Is the writers' strike make or break for viewers?

In case you have not heard, writers in Hollywood are on strike. This means that slowly, but surely, all things requiring writing, such as television and movie productions, will come to a screeching halt. I must admit, this bums me out. But should it?

I have always had a love for watching entertaining programs on T.V. It began with cartoons when I was younger, and moved on to sitcoms, dramas, and reality shows as I aged. It brings me just a little bit of joy and reprieve every week when I get to sit down and watch the shows I enjoy with my wife and dog. Now, that simple pleasure is being threatened by this strike.

While I am on the writers' side, it still burns to know that my favorite shows are going to start being rerun, cut short, or not aired at all this season. "The Office," the best comedy on T.V. if you ask me, has already starting rerunning. My two favorite serialized dramas, "Lost" and "24" have also been affected. The former is going to air a shortened season and the latter is being postponed for the time being. Oh, the horror of it all!

I have to ask myself this though: should this strike really bother me that much? I mean, it is just entertainment we are talking about here. I have grown accustomed to sitting down and watching a little bit of T.V. on certain nights all of my life. Maybe it is finally time to find new, and even more productive, ways to use that time. Perhaps I can invest it in a good book or have more conversation with my wife (shock!). Any further ideas would be welcome.

All I know is that it looks like this strike is about to change things up for my life routine, as well as all other T.V. viewers. We had better get prepared.

(Photo is courtesy of the L.A. Times)

Is the drought...a gift?

I cannot help but get caught up in the panic that has been generated by the drought that North Carolina and other states are facing as of late. My county, Durham, is in the burgundy area on the picture above, indicating the highest level of drought possible, according to the North Carolina Drought Management Council. Durham leaders have recently enacted severe conservation measures starting next Monday. There are only 59 days left in county's water supply. However, being the optimist I am, I think that there is a silver lining to be found in all of this.

Conservation, and care of the Earth in general, is fast becoming a trendy subject in our culture. However, that does not mean that it is still a widely accepted practice yet. I believe this drought is a good way to force the hand of those who simply refuse to be "green." With there being little choice but to not conserve at this point, many can be enlightened to how simple much of it can really be. For instance, completely filling up a dishwasher instead of halfway saves many gallons of water on a regular basis and takes little effort. Additionally, shower times can be reduced, water does not have to run when shaving or brushing teeth, and dripping faucets can be fixed. Really, the actions will become natural once people become mindful that water is not the unlimited resource many presume it to be.

Sometimes the only way to learn something beneficial is to go through a difficult trial first. I hope that many will come out of the trial that is this drought and learn to practice conservation regularly. In turn, hopefully it will spur them on to care in other ways for this planet that we call home.

(Photo is courtesy of the North Carolina Drought Management Council website)

"Black Friday" is not so bad

All of my life, I have been told by my family that the Friday after Thanksgiving, aptly titled "Black Friday," is something to be avoided like the plague. This is the day when stores typically offer deep discounts on hot-ticket items for the Christmas shopping season. Therefore, I never ventured out into the fray of mad shoppers looking to get those too-good-to-be-true bargains growing up. However, marriage changed all that.

My wife and the women in her family are tried and true shoppers. While I have tried to steer her away from some of those shopping habits in our time together, the spending spirit still holds strong within her. This is most evident on Black Fridays. Being married to a shopper all but guarantees one will be required to join this mad rush of shopping chaos. I have shared two of these annual events with her so far in our marriage. While I cannot say I agree with all of the shopping ferver the day generates, I must say that the day really is not as bad as my family made it out to be.

My first observation during my involvement was that crowds were not how I thought they would be. Parking lots offered plenty of spaces and stores had a lot of breathing room. People were not running around like chickens with their heads cut off to get all of the sale items. That is not to say that it was like any other ordinary day, though. It was definitely apparent that this was a big shopping day.

Perhaps the biggest step for me, though, was actually getting up really early with my wife to catch the limited time sales this year. Most stores typically offer sales that last a couple of hours from the time the store opens until around noon. Upon doing some research on Thanksgiving Day, I found that Circuit City was offering some items my wife and I wanted to get for us and others on deep discount. Seeing how electronics is one of my weaknesses, I also got caught up in the fever. We decided to plot out a plan. The store opened at 5:00 a.m., but we opted to wait until 6:30 a.m. to arrive. We did not think that the items we wanted would be the must-have sellers, so we decided not to be among those who broke through the doors at opening. We ended up getting what we wanted and saved a lot of money (two of the four items we bought were the next to last or last available!).

Black Friday. I began avoiding the day completely and now I am somewhat hooked on it. Who knows where and what I will be doing next year on the day? Maybe I will be camping out, waiting for the doors to open so I can grab some more killer deals. On the other hand, maybe I will just try to stick to my morals and pass on it all together. Either way, my wife will be out in the middle of it all and I will have to keep my eye on her.

Seminary-what an experience!

Seminary. Who would have thought it would have been such a meaningful experience? Not me...at the beginning, anyways.

I am going to graduate from my seminary, Campbell University Divinity School, in May 2008. With that event approaching, I have already begun to reflect on what my experience at the school has meant. I do not know if I can squeeze everything that seminary has meant to me in this brief post, but I will try to cover what I can.

There were some things I expected to receive during my time at Campbell Divinity. I expected to discuss the Bible and cover its contents in detail. I also expected to acquire some practical skills needed to prepare me for ministry. Finally, I expected to make good friends and contacts in ministry. Campbell has provided me with this in spades and at a high quality, might I add.

However, perhaps the most meaningful things that have happened to me are those that I did not expect to receive (and am still receiving) at Campbell. This is most applicable to my personal theology and faith. I had no idea that this area of my spirituality would grow and evolve quite like it has over the past three years (though, in retrospect, I can only say to myself: "duh"). My professors encouraged me to think critically about what I believe and what the Bible says, which I had never done before. I also had to wrestle with the tough issues of the faith, such as the problem of evil and suffering, more intensely than I ever had. All this and more has served to bolster my Christian spirituality tremendously.

With all this said, I have to give a big "thank you" to Campbell Divinity for the time it has invested in me. It has made a world of difference in my personal life as well as my preparation for ministry. Thanks.