Click this link to see a picture of Brad Barret in Columbia this winter. Check out Brad's shirt! Brad called me a couple of weeks ago to tell me how the MTS and the "Yes Clap" had spanned the seas. I'm always impressed when I hear about Brad's life because he seems to be living out his dreams. It seems that alot of my fellow tarheels are doing that. Did I just get lucky or are there always so many interesting people on south campus?

I know there are some other great MTS photos from around the world (texas) and if you have any, please email them to me.

Brooklynne and I are going to meet Brian McLaren, author of Generous Orthodoxy, tonight and discuss an article he recently wrote (not published yet that I know of). It will be interesting because I know alot of people who like what he's saying (and some who don't). I tend to agree with him sometimes, but McLaren speaks to a part of my faith where I'm conflicted and skeptical of my own desire to believe what my earthly mind thinks should be right. I'll post a review of the meeting and my thoughts either tonight late or tomorrow.

I'm taking a short break from reading to watch some news clips online. I'm intrigued by the irony of the events in the middle east. Let me explain (warning--this might get confusing!).

Can you believe the irony in the Palestinian elections, pushed forward by American pressure, that brought to power a party it is illegal for the American government to work with. Moreover, the Palestinian people elected a government that will surely refuse to cooperate with Israel, thus making the unilateral actions of the Israeli government Palestine’s best hope for autonomy, yet insuring the Israeli people will elect a government that will end all those unilateral actions. The Palestinian people rejected a government because it was unable/too corrupt to provide basic services, yet elected a government in danger of forfeiting way more than half of its civil resources (in foreign aid from the US and others including, you guessed it, Israel). And how strange is it that an organization pledged to non-recognition (destruction) of Israel won an election to lead a government that was given authority by the very agreement that recognized Israel in the first place? Crazy.

But really, I'm interested in what our government will do next. Obviously, people have been quick to either cry terrorist or draw parallels with Sinn Fein and the IRA and the PLO/Fata, saying that the realities of responsibility will rein in Hamas. But there's a huge difference between those days and our post-911 world that has been so ineloquently divided into rigid categories of terrorist and non-terrorist (I'm a non-terrorist in case you were wondering).

Really, I hope Bush decides to give Hamas the benefit of the doubt, not because I think they deserve it, and not because I think they will magically transform into a rational partner in peace and stability, but because the minute we withdraw our resources, we render ourselves irrelevant to the Palestinian situation, just like we are in Cuba.

Today, the Steelers had the choice of uniforms for the Superbowl and chose to go with the white road jerseys. They've worked for them so far....

And if I could trade places with anyone in sports today, who would it be? Theo Epstein. The Sox brass will hold a press conference today to explain why he's back. Should be a lovefest for Theo, and more ammo for perhaps the most powerful non-owner in baseball.

Glory Road
Rated PG, 1 hr 58 min
Critics' Rating: B-
Miles's Rating: B+
Brooklynne's Rating: A-

Brooklynne and I took some of the Gateway middle schoolers to see Glory Road this weekend. The movie was a reward for the kids who finished reading the New Testament before the end of the year, and it turned out to be a good flick.

I confess--I'm usually skeptical about sports movies, especially the super-dramatic underdog type sports movies. They are usually so predictable and cheesey. Glory Road was certainly predictable (it's based on a true story!), but it wasn't cheesey at all--in fact, it was pretty good. The story was entertaining, the game scenes were well done, and the sports history was accurate (i.e. no three point lines on the courts, etc.) I did have a couple historical questions though.... Was the key still skinny in '66? And was Dook really consistantly good enough in the '60s for characters to mention them as a basketball program to strive after?

I also think Disney watered down the race issue a little. Although race is an important theme in the movie, I thought the significance of the team as a symbol of racial meaning for blacks is not made clear enough by a few short scenes of blacks gathering to watch the championship game. Another thing I was surprised by was how easy they went on Adolph Rupp. Rupp is famous for his racism, but his character in the movie is ambiguous.

Still, the mild but clear racial substance is a good amount for kids and it could be useful for setting up a conversation about the history of race in our past. That's a conversation I expect to have with the kids from our group too.

Without overanalyzing, the movie was a fun flick and a great feel-good story and is worth your $9.50 at the theaters.

On another note, the '66 Texas Western team was not the first team with multiple black starters to win the NCAA championship. The 1963 Loyola Ramblers played four black starters. To read about the Ramblers, click here.

