🏷️ 10 things

They were nice to me, so I am giving some love back. You all know that (e:strip) is my first love (and I've already made a list proclaiming it!)

1. It's updated every day (unlike my blog)

2. There's lots of discussion (and sometimes a smart comment, too)

3. News pops up there quickly.

4. Rumor pops up there quickly (I'm not sure if this is good, but I like it).

5. They cheaply, quickly, and effectively promote Buffalo events.

6. It looks nice.

7. It's driven people to elmwoodjesus.org

8. It turned me into a rockstar.

9. Newell is a nice guy and an agent of change for the better in the neighborhood.

10. It points to good places to eat.

More/better posts soon, I promise. Hannukah is here. Light a candle! Throw out that occupying army!

I am breaking from my pattern of "10 things I like about . . ." because I liked the rules that felly made for herself, and so I am going to make my own.

1. Shop online (I'm already following this one, everything is cheaper and far less stressful)

2. Be generous (not only with gifts, but with time, and in dealing with attitudes/personalities)

3. Buy local and/or used items whenever possible.

4. Take time for prayer, for silence, and reflection.

5. Don't give any time to arguments about "keeping Christ in Christmas." (I love Jesus, don't get me wrong, but I am not going to be insulted if Target doesn't acknowledge him. It's probably better if they stick to "happy holidays," and leave my faith alone.)

6. Remember that not every person likes Christmas, and it is a particularly painful time for many, regardless of their faith.

7. Don't overindulge. Too much food and/or alcohol seems like it will make things more fun, but normally a moderate amount is better.

8. Don't forget to celebrate. Refusing to eat ONE cookie is just a ridiculous as eating 12 (and even less fun!). Christmastime is a great time to party.

9. In connecting with the people mentioned in rule 6., invite them along in ways that make them feel comfortable whether they participate or not.

10. Be merry when possible, but not if it requires faking it.

1. It gives me a chance to check up on the dehumidifier.

2. At the end, I have clean clothes.

3. The dryer makes my clothes warm.

4. It takes a while, so I can read, surf the internet, or watch tv, even though I am "doing chores."

5. Now, it doesn't require quarters or a drive.

6. Using cold water makes me feel slightly less environmentally destructive.

7. Cleaning dryer lint.

8. The removal of dirty clothes makes the room cleaner.

9. The cleaner room makes my wife happy.

10. A happy @janelle means a happy @drew (as long as he doesn't have to fold too much)

1. I can vote.

2. Sometimes, it makes a difference.

3. Talking to poll workers.

4. Third (and fouth and fifth) parties (though I would settle for a second one.

5. Wearing an "I voted" sticker.

6. It is the end of "political ad" season.

7. My polling place still has the old school machines that actually count the vote, unlike those paperless, hackable, make-up a number Diebold machines.

8. Now that I finally live in the city, I have a voice in city politics (it was so embarrassing not being able to sign nominating petitions and such when I lived in the suburbs)

9. Schools being closed.

10. It reminds me that we live in a constitutional republic with representative government (on my more cynical days, please insert the phrase, "pretend to."

I am reminded of the bumper sticker. "If voting made a difference, it would be illegal." I guess that didn't make the list but I wanted to share.

Time to go vote!

This is another challenge post. My animals are making it hard for me to love life right now.

1. If and when it lands in the backyard, rain washes it away.

2. At least right now, it is standard brown (I hate the green stuff).

3. Cat litter works quite well on diarrhea.

4. It hasn't spread to any people I know.

5. Each bout is now small in quantity.

6. It came on my day off, allowing me to get the dog out more quickly and monitor our cats.

7. As much as I hate the mess, it still hasn't stopped our pets from being quite loveable (but they shouldn't push it).

8. @janelle never asks for another cat when the two we have are ruining everything (good move, btw).

9. They eat less when they are sick.

10. People tend to be sympathtic when one explains that he was late because he was cleaning up runny poo.

A special 10 things presentation.

I have another relatively new post below, but I couldn't wait to do this one.

Paul, is there a way to imbed the presentation? Or is linking to it best?

1. It makes stuff grow.

2. It makes football more interesting (less passing, more fumbles, more slips).

3. Playing in mud (it's been a while, but its fun)

4. It keeps whatever I am allergic to down.

5. It's cheaper/easier than a car wash.

6. The arrested development song "rain."

7. My dog will not bug me for a longer walk.

8. Rain helps streams, and I like streams.

9. Rain can cover for me if I accidentally leave the house with bed-head.

10. Estrip tells me that it is raining.

Why the celebration? This post put "10 things" in the tag cloud on the estrip main page. My lack of creativity/tendency to make lists has finally paid off! I am slightly less insignificant now!

1. Most of the time, I leave church in a good mood.

2. The Simpsons.

3. Football.

4. Naps.

5. Sunday Dinners.

6. Phone calls home.

7. Walking outside when the weather is great, like today. Building a fire and/or hunkering down when it is cold.

8. The Sunday newspaper.

9. Brunch

10. Seeing the "early Elmwood" people on the way to church.

1. It's playing scrabble.

2. It's playing multiple games of scrabble at once.

3. It's free.

4. It's at your own pace.

5. You can talk trash as you play.

6. You can check the dictionary and two word lists as you play.

7. I can play with friends near and far.

8. It doesn't involve my wife having simulated affairs or dieing.

9. Good feelings when I log in and see its my turn.

10. I haven't lost a game yet.


If you are on facebook, look for me (my last name is Ludwig) and start a game!

1. He was a pioneer. He was trained in theological liberalism, but left that camp when it failed him and created a whole new way of doing theology.

2. He was, at the same time, humble. He realized that his theology was only for the time and place in which it was written. He knew that there would always be new questions, and theologians would always have to start over from the beginning.

3. He fought the Nazi's. Almost everyone in Germany went along with the German church in endorsing Hitler, but Barth wouldn't and got fired for it. (Bonhoeffer one-upped Barth by dieing as a resister, but Barth was still pretty cool).

4. He kept writing until he died, and still didn't finish his work.

5. He was, arguably, the first post-modern theologian.

6. Despite saying so much (his major opus, Church Dogmatics, stacks about four feet high), he also knew when to keep his mouth shut. He was able to say "I don't know" when he didn't.

7. He was cool with other people. Despite being very much a reformed, protestant, Christian theologian, he had a whole lot of appreciation/dialouge with people outside of those traditions.

8. He learned as he went. Barth had a lot to learn when he was first hired as a professor, and often had to go straight from the library to his lectures. His students loved learning with him as much as from him.

9. He reached out. Despite being very much in demand as a theologian, he made time to preach to prisoners, because he knew that God cared for prisoners.

10. His quote: "We should preach with the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other."