Classic

Yeah, I know.  I’ve not been climbing anywhere near long enough to start choosing which routes qualify for the term “classic”.  I’ll let other folks do that for now.  Today, along with guide Richard Behne (he did a fantastic job), I had the pleasure of climbing a route that had already been dubbed such.  At his suggestion, after warming up on Belly Button Brigrade (a three pitch 5.7 slab route), we took on Little Dutch Boy.  If I remember correctly, what he told me before we climbed it was something like, “oh, the second pitch is like a 5.9 or something, but you’ll be fine”.  What followed was a sweet 3-pitcher following a quartz dyke along the face of Brittaina Rock at Paarl Rock.  You can see pics of other folks on the route here.  There were just the two of us, so there were not to be any pics of the two of us climbing.  I like the way those that bolted the route describe it (from samountainmag.com):

Opposite Sunset Warrior is a distinctive quartz dyke that, like former NP politicians, goes from right to left. However, it didn’t quite reach the top of ther dome, but where it became horizontal it seemed like the angle was fairly gentle and it would be possible to friction climb from the dyke to the summit. So one day, Jono Fisher and myself got to work. We tied a number of ropes together and trailed them down from the trig beacon at the top of Britagne Rock. The abseil to check out the route was rather entertaining. Jono and I were on separate ropes next to each other. As our ropes abraded and slipped across the rough granite we got into a discussion about UIAA rope ratings, mantle strains and abseil fatalities. We survived the recce and armed with hardware store drilling systems we returned and began whacking away. Jono bolted the bottom bit and said that the splinters of quartz would offer fantastic protection. I bolted the top crux pitch, which was about 25 meters long and involved some delicate climbing. I placed about three bolts and examined my handiwork. I figured that if you fell off near the bolts you’d be okay-ish; but if you fell just before clipping them, you’d at least have a good pub story. Andy Wood was at the bottom shouting advice and after a few hours we felt like the job was done.
All that was left was to climb the route. I lead the first pitch and failed to find any snazzy gear placements. One bolt was clipped and the sling I wrapped around something fell off. Jono lead the crux. I impatiently shouted up for him to hurry up. When it came to my turn to follow I was amazed at his boldness. The climbing was trickier than it looked and off balance. It was an incredible lead. The third pitch was easy, but a touch dirty. A few minutes of cleaning would have made a world of difference. The route was done in a morning. We called it Little Dutch Boy. It had to do with boys and dykes, but the meaning was lost on me.
A few years later two more bolts were added to the second pitch, however it still remained fairly bold and a huge flake near the top had also peeled off. The route was later soloed by Chris Lomax. I was young and competitive, so soloed it too. Looking back, it rates as one of my dumber achievements. Recently, the route was totally rebolted and instantly gained classic status.

I followed the route, and that was clench-worthy enough for me.  Because much of the route is traversing along the dyke, any falls on follow are going to take you to well below the next bolt, and more importantly well below the features the dyke offers.  Without the dyke, a near featureless, near vertical slab awaits.  Apparently it was motivation enough.  Other than a small stumble early in the first pitch, this was a fall free day.  Best of all, I took a look at the guidebook when I got done.  Seems Richard’s memory of route ratings was not all that good.  It turns out Little Dutch Boy is a South African 20.  That’s 5.10c to you and me.  Dang.

15 Minutes of Fame

I’m still not very good at it, but I do enjoy rock climbing. One thing that works to my advantage is that there aren’t many folks my age climbing in some of the competitions. I didn’t expect them to report so much detail on how things ended. You have to read all the way to the end of the story for the best part.

Great Quote

Science is facts; just as houses are made of stones, so is science made of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts is not necessarily science.
- Henri Poincare

SICKO

My neocon friends will no doubt be mortified to learn that I have actually been looking forward to seeing this movie. After all, I have been an active Republican in the past, and would still describe myself as being a conservative. That being said, I’ve also proclaimed for some time that I believe that if the Republican party cannot wake up to the very real issues (and foolishness of some of their positions) surrounding the issues of health care and public education, they face the very real possibility of some significant sideline time in the very near future.

