I may end up changing my hosting provider for my web site. My domain registration is going to expire in about twelve days, and I can't renew it right now. You see, my hosting provider usually handles this, but for some reason, she hasn't. I've tried contacting her and haven't heard anything.
To further compolicate matters, I have to go through a three day (or better) process in order to arrange to handle the renewal myself. You see, the registration service needs the password or credit card number used to register/renew the domain last. I don't have that, and as the email address on record for the customer account isn't mine, I can't reset the password and have the new one sent to me. So now I have to fill out a form requesting that the domain name be moved to an account I can access. I also need to provide ID demonstrating that I "own" the domain name. Fortunately, I am listed as the registrant in the database, or I'd be completely out of luck.
I've been looking at a different hosting service, anyway. It's the one that the POC website is through. It offers a few more options than I currently have. And if something's going on with my current provider, it gives me more reason to consider changing now. Of course, I want to do some looking into it, first. I need to find out how much more difficult it's going to be to actually move my domain name to a completely different hosting service. And of course, I also want to make sure I can install Movable Type there. I'd hate to have to switch blog software. Especially since I have a paid license for MT.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Friday, April 14, 2006
A Life Lesson Taught by the Queen of the Prudes
For the first few years after graduating from college, I'd often go back and visit friends I had made among those in younger classes. I'd often make a weekend of it, crashing on the floor of someone's dorm room or on one of the couches in the quad where some of my friends lived.
I remember one time I went to visit and spent the last half hour of my trip visiting with Kathryn. Kathryn had started dating one of my classmates, Tim, our senior year. As Kathryn was a freshman, she had three more years to go after Tim and I graduated. I wouldn't say that Kathryn and I were ever all that close. Mostly, I knew her because of my friendship with Tim. As we sat there talking that day, Kathryn asked in her ever-curious tone of voice, "So, do you have a boyfriend?" I'm not sure if Kathryn ever realized how much that question shocked me. You see, Kathryn was probably one of the last people I ever would've expected to ask me such a question -- let alone in such a casual, conversational manner.
You see, Kathryn, like most of my friends and acquaintances from college (or at least the ones I hung out with up until my last semester) were conservative, evangelical, and often fundamentalist Christians. In fact, I always (and still do, though I think five years of marriage to Tim has mellowed her some) thought of Kathryn as the "Queen of the prides." She was often vastly disapproving of the slightly more risquee bouts of humor the rest of my social circle was fond of. And while she was willing to wear clothing that bared her ankles, she was tended to dress rather conservatively or "plainly." And yet, despite all of her conservatism and prudishness, she calmly and sincerely asked a gay friend if he had a boyfriend -- without ulterior motives, no less!
I think that moment has driven home the point that people can surprise you more than any other moment in my life. In that moment, I was faced with the fact that my preconceived notions about how Kathryn would treat me -- though they were based on what I still consider to be pretty compelling evidence -- were quite wrong. I had misjudged her. It made me stop and think about how it's too easy to make incorrect assumptions about how people will act in any given situation, even when those assumptions seem reasonable.
I wish I could say that I learned my lesson about making assumptions about other people, but I can't. I've since had many conversations where I had to admit that I fell prey to preconceived notions about how friends, acquaintances, and even strangers would react or what they were thinking in a given situation. I probably always will. But I at least try to remember that one question asked by the Queen of the prides when I catch myself making such assumptions. And then I try to open myself to the possibility that the person I'm dealing with may surprise me, too.
I remember one time I went to visit and spent the last half hour of my trip visiting with Kathryn. Kathryn had started dating one of my classmates, Tim, our senior year. As Kathryn was a freshman, she had three more years to go after Tim and I graduated. I wouldn't say that Kathryn and I were ever all that close. Mostly, I knew her because of my friendship with Tim. As we sat there talking that day, Kathryn asked in her ever-curious tone of voice, "So, do you have a boyfriend?" I'm not sure if Kathryn ever realized how much that question shocked me. You see, Kathryn was probably one of the last people I ever would've expected to ask me such a question -- let alone in such a casual, conversational manner.
You see, Kathryn, like most of my friends and acquaintances from college (or at least the ones I hung out with up until my last semester) were conservative, evangelical, and often fundamentalist Christians. In fact, I always (and still do, though I think five years of marriage to Tim has mellowed her some) thought of Kathryn as the "Queen of the prides." She was often vastly disapproving of the slightly more risquee bouts of humor the rest of my social circle was fond of. And while she was willing to wear clothing that bared her ankles, she was tended to dress rather conservatively or "plainly." And yet, despite all of her conservatism and prudishness, she calmly and sincerely asked a gay friend if he had a boyfriend -- without ulterior motives, no less!