Also, guys be jealous... Brooklynne was sitting with the girls in the row behind me, and when the Kentucky starters were announced, she exclaimed, "PAT RILEY played for Kentucky?!!!" Now, how many of your wives know who Pat Riley is?

Finally, here's my top ten list of sports movies....

10. For Love of the Game
9. Hoosiers
8. The Natural
7. Major League
6. Hoop Dreams
5. Tin Cup
4. Any Given Sunday
3. Rocky
2. Caddy Shack
1. Happy Gilmore

Did I forget any good ones? Give me your list.

Since the Tar Heels keep disappointing me, I'm glad that the Steelers are still alive and giving me much-needed sports hope. And it's refreshingly easy to pull for the Steelers these days. What is there not to like about Ben Roethlisberger, Jerome Bettis, Hines Ward, and Bill Cowher (ok, I admit Joey Porter is a little hard to love)? Also, other UNC alumi should appreciate the fun of watching Jeff Reed and Willie Parker do so well. Art Rooney still walks through the old neighborhood to the stadium on game days and the team plays tough, old-school football.

Still, I can't help but remain nervous about the AFC championship game this weekend, because Denver has been tough this season at home and the Steelers have a history of choking in conference championship games. If we can get to Detroit, I think our chances are good for Superbowl XL. What are your picks and why?

Since I've announced my campaign for mayor of Durham, I'm starting to think about designs for my campaign buttons. Here's one design I've considered and rejected.

This weekend, I began work on the legs for the china/curio cabinet I am making for Brooklynne. We picked this piece because 1) it is simple and good for learning, 2) it is small and thus less expensive to make and easier to have in our matchbox apartment, and 3) once we move into a bigger place, we can upgrade to a hutch for the china and still find a good use for the curio.

I love woodworking. It's like sculpting but you end up with something that is both asthetic and functional. I love the idea of taking a raw stack of lumber and producing something tangible. Another exciting aspect of this project is that I get to play with some of the new tools I've been given during the past few years. I'm borrowing a table saw and a chop saw, but I own a router table, drill press, and sander that I've not been able to use nearly as much as I would like.

Speaking of drill presses, I've been waiting for the chance to blog about Kruger, my east european (chinese) drill press, for a couple of weeks now. Brooklynne won a last minute bid for Kruger on Ebay shortly before Christmas, and we received the press in the mail when we returned from Durham. As you can tell from the photo, Kruger looks like a relic from some WWII factory in Germany (thus the name Kruger), but Bill took it upon himself to google the model number and he found a reference at www.made-in-china.com. If you want to read about the company we think probably gave birth to Kruger-sun, click here. Compare the picture on this site with the image of my press. Any difference? So far, Kruger has preformed well despite its "manual transmission" (see picture) and its "quick change" chuck (tending to fall off without notice; Bill might have fixed this feature with a hammer Monday). We'll see how this all works out.

Bill also invested in an antique power tool I have named Roscoe. Roscoe's claim to fame is that a review cited a higher likelihood of loosing an arm than a finger while operating. Be careful Bill!!! Click "continue reading" to see pictures of Roscoe, my lovely shop assistant, and the fate of the cabinet formerly known as Sandy's hutch....

Here is the promised excerpt of the Baldwin article I was talking about yesterday. For the sake of time I have skipped some important parts and I excluded the second half of the article, so if this sparks your interest, let me know and I'll give you the rest. The article first appeared in the April 1969 (I think, better check) edition of Esquire magazine. Also, I just want to point out that the gammar and punctuation used here is true to the original.

"Very shortly before [King's] death, I had to appear with Martin at Carnegie Hall, in New York. Having been on the Coast so long, I had nothing suitable to wear for my Carnegie Hall gig, and so I rushed out, got a dark suit, got it fitted, and made my appearance. Something like two weeks later, I wore this same suit to Martin's funeral; returned to Hollywood; presntly, had to come East again, on business. I ran into Leonard Lyons one night, and I told him that I would never be able to wear that suit again. Leonard put this in his column. I went back to Hollywood....

"You can certainly see why I tended to avoid my old school chum. But I called him, of course. I thought that he probably needed money, because that was the only thing, by now, that I could possibly hope to give him. But, no. He, or his wife, or a relative, had read the Leonard Lyons column and knew that I had a suit I wasn't wearing, and--as he remembered in one way and I in quite another--he was just my size.

