California goes gay-friendly

Hopefully this link works for you.

Google News

Various news articles about California going gay-friendly at that link. Hopefully Ohio will join suit.

My Choice Ohio

I just grabbed this off http://www.mychoiceohio.com/

Payday loans are a useful financial tool for many Ohioans who experience an occasional crunch in between paychecks. Sometimes, the utility bills are higher than usual, or expensive school books are needed, or urgent medical care for a child can’t wait until the next paycheck. A payday loan is far less expensive than a bounced check, a utility bill late fee, or a credit card cash advance, and banks and credit unions won’t make small, short-term loans. I, along with all Ohioans, should be able to choose which financial products to use. The government should not take away that choice. Hardworking Ohioans should not be forced to take out an internet loan or pawn off a valuable possession in order to cover a short-term financial bind if they prefer the payday loan product. Please protect my financial choices and the choices of all Ohioans and keep payday loans available in Ohio.

It'll be interesting to see. I've been fairly neutral on the whole BREAD thing, so maybe I can see both sides of the issue. Yes, I do smell the scare tactics on their side, but at the same time, it would be interesting to see what happens if the interest rate is lowered. Will these people lose their jobs? Will it add to Ohio's already crummy economy?

I can't help to think of the smoking ban that passed a few elections ago. Anyone remember that? If you paid attention to the people against the ban, a lot of bars would have closed. I don't exactly see that happening.

That paragraph above mentions the government doing this and that. Are they really? Once again, it reminds me of the smoking ban. In that case, the government really didn't DO anything, they just basically did what the people told them to do.

I just hope that if people don't have enough money (and IF, a big IF, the payday loan places do shut down) that people won't resort to crime to get money that they need.

Where am I going with this? I'm not really sure...my cats are sleeping next to me and i'm watching Jay Leno. Did I just hear from him that John Edwards will endorse Barack Obama???

Sometimes it is interesting to see the other side of the story. (BREAD, not Jay Leno.)

BREAD

Just because I've been lobbying members of other student organizations about BREAD does not mean I've forgotten about the St. Stephen's folks! If you want to go to the annual BREAD meeting on May 5th to hear testimony and discussion about drug courts, let me know. I would love to get three people from St. Stephen's plus even more from outside the church.

Thank you, and remember... BREAD RISES!

What's in a name?

In today's Dispatch, there was an article on the recent resurgence of vinyl records. A lot of young people (in their 20's) are starting to buy new releases on vinyl. Some of the newer turntables come with built-in USB connectors, so the turntable can be connected to a computer, and thus, the songs can be copied onto an iPod.

What's more, is that a lot of the new vinyl records will include free mp3 downloads of songs, so that music fans don't have to go through all the trouble of copying the songs from their records onto their computers.

HOWEVER...here's the interesting bit:

Brian Turner Jr., 29, of Columbus owns at least 1,000 LPs, ranging from indie favorites the Shins and Times New Viking to classic jazz artists such as Count Basie and Miles Davis.

Turner is no Luddite: He piggybacks his vinyl with MP3s.

The combo allows him to take the music everywhere via his iTunes library but still "appreciate the band's artwork and sound" with vinyl.

"It's a great promotional tool for bands," he said, "and it's great for fans when you can have both things."

Talking with the Brian Turner we all know, he tells me that the name is actually a common name and that he was invited by a Brian Turner in DC to join a group for people of that name.


Oh well, I just found it interesting.

Remember, this Thursday is our last meeting of the quarter, and that if you missed the announcement, we may be sharing the Sacraments as well. Don't let the cold weather keep you from coming over.

Easter

This is interesting - cant guarentee that its 100% accurate


Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) than it will be this year (2008) but that is pretty rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early previously (95 years old or above!) And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than that

Going to repair Hurricane Katrina damage

For anyone interested in going to Mississippi to help deconstruct/construct housing, we are looking at going to Long Beach, MS through a group called Camp Coast Care. Here is their website, which is worth taking a look:

http://www.dioms.org/katrina/camp-coast.html

The dates we're looking at going are June 8th-14th (right after spring quarter), and if anyone knows they want to go, let me or Pam know.

Take care.

More randomness

Dubya can groove!

And here's a funny image for your Friday:

When is a Pope not just a Pope?

I recently came across this bit on the Wikipedia entry on Pope John Paul II.

"His title was: Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of Saint Peter, Head of the College of Bishops, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West (this title was recently removed from the papal list of titles by the reigning pope, Benedict XVI), Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God, Pope John Paul II."

Some of those titles do look familiar to me, but I never realized that was all one, full, official title (as Wikipedia makes it look like.) I always thought each title was a seperate entity, used depending on the situation.

On a sidenote, does the Pope get a paycheck, or does he just have "it taken care of." The Wikipedia article mentions that the Papal Apartments are quite simple, almost monastic in style, so I wouldn't expect a palace, but it would be fun to be Pope for a month. (I don't think I could be Pope Peter II though. -- Something tells me that the name "Pope Peter" is probably retired.)

I just thought i'd pass that interesting tidbit along.

Also:
Be sure to talk to Pam if you want (or anyone you know wants) to go to New Orleans to help the area recover from hurricane damage. Would we need any funding? If so, I wonder if we could set something up to raise funds one day after church. Myself, I do not see going, but I would not be opposed to giving a donation to help fund a good cause.

Matt (Limmer??), I hope you picked up your water bottle. You left it behind on Thursday, the 17th.

Free breakfast food in church on Sundays, starting about 9:30 AM until 10:30, and then again after the service. Free food, what else would you possibly want?

Merry Christmas to All!

When Tiny Tim says "God bless us, everyone," I sometimes wonder why people seem to forget the "everyone" part so often. While I do think the true meaning of Christmas gets mired in our materialistic culture, I also believe that the true meaning of Christmas is a message of hope for everyone, not just any one particular group.

I hope everyone at St. Stephen's has a blessed holiday. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Extropianism

This is a terrible idea. Extropianism is the belief that human beings, through new technology, can achieve immortality someday. This is the pinnacle of selfishness and egotism. I'm not the type to cry afoul with fire and brimstone, but I think this defies the direct will of God and God's own example here on Earth. Christ accepted an unjust death without saying a single word in objection. He did it so we could be free to delight in the splendor of his everlasting love. Living forever on Earth seems to be a preferred alternative to a few people. It's unsustainable. We should make our planet tolerable for our children, and that can't happen if we live forever.

I'm not saying extropanists are going to hell or anything like that. First, I'm fairly agnostic when it comes to the afterlife -- I think talk of heaven and hell gets in the way of Christ's purpose. Second, maybe there is a virtue known only to God in their intentions. However, if there is a heaven, when they get there I'm sure they'll be given a valuable yet loving lesson about life and death. And, hey, that might not be so bad, I'm sure I'll be given many, many valuable yet loving lessons about my particular sins as well, assuming there is a heaven and that I get there someday. What concerns me is the temptation humanity might experience if these ideas become increasingly well-known. We should keep this in mind the next time we say the Lord's prayer, whether it's the version that says "and lead us not into temptation" or the version that says "save us from the time of trial."

Anywho, I won't be at St. Stephen's tomorrow night as I am attending an open house at OSU's law school. I wish everyone well, and God bless.