ThinkBlog

I can’t say much because I refuse to be “that guy” who gives stuff away, and this is certainly a movie chock-full of surprises and twists.

A little jarring, I nevertheless recommend it for its hard-hitting—thought-provoking tendencies! I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart though, I admit, for the character Wolverine: aloof, cold with anger, quick-healing, no-holds-barred fighting … great taste in cigars. He’s how I imagine my alter-ego if I were to have an adamantium frame, in the spirit of Mignon McLaughlin, “We come late, if at all, to wine and philosophy: whiskey and action are easier.” It must be noted that, with Wolverine-esque metabolism and skeletal makeup, action would be much easier, indeed!

Also raises some good points about human nature. Is there permanence, or can we change? Can we REALLY ever change? Who would we be without an antithetical character? For instance, Christians ultimately have Satan as contrapunctus, whose very name means Adversary; natural and Quinean scientists and logicians have theologians and Continental philosophers; teachers have students (ha!); thugs have cops, and so forth. Who would you be without your greatest enemy against whom to strive, even if that enemy be a doctrine or mode of thought?

Stay through the credits. There’s another little scene at the very end, after ALL the credits roll, that you absolutely must see.

Briefly, some thoughts on the S/N dichotomy in Jungian personality typology as relates to the interaction of xSxx and xNxx types.

I had always somewhat bought the Socionics idea that, all other things being equal, the only attribute that a dynamic, truly flourishing couple (or pair of close friends) had to share was the last of the four dichotomies: if one was Judging, the other had to be; if one was Perceiving, the other had to be. As an INTP, I didn’t at all buy the rest of the theory—according to Socionics, my “ideal” friend/partner is an ESFP. (Generally, ESFPs wear me out on all sorts of levels, to put it mildly.) And though I’m not ready to join D. Kiersey in much else, I may agree with his interpretation of Jungian typology insofar as he says an emotio-intellectual successful couple/pair of friends must share the information-gathering part: the Sensing or iNtuitive type. (Note: iNtuitive is spelled the way it is to yield a dichotomous pair of S/N versus S/I, since the first dichotomy is E/I: Extraversion versus Introversion.)

Why is it that this difference (rather, similarity) is so crucial?

Well, in a rough overview, the difference between these two types is the way in which they receive information and, as I usually put it, where they “dwell” mentally most of the time. Unlike some of the German that gets lost in translation, the difference between “Sensing” and “iNtuitive” types is characterized most succinctly by the dichotomy between “concrete” and “abstract.” Sensing types that have really become aware of and honed their concrete thinking tend to be facts-oriented, based in the here-and-now, highly situationally aware, tend to be realistic and self-assured, and derive pleasure most frequently from physical pleasures. This makes them excellent soldiers, musicians, and organizers. iNtuitive types are future- or past-focused, highly trained on possibilities and abstractions, theoretical thinkers and deeply self-aware feelers; are frequent self-doubters, commonly hate routine and “sameness,” making them excellent researchers, writers, counselors, and the like.

It fascinates me that, in conversations with people who are familiar with Jungian typology (if you’re not, I’m planning to post a good little summary here soon; but meanwhile, check out brief overviews at TypeLogic and Socionics.com), N types tend to complain of the same basic things that S types complain about Ns over. Specifically, S types think N types seem childish; and vice versa. It’s made worse (perhaps much worse) with a different Perceiving / Judging (P/J) rating.

And why not, right? To S types, Ns seem self-absorbed, absent-minded dreamers at best, and bass-ackwards clowns with no sense of time, routine, schedule, organization, or respect for the facts, at worst. Likewise, S types eschew types of thinking on which Ns thrive, preferring to see things-as-they-are rather than spend hard hours introspecting on their nature with respect to others (and so forth).

Is this difference impassable? Hardly. It’s just an area where two people have to be willing and able to communicate, and granted, that communication is made more difficult because of this seeming disrespect between the two types.

Has this been your experience?

Recently while sitting at a friend’s house, watching television, we saw a preview for The Omen (the one coming out this year, not the thirty year old version). At the end of it, emblazoned across the screen, was the date, 06/06/06.

Now, that’s clever on the one hand, but disappointingly obvious for the most part. I’m interested in seeing the movie, really; but not on June sixth of this year, just out of principle.

What is that principle? Scared of the mark of the beast? No. Disappointed that Hollywood has blown up religious symbols lately, since the DaVinci Code book and all the way through the movies lately. I don’t mind horror movies, though I think they’re usually on par with the value of most comedies: for two hours of my life, I’d rather smoke a nice hand-rolled Nicaraguan cigar and talk with a friend or read a book. Sometimes horror movies can provide excellent fodder for theological discussion. But mostly, they are fodder for useless discussions. I can’t tell you the number of people who have tried to say, for instance, that Constantine decided what to put in the Bible and, after all, how do we know that the Gospel of Judas (which, mark well, is no gospel at all) isn’t really God’s message to us?

Is anyone else baffled by this recent surge of religious nonsense coming out of Hollywood in light of Dan Brown’s pop novel?

