Thanks to KTAR!

A Kansas teen received more attention than she anticipated last week when she used 140 characters to criticize the state’s governor.

During a school event, Emma Sullivan tweeted about her less than desirable interaction with Gov. Sam Brownback.

Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot.”

Having gotten word of the tweet the governor’s staff contacted school administrators and demanded an apology from Sullivan. But this week, the teen tweeter was the one getting an apology…from the Gov. Brownback himself!

My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms.”

Get your remote controls ready, folks… political attack ads are about to kick it up a notch.

It’s just weeks before the madcap election year, we are about to get barraged by overdone partisan commercial hackery.

But hold on… there is the occasional original attack ad out there.

This one fits the bill. It is more like a short film (more than 5 minutes in length).

The video explores the idea that Democratic Senator Bob Casey and President Obama are so similar that they must have been separated at birth. It reminds us 2008 when Democratic candidates used similar tactics of tying their opponents to President Bush. Although we have never seen one quite like this.

Do you think this is an effective ad?

Luke 9:37-50 (NIV 2011)

³⁷ The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰ I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴² Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered over to human hands.” ⁴⁵ But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

⁴⁶ An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. ⁴⁷ Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For whoever is least among you all is the greatest.”

⁴⁹ “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

⁵⁰ “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Reflection:

The disciples are unable to heal the boy because they still lack true faith in Jesus; they don’t understand that He must die on the cross. Jesus explains again that His role as Messiah is to die. He tells the disciples in verse 44 to “listen carefully.” These are the same words used by the Father in verse 35 during the Transfiguration when He commands Peter, James, and John to “listen to him.”

Yet as hard as they try, the disciples cannot grasp the truth of who Jesus is. Rather than lay their lives down, they instead seek to elevate themselves in their own eyes, arguing about who will be greatest and disapproving of those who are not part of their group.

The Spirit now reveals what was previously hidden. As we have faith in Jesus and trust in who He is, His power comes. We can follow Jesus and let go of ourselves, loving others with God’s compassion.

Response:

Let’s thank God that He enables us to have true faith in Jesus. May we move forward, laying down our motives and agendas and becoming less so God’s glory can shine in our motives and actions. Let’s ask for greater faith in our calling and in the power of God’s Spirit in our lives.

The largest class is the history of the UMBC Athletic Hall of Fame will be inducted on Saturday, February 4, 2012.

The honorees are Charles Brown (Director of Athletics, 1989-current), Jen Dragoni (women’s lacrosse, 2000-04), Brad Green (swimming and diving, 2000-04), Adam Grossman (track and field, 2002-06), Ted Lawler (men’s soccer, 1994-98), Brendan Mundorf (men’s lacrosse, 2002-06), Josef Novotny (men’s tennis, 2001-04), Keith Puryear (head tennis coach, 1990-2008) and Drew Westervelt (men’s lacrosse, 2003-07).

There are now 121 members of the UMBC Athletic Hall of Fame, which was instituted in the 1970s. In 1990, Dr. Brown created The Annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony. This event now occurs every other year. Candidates are nominated throughout the two-year period and are selected for induction by a committee of current Hall of Fame members based on their excellence in competition at UMBC and subsequent graduation from the university.

Read the press release here.

Fred Worden (assistant professor, Visual Arts) will be featured on the American Originals Now series at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. on December 11 and 17. Since the 1970s, Worden has been making experimental films primarily to examine “how a stream of still pictures passing through a projector at a speed meant to overwhelm the eyes might be harnessed to purposes other than representation or naturalism.” With wholehearted revelry in cinematic illusion and a commitment to kinetic abstractions, he produces short films and digital videos that draw attention to subjective perceptual play through the manipulation of visual phenomena. His work has been exhibited at festivals and venues in Paris, Hong Kong, Rotterdam, London, New York, and Toronto.

On December 11 at 4:30 in the East Building Concourse, a program features several of his more recent works, including Here (2005, 7 minutes), “a conjuring in order to accommodate a clandestine rendezvous between Sir Laurence Olivier and Georges Méliés”; Possessed (2010, 9 minutes, pictured here), a reworking of a short clip from an early Joan Crawford movie that establishes her firmly on the “outside”; and the ribald When Worlds Collude (2008, 13 minutes).

On December 17, also at 4:30 in the East Building Concourse, Worden will present “After Hours in the Cerebral Kitchen,” a talk/lecture he has designed to contextualize his interest in the moving image and human perception. Following the presentation, Worden will show one of his early 16 mm nonfiction film How the Hell I Ripped Jack Goldstein’s Painting in the Elevator (1989, 22 minutes, pictured) and offer a rare opportunity to view and discuss his current work in progress, tentatively titled All or Nothing.

The largest class is the history of the UMBC Athletic Hall of Fame will be
inducted on Saturday, February 4, 2012.

The honorees are Dr. Charles Brown (Director of Athletics 1989-current),
Jen Dragoni (women’s lacrosse, 2000-04), Brad Green (swimming & diving
2000-04), Adam Grossman (track & field 2002-06), Ted Lawler (men’s
soccer 1994-98), Brendan Mundorf (men’s lacrosse 2002-06), Josef Novotny
(men’s tennis, 2001-04), Keith Puryear (head tennis coach ,1990-2008), and
Drew Westervelt (men’s lacrosse 2003-07).

Read more about each inductee on the UMBC Athletics website.

There are now 121 members of the UMBC Athletic Hall of Fame, which was
instituted in the 1970s, and in 1990, Dr. Brown created The Annual Hall of
Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony. This event now occurs every other
year. Candidates are nominated throughout the two-year period and are
selected for induction by a committee of current Hall of Fame members
based on their excellence in competition at UMBC and subsequent graduation
from the university.

In addition, Dr. Marvin Mandell will receive the athletic department’s Dr.
Charles Woolston Award. The award is given to an individual who provides
outstanding service to the department and strives to improve the
student-athlete experience. Dr. Mandell, a professor of policy sciences,
has served as the university’s NCAA Faculty Representative for the past
nine years.

The18th induction dinner and ceremony will take place at the Westin
Baltimore Washington Airport – BWI. The cost to attend the induction
dinner is $60, which includes a ticket to the basketball doubleheader vs.
Maine that afternoon (1:00 p.m./3:30 p.m.) at the RAC Arena. The new class
of Hall of Famers will be introduced at halftime of the men’s 3:30 game.
The dinner will begin at 7:00 p.m., with inductions to follow. Please
contact Kevin Gibbons O’Neill at 410-455-1532 or oneillb@umbc.edu for
additional information about the event or to purchase tickets.