meet N.T. Wrong

This guy kills me. Drew has introduced me to the world of "Biblioblogs." Basically, this group of obsessive theologians--many quite prestigious--use blogs as academic vehicles for exchanging news in the field, ideas & to cultivate discussion.

Then there's N.T. Wrong (a farcical name coined from the real "Bishop of Durham"--N.T. Wright). He takes a rather unorthodox approach to exegesis, but regardless-he's hilarious. No one knows his real identity. Drew & I have enjoyed following all the blog posts these last few weeks postulating who he truly is... which has often resulted in these theologians taking humorous shots at one another.

His recent post is absolutely hilarious. Not only is this mystery blogger creative, but he is truly brilliant. What he writes about is, fortunately enough, quite true. Yes, farting. And ass. In the O.T. Read on, if you dare. http://ntwrong.wordpress.com/2008/12/12/breaking-wind-from-your-ass/

Can Scientists Dance?

So, I guess Scientists can dance... or, at least try! Science held a competition this year called "Dance your Ph.D."... they had separate categories for grad students, post-docs & professors. A colleague of mine up in Canada applied & I wish I had known about it sooner! These videos are so fun. Maybe not the highest caliber dancing, but getting a professor to bob his head in a loincloth for a national audience? Impressive.

The "grad student" category winner:


Student winner. Had I been judging they would have received extra points for the loincloth, as that takes guts:


For more info on the competition, or to watch other videos: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/319/5865/905b

$400 tickets to the Lyric Opera

We set out this weekend determined to avoid making "plans" of any sort. The past few months it seems our weekends have been brimming with far too many engagements. We often end up backing out of at least one engagement per weekend... or finding we'll have to miss things we were very much looking forward to (birthday parties, church get togethers, celebrations of other sorts, shows around Chicago...).

We reaped the fruit of "having no plans" this weekend when my advisor asked if we'd be interested in taking over her season tickets to the Lyric Opera for Saturday night's production of Gershwin's Porgy & Bess. I've been wanting to see Porgy & Bess since my junior high years, when I first played the primo part for "Summertime" on the piano (a lyric duet with my teacher, the beloved Mrs. Moody). I was most certainly not disappointed--a fabulous cast & a fabulous set made for a fabulous production. And these were not just any tickets: they were $200 apiece, 2nd & 3rd row tickets. I swear Crown spit on me at least once.

In other news? The final version of my paper's been sent back to EJN, we found coats for all the refugees at our church, I've decorated for Christmas and we're looking forward to a late night dinner with our Cuban friends tonight. Pollo "di tu"--whatever that means. All I know is they're very excited to introduce us to this classic Cuban dish. :)

candidate i am

just yesterday i learned from my committee that i have advanced on to candidacy. this means you are no longer allowed to call me a "graduate student"... from here on out, i'm known as "Dana Strait, doctoral candidate."

since i've made it this far, i might as well finish. ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We've enjoyed one of our favorite Thanksgivings yet.

We have Drew sister Janie & her husband Chris in town from Washington State--& are having such a great time together, playing in the city, catching up & getting plenty of laughs in. Mollie's particularly fond of her Uncle Chris: they're pretty much inseparable. She'll be exhausted when he leaves, I'm sure.

With Chris & Janie at Grant Park's ampitheatre downtown:
Cooking for Thanksgiving dinner has been particularly thrilling. Janie & I stirred the seasonings in the sink last night to soak the giant 20 pound bird.

Drew did superb (& apparently exciting) work stuffing herbs & oranges into the turkey's nooks & crannies:

Janie & I did all of our cooking in matching aprons... and the turkey, by the way, was incredible... our eco-friendly Domino recipe worked!!

After slaving away all day in the kitchen we enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal with friends from Burundi (Analisa, Japhet & Vanissa) & their children. We ended the meal with a thrilling game of Spoons, which was quite the hit! Analisa laughed so hard at one point she actually fell out of her chair, sending us all into fits of laughter!

Simion worked diligently at the computer for quite some time, & here is receiving some assistance from Drew & Janie.

A joyful evening was had by all, & I believe we're all truly thankful for family, friends & full bellies.

yippee

My first article has been accepted for publication in the European Journal of Neuroscience... hard work pays off! "Musical experience and neural efficiency: effects of training on subcortical processing of vocal expressions of emotion." Sound exciting?

Goodbye Felikis... And Hello to New Refugees!

If you've been reading my blog over the past year you may remember my introducing our precious friends from Burundi, the Feliki family. Jeanetti, Feliki & their beautiful 7 children became very close friends during their 1 1/2 years in Chicago, just blocks away from us. We got to know them through Exodus World Service's "New Neighbor" program, that connects willing volunteers with nearby refugee families, just arrived in the U.S. from refugee camps. As you can imagine, their learning curves are steep and physical needs can be overwhelming at times (especially in light of Chicago's harsh winters!). Chicago accepts an overwhelming number of refugees yearly, and there are not near enough social agencies to tend to them all sufficiently.

