He was kayaking, which he loved. More details, if you want them:

It was always a joy hanging out with Isaac. He was full of joy. Isaac always put relationships first, and always gave fully of himself. Radical in politics, faith, and life (and all of them were completely intertwined, which I love), Isaac lived more in his 26 years than many people do in 80. He will be missed dearly.

The place has finally reopened. It has been closed since before (e:Janelle) and I moved here (almost a year and a half), but is finally open.

I have no idea what it will be like--I've heard mixed reviews, but it looks like the kind of place I might enjoy, and it is literally a block from my house, so it seems like I have no choice but to give it a try.

I will be going tonight after we take our animals to the vet. After getting three animals in and out of the vet's office, I will be ready for a drink.

If you would like to join us, just comment. I would imagine we will arrive around 8, but I don't know for sure. It's at the corner of Lexington and Ashland.

Also, if any of you are runners, I will be running four miles in the diner dash, to benefit Loaves and Fishes Dining room. Go here to find out more.

This was a long assignment.

Only had to strikethrough two, I think.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (does alligator count??)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth �60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Notice the Terrible Towel in the background? in Bejing? at the Olympics?




(Picture found at post-gazette.com)

for more on the towel:

Go Stillers!

1. Vacation.

2. NFL Training Camp.

3. Catching the last of the outdoor concerts.

4. Elmwood Ave. Art fest.

5. The Olympics (this August, at least)

6. Not too hot, not too cool.

7. A lot of monthly meetings that I have don't meet in August.

8. Baseball's playoff race.

9. More time to blog (whoops! First post of the month. Sorry estrip.)

10. All of the good stuff that comes up in the garden (soon, I hope).

Found via "Decently and Order" a presbyterian user-driven news source.

(I am a Presbynerd)

Eight o'clock on the corner of West Ferry and Elmwood. "Lord, Save Us from your followers." The film asks, "why is the Gospel of Love dividing America?"

It's free. Bring a chair.

Thiese are clips from another screening:





and while I was geting that, I came across this (unrelated, but funny):

Ok. I promise to get back to my theology posts soon enough, but right now, I want to share my experience from today.

Well, actually, I will start with last night, just to set the stage.

Last night, I went to the concert on Bidwell, and it was a great night. I saw one great person after another, had a beer, enjoyed some great and listened to some fantastic music. Even when I collected cash on behalf of the Elmwood Village Association, all I had to do was walk with the bucket, and people yelled at me to come collect the money. Everybody was eager to give.

Frankly, that's what I love about the neighborhood. Everybody is nice, generous, tolerant, friendly. I love living here, mostly because of the people ((e:strip) people included).

Which brings me to today's experience. I was hanging up fliers for the upcoming film, "Lord, Save Us from Your Followers."

Now, the basic point of this movie is that Christians need to be a lot nicer than we are right now. It asks, "Why is the Gospel of Love dividing America?" and basically admits that it is because Christians have dropped the ball.

For most of the afternoon, people were curious about the flier, but willing to put it up. I never asked any business owner that didn't already have fliers up, and I was, of course, extra nice and friendly.

A few people politely declined, or said, "why don't you give it to me and I will hang it up," which often is a nice way of saying, "I am going to read this over and likely throw it away," but at least it is being said nicely. In these cases, I said thank you, have a good day, and moved on.

One guy, however, before I could even put the flier in his hand, who's shop was COVERED in other promotional materials said, very sternly, "no. The owner told me not to hang that one up." It was almost aggressive, especially since I had been in the stop a few times before, and that same guy was always very cool. We had hung out and talked other times I visited, but this time--stonewall.

So I told him that if the owner had questions about the movie I would be happy to talk to him, and I got a short--"ok." With a "get out of my otherwise empty store, I don't want to speak to you" look.

I got mad at the guy (not saying I should have, just saying I did), but did my best to smile and say thank you and leave.

As I continued my journey down Elmwood, I realized a couple things:

1. Christians have done this exact same thing to other people for years. I've probably given people the exact same look. So turnabout is fair play.

2. Because Christians have behaved badly for a long time (and will continue to do so, in all likelihood,) I will have this experience more and more if I continue to follow Jesus and interact with non-Christians (which I do think I will do--I like both).

3. It does hurt to be rejected, especially out of hand. As a straight, white, middle-class man, it doesn't happen to me as much as some other people. I probably need to experience it more, if only to better relate to those that do.

4. If Christians are ever going to make a difference in the world (and I really do believe that the way of Jesus brings healing to neighborhoods and the world, when it is attempted), we are going to have to develop the discipline to endure things like this over and over and over again. People have been hurt by Christians and they will react to us with anger. The only way to bring about healing is to meet that anger with love--absorbing anger/hate again and again, but not responding likewise.

Maybe I will share more thoughts later. I have to go running now.