hermanvep's Xanga

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:40:46 GMT

I have migrated from this blog site to another blog site.

Please adjust any and all bookmarks, tabs or scraps of paper to reflect my new locale:

http://hermanvep.blogspot.com/

It's brighter, cleaner and easier to use for me.
I'll miss the xanga-sphere.. a little, but not really.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:14:44 GMT

How did I miss this plot that was reportedly picked up by the Washington Post?

It was less than a month ago (July 7, 2006) that 17 Canadian Muslims were arrested and charged with planning to take over the parliament building, hold hostages and behead Mr. Harper if Canadian troops were not withdrawn from Afghanistan. This news should give a new urgency to Canadian efforts to combat terrorism, both at home and abroad. Stepping up military spending is one essential aspect of that fight. We commend Mr. Harper for taking this strong action.

Read online here

Remind me not to try my hand at politics in the near future, or at least until we've received that order of 2000 trucks from our military suppliers.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 20:20:31 GMT

(Test 1) Enneagram Personality Type Indicator Results

Your highest score will indicate you basic type, or it will be among the top 2-3 scores. Low scores in some type might come out negative. That's perfectly normal.

For best results, you should answer all the questions that apply.

Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Type 4	Type 5	Type 6	Type 7	Type 8	Type 9
3	4	8	-2	-6	-10	8	-3	-2

The Nine Personality Types of the Enneagram

Type 1: The Reformer. The rational, idealistic type.
Type 2: The Helper. The caring, nurturing type.
Type 3: The Motivator. The adaptable, success-oriented type.
Type 4: The Artist. The intuitive, reserved type.
Type 5: The Thinker. The perceptive, cerebral type.
Type 6: The Skeptic. The committed, security-oriented type.
Type 7: The Generalist. The enthusiastic, productive type.
Type 8: The Leader. The powerful, aggressive type.
Type 9: The Peacemaker. The easygoing, accommodating type.

For more information about the types, the test or your score, click here.

(Test 2) Enneagram Type Indicator Results

Your highest score will indicate you basic type, or it will be among the top 2-3 scores. You have answered all the questions -- terrific!

Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Type 4	Type 5	Type 6	Type 7	Type 8	Type 9
3	4	4	5	6	3	7	2	2

The Nine Personality Types of the Enneagram

Limited Context

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:43:41 GMT

I'm concerned. I have wasted a lot of time lately. I have dwelt in the lands of bourque.com, digg.com, and youtube.com and barackobama.com. It is not exactly an arid wasteland but it has certainly contributed to a certain degree of aridness in my upper cranial cavity. As my eyes scan various pages my capacity to learn gradually reduces. Of course, I am certainly building up my sizable database of interesting information (did you read that Google is now turning into a social activist by using Google maps to highlight villages that have been destroyed by warfare in the Darfur region of Sudan?). However, I am not accomplishing the more significant things that I am expected to be doing.

Such is life?

Not necessarily. When I am in a keen state of mind, I am on top of these things. They're all there somewhere in my consciousness and I have an extensive capacity for automatic recall when it is necessary.

Alas, my capacity is limited by my inconsistency.

Dinner waits. I shall return.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 07:59:36 GMT

Lord, thank you for slowing time down for me.

I suppose I would have missed a lot of things. Present yourself more clearly in the days to come. I have your word to guide me and yet I'm neglecting the guideposts. Dust is the enemy of piety. It lays down more and more guilt as layer after layer builds up. Dust on the Bible- that's what I'm contemplating. I recognize that having two Bibles is a sign of piety - maybe I should have a pocket one that will osmose its way into my consciousness through every waking moment.

Good Friday looms.

The Lord spent his last days with his disciples, instilling in them the discipline of servants, the wisdom of sages, and the heart of saints: all has been recorded in these pages and it eluded them and still eludes me. The lessons of today are those same lessons that Christ taught. To invoke His name in a time like this is soothing. It beckons me closer into his bosom. I am drawn by my Lord, leaving behind a cloud of anxiety and dreariness. The Cross emerges as the central focus of history for the lost and the weary - those who have been lost in a dry and weary land.

Kyrie Elieson. I ask for Christ's mercy because I am assured that it has already been granted to me because of my standing before the throne. The Holy Spirit isn't waiting around till Pentecost 2007 to enter into me. It has been present for 22 years, guiding and protecting me in my way - I see in me a dark and shapeless void - He sees a sign saying "another work in progress" and He smiles. Joy and triumph. "Another work in progress" brought to you by "He who died". It is enough. Amen and Amen.

Maybe I haven't clarified enough lately. I desire to preach the Gospel. This Gospel which I have so brokenly and awkwardly elucidated in an impromptu declaration just prior to this. Mindful of the immense burden faced by today's bearers of the Gospel, and recognizing the central need for instruction and intensive contemplation prior to entering into the ministry, I am desirous of a spot in a Fall 2008 Masters of Divinity program at a to-be-announced seminary. It is exciting and thrilling to realize that it is not very far away now. I can definitely attest to the dramatic need for increased self-examination and a pronounced development of my contemplative disciplines, but I am seeking the counsel of great men in my preparations.

