tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77849159295035222162024-03-19T03:15:05.204-07:00Unpeaching the Peach(St. Paul's Cathedral)NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-90967803205961362552009-11-08T19:45:00.000-08:002009-11-12T05:51:33.051-08:00Riga PhotosI realized the other day I'll never get around to editing these, so I might as well just upload them. Also, I can't sleep and I felt like posting them now.<br />Riga colors<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHbLDPu0mYfuIpLTdOnaZpey5qRj_f4CoggqyzY_v4H3oEeVqtv9ve5mJaifPPHV467u-Muy2arS0WIPKvVv-D6LGZzODdkTWASjghNHTzt8fBKsgluy767Hv25-GkMYoO0plb59D8FhH/s1600-h/DSC_0060.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHbLDPu0mYfuIpLTdOnaZpey5qRj_f4CoggqyzY_v4H3oEeVqtv9ve5mJaifPPHV467u-Muy2arS0WIPKvVv-D6LGZzODdkTWASjghNHTzt8fBKsgluy767Hv25-GkMYoO0plb59D8FhH/s320/DSC_0060.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401946172385024402" border="0" /></a><br />Cranberries!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoVKcHsSPS1cUYngLXFn2zCyzdykU-a0J5-oPBIdwuz-o0oWsagjlfyDFo2skt5-8DKgYZllUGEB7iHpMTG6xEM-tCBl-y5x6_uOmnl3ImEPLb07BqF1X9BEf7qNFsUW9vWBdeaYzuJkJ/s1600-h/DSC_0094.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoVKcHsSPS1cUYngLXFn2zCyzdykU-a0J5-oPBIdwuz-o0oWsagjlfyDFo2skt5-8DKgYZllUGEB7iHpMTG6xEM-tCBl-y5x6_uOmnl3ImEPLb07BqF1X9BEf7qNFsUW9vWBdeaYzuJkJ/s320/DSC_0094.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401946186477" border="0" /></a><br />Alexande\B/ren(t)yler<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2bEePh_aqKBKl5CvF0V-u6VKESj3zDWsle5vNaKFS6TKbpAKaRKaiWGriRlIx-8NkZdOSeWUXPwkyFXJYEoC925J5LD8AxtQOVEI0ikdZoiAEUCDxiy5cFbqoAFyA5MZd08EEtBLN_7K/s1600-h/DSC_0135.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2bEePh_aqKBKl5CvF0V-u6VKESj3zDWsle5vNaKFS6TKbpAKaRKaiWGriRlIx-8NkZdOSeWUXPwkyFXJYEoC925J5LD8AxtQOVEI0ikdZoiAEUCDxiy5cFbqoAFyA5MZd08EEtBLN_7K/s320/DSC_0135.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401946189155806626" border="0" /></a><br />Flautist<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpvKctpp3TG9ejccI5U9eoQhlCufvdBpLAENsHa2f2hDy8fROm4zi_iB5CJZkPJpRfYDkpCOYOe9U7L9ITxIJgDiqXCREkU6ZIvJ4kPkH33f19a5JTBYEagUFjwut4ihb1IAjDn_XLKQ_/s1600-h/DSC_0111.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpvKctpp3TG9ejccI5U9eoQhlCufvdBpLAENsHa2f2hDy8fROm4zi_iB5CJZkPJpRfYDkpCOYOe9U7L9ITxIJgDiqXCREkU6ZIvJ4kPkH33f19a5JTBYEagUFjwut4ihb1IAjDn_XLKQ_/s320/DSC_0111.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401946180541769842" border="0" /></a><br />One in a series of funny taxi ads (more later)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Pgsdo-vnB8kiXUSk-sc6SKCb1sYlurRg_kQdRN8Lrzl5lMlmVREnNHwUPMIhcY3Ctcmvv544uSxLzAfFxTJJraSFittkK97nyfUZPzkDtacKJ4w_YChX4N5M9Jw30azbKiD5fKqlLLsY/s1600-h/DSC_0073.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Pgsdo-vnB8kiXUSk-sc6SKCb1sYlurRg_kQdRN8Lrzl5lMlmVREnNHwUPMIhcY3Ctcmvv544uSxLzAfFxTJJraSFittkK97nyfUZPzkDtacKJ4w_YChX4N5M9Jw30azbKiD5fKqlLLsY/s320/DSC_0073.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401946182750308626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6YKH5VqEAFpUh471G45soODs1bTiu1oSOXZqn9yszZ_dA2hAFuMtix2460W_gfNo9er9KSFlptAdkpHwO4AUvitZcaKJ7t4rb5GjgUTMCFS1yBDgLY0FpQqnWktiF0Ev1pnCbw4x3qsA/s1600-h/DSC_0157.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6YKH5VqEAFpUh471G45soODs1bTiu1oSOXZqn9yszZ_dA2hAFuMtix2460W_gfNo9er9KSFlptAdkpHwO4AUvitZcaKJ7t4rb5GjgUTMCFS1yBDgLY0FpQqnWktiF0Ev1pnCbw4x3qsA/s320/DSC_0157.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401947691940095490" border="0" /></a><br />Opera House<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIGhAZvQZGJnhX6mr_60bW_r7OhZi3IFCXEN6_fUq21VnGkOiOQdxyE-sjAdkvK1gJEFyaw2qj5PFBYC4hss94AFgS0UaMU7M8_V2VVsVojnhWIz3KJYEWDAqXiwK2m8u-Tltx3f95_YU/s1600-h/DSC_0112.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIGhAZvQZGJnhX6mr_60bW_r7OhZi3IFCXEN6_fUq21VnGkOiOQdxyE-sjAdkvK1gJEFyaw2qj5PFBYC4hss94AFgS0UaMU7M8_V2VVsVojnhWIz3KJYEWDAqXiwK2m8u-Tltx3f95_YU/s320/DSC_0112.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401947674783946434" border="0" /></a><br />Cuckoo House/Clock<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAoUM2paE3-LiATkOHgnncdo2eOVzBb5prpbaKDUPArmNI0iz0an9ihzU1t2XEvwdc_YBUkliJaHiw_PesfYTsseLCt_bCKy1SGfTigTWWEgKVJ265BlCHYmyCdn-r1Og3Sy7yCnsArA5/s1600-h/DSC_0127.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAoUM2paE3-LiATkOHgnncdo2eOVzBb5prpbaKDUPArmNI0iz0an9ihzU1t2XEvwdc_YBUkliJaHiw_PesfYTsseLCt_bCKy1SGfTigTWWEgKVJ265BlCHYmyCdn-r1Og3Sy7yCnsArA5/s320/DSC_0127.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401947682734059234" border="0" /></a><br />God's house<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZZ_uyk_V2gMrcZzttZaiq8hZ9mK9X39RLj5If27fuQWrC-KKg4M1VBCw9Fzr8imll61n1f5Bd0K_shZQ7VaaAm08W3u1xaZJpiHkBMC2pG63oq2yWKB_PZBbjdfrCUg5v3Z5s6Ecnj4V/s1600-h/DSC_0148.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZZ_uyk_V2gMrcZzttZaiq8hZ9mK9X39RLj5If27fuQWrC-KKg4M1VBCw9Fzr8imll61n1f5Bd0K_shZQ7VaaAm08W3u1xaZJpiHkBMC2pG63oq2yWKB_PZBbjdfrCUg5v3Z5s6Ecnj4V/s320/DSC_0148.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401947683471578482" border="0" /></a><br />Somebody's (pretty) house<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLh86U5e8DvOUT68EjjRB9R1SJhb3TqiA96SyrF9LNtVGKPVfXpdWGswnFdQQ0H4BaY2YEctuJmlUkm1cv6Hz1hWscZDxcQc2EGR5gHF83nqBbd7tTQv6PSphtgxdchDFU_RVi7JrTEU0p/s1600-h/DSC_0155.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLh86U5e8DvOUT68EjjRB9R1SJhb3TqiA96SyrF9LNtVGKPVfXpdWGswnFdQQ0H4BaY2YEctuJmlUkm1cv6Hz1hWscZDxcQc2EGR5gHF83nqBbd7tTQv6PSphtgxdchDFU_RVi7JrTEU0p/s320/DSC_0155.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401947690522076098" border="0" /></a><br />View from the highest building in Riga<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2eOVZu3MYD14tzoZs58qLyTA_lRj5bGM_fQkP5vZutCSIZcgeqS_tQ2fq2A8iQjTZhoRRGo2aHABssHdA2ide0cuyYlI4cWYl-zV1B1wO9J4sjLh_9bghATyY_O9AdsKZJ37dinz-pia/s1600-h/DSC_0190.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2eOVZu3MYD14tzoZs58qLyTA_lRj5bGM_fQkP5vZutCSIZcgeqS_tQ2fq2A8iQjTZhoRRGo2aHABssHdA2ide0cuyYlI4cWYl-zV1B1wO9J4sjLh_9bghATyY_O9AdsKZJ37dinz-pia/s320/DSC_0190.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401949155486809106" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1MvY7TZMKczLj5fY3goMxsShNm7SwS71vf5eNujbXgWV4DlioD3uBAo7pFASeygozX1fmhVmuVykjKJQQ4DUip-b48vtKmsQBTapotGFvQjAYKGSTNcEVPrVUxG-MF5YczHOX9iS7gx5/s1600-h/DSC_0173.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1MvY7TZMKczLj5fY3goMxsShNm7SwS71vf5eNujbXgWV4DlioD3uBAo7pFASeygozX1fmhVmuVykjKJQQ4DUip-b48vtKmsQBTapotGFvQjAYKGSTNcEVPrVUxG-MF5YczHOX9iS7gx5/s320/DSC_0173.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401949151145773154" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqKJCpofXXaZwDEzsqRQvaPL60qXVvBD5xnfIigCskGYcHfEpi4Y69DitfNichFiZpVPzitbTqQaxNsh10Vko5ccVWbP79kNFmi8MYG_kDa0DEEg3xCqv39fjIEdihiAcf4faXX5wO05dL/s1600-h/DSC_0164.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqKJCpofXXaZwDEzsqRQvaPL60qXVvBD5xnfIigCskGYcHfEpi4Y69DitfNichFiZpVPzitbTqQaxNsh10Vko5ccVWbP79kNFmi8MYG_kDa0DEEg3xCqv39fjIEdihiAcf4faXX5wO05dL/s320/DSC_0164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401949145049094818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1XHFxG0fAnd1TzYHBYMvTKjD12TILlOtQGyqZfGS56O5uUjlrA0SROM2JQUKqrIflol01G5BvkZkUO7h_rJCM9MkXttAlGH8DPkEk_9uQI901ssdaUcWoiwwWDxK4di8ygm-XFPl_oD2/s1600-h/DSC_0163.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1XHFxG0fAnd1TzYHBYMvTKjD12TILlOtQGyqZfGS56O5uUjlrA0SROM2JQUKqrIflol01G5BvkZkUO7h_rJCM9MkXttAlGH8DPkEk_9uQI901ssdaUcWoiwwWDxK4di8ygm-XFPl_oD2/s320/DSC_0163.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401949141183701058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1LoO_byhJPWDi2oJXb9lQs5MBrD6zPYFXvgbDaBzqfv1F3NfxifBY6VHweydzTHOg7P-nuZnRW08zdAuWgwZcjiTWZeNA36il7xiI5nIfxVMFNoruUF8GHaMnHpziSGHbVtcTzeHed9q/s1600-h/DSC_0162.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1LoO_byhJPWDi2oJXb9lQs5MBrD6zPYFXvgbDaBzqfv1F3NfxifBY6VHweydzTHOg7P-nuZnRW08zdAuWgwZcjiTWZeNA36il7xiI5nIfxVMFNoruUF8GHaMnHpziSGHbVtcTzeHed9q/s320/DSC_0162.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401949137370482418" border="0" /></a><br />More from high up<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5NlX_JS95uqvymcNsjZsKLgfxhfpPH9MmM4jQusAykvPISNocKB9xZJ3SwjR5kcjyDTlGF3tyaPontNWztHL4MkOQZX9or4vpA1iUCrm6bgxyYOuXOJ1eme-qvI90dJ6tILQOgRHeHX7/s1600-h/DSC_0208.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5NlX_JS95uqvymcNsjZsKLgfxhfpPH9MmM4jQusAykvPISNocKB9xZJ3SwjR5kcjyDTlGF3tyaPontNWztHL4MkOQZX9or4vpA1iUCrm6bgxyYOuXOJ1eme-qvI90dJ6tILQOgRHeHX7/s320/DSC_0208.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401950804274683218" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIOEJZYQd8W6cHIt7eMgY9lzarK341pgZyhWISJykJSxNVeZQtzPNpMworHHskVc1AsCeeDovWWgk8Kwtw5840P7hSYVDrihDAJR9kGObTUWB7XysR1UzKEwAvAWSUja_a2xETO6GmZGi/s1600-h/DSC_0206.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIOEJZYQd8W6cHIt7eMgY9lzarK341pgZyhWISJykJSxNVeZQtzPNpMworHHskVc1AsCeeDovWWgk8Kwtw5840P7hSYVDrihDAJR9kGObTUWB7XysR1UzKEwAvAWSUja_a2xETO6GmZGi/s320/DSC_0206.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401950800220689618" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyDZwKPbFt8Fk72s5xaA2k8T7-ferPWNff1WckKIoSY5G4M_f3nGiV147CFtRk8qK3PS1DA9id9RxxpTTdiR3LYMd6V5OuJ4doje7ZdAic7hUEIO91t-jD7-fqstWYUKGB0EMkiMgF8rL/s1600-h/DSC_0201.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyDZwKPbFt8Fk72s5xaA2k8T7-ferPWNff1WckKIoSY5G4M_f3nGiV147CFtRk8qK3PS1DA9id9RxxpTTdiR3LYMd6V5OuJ4doje7ZdAic7hUEIO91t-jD7-fqstWYUKGB0EMkiMgF8rL/s320/DSC_0201.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401950791874506626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcCse9fv-aivHH1FHRtEj7xESBeLDbLEo9p1UrHHD3iBgQspO5hDVeQDeV6uhZLYCW42UHz_l7xAiHrrSC86EgnJrKvb9egG2Lt4KQp7Zv7X6XHLqV49G6_HOyiR-NiS-jy8t29ZSSbGMB/s1600-h/DSC_0200.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcCse9fv-aivHH1FHRtEj7xESBeLDbLEo9p1UrHHD3iBgQspO5hDVeQDeV6uhZLYCW42UHz_l7xAiHrrSC86EgnJrKvb9egG2Lt4KQp7Zv7X6XHLqV49G6_HOyiR-NiS-jy8t29ZSSbGMB/s320/DSC_0200.