Note from the LuapHacim, 11/14/2012: The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect my current beliefs and convictions. Even if they do, I would almost certainly express them in different words today. Time changes people, and I am not exempt. Nonetheless, because of its historical value, I will not modify or remove this post. It tells you (and me) something important about where I've been. Read on at your own peril.
The problem so many people identify with religion in general -- and Western Christianity in particular -- is that it doesn't really do anything. Churches are just as corrupt as any other organization -- or, if you live in Kansas, where the churches give money to the state attorney general's for-profit organization, maybe even more corrupt.
That's why it's so refreshing to see Ugandan Christians actually acting like Christians. They're forgiving those who terrorized their villages, accepting them back and facilitating reconciliation.
The church in the West could learn a lot about Jesus from these folks.
Noises From the Machine
24 October 2006
Uh-Oh.
Note from the LuapHacim, 11/14/2012: The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect my current beliefs and convictions. Even if they do, I would almost certainly express them in different words today. Time changes people, and I am not exempt. Nonetheless, because of its historical value, I will not modify or remove this post. It tells you (and me) something important about where I've been. Read on at your own peril.
Kind of scary story from the New York Daily News today. Apparently, talking on the phone can have an extremely adverse effect on sperm count and quality. Since Mrs. Luaphacim wants to have babies sometime, this probably means I should limit my hours of gabbing with people like Spartacus, EB, and, ironically, even Mrs. L herself! :-(
Or I could ignore the media-created freakout session based on a study with somewhat questionable methodology. But no, that would be foolish.
Kind of scary story from the New York Daily News today. Apparently, talking on the phone can have an extremely adverse effect on sperm count and quality. Since Mrs. Luaphacim wants to have babies sometime, this probably means I should limit my hours of gabbing with people like Spartacus, EB, and, ironically, even Mrs. L herself! :-(
Or I could ignore the media-created freakout session based on a study with somewhat questionable methodology. But no, that would be foolish.
20 October 2006
18 October 2006
My Seminar Project
I'm pretty excited about the project I'm doing in my metaphor theory seminar. I'm examining metaphors in Minuteman rhetoric (the anti-immigration people, not the UMass mascots). It's been pretty fun so far, but I've got a long way to go.
Progress:
I've collected stuff from five different categories:
-Minuteman blogs and forums
-Minuteman official communications (operations manual, Web site, etc.)
-News stories (including press releases and some stuff from right-wing pubs as well as the MSM)
-Speeches, statements, and so forth from lawmakers associated with the Minutemen
-Text of immigration legislation
My hypothesis is that the Minutemen, a very vocal minority, have had an enormous effect on the kinds of rhetoric used to talk about -- and legislate about -- immigration. That's why I'm looking at the legislation; I think it will have many of the same conceptual metaphors that the Minutemen routinely use to frame the debate.
I know there are some holes in my approach, but I'm patching them, I think... We'll have to see.
Progress:
I've collected stuff from five different categories:
-Minuteman blogs and forums
-Minuteman official communications (operations manual, Web site, etc.)
-News stories (including press releases and some stuff from right-wing pubs as well as the MSM)
-Speeches, statements, and so forth from lawmakers associated with the Minutemen
-Text of immigration legislation
My hypothesis is that the Minutemen, a very vocal minority, have had an enormous effect on the kinds of rhetoric used to talk about -- and legislate about -- immigration. That's why I'm looking at the legislation; I think it will have many of the same conceptual metaphors that the Minutemen routinely use to frame the debate.
I know there are some holes in my approach, but I'm patching them, I think... We'll have to see.
05 October 2006
My new semester
It's funny how, even though the semester isn't even half over, all the grad students in the department go wild to see the new course list for the spring. I mentioned to a couple of people that it was online, and they promptly trampled me like wildebeest in heat in an effort to get to their computers. Crazy.
My semester is looking pretty sweet:
MWF 3-3:50 -- Beowulf. The original text, suckaz. (Ic sprece ealda Englisc.)
TR 9:30-10:45 -- Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. And I'm wagering it's every bit as good as it sounds. :-)
MWF 1-1:50 -- Teaching a class on sci-fi, robots, and mechanical monsters. I think it's safe to say I'm about to meddle in God's domain and then reap the horrifying consequences.
MWF ??? -- Boring ol' 102. Boo.
My semester is looking pretty sweet:
MWF 3-3:50 -- Beowulf. The original text, suckaz. (Ic sprece ealda Englisc.)
TR 9:30-10:45 -- Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. And I'm wagering it's every bit as good as it sounds. :-)
MWF 1-1:50 -- Teaching a class on sci-fi, robots, and mechanical monsters. I think it's safe to say I'm about to meddle in God's domain and then reap the horrifying consequences.
MWF ??? -- Boring ol' 102. Boo.
New Direction
I've decided that politics are bad for my blood pressure, so I'm going to take this blog in a different direction. I've been reading (or I'm supposed to have been reading, I guess, if you want to know the truth) a lot of theory lately, and my Master's exam is coming up, so this is now going to be my place to comment on that stuff, as well as to play with some other school-related projects. Sorry if you were looking forward to more of my white-hot liberal agenda; I'm all out.
So there ya go.
So there ya go.
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