Traces of Polaris

I have moved...

2008-08-04T16:42:00.000-04:00

to www.makabasa.org. See you there. :)

Tales, not Fairy Tales

2008-05-28T18:08:00.004-04:00

“When we are very young children we do not need fairy tales: we only need tales. Mere life is interesting enough. A child of seven is excited by being told that Tommy opened the door and saw a dragon. But a child of three is excited by being told that Tommy opened a door.” from p.54 of "Orthodoxy" by GK Chesterton, found through the latest DG Taste and See email.

Help me fight the rebel sigh

2008-05-11T20:04:00.006-04:00

help me fight the rebel sighand trust in You, not to ask whyfor You've been proven good above allthough reasons are concealed, none of them fallshort of your wise and generous planto receive glory and bring joy to manmay Your will be fulfilled, Your Name lifted highto You may my thoughts and affections flyand when pain accompanies uncertain thingsand tears fall for what the trial bringsmay my

Die a thousand deaths

2008-05-07T09:51:00.000-04:00

Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake. -Martin Luther

Gladly make others glad in God

2008-05-05T09:28:00.001-04:00

Reading a friend's blog (Thanks, Taracenas!) I found this quote:If you live gladly to make others glad in God,your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full. - John Piper, "Don't Waste Your Life"

Innovation is seldom hindered by platform.

2008-04-23T10:37:00.003-04:00

Uh, yeah, it's kind of a different quote from all the others I've posted before...but it was sooo refreshing to read this on wordpress.org.Why not the latest, greatest, bleeding edge versions?We’re very aware that the latest versions of PHP and MySQL aren’t right for everyone, and that sometimes hosts can be slow or hesitant to upgrade their customers since upgrades to PHP and MySQL historically

Praise not merely expresses

2008-04-16T09:42:00.000-04:00

C.S. Lewis says, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation” (Reflections on the Psalms).Found the quote here

Time for Non Sequitur #4

2008-04-02T13:31:00.002-04:00

So I'm really struggling with this "segmented" blog (I generally try to post in the four categories you see in the sidebar) because my life isn't segmented, but I didn't really want to blog about my life, so oh well. Let's see if this blog ever arrives at a v1.4.Anyhoo, I felt cool today (operative word is "felt")because I totally enjoyed this presentation on Coda by Cabel Sasser. (Thanks for the

"Dude indexes this stance of cool solidarity"

2008-03-07T13:06:00.005-05:00

Check out the research done by Scott Kiesling on the word "dude" hereIndeed, the data presented here confirm that dude is an address term that is used mostly by young men to address other young men; however, its use has expanded so that it is now used as a general address term for a group (same or mixed gender), and by and to women. Dude is developing into a discourse marker that need not

If you had to sweep a crossing

2008-03-02T20:20:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine emailed me this quote from CH Spurgeon:"We must never think, because the particular work we have in hand seems to be insignificant, that therefore we cannot do it, or should not do it, thoroughly well. We need Divine help to preach aright to a congregation of one. If a thing is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well. If you and to sweep a crossing, it were well to sweep it

Time for Non Sequitur #3

2008-02-25T22:55:00.003-05:00

I mostly ramble these days.So it seems like keeping myself subscribed to dormant blogs through Bloglines has paid off. Three friends have recently resurfaced.Who's heard of the Hotel Cafe Tour before? Why didn't you tell me that such a thing exists?!Traffic on Spout Run on the Parkway = < 20mph average on the drive to work.Turns out, he's witty on (digital) paper too. This excerpt from a post

Time for Non Sequitur #2

2008-02-14T00:28:00.002-05:00

This is my obligatory valentines post.Well, there's actually no obligation whatsoever.I just couldn't think of anything witty.I really need to go to bed.

Writers and critics who prophesize with your pen

2008-02-13T23:33:00.005-05:00

I've talked about Bob Dylan here a couple times but I don't think I've quoted any of his work. Not the easiest one to listen to, but he has a way of getting to the point that will make you want to keep straining to listen. I want to say more, but why would I want to suffer the fate of those who've tried to deconstruct Dylan in times past? :)Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your penAnd

This conversation is a mountainside

2008-01-21T13:39:00.000-05:00

Sigh. Without saying it (pun not intended, unbelievably), I think I know what Mason Jennings was writing about in "Fourteen Pictures":This conversation is a mountainsideIt's a long way down and there's no place to hideWhen we started up it didn't look this highWhat are you saying, what are you sayingStuck in a dream, is it the only oneForever ending, never doneWe're still talking but it's a

the half-heart's dilemma

2008-01-15T00:14:00.000-05:00

still in progress. tried a more consistent meter for this one. i can't explain why on some lines it seems like it needs another syllable. hm.in search for passion,the half-heart leavesand packs his bagsturns away and heaves.the hollow burdenon his weak back;he tells himself,"it's the price of lack."so The Weary scalesto peaks of cruel heights;looks for passionthrough the day and night.atop the

But it doesn't do much for Mondays.

