word up...

from my recent adventures in homiletics...would love your critiques on what made sense, what didn't and what would have helped you hear the points better...just no cracks about the thin hair...

here's a link to the bible verse.... (disable the pop-up blocker if it ain't workin)...

what's in a word?

well, i guess that all depends if it's a word as in The Word...

taking a homiletics course these days and we've spent an interesting amount of time studying why preaching has taken on such a negative connotation, even, and sometimes most noticeably, in the Christian community..."don't tell me what to do!"...."well, now you're just preaching at me"..."geez, thanks...that was a good sermon."

for you language buffs, this can best be seen in the contrast between the indicative versus the imperative...our gut level understanding of preaching is the latter rather than the former....but it seems God has some different goals at times for preaching...

while imperative (see: prophetic) preaching has its place...how much better would the Church be seen if we preach indicatively---explaining who God is and what God has done....

after all, we're supposed to be all about reconciliation as Christians, right? so it makes sense we would preach about God rather than just about what other people are supposed to do...



UPDATED:
totally agree with larissa. the imperative ought to follow the indicative. the Bible seems to preach about God's nature first and then what that means for our lives...
i think this is best seen in acts 2 when peter addresses the crowd....first he goes to great lengths to talk about what God's done....with just this, the people were cut through and then they asked "what shall we do?".....peter then gives them the commands....funny how one follows the other....

this is NOT a test

actually it is...of my new google-branded flip video recorder. it's nice to know after we shell out bucks to them on ad campaigns that they reward our loyalty so handsomely...

here's a shot of my new office fishies...beau and ella. they are tiger barbs from sumatra. ella is the fat one and beau is the one with orange lips. ella chases beau around the tank all day nipping at his fins.....so the man wears lipstick and the woman is a bully....things are pretty weird underwater...

don't you love my FACE?

in my ongoing quest to reach new heights of narcissim, i've followed the advice of a woman much more learned than i (initials: BL) and posted myself onto facebook.

while i'm sure this will only serve to expose me to the countless individuals i've sought to elude for years now, it might also be another venture to gain some much-needed attention.

look me up. i hope you enjoy the sights and sounds.

tremblingly yours,
mr. rod fortnight

and another one...

you may remember my earlier celebrity look-a-like post

apparently now i look like this guy...so much so that i "could make some money off of it..." according to someone i recently met.

you might remember him from "can't hardly wait" fame where he co-starred with none other than jennifer love hewitt. if you read the earlier post, you'll see i just can't seem to get away from j-love....

a pilgrimage observed...

3 years...7 months...and 9 days....

since i rolled my little uhaul trailor into pasadena in search of theological treasures...and yet one sight has eluded me.

since it was under renovation to add even geekier exhibits, the griffith observatory had been off-limits and therefore i was unable to live out my dream...

the first...

the second...

and the insipidly late...

and to all, i gladly say "mooooo"....

flights of fancy...

my arms just now recovered from my heroic jaunt over the beaches of los angeles, or i just decided to upload the photos--pick whichever version works best for you.


here are the shots that made a man into a mouse...






"must. suppress. bladder. must. not. fold. like. house. of. cards."

the instructor made me sit sumo-style and reflect on how i would soon be one with the sky.

i felt like such an idiot.

this is my security check...a little snug in the crotchular region...

final lesson before take off...

take off from the bunny hill...

"wait a second...what's that fin i see popping up in the water?"

at this point, the instructor lets me know landing is easy and i can "figure it out" on my own...

one down...much to go...

as i wrote before, booyeon and i headed off to the big trash can of the east otherwise known as new york for our first year anniversary. i returned home with a swollen ankle, a pounding headache and lots of good memories.

we trounced around remembering the fancies of our long-gone youth and chasing after fond memories. we bounced from restful nostalgia to complete exhaustion---and somewhere in the middle we were blessed to talk with old friends, soak up the energy of the city, and feel the resounding thud of the door closing on our time in new york.

here are the shots you need to see...and check out boo's summary of the party events

ah, the city so nice no one who lives there has enough time to name it twice...

the wine we brought over from italy....as i always say "why eat 1 year old cake when you can have 1 year old chianti"---or something like that....

get ready for "baby tour '07"

sarah and jason

monica and dan

the mandatory trip to soho for iced coffee...

the rock star-turned-author makes an appearance...

heading down to philly...

anniversary night...big time at the mob spot, florio's...

a year in the life...

this week, booyeon and i head off to new york--the starting place of the romance that is our marriage. it was march of 2004. i was a scruffy-headed marketing manager and she was a sophisticated research analyst. we had met each other for the first time many times while volunteering for church together. she wrote me off as an arrogant piss-ant and i categorized her as a goodie goodie church girl. at the wedding of a friend, i refused to dance and she refused to stop making fun of me—it was love at first sight. we shared the city with one another for 3 weeks that felt like 3 months. booyeon booked a one-way ticket to tokyo to pursue journalism and i booked a trip on the “lonely express” to stay in new york. since there really was no alternative, we foolhardedly decided to keep dating. i chased her to japan, she returned home for some trips and we kept filling the pockets of the inventors of instant messaging. international phone cards became our best friends and pictures served as reminders for what the other person looked like. eventually, booyeon decided to sacrifice everything and check into the hotel california while i pursued delusions of theological grandeur at fuller.