In addition to my belief that these issues are being bungled by the party, you can certainly include exposure to the plight of my parents (Dad is self employed and has cancer) as well as friends that have struggled with availability of insurance or its insufficiency through major medical events as contributing factors. We’re not talking about uneducated, unemployed drains on the common good (assuming the common conservative assumption). We’re talking about well educated (the three examples closest to me all have college degrees), gainfully employed contributers to society. And yet, despite good planning and hard work, they can’t get the health care you would expect their efforts to warrant.  I have also personally experienced the joys of managed care, as on several occasions my doctor has sent me to tests he knows are pointless, but the insurance companies stipulate as necessary precursors to the tests he knows I need.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t know that I have the answer to the insurance debacle. But I do know that the current answer sucks. What’s worse, it seems to suck with a bit more enthusiasm each year. Given that, it is time for something different.

It was with these things in mind that I watch my Blockbuster-delivered edition of Michael Moore’s latest hit piece this week, with more that a bit of gleeful anticipation. At last, he would be lining up his admittedly vicious cross-hairs with an industry that had fallen out of favor with me.

I watched the whole thing in one sitting, which I had not planned to do. A bit one night, some more the next, like a bed side read, I thought. As it turned out, curiosity for the next stunt kept me watching until completion. Unfortunately, stunts were exactly what I got. That doesn’t mean the movie was ineffective. In fact, with a bit of editing, it could have been considerably more powerful that Al Bore’s pseudo science standard. The bits of the movie that focused on the American health care system, and that of the 51st state (Canada) were particularly powerful. It was in the “Let’s take America’s 911 heroes to Cuba for treatment” stunt that Moore weakened his own work. It was a meaningless gesture, as the idea of Americans getting better treatment elsewhere had already been clearly covered in sections on Canada, Britain, and France without the melodrama. I went into the movie with an open mind and a willing heart, but still couldn’t help feeling the Cubans in the piece looked a bit to much like they had been propped up there by Castro’s propaganda machine. That’s not to say that free health care doesn’t exist in Cuba, just that Moore made himself a tool by allowing himself to be so clearly used.

The reason that the bits on America, Canada, and Britain were so effective were that they showed vaunted America doing a rotten job of caring for its own.  The thing that made Moore’s efforts in this regard work was that as he points out as some of the first dialog in the movie, he was NOT talking (for the most part anyway) about the uninsured portion of America.  He focused (in the American bits) almost exclusively on the INSURED and how insurance companies systematically endeavored to deny needed care to the people who PAID FOR IT.  In what was probably the most interesting question he asked the entire show, Moore inquired (with a melodramatic montage as backdrop) how we as a people declare public health care is socialist, and then celebrate our public police and fire coverage.  It’s only an interesting question if you are one of those that insists on philosophical purity.

To sum up, I leave the following messages:

To those that have not seen the movie: regardless of your perspective, its an interesting movie.  Definately structured to intrigue.  It will provoke some reaction in you.  Whether that be pity, rage, indignance, or shame is left to you.

To Michael Moore: when you have made your point powerfully, shut up.  Don’t feel like the movie has to be 90 minutes or more if 60 minutes drives home your point, and 90 minutes looses your audience.

To Republicans: wake up and do something or you will start losing and may not stop for some time.

A Movie I Am Looking Forward To

http://www.expelledthemovie.com/home.php

(ht dewde)

Sad But True

One of those “quote of the day” quotes:

The price of freedom of religion, or of speech, or of the press, is that we must put up with a good deal of rubbish.
  – Robert Jackson

The part about the press is particularly true.

Time Travel

I totally lifted this off of a comment on another blog, but it was such a cool idea I couldn’t help myself:

Make a Time Machine! (My cousin Phoobia is the one who discovered how to do this)

You’ll need:

* A large box
* Zinc foil
* Electronic stuff, with dials and switches
* A clock

Select a box large enough for you and your time-travelling supplies. Cut a door in one side. Cover it completely, inside and out, with zinc foil. Put your electronics inside the time machine, and connect them to the interior layer of zinc foil. Don’t worry too much about wiring diagrams – the design is a robust one, and will work just as well with the electronics in almost any configuration. Connect your clock to the electonics with some wire. Now you have a time machine.