"Now, for me, that suit was drenched in the blood of all the crimes of my country. If I had said to Leonard, somewhat dramatically, no doubt, that I could never wearit again, I was, just the same, being honest. I simply could not put it on, or look at it, without thinking of Martin, and Martin's end, of what he had meant to me, and to so many. I could not put it on without a bleak, pale, cold wonder about the future. I could not, in short, live with it, it was too heavey a garment. Yet--it was only a suit, worn, at most, three times. It was not a very expensive suit, but it was still more expensive than any my friend could buy. He could not afford to have suits in his closet which he didn't wear, he couldn't afford to throw suits away--he couldn't, in short, afford my elegant despair. Martin was dead, but he was living, he needed a suit, and--I was just his size. He invited me to dinner that evening, and I said that I would bring him the suit....

"For that bloody suit was their suit, after all, it had been bought for them, it had even been bought by them: they had created Martin, he had not created them, and the blood in which the fabric of that suit was stiffening was theirs. The distance between us, and I had never thought of this before, was that they did not know this, and now I dared to realize that I loved them more than they loved me. And I do not mean that my love was greater: Who dares judge the inexpressible expense another pays for his life? Who knows how much one is loved, by whom, or what that love may be called on to do? No, the way the cards had fallen meant that I had to face more about them than they could know about me, knew their rent, whereas they did not know mine, and was condemned to make them uncomfortable. For, on the other hand, they certainly wanted that freedom which they thought was mine--that frightening limousine, for example, or the power to give away a suit, or my increasingly terrifying transatlantic journeys. How can one say that freedom is taken, not given, and that no one is free until all are free? and that the price is high.

"My friend tried on the suit, a perfect fit, and they all admired him in it, and I went home."

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., The site will display a new template this week. King is an interesting character to me, because he was so complex, and it's interesting to speculate how his views were evolving at the end of his life. There's a really good article written by James Baldwin for Ebony magazine at the time of Malcolm X's death that I'm going to excerpt here later tonight when I have time to find it in my files. The article laments how the civil rights movement was working out a middle ground between the conservative political and social goals most white Americans celebrate today (my words), and the more radical economic and nationalistic goals many Americans fear. The deaths of King and Malcolm X derailed the solidification of this middle ground and sucked some of the momentum out of a greater possible victory for both whites and blacks. Stay tuned for more....

***CORRECTION: The article was written at the time of King's death and was published in Esquire.***

Also, I really like the new colors, but I'm having a hard time letting go of my beloved orange!

After much heart searching, I have decided to leave the comments open and unmoderated. Although this opens the blog to the possibility of spammers, I am a real believer in an open web, and as far as I can tell, Moveable Type (my blog editing software) does not yet support a function that is a suitable compromise for me. This might change though, because one of the beauties of MT is that it is open source and I can modify the application myself. Now, I'm really not that much of a wiz, but my downstairs neighbor is a software engineer and has volunteered to walk me through an upgrade. What will hopefully happen is that the first time you comment, the comment will wait for approval before appearing, but then, after I approve your first comment, as long as you use the same name and email, your comments will be automatically approved unless I have to delete something you post. Although really malicious spammers could easily post comments using already approved names, I don't see this happening since 99% of spam is automated. Security in obscurity! Any thoughts on spam? Here's your chance to vent....

I just deleted the first spam comment that has appeared on this site. If this becomes a problem, I will have to restrict comments. If you are a regular contributer, this should not affect you, but if you don't (or have yet to) post comments often and want your ID to be included as an approved comment source, please email me.

I've dropped my cell phone too many times, and it has only been working about half the time. So this morning, when I could not get it to come on, I decided it would be a good idea to open it up and "fix" it. Well, I "fixed" it for good about the time I broke off one of the circuits with the fingernail clips I was using for pliers. Anyone got an old phone they need to get rid of?

Also, please note, I will continue checking my voicemail, but if you need to get in touch with me, you should call Brooklynne or my land line. And if you would like for me to have your phone number in the future, you better email it to me, because I stopped memorizing phone numbers when Brooklynne convinced me to get (went out and bought me) a cell. This includes family phone numbers.

Attention all Dodgers fans: Tommy Lasorda has a blog. You can read it here. I wonder if he really writes this stuff? And do you think he reads the comments?! This could be my chance to make some astute baseball comments and show why they should have hired me instead of Ned Colletti.

According to the Post, former Washington Mayor and current councilman, Marion Barry, tested positive for cocaine this fall in an investigation into his tax evasion charges. Here's the story. My first thought, when I heard this, was that maybe this is the break we needed to get a deal made to build a stadium on the Anacostia and keep the Nationals in DC. But, that's really not cool. This guy needs help. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that despite the personal problems Barry is struggling with, he might not be that far off when it comes to representing the best interests of the people of Southeast DC.