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401950784377711730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UfDp0QuIXWiCqTQTabWtKPzWdDqAoK7ha0maPHVupREOkuKtOUGI31wkVSP8fiVP-jCM8VU5WpLoHmBX_700Y8mO1oJOdcE9V5BIvNnWztOlE9FhcQ0Z54Qbo_oAd29mgJ32OdnEBijf/s1600-h/DSC_0195.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UfDp0QuIXWiCqTQTabWtKPzWdDqAoK7ha0maPHVupREOkuKtOUGI31wkVSP8fiVP-jCM8VU5WpLoHmBX_700Y8mO1oJOdcE9V5BIvNnWztOlE9FhcQ0Z54Qbo_oAd29mgJ32OdnEBijf/s320/DSC_0195.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401950781488402834" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcosSFwP-Am5CLkWEWwVtQ0tePNM3hwQJtyQDM4EceMQz2d5HeEZlsaD-BGoYBBIvTh2Bna1sfbwi6c-3b_Dy7nALrEPQ9hfPJR7f2DsfIvEQ0HU1ZsLVm3EcnytdrCS-7NrS01QHQanLB/s1600-h/DSC_0211.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcosSFwP-Am5CLkWEWwVtQ0tePNM3hwQJtyQDM4EceMQz2d5HeEZlsaD-BGoYBBIvTh2Bna1sfbwi6c-3b_Dy7nALrEPQ9hfPJR7f2DsfIvEQ0HU1ZsLVm3EcnytdrCS-7NrS01QHQanLB/s320/DSC_0211.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401952007070917858" border="0" /></a><br />Important Lutheran Cathedral<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOkbnTtpoAWPFp6iYguH2AO-6VZ9k8jc0i4dopYT7WLLkiUHMig70pBeThqcqEd42OsS5hLEwL0JMrxZapXRXPzgXg9ynIVR5a1ndboMnLyFHrPp31S3Sso0-oKeBxylUN4k4S8iYPCEd/s1600-h/DSC_0281.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOkbnTtpoAWPFp6iYguH2AO-6VZ9k8jc0i4dopYT7WLLkiUHMig70pBeThqcqEd42OsS5hLEwL0JMrxZapXRXPzgXg9ynIVR5a1ndboMnLyFHrPp31S3Sso0-oKeBxylUN4k4S8iYPCEd/s320/DSC_0281.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401952022364544738" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixaNsnYUtT4IQpwR-I5Z5HK8Bq9aeXxjhXQOsBk5L9DUoRhwVt6rJ6L5E9FG6RF7y9jqRzXGM9-w5qYEJCSMtOT5vTA9LnPYaS1ymUHBLyozJ8QPT70IUxMLq71qZwqFFE0x0WFCryjqJa/s1600-h/DSC_0235.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixaNsnYUtT4IQpwR-I5Z5HK8Bq9aeXxjhXQOsBk5L9DUoRhwVt6rJ6L5E9FG6RF7y9jqRzXGM9-w5qYEJCSMtOT5vTA9LnPYaS1ymUHBLyozJ8QPT70IUxMLq71qZwqFFE0x0WFCryjqJa/s320/DSC_0235.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401952020204682402" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUc1tRksS_Ab2RNvsaNNG3Z3BX1qFbAfvy2WMQCYKVMsjqs61xS-WMlEhW0gqMwhIMRM9bJo310cr_yCPl8wl_qiEFqHM7fKPAdNoJXUJdIgWyrGDtgncZurgRd6EXlBMUoQzDdRI6OYIp/s1600-h/DSC_0277.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUc1tRksS_Ab2RNvsaNNG3Z3BX1qFbAfvy2WMQCYKVMsjqs61xS-WMlEhW0gqMwhIMRM9bJo310cr_yCPl8wl_qiEFqHM7fKPAdNoJXUJdIgWyrGDtgncZurgRd6EXlBMUoQzDdRI6OYIp/s320/DSC_0277.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401952016510395890" border="0" /></a><br />Orthodox Cathedral<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2xONUdf-tBotkVbV_Vo7cqo_cxmYPKCFx3ww1FkFuS0brttQu3U3qNGmvhOmZIuvkxr2Lv22LzQmvmuCxoGpzdNKZwB7n4sW4Lptx8hATX0sufsagJ8DGlvH104yMlv-QXzq6AyhjcX8/s1600-h/DSC_0223.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2xONUdf-tBotkVbV_Vo7cqo_cxmYPKCFx3ww1FkFuS0brttQu3U3qNGmvhOmZIuvkxr2Lv22LzQmvmuCxoGpzdNKZwB7n4sW4Lptx8hATX0sufsagJ8DGlvH104yMlv-QXzq6AyhjcX8/s320/DSC_0223.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401952009058887314" border="0" /></a><br />Fashion<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ftgbJZsK69QHqtVpcIdOKG8iILzM8qMUMzFHrpRnemDjf_QAV5NrZb3A0BmTtQ0fpEY9TNRrbXc3TtHZGVFx4SqiqjX3eLnzmTSxFfniOJEacoQ_SioaDnOHrBPwxwnLZfLT989xyNVK/s1600-h/DSC_0300.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ftgbJZsK69QHqtVpcIdOKG8iILzM8qMUMzFHrpRnemDjf_QAV5NrZb3A0BmTtQ0fpEY9TNRrbXc3TtHZGVFx4SqiqjX3eLnzmTSxFfniOJEacoQ_SioaDnOHrBPwxwnLZfLT989xyNVK/s320/DSC_0300.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401953905911084370" border="0" /></a><br />Soy Sauce<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsZoPGL4rS_2eWX-o97lF_am5kDZbOvwMqLUcgnSOg_hgLXp4B4pZOzaz4BaTWgmi-TPITxNcVseHyfxETkLm7ckF_f1yibHqigmOzlIO4usmloPZMwaLhjLez0i5bQSXiWuPCyTReolx/s1600-h/DSC_0304.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsZoPGL4rS_2eWX-o97lF_am5kDZbOvwMqLUcgnSOg_hgLXp4B4pZOzaz4BaTWgmi-TPITxNcVseHyfxETkLm7ckF_f1yibHqigmOzlIO4usmloPZMwaLhjLez0i5bQSXiWuPCyTReolx/s320/DSC_0304.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401953908589135698" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9MEwIhIl-0CZ3DT20TuLD6F_d_NY9O1hcb6rVPVtCWgOCEH-sdsEtJpLbDA1UHL-k-z_7cgRRt1KThF0HGPcHGdD4B8_voLgnEng3_qKCzfc2Ba9V1UKCcobIGCuYZMZpKgfL-AcaDNiP/s1600-h/DSC_0319.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9MEwIhIl-0CZ3DT20TuLD6F_d_NY9O1hcb6rVPVtCWgOCEH-sdsEtJpLbDA1UHL-k-z_7cgRRt1KThF0HGPcHGdD4B8_voLgnEng3_qKCzfc2Ba9V1UKCcobIGCuYZMZpKgfL-AcaDNiP/s320/DSC_0319.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401953919720909442" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqpsuM_cehobYlNBjUs_cpm9wwvIc3h1O92EuSG2HbaPDVNmknleQV9rY9wkiIfAHK2h1rGGss8k63Pr9MpmhHffcDzYs3TpSM27lmuC_OOEIsCs_XTcN5L16IgCbp0fM9rr_dVHPwt9o/s1600-h/DSC_0318.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqpsuM_cehobYlNBjUs_cpm9wwvIc3h1O92EuSG2HbaPDVNmknleQV9rY9wkiIfAHK2h1rGGss8k63Pr9MpmhHffcDzYs3TpSM27lmuC_OOEIsCs_XTcN5L16IgCbp0fM9rr_dVHPwt9o/s320/DSC_0318.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401953915011531570" border="0" /></a><br />Tour guide and friend<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4idITvQY3nChm-NKlb9SsanQMDgjoBzoa7xSD976lFPM2Zb5hJyvbixyt3HhnYANl9MkmcfdU1P7T0INGYy7VXjx4rHbhK1VpO0WePZoiBU9kVHYKdt54vU7AFGpSmLjfSYxrngm3E7HQ/s1600-h/DSC_0321.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4idITvQY3nChm-NKlb9SsanQMDgjoBzoa7xSD976lFPM2Zb5hJyvbixyt3HhnYANl9MkmcfdU1P7T0INGYy7VXjx4rHbhK1VpO0WePZoiBU9kVHYKdt54vU7AFGpSmLjfSYxrngm3E7HQ/s320/DSC_0321.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401953922208050594" border="0" /></a><br />Communist statue<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Av0s2trUX8UorEjAoFRtNOOpuzatblCv6R5EIFAFuCXYd0JGhoH17rltnUVaIVB-h-KoCWBrvktp1eWCljTae5EVxfbiIkH8q95pfvQXeIZaT_bf89f6_7sXYuQ5rxtO6fesxAKlcg0I/s1600-h/DSC_0323.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Av0s2trUX8UorEjAoFRtNOOpuzatblCv6R5EIFAFuCXYd0JGhoH17rltnUVaIVB-h-KoCWBrvktp1eWCljTae5EVxfbiIkH8q95pfvQXeIZaT_bf89f6_7sXYuQ5rxtO6fesxAKlcg0I/s320/DSC_0323.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401955822335667154" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphGJu8HwnOsu5Twd3wf2UWzw-LIZ9Gl0x1RctvLlt_AKD8WbOFMy3xqFWpw1jRh05pKrRyTVOrZVh5nvqr_sCPu9PRRAmahHoAQwyGokBnM8MvvZiyvH0N8jCA6QyMiFpZl_vFsWGwssT/s1600-h/DSC_0353.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphGJu8HwnOsu5Twd3wf2UWzw-LIZ9Gl0x1RctvLlt_AKD8WbOFMy3xqFWpw1jRh05pKrRyTVOrZVh5nvqr_sCPu9PRRAmahHoAQwyGokBnM8MvvZiyvH0N8jCA6QyMiFpZl_vFsWGwssT/s320/DSC_0353.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401955837600419714" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtFdHVr8YXN0YQIpjaTiNMnnmBzKBtnLiX5NbR76BOiG0dhCeQaAuNKD07YR_KnjrejUO-Pd9w6PoOiTnFiDPtwhYGMCZx8PszstSHGwuHqhfK6q9R4_RZTEMJKCYHA-B1qxdxn87oRfg/s1600-h/DSC_0326.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtFdHVr8YXN0YQIpjaTiNMnnmBzKBtnLiX5NbR76BOiG0dhCeQaAuNKD07YR_KnjrejUO-Pd9w6PoOiTnFiDPtwhYGMCZx8PszstSHGwuHqhfK6q9R4_RZTEMJKCYHA-B1qxdxn87oRfg/s320/DSC_0326.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401955830953310018" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39BwrysiB_OwzKPAeLYvU1v2T66f2cRT6jA7-rhyphenhyphenSkPpPK2mRh6SaDFl2PkVRzE7nyRFcxROqeLibVWtnG6CyNBuk6jEBIdInS3_UTMEM-WY4lxR7qmEsZ2fG40lpLd09JBESyvM1sofo/s1600-h/DSC_0324.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39BwrysiB_OwzKPAeLYvU1v2T66f2cRT6jA7-rhyphenhyphenSkPpPK2mRh6SaDFl2PkVRzE7nyRFcxROqeLibVWtnG6CyNBuk6jEBIdInS3_UTMEM-WY4lxR7qmEsZ2fG40lpLd09JBESyvM1sofo/s320/DSC_0324.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401955828836552994" border="0" /></a><br />Dan Randall, SPU/Duke Divinity alum<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyH6bFQeS0obtOwLiNX5vk8QvE2-D0tbdTtyqJmCF3AW73SlR34CemaGNyTp2XQsPJ79NvsgEIMB_Bfnq5ogJtCwigtLtfGp_LUiD_R0GEeMKivQWcXhVY6benUf2zhlMyudDdUUX2Ew_m/s1600-h/DSC_0367.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyH6bFQeS0obtOwLiNX5vk8QvE2-D0tbdTtyqJmCF3AW73SlR34CemaGNyTp2XQsPJ79NvsgEIMB_Bfnq5ogJtCwigtLtfGp_LUiD_R0GEeMKivQWcXhVY6benUf2zhlMyudDdUUX2Ew_m/s320/DSC_0367.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401955841040413938" border="0" /></a><br />Another taxi ad<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6RSwBUYEo5y2SYSnbRpao4ZX7d9DjO5jjptx5TIxBaRqefsRhJMlti1uu58OCs3V7itgn7BPMYUlLEOF6IuHFqOZixVB00p5MkJIJwJeRLh8hK22Zh8HVt8cwAtOtP839cU2DJLLDi5w/s1600-h/DSC_0376.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6RSwBUYEo5y2SYSnbRpao4ZX7d9DjO5jjptx5TIxBaRqefsRhJMlti1uu58OCs3V7itgn7BPMYUlLEOF6IuHFqOZixVB00p5MkJIJwJeRLh8hK22Zh8HVt8cwAtOtP839cU2DJLLDi5w/s320/DSC_0376.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401957419667362066" border="0" /></a><br />I wish I'd caught his upper body; this recorder(ist?) had birds all over himself. Tried too hard to be discreet.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqKqVjx1pgRen1STaPMNvZ7pGICMQqzwHCfNWFN1tBr0OPYkUxVoQY4g1wYTT2ywXWe6W1a30mzmlwfIKjOhVjFUTKNi8yaAzlun-DCDFGHYiO_FvpB2Q5aDfRUcRtbM-4CU_eLOkcfGb/s1600-h/DSC_0383.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqKqVjx1pgRen1STaPMNvZ7pGICMQqzwHCfNWFN1tBr0OPYkUxVoQY4g1wYTT2ywXWe6W1a30mzmlwfIKjOhVjFUTKNi8yaAzlun-DCDFGHYiO_FvpB2Q5aDfRUcRtbM-4CU_eLOkcfGb/s320/DSC_0383.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401957447561897522" border="0" /></a><br />Occupation museum; protester of some sort<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwYUo3dWM66VckMrvYWt0UBCBhe8BAhUaOsZtiNs_4kx3Wo__dPFR2aI4l2dU3iAZYXGlbVgUWsl6g-zU2UVKyfM84N55Qu2K5YH-nDnbO2U1A44IaEnOiwQLDY3VNTgs7FEdm5tqKfst/s1600-h/DSC_0426.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwYUo3dWM66VckMrvYWt0UBCBhe8BAhUaOsZtiNs_4kx3Wo__dPFR2aI4l2dU3iAZYXGlbVgUWsl6g-zU2UVKyfM84N55Qu2K5YH-nDnbO2U1A44IaEnOiwQLDY3VNTgs7FEdm5tqKfst/s320/DSC_0426.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401957458624826082" border="0" /></a><br />Propaganda<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0gkbHr2g4Z5veOPgtpZNlzO8bTRXbojzvBzDKXl4_RwPLYsFmmJQsXZLyr3eXV9L7YafrRoTmhKLQKFAytqY-7zl7mqlF0jH8IOeMgnT_FNxGTSGZzLXTh19NoGWbVpNybhx-7p_DGQ7/s1600-h/DSC_0422.