tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56102312009-02-21T02:52:02.315-08:00Baseball, Seminary, Wrestling, and the Dreams and Days of one Mike Work's Angeles experienceMike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.comBlogger204125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1155105269239812382006-08-08T23:20:00.000-07:002006-08-08T23:34:29.283-07:00

Among other things, I've...been working. Going well, lots of fluidity and flexibility, and it looks like i'm to be learning Flash in the upcoming weeks.been reading. This, That, and The Other. All commendable, as was this mid-July read.been playing softball. Summer season is over, and the Legion of Doom finished with a record of 1-11, with the lone victory coming via forfeit. Next season we

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1153633309006049972006-07-22T22:35:00.000-07:002006-07-22T22:41:49.016-07:00

It's been really hot this summer, and this week was no exception.Temperatures in the triple digits into the evenings have been the norm.Today, Los Angeles decided to try out for the role of 'Atlanta,' putting on extra pounds of air moisture in an attempt to really become the part. I hope this is the first step to the city breaking its fever...it's not pleasant.

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1151220937251131772006-06-25T00:08:00.000-07:002006-06-25T00:35:37.280-07:00

Much has transpired since our last post, and i've gradually disappeared from the blogosphere. [One might say that the levels of activity in my virtual and offline lives have been inversely correlated. Anyone know who that 'one' is?]As for the 'online' life, it may soon undergo some revisions. I don't intend to abandon this blog, but expect it to be more random musings and events of my days

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1147212893672850852006-05-09T14:59:00.000-07:002006-05-09T15:15:57.106-07:00

I recently wrote an article for the SEMI, Fuller's student paper, regarding technology and the church, particularly the connection between web 2.0 developments and community formation. You can find it here.Any feedback and comments are welcome. Thus far, I've received some kind words. One of my professors suggested that I could expand on the dynamics of real-time and virtual relationships as

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1146811822650154722006-05-04T23:49:00.000-07:002006-05-04T23:50:22.660-07:00

Now, what did i want to write about again?I'll remember tomorrow...

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1146489735414329022006-05-01T06:07:00.000-07:002006-05-01T06:25:10.626-07:00

I don't really like Kobe Bryant at all. The guy's a tremendous athlete, no question, and I'll give him credit for his game, but beyond that...Now my roommate Oscar, yeah, he's gone over to the dark side. Today's comeback induced shouts of jubilation from him, and a series of 'No!'s from me as he celebrated team Bryant's comeback victory over the Suns. I could only watch the end of regulation

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1146488828273780152006-05-01T04:58:00.000-07:002006-05-01T06:07:09.463-07:00

One of my housemates works in television production. As such, there've been weeks and months where it's been rumored that we live together, but very little evidence of it. However, we do reap some benefits from his career, namely well-prepared office lunches; i've had some particularly sumptuous leftovers over the past six months, and can credit the folks in production for their choices in

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1146116167289745772006-04-26T22:31:00.000-07:002006-05-02T09:25:34.850-07:00

Cross-posted from my class blog, with slight modification. One regular feature of the course is a daily discussion of a section of our readings. Today's discussion centered around chapters 5-7 of NT Wright's Jesus and the Victory of God. Timmy B, Kenji, Eric, Ted, and myself started talking during the break, and I found myself wishing out loud that we'd been able to video that conversation and

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1145946774960775432006-04-24T23:20:00.000-07:002006-04-24T23:32:54.970-07:00

In my never-ending quest to capsize the internet with an abundance of content (a quest that doesn't seem to be working out too well), I've created a new blog. Workin' Class takes the name-punning to the next level. Unlike the Wrap-Up, I haven't filled this blog with content on its first day. The new blog is actually part of a class at Fuller entitled Jesus the Missionary. Ryan Bolger, our

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1145832134709168352006-04-23T15:30:00.000-07:002006-04-23T15:42:14.790-07:00

Two weeks ago, i received a completely unanticipated, unplanned, generous gift from a friend. He heard that I haven't been driving, and decided to give me a car.Wow is an understatement.He gave me the car, title and all, about a week and a half ago, and I spent a week working out title and registration, insurance, smog testing, and getting a California driver's license. Now the pressing task is

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1145362659466532472006-04-18T04:51:00.000-07:002006-04-18T05:17:39.533-07:00

After a raucous Saturday night in Echo Park, the Dodger Stadium crowd was a bit more subdued on Sunday afternoon. Understandable, with it being a Sunday afternoon game, on Easter Sunday to boot. Also partially responsible was Giants pitcher Brad Hennessey, who held the Dodgers to three hits and no runs in seven innings, as the Giants left LA with a 2-0 victory.ESPN's coverage of the game focused

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1145228730825330672006-04-16T15:50:00.000-07:002006-04-17T13:04:13.923-07:00

To preface, I've a longstanding relationship with the spectacle of professional wrestling, which I would count influential in my spiritual pilgrimage. Simply put, as a wrestling fan, i learned to (at least temporarily) supend disbelief and live in the world of possibility, which have been recurring themes as I learn to follow Jesus. I take a lot of analogies through the wrestling world,

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1145227271911189112006-04-16T15:23:00.000-07:002006-04-16T15:42:36.596-07:00

