chazzz.com – Home

Facebook is very particular about account names. I requested three times that I be allowed to change my account name from "Charles Fishburn" to "Chazzz Fishburn" (yes, with 3 z's), and the facebook administrators denied my request three times. They don't allow nicknames, but they apparently allow short forms (e.g. "Tom" instead of "Thomas", "Steve" instead of "Stephen", even "Chas" instead of "Charles"). I couldn't convince them that my "Chazzz" was a short form more than it was a "nickname" – I wasn't asking them to change my name to "Slick" or something that had nothing to do with my name.

Fortunately, the facebook powers that be decided to allow users to specify a "username" that had a little more flexibility than the actual account names. So, being the acutely obsessive-compulsive person I am, I waited for the instant the username feature went live and pounced on "chazzz" as fast as I could. So now at least the link to my facebook page is friendly and more directly refers to "me": http://www.facebook.com/chazzz.

I updated my Nikon Photo Gear page, changing my opinion on the 28-105mm lens. I also updated my Ganine Gothic Chess Set page to include piece heights.

© 2009 Jeanne Gustafson. All Rights Reserved.

The above haiku were written by my friend, Jeanne Gustafson, as part of National Poetry Month. She posted them on facebook, but I figured I'd post them here because they're fun. I especially like #3.

Well, that's a fine question. The short answer is that I lost interest. The long answer goes like this:

I spent a good amount of energy trying to work with the words, and trying to get the feel for the haiku form, and trying to be unique, creative and interesting. I'm not entirely certain how well I managed on the last trifecta of objectives. But, while the exercise was mentally stretching, I realized that after two weeks, I'd experimented enough with that. I know April is "National Poetry Month", but I'm not married to the concept. So now, I'm on to other projects.

But thanks for stopping by and checking out the little bits of poetry I molded. Thanks to Goat and Scott for letting me play!

raindrops splash en masse
chaotic rhythm beckons
your name resonates

the wind said to me
"you have no haiku today
words vanish with me"

With the conclusion of Holy Week, I decided to switch back to less strictly-themed haiku. But, as you probably have read by now, I don't have one for today.

weary flower pines
then clutches tight to new hope
A lamb hears its name

John 20:1-18

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!

Spring whirlwind scatters
uncertain leaves lost adrift
gathering awaits

In the Bible, we read the story of the crucifixion followed almost immediately by the story of the resurrection. But for two days – almost three – His disciples had to do something. What was it? Where did they go? What did they think? Where was their faith? Did they remember He said he was going to rise in three days? I think the death of Jesus was a tornado that flung the disciples far and wide, figuratively and spiritually. I can't say with certainty that I would have fared much better.

iron iron pulse
down force of soldier's burden
my hammer pounds nails

Who crucified Jesus? Who was responsible for His death? Jesus didn't get up on that cross by himself. He carried the wood, but someone put him on the cross. Some Roman soldier took a steady hand and unflinching will and drove nails into the hands (or wrists) and feet of Jesus. Iron hammer to iron nail, strike by strike, nails penetrated deeply and securely into a rough hewn beam.

But the question comes around again: who was responsible for His death? To answer that, we need to ask another question: why did He die? The quick answer is that He came to offer His life as a perfect and complete sacrifice as payment for the sins of man. More personally, He came to pay the price for my sins. Obviously, I didn't pound those nails into His hands. But it may as well have been me, because I am just as guilty as the next person.

darkness falls midday
universe gasps shudders stills
all behold God's Lamb

Friday's here, but Sunday's a-comin'!

Again, don't miss syniad style and Rock Wood Wire blogs for more haiku goodness!

solitary ram
piercing thorns entangle trap
God provides Himself

In Genesis 22, God tests Abraham by telling him to take his son, Isaac, to a mountain and offer him as a sacrifice. Abraham and Isaac traveled for three days with at least one donkey and two other young men. On the third day, the two of them left the others to continue on to the place the Lord specified. Abraham put the wood for the sacrifice on Isaac's back, then took the knife and fire himself. Isaac said (and I'm paraphrasing), "Hey, where's the lamb? We have wood and fire, but something's missing." Abraham replied (using King James translation here), "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering."

They arrived at the place God directed them, and Abraham prepared the altar and the wood. Then he bound Isaac and placed him on the altar. As Abraham raised the knife, the angel of the Lord called out for him. The Lord saw that Abraham was not going to withhold his only son, and thus Abraham passed that test. After the angel of the Lord stopped him, Abraham looked behind him to see a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. God had provided the lamb for the sacrifice.