2008-01-06T23:54:00.000-05:00

I am glad for adrenaline; I suspect it gets me through lots of Sundays. But it doesn't do much for Mondays. I am more thankful for my heart. It just keeps on serving – during good days and bad days, happy and sad, high and low, appreciated and unappreciated. It never lets me down. It never says, "I don't like your attitude, Piper, I'm taking a day off." It just keeps humbly lubb-dubbing along.

Cascade on through; the room still looks like you

2007-12-11T00:04:00.000-05:00

"Stairs escalate, sidewalks promenade, as we cascade on through..." - at least that's what I think Graig Markel says in Cascadia. Very clever. Not only did he use a beautiful sounding word as the title, but also, he didn't use it in the song.Can I use a negative in the "but also" part of the previous paired conjunction?Then there's William Fitzsimmons. There are times when I appreciate the lyrics

Time for Non Sequitur #1

2007-11-18T21:53:00.000-05:00

you know it's an interesting day when one of your favorite singer/songwriters recommends another singer/songwriter that absolutely reminds you of the former. meet sylvie lewis, recommended by sondre lerche. i'm waiting for her jazz album. or the day i become sondre and the faces down's roadie. maybe the jazz album.my brother is wondering where i got the word "za." i played it a few times in

I become a thousand men and yet remain myself

2007-11-05T22:58:00.000-05:00

Found another gem from C.S. Lewis' writings on the DGM blog post on reading: Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realise the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realise it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is

Soul's spoliarium

2007-10-07T23:11:00.001-04:00

The spoliation of the soul comes uninvitedon days past midnight when energies leakthrough tired frames and minds stretched vapidbare, it is laid, revealed as weakPlunder strewn across the scape now displaythe once warriors now chaff-like at bestNo cortege to wail distress, dismayonly God stands as witnessTo strength drawn from drying wells of mortalitythat is wielded with no medallionsforgetting

Older than Rome and all of this sorrow

2007-10-03T22:46:00.000-04:00

A friend once mentioned that Bright Eyes would be right up my musical alley. I think she's right, but it's been a slow process of determination. "Cleanse," which I came across recently stuck out.Interesting how references to locations can call concepts to mind:Hear the chimes, did you know that the wind when it blowsIt is older than Rome and all of this sorrowSee the new pyramids down in old

These words devise their own ploys

2007-09-30T22:36:00.000-04:00

My thoughts resonateBut the pen hesitatesFor fear of irrevocable voiceDesire to be honestAbout the surrounding tempestYet these words devise their own ploys - Scavenged from April 8, 2007 (potentially unfinished).

Tomorrow, I weep; Forever I will praise Him

2007-09-03T18:39:00.000-04:00

(for Madonna)Tomorrow I weepFor a stark reminder will be before me.That your face I will miss,Your smile I won't see(But only for a while.)Tomorrow I weepFor the bittersweet day,The letter will become certaintyThe Savior took you away(To His loving arms.)Tomorrow I weepAs memories fill our minds,Stories of your joy, your loveAnd of Christ who is so kind(He gave you so much peace.)But forever I

It's a hard hand to hold that is looking for control

2007-09-03T17:06:00.000-04:00

A song that reminds me of Bob Dylan. Here's the chorus.It's a hard hand to holdthat is looking for controlIt is tempting to fightwhen you know that you're rightIt's hard to lie downwhen you don't trust the groundIt is hard to hold onit is hard to hold on.Willy Mason, "It's a Hard Hand to Hold"

Joy is come with shouts of praise

2007-08-28T01:42:00.000-04:00

Death before me laid sublime,Its path I followed blindly.Excruciating regret with no reprieve,The wrath of God awaited me.Until my Savior stopped my tracks!Oh what undeserved mercy!That He instead walked death's pathTo make a sinner holy.Lifted up for helpless man,The Christ took a stead so lowly.Indignation that was surely mineHe bore on the Cross of Calv'ry.My soul, let tears flowAnd bottle