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0gkbHr2g4Z5veOPgtpZNlzO8bTRXbojzvBzDKXl4_RwPLYsFmmJQsXZLyr3eXV9L7YafrRoTmhKLQKFAytqY-7zl7mqlF0jH8IOeMgnT_FNxGTSGZzLXTh19NoGWbVpNybhx-7p_DGQ7/s320/DSC_0422.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401957467791433874" border="0" /></a><br />Protester<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6WRfriYCig9rsmvgMnq04lOyhGV0HqG-v6owa4opLhQtK2GbTaRYw9TDtg81eVnijrWLyWsdASlL6F1IDHxSxmQO7BRe2JSJB92xFt-Kn-2d27S6jwNshByJgVKCAT-voIlw4JdD1cmC/s1600-h/DSC_0429.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6WRfriYCig9rsmvgMnq04lOyhGV0HqG-v6owa4opLhQtK2GbTaRYw9TDtg81eVnijrWLyWsdASlL6F1IDHxSxmQO7BRe2JSJB92xFt-Kn-2d27S6jwNshByJgVKCAT-voIlw4JdD1cmC/s320/DSC_0429.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401957472605534818" border="0" /></a><br />Some sort of art made by victims<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUqMA-hB6LzAEvYMubARcs81dL3P8zh5zmCis0nFl-d-AXoUFfGb8PaniiWmd7CYfVK35kweuoAItPmfVsjovRjrO8QqIR-dqvgDI7z0bSZ34dA6bDFN8jvqaf115ni4PTtoLBsP-waRx/s1600-h/DSC_0430.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUqMA-hB6LzAEvYMubARcs81dL3P8zh5zmCis0nFl-d-AXoUFfGb8PaniiWmd7CYfVK35kweuoAItPmfVsjovRjrO8QqIR-dqvgDI7z0bSZ34dA6bDFN8jvqaf115ni4PTtoLBsP-waRx/s320/DSC_0430.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401958830353633090" border="0" /></a><br />Latvian Poet<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMAnk0WB2QkG6d7yG_b6s5HGMiadOgURcl99Kotj7F3PUSzfOxPkvQ4RYn7SpCrMVcUKhq_gMdn0pAO0tgWm4GY-rBzoSTq46pW10AEa1VkpQ_3-2Kt7j2x05K8T126FjfKTpQ28gBASr/s1600-h/DSC_0435.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMAnk0WB2QkG6d7yG_b6s5HGMiadOgURcl99Kotj7F3PUSzfOxPkvQ4RYn7SpCrMVcUKhq_gMdn0pAO0tgWm4GY-rBzoSTq46pW10AEa1VkpQ_3-2Kt7j2x05K8T126FjfKTpQ28gBASr/s320/DSC_0435.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401958841174814914" border="0" /></a><br />Propaganda<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fOy-b886Tl81FruZDdDtscrJpaDO2xYy2GL5dIFtjm1CGMO75zi40SmlJOaPUMkXX-3OJbCEeTTsyQIJ9t6AnraDE36QE9DjH3T_ncpBrLHitSthLzwSmxZb87mBcri-G97NwSUDSKaK/s1600-h/DSC_0419.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fOy-b886Tl81FruZDdDtscrJpaDO2xYy2GL5dIFtjm1CGMO75zi40SmlJOaPUMkXX-3OJbCEeTTsyQIJ9t6AnraDE36QE9DjH3T_ncpBrLHitSthLzwSmxZb87mBcri-G97NwSUDSKaK/s320/DSC_0419.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401958847483303026" border="0" /></a><br />Black Balsam. Medicinal, alcoholic and gross.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRxZXD0JKHjYP6Hj2xXm6YYIkSr08pWvT02ecOCM0nwv7fN9_UxPVTEMUu0xlmTX49BfV9NSNDB6IoZRfp-VDsxohZObFF-IUlKJ4Uuu-706C4eekYdoHNTNcYRfKhhCuSH7jeL5fpRU0/s1600-h/DSC_0448.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRxZXD0JKHjYP6Hj2xXm6YYIkSr08pWvT02ecOCM0nwv7fN9_UxPVTEMUu0xlmTX49BfV9NSNDB6IoZRfp-VDsxohZObFF-IUlKJ4Uuu-706C4eekYdoHNTNcYRfKhhCuSH7jeL5fpRU0/s320/DSC_0448.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401958842380697490" border="0" /></a><br />Brent, Alex and Nate make Thai dinner (taken by Brent)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpA8Z38RlCz_oxgrzK__0mzW1KDBwFQTgy-NskvYltQLjZkvWpqX_MNCrQXKSmpH9BMgkPXmyh_f-gMFo05PZxq0sG6tITyA3bVcgCKQBnxcqhMv68qOv2Fjy6PvIfPBYjUICbi-9iaSy4/s1600-h/DSC_0458.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpA8Z38RlCz_oxgrzK__0mzW1KDBwFQTgy-NskvYltQLjZkvWpqX_MNCrQXKSmpH9BMgkPXmyh_f-gMFo05PZxq0sG6tITyA3bVcgCKQBnxcqhMv68qOv2Fjy6PvIfPBYjUICbi-9iaSy4/s320/DSC_0458.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401959901285879554" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcVnNRsTU_XRpzMDFu9E8l4kT5AEtidzc6KeuO6Jb_kuTxgPN5-gZE4MLETXtXlJgJtiAMvV6YmxjJ463tlYYkiwLj_jtEMAXZuYNHzg6V3xgebfhdnrvDEHGepQMMIKt9xafBwefcVZQ/s1600-h/DSC_0457.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcVnNRsTU_XRpzMDFu9E8l4kT5AEtidzc6KeuO6Jb_kuTxgPN5-gZE4MLETXtXlJgJtiAMvV6YmxjJ463tlYYkiwLj_jtEMAXZuYNHzg6V3xgebfhdnrvDEHGepQMMIKt9xafBwefcVZQ/s320/DSC_0457.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401959894923280722" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYRvVVuPyp8sNFqyOhGcrqhtKiZLmjhHY6R1qWvp4Nrl9Q0WLXFSuwR4yYakr3WBjCTrtVY2k07uNvQLIe1BnVJqqz74Pz6uxbpGTClIJ4Uy0EbuyU3QxYtXU9Ra4vJbqtqqGvE-2Nn7d/s1600-h/DSC_0455.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYRvVVuPyp8sNFqyOhGcrqhtKiZLmjhHY6R1qWvp4Nrl9Q0WLXFSuwR4yYakr3WBjCTrtVY2k07uNvQLIe1BnVJqqz74Pz6uxbpGTClIJ4Uy0EbuyU3QxYtXU9Ra4vJbqtqqGvE-2Nn7d/s320/DSC_0455.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401959891415460322" border="0" /></a>NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-17044298654741990922009-11-08T15:18:00.000-08:002009-11-08T17:16:41.175-08:00Cambridge YesterdayFive of us (Chelsea, Brent, Alex, and Amy) had a lovely trip to Cambridge yesterday. <br /><br />For me, there were a few particularly distinctive features to the trip. <br /><br />First, I threw up on the bus thanks to motion sickness. Unluckily for me, the bathroom was out of order and the driver was not particularly well-trained, it seemed, based on his driving and (lack of) ability to handle people's issues. Luckily, I had an empty water bottle in my backpack. Phew. <br /><br />Second, I ran into Vanessa Williams-Hall at one of the colleges (as well as a pub later, go figure,) who went to high school (elementary school, in fact) with me. It was a crazy experience on so many levels. For one, it was pure luck that we happened to walk into the same college/pub at the same time. What's more, neither of us are studying at Cambridge (she's in London, and was visiting a friend) and it was doubly unlikely given that. We didn't even know the other was studying there! It was also weird to think about it this way: she was the first person (maybe I was for her, not sure) I'd seen in 2.5 months who'd known me before I turned ten. Weird, eh?<br /><br />Third, I bought my first (perhaps only) vinyl record of the trip. It was a bit of a splurge (£15,) but was also a rare find: The Incredible String Band's album, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Big Huge</span>. I love their stuff, they're distinctly British, and I've never seen this one on vinyl. A nice one to get here cause it would be very hard to find in the states. A successful purchase indeed (see cover below.) <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkFEZv4zfechwMHBSSh-1z8CXuKJ5v0rOTvH73CHXl4oUFcV-yJW-FzF0NS5gwNUmjZWmahWF4slZkGNLav6qQW6UkaqAHgMtmQccyoGn-h5CXft1zBD3eh4p-y7kHB7SDNTU7HbNvjkE/s1600-h/51R9ASP027L.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkFEZv4zfechwMHBSSh-1z8CXuKJ5v0rOTvH73CHXl4oUFcV-yJW-FzF0NS5gwNUmjZWmahWF4slZkGNLav6qQW6UkaqAHgMtmQccyoGn-h5CXft1zBD3eh4p-y7kHB7SDNTU7HbNvjkE/s320/51R9ASP027L.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401883304986249618" /></a><br /><br />It was a really wonderful day, cause the three of us were feeling some cabin fever, and needed a day away. We hardly covered the whole city, but getting to explore was wonderful, and it was interesting to compare the two halves of Oxbridge. I found Cambridge more open, and it felt a bit more like a city, rather than a town. The old and new seemed to blend a little more, as well. <br /><br />Here are some photos. <br /><br />One of the quads<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2jeZMye0KN1Et8UDPCMlWbzCTaBw3UV4kieVBHzuwNrH9vHPmzIhnP-uY5YQhWvhvOTdEGQF_PTzzIT8EPab2hAARJaRFjCANaQAp3NpZWqL9dAJJLfbsVFjBlvwgp96kBIyDF-Bfw1TA/s1600-h/DSC_0494.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2jeZMye0KN1Et8UDPCMlWbzCTaBw3UV4kieVBHzuwNrH9vHPmzIhnP-uY5YQhWvhvOTdEGQF_PTzzIT8EPab2hAARJaRFjCANaQAp3NpZWqL9dAJJLfbsVFjBlvwgp96kBIyDF-Bfw1TA/s320/DSC_0494.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401878764449656450" /></a><br />Alex leavin' it<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LsbRL_RzkB-XPQyGHpKDGdhGcUF9D6XAJx1Mna2ZcLvWLA1aOtbQ-4r3jJvnRILL-uXs-AU8ASOVUbgrGkvMPKPMIROyj4lq-3ziZMnKreengD9gFrQGCAiy94l6IAZVbLcX-uWJfbHJ/s1600-h/DSC_0509.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LsbRL_RzkB-XPQyGHpKDGdhGcUF9D6XAJx1Mna2ZcLvWLA1aOtbQ-4r3jJvnRILL-uXs-AU8ASOVUbgrGkvMPKPMIROyj4lq-3ziZMnKreengD9gFrQGCAiy94l6IAZVbLcX-uWJfbHJ/s320/DSC_0509.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401880515397406658" /></a><br />Amy lovin' it<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsq3gbvsXKW6txFxESKLL6P8V_XEbduU75oA4LpXikZ5ppzzlZfEUJhumA6xhzuEUbBBGOuDSip1WuXt2_2xVYzq1LETGxPS00F3hBskGWH2_KUQSKdDXChLB8jO1-NcikWG9hVGpTJ8Q/s1600-h/DSC_0502.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsq3gbvsXKW6txFxESKLL6P8V_XEbduU75oA4LpXikZ5ppzzlZfEUJhumA6xhzuEUbBBGOuDSip1WuXt2_2xVYzq1LETGxPS00F3hBskGWH2_KUQSKdDXChLB8jO1-NcikWG9hVGpTJ8Q/s320/DSC_0502.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401880513279306258" /></a><br />Chelsea 'laxin' it<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4tIsF3E2Rwn4kTDbRV7PHXSIgKB47lm45PLkskGTs3zjT7P31vl4cOPB7q9if1c2Sqit0-Io8TE22HI87FOXWuWL5vCeh-nJ9Ij7q32ZSop0GKtxFiIZPPSG2TbSvIAfZdYBbBs68NQC/s1600-h/DSC_0495.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4tIsF3E2Rwn4kTDbRV7PHXSIgKB47lm45PLkskGTs3zjT7P31vl4cOPB7q9if1c2Sqit0-Io8TE22HI87FOXWuWL5vCeh-nJ9Ij7q32ZSop0GKtxFiIZPPSG2TbSvIAfZdYBbBs68NQC/s320/DSC_0495.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401880508936225282" /></a><br />Brent leadin' it<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyr4DUwV55XK0wGJ9SWGMPkBbrzw99tMBEDM65cWcOtOBeOqJVr31XBgMUc2UetccZnfrliEzaO3lYe-sTYt_e9GdQ-ow2KGbV9IEiGdDkiyDw5-Lzby3quhD0H5BClqSgRNPfOdwVJqRD/s1600-h/DSC_0542.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyr4DUwV55XK0wGJ9SWGMPkBbrzw99tMBEDM65cWcOtOBeOqJVr31XBgMUc2UetccZnfrliEzaO3lYe-sTYt_e9GdQ-ow2KGbV9IEiGdDkiyDw5-Lzby3quhD0H5BClqSgRNPfOdwVJqRD/s320/DSC_0542.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401882724257320946" /></a><br />Can you believe it?!?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfCkNvJlw2EjVDz4AnFuqbyl4C8QnBmiBseKuDtOhcUeEK2y74cchY5HjB0lkaLB4pgIyar66LifllTK9rDynuf1RPFKGJ7oReuRiFnyQEPKGO6nehckMYdOFjRIAPH2HqoUZQQNbhCbE/s1600-h/DSC_0526.