taylor mali

I wish I had something to say, but I've been swamped with work...and we're heading to Tennessee tomorrow morning. Hopefully, you enjoy the poets as fillers in my absence.

I'm pretty sure this guy is a teacher; he seems to like to speak to the sad trends of our culture.

Grades

I had forgotten how much I hated our educational system, but I am quickly being reminded.

I absolutely love learning. I love reading. I even like to write. But as soon as I receive this random point total that has been given as an arbitrary judgment, I begin to feel differently. Especially when this arbitrary grade must be maintained at a "B" level for me to stay in school. And then there's the kick in the pants when the grading scale is raised to an insanely high level. So, here at my lovely school, I must maintain an 87% or higher. 86% and below is a B-, which will put me on academic probation (and after the second term of below a 3.00, or below 87%, you're out of school for a semester). If I want to get an "A," I must have at least a 97%!

So, for one class, I have four grades which have all been completed. Two tests: each 99%. First paper - 92%. Second paper - 95%. Average these out and I have a 96.25%, which is an "A-". And this is definitely my best class so far...

Ridiculous.

Enough said for Buckeye fans.

Why am I getting hits from all over the world??!!

So, I've been getting random hits from all over the world the past three days. I'm not sure what's going on, but I would love to find out! If you're reading this and you don't know me, would you mind commenting how you stumbled onto my blog...
If it's because of the "next blog" link, then does anyone know why the hits started only 3 days ago???

I would really appreciate it!! Thanks!

Jesus Video #2

I have a few papers I'm working on, so my blogging life is suffering. But I think these videos are good fillers.

Hot Tub

One of the reasons we chose our apartment was the hot tub and pool. Unfortunately, it was out of commission the first three months we were here.

However, it's now repaired, and I am doing my best to get my money's worth.

Those pesky bacteria and dead skin cells are no deterent to me - I'm just a happy man living the good life...Wahoo!!

Bassey Ikpi - Homeward (this poem is clean!)

I can't get over these "def poets"...
The poem below I find especially beautiful because of a friend I have here in Seattle. She is Kenyan, although she's lived in the states for over 10 years.
It wasn't long ago that I sat across from her, listening to her share the pressures she's felt to assimilate into the American culture. "To belong" - it's what we all desire, but for some, it requires much more of us.
The majority of people I encounter are similar to me; for me to belong, I'm not required to change much.
...but if my culture was different, my first language was different, the way I thought was different, the way I viewed God was different, the clothes I wore were different, my heritage was different, my history was different, my political views were different...what if I didn't grow up watching the same television shows, or listening to the same music? What if I was always left out of conversations because I couldn't relate to the cultural expressions? What if I had a different color of skin?

I can't remember the last time I cried so hard. I could barely speak, and I felt embarassed. Everyone in the group stared at me in bewilderment. Through the tears, I mustered enough voice to stammer out, "I feel sad for you, but my tears are for my personal loss of you right now. There is beauty in you that I can find nowhere else." I hated that she was forced to assimilate. It certainly was not fair to her, but it was also not fair to me...

There is beauty in her uniqueness, in her heritage, and in her culture. She adds so much to my life that I can find nowhere else, and for others to force her to forget, to leave it all behind...and for what???!!

I hate it. I absolutely hate it. Why do we exclude? Why do we force assimilation? Why can we not celebrate our diversity, our uniqueness, our individual beauty?

I love the poem below because in it, I see the face of my friend.

Are the youtube videos loading?

Def Poetry Jam

Tonight, I watched season 2 of Def Poetry Jam. It would not have been long ago that I would have turned it off early into the show. The language and content are extremely explicit, and I would have quickly judged these poets as too graphic and crass. Thankfully, I am no longer the same person...

Two poets into the first episode, I saw this guy below, and I realized that it is me who was practiced at turning my head, which would have previously proven true if I had turned off the dvd...

