i was just reading a story about the nomination of a new bishop to the beijing diocese. in it, an anonymous source (presumably a church insider) says father li shan may be "too meek" to be a bishop. too meek. to be a bishop. he possesses too much of a christian virtue to advance in the christian church. does he still get to inherit the earth?

decrying the hypocrisy of the catholic church is so 16th century. but still. it gets me every time.

interesting historical tidbit:

in 1322, pope john xxii decreed it heretical to hold that jesus and the apostles owned nothing. compare that with matthew 19:21, 27 and 29

oh, and luke 9:3

also compare those passages to the prosperity doctrine, some version of which is held by nearly every christian i have ever encountered. some musician wins a grammy and thanks god for his success. some hick in iowa says his lottery winnings are a blessing from jesus. i heard someone once call these people "salad-bar christians". i like that. a lot.

now horses, living on the land, eat grass and drink water. when happy, they twine their necks and rub together. when angry, they turn their backs to one another and kick. this is what horses know. but add a yoke and a moon-shaped plate on the forehead and horses know boundaries and limits, they know they are enslaved. then, slyly, they look sidelong and arch their necks to bite. they thrash about, trying to expel the bit and shake free of the rings. they have learned now, from their capable hearts, how to be outlaws.

- chuang tzu

explosions are a terrible backdrop for thought, which probably explains why the american national anthem is such crap.

got my et:qw beta key. waiting for client to download. then sleep, sleep, sweet sweet sleep.

the word of the day is: effinrad. today's lucky number is: 2.

there are times when i hate, hate, hate living in the city. like when i come home from work all zombified and bed-hungry but can't even begin to fall asleep because somebody out there left a pack of wild 4 year olds on full-blast, infinite repeat.

i finally decided to apply for a new job this morning. yay me. the hours are strange and will no doubt require a massive life-style overhaul, but that could prove highly beneficial. as long as i can still make it to the tokyo police club show next month, all is fairly well. i've needed a new job for a long, long time.

i found out the other day that i only need to take 2 classes to get an associates degree. el oh el. 5 years in and i almost qualify for a 2 year degree. the bitch of it is that they're classes i should have taken years ago. oh well. i could try to scrounge up a few hundred bucks and get it out of the way...have something to show for the time, effort and money i otherwise wasted. we'll see what happens. college and i do not get along.

i'm still not sure if yesterday really happened or not. if it did, i must say it was tres awesome.

someone in my building is cooking breakfast, and the whole building smells like pure awesome. none of that store-bought crap. awesome like mom used to make.

this is my 3rd update today and it's not even 8am. man i'm super.

oh. my. jeebus. just...wow. wow.

sit in your box like a good little shadow. sit in your box and think. think what wasn't will be is. in the morning. in the morning was won't be. hope? pray to drowsy captains. pray to radio towers. need so much your lips turn white. need so much you disappear. poof. goodbye, little shadow. don't be. never have. this is a crash. see how it slows as it passes?

laugh more. care less.