40 for Scott's 40th Gives Water for Life

It is so easy and takes so little to save a life.

For me, it is personal. I am involved in a water project in El Salvador, I've been there twice, I know the people making it happen. Having access to drinking water that doesn't kill you changes everything, as you can imagine.

After pursuing various careers, I wound up as the pastor of a church. Our church is missional : we support several projects related to poverty in our great city of San Diego and around the world. I wondered if there was a way to do more - to leverage our organization in a way to exponentially help those in need. This is one way to do it.

So, for my 40th birthday, I'm asking my friends to give $40 for clean water. Or $4. Or $400. Or $4000... whatever you can do. Plus, I'm asking my friends to ask their friends to donate and to ask their friends to donate, and so on...

The goal? $40,000 in 90 days. That's clean water for 400 families! 100% of these donations go through Charity: Water to build wells and water systems in communities around the world where people are dying without it. Even better, every dollar is "proved" when the projects are complete, and photos and GPS coordinates are posted using Google Earth.

Please help me in this endeavor! Post the link to this campaign on your Facebook, Twitter, Google +, wherever you reside. Email it to friends and spam your co-workers with it!

http://mycharitywater.org/furrowcious40

Imagine - you make a turkey sandwich instead of going out to eat, you give the $40 you would have spent to this campaign, a person's life is saved because of it. It really is that simple. It really is something you can do right now.

Thank you and God bless!

Scott Furrow
Twitter: @ScottFurrow
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/40-for-Scotts-40th-Gives-Water-for-Life/241039575930018?sk=wall
Facebook.com/scottfurrow

Going Beyond the Surface in Your Oikos

Need to buy a TV?

[This blog appeared today at oikoschurches.com]

I used to work for a major electronics company that used to exist.  I worked there back in the day where sales people were required to wear a tie and a coat.  No, not this wasn't the 1950's, this was in the mid-1990's, before the advent of Best Buy and the casual untrained salesperson.

This company was very serious about well trained and well groomed salespeople.  They actually issued all employees special blazers to wear; a gray one and a blue one, and required good hygiene and professional appearance.  "Sales Counselors", as we were called, were only paid by commission back in those days, and in those days, a man could make a lot of money selling televisions.  Especially if you were a very large man, so large that you required a special order company blazer.

Mike was such a man.  Big and tall and big in the other direction too.  Friendly, knowledgeable, aggressive and crafty.  He was one of the top TV sales people in the entire company.  He could sell you and extended warranty even if you didn't buy a product to go with it.  Customers would spot his friendly frame the moment they walked in the door, and march right to him with their wallets open, leaving us average height blazers to scavenger for whatever potential sales were left in his wake. 

I liked Mike very much.  I enjoyed working with him, even though it probably meant I would make less money.   We worked together for 3 years at that store, and I thought I knew him pretty well.

One day, he asked me if I would help him move.  He had let me borrow his car a couple of times while mine was in the shop, so I figured I owed him one (or more.)  So I said "sure."

When I arrived at his house in an average neighborhood, he had a typical grass lawn with some low maintenance shrubbery.  But I was stunned to see what I saw when I walked in the door.

Squalor.

It was unbelievable.  To this day, it was the filthiest house I've ever seen in my life.  It was plain dirty.  When I say dirty, I mean literal piles of dirt.  On the floor, in the couch, everywhere.  The house was infested with all sorts of vermin, including cats, roaches and unidentifiable critters.  My thesaurus does not have a word to adequately describe the toxic and nearly visible odor.

His wife came out of the kitchen and greeted me warmly, thanking me for coming over to help.  His kids were in the back yard playing.  I won't even describe the kitchen, it was worse than you can imagine.  Mike was standing next to me, looking over his home as if he hadn't noticed it's condition, and visibly shrinking in size as he could no doubt sense by surprise and grief. 

I wanted to cry, I couldn't believe it.  I kept asking myself, "What was going on in this man's life, with his family, that would lead to this kind of lifestyle at home?"  It couldn't be healthy, it wasn't livable, yet, it was where this family resided.  I knew Mike was making nearly 6 figures based on commissions reports that were posted at the store to inspire the rest of us.  Was he in some kind of financial trouble?  Depression?  Tragedy?  What happened to this family?

