write about. I had some interesting thoughts that are sporadically returning to me. This is one of those. While Kaelyn was in the NICU the nurses would overload us with information. And since she had multiple nurses, some of the info would be repetitive. It was at this time that I believe I realized the scariest two word combination known to man:

Rectal Thermometer

Yes, more than one nurse felt it was their duty to open our eyes to this intrusive way of checking our little one's level of body heat.

Now think about it [don't think about it too hard, lest you become frightened, but gloss over the words], separately those words aren't too bad. Thermometer isn't scary by itself. And, although rectal is indeed a disturbing word, it's an adjective not meant to stand alone.

But once you combine those two words to form a noun, you suddenly have a topic unfit for your average church pot luck dinner.

Feel free to comment on your own two word combos, but I propose that this is truly a case of bad English- a noun I could do without.

Bracketology

OK, I've calmed down . . . finally. But I'm sure that, in a few weeks, when the UC Administration gives Andy Kennedy his walking orders, I'll have yet another rant to offer up. But in keeping with my "everything basketball" posts during the past few days, I have to offer up my thoughts on filling out your NCAA brackets. If you're like most people, you spent today scanning over the NCAA brackets which you'll fill out for your office pool. And, chances are, you'll enter more than one pool- giving you the opportunity to fill out more than one bracket.

There's always that one person in your pool who brags how good they're doing. You start to get jealous but then they admit that they've filled out twelve different brackets for twelve different pools.

As a pastor I must advise you that, if you fill out more than one bracket and make different picks in each one, you're a sinner and need to see me about confession.

Listen people, you make your picks and then stick with it. Anyone can fill out multiple brackets and get one good one. But to fill out just one bracket and ride it through, that's what real men do . . . unless you're a woman . . . and then I guess that's what real women do.

So now that you're curious, my Final Four are Villanova, Connecticut, Memphis and West Virginia. UConn over the Mountaineers in the final game.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Why Stop Now?

From Greg Doyle at CBS Sportsline about the absurdity of putting George Mason in the NCAA Tournament over a team like Cincinnati: "George Mason coach Jim Larranaga worked with [Tournament Committee Chairman] Littlepage on Terry Holland's staff at Virginia. Want more? Fine. This selection committee includes Tom O'Connor. Who's Tom O'Connor? He's the athletics director at George Mason."

UC got jobbed. I want a congressional investigation.

Ticked Off, To Put It Nicely

UC doesn't make the NCAA tournament. This is a travesty.

I know, anyone whose team doesn't make it into the field thinks it was the worst snub of all time but, I'm serious, this might be it; it's ridiculous. A selection committee that's supposed to pick the 34 best at-large teams, that's supposed to value a difficult schedule, that's supposed to look at quality wins. They took Air Force, Utah State, and UAB over Cincinnati. Check those stats and compare them to UC. This was a statement by the committee against power conference, elevating smaller conferences to something they're not: competitive. Put Wichita State or George Mason in the Big East and how many games do they win?

Totally moronic. It's an absolute joke. I question how many games the selection committee really watched this year.

As much as I love college basketball, I'm sickened to the point that I might not watch any of the tournament. My heart breaks for Andy Kennedy and all the seniors on the team who did an amazing job to make something good out of a horrible situation.

I might have more to say on this later, but I doubt it.

I'm rather angry.

Too Much Basketball

I've been a bit paranoid the last few days. I'm convinced that UC has made the NCAA tournament but I'm still sweating it out. I don't think I've ever been as passionate about a Bearcat team before [not even the infamous "Kenyon Martin's Broken Leg Year"] because I really want this opportunity for those guys. Since UC is a bubble team, all these other conference tournament are important to the Bearcats' tournament chances; i.e., I want all these other bubble teams to lose.

It's for this reason that I've been watching a ton of college basketball during the past few days. Seriously, my brackets should be awesome this year because I think I've seen ever team in the country play this season. By my best accounting, here's the number of games of various conference tournaments that I've watched since Wednesday [with a minimum of five minutes of viewing time]:

Big East- 7 SEC-5 ACC-4 Big Ten-3 Big 12-1 Conference USA-1 Atlantic 10- 2 West Coast- 2 Northeast- 1 Colonial- 1 Missouri Valley- 2

Please consider that I have the advantage of cable television which gives you two ESPN's and a Fox Sports in addition to regular network programming.

Yes friends, I need to get a life.

Lead On, O Kinky Turtle!

You know how I feel about Usher. Now I discover that, in addition to producing some of the best music the world has ever seen, Usher is an expert on administration and governance principles. He's going to be speaking at a teen leadership conference in Cleveland next week. I'll be looking for tickets if someone wants to make the road trip with me. Yes, I got it bad.

Is there anything he can't do?

I Just Don't Get It

Why do men's college basketball players, when the game is on the line and the situation is tense, always link their arms together when they're on the bench? In what other context do men act like this?

Have you ever been to a mall and seen eight guys with arms linked walking around together? I highly doubt it.

March Madness spurs some strange behavior.

Chad Canipe

I never met Chad Canipe, but I've read his blog for over a year now. Chad was planting a house church in Norwood in association with Vineyard Central. Chad was feeling under the weather this year and had some tests run on him. It was more serious than they thought and, after a valiant fight, Chad passed away this morning. He leaves behind a wife, Renee, and two sons, Colin and Aidan.

I know about Chad because of Aaron Klinefelter. If you'd like to send condolences or anything, it could be done through him.

Blessings

Had a very good meeting today about Echo. When we started the church, we resolved to boot-strap it: that is, we were going to run the church with as low as an overhead as possible. And I wasn't too thrilled at the thought of fundraising, so we decided we were just going to start with whatever we had. We were blessed with friends and supports who gave to Echo without having to be asked [thanks again!] and were able to get the ministry off the ground.

One of the bigger struggles we've faced is getting the word out about our new church. In an urban context, it takes time to earn trust. Plus, it takes considerable fundage to conduct effective outreach events to reach the community. So we sought assistance from the Christian Evangelizing Fellowship, a local church planting association to help Echo out. Aaron and I have been in conversation with them for about nine months now and today I attended their board meeting to discuss their supporting us.

As I laid out our vision to the group, they really seemed to understand what we are trying to accomplish. With relatively no questions asked, they decided to give us support. It was amazing! And afterward they prayed for me and our ministry. Also, many of the board members came up to and offered to help us out however possible.

This is another blessing associated with Echo. Nine months ago, when we sold our house and announced we were moving to Walnut Hills, we had no idea how God would provide for us. But He did. And I know He'll continue to do so.

God is good. Most definitely.