Whether you’re training, working out, Being Well, or just waking up, this handy little list will help you improve your life without taking obnoxious supplements or suggesting you start a running regimen. (Leave those last two to me. )

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Emmy Huang, Product Manager for Flash Player at Adobe, announced the Adobe is developing Flash Player 9 for Linux. First heard about this in the Ubuntu forums in this thread.

This is big news, since Linux users are missing out presently on content made for Flash 8. Granted, it’s not due out till late this year or early next, but it’s an important step in the right direction for Linux support—notably, this will be released when the rest of the population (Windows, Mac) sees it, instead of lagging months behind on half-assed development.

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Sociotechnological, political, and other events are all placed on a single timeline from 1750 to the present. Interesting in its own right, but a handy reference tool even for those of us who aren’t really history buffs.

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One professor of mine a few semesters back helped increase my already-huge love of the Baroque period by piquing the class’ interests with those two questions, posed for extra credit. (Christiaan Huygens was a Dutch astronomer during the seventeenth century; and Huygens was also a probe that landed on Titan in January of 2005.)

Christiaan is also referenced in Quicksilver, Book I of The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson, a most enjoyable novel.

This is blog-worthy not only because a professor who encourages a love of the Baroque ought to be rewarded with much mention, but also because this is the first fictional book to which I’ve set my eyes in about four or five years. I have stacks and stacks of books, on shelves, on tables, and in boxes; and none of the fiction has been touched since about ‘01 or ‘02, I’ve been so swallowed up with more serious readings. Expect more commentary on this book, though; Stephenson doesn’t disappoint.

One of my dearest and longest-standing friends is a Green Beret. Another is in the National Guard. Several others are Marines and Army infantrymen, retired or otherwise. Now, another of my friends is considering joining the armed forces, and her friends are (largely) giving her flack about it because of the war in Iraq.

Among the reasons for joining the military is certainly “to fight in the present war.” But each of my friends had a different agenda going in, and that doesn’t figure high on their list of desires, if at all. But if you have friends that are in the armed forces or are considering joining them, don’t be a jerk because of your own agenda. Our men and women “over there,” wherever and whenever that happens to be, need our support. Don’t sell them short.

A couple of friends of mine and I were playing Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link (© 1987 Nintendo) the other day. We progressed farther than I’ve ever gotten in that game; I think that as a kid, playing this thing, I got too frustrated to get even beyond the first castle. It was fun to run around the countryside, making quick work of the Bots and what-have-you, but when it came to really getting it done, concentrating on timing and beating the bosses and winding around the castle mazes, I preferred stomping Goombas as a little Italian plumber.

There’s a certain parallel there, to real life. The things that used to seem so overwhelming are no longer; they’ve been replaced by other things that are hard now. But they’re not that tough, either, are they? It will just take patience, growth, concentration, and perseverance to get through them, just as, in th same way, I had to grow up a bit for Zelda 2 to be a fun challenge as opposed to an insufferably boring impossibility.

Is depression sometimes a product of a manifestation of our own personal fall from innocence into awareness of sin in the whole of our being? Is it a part of growing up that necessarily takes place in our transition from childhood to adulthood?

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is about how much courage it takes to let God love us as we were meant to be, as He was meant to love us…. It requires humility, and humility requires fear and reverence; and it all starts there. But it takes a great measure of faith to have the courage to be loved, to humble ourselves and submit to God’s love through Christ. That faith comes through God alone, and rests in Christ alone. It seems that hardness of heart can as often be from the flesh’s fear of God as much as hatred, pride, or anger. Something to chew on with me….

Two friends wed today. The ceremony was beautiful and tasteful, and the bride and groom were glowing. I don’t know much more about Jenny than that she is a beautiful lover of Christ and a steadfast help-meet to Seth; and Seth has been my Bible study leader and sometime-mentor since January of last year, to whom I owe gratitude and an example of how to let things roll off of one’s back. If this man in his flesh is capable of holding a grudge, he has been successful in nailing that rotten flesh to the cross daily. If there’s a person who’s not a friend to him, it’s their fault and loss. Thank you, Seth, for your example.

It occurred to me again, watching Jenny come down the aisle, her eyes fixed like lasers on her lover’s, that the whole scene was a picture of Christ’s love for us. Was Seth focused on Jenny’s peccadillos right then? Was she thinking of Seth’s, begdrudging him the times he’d seemed far away, and so forth? No, absolutely not, they were focused solely on the joy in beholding one another, in anticipation of moving forward, full of grace and love toward one another, grateful and ecstatic. That’s how the relationship with Christ is meant to look, moving forward, not looking back. Repentance and love, mercy over judgment, and forgiveness couched in un-remembrance.* May my life reflect that pattern in Christ; may yours.