Thus began our relationship with the Felikis, who we visited along with friends Nick & Jenna Bott. We shared meals, a church, language-learning, new cultural activities and much laughter together! After searching for work for Feliki for quite some time, he became very depressed & frustrated with city life. With so many immigrants in Chicago, finding work as a non-English speaker is competitive!! They moved this past summer to Memphis, and we have missed them terribly. It was hard to say goodbye--not only for us, but for the many friends of ours who became close with the family as well. Their farewell party at the church hosted a meetinghouse full of people--from children to adults--all in tears before the night was through.

Feliki, having lost his parents & siblings to genocidal war in Burundi, made it clear that we were the first people to step up and take care of him as a parent would have. He is now in Memphis working his first successful job, but boy do we miss them! Here, Feliki shares about how we taught him what having a parent to help you along is like through a translator, our friend Leonce:


Frank (the 4th grade son) had my camera at the move & got shots of us all helping. This is one of the few non-blurry photos he captured. Thanks, Dave et al., for all your hard work! It was a hot night if I remember correctly.


We are now getting to know another refugee family, this time from Cuba, in addition to continuing relationships with other Burundians we got to know through the Feliki fam. Our church has progressively filled with refugees--from the Congo, Burundi, Burma and, now, Cuba. Services are becoming increasingly international, though we're all in agreement that there's much room to grow as we learn how to incorporate individuals from various cultures into leadership roles and foster non-segregated community. Regarding the Cubans, it's refreshing to be able to speak the language of our new friends--it certainly makes understanding their needs easier!! And boy has my Spanish been needing a workout. We'll introduce you to our new friends more thoroughly in a later post, but for now I can tell you: our tummies have been happily full of tostones, frijoles & lovely Cuban seasonings lately! As they know we have little time to cook ourselves, they've been blessing us with incredible meals whenever time permits.

the end of my political rantings...

well, at least for the next 3 1/2 years. :)

I am sorry to plague you with yet another election-centric post but I have been pained by the facebook statuses of many Christians today. I've read posts like "Ashamed of my country," "Obama will never be MY president," and "Who wants to move to Australia with me?" The fear is palpable among evangelical Republicans, who may now be wondering: "Did God's will fail?"

In the wake of this fear I have had a number of individuals ask: "Why, as a Christian, could you vote Obama?" For any of you who may be wondering this same thing, I share with you my reasons. If you have no interest feel free to wait for my next fluffy post, where I'm sure you'll see photos of kitties, puppies, my husband & enjoy stories about fun Chicago activities. If you have thoughts, I would love to hear them.

So here goes.

To be honest, it hasn’t been a joy to hear fromsome Christian Republicans over the past few months. I have felt very discriminated as a Christian serious about making a decision in accordance with my faith & deciding that this means my voting for Obama. I am a Christian, and I support Obama.

My first loyalty is to the Kingdom of God. As Christians we have a political duty first and foremost to the KOG. With this in mind, I believe Christ ushered in an ethical duty for Christians to give loyalty to both the Kingdom (extending beyond national borders) over country and Jesus’ example of non-violent resistance over military power (hence, why Christians wouldn’t enter the army until over 300 years after the death of Christ). I do not vote for Obama because I think he is the “most Christian.” I vote for Obama because I believe he has the most self-control (he’s a “thinker”) when it comes to retaliating against our enemies. In an age of nuclear war and extreme collateral damage to civilians in war (iraqbodycount.org), we need a leader who can think through the cost of pulling the trigger in contrast to the Bush doctrine. McCain’s infidelity in marriage and Palin’s lack of experience/education are also issues for me. Palin’s fundamentalist Christian beliefs are even more concerning (I'll refrain from going more into detail--the fundamentalist/pentecostal church would necessitate a post in itself!). I do not see Obama as the “perfect” candidate, but the lesser of two evils.

It might help in framing my decision for you to know that I no longer consider myself part of the “Evangelical” Christian movement. I am currently in the process (with my husband) of joining the Mennonite church, in the Anabaptist tradition. Peace and social justice are primary concerns in this tradition, believing that this aligns with Jesus’ life, message and the rest of scripture taken together.

Brian McLaren has posted some articles that I am in agreement with on his blog—the top 5 reasons why he is voting Obama. I’d love to hear your thoughts. The reasons are:

1. Mindset, especially in regards to foreign affairs & seeking reconciliation with our enemies:
http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/why-im-voting-for-obama-and-why.html

2. Lack of honesty & humility among the Republican party: http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/why-im-voting-for-barack-obama-a.html

3. Caring for the “least of these”: http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/why-im-voting-for-barack-obama-a-1.html

4. Caring for Creation: http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/why-im-voting-for-barack-obama-a-2.html

5. A Note on Abortion: http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/why-im-voting-for-barak-obama-and-i-hope-you-will-too-reason-5.html


http://www.matthew25.org/ also provides a lot of articles that we’ve referred to in explaining our position. This is an online Christian community that endorses Obama for president.