Sure, I seemed kind enough around those who were like me - conservative, evangelical, pro-life Republicans who are patriotic, support the war, love football, have a good education, never did drugs and so forth. But I was quick to judge those who were different - liberals, democrats, homosexuals, pro-choice advocates, etc. Maybe if I wasn't so quick to judge - maybe I would hear their stories and I would understand...

These poets give us a glimpse into the realities of life that they know, and for their honesty, I am grateful.

Paradox, pt. 2

...continued from yesterday.

Many of you will definitely resist these thoughts. "But God does not want us to dwell in our suffering," you may say.

And I would probably agree with you. But what if, instead of dwelling in the suffering, we allowed the despair to have "presence."

Joy and suffering are always present in our lives; it's only a matter of the degree to which we recognize them.

Think about it this way. The cross is necessary because this world is full of crap. We have all suffered (even if we want to immediately turn it in to a positive or quickly chalk it up as a lesson from God). We've lost loved ones. We've felt hungry. Jokes have been made at our expense. Not to mention the violence we've inflicted upon others. I lose my temper. I ignore my wife. I don't return the phone call of a friend.

The need for the cross is present everyday.

Yet, we also live with the reality of the resurrection. We have loved and we have felt loved. There is goodness in each of us.

Dignity and depravity. The cross and the resurrection. Joy and Suffering.

These paradoxes are all present everyday; if only I could become more accutely aware...

Paradox: Pernicious and Pesky? or Putative and Palatable?

Smile, God loves you!

Be happy, be optimistic, be positive!

The Christian community frequently asserts these traits in such a strong manner that I could almost construe them as necessary conditions for salvation.

but what if our lives were different...

I tend to believe that joy and suffering are so intertwined that we cannot have one without the other. Furthermore, to the degree we feel the one, we will certainly feel the other.

Imagine a pendulum swinging. Raise it high on one side, and when you let it go, it will swing equally high on the other.
Now imagine moving it slightly to one side; when released, it will only move slightly to the other side.

I like to think of our range of emotions in this manner - the more I suffer, the more I'll be joyful. The more joy I feel, the more I'll recognize my suffering.

I also like the analogy of seeing our emotions as varying colors on a painter's palette. If I only have a "slightly swinging pendulum" of limited and moderate emotions/colors, a picture could be painted of my life. But imagine a canvas covered in a myriad of intense, vibrant "colors."

With this, my life could be a masterpiece.

to be cont'd...

Jesus Video #1

The more I watch this, the funnier it gets...and there's a few more that I'll post later.



In case you're offended, it may help to know that the videos were created by a church to mock some common perceptions of Jesus.
So, after I laugh, I should go cry b/c of the fact that a video like this is even made as a result of our poor understanding and demonstration of the essence of the Gospel.

Down with Daylight Savings

What's the deal with daylight savings?

We save daylight during the time of year when the days are already longer!
Then, when days get shorter, we take an hour of daylight away.

This is ridiculous. Instead of having daylight until 10 pm in the summer and 5 pm in the winter, why don't we switch it around so that daylight always lasts until around 7 or 8:00. It seems more consistent to me.

Of course, this comes from a man who is never awake early enough to know how the morning hours are affected...

Public Apology to my brother-in-law

This post is an apology to my brother-in-law for the statements made in the previous post. This afternoon, I found myself arrogantly basking in the pleasure of OSU's currently undefeated season and enjoying the abnormal season for Notre Dame.

In the process, I forgot my commitment to respect the favorite teams of close friends or family members - if they're respectful of the Buckeyes. Some friends take every opportunity to trash the Bucks, and with them, I will readily tee-off when I get the chance. However, most people in my life, including Mike, respect my fragile temperament in regard to OSU, and I always hope to make that respect mutual.

So, Mike, I'm sorry for the insensitivity of my comments on Weis. I thought about removing the post after I read your comment, but that would only reinforce my fear that I already take this stuff wayyyy too seriously...!!!

