I can resist no longer. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a blog that I think is first-class when it comes to humor. The whole idea of the blog is to post pictures of signs—whether hand-written, professionally published or cheaply printed—that contain unnecessary (or at least highly gratuitous) quotation marks. I think it’s genius.
And here are a few that I especially liked (including their original comments):
OR WHATEVER DEITY
‘R. C. saw this one in Tulsa, OK. He points out that given the location, they probably aren’t making a comment about the multiple potential conceptions of God’.
NOT A BURG AT ALL
‘One good thing that came out of Jason’s car breaking down is he took this picture. I’m guessing they are trying to highlight that this edinburg is not pronounced like the Edinburgh in Scotland. But seriously?
I’m at a conference again this weekend. I’m doing lots of exciting things, but not having much time to blog. I haven’t forgotten you, but we’ll be slow for a few days here’.
OR PRETEND
‘Dave saw this one in an Arby’s. Like I needed more reasons to not eat fast food…’
UPDATED: scroll to the bottom for a few links related to Foer’s book.
Recently I have read two excellent books during my evening reading. Since I enjoyed them so much I thought I would recommend them to those who might find them interesting.
The first book is How Soccer Explains the World: An (Unlikely) Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer, an American political journalist who is now editor of The New Republic. In a nutshell, the book is a pseudo-hypothetical explanation of the phenomenon of globalization through the lens of soccer (or football to the rest of the world). If you desire a further review, follow the above link. My own experience of reading Foer’s work was delightful. In the last couple of years—that is, since the 2006 World Cup—I have become an avid fan of the ‘beautiful game’, and in particular of the English Premier League and my favourite club, Tottenham Hotspur. So to anyone with even the faintest interest in the sport, I highly advise you to get your hands on a copy of this book. Thanks to Jeff Reimer for loaning me this book; perhaps I should return it to you now?
The second book inundated me. I know next to nothing about mountain climbing, and have even less of a desire to ever ascend a hill higher than I can reach in a single day. But adventure journalist Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air sent shivers down my spine and, at times, made me want to risk my life to experience the thrill of reaching the top of one world’s highest mountains. It is a well-known book, but for those who might not be aware, Into Thin Air is Krakauer’s first-person account of the tragically famous 1996 Mt. Everest climbing disaster. Krakauer had been contracted and sponsored by Outside magazine to particpate in a commercial expedition to ascend the world’s highest peek. Near the top of the world, at an astonishing 29,028 feet, several climbers’ dreams became a catastrophe as things went terribly wrong, leaving several members of the expeditions in the fight of their lives. The events leading up to and during this horrific episode are remarkably captured by Krakauer’s honest and vivid prose. Do find this book at your local used bookstore and give it a go. Thanks to Dan Johnson for giving me my copy of Into Thin Air.
On a related note, I am about to start reading Krakauer’s Into the Wild which has recently been made into a film.
Updates:
As Jeff pointed out in his comment, there was a certain amount of controversy surrounding some of Krakauer’s recollections of the events on the summit day of the Everest climb. Initially Krakauer only published a lengthy article on the Everest disaster in Outside magazine, the company who sponsored his participation in the expedition. In light of the objections of others on the climb and in the wake of evidence regarding a certain member of his party (Andy Harris), Krakauer instead decided to write a full account of the expedition which he entitled Into Thin Air. For what it is worth, it sounds to me as though Krakauer’s perspective is the most sober since it is the least self-protective.
To read his initial magazine article, published about two months after the expedition, click here.
To read the editorial letters from two of the other climbers—which are quite fascinating even if you haven’t read the book—click here.
When I applied to PhD programs in January of last year, I had spent the better part of the previous month hashing out ideas for a research proposal. Initially Katie and I planned to apply with the intention of beginning studies in 2008, but about a month and half before applications were due we got the crazy idea of applying for 2007. That decision precipitated a frenetic period of collating transcripts, begging my professors for reference letters within a short time frame, filling out several applications and, of course, pulling a couple of PhD-caliber research ideas out of my arse.
In the end, I was happy with what I was able to conjure up in so short a time, especially since it served its purpose in getting me into a few programs. I had proposed to analyze the christological reception of some of the OT psalms within the NT. I knew my proposal would have to be focused and refined once I arrived, but I was okay with this prospect.
Fast forward to September 2007 and the beginning of my studies at the University of Edinburgh. Like many of my colleagues at New College (where the School of Divinity is located), I spent the first couple of months of the Fall term trying to make my proposed project ‘work’. This consisted of attempting to focus my ideas to a particular body of texts within the NT (e.g. the synoptic gospels or Paul), reading what was already published on the subject, and maintaining open dialogue with my primary supervisor regarding my progress. Somewhere around the end of October I decided that my proposal was no longer viable as a doable dissertation, and so I abandoned it. Though this meant starting almost completely over, it was a (necessary) step forward.
I moved on to a couple of other ideas that had come up while researching my initial subject. I rejected one fairly quickly, but the other I explored in greater detail. I had been reading some stuff in 1-2 Thessalonians, and as I was reading Paul’s letters a particular verse kept catching my attention. In 1 Thessalonians Paul is telling his readers that he longed to return with his companions to see them again (having been there only for a short spell) when he writes, ‘For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again—but Satan blocked our way’. ‘Now that’s a robust notion of Satan’, I thought to myself. Then I began to look at other references to Satan in Paul’s letters, analyzing how he thought of him and in which sort of contexts he mentions him in. I also began to read some secondary literature to see what others had said about Paul’s understanding of Satan. Turns out not a whole lot.
