Andy on the go

moving (the blog)

2008-06-29T15:33:00.001-05:00

I'm moving... and blogging again. Check out my new blog.

http://cajames.wordpress.com/

Freedom Summer 2005

2005-06-21T17:55:00.000-05:00

Forty-one years ago today, three young men were killed as they sought to help others exercise their rights as Americans to vote and as humans to live free of fear. They came to Mississippi as part of a massive influx of people to register voters in a state known as a "closed society" that ensured that only a few kept their power. They came to Mississippi as young men but never left alive.

Today, one man was convicted of helping to orchestrate the murder of these three young men. He lived a life in Mississippi that sought to limit the rights of others to be human and American. In a previous trial, one juror kept the others from conviction because she could not believe that a preacher could do such a thing. Now feeble and infirm, continuing to deny any connection to the crime or to the organized hate that facilitated it, he faces up to sixty years in prison, never to walk free in Mississippi again.

Summer began today, and I think Mississippi can call it another Freedom Summer. People from around the world have come to Mississippi to cover the trial, and we have seen glimpses of a new Mississippi. This new Mississippi is like the new creation that Paul talks about in his epistles: it hasn't come yet, and we don't know what it will look like. We may even miss it when it comes our way, and it probably won't be finished in time for us to see what it looks like. Nonetheless, it is coming.

Today was one glimpse of that new creation, a new world where justice and peace reign, where those who wrong others are forced to face their sin and begin the process of repentance.

Tomorrow, another glimpse of that new creation is set to begin just around the corner from the courthouse where justice was finally served today. At the Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner Living Memorial Civil Rights Education Summit and UNESCO’s Breaking the Silence Project, teachers and others will gather to talk about how to teach about these events in schools. When I was growing up, the most I ever learned about the Civil Rights Movement came from news coverage of the release of Mississippi Burning. It is certainly a sign of the new creation that people are trying to teach these things to the children of this place that remains so torn by the violence that has marked its history for so many centuries.

Pray that the new creation may come quickly into our midst in Mississippi.

some new music (with old roots)

2005-06-07T13:22:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago, I decided I would "pre-order" Coldplay's new album X&Y from iTunes. So this morning, I got up and downloaded the songs and put them on my iPod before I went walking so I would have something new and interesting to listen to. I was generally underwhelmed, but right as I was getting ready to change to something entirely different, "A Message" came on.

Within seconds, I knew the song, and I nearly stopped walking to listen more closely. "A Message" is clearly indebted to the wonderful Samuel Crossman hymn "My Song Is Love Unknown" with the tune LOVE UNKNOWN by John Ireland, a fact only slightly acknowledged on the web (see here and here for the references I have found). Here's my interpretation of the lyrics, since none that I have found on the web are accurate with the references to the original hymn:

My song is love
Love to the loveless shown
And it goes on
You don't have to be alone

Your heavy heart
Is made of stone
And its so hard to see clearly
You don't have to be on your own
You don't have to be on your own

And I'm not gonna take it back
And I'm not gonna say I don't mean that
You're a target that I'm aiming at
And I get that message home

My song is love...
My song is love unknown
But I'm on fire for you, clearly
You don't have to be alone
You don't have to be on your own

And I'm not gonna take it back
And I'm not gonna say I don't mean that
You're the target that I'm aiming at
And I'm nothing on my own
Got to get that message home

And I'm not gonna stand and wait
Not gonna leave it until it's much too late
On a platform I'm gonna stand and say
That I'm nothing on my own
And I love you, please come home

My song is love, is love unknown
And I've got to get that message home

Some reviewers and listeners have called this a love song, but I can't. The similarity between the hymn and the song is striking -- I wouldn't call it plagiarism but could certainly describe it as inspiration. There are certainly elements that move the song beyond the Lenten themes of the hymn, but I find it to be a deeply spiritual thing.

The next time someone claims that Christianity is dead in Britain or the US or anywhere, I will simply point them to this song. The next time someone says that old hymns aren't good for anything, I will point them to this song that many are already describing as a hit. It's clearly not the age of the music that makes things good or bad -- it is the depth of the spirit in it.

old habits reincarnated

2005-06-06T18:17:00.000-05:00

As I spend more time at home, I'm finding that some of my old habits are coming back. For example:

It's really hard to get any "work" done at home. I try to read or do something other than watch TV or sit in front of the computer, but I always seem to end up right back here where I started. I recognize that part of that has to do with different space and having other people closer in to my space, but I still find it hard to do the reading and other sorts of things that I would have done in another space with this same amount of time.