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfCkNvJlw2EjVDz4AnFuqbyl4C8QnBmiBseKuDtOhcUeEK2y74cchY5HjB0lkaLB4pgIyar66LifllTK9rDynuf1RPFKGJ7oReuRiFnyQEPKGO6nehckMYdOFjRIAPH2HqoUZQQNbhCbE/s320/DSC_0526.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401882740176482898" /></a><br />Very British guy at the market<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgV1KRPtqHXAHx8TJtxMfE6V_rQqSZF0M55kRXfOluJZpOiQi0Rt_SpAkRP22JxiTxwKetGF3y-OWsVe880yms-QSESnaCUA4JXEl7O4GfvdE23mbK6ULRQ2cb1xDzvgHFZs4F9gSv9YW/s1600-h/DSC_0546.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgV1KRPtqHXAHx8TJtxMfE6V_rQqSZF0M55kRXfOluJZpOiQi0Rt_SpAkRP22JxiTxwKetGF3y-OWsVe880yms-QSESnaCUA4JXEl7O4GfvdE23mbK6ULRQ2cb1xDzvgHFZs4F9gSv9YW/s320/DSC_0546.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401882734976386322" /></a><br />From the river<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0DTefCbKih9ovhMdgrwoePtz3uFDSwQxvFWVJwwftT49vKYX2QTK-d7NBDrOzJCqmdrCjHtGeuxJ11CyeY6lW8AsXQe3ps-K5ao0klIkUq9RpgqKhReiyIsLqUaVyPvMCXe_I8tyjtPh/s1600-h/DSC_0537.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0DTefCbKih9ovhMdgrwoePtz3uFDSwQxvFWVJwwftT49vKYX2QTK-d7NBDrOzJCqmdrCjHtGeuxJ11CyeY6lW8AsXQe3ps-K5ao0klIkUq9RpgqKhReiyIsLqUaVyPvMCXe_I8tyjtPh/s320/DSC_0537.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401882731386435698" /></a><br />Bedrooms<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSt9HUNKUr1HGmnMbS6bJOjbVLQJKrZ2gtR-6KsxX7wl54FQUjbua8L66XCa2z47cg5AcXp133I6CtPvq0UsraxTjLahtomtzzwqkbCpimKnlgFO8bTHeFCJFAfVaxDWcNoboaUUBFGey/s1600-h/DSC_0534.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSt9HUNKUr1HGmnMbS6bJOjbVLQJKrZ2gtR-6KsxX7wl54FQUjbua8L66XCa2z47cg5AcXp133I6CtPvq0UsraxTjLahtomtzzwqkbCpimKnlgFO8bTHeFCJFAfVaxDWcNoboaUUBFGey/s320/DSC_0534.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401882729575225394" /></a><br />Well-trimmed<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1BlNBNOEQXkLY46H02Sf6JXJC0yb2tWa1XcC4u6Gq6siMRvPyNPSSvBXIkEWM3bdhLa0Dz6CoOzOlggkYvoPlSXGgDyHgLDXSC3DCT-ax-kc-qxwT3nahvil0CJQPK_K6tcS93p-GSHw/s1600-h/DSC_0582.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1BlNBNOEQXkLY46H02Sf6JXJC0yb2tWa1XcC4u6Gq6siMRvPyNPSSvBXIkEWM3bdhLa0Dz6CoOzOlggkYvoPlSXGgDyHgLDXSC3DCT-ax-kc-qxwT3nahvil0CJQPK_K6tcS93p-GSHw/s320/DSC_0582.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401889221051955394" /></a><br />Purdy Wall<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIEsf-j8f0aYLGDf-CVEUZ4U8EtzfojAAGt-R8mftbH-_Rz6dtnXmIRttacBJ4tP41kQDzuM0CjcbF9R0vmN4p75YK2GL9MCuBuWlBdNEYMv_mlHoWRLuHbgj1I878oIOHiEupijm8mAf/s1600-h/DSC_0565.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIEsf-j8f0aYLGDf-CVEUZ4U8EtzfojAAGt-R8mftbH-_Rz6dtnXmIRttacBJ4tP41kQDzuM0CjcbF9R0vmN4p75YK2GL9MCuBuWlBdNEYMv_mlHoWRLuHbgj1I878oIOHiEupijm8mAf/s320/DSC_0565.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401889216784100274" /></a><br />Blocks<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhnUEJFmWR6qwj3U0FZY4qRREbkS6XUv8bzXNe0PO8fx9GYWTcNIPlvILf33QYPkogP4PEKXJoJbxXM-RtkYU_VXBNRQXNVfc9Fd2WctUmP4N-oGr3p2K8JQw44HJNcWXFTzo7DSGOpE4/s1600-h/DSC_0557.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhnUEJFmWR6qwj3U0FZY4qRREbkS6XUv8bzXNe0PO8fx9GYWTcNIPlvILf33QYPkogP4PEKXJoJbxXM-RtkYU_VXBNRQXNVfc9Fd2WctUmP4N-oGr3p2K8JQw44HJNcWXFTzo7DSGOpE4/s320/DSC_0557.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401889208098916162" /></a><br />Wine Shop<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_dPNqHmu0oRn2MZnjOEAaB-uIdqtHskcP60F-GLhoHkn6S2RY4URv3gOwis4XRC6Uoazep6sHf0qrxBOB9eG7p-rgKJlUMWMiJA_DSy30bg4cEFczoBZJ18XXO_rrwxrHp05180-fzqF/s1600-h/DSC_0554.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_dPNqHmu0oRn2MZnjOEAaB-uIdqtHskcP60F-GLhoHkn6S2RY4URv3gOwis4XRC6Uoazep6sHf0qrxBOB9eG7p-rgKJlUMWMiJA_DSy30bg4cEFczoBZJ18XXO_rrwxrHp05180-fzqF/s320/DSC_0554.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401889203109955618" /></a><br />Yum<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHINwG9BazcIBVCIamQnVoQY1jpnXjRWgeCCu2NAm0ikhw27rBpOfw3GJ5TCdmZy22MmOVUKWsNzZFGcy0jiApkMNqtgY9zeYQbVIyTEXZ3_EyncgtBRXcYT28DStCvqtZ7oWVJMJn3rwQ/s1600-h/DSC_0553.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHINwG9BazcIBVCIamQnVoQY1jpnXjRWgeCCu2NAm0ikhw27rBpOfw3GJ5TCdmZy22MmOVUKWsNzZFGcy0jiApkMNqtgY9zeYQbVIyTEXZ3_EyncgtBRXcYT28DStCvqtZ7oWVJMJn3rwQ/s320/DSC_0553.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401889194110326914" /></a><br />Chapel<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1vqpB4JrZR8A7Q9inrbVkataLXysPTLjXRyADGMinb2wv7J1DsE0LlVyxBKESXP4dI_pMYCBkS4gVdvY5H63cLMn1Y15WravQN2ptRZ8A31dKAu6UDeox4DU3asnk4ReEVX3pCNG17bT/s1600-h/DSC_0590.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1vqpB4JrZR8A7Q9inrbVkataLXysPTLjXRyADGMinb2wv7J1DsE0LlVyxBKESXP4dI_pMYCBkS4gVdvY5H63cLMn1Y15WravQN2ptRZ8A31dKAu6UDeox4DU3asnk4ReEVX3pCNG17bT/s320/DSC_0590.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401890687726212562" /></a><br />Church<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFN5s5qxGrwJa3Ld54BKTbc-Le_MzLxIHIH6FI-V6XF0xvJWfQt0K1zdX_rzz8_aaA_t4OOjfiv63Cjj3fEc_l2oHVJ4ZQUwfMhQGhYMWBIB6ii0tVzScH__CiV0Vg-JoXrWJuC3jb_XP/s1600-h/DSC_0586.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFN5s5qxGrwJa3Ld54BKTbc-Le_MzLxIHIH6FI-V6XF0xvJWfQt0K1zdX_rzz8_aaA_t4OOjfiv63Cjj3fEc_l2oHVJ4ZQUwfMhQGhYMWBIB6ii0tVzScH__CiV0Vg-JoXrWJuC3jb_XP/s320/DSC_0586.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401890678717809826" /></a><br />Coffee from a "very friendly" (according to Alex) barista<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdDpieZPXV218EHlQr37XuiGuN0K3MT6qcpuquNP8rkgUomNVkuFSFN4Mplj4OV5o7et42oMWnnc7TVHlLtfyNRSglUSuBuhGU313A0aS6PKxa2NwadmlCm_gBHOWsNWahpwwrOQnJwCZ/s1600-h/DSC_0584.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdDpieZPXV218EHlQr37XuiGuN0K3MT6qcpuquNP8rkgUomNVkuFSFN4Mplj4OV5o7et42oMWnnc7TVHlLtfyNRSglUSuBuhGU313A0aS6PKxa2NwadmlCm_gBHOWsNWahpwwrOQnJwCZ/s320/DSC_0584.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401890672056151842" /></a><br /><br />There are more, but that's the max for a post, and they take a while to upload. Maybe I'll post more later.NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-48721982548901235492009-10-10T07:21:00.000-07:002009-10-10T15:14:34.249-07:00Pitchfork's PitchToday, I was looking over the top 200 albums of the decade, as voted by the editors of Pitchfork Media, the online commentary on the state of contemporary music. Pitchfork might well be thought of as fulfilling a role corresponding to that filled by Rolling Stone in its early days, namely being cutting edge enough to be liked by those of "counter-culture" inclinations (more on this later) but of wide enough distribution to bring these same bands from the fringe to the limelight, as well as being self-concerned enough to develop a fairly consistent image.<br /><br />In general, I like Pitchfork. Its reviews can tend towards hyperbole, both in laud and disdain, but it does some cool things, and I hardly think it's a bad thing that Fleet Foxes have them to thank for being known well beyond Seattle. But the past month or so has turned me sour towards them as regards the latter part of the last paragraph, namely in terms of their need for instant canonization. There are a few odd things about their system. Firstly, they choose some of the oddest candidates, particularly in their list of the top 500 songs of the decade, not really seeming in touch with the rest of the world so much as with their own presuppositions. Secondly, even they fall prey to the trap of all forms of canonization (I've yet encountered, anyway,) namely thinking (apparent) influence to be interchangable with value. This has bothered me a lot (more so in music, but literature and film too) in the past few years, mainly because I was one of those people who preferred old music because it was more important. The opposite is equally probelematic, as turning your back on the past and thinking we've reached some heretofore unrparalleled height in anything is arrogant.<br /><br />It raises interesting questions though. Regardless of their view now, what will the new Pitchfork stand-in think of this list in ten, twenty, thirty years? Or, more interesting to me, what philosophical trends will our kids disband as bloated bogus? Particularly in thinking about the various lives I consider for my future, whether that of the academic, writer, teacher, pastor and/or artist, one is essentially laying him/herself on the chopping block for the next round to counterexamine. What things that seem so cohesive and remedial now will be dogmatic and oppressive soon? And when they do, how will <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">I</span></span> respond?<br /><br />This relates to something endemic of a broader tendency I found in an article released by Adbusters on the Hipster phenomenon (deemed by them "The Dead End of Western Civilization,"). I think of these two together because (if not merely for the primal hipster/pitchfork association,) the same desire for instant canonization seems tied to that of excessive global connectiveness. In short, the article argues that, in contrast to the various trans-national youth/student movements of the last sixty years, that of the hipster is self-conscious and inbred to the point of utter meaninglessness and self-destruction (unlike hippies, punks, mods/rockers, or grunge(rs?), all of whom defined themselves boldly and fought for their right to party, as it were, hipsters speak with disdain. I haven't read the whole article, but a part that felt of particular relevance was that concerning the mode of communication of this generation, i.e. blogs and forums, by which persons discover the newest video/scandal/source of irony and send it to all their friends, neither claiming nor denying credit.