Meatatarian

Due to Kim's recent irresponsible and irrational life choice of becoming a vegetarian, I will double my efforts as a meatatarian and consume two animals for every plant that she eats. I will also continue to eat candy on a regular basis to offset any healthy activity that I have done in the past 24 hours. Also, I would like to begin marketing a restaurant idea that some of my compatriots at school and I have come up with. Yes, it's the endangered species restaurant because hey, some of these animals won't be around very long so you better get em while they are hot! As a bonus, if you are the lucky customer who eats the last individual of any species gets a dessert for free!

Meat, it's whats for dinner

Vegetarian.

This is it, kiddos. I am going vegetarian. Here's the thing... I've been pretty close to calling it quits with meat for a while now but have never really had a problem with it so I never did. This gave me the option of consuming poultry whenever I felt like it (which was only once every week or so). I have no problem with animal hunting or anything of that nature. I do not support PETA. I don't care if my friends choose to eat meat. I physically feel a lot better not eating meat and it forces me to choose healthier options. That's it. What pushed me over the edge was my cousin's kid puking up chicken at Easter brunch today. Something about that... ew. So here I am. I fully well know that it's not going to be easy but (like everything else in life) the best things require work. Here's to vegetables!

What Groups Discuss

A new study shows what we all know to be true: groups talk about redundant information. The study determined that groups spend most of their time discussing information that is already known by all members, and that they are unlikely to transmit information that is unique to only a few members. This explains why every bonfire we have turns into an hour long Seinfeld quoting session. 

Cuba Libre!

The President is lifting a travelling ban that has restricted travel to Cuba since the early sixties. This is an encouraging step. America's sanctions against Cuba don't really make any sense in a post-Cold War world. Hopefully the trade embargo will be rescinded sometime in this administration. 

What Would Jesus Deconstruct?

Many Christians seem to view postmodern thought as a serious threat to the church, because of its challenges to truth claims. However, this simplistic dismissal misses much of value in the postmodern intellectual movement. There are many things the church can learn from postmodern thought, and many opportunities produced by an acceptance of a plurality of points of view. Our generation's rejection of the Enlightenment worldview has created possibilities for Christian perspectives to be taken seriously in intellectual dialogue. Postmodernism has also produced a healthy criticism of modernity's materialism and scientific worldview. This line of thinking has come to enrich Christian theology as well, notably in the Radical Orthodox theological movement. 

If you are interested in postmodern thought or contemporary literary theory, perhaps you would be interested in this recent book:

What Would Jesus Deconstruct: The Good News of Postmodernism for the Church

New Member

Hello blog followers,
I am Blake, one of the two new contributors to the Just words blog. I have no previous blogging experience and cant promise to be all that diligent in my posting responsibilities.

The types of subject that you can expect from me will probably center around the outdoor world such as hunting, fishing, and animal rights (or lack thereof). I also may offer a view or two from inside a fraternity for those of you who are not affiliated with the Greek system.

On a final note I ask that those who read comment on how they would correctly spell NAZI. This question is due to a bet that Matt and I had with Dr. T and he thinks that it is spell NATZI. Yes I realize that he is crazy but he owes Matt and I $20 apiece and it is imperative that he is defeated.

Oh and for the record, the spell check marked NATZI as incorrect.

Summer Reading List

I offer my humble apologies to my dedicated readers for an unexpected six-month hiatus from the blogging world. I have been very busy raising capital for a new silver mine in Peru. 

So I thought I would start back up again by telling you what books I would really like to read this summer.

1. 1848: Year of Revolution - A new look at the events of 1848, a year in which almost every major nation in Europe experienced a revolution of some sort.

2. Introducing Radical Orthodoxy - An accessible overview of the new Radical Orthodox theological movement, written by Calvin Professor of Philosophy James Smith.

3. Paris, 1919: Six Months that Changed the World - An account of the Versailles conference that followed the First World War and failed to secure a lasting peace for Europe.

4. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World - Niall Ferguson explores what no one understands and everyone depends on: money and banking. 

5. The Trial -  Just because I haven't read very much Franz Kafka.

Comments? Suggestions?

The News of America

I was just checking Google news and these are two of the three stories listed under U.S.:

1. Michelle Obama picks yellow for inauguration dress - Michelle Obama, hailed by many as America's new style icon, officially took her place on the world stage on Tuesday wearing an outfit in the nontraditional color of yellow and set fashionistas atwitter.
2. First daughters Malia and Sasha Obama stand by their brand, J. Crew - For the past two days, the girls have worn head-to-toe outfits from Crewcuts, the kids line from J. Crew that boasts "designer details" and couture touches on its mini-me separates.

Yikes, America.

Fictitious Books

My friend and fellow blogger Jon and I are fictitiously planning on starting a publishing company after we graduate. As I was thinking of potential book titles, I also began to think about my responsibilities as a blogger and the various ways that I've failed you, my respected, infinitely precious, audience. And so I present to you this list of fictitious books:

• Predestined for Success: The Jon Knowles Story
• Breadth First Search: A Brief Survey of the Goals, Aspirations, and Ideas of M. Sergey
• Elbows: An Owner's Manual
• Q? U! Breaking An Unqaestioned Orthodoxy
• The Sticky History of Wallpaper: Stripping Away the Myths of America's Favorite Decor
• An Idiot's Guide to Inconsistencies in Class Definitions of the Principia Mathematica
• September's Shards
  
• What Are They Saying About Venn Diagrams?
• Clementines vs. Tangerines: Five Views
• Venn Diagrams? Two non-overlapping Views and One View that Does Overlap with the First But Only a Little Bit
• Humans?
• Precision in Physics Computation: Between Zero and Four Views
• Questioning the Utility of Debate in Discourse: One View
• Vwls: r Thy Stll Ndd?
• F you, Focault! Narratives of a Highway Construction-Worker Living in an Age of Deconstruction
• Daddy, Why Do I Compute Mommy's Area Differently Than Yours? -- Raising Kids in a Hetero-Polygonal Marriage
• Solving Loneliness For Illiterates
• I Miss You Jerry!
  
• Making Sense: Is It Over-Rated? Cucumber Views
• Sounds of Hummus Hitting A Wall -- The Official Bjork Biography
• Robots!
• Am I Really Missed? -- Jerry Responds
  
• Should Totalitarian Governments Allow Writers To Publish Dissenting Views? One View
• I Fold - How A Paper Crane Became the World's Leading Poker Player
• Song in the Key of Ewok
• Tall, Bearded or The Sound and the Curry -- A Than'lography
• I Ching -- From Cash-Register to Fortune Teller
  
• Wanted: Nunchucks
  

Note: I figured italicizing all the titles would make them difficult to read, so lay off all you grammar/punctuation snobs!

Can anyone think of any more?

Music

Check out Daytrotter.  They've been featuring some real good tunes lately.  Notably: These United States and Lake.

In other news, Tagge just dropped part of a cinnamon shot on my MacBook keyboard.  I'm about to go take his PC outside and dropkick it.  Then we can call it even.