• There is an “astonishing art installation” in London right now called Bridge by Michael Cross. It’s basically an old church that’s been flooded and outfitted with rising stones that let you walk on the water. 09/29/2006
• In geology, a Bouma Sequence is a distinct pattern of sedimentary beds laid down by a waning turbidite current in the deep sea, named after geologist Arnold H. Bouma. It’s nice to see a Bouma “rocking” (sorry) the world of acedemia. 09/27/2006
• Check out the video for Nothing’s Gonna Change Your Mind, the new single from Badly Drawn Boy’s upcoming album Born in the UK. Great song and wonderful concept for the music video. 09/26/2006

I am a television junkie

Not only am I watching season 13 of Survivor (go Yul!), I just finished watching the first episode of NBC’s Heroes, a drama about everyday people who wake up with extraordinary powers (e.g., flying, teleportation, etc.). It might sound silly, but I got pulled right in. It has received generally favorable reviews, and since I really have no commitments on Monday nights, I’ll probably be watching the rest of the season.

Also, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip immediately follows Heroes, so I’m watching that, too. I am a horrible human.

The Chi Rho cross

I have long been fascinated with the Chi Rho symbol. Besides having one tattooed on my back, anyone that knows me knows that I have been wearing a Chi Rho necklace for the last two years or so. The necklace comes from Canterbury Pewter (it’s the “miniature” one), and is the only necklace of the kind I have ever seen.

I recently had to order my third necklace because the last one broke and I gave the first one to a good friend of mine. The necklace comes with a cool wallet-sized description of the symbol. Here’s what it says:

Since early centuries, Christian symbolism has made use of certain letter symbols… secrecy, frequently, being paramount. Chief among these was Chi Rho… first two letters in Greek for “Christ” (XPIΣTOΣ). Constantine made great use of the Chi Rho on coins and shields and standards of his Roman legions. This was at the time when Christianity became the religion of the State.

That’s not a bad summary of the symbol, but there is an interesting story about how the symbol (also called a ‘Labarum’) came into being on Wikipedia:

Constantine had dreamed of this emblem and a voice saying “In this sign you shall conquer” (In hoc signo vinces). On waking he ordered his soldiers to put the emblem on their shields; that very day they fought the forces of Maxentius and won the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312), outside Rome.

So now you know the story of the symbol I have made my own.

• My good friend Megan Rapp is blogging her experience in a one-week intensive seminary class in Philadelphia called “Community Development and Ministry”. She has already posted notes from the first lecture, and more are sure to follow. I am more than a little jealous. 09/24/2006
• Red-Letter Christians, whose name comes from the color of Jesus’ words in some Bibles, has launched a new grassroots political campaign. “The purpose of this gathering… [is] not to create a religious left movement to challenge the religious right, but to jump-start a religious movement that will transcend partisan politics.” More here. (thx, John) 09/19/2006
• According to his website, Damien Rice’s new album entitled ‘9′ will be released later this year. I’m going to go call all of my Eskimo friends. 09/19/2006

Survivor fever

The 13th season of Survivor, the reality show that began the reality TV craze, began last Thursday night. I used to watch every season, but the last full season I watched was Survivor: Pearl Islands (Season 7). I went to New York in 2002 with a choir from my high school and I still have a t-shirt I bought at the CBS store with the Suvivor: Australian Outback (Season 2) logo on it.

This season takes place in the Cook Islands, and the most astonishing thing is that the four tribes are divided by race: Asian-American, Latino, African-American, and Caucasian. In an interview on CBS’ Early Show, host Jeff Probst said that Survivor itself is “a social experiment. And this is adding another layer to that experiment.”

Brandon has watched every season and always has a contest to pick the eventual winner. If it’s not too late, I would like to submit Yul as my entry.

Because I watched the first episode, I have committed myself to watching the entire season. It’s a good thing 24 doesn’t air during the same time of year, or I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.

• The new iTunes 7, which I mentioned in the previous post, has a myriad of new features. Here is a helpful walkthrough of those features so you don’t miss any. Update: Here’s a roundup of the other new features as well. 09/12/2006

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