Cafe Risque

If you've driven down to Florida on 85 through the state of Georgia you've probably seen billboards (several) advertising Cafe Risque which is, as it sounds, a strip club. I remember in 2000 on the way down to Florida for Spring Break with my college buddies seeing these signs and joking about them as well as the "We Bare All" signs.

In any case I have made that drive probably four or five times round trip and remember the little town of Lavonia which it was in. Well, I was surprised to see that the town of Lavonia bought the strip club today for 1 million dollars. For what? To tear it down! And they have apparently already burned the billboards. Awesome.

In any case, just a random story that I thought those who have seen the billboards as well as my college friends would enjoy.

The Mighty Redwoods

Completed another thing on my must-see list today with the giant redwoods of Northern California. We drove through some of the park and then went to the tourist trap Trees of Mystery which is kind of hokey but it was a lot of fun. There were some amazing trees there so we're glad we forked over the 13.50. And then we went in further to Klamath, CA and drove through a giant redwood tree because that what you have to do if you're a tourist here. It's required. Anyway, plenty more pics on my Facebook album if you want to see more.

Wildlife Safari Park

I'm a big fan of wild cats so experiencing this was honestly one of those thing I had hoped to experience at some point in my life. My friends laugh at how excited about this I got but they didn't get to hold an African Lioness Cub either. More pictures of the park are here.

The Lioness Cub... You can get a much better shot if you click on the picture.













The Cub growing in Kelli's face. For still being a little kitten, it's got a nice set of teeth.












Here's the black Panther cub. She was a little more mellow and kind of in her own world.


























A baby Wallaby.

In any case, we're having a fantastic time down on the Southern Oregon Coast. We're headed into California tomorrow to see the redwoods.

Quote of the Weekend

"The two things in life I'm greatest at are ping pong and badminton."

--Devin Vaughn

Here we go again...

I'm so tired of all the critiquing and the bashing that happens on both sides of this "discussion". This is just the most recent example of it. But I guess this is the kind of garbage that sells. Seriously guys, do something that is actually constructive. Yes, we understand, there are weaknesses with everyone's view, how about a little humility? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

A little like heaven...

I checked out the new Albina Press Coffee on 50th and Hawthorne today and this could be the perfect coffee shop for several reasons.

1. It serves Stumptown coffee, but unlike Stumptown you don't get the sense that everyone wishes you would leave.

2. It's got a great atmosphere. It's big, bright, with a nice breeze blowing through.

3. Free wifi, plus an electrical outlet at almost every table! At most coffee shops you've got to fight over the two outlets in the whole joint.

4. It's within walking distance of Western Seminary. It's possible to take a 10 minute break from class, walk there, grab a cup and walk back and miss almost nothing!

5. The entire hour I was there the sweet sounds of Sufjan were in the air. I don't think it's necessary to mention the horrific records spinning at corporate coffee shops do I?

This could be the perfect coffee shop! I'm relocating my office.

NOTE: After reading this post I know this all sounds really pretentious so I hope those who don't know me will give me the benefit of the doubt. I'm not a coffee snob or anything, I just want a place that's comfortable to have the occasional coffee meeting or work on my computer.

Another reason I'm not Reformed!

I came across this song "Destructor" last week and was a little disturbed by two particular lines in it (amongst many). The first line is "To the way you hated your son when you hung all the sins of the world".

Now, I'm semi-familiar with hard-core Reformed theologians but i have NEVER heard one insist that one member of the Trinity hated another member at any time. I believe to suggest that the Father hated the Son could very well be the h word (heresy) (which is a term that I use with great caution). I would love to hear others thoughts on this however.

The second line is, "God will have his glory one way or another". This picture of God is so pathetic and petty I can hardly believe it. "One way or another, even if things hadn't worked out like I planned it, even if I have to violently destroy everyone to prove myself I'm going to get my glory!" Sounds like the caricatured god of Islam.

I believe in God's judgment and in justice but I believe this makes a mockery of justice in it's simplification. He's a tiny, vindictive, violent terrorist who's out to get glory no matter what the cost! That sounds very different than the God that I see in Scripture.

Here is the full song...

"From the first time you flooded the earth.

To the last time you burned off the curse

To the way you hated your son

When you hung all the sins of the world

Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy


Heaven will disappear with a roll

The host of God will come to destroy

Sin is a declaration of war

God will have his glory one way or another

In reverence we come to Your throne.

Indebted to Your holy Son

The ripe vine of the earth will be crushed.

And your light will shine over the world."

Unbelievable!

Wow, nice work Miah!

This new blogger feature...

is nice. All of my blog links on the side are all run through rss now so it shows the last time every person updated. That being said, I think there will be a new 2 month rule put into place. If you haven't updated your blog in two months, you're gone!

I'm sure this will be a gigantic incentive to blog more :)

Was Jesus the first messianic resurrection?

I love that Time magazine has one or two stories like this every year. They make it sound like a huge deal and then admit in the article that the entire significance "depends on a creative interpretation."

Ahh, if you've got something that is for real, let us know Time! I wonder what the next "tragic news" for Christian belief will be?

Hiking plan

Since Kelli and I are such organized people (and I love to plan like no one you've ever seen), we've completed our hiking plan for the rest of the summer. Plus I was hoping to give Devin some more material to make fun of me with when he gets back :(

In any case this is what we hope to accomplish! There are a few I'm extremely excited for. I think Rock of Ages may kill us but it looks pretty epic!