Somewhat related to this are eating and personal care habits. I all too easily break back into unhealthy eating and excuses to not exercise while I'm here. I try pretty hard, but I don't succeed. I've always had much better success when I can start from scratch and do things in an entirely new way.

I either live in my room or outside the house. Thanks to a rearranged room, I have more openness in my bedroom than I have had since I was little. However, I can't spend much time outside of it without leaving the house altogether. I find that I have to take some kind of trip every day to keep my spirits up and simply make sure that I don't completely lose it!

I'm simply glad this is a temporary arrangement!

one of the strangest things I've seen in a while...

2005-05-26T22:04:00.000-05:00

While shopping for birthday cards tonight, I ran across this one that was too wonderful not to buy:

When asked to describe herself, Mille Grosler exclaims, "Toaster ovens! I'm all about toaster ovens. I love the toaster part, and then there's the oven part. I love that. Give me a toaster oven and I can die happy."

Inside, the card goes on:

You're weird.

That's why I like you.

Too good not to pass along!

observations from home

2005-05-24T11:54:00.000-05:00

It is HOT. I moved back to Mississippi a week ago, and who knew that summer would come so quickly? I was away this past weekend, and when I stepped off the plane at nearly midnight last night after several days in a place where I needed a jacket, I was nearly bowled over by the heat and humidity -- it was nearly 80º! I have forgotten -- but certainly not missed!!! -- summers in Mississippi. The forecast calls for cooler weather over the next few days, but thankfully I will be getting away from here yet again on Thursday.

I resumed my walking regimen today, and I was astonished at people's response. Granted, it was midday, but I was still the only person out walking at all. In the places where there were no sidewalks, I think the passing drivers were so surprised by my presence that most of them moved completely over into the opposite lane. I've been walking on streets for a couple years now, and there was something very clearly different about this. Maybe it was just the fact that I was out exercising in such dreadful heat... or maybe it was just that anyone was exercising at all. I don't know.

Anyway, that's life. Of course there's more, but I have to save something to write about later, right? :-)

endings and beginnings

2005-05-13T22:02:00.000-05:00

We're right in the middle of all the celebrations for commencement. Tonight was the baccalaureate service, and it was truly wonderful. Sarah Walker offered a wonderful take on it in her blog tonight, and I affirm her comments here by reference!

Everything is striking me very deeply in these times. The part of the service that grabbed me was the prayers of the people. When they are done well, they are often my favorite part of the service, and tonight was one of those times. I don't remember how it all went, but there was a lot about beginnings and endings, and it wasn't some trite anecdote about commencement being a beginning that you've heard at two hundred high school graduations. These beginnings and endings seemed more real than they have before as Mark Douglas prayed. Maybe it was in the growth I can see in myself over the last three years -- but maybe it was actually in the ways in which I see that I have also stayed the same.

I don't really understand it, but can we understand it? I don't think I can really wish for that real understanding, but as the ending comes extremely near, lots is coming together as it never has before. Tonight I heard "alpha" and "omega" in an entirely new way, and that was unsettling -- but yet comforting. I'll have to quote Sarah, for she is more eloquent than I could imagine to be tonight:

All I needed was to hear it. Hear the promise. I needed the reminder. I have the faith. I believe the promises. I just needed to hear them. And I needed the rest of the service too. It reminded me of who I am and Whose I am. It reminded me of what is important and in Whom I place my trust and my life. It reminded me of how to live.

entering the final week

2005-05-08T22:30:00.000-05:00

It feels very strange to say it, but I'm now entering my final week at seminary and in Atlanta. It is a strange time, and I've become very emotional all of the sudden.

