Five Dimensions of a Great Story (like LOTR)

Anyone who blogs on a regular basis, or on a semi-regular basis, probably enjoys writing and may fancy himself to be a writer to some degree.

Peter Kreeft, the author of The Philosophy of Tolkein: The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings, presents five dimensions that every great story has. Justin Taylor has helpfully posted the details with links to the author's website where one can hear him lecture on some themes from the book.

Lecture anyone?

Burst of Blogging

Life is ebbs and flows so it's not surprising that blogging is a reflection of that. Right now I'm having an ebb or a flow. I don't know which.

Blogging isn't my job, but it is an avocation. In other words, I like it. It's just that sometimes other things I like preempts the blog.

It's not business, it's personal.

Editorial Note

Recently I had posted a photo of our president that had been altered to make him look like Heath Ledger’s Joker from the movie The Dark Knight. I removed the image after someone I am close to was offended by it. This friend reminded me that I have a responsibility as a Christian to act in a manner which is appropriate. And while I still believe that Obama’s agenda is destructive and should be opposed by all; and that satire is an effective weapon, particularly when the object thinks so highly of himself, I probably crossed the line. I am sorry.

So I took the photo down and replaced it with the chastised puppy.

A good post in a similar vein from Justin Taylor’s Between Two Worlds.

New Layout. Maybe.

All my regular readers may have noticed an addition to the column on the right - a political cartoon. Undoubtedly, you also notice that it does not fit correctly. I've tried removing it and putting it back, but no luck.

The place where I got it, Investor's Business Daily, had a Blogger (my host) button, as well as buttons for other blog hosts. I think it should fit, but it does not.

So, I'm going to scout around for a new layout, or template for the blog. Perhaps a different style will fit better.

I really want to keep the cartoon. So much is going on in the world and here at home and I want it to be commented on and I don't really have the time to do it all justice.

Obama is a disaster, but it needs to be shown for what it is, not just some amateur blogger whacking the dude. So Ramirez' cartoon will help us.

So stay tuned - there may be a new look soon.

Fantastic Friday Facts (or Fun, Depending)

While at Hammons Field tonight (AA Baseball, Springfield Cards vs. NW Arkansas Naturals), I saw Albert Pujols (on TV) get a single to left in Kansas City to drive in two runs and pass Ken Boyer on the Cardinals all-time total bases list. I was looking at a TV because my bride was in line to buy a bottle of water.

Because the people who run stadiums these days assume that everyone in attendance is ADD and isn't at the ballpark for just the ballgame (Imagine!), and there MUST BE FEVERISH ACTIVITY EACH AND EVERY WAKING MOMENT, I read on the scoreboard that the man with the most Academy Award wins was Walter Elias Disney. Elias. I had no idea.

There was a time when trivia questions on the video board at a baseball game were actually related to baseball.

There was a time when (and not so long ago) there were no video boards at major league baseball stadiums, much less minor league stadiums.

Other non-baseball trivia from the video board (sheesh) - approximately 25 percent of the people in the world live on $200 a year, or less. We paid $3.00 for a bottle of water tonight, or roughly one and a half percent of somebody's income this year. Is it wrong? Or just different?

My friend Tim, whom I introduced here, has a funny basketball story I asked him to write, which he did at his blog. I link it there acknowledging his favorite team, the LA Lakers, who just won their 15th NBA title. Enjoy.

My Wife

Busy moms are always in need of encouragement and help as they manage their households and, in many cases, work outside the home. Loving, nurturing and caring for children, not to mention a husband, is an honorable and noble calling - and an exhausting one.

My own wife has been, and continues to be, a champ at this and I am grateful to God for her. Even though our daughter is married and our son is off to college, she still is swingin' away at the mom stuff - she's great at it!

She has always had a heart for this, and not just in her own life, but she wants to encourage other moms as they live out their calling as wife and mother. To this end, she has started a new blog called living in a manner worthy . . . At this new blog my wife leads the interested moms through a book she's reading and pulls out the meaty bits for them. This way the busy ladies can read some encouragement, and be challenged, without feeling like they have to find time to read a whole book. It's a great idea and already is ministering to several moms.

