I don't text.

I don't even own a cellphone. I'm either at work or at home, and I am almost always sitting in front of a computer connected to the internet. So, I don't need a cellphone or texting. And I'm way too cheap to pay for either.

However, a few people have cell phones and a couple of them like to text.
[Aside: It's odd to me how some nouns become verbs--e.g. "I blog on my blog," or "I text."]
One of these texting fiends is my brother. He has a cellphone, but most of the time it is a portable, nine button instant messaging system. And other than his friends, the thing he texts most often is "Cha Cha" (242-242). You text in a question, any question, and a few minutes later some college kid who wants to make twenty cents has googled [verb] the answer for you.

It's free to use (if texting is free for you).

And this kind of thing is becoming popular. I read today that Google will do a price check for you (text: 466453). Pretty cool, I guess. People are eating this kind of thing up.

In fact, you could try out 27563 (ASKME) and compare it to Cha Cha. There are other options if you want to pay money for the service.

Madness.

But useful.

Let me give you a perfect example: If you were to whip out your little phone and type something like: 9(44)(666) (444)(7777) (555)(88)(55)(33) (44)(666)(555)(9999)62(66)(66)?

You might get back:

luke holzmann
filmmaker writer expectant father

Because, you know, texting doesn't allow for proper capitalization or punctuation. See how easy that was?

On the other hand, if you're looking for well thought-out, and properly typed, answers to a Sonlight homeschooling question you think the world should know, you can ask our Sonlight expert Judy.

P.S. My latest Heart of the Matter article is up. If you haven't yet, I encourage you to give it a read.

[Title link here]

I don't have an Uncle Bob.

Though I do have an Uncle Scott, Pete, Dave, Ken, and Martin, so "Bob" would fit right in. And really, this post has nothing to do with uncles or extended relatives at all, so I'm going to drop the topic entirely. But we will come back to the idea of "Bob" in a moment. But first...

I ran across a very interesting post by Christine on Welcome to My Brain.net that fits in nicely--at least, in my mind--with yesterday's post. Give it a little read and watch the embeded video. Or don't, if you're sick of the topic... no skin off my nose. Though I found it interesting... the video and post, not the skin on my nose.

Okay, on with this post.

If you have never been introduced to Weird Al Yankovic, allow me to do so: Readers, meet Al. Al, meet my readers.

Not only is Weird Al incredibly funny, cleaver, and talented, but he's also educational. Ever wished there was a way to get kids interested in Bob Dylan and Palindromes at the same time? That's what I thought. Thankfully, Weird Al has made a song just for you:

BoB

Learn stuff and have fun doing so--the epitome of education. Find something you enjoy and imparts knowledge in a way that is practical and beneficial, and Bob's your uncle.

Oh, speaking of finding such things (fun, knowledge imparting, practical and beneficial), Sonlight has recently added a sweet new feature to your online shopping experience: a Wish List! Go ahead, check it out.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I try to keep an eye out for great blog topics throughout my day. The problem is that I will think of something and say to myself, "Self, that is a great idea you just had. Hold onto that for me." And then I go about my work.

When it comes time to blog, I turn to myself and ask, "What was that great idea I had earlier?"

And my self will answer, "Huh?"

That seriously just happened.

Thankfully I have a slew of Other Posts of Note to draw upon in time of need.

I came upon a great article about the current mortgage problems that points to an unlikely--or not, depending on your view--source: God.

Well, not really. More accurately: It's people's misuse of theology that has likely helped lead us to where we are today.

Lyn Hallewell

The article is really interesting. For instance, I had not heard that the "Prosperity Gospel" can actually lead people to start living a more fiscally responsible life. That definitely brings to mind the concept of the Lord working in mysterious ways.

But just as I need to learn not to trust my brain to remember important details, I'm finding I need to learn to let God deal with things His way. My brain just can't handle it.

I once heard a guy give his testimony saying that what convinced him that Christianity was true was a book about Bible Codes.

What?

So even if God decides to use cracked pots like us, I feel like the above article should give us pause. We need to carefully watch our doctrine. But at the same time, I guess the other lesson I'm learning is that there is grace enough for people who don't quite "get it" either.

...in the end, I'm just feeling a little torn in my brain: We must be careful, but God gives us grace anyway.

Wisdom, please.

Thoughts?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I often wake up with the realization that I was just in REM and dreaming. I've become used to the sudden shift from dreams to reality, and it doesn't bother me much--except I'm usually rather groggy because of the interrupted cycle.

I'm sure this is super fascinating to you all.

Point being: I don't tend to remember my dreams much, but when I woke up this morning it was so good I just had to share it:

My crazy dream--that involved getting lost in the wilderness, trespassing, the characters from Lost, a large cathedral, and a flying boat--culminated in everyone turning into Veggie Tales characters and singing a nice upbeat closing song reminiscent of "Following the Leader" ...the last line of which was:

......we always should have known:
There are always more flight paths
Than roads could ever go.

A bit too much WoW? Perhaps.

But it is true: You can go far more places flying around than you can following a path. ...which is the popularity of flying mounts. <cough ahem>

I don't have time to discuss dreams much more today, but Jess has an interesting discussion about the topic on her blog.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll see you all on Monday!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

If you can handle a mild profanity, I found this particular xkcd comic applicable. If you'd rather avoid profanities, please don't click on the link. Thanks!

Sonlight has an "unabashedly biblical, evangelical Christian base" (see #19). And I, without trepidation, freely admit that I am a Christian to anyone who asks.

But, on the internet, I tend to not mention my faith in Christ as often. Is it because I am "ashamed of the Gospel"? (Romans 1:16)

No.

