An Open Letter to Barclay and Apple

"And then… just two weeks after agreeing to start helping to do these things…

My computer, and all of the things I had kept with it, were stolen.

Gone."

~Me, in the letter below 

Hello Barclay and Apple!

So, here's my story.

When I purchased my Macbook Pro two Februaries ago, it was a difficult but well-thought-out decision for me.

I knew I did not currently have the financial muscle to buy the computer straight up. But I really needed a personal computing option for the things I was about to embark upon.

What things, you ask?

I was putting together a creative project, recording 6 a cappella groups, doing audio, video, and graphic design. I had some capacity for that. But not nearly with the power I needed. Thus, I created the need for the Macbook Pro.

Here was my rationale: I was bussing tables at a restaurant, after graduating with a degree in Philosophy. I wanted to start doing things with my time and talents. This was a good challenge, and right up my alley. I thought: “Spend the money now, as an investment into audio and video and graphic design… Use it to get proficient, then start earning money doing all three of those things. You’ll be able to pay off the computer in the 18 months of 0% APR financing.”

I’m pretty good at convincing myself and others.

We did a decent job with the project. I moved up from bussing to serving tables as well. We experienced a few setbacks on the project. (Okay, more than a few). The computer was a workhorse.

After the Spring, Summer, and into the fall, I was pretty burnt out and had learned a lot from the project. And then my life took a pivot.

In August of 2012, I heard about this thing called The Freedom Café. It was an idea: a non-profit café, where people came in for coffee and tea (free cup!) and then donate. And because it’s a non-profit, relying heavily on volunteer labor and overhead donated space, the donations would go to cover the cost of coffee and tea. From there, anything over the base cost could be donated to a non-profit working in the field to end Human Trafficking and Slavery.

The church group that I had been meeting with was talking about doing some sort of local food movement thing, discussing sourcing, and had just done our first Community Garden.

Now, we heard about this Café idea (in Amherst, MA), and it matched up. We wanted to try it in Durham, NH.

So, in August 2012, I took the role as the General Manager of the Freedom Café of Durham (Then called the Freedom Café @ UNH).

A society based on Wendall Berry's Agrarian Vision?

I've been reading through, slowly, Berry's essay on "Racism and the Economy."

I say slowly because every paragraph or two I have to put the book down and process and think through what I'm reading. 

This is just an update on that thinking. 

The big thing from what I'm reading is this complete belief and adherence to a neighborhood-based economy, of sorts. He mentions how he's for neighborhood grocery stores and school, for the same reason that he's for neighborhoods. And he keeps railing against top-down approaches to anything. 

But I wonder if anyone has taken this super-communal based approach to society and either theoretically or experimentally extended it out to its natural conclusions?

I'll keep updating with thoughts as they come. 

I think the ideal is beautiful. Ugly at times but beautiful. I'd want to live there myself. But I wonder how we get there and how we move about? I wonder; what is the point of living for Berry?

Here goes more reading!

Googling "What is a Co-op?"

Figuring out Co-ops. It's a fun dilemma. Well, first, let's talk about Googling.

A lesson in googling. If you have a question, ask the google. And don't be bashful about asking it. First ask it in the way that you originally phrased the question. Scan the first few hits. No luck, re-think the question.

I didn't have to go far when I was asked "Have you heard about other Creative Co-ops before and what they do? You should look at them, find out their business model, and see what works or doesn't work"

Naturally that led me to Google, to ask "Creative Co-op".

The responses were underwhelming. Why?

Just doing that thinking thing

I'm just trying to relieve my mind of all it's thinking. There's a lot going on in here. And I'm recognizing that these thoughts are not inherently "god" related. But I'm curious if I should keep that blog separate in order to categorize my thoughts. Eh.

So sitting in BNG, watching people. Sort've, I'm reading a piece by Rorty where he is discussing Objectivity vs. solidarity, the benefits and the reason for solidarity.

All of this thinking, this reading, this not-so-fun-or-mind-releasing work, is bringing me to a point of confusion in my life. I don't know what to do with all of it. I do not know what the Truth is, or even if the Truth is important anymore.

What if it is? Or, how would my life look if there was an objective, absolute, outside-of-human-beings Truth that we could get at. Christians and others claim this truth is Divinity.  This truth is God's truth. And the Bible is God's Word, giving us the completely objective truth.

