Disqus - Latest Comments for zekesmith

Re: Why Christian Bale is Wrong About Moses

Zeke Smith — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 16:46:39 -0000

One of the things I learned recently that blew me away is that although movies portray Moses' killing of the Egyptian as a foolish sin in a moment of passion for which he had to flee the country, Acts 7 speaks about it as a sign for the Hebrews of God's rescue that they didn't recognize, which is why Moses left. http://www.prca.org/resourc...
Which also mirrors what we see in the Gospels with Jesus several times: when you reject the rescuer, he takes his rescue elsewhere (i.e. Midian). Moses wasn't homicidal - he was just God's messenger.

Re: I’m Giving Away Two Copies of What’s Best Next by Matt Perman

Zeke Smith — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 11:55:00 -0000

I'm vaguely familiar with GTD but have never fully committed to it. Currently I keep it together with a haphazard combo of Evernote, Wunderlist and a smattering of other apps. I keep feeling like I'm waiting for a system to commit to... maybe this is the one.

Re: Forgetting that you are famous.

Zeke Smith — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:11:36 -0000

Thank you very much ;-) (said unironically... I promise!)

Re: Forgetting that you are famous.

Zeke Smith — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:59:51 -0000

Like you, I struggle with my desire for fame and recognition, and one of the most helpful things I've done to combat that is responding differently to compliments. Instead of deflecting compliments or rejecting them, I've started saying something like "wow, thank you so much." Rejecting compliments is really just a sign of insecurity - you either want people to press on and compliment you further, or you smugly believe what they say but want to seem humble, or you don't think the complimenter's opinion means enough to take them seriously. By saying thank you, you're validating the person who took the time to compliment you or your work and producing gratitude within your heart by verbalizing thanks, and that in turn produces humility. It's tough to actually do because we're so used to deflecting comments as a culture, but if you can practice it, I bet the results will surprise you.

Re: Friday Question: How do you avoid repeat wardrobe performances?

Zeke Smith — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:46:51 -0000

I do the same sort of thing as @Turling - my suits/shirts/pants are grouped into sections in my closet, and every time I hang something back up that I've worn, it goes on the far right of that "section" thus ordering things from least recently worn on the left to most recently worn on the right. I found this actually helped me introduce some more variety to my wardrobe because otherwise there are a few "safety" pieces that I'd just go to again and again.

Re: Episode 22: Return of the Mac (and the Mason)

Zeke Smith — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:49:49 -0000

ah, right - thanks for the catch Patrick. now fixed. got it in the headline, just not in the body. too many plumlees!

Re: Broken Brackets Update

Zeke Smith — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:49:17 -0000

Hey now! I may only be in the 25th percentile with my entry but I did avoid the ACC homerism and I, for one, did have Cincy beating the Noles. I'd demand a recount, but I'm pretty sure it would still look pretty ugly from my end...

Re: http://www.iwasthecoolestkidever.com/post/10686504473

Zeke Smith — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 04:28:44 -0000

Lazer sweater, meet lazer background, and watch the awesomeness just multiply.

Re: http://zackmansfield.com/post/5901726839

Zeke Smith — Sun, 29 May 2011 19:34:31 -0000

Wait - did you really write "As much as we loved Chick-fil-a going in, I think we loved it more coming out"?
A little too much personal information, Mansfield...

Re: Temple Bags Laptop Briefcase Giveaway

Zeke Smith — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:02:35 -0000

Why, sportswriter by day and secret CIA international spy by night, of course. Ideally, I can equip that laptop case with some high-intensity lasers, a ninja star pocket, and maybe a secret compartment for poisons and antidotes while still leaving the main area free for a laptop and printouts of box scores.

Re: http://zekeandwendy.com/post/3316157075

Zeke Smith — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 04:32:34 -0000

hahaha, hey aimee! no, I didn't eat a stick of butter - that's a dessert we've discovered here that I love called Battenberg cakes. They're little sponge cakes wrapped in an entire layer of marzipan. If I ever resort to eating sticks of butter, please go ahead and call the medical authorities for me...

Re: Let’s read a book together.

Zeke Smith — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:50:39 -0000

I'm in

Re: The Ultimate Gift: The Saddleback Leather Company Holiday Giveaway

Zeke Smith — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:42:27 -0000

The best Christmas present I ever got was probably when I was 9 and I woke up to find the entire living room re-staged as a giant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles war zone, my parents having re-created what I tended to often do around the house, with action figures hanging off of the tree, tinsel, etc. Among the old figures were lots of new ones and the TMNT blimp, the new prized piece of my collection. My older brother and I played with those things all day long and into the evening.