At church this morning, I nearly lost it when one of my fellow seminary students offered the prayer of thanksgiving, as it was his last Sunday. I'll be back for one last Sunday at Central, and I can't imagine what kind of condition I'll be in then!
After church, I started thinking about what is next in the church world for me. Where will I go to church while I look for a job? None of the immediate options at my parents' house are particularly appealing, so I'm trying to think outside the box a bit. Perhaps I can find someplace life-giving for that brief period.
I'm starting to have my final chances to visit with all sorts of friends around here. We'll certainly be running into one another over the course of the next week, but intentional time together is quickly disappearing.
Three of us went out to see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy tonight. I kinda feel like Arthur Dent sometimes, with so much of the world caving in around me, constantly looking for what I can hold on to as everything around me changes. Now if I can just figure out exactly what my "fish" would be if I were to sing "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish"!
In general, everything just feels really strange. It is strange to see packed boxes accumulating in the room, empty bookshelves where the books have been for three years, and junk I should have thrown away years ago piling up in the trash can. I'm hopeful that it will all get done, but it hasn't happened yet!

There's much to be done, but I don't feel like doing any of it anymore! Oh well... it will happen somehow.

nocturnal musings

2005-05-06T23:53:00.000-05:00

This makes two nights in a row that I have stayed up way too late! Tonight is actually better than last night, when I got to bed at 3 AM! However, I must say that I am now running Tiger and very happy to be doing so! It's quite fun, very speedy, and just a generally wonderful thing. The first two hours were excruciating as everything settled in, the caches were created, the Spotlight indices built, and the random software reinstalled, but after that, I have been extremely impressed, especially considering some of the horror stories I have read and heard from others.

Life is much more than the computer now, though. It is strange to say this, but I am now done with seminary. There's nothing I can do to change this now – the only possible problem would come if a professor chose not to pass me in my final semester, which I doubt will happen. It is a weird feeling, to say the least! Even weirder is the thought of leaving behind the people here.

If you had asked me even two weeks ago if I would be sad about leaving, the answer would have been a resounding NO! But things happen.... and now I'm fighting back tears when I think about the wonderful people around me. Yeah, there are some folks whom I am ready to be away from, but I keep finding that the people who are important to me are really important to me. It's a very strange feeling, one I have felt before, but one that I feel much more deeply now than then, and I'm not entirely sure why.

The boxes are starting to get packed, the bookshelves are getting bare, and things are just changing all around me. I'm all for change, but it's just scary to be in the middle of it, not certain about what is next.

Apple excitement

2005-04-28T22:19:00.000-05:00

Friday is a big day for Mac fans everywhere with the release of Tiger, OS 10.4. Mine ordered from Apple showed up today, a day earlier than it was supposed to, but FedEx is really good with getting stuff from Memphis to Atlanta :-) Nonetheless, there is simply too much to be done in the next week to take a chance on a complete OS upgrade, so the early arrival will sit on the shelf for a week or so.

I'm honestly amazed at the prominence of the Mac these days. This new OS release has merited mention on the New York Times' editorial page. What a shift for a computer platform that everyone said was dead five years ago!

I came into the Mac world right before everything hit. I was at the tail end of the "Switcher" campaign but ahead of the main iPod craze. I don't know what I'd do if I were still on a PC these days. Moving to a Mac was the best investment I have made. It cost me a bit more than it would have cost me to just get a new PC, but I am immensely happier with my choice.

One of the reasons why I switched was the alternative nature of the platform, and all this new coverage and popularity almost makes me think twice about it. I certainly didn't choose the Mac simply because it was the uncommon choice, but the "think different" factor is certainly there. Things are simply changing very fast in the computer world, but I'm really happy where I am nonetheless.

Now back to all those papers that are keeping me from upgrading....

blogging again

2005-04-17T00:50:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I've decided to try blogging again. Maybe it will offer a nice new forum for letting out some of the "stuff" that gets stuck up inside sometimes.

It has been a quiet yet busy weekend. Last night was one last shot at Jazz at the High and a wonderful ASO concert. Vaughan Williams, the featured composer of the evening, is an amazing composer: he wrote some of the most amazing symphonic and choral literature of the 20th century, compiled fascinating collections of British folk music, and even wrote original hymns for the 1906 English Hymnal.

Today, I communed with Walker Percy some more and the Christian education of adults a lot more. The annotated bibliography is now nearly done – just one more book to review to hit the minimum! Thankfully, Britcoms closed the day.

Off to bed, far too late....