<br /><br />So as to bypass any comments of the sort that say "So Nate is basically saying, 'I'm not a hipster?' Isn't that what all the hipsters say?" (quoted nigh directly from a response to the aforementioned article,) I can't debt that I have a lot of the fashionable factors, such as a fixed-gear bicycle, a love for foreign films, an impractical course of undergraduate study, and a distaste for analytic philosophy. I don't know if I'm a hipster; I'll just say that I hope I'm not, at least in the terminology described in the article. (Parenthetically, neither is Adbusters, as their persistantly legitimate activism, for all its occasional ridiculousness, is light years away from the apathy that characterizes the pseudo-activism of many in our generation.) I hope that my desire for these things stems not from a desire to mimic the "always-already" canon but rather from a sincere enoyment (or as nearly so as possible.) It reminds me of Mr. Layton, my high school English teacher (almost undoubtedly the reason I'm studying literature now,) who taught things not for their so-called lasting literary value but rather for their relevance to his students' lives, while never degrading into show-and-tell literary discussion. I hope that if I teach, I can manage that; I guess that's the response to shifting climates of thought and preference I hope for.<br /><br />Thinking about instantly gratified comunication touched home for one of the many reasons I got rid of facebook that I had been thinking about anyway. Namely, I realize that in quitting facebook, I miss people more. But more specifically, I miss them as <span style="font-style: italic;">people</span>, something which is not impossible on facebook, but (for me at least) more difficult. We make ourselves ripe for essentialization on facebook (blogs too, I know...) and think less about each other than the internet medium between us that doesn't really exist. Once again, thinking about the fact that physical limits are a good thing (thanks Nathan.)<br /><br />I have more thoughts about the whole "us having bodies" thing but I'll save that for later, as well as more on the issues of "newest scandal" and mimicry, for they relate to something I'm reading (I'm looking at you Ben Olsen.)NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-45597682187804578912009-10-03T11:15:00.001-07:002009-10-10T16:22:57.858-07:00RigaI spent most of last week (7:30 A.M. on the 3rd of October till October 6th at 10:30 P.M.) in a beautiful Riga apartment owned by the Hargan family (Kelly, Donna, and son Tyler,) friends of Brent's from Colorado. As part of Josiah Venture, they train youth leaders there, and welcomed the three of us into their home with wonderful food and kindness.<br /><br />Upon return, it was interesting to compare trips with the others, as theirs were often of the mile-a-minute variety, trying squeeze a lot of material into a short time span, whether in Venice or Paris. Contrastingly, our time was nicely relaxed, though by no means boring. We woke up around 11:00 every morning, ate homemade dinner every night (one night Thai food by our own hands/utensils, as thanks to Donna and Kelly,) did minimal sight-seeing in the focused sense, and had the chance to do some enjoyable reading (Alex read James Bond, I read Ulysses, ahem!) recharging, and conversing.<br /><br />This was my first time in a country where I not only wasn't a native speaker of the language, but had no knowledge of the language upon entry (both times I was in México, I spoke enough Spanish to converse and listen easily.) This was super fun, as we just learned word-by-word and phrase-by-phrase in a practical way, learning things like street, "I want," please, thank you, hello, good bye, beer, coffee, food, etc. I enjoyed this process, and would love to have the opportunity to really learn a language in this manner, though even more immersively.<br /><br />One of the few touristy things we did was to visit the museum of Latvia's occupation from 1940-1991. As a whole, the museum was really affecting and arranged well. It's a really interesting building too, being held above ground at the corners so that you can walk under it. After about twenty years of independence, they were retaken by the Soviets (their previous rulers.) A couple years later, the Nazis took them over, breaking their agreement with the Soviets to respect one another's interests in the Baltics.<br /><br />It turns out that the previous two years of horror (complete with expulsions to gulags, deportations to Russia, torture, disappearances, and more; the usual gamut of Soviet control,) the Nazis were welcomed as liberators. Building on this, the Nazis would proceed to blame the Soviet terror on the Latvian Jews (for to send them to their own camps,) but were generally more supported than the Soviets by the general population it seems, as some even willingly joined the German army to fight the Soviets. In reading about this and considering it later, it's such a horror to think on the fact that at that time, one had to choose which of the two he or she would fight, and which would thereby be supported. It was also so strange and scary to see the ways in which the propaganda shifted as Latvia flipped back and forth between Soviet, Nazi, and back to Soviet control, and just how blithely they were lied to for the worship of an idea.<br />After this, of course, the Soviets took back over after the war, somehow being allowed highly unlawful control of not just Latvia, but Lithuania and Estonia as well, which they would maintain till their fall in 1991. Really incredible museum, one of my favorites from the whole time.<br /><br />I will post photos soon, after I've edited them. Or maybe once I get too lazy to edit them.<br /><br />PS I typed this from a place I've yearned for since I've gotten to Oxford: a loud, talky place to get a legitimate latte and camp out till midnight and work on reading etc. I've had various places that fulfilled one or two of those criteria, but was grossly out of whack on the rest, but I was made aware this afternoon of an ice cream place in south Oxford called G&D's Ice Cream, and I've been working here a couple hours, eating their stellar Bailey's and Cream flavor and a real latte. Ahhhhhhhh.<br /><div> </div>NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-51769322917123889432009-09-29T05:53:00.000-07:002009-09-29T09:13:40.242-07:00Nathan Reed, George Orwell, and Eastern OrthodoxyAll combine forces towards a seemingly tangential result. This result, akin to many, or nearly all of my decisions, comes without much real deliniation, but took a lot of stimuli and time to make it happen. I'm going to leave facebook for a more extended time than I normally do. This is not quite an immediate thing.<br /><br />Fort those as of yet unfamiliar with Nathan Reed, he is my roommate out here (along with Alex McCauley, of course, with whom I was already friend before coming out.) While I hardly think the thought process starts utterly with him, he's a nice starting point, as he deleted his facebook a while ago, and has since made redoubled efforts to change his habits about correspondence, to great success. I was particularly struck by something he said affected his decision a lot, namely thinking about the fact that we're created as physical beings, with physical limits, and that these make relationships difficult for good reason, namely in their ability to make us work to know one another. This was of heightened interest for me in my recently increased interest in/drawing towards the Orthodox Church, namely in its higher emphasis on the bodily as factor in spiritual experience. This is particularly palpable in the perpeutal sensory input one encounters in a service.<br /><br />And Orwell was the final straw, though in an odd way. I haven't been reading him, and probably won't unless I decide to read him for my modern literature tutorial. However, in learning about him in a portion of our British Landscapes today, I was struck throughout the account of his life by his singularity, and how he lived out the last bit of his life in utter isolation, writing. Not to say I expect I'll do this myself, nor that this is the vision I have for my life without facebook, but...you get the idea.<br /><br />Previously, I'd toyed with the idea of leaving Facebook, but didn't because I didn't want to cut myself off from people, and I don't regret that by any means. What's more, there's an element of it that felts (and sometimes still feels, even now,) selfish, for on the surface, I'm saying "I want to be in better contact with my friends," when in fact one could just as easily phrase it as "I don't want to interact in this way, whether or not it's the easiest for you or not.<br /><br />However, I'm trying to approach this in a more constructive manner to previous attempts, as I think this is not harder, but easier while I'm away from home, as I see almost nobody I have known a while (Alex and Brent being the exceptions) on a regular basis, and therefore any interactions I have with folks back in the states (anywhere in the states) are on a deliberate basis anyway, and having the barrier makes it so that I will have to shift that form of intention in <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> my relationships. Moreover, I think that it will make me more present while here, for in writing letters and blog posts, I'll have been more observant, or at least observant of different things, than had I been merely spending time on facebook doing nothing. This isn't to say I feel I haven't been present while I've been here, but I do believe I could be more so.<br /><br />I realize this isn't really an update proper, but I hope it gives some idea of things I'm thinking about, scattered throughout. Furthermore, the very purpose of this post is to say that one mode (among others) that I plan to use more often is this very blog. This ends up coming into every post I've written, but I hope the earnestness isn't taken as fake. Not only do I see it as a good form of reflection, but also a way to keep people updated.