the online journal of jordan e.

The Passion of the Christ
No doubt you have all heard the buzz around this movie - the controversy, the praise, the rips. I've actually managed to see it twice already and have to say it was strange. Strange how probably everyone in that theater knew that story, yet we all sat stunned and silent like it all was a huge surprise. Strange how ashamed, grateful, sorry and proud you feel at the same time.
This movie is controversial - Jesus was a controversy and you can't portray his life without causing that controversy to return. This movie should be praised - praised because it allows us to grasp even a bit of the suffering Christ went through for us. The Passion of the Christ merits its rips, too - what happens in it is horrible. It is a gruesome, messy, overwhelming tragedy.
Go see it.

posted by Jordan @ 3:20 em

If my name was Lacy Wolfgang would you still be my friend?

posted by Jordan @ 12:20 fm

If You Invite Kara to Fargo (modeled after If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)
If you invite Kara to come to Fargo, chances are she'll bring you a belated birthday gift. When she hears your squeals at the items she bought for you at the Swedish grocery store she might think of a band of pigs. If she thinks about a pig farm, she'll probably be reminded of her new roommate who showers once a week and wakes Kara up in the middle of the night with her flatulence problem. That will make her think of other delightful odors and she will most likely want to go to the 1am Redeye Session at BigTop Bingo. When she loses once again, though, she'll finally want to go to bed and not wake up until her aunt (my mom) calls the next morning.
Waking up in the German house and not in a cloud of gas will remind her that she is in Fargo and wants to visit her old co-workers at the mall. She'll take Alida with her and though they try to forget, all of the pink and red hearts will force them to acknowledge it is Valentine's Day. When Kara starts shouting "Be mine!" to random shoppers, security guards and Orange Julius employees, she might realize that going out for the holiday is a better way to celebrate.
After Jordan comes back from eating with some people, Kara will probably want to get dressed up for the Valentine occasion. When she gets dressed up, chances are her cousin will too and Kara will lend her gigantic shoes with four-inch heels. If Kara lets Jordan wear these shoes, she'll probably also make Jordan sign a liability contract. The contract will make Kara recall that she promised her old friends in Snarr Hall that they could come along to eat at the Speak Easy.
If we go to the Speak Easy, we might run into Alex, the cook from Juano's, from Tajikstan. Seeing him will remind us all that, "hey, we don't speak French." Chances are that when we realize such unfortunate things we will want to go to the midnight matinee at the Fargo Theatre and watch Amelie. Hearing "oui, oui," however, will subconsiously tell Kara that she needs to go to the bathroom and eventually to bed.
Waking up the next morning will remind Kara and I that we spent Valentine's without any dates and that Kara's friend, Mara, is going on a date today. If Mara goes out on a date, we'll probably want to spy on her. When our spying tactics are fruitless, though, we'll settle with making supper. Being in our kitchen will make it impossible to avoid the cheese-making experiment my roommate is conducting and the vommit smell of sour milk will remind Kara of other offensive smells (like her roommate) and she'll figure it's time to head back to the Cities.
When Kara packs up her car to leave, it will make Jordan sad and Kara will promise to come to Fargo again soon. But if you invite Kara to come back to Fargo...

posted by Jordan @ 8:28 fm

Doing the Stuff
Last night Sarah and I spent two and a half hours at a bar talking to two guys about Jesus. The original plan didn't include meeting at a bar, but then again, the original plan was made late last Thursday night after this guy bombarded me with questions about God, the Bible and the Church.
This guy brought a friend and both of them brought a loaded debate and a pretty decided stance that Christianity was false. Their arguments, however, were entirely illogical and God's presence was stinking strong. God began using our mouths to say what He wanted to say and after an hour or so the strangest thing started happening: they started arguing with each other. Their battle plans had caved and soon God was bringing them to some amazing inklings. As we started talking one-on-one, the guy I was discussing with went from scoffing at Christianity and finding it absurd to saying things like, "I used to think I understood the Jesus thing, but maybe I didn't," admitting he was scared he might go to hell and asking if we could meet again and talk about this stuff.
The night was amazing. When you do what Jesus intended you to do you experience bliss.

posted by Jordan @ 7:14 em

At 22
Yesterday Amber and I shared our 22nd birthdays. Last February 5th, in Jena, visitors came to our doors at midnight with liter bottles of beer, topped with burning candles. Amber, the tank, drank hers in 42 seconds, while it took me a good 10-15 minutes to choke a liter down. This year, at midnight, Christiane gave me a German cake she and Celine had baked, which, by the way, was much better than those vats of dark beer we were forced to chug.
Many hours after the cake, I got two speaker-phone calls from my mom's classroom, where the 6th grade kiddies serenaded me. Later some of us when out to eat; I led our weekly Bible study; and then a bunch of us went dancing. I woke up at 4am under a barstool wearing nothing but leg warmers in some South Moorhead bar.
Just kidding. I was actually still awake at 4am, discussing the finer points of life with Christiane and Carlos in the comfort of our apartment.
Thank you for the happy birthday wishes, everybody. It was a swell day.

posted by Jordan @ 8:44 em