I started another blog over on wordpress. As a blogging tool, wordpress is infinitely better than blogspot and since aubonparadox.wordpress.com was available, I am switching.
So thanks blogspot for your plain, tacky templates and minimalistic, impotent admin dashboard. So switch it over in your google readers and what not.
aubonparadox.blogspot.com is now
aubonparadox.wordpress.com
and to get a taste of la Vida Argentina:
lifeafternormal.wordpress.com
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Why the U.S. will never win the World Cup.
The U.S. is a great country. It is such a blessing to have been born here and raised here. However, there are a lot of things that I do not like about the culture. The main things, is the reason we will always look back and complain about the goal that should have counted against Germany in 2002 because that will have been the closest we have ever gotten.
For better or worse, the U.S. legislates and institutionalizes and regulates out the wazoo. This is good in a lot of situations, but in others it slows down a lot and makes people stupid.
Here in Buenos Aires [and every other country I have been too] things are much less regulated and controlled, such as traffic regulation. Driving in South/Central America is pretty crazy, but you'll note that it works. There aren't accidents everywhere; the cars are old but don't show evidence from major wreckage. The reason for this is that people are not dumb. They can't be. A sort of equilibrium has been reached where dumb people don't drive because they will get powned.
My high school calculus teach, Mr. Pifer, read us an article that was kind of joking and kinda not about how there are so many laws that keeping stupid people from killing themselves off and cleansing the gene pool. In other countries there is a lot less legislation so you have to depend more on a your brain and survival instinct instead of laws. We don't need to think about driving because of all the rules. No one can talk on a cell phone and drive here, they have to pay attention and, thus, are better drivers.
The U.S. is great when it comes being the strong and dominating and methodical. That is why it likes sports like football. Hit the sled enough, run the plays enough, know the play book, run routes in the offseason you will be strong, dominant, well oiled machine. Football is a very regulatable sport.
Soccer is not like this. Soccer is art form. A soccer team is a democratic family that must be of one mind and spirit to win. Scoring goals is a mystical, dare I say, supernatural occurance that cannot be forced. This is why the rest of the world is so much better than the U.S. Children grow up playing in the street, on the dirt drainage field in the middle of their town. They play with a ball, grapefruit, wad of trash, etc. They score how ever they can, whenever they can. Play doesn't stop because it is play, not work.
The legislating, regulating nature of the U.S. has sunk its cold, hard fingers into the youth soccer of our country. Kids don't play, they train. They wait in line to kick a ball at a goal. They wait in line to take a header. They wait in line to learn to trap the ball. Then they get picked up and driven to t-ball practice and then piano lessons and that is why the U.S. will never win a World Cup.
For better or worse, the U.S. legislates and institutionalizes and regulates out the wazoo. This is good in a lot of situations, but in others it slows down a lot and makes people stupid.
Here in Buenos Aires [and every other country I have been too] things are much less regulated and controlled, such as traffic regulation. Driving in South/Central America is pretty crazy, but you'll note that it works. There aren't accidents everywhere; the cars are old but don't show evidence from major wreckage. The reason for this is that people are not dumb. They can't be. A sort of equilibrium has been reached where dumb people don't drive because they will get powned.
My high school calculus teach, Mr. Pifer, read us an article that was kind of joking and kinda not about how there are so many laws that keeping stupid people from killing themselves off and cleansing the gene pool. In other countries there is a lot less legislation so you have to depend more on a your brain and survival instinct instead of laws. We don't need to think about driving because of all the rules. No one can talk on a cell phone and drive here, they have to pay attention and, thus, are better drivers.
The U.S. is great when it comes being the strong and dominating and methodical. That is why it likes sports like football. Hit the sled enough, run the plays enough, know the play book, run routes in the offseason you will be strong, dominant, well oiled machine. Football is a very regulatable sport.
Soccer is not like this. Soccer is art form. A soccer team is a democratic family that must be of one mind and spirit to win. Scoring goals is a mystical, dare I say, supernatural occurance that cannot be forced. This is why the rest of the world is so much better than the U.S. Children grow up playing in the street, on the dirt drainage field in the middle of their town. They play with a ball, grapefruit, wad of trash, etc. They score how ever they can, whenever they can. Play doesn't stop because it is play, not work.
The legislating, regulating nature of the U.S. has sunk its cold, hard fingers into the youth soccer of our country. Kids don't play, they train. They wait in line to kick a ball at a goal. They wait in line to take a header. They wait in line to learn to trap the ball. Then they get picked up and driven to t-ball practice and then piano lessons and that is why the U.S. will never win a World Cup.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
The Battle Part I
I am just finishing up John Piper's Desiring God. It is something I think every Christian should read- and every non Christian, now that I think of it- because it is the most liberating Theology/Christian-living book I have read.