Re: http://zekeandwendy.com/post/1488028098

Zeke Smith — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:39:45 -0000

Cheerio, "Zed"! Stilton is a type of stinky British cheese and port refers to Port wine, which is a type of dessert-y but dry wine often served with cheese instead of an awesome dessert like cupcakes or chocolate. Together, it's kind of crazy.

Re: this is art

Zeke Smith — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 12:32:55 -0000

The Everynone guys work in conjunction with Radiolab, which is one of the best podcasts out there - go find it and listen to some episodes if you haven't already. Their first supplementary video they did with Radiolab was "Words", and similar to this one it was an enthralling 5 minutes to watch - takes a few seconds to "get" it but it's really brilliantly done: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Re: Win 3 free books from Billy Coffey.

Zeke Smith — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 17:05:09 -0000

Unfortunately not - living in Manchester, England, where it always rains but never gets quite cold enough to snow.

Re: The Craftsman's Humility: The Inkleaf Leather Company's Notebook Cover Giveaway

Zeke Smith — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 02:32:16 -0000

I love keeping my notebook on me to take notes or jot down ideas whenever inspiration strikes. But my wife and I also have a separate little notebook that we write notes to each other in - it's a great way to tell each other about our day and have a record of our growth together to look back on, or maybe even give our kids someday.

Re: Hipster Christianity – Win 5 copies.

Zeke Smith — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:57:33 -0000

I recently revealed to my wife that I was vaguely considering getting a tattoo written in Elvish (from the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and had spent a little time trying to look up the script. Her intense mocking laughter confirmed both that this was the dorkiest thing I've done recently, and that I probably will never actually go through with it.

Re: A Manly Bag For Your Manly Book: The Saddleback Leather Company Contest/Giveaway

Zeke Smith — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:04:37 -0000

A man becomes a man with a capital M when he has a man bag, and yes, I want a saddleback man bag if I ever have one. Sign me up!

Re: It's never too early...

Zeke Smith — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:55:34 -0000

man, if I had a nickel in royalties every time someone used that picture...

Re: Thinking about thinking

Zeke Smith — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:45:33 -0000

Alright, so I know I'm a few days late to this party but figured I would contribute nonetheless. Don't know if I qualify under the "artist" label Eller was talking about, but as someone who frequently writes, photographs or designs things for a living, I do have to constantly think creatively and think off the top of my head. It's interesting because I think there are some powerful elements of the brain at work when we "zone out" because it feels to me like the brain makes connections that otherwise wouldn't have been there. I have gotten some of my best concepts for short stories or other creative works from dreams I had that stuck with me. On the other hand, I actually find my most powerful thinking happens in situations like brainstorming sessions with other people, where I am asked to contribute impressions based on almost no prior knowledge of something - when my brain is going rapid fire in that way, I think I'm at my best, and get some of my best "moments of clarity" as you said, where I later wonder how I was practically saying things before my brain even had time to process the ideas.

So I guess for me, I do my best problem-solving when I'm asked to think on the spot, not in the long-term. However, thinking absent-mindedly has been a great facilitator for my other creative work, things that aren't deadline-based but just interest-based.

Discover Magazine also did a really interesting piece on this very topic recently talking about how zoning out isn't such a bad thing: http://discovermagazine.com...
That article seems to jibe pretty well with our generally stereotyped idea of brilliant people being somewhat absentminded.

Hope all that helped contribute something. Always enjoy the long soliloquies.

Re: Real Time Music Discovery from Friends

Zeke Smith — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:20:48 -0000

oh social media, is there anything you CAN'T do?

Re: Images of a Championship

Zeke Smith — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:42:30 -0000

Thanks for the free publicity Zack - your check is in the mail.

Re: The Fantasy Life

Zeke Smith — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:38:42 -0000

At first glance, I would try to trade MoJo and one of your injury-prone wideouts for some QB help or an upgrade at WR. Just one man's opinion. One man who dominates the regular season every year only to lose in the playoffs, that is.

On second thought, stick with your own game plan.

Glad to hear things are going well for you guys up in NYC - wishing you all the best.

Re: The Role of Women

Zeke Smith — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:13:00 -0000

Ashley,
A girl who goes to my church writes a blog called "She Worships: theology for women" where she explores many of the issues it seems like you're confronting. As a guy, I've enjoyed reading her perspectives because she doesn't seem to be too gung-ho about either women taking over the church or laying down and not addressing the issue at all - very level-headed and thoughtful. I would definitely say that with all you are exploring, many of her articles would be worth your time. Enjoy.

sheworships.com

Grace,
Zeke Smith
Chapel Hill, NC