Orange Flags, Green Flags

Today I'm getting contacted by people wanting to know more about the Israeli withdrawals.

Here are some pictures. Here are others (click "next" by the picture to see more). Here are more and more.

Today also had more coverage of a two-day old report that U.N. money financed the new PA propoganda. The articles mention but do not include any actual picture of the banners that said "Today Gaza and Tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem" beside a U.N. logo. Another article states that Hamas has also received U.N. money.

If you want a map of Israel, this one is interactive.

Remember that Israel retains ownership of land it allows the PA to administer. People are speaking sloppily when they speak of Israel "giving land" to the PA now or in the past. There is still no Palestinian State. Perhaps the withdrawal is proceeding without being opposed by an expected miracle because legally this is about government, not land, and God's covenants are legal agreements that contain no assurance of good government.

Two very different kinds creativity

If you are bored with a traditional globe or bicycle, be bored no longer.

As for myself, I think I'll merely ride my three-speed around town. I'm happy enough knowing a nifty way to fold a t-shirt.

A Sermon's Links

The sermon I am preparing for Saturday is about the tension between scripture's view that obedience to God allows us to best "get on with life" and the human need to do more to make life holy and complete, and thus to make obedience to God an end rather than a beginning.

The sermon will be added to the P'nei Adonai website FAQ page as "How does Messianic Judaism teach me to sanctify life?".

At one point I write a paragraph that could include two hyperlinks to give credit to sources that caused me to ponder. But such linking would be inappropriate from the P'nei website. Since I do not cite anything from those other webpages it is not necessary to cite them to avoid plagarism, and linking would be a distraction to the reader of the essay.

So here, in this more appropriate place, is the paragraph with the links.
We naturally prefer activity that allows us to feel in control. Today we can see political protesters who do activity that makes their cause less popular because it feels "good for their soul", and we see abused children who convince themselves that they are at fault since deserving the abuse means they can also stop the abuse. Similarly, we desire spiritual activity in which we do something that is good for our soul, so that we can do more when we want more improvement, and do what comes easily to allow easy improvement. It is uncomfortable when God's Spirit asks us to remove a firmly established bad habit we would rather not deal with and then rest as God's Spirit replaces it with virtue.

Update: During the sermon I also mentioned a link to an essay conjecturing that each of the Narnia books focuses on a different one of Gregory's "Seven Deadly Sins".

Better than Bubble Wrap

My brother and I used to like popping bubble wrap so much we would get each other sheets of it as birthday presents.

But we were clearly in the small league compared to these guys.

Preying on a Predator

I'm not a fan of RealOne player. It has unwanted options that lack obvious ways to turn off. But I needed to install it because of the ORT website with audio Torah reading, which some of my congregants use to help them prepare for reading from the Torah.

But now I'm glad it is on my computer, so I could watch this video from the Seattle Aquarium in which a giant octopus grabs and kills a large shark.

Telephone Game

What happens if you translate Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith into Chinese and then back into English?

Star War: The Backstroke of the West

(Some profanity, strangely enough. Very much silliness.)

Penguins!

Ah, the joys of a photoshop contest.

Or, at least, the select picks from one.

• Rocket penguin!
• Heavenly penguins!
• Hovercraft penguins!
• Penguin begins

A cube?

My Clie is all the MP3 player I need.

But I see this, and wonder why no company manufactures an MP3 player shaped like hearing aids? It seems so logical. At least the car stereo idea is finally realized.