I have five classes left in my POLS program and I shall satisfy the requirements of my degree program by studying at the Laurentian Leadership Centre this fall, meaning that I will graduate with a POLS major and a Philosophy minor in December of 2007.
The Laurentian Leadership Centre will be my opportunity to apply my 'skills' to real-life situations.

However, it is my hope that I will actually find work this summer that will also use these same 'skills' in real-life situations, thus preparing me more comprehensively for political action than my previous summer jobs have. Treeplanting is good for the soul but tough on the mind.

Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria BC

Rosanna is taking me to this stunning display of ingenuity and craftsmanship for a Good Friday service in two days.

I am looking forward to Mozart's Requiem.

It was only a year ago that Rosanna and I embarked on our 2nd date of our brief time together and it was to the Orpheum's hosting of Mozart's Requiem that we traveled. Our time was wonderful together. It included an incredible variety of activities and concluded with a delightfully romantic desert for two along the waterfront. (For music buffs, you may be interested to know that this particular performance of the Requiem included one thing that probably still haunts the CBC Radio Orchestra and its conductor: a movement that began in disarray resulting in a restart. Restarting a fine orchestral piece: that's remarkable. I'm glad that I could have been a part of it.

Life beckons. Make more of it than the last guy did. Or stand back and watch others rush by in a theology-of-glory induced coma. I know I should, but I'm not sure if I do, prefer the theology-of-the-cross. Oh Luther, Calvin and co. You reduce me to a heap of dutchness.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:42:16 GMT

I should be writing a paper on the Middle East peace process, but this was just too good.

I'm pretty sure it works for med school applicants, grad school applicants and many other forms of higher education out there:

(taken from www.canadianlawschool.ca)

Law School Rejection - Take This!

For those of you in the process of waiting for your law school admission results, I have come across the following very useful letter. Please feel free to use it.

Dean Robert A. Jackson
Chair - Faculty of Law Admissions Committee
75B Madisson Hall, Clark University
Timmons, ON B49 6B1

Dear Dean Jackson,

Thank you for your letter of February 2. After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me a spot at your law school.

This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually large number of rejection letters from law schools. With such a varied and promising field of candidates, it is impossible for me to accept all refusals.

Despite Clark's outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet my needs at this time. Therefore, I will assume a spot at your law school this September. I look forward to seeing you then.

Best of luck in rejecting future law school applicants.

Sincerely,
Marty B. Kendall

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:39:51 GMT

Dear Lethbridge,

I would like a job. I would like a job that makes me use some of my critical thinking skills - maybe a job that sits me in a desk and tells me to think long and hard - is there such a thing?

Dear Lethbridge,

In case you didn't know, I'll be home for 4 months. Truly 4 months. Living in my parent's basement. Maybe watching an election take place. Who knows.

Dear Lethbridge,

Will you let me stay busy? I hope so. I need a break.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 07:05:32 GMT

"While Toyota has the lead in hybrid technology right now, the company acknowledges that “gas and diesel engines will be the major source of automotive power for years to come [and] a major effort is being made to reduce [their] environmental impact.” source

Where's visionary leadership when you need it? I've got a burr in my side from watching "Who Killed the Electric Car" imbd and I'm leaning towards a conspiracy theory driven assumption that

THERE SIMPLY IS MORE MONEY TO BE MADE IN CONVENTIONAL AUTOMOBILES.

Frank Stronach and the parts industry.
Shell Canada and the fuel industry.
gov.ca and the automotive tax regime
King Saud and the oil barons

As for me, I'll buy a hybrid... when I'm able. Or else a compressed-air car.

Corporate Musings

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:59:05 GMT

Books
Columbia House Records
Book Review Dilemma
Derek Webb
TWUSA Election Response
Canadian Elections
The Laurentian Club
Daily Journal

Is there more time in a day for this? The US government appeared to be thinking solely of me when it updated its stance on time, thereby giving me an extra hour in the evenings for blogging. So I suppose it is my obligation to return to this abandoned practice, even as it is falling out of favour with the masses. The elite has stopped the online-confessionals and the phenomenon is losing steam as a noteworthy (and newsworthy) item. Will anyone care if bloggers talk about the upcoming elections online or leak the results from the East Coast before the West Coast gets a chance to vote? Will Fox News even follow the Swift Boat Veterans on Youtube?

Has the saturation reached its breaking point? I hope so. Because it gives me the opportunity to blog again with impunity. No one is reading (aside from my technologically-impaired parents who learned that xanga is often the equivalent of a phone call ... only with a lot more room for interpretation) and therefore I'm bringing this back into the realm of personal musings. I've spent too much time dumpster diving in search of jewels that might entice people to eprop and/or comment and will be really bored when I come back to read about my life. After all, handwritten journals are obsolete and take too much time. Norm, forgive me for my delinquent neglect of this memory collection process.

