It amuses me when people say something and then add that it was "totally random."

Umm, no. Your brain made very specific jumps--even if you didn't follow them--to get you from wherever we were a moment ago to the where we are now. It may appear random to those who didn't follow all those jumps, but it was anything but.

In fact, one of my wife's favorite Pinky and the Brain episodes explores this very idea.

Where was I?

Oh yes: This post may appear random but is, in fact, a bunch of smaller bits that were too disjointed to fit into a cohesive post... hence: "Random."

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The latest winner of the Digital Flatline contest has been determined. This contest was for Sonlight students to create six icons with the theme of Christmas. You can see all the entrees here, but the winner was Meredith:

Congratulations, Meredith!

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I'm thrilled with the response I've had from my post on Friday. What fun!

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I love hearing about homeschool dads who discover the joy of reading with their kids. I must admit that sometimes I'm rather grumpy about reading to Brittany because reading can make me really tired. But whenever I'm reading a great book, I'm reminded of the joy of reading aloud to others. It is a blast!

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I'm pretty sure I signed my tithe check 1/4/08 yesterday.

Oops.

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Nevil was so excited about getting to his food last night that he ran down my arm and fell off. In the process he ripped off half my arm trying to stay on. I have a rather nasty scrape, the origin of which I could not figure out this morning.

Ouch

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That's it for the moment. I don't have much time to write today. Sorry. But there is plenty of material to read in my Other Posts of Note, in case you forgot that was there <smile>.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Okay, friends: Time for a test. Fear not, this is only a test. If this were the real deal my hope would be that you wouldn't even notice and would mindlessly participate. But, for this one time only, I'm going let you retain your conscious control over your will and ask you to do something for me.

Click It! please

Oh, I see how it is.

You prefer those ubiquitous "text links," do you? Well, since I'm such a nice guy, please feel free to click here instead.

If you clicked both, that's okay.

Not ideal, but okay.

No, really, don't worry. You didn't exactly destroy my test. I mean, I'm not totally sure how bad it would be if you did, but it's okay. I mean, it's my test and everything, so if it breaks down it's not your fault... exactly.

What? You're one of those people who wants to know what's going on before you do anything, are you?

Perhaps you're one of those really web savvy peoples who noticed that the url for those link is "https://www.sonlight.com/index.html?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_source=081231test" and you're suspicious of me. 'Where is he taking me?' you wonder. 'Is it one of those virus thingies?'

No, this is just a little test thing for a tracking system Sonlight uses to see how effective our writing is. In other words: The "man" is coming after me and I have to prove myself a worthy opponent, and I need your help! By clicking on the click here links you are enabling me to test my use of link codes which lab rats and typewriter equipped monkeys will tabulate, the results of which will determine if I need to be replaced by said monkeys and lab rats.

And you don't want to start reading posts by a monkey, do you?

I don't.

So, please, for the love of my blogging, click here. The link should open a new window/tab and you'll be able to come right back.

Thank you.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

...wait, you didn't click all of those, did you!? <smile>

P.S. For those looking for a practical application for this inane post... umm... I've got nothing, and I hope you leave a comment with some brilliant connection to the real world.

After watching another cool episode of Battlestar^* with Jason last night, we got to talking about social ills and the solutions to them. Granted, our conversation drifted everywhere from the shortcomings of extreme Libertarianism to frustration due to the modern job market. But one of the questions raised by the show was that of class distinctions in the workforce. Due to the fleet's situation, people were being forced into certain classes and job opportunities from which there was no real hope of breaking free for the next generation.

The class distinction naturally existed in this fictitious world--and, to a lesser degree, in ours as well--and so we are left with the question of what can be done about these discrepancies. Our society certainly balks at the idea of ridged social strata, but how do we keep classes open?

Why, with education, of course.

"Education," however, is a tricky thing. Learning is a profoundly individual experience and the goals, aspirations, and focus varies greatly for each organization and person. The moment you move beyond the three basics--reading, writing, and arithmetic--people get into serious disagreement.

And then there's the question of means: How do we provide adequate education for everyone? Homeschooling is not, sadly, for everyone. Every public option suffers from a class hierarchy of its own, and in many cases is far from ideal. And private, "free market" based options are not accessible to those seeking to break out of the lowest classes.

Philanthropy is certainly one very powerful tool, as demonstrated by the wonderful success of the Rice Bag project which will transform the lives of well over 7,000 women (as well as their families) in India.

I don't really have any complete answers to these issues. And that's probably why I enjoy shows like Battlestar Galactica: They create a world that allows us to explore the more foundational aspects of our lives and consider how, perhaps, we should live differently.

May your educational endeavors--no matter what they are--bring you and your children to where you should be.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

*NB: Battlestar Galactica has quite a bit of content that is not suitable for children and may be outside the bounds of propriety for your family.

Announcement: My wife is starting up her own blog to try to get some more routine into her life. I'd love it if you popped over there and gave her some encouragement as she gets going <smile>.
Thanks!

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I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm going along in my day thinking about the wonderful topics I could post about and then suddenly my mind gets stuck on some topic and I just can't shake it.

That just happened to me.

Take a minute and think about this music video (if you didn't on Friday).

