Wes' Blog Cabin

Juicy.

So my bro-in-law Isaac is a student in Christ College at Valparaiso University. He and I, naturally, have all sorts of fun conversations about Postmodernism and that whole ball of infinite nothingness. (I'm not saying empirically that Po Mo is a ball. It could, naturally, take many forms and/or no form whatsoever [Or not.].)

All of that to say that he and his classmates have made a fun little Wiki site called Po' Mo' Juice. For those who don't know, a Wiki site is a site that can be edited by anyone for any reason at any time. Thusly, a perfectly Postmodern thing to do. (Check out the mother of all Wiki sites, wikipedia.org. I actually think this is a great site.)

This whole Po' Mo' Juice thing brings me back to my blogging roots, pooh-poohing the Po' Mo'. So let's discuss...

In the explanatory paragraph on the Po' Mo' Juice page, they discuss the discussion of philosophy:

Some parts of what some people call "philosophy" began with a bunch of friends sitting around drinking some of that fine juice and talking about what love is. They called it a "Symposium," and since then, whenever two or more have talked (dialected), philosophy was there. Postmodernism in and of itself, however, does not claim to know what the people talking are talking about, who they are, what's right for them, etc. It does, however, want to continue the conversation, and is suspicious of answers that would make the conversation end. To this, we respond "Po' Mo' Juice." What "po" means, what "mo" means, and what the juice we drink is, we leave up to your interpretation. But since we know that we don't have all the answers, we think that all that we know, and perhaps all that we need to know, is that we need the juice so that the very necessary conversations can continue.

Confusing? Sure. But what I want to talk about is this sentence, "It does, however, want to continue the conversation, and is suspicious of answers that would make the conversation end."

Really? If I'm reading this correctly, we are sentenced for all of eternity to continue having the same conversation, discussing the same issues, without ever reaching any conclusions. Does that seem reasonable? Does that seem like the goal of education? Or even the goal of philosophy?

If life is a road trip, Postmodernism sentences us to forever debate how to get in the car. We are never allowed to get in the car, to start the car, to drive forward or, yes, to even make a wrong turn now and then. We would never be allowed to call those turns "wrong" even if they were made. But we'll never get that far. We'll only sit in coffee shops, pontificating and predicting what could possibly happen if we were to ever decide something empirically.

So that is our lot in the postmodern world. We are left only with a pretend world of "what-ifs." We are left with the envious position of judging those who have made decisions. But we are not allowed to make any progress ourselves. Personally, I think I'd rather be one of the ones that moves forward, even if that involves being wrong about the course I've chosen.

And, thankfully, I am not alone in making these decisions. I have an amazingly detailed, flawless map to guide me. Yes, this map states things emphatically and unapologetically. Sometimes this map offends my nature. But if I follow it, I will have a meaningful jouney. Trouble-free? No. Safe? Not at all. But meaningful, scenic and filled with adventure.

I'd much rather take this course, with all of it's accidents and troubles, than sit in the parking lot philosophizing about which key would unlock the car. Or arguing, in the philosophical sense, about what sort of Juice this car runs on.

How to Spot a Nerd.

Actual conversation between Nica and I while driving in the car:

Wes: (finishing up whistling) ... if you're whistling along with the flute solo to the theme song from As it Happens, does that make you a nerd?

Nica: You know how when you fill out a W-2, they ask for either one form of I.D. from Column A ...OR a form of I.D. from Column B AND one from Column C?

Wes: ...Uh ...yeah?

Nica: Well, if being a nerd required I.D., whistling the flute solo to "As it Happens" is definitely from Column A.

(pause)

Nica: Of course, how I just explained that is from Column A, too.

Blog-In-Law.

So my brother-in-law, Gideon, has his own blog now.

Gideon has a great brain inside his skull. I can't wait to see what comes out of it! Hopefully, he'll be a little more frequent with his blog entries than those slackers over at HappyFunTime Industries.

Maybe we'll get some interesting stuff from Gideon. Maybe we'll get to read some of his screenplays. Or see some of his art. Or maybe we can all chip in and help him with his homework. Who knows?

Wouldn't it be great if Sam got his own blog? I think it would.

If you didn't know, my in-laws are not your traditional in-laws. They juggle.

Another clergyman falls.

We've all seen the priestly scandles that have been abundant in the recent past. Well, we've reached a new low. Priest Holmes has been put on the injury reserve list. That means he's out for the season.

OK, it's not scandalous, but it's a new low. Basically, it's just the final nail in the coffin for the Kansas City Freaking Chiefs' 2004 season. Bummer.

Next year, right? Or we can all just play NFL Fever 2004.