<br /><br />(As I type this, I am reminded of Alex further, as he talked once about how when he has more to do, he finds himself gaming more often. Hm, and I finally finish a blog post for the first time in over a month while I have a lot to write...)NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-10832500683790313932009-08-28T18:26:00.000-07:002009-10-22T04:12:41.606-07:00Peaches in the Name, Oranges in the Font<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">I imagine somebody has (hopefully with at least some mild irony) written of the deeper personal dismemberment that results from minute cultural differences, as contrasted with those of surprisingly less acute sting while in one utterly different, for their ease in being ignored and the corresponding immediacy of the former. Take a toilet. If somebody is used to a rather American toilet, more specifically one for which he must pull down the flush, he or she will be far more confused (and, perhaps even disgruntled) at a near identical toilet whose flush must be pushed up than one shaped like a spaceship, for the latter will hardly even be considered a toilet; it will be so foreign - in an array of ways - that it will only be admired or mocked, like a museum artifact.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"> While I don't really think this is necessarily true in all cases on either side, it is an interesting thing to think about, being in a country whose language is all but identical (bathroom->loo/toilet...yeah I think that's it) and whose cultures are adapatable both ways, not to mention mutually influence. And no, I haven't felt like the aforentioned imaginary person, I just was thinking about it. While not terribly disorienting culturally, London has indeed been nothing but eye-opening from the start. The pace is so fun. I have thought over the past year how I have enjoyed living in Seattle for its pace much of the time, and I love ending the day exhausted by the constant movement, which is simply everywhere. I think this will be even more fun once Alex and Brent get here, and even less exhausting, in an odd way. Either way, I've come back to my (very generous) host family (friends of friends from church) as late as possible all three nights, or at least as late as I feel comfortable without risking potential strandage.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">A few highlights:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"> Wednesday, I wasn't really in any shape to go anywhere till around dinner, so I stayed relatively close to the Wolff's, heading off to Hamstead, as Noelle told me there were some good pubs out that direction. I managed to find - after some wandering, which led me unintentionally to the house in which Keats wrote "Ode to a Nightingale," among others (see below) - a cool quiet old pub near a vegetarian Indian place (no breaking under the unyielding(?) fish 'n' chips pressure yet!)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">First beer in London, at the Duke of Hamilton:</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguIYUMzAwUu2jdgz5bBCvd5KYdI6f-5HV8NA05eKlFRviuC4Jc16TdCsz8IbtCHUbcoyTPlP1K4YohJOnbQuxq501SYxs3fSOmzg5X4jQhhL09lRkVFNyN25iAuIlEBvXJAQDu6ptDwXzQ/s1600-h/DSC_0146-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguIYUMzAwUu2jdgz5bBCvd5KYdI6f-5HV8NA05eKlFRviuC4Jc16TdCsz8IbtCHUbcoyTPlP1K4YohJOnbQuxq501SYxs3fSOmzg5X4jQhhL09lRkVFNyN25iAuIlEBvXJAQDu6ptDwXzQ/s320/DSC_0146-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375210831862684338" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fUFy8XoHZdT2OuU93Fh5zcjj02IyqrwkH6GN120eIYWOeE8VvQsiip72i_Lxn7SYpnHlXP6Pb7XtUloXxwcicxDtdTyXgaHW9KCsvnMaDl69xP1mQws1HXjOjBpCpb8OSMEKZx5ZZyku/s1600-h/DSC_0155.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fUFy8XoHZdT2OuU93Fh5zcjj02IyqrwkH6GN120eIYWOeE8VvQsiip72i_Lxn7SYpnHlXP6Pb7XtUloXxwcicxDtdTyXgaHW9KCsvnMaDl69xP1mQws1HXjOjBpCpb8OSMEKZx5ZZyku/s320/DSC_0155.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375211441370869554" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Thursday, I slept in a little, and spent the whole afternoon in the British Museum. I generally enjoy museums, but don't normally have the stamina for that many hours, but had I not gotten hungry, I could have gone longer. The shear magnitude of it is incomprehensible in numbers, but even more so in site. Just the great hall is amazing, and that just composes a fraction of the museum. Afterward, I wandered about Soho, which is my favorite district so far, and ate/drank at a pub I'd read about in my (now lost) guide book called the Dog and Duck, which was also a great choice. Good food, very nice environment, and suprisingly uncrowded (plus, George Orwell went there all the time.)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Today was a buffet; I went all over the place. I started at Westminster Abbey, which I will write more on later, as I want to think about it more, but I'll at least say that what the British Museum did for grandness with museums for me, so did Westminster for churches. However, there are levels of the finery, the way it is portrayed, the fact that it costs money (while the museum doesn't,) the fact that you can't take photos despite the inextricable ties between church and state (i.e., why is it okay for it to be overwhelmingly focused on the crown, yet still be so revered as to not warrant layperson photography) that make the place off-putting in ways. Super important to see and glorious, but I'm not sure what it means. I can say that poet's corner was pretty incredible, particularly seeing as I saw original prints of most of the figures there at the National Portrait Gallery later in the day.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">(Me there, the abbey from outside)</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJbtAXD1e3N19NcYqWKQKjIgUwvZSp5jFurFyEscV6LA2tUNVQdaIPGAHA6Nj7N_JNJz6eS0fbQr3OcwE9oFrDZRS1LQevCD82uNqroKeZGpJX8ONqRsGQw6kydLitbDrGXV7V9inuYpR/s1600-h/DSC_0383-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJbtAXD1e3N19NcYqWKQKjIgUwvZSp5jFurFyEscV6LA2tUNVQdaIPGAHA6Nj7N_JNJz6eS0fbQr3OcwE9oFrDZRS1LQevCD82uNqroKeZGpJX8ONqRsGQw6kydLitbDrGXV7V9inuYpR/s320/DSC_0383-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375208684006039634" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTIupHcZW7fSMuR7WVXOrUEn2ItF9kYj5hN14kETNk4YbIhp1drHD4SXvGAIBrhTc_kjLajNV2vnjlfkDm3Osu0_EsAWCZ_YPdV7WSNHSNElGdT5JcXkpG6HX5iQfsDRTyo8642cbWhZE/s1600-h/DSC_0377-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTIupHcZW7fSMuR7WVXOrUEn2ItF9kYj5hN14kETNk4YbIhp1drHD4SXvGAIBrhTc_kjLajNV2vnjlfkDm3Osu0_EsAWCZ_YPdV7WSNHSNElGdT5JcXkpG6HX5iQfsDRTyo8642cbWhZE/s320/DSC_0377-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375209572627447586" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Afterward, I went in a totally different direction, visiting a photography gallery I read about in the same lost guide book, which proved to be fascinating. I fingered through tons of monographs in their extensive book store, looked at photos by André Kertesz in a series called "On Reading" (see below) and one on male fashion. They also had prints for sale (starting at £250...) and I found among these Vee Spears (among others,) whose work I really enjoyed. Her photo below and right was for sale there (click to see; it went off the frame against my will,) part of a great series called "The Birthday Party." I think I'll be back there at least once more, particularly if/when I come to London during the term, and the galleries change.</span><br /> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mAtal7rTCFJWAzLSVounYZh9oD1GhsYwXTF2RwOVcqTlKOiaIMo8ob1zUj4VGvMIL-YlYPEiXTBA0CeI3iKWBf2aOX4qdoWdavm6v4JT1P0yIWmR8ZxWad0PEbBZR6hy47avdaPMxKZW/s1600-h/YNEmNMxXLq9d6kfd2jZQ2IVco1_500.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mAtal7rTCFJWAzLSVounYZh9oD1GhsYwXTF2RwOVcqTlKOiaIMo8ob1zUj4VGvMIL-YlYPEiXTBA0CeI3iKWBf2aOX4qdoWdavm6v4JT1P0yIWmR8ZxWad0PEbBZR6hy47avdaPMxKZW/s320/YNEmNMxXLq9d6kfd2jZQ2IVco1_500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375212676258730370" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZJavkmZDqTpU-yeOEoLdg3ESrswLZjTfKLLBRHT9148L4oopFEfYODW7eTFXlWyJs6UyfckDaj5H6lWVwhEDCVvHGOgBH0n1UFfwmi7OSz-z-keKgexjz1GIFwU5nrSKi-L9oqf-DKZV/s1600-h/speers1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZJavkmZDqTpU-yeOEoLdg3ESrswLZjTfKLLBRHT9148L4oopFEfYODW7eTFXlWyJs6UyfckDaj5H6lWVwhEDCVvHGOgBH0n1UFfwmi7OSz-z-keKgexjz1GIFwU5nrSKi-L9oqf-DKZV/s320/speers1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375214213166013682" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">After this, I made my way to the National Portrait Gallery, at which I saw incredible original portraits of...just about everybody from Britain. All the famous images of writers and royalty were there. A couple of my favorites below, of William Blake andVirginia Woolf (the latter wasn't on display today) respectively left to right.</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hDXkBD1p2JyG6fwROKb-kVGhED5dj9aHT7rzRoYQkEIJt8P7LVDJYgKP10KJYA_TVq6z50X6BgC2vc7utYl9wNN57LwOI4p4yi4FUbElS8FimwHRekwjxC2SCSHrTWzYDAiVJFibcIfG/s1600-h/Blake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hDXkBD1p2JyG6fwROKb-kVGhED5dj9aHT7rzRoYQkEIJt8P7LVDJYgKP10KJYA_TVq6z50X6BgC2vc7utYl9wNN57LwOI4p4yi4FUbElS8FimwHRekwjxC2SCSHrTWzYDAiVJFibcIfG/s320/Blake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375206486022329010" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuF4-xVkGZDMD6_C1xasCRmTxbcls6DfdkxodSNuQvRlWYZXlj9F3danpOxeNsgHb3suGbZa8cM5I4KHt5TNXSruYPbfzMf14NXhyphenhyphenowPCYyh-Oz1J6rGVs2LVHwGbU5p5J1cUWz1RK6C2/s1600-h/woolf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuF4-xVkGZDMD6_C1xasCRmTxbcls6DfdkxodSNuQvRlWYZXlj9F3danpOxeNsgHb3suGbZa8cM5I4KHt5TNXSruYPbfzMf14NXhyphenhyphenowPCYyh-Oz1J6rGVs2LVHwGbU5p5J1cUWz1RK6C2/s320/woolf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375206552806933330" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Finally, after dinner/Guiness in a pub, I perused the National Gallery for its final hour before it closed, which I thought wouldn't be nearly enough, and nearly was. It's not as large as I expected, but it had some beautiful Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Velásquez. I stopped back at the Dog and Duck on the way back to the train, and here I am, at 3:30 A.M., writing this...