Which is all lovely. I joked with Amber that I would do it, except I look terrible with a moustache. Seriously: Terrible.

Then I got to thinking. My grandfather — my mom’s dad — died from prostate cancer. It metastasised, went to his bones, and killed him. So I thought, I wouldn’t I do this?

But that’s not the kicker, y’all. The kicker is this: My grandfather had a sweet moustache.

Perfect? Yes, indeed.

So I’ve joined the Art of Manliness team for Movember. If you are so inclined, you can donate to the cause at my page, which is at http://mobro.co/bfordham

On June 5, the day after I got back, I read a post called Wikileaks: U.S. Intervened To Keep Haiti Slave Wages Low On Behalf Of Hanes, Levi Strauss at Crooks and Liars. The Nation’s article that spawned the post is called Let Them Live on $3 a Day.

Here’s the gist: Factory owners in Haiti refused to raise the pay for their workers to $5 a day. The US Agency for International Development and the US Embassy backed the owners.

Levi Straus “vehemently denies” this, stating that, at $3 a day, their workers make more than 80% of their fellow Haitians. Which is a wonderful bit of marketing: They’re not quite as poor as everyone else in the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

How far does $3 a day go in Haiti? The Nation’s article has this informative bit:

According to a 2008 Worker Rights Consortium study, a family of one working member and two dependents needed at least 550 Haitian gourdes, or $12.50, per day to meet normal living expenses.

In one town where we served in Haiti, we were told the average household size was 9 people. So, even with the $2/day raise, it still wouldn’t be a living wage.

How does this screw the US economy over? Simple: American workers can’t compete with $3/day. So, Haitians don’t benefit, and Americans don’t either. Who does? Crooks and Liars points out “Hanesbrands CEO Richard Noll, on the other hand, got a nice cushy $10 million compensation package last year.”

You can read it here.

The movie did not disappoint. I’ve always had a soft spot for movies and books about vampires, and this one struck me as putting an interesting spin on topic that’s mostly overdone these days. The relationship between the vampire Abby and the pathetic Owen is an interesting one.  Abby is portrayed as a killing machine who seems to lack some basic knowledge of exactly what she is. Owen is bullied by some and ignored by everyone else, but I still found myself rooting for him. Abby, immortal though she may be, is a bit pathetic at times herself in her loneliness.

The conclusion was not a surprise, really, but I don’t think it’s not intended to be. There were enough twists to keep my interest, and it definitely ranks among the best movies I’ve seen in a while.

Leave a comment on their blog post about them and you could win your own set.

• Donnie Darko
• Memento
• Evil Dead 2 / Army of Darkness
• All 3 Lord of the Rings (not all in one night)
• Classic James Bond movie or two
• Psycho (the original)

What would you add?

The larger issue, here, is that he obviously doesn’t know his Bible. Jesus directly addressed the meaning behind people being suddenly killed in Luke 13:

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5)

The point here is simple and clear: The people Jesus is referring to weren’t killed because they were the biggest sinners around. Their deaths shouldn’t make us think we’re better than they are, but should lead us to repent because we are exactly the same as they are. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

We have all sinned, and sin deserved death. God, by his grace, allows us to live. But he owes us nothing.

So what is the Christian response to the disaster in Haiti? Give money. Pray. Go if you can. And be thankful that it was not you, because it just as easily could have been. Next time it may be.

Most impressive.

1. Being in Piper’s breakout session.  He’s been used by God to have a huge impact on me for a number of years now (and I’m certainly not alone in this).  So it was cool to be able to sit in a room and listen to him.  Plus it was nice to see Noel and Talitha.

2. Seeing him preach live. Actually it was in video (2 venues) but still, a few times I forgot he wasn’t actually on stage. Plus, having his sermon after the worship, and surrounded by a few thousand other people, made it quite a different experience from listening to a podcast while running.

3. Seeing some people who had never heard him introduced to Piper’s God-centered theology. The response from those I talked to was pretty universal: “He’s *extremely deep*, gotta listen to the whole thing, but amazing.”  I’m praying especially for the students with us that God sets the roots of this type of thinking deep into their hearts.

4. The college kids raising $668,000+ by Monday night, and then someone saying they would match it.  Absolutely incredible.

5. Meeting Michelle at the Compassion International section. She’s from Manila, and had been a sponsored child. Now she sponsors four kids herself.  She’s finishing her masters degree.  Cool to actually meet someone who has been impacted so much by that ministry, and especially cool that she’s from the Philippines, where my brother lives.

6. Hearing that scholarships from 138 pastors and church planters in the Middle East had been paid for. Hearing it almost made me cry, to be honest.  I wonder how many realize how dangerous life will be for these men.

If you were there, what impacted you?