I just wanted to say I'm very proud of my wife!!

145. Head's Up! Changes At Central Standard

The year is drawing to a close and many would say, "Good riddance!" It has certainly been a roller coaster ride for a lot of us. Probably most years are, but this one seems more so. I think.

The last few weeks have seen remarkable changes for me. At a routine doctor visit I found I need thyroid medicine. Bummer. Taking medicine is what your parents do. Or your grandparents. Now I do. It's worse, for me, than turning 50. Fifty is on a calendar or a questionnaire, but medicine is a concession.

But at the same time, I feel better, more alert and have more energy now. Perhaps I'll shed this extra lard that seems to be adhered to my bones like an octopus clinging to a deep sea diver.

Also I recently discovered a web site that's been a great encouragement to me. It's called What's Best Next. The blog is about efficiency and getting things done. Anyone who knows me knows that these have been issues I've battled all my life. Hopefully, no more. I've been changing, rearranging and generally trying to improve my efficiency over the past month or so and I think I'm getting somewhere. And it has been fun.

So naturally, I am going to change the look of Central Standard. It's a new year, I'm a new man - let's have a new look. But this is not going to be Change in the Obama sense of the word, that is, just words. No. We are aiming to make substantive changes - More Content! Stronger Writing! Increasingly Interesting Posts! And while we are at it, Better Mileage and Fewer Calories!

I hope the new look is favorable, but whether it is or not, I hope that, most importantly, 2009 sees your happiness in God abound!

134. Dumping the Inbox

A number of things have been stacking up in the Inbox, so let's dump it out and do a sort.

Did you see this about Brit Hume? One of the few anchors I actually enjoy listening to on the TV, except we don't get his channel - too bad. Anyway, it appears he knows the Lord and it could be that is why he seems like a decent fellow on the tube.

On Veteran's Day, pastor John Piper observed, "The tensions between being a follower of Jesus as a soldier are essentially the same as the tensions of being a follower of Jesus in all the other authority structures of society that God ordains for the stability of the world (like business, education, government, and family). "

He concludes with gratitude to God for the risk so many are willing to take for the sake of peace. Amen.

Piper's son Abraham blogs at 22 Words and he offered some blogging advice a few days ago. Here's a sample:

- Keep paragraphs 5 lines or shorter. (If this post were a list of one, this would be it.)

- Put either your main point or a story in the first paragraph of posts.

- Interact with readers in your comment section.

And, of course, his list is 22 items long.

Finally, I read an interesting article the other day at the Pyromaniacs web site. It had to do with judgement of God described in the passage from Malachi 3 regarding the fuller. Now, if you are like me, the only thing you know about the fuller is he had a bunch of brushes once upon a time. However, I learned a thing or two about the fuller. Thought you might like this.

The passage:

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord."

One observation from Team Pyro:

So when God says that the Messiah is coming with "fuller's soap", He's not saying, "Jesus will make you wash your hands." he's saying, "you are disgusting and useless unless you are cleaned up by the Messiah."

The whole article is here.

128. Returns Still Coming In

Sometimes I think of things to write about when I'm at work. When that happens I open a Word document on the computer and make a note and add to it if more ideas occur. At the end of the day I attach that document to an email and send it home. Then when I'm ready to write something here, I've got notes and ideas ready to go.

Provided I remember one thing, of course.

Some weeks ago the computers at work were updated to the latest Microsoft Office versions. And the new Word documents are not compatible with the old programs UNLESS you remember to save it AS the older version. If you don't, the plain English you wrote will be displayed as gobbledygook.

So all the brilliance that I was set to display for you tonight looks like this in my document: PK!0É(.

OK, so there you go. Let me know what you think. Your opinion matters.

And, naturally, what I was going to write about tonight was the election. I don't want to dull anything I wished to say, so I'll just re-send my document and post tomorrow.

I think it'll be worth reading.

But if it's not, there's always PK!0É(.