I gladly and quickly helped him get his stuff out of the house.  This burden on him and his family had been well hidden, until he and I stood in his front yard on a hot day in a sea of moldy, ruined furniture.  We stood there looking at it, smelling it, and Mike, with a tear coming down his cheek, decided that most of it just needed to go to the dump.  He was right about that, and that is where we moved his stuff.

Nearly every day after that, a humbled Mike thanked me for my help.  He could hardly thank me without breaking down.  He never said it explicitly, but I know he also was thanking me for not telling any of our other co-workers, and thanking me for remaining his friend.

How well do you know your oikos?  These people that you work with, go to coffee with, study with - really, do you know them?   Have you ever asked yourself why God put you in their life?   Have you ever asked God to show you?   Truth is, many relationships today are surfacy, even within our oikos that are supposedly "close."  But as Christ followers, we are called to love our oikos, even when we discover something that is unlovable about them.  That's how Jesus loves us - and there is something unlovable about you and me for sure.

My encouragement is to pray that God will give you courage when He takes you beyond the surface of the life of someone in your oikos.  I think He'll answer that prayer in ways that will amaze you if you trust Him.  You won't always find the squalor I found, but whatever you find, you will find that you are the right person to be there.  God has planned it that way.   That's why it's your oikos.  And you have a great message of hope that is universal, so don't worry. 

I'm sure in Mike's case, God didn't put me there only to help him move.  After that day, I made sure that Mike knew I was a Christ follower.  I wasn't sure if he knew that before.  I thought I was his friend before, but I don't think I truly was until I saw his home.   I invited him and his family to church with me, they came a few times, and he had a lot of good questions.  We did a few things socially after work together and I tried to just be his friend. 

Turns out, Mike's wife was a Christian, but hadn't really trusted God much for a while, and Mike had been to church as a kid but struggled to accept God's grace.  I don't know where Mike and his family are today, or where they stand with their faith.  Shortly after his move, I moved to a new town and a new oikos.   I never discovered why his house was in such disarray.  But today, I am praying for his oikos, whoever they are, whomever God has surrounded him with, that they would be a blessing to him

Who knows, maybe Mike is following Jesus and blessing those in his oikos today?  Hope so...

SCF
twitter.com/scottfurrow

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Post

Many don't know that this year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial will be dedicated in Washington D.C.  

Fewer people are aware that I wrote a blog about MLK Jr. about leadership a couple of years ago that gets a rather large bit of Internet traffic according to Google.  

So, since today is the MLK Jr. birthday holiday, I thought I'd link you to that two year old post instead of writing a new one.   Not only will it keep that article alive, but it also gives the appearance that I am posting something new today!  It's a two-fer!

http://scottfurrow.blogspot.com/2008/01/martin-luther-king-day.html

Have a great MLK holiday!

SCF

2010 Midterm Election Predictions

[Please note: This is not an endorsement of any candidate or political party or agenda.  It does not necessarily indicate how I have personally voted or what I think about issues. This is simply a prediction from a retired political hack, based on polling data, personal contacts, and a few hunches here and there.]

In 1954, the Giants won the World Series.  That same year, the Democrats took control of both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections.  They would hold on to the Senate until 1980 and the House until 1994.  The Giants would not win the World Series again until 2010.

This year, the Giants victory will again precede a change in leadership in the US Congress.  How big and for how long is anybody's guess.   Actually, below is this anybody's guess.

This is perhaps the most difficult election to predict based on the fact that the polls are unprecedented.  In some studies, Republicans hold such a high "Generic Ballot" lead that its never even been considered what that might mean.  On top of that, the number of Democrat incumbents that are still polling below 50%, even if they are still in the lead, presents a possibility of something that has not been seen in over a century.

Many pundits are predicting a repeat of 1994, where the Republicans had a net gain of 52 seats in the House to regain the majority for the first time since Eisenhower.  But perhaps 1994 is the wrong century.

In the 1894 midterms, the Republicans won 130 seats in a then 357 member Congress.  It was in response to the Panic of 1893 and the perceived failures of the Democratic Cleavland Administration to deal with unemployment and other economic conditions.