Here's been my past three days:(Good) Friday: breakfast brainstorming with my friend Bong, meeting for a group project throughout the morning, dealing with house maintenance issues, waiting in line at the DMV to do paperwork and take a test, worked the night shift at security. The perks of working at an evangelical seminary: while we don't get all state-sanctioned holidays off, we do get this

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1144178127327247672006-04-04T12:11:00.000-07:002006-04-04T12:16:27.066-07:00

For all who are interested in the universe of fantasy sports, i've begun contributing regularly to a new blog: Fantasy Wrap Up is the brainchild of my friend Raf. After he was dragged into the baseball draft last year, fantasy sports soondeveloped into a new passion, on the verge of obsession. We launched yesterday with a flood of content, and intend to update regularly throughout the year(s)

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1143800263031781542006-03-31T00:50:00.000-08:002006-03-31T02:17:43.096-08:00

Last weekend, downtown Los Angeles saw approximately 500,000 people converge on the city hall to protest HR 4437, a bill related to illegal immigration which would have the effect of criminalizing virtually all forms of assistance to undocumented workers, while also making residency without documentation a felony.If we take the estimate of 3.8 million Angelenos as accurate, that's one out of

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1143453502453151152006-03-27T01:46:00.000-08:002006-03-27T01:58:23.056-08:00

Busy month, and the virtual notebook was replaced by hard copy in the push through exams. Really enjoyed my classes, particularly global evangelical movement, and wrote my final paper on the phenomenon of Christian fundamentalism in America. I examined the theological underpinnings which allowed the fundamentalists to pack their bags and leave the denominations in the early 20th century, as well

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1141273614000296062006-02-28T23:25:00.000-08:002006-03-01T20:30:33.590-08:00

Written from the mid-point break in my night class...I noticed the phenomenon of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday blending into one day this past fall. Two months into the new year, Wednesdays tend to feel like wasted days. Not sure what's going on. I'm learning in class...when not spaced out or otherwise distracted. Same concerns as earlier (large classes impede relationship and learning).

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1140643636452328932006-02-22T13:18:00.000-08:002006-02-22T13:27:16.453-08:00

Here's what crossed my mind while walking back from the java filling station, a small coffee shop in pasadena, on the corner of colorado and marengo. Visited for the first time today, and will go back...good stuff.Here's what i thought:We humans live in this cycle of action, reflection, and perception (which can all occur in a split-second, or over a prolonged period of time). Our patterns of

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1140643065136163562006-02-22T13:17:00.000-08:002006-02-22T13:18:21.563-08:00

Here's a hunch: the bulk of the time guys get in trouble, it's because of our mouths, our fists, or our genitals.I'm just saying.

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1140622881620174822006-02-22T07:35:00.000-08:002006-02-22T07:41:21.636-08:00

Profound thoughts cross my mind on a regular basis, either through my own doing or simply because i'm in grad school, and can't help but be stimulated. My first thoughts today...they weren't that profound:'wow, that bathroom light is really bright.''i'm pretty groggy and don't want to get out of bed. maybe if someone were to hit me upside the head with a baseball bat, that'd get me up....no,

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1140309540787448112006-02-18T16:11:00.000-08:002006-02-18T16:39:00.833-08:00

Also passing through my hands of late has been John Drane's The McDonaldization of the Church, another helpful book. I appreciate his cultural analysis, his application of Ritzer's McDonaldization thesis to the church, and his creative proposals for Christian practice, centered around bodily expressive worship, prophetic use of drama and clowning, and storytelling. Worship is a concern of the

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1140306641328873852006-02-18T15:32:00.000-08:002006-02-18T15:50:41.393-08:00

I skimmed Ben Meyer's The Aims of Jesus on Thursday, and found it worthy of more focused attention (as has NT Wright, who draws heavily on Meyer's critical realism in his works). Meyer's historiography and his method are among his lasting contributions to historical Jesus studies, and his work (mediated through Wright and James Dunn) played a pivotal role in getting me out of a phenomenological

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1140243498111899772006-02-17T21:51:00.000-08:002006-02-17T22:18:18.140-08:00

Continuing the theme of Friday Night Movie Posts, I watched Get Rich or Die Tryin' this past week, starring Curtis Jackson (AKA 50 Cent) in a semi-autobiographical role, alongside Terrence Howard and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Jackson didn't get an Oscar nomination for his performance, and critical reviews were about as universally negative as Brokeback's were positive.I liked it.No, 50 didn't

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1139633940461704212006-02-10T20:45:00.000-08:002006-02-10T20:59:00.483-08:00

Watched Brokeback today, and it shattered a long-standing prejudice against Heath Ledger movies. Not that i'm going to seek out a copy of the Order, but it's not hard to comprehend why he got a best actor nom for his performance. Really good: he took in the part and made the role his own.As for the film, stellar acting, direction, and writing combined to create a powerful representation of a

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5610231.post-1139260488937877102006-02-06T12:56:00.000-08:002006-02-06T13:14:52.013-08:00

Well, i'm in class, and i didn't do the rewrite. So i'll live with a B for the first paper. While attempting to rewrite, i found myself writing an entirely different paper, looking at my initial conclusions and saying 'wow,' surprised that the grade was so high given my utter disregard for the process of historical research and the existence of primary sources.Comparing the work i'm doing right

Mike Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09515349857613384573noreply@blogger.com2