Targuman » Travel

Tweets from the road

Christian Brady — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:56:13 +0000

Read in reverse order.

One more flight today. 6 flights in 3 days. @ San Diego International Airport (SAN) http://instagr.am/p/JzYUp/

Mine! Mine! @ Edgewater Grill http://instagr.am/p/Jy9rY/

BMW: CHiPs has moved up in the world. @ Starbucks (Piazza Carmel) http://instagr.am/p/JyybW/

Bird @ Starbucks Coffee (La Costa) http://instagr.am/p/JyMW6/

Drinking coffee in CA can cause cancer. Who knew? @ Starbucks Coffee (La Costa) http://instagr.am/p/JyFuL/

Waiting in the LV airport…with Lion King music, you know that haaaaiiii lahaaiii bit, on loop. Very annoying. Very.

Location:Valley Centre Dr,San Diego,United States

Measuring up

Christian Brady — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:44:29 +0000

We had a great time last week seeing old friends and family. On Lake Oneida we went to this quaint little old amusement park, Sylvan Beach. Pulled the boat up to the shore, waded on land and right into the park. You can see more pictures of that on flickr.

(Sadly, my Sony A100 DSLR appears to be on its last legs. The autofocus motor is making horrendous sounds during start up.)

Califor-nigh-a

Christian Brady — Wed, 04 May 2011 16:51:41 +0000

This week I have taken a quick trip out to the west coast to meet with a friend of Penn State and the SHC. I have to say that the more I come out here the more I like California…well, parts of it. Of course I suppose you can say that about any place.

I know myself. I know that I do not like cities, at least, not as places to live. That is much of why I love State College. I drive past horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, experimental crops, and Beaver Stadium in my 4.3 mile commute. Yet in 3-and-a-bit hours I can be in Wash. DC, Philly, Pittsburgh, or NYC. All the benefits with little of the hassle of living in the city itself.

I also know that I enjoy going to my in-laws at Rehoboth Beach, DE (no really, I do). But I have never really enjoyed that whole beach scene, the mass of people, the boardwalk (although I love Fun Land! hasn’t changed in 40 years).

And today I find myself at Torrey Pines, California. Wow. It is stunning. Beautiful flowers, shrubs, and breathtaking bluffs with the surf below. I could really get used to this. San Diego is just 20 miles away. But then I consider the taxes, the earthquakes…

So I will enjoy this day and the morning to get some work done with the balcony door to my hotel room open and the light aroma of the Pacific Ocean blowing through the curtains. And remember, that “all creation declares…”

You can see more of my pictures from Torrey Pines on flickr.

Location:N Torrey Pines Rd,,United States

Photos – Oxford 2011

Christian Brady — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:36:30 +0000

I did not have a lot of time on my trip to take many photos, but last Tuesday morning was foggy and beautiful. Feel free to peruse the set – Oxford 2011.

A stumbling block…

Christian Brady — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:39:16 +0000

When I was being shown around Freiburg last week my guide actually stumbled and then stopped and pointed to be the “Stolperstein” upon which she had halted. This term literally translates as a “stumbling stone” and is a small concrete cube covered in brass that is etched with the name of a single Jew or other victim of the Nazi regime who was deported and killed. The dates of their deportation and death are also inscribed on the stone. It is placed on the sidewalk before the place that had been there home. These Stolpersteine are now found throughout Germany and in other countries as well.

I was struck by the word “stumbling block” particularly as it was just a few weeks ago that the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many Christian denominations, had as its reading 1 Cor. 1:18-31. The relevant passage is in the middle of that section.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

What the apostle Paul is saying here is that the notion of the Messiah being crucified made no sense to those Jews who were waiting and expecting God’s anointed one. Jesus’ death as a criminal on a cross was too big a hurdle for them to overcome to believe that he was actually the Messiah.

Given our English translation of the Greek σκάνδαλον (scandalon) you can understand why my ears were pricked to learn that this memorial to the victims of the Holocaust was called a Stolperstein. It seemed significant to me, as if to say that the death of so many by the Nazis and those who worked with them and failed to work against them is itself a scandalon to Christians. Or at least it ought to be. It ought to be a challenge to their fundamental faith.

