Nealmeister

Moving, Lonergan, and Seventy-Five Days

An agent through which vital powers are exercised.

Fall is finally becoming fall in Boston, in November.  Crisp and cool, just the way November should be.  I always thought that this type of fall weather lends itself to the nostalgia that replays inside my mind and supports the frustrated writer that lingers inside of me.  That's what I thought about when I was walking up Walker Street after I got off the bus this evening.  I was thinking about how much I really love my street, and how cool but strikingly red the fireball glowed from the utility pole at the top of my street, and how much I really loved what I do--even though I bitch and complain about it at times.  It's that new slug of a slog that I have to fight out and figure out.  I could quit.  But I love the playing field.

Beneath that fireball, though, I bumped upon Todd and Meg's U-Haul.  Todd and Dan were in it, amid all of the Todd and Meg's life that was getting squeezed into a 17-foot U-Haul.  Now, I always get really funny with change, especially moving.  I play things off like I'll see someone tomorrow.  I try to keep things "normal."  I laugh a bit and [/MESSAGE CLIPPED/]

Little bit o'Quiznos

I am wholly cognizant of the fact that I am in wayyy too many pictures that incriminate me for many a horrible bit of activity.  Going all Julia Stiles (from "Ten Things I Hate about You"), doing wayyyy too many Jäger Bombs or slurping on wayyyy to much Happy Punch. 

But here, this is where we go back to the way things were: ridiculous Neal.  Yeah, it may have been that new neighborhood springing up down by Wellington (Arbor Point or Mystic Point or Station Landing) but that doesn't change anything.  Take note of the bad hair, the ridiculous face, and the lame attempt to be Texan.

Nothing but love, though.

p.s.  Shooter was awesome...

The DeBeers Project

Just letting you all know, the DeBeers Project begins on Martin Luther King Day.  Boston Sports Clubs membership is in line; school starts tomorrow; and I'll be getting back to my spinach-eating, protein-shake drinking, good fiber in-taking lifestyle again.  I felt so good when I did that once in a blue moon or two.  Capped off with a some tasty burgers and yam-fries made by Hill & Alan.  Then I lost it all. 

Of course, beer and hersheys bars will be included.  So will Dunkin Donuts coffee (I'm not looking to destroy my life...) Just make some healthier decisions again.

Last semester of law school begins tomorrow.  Damn.  By graduation 2006, I will celebrate 20 years since I entered the whacky world of education at the Harvard-Kent Elementary School.  I doubt Mrs. Kissling is alive (now, just a vestige of Charlestown nostalgia).

And yes, that's a Boston Public School, biatch.

The only thing you must pray for is the job prospects.  I really like "that firm" and the attorneys working under its roof. 

About my flaws...

I don't want to begin to list them, but you all know what they are.  But what about the ones that I don't even recognize.  Bad Catholic's got a great post on it.  It explains my sentiment exactly... and maybe is just one reason that Party Animal's Bible Study seemed so attractive to me to begin with.

Summer Syllabus

NEW TESTAMENT:

John, Acts, the Letters, and the Revelation according to John

Summer 2005

Introduction

From the extreme Gospel (John) to the “Book of Extremes” (Revelation), this last segment of bible reading will focus on the life and times of Christianity at its early formation.  Beginning with the Gospel of John, and ending with Revelation, this section is nicely framed from the perspective that both the last Gospel and the time-enduring book of the Apocalypse serve as a means to retain the vigor of early Christianity.  This move ultimately, we can speculate, secured Christianity’s spot as the world’s dominant basis of religious beliefs. 

The framing also leaves us to ponder the life of the apostles after Jesus’ crucifixion.  What kind of charismatic characters were these people?  What impediments did they face trying to “spread the word of Jesus, which is God’s?”  Without the modern conveniences of e-mail, television evangelism, and radio towers that reach the sky, these figures not only endured scrutiny for their beliefs, but also memorialized their interactions via correspondence so that we could analyze and discern the pillars that created and molded their ultimate hope—a reunion with Jesus and a return to the creator.

Readings

I.  John and the Acts of the The Apostles

[1] May 22

The Gospel of John (revisited)

[2] May 29

[3] June 5

Acts of the Apostles

suggested breakdown—

a.       Acts 1 to 12.23

b.      Acts 12.24 to 21.26

c.       Acts 21.27 to 28.31

II. Paul’s Letters to Groups of People

[3] June 5

Paul to the Romans

[4] June 19

1 Corinthians 

2 Corinthians

[5] June 26

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Collosians

            

[6] July 10

catch-up

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

            

[7] July 17

Hebrews

III. Paul’s Letters to Individuals

[8] July 24

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

IV. Other Miscellaneous Letters

[9] July 31

James

1 John

1 Peter

2 Peter

2 John

3 John

Jude

V.  Ancient Prophecies

[10] August 6

Revelation according to John

VI.  Finis          

[11] August 13-16 (in Moose River, Maine)

The celebration of two years of bible reading…

Just Startin'

I haven't really gotten into this yet. So here's one of my procrastination e-mails from a few nights ago.

Of course, I'm procrastinating again at 2:30AM. Why else would I be emailing? Even though my application package for the rapport fellowship is due in 13 hours, who needs sleep, eh?

Well, seriously, sometime my procrastination leads me to believe that I should just drop everything and go to divinity school. We're on the topic of Matthew now in the NT. You all already know now that Matthew is not my favorite gospel; but I think it's kind of exciting that we're all doing this together, because at least from my end, I find it rather interesting what you all think as we progress throgh the Gospels. Is all of this real? Is it the world's greatest modern myth? Have we, for the past 2000 years, been coaxed into an idea of Jesus Christ, for better of for world, to literally establish a new path for civilization? Moreover, based on the gospels and the NT, whether faith, fact, or fiction, in what form will the New Messiah take form? Will he or she be an academic leader? Some kid from Miami? The alleged anti-christ that is feared to have come out of the Vatican? President Bush?

I've been listening the excerpts from Bach's "Saint Matthew's Passion." The actual thing is over almost four hours long. It's an absolutely amazing event; and even more exciting when you're in the chorus singing. The version that I am listening to -- performed by the Hungarian National Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Concert Hall in London, England -- is by far the best rendition of it done by modern man.

I couldn't help but think, however, what Bach was up to when he wrote the whole thing. I know that historically, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, all the great musician/composers of the time were commissioned by the Church to prepare these elaborate Orchestra pieces. The elite would attend these concerts, often held at the great Cathedrals in England, France, and Germany, to show how "Catholic" or "Christian" they were; the peasants -- the modern day equivalent of us -- would sit on cold floors and crouch beneath pews in the hope that the music and the elite bishops would grace them with God's blessing. Weird. But anyway, most of these composers had hidden critique on the church and the gospels based on their arrangements. I wonder what beef Bach had with the Gospels? And Matthew? As a preliminary proposition and observation, Bach almost appears to feminize the entire Jesus/Passion experience. Could it be, that as Jesus ushered in a new era, that the idiosyncracies related to the Gospels and the NT, which explicitly included woman where they would normally not be trusted, are actually a political message of the times--that then, shit needed to change? I wonder...

Well, now that I've sputtered out my thoughts, hope everyone has a great day tomorrow. It took me two hours to get to school on the Orange Line today. I literally could have walked their faster. Only one of the inevitable outcomes of shoddy investment in Public Transportation. Maybe more of a reason to buy an SUV...