and now…

it's been one year since most of you joined us in anaheim for our wedding, suffering through the "blizzard of '06" and later witnessing what is unofficially the longest first dance in wedding history (yet equally as tender). over the past year we've gotten to know some of you better while slowly dropping others of you like bad habits (i joke, of course—some of you just won’t go away). it's been an interesting year of learning about how life is lived in the midst of good and bad times with another human being who often knows you better than yourself and sometimes has no clue who the hell you are. there have been too many precious moments to recount. but in an attempt to convey my happiness with married life, i've come up with the first annual:

10 Things I've Learned in Marriage This Year
10. In any given argument it's completely possible to be so "right" and yet so wrong all at the same time.
9. Money isn't the root of all evil. Leaving dirty underwear on the ground is.
8. 90% of any disagreement is related to communication. And of this 90%, 100% is usually the fault of the male.
7. The pragmatic response is not always the appropriate response.
6. It’s all warm and fuzzy to start thinking of having children. But spending about 12 minutes with friends who do will sober you up real quick.
5. Watching TV while your wife is talking can be hazardous to your health.
4. On that note, nothing will get your wife talking quicker than turning on your favorite football game. Funny how that timing works.
3. I shudder to think what I would be like without Booyeon. But images of an overweight, soiled-clothed man in a velour sweatsuit sitting next to a pile of unpaid bills come to mind.
2. The quickest way to mend an issue is to say “I’m sorry.” The best way, though, is to actually mean it.
1. Jesus is the best marriage counselor. It’s just a shame we don’t book more appointments with Him.


here's to small dreams becoming tender realities...

flying away on a wing and a prayer...

who could it be?

believe it or not, it's just meeee......

(editor's note: i totally hope that song is stuck in your head now)

yes, that will soon be me. flying so high--so free--so freaked out. in my ever growing quest to match the outdoor exploits of this man, i'll be taking to the sky in a few weeks to try hang gliding.

after an extensive urine test, blood screening and some (much-welcomed) tummy poking, i was allowed to sign up for introductory lessons at the beach in Playa Del Rey. though i'm relegated to the bunny hill, i've been promised a wonderful view of the ocean (exactly how close i get to that view will be determined by my spaghetti noodle-like arms' ability to support myself in the air).

some of you may have heard me talk about the "Summer of Aric" about 556 times, give or take a hundred. i'm hoping this little adventure will be a nice cap to my summer away from school.

as always, i'll be sure to post as many pictures of myself as i humanly can (there's a fan of this blog who will soon be down in Irvine and deserves nothing less.) but i reserve the right to photoshop out any embarrasing wet pants photos which convey my fear of heights.

"please do not offer my god a peanut."

>>"No offense Apu, but when they're were handin out religions you must have been out taking a whizz."

>>"Mr. Simpson, pay for your purchases and get out...and come again."


Yes, I've fallen prey to the Simpsons hype and creating my own avatar...courtesy of Whitey Ford and some bored co-workers.

Here ya go....

Aric "The Attitude" Allen

Booyeon "NYC Chic" Lee


Booyeon "Eagle Rocker" Lee

party like you mean it...

[all photos courtesy of charlie hustle's eye]

welcome to the jungle....we've got fun n' games...we got everything you want....honey, we know the names....

one of those truest of nights with the truest of friends that I didn't want to end...

the very reason why we're all here.

no, wait, that's God. ok, let's move on to the good photos.

kyle and greg, who is also a dead ringer for THIS GUY.

seriously though, greg was a cool guy. but---i can only wonder about a man who admits he has two left feet despite the fact he's black the first time i meet him.

damn man---at least ACT like you got skillz. who am i to question a reigning stereotype?

the best of friends...my lovely wife and her eagle rock buddy, alicia.

the sun beginning to go down...

our new friends...a conglogmerate of young married couples out to either chastise you for being single or criticize you for having babies...nevermind, that's just me.

the same group in the same spot with a few drinks in them....instant party

words escape me on this one...

dusk over eagle rock...

radu "the grill man"....everyone loved his meat. and the burgers he cooked were good too.

all my baby-dadies in the place, say "HEY!"....it was good to know that the procreating masses weren't lost for good to the abyss of their homes. actually, our deepest joy has been to see these kiddies grow big, strong and develop the ability to say "hey, i want more!"

nathaniel...the "mini noah" as i like to refer to him

princess naomi being escorted by dad (arm to the right) and uncle (arm to the left)

the party gets started...

kyle's beats and duraflame logs means a HOT parTAY....

serving and sweating....and i mean SWEATING...all my life i've been told i copy my older brother kyle and this is no more truer than in regards to our eccrine glands...

salsa in the smoke....could only be maco shark and SA....

the lawyers....special K and the hammer....one nickname was given and one was requested....you figure it out

i'm so honored to be in the company of someone so funny, so genuine and so amusing as Owen Wilson---who, by the way has one of the top 5 cutest baby girls in California. it's a registered fact. yes, yes, i'm quite aware of the moisture collection in my armpit area...see above for my obnoxious eccrine gland issue.

all in all, i have to concede the award for Most Original Shirt of the Night to kyle...my Le Tigre and popped collar were workin' but his shirt just rang true.....

kyle, you really know how to cut to the core of me...

we're blessed to know you all...well, we're blessed to know some of you. the rest are just fillers for the time being. JUST JOKING. you all are integral to our happiness and to have you in our home is a privilege we hope to enjoy again. thanks to my gracious wife who bore the pain of my ever-growing invite list and my need to try and throw the biggest july 4th party ever on a mountainside in eagle rock california while wearing a pink shirt. she is a patient and loving woman who reminds me all the time of what true servanthood looks like.