Charlie Weis fan-club

I'm starting to love this guy. Recored: 1-8
His loss to Navy (their first since 1963) quickly elevated him to my second favorite coach in NCAA. I'm going to enjoy him while I can, because he may not be around long. But we can always hope...

Evil in Heaven???

In my Hermeneutics class the other night, an intriguing conversation began as a result of a seemingly random tangent. I don't know what our professor had planned, but he allowed the tangent to dominate the rest of the evening.

The main idea being discussed was this: the presence of evil in heaven.

Two things shocked me about this at first:
1) I had never heard this theory before - I was shocked b/c it seemed so scandalous.
2) I was astonished how many other students already presupposed this theory.

I am in no way attempting to answer or argue anything here. I thought I'd simply recall a few statements and let you have your own fun with them.

- Goodness can only be considered good in light of the presence of evil, just as black could not be known as black if it were not juxtaposed with white. Therefore, if God is to be known as good(even in heaven), how could evil not have a presence?

- The presence of evil was presupposed in the Garden of Eden, the first "heaven" or paradise of sorts. Why would the new heaven be any different?

- Evil will have a presence, but it will have no power.

- Sin is a gift in the sense that the possibility of sin and the reality of our own sin drives us back to God. If our ability to sin is taken away, would we then be God? What is our functional need of God then? Sin is not our enemy. It's there to lure us, to invite us to repentance and the love of Christ.

- As we now see but a poor reflection as through a mirror, then we shall see and know fully. Evil will be present, but because of our knowledge, it will have lost its seduction.

My main question: The possibility of temptation presupposes the freedom to choose sin. Theoretically, then, could I choose to sin?

I think I would have serious problems with this theory, but as of now, I'm pretty ignorant on the whole thing. But I guess we're all ignorant. As my Hermeneutics professor said, "The only thing I know for certain about my theology is that it's wrong."

Undefeated

Is anyone else speechless?

Hope, part 2b

Just a clarification:
These are Dan Allender's thoughts, not mine. I've thrown in some thoughts, and I write in my perspective of Dan, but the basic skeleton is his, not mine - just a little clarification so you don't think I'm smarter than I really am.

So, where was I...oh yes, hope...

So, Hope is a memory of the future, an anticipation of the Day of the Lord, and the nature of Hope is having dreams which are unrealizable and yet worthy for you to die for. Furthermore, the more we wait, the more the taste is delicious and the more it's wed with agony.

Here's where it gets fun:
Faith provides an anchor, or stability; hope brings freedom.
Faith provides identity, memory, and context.
Hope provides movement and a capacity to risk.

We already know that the things in this life that we "hope" for are nothing more than delusions. We are idolators, letting security, comfort, pizza, Buckeyes, vacations all steal pieces of our hope.
These things do not bring us the reconciliation, redemption, and justice we long for; therefore, we despair in the agony of waiting expectantly and groaning inwardly.

What does this tell me?

This life is not worth living; it is not worth holding on to. Only in realizing and accepting this can I begin to truly live. This is the paradox of Christ's call.

Since our life is no longer our own, we have the freedom to risk.

So, faith is our anchor that provides stability. Hope, then, brings the sails that move us out of the harbor, into danger. The crazy thing about Hope is that it will always get us into trouble.

When we Hope, we will bleed. When we Hope, we will suffer.

So, what do you live your life in Hope for?
What are you willing to die for?

Are you willing to live with furious indifference to your own life?
Or do you live with a sense of boredom, an indifference to life itself?
These are two foundationally different ideas:
Indifference to life is an indifference to love, but indifference to your own life allows you to risk yourself in love for another.

So, where do you risk?

Are your dreams more about reconciliation or are they more about filling your sensual desires? Do you hope for redemption, or do you want your belly to be full?
Where will you persevere because your name is bound to that dream of redemption?

So, What do you Hope for?