Leaving Hot Corner coffee shop this morning, a man in his 40s or 50s passed by carrying an old-school metal This is Spinal Tap lunch box. I mean, how sweet is that?

Blessed be the LORD,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart exults,
And with my song I shall thank Him.
The LORD is their strength,
And He is a saving defense to His anointed.
Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance.
Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever. (Psalm 28:6-9)

This is a wonderfully encouraging psalm. The LORD hears us. He is our strength and our shield, our battlement, our saving defense. We are his people; he is our shepherd, our caregiver.

But this morning, in the midst of these encouraging truths, I was struck down by other truths. That I so seldom come to him with my supplications. How, then, can he hear me when I fail to raise my voice to him? That my heart does not always trust in him. How, then, can my heart rejoice? That I do not run to his saving defense when attacked by worldly standards of success and failure. How, then, can I be helped?

LORD, give us eyes to see and ears to hear, that we may be encouraged.

Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (1 Peter 1:13-16)

Incompatibilism of Growth and Egalitarianism

I read an interesting article in the Chicago Tribune last week highlighting the conflict between China's official egalitarian socialism and the growth that Beijing is undergoing. I hesitate to call this growth "progress," as I'm not convinced that the equation More + Bigger = Progress works, but it is undeniably growth in a big way. Expensive buildings and property are making their way into the city. It takes money to consume the progressive fare offered, and those benefiting from the consumption consequently get richer. The gap between the Haves and Have-nots widens, striking at China's egalitarian roots.

It will be interesting to see how the country handles this. Redistribution of wealth? The Haves will likely have something to say about that and put up resistance. I wonder how much of a more individualistic and capitalistic mindset will put its foot in the door of the socialist state with this relatively sudden influx of capital making its way into the hands of a few entrepreneurs. The cries of the Have-nots has begun. What will be the response? A capping of growth?

7-Eleven Gone Simpsons

Eleven 7-Eleven stores around the country have been transformed into Kwik-E-Marts for the month of July in anticipation of The Simpsons Movie. How sweet is that? Well, for this Simpsons fan, anyway. I wish I'd known about it in time to visit the one in Chicago. I would've left some clothes behind to get my hands on Krusty-Os cereal and Buzz cola. Alas, there is not one in Atlanta.

The Windy City

Kathryn and I had a great time in Chicago with her parents--we couldn't have had better hosts than them. Our "travel package" was all set when we got there, complete with a "professional" brochure personalized just for us! (I had to be told to look closely in order to see that the brochure was all their doing.)

It was truly an all-inclusive vacation package: room and board, entertainment, meals, transportation, and our very own flexible itinerary. I was spoiled rotten...and loved every bit of it.

Food

The first thing we did (after taking morning naps) was to hit Superdawg for lunch.

What a cute couple of wieners!

We also got to go to Gino's East in downtown. That was some goooood Chicago-style stuffed pizza!














But downtown Chicago wasn't the only place we had some goodies. We missed the Taste of Chicago, but we didn't miss the Taste of Park Ridge in the community where K's parents live! There were vendors from all over the area selling their fare--and I was chomping it right up. The Pickwick Theatre is there in Park Ridge, where K and I saw Ratatouille. It's an old art deco style theater (whose silhouette, by the way, shows up in the opening sequence of Siskel & Ebert's "At the Movies"). Our movie was playing in the newer section, so I didn't get to see the inside of the main theater. (We tried to sneak a peek at it while a movie was playing, but it was too dark to get a good enough glimpse.)

Not to be outdone by the restaurants, we had plenty of great grub at home, too!

Architecture

We went on a couple of architecture tours that I really enjoyed. I don't know enough about architecture to be able to pick out a lot of the interesting aspects of the buildings, so it was nice to be instructed by those more in the know than I.

One of the tours was a walking tour in Oak Park to survey some of Frank Lloyd Wright's homes (including his own home and studio). I didn't take very many pics from this tour, but I'm sure there are more than enough nice photos on the internet for you to see!

The Heurtley House: a good example of Wright's prairie style.

From inside the famous Unity Temple. (Which also supplied a much needed bathroom break.)

The other tour we went on was a boat tour that went up and down the Chicago River. (See below)

The Chicago Tribune building. It's style is Gothic influenced and was the winner of a contest. The runner up is across the river.

Sleek postmodern look.

Sears Tower in the background

I don't remember if the tour guide called them this, but I thought of them as the "corn cobs." Apartments above, parking below. The architect gave them a tree-like structure: the main support and action in the center trunk, the apartments coming out from the center as branches, and the balconies as the leaves.

I just liked the skyline in the reflection of the windows on this one.

Philosophy on Michigan Ave

While walking up Michigan Ave (the "Magnificent Mile") we came across Cafe Descartes, a coffee shop devoted to none other than philosophers.