Now, as it turns out, having had a chance to check a few German versions of this passage, it appears that completely different German words were used to translate scandalon. In the Hoffnung für Alle it is “eine Gotteslästerung,” “blasphemy,” and in the the 1545 Luther translation it is “ein Ärgernis,” “scandal.” The former certainly conveys the sense well and the latter is more literal, in both cases it is not Stolperstein. Still, it certainly made me pause and consider my faith.

You can frisk me if I can frisk you

Christian Brady — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:34:40 +0000

Many of my colleagues have already left for SBL in Atlanta but I will be unable to travel until Saturday morning…early, very early Saturday morning. That being said, I likely travel more than most since my job as a dean requires frequent trips to develop donors and recruits. Just last week I was in California and I will be in NYC not long after Thanksgiving. I would offer some commentary on the ridiculous nature of the current TSA regulations and practices, but that would be redundant since it is all over the ‘net. When has that ever stopped me?

Actually, rather than comment I will simply state that I believe that the current system in many (but thankfully not yet most but ATL does have them in use) airports of requiring either the full-body scatter bath in X-rays (if only it were gamma rays! “Me HULK! You puny TSA man!”) or a more complete grope than I ever had even while dating in high school (sad, I know) is wrong. It is invasive, goes against my rights to privacy, and most importantly does nothing to make us more secure. The best summation I have seen was offered by Ed Stetzer (HT to Andy Crouch) who offers excellent ways and reasons to resist and even puts it in a Christian context. Write your congress person, today!

Some will disagree saying that this is just all about security and is worth it. Well, I feel it is a pound of prevention for an ounce of cure. Israel does this well and better without such invasion of privacy. How? By examining the person not their shoes or naughty bits. But if you are comfortable with the government using these scanners you should feel great about the fact that they are using them in truck-mounted versions to scan us without our knowledge. Are we really comfortable with that?

Unfortunately for this trip ATL does use these scanners so while I am won’t have to be probed or scanned on my way to SBL I may on the way back. I for one will go with the full on, let’s be more than friends, pat down. I may even follow someone’s advice and wear a kilt and go commando. Let’s make the TSA agent feel as awkward as I will! Or maybe just a full spandex suit with one of these t-shirts.

UPDATE: Ron Paul is making a lot of sense on this issue.

UPDATE 2: Cagle has collected some of the best political cartoons from the T&A TSA debacle.

New York, New York!

Christian Brady — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:12:37 +0000

On business in the Big Apple visiting with board members and recruiting. This is the view from the top of the Thomson Reuters building. Not bad, eh?

Don’t worry…

Christian Brady — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 03:21:25 +0000

even veteran air travelers get motion sick occasionally. I was so encouraged! (This is from the university airplane that I flew on last week. I am vaguely reassured that they still have the original 1970s era airsick bag in the seats. Then again, the oddly drawn impish figure running with the full sick bag reminds me of just how old this plane is.)

Travel Observations

Christian Brady — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:40:47 +0000

I spent last Saturday and Sunday traveling to Helsinki. Saturday I start the return trip. I have a few observations from my sleepless 24 hours.

When using an airplane bathroom always follow a woman. Some men forget to sit while in flight.
No matter where you are in the world, if you are in an airport you will see a man in western (“cowboy”) boots.
On an overnight flight a baby will cry just as soon as you fall asleep, and again when you have fallen back to sleep, and again when you have fallen…
If you have to make a connection in an airport there will be construction that will require a significant detour as you go from one concourse to the other.

I imagine I will have more observations to add after this weekend. Do you have anything to add?

Relics in space

Christian Brady — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:35:16 +0000

[Still procrastinating...]

I was drawn to this Wired article by the title, Russian Cosmonaut’s Blog Much Funnier Than NASA. But it was the flying cross that caught my attention. Cool, eh?

The blog, as translated by Russia Today, includes pictures from the ISS — and covers a much different array of topics than you usually see in NASA press releases or Twitter feeds. A recent post detailed the “holy symbols” in the Russian area of the station, illustrated by photos of icons and crucifixes floating in zero gravity.

“We have four holy icons on the Russia segment. We also have the gospels and a big cross,” wrote Maksim Suraev. “And I have a reliquary cross in my cabin. A priest gave it to me at Baikanur before the launch. Father Job told me a piece of the original cross on which Jesus was crucified is contained in mine.”

You can see another picture of the cross and the cosmonaut’s blog at Russia Today.