Not too long ago, I blogged here about all the connections of philosophers on LOST. The introduction of Jeremy Bentham, the most well-known philosopher introduced this season, spurred me on to add a few names to the list. Bentham, along with John Stuart Mill, is considered the father of Utilitarianism (or really, Benthamism). Utilitarianism posits that we should do the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. With both first and last name matching, I think it’s pretty obvious. Bentham also devised the Panoptican prison, which calls for observing prisoners without them knowing they are being observed…which seems to fit well with Dharma.

One of the things I found most interesting about the choice of Bentham (I almost couldn’t contain myself when I heard of this “new” character) is that I knew that this would reveal the character in the coffin because Bentham’s body is still on display and gets pulled out for all the fun society meetings (one of the most hilarious things I remember learning in history class–thanks Mr. Wright!)
I missed the Edward Said=Sayid Jarrah connection last time around, so that has to be added to the list.

Also in that episode, Sayid kills Ishmael Bakir. Ishmael could be a reference to Islam, but Bakir is likely a reference to the Islamic philosopher, Mir Damad (Baqer).

Any thoughts?

On Tuesday we took a day trip to Seattle. Here are some of the snapshots I got:

On the way there:

In Seattle:

The Seattle Aquarium:

Kyrie saw these fish and said, “I’ve seen that movie!”

Pike’s Place:

I’ve probably said this a million times, but Rachel’s family is freakishly musical. Her sister Rebekah plays viola and used to play flute. Isaiah can play everything well (really), but he has the musical drive of a potato. Rachel, of course, is a violinist. Matthew is a ridiculously good drummer (you can see him play here). Her brother Nathan just started playing guitar (though I recall him playing Toccata in Fugue D at the fair on a random piano when he was like 8–a song taught to him by his then 12-year-old brother, Andrew). And then there’s Esther, who is like a little Rachel in personality, and the gem of our hearts.

Esther started playing piano a couple of months ago, and after about ten lessons came up with this song which she named “Panther.”

On Friday, we went to Moscow to spend some time with Isaiah. We enjoyed a terrific Italian dinner at the home of Lisa Jackson, and we met some new friends, as well as some old friends. Throughout the course of the night, our old friend Davey Henreckson mentioned that he has been interested in political theology, and he asked me about my recent reading of Caputo’s What Would Jesus Deconstruct? As we discussed the book a bit, I mentioned that I had been shifting toward a biblical theology of nonviolence over the past several years. I was shocked to find out that Douglas Jones has been doing work in this area. If you haven’t checked out the Biblical Theses on Violence, I highly recommend it.

I also found out something interesting at church today. After the service, I started talking politics with Bishop Cavalcanti. It turns out that he was a political science professor before becoming a bishop. After this discussion Fr. Jerry mentioned that Bishop Cavalcanti was a major player in South American politics, but we know little of him since he doesn’t write in English. A search on Amazon confirmed this as his name pops up in many books on evangelicals in politics in Latin America. One of them calls him a “leader of the evangelical left,” which I find a funny term since those are almost exclusive adjectives in America (though I would probably throw myself under a title like that).

An interesting weekend to say the least.

On traditional roles:

Noelle: Girls go shopping.
Kyrie: Yeah, girls go shopping!
Noelle: Boys go shopping too.
Kyrie: No, boys go to work.

At making a diaper.

If you haven’t already heard, Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter was killed when her brother accidentally hit her while driving their SUV; he never saw her. I’ll be honest; I’m not extremely familiar with his music (though I know some of it), but I am familiar with his philanthropy. Please pray for them as they deal with this tragedy.

I haven’t watched American Idol this year, but I must say that both of the finalists this year were good–probably the best duo since Underwood/Bice, and definitely the best talent since Daughtry.

But the highlight of the night was George Michael’s song “Praying for Time.” I had never heard the song before…the lyrics are incredible. You can watch it here, or just read the lyrics:

- Praying For Time -

These are the days of the open hand
They will not be the last
Look around now
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers

This is the year of the hungry man
Whose place is in the past
Hand in hand with ignorance
And legitimate excuses

(more…)

Forrest and I had the opportunity to go to an Anglican Men’s Weekend outside of Los Angeles in the San Bernardino National Forest this weekend. The Most Rev’d Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, was the keynote speaker, but several major bishops in the global south movement were in attendance, including the Rt. Rev. John A. M. Guernsey (Bishop of Uganda over American congregations), the Rt. Rev. Dom Robinson Cavalcanti (Bishop of Recife, Brazil), The Rt Revd Daniel Gimadu (Bishop of North Mbale, Uganda), and a few other bishops whose names I did not catch.

These bishops and ministers were humble men of God, which sadly, I didn’t expect. I guess I’m just not used to seeing humility on that level. It was a refreshing weekend of reconciliation and prayer, and I hope to get to go again in the future. But for now I’ll just get to look forward to Bishop Cavalcanti being at Christ the King this weekend.