The Latest
“Amidst the tumult of tearing down ancient walls, I ponder Ivan’s musings on chaos and creation. Rebuilding—much like life—is at once a mosaic of both destruction and beauty.” —Jonathan Scott in The Property Brothers Karamazov
Profiling Profiles
For Ryan, jokes always came easier than breathing. His life taught us the priceless nature of each day, especially those graced by his presence. As his skeleton softened, his joy resonated the world around him, his bones humming with contentment. Wisdom distilled from a life too brief poured out of this wonderful friend like the apple pucker shots he loved so much: sweet, sour, and a little gross. He also threw up a ton.
Shown here, he probably saw a kid fall over or a nice pair of boobs. In Heaven, he probably gets to see both.
In the Falling Dark
We remain tethered to the ground as the universe stretches out in all its enormity. Grains of sand slip through our fingers—countless and indistinct—each catching the light momentarily before descending into obscurity. The world itself turns down its volume, becoming as faint as a conversation overheard and half-remembered.
An Ode to Jessica
Light jacket weather is perfect.
Anything colder reminds me of you.
The Kingdom of God is not something one waits for
The ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ is a condition of the heart — not something that comes 'upon the earth’ or 'after death.’ The entire concept of natural death is lacking in the Gospel: death is not a bridge, not a transition, it is lacking because it belongs to quite another world, a merely apparent world useful only for the purpose of symbolism. The 'hour of death’ is not a Christian concept — the 'hour’, time, physical life and its crises, simply do not exist for the teacher of the 'glad tidings.’ The 'kingdom of God’ is not something one waits for; it has no yesterday or tomorrow, it does not come 'in a thousand years’ — it is an experience within a heart; it is everywhere, it is nowhere…
Friedrich Nietzsche
Like a branch on a cliff
What if the Church was a redemptive community, a lifeline to those in need, a place where the Kingdom of God oozed out into each other’s lives and encouraged each other to grow in His perfect, unconditional love instead of the far-too-often compartmentalized and excluding cliques that tear down the outcast by demanding perfection before admittance, at least in the areas we already have down?
Fitting partners
So my friend Kyle and I went to get fitted for a tux for Speed’s wedding. Well, no jacket. So it’ll be like I’m a waiter.
(We’re pretty sure that we’ll bring towels and drape them over our arms and pretend to be the wait staff at the reception.)
As we were walking into Men’s Wearhouse, we were talking about what we would wear if we were marrying each other. (You know, regular guy stuff.) Wouldn’t it be great if we had suits…of armor!…with suits on over that. That’d be pretty sweet. We kept talking about that as we were waiting to be helped.
Our turn came up eventually, and the girl helping us was fairly unique. She wouldn’t smile change inflections at all, even if she would say some funny things. Repairs and stuff are covered by insurance, she said, buuuut if the pieces were ruined, we would have to pay for a replacement. She went on to list some examples, like if it was ripped too far, or we set it on fire, or jumped in the pool…
I interjected, “Well if I catch on fire, I’m going to jump in the pool if I can.” Kyle laughed, but the lady kept on trucking through her spiel.
Next, she asked for our shoe sizes. Kyle said 9…and I flashed a grin and quickly spun my head toward him and said, “Same!” through a coy smile. We giggled, because that’s an Arrested Development reference. And he said, “Same,” back. That’s why I laughed, at least.
She wrote down the measurements as another guy took them. Kyle grinned and said it tickled, and I told him he was doing a great job.
After finishing up with getting a tape measure around our asses, we walk over and get ready to pay and stuff. The girl who’s been helping us says, “Ok, who’s first.” So I said, “Me…” but I could tell she couldn’t remember if I was Justin or Kyle, so I added, “Justin.”
She said without missing a beat, “You two look alike. Are you besties?” We’re about the same height, I’m a bit taller. But both good looking (obviously) and fit.
“We sure do try to be the best,” I replied.
“…more like partners though,” says Kyle.
After a pause, she asks, “Partners…in crime?”
“Sometimes…if that’s what it takes,” I say.
“…life partners?” she asks.
“Yeah, I’d like to think so,” Kyle says without hesitating.
“We’re partners at lots of things,” I add.
“We pretty much everything, weightlifting…”
“Fittings…” I add.
“Oh! So fitting,” Kyle jokes.
The lady in line next to us was looking super concerned. Ohhhh man. After we finished checking out of the mall, Kyle says how he wishes we had held hands and I was like, “Mannnnn I should have put my hand in your far back pocket.”
Kyle was so serious and kept a straight face. I had been blushing and grinning, but still playing along. In retrospect, it looked like he was the strong, confident one, and I was the one who was still trying be supportive and make a gesture, even if I wasn’t completely comfortable.
Then I said, “I don’t know how you kept a straight face.”
Together, “Straight…pffff, hahahahahahaha!”
Profile profiling #2
Gazing over to his left, a vague noise harkened his attention. A turtle, small but robust, had rolled onto its back, letting out a desperate, disparate cry. Sedate concern for such a helpless, hopeless creature weighed heavily on him, quietly retreating to his own thoughts of what he would do in a similar situation. A photo, this photo, is taken.
“Rock back and forth!” he offered to his despondent friend.
Smiling, the turtle began to sway, renewed with hope that there would be a tomorrow, and that tomorrow would be better.
Profile profiling #0
There’s something sadly sentimental off to the lower side of camera right. Like something reminded you of the sea you vowed you would never speak of again. What stories those eyes could tell, if they only had breath and a tongue.
Profile profiling #1
Gazing directly ahead, our hero looks on with a sense of relief. Wading through the waiting, the longing, and the disorder, David has persevered. The goal is finally his! Armed with assuredness and confidence, he lets his guard down, if only ever so slightly. This kind of smile can only belong to a man whose contentedness is alone slaked by obtaining what has been fought for.
The man in the truck hands David the raspberry-grape snow cone that he had stood in line for over seven minutes to get.
double confidence
it’s time to point out someone truly great.
i’d like everyone in my life to please
stand up and all point at me.
thanks, guys.
that would’ve been weird
pointing at me all by myself.