I don't think the Republicans are going to win 130 seats in the House.  But, as unlikely as it is, it could happen.   Its also possible that this is all overblown, that polling data just isn't as accurate as it once was because of demographic shifts in telecommunication preferences.

Regardless, this will be an interesting one to watch.  Below are my predictions, which admittedly, might be way off in either direction.  Below them are some commentary.  Also, I have a Facebook Group you can join for some Election Day commentary, if I can get around to it...

Click here to join the Furrowcious Election Day Special on Facebook.

2010 Predictions

US Senate:

Republicans win majority with net gain of 10 seats. 

(Totals: Republicans 51, Democrats 47, Independents 2)

Republican - 26 Wins:  ID, UT, AZ, AK, OK, KS, SD, IA, MO, LA, AL, FL, GA, SC, NC, KY, OH, NH, WI, PA, ND, NV, IN, IL, CO, AR, WV, WA

Democrat - 7 Wins:  CA, OR, HI, VT, CT, DE, MD

Independent: None

(All other seats not up for election this year)

State Governors:

Republicans win majority with net gain of 8

(Totals: Republicans 32, Democrats 17, Independent 1)

Republicans - 26 Wins:  NV, ID, UT, AZ, TX, NE, SD, AL, GA, SC, CT, AK, TN, PA, OK, OH, NM, MI, ME, KS, IA, IL, WI, WY, FL, MN

Democrats - 10 Wins:  CA, HI, VT, OR, CO, AR, NY, NH, MA, MD

Independent -  Win: RI
(All other states not holding elections this year)


US House of Representatives:

Republicans win majority with net gain of 82 seats.

(260 Republicans - 175 Democrats)

Interestingly, my research would indicate a 99 seat gain for the Republicans.  This is a lot higher than any of the experts, and I didn't research every seat at all, so I'm pulling back a little.  I did put the ones I researched below with specific predictions.  All other seats will probably keep the incumbent party - although who knows?

Republicans will only lose 2 seats at most I think.  Democrats could lose over 100.

Early races to watch:

MA-10 - Republican hasn't held this since 1970, but Scott Brown won by 20 points in January 2010.

NJ-06 - Hugely Democratic district - Obama won it by 23 points, Gore by 28 in 2000.  Incumbent Pallone (D) won by 35 points over his Republican rival in 2008.  But he's only polling 5% higher this year than his Tea Party opponent Ann Little.  I'm predicting a Democrat hold for this seat, however, if Little wins, it will likely mean bigger wins than anyone expects for the GOP.  Incidentally, Republican  Governor Christie won this district by 8 points in 2009.

BOLD is the incumbent party:

District	Democrat	Republican	Winner
AL-01	Bright	Roby	Roby
AZ-07	Grijalva	McClung	McClung
AZ-08	Giffords	Kelly	Kelly
CT0-4	Himes	Debicella	Debicella
CT-05	Murphy	Caligiuri	Caligiuri
GA-02	Bishop	Keown	Keown
HI-01	Hanabusa	Djou	Djou
ID-01	Minnick	Labrador	Labrador
Il-10	Seals	Dold	Dold
IN-02	Donnelly	Walorski	Walorski
KY-06	Chandler	Barr	Barr
MA-10	Keating	Perry	Perry
ME-01	Pingree	Scontras	Scontras
ME-02	Michaud	Levesque	Levesque
MI-07	Schauer	Walberg	Walberg
MI-09	Peters	Raczkowski	Raczkowski
MN-08	Oberstar	Cravaack	Cravaack
MO-04	Skelton	Hartzler	Hartzler
MS-04	Taylor	Palazzo	Palazzo
NC-11	Shuler	Miller	Miller
NC-02	Etheridge	Ellmers	Ellmers
NC-07	McIntyre	Pantano	Pantano
NY-01	Bishop	Altschuler	Altschuler
NY-13	McMahon	Grimm	Grimm
NY-24	Arcuri	Hanna	Hanna
NY-25	Maffei	Buerkle	Maffei
OH-06	Wilson	Johnson	Johnson
OR-05	Schrader	Bruun	Bruun
PA-11	Kanjorski	Barletta	Barletta
PA-12	Critz	Burns	Burns
PA-07	Lentz	Meehan	Meehan
RI-01	Cicilline	Loughlin	Loughlin
TN-04	Davis	DesJarlais	DesJarlais
TX-23	Rodriguez	Canseco	Canseco
VA-11	Connolly	Fimian	Fimian
VA-09	Boucher	Griffith	Griffith
WA-02	Larsen	Koster	Larsen
WA-03	Heck	Herrera	Herrera
WA-09	Smith	Muri	Muri
WV-01	Oliverio	McKinley	McKinley
NC-08	Kissell	Johnson	Johnson
NM-01	Heinrich	Barela	Barela
NY-19	Hall	Hayworth	Hayworth
CA-18	Cardoza	Berryhill	Cardoza
CA-47	Sanchez	Tran	Tran
CO-07	Perlmutter	Frazier	Frazier
DE-AL	Carney	Urquhart	Carney
IA-01	Braley	Lange	Braley
IA-02	Loebsack	Miller-Meeks	Loebsack
IA-03	Boswell	Zaun	Boswell
IL-08	Bean	Walsh	Walsh
KY-03	Yarmuth	Lally	Lally
LA-02	Richmond	Cao	Richmond
MA-04	Frank	Bielat	Frank
MI-15	Dingell	Steele	Dingell
MN-01	Walz	Demmer	Demmer
MO-03	Carnahan	Martin	Carnahan
NH-2	Kuster	Bass	Bass
NJ-12	Holt	Sipprelle	Holt
MN-03	Lujan	Mullins	Lujan
NY-22	Hinchey	Phillips	Hinchey
OH-13	Sutton	Ganley	Sutton
OR-04	DeFazio	Robinson	Robinson
PA-04	Altmire	Rothfus	Altmire
TX-27	Ortiz	Farenthold	Farenthold
UT-02	Matheson	Philpot	Philpot
WI-03	Kind	Kapanke	Kind
WV-03	Rahall	Maynard	Rahall
AZ-04	Ross	Rankin	Ross
CT-01	Larson	Brickley	Larson
CT-02	Courtney	Peckinpaugh	Courtney
GA-12	Barrow	McKinney	Barrow
MA-05	Tsongas	Golnik	Tsongas
MA-06	Tierney	Hudak	Tierney
MN-07	Peterson	Byberg	Peterson
MO-05	Cleaver	Turk	Cleaver
MS-02	Thompson	Marcy	Thompson
NC-13	Miller	Randall	Miller
NC-04	Price	Lawson	Price
NJ-06	Pallone	Little	Little
NY-02	Israel	Gomezq	Israel
NY-27	Higgins	Roberto	Higgins
NY-04	McCarthy	Becker	Becker
OH-10	Kucinich	Corrigan	Corrigan
OK-02	Boren	Thompson	Boren
OR-01	Wu	Cornilles	Wu
PA-13	Schwartz	Adcock	Schwartz
TN-05	Cooper	Hall	Cooper
TX-15	Hinojosa	Zamora	Hinojosa
TX-25	Doggett	Campbell	Doggett
WA-06	Dicks	Cloud	Cloud
AR-01	Causey	Crawford	Crawford
AZ-01	Kirkpatrick	Gosar	Gosar
AZ-03	Hulburd	Quayle	Quayle
AZ-05	Mitchell	Schweikert	Schweikert
CA-11	McNerney	Harmer	Harmer
CA-20	Costa	Vidak	Vidak
CA-03	Bera	Lungren	Lungren
CO-03	Salazar	Tipton	Tipton
CO-04	Markey	Gardner	Gardner
FL-02	Boyd	Southerland	Southerland
FL-22	Klein	West	West
FL-24	Kosmas	Adams	Adams
FL-25	Garcia	Rivera	Rivera
FL-08	Grayson	Webster	Webster
GA-08	Marshall	Scott	Scott
IL-14	Foster	Hultgren	Hultgren
IL-17	Hare	Schilling	Schilling
IN-08	Van Haaften	Bucshon	Bucshon
IN-09	Hill	Young	Young
MD-01	Kratovil	Harris	Harris
MI-01	McDowell	Benishek	Benishek
NC-08	Kissell	Johnson	Kissell
MS-01	Childers	Nunnelee	Nunnelee
ND-AL	Pomeroy	Berg	Berg
NH-01	Shea-Porter	Guinta	Guinta
NJ-03	Adler	Runyan	Runyan
NM-02	Teague	Pearce	Pearce
NV-03	Titus	Heck	Heck
NY-20	Murphy	Gibson	Gibson
NY-23	Owens	Doheny	Doheny
OH-10	Driehaus	Chabot	Chabot
OH-16	Boccieri	Renacci	Renacci
OH-18	Space	Gibbs	Gibbs
PA-10	Carney	Marino	Marino
PA-03	Dahlkemper	Kelly	Kelly
PA-06	Trivedi	Gerlach	Gerlach
SC-05	Spratt	Mulvaney	Mulvaney
SD-AL	Herseth Sandlin	Noem	Noem
VA-02	Nye	Rigell	Rigell
VA-05	Perriello	Hurt	Hurt
WA-08	DelBene	Reichert	Reichert
WI-07	Lassa	Duffy	Duffy
WI-08	Kagen	Ribble	Ribble
AL-05	Raby	Brooks	Brooks
AR-02	Elliott	Griffin	Griffin
CA-45	Pougnet	Bono Mack	Bono Mack
LA-03	Sangisetty	Landry	Landry
FL-12	Edwards	Ross	Ross
IL-11	Halvorson	Kinzinger	Kinzinger
KS-03	Moore	Yoder	Yoder
MN-06	Clark	Bachmann	Bachmann
NE-02	White	Terry	Terry
NY-29	Zeller	Reed	Reed
OH-12	Brooks	Tiberi	Tiberi
OH-15	Kilroy	Stivers	Stivers
PA-15	Callahan	Dent	Dent
TN-06	Carter	Black	Black
TN-08	Herron	Fincher	Fincher
TX-17	Edwards	Flores	Flores