I hope this helps explain my stance, although for those of you who disagree, I understand you have made your decisions with much thought & respect your convictions. In the end, our first loyalty is to the Kingdom of God, & this Kingdom transcends national borders. I have lived in countries plagued by unjust dictatorships & faced with threats of government-sponsored genocide. Governments, Christian or not, never equal the power of the church. And as a church, we will continue to love in the name of Christ--whoever our president may be.

voting christian

i go bonkers each election with discussion about abortion, gay marraige & how they are the 2 most important issues to consider in voting. AAARGH!!!! what about the poor? social issues? refraining from violence? ...

i was so very thankful to read this article. http://exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com/2008/11/vote-bible.html

i'd love to hear what you think!

a family of models

So we did a photo shoot yesterday & it was such fun! We've always hated our wedding photos (bad photographer) so when a photographer asked if we'd be willing to pose we said "YES!!" She's a local photographer needing to build her portfolio & was willing to take some casual photos of us as well (as in, photos where I'm not in my wedding dress & veil)--& we get to keep them all! so yesterday I broke out the wedding dress (which I didn't even know we had here in Chicago!), got it pressed & played dress up with Drew. It actually turned into a very romantic afternoon, as we posed & giggled in Northwestern's Shakespeare gardens. A few have asked to see the photos so I thought I'd post some of the samples she sent out late last night. Many more are on their way!



She loved our shoes... I didn't realize Drew had worn the black socks I historically abhor until I saw this photo! Drew has this thing for black socks that I still don't understand.

She took some time to take some shots of us with Mollie as well. I can't wait to see more of them! This one is precious, however, & was included in those she sent last night. A man & his dog.

doing the vote

My sister in law sent me this link last night & I thought it was too cute to keep to myself. so y'all: whoever you're voting for, get out there & do it! In an educated fashion, of course.

a fabulous ballet followed by a fabulous hot fudge sundae

What an incredible week. First Wicked, now the Joffrey Ballet! I just returned from one of my favorite ballet performances. I was offered free box tickets Friday evening & wow were they a treat. The Joffrey premiered Liang's "Age of Innocence" (set to music by Philip Glass--including one of my favorite of his pieces, originally written for The Hours). The choreography was stunning. You can see a clip at The Joffrey's blog, http://jpointe.blogspot.com/ . Charity--you should show it along with the video clip beneath it of their company practice to Kaylynn, our prima ballerina.

I attended the ballet with one of my piano students, her mother & grandmother. Afterwards they introduced me to the best bakery in town, which happened to have an incredible asparagus goat cheese salad & one of the best hot fudge Sundaes I've ever consumed. For you Chicagoans, you must take a trip to Bittersweet (located in Lakeview).


I sign off for now, with a full belly & inspired creativity.

A Wicked Evening

Woo hoo!!!! Drew & I were pumped to get to see Wicked (FINALLY!) Tuesday night. Alongside four other NU grad students, I organize a group called the "Chicago Cultural Club." It's an organization that aims to get grad students out of the labs & exposes them to activities they might not otherwise a) be able to afford or b) have the energy to do themselves. The Grad School paid for our tickets & we were oh so thankful.

Drew insisted we take a photo remniscent of the Mamma Mia shot we have from London, so here it is (yes, I AM wearing stretch pants). The main difference between the two shots is the hot red head behind us here. Thanks Alex!


Due to last minute cancellations I was able to score tickets for some of my friends as well. Jade, Alex & I were able to get a shot together.


And the post wouldn't be complete without a shot of the gorgeous hot pink sign, flaunted by 3 of the club's officers:


See it if you can. Although I found the character development lacking, the music & dancing just cannot be beat. Phenomenal.

An Evening with the Bro

After over a month of trying to set a date, Reid was finally able to spend an evening with us in the city. We were bummed Sam couldn't join him but thrilled to get to celebrate his belated birthday, enjoy pumpkin lasagna & introduce him to some of our closest friends here over a thrilling game of Settlers of Catan. In between activities we were even able to sneak in an episode of The Office... Doesn't get better than that.

Mollie & Tink were especially pleased with Reid's visit. He's something of a pet charmer--every time I turned around one of the two would be snuggled up with him.



Watch out Eric: next time one of us Straits might just beat you at Settlers!!

little dog big dog

wow. Is our little mollie, once small enough to fit in our arms like a tiny baby, now a lady dog?

It's true: she's one big girl! I'm pretty sure she still perceives herself as a small pup because I have yet to see her use her size at the dog park (she submits even to the smallest of dogs), and she still tries to slip under the bed only to realize she's too big.

Oh how we love our pup. She's soft, snuggly & oh so gentle. She gets along much better now with Tink--Tink plays the part of the spoiled older child, pretending that she doesn't want to play but minutes later I'll see her weaving around Mollie's legs... It's true. They're buddies.

I guess someone had it right when they said a dog is a man's best friend...