I think that moment has driven home the point that people can surprise you more than any other moment in my life. In that moment, I was faced with the fact that my preconceived notions about how Kathryn would treat me -- though they were based on what I still consider to be pretty compelling evidence -- were quite wrong. I had misjudged her. It made me stop and think about how it's too easy to make incorrect assumptions about how people will act in any given situation, even when those assumptions seem reasonable.
I wish I could say that I learned my lesson about making assumptions about other people, but I can't. I've since had many conversations where I had to admit that I fell prey to preconceived notions about how friends, acquaintances, and even strangers would react or what they were thinking in a given situation. I probably always will. But I at least try to remember that one question asked by the Queen of the prides when I catch myself making such assumptions. And then I try to open myself to the possibility that the person I'm dealing with may surprise me, too.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Thoughts on "The Visitation"
This weekend, I ran to Blockbuster and rented a copy of "The Visitation," a movie that is "loosely based" on the novel by the same title, written by Frank Peretti.; I originally started reading Peretti's novels when I was in high school. A good adult friend from my little hometown church recommended them to me, and I was hooked. Even now that I don't agree with the author's theology, I can still enjoy many of his works.
Unfortunately, I was dismayed by the changes made when transforming this book into a movie. This was particularly dismaying as Peretti was listed as one of the producers, suggesting that he had (though limited I'm sure) some say in these changes. Primarily, a number of characters were changed, merged, or just plain deleted. A prime example of this was the circumstances surrounding the death Travis Jordan's wife. This had the effect of transforming Jordan from a man mourning the loss caused by a disease he and his church couldn't "pray away" into a man who was bitter do to an unsolved murder.
Normally, I can be fairly understanding when things are changed in order to make a book-based movie "work." Books and movies are completely different media, and what works in one doesn't always work in the other. But the changes to the characters and plot-lines in this case represent a change to the entire theme of the original book.
"The Visitation" was a rather unique book amongst Peretti's writing experiences. It was different in that it was about something Peretti doesn't often write about. Unlike books where he's focused on the spiritual or supernatural -- like "This Present Darkness" -- or some particular issue of religio-political significance -- like "Prophet" -- this book focuses on people, as well as people's experiences with "church stuff." The supernatural "miracles" of the man who would be the new Jesus take a secondary role to the people who are reacting to him, or to Travis's painful memories of his memories -- both pleasant and unpleasant -- of life in the church. It is these things that made me appreciate this book most out of all of his other novels. And I was saddened to see all of this missing from the movie.
The movie itself was pretty good for a movie. But I think that everyone did both the movie and an excellent novel a great disservice by associating it -- even "loosely" -- with Peretti's awesome book. And I'm disappointed that Peretti would not only allow it to happen, but appears to have been at least partly involved in such a travesty.
Unfortunately, I was dismayed by the changes made when transforming this book into a movie. This was particularly dismaying as Peretti was listed as one of the producers, suggesting that he had (though limited I'm sure) some say in these changes. Primarily, a number of characters were changed, merged, or just plain deleted. A prime example of this was the circumstances surrounding the death Travis Jordan's wife. This had the effect of transforming Jordan from a man mourning the loss caused by a disease he and his church couldn't "pray away" into a man who was bitter do to an unsolved murder.
Normally, I can be fairly understanding when things are changed in order to make a book-based movie "work." Books and movies are completely different media, and what works in one doesn't always work in the other. But the changes to the characters and plot-lines in this case represent a change to the entire theme of the original book.
"The Visitation" was a rather unique book amongst Peretti's writing experiences. It was different in that it was about something Peretti doesn't often write about. Unlike books where he's focused on the spiritual or supernatural -- like "This Present Darkness" -- or some particular issue of religio-political significance -- like "Prophet" -- this book focuses on people, as well as people's experiences with "church stuff." The supernatural "miracles" of the man who would be the new Jesus take a secondary role to the people who are reacting to him, or to Travis's painful memories of his memories -- both pleasant and unpleasant -- of life in the church. It is these things that made me appreciate this book most out of all of his other novels. And I was saddened to see all of this missing from the movie.
The movie itself was pretty good for a movie. But I think that everyone did both the movie and an excellent novel a great disservice by associating it -- even "loosely" -- with Peretti's awesome book. And I'm disappointed that Peretti would not only allow it to happen, but appears to have been at least partly involved in such a travesty.
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