July 19^th – Coyote Wall 5.7 miles 1700 ft. gain

July 25^th – Ramona Falls 7.1 miles 1100 ft. gain

Aug. 9^th – Saddle Mountain 5.0 miles 2200 ft. gain

Aug. 16^th – Hamilton Mountain 7.5 miles 2400 ft. gain

Aug. 23^rd – Larch Mountain Crater Hike 5.9 miles 1310 ft. gain

Aug. 30^th – Ape Canyon 13.2 miles 2000 ft. gain

Sept. 13^th – Bluff Mountain 12.5 miles 2700 ft. gain

Sept. 20th – Rock of Ages 10 miles 3000 ft. gain

Summer Hiking Adventure #3

After an off-week last week due to strawberry picking, this week we were planning on hiking Ramona Falls over by Mt. Hood. Unfortunately we forgot our NW Forest Pass in Kelli's work car which is getting worked on and didn't want to fork out any extra money. So we decided last night we would do Silver Star Mountain in Washington only to wake up and have it be pretty cloudy and kind of rainy out. If we're going to do that hike, it's got to be clear!

So, we ended up driving east where it was actually sunny and beautiful today just past Hood River by a tiny town called Mosier. We did the McCall Point Hike.

This was an enjoyable hike, and it was great to have a nice change up from the typical Gorge hike as beautiful as those are. We were out in the open most of the time on this one and the breeze felt incredible and the sun was quite hot as well. Plenty of poison oak and ticks to go around! I'm really glad I didn't wear shorts this morning! Good call on this hike. It wasn't a super long hike but felt much steeper than the book and internet said, but it was a nice hike nonetheless. It was a perfect day out east! Bummer to get back to rainy Portland.

I think we're going to have to take a week off next Saturday as well due to a prior engagement and then it's off to Coyote Wall.


The rest of the pics can be found here.












This is where we thought we were almost done only to realize there was still quite a bit to go!
































The top is pretty much just one large wild flower field. It would be a great hike around May. Many of the flowers were already gone.

So You Think You Can Brew

Devin and I brewed an ESB style beer (Extra Special Bitter) about 6 weeks ago. I tried it tonight and it turned out fantastic. It's mildly bitter, very mild in the hop department and is definitely a session beer with a low alcohol level. A perfect summer bbq beer! I'm holding on to this recipe. Speaking of beer, my Belgian Wit is still in the primary but I can't wait for this one either.







I'll be honest here for a moment. Kelli's watching So You Think You Can Dance and I happen to be in the room (at least that's how I explain it) and I just CANNOT STAND MARY! Ahhh, it's like she's drunk all the time. Her voice just pierces a hole in my brain. I can't take it! Does she actually have fans out there?

Pine State Biscuits

You've got to check this place out. Get "the Reggie", you won't be disappointed. Check out their menu.

Thanks Ryan for the heads up on this place.

Top Ten Ways to Go Bankrupt as a Professional Athlete.

Check it out, it's a fun read.

6 Year Progress

This is a picture of the World Trade Center Site from last week.










This is a picture from our old office space when I moved in the summer of 2002.












I haven't been back to NYC since I left in 2005 but I'm amazed at what looks like the lack of progress. It's been 6 years and it looks about the same. I'm sure there is much more than what it looks like in that top picture but it just shows you how complex and difficult the job of rebuilding really is. Wow.

SE Potluck

Last night, despite the ridiculous heat, we had a SE Potluck for some people in the homegroup and pretty much anyone else who wanted to come.

Five great things about last night:

1. A pre-potluck game of Sequence with Rob and Katrina.

2. An intense game of whiffle ball (I struck out once on Rob's curve-ball, but to keep things in perspective, Clay struck out on Victoria's change-up twice!)

3. A post-potluck game of Bohnanza with Chad, Andy, Emily, Rob, Katrina, Kelli and myself. If you haven't checked this game out, make sure you do! And if you need serious tutoring at the game, I recommend you ask Rob, as he takes it very seriously. He's a strategist till the end. Unfortunately his end last night came in defeat.

4. Delicious food and drinks.

5. Truly enjoyable people to spend time with. I honestly couldn't be more happy with the people who are connecting at Evergreen Hawthorne.

Last night was one of those times when I was tired and didn't initially feel like being there which happens from time to time, but as it always turns out, I am glad I was there. I've been learning that this is a practice of community, being present even when you don't feel like it. I haven't been disappointed yet!

Brew Day

Today Travis Moore and I brewed 10 gallons of beer! 2 beers in fact. He brewed an Amber of his own creation which impressively was a partial mash using some hallertauer and sterling hops and irish ale yeast. The other impressive thing is that Travis is growing his own Cascade hops outside! Sweet.

I brewed a Belgium Wit complete with the two things you see below: orange zest and coriander. Just used 8oz. of flaked wheat, 7 lbs. wheat extract, and hallertauer hops and Belgium Wit yeast. The wheat beer is the one on the right which from looking doesn't look white at all, which we resolved when we tested it in the hydrometer. It is indeed white! woohoo. I think that is going to be a good summer beer.

Coffee Cream Stout Success!

I don't usually brag about the beer that I make (mainly because 50% of it isn't any good) but I've got to be honest, this Coffee Cream Stout is the best thing we've made so far. It's AMAZING! Couldn't have turned out any better. I would buy this at the store.

Speaking off beer brewing, this Thursday I'm going to brew with Travis who has had some good success brewing as well. Just recently he released a limited edition Thatcher Pale Ale that is fantastic! Anyway, this Thursday I'm going to give a Belgian Wit a try. Should be a good summer beer!

Seinfeld on Carlin

Jerry Seinfeld wrote a very good tribute article to George Carlin called "Dying is hard, Comedy is harder". It's worth the read for those who like stand-up comedy, or Carlin, or Seinfeld, or all three.