10 Mar
Darkwing Duck
Darkwing Duck is my hero. I have many superheros I revere, for one reason or another, but Darkwing Duck holds a special place in my heart. While I may admire the Green Lantern’s willpower, Superman’s infinite compassion for humanity, Batman’s dedication to justice-by-any-means, and Wonder Woman’s roundhouse-kick-to-the-face, Darkwing Duck is a character I have always been able to identify with.
When I look at Darkwing Duck, and his genuine attempts at heroism, oft turn slapstick, I see what I would be if I attempted “Hero.” His whole heart was in it; all of his sincerity and passion was dedicated to vanquishing the evil-doers and saving the innocent. His biggest obstacle was his own mediocrity – an average Joe, with a heart bigger than his deeds were able to match. In his constant struggles to do-the-right-thing at a heroic level, he often failed – and quite spectacularly at times. That, of course, is what made it a great cartoon… but it is also that which caused me to view Darkwing Duck as my cartoon alter ego.
Would I have the courage, the gumption, the get-up-and-go, to put on a mask and attempt to save the average innocent from the average crime, I too would fail to live up in deed to my heart’s expectations; perhaps a real-life unintentionally-comedic hero, bumbling around providing less than what he had hoped. Sometimes I fear this is how I perform in life anyway… full of good intentions, but actions that leave me just shy of the hero my heart feels it should be.
25 Feb
The last time I was at the dentist for a cleaning (This is not one of those, I haven’t been to the dentist in 20 years, stories .. I go regularly), the Doctor noticed one of my molars had fractured. He asked me a bunch of questions about when/how … to which I could only shrug. One would think a person would remember if they bit down on something so hard their teeth actually cracked under the pressure, but I had no recollection of when or how this fracture could have taken place. Hurrah.. <sigh>.
The tooth wasn’t falling apart at the moment, so it was decided to wait until a preliminary test was going to be done on a new type of porcelain-heating method supposedly able to generate inlays,onlays, and crowns 10x harder than conventional heating methods.
My tooth, however, had other plans. This past Monday, as I sat at my desk enthralled in my work, my fractured tooth decided it was time to give up the ghost. I was horrified when I started spitting out pieces of my tooth. Immediately, I picked up the phone and made an emergency appointment with my dentist.
Example of a Dental Crown
Long story short, I now have a temporary crown, while “the lab” uses this new heating method to create a the permanent one for me. It’s more expensive, but because of the way my jaw is structured, 100% of the work done by my teeth is handled by only 4-6 teeth in the back – therefore, any dental work done back there needs to be way stronger than normal. Joy of Joys.
Add to this, my resistance to conventional anesthetics, which makes any visit to the dentist that much more nerve wracking (HA!) for me, and you have the *best*day*ever* for me, yesterday. By the time I got home, I was in so much pain, I took some ibuprofen and passed out for about 4 hours. WEEEEEEEEE!!!!
So… yeah. And this whole ordeal isn’t even over; I have to go back to get the permanent crown put in, in a few weeks. Oh, and the payment is due at that time as well – yeah, insurance isn’t going to cover this since I had a filling put in that same tooth fewer than 5 years ago. I’m so overjoyed. I don’t think there is an appropriate emoticon that truly represents just how elated I feel.
Update – 3/1/2010
I talked with someone at my Dentist’s office, and it may not be as bleak as I originally thought. There is a chance the insurance will pay for half of the work. That still leaves hundreds of dollars for me to shell out, but 50% fewer dollars is quite helpful, if it goes through.
04 Feb
Ugh … I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a headache I’ve caused myself with my blog. I just can’t leave things well enough alone – I just constantly tinker with plugin code, trying to force every square peg into the round socket I’ve decided it simply MUST fit into. This, of course, undoubtedly ends up having strange things happen from time to time. Considering the low traffic my site gets, it’s not *that* big of a deal since I’m usually able to fix things before too many people see the site in a screwed up state.
Oh well. I’m sure none of you mind the occasional hiccup, right? 
If you see something truly outlandish though, please let me know so I can try to get it fixed! 
