Website for Religion Geeks

Finally, a site for all of you who can't get enough of American religion. The Association for Religion Data Archives is a haven for all you geeks out there. It provides info on all denominations in the U.S., even those real small ones. It also provides "denominational trees" for the major denoms (Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, etc) all the way back to the 1600's. Another neat feature is the denominational breakdown by county across the U.S. So if you need to research your latest idea for a church plant, or you just have some time to waste, this is the site for you. Enjoy.

Classic Office Moment

For both of you who do not watch The Office (and for those of you who do), here's the best clip from last week's episode. For those of you who don't know already, The Office is the best comedy on television right now. No debates. It's over. This clip shows us why.

If you haven't heard already, the group Radiohead has released a new album via the internet. You can download it there and you can set the price. Seriously. First, you place the order and set your price, then click on the question mark if you have any questions. You are then given the message that it is indeed up to you. And just in case you don't trust the technology, you can click on the mark again, and a reassuring message will let you know that you can trust this technology and yourself to set the price (see above). Impressive, no?

This is a first for a major release. They finished production a few weeks ago (sometime this month) and decided to go ahead and put it out on the internet. The actual release with cover art will be released in December, but the music is available now. How much would you pay? Go ahead, set your price.

In My Element(s)

Today is the first day it's felt like fall here in Kentucky. I actually had to break out my Carhartt jacket to protect my body from the elements. I love my Carhartt. I love the first day of the fall when I can wear it. It makes me feel like a big man, all rugged and burly. Yeah, I said burly. If you owned a Carhartt, you'd feel the same way.

I also noticed that the vent over my head in the office isn't spewing out frigidly cold air anymore. Someone decided to use a little heat today. During my lunch, I even went home and took a nap/hibernated for 45 minutes. In short, I'm very comfortable today. I'm in my element. You see, I'm from Ohio and we're very cold people. We're more comfortable in the cold. Summers are unbearable for my people. We melt in our hot cars. We can't wait for the fall. It's our favorite time of year. That's how we roll.

In celebration, I will now attempt to write a sorry excuse for a haiku:

Carhartt jacket in hiding since March,

gone for seven months

show yourself.

I'm In A Movie (Sort Of)

I was paid the highest compliment last week when I found out that two of the youth in Campus Life added me in a movie they made. Actually, I'm not "in" the movie, but I am the target of an assassination. You'll also notice that I have an Italian accent in this flick. Luca (who also filmed the movie) is an exchange student from Italy. Eric has been a long time Campus Lifer and apparently has a secret, hidden desire to kill me. It's quite the honor to be the subject of random killing and violence in the everyday lives of teenagers. This is exactly the kind of impact I was hoping for when I signed up to be a youth volunteer.

Yet Another Group That Opposes The President...

NPR Dreams

I've set my alarm clock to the local NPR station. So, when I wake up (or better yet, when my alarm clock tells me to get up) I usually hear some news report, story or fund raising thing. Sometimes, if I'm not awake enough, I'll actually have dreams about the stories I'm hearing. I've had dreams about terrorists (scary), adventures in the Arctic, and today, I had a dream about some controversial sheriff in Mississippi or Louisiana that just died. I actually pictured the guy as he was being interviewed. Pretty weird stuff. Maybe I'm not creative enough to host my own dreams. Maybe I need NPR to fill in the gaps. And, as Bart Simpson once said to his sister, "Wow, Lisa, even your dreams are lame".