To use it, sit inside and close the door. Now wind the clock, and turn on the electronic stuff. The clock will show your progress into the future. When you’ve gone far enough, just open the door and exit the Time Machine.

CAUTION: As presently designed, the Phoobia Time Machine can only be used to travel forward in time. Due to this limitation, you should not travel any great distance into the future, since there is currently no way to return. It is hoped that further research will overcome this limitation, as well as enabling the machine to travel faster through time.

posted by: Suri Lemur, Madagascar (Sent Tuesday, July 17, 2007 11:23 PM)

Ancient Thought Meets the Emergent Church

A Review of Ian Morgan Cron’s Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale
I’ve been a bit hesitant to review this book, as I am still very much in the process of digesting it. However, after thinking about it a bit, I decided a review of what the book IS may be in order, even if a review of what it MEANS may be some time in coming. Besides, perhaps if I review it, others of you will be intrigued enough to read it and join me in the interpretation thereof.

The book itself is written in the style of (as the author himself describes it) “wisdom literature”. By this, he means that the story is the authors unabashed attempt to convey a message by way of a long-form parable. This isn’t a case of your eighth grade English teacher exhorting you to “find the meaning” in Mary Poppins or The Grapes of Wrath. In this case, the author will present a problem to the protagonist that he or she believes many readers are encountering as well, and then will lead the protagonist through the proces of discovering the authors suggested solution.

Our protagonist, in this case, is a self styled conservative evangelical that has founded what has become a very “successful” megachurch. We quickly learn that this lead pastor has recently been suffering the early stages of a crises of faith. The senseless death of a young child in his congregation acts as the final straw. Chase Falson, the pastor in question, has the incredible bad timing to not only have his “spiritual meltdown” in the middle of his sermon (the one just after the funeral), but to also express this fact over his microphone. It doesn’t take the elders long to meet and inform him that he will be taking a forced sabbatical to figure out what the deal is. Enter Kenny, Chase’s Baptist-turned-Fransican-monk uncle who lives in Italy. When he calls Kenny on impulse while struggling with what to do next, his uncle’s suggestion to come for a visit to “meet someone” doesn’t sound any crazier than anything else. This sets the stage for the author to convey his belief that the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi has much that it can teach the post modern church. As it turns out, Francis is the “someone” that Kenny wants him to meet. As Chase learns of and follows Francis, so does the reader. There is more plot to the story, but I’ll leave that to the reader to discover. The real meat of the text is the commentary about Francis and the applicability of his teachings today.

Things I liked:
1. Learning about Francis – This was one of the main attractions to this book. I’d heard a few quotes from St. Francis along the way that really appealed to me, and I wanted to know more. What you learn from this book will include a few specific stories from his life, and some of te principles of his teachings.
2. Writing style – This “wisdom literature” style is one that I have enjoyed in a few business titles I’ve read (Death By Meeting (Lencioni) and Leadership and Self Deception (Arbinger Institute) to name a couple) and it really works for me. It makes what could be a dry read much more enjoyable and encourages the author to think about context and applicability of what they are selling.
3. Being challenged – There are parts of the book that absolutely pull NO punches. There was at least one phrase in the book that I never expected to read in Christian literature. If you read the book, you will know it when you see it. I don’t agree with every thing he calls the church to be in there, but there are some things that were very convicting.

