paul cawley's posterous

paul cawley's posterous

Paul Cawley  //  an extension of my Twitter...for when 140 characters are not enough...

my friend Aaron has a quote that sums me up: "I want to fly."

i like Emma + tea + web 2.0 + chats + politics + faith + hope + love + current affairs

my blog + my tweets = my views ≠ the office

 
May 18 / 11:59am

New French President Hollande reminds his cabinet of the existence of a line of confidence between the citizens and those who govern them ::

Kim Willsher in Paris for The Guardian reports that newly elected French President Hollande has given his cabinet some wise words as they assume their offices. His cabinet is also one with gender balance and has 7 ethnic minorities represented. My favourite element of Hollande's instruction to his new cabinet colleagues was in the document outlining the conduct code they needed to comply with. The document reminds ministers of the "...existence of a line of confidence between the citizens and those who govern them..." 

Members of France's new government took up their posts on Thursday with President François Hollande's promise of "dignity, simplicity and sobriety" ringing in their ears.

For the first time, half of the 34 appointed ministers are women, and only four of the new ministers have served in government before.

At the first council of ministers on Thursday afternoon, the government voted on its first measure, a 30% wage reduction for all ministers and the president, as promised by Hollande in his election campaign. Instead of €21,194 (£17,045) a month before tax, the president and prime minister will each receive €14,836. Ministerial monthly salaries drop from €13,423 to €9,396.

As a symbolic gesture in times of austerity, it was a masterstroke. Better still, it sat in stark contrast to the actions of Hollande's predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, whose first move upon taking office was to increase his salary by about 170%.

In another move in keeping with the tone of sobriety in office, ministers were told they would be expected to adhere to a strict code of conduct. The code rules out presents and private invitations, and encourages ministers to take the train whenever possible and, if travelling by car, to respect the highway code.

Hollande had already set an unusual precedent for the latter, by ordering his convoy to stop at red lights as he crossed Paris for his investiture at the Elysée palace on Tuesday.

 
Apr 29 / 9:32pm

Being a geek ::

"Being a geek is all about your own personal level of enthusiasm, not how your level of enthusiasm measures up to others. If you like something so much that a casual mention of it makes your whole being light up like a halogen lamp, if hearing a stranger fondly mention your favorite book or game is instant grounds for friendship, if you have ever found yourself bouncing out of your chair because something you learned blew your mind so hard that you physically could not contain yourself — you are a geek."

- The Mary Sue

(HT: Swissmiss)

 
Apr 22 / 4:59pm

Some quotes I'm loving right now ::

The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.
- BARBARA KINGSOLVER

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.
- TERRY PRATCHETT

You only live once, but if you do it right once is enough.
- MAE WEST

Because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!
- ON THE ROAD BY JACK KEROUAC

Many people die at twenty five and aren’t buried until they are seventy five.
- BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

 
Apr 22 / 11:55am

Blessed are the uncool, some wisdom from Rachel Evans ::

Found this wonderful article this morning by Rachel Evans, that is worth a read for anyone involved in a community of faith. You can read the whole article here.

People sometimes assume that because I’m a progressive 30-year-old who enjoys Mumford and Sons and has no children, I must want a super-hip church—you know, the kind that’s called “Thrive” or “Be” and which boasts “an awesome worship experience,” a  fair-trade coffee bar, its own iPhone app, and a pastor who looks like a Jonas Brother. 

While none of these features are inherently wrong, (and can of course be used by good people to do good things), these days I find myself longing for a church with a cool factor of about 0.  

That’s right.

I want a church that includes fussy kids, old liturgy, bad sound, weird congregants,  and…brace yourself…painfully amateur “special music” now and then.

Why?

Well, for one thing, when the gospel story is accompanied by a fog machine and light show, I always get this creeped-out feeling like someone’s trying to sell me something. It’s as though we’re all compensating for the fact that Christianity’s not good enough to stand on its own so we’re adding snacks. 

But more importantly, I want to be part of an un-cool church because I want to be part of a community that shares the reputation of Jesus, and like it or not, Jesus’ favorite people in the world were not cool.

They were mostly sinners, misfits, outcasts, weirdos, poor people, sick people, and crazy people.  

Cool congregations can get so wrapped up in the “performance” of church that they forget to actually be the church...