I say false. I say that it gives us a very confusing, not-very-clear-except-for-some-major-elements, idea of what that Truth is. Otherwise, we are left to fend and find out for ourselves.
This is where public revelation in the form of Scientific search comes in. C'mon, if you deny that Science is important to our understanding of the Universe, you are truly denying that utility of nearly every technological advance that you use to get at the betterment of the Universe.

~~~~~~~~

Shifting gears altogether here. I have been mulling over my part in the Universe today. I have a lot of ideas, visions, plans for the next year and few years of my life, all of which I do feel God-called to do, but not explicitly so. Meaning, if they fail, they will fail because I have found the conviction is not there.

But in regards to how I want to be seen, the impact my life can make on the lives of others, it deals directly  with the question of whether or not humanity is heading somewhere, or if we're just, living on this rock called Earth. It deals directly with the understanding that the impact we make will only last but a brief moment in the Universe's history. So why do we make the effort? What is acceptable failure and what is the measure of success? Should those even be thought of as we proceed forward with our lives?

Each moment gives itself the potential for action and interaction. For the devout it gives them the ability to find God in the situation, to feel the pull of the Holy Spirit and the action of the spiritual world. It allows us to react as we hope is God-worthy, is God-lifting. I don't know if we can ever know for sure if that which we do is accurately reflecting our desire to do good by God.

But that can be exhausting. It can be tiring. And it can leave to the void re-appearing over and over again on a nightly basis, especially come the weekends, when American college-age folks think we should all be boozin' or chasing these things to FILL that void. Community, companionship, filial love, GOD can fill that void, I know it can. But it's rare and crazy for people to like these things just for these things in and of themselves. And furthermore, there comes a point when it seems we take too much refuge and do not reach out, do not offer to those who chase the false Gods an alternative way to spend their weekend nights. To spend what will eventually equate to a seventh of their lives. That's a whole lot of LIFE wasted or filled with alternative means of... life :-)

~~~~~~~~

"Where can we sit?" Steve spoke idly as he scanned the crowded room. They were there to celebrate their friend's birthday, by watching a stand-up comedian do his thing. 

"There!" Cory pointed to a row in the back. They had arrived late, because they had all needed to pre-game, dood, in their dorm room.



Back in his home town of Laura's Landing, Keith knew his family would be settling into bed. His two younger sisters, at any rate, would be, with his father reading them a goodnight story. Or maybe he would be making it up. He had been doing that on and off for years. first for his brother Alex, then for Keith, and now for Katie and Emily. 

His father had been...





I'm gonna stop for now, because my roommates are getting food at Libby's and I am going to join them. Here goes.

~Sean

Hey God, what's up

Hey so I started this whole new blog, for this whole new person I think I am becoming. It's called "seansgod.blogspot.com" Pretty simple. Well, the title is "Tell me All Your Thoughts on God". Anyways, if you can't figure it out already, I have become Christ. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, but even more than that, I have dedicated my life to Christ, everything that is EVER mine, any of my actions, my thoughts, my stuff, they belong to God and Christ to tell me what to do with it.

That's a LOADED statement, believe me, I know. It involves a few pressuppositions. First one that comes to mind is that I think God has talked to me, is talking to me, and will talk to me in my life, as long as I continue to listen. My new blog will deal with that concept.

Another one is that I have to express what I mean when I say I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins on the Cross, some 2000- years ago. Fact? Fiction? Folk tale? Fable? Made-up story? My new blog will also discuss this.

Another is that I have express how being "Christian", or at least, following Jesus, is so distinctly different from any other religion. The idea of it being a story that we accept, which is sprinkled with instructions on how to live life, as opposed to instructions on how to live life, sprinkled with story illustrating those instructions. The new blog will try to go into this more.

Another is that I have to fully express my conviction that this world we live in, it is Broken, or wrong, or something's just not right! That will be delved into.

Another is that I have to find out how deeply self-defeating, selfish, and egotistical I was and am.

Another is that I have to explore the idea of sin, sinners, etc.

How did I deal with the idea that my faith now demands of me to hate Gays, look down on abortion, and take so many different stances definitively? (Hope you note the sarcasm)

What about the other religions of the world?

What have I to say to those who knew me when i was questioning broadly the veracity of Christian thought?

Conversion?
Evangelism?
Other world views being valid?
Mind shift?
Lensshift?Godandpainandheavenandhellandsolvingallofmyproblems?


I want to express all of this! I must. So I set forth, as God would have me do, and embark to make this clear in my new blog. Please join me. And question me. And press me. And challenge me. And make me feel horrible. And all that.


Love you. All.

Again to the WAY back machine

Just found this other day, actually today, in my desk, with all of my random stuff from High School. I think it goes well with that other one :-)

I can't deny that I'm afraid
Of what we may become
It's love like this for which I've prayed
And love like this we've won.

It's true we have the utmost fun
But some things I can't deny
Where do we end what we've begun
I hope not to make you cry

Ah but see I'm just a guy
like any other man
I do some things without knowing why.
Can you trust the boy I am?

Of this we'll see, I have no doubt
Mayhaps it's time for my demons out.

Pakka

I have a lot of things. On my mind that is. And for this summer.

Trek Director.

Painting

Getting back into School

Determining if I want to get back into school

Love

God?

Jesus?

Alternative?

I'm done for now

Only because People are chatting at me via the interwebs.

Yikes.

I'm sorely not outputting enough thoughts, or at least recording them, for my own therapeutic purposes.