It addresses the terrible, traditional way of thinking that many Christians have that says that following Jesus is a bland endeavor void of pleasure; that it requires us to stop doing something as soon as we start enjoying it. If we are enjoying ourselves as we love someone then something must be wrong. This is very prevalent and subtle, many people wouldn't admit to it or even know what it looks like.
What it stems from is the subtle works based mentality that deadens our relationship with Jesus and limits the joy and power we can see in our lives. It is by grace that we have been saved, few Bible believing Christians would argue with that, but few of us really take that to heart. Most of us feel at least a little worthy to receive eternal life and this absolute poison to the peace that passes all understanding and a life more abundantly. Most of do a lot of things that probably wouldn't matter if we realized that all God really wants from us is to know us. More on this in the next post.
Today I was lying on my bed thinking about things and I started thinking about Jesus. I have been camping out in the Gospels, reading them over and over. I feel like up until this May I have not really known Jesus or felt comfortable talking to Him or reading what he said. Side rant: Read the gospels! I couldn't believe what radical, exciting, anti-religious, unemployed hippie who recklessly loved the lowest people in his society.
Anyways, back to me thinking about him in my bed: I was thinking about getting up and walking up to the roof of the hostel and finishing John and I was excited to do so. This is not meant to make me seem like a super spiritual person, the reason I am writing this is because it is not normally like that. I want to read the bible but not like I want to watch a movie. But now I wanted to read about Jesus like it was a movie. So I was excited about this, but then, out of nowhere something in my mind instinctively tried to restrain or end my excitement. Since I was enjoying it, it must not be right. As if I should read the other parts out of some duty or obligation.
This is exactly what I was referring to when I said we neglect the one thing Jesus wants from us, a relationship, for some works based lie that says we can't enjoy things or need to deny joy in order to follow him. Of course we should read other books of the Bible, but only as means to know Jesus more, not because we think it is our duty or to think more of ourselves as Christians. Needless to say I went up to the roof and read John and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It addresses the terrible, traditional way of thinking that many Christians have that says that following Jesus is a bland endeavor void of pleasure; that it requires us to stop doing something as soon as we start enjoying it. If we are enjoying ourselves as we love someone then something must be wrong. This is very prevalent and subtle, many people wouldn't admit to it or even know what it looks like.
What it stems from is the subtle works based mentality that deadens our relationship with Jesus and limits the joy and power we can see in our lives. It is by grace that we have been saved, few Bible believing Christians would argue with that, but few of us really take that to heart. Most of us feel at least a little worthy to receive eternal life and this absolute poison to the peace that passes all understanding and a life more abundantly. Most of do a lot of things that probably wouldn't matter if we realized that all God really wants from us is to know us. More on this in the next post.
Today I was lying on my bed thinking about things and I started thinking about Jesus. I have been camping out in the Gospels, reading them over and over. I feel like up until this May I have not really known Jesus or felt comfortable talking to Him or reading what he said. Side rant: Read the gospels! I couldn't believe what radical, exciting, anti-religious, unemployed hippie who recklessly loved the lowest people in his society.
Anyways, back to me thinking about him in my bed: I was thinking about getting up and walking up to the roof of the hostel and finishing John and I was excited to do so. This is not meant to make me seem like a super spiritual person, the reason I am writing this is because it is not normally like that. I want to read the bible but not like I want to watch a movie. But now I wanted to read about Jesus like it was a movie. So I was excited about this, but then, out of nowhere something in my mind instinctively tried to restrain or end my excitement. Since I was enjoying it, it must not be right. As if I should read the other parts out of some duty or obligation.
This is exactly what I was referring to when I said we neglect the one thing Jesus wants from us, a relationship, for some works based lie that says we can't enjoy things or need to deny joy in order to follow him. Of course we should read other books of the Bible, but only as means to know Jesus more, not because we think it is our duty or to think more of ourselves as Christians. Needless to say I went up to the roof and read John and thoroughly enjoyed it.
New
Sitting on the plane in Columbus, OH, I became giddy with excitement for my new adventure. There is something so fresh about new things, so pure and fleeting that makes them so desirable. After some thought on the flight to Atlanta I think I figured out the two reasons new things drive us crazy.