The story is a foreshadowing of the crucifixion, a pointer to Jesus and his willingness to become a sacrifice on a wooden altar. In Jesus, God provided not just any unblemished lamb for a sacrifice: He provided His only Son ‐ part of Himself. Roman soldiers mocked Jesus, flogged Him, put Him in a purple robe, and crowned him with a tangled ring of thorn-laded branches.

Jehovah Jireh is often translated "the LORD will provide".

cool night air asks but
boldness cowers embers pop
illuminating

rough blue moonlit stones
as exit avails itself
destiny calls out

smoke aroma wafts
inquiring huddled crowds press
tears reveal a truth

You can read the pertinent passage, Matthew 26:69-74, here.

Jesus tells Peter, "... this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Immediately, Peter declares, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" The other disciples followed suit, but Jesus' warned Peter directly. Jesus wasn't placing odds, betting that Peter most likely would deny Him. He was saying that Peter, of his own volition, would attest publicly that he had no knowledge of Jesus. Peter means well, but the pressure of the unfolding events will reveal a gap in his fortitude. He was going to stumble not once, but three times, back to back to back. The rooster crowd, and Peter "wept bitterly".

But Luke, in his gospel, gives us an extra glimpse of one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Jesus, before warning of the denial, gives even worse news: Satan is on the hunt for Peter. Jesus reassures him with an amazing statement (I'm using the King James here only because I like the sound):

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not

Even though Peter was headed for turbulent hours, Jesus prayed for him. He petitioned the Father on Peter's behalf for perseverance of faith, knowing that Peter – bold, impatient Peter – would otherwise be "sifted as wheat." How could such a prayer fail? It couldn't. And Peter would go on to be a hero of the faith... just not yet. And the passage is so great, I'm going to say it again:

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not – Luke 22:32

friend bolts flails inflicts
harm awry misguided blade
lightning in clear sky

At the end of John 6, many disciples stopped following Jesus. And He turned to his chosen twelve and asked, "Do you also want to go away?" And faithful, impulsive Peter replies, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Well done, Simon Peter! In the middle of Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" And again, it is Peter who is first to respond, saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Right again, Peter! Yet, for as many times as Peter has the right answer, he seems to come up short other times. This poem recounts one of those not-so-shining moments.

Each of the four gospels record the arrest of Jesus. Impetuous Peter jumps the proverbial gun and determines to stop this miscarriage of justice with a show of force. He thinks he knows the scheme of things to come but he doesn't really quite get everything. Even the things he knows he quickly forgets when an unexpected situation presents itself. Here, he draws his sword and swings, cutting of the ear of Malchus, servant of the high priest. I can imagine the burly fisherman, whose calloused hands were more familiar with oars and nets than with an implement of war, rushing forward, off balance, and wielding an awkward sword toward whomever was closest. Poor Malchus, aghast, tries to evade – to no avail – the blade. Jesus tells Peter to put his sword away, and He restores the ear to Malchus. Well-meaning but ignorant, Peter struck "out of the blue".

I don't condemn Peter. On the contrary, I sympathize with him. How often do I impulsively draw my sword, whether by word or by action, and get in the way of God's plan? I can only pray that the Lord continues to be patient with me, healing "ears" along the way, and that He chooses to use me for His glory.

excoriated
roadside fig disappointed
may I bear much fruit

In response to Susan's mention of this Monday of Holy Week being "Fig Monday", I came up with this one a day late.

rustling chattering
green standards raised announce He
who comes to redeem

paper covers rock
scissors cut paper at last
sharp blades of sunlight

I almost forgot to post this one for the day. Don't forget to check the Scott Nicks Blog and the Rock Wood Wire blog where the haiku assignment started.

clouds play masquerade
as the breeze sets them aloft
shape shifters aloof

hail stings my fingers
outstretched to receive their due
basking in the pain

Inspired by my friend Scott Nicks (click here to see his blog), I started writing a haiku or two to participate in some way in National Poetry Month.

Here's my first entry:

Winter stays the day
when flakes dance writhing downward
where are you oh Spring

Oh, and no: this is not an April Fool's joke...

This is mostly just a pseudo-random "rant" about how some people pronounce a few select words in the English (maybe "American") language.

Well, this has been quite an ordeal. It has taken months for me to figure out just how in the world I wanted to design this site. The design you see here is essentially version number 7. I think I'm relatively satisfied enough with this to get me going. Now I should be able to concentrate a little more on content.

For those of you viewing this on Internet Explorer, I will apologize in advance for any formatting issues you may be experiencing. I designed this site using Camino, and double-checked it in Firefox and Safari browsers, but not Internet Explorer at this point. I will get around to it, so bear with me if things look a little out of place.

While it's not really crucial to anything, I may post my previous design attempts for posterity sake. Feel free to check back.