I had no idea this song is actually a "Christmas standard" ... I'm so ignorant.

And while I can see this song/video as an anti-war bit, I found the (perceived?/implied?/assumed?/intended?) message to be rather negative toward Christianity. Especially with a quote supposedly from Gandhi: An eye for an eye will make us all blind.

But as I watched the video I felt a certain... exuberance and sorrow. Christmas--God coming to dwell among us to later sacrifice Himself for us--is the only solution to the problems so graphically recorded in the video. So for me, any kind of "just choose not to fight" ideologies that may have been intended by the filmmaker are shown to be futile. Christ is the only solution to these problems, and just because peace may be something we want, that does not mean that we can simply have it by wanting it. Evil continues, even--especially?--if we stand back.

And the quote is horribly wrong. We would only all be blind if we allowed evil men to poke out everyone's eye and only then decided to exact justice. And that's often why we fight wars: With the hope of eradicating injustice (or at least tipping it in our favor). I don't go around poking people's eyes out, so assuming nobody came to do it to me, I, at least, could be king in the land of the blind. I think the point of the quote is closer to the heart of another quote: If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. But that is not the entirety of wisdom surrounding how to respond to evil.

War is a gruesome thing. People are evil.

We can't stop that simply by wishing everyone a merry Christmas, even if your name is John Lennon.

But Christmas is a reminder of what ultimately will end war... right after a last great big one.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I've been rather alone here at Sonlight today.

Alone in the Cube Maze

Most people took the day off to extend their holiday and recuperate from the madness, so I think there's only two other people in this quarter of the building.

It's relatively quiet.

Email has also been rather devoid of chatter.

And that's not a bad thing at all.

I'm still not on top of everything again, but I no longer feel like I'm drowning in missed information and a sea of deadlines. This holiday season has been filled with travel and time with family. This has meant that I haven't been in the office as much as my routine personality would prefer.

I don't mind working on the road on borrowed computers, but there's something about working in my familiar environments on my own machines that I miss terribly when I'm away.

"Home is where my computer is plugged in and turned on."

I've said that often.

So whether you're still on a break, recovering from an eggnog overdose, cleaning up the dishes from last night, back to work, or doing school today... may you find rest and peace. May you also get done with everything you need to do before the weekend, even if that is three more naps.

Taking a break is a good thing.

Stopping by to say, "Hi," to a friend trapped in a maze of cubicles is nice too <smile>.

See you all on Monday!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

We just had our picture taken with the whole family.

We did it last year too, and I think they turned out nice--despite little ones who don't understand the concept of looking at a camera or smiling. Today, with two babies, was little different.

And even though I can't find all the links now, I know others have blogged about the experience that is a family photo. I certainly remember the days when I was younger and we had to stand for what felt like hours in unnatural clothes and smile. Smile because "we're a happy family, dangit!" And I know I've seen a few "this is what my kids looked like right before we snapped this perfect picture" comparisons out there.

And isn't that how life so often is? We're not really trying to lie about our lives, we're just trying to make ourselves presentable.

But there are things about all of us--unless you're one of those annoying perfect people--that really are less than ideal. And even in my very close, happy, love-being-together family, there's some drama now and again.

This reminds me of the "Family Portrait" song by Pink. I am so thankful that I have such a loving and close family, but I know there are many people who don't have such a thing; where holidays are terrible experiences fully of pain, anger, or reminders of loss.

May we all reach out with love to one another, both in our families and out, so that the next time we take a picture our smiles are even more genuine whether we're in an itchy turtleneck or not.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Sorry this post is so late today.

Throughout this busy/packed day, I have been thinking about a few ideas and beliefs that I do no agree with. The problem is that I don't have a particularly good way of disagreeing.

See, these purported truths are part of these people's internal... "doctrines"--personal beliefs?--that are founded on little more than the fact that others whom they trust have told them the idea is true.

And how do we challenge such a thing?

How should we?

With education.

And I don't mean: Let's educate them with the opposite bias.

That's for the "scientific" community, the religious cults, and totalitarian governments. That is not where we, as seekers of reality and truth, begin when we approach topics with which we disagree or find implausible.

Rather, we seek out as much information as possible. We try to see all sides. We ask for the best arguments, the most informed reasoning, and the clearest explanations. In essence we look for the truth by asking questions and trying to learn.

Because what is true should eventually surface.

And that is why Sonlight has long held a focus on trying to educate, not indoctrinate.

Not that doctrine, or a belief held because they are considered true by trustworthy people, is a bad thing. But doctrine should be accepted with a constant eye on the detractors. What do those who hold differently say?

They may never come up with anything convincing themselves, but the more educated we are about the arguments, the firmer we can be in our beliefs.

And that's one of the many reasons why Sonlight continues to encourage questions. You can read more about these kinds of thoughts in reasons 11, 12, and 15 in Sonlight's reasons not to buy from Sonlight.

I do my best to ask questions, especially when I disagree with someone, and not just write them off as stupid, deluded, or an &*$!@%# retard... all of which I have heard very "intelligent" people use as reasons for another's dissension.

May you be more winsome and wise in your rebuttals and remarks.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father