03 Feb
A post was made on the Adventist Today website called, 1844 and Me. An interesting personal reflection on the Great Disappointment, and what it means to the author, David Hamstra. He encouraged others to post their own personal reflections on the topic, and I’ve decided to take up that challenge – or, at the very least, explore my own feelings on the topic through a loose analysis of his article.
William Miller
Like Hamstra, indeed, like all Adventists, I was taught that 1844 was a year of great cosmic importance (as Hamstra puts it). The story of William Miller’s journey to 1844 is quite an interesting one. Don’t get me wrong, he is no saint of the church. As a matter of fact, outside of learning Adventist History, or discussions/sermons on 1844 and the Great Disappointment, Miller is hardly mentioned at all, but his determination to hear God’s voice through the bible, without the filter of any particular denomination’s interpretation, is admirable, even today. And it was through this dedicated study that he began to put the pieces together that would lead him to his 1843/1844 conclusions.
Chart illustrating the calculations to 1843
There is a very interesting (if somewhat confusing and unreadable) chart that he used to demonstrate his calculations. At some point I actually managed to get my hands on a reproduction print of this poster, and just found an image of it on the interwebs.
I have never quite understood why, with direct biblical commentary such as Mark 13:32, people throughout history have insisted on trying to divine the exact time of Christ’s return. I mean, I understand the desire to know, and the longing to know, but having already been told that no one but the Father knows, why would you begin to think that it was calculable?
I suppose there is some sympathetic understanding to be awarded, given the situation. Miller got very wrapped up in the prophesies of Daniel and Revelation (who hasn’t? [no sarcasm]). When you start with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, as told in Daniel 2, you have the starting point for all future prophetic time lines – The Gold Head which represented the Babylonian Empire. From there, you just work your way out, using the rest of the statue, and the 70-week and 2300 day prophecies as guideposts. Eventually, Miller arrived at a set of dates, but had no idea what it meant beyond the somewhat cryptic prophetic statement, “then shall the sanctuary be cleansed” (Daniel 8:14). Miller originally attributed the Earth as the sanctuary, and came to the conclusion that to cleanse the sanctuary would mean the Second Coming.
After the Great Disappointment, three major factions splintered from the Millerites. One of these factions, which would later give birth to the Seventh-Day Adventist denomination, held that the sanctuary to be cleansed was not the earth, but rather the Heavenly Sanctuary, which has been Shadowed by the earthly sanctuary, as outlined in Exodus 25.
In this way, we come to our 1844 dilemma – as Hamstra put it:
the last 165 years we have been living in the last of the last days. But those 165 years have not been kind to 1844. The fact that they exist has leached 1844 of its apocalyptic power to motivate piety. (Will it take another 165 before Jesus comes?) And that delay has allowed us to question the cosmic significance of the date itself. (How can we know that a prophecy has been fulfilled in Heaven? At least Miller’s prediction was falsifiable.)
Hamstra encourages persona reflection – not on whether to ignore the topic or not, but rather on how we make sense of it. We claim that 1844 marks the beginning of the end … but what does that mean to you as an individual child of God?
I admit, I haven’t really given the topic much thought. Reading Hamstra’s view, however, made me sympathetic to his views. Scripture always builds on itself, and if there’s a Shadow on earth, than the heavenly version follows that pattern as well. Salvation is no different. 1844 reinforces this, and reminds us that Christ continues to petition on our behalf. 1844 also serves as a common marker for both earthly history and heavenly history – a shared bond, to reassure the lost children of God that our experiences here on earth are still directly tied to rest of creation; we are an integral part of a grander, cosmic story – a connection that can so easily be overlooked or forgotten.
But, as we look back on the Cross with bitter-sweet tears – joy and awe at the sacrifice of the Son of God, mixed with the pain and grief at the folly of humans which necessitated it – so too should we reflect on 1844; not with the hubris of, “we are the remnant,” but with the humility of our own situation and God’s constant struggle to lead us out of darkness when we are so willing to remain there.
Just as the disciples of Christ wept because they misunderstood the prophecies of Christ’s mission, so too did the Millerites weep at their misunderstanding of 1844. Humans screw up. And God, in His infinite love and mercy, works with that. He works with the 1844s of our lives, never stopping His attempts to bring us home.
This is what 1844 means to me.