1) They are the only way we can experience some hint of perfection here on earth. As humans we jack everything up. Name one thing we have touched that we haven’t made worse, if not ruined altogether- Seriously, if you can think of one, let me know. My amazing new adventure right now is perfect and exists in a glamorous hypothetical in my head. “Well, what about God?” you might ask. The thing with God is that, yes, he is perfect and we can experience him, but the problem with that is that, again, we are humans so we can not fully take in the perfection of God. We can know more and more of Him and we should pursue it, but we see him through the jacked up lens of sinful, finite humanity. We will not completely or perfectly understand God’s infinite perfection until we meet him in Heaven. So getting new things or starting on new adventures is a much smaller, finite, understandable way to experience fleeting perfection.
2) Second Law of thermodynamics: Things go from a state of order to disorder. Entropy always increases. I love the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It is so true, scientifically agreed upon, and really only fits with a Christian world view. The world is going down the crapper, few people will argue with that. I have found that few worldviews account for this. I am not going to go through each worldview but the most obvious belief that this blatantly refutes is pure evolution since evolution, at its core, is merely the opposite of this law.
But I digress. Allow me to put on my cynical bastard hat. My point is that time ruins everything. I realize that this is not a novel idea and youth is the white rabbit that a lot of aging women chase into monster-dom. But the perfection of a black Mac Book, still smelling of the delicious new mac smell that oozes from all of it’s stylish products will fade. I am not making an argument per se, but the evidence of this is especially obvious in movies and relationships [or just these are the areas that came to my mind]. The next time you can’t sleep and are watching a crappy movie on cable that is completely void of it’s glamor or even it’s draw to be watch other than the fact it is 3:42am you are tired of the oxy clean guy, remember people shelled out 6-9 dollars to see it on opening night. Odds are, people sat in theaters before it came out, saw the preview and whispered to their friend next to them, “oo that looks like it will be good.”
With relationships, the sheer newness and purity of a budding romance covers thousands of problems. It is like the smooth shellac over the rough wood of our imperfections that time will inevitably wear off. There is only time between being the man of her dreams and being the ex-boyfriend the new man of her dreams is trying not to be.
Generally after some depressing thoughts I try to redeem it with hope but I don’t really feel like there is some real hope when it comes to newness. It is fleeting and must be to be so good and enjoyable. Things are new and they age and this is not bad. Life has season, love has seasons, computers and movies have seasons. Don’t fight the seasons, have the maturity and awareness to embrace and enjoy each one to the fullest.
1) They are the only way we can experience some hint of perfection here on earth. As humans we jack everything up. Name one thing we have touched that we haven’t made worse, if not ruined altogether- Seriously, if you can think of one, let me know. My amazing new adventure right now is perfect and exists in a glamorous hypothetical in my head. “Well, what about God?” you might ask. The thing with God is that, yes, he is perfect and we can experience him, but the problem with that is that, again, we are humans so we can not fully take in the perfection of God. We can know more and more of Him and we should pursue it, but we see him through the jacked up lens of sinful, finite humanity. We will not completely or perfectly understand God’s infinite perfection until we meet him in Heaven. So getting new things or starting on new adventures is a much smaller, finite, understandable way to experience fleeting perfection.
2) Second Law of thermodynamics: Things go from a state of order to disorder. Entropy always increases. I love the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It is so true, scientifically agreed upon, and really only fits with a Christian world view. The world is going down the crapper, few people will argue with that. I have found that few worldviews account for this. I am not going to go through each worldview but the most obvious belief that this blatantly refutes is pure evolution since evolution, at its core, is merely the opposite of this law.
But I digress. Allow me to put on my cynical bastard hat. My point is that time ruins everything. I realize that this is not a novel idea and youth is the white rabbit that a lot of aging women chase into monster-dom. But the perfection of a black Mac Book, still smelling of the delicious new mac smell that oozes from all of it’s stylish products will fade. I am not making an argument per se, but the evidence of this is especially obvious in movies and relationships [or just these are the areas that came to my mind]. The next time you can’t sleep and are watching a crappy movie on cable that is completely void of it’s glamor or even it’s draw to be watch other than the fact it is 3:42am you are tired of the oxy clean guy, remember people shelled out 6-9 dollars to see it on opening night. Odds are, people sat in theaters before it came out, saw the preview and whispered to their friend next to them, “oo that looks like it will be good.”
With relationships, the sheer newness and purity of a budding romance covers thousands of problems. It is like the smooth shellac over the rough wood of our imperfections that time will inevitably wear off. There is only time between being the man of her dreams and being the ex-boyfriend the new man of her dreams is trying not to be.
Generally after some depressing thoughts I try to redeem it with hope but I don’t really feel like there is some real hope when it comes to newness. It is fleeting and must be to be so good and enjoyable. Things are new and they age and this is not bad. Life has season, love has seasons, computers and movies have seasons. Don’t fight the seasons, have the maturity and awareness to embrace and enjoy each one to the fullest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
