"his exegetical methodology is flawed"

-- Dan

Today, at work, Dan and I wondered if evangelicals are calling for the end times because Russia invaded Georgia, and isn't the antichrist supposed to come from Russia? Then we contemplated what it would be like if there actually arose a leader called Nicolai Carpathia. Would it mean that Tim Lahaye is really the devil, or just that someone had been bribed to change their name?

Today, there is no one at work. Everyone is on a staff retreat to Baltimore, which is, ironically enough, where I was last weekend. But I visited for a very different reason. Namely: Otakon! An anime convention.

Where I met Peter S. Beagle, one of my favorite authors of all time, creator of "A Fine and Private Place" and "The Last Unicorn." As you can imagine, I geeked out. His was the only event actually sponsored by the convention (henceforth referred to as "the con") that I went to all week.

Oh, and I saw lots of costumed people (including Italian Spiderman! Which caused both Greg and I to geek out), familiarly known as "cosplayers," which is a combination of "costumed" and "players." How etymologically logical!

And we hung out with John and Mike and ate lots of food and wandered around the inner harbor area (which contains the most beautiful Barnes & Noble I have ever layed eyes on -- it's a refurbished energy plant with a balcony overlooking the harbor). Oh, and I learned a word in Japanese: otaku. This is what the people who go to Otakon refer to themselves as. In America, it means roughly "anime nerd." Of course, last night I found out that if you actually use the word in Japan, it really connotes something like "creepy anime nerd who's forty, lives in his parents' basement, showers infrequently, and has questionable social skills."

As you can tell, the Japanese are masters of cramming a lot of connotations into a little word. Their form of puns is off the charts in complexity and prevalence, which kind of makes me want to learn Japanese. Except when would I ever use it? And if I don't use it, I'll forget it. I've already forgotten 95% of my Italian.

Anyway, that's not the point.

The weather has been cooling down lately, that's the point. It's bearable outside now on a regular basis.

And if you want actual thoughtful content, you'll have to visit my Messiah College blog, where I have gone on at ungodly length about how complicated it is to try and live like a hippie. You know, if you're actually thinking about it and not just hyped up on drugs.

Oh, and also, tomorrow I move. I hate moving.