 
Okay, let's see how it goes...

SCF

Election Prediciton Update

I have promised my election predictions, but I had to take care of some unexpected family things today.  I may get them posted later tonight... stay tuned...

I Know, I Know...

One of the most interesting thing about blogging is that you never know who is reading your stuff.  So, my recent Lost posts drew some attention, and people I don't even know have written me asking me to finsih the series and mostly, to comment on the controversial Lost finale. 

So to you, and you know who you are, even if I don't know who you are - hopefully by the end of next week.   And, for those of you who follow this blog regularly, you know that waiting for me to post a promised post is a little bit like leaving the porch light on for Jimmy Hoffa.

[Space here for you to enjoy or research the hilarity of that remark.]

SCF

Why I Like Lost - Part IV

(This is the fourth post explaining in some detail why I like the TV show Lost.   Please read the first post here, then continue with part II and III and then this list below...)

Why I Like Lost - Part IV

Alternate Reality Games

In an episode of Lost early in season 2, there is a video being watched by some of the characters and at the end, in small print we see, only for a second:

(c) The Hanso Foundation  1980  All Rights Reserved.

To date, there has been no discussion of The Hanso Foundation on the show, although, we do see advertisements for The Hanso Foundation in the backgrounds of various character flashback scenes, and we have heard the name "Hanso" now in some parts of the story.  But at the time, it was seemingly just a detail in a well crafted show.  We have come to learn since then that details like this are not mere window dressing in Lost.

A few months later, I was in an airplane and someone had left behind a major news magazine, I can't remember if it was Newsweek or Time, but one of those.  My eye caught a strange advertisement:

What?  The Hanso Foundation?  I had remembered the Lost reference and wondered what in the world I was looking at.   There is no reference to Lost in the ad, or ABC television or anything else.  Just an advertisement from "The Hanso Foundation" defending itself from the contents of some new book called Bad Twin.  Turns out, the same ad appeared is major newspapers around the world, including the New York Times.

Let's be clear:  There is no such thing as The Hanso Foundation.  But they have ads in real-life newspapers.  And, if you noticed in the ad, they have a real-life website.  So, naturally, I went to the website (it was recently taken down, I'm hoping it will come back up for the finale.)  It was the coolest website I've ever seen, rich with graphics and detail.  Numerous pages in the site detailing scientific advances being made in all sorts of areas by The Hanso Foundation.  It included real email addresses of company execs (you'd get an automated response if you emailed them) and get this, the phone number worked!  You could call up, be transferred to various departments and personnel and leave a message.  I never did get a call back...

