Daily Grit by Wes Thorp

Why do I have a tattoo on my arm that says, "SO WHAT?"

What do you do when you're in LasVegas with your son at a Promise Keepers rally?  You get a tattoo, right?

Still feeling a spiritual high from the PK event at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, we were walking the famous strip with casinos, restaurants, all kinds of stores and wall-to-wall people.  When we passed a tattoo shop, we both looked at each other with a double-dog dare you kind of smile.

My choice for a tattoo on my arm was two words, "SO WHAT?"

These two words have had a special meaning for me for a long time.  Back in the sixties when I was at the Michigan State University School of Journalism, I was trained to write hard news stories.  Always put the who, what, when, where, how and why in the lead.  And don't forget the "SO WHAT?"  That always stuck with me.

I've listened to thousands of political speeches and sermons and I've written probably about that many news releases and I've written speeches and I've always looked for the "SO WHAT?"  Why should I listen to this?  Why is it important to somebody else?  Why does this affect my life?

Now more than 40 years after I graduated from MSU, I still ask that question.  And so does my son, Justin, who sat around the dinner table trying to dissect sermons and speeches and articles with the first question being "SO WHAT?"  He's taken it a step farther and examined what he does for a living by asking himself the question.  

What about the tattoo?  When I saw the needles and I learned that they didn't wash off, I passed.  But the question is burned in my head.  

How about Justin?  What tattoo did he get?  You'll have to ask him?

My Friday--June 20, 2008--online reading list; starting with gold rush in Bola Vista Brazil

Here's what I'm reading before breakfast, a hot bowl of oatmeal with Craisins on top:

1. Brazil gold rush--Did you know that there was a gold rush in Bola Vista, Brazil about 40 years ago?  Reading in RBC's Our Daily Bread, I learned that Bola Vista was right on the edge of a big gold field.  It became a boom town until the government saw the environmental damage being done.  Mart DeHaan tells about how God allows the same thing to happen to his people when their attention gets diverted from him.
2. Planning a wedding with the Internet--My son-in-law elect, Adam Jones, writes about  how he and my daughter, Krista, are using the Internet to plan their October wedding.  Right now, he's in Bosnia and she's in Indy.  They talk everyday using VOIP, allowing them to check sites for everything from their honeymoon to getting a marriage license.  He's doing a great job of keeping everybody informed through his blog--Ironies and Musings from a White Middle Class, 20 Something.
3. Doctrine of Adoption--My friend, Dave Porter, writes about the Doctrine of Adoption where God takes us as his children.  This is a post worth bookmarking or printing off.  I've never fully absorbed the reality of having God as my father.  I am a father, but I've never had an earthly one that I knew.  Dave's post tells me it's time to rethink that. 
   
4. Michigan doesn't trust its legislators--This survey reported in today's Detroit Free Press shows that only 11 percent of those surveyed in the state felt that the legislature was doing a good job.  How sad and it's unlikely to change.  Our state lawmakers are so caught up in power-hungry partisanship and the desire to perpetuate themselves in office that the people they are supposed to serve don't trust them.  How do we change that?
5. Twitter stream from U.S. Rep. John Culberson --This member of the U.S. Congress from the Houston area microblogs his activities, particularly his time on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.  This is good.  Don't know what Twitter is?  It's time to learn.

Hey, I was wrong about oatmeal today.  We are having a Weight Watcher's version of french toast.  Time to eat breakfast.

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Tags: goldrush, bola vista brazil, adam jones, son-in-law, internet, dave porter, doctrine of adoption, michigan legislature, twitter, john culberson

Links from May 20, 2008: Sharing my online reading from the heart of Michigan

1. Dealing with crap that comes with daily life--Cornerstone University President Joe Stowell writes in Our Daily Bread about Romans 8:28 and how bad stuff can have a good effect.
2. Take this CNN explanation of high gas prices with you to the gas pump.  Explanation for $100 fill-ups seems to be centered around supply and demand and speculation.  Is that true?
3. Detroit Free Press story shares efforts to get tourists "up north".  Most destinations in Michigan are within a tankful of gas from the Motor City, it says.
4. Detroit Free Press columnist Stephen Henderson writes about the challenge of criticizing Barack Obama with being accused of racism.  Check the quote from Eastern Michigan University Professor David Ivers.  Anybody agree with him?
5. Web usability pioneer Jakob Nielsen shares research that says on average web page users users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely.
6. Colorado Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon lays down rules of conduct for state legislators that should be discussed in every state capitol and in every campaign for state lawmaker.  Do your state a public service and ask your state legislator how he or she responds to his standards.
7. Book--Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online by Andy Beal which deals with the whole social media movement towards openness of individuals and enterprises.  It's on my Amazon Wish List.

On New Hampshire's primary election day, sorting today's choices here in Michigan

It's almost 8:30 a.m. here in central Michigan and it's dark outside while the rain comes down on a day of record-breaking temperatures.  Instead of being distracted by CNN and its news about the New Hampshire primary, I want to take a few minutes to sort out online my choices and actions for the day.

Here's a summary:

• My morning devotion--most mornings I read the devotion from Our Daily Bread from Radio Bible Class.  As a believer in Jesus Christ, I believe that the Bible is his message to me and others.  Each devotion is based on a verse and tries to tie it to life today.

Today's verses are from 1 Samuel 30:1-6 where King David and his people had been attacked and about to be beaten by the Amalekites.  His wife and kids were taken captive.  He was distressed and discouraged.  The devotion talks about how to be strengthened, encouraged and refreshed in Jesus.

• My read of news media, especially about the New Hamshire primary and the economy--New York Times reporter/columnist David Brooks contrasts the similarities and differences of Barack Obama and John McCain.  The partisan side of me shudders at Obama.