Fine Fragments

Been awhile since I ya know, posted fragments.

Well, it finally happened. We received a referral call on June 28th, and quickly had our court date in Ethiopia on 7/23. It was awesome. So we are the proud parents of a little 4 month old boy. We will go back in 4-7 weeks to bring him home. Wrote a journal while away, and I will write about this at some point (ya know - international adoption, our adoption, our trip, etc. etc.)

On the list of things I love about the summer: cherries.

My wife and kids will be going far away for about 12 days. I am busily mentally preparing for what exactly I am going to do with myself. Personal freedom to do exactly what you want, when you want is hard concept to grasp once you haven't had for awhile. It will be strange. 

Another thing I love about summer: Summer Classes, I had three classes this summer, and all three have been great. I love the students I've had. It's been a very enjoyable experience. They almost fool me into thinking I'm a good teacher.

Blog Ideas: China Fragments (about our 2004 trip), Ethiopia Fragments (see above), Jesus as Liberal and Conservative, Hinduism post, maybe, just maybe another Weezer post about a song of theirs I love, etc. I hope to get to some of these when my family is out of town. BOOK IT - August will be my most productive bog month EVAR. (well, at least I hope so).

2012 is more than halfway over...(crazy thought)....and it's been a slow reading year so far. I haven't felt that reading rush I usually get. I've taken it pretty slow and had some research mid-semester in the spring.  Then, with our referral, there has been a dearth of adoption and Ethiopian reading. All this is to say I still need to finish one two more books before the school year begins to get back on track. I think I can do it!

Tons of reading on Islam and Christianity during the Middle Ages and ancient China philosophies (Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism and a little bit of Mencius thrown in there as well).   Scattered research online and at the campus library, including large swaths of an anti-Islamic book I picked up for three bucks (The Legacy of Jihad - Bostom) that was primarily only primary sources so it was pretty damning. Let's be honest though, I could put together an anti-Christian book using sources from the same time period.The whole process was very enlightening and fun...I do enjoy mini-projects like that.

Here's the rest of the list (no authors unless I can remember off the top of my head, I'm too lazy).

Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Gide to the Parables of Jesus  - Wow. Amazing stuff if you're serious and ready for a long, academic but productive read. 
Renting Lacy - Hit me like a ton of bricks, human trafficking is not easy to read about.
Dream Team - light reading for our trip. Enjoyable, but didn't agree with some of his "takes" at the end (little too reverential for my taste).
What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality - Concise, well done, even though I think he undermines his strong points by making some completely unnecessary claims. 
Adam, Eve and the Serpent - Pagels - Pretty good.

Lots of 80's Comics - especially Excalibur, Kazar, etc. big sale at the nearby used book store some for a quarter.
Essential Marvel X-Men # 3 - my first real foray into 80's X-Men (it was on sale) -- will do it again.

Currently Reading:  Currently reading biography of Gandhi - so far, so good, The Kingdom of God is Within You (Tolstoy) and re-reading The Hobbit (wanted to wait until the fall but I am just too geared up for the movies!!!)