In the real life advertisement from the fake Hanso Foundation, it criticizes a newly published booked called Bad Twin, by Gary Troup.  This book is for real.   It is in stock right now at Amazon.com.   A real-life ad from a fake organization about a real-life book.

At the time, I saw the book in Costco and I was drawn to the cover flap about the author, which reads:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bad Twin is the highly-anticipated new novel by acclaimed mystery writer Gary Troup. Bad Twin was delivered to Hyperion just days before Troup boarded Oceanic Flight 815, which was lost in flight from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles in September 2004. He remains missing and is presumed dead.

Oceanic Airlines is a fake airline.  Its the one that crashed on the fake island that is the setting for the fictional show Lost.  There is no flight 815.  And the people who rode on Oceanic Flight 815 also don't exist, including the author of Bad Twin, Gary Troup.

So, there is a fake organization placing real-life ads in real-life newspapers defending itself from the claims made in a real-life book written by a made-up character from a fictional TV show who died in a fake plane crash on a non-existent airline. 

Was Gary Troup on the fictional Oceanic Flight 815?  Well, rumor has it he was killed on the ground during the pilot episode by getting sucked through the engine that was still revving in all the wreckage.  However, there is only one actual reference to him.  The characters in the show organize all the wreckage and one pile is full of books.  One character, Sawyer, is often doing some reading.   It is mentioned that a manuscript for some book is found, and later we see Sawyer reading it:

This is the only reference to Bad Twin or Gary Troup in the show.  

By the way, if you take the letters "Gary Troup" and move them around, you find that his name is an anagram for "purgatory."  Are our castaways lost souls in purgatory?  Well, the writers have said no, but we'll see...

The next thing I noticed was television commercials for The Hanso Foundation, first during Lost, later on other programs on ABC.  Here's the original ad, one of several.  (Note:  DO NOT call the number on the add as today its someone else who will try to get you to change your long distance carrier.)

Then, crazy things started to happen.  Hanso Foundation people started showing up in real-life advertisements for Sprite, Jeep and other companies.  The Hanso Foundation is even listed in the credits for Mission Impossible III under "Special Thanks."

Then, the Hanso site changed.  It supposedly gets hacked, and someone from the outside is determined to expose the Hanso Foundation for its dirty deeds.  

A game begins.  

At Comic-Con, the annual comic book convention in San Diego, during a Lost forum, a woman named "Rachel Blake" stands up and starts shouting at the real-life writers and the real-life actors about the evils of the fake Hanso Foundation.  The writers and actors simply point out that the Hanso Foundation is fictional, but she presses that it is for real.  Before being taken away by security, she throws out a website URL, which was the beginning of what came to be known as "The Lost Experience."  Interestingly, the actors and writers were wearing clues for fans to discover for this game.

"The Lost Experience" is an alternate reality game (ARG) where real life fans of the show are invited into the Lost's mythical storyline to play a role.  There are numerous websites tracking how this game worked out if you want to investigate, but it was amazing.   How amazing?  Get this:  in the TV show Lost, there are candy bars called "Apollo Bars."  For The Lost Experience, real-life Apollo Bars were manufactured and placed all over the world for fans to find, giving them clues to the game. 

No kidding.  A real-life Willy Wonka contest.  The video below tells a bit of the story of the global game that was truly the most incredible game I've ever seen.





Wow.

For most seasons of Lost, there have been alternate reality games, although the other ones not so big.  One year, Oceanic Airlines started putting out real-life press releases about reconstituting service.  They placed real-life billboards all over the world in each of the cities that the Lost characters come from.

Who has time for all of this?  Well, I don't know, I sure don't.  Fortunately, there were great blogs that people who apparently have time for all this would keep up so that you could follow the games and get caught up without actually playing them.

All this is to say that the ARGs brought Lost to a new level.  Its why it is an unprecedented global phenomenon.  Fans actually became part of the story.  Genius. 

Here's a television commercial for Oceanic Airlines that appeared on several TV shows and gives a URL for the game that began that season.  If you didn't know about Lost, you probably just thought it was some new airline...

.... Why I like Lost - Part V coming soon...

SCF