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">In all these galleries, museums, and attractions, I've been trying something new, which has been working really well: I write down just about everything that interests me. Maybe all my teachers saying writing things make them sink in way better finally...well, sunk in, but it's made me remember things far more vividly, and when I look on pictures of things from the British Museum (I wrote the name and year of everything I photographed,) I can say what it is.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">As for tomorrow, it will probably be a lighter day than today. I might walk around Kensington Gardens and read a little, or something else pleasant like that. Did I really just type that? This is still weird.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">In one week's time, I'll be meeting the 50+ students in my program whom I've yet to meet. How exciting! Till then, I will continue to enjoy myself.</span>NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-31544247096792165492009-08-26T15:42:00.000-07:002009-08-26T15:53:27.773-07:00Oxford!<img src="file:///Users/netr22/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Modified/2005/Roll%20204/DSC_0125.JPG" alt="" />Hi all!<br />So, for those of you who don't know, I'll be living in the UK for the coming four(ish) months and studying at Oxford, and I thought this was a perfect time to start writing in my blog again, seeing as everyone's favorite thing is read the thoughts of people studying abroad...right? I'm already there, spending a little over a week in London and Dublin (mostly the former, two days in the latter) prior to embarking to campus for my studies.<br />While future posts will feature more in-depth thought, I'm tired, and will wait to post a couple pictures tomorrow from today (and any I take tomorrow,) all with comments.<br />Hope this can give you a window into my time,<br />Nate<br />PS To further emphasize this new era of blogging, in which I actually am I have renamed it for now, as I never liked "Musings," and I chose this (temporary? permanent?) name from a quote in Annie Dillard's <span style="font-style: italic;">Pilgrim at Tinker Creek</span>, in which she talks about blind people receiving site for the first time, and how depth and seemingly intrinsic differences between objects and things don't yet exist. In trying to bring herself to such a point, she notes how our habitual vision is near impossible to return from, that she can't "unpeach the peach," and I hope that any writing/thinking we do is aimed at least in part at that very thing: taking seeming givens and letting them melt before our eyes.<br />Not sure what that has to do with consistency (I'll think of something tomorrow,) but principally it's a change.NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-5478837169626370672008-05-10T17:19:00.001-07:002008-05-11T12:24:08.369-07:00Parfaits!While at New Horizons training yesterday (a two-Saturday training program to learn how to best serve homeless youth, also a pre-req for volunteering there) that life can be thought of in terms of layers. For example, I encountered this on Urban Plunge. Suddenly, now that I was dressed a certain way, the droning of certain things was no longer audible, but a very different rhythm of words and images were emphasized -- some of which had been heretofore less noticeable, and others not perceived at all. While in Westlake, in the midst of shoppers, policemen, and all other variety of people, pot could be requested for or offered to us with no hesitation. How did I not notice this while there any of the times I went there as a kid with my family? I think that a similar layer was omnipresent in high school, one concerning the sexual and drug-related exploits of my fellow classmates, though I was equally oblivious to this, because I wasn't really addressed with it or seeking it out.<br /> I think that this is what Jesus meant when He said that the Kingdom of Heaven is now. A leader at a camp I went to likened it to the spectrum of light that we can and can't see, the latter limited by our bodies, and that our spiritual "eyes" have similar limits. To me, this whole thing implies two things:<br />a) Heaven doesn't feel like it is a place "over there" to me, but rather that reality that we cannot perceive completely right now.<br />b) We can perceive it and participate in it, at least in part, in a similar sort of "layer-shifting" that went on during Plunge.<br />I'm pretty sure this looks different for everyone, too. One of my dear friends and I were talking yesterday, and I got on him a little about being overly bold and explicit about his faith, that Jesus doesn't desire us to smother people. He's the sort whose intensity for God always seems about to stop increasing, but somehow, it never does, and I admire him immensely for it. In the conversation, while he agreed with what I was saying, it became clear that deepening connection to the Kingdom meant different things for us right now. As can be seen in the previous post, I am finding a distinct call to be more silent in my faith, becoming not dependent upon feelings or experience, but on a metronome-like prayer life, a direction my friend is not headed. I have been so perpetually struck this year by how different God works in people, something that can seem frightening/discouraging/confusing at first, but has become a thing of beauty for me. "Don't badmouth what God is doing in other churches." -- Dr. Nüesch-Olver. Not sure if that was going somewhere particular, but this seems a sufficient place to stop, yes.NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-22315524734516814902008-04-29T11:06:00.000-07:002008-04-29T23:58:57.127-07:00What is progress?I don't want my faith to be founded upon experiences. If I were to sum up the general trajectory that I think God puts us on, I would say that he is fashioning us into beings that know Him completely enough to not need intense experiences to know Him. When I think of many people whom I consider prominent spiritual figures in my own life (St. Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Richard Foster, Oswald Chambers,) they all experienced a certain silence from God that increased as they moved along in their spiritual journey. I believe this is a part of what Paul meant when he called himself "the greatest of all sinners," not merely trying to emphasize his humanity, but revealing what true growth is with God -- that is, characterized by silence. Human relationships move towards this as well, as the people who truly know each other don't need to say anything. This is similar to my thoughts on lowness during my last post. It's so hard to become truly insignificant. Alec put it well in relating it to James, that we should rejoice in suffering, because then God is making progress with us.<br />I am not implying that God neither shapes us nor reveals Himself to us through intense experiences; indeed, He does for me, and when I think of just how hard this would be, it's pretty scary. However, I hope that I can someday I can take God's silence in <span style="font-style: italic;">exactly</span> the same way I take his intensity.NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-683430863907613672008-04-24T14:33:00.001-07:002008-04-25T10:37:53.594-07:00YtinavTwo nights ago, I shaved my face for the first time in almost six months. I had finally gotten sick of my facial hair becoming a new form of doodling within class. Prior to this particular beard, I believe my record sat somewhere in the 3.5 month vicinity. However, as some know, I didn't shave off the whole thing. I left a grotesque combination of a soul patch (I put the <span style="font-style: italic;">soul</span> in soul patch,) a Fu Man Chu (I put the <span style="font-style: italic;">man</span> in Fu Man Chu,) and large, braidable (we tried it) mutton chops (I took the mutton out of mutton chops, cuz im a veggieterrian, c boi?) I always enjoy doing this, because it's sort of like Halloween, except you're the only one dressed up. I had every intention of using Thomas Castle's mustache wax the next day, milking my comedic material for all its worth.<br /> Then, I went to group. Believe it or not, this was my first time at group, my absence up to this point being mostly a consequence of some seeds of snobbery that still have yet to be rooted out. For the most part, I enjoyed the whole thing. I would have liked it more had the Scripture <span style="font-style: italic;">not </span>been explained, because though the music was better than I expected and the passages they chose spoke to me, the way in which they had to give an inadequate explanation of the passage afterward only served to distract me, as it didn't really let the passage speak for itself. On the whole, however, it was worthwhile and I plan to attend at least more regularly.<br /> However, that's not really the point. While I was there, I remembered something I said in passing to a friend of mine. For some reason, he was talking about his struggles with vanity, and how he was trying to work on that. To this I said semi-jokingly that I "struggle" (quotes implied in my sarcasm at the time) far more with reverse vanity. That is to say, I pride myself on being somebody who never buys new clothes, whose cell phone doesn't have a camera, who isn't a germaphobe, and who lets himself smell every once in a while, whether from a lack of shampoo or a lack of laundry (both of which stem from laziness just as much as intention, honestly.) While I had meant it to some extent, I didn't really take it too seriously. Then, while I sat with my facial hair, the attraction of the day for many people, I thought seriously about the reasons for why I do some of these things. They aren't all for attention. In fact, all of the things I mentioned above are rooted in something I believe and take seriously. However, there is a strange sort of flaunting that I can easily tag on, as if to say "look at me, I'm so selfless and not centered on material things, what up!" I really don't want to be that sort of person. It made me think a lot about when Jesus said to only boast in Him, and not in <span style="font-style: italic;">anything</span> else, even good things. It's so hard to understand what the lowness God calls us to really looks like, because lowness with a trumpet or a sombre face is not real humility.NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784915929503522216.post-43888852154430087522008-03-23T22:24:00.001-07:002008-03-23T22:24:46.285-07:00Urban Plunge ReflectionIf I were to sum up Urban Plunge in one sentence, I would do so in this way: “It was both a big and new step, yet an altogether preliminary one. If you don’t wish to read a couple pages of further explanation, I suppose this would be the place to stop.