Re-read (or read if this is being read by lurkers) The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. I was greatly surprised and pleased to learn that this young man has a broad background in political philosophy and it is in this light that I found his insights to be particularly useful. The problems of corporate greed and corporate malfeasance in North America are cultural. The problems with inner city schools (man, American school policies are ridiculous!) are cultural.

While you're at it, read The Rebel Sell by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter. These two gentleman take on Kurt Cobaine, the hippies, Naomi Klein, Adbusters, No Logo, and many other 'countercultural' whiners who are intent on 'jamming culture'. Heath and Potter say it's impossible to "screw the man" or "fix the system" because culture is diffuse and free-spirited - in line with people's wants, desires, and beliefs. Therefore, the efforts to break things open must be directed to the political and cultural decisions of individuals, not by railing against the efforts of others.

A pleasant background noise which might interest you is Derek Webb (of Caedmon's Call) and his album "Mockingbird". It has a very soothing quality to it... and it is very wholesome and beautiful.

Somewhat less than wholesome is my ongoing spat with Columbia House Records. According to their most recent mail out, I owe the faceless tyrants $78.51.
They kindly informed me that "Since you have not answered our previous requests for payment of your enrollment purchase, we are now also billing you for the total cost of the selections which you agreed to buy when you joined. This charge is calculated by multiplying the number of your unpurchased selections by the average Regular Club price.
But like most contracts that are broken, there are remedies. OUR remedy is to refer your account to a professional collection agency. YOUR remedy is to choose one of two options."

My two options both include paying them $78.51.

I can't. I'm pissed. I'll take my chances. I'll leave the country or change my name. I'll go on Westminster Seminary in Escondido California to pursue an MDiv. degree after I finish at TWU. Does that sound like a good plan? The period of public consultations has now been opened and I will be releasing a final report in about a year from now. I mention Westminster Seminary because I visited it back in January and found it to be an incredible place filled with great people and historic declarations of faith.

My heart is confronted with the basic reality that I am a sinner through and through. I've lost many battles... and wondered if I should have ever engaged in these battles in the first place. I now understand more fully why the Scriptures speak of being very careful when making a vow, lest it actually be held against you as it was in the case of Jephthah who was 'compelled' to sacrifice his delightful daughter. Self-discipline and self-denial is a strange burden that we must bear if it is clear to us while I definitely think that there are some who have shouldered a man-made cross of self-discipline while neglecting the vital truth of the origins of the cross that we are called to bear for the Lord.... as a response of gratitude and praise to the Lord and Saviour who has already borne our sorrow and shame, our sin and our debt before the face of God.

It puts the funk that I've been in lately into a much clearer perspective. In honesty, it has been very difficult to recommit to the final few months of working for the Student Association. My track record in the last few weeks of a job hasn't been the greatest to date and I'm determined to make sure that I'm ending on a high note... or at least in a respectable way. In deciding to run for President again, I based my assertions and my plans on the highly justifiable assumption that I would be re-elected to the post with a new mandate to pursue the things that I had articulated in my campaign. The Lord evidently was not seeing things the same way that I was and this prompted me to quickly recognize that I'd been defeated in my bid for one reason: it wasn't God's will for me. Wishful thinking would say "you could've told me that before I put myself out there in front of everyone" but wishes aren't what matter.

But I mentioned a funk. There is a certain degree of mental exuberance and downright giddiness that is necessary when it comes to Student Council. Policy manuals and bylaws really are quite boring. They're layered with technicalities and oddities and the task of reforming them is certainly an odious one. Only a few months ago, these things were clearly framed in the expectation of another year of working out the kinks and benefiting from the hard work that was being put into this. Suddenly, that particular application of these things was removed and it deflated my 'sails' in many ways. I'm shouldering on... I work with amazing people (particularly the executive) and they've picked me up and prodded me forward... and I respect and appreciate that.

Day 1. I have a mustache. It is 15 days old. I met with Janet Epp Buckingham today to discuss my Laurentian Leadership Center internship options and saw that it is going to be a great experience. I saw beautiful people today. I decided that I have a lot to learn from homeless people about the impracticalities of life.

How to build Community (for real)

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 04:30:59 GMT

Turn off your TV
Leave your house
Know your neighbors
Look up when you are walking
Greet people
Sit on your stoop
Plant flowers
Use your library
Play together
Buy from local merchants
Share what you have
Help a lost dog
Take children to the park
Garden together
Support neighborhood schools
Fix it even if you didn't break it
Have pot lucks
Honor elders
Pick up litter
Read stories aloud
Dance in the street
Talk to the mail carrier
Listen to the birds
Put up a swing
Help carry something heavy
Barter for your goods
Start a tradition
Ask a question
Hire young people for odd jobs
Organize a block party
Bake extra and share
Ask for help when you need it
Open your shades
Sing together
Share your skills
Take back the night
Turn up the music
Turn down the music
Listen before you react to anger
Mediate a conflict
Seek to understand
Learn from new and uncomfortable angles
Know that no one is silent though many are not heard. Work to change this.

** thus marks my first contribution to mass socialism. Credit for this list goes to a Karen Kerney watercolor.