negative faith

i accept it as truth only because i have felt the lie and truth is the only acceptable alternative. call it negative faith if you will. either way it’s something and it beats the lie.

carlsonomics

for anyone who’s interested in learning more about the economy and such things... join me on my travels. looking at basics and also at some complex stuff along the way, carlsonomics aims to give insights into the South African and global markets and how they affect all of us...

http://carlsonomics.blogspot.com/

a few mac things

so for all those mac users out there- this one if for you...

i have decided to temporarily leave my self-pitying poems of no structure and little interest to anyone else. (my main reason for doing this came after checking out all my friends’ notes on facebook- you go do the same. most of them are people feeling sorry for themselves. there are the odd exceptions like a man called brett anderson who writes notes sometimes about other people or about interesting subjects other than himself. but for the most part it’s all hogwash- my posts included... )

but i have discovered a few joyful mac things in the last few weeks that i would like to share:

1. Net News Wire ... a freeware RSS feed reader allowing you to subscribe to multiple RSS feeds and to monitor these feeds by ‘updating’ when you are online. you can automate quite a lot of actions and set it as the default RSS reader for use with firefox etc... http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/internet_utilities/netnewswire.html

2. MacJournal ... a great place to type. It has the full screen option that allows you to feel like a ‘real writer’ when you are having coffee in the local mugg and bean ;-) it has a blog uploader facility that allows you to send your musings to your blog if you have one. Otherwise it is till great for other stuff. http://www.freemacware.com/macjournal

3. Free Mac Ware ... the greatest website showcasing only free downloads (no shareware rubbish that gets your hopes up only to smash them again... http://www.freemacware.com

4. Adium ... oh let me count the ways that i love adium... this is a chat programme that is just great. lots of options but yet very simple. you can add msn, gmail, and even mxit people onto one contact list. http://www.freemacware.com/category/mac-communication-software/

That’s all for now... time to hit the the upload button on the macjournal toolbar...

if i could only force it

if i could force it i would push as hard as i can
‘till i won

but overcoming by force is overcoming but half
because the force i would use is the force that uses me

and force yields no power
in the arena i’m in

it is good so- lest i try and lose again
i’m left with my pen

snack

to taste the feeling is to know the reflection
of another heart that joins yours to beat

to know that bitterness overcomes the sweetest

to think i ate off a paper plate
a take away
i take only regret away with me

Book Review: To Own a Dragon (Donald Miller)

It has been some time since a book left me in tears. Real, constant tears that dripped the duration of the last 5 chapters.

The book if for guys. It is a look at lessons that the author has learnt growing up without a father. Initially I was negatively predisposed to the book because this whole ‘fatherless generation’ thing seems to have almost become a fashion subject since John Elderage wrote ‘Wild at Heart’. And I loathe fashionable Christians.

If there is one thing that I have come to appreciate more than anything in a book, indeed in any spoken interaction, it is sincerity. An honest account. I think that is something that sets the Bible apart. The Bible is raw in it’s recollections of failure, sin, holiness and perfection. It is a kaleidoscope of brutal shame mixed with brutal perfection, never lacking in colour. Never short on sincerity.

I have just finished a book by an author who is fast becoming one of my favourites: a man named Donald Miller. As I read about his walk with God and the lessons he has learnt along the way I get the distinct knowing that this guy is for real. He is legit. He talks from knowing. And when he doesn’t know, then he talks with me, as a quester rather than a teacher.

Miller makes me feel like I don’t have to make the mistakes he has made. His lessons are my lessons. I don’t have to sell my character for nine dollars. I don’t have to be lazy first to know that work is a gift. I don’t have to wonder about my manhood ‘cos Don reckons that a penis qualifies you- period. His search has been my find.

The book I have just read is a book full of real wisdom. Knowlege is the information that feeds thoughts. Very different to knowledge, wisdom is the insight that feeds actions.

Sure, the tears dripped. It was an engrossing and powerfully intimate read. But the book was not entertainment. I’m called to difficult action with the 98% chance of failing on my first day. At least I have a friend along for the journey...

reading

“all leaders read- there are almost no exceptions.“ - Donald Miller (you are probably guessing that I’m reading a Donald Miller book at the moment... quite right you are. Review will follow...)

The average American person (are Americans people?) watches 1456 hours of television per year but only reads three books. So if it is true that readers are leaders, and the more you read the further you advance, then there isn’t a lot of competition. (that’s also from Don Miller, except the part in brackets of course...)