this is eurasia.

we wanted to 'go out with a bang' for our final project with the eurasia communications team.
so here it is: our stop-motion project to show not only the diversity of eurasia but also the ways in which youth from every field are participating in the Kingdom.



it was true collaboration.
quite the labor of love. but so worth it in the end.

soon it's gonna' rain.

and actually it's already begun. i think it rains here more than it stays dry. in all four seasons.

today is especially dreary. it needs the right accompaniment to fully hone in to this kind of weather.

today is the kind of day where i would normally put on one of my barbra streisand records and let it be my soundtrack for the afternoon.

so, since i don't have my vinyl right now, youtube will have to do.

here is barbra singing, soon it's gonna' rain from the fantastiks.


and here are the lyrics:

Hear how the wind begins to whisper
See how the leaves go streaming by
Smell how the velvet rain is falling
Out where the fields are warm and dry
Now is the time to run inside and stay
Now is the time to find a hideaway
Where we can play
Soon it's gonna rain, I can see it
Soon it's gonna rain, I can tell
Soon it's gonna rain, what are we gonna do?
Soon it's gonna rain, I can feel it
Soon it's gonna rain, I can tell
Soon it's gonna rain, what will we do with you?
We'll find four limbs of a tree
We'll build four walls and a floor
We'll bind it over with leaves
Then duck inside and play
Then we'll let it rain, we'll not feel it
Then we'll let it rain, rain pell mall
And we'll not complain if it never stops at all
We'll live and love within our castle
Hear how the wind begins to whisper
Feel how the rain is falling now

still wanting to live as an ordinary radical.

i just had a great reminder about the kind of person i want/hope to be.
yes, the person i hope to become. but also the person i hope to be today, even now. through sharing life with other people. no solo trek here.

loma invited shane claiborne to share (preach? speak? story-tell?) about some of his convictions and practices with the campus yesterday, and the audio file from that chapel is already posted online. some eunc (european nazarene college -- where i presently live) friends and i gathered just now to listen to it together. good, good stuff. always more to dialogue about. and live-out. so let me know if you were at that chapel (or the monday evening q&a!!), if you listen to the file linked below, if you're still wrestling/processing/continually trying to apply convictions and practices that were provoked/inspired by reading the irresistible revolution: living as an ordinary radical, or if you're just wondering, 'what the heck is this all about?'

let's share.
together.

to listen to the chapel audio file, go here: http://www.pointloma.edu/CampusLife/Chapel.htm

Instructions: Find the chapel date you would like to hear [November 9th, 2009 - Shane Claiborne] and simply click the title to start the player. To download a copy of the mp3, click the download button next to the chapel title or double-click the title and select "Save File".

To filter the list, select the year and semester you would like to view. To filter by a particular speaker, type that speaker's name in the box.

a nun's life

the lastest intriguing blog that i stumbled upon:

http://anunslife.org/

i like what i'm reading. thanks sisters!

all things anderson.

so i stumbled on this blog yesterday, and i couldn't resist sharing it.
i'm a big ac fan, but this tops everything.

http://www.allthingsandersoncooper.com/

laura veirs is my new favorite, favorite, favorite.

obsessed. i'm obsessed with laura veirs' new album, 'july flame'. it's not out yet (coming january 2010). but she's so cool to offer two free tracks. and they are so good. like i can't get enough of them, i play them on repeat all day, so good. i think this will be one of the best albums of the year. you have to hear for yourself. please download. and then leave a comment if this post was helpful to you. because i'm really sharing some love here. after all, music is for sharing. and this, here, is an honest form of sharing. so go.for.it!
this album is too.wonderful.for.words, yes?
this is what good music is supposed to do to you.
it does something to me.
bah-rilliant.

love of an orchestra.

this song is making me particularly happy today.
it's new from 'noah and the whale'.
check it, yo.

i especially like these lines:

i know i'll never be lonely
i've got songs in my blood
i'm carrying all the love of an orchestra
gimme the love of an orchestra...

although, i must say, i find it difficult to understand why they're releasing a new album titled 'the first days of spring' right as the thrust of autumn is taking shape. it messes with my season mo-jo.

well, have you?

and, have i?
have we?
.smiled.