* I say un-remembrance because it’s not technically correct that God “forgets” our sins; it is, rather, that He sees them in full, but His wrath is satisfied against them by the atoning blood of Christ. Humans may forget; we may also feel the sting of the wrong once again in full if reminded, even after we’ve forgiven. That sting, that perceived affront to our person, is a proud, distorted echo of God’s true “self-righteousness.” God never forgets, but He is never again affronted by our sins once covered over; love and mercy triumphs ultimately and once-for-all. (And lest the imagery of being covered over concern some (if I take the metaphor literally, I wonder if it’s not like putting a silk robe on a leprous man’s open lesions—are they not still there and still festering?)—no, God’s covering over of our sins in Christ’s blood is like what direct sunlight does to darkness.) Something I still must learn in my walk is that truth: that when I come before God, even if I remember my sins that I’ve confessed, God never forgot them: unlike approaching an old friend whom you’ve hurt and reminding them of what you did while simultaneously asking for their fellowship and perhaps their favors, it is utterly gone from God’s sight.

It’s a processed sugar that your body can use less readily than real sugar, and is completely unnecessary to your diet. Stay away from HFCS if at all possible (hint: it’s possible). Editor of Men’s Health has an article (actually, an editorial, go figure) in the June edition about a “sin tax” on fattening/sugary stuff like on cigarettes. I don’t know if that’s the answer, but the trick is, it’ll probably cost five cents more, but go for the healthier stuff. You’ll feel so much better if you’re not sipping corn syrup nast via a delivery system (carbonation) that stays in your musculature for up to thirty hours afterward (cramps!).

According to LeapFish.com, ThinkBlog.org is presently worth $15,914.00! A nice thought, but I’m not selling. I do, however, have some other Internet real estate … out of curiosity I broke out the calculator and summed the value of all the domains I own: $63,588! What!

Now, I’m fond of a few of the domains, and obviously ThinkBlog and Thinkforums dot org aren’t for sale. But there ARE a few of them that I’d be willing to part with for the paltry sum of, oh, I don’t know, couple thou’ each. (Though if you’re genuinely interested in my holdings, send me a message.)

Seriously though, this could be a useful tool for appraising the value of certain websites. If you’re in a deal with a business partner and want a third opinion on what a site is worth, check out LeapFish.

Monday, I helped a friend of mine carry a couch a few blocks out of one neighborhood and into another. When we arrived at our destination and placed the couch where the new owner wanted it, my friend and I sat and sipped water, nursing our backs and forearms, chatting it up with the young ladies in the house.

By the time he and I left, we had just been sitting around talking with six or seven young ladies, just chilling, and it was “cool.” I have been amused with and envious of my friend, who is able to have two or three girls over to his place without complication. See, to me, it’s always been okay to do that if you’re physically with your girlfriend (ladies feel free to reverse the gender here and place yourself in my position), or if many other people are there, or what have you. OR, of course, if you’re interested in one of them romantically. But to have friends over, and just … chill? That’s hilarious to me. I love it, but it tickles me to no end.

And I think it’s because of the difficulty of Platonic relationships. The selfsame friend and I went back to his place that night and had a nice cigar with a touch of bourbon, and talked. (”Like men should talk no doubt, mah-hah!” he said jovially, clenching his jaw and biceps while he smiled and winked….) I explained my amusement at him, and worked through the reasons why: it seems that, ever since high school, it’s always been all or nothing. If I’ve been friends with a girl, and only friends, it’s been because I knew it’d never work, or because I was intimidated, or because they were, or because I was with someone else. If I was romantically interested in a girl, it was pull-out-all-the-stops, full-throttle, but turn off the friendship aspect. Meaning, if I was in pursuit of a girl, I became less a friend if we were before, and more of your run-of-the-mill tall, dark, and geeky guy with the metaphorical red rose clamped gently betwixt my teeth. I never learned how to be friends for the sake of friendship with a girl in high school, and am only just now learning how, as a single guy, to do so.

(It’s obviously a different story when I’m with someone—or indeed, when anyone is with anyone!—the friendships are able to flourish precisely because as long as your fidelity bars you from being or becoming anything more than friends. This is one reason why marriage is one of those joyous times when you don’t have to worry about this kind of tension in friendship if and only if (1) your spouse trusts you and vice-versa and (2) you’re secure enough in your fidelity not to do anything stupid/destructive/&c.)

But there is that tension. Anywhere there is moderation, the middle way, whether it’s in life, in vice and virtue, or in the Bible, the better part is full of tension. It’s not a bad, anxious tension, properly understood; rather, it is the tension like that on a guitar or piano string. When we tune up our lives inside the Biblical doctrines, taking neither the legalistic nor the carnal path; when we tune up our friendships, willing to love someone from soul to soul, regardless of gender and sexual attraction; when we tune up our aesthetic lives, neither living indulgently nor ascetically—this is the better part.

Navigating the middle way, not in the Aristotelian but rather the Christlike sense, is what God is teaching me right now. Betwixt the Scylla and Charybdis of Christian freedom taken too far and a law-loving legalism, betwixt friendship and romance, keeping body, soul, and mind in check and well-disciplined, will allow my life to be a pleasant symphony to those around me and to make beautiful music for God. Cheers on that journey in your own lives, friends.