A philosopher seated among philosophers!

Night Moves

We went to a fireworks show Saturday night at the Navy Pier. I'm not a huge fireworks fan or anything--I get more enjoyment from being with others who like fireworks than I get satisfaction out of them--but those were some of the coolest fireworks I've ever seen. (Below) Looking out at part of the Chicago skyline before the show.


For more night shots, K and I went to the observation deck of the Sears Tower Sunday evening. We got there a bit late and couldn't stay long, but (below) here's one of the shots I managed to get. You can just see the Navy Pier in the distance (the white strip, top center).


Of all the tours I went on, I don't recall any explanation for the moniker "The Windy City." Not that I expected or secretly demanded such an explanation from the Informants. There appear to be competing interpretations and alternative histories about the label, so there probably isn't a set-in-stone, agree-upon-by-all-responsible-parties explanation, anyway. Nor is there a need for a victor. It's good to have lots of stories, even if those stories bite and pick at each other.

Oh, happy idiot am I!

It turns out that iPhoto has anticipated the foolishness of people like me. The originals of the photos I download are saved in a different folder than the one I was, and am typically, looking in.

So, I'm done stewing now. I think I'm better psychologically equipped now to accept constructive criticism. But I'm not exactly asking for it, either.

Back to the drug store kiosk I go...

I'm such an idiot. A really mad idiot, enraged at his complete idiocy.

After repeatedly slamming some unbreakables on my floor, I think I'm a little better now. Catharsis.

I've become much too complacent in saving pictures from my digital camera. I should have learned better when I tried, and failed, to print out some clear 4x6s from the kiosk at the local drug store. But, no, I didn't learn. Now I've learned much too late.

My mom will probably give me a big "See, that's why I do what I do." What does she do? Keeps dozens of photo memory cards around, refusing to delete them off of the cards even when putting them on CDs and in PC folders. Me? I don't like the clutter. I load them onto the computer, delete them from my memory card, and am done with it. Like with the 80+ pics I took on my Chicago trip with Kathryn this past weekend.

But my problem, what has me so flustered and frustrated, isn't that I didn't load the latest pics from the Chicago trip onto my computer. It's that I didn't load them onto the computer. No, that's not a misprint. I loaded them onto the computer, importing them through iPhoto, so they're loaded. But I didn't drop and drag them from the memory card to its own file on the computer; so, they're not really loaded onto the computer.

See, iPhoto, I now know, saves them as a much smaller file than the original image size. Kind of like a thumbnail. So, I have the photos, but they're only clear in really small format. If I tried to blow up the 200+ pics I have most recently loaded onto the computer using only iPhoto, I wouldn't even be able to get a clear 4x6. And that makes me furious at my idiocy, shortsightedness, and pathetic impatience.

If I only came to this realization 4 hours ago, before I made room on my full memory card for future pics, I'd be in a lot better mood. As it stands, however, I am miffed. I don't need to be told to get a bigger memory card. I don't need to be reminded to save my pics in multiple places. Just let me stew for a while.

Yesterday after church we found out that one of our elders and his son were killed in a car accident Sunday morning. Our confession of faith during worship was from the Heidelberg Catechism (Lord's Day 10) on providence:

27. Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?

A. God's providence is His almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come to us not by chance but by His fatherly hand.

28. Q. What does it benefit us to know that God has created all things and still upholds them by His providence?

A. We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future we can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from His love; for all creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will they cannot so much as move.

It is much easier for me to accept that "all creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will they cannot so much as move" when the good things come to us. It is much more difficult when the bad things come. I too quickly go to the "rain," "fruitful years," "food," "health," and "riches" parts; it is much easier to think of God as bringing those, forgetting that he brings their counterpoints as well, to both the godly and the ungodly. Part of the difficulty is not knowing or being able to comprehend the "Why?" behind the gifts--and they are all gifts, points and counterpoints alike. We want to discern why some gifts are given to some people, and others to other people, good gifts to the ungodly and bad gifts to the godly. Solomon saw this and called it Vanity. Indeed.

Perhaps the comfort is cold, especially when the pain is so near, but the hope in which we rest is that because God upholds all things and nothing is left to chance,

I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

We rejoice and grieve at the same time. This is not schizophrenia, it is the proper response to adversity from the hand of God. But we do not grieve as the unbeliever because of our hope in Christ. We rest in the fact that there is an answer to the "Why?" question, though it lies not in us; it lies in the ultimately (but, thankfully, not completely) incomprehensible will of God.

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14)

I am reminded of Job and of Horatio Spafford's hymn, "It Is Well with My Soul" and the story of its origin. Having lost their children and their wealth, they did not lose their faith and trust in God. Truly amazing. Knowing the story and having only a very small idea of what it must be like to undergo such loss, I get choked up whenever I sing this hymn.

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.