[foto circa june 2008: stockholm, sweden. click to make bigger.]

crepes perfected.

if you want to enjoy some sweet or savory crepes, then follow this link below.

basic crepes, baby.

i've perfected this recipe in the last year, and the only substitution that i recommend is vanilla soy milk instead of dairy milk. it just gives it this subtle little yum! believe me.

i also like this recipe because you can adjust the measurements (u.s. or metric) based on which continent you're currently crepe-ing-it-up-on. in addition, you can adjust the servings amount, and it recalculates it all for you. easy-peasy.

for savory ingredients i typically go with: onions, garlic, mushrooms, & eggplant sautéd in olive oil (add some spice too!). then add to warm crepe, along with your favorite shredded cheese.

for sweet ingredients: nothing beats nutella and bananas. but jam, honey, peanut butter, or other fruit varieties are good too.

bon appétit!

meatless meals.

must give a shout-out to the september issue of real simple. they're featuring a story about the benefits of eating meat-free (such as: the health risks associated with meaty diets, how much money one family could save by replacing a meat-focused meal with beans, etc.) really yummy recipes are featured too. besides following the link below, be sure to check out the hard copy where they go into more detail about various protein sources for vegetarians. way.to.go real simple!

6 Meatless Meals for Meat Lovers
By Virginia Sole-Smith
Simple, hearty vegetarian dinners that will satisfy even steak-and-potato stalwarts.

i want to be.

...a better blogger.
it's true.
also.
...a more intentional foto-sharer.
...a more driven language-learner.
...& a more consistent letter-writer :: snail mail, baby.

what i'm looking for is a bit more.
structure.more discipline.more routine.
which kinda' goes against my nature.
and while there is something terribly appealing about routine,
it also scares.the.spontaneity.out.of.me!
nonetheless, i think i am seeking new rhythms, please.
if i say i am going to do something, i want to do it.
follow-through.
and through.

will you help me grow in these aforementioned areas, dear ones?
i know it'll take some help from friends.
keep bugging me. reminding me.
merci. merci.

a brilliant recycle dude.

you simply have to check out the fotos linked below:

Home & Garden

The Recycled Houses

Michael Stravato for The New York Times

Published: 02.09.2009

A few of the homes in Huntsville, Tex., that Dan Phillips has built using old picture frames, wine bottles and other salvaged materials.

i love that the new homeowners are a part of the building process.
so very empowering.
and every home is just so brilliant. and be-a-utiful.
what creativity. what ingenuity.
three cheers for dan phillips, the brilliant recycle dude.

i love it. love it. love it.

pale september.

my oh my.

how on earth is it september already?
to where has the time gone?

i'm a bit sad to see summer and sun and heat being ushered away.

"the embers of the summer lost their breath and disappeared..."
-- pale september, fiona apple

but anyone who knows me, knows i relish in the changing of seasons.
and i especially love the start of autumn.
it is nearing. i feel its presence.
like fiona, apple that is, i'm excited about a pale september.
i'm eager to discover what lessons and new growth will come.

afterall, there's still growth in the fall;
it just looks different than the spring and summer.
time is ordered differently in the autumn months.
and i'm so ready for new rhythms to take root in my life.

pale september, i wore the time like a dress that year
the autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on my skin...
-- pale september, fiona apple

mmm-hmmm.
it's prose like these that get me extra excited about this time of year.
.happy to enter into a new season.

always learning this one.

less.
really.
is.
more.

and.that.is.easier.said.than.done.
but.i'm.still.trying.

ruby blue

my favorite dance from this week's show (way to go wade robson!)
also. brandon and janette are true performers.
they commit to their characters all.the.way.
and. i like this roisin murphy song too. it's a good one.
another and. i love wade and amanda robson.
one of the cutest couples ever. ever.

we want you!

Look how cool our Eurasia Communications team is... don't you want to join the fun? We need more volunteers and soon. Steve is done, so we actually need more males at this point. I mean I love Amy and Simone with all my heart, but we could do with some added testosterone in the office. You feel me on that one?