But sometimes this whole "Christian" label thing goes nuts.

Bananas.

Perhaps with some vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and cheery as well. The religious sundae, often proudly displayed on Sundays.

Why did we, as a subculture, feel the need to create GodTube, so we could change the tagline from "Broadcast Yourself™" to "Broadcast Him*"?

This kind of thing makes my skin itch.

Oh, I used to be there. I wore the all the cheap Christian knockoff shirts (that still cost a pretty penny). I was going to influence culture by demonstrating how "hip" I was, but with the extra-cool Christian twist.

HisSpace

But I was deceived. There is no way you can influence culture by merely repackaging it as "Christian." Not going to work. So, please, nobody start making "Strong Good" emails--unless you're trying to be purely farcical.

We Christians are an odd bunch of bananas, are we not? Add in the whole "homeschool" thing, and we can come across as really, really out there.

But this is what's odd: When I meet homeschoolers, chat with them, read their blogs, and discuss things, they really are very nice, "normal" people. They are no more out of whack than any of the public schooled atheists I know. Which, I think, is a good thing.

Are we really called to be "counter-cultural"? I don't think so. It was probably the biography of William Carey that first introduced me to this idea. He changed how he looked so he could better relate to the people around him. That whole "all things to all men" deal.

I think there's a phase in a Christian's life where the Christian fads are appealing. And that's okay. But at some point in time, I think that we should become more like Christ and hang out with the sinners where they are, rather than with the Sunday Sundae group.

I certainly have my own toppings that people may not want on their ice cream, but I do my best to enjoy it so much that others decide to give it a try. I think people seeing me enjoy my sundae will be more effective than merely proclaiming the superiority of my concoction.

How about you?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

*It looks like they have since changed their tagline.
And, yes, I have an account.

Today, while I was editing the next podcast in the lineup--coming soon!--I heard Jill say of some fun math activities: "...kids don't even know it. They don't even know it's math. It's great."

This is a common sentiment from homeschoolers, especially Sonlighters--or maybe that's just selection bias talking <shrug>. I've heard stories over and over again about kids saying, "That was school?! It was way too much fun to be school."

These kids don't even realize that what they are doing is a secret plot to get them to learn something.

Lying to the children.

We should be ashamed.

But before I get sent to my room without dessert, you need to know that I wasn't the one who lied.

It's the idea of "school" that has twisted the minds of our young people. It is the institution of school, and the media surrounding it, that has lied to our students. Even we have been subjected to this lie. And the lie is this:

Learning must be boring.

Learning is pain

Nothing could be further from the truth. Learning is a blast! And homeschooled kids know it. Schools lie to children and tell them that to learn is to suffer, or at least a struggle.

To be fair, there are many teachers who do their best to make their lessons fun, engaging, meaningful and a joy. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the educational system that perpetrates the lie that learning is an arduous task.

It's not always easy, but learning is always a joy.

School isn't.

So please allow your kids to remain blissfully ignorant that what they are doing has educational merit. Let them slowly learn that learning is fun, and then perhaps, just perhaps, they'll think that school is fun as well.

At least, at home with Sonlight it is <smile>.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

...my first impressions.

I have been involved with Sonlight to some extent or another since my mom started it back in '90. Granted, my involvement is has been off and on over the years, but I am now at a completely different level: I am a customer!

Not only that, I'm a genuine, card-totin' "Classic Member" of the Sonlight community.

<oooo... ahhhh...>

You're all jealous, I can tell.

I placed my order on Friday, and, as per my request, they just walked it over to my cube, so their delivery system is fantastic! I felt that having them ship it to my house wasn't very efficient, since I'm driving there after I finish this post.

No, we don't have our kids yet, but in preparation for getting them, we decided we needed to learn Russian, and quick. So we now own Rosetta Stone Russian 1&2.

Our First Sonlight Order!

My experience:

I popped onto the website and did a search for "Russian," and quickly found what I was looking for. Cool!

But I remembered an email about a special offer for Rosetta Stone, and I couldn't find any indication of the deal on the product page. My wife told me I should call Customer Support.

Great idea! Especially since I'm going to be blogging about the experience... might as well go the whole way.

So I called, and was left waiting for about five minutes. The music loop was a little short, so that got a tad annoying. (Did I mention this is a complete review of my experience? <smile>)

"Thank you for calling Sonlight, this is Lindsey, may I have your name please?"

"Hi, Lindsey. This is Luke Holzmann, and I actually have a real question."

I know who Lindsey is, and she, I think, knows who I am, but we work on opposite sides of building and haven't been formally introduced. So, this is about as close to a "stranger" as I was going to get. Had it been, say, Karla, I may have had a biased customer support moment. All the better for you that it was Lindsey. This was a real call.

I explained my confusion, and she did some poking around to answer my question.

Sonlight does have great customer service!

This brought me to the checkout process.

Oh my. This was nasty. I had to actually look around to find the "Let Me Buy This Stuff, Please!" button. It wasn't where I expected it, and was buried under a mountain of text.

Next was a "Coupon Codes" page, almost as confusing--again, with too much text. But being the computer savvy guy that I am, I managed. I can't let thousands of homeschool moms beat me! If they can do it, so can I!

Everything else was a snap.

And, like I said, I have my order now.

Awesome.

Thus far, I am very happy customer of Sonlight.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. I met with one of the web guys this morning, and he now has my feedback for making the checkout process cleaner. I do love being able to test this stuff so I can offer suggestions to make it even better.

But, I'm not the only one who can provide feedback. Sonlight welcomes your feedback as well!