Things I didn’t:
1. If you aren’t Emergent, you just aren’t enlightened yet – This part was oddly the worst at the beginning of the book. It came around some at the end though, too. This seems to be one of the primary Kryptonites of this wierd aggregation of folks we label Emergent. While they don’t all agree on what Emergent is, most seem to thing that everyone else just isn’t quite as enlightened as them. I happen to believe there are things to be learned from a lot of different approaches to faith, but NONE of them have a monopoly on truth. “For we all know in part and prophesy in part…”
2. Learning MORE about Francis – I wished I could have heard more about who Francis was. The notes on the book suggested that Chase would follow “in the footsteps of Francis”. Well he does, but he tends to jump around the path a good deal. I guess I expected something a bit more comprehensive in regards to learning about the Saint, but in fairness, that wasn’t really the authors primary objective.
3. Inconsistency on the political thing – This particular comment applies more to the “liberal” side of the church in general, but certainly has applicability to this book as well. One criticism they consistently have is that conservatives in the church integrate the church with their politics to advance a conservative social agenda, all in the name of God. The problem is, folks like the author turn around and advocate using the church as a body to lobby the government for issues like the environment and other things. My problem with all of this is that Christ didn’t call on the government (US or Roman) to feed the poor, save the whales, or clothe the naked. He called on Christians to do these things. Personally. With THEIR money, not TAX money. I have seen no historic evidence that any close alignment between government and Christianity has worked out particularly well for God’s mission for His church. I have no reason to believe this will be more true if the alliance is on the liberal side rather than the conservative. Render unto Ceasar the government of nations. Render unto God the focus of His church.

All things considered, this was a great book for me to read and it was the perfect time for me to read it. It was a bit unsettling to read about St. Francis and his work with the poor while I was on a cruise ship, but that is probably good for me as well. I’ve dogeared numerous pages, some of which I will blog about and others I will patiently wait for someone else to have read the book so I can discuss them. If you want to hear a point of view that blends ideas from the past with ideas from the Emergent perspective, and perhaps find something that you can use in your life, this is probably a worthwhile title for you. I give it a 7 out of 10.

KB – Separated At Birth, part II

Did my loyal readership know that KB is on Dancing with the Stars this year? He’s actually doing pretty well. As it turns out, he also used to sing with NSynch…

Faithful

Each year for the last 3, I have devoted a significant chunk of my alotted vacation time to work with my youth group. For the prior two years, this was comprised of two events: a week at summer camp and 2-3 weekdays at the National Youth Workers convention. This year, I decided it was time for something different. Rather than attending the NYWC, I decided I was overdue to attend the youth summer service project that our youth attended. Instead of 4-5 days of worshipping and workshopping with several thousand adult youth workers, I spent 3.5 days working in 100 degree heat in Macon repainting a house, with a team made up exclusively of middle schoolers. No regrets. It rocked. I’ll be doing it again this year, God willing.That’s not really the point, however. The point is this: I spent some time at this event (It’s called River Of Life) greiving the separation I knew was soon to come between me and this incredible group of youth and counselors (I knew I was leaving to become a youth minister elsewhere, the youth didn’t). I’m coming to the point now. One night at worship I was watching the completely unrestrained worship of these youth, thinking to myself, “I’m really going to miss being a part of this incredible group of kids”. It was then that the truth came into my head in as close to an audible voice as I have ever heard: “If you are faithful to Me, I will build such a group through you.” I actually lost my balance for a moment and had to grab a chair. When I was done being awe-struck, I wiped my eyes. This was not the sort of thing I had experienced before.

I can’t tell you that I’ve had an unbroken chain of days during which I have believed in what I heard/experienced. The last few months have been hard. Our new church has been rocked by a tragic loss none of us expected. That loss has brought a series of challenges for which I was unprepared. I’ve had nights where I couldn’t help but wonder if I was where I was supposed to be. But here’s the deal: I AM where I am supposed to be. On the nights of youth where I stink up the joint, and on the nights when God’s hands and God’s words are using a flawed vessel to get the job done, I am where I am supposed to be.

Occassionally, God sees that my mustard seed faith is tossing about in the wind and gives me the encouragement I need. Sunday night, our new pastor attended youth for the first time. I was wondering what he would think of my small group of kids that didn’t really participate in group discussions. I had picked this week to set aside packaged curriculum in favor of a more “small group” style lesson. I prepared a talk, some notes, and some questions based on a section of Romans 1. My previously unresponsive group of core kids embraced it in a way I never expected. They were responding to hard questions with awesome, insightful answers. One minute, we were eating baby food (in what I think was one of my best game adaptations to date) and the next we were talking in a real way about why people fear or deny God. Was it my prep work? No. Was it the baby food? No. Was it God reminding me that if we are faithful, He will use us to His purpose? Absolutely.