Here's our new flier to recruit more volunteers. If you click it, it will get bigger and you can even distribute it around. Please do actually! Thanks, thanks. Seriously let me know if you, or someone you know, might be even slightly interested... Switzerland is calling your name. I can hear the cow bells ringing now.

get.high.like.planes

meet my sweet swinging friend from bangalore.
just a lil' taste of an indian side street for you.
not too busy, but luckily you get some flava' from the rick-shaws, cow cameo, and passers-by.
love.love.

fahrrad!

[along the rhine with junior, circa february '09]

today i get to say goodbye to 'junior'...
and let's be honest, jr. really wasn't all that good to me.
jr. was two sizes too small.
jr. left me stranded on the side of the road while
amy and i had to yank his chain back into place.
we had to use rocks and sticks and our she-power to do it.
it was no easy task; jr. could be pretty unaccommodating.
jr. wasn't open to change; when i tried to up the gears
upon approaching an incline, he threw a fit.
click-click-click, click-click-click. no luck.
oh pah-leaze jr., grow up! but he just wouldn't budge.
in the end, all the greased-up promises and perpetual coaxing
got us nowhere. -- nowhere, i tell you.
needless to say, i was left feeling pretty glum,
ride-less and depressed.

• ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ •
but then someone new came along.
daaaaaaaang. oh, no he di'nt.
could this be what i've waited for?
everything i've dreamed and hoped for?

saddlin' up... giving him a go.

oh, boooyyy. -- mmmmm-hmm.
you betta' believe it.
pure and total joy.
i didn't know it could be this good.
built-in headlight, complete with a generator.
a jolly lil' bell to greet friends or passers-by.
an added shelf for groceries, picnics, books or treasures.
and just my size. just.my.size.
'yazoo'. he's foreign.
ya-zoooo, hunny.
we're gonna' live it up here. here, in the büs.
what grand adventures lie in store.
this one's made of love.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

spring's wonder.

Before summer begins officially (that is, the northern hemisphere summer solstice), I must give thanks for the gift that spring was this year.

Thank You,
Giver of All Life
who alone
brings new
seasons
to pass.

I remember when I returned to the Büs in mid-April, after having spent the end of Holy Week and beginning of Easter in Spain, Portugal, and France, it was like I was returning to another world. Spring had exploded. There was no other word to describe the color and blooms and blossoms that greeted me from every corner of the earth. Lent had ended. Spring had come. Easter was here. Glory be.

It felt like this:

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.
-- Rainer Maria Rilke

mmmm. hmmmmmm.
most recklessly.

Who better to quote from than Rilke? I have fallen more deeply in love with him the past few months.; Living in Europa makes his words come to life all the more. Standing in places that inspired him are sacred. I get to journey with him here. I keep hearing about more and more people who studied Deutsch just so that they could read/translate Rilke. That's what he does to people.

I like this too.
a lot.

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.
-- Rainer Maria Rilke

thanks be.

tomaten.

Ode To Tomatoes
by Pablo Neruda

The street
filled with tomatoes,
midday,
summer,
light is
halved
like
a
tomato,
its juice
runs
through the streets.
In December,
unabated,
the tomato
invades
the kitchen,
it enters at lunchtime,
takes
its ease
on countertops,
among glasses,
butter dishes,
blue saltcellars.
It sheds
its own light,
benign majesty.
Unfortunately, we must
murder it:
the knife
sinks
into living flesh,
red
viscera
a cool
sun,
profound,
inexhaustible,
populates the salads
of Chile,
happily, it is wed
to the clear onion,
and to celebrate the union
we
pour
oil,
essential
child of the olive,
onto its halved hemispheres,
pepper
adds
its fragrance,
salt, its magnetism;
it is the wedding
of the day,
parsley
hoists
its flag,
potatoes
bubble vigorously,
the aroma
of the roast
knocks
at the door,
it's time!
come on!
and, on
the table, at the midpoint
of summer,
the tomato,
star of earth, recurrent
and fertile
star,
displays
its convolutions,
its canals,
its remarkable amplitude
and abundance,
no pit,
no husk,
no leaves or thorns,
the tomato offers
its gift
of fiery color
and cool completeness.