<br />The truth of the matter is this: it’s impossible to understand Urban Plunge without going. I really desire that this sounds as non-condescending as possible, for I don’t wish to elevate myself, as if I came out of this experience with a more potent moral compass. If anything, the experience has served far more to illuminate faults in myself. It’s impossible to fully communicate partly because different things strike different people. Additionally, every group has a unique experience. Ultimately, (and I believe, most importantly,) the difficulty arises in that through the experience, one learns almost entirely things that he/she did not expect.<br />For example, in considering the difficulties to be faced prior to embarking on Plunge, the ones most likely to come to mind would be finding food, staying warm, avoiding death, and the like. However, these were hardly the larger difficulties faced, particularly in light of the fact that we were given a place to sleep (the second of those would have been harder, otherwise.) It became quite clear how to avoid danger, and finding food simply depended on looking in enough trash cans/dumpsters, begging at enough market stands, going to shelters, and spanging (spare-changing)/asking for leftovers. The true difficulties arose in the psychological experiences, most particularly at the end, when faced with the prospect of going home, clarifying how the experience would not suffice on its own. This hasn’t been made easier in coming home, as I feel like almost every action is measured by my experience. I can’t say that I’ve not eaten anything out at all, but I do see food differently, and I pray that this new mindset will continue.<br />In addressing the first part of my one-sentence summary of the experience, I have completely new eyes as a result of this experience. After Plunge, going downtown will be wholly new, for as it progressed, one encountered the same homeless people every day. People we encountered at Westlake on the first day were hanging out at the very same stage at Westlake on Monday night. When I sat at the end, on Tuesday, I looked at Seattle from Gasworks Park differently. It was a huge conglomeration of individuals, not the homeless and the non-homeless.<br />As for the second part, there is still so much for me to do. The experience is so deep, and yet it's so shallow, in that we always knew there was not only an end to it, but even if we were legitimately homeless, we hadn't been rejected by the world innumerable times; we had a support system that we don't realize.I felt like there were so many more people to meet, so many things I didn’t understand, and so much that I want to change in myself as a result. I want to hear more stories, and understand all the people who we watched, but couldn’t talk to. I want to bridge that gap, which was only made passable through my dress, and make it passable through love. I want to see just how far SPU can go in truly living up to the responsibility of being a Christian University, something that is so easy not to take seriously (I'm speaking for myself here as well, mind you.)<br />The root of the “So what?” at this point seems to come down to this: I want my beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions to be as perfectly unified as possible. I think back on how I saw the my own face in those that passed me, and couldn’t help but think how much infinitely more was the abandoned feeling I gave, to people who received a hundred looks like that a day for years on end. Is this how I believe or pledge to act? Hardly, and this reminded me immensely of passages from a book I’ve been reading over the last few months, slowly: The Freedom of Simplicity. In this, Richard Foster talks about how simplicity ultimately must stem from this simple unity within God, and I found that similar connections existed with many other things I’ve thought about recently, like my own attachment to possessions, just how reckless I need to be in my faith in God with giving of myself, and my education. I couldn’t help but constantly think, throughout the trip, of my own education, the lack of which was a common denominator among those we met, and how ungrateful I was for it. I greatly desire my education to be worshipful and joyous, in the context of learning to the end of serving others. I have believed this in my head, but I want it to be visible in how I learn.<br /><br />For a little cross section of the people and experiences we encountered, here are a couple of stories:<br /><br />Mississippi (he only went by his street name, unable to reveal his real one due to warrants for his arrest) was a 19-year-old from Portland. He’d lived there till he was about 7, and after his mother was put in prison, he and his brother were moved to Mississippi (hence, street name), a placed he described as “where the police encourage parents to beat their children, and the schools still paddle you.” At some point, he ran away from his broken adopted parents, ultimately ending up in Seattle last summer. He now deals pot to the high school kids at Westlake, and is looking to get back home to find his brother. Additionally, he mentioned that he had essentially been awake non-stop for three days, because the police had found his squat, and he had to sleep in alleys and whatnot, in addition to the fact that he is high most of the time. A lot of the street kids (as I mentioned before) dress just like any typical high school kid, but Mississippi was the most legit street kid we met, as his hands were practically black with dirt, and he wore a huge, black coat. We took him out to McDonald’s on the last day.<br />Don was a fifty-something-year old, who we met spanging outside Gameworks. He has colon cancer, lives by himself in an apartment, and has to pay for chemo on his own, and lives in an apartment. I’ve never seen somebody so weak in my entire life. We offered him a donut, from the gigantic bag we’d found in a dumpster earlier (we were sooo cool with the street kids at that point, handing out donuts left and right), but he declined, saying he hurt too much to even eat. We prayed with him and gave some money and our remaining bus passes, but it all felt so feeble and weak. The ironic part is that we gave most of what we had, and this didn’t feel like enough; we had hardly anything ourselves! This illustrates a thought that struck me perpetually throughout the trip, as we were able to give away five dollars so easily, when it was a quarter of all the money between us at a given time, depending on how much we had spanged. Would I, in turn, be willing to give $250 out of the 1,000 or so in my account at such a whim? Should I be so? These sorts of questions plagued the trip.<br />We met Otis in Pioneer Square, and he had a cast for his foot, which he had apparently broken quite recently in a scuffle with his girlfriend. He had just gotten out of ten years in prison in New Orleans.<br />MFC, whose name stands for “Monkey Fucking Coconuts,” a name ordained by one of his friends, had been up for an entire three days without food, on an ecstasy trip.<br />We also met Jerry, an ex-crack addict poet in the University District. He gave us a free copy of a poem of his, which I enjoyed reading, for it portrayed the world in a refreshingly simple manner: The hate is everywhere, and the love needs to come in soon!<br />On Sunday, we were encouraged to try out one or two churches, in order to see how Christians would react to our homelessness. We additionally decided to attend a church that would be very uncomfortable with our presence, so what better place to go than a prosperity gospel church, where health and wealth are seen as signs of God’s goodness and work? In that vein, we decided to go to City Church, and I think that stands as one of the most disturbing experiences I’ve ever encountered. There are some churches that I’ll never attend, but still respect, because I feel as if we’re working toward a similar goal, and have the same foundations, yet our beliefs simply work themselves out differently. City Church, on the other hand, was flat-out unbiblical. When tithing envelopes are waved in the air, sick people are suddenly not useful to God, being happy is always better than sadness, credit card machines can be used to give offerings, I start to ask questions. There was some value to their message, in that the churches I’ve attended haven’t put the emphasis they did on miraculous healings, something that still happens today. However, their view of material and physical “success” was simply not rooted in who Jesus is and what He did. We stood outside afterward, and asked for money, additionally holding up a sign saying “Jesus was homeless,” in order to cause at least a little stir (I wanted to more angry signs, but my group wisely calmed me down.) To our shock, two middle school girls told us that Jesus in fact was not homeless. One very nice, humble woman gave us money without any show, when nobody was watching, and a couple people were very friendly. However, on the whole, we weren’t looked upon very fondly, as the seats around us were the last to be filled. There’s plenty more to be said about my feelings about the service, but this wasn’t the whole of Urban Plunge, so I’ll leave it at that!<br />I suppose that’s it. I would love to talk to people further on this, but I wanted to provide a baseline for it. I’ll also post more if I remember anything different, or have new reflections.NETRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15631310830041200504noreply@blogger.com0