Here we go again
I've just heard the news that Canada's Liberal Government has fallen and we'll be going to the polls in January. This was not unexpected, of course, especially after Bono denounced Paul Martin's lack of action on increasing foreign aid before U2's Ottawa concert this weekend (the kiss of death from the world's biggest Rock star).

Seriously though... Last Friday I woke up with the feeling deep in my gut that the Liberals' days are done. As a calvinist I don't often get "gut feelings" so I tend to pay attention to them. However, I do have mixed feelings about that, well, particular feeling. The two-and-fro history of Canadian elections invariably means that when Canadians get tired of Liberal governments, they vote in a Conservative one. However, the ineptitude of the present Conservative party will probably mean that the tories will get in on a minority ticket. As a political pluralist, I hope that this could mean a renaissance for smaller parties (such as the Greens); as a social democrat, I hope that this could mean a bigger slice of the political pie for the NDP. As a Canadian, I hope this whole exercise could mark a change in the negative politics of the past elections, though so far the signs are not hopeful. Already the knives are out as Martin has accused the Conservatives of kowtowing to the Americans and the Quebec separatists. "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

Anyway, the point of this post is to point Canadians to the excellent work of Citizens for Public Justice around election time. CPJ is a Christian policy and education organization that consistently works to place the interests of the weak of society on the public agenda. Their election guides are comprehensive tools for thinking and acting Christianly in making that "X", but also in raising issues during the public debates that go along with election campaigns. I encourage y'all to visit them often.

The Best Starship Captain
My friend Sylvia has weighed in on the Starship Captain question: "Surely there is no debate! Those of us who live daily with the intertextual echo of 'Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.' know that there is no captain that ever has or ever will reach the stature of Picard." But for my money, it's gotta be Sisko, in spite of the lack of intertextual echoes. Hell, you’ve got the man responsible for saving the Alpha quadrant and the Emissary of the Prophets tied-up in one person. Plus he loves using baseball analogies to explain the meaning of open possibilities within linear time. I also love the shades of grey in the character -- his willingness to live with ambiguity -- and count
In The Pale Moonlight among Star Trek's best moments. Of course, if Picard were faced with the same situation (engaging in lying, subterfuge and political assassination in order to save the Alpha quadrant), there's no way in hell he would compromise his principles (or should that be "there's no way in hell the script writers would allow him to compromise his principles"?). I recognize our postmodern world more in that of DS9 than STNG. So I guess I prefer Sisko's awareness of ambiguity to Picard's never-flagging moral certitude.

All that said, I'd give it all up for Kirk's love life.

Ramblin' Man
... is, of course, the piece that opens Steve Martin's 1977 comedy debut album, Let's Get Small.

First Sunday in Advent
The season of Advent is here, preceded as usual by the advent of Christmas trees, colourful lights, and the ubiquitous flyers and TV ads proclaiming "shop early, shop often." I used to think that this "glowing" of capitalism-manufactured joy was at least convergent with the true Spirit-given joy of the season. After all, when the light recedes in the Northern hemisphere, and things get generally drab and grey, there's something magical about the colours that come out during these late days of November. But since beginning to reflect on Advent, not as the four Sundays leading to December 25 (turkey, family, presents...), but as a season of preparation and self-examination, things feel very different. Like the brilliant folks who appointed the day-after-US Thanksgiving as "buy nothing day" as subversion of consumerist capitalism, Advent, I think, is subversive of the whole "Christmas season." (Do we Christians need to be reminded that Christmas begins on December 25 and extends well beyond the hangovers and boxing day sales?). Imagine engaging in self-examination, especially of our North American complicity in creating such an unequal world, while passing by signs proclaiming "shopping is good." What would Jesus do were he to return in the midst of "Christmas season"? Personally, that scares the bejeebers out of me. It's time to pray--for myself, for the witness of the church, and for the world.

There's a good piece on Advent by Robert Webber, excerpted from his Ancient and Future Time available here.

Here's a photo of me playing guitar at All Nations CRC, Halifax in 2004. All Nations was my home church for four years. I was playing Villa Lobos' Prelude no. 2 and my fingers got horribly cramped. Ouch. Photo by Laura Breukelman.

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging. This is an experiment I've looked forward to with eagerness and fear. Do I have anything meaningful to contribute to the blogsphere? Will anyone pay attention? What happens if people pay attention? That's the fear part. The eagerness part is, well, becoming involved in conversations about things I care deeply about, and learning from the perspectives of others. It's an opportunity to test out ideas about God, reading the Bible, Ramirez guitars, the perennial debate over who is the best Star Trek Captain, South African theologies, and Anglican liturgy. So here goes...