So long story short, I am now moving ahead—with Prof. Hurtado’s approval, which is both quite affirming and absolutely necessary—with the research topic of Satan in Paul’s theology and thought world. Since my scholarly interests almost always have to do with Christian origins, I am most intrigued by questions related to how Paul understands Satan in comparison to his Jewish ancestors and contemporaries, as well as how his understanding of Satan changed after his Damascus road experience.
I am now working on a paper looking at Paul’s references to Satan that I will present to the review board in May along with my official research proposal. If all goes well with the board, I will then be free to complete the rest of the 100,000 words of my dissertation. A lot of work, I know! But for now I am simply excited and content to have landed on a subject that I am both very interested in and convinced needs to be done, for it has been a devil of a time trying to find a viable project. (NB-henceforth I will try to employ as many puns on ‘Satan’ and/or ‘the devil’.)
This past week my dad was here to visit! He was our first visitor and we absolutely loved hosting him (having a 2nd bedroom & bathroom made this much easier). My dad stopped in Edinburgh on his way to Pakistan where he will stay for 8 weeks to teach English at a school there. This is a life long dream of his and we are happy that he is able to see it through. He will be stopping in to see us again on his way back in March.
We were happily surprised that dad brought us some Backporch Coffee, compliments of our good friends, Dave & Majell. And also some new craft stuff for me, from mom.
The time with my dad was pretty short so we crammed a lot into only a couple of days. He couldn’t wait to see our city, learn some history and explore. I was able to take the 2 days off work and Derek also took a couple days off from his research. The first full day that he was here, the rain/snow did not let up until the late afternoon, but that did not stop us. We got our raincoats on, each grabbed an umbrella and were on our way. We walked around a bit and then went to show him Derek’s school and study spot. From there we headed down Royal Mile and stopped in at St Giles’ Cathedral. We had never been there before and were so glad that we just happened to be walking by. It was incredible. I won’t explain too much and just let the pictures tell the story. That evening we went to a pub for dinner, called Bad Ass. Derek had (his first) haggis, a traditional Scottish dish, served with ‘neeps and tatties’.
The next day was even busier as we walked on the Leith walkway, explored the Stockbridge neighborhood, rode the bus to Royal Mile, passed by Holyrood Palace and the Parliament building, hiked up Arthur’s Seat, stopped in to see my work, went out to dinner and walked, walked, walked. I felt like I could hardly stand by the end of the day. But it was a great day and were glad to be able to show dad a bit of Edinburgh.
On Saturday his plane was flying out of Glasgow, so we all got up early and had a big breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Then we caught a taxi to the bus station and all rode the bus to Glasgow where we had to say farewell. All in all, we had a fabulous time with dad.
On another note, we are going to be making our first trip to England in a couple of weeks. We will be going to Durham to visit our friends Aaron and Lucy Sherwood. We are excited to broaden our UK experience.
Here in Scotland they call their New Year’s celebrations ‘Hogmanay‘. Without wasting too much time for a rather pointless search, here is the best pronunciation of the word that I could find online (though it is entirely lacking a British accent). Hogmanay parties occur in most cities around the country, but Edinburgh’s surpasses them all. This year some 100,000 people packed the streets of Edinburgh for its annual party which culminated in a £1.3 million (=$2.6million) pyrotechnic display around the city. And although it was slightly wet out, it wasn’t nearly as bad as last year when gale-force winds forced the fireworks to be cancelled just minutes before the New Year.
Katie and I had heard nothing but good things regarding Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations, so we eagerly joined the throng of Edinburgh’s residents as 2008 crept upon Greenwich Mean Time. Now 100,000 people might sound like an absurd amount of people, but despite the potential for chaos it wasn’t too overwhelming as everyone seemed to be having a ‘gay old time’ (except for the two or three people who we saw that managed to pass out on the street before midnight). Here is the view we had towards Edinburgh Castle where the main display of fireworks are set off:
As the clock struck twelve the crowd erupted into childlike glee, and we were all treated to a fantastic fireworks show. Here is a snippet of the fireworks (my apologies for the poor videography…I only wish I could blame the champagne):
To cap off the night before returning home, friends and strangers alike—simultaneously as though on cue—joined hands, skipped in circles and rang out the words to ‘Auld Lang Syne’. You may know it simply as the generic New Year’s song, but it holds special significance here in Scotland. For Scotland’s most famous of poets, the bard Robert Burns himself, composed the poem/song. And it is to his and Scotland’s great legacy that it is sung each year around the globe. So next year, instead of pausing because we were too awestruck and ignorant to know any better, Katie and I will be ready with the words of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ memorized as we ring in another New Year, Scotland style.
I close with the lyrics to Robert Burn’s poem, courtesy of Josh and Grace Cramer who sent us a book of his poems and songs. (By the way, ‘Auld Lang Syne’ means something like ‘long, long ago’ or ‘days of long ago’).
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o’ auld lang syne
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin’ auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin’ auld lang syne.
CHORUS
And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
And gies a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie-waught,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
The first book is 
The second book inundated me. I know next to nothing about mountain climbing, and have even less of a desire to ever ascend a hill higher than I can reach in a single day. But adventure journalist Jon Krakauer’s 