The stadium would almost definitely revitalize the Anacostia waterfront neighborhood and wipe out alot of urban blight, just like the MCI Center (home of the Wizzards) revitalized China Town. But who will that benefit? Probably not the poor people who live there now. the redevelopement of China Town has made real estate too expensive for many of the past Asian business owners, and China Town these days is remarkably not Chinese. The same thing will probably happen to Southeast. The stadium will bring jobs and a new chic to the area (see Baltimore's inner harbour), but almost all of these will be low-paying service jobs that will not give the people already living in Southeast the resources to hold on to their homes. The people of Southeast won't be the one's owning the businesses and investing in the developement, and they won't be the ones profiting from it either. I suspect the people who will reap the greatest benefits are wealthy businessmen close to Major League owners who are rubbing their hands over the dollar signs they see in a new entertainment district. So is a stadium in Southeast really a good solution? I say yes, but if I were on the council, the plan would have to be coupled with a comprehensive package of progressive policies that give the current residents control over more of the revenues, a stake in new business ownership, and rent, mortgage, and property tax controls/subsidies.

This message provided by the Miles Travis for mayor of Durham '08 committee.

Ever wonder what the Brooklyn Bridge would say if it could talk? I often try to vary my posts between personal stories and just fun or weird things I find that might interest people, and I found a really neat site today. It is the site of a sound artist named Jodi Rose who records and mixes the sounds that bridges make. Her site is called Singing Bridges and you can listen to some of her recordings here, or you can visit the site by clicking here. I particularly like tracks 8, 13, 16, and 23 (maybe because some of these sound like Kraftwerk!). Tracks 25 and 26 are the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. Also check out the travel diary because it will help you understand the fascination Rose has with the bridges she records, and it sets the tone for listening to the "singing."

So, Brooklynne and I knew when we went to Christmas in Durham, my Dad's Asthma would not allow Kona Bean to stay in the house. So we had to prepare her for the cold NC weather outside. So in August, we resolved not to cut her hair again until after our Christmas travels. Here are some before and after shots from when we got home and shaved her.

In the middle of clipping her, we had some evil ideas... like giving her a mohawk!

I'm really at a loss for where to begin blogging again. So much has happened. Brooklynne said that I could not skip ahead to the present and just make a new start because then I would miss writing about all the fun we had over the break. So here's a quick summary just to bring the blog up to the present....

Brooklynne and I traveled to Durham for Christmas. The holiday was great but different in many ways. Elizabeth is married now, and she and Dave own a home, so we stayed with them throughout the break instead of staying with the folks. Many others from my mom's side were in town too--Mamma H. lives in Roxboro, Dewey was in town, Kim and Dixon, Skip and Maggy all came up from Wrightsville, Evans and Kelly made it for Christmas dinner, and Katy, Cory, Ross, Kristy, Bill and Sandy and Reggie, a new friend from New York, rounded out the group. But despite the usual faces, Christmas was a very unusual day. Rather than getting up and openning presents immediately, we went to Antioch Baptist Church, an African American congregation in north-east, central Durham, and after a very musical and worshipful service, we helped the members serve Christmas dinner to people from around the community who might not have eaten a good meal otherwise. Then we returned home exchanged presents and enjoyed a great dinner. I felt good about downplaying the material aspects of Christmas, or at least making them secondary, and Brooklynne and I feel like we'll really try to be creative about redirecting the tone of Christmas in our household when we have kids someday.

We stayed a few more days in Durham after Christmas and spent some time scouting neighborhoods for a possible move this summer. Then, we returned to DC and got ready for the New Year. I'm not going to go into detail for lack of time, but I'm posting pictures in the extended entry from our New Years on the town with Bill and Sandy and Evan and Kelly....

I have been painfully unable to blog lately, not because I don't have things to blog about, but because I have too much to post--so much that I don't have time to spend online. But I finally catching up, so I'm promising a new update tonight. Check back tonight or in the morning and the blog will be back and better than ever....

A quick preview of a few possible topics:

1) Christmas festivities in NC
2) The incredible shrinking dog
3) New Year in DC
4) Why replcaing the clutch in my car is like the Mideast peace process
5) Gateway Middle Schoolers
6) Ten ways to know your husband is a nerd
7) My new reading choices
8) Our new 5 year plan

Also, I'm adding a